This week, I’m doing something a little different. I had the pleasure of being joined by the Middle East’s leading legal light (try saying that ten times) on all things media related. Fiona Robertson speaks about influencers, media laws, what some hotel brands were doing during 2020, and why communicators should be vetting what goes online. Have a listen, and follow Fiona on her Linkedin page.
A recent LinkedIn comment on an event happening in a couple of months time has led me to write this post, which I initially featured on LinkedIn and which I’m now posting here so people can find it more easily (LinkedIn, your SEO is lousy). The person asked, rightly, why the event only had two women speakers out of a total of nineteen. She could have also asked why there were no Gulf women on the speaker list. In an effort to help event organizers find these speakers and promote diversity on stage. I’m also tired of manels and mansplaining!
All the women below are exceptional in their own right, and these are all people I’ve worked with or heard speak. If you’re organising a marketing, media, communications or public relations conference in 2018 or beyond, you need to include these women in your event.
For added measure, I’m including a number of women who are based outside of the Gulf. If there’s any additional suggestions, then please do share them and I’ll add to the list. And apologies for leaving anyone out.
Jehan Abdulkarim – A Bahraini national, Jehan has worked in the private sector for over 15 years, at blue chips such as Cisco, Oracle and Accenture. She’s also worked as a journalist. She’s the most senior Gulf woman I know working in non-government, and she regularly talks on issues relating to marketing and comms in emerging markets.
Maha Abouelenein – Egyptian-American Maha has worked for a host of tech firms such as Google and Orascom, as well as agencies such as Weber Shandwick. She’s based between Cairo and Dubai, and often talks about marcomms in the tech sector, as well as issues relating to government and public affairs.
Dana Al Mubaidin Adnani – Morocco-based, Dana has over two decades-worth of experience in marketing and communications. She’s worked with a handful of the most prominent multinationals, including Uber, Microsoft, Nokia, Dow and Coca-Cola. Her latest role was the Head of Global Communications and Public Affairs for Jumia, Africa’s fastest growing e-commerce provider. Dana’s expertise includes B2B and B2C comms, crisis issues, public affairs and gender equality issues too.
Saba AlBusaidy – Oman’s Saba Al Busaidi is one of the most prominent advocates of digital and social media in the Gulf. She frequently talks about digital marketing in both languages, in Arabic and English. Saba was the first Omani women to to be certified as a Social Media Strategist. She has also played a big role in supporting local talent and small-to-medium enterprises.
Dr Hessa AlJaber – One of the highest profile government figures in the Gulf, Qatar’s Dr Hessa AlJaber has led her country’s ICT strategy for over a decade. Dr Hessa has keynoted many an event, with a particular focus on the impact of technology, and the need to promote STEM education among the region’s youth.
Hind Al-Nahedh – A pioneer in the social media space, not only in Kuwait but in the wider Gulf, Hind Al-Nahedh’s experience spans Corporate Communications, social media, integrated marketing, collaboration and blogging. Hind is often sought out to talk about social media and content/influencer marketing in the Gulf.
Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al-Saud – Princess Reema’s work across philanthropy, social purpose and business has consistently challenged gender conventions in conservative Saudi Arabia. In 2010, the marketing and PR worlds took notice when Princess Reema’s ‘Woman’s Stand’ campaign won Best in Show at the EMEA SABRE Awards. Her work in CSR and in marketing means she’s often approached to talk at events and conferences.
Fida Chaaban – Lebanese Canadian Fida straddles both the media and communications worlds. Prior to her current role, she was the editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Middle East magazine. Today, she serves as the chief communications officer of KBW Investments. With an eye for both, Fida talks about how the two can learn from and improve one another.
Elda Choucair – As the CEO MENA at agency PHD, Lebanese national Elda is probably the most senior woman working on the agency side today in the Gulf region. Elda’s specializes in media planning and strategy. She’s also often asked to talk about how the industry can better promote/support women who want to work in the advertising & creative industries.
Ganga Dhanesh – As Assistant Dean for research and graduate studies at Zayed University’s College of Communication & Media Sciences, Singaporean Ganga is playing a key role in developing the next generation of Emirati female communicators. Ganga’s research areas are strategic communication management, corporate social responsibility and internal relations.
