The who’s who of the advertising industry from across the Middle East and North Africa and beyond were brought together last month at the MENA Cristal Festival, amid the snows of Mzaar Kfardebiane. The highlight of the event, held February 1 through 5, was unquestionably the evening awards ceremonies, where the advertising agencies with the most innovative and best executed campaigns of the year earned their recognition in the spotlight. During the days, however, among the various conference debates, round-table talks and chats in the hotel lobby, it became apparent that all is not at ease in the advertising industry. Beyond the fact that the sector, globally, lost up to 11 percent of its revenues last year as the financial downturn squeezed clients’ budgets, there is also a new reality bearing down on the industry, changing the old paradigm within which people once worked. “Some people still feel that digital
