Doha Festival City (DFC) – the $1.8 billion mall in Qatar, officially opened its doors to the public on 5th April 2017. The mall features more than 550 local and international brands (including Qatar‘s first Harvey Nichols and ACE Hardware) and 85 dining options.
DFC is also set to feature an outdoor exercise area with five-a-side football pitches and basketball courts and an entertainment centre with four theme parks: gaming themed Angry Birds World, indoor snow park Snow Dunes, ‘edutainment’ park Juniverse and digital experience Virtuocity – all scheduled to open soon.
The mall will also witness VOX Cinemas making its Qatar debut on Wednesday 26th April 2017. The 18-screen state-of-the-art cinema will feature experiences such as: 4DX (Qatar’s first), ThEATre by Rhodes, Kids and Max (the mega screen experience).
“VOX Cinemas will set a new standard of premium entertainment and offer the Qatari market the latest technologies to bring them a highly compelling, world class, movie-going experience unmatched by any cinema operator in this market,” said Kareem M Shamma, CEO of BASREC, the joint venture behind Doha Festival City.
Cameron Mitchell, CEO, VOX Cinemas, added: ” We are delighted to bring to the city of Doha our state of the art cinema technology, exciting concepts and of course our luxurious premium cinema experience which altogether we are confident will delight and surprise the residents of Qatar.”
Motivate Val Morgan will be the official cinema advertising partner of VOX Cinemas Doha Festival City.
Please Note: Pictures of the cinema to follow upon its opening.
Contact us for cinema advertising opportunities at Doha Festival City.
Sources: Gulf Business, Arabian Business and Doha News
Desert Stallion – the flagship brand of the house of Clint Wilfred and Sons (CWS), is a premium Belgian non-alcoholic malt beverage. Tastefully brewed for its crisp taste, it comes in 4 refreshing natural flavours: Original, Lemon, Pineapple and Apple – chivalry in a 330ml bottle.
As part of the Desert Stallion product launch, CWS booked sampling sessions over the weekend of 13th – 15th April 2017 through Motivate Val Morgan at two leading cinema locations in Dubai – VOX Cinemas (Mall of the Emirates) and Reel Cinemas (The Dubai Mall).
Desert Stallion bottles were placed in the cup-holders of seats – prior to selected sessions of The Fate of The Furious at VOX Cinemas Mall of the Emirates and Reel Cinemas The Dubai Mall. A flyer was hung on each bottle that read – “Twist the cap and enjoy the movie with Desert Stallion.”
Between 20-25 promoters representing CWS were present at each mall to handle the logistics of the sampling activity.
In addition to the sampling activity, CWS also booked an on-screen advertisement – following the movie The Fate of The Furious from 13th April to 10th May 2017 at the following cinema locations:
The advertisement promoting the non-alcoholic beverage delivered the message – Fuel your engines with Desert Stallion and was accompanied with the hashtag #DoDrinkAndDrive. The advertisement also unveiled an offer to claim 20% off at the CWS online store (www.cwsons.ae) when using code FURIOUS STALLION.
Got a product launch in mind for your brand? Why not promote it in cinema?
Contact a member of our Sales Team for more information on cinema sampling activations.
Source: Clint Wilfred & Sons
Do you consider yourself the ultimate fan of ‘The Fast and the Furious’ franchise?
Let’s see if you can place the following events (A to F) from The Fate of the Furious – releasing 13 April 2017, in the correct order of the movie’s storyline:
How to Participate?
What’s the Prize?
2 lucky winners will win 2 x VOX Cinemas movie tickets courtesy Motivate Val Morgan – which can be utilised to watch The Fate of the Furious or any other movie of your preference.
Please Note:
Good Luck!
