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"The entertainment business is going through a revolution
and evolution at the same time and it's becoming extremely competitive
in every corner of the world," said Alzner. "The Arabic
speaking world is a vibrant and growing market and the need for
promotional marketing instruction has never been greater. Meanwhile,
Promax &BDA has not had any exposure in Africa and we are looking
forward to introducing marketing concepts and promotional techniques
to the branding community in this region of the world. As an organization,
we need to travel to these countries, particularly where travel
budgets are limited, but the demand for promotional and design knowledge
is high, to teach and show our members about effective techniques.
By adding these territories to our outreach, it only made sense
that the name of the organization should also be changed to reflect
our global standing, outreach and expansion."
Alzner is in the planning stages on the Dubai conference (which
will be known as Promax &BDA Arabia and the Cape Town workshop
and will be announcing the dates shortly. The Dubai event will be
modeled after the European conferences. It will consist two days
of intensive and instructional sessions highlighted by a keynote
address from a well-known figure from the world of branding and
marketing. Also in the offing is plans to launch the first ever
award competition for the Middle Eastalong with a number of networking
and social events.
The Cape Town event will be a one day workshop and will be modeled
after the Promo 101 concept, where intensive workshops are held
with the objective of motivating and inspiring the promo team, teaching
the best practices to engage and attract the viewer as well as encouraging
innovation and revealing the secret to managing effective promo
time. Alzner, who successfully produced and presented such an event
in Moscow last year, recently teamed with the organization's Asia
chapter where they conducted Promo 101 workshops for the first time
in Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila and Hong Kong in the fall of 2004.
To support the expansion, Alzner has also expanded the London-based
staff. Richard Oban has joined Promax & BDA EMEA as head of
sales. In his new role, Oban will generate and secure sponsorships
for the conferences and one-day events. Oban comes to Promax &
BDA EMEA from the Commonwealth Business Council, which is financed
by African investors with the purpose of establishing media assets
in the country. Based in London, Oban managed a team of sales agents
in four African countries and was responsible for generating advertising
revenue for an African investor magazine, Africa-investor.com and
Africa investor awards. Oban began his career with BskyB in 1995
as a senior manager and later became head of distribution and affiliate
sales for Discovery Channel, Europe.
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