Mariam Farag – Marian leads CSR for MBC, the largest broadcaster in the Middle East region. She’s also worked with the United Nations. Mariam often talks about a number of her passions, including corporate social impact, storytelling, humanizing the brand and youth development.
Maria Gedeon – A destination marketing executive with over 14 years of experience, Maria heads up marketing for Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas. She’s also a board member for the Marketing Society and talks about the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
Noha Hefny – An Egyptian national with 16 years of experience in comms roles with the United Nations, PepsiCo and McKinsey & Company, Noha talks about issues such as mentorship, social entrepreneurship, brand and corporate reputation.
Louise Karim – Living in Dubai since 2009, UK national Louise has led marketing teams at leading regional and international companies including DABO & Co, The Dubai World Trade Centre and Emirates Airlines. Today she manages mums@work, a female-focused recruitment agency. Louise often talks about the issues women face in the industry.
Eleni Kitra – As a global sales lead for Facebook across the Middle East and Pakistan, Eleni is an expert in contemporary digital marketing trends. A Greek national, Eleni has also worked as the MD for OMD Greece. She’s also passionate about mentoring.
Zaira Lakhpatwala – Zaira is the best-known female journalist in the Gulf reporting on the marcomms industry. Zaira heads up Communicate magazine, part of the Mediaquest Group, and she often moderates panels on the marketing and communications industry, on a host of subjects. If you’re looking for an expert/journalist, Zaira is your woman.
Summer Nasief – A Saudi national with a distinguished career in the private sector, Summer has led technology teams for the likes of IBM, Honeywell and Microsoft. Summer talks about innovation and how technology is changing a host of industries, including marketing and communications.
Maysoun Ramadan – Hailing from Jordan and Turkey, Maysoun is the head of Communication and Public Affairs for Roche Diagnostics Middle East. Maysoun’s passion includes talking on the issues of gender parity and female representation. Maysoun is also an EMENA board member for the International Association of Business Communicators.
Fiona Robertson – Fiona is a Senior Associate in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice in Dubai’s Al Tamimi & Co. law firm. In plain English, that means she knows the region’s media laws better than anyone else, and is able to knock the eyeballs of any audience out of their sockets with her understanding of legal issues.
Kindah Sais – A Saudi national with Lebanese roots, Kindah is the Global Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Leader, for the Middle East and Africa at Boeing International. Her career includes roles at Procter & Gamble, and Ogilvy. Kindah talks about the importance of creating diverse and inclusive work places and teams for firms based in the region.
Heba Sayed – As an IBMer who works across both marketing and technology, Egyptian national Heba is often asked to talk about how technology can be better leveraged by both marketeers and communicators in the areas of customer engagement, augmented intelligence (IBM’s definition for artificial intelligence) and digital solutions.
Valerie Tan – As the VP for communications at Emirates, Valerie is one of the best speakers out there on contemporary communications practices. A Singapore national, Valerie is able to give a unique perspective on communications across the Middle East and Asian Pacific region.
It’s almost Ramadan, the time of year when we post and pray. This year’s Ramadan may be a little different, possibly more stressful for some. Under regulations introduced in March by the UAE’s National Media Council (NMC), those making money to promote brands will need to be signed up with an e-media license by June or else face fines and other sanctions.
In the rest of this post, I’ll share the definition of what is an influencer as per the NMC, the process to get certification, as well as three questions I have on issues which maybe aren’t addressed or which have not been talked about. Thank you to Lexis Nexis and Fiona Robertson at AlTamimi for the below.
Who is an “influencer”?
The legislation is straightforward as to who is covered. To quote from the National Media Council:
“Any person who practices the above-mentioned media activities on Social Media, on a commercial basis, shall obtain a prior license from the Council, provided that:
1. It shall have an account on the generally recognized Social Media;
2. Ads that are presented on Social Media shall be subject to the advertising standards that are applicable at the Council;
3. Social Media accounts’ owners who offer paid advertising services shall obtain a license from the National Media Council in accordance with the applicable regulations in this regard and hereunder.