As the official representative of Cannes Lions, Motivate and Motivate Val Morgan are pleased to announce that 4 leading creatives from the UAE have been selected as jury members for this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The 4 Blue-chip creatives who will represent the UAE in the shortlist and awards jury panel under Radio, Promo & Activation, Media and Direct categories include:
Awards Jury
Shortlist Jury
Firas Medrows – DDB Dubai
Firas has 20 years of experience in the advertising world with a background in design and art direction. He began his career as a freelance graphic designer in 1996 and moved on to start his design house before relocating to Dubai in 1999.
In Dubai, he started in a small local agency where he had to be the Art Director, Designer, finalizer, Arabic Copywriter, Production Manager and sometimes the Suit. After spending three years learning every aspect of the business, he decided to move on and join the multinational advertising world.
He joined Lowe Dubai, as graphic designer and progressed to gain the role of Art Director. From there, he moved on to join JWT Riyadh before moving to JWT Dubai, where in just a couple of years, he managed to become one of the most awarded creatives in the JWT MEA network.
In 2010, he took on a new challenge and joined DDB Dubai, as a Creative Director before getting promoted to and Executive Creative Director. Since then, Firas and his team has managed to turn DDB Dubai around, delivering outstanding campaigns to their clients – winning DDB’s first Cannes Lions, CLIO, DA&D, LIA, Dubai Lynx Grand Prix and Grand Cristal.
Over the years his work has been recognized at all the prestigious award shows including CLIO Awards, D&AD, One Show, Cannes Lions, Epica Award, New York Festivals, London International Awards, Palais Du Louvre, Dubai Lynx, MENA Cristal Awards and others. In 2014 he was ranked amongst the Top 50 ECDs Worldwide and 11th amongst the Top ECDs in the MENA Region.
Josephine Younes – FP7
Born in Liberia, raised in Lebanon with an Arab and Asian heritage, and having lived across different countries, Josephine always felt like a third-culture kid – until she started working in advertising and learnt that creativity has no cultural boundaries.
It’s been quite the journey since Josephine started her career at DDB in 2005 – where she won the agency its first Cannes Lion. Since then, she has received almost 150 honours and accolades across Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Dubai Lynx, New York Fest, Andy Awards and Effies among others – which earned her a spot as one of the Top 15 Creative Directors globally in 2015.
From creating work that helped the agency bag the #1 Most Effective Agency title at the Effie World Index 2016, to getting a local bank brand the title of Dubai Lynx’s Advertiser of the Year – the first time a bank was chosen for this award in the history of Cannes Lions, Josephine continues to strive for success for agencies and brands with ideas that bridge minds and transcend cultural differences.
Elda Choucair – PDH Media
Elda has over 18 years of media experience, having spent over 10 years at Omnicom Media Group (OMG). She began her career with the Group in 2006 as Director of Planning for OMD and in 2008, was named Managing Director of PHD UAE. Elda was promoted to CEO of PHD MENA in 2016, the same year the company was named MENA Media Network of the Year by Campaign Middle East and the 3rd Best Employer in the UAE by the Great Place to Work Institute.
Under her leadership, PHD has grown six fold and become a major player in the market. Elda’s contribution and dedication to the growth of PHD has earned her a number of recognitions. In 2012 she was given the title of MENA Leader of the Year by OMG and was named OMG Office Leader of the Year in 2015. She has also been featured in the Women to Watch in GCC by Advertising Age’s publication, Communicate.
Sascha Kuntze – Memac Ogilvy
Sascha is a creative at heart and an engineer on his university diploma. He started his career in the film industry shooting crime series for German television and then transitioned to advertising where he now heads the incredibly talented creative department at Memac Ogilvy Dubai – one of Ogilvy’s Top 5 offices for several years in a row.
He believes that life is one big story that we tell each other; so his job of telling stories falls into place naturally.
His work has travelled the world and made billions laugh and cry. Sascha is responsible for 3 of the Top 5 most viewed Coca-Cola films on YouTube as well as 2013’s Social Good Campaign of the year – which fought for women’s rights alongside the United Nations. In 2015, one film was selected by YouTube to be one of the Top 5 YouTube Ads of the Year – restoring the world’s faith in humanity.
