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Campaign ME
07-04-2025
- Business
- Campaign ME
Campaign's Digital Faces to Watch 2025 – Lara Assaad Issa, Digital Strategist, MRM
Campaign's Digital Faces to Watch 2025 – Lara Assaad Issa, Digital Strategist, MRM Campaign's Digital Faces to Watch 2025 – Lara Assaad Issa, Digital Strategist, MRM Age: 29 Nominated by Derrick Nyirenda, Head of Strategy: Lara Issa is a storyteller at heart, a wordsmith by passion, and a digital strategist by trade. Her ability to choose words, craft stories, and turn data into meaningful narratives has helped brands across automotive, retail, aviation, real estate, beauty, health and energy sectors develop digital and content strategies that truly connect with their audiences. With expertise in journalism, social listening, content strategy, and brand storytelling, she believes the right message can change everything. Now, she's taking her passion further—positioning herself as a thought leader and coach, helping entrepreneurs, businesses, and professionals navigate the digital world with confidence. For Lara, strategy isn't ONLY about numbers—it's about listening to the customer and crafting brand narratives around their stories. Career highlights Lara Issa is a strategic storyteller with a 360° view of social media, having worked as an executive, content creator, analyst, and strategist. A USAID scholarship recipient in Journalism with a minor in Advertising, she graduated with honors, refining her skills in writing, communication management, and social listening to help brands craft impactful narratives. As a Digital & Social Strategist at MRM/McCann, she has been part of transformative projects, including one for an automotive client that won an industry award. Passionate about brand storytelling and audience insights, Lara is now positioning herself as a thought leader and coach, empowering businesses and professionals to navigate the digital world with confidence. Guiding principles Authenticity, impact, and storytelling with purpose. I believe in the power of words to inspire, connect, and drive change. Listening is the foundation of strategy, and every brand has a story worth telling. My mission is to craft narratives that resonate, empower, and leave a lasting imprint in the digital world. Side hustle Journalist: StriveME, Home Magazine. Blog and write poems sometimes. Future jewelry designer. Go back to main article: Campaign's Digital Faces to Watch 2025
Campaign ME
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Campaign ME
Campaign's Creative Faces to Watch 2025 – Malaika Menon, Account Director, Them Again
Campaign's Creative Faces to Watch 2025 – Malaika Menon, Account Director, Them Again Campaign's Creative Faces to Watch 2025 – Malaika Menon, Account Director, Them Again Age: 26 Nominated by Ben Griffiths, Executive Creative Director and Partner: I met Malaika during my first stint in Dubai when she was an intern, after reuniting this year, I can confirm she is an increasingly rare character in today's industry. Someone who is excited by the job, who strives for great work, but also, holds creative and client equally accountable. Good ideas aren't enough, you need the right people to help sell them and bring them to life. And Malaika is a great partner to creatives and clients alike. I know that anyone who has worked with her knows how lucky we are to have her at Them Again. Career highlights Embracing a rollercoaster of five years rising through the ranks, I've graduated from a fresh-faced intern at Impact BBDO to my current position as Account Director at THEM AGAIN. Bringing my passion for the industry to life, working on amazing global clients with great people. After picking up some shiny awards with the team, I was nominated as the only Account Manager for the LIA Creative Liaisons Mentee Program in 2023. When I'm not working, I indulge in my passions for art, movies, music, and food. And sometimes, getting too many tattoos. Guiding principles Advertising is a wild beast to work in, and I've always believed that if you're not making yourself-and others-a little uncomfortable, you're not doing it right. I've dabbled a lot to land here, and as cheesy as it sounds, my passion proves advertising is exactly where I'm meant to be. Side hustle Go back to main article: Campaign's Creative Faces to Watch 2025
Campaign ME
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Campaign ME
Campaign Middle East's Faces to Watch issue is out now
