Zaya awarded 'Best Corporate Product Launch' for Nurai at Middle East Event Awards 2009

The Middle East Event Awards, which were held this year on April 27 at the Joharah Ballroom, Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, highlights the most inspirational and exciting events organised in the region and honours the best practitioners of the region's event management industry.

The award for the 'Best Corporate Product Launch' was judged on the basis of a number of factors including creativity, relevance to target group and the impact of the launch on the success of the product.

CEO Nadia Zaal said, "At Zaya, looking past the ordinary is the norm. We aim for the extraordinary. Winning the award for 'Best Corporate Product Launch' is a testament to that. We wanted to design an event that captured the imagination of our sophisticated clientele and a press corps already inundated with flamboyant development stories. The Nurai launch was a perfect introduction to the project's ethos of going beyond the bounds of convention."

Zaya's award-winning, by-invitation-only launch of Nurai brought together over 400 of the region's wealthiest entrepreneurs, influential property investors, key opinion leaders, government officials and leading real estate journalists for an exciting evening of glamour and entertainment, including a performance by legendary soul artist Lionel Richie and an exhilarating helicopter flight to and from the island for all guests attending the event.

The event took several months to plan and intensive preparation over a 31-day period to transform the virtually undeveloped island into a luxurious setting that would generate the feeling of exclusivity, comfort, mystery and romance promised by Nurai.

Guests were treated to gourmet delicacies and a spectacular kabuki reveal of Nurai Island, accompanied by a stunning fireworks display, and followed by a tour of the Nurai Sales Centre and a virtual tour of the island.

The Nurai Island Launch event was so effective, that almost 40% of all units were sold out by the end of the evening, with an additional 20% sold 2 days later during the official public launch at Cityscape Abu Dhabi.

The launch event also generated over 450 press articles published in more than 15 countries, with an ad value exceeding $1m.