He has won over 350 awards and certificates at film festivals and all major advertising award shows including Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Clio, LIA, NYF, Dubai Lynx, Epica, Effie, etc. – in all possible categories which includes 9 Grand Prix and the first Titanium Lion for the Middle East.
Summary of changes to judging at Cannes 2017:
Due to an increased focus on quality, Direct, Promo and Media categories will have a shortlisting jury committee conducting the first round of judging in advance of the festival.
For example, if the Direct category has 40 world-class jurors in total this year, a jury of 10 will be invited to Cannes to award the Lions. The remaining 30 will contribute to the shortlisting process and will be invited to attend the festival with a complimentary pass, but will not take part in the awarding of Lions in Cannes.
Nevertheless, it goes without saying that all jurors will be of an equal, world-class standard regardless of their contribution to the judging process.
Important dates to make note of:
Entries: Enter before 13th April 2017 to avoid a late fee
Festival Dates: 17-24 June 2017
Source: Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas, owner of the VOX Cinemas brand in the Middle East, scooped up the Global Achievement in Exhibition award at the CinemaCon convention, the largest and most important gathering for the worldwide motion picture theatre industry, which took place in Las Vegas on 27 March 2017.
Nominated alongside established players from across the world, VOX Cinemas spearheaded by CEO Cameron Mitchell was deemed a leading innovator in the entertainment industry. Highly coveted, the “Global Achievement in Exhibition” accolade plays true testament to VOX Cinemas’ dedication to delivering world-class cinema offerings to its customers.
Commenting on the company’s global award win, Cameron Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer at Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas, said: “As a brand born out of the Middle East in the late nineties, it is a true honour to see our relentless determination being recognized on a global scale. The entertainment landscape is a highly competitive one and platforms such as CinemaCon truly demonstrate the industry’s commitment to the increasing demand for better, more engaging and more dynamic customer experiences. VOX Cinemas’ standards and passion mean that we never rest on our achievements, we will continue investing to drive our business and our innovative spirit forward around the world.”
Serving over 60 million cinemagoers in the past 16 years, VOX Cinemas currently holds the Middle East’s highest grossing cinema position and continues to differentiate itself through the development of unique cinema concepts. Enjoying above average market share in all markets in which it operates, some of VOX Cinemas’ top performing sites have already made waves globally – including Mall of the Emirates (Dubai, UAE) which skyrocketed to the number one IMAX box office spot three weekends in a row in 2016 (topping sales across 1,102 IMAX theatres around the world).
Forging ahead as the Middle East’s largest and most rapidly growing cinema exhibitor, a current investment goal of 1.2 billion dirhams (USD 326.7 million) will see VOX Cinemas expand to operate 600 screens across 50 locations in the region and beyond by 2020.
From big screen cinemas, fully immersive experiences, fine dining luxury prepared by Michelin starred celebrity chefs, dedicated fun playrooms for children and stunning rooftop views, the brand was recognized at CinemaCon for its myriad of concepts that go far beyond the confines of cinema theatres to create great moments for everyone every day.
Keeping customers at the heart of its operations, VOX Cinemas is synonymous with innovative concepts, cutting-edge technology and exclusive partnerships. Region-firsts, VOX experiences such as GOLD, ThEATre by Rhodes, 4DX, KIDS, MAX, OUTDOOR and IMAX with Laser continue to escalate the movie-viewing experience and ultimately raise the bar for entertainment standards worldwide.
As the official cinema advertising partner of VOX Cinemas, Motivate Val Morgan warmly congratulates VOX Cinemas on this achievement and wishes them continued success over the tears ahead.
Source: Majid Al Futtaim, The Fashion With Style, Dubai New Style
After months of anticipation, Zack Snyder’s trailer for the upcoming MEGA blockbuster ‘Justice League‘ released this week.
An exhilarating and bombastic compilation of DC moments has officially got fans – from across the world, fascinated about what to expect in the future from DC’s Extended Universe.
