Business & Money | Thursday 1 June, 2017 4:15 am |

With the launch of its new ‘See & Be’ programme, Cicero & Bernay Public Relations (C&B) has become the region’s first public relations consultancy to offer a full suite of strategic influencer communication services. ‘See & Be’ offers C&B’s clients significant added value impactful influencer communication campaigns. The programme focuses on achieving measurable results by carefully identifying the ideal match between influencers and client objectives, rigorously tracking campaign outcomes, and bringing keen insider knowledge of the influencer world to every strategy.

 

The programme follows the introduction of C&B’s dedicated engagement and activation division a year ago, and is overseen by Jamal H. Iqbal, Director - Brand Outreach at C&B, and a team that includes Lyn Jawharji as Lead - Influencer Liaison. By integrating influencer engagement into the agency’s new-age offerings and seamlessly incorporating it into communication campaigns, ‘See & Be’ harnesses the proven potential of influencer marketing for the benefit of C&B’s clients.

 

Jamal H. Iqbal commented: “With the speed at which social media has penetrated the region’s consumers, and their affinity towards local influencers, we felt NOW was the time for new-age PR agencies such as ours to launch a full fledged Influencer Communication division. ‘See & Be’ is aimed at streamlining the disjoint between influencer programme leaders and implementers. While influencers and their social media offer optimised channels for delivery, content still rules, and campaigns must be charted keeping in mind granular accountability at every stage. What this means is “Hey I am an influencer, I just tried this product and so should you!” is no longer the optimum solution when it comes to branded influencer content. Our team is fresh, creative and ahead of the curve, and we are confident that this new programme will bring tremendous measurable value to our clients as the digital era continues to evolve.”

 

The impact of influencer communication in this part of the world is augmented by the power of Arab influencers, who can maximise exposure on a grand scale as they hold sway over all of the MENA region including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, the UAE and beyond to Turkey. In this context, Dubai has become a particular hub for the world’s influencers thanks to enthusiastic backing from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who is a champion of Arab influencers and calls Dubai their ‘second home’. His Highness also appeared at the Arab Social Media Summit 2016 and launched the Arab Social Media Club this year to encourage development, progress and creativity among social media influencers in the Arab world.

 

“As consumers increasingly desire personalised dialogue with brands and companies, ‘See & Be’ offers a new way for clients to heighten brand awareness, enhance product placement, enrich their fan base, boost sales, build trust and ultimately engage audiences on a more meaningful level than ever before. That’s not all, our team also works directly with micro and macro influencers in order to help them gain the right brand for their portfolios.” added Iqbal.

 

The agency has already launched successful influencer marketing campaigns for clients including Deliveroo – one of the fastest growing food delivery services in the region. Rachael Anderson, Head of Consumer Comms at APAC & Middle East – Deliveroo, commented: “‘See & Be’ has been the perfect partner for one of Deliveroo’s recent influencer collaborations. They made a key recommendation that was perfectly on brand and delivered an innovative Instagram campaign which communicated our messages in a fun and highly engaging way. The reach was outstanding, significantly raising our exposure among our target audience. The ‘See & Be’ team has its finger on the pulse and knows that influencer marketing can deliver real results.”

 

Commenting on the Deliveroo campaign, Regional Influencer Max of Arabia said: “It was a pleasure to work with the ‘See & Be’ team, as they ensured that the partnership was a natural fit with a brand I already know and love, and also gave me the creative freedom to express myself in a way that is true to who I am and resonated extremely well with my audience. It is well thought out campaigns like this that are really a win-win for everyone involved.”

C&B is part of Publinet, The Publicity Network, a communication consultancy group that also includes specialised entities for creative consultancy, digital and social media solutions, event management, branding consultancy, experiential marketing and video production.