The latest issue of Campaign Middle East is on stands and online, featuring one of the most anticipated annual lists – Faces to Watch 2025. This special edition spotlights rising talent aged 30 and under across digital, media, creative, and PR agencies, with nominees put forward by their senior leadership. In partnership with Heriot-Watt University Dubai, this year's issue also revealed the winners of the Faces to Watch scholarship programme, with four recipients awarded a 30 per cent scholarship and one securing a full 100 per cent scholarship. Gaming takes centre stage As the next generation of industry leaders steps up, so too does a new wave of audience engagement – gaming. The platform is rapidly gaining traction among younger audiences, prompting advertisers and marketers to integrate gaming into their strategies. This issue's Gaming, Social Media, and Influencer Guide dives into the evolving role of gaming in marketing, with leading client-side marketers and agency executives sharing insights. The cover feature brings together Yum's Ahmed Arafa, Heinz's Passant El-Ghanem, Nissan's Chris Probert, and Mastercard's Ahmed Abdelkarim Hussein, alongside agency leaders such as Publicis Groupe's Vikrant Shetty, Dentsu's Brent Koning, and GroupM's Mario Soufia. Together, they discuss adoption, audience segmentation, consumer insights, and return on investment in gaming-led campaigns. The Industry Forum section explores whether gaming is on track to become as critical as social media within marketing and media strategies. While most experts lean one way, a few outliers challenge the consensus. Jack Morton's Dan Lord, Division's Dan Moore, and MENATech Entertainment's Mario Perez weigh in on gaming's unique ability to foster deep consumer connections – something traditional media struggles to replicate. Meanwhile, Vice Media's Saad Al Abbassi takes a contrarian stance, using data to highlight the industry's stagnation and arguing that social gaming is where real opportunities lie. Influencer marketing and social strategies: what's next? As influencer marketing continues to evolve, the industry faces increasing calls for greater transparency and accountability. In this issue, ABG's Jochen Bischoff and Marie de Ducla discuss how to build a more ethical and sustainable influencer ecosystem in the UAE. On the brand side, Al Masaood Group's Marwah Eltom, Jeep's Yara Yousef Maroun, and Subway's Mahmoud Mneimne provide an inside look at their social strategies. From the agency perspective, Merkle MENA's Deepak Mankani and MKV's Asiya Ali explore how brands can refine their approach to influencer marketing for maximum impact. Brand and Saudi perspectives: storytelling, sonic branding and Saudi market relevance This month's Brand Focus highlights Sobha Realty's Ashish Parekh and Marriott Resort's Stacey McMurtrie. Parekh delves into why storytelling remains a marketer's most powerful tool, while McMurtrie examines how brands can drive meaningful engagement through social media and influencer marketing. As part of the Saudi Focus, Neom's Komal Bajaj shares insights on how brands can secure relevance in Saudi Arabia by aligning with the country's national vision. Meanwhile, MassiveMusic's Laura Wozniak explores the growing importance of sonic branding and why it should be a priority for brands in the Kingdom moving forward. With insights spanning gaming, social media, and the future of brand storytelling, this issue of Campaign Middle East provides a comprehensive look at the trends shaping the industry in 2025. Read the complete issue below with the link here.
Campaign ME
13-02-2025
- Business
- Campaign ME
Call for nominations: Agency Faces to Watch 2025
We are now accepting entries/nominations for Campaign's Agency Faces to Watch 2025 to profile the brightest and best young talent aged 30 and under working agency-side in Creative, Media, Digital and PR agencies in the MENA region. Every nominee must be put forward by a senior manager within their own company or by a client they have worked with. Heriot-Watt University Dubai has partnered for the fourth year with Campaign Middle East for Campaign's annual Agency Faces to Watch list, offering a chance to win 5 scholarships to a Master's degree in Digital Marketing at its Edinburgh Business School. Here are details on the scholarship: One 100 per cent scholarship. 4 x 30 per cent scholarships to the winner of each category (4 categories – Creative, Media, Digital and PR ) Candidates will have to submit a 500-word essay to qualify for the above scholarships on how this course will help them in their future career in marketing, to be judged by a panel. For more details on the Master's degree in Digital Marketing at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University Dubai, click here. For any further enquiries, please email: [email protected]. For reference, please visit to view our last year's Creative, Media, Digital and PR Faces to Watch. There is a limit of three entries per agency in each category and candidates chosen in the past cannot apply again. We look forward to seeing the wealth of talent gearing up to lead the regional industry into the future. Please fill in the fields within the word limit requested and kindly attached a high-res pic (above 1 MB) for your nomination to be selected. The final deadline for submission will be March 03, 2025. We will not be able to take any nominations after that, so get yours in now. The results will be out in Campaign's March end issue.