Here’s a list of the coolest moments from the most recent ‘Justice League‘ trailer – ranging from the introduction of new characters, to tons of eye-catching and breath-taking scenes:
Aquaman
Ever had concerns about whether or not Aquaman (Arthur Curry) would do justice to this movie? We think it’s safe to say that you can now put those fears to bed. Jason Mamoa – who takes on the role of Aquaman, is introduced in this new trailer in a scene where he rescues a man from the ocean – only to drop him to a bar and stick the bill on him for the bottle he grabs before walking out into the ocean again. That’s ice cold, Arthur!
Cyborg
Following Aquaman’s fair share of cinematic applause in the trailer is Ray Fisher as Victor Stone (A.K.A Cyborg). In his first moments in the trailer we see him saving a bystander from a crashing Humvee – only to turn around to tell the guy to get out of the way – next time. Cyborg is a walking arsenal and this trailer makes it crystal clear that he can take a serious beating and still walk it off.
The Flash
After Cyborg, we get a quick glimpse of Barry Allen (A.K.A The Flash) running through the Speed Force. Fans of the character have already seen quite a bit of the mystical speed energy in the TV show, but Zack Snyder brings a real big budget sensibility to this incarnation of the hero. We all know Barry can run super fast, but it’s only a matter of time before we see what else he’s actually capable of.
Batman
When Barry Allen realizes that Bruce Wayne is actually the Batman, the trailer gives us one of the most gloriously ‘Bat-tastic’ shots that we have ever seen – with ‘The Caped Crusader’ swinging into battle and taking down a bunch of Parademons with a variety of gadgets and gizmos. Bruce is probably the only ‘Justice League‘ member who doesn’t possess any real powers (aside from being rich of course), but the guy sure knows how to make an entrance.
Aquaman spearing ‘Parademons’
If there’s one hero who seems to hog the spotlight in the ‘Justice League‘ trailer, it has to be Aquaman. In what has to be one of the ‘coolest moments’ from the trailer, we see Arthur Curry leap through the air and skewer one of the ‘Parademons’ with his trident. We know he speaks to fish – being Aquaman and all, but it’s best to keep the ‘fish jokes’ aside, for you definitely don’t want to be on the wrong side of this superhero.
Wonder Woman
And the team wouldn’t be complete without some serious girl power – Wonder Woman. It’s evident that the team won’t just be fighting ‘Parademons’ and extraterrestrial threats when ‘Justice League‘ finally debuts – as we see Wonder Woman lashing her lasso at some humans dressed as security guards in the trailer. Is Lex Luthor up to his usual tricks? We will have to wait and see.
A Flying Cyborg
With Superman currently down for the count, the team is going to need someone else who knows how to fly. Luckily, Cyborg seems to be able to fly as per the trailer. It’s only a short scene, but at this moment we see his cybernetic body envelope his face as he flies high into the atmosphere and out into space. With the film’s threat coming from the stars, it’s clear that the team is going to need Vic Stone’s ‘Superman-like’ fly abilities.
The Flash vs. the ‘Parademon’
Barry Allen is definitely not someone to run away when faced with danger. Steppenwolf’s (the bad guy in the movie) forces are coming to Earth, and The Scarlet Speedster is going to use his super speed to face off against some bizarre alien threats. In a short scene from the trailer, we see Barry use his ability to tap into the Speed Force to avoid some deadly laser blasts – then slam a ‘Parademon’ into a wall. Extremely cool!
And there’s more from Batman
We’ve known for quite some time that even though Batman has no Superhero powers, what he does have is access to all sorts of toys – which Zack Snyder’s puts on full display in this new trailer. One of the coolest moments in the trailer shows The Dark Knight diving into a brand new vehicle (which is guaranteed to become a hot new toy for kids) and blowing away ‘Parademons’ left and right in order to save the Amazon Princess – Diana (A.K.A. Wonder Woman).
Shall We?
Bruce Wayne isn’t the only member of the team who knows how to lead a group of heroes into battle. Wonder Woman also gets a moment where she stands shoulder to shoulder with Cyborg and Aquaman, and it’s clear that the three of them are going to engage in some serious combat before this movie comes to an end.
