Marketing and Coffee - Podcasts with Lijo Ittoop

About the speaker - Ahmed Gowda (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmedgowda/) With a career spanning across organizations like Microsoft and Asus, he now heads E-Commerce and digital for BiC MEA. He has successfully scaled BiC in the last 2 years on all marketplaces. In this episode His LinkedIn banner says, "In search of incredible". What's the story behind that? Stationery, light, and razors... With almost no overlap in the audience, what's the positioning of the brand? What does it stand for? How does marketing go about things? How did you go around achieving such growth over these last 2 years? What was the most amazing learning along the way with that data - like some aha moment he had? Does one feel that sometimes we have too much data? One of the biggest challenges of an organization steeped in traditional distribution is to adopt a digital mindset. How did he integrate digital into the organization's culture? What was the learning during Covid as an e-commerce marketeer? His advice to those who have started their journey in e-commerce today. Going forward, how big a role would AI play in digital marketing e-commerce? Do you believe it will change the way the media is bought in the next couple if years?

About the Speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lijoittoop/) Lijo's passion is driving tech and analytics in marketing. His experience of working with startups and corporates has made him build a skill set of scaling when required and making small budgets work for an SMB. His early experience in sales has made him an analytical and number driven approach to marketing too. Lijo has cross-continent experience working for industry giants from the likes of Pepsico, Nokia, Microsoft, and Perfetti, Lijo Ittoop is a seasoned marketing and consumer behavior professional with over 20 years of experience. He was responsible for marketing strategies of various product lines across India, the Middle East, and Africa. 2016 proved to be a turning point in Lijo's life when he co-founded his first tech start-up and developed payment gateway solutions, mobile top-up solutions, and an e-commerce portal. Bringing Lijo's consumer behavior expertise into the picture, Prodigi Connect, a marketing boutique agency was set up that services clients ranging from E-commerce startups to MNCs with a special focus on consumer journey mapping. Lijo also believes in constant learning and spreading knowledge, to help the next generation grow. To satisfy his passion for teaching, he occasionally organizes digital marketing workshops for his colleagues in the industry as well as lectures university students in Dubai. In this episode As Lijo works with multiple CEO's, he has shortlisted some key metrics that one should focus on Lifetime Value Profit Per Human, Repeat customers Likelihood to Recommend CAC Revenue ROAS Cause and effect

About the speaker - Kellie Whitehead (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelliewhitehead/) WIth 20 years of full mix Marketing, PR, and digital experience across the UK, Europe & the GCC, Kellie specializes in fan and audience engagement communications and content, digital and traditional. Creator of #Cinemama consumer events brand and founder of Female Fusion, the largest and most active community for women in business in the UAE., She is an expert in attendee/ticketing strategy, creative copy, and content, influencer engagement strategy and execution, media relations, traditional and digital public relations, and campaign creation, and maximizing digital tools to enable the business to consumer relations that affect the bottom line. Working with globally recognized brands such as Kodak, Unilever, Governmental departments, and SME lifestyle businesses, and e-commerce. Her previous clients include Kodak Middle East, and current include Unilever GCC. She has been a speaker, Host, MC, and ambassador to events brands and causes with a female and family focus. She also was the Host/Chair of - Philips Avent Breastfeeding & Child Nutrition event (500 attendees) in 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013. In this episode Some key numbers of Female Fusion - 11,443 members as on 31 August 2020 Active moderated Facebook group 50 posts per day More than 10,218 active members in August 2020 1,789 posts, 29,372 comments; and 34,092 reactions· Instagram with 2,624 followers· Weekly email newsletter distributed to more than 1,200 members. How does it feel to be where she is today with the group? Is this something she imagined when she started off? Female fusion started way back in 2015 when Facebook themselves weren't focusing on Facebook Groups as it is today - What triggered starting this group and what has been the biggest learnings in building the community of female business entrepreneurs. Making a group on Facebook is one thing. But to build a strong community that lives 5 years and becomes a brand is another. Her advice to any person thinking of building communities through social media? How do you build a group that are such ardent fans and advocates of the group? As the group becomes larger, it leads to fragmentation. For eg you have people with less than 1 year to more than 8 years in the group. How does handle fragmentation? Plans for 2021 for Female Fusion considering they have now scaled to make it a model that generates revenue?

