FW: ITP Newsletter

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From: Everyone@itp.com [mailto:Everyone@itp.com] On Behalf Of Sue Walters
Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 4:13 PM
To: Everyone
Subject: ITP Newsletter

July 2007

ITP Business

The new, super-cool mezzanine floor was a hive of activity in working month July as both sales and editorial excelled. Diarmuid O’Malley and his Hospitality Group had cause to celebrate last week when Hotelier Middle East crossed $1,000,000 in approved orders for the year. With almost half of 2007 still remaining, Diarmuid is still dreaming of reaching the $2,000,000 mark. In the Construction Group, CW again breezed over target and Raz Islam did a spectacular holding job on MEP, helping the magazine to hit its numbers. Following his success over the last few months, Raz has been promoted to sales manager of Construction Week. In the FM corner, Becca Wilson and Shishir Desai lit up the market with a fire safety focus that took the magazine past the $30,000 mark. The editorial team managed to secure some major coups in July. Rob Morris persuaded a very busy Sheikh Ahmed, CEO of Emirates, to grant an exclusive interview to Aviation Business. Stuart Matthews jetted off to Vienna to discuss enhanced oil recovery techniques, reservoir maintenance and the future of renewable energy with the secretary general of OPEC. It was certainly a busy month for Sevag Davidian and his photography team. When Media Mogul packed up temporarily, they had to dig deep into their portable hard drives to locate lost images. Thanks to Sevag and his colleagues, Neil Baker’s design team was able to ensure that the monthlies didn’t slip too far from their intended close dates. This year’s early GITEX means that there has been little rest for the IT Group over the Summer months. On top of their respective monthlies, Matt Wade and the team sent no fewer than three separate GITEX previews to press early in the month. Josephine D’Sa and Fareed Dubery rallied the sales troops to take the GITEX Times and GulfComms previews to their respective sales targets. Chris Stevenson, Andrew Seymour and Dawinderpal Sahota linked up superbly to take Channel ME over target, and Windows English hit its numbers thanks to the combined efforts of Rio Altaie, Sandip Virk, Cleona Godinho and Jason Saundalkar. Down in the DIC office, those empty seats are starting to fill up rapidly as Bala Menon’s Business Information Systems Group begins to build up momentum. Work is underway on the group’s first business directory and the orders are already beginning to flood in.

ITP Consumer

Women’s Lifestyle Viva Where was your guy on the Thursday 5th July? Was he chatting to a Viva journalist with clipboard in hand? Then he could be starring in Viva's first ever Men Survey. Aoife, Jenny and Kate swapped their Thursday night out to find 100 male volunteers. The guys discussed exes, relationships and body worries - their's not ours. If you want to see the results snap up the next issue of Viva. However, if we ever have the strength to do it again we have three more volunteers to help share the load. Pepita, Celia and Catherine have joined the team. Nice to have you here girls! Last but not least, congratulations to Shital Salvi for hitting target. Harpers BAZAAR The Bazaar team was kept busy during June creating the Dita von Teese-fronted July issue, including exclusive interviews with Alexander McQueen and Anya Hindmarsh, a stunning photo shoot of couture-clad supermodel Giselle by Karl Lagerfeld, and countless beautifully-designed pages of the best local fashion and beauty buys. July's issue was the first to feature the clever still life shoot handiwork of shopping editor Sarah Maisey, ably assisted by Sally Matthews. During the month, Bazaar Dubai also produced a striking fashion photo shoot with supermodel and heiress Lydia Hearst, which will appear in the September issue, and has already been picked up by several overseas sister editions for their October editions. A particular thanks to senior sub editor Gemma Champ, and picture researcher Louisa Kirby, who both worked even more overtime to help with the Wedding supplement. The team also bid a sad farewell this month to deputy editor Alexandra Shakespeare, who is returning to the UK after 3 years, 2 successful magazine launches and countless late nights at ITP. We wish Alex every future success! Emirates Home Congratulations must go to Saffron Goodyear who holds a so far unbeatable record in ITP: two complete years of reaching sales target. This is a great achievement which has no doubt contributed to the success of the magazine on the market. It's been flying off the shelves over recent months and we recommend you check out the latest polo themed issue. Thanks must also go to Emily McCarrick who has also been integral to the development of the magazine. We say goodbye to her this month and wish her luck in her new celeb-filled role! L’Officiel & L’Officiel Hommes Black is back with a very futuristic local cover shoot in L’Officiel for the August edition which was also filmed by the crew of BBC world-2 (to be broadcasted in September), with a peek at the latest collections for the fall and winter season both in ready to wear and accessories. L’Officiel Hommes on the other hand, takes the lead in the in-house production category, with a flamboyant “