Senior Specialist - Marketing
Ithra Dubai
Total years of experience :19 years, 7 Months
• Managing all types of marketing activities required in achieving business goals, including brand awareness, brand building, increased footfall, higher occupancy numbers, managing budgets, lead generation and customer satisfaction, etc.
• Monitoring campaigns’ outcome to evaluate ROI.
• Identify new markets and position services and products effectively.
• Ensuring alignment with the corporate business plan, vision and mission.
• Developing marketing strategies and event specific strategies to increase project awareness, lead generation and retailers’ retention.
• Working closely with the PR agency to prepare PR plans, including briefs and reviews for final release.
• Working closely with the creative and SM agency to maximize content creation and enhance campaign exposure.
• Preparing, organizing and managing events such as brand activations, new product launches and assisting in retailers’ openings.
• Working closely with internal and external stakeholders.
• Partnered with a local creative agency to establish the PR arm of the company and provide PR and events services to current and potential clients.
• Developed PR pitches for clients and new comers in order to provide a 360 degrees approach and compliment the services provided by the agency .
• Developed PR & Communications strategies to further develop and build existing brands, their products and services.
• Managed the Marketing and SM department of an Aesthetics and Cosmetic clinic in Dubai to provide Marketing and SM support in order to further cement their presence in the market and eventually increase sales.
• Developed the clinic’s marketing strategy in order to provide a holistic approach which included traditional media, digital marketing, influencer marketing and SM, which provided the desirable results and helped in growing the presence of the brand in the market with a considerable 40% increase in sales during my period with them.
• Provided influencer marketing support to the clinic which resulted in a considerable increase in sales during certain months while working with the right
beauty influencers.
- Managing and directing the PR & all communications of the Couture, Bridal and Ready to Wear
lines.
- Developing and implement the PR strategy for the brand on a quarterly basis.
- Developing the PR and Marketing plans to ensure continuous brand awareness and
growth in the GCC as well as in the international market.
- Establishing and maintaining close relationships with media representatives,
fashion bloggers and influencers.
- Continuous monitoring of the market in order to spot opportunities for possible
collaborations with other brands.
- Working closely with stockists/retailers in order to ensure the marketing tools used
to promote the brand are in line with our Corporate identity and guidelines.
- Creating marketing support for stockists/retailers who carry the brand and ensure
it is live on our SM platforms and in some of the print titles.
- Working closely with the company's production department and the buying team
at the retailers in order to ensure a smooth and timely delivery of the merchandise.
This starts from the moment orders are placed to the last step which is the delivery
of the goods to the stores.
- Liaising with our International commercial agent during the Ready to Wear buying
seasons in Europe for the showcase of our line.
- Managing and directing the production of our fashion show during Paris Fashion
Week twice a year for every couture season.
- Managing the development and execution of all the marketing material before &
after the show.
- Directing and overlooking the work of our PR agency in Dubai, Paris & in the US
throughout the year and especially during the development of press campaigns, PR
pitches and distribution of our stories to the media.
- Constant liaison with fashion stylists and celebrity placement agents in order to
maintain visibility of the brand by lending our gowns to A-list celebrities regionally
and internationally whenever possible and suitable for the brand.
- Obtaining insights from the sales team to understand customers needs and apply
the findings on our Marketing and PR activities.
Achievements: I was able to introduce and sell the Ready to Wear line to two of the major International department stores operating out of Dubai. Names can be disclosed during the interview.
As the PR & Corporate Communication Manager for both malls, I was responsible for developing press releases, editorials and continuously maintaining the malls visibility in all major Arabic and English media.
I was the voice of the malls in all major Dubai based events, where I had to announce and promote all activities taking place in both malls during those Dubai based events such Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai Summer Surprises, Ramadan and other events such as the Holiday season.
Another important part of my job as the PR & Corporate Comm Manager was to liaise with the advertising agency in order to review ongoing advertising campaigns and ensure material delivery in a timely manner.
I also had to monitor the company's media exposure according to the press packs delivered to the media and prepare monthly and annual reports on the PR exposure achieved and in relation to the competition. Moreover a value had to be placed on the PR activity while devolving those reports.
Being the Account Director of the biggest client of the agency at the time, my role constituted of the following:
- Managed a team of 4 people between account executives and account managers working solely on this client and who reported directly to me.
- Managed client's budget and ensured delivery of agreed campaigns according to allocated budget per product.
- Developed successful marketing strategies in line with client's brief with one sole objective in mind, which was to build the brand in the banking industry and working towards achieving brand recognition.
- Developed and presented custom made presentations to sell the creative campaigns the agency developed for the client.
- Worked closely with all departments of the agency to ensure a smooth and successful 360 degrees approach for all campaigns, be it corporate or tactical campaigns.
Being appointed the account manager for Samsung Electronics my main duties and responsibilities were:
- Prepared creative briefs to be shared internally for the development of comprehensive advertising campaigns.
- Worked on adapting International campaigns into the local market, taking into consideration the local target audience.
- Worked closely with several production houses in order to execute the creative idea developed for the client.
- Ensured timely delivery of media material to the various media houses in order to ensure the client's advertising campaign will be released as per the approved media plan.
- Made industry and market analysis for the client in relation to their products and the competition.
- Worked with the agency's network in order to ensure consistency in the several markets I used to handle.
Being my first job in the Advertising industry, I was exposed to several clients and I was being trained by a group of professionals who made sure I learned the basics of being an account executive and how to achieve the required understanding of the brands I was working on.
I was involved and assisted in the development of yearly advertising strategies to achieve the clients marketing objectives.
I developed quarterly brand reviews in order to assess the work developed by the agency and to analyse the progress of the brand.
I constantly wrote creative and media briefs to the relevant departments in the agency, taking into consideration the clients marketing and communication objectives.
I contributed to the launch of the new pack of Milco yogurt in the UAE.
I worked on comprehensive advertising campaigns including Above-The-Line and Below-The-Line activities.