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AwardsFeaturedOpinion

AOTY Snapshot: MCN on winning the Best Place to Work award

Ghassan Harfouche, CEO of MCN MENAT and President of McCann Worldgroup – APAC, shared his thoughts on MCN lifting the Best Place to Work trophy at the awards ceremony.

Middle East Communications Network (MCN) was honoured with the coveted Best Place to Work award.
Middle East Communications Network (MCN) was honoured with the coveted Best Place to Work award.

Middle East Communications Network (MCN) was recognised with the Best Place to Work award at Campaign Middle East’s Agency of the Year Middle East awards in December 2024.

Campaign Middle East added this as a fresh category in the third iteration of its annual awards to recognise an agency that has gone above and beyond the norm to foster the most productive and rewarding working environment possible. Each entrant was asked to provide evidence of high staff engagement, retention and a ‘best in class’ approach when judged against agencies globally.

Judges were impressed by how the winning entry demonstrated cultural diversity, cultivated an inspirational vision, and provided purpose, balance and career development opportunities for its employees.

Ghassan Harfouche, CEO of MCN MENAT and President of McCann Worldgroup – APAC, shared his thoughts on MCN lifting the Best Place to Work trophy at the awards ceremony.


How does this award reflect the culmination of your efforts in 2024?

There’s no doubt that 2024 has been a stellar year for MCN and its agencies, in terms of standout achievements across growth, innovation, and global recognition. Whether it’s launching pioneering capabilities for our clients or bringing home big wins for big brand clients from Cannes Lions, our success is testament to the bold steps we’ve taken to equip both our clients and our people for the future.

 

As you soak in the win, what top learnings from 2024 will you take into the year ahead?

We have remained committed to creating a better workplace by nurturing our people’s professional journey at every step. From launching the Saudi Nationals Graduate Programme to investing into our talent through significant L+D partnerships with Harvard Business School, and upskilling talent through GenAI and MCN Academy, we’ve placed people and purpose at the core of everything we do. We believe a lot of our business success stems from conscious inclusion, collaboration and empowerment to innovate at the heart of our business.

Creating and launching new platforms, with grassroots training accessible to all of our employees not just a selection, has been key to ensuring collaboration, connectivity and full integration of our capabilities including Interact, our advanced data solution and McCann Content Studios, the region’s only capability seamlessly connecting social, influencer and production, scaled across a global specialist network. 2024 was all about collaboration, connectivity and upskilling our talent on new capabilities and tools to ensure we are strongly positioned to partner with our clients in creating enduring brands.

What do you think the industry needs to change or fix on priority in the months ahead?

In addition to further investment in our talent to equip and empower teams with skills for the future, we will continue to prioritise capabilities and collaboration that drive future-readiness and enduring brand success for our clients. Connected capabilities continues to be key through seamless collaboration and offering across best in class disciplines to drive personalised, locally nuanced communications and experiences at scale.

Further integration with cutting-edge platforms, for instance MCN’s Interact, an end-to-end connected data platform, and McCann Content Studios with united capability across production, content, influencer and social, which will streamline insights and ensure seamless executions, rooted in real-time data and technologies.

The industry must also embrace partnerships with external authoritative voices to challenge thinking, progress conversations and inspire brave decisions. From MCN’s impactful collaborations with Harvard Business School and The Economist through to inviting regular speakers in areas of sustainability and DE&I, we look to continuously offer insights, innovation and inspiration to our people and our clients.

How has the balance between purpose and profits contributed to your successes over the past 12 months?

Creativity and brand purpose go hand in hand; their partnership is essential to building enduring brands. The most impactful work today is rooted in meaning and driven by results. Take, for example:

• Arla’s Selfless Shelves, which empowered Lebanese women by increasing their income by 300% during an economic crisis, a piece of work recognised by Cannes and receiving the only coveted Titaium shortlist of the region; and

Organon’s Mis[s]Diagnosed, which raised awareness among 28.7 million women about the gender gap in recognising heart symptoms, taking home the only Pharma Lion for the MENAT region.

Purpose-led creativity like this is what differentiates brands, creates long-term consumer value and drives true business impact.

Critical to purpose and business value is sustainability, which is a basis for creating enduring brands; environmentally, socially and economically. We are not only committed to being net zero by 2040, but also proud to be a founding member of Ad Net Zero UAE and one of the first marketing services companies in the region to develop anti-greenwashing guidelines for our clients.

At MCN, sustainability is anchored in the Triple Bottom Line – balancing people, planet, and profit in everything we do. We believe in using the power of creativity to inspire change, transform behaviors, and make a lasting, positive impact on the world.


See the full list of award winners here.