Leo Burnett Group's MENA management meet to plan 2008

Held under the leadership of Farid Chehab, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer Leo Burnett Group - Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa and Raja Trad, Chief Executive Officer, Leo Burnett Group - Mediterranean.

The meeting, which was attended by Managing and Creative Directors, Finance and HR Managers from all disciplines, including brand agency Leo Burnett, marketing services, interactive and CRM agency Arc, and public relations agency Manning Selvage & Lee (MS&L); offered participants the opportunity to collectively review the Group's progress and practices throughout 2007, to discuss and decide upon the most efficient means for development, growth and improving services to clients during 2008.

Within the framework of planning for 2008, the ensuing discussions enabled managers to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the Group's development.

Furthermore, opportunities for closer collaboration across the disciplines for optimizing the Group's services to clients were explored. Case studies were presented to the participants, in an interactive demonstration of how the Group can utilize its core strengths - of wide geographic reach and multi-discipline practices - to hit the ground running in an increasingly digital age.

Raja Trad said; "Our annual forum uniting all disciplines has been a feature of the Leo Burnett Group's calendar for the past 10 plus years, since our expansion to encompass the entire spectrum of communications solutions. It is a chance to weigh up the successes and challenges of the past year, and provides an important medium for planning the continuing success and prosperity of our clients, partners and the Group."

The meeting concluded with the development of a point by point action plan for the upcoming year. "We are entering an increasingly dynamic period where communications can involve anything from traditional advertising to more subtle media messaging," Trad commented.

"A plan on geographical expansion and diversifying activities has been agreed upon, as has a consensus on the challenges that face our Group - and the best method of addressing them - been reached. Of these the development of people and nurturing talent are the most pertinent."

CCO Farid Chehab said; "Our vision as a group is to move forward by developing our strengths, promoting closer cooperation for penetrating deeper into a greater number of media, and further exploring innovative and original channels for communication. Throughout the course of the next year, the total communications services and improvements in delivering results to clients, whether online or offline will be innumerable."