About the speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitun-de-sarkar-83525419/) In addition to being a dietitian and entrepreneur, Mitun is also a prolific nutrition writer and has an active social media presence. She has contributed in-depth articles and advice columns to Dubai's leading publications. Mitun is regularly featured in Gulf News, Khaleej Times, Friday Magazine, The National, Wknd Magazine, Better Health Segment by Gulf News, Masala Magazine, Yoga life, and many more. Mitun has her daily health tips running on the radio station Suno 1024, where she discusses the latest local and global health and nutrition-related news. Mitun has also been featured on several television shows, where she shares health food advice, cooking healthy flavorful meals for her audience. Shows she has been on - Lacnor Junior Chef, Flavours of Ramadan, Love for Food, and Omo Achievers Kitchen. Mitun has been notably featured in Gray Matters publications celebrating her on its Super 100 Women Achievers in the Middle East and Africa. IMB Publications followed suit and she was featured as a young Indian visionary in her line of work. She is featured as the Nutrition Expert on the podcast series of Carrefour UAE giving insights to listeners about shopping and cooking the right foods. She was the nutritionist on the panel of experts during the launch of Choithrams 24 Mantra organic range. Mitun gets invited as a keynote speaker by several big organizations like the institute of chartered accountants of India, Abu Dhabi and Dubai chapters, College of Pharmacy at the University of Sharjah, Several banks such as HSBC, Citibank , Standard Chartered Bank, Mashreq Bank, and many corporates. She is a lifestyle and wellbeing influencer and believes in supporting women entrepreneurs and local businesses in the region. In this episode What's at the core of her passion which drove this? How important is personalization for a brand that's into the health of consumers? Do influencers have a big role in this category? How much of the brand Simply Health is different from her own brand? Is digital any part of her strategy and does it help? Her brand collaborations to extend its own brand into the sphere of health foods with Costa. How did that come about? How has the journey been? Key social message to maintain mental and physical health.

Thanks to all who have supported me this year. This has been a tough year for most businesses. Consumer behavior has fluctuated like never before. It has never been so difficult for a marketer to plan. The goals will keep moving in 2021 as a consumer tries to find a balance between offline and online. These are the top 20 tips I put together from all my 32 podcasts. 1. Quality of followers takes precedence over quantity. 2. Assortment of products, pricing, experience, and the marketing engine to drive E-commerce. 3. No more online only and offline-only customers. It's Omnichannel. 4. Reacquiring lost consumers 5X of acquiring new ones. 5. Influencer programs need authenticity. 6. Influencer marketing is half science and half art. Get the best fit. 7. Increase the recency frequency and monetary value of customers in E-commerce 8. Brands need to be where the customers are consuming media. 9. Loyal customers who are loyal should get brand experience than only Marketplace experiences. 10. AI is essentially a tool that will help you do things better, efficient, and faster. 11. Keep communication short and simple. 12. Interaction with consumers needs to be extremely personal. 13 Experiential ecosystem is not supposed to be a function of the UX/UI or marketing division only. 14 It is ultimately going to be an acquisition retention growth journey. 15. Direct and indirect cost of acquiring the shopper has to be managed. 16. Videos mantra - Visibility, Credibility, Profitability, 17. Videos should be. solution-centric, customer-centric. 18. The best marketing is organic marketing through an amazing product. 19. Marketers should be really good with numbers and love it. 20. Milellenials love brands that do good for humanity.

About the speaker - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-mouflard-58218911/ With a career spanning 16 years in retail, travel, and digital, Ben started his online food ordering platform, Chatfood to give the power back to the restaurants. Ben has worked for Facebook, Microsoft, Yves Saint Laurent Beauté amongst others. He has been based in Dubai for the last 7 years and founded Chatfood in 2018. In this episode How Chatfood is different? What were the biggest marketing challenges when you started off and were building the Chatfood brand? What has been the biggest learnings along the way and how did they course correct? What are the key things a consumer goes through in his mind before deciding where to order from and how does Chatfood plug that gap? The biggest challenge of driving traffic to their own site of a restaurant is the lack of familiarity of the UX of that restaurant. Does he believe consumer familiarity of UX/UI plays a role in decisions? Chatfood has plugins with Instagram. Does ordering happen through social media? Has it grown as a option for consumers? Recent activation with TikTok. Covid has re-written the rules for everyone. Has it been a boon for them? Has the consumer changed forever?

Sprii.com has been placed into liquidation after running out of cash. This is close on the heels of Awok.com. During this pandemic when offline businesses were facing resistance more and more businesses moved online and added up to the crowd. Standing out from the crowd is becoming challenging day by day. A holistic eCommerce marketing strategy is made up of marketing tactics both on and off your website. A sound marketing strategy can help you build brand awareness, drive customer loyalty, and ultimately increase online sales. While nonmarketing matters are something that could have led to the fall of Sprii and Awok which includes overspend and spending on non-essential things. But that's not what I am here to cover in this podcast. That's for another day. The products were aggressively priced. Without even getting into margins involved, it would be a fair assessment that the margins were under pressure. But as I said that's for another day. Between my e-commerce clients and various e-commerce players I speak to, I can kind of split the e-commerce market into 3 segments. I suggest you think of the typical pyramid in this model and all need different approaches. There is the top of the pyramid, the middle of the pyramid, and the bottom of the pyramid. Metrics and suggestions covered 1. LTV 2. Channel wise acquisition cost – CAC 3. FTV 4. Effective vs Efficient marketing 5. Build community, brand ambassadors, loyal fans 6. Riches in Niches 7. Customization and personalization 8. Conversion rate optimization (CRO)

In this episode 2021 will be the year that data separates organizations from competitors and customers. The ability to unlock and analyze the data will become foundational to growth. Conversations will be more important than transactions. Machine learning is indispensable when it comes to personal digital marketing. Thanks to incredible advancements. In terms of machine learning capabilities, analytics companies can offer unique digital experiences, specific customers with virtually nothing. More than a flip of a switch. So instead of having a single experience for all your users, your site can be personalized to fit the needs of each and every one of them. Key channels of which trends covered in this Podcast Facebook Instagram LinkedIn TikTok Google Analytics Google search

