Mindshare has retained the media brief for mobile telecommunications provider Zain following a hotly contested review.
The agency, which has held the regional account since 2009 and the local accounts for Kuwait and Bahrain since 2002 and 2003, was understandably delighted by the news. Headquartered in Kuwait, Zain is one of the biggest ad spenders in the region and one of Mindshare’s biggest clients, if not the biggest.
Samir Ayoub, CEO of Mindshare MENA, said: “It was a very tough pitch but at the end we got it and we were determined from day one that we needed to retain the business. Because if we were to lose the account it would have had a very negative impact on us. But we were determined to retain the account and this win is recognition for the hard work put in by all those involved in the pitch. The team is delighted of course. It’s a gift. I was flying from Dubai to Beirut to spend Easter with the family and was given the news when I walked from the plane. I’m very happy.”
A number of international agency networks with a regional presence were invited to pitch for the business, with a Zain spokesperson saying that “as one of the largest media buying entities in the region, Zain is always seeking optimal efficiencies in this area of the business”.
The pitch came almost four years after the previous review. The win is applicable to most of Zain’s operating companies across the region. As part of Zain’s non-equity Vodafone Partner Agreement, the review was also held in collaboration with Vodafone.
Zain operates in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan. It also operates in Lebanon as touch (under a management contract).
Zain was launched in 1983 in Kuwait as the Mobile Telecommunications Company. It rebranded as Zain in 2007 and by 2008 was the fourth largest mobile operator in the world by geographical presence. However, in 2010 it sold its African operations.
Isn’t corruption amazing in the Middle East?!