4. The account owner is responsible for the content of the account.”
The resolution covers all electronic media across the country. And the NMC defines electronic advertising as “any paid or unpaid form of presentation or promotion of ideas, goods or services by electronic means or network applications”.
For a person to get an e-media license, they’ll also need a trade license. The cost of both will be a minimum 30,000 Dirhams depending on where you buy your trade license (the e-media license is 15,000AED).
How do you get a License?
Below are the requirements and the process to follow to apply for an e-media license:
The three questions
I’m sure there’s lots of questions from people who work in the marketing and communications industry on this new legislation. My three are:
I guess we’ll find out how this all plays out soon. In the meantime, Ramadan Kareem!
If your content is in breach of the UAE’s laws, you may find yourself in the courthouse (maybe not with Matthew McConaughey, however).
There’s few people who know more about media laws that Al Tamimi’s Fiona Robertson, who has strived to raise awareness of legislation that impacts those working in communications and marketing. I had the fortune of sitting down with Fiona, to talk content. I started by asking, what is legal and illegal when it comes to content.
Fiona: All content must comply with the print and publications law, which was first published in 1980 and then expanded upon by and executive resolution in the 2000s. This law applies to all media, and how it is distributed, including online. The other law people need to be aware of is the Cybercrimes law of 2012.
These laws include a list of issues which are off-limits, such as criticizing UAE culture, the UAE government, Islam and any subject which could bring disrepute to the country. In relation to the Cybercrimes law, the penalties are stiff, with up to 500,000 AED in fines as well as jail terms. Anyone who is prosecuted and found guilty under the 2012 Cybercrimes law and who is not a national will be deported.
There was a case a couple of weeks ago where a media outlet didn’t obtain the correct releases for material. This material was published on a website, and the two hosts of the show were deported. When these laws are broken, there are serious consequences.
Q: Are enough publishers, brands or agencies aware of these laws?
Fiona: We don’t see enough awareness that people are concerned about this. We get to do pre-publication compliance review for foreign brands, who often approach us, but not for local brands. People don’t realize the laws are there, as they’re not well publicized.
Q: Who oversees these laws?
Fiona: It’s the National Media Council, and Telecoms Regulatory Authority who have the power to block websites.
Q: So how are these laws applicable to social media and social media influencers?
Fiona: The provisions of the Cybercrimes law does not specify who is liable for the content. The brand, the publisher, the agency or the author could be liable for the content under the Cybercrimes act. It could the content producer, the influencer. It could be the owner of the blog. If it’s on a Facebook site, then it could be you or the brand as the account owner. In the recent case which I referred to above, the authorities prosecuted nine parties for one action which was considered to be against the Cybercrimes act.
Q: Wouldn’t the platforms, the likes of Facebook, Snap or Twitter, potentially be liable?
Fiona: Potentially, yes, they could be liable. Most are based outside of the UAE’s jurisdiction so it becomes difficult to apply sanctions against a foreign entity. But the TRA could block their sites for being in breach of the UAE’s content regulations, as they do with materials relating to topics such as gambling.
Q: So what should brands and agencies do in terms of making sure that content is legal?
Fiona: There’s several laws that brands, agencies and publishers should be aware of, including both the Cybercrimes laws and the National Media Council advertising regulations. Familiarity is the most important thing. I’m still alarmed by the number of people who tell me there’s no media laws here, where there clearly are. Start there, train your staff to know what the big red flags are in relation to content, so they’re picked up before the content goes into production.
There’s not only legal issues, but also the reputational issues. Today, UAE nationals will take to social media to make complaints and disparage brands. Sometimes the issue isn’t so much legal as it is reputational. An issue is better resolved before it becomes a problem.
Q: Is producing content in Arabic more difficult than in English?
Fiona: Foreign brands and producers may not understand the culture of the region well. They may not understand the reality versus perception, and we’re often asked to help review not just from a legal perspective but also a cultural one. Having said that, the biggest advertising fail in the last 12 months was Arabic language content produced by Arabic speakers for an Arabic country.