About the Speaker - Ketaki Shah (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ketaki-shah-87742350/) Ketaki is the Marketing and PR manager in Nando's UAE. With a career starting in customer service, consumers were at the center of everything she did in her career. In her present role, she overlooks the marketing for the retail chain here in UAE through retail and online channels She started her career with KingFisher Airlines with customer service and managed their loyalty programs towards the end. In this episode The African brand heritage. Covid has brought about some unforeseen challenges especially in the food industry. With a retail footprint like Nando's, how are they adjusting marketing to the new normal? Are there things that you are doing that you never could have imagined pre-Covid? Many food brands have started to invest aggressively in their own e-commerce machinery. While the overall feeling is that the marketplace will remain the preferred channels of order, do they think own e-commerce in food is something viable and should be there? How much of the own e-commerce is should actually be to drive sales or is it just brand hygiene? Has their preference of digital as a communication channel gone up or is it still as much as before? How does selling the peri-peri sauce through retail fit into the overall marketing strategy of Nando's? How are they managing the human impact of such a huge challenge to humankind?

About the speaker Vietek Ladislaav (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vietekladislaav/) Vietek is the Executive Director at Square motion (Video Marketing Agency based in Dubai). He helps business owners, entrepreneurs, and brands to grow the business with the power of business videos! Their expertise is on HR-related videos like Corporate, Onboarding, Induction, Employee satisfaction, CEO Message, Meet the Team, and other videos. They work with clients like DHL, Baker Hughes, SERCO, DANZAS, Emicool, HomesRUs, Daiso, and others to create videos and guarantee you 100,000 views on YouTube in 1 month with a money-back policy. That made him go on to launch LinkedInSmart helps business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporates generate more leads, increase engagement, and grow their business on LinkedIn. In this episode His personal journey His insights on what analytics tools he uses to measure efficiency? How can one use video to generate more leads for my business? While creating video content, what are the key things an individual or brand should look for? How does he make a strong claim for corporate videos that you can get 100K views in 1 month or else money back. Pro tips for LinkedIn How to stand out from the clutter in LinkedIn

About the speaker - Craig Fernandes. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-fernandes-lockandstock/) A Dubai kid with Indian heritage, he is the Co-founder and CEO of Lock and Stock, a free mobile application that rewards students with points that can be redeemed for offers and discounts from over 300 brands in the UAE, jobs, and internships, and even scholarships from some of the most renowned universities. In this episode As digital well-being is at the forefront of all mental health for kids, how does the app play a role in that? With this lockdown, have the kids been more on the phone? What does data say? What has been the learning on kids use of phones What interests a millennial so much that they refuse to touch their phone. This app advertises to kids - how do they manage the age-appropriateness of the ads? The journey so far on scaling the business? What were the different strategies used at different stages of the organization's journey? Why should a brand invest in this platform and also which product and services categories should be interested to come on this platform?

About the speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-samodurova/) Founder of unmarketd - curated marketplace for elite performance marketing and growth experts. https://unmarketd.com/ Previously: CMO Rocket Internet ME, Head of Digital Marketing FoodPanda ME (now Delivery Hero) Head of Web Analytics Lazada Group (Alibaba) Advised on digital transformation $Bn companies including KFC MENA Covered in this episode Her recent take about the growth strategies for brands in MENA. How she started unmarktd.com - a marketplace for marketeers. The importance of the Maths skills of a marketeer today. How does one recruit a CMO? It's almost an afterthought for many tech startups. iOS 14 is the first step towards possible cookie less marketing. How does a marketeer prepare for that? How do organizations prepare for that? What should the young marketing talents out there trying to skill themselves up for the digital future

About the speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayamaru/) Jaya is the co-founder of Rewardz, Asia's leading HR Tech and digital rewards marketplace player and has been championing the Middle East business. Since their inception, they have worked with some of UAE's best employers - implementing their platforms at local and global levels. They have been recognized as HR Tech Provider of the Year (2018) and Best Corporate Wellness Partner of the Year (2017). Previous to that Jaya worked in the banking sector in organizations like Citibank In this episode Rewardz.ae is essentially a B2B service, how did she go about building the marketing strategy to acquire customers? Did it start as a program for employees and sales teams and grow onto becoming something more? How does it help create a deeper engagement? Considering that you have APAC and a Middle East presence, does the approach change as the type of customers is different? Do you have any advice for the startups in the B2B space on scaling their marketing activities?

