Jordan Times
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
'Outside the Box'
The country's First Annual Advertising and Communications Conference opened on
Monday
AMMAN — Advertising agency insiders, media professionals and clients from around
the country came together on Monday for the first day of a two-day conference
designed to boost the advertising and communications industry in the Kingdom.
Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
State for Prime Ministry Affairs and Government Performance Marwan Muasher
inaugurated the First Annual Advertising and Communications Conference.
The conference — organised by the International Advertising Association (IAA),
Jordan Chapter — gathered international, regional and local experts in the field
to discuss a vast range of topics, from ways to deliver breakaway thinking and
tapping into unlimited human creative potential to a more introspective,
tongue-in-cheek look at the worst ads ever seen and the reasons behind their
failure.
The event seeks to “create awareness... on the importance of adopting creative
ways of thinking, working and practising our discipline,” IAA President Sharif
Abukhadra said.
IAA World President Elect and Senior Vice President Joseph Ghassoub commended
Jordan's progress in the sector.
“Advertising and communications play a vital role in the development of an
economy by stimulating fair and open competition, strengthening brand awareness,
and promoting world class products,” he said.
“The advertising industry... has striven to put the region on the map and make
it an attractive destination for foreign business,” Ghassoub added.
Speakers highlighted techniques to ensure development of the sector, with some
choosing to tackle ways to overcome the notion of self-censorship, an
increasingly common practice that stifles creativity, according to Creativity
Development Consultant Jamil Sarraj.
“Clients have a tendency to kill [unconventional] ideas, which leads to industry
self-censorship — killing ideas before ever allowing them to see the light of
day and that's a cultural trend. We want people to take those risks bearing in
mind the cultural constraints but to give ideas a chance,” Sarraj told The
Jordan Times.
“The change has to start from the top. The heads of agencies have to spread that
positive thinking. We should aim to advance the quality [of our work] while
maintaining our Arab, Jordan, local identity and that is not an easy task,” he
added.
With the rise of advertisers in the Kingdom, the conference attracted a diverse
range of participants, from the relatively well-established to the up-and-coming
companies.
“I hope this conference will help in getting new ideas, new information and new
tools in general while introducing us to the latest advancements [in the
industry],” said Marina Taminian-Marto, managing director of Kroma, a fairly new
agency, which has been on the scene for just over a year.
“It is still too early to say whether the conference has been helpful but some
speakers have been able to strike the balance between having good content and
good presentation skills,” she added.
The IAA was established in 1938 as a nonprofit organisation dedicated to the
development of the marketing and communications industry and the promotion of
the role of advertising as a vital force in economic development.