Yes, I also used to have nightmares about lawyers. But don’t worry, they’re a friendly bunch, especially if you work agency-side.
The law! These are the two words that’ll send most PR practitioners running into the distance and over the horizon. Public relations practitioners aren’t always savvy about their legal rights, or what local legislation means for how they (or their clients) operate.
It was a refreshing change to see this issue tackled at this year’s PR Pressure conference. Organized by Secret PR and now held for a second year, the event included a panel of legal minds who were willing to tackle everything from intellectual property (including pitches), to social media and influencers and chasing debts.
I’m going to summarize some of the key points made by the speakers – Cedar White Bradley Group’s Fatema Fathnezad, Norton Rose Fulbright’s Dino Wilkinson, Al Tamimi’s Fiona Robertson, Lincoln Legal Consultants’ Nasir Ilyas and Rafi Yachou from InDate.info – on a number of areas which are, or should be, of concern to communicators.
Getting Your Contract Right
As Fiona Robertson clearly pointed out, much of what goes wrong legally starts with the contract. Be as precise as possible in terms of deliverables, avoid jargon, and ensure that you understand what recourse you have to legal help in the jurisdiction under which the contract is applicable. You’ll end up spending much less on a good contract than on any legal dispute (up to a tenth according to Robertson), so ensure that the contract is watertight and clear to all parties.
Who owns the Intellectual Property (and pitches)
We work in a content industry, and yet so little of what we do with content is understood within a legal framework. For example, do you ask for consent from those people that your photographer is taking pictures of? Are you clear on when and where content which you have purchased usage rights for can be used? And what happens when your content is misused, such as after a pitch?
Fatema Fathnezad suggested that agencies trademark their logo and services, and include these trademarks on all materials. In addition, before and after a pitch agencies need to communicate in writing that the material being presented is under copyright and that as such the execution of these concepts cannot be undertaken without the agency’s permission and compensation being paid. Remember that you cannot legally own an idea, but you can copyright and protect the execution of that idea.
Social Media and Influencers
This one may be common sense, but the first thing that agencies and clients need to bear in mind is that they need to manage administration rights of social media accounts.
Secondly, when it comes to influencers any paid content must be considered as advertising. Dino Wilkinson pointed out that many influencers in our region are reluctant to clarify to the public when content is paid for, but as per the advertising laws there are rules which must be followed by both brands and influencers (you can see them here).
Like many other jurisdictions around the world, there’s not as much legislation around influencers as they should be (for example, do they need to have a business license to operate). Both Dino and Fiona spoke of the need for agencies to have contracts in place with influencers, and for there to be background checks on the influencer – remember that these people will be representing your brand or your client, and so the proper due diligence should be done.
Chasing Payments/Debts
Some of the most interesting comments were made by Nasir Ilyas and Rafi Yachou on the issue of debts. Some of the inputs were logical – chase on payments before they’re due and reschedule payment terms if the client has issues paying. If non-payment occurs, look to resolve the situation directly but amicably. And get a lawyer involved – up to a quarter of cases are settled by a letter from a lawyer. There are dispute mechanisms available in the country, such as the DIFC Small Claims Tribunal, but these mechanisms will cost you time and money, so beware of what you’re getting yourself into.
Yachou suggested two novel agency approaches to clients – firstly, do a background risk assessment, so that you understand the history of payments both for a particular industry and a specific client. Secondly, there are insurers who will underwrite agency billing; if a client doesn’t pay, the insurer will make up the shortfall. We’re talking about billing in the millions of Dirhams here, so it’s not going to help small agencies, but it is a thought for those medium and larger sized agencies who want to hedge their risks.
Thank you to Secret PR
I want to say a big thank you to Sarah Mohamed and her Secret PR team for arranging this event, which is free to attend and which does tackle the big issues that the industry faces (other topics included the Arabic language and digital). Sarah and the team put a great amount of effort in to make this work, and it’s good to see a group of people take the initiative to educate others. Thank you Sarah!
Sarah Mohamed is the head of Secret PR and the dynamo behind the PR Pressure event (image source: Campaign Middle East)
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