Arab film directors share insights with Starcom MediaVest Group MENA

Two of the Middle East's most respected filmmakers anchored the discussion, which was attended by the agency's Dubai staff and a number of regional clients.

Haifaa Al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia's only female director and writer/director/producer of the documentary 'Women Without Shadows', and Mahmoud Kaabour, a Lebanese writer/director who made the film 'Being Osama' were the featured speakers. Both showed clips from their award-winning films as a way of introducing the topic.

"Although the controversial nature of the subject might seem a distraction, in fact the issue of stereotyping is of crucial importance to communications consultants," said Philip Jabbour, SMG MENA Group Director, Marketing and Business Development. 'Conventional wisdom' and assumptions about consumer habits, behaviour and beliefs undermine the development of media strategy and planning that effectively enhances clients' businesses."

StarSight is a first-of-a-kind quarterly forum that seeks inspiration from regional trendsetters, influencers and others at the forefront of cultural change. It was designed to encourage listening, questioning and debate, as part of an ongoing effort by SMG and its clients to better understand regional consumers and identify emerging trends.

Racha Makarem, Research Director of SMG's research unit Business Compass, which developed StarSight, said, "For us to continually provide communication solutions that captivate consumers, we must have a true, current and complete picture of our target audiences. StarSight ensures that we challenge any assumptions we may have and enables us to either justify them or adjust them to the continually evolving reality."

The recent session looking at the region's cultural environment and the challenges it presents the directors. It also explored the spectrum of typologies and attitudes in the region, from the Western-influenced to the moderate to the conservative and the impact of change on attitudes and behaviours. Finally, the question of how Arabs are depicted in the West and in the Middle East was discussed.

Myriam Hayek, Marketing & Sales Coordinator at Piaget, said, "This was my first StarSight session, and I have to say that I was impressed both by the interesting and insightful subject matter and by the excellent organisation of the event. I look forward to the next session!"

Other SMG clients in attendance included National Bank of Dubai, National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia, Welcare World Health Systems and Red Bull.

The nature of the StarSight program, with its focus on general attitudinal and behavioural trends, means it benefits clients across all industries and all countries in the region.