At Campaign Middle East’s first Agency of the Year awards, the Creative Team of the Year was awarded to Rebecca Ann Menezes, copywriter and Eduardo Cesar, senior art director, Saatchi & Saatchi MEA.
Tell us about your journey to the award.
We started working together this year in January and we have been on a lot of projects together. We had the honour of winning the UAE Young Lions and that really solidified our partnership. It put us into a good groove with each other.
One of the nice things is that as a young team, we can approach the leaders with our ideas and that gives us a lot of confidence. We have leadership that’s conducive to teamwork – we come up with ideas and discuss it casually, which makes for good results.
How will the award help your agency to navigate forward in the industry?
The way people react to creative ideas is subjective. Some may like your ideas and others won’t. It makes us questions whether the ideas are good or bad. When you get an award like this, it reassures you that you are on the right path.
How will other agencies benefit from participating the next year?
It’s important for us to cheer on each other. The advertising industry is small in the UAE. When we get together to celebrate each other and our achievements, it is always encouraging. It gives us an opportunity to meet everyone, talk to them and network in an informal environment.
How are your customers changing?
Everything is more digital here. In Brazil, advertising is more about television and it’s really traditional. Here in the UAE, it is more about social content and digital. TikTok and short content looks like the future as that’s what customers want. First, we need to think quick and work everything into 10 seconds. Consumers want to know how brands can be a part of what they are already talking about. You cannot afford to be a regular brand with a product and expect people to hop on. You have to start speaking the same language, participate in their conversation and be in their space. It is a lot more personal.
