Memac Ogilvy wraps up largest-ever creative workshop in Dubai

Memac Ogilvy, the leading integrated communications agency in the Middle East, has wrapped up Dubai’s largest-ever creative skills workshop, held May 16-18th.

Over 80 creatives from Memac Ogilvy’s 12 MENA offices participated in intensive training sessions aimed at further improving their ability to enhance advertising and communications ideas through innovative art direction and creative writing skills.

London-based advertising and creative experts Jon Sayers and Alexandra Taylor lead this unique event. Both are from D&AD, an organization recognized worldwide as the premier group dedicated to the advancement of the creative industry.

From its humble beginnings 27 years ago (3 staff and a desk) Memac Ogilvy has always emphasized training and staff development. Today, no other communication group in the Middles East spends more time or money on training than Memac Ogilvy (the agency has grown quite a bit since 1984; there are more than 500 people now).

In addition to this creative training, which will be held annually moving forward, Memac Ogilvy organizes an annual Post Graduate Training program. Creative Directors from all 12 MENA offices work jointly with their countries’ leading universities to identify the most promising creative talents who have just graduated. The selected students are then flown to the agency’s corporate headquarters in Beirut where they meet top creative leaders. After screening, only the best, most promising students are offered positions to join the agency.

Eddie Moutran, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Memac Ogilvy, said: “Never have so many creative talents gathered in one place in Dubai. The advertising industry is extremely competitive and I have always believed in staying at the leading edge of creativity. This, and other annual training events we organize for our employees, is one of the things that differentiate Memac Ogilvy from its competitors. We go to any length to provide our teams with the best training available anywhere in the world so they can in turn provide our clients with the best campaigns anywhere in the world.”

Jon Sayers, D&AD trainer and one of the UK’s most awarded creative directors said after the event: “The talent I have seen here over the last 3 days is quite frankly amazing. The levels of insights, of curiosity and of course creativity rival the best I have seen in London and Europe.”

Fellow D&AD trainer Alexandra Taylor, whose list of creative and advertising awards is too long to mention, added: “At this rate I can see a not-too-distant future where the rest of the world looks to the Middle East for inspiration.”

The decades-long focus on training and personal development and quest for excellence has paid off, making Memac Ogilvy one of the most-awarded agencies in the MENA region. Among others, Memac Ogilvy has been voted Agency of the Year, MENA - Dubai Lynx 2010, and has received 16 awards at this year’s Dubai Lynx 2011.