A direct line to the big time

Digital has dominated the discussion in the world’s advertising industry recently, but in the Middle East, the economic adoption of cyber marketing has occured haltingly: spending on electronic advertising in 2011 still thrashed about in low percentages of marketing budgets.  However, this did not void the region entirely of success stories in the digital marketing sphere. The acquisition of a Dubai-based specialist digital communications agency, Flip Media, by French communications company Publicis, shows that digital marketing in the Middle East could finally be catching fire. Flipping through crisis Although it does not give out financial performance numbers, Flip boasts clear indicators of success: after some eight years of operation, the company numbers more than 100 employees in the United Arab Emirates and India, and its UAE client base includes some of the biggest local brands. “We have worked with big UAE real estate brands such as Dubai Properties, Emaar, Nakheel,