About the speaker - Melissa Lopez (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlopez4629/) A London Business School graduate, Melissa presently heads the regional marketing strategy team in Metlife for Europe and MEA markets. Before joining Metlife, Melissa worked in with Citibank and Lehmann Brothers. Having worked and studied across North America, Europe, and Asia, Melissa is now based in Dubai. Within Metlife, Melissa does product marketing, and operations to deliver on key strategic projects for the business. This includes oversight of digital assets and sales tools, customer journey improvements, campaign launches, and managing day to day operations within the Gulf marketing team. In this episode Learnings from her Lehmann brothers stint How do you do marketing in a category which is based on the world of "What if"? Does the industry do fear marketing? What's the communications strategy in the industry? How does the marketing strategy differ from selling products directly and through partners? How do the new product pipeline work in the insurance industry and two, do they have Middle East specific product portfolio? Buying insurance seems to have moved online with many strong online-only players. How has it affected traditional channel partners and their communication strategy? In the good old days, selling insurance was based on a lot of relationships and human interaction. Has the marketing mix changed? A question in everyone's mind - Did Covid bring a boom in insurance sales or has been a dampener?

About the speaker Kartik Bhatt (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kartik-bhatt/) Successful E-Commerce & Retail Business Leader with 18 + years of Revenue & PNL Management, Strategic Transformation experience across Ecommerce & Multi-Format Core Retail (Adventure, Fashion & Duty-Free Retail) across GCC, South East Asia & India. Enroute to building adventure retail's largest marketplace across GCC with more than 100K products across 5 countries, reaching out to more than 60 million digital shoppers. Entrepreneurial history of setting up Fashionara.com a venture-funded fashion & lifestyle E-Commerce startup in India with around 200 brands. A Retail Coach & advisor to small & mid-size retailers, enabling Digital Transition (Ecommerce & Digital Marketing), Retail Strategy & Planning, and effectively deploying different analytical tools to optimize efficiencies of their Category, Operations & Consumer marketing functions. An avid blogger & keynote speaker & media participant with 100 + blogs & webinars on Contemporary Retail Trends, Analytics & Consumer marketing. Imparting classroom & online training sessions for retail professionals from marquee retailers in GCC. In this episode (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kartik-bhatt/) What's the biggest shift that is required in terms of mindset for Omnichannel? Experiential Sale is the backbone of all things retail. Does that get diluted online? Can it ever be replicated online for the consumers? What are the tools and measurements that one can use in measuring the efficiency of the Omni-channel where attribution is becoming more and more challenging as consumer touchpoints have increased manifold? Does the good old RFM matrix hold true for online even today? With so much data online, what can brands do to increase the LTV? Does Omni-channel offer a bigger opportunity in increase LTV through more visibility on consumer interactions? Should retail brands today build a digital-first or a retail first strategy? Have we reached that inflection point based on consumer behavior or do you feel there is still a long way to go and they should continue with the retail first strategy?

About the speaker - Himanshu Vashishtha (https://www.linkedin.com/in/himanshuvashishtha/) Himanshu works with organizations to increase their probability of success. He helps them in four key areas innovation, differentiation, evaluation, and activations. With over a decade in the region of C-suite discussion with clients in Fortune 500 companies like P&G, Levers, Mars, Nestle, Pepsi, GM, Visa and with local giants such as Almarai, Emaar, Etisalat, du, Saudi Telecom, Al Jazeera, Mashreq Bank as well as leading government bodies like Prime Ministers Office, Saudi Tourism, RTA, Ministry Of Economy (UAE), pointed to the need to make research actionable which can help clients achieve their objectives. This has led to him following his passion to move consumer insights to the next level using market research, advanced analytics cognitive psychology, behavior economics, neuroscience, and new technologies available. In his previous avatar, Himanshu was Managing Director with Nielsen consumer research business for Middle East & Africa. He has sixteen years of market research experience in the Middle East, Africa, and across the Indian Subcontinent. He is a regular contributor to the leading magazines and newspapers in the region, is/has been part of numerous panels such as Super Brands Council, Asia Brand Council, Effie MENA Awards, Retail Middle East Awards. He has published various papers in ESOMAR and written an analysis of leading global FMCG brand strategies picking one brand in each issue for 24 consecutive issues. He has been a regular speaker at conferences on topics ranging from Big Data, Neuromarketing, Marketing to Women, Youth, Retail environment, Consumers evolution, Marketing, Education, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship. For his Masters, he specialized in Market Research, from the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, India. His special area of interest is behavioral economics and understanding the choice architecture of consumers. To keep learning he teaches Behaviour Economics courses at IIM in India. In this episode How is the industry coping in this pandemic? NeuroMarketing. - What does it mean for a marketeer? Most of the conversations are now happening online and it's important having the right tools to listen to that conversation. Ipsos has Synthesio which is a step forward. What does he think about social listening and what role does Sixth Factor play in that in terms of the offering. What is the new age tech are you using to drive innovation in the field of Marketing Research? In the Middle East, which are the biggest sectors that are investing in the right research? Are the new-age companies like E-commerce or Fintech also using Market Research? What are the use cases for these industries?

About the speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-samuel-57a89642/) Fit On Click was founded in 2015 by Ben. He was struggling to find a fitness facility as per his requirements in his community in Dubai. What started as an online fitness and wellness finder is now a one-stop-shop for all the fitness, healthy food, and sports requirements in UAE. He recently started an app called Fitze where he consumers get rewarded for physical activities and every step that they take. Ben is not only working together with the fitness community but changing how people live their lives, whether by helping people enroll in fitness and sports or gamify the experience towards well-being at work and create a better company culture. In this episode The challenges of marketing a sports marketplace. (both Fit on click and Fitze) The challenges faced in building Fitze and Git on Click. How brands can benefit from being on the Fitze platform. Challenges of marketing an app based on activities in this region.

