DSF media center grows manifold

For its 10th eventful year, the Dubai Shopping Festival office has revamped its media center by taking onboard indigenous talent and veteran UAE-based journalists to pump in renewed vigour into its corporate communications office.

Headed by Laila Suhail, Chief Marketing Officer, who guides the media center in its communications efforts and in its strategic planning and industry outreach, the center today operates independently and has come to stay as a force to be reckoned with. Functioning under her supervision, the media center's think-tank has qualified personnel from PR, marketing and journalistic backgrounds whose mission is to make a difference in corporate communications.

The media center is the hub of information for the visiting journalists whose thirst for data is satiated through the provision of research material including the history of the Festival down the years, facts and figures and every minute detail provided in the most user-friendly electronic format. The visiting journalists from all over the world are extended every kind of support possible in their coverage of the event right from their stay, moving around and filing of stories to their respective publications back home. Facilitating these journalists in meeting their deadlines is the top priority of the media center as the multitalented team makes sure that these media people go back home with a good impression of the largest shopping festival on earth and tell the world how Dubai, the desert city, has transformed into a modern metropolis of class and stature.

Locally, the media center plays a vital role by catering to the DSF key sponsors, patrons and support sponsors by promoting their activities extensively through Press conferences and Press releases and by providing them maximum exposure through posters, banners, flyers and regular advertisements in major English and Arabic newspapers and magazines and the company's logos are splashed prominently all over the DSF print material. The team is in direct contact with the local media as they send in Press invitations and information including write-ups and photographs for publication throughout the year. Now, for its much happening 10th Festival, the team looks fully charged to take on the responsibility of making the annual event a major success in its first decade of operation.

Joining the forces are Saeed Al Mehairi of Dubai Men's College as Media and PR Coordinator along with Shaima Omar of Zayed University and Ilyas Qureshi as Media Officer (Public Relations) with long experience in UAE-based English dailies while Hessah Sultan and Hind Al Falasi both of Zayed University are moved up to the positions of Senior Media and PR Coordinators.