Strategies regarding hiring practices in the Middle East’s advertising industry are as divergent as the market research on which perceived needs are based. Though each agency thinks that not only is their strategy the best, it is also the norm. But opinions vary as to whether a largely local workforce or an international mélange is best.
The staff at ad-giant JWT’s office in Dubai, for example, are made up of 66 nationalities. JWT MENA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Roy Haddad says that this creates a dynamic work environment which breeds creativity, although some markets need more local sensitivity than others. If there are regional norms in advertising hiring then two prevailing trends seem to emerge. The first is that Lebanese talent is predominant and the second is that local talent is essential in markets with distinctive cultures such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Edgy or understanding?
“You cannot have sustainability without having local staff,” says Haddad. “Every corporation has a role beyond its own welfare. It also has a role to contribute to the society; that’s why we are very keen on hiring locals.”
Still, qualified local hires with cutting-edge skills remain difficult to find, thus many management positions are held by expatriates from regional creative hubs or from outside of the region altogether. This phenomenon, according to Bechara Mouzannar, executive creative director for Leo Burnett MENA, encourages creativity but may do so to the detriment of cultural authenticity.
“It’s very difficult — not only in the [United Aran Emirates] — to find good fresh talent who speak Arabic in the region,” says Mouzannar. “You find some people who come from all over the place in Dubai but they don’t speak Arabic. The only thing that brings them together is the fact that they work in communication but when you analyze the departments you realize that there are very few Arabic speaking people working in creative departments.”
Frustrated by the prevalence of English in regional advertising, Mouzannar appears committed to changing this trend in the regional industry. He adds: “Our focus will be to evolve the Arabic culture of communication. It makes more sense to have campaigns and ideas that mean something to the people, in the language of the people, in the societies where they live.”
Even with Lebanon popularly accepted as the spring from which much advertising talent flows, George Slim, chief operating officer at Lowe Pimo in Beirut, says that the lure of higher salaries and bigger spends draws much local talent away from home.
“We are constantly looking to recruit and you cannot find good applicants anymore because they are all outside… getting higher salaries, more exposure and security,” he says.
This competitive atmosphere makes the constant struggle to find and keep new talent a key concern for agencies throughout the region.