About the speaker - Artem Rudyuk (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruart/) Artem heads MENA for Admitad which develops affiliate partnerships between e-commerce merchants and online publishers on cost per action basis. Admitad is a global affiliate platform with a turnover of $5 Billion in 2019. With a career spanning 7+ years in the region, he was also diplomatic attache in the Russian embassy in Qatar. A multilinguistic with knowledge in German, Russian, and Arabic due to the time spent in Jordan learning it. In this episode Almost 9 months back Artem wrote in Forbes Middle East on how China rules the e-commerce market in MENA. Has that changed post-COVID? Does China still rule? Affiliate networking has been around for some time and you have been leading AdmitAd MENA since 2016. What has changed? How has it evolved? E-commerce has seen a huge boom in the region. Many go the traditional FB/IG/Google route to acquire consumers. Why does it make sense for an e-commerce company to register with AdmitAd? Should only E-commerce companies consider Admitad? Who can register as an affiliate? If I am an influencer, can I just go to your platform and register myself? Admitad has Google Ads integration, Telegram Bots. What are the various integrations available to simplify the process and for the publisher to earn more money? The big question - Restrictions in redirect targeting due to cookieless marketing. How will it create affect the future of marketing?

About the Speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tirupats/) Srikanth heads the E-Commerce vertical for Pizza Hut in their Middle East, Africa, Turkey, and Pakistan markets. An NYU Stern School postgraduate in Business, he has traveled the world in various roles. He is now in UAE where he is been based for the last 3.5 years. Before Pizza Hut, he was working with Noon.com. In this episode How easy or difficult it is to sell Pizza Hut online on its own e-commerce website? Don't consumers prefer marketplace like Zomato or Talabat over brand e-commerce platform? More details about the recently launched loyalty program in Kuwait and how it helps building lifetime value or if it is a basic hygiene offering? Did COVID times change the way consumers buy food online forever or is this temporary and once things open up, people will rush back to the restaurants? How big a role does it play in your day to day decision making? What has been your learnings along the way or scaling this across the region

About the speaker - Injeel Moti A Journalism & Communications degree holder, Injeel can be best described as your go-to girl for all things Public Relations and New-age Marketing. Following on from a 5-year stint working in the region, Injeel set up Catch Communications in late 2017. The boutique lifestyle agency is a new-age consulting firm that offers tailored, focused communications solutions to give brands a quick and impactful turnaround of results. Injeel has over 8 years of experience in the Public Relations and Media space and has worked with various notable brands including local and international labels such as Lego, Birkenstock, D1 Milano, Gates Hospitality, Chopard, Givenchy, Police, and Ermenegildo Zegna. Seeing a gap in the market for relevant opportunities to train and mentor, during the onset of COVID-19, Injeel set up Catch Academy with one key aim - to empower business owners and Marketing professionals. The training program welcomed small business owners, entrepreneurs, and Marcom professionals employed in bigger companies and conglomerates in the region to upskill themselves and learn new-age marketing techniques and how to apply in their roles or businesses. In this episode With such deep roots in the Middle East, her views about the changes in consumer habits in the new normal? How has the consumer changed in all the years that she has been here? For an SMB, as far as marketing is concerned, is it invest stage or hold stage in the new normal? Introduce Catch Academy, goal & aim with which it was set up – how it helps small biz owners & Marcom professionals in the region. As a business owner, how does one go about start planning? Is PR important for SMB? What impact does it have on business? Her advice to Woman Entrepreneurs

About the speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikealnaji/) Mike is a digital marketing consultant with over 6 years of experience in digital marketing, influencer marketing, and social media. Having worked at both agency and client-side roles, Mike has delivered campaigns ranging from integrated digital campaigns, to viral content and pretty much everything in between. By fully understanding a brand's business combined with the market situations and consumer behavior, he enables brands to use digital products and marketing as a means to deliver on their business objectives. Mike has worked for a wide variety of global and regional clients from various industries. He has engineered the influencer marketing strategies for several brands across the region and executed dozens of campaigns with influencers that have proven to be ROI positive. In this episode The Influencer Marketing landscape in the Middle East Has Influencer Marketing lost trust in consumer minds or is it still effective? Simplifying terminologies - Influencers, micro, and nano influencers How to choose an influencer for your brand? What's the checklist one should be using? What is the best approach to working with influencers and creating content with them? Are there platforms for influencer programs? ROI of an Influencer Marketing Campaign or Program.

