DUBAI: Arab National Bank has partnered with Omnicom Media Group to drive awareness for its credit card service through a social media campaign.
The campaign was launched on various social media channels, including Snapchat and TikTok, for the first time in the Kingdom, using OMD’s Omni Custom Audiences product.
The product offers Omnicom clients curated audience segments. Instead of using the demographic targeting options offered by social platforms, Omnicom creates custom audience segments for each client, allowing them to target audiences more precisely and delivering better campaign outcomes.
“Until now, standard practice was to run campaigns using social platforms’ native audiences and targeting options. OMG’s premium segments are curated by experienced data scientists who regularly analyze the data to ensure very high match rates and optimal campaign performance,” said George Achkouty, head of digital at OMD Saudi Arabia.
OMD used the product to build bespoke segments tailored to the bank’s campaign and objectives by focusing on credit card holders, non-credit card holders, frequent travelers and football fans.
The approach delivered high levels of awareness on social media, resulting in double-digit improvements in clickthrough (CTR) and video completion rates (VCR).
The campaign achieved an 81 percent increase in CTR and a 23-times increase in VCR on TikTok, as well as a 22 percent higher swipe-up rate and an 18 percent increase in VCR on Snapchat.
“Social media is core to our digital marketing, but we wanted a more surgical approach to reaching our audience than what was available on the platforms,” said Bader Alboqami, the bank’s head of marketing and customer experience.
“As first-party data is a very sensitive issue for banks, the only alternative is quality third-party audience segments. The ability to access them on social media in Saudi Arabia, especially popular platforms like Snapchat and TikTok, is a major step forward.”
The campaign has “more than confirmed the validity and value of this approach, and we expect to see more campaigns being pushed this way,” he added.
Arab National Bank partners with OMD to boost social media performance
https://arab.news/z3hkh
Arab National Bank partners with OMD to boost social media performance
- Bank uses Omnicom’s new product to target audiences, resulting in double-digit improvements
Gems of Arabia magazine launched to spotlight talents shaping Saudi Arabia’s evolving cultural landscape
- The publication features established and emerging talents elevating the region across design, fashion, art, tech, music, architecture and media
- Saudi fashion designer Hatem Alakeel seeks to highlight the richness of the Kingdom, and wider modern Arab culture to global audiences
DUBAI: When Saudi fashion designer Hatem Alakeel interviewed Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud before her appointment as Saudi ambassador to the US, the longtime advocate of women’s empowerment made a powerful prediction: “I look forward to the day that the Saudi woman is no longer the story but rather a phenomenal achievement.”
That moment would become the foundation for Gems of Arabia, an arts and culture audio-visual podcast that spotlights the creative talents shaping the landscape of Saudi Arabia and the broader region.
Over six years, Gems of Arabia has documented the sweeping transformation of the Kingdom’s art and culture scene, and is now evolving into a full-fledged magazine.
“It started off as a column I used to write, and from there, it turned into a podcast. Now it is growing into a magazine,” Dubai-based Alakeel, the magazine’s founder and editor-in-chief, told Arab News ahead of the launch of the digital publication on Thursday.
Besides spotlighting celebrated regional artists, Alakeel said Gems of Arabia is in search of the “hidden gems” elevating the region across design, fashion, art, tech, music, architecture and media.
The magazine serves as a platform for talented, authentic creatives and tech entrepreneurs unable to articulate their work “because they don’t have the public relations or capacity to promote themselves even through social media.”
Alakeel added: “Our job is to identify all these authentic people; you don’t have to be famous, you just have to be authentic, and have a great story to tell.”
The digital publication offers a dynamic blend of short-form podcasts, coverage of regional cultural events, in-depth features and editorials, long-form interviews and artist profiles — spotlighting both celebrated and emerging talents. This is complemented by social media vox pops and bite-sized coverage of art events across the region.
Alakeel, who also runs Authenticite, a consulting and creative production agency connecting creators and brands who want to understand Saudi culture, said the magazine content is “carefully curated” to feature topics and personalities that resonate in the region.
What differentiates Gems of Arabia, he said, is its story of continuity and substance amassed over the years that has captured the evolution of the wider regional landscape.
“The website represents an archive of nearly 150 articles compiled through years of podcasts and long-form conversations that show continuity and depth changes,” he said.
“So, it’s an evolution and it’s another home for all our content and our community.”
Growing up in France, Alakeel said his mission started early on when he felt the need to represent his Saudi culture “in a way where it can hold its own internationally.”
Through his first brand, Toby, he sought to bring the traditional thobe into modern designs and introduce it to the luxury fashion world. This mission was accomplished when his thobe designs were placed alongside global labels such as Harvey Nichols, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada.
What began as a personal design mission would soon expand into a broader platform to champion Saudi talent.
“I was articulating my culture through fashion and it just felt natural to do that through the incredible people that the region has,” Alakeel said, adding that the magazine aims to highlight the richness of the Kingdom, and wider modern Arab culture to global audiences.
“Art is such a great way of learning about a culture and a country,” he said.
On the ground in Saudi Arabia, the publication hosts GEMS Forum, a series of live cultural gatherings that bring together prominent artistic figures for in-depth conversations later transformed into podcast episodes recorded with a live audience.
Alakeel said the print edition of Gems of Arabia will debut in March, designed as a collectible coffee-table quarterly distributed across the Gulf.
He envisions the platform growing into a long-term cultural record.
“It's a Saudi-centric magazine, but the idea is to make it inclusive to the region and everyone authentic has a seat at the table,” said Alakeel.
