AMMAN — Last month, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan officially celebrated its centenary, a milestone that reflects the incredible strength and endurance of the country. This can hardly be overstated: that
Jordan has persisted, against all odds, as a model of stability in an often-chaotic region is a testament to the country’s leadership, its people, and its resilient national spirit.
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And as Jordan celebrates 100 years of exceptionalism, its largest communications group is also marking a significant anniversary: with a quarter of a century in the local market, MENACOM Jordan has been leading the local communications industry through myriad changes, evolutions, and reinventions. In much the same way that the Kingdom has overcome enormous challenges and hurdles, MENACOM Jordan has demonstrated a kind of resilience that can only be attributed to adept leadership, a driven and talented team of professionals, and an incomparable institutional spirit.
In fact, in an industry known globally for its high turnover, MENACOM Jordan’s team – spread across six fully integrated agencies – includes a large number of longstanding employees, who have not only witnessed the company’s – and industry’s – evolution over the years, but are a testament to how the group nurtures, cultivates, and invests in innovative talent.
Leading from Day One
When Wavemaker Jordan’s Managing Director, Hani Dakhlallah, first joined MENACOM Jordan in 2000 – just four years after the company’s launch – the group was already demonstrating the kinds of values that have allowed it to persist and thrive in the market. “In those early days, MENACOM was already a trendsetter for the rest of the market,” says Dakhlallah. The company began providing integrated services long before it became an industry norm, largely in response to the demands of the market. “We responded to these demands by introducing new agencies and services at a rapid pace,” Dakhlallah explains.
The Managing Director of Asda’a BCW, Ibrahim Tadros, noticed the same phenomenon when he joined the group in 2006. “At that time, I was with Wunderman, which was strictly involved in direct marketing,” says Tadros. “But within a few years, we had completely restructured ourselves into a 360-degree agency – the first in the country to provide fully integrated marketing and communications services.”
Spearheading Industry Evolution
As Dakhlallah and Tadros climbed their respective career ladders, their own journeys mirrored the company’s transformation. For Dakhlallah, who was appointed managing director of the group’s media buying agency in 2012 (then MEC), this meant recruiting and training up a diverse team of media professionals: “We have always looked to hire young, fresh graduates from diverse educational backgrounds, training them from the ground up, because we understand how important it is to bring in unique perspectives and viewpoints, and how crucial that is when it comes to maintaining industry leadership.”
Indeed, the cross-pollination of different disciplines has been one of the key ways that the group has kept its leading edge. For Tadros, that philosophy played out in a unique shift last year, when he pivoted from Wunderman’s Deputy Managing Director to the Managing Director of the group’s public relations agency, Asda’a BCW. As he explains, “this shift was an enormous learning opportunity for me, as I was able to really immerse myself in the world of PR.” More importantly, by incorporating his experiences and insights from the world of direct, digital, and 360-degree marketing, Tadros has been able to bring fresh perspective to a rapidly evolving industry – one in which the lines between practices are increasingly being blurred.
A New Era of Leadership & Responsiveness
In recent years – and especially in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic – the communication sector’s rate of evolution has sped up enormously. “For media in particular, the industry has evolved quickly and dramatically,” explains Dakhlallah, citing his own agency’s rebranding last year as a response to these changes. “More than just a simple rebranding, the shift from MEC to Wavemaker reflects a transformation in how we serve our clients.” The agency is now more comprehensively focused on the customer purchase journey and has prioritized digital innovation, in a move that reflects market demand.
“We’ve recruited team members with backgrounds in digital across all of our departments, and we’re continuously introducing new products and services that respond to – and even predict – the needs of the market.” For example, Wavemaker is the first in the market to introduce tools and technologies like funneling and dynamic creative optimization (DCO). “Whenever we do something, the rest always follow,” Dakhlallah says.
Under Tadros’ leadership, Asda’a BCW is also demonstrating its adaptability and responsiveness to the market. “Public relations has been undergoing enormous changes for years, and it continues to become a more digital, and more visual, practice,” he says. “The core principles are the same, but the way businesses and brands communicate continues to evolve along with the sensibilities and demands of consumers and other stakeholders.” The agency is currently in the process of expanding and updating its repertoire of services and offerings, in order to better address the changing needs of clients throughout the Kingdom, particularly in terms of digital innovation.
This emphasis on group-wide digital integration was perhaps exemplified by last year’s appointment of Relja Jovic as MENACOM Jordan’s CEO. With decades of both local and international experience, Jovic – who was originally tapped by the group to lead Wunderman’s digital operations – has prioritized digital innovation among his strategic plans moving forward: “What has always been MENACOM Jordan’s core advantage – and what will continue to drive us into the future – is the company’s ability to pivot in new and unexpected ways. By building on this recipe for success and continuously investing in new tools, technologies, and talent, I have no doubt that MENACOM will lead the industry throughout the years and decades to come.”
More than innovation alone, Tadros cites the group’s fruitful, long-term partnerships with its clients as another key reason for its enduring success. “At MENACOM, we don’t ‘win’ clients; we ‘partner’ with them,” he explains. “This is an important distinction to make: our relationships with clients and other business partners are all about trust and added value, and those are the principles that we work tirelessly to embody in everything we do.”
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