About the speaker - Stewart Morisson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewart-morrison-0662419/ Stewart comes with 20+ years in commercial and marketing operations, experience in the sectors of entertainment, FMCG, consumer Tech and consulting; and an experienced negotiator on a wide variety of complex commercial agreements and strategic agency partnerships, both from a selling and buying perspective, Stewart has held the country, regional and global roles, What excites him are the challenges each country can bring and the cultural differences. He has worked in Unilever, Nokia, Microsoft, and Sony Music amongst others. Stewart believes in a defined vision with clear goals but flexible strategies, inspired by passionate people, possess high standards of integrity, and believe that a strong ethical compass is an essential personal value. Topics covered He recently wrote a blog about, "Advertising in the wake of Coronavirus in MENA" - (https://www.firmdecisions.com/articles/press/advertising-in-the-wake-of-coronavirus-in-mena/). He elaborated more on it. What is financial transparency between client and agency?

About the speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/latikavieira/) Latika is the Marketing Head of Kaya Skin Clinic for the Middle East markets. She comes with 15 years of experience in Marketing and Innovations, in Skin Care/Services, spanning India and Middle East Markets. * Managing ‘Kaya Skin Clinic', a leading brand in the premium Skin Services Category in the Middle East. Have been part of the brand journey since 2007, and seen and helped the brand grow to a leadership position in the category, winning its 8th Superbrand Status in UAE in 2017 * Experience of leading multicultural and multi-functional teams, including internal departments and external agency partners * Leading the Innovations journey for ‘Kaya Skin Clinic', working with the Medical R&D and other functions, to continuously evolve the offerings and efficacy of kaya portfolio * Specialties: Brand Strategy & Management, Brand Equity, Innovations, Communication Development, Media Planning, Digital Marketing, Research, PR, Agency Management, Brand Activation About this episode The human interaction was big in physical clinic walk-ins and formed a big part of customer experience. Has it made an impact in the new normal? How has the consumer experience evolved in all these years? How is the Middle East market skincare consumer different from the rest of the world? Is there any Middle East marketing strategy that Kaya Skin Clinic work on? Any products that were developed keeping Middle Eastern consumers in mind? Clean beauty movement based on conscious consumerism is now the way forward. How does Kaya Skin Clinic address the new consumer needs to be at being on the right side of "Being Natural". As a marketeer, influencers play a big role in your industry. Is it still relevant?

About the speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shibuthomas-businesstransformation/) A result-oriented, strategic professional with a proven track record of navigating businesses through this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. He now leads E-commerce in VanityKart.com. The salesperson in him was born when he sold a liquid stain remover to his school teacher in 1988. The world has seen continuous improvements and updation in technology in the last two decades through which he has evolved and upgraded his skills to keep himself ahead of the pace. He has had the opportunity to lead P&L, marketing, sales, merchandising, and product management functions in online, offline, and omnichannel retail and distribution businesses. He specializes in reviving businesses impacted by the recession and turns them around into profitable strategic business units. He has showcased the ability to blend organizational vision with tactical considerations to achieve sustainable growth and maximize profits in challenging market environments. If you'd like to know more about him or discuss about digital transformation, especially in the post COVID19 era, just drop in a message. What to expect in this episode? The human interaction was big in physical retail and formed a big part of customer experience. Has it made an impact in the digital world? How has the consumer experience evolved in all these years. One big change in this digital world that makes it special is personalization using a lot of data. What impact have you seen? Key lessons to take away

About the speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shibuthomas-businesstransformation/) A result-oriented, strategic professional with a proven track record of navigating businesses through this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. He now leads E-commerce in VanityKart.com. The salesperson in him was born when he sold a liquid stain remover to his school teacher in 1988. The world has seen continuous improvements and updation in technology in the last two decades through which he has evolved and upgraded his skills to keep himself ahead of the pace. He has had the opportunity to lead P&L, marketing, sales, merchandising, and product management functions in online, offline, and omnichannel retail and distribution businesses. He specializes in reviving businesses impacted by the recession and turns them around into profitable strategic business units. He has showcased the ability to blend organizational vision with tactical considerations to achieve sustainable growth and maximize profits in challenging market environments. If you'd like to know more about him or discuss about digital transformation, especially in the post COVID19 era, just drop in a message. What to expect in this episode? How to do business in a recession world Traditional retail to organized retailing to digital? Did the fundamentals of marketing change? Has click friendliness made things more difficult in acquiring consumers The human interaction was big in physical retail and formed a big part of customer experience. Has it made an impact in the digital world? How has the consumer experience evolved in all these years. One big change in this digital world that makes it special is personalization using a lot of data. What impact have you seen? Key lessons to take away