Aquaman gets a ride on the Batmobile
In the final scene of the ‘Justice League‘ trailer we get a glimpse of Arthur Curry joyously riding the Batmobile into battle against the ‘Parademons’. He lets out an ecstatic “yeah!” as he rides, and he rightly should. He knows exactly how awesome he looks while doing it.
‘Justice League‘ is scheduled to release in cinemas across the UAE on November 16 2017 and is guaranteed to usher in large audiences from a range of demographics.
Missed aligning your brand with previous DC releases? Then don’t miss out on positioning your brand with the most anticipated MEGA blockbuster of the year – ‘Justice League‘
Contact a member of our Sales Team for advertising opportunities.
By definition, a cinema is a theatre where films are screened for public entertainment – designed for escape for people seeking a ‘never-never land’ of action, luxury, melodrama and sentiment. Over the years, cinema has also evolved to become a venue where innovative ideas are transformed into visual reality and transmitted to a receptive audience.
The latter was the same objective in the mind of Kristina, when she planned to re-propose to her fiancé Ceri by taking him to the movies.
Similar to a movie with a well-crafted storyline, this story is about Kristina Koivo (Bride-to-be) and Ceri Evans (Groom-to-be), set against the backdrop of the wonderful city – Dubai.
The idea of Kristina surprising her fiancé was an extension to another background story that took place in February 2017 when Ceri popped the big question (will you marry me?) to Kristina against the backdrop of UAE’s most iconic building – Burj Khalifa.
But Kristina – who was shell-shocked and beyond words, didn’t react the way she wanted to and the proposal didn’t go as planned. The whole experience was filmed and posted on Ceri’s Facebook page.
Speechless at the proposal, Kristina decided that Ceri deserved an amazing answer to the beautiful question he asked her in February. So started the quest of Kristina to find the right medium for her re-proposal. And ta-da! She chose Cinema – a distraction free environment with a receptive and attentive audience (in this case, Ceri).
The venue of choice was VOX Cinemas Galleria Rooftop – the only cinema in the UAE where you can relax to the latest blockbusters under a canopy of glittering stars.
With complete dedication and admiration for Ceri, Kristina recorded the video to be played at the cinema alongside one of most anticipated movie of 2017 – ‘Kong: Skull Island‘. The recorded video was converted into the required cinema format through Motivate Val Morgan, along with the on-screen booking and back-end arrangements at the cinema.
Kristina walked into the cinema with an unsuspecting Ceri for the show booked for 8:15 PM on March 14 2017. As Ceri settled in and the advertisements began, Ceri’s proposal video was played, followed by Kristina’s live re-proposal being filmed at the cinema.
It was an amazing experience for all cinemagoers present at the venue and a happy ending for Kristina and Ceri – one to remember over a lifetime.
The proposal campaign was booked for one show at VOX Galleria with a total duration of 75 Seconds – which included the on-screen video, followed by the actual re-proposal.
Motivate Val Morgan is proud to be part of Kristina’s and Ceri’s beautiful moment and wish them all the very best for their future ahead.
Have a similar activation or an even more innovative idea in mind for your loved one? Contact a member of our Sales Team for more information.
Registration Deadline: Sunday 23rd April 2017 | Fee (per team): 4,000 AED
Competition Date: Saturday 29th April 2017 | Time: 9am to 6pm
Venue: Motivate Offices, Media One Hotel, Dubai Media City
Awards Ceremony: 1st May 2017 | Time: 5:00pm – 7:00PM
Venue: CNN Building, Dubai Media City
Please Note: Both team members must be 30 years of age or younger, i.e., born on or after 25th June 1986
Click here to download the registration form to participate in this year’s UAE Young Lions Print Competition.
Please Note: Email registration forms to dumindrini.ratnayake@motivate.ae along with passport copies by Sunday 23rd April 2017. On receipt of the completed registration form, an invoice for the 4,000 AED registration fee will follow.
