MEPRA Hosts Its Largest-Ever Awards with Almost 500 Guests and 50 Categories Awarded

The Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) hosted its largest ever Awards edition last night with almost 500 guests in attendance, as 70 agencies and in-house communication team finalists battled it out to win across a record 47 categories. The Awards ceremony saw Oman Oil Company/ Orpic with Four Communications Group take home Gold for ‘Best Campaign Oman. This was the first time Oman Oil Company/ Orpic participated and won at the annual MEPRA Awards.

Brazen took home Small Agency of the Year and Four Communications Group win the coveted title of Large Agency of the Year. The Small In-House Team of the Year went to Standard Chartered Bank and Large In-House Team of the Year was awarded to Mubadala Investment Group. A big winner for the night was Hill+Knowlton Strategies, taking home an impressive 19 awards, followed by Four Communications on 17. For the second year, there was less than 1% difference between the winner and second place for Large Agency of The Year, with Four Communications scoring 81.87% and Hill+Knowlton Strategies just behind them on 81.44%.

MEPRA also welcomed new winners this year, with Havas PR, LIGHTBLUE, iJordan, M&C SAATCHI PR, Masdar, Travelport, Standard Chartered, TBWA\RAAD, Landmark Group, Oman Oil Company / Orpic and Instinctif Partners all taking home MEPRA Awards for the first time.

This year marked the 11th edition of the MEPRA Awards, which celebrates and recognises the most impactful and creative campaigns in the Middle East. Winners were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze in each category during the black-tie gala at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai.

Nada Elbarshoumi from Weber Shandwick MENAT and Ameera Al Marzooqi from Emirates Global Aluminium were crowned The Dave Robinson Outstanding Young Communicators of the Year, for Agency and In-house respectively, and will each receive a MEPRA Academy scholarship. The prize includes eight complimentary training sessions from the 2019 MEPRA Academy calendar to assist with their continuous professional development.

The 2019 Chairman’s award was awarded to Bashar AlKadhi, CEO Hill+Knowlton Strategies METIA, for his outstanding contribution to the industry.

Not only did the 2019 MEPRA Awards host the most guests and categories in its history, but almost 400 entries were submitted for this edition breaking another record.

Jonty Summers, MEPRA Chair & Managing Director, Hanover Middle East

"This is the biggest edition of the MEPRA awards with more entries than ever before. We took the decision to expand the number of categories to reflect the breadth of the world of PR across the Middle East. The vibrancy and creativity seen by the judges across almost 400 entries shows that public relations continues to evolve, to inspire opinion shifts and action and drive business results."

Entries were assessed by a panel of more than 40 regional and international industry experts to select the 2019 finalists and winners. The judging process was also reviewed by CARMA CEO Richard Bagnall, who served as an independent adjudicator. This year, shortlisted entries were limited to 12 per category. For categories, which received a larger collection of entries, only the top 12 were shortlisted, even if the submission reached over the 70% scoring threshold.

MEPRA Awards Adjudicator and AMEC Chairman, CEO CARMA Europe & Americas, Richard Bagnall said:

“It’s been a pleasure to chair the judging panel for the 2019 MEPRA Awards. Having personally reviewed over 50 entries, I’ve seen at close hand the brilliant and diverse PR & Comms work that’s being undertaken on a daily basis right across the region. AMEC stands for best practice in communications evaluation and it’s very encouraging to see that so many companies and practitioners entering MEPRA awards share our commitment to the highest standards. Judging has been meticulous, fair and detailed with plenty of actionable feedback provided where required.”

For the second year, the MEPRA Awards Gala was preluded by the REMAP Creative Communications Festival, which provided practitioners from across the region the chance to learn, share knowledge and celebrate the best through one event in Dubai. Speakers included Buzzfeed UK, YouTube, Freedom Pizza, EXPO 2020 Dubai, Kerning Cultures and more. Sessions covered The transforming art of content creation & consumption, The rise of the purpose-led brand, Storytelling through sound, how YouTube killed the TV star, what makes the leading campaigns of 2019 bold and more. More than 100 guests attended the morning conference.

The 2019 MEPRA Awards and REMAP Festival is supported by corporate and agency partners including, APCO Worldwide, Etihad Aviation Group, Canadian University Dubai, CARMA, Four Communications Group, Hanover Middle East, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, LexisNexis, Mastercard, Mubadala Investment Company and YouGov MENA.