About the speaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sona-nambiar/) Sona Nambiar is Founder and Editor-at-Large @Kimiyaa. She was recently accepted as Research Contributor with the Dubai Future Foundation. She started her career in journalism with the Free Press Group and then moved to BusinessWorld in Mumbai where she worked as sub-editor and writer. She left India in 1991 and worked with Gulf Daily News in Bahrain. The next year saw her shift to Dubai - where she worked with leading publishing names like Gulf News, CPI Media, Gulf Research Centre, Dubai Media Inc. During this part of her life, she launched two architecture magazines in Dubai - Architecture in 2001 and The Big Project in 2006. Her last publishing stint was with Thomson Reuters where she was part of the core stakeholder team to launch Zawya Projects and Thomson Reuters Projects. Hence she understands the realities and complex needs of online publishing after having dealt with business analysts, IT heads, product and commercial heads as well as UI/UX specialists and raising JIRA tickets :) In her words, after interviewing 1000s of global and regional CEOs, consultants and founders, she realized after 20+years in journalism that she needed to pivot her own life and use her experience in editorial strategy to take the road less traveled. Hence, in 2016, Sona founded Kimiyaa, her own online editorial solutions firm to catalyze busy business heads to take a pause from making money and start revealing their secret sauce online. No. She does not ghostwrite. Her own secret sauce is that she uses the business journalism expertise and edge to help business Thought Leaders create original content for organic SEO, which is the bigger challenge. She actually warns her clients to sign the cheque only if he or she loves challenges. Else don't risk the journey with her. Because she is a deconstructivist by nature and loves disruption. Sona speaks five languages - English, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Urdu, and very basic Arabic, which gives her an additional editorial twist in understanding and bridging cultural sensitivities. She is a member of the Dubai Startup Hub, Oxygen Mastermind, and Photowalk Connect Alumni. Sona's personal passion is to create 1-minute video stories and have adrak chai with samosas and jalebis - she is a huge foodie.. She is also a huge advocate of sustainable urban planning that is inclusive of communities and enjoys e-learning on EdX. Her out-of-the-box experiences: - Dubai CSR lead for Thomson Reuters (2015-2017) fundraising and community initiatives - Editorial curator for the Architecture conferences - Cityscape 2002, 2003 and 2004 - Presented the theme of Fire (Varanasi) as part of the Photowalk Connect Alumni session at Xposure Sharjah, 2017 (The Five Elements) - Presented her Varanasi travel film and talk on “Why Women Must Travel Alone?” at Mojjtama3 - Attended several workshops courses in filmmaking and street photography

About the Speaker - Bijay Shah (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bijayshah/) Currently, the Master Franchisee for BNI (the largest offline networking organization in the world - Business Network International) in the UAE, Qatar, Kenya & Uganda, BIjay supports over 1,000 business owners and have helped them generate over US$500 Million in business referrals between themselves over the last 15 years in the 4 markets he is Master Franchisee in. Being a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) and a professional networker, He is your answer in helping you make new connections and opening new doors. What this episode covers More about Bijay and his journey so far from Kenya to London to Dubai. Present the COVID situation and what does it mean to business in general. Why networking should form a part of the marketing strategy of any business. BNI has been existing for the last 14 years in UAE. Now there is LinkedIn and online meetings. How has BNI adapted to changing scenarios? How does one get into BNI? Is there any process or minimum qualification? Is networking a short term strategy or a long term?

About the speaker (Shyam Sunder - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shyam-sunder-21431a5/) Shyam Sunder is one of the leading marketers in the region with rich experience in building brands across sectors and regions. Shyam started his career within advertising with DDB Mudra launching several brands including Citibank, Henkel, and Apple in India. He was the Country Head of one of the largest Brand Activation agencies in India before moving to the marketing side of the table in Dubai After a successful stint in Real Estate, he joined the Landmark Group which saw him lead the turnaround of their shopping malls and jump-start their hotel businesses before being moved to head the marketing of the single biggest business of the group - Centrepoint. In the 6 years which followed, Shyam helped transform the brand with new event properties, path-breaking creativity, tech innovations, ECommerce launch, and successful collaborations which won both mind and market share. Today, Shyam is considered one of the most influential and accomplished marketers in the region, a regular speaker and writer, and an Industry Tutor. In this Episode Present COVID situation and what does it mean to market in general. Is working in an agency or client-side that's more important. Is retail dead? Is there a difference between an omnichannel vs multichannel approach to marketing? If yes then what's the difference and how should marketers see this? While there is a lot of excitement over online, how much do you think the changes are here to stay? I see early signs of online sales come down. Would it go back to the old ratio of online vs offline? Tips to youngsters in these troubled times

About the speaker - Nousheen Mukhtar (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nousheenmukhtar/) Nousheen Mukhtar is a personal branding strategist, Media visibility, PR and advertising consultant. She has been help brands build and manage commendable reputation over the years. She is the CEO of Nousheen Mukhtar International - a Dubai based Marketing and PR Agency. She also runs YesGulf, a business social community and a women's digital magazine Stylfemina. She believes that every story is unique therefore, every brand needs to tell its own story in its own style. She is a business mentor who has helped various budding business owners with setting up the various strategies for growth and empowerment. What to expect Strategies for an SMB business owner How important it is to out there looking for opportunities Brands that care and being human will succeed in the long run It's important to make it a habit for brands to build a core group of loyal consumers who help us survive tough times

About the guest - Siddharth Sharma (https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthsh/) A seasoned marketing leader with 12 years of experience helping organizations build and deliver on marketing. He has led teams to achieve scale in digital marketing (automation, content marketing, affiliate, partnership, media buying, product marketing), offline branding, and pre-sales. What to expect in this episode? Why Growth marketing is a mindset of an organization, no matter how big or small the organization it What's the difference between digital marketing vs performance marketing vs growth marketing What the various levers of Growth marketing How to bring the growth mindset in an organization How retention is important