Watch the UAE Young Lions Competition Promo Video 2017:
Don’t forget to follow the UAE Young Lions Print Competition 2017 Facebook Event Page for the latest updates.
Last week, MENA’s annual festival of creativity – Dubai Lynx drew to a close. A jam-packed programme (over March 5 – 7) at Madinat Jumeirah witnessed an awe-inspiring line-up of speakers pointing the way towards the future of creativity. The festival was the perfect platform for the creative communications industry to LEARN, SHARE, NETWORK and be INSPIRED.
The Dubai Lynx Awards – which celebrates excellence in creative communications in the MENA region, received 2,632 entries across the 17 Lynx categories, up 4.5% from last year. The Awards night (March 8) ended on yet another successful note with 18 Grand Prix trophies being presented.
“The Dubai Lynx awards exist to celebrate and champion creativity, while reflecting the ever shifting branded communications landscape. This year saw submissions from 22 countries, including a first from Sudan and an increase in some of the more traditional categories such as Print and Outdoor,” said, Terry Savage, Chairman of Dubai Lynx. “The evening brings to a close the three-day Festival, which was attended by over 2,300 creative communications professionals this year and the work that was awarded really demonstrates the essence of creativity in the region,” he continued.
Here’s a video featuring highlights from the three-day Dubai Lynx Festival (5th – 7th March) – produced by Motivate Publishing.
The 2017 winners are as follows:
CATEGORY AWARDS
SPECIAL AWARDS
YOUNG LYNX COMPETITIONS
STUDENT AWARDS & SCHOOLS COMPETITION
Held in association with the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), the Choueiri Group and with the support of Dubai Media City (DMC) the Festival brings together ideas and people from across the MENA region.
Source: Dubai Lynx
Roxy Cinemas – part of Meraas Leisure and Entertainment launches Dubai’s first art-house styled retro boutique cinema experience
Roxy Cinemas – the newest provider of cinematic experiences in the UAE recently launched ‘The Roxy’ at BOXPARK. The 5 screen cinema provides cinemagoers a boutique ambience combined with plush retro elements – for a magical cinema experience.
In addition to the existing experiences offered by Roxy Cinemas – ‘The Set’, ‘Editor’s Suite’ and ‘Director’s Lounge’, ‘The Roxy’ is the chain’s newest experience which combines comfort, luxury and cutting edge visual technology.
The cinema features a bistro where cinemagoers can enjoy a sumptuous dinner or extravagant snacks from a delightful gourmet menu.
Though a smaller cinema in terms of seating capacity, BOXPARK aims to transport cinema-goers back in time – to an era when going to a cinema was more than just a casual rendezvous.
So what’s new at BOXPARK?
The cinema offers 4 public screens seating 21×3 and 20×1 which include 11 Dolby speakers. It will also feature one additional screen with a seating capacity of 16 which is available for private rental – cinemagoers can exclusively book the room, pick a movie to screen at a convenient time slot of their choice. Adding to the comfort of the cinema’s experience are the luxurious Italian leather chairs which comes comfy pillows and blankets.
Although the cinema currently screens new releases, it plans to organize special screenings for independent movies and foreign films in the near future – becoming a sanctuary for passionate followers of such movies.
And there is more….
Channeling the retro era with posters of blockbuster Hollywood films right from the black-and-while period, velvet chairs, leather booths and boutique-style screens, the cinema will not only play the latest films, but has a library of classics that can be rented out for a private screening.
As the exclusive cinema advertising partner, Motivate Val Morgan congratulates Roxy Cinemas on the launch of its newest location and is proud to welcome ‘The Roxy’ – BOXPARK to our ever-growing circuit in the UAE.
Visit Roxy Cinemas for more information.
Contact a member of our Sales Team to know more about cinema advertising opportunities at BOXPARK and all other ROXY Cinemas locations.
Sources: DubaiWeek.ae, Roxy Cinemas, Meraas