About the speaker - Devasish Auddy Marketing Head, MENA (HMD - The Home of Nokia Phones) Collaborative and highly qualified, Dev brings valued experience to every project engagement. His record of accomplishment spans multiple media channels featuring his extensive expertise in strategic marketing and international campaigns. Through a combination of researched decision making, an ability to remedy operational gaps, and a keen understanding of how people – whether employees, clients, or partners – impact operations, he offers a track record of revenue growth, brand development and recognition, and right-fit marketing initiatives that grow with organizations. What it covers How consumers have undergone a huge change in this Covid world How Nokia has made sure that the innovate in marketing and stay relevant. How it's more Omnichannel buying behavior that's driving marketing messaging. How it's important to be less specs driven marketing and more personalized marketing Consumers can research from anywhere and buy from anywhere.

About the speaker Ibrahim Colak is a passionate, hardworking, and self-motivated leader with experience in start-ups and multinational companies. I have personally seen him innovate on the spot while on a trip to Berlin.  In my mind, Ibrahim is equivalent to innovation. Experienced in product ideation, creation, marketing, product introductions, presentations and Go to Market processes. Additional experience budgeting, P&L, and marketing activities of the whole organization. Innovative problem solving with analytical skills. He founded Mr. Usta in 2014 and has gone from strength to strength and now is part of the Majid Al Futtaim family. About the podcast Strategies at different stages of the organization - even with limited marketing budgets. How the product is the most important marketing tool. How referral marketing, collaborations, and use of data has increased the LTV. 

About the speaker •Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. •He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. •He specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising. • He uses his wisdom of over 22 years to help retail start-up entrepreneurs to scale their businesses in terms of immediate sales traction. •Ritesh is an avid reader, prolific writer, and manages his website Home - Retail Ritesh by sharing his insights every week. •His articles have been published in Khaleej Times, Retail Middle east, Retail people magazines. •He is popularly known as retailritesh amongst retail fraternity. What to expect in this episode? - Is the Omnichannel strategy the best? - How do you evolve? - Which market segments will get affected and what they should do - How is the marketing mix going to change in the new normal?

About the speaker Omar Rostom (https://www.linkedin.com/in/omarrostom/) is a seasoned 15-year E-commerce and digital marketing professional with experience in organizations like Microsoft, Nokia, Starcom before joining HP where today he is part of the worldwide center of expertise for Digital Partner Enablement for the Middle East & East Africa. In his current role, he leads e-commerce marketing and business development; overseeing performance marketing, traffic optimization, and content management for both commercial and consumer businesses across print and PC categories. He also works closely with Middle East retailers to deliver marketing programs and solutions that enhance their omnichannel capabilities and technologies. Some key takeaways The 4 quadrants, that he looks into are the right assortment of products, pricing, experience, and marketing engine. That's how the story comes together. Be open to making mistakes and learning from them. Define why you want to do e-commerce. Listen on for more.

Amitabh Bose, CEO, WOOP Middle East Uttara Subramanian, Partner, WOOP Middle East Rise of the nano influencers About the speakers Uttara has a Consumer Insights & Strategy background, with over 17 years of experience across the Middle East and Asia, in some really diverse markets like India, UAE, KSA, China, & SEA. She has worked with MNCs like General Mills, Henkel, Pepsico, TNS, and NFPC in Regional roles. She has been part of various Product Innovations and launches in Foods & Beverages. Her colleagues call her the consumer barometer and she is known to voice "the bitter brand truth" in case it doesn't solve a consumer Job. A self-professed foodie, Movie Buff & Avid reader, she is also an amateur gardener, a Wife, Mom to 2 boys …….and a WOOP-er!! Amitabh comes with 20+ years in various marketing and commercial leadership roles in start-ups, MNC's, and large family-owned companies across emerging markets (India, UAE, Saudi, Egypt ). Out of this, 15+ years in the MEA region. He has worked in organizations like Henkel, Masafi, and Kantar. He has also helped launched Bisleri in UAE. He comes with a multi-category experience: Home & Personal Care, Food & beverages & Tobacco. Amitabh & his team run WOOP, short for women of opinion, a community of women and we will talk more about it during this conversation. He comes with a wealth of experience in successful business turnarounds. In fact, his turnaround success in Henkel Arabia was mentioned as a global marketing success in Kotler's 14th edition. Broad Topics Trends in the changing behavior in consumers - How the influencers have impacted the industry How is nano influencers impacting market Story of WOOP

Its time to evaluate how things will change going forward after Covid times. Some key takeaways Rework on CTA DOnt sell hard If business looks good post Covid, re-look at the messaging. More more tips, listen on.

Some key take aways from understanding digital marketing in UK, India and Middle East during Covid times. 1) Don't be an opportunist and keep selling as before. Show empathy. 2) Communicate - over communicate if need be. 3) Be socially responsible as a brand. 4) Be ready to pivot. The world is changing. 5) Keep your ears to the ground to understand the changing behaviour 6) Consumers are window shopping - Keep all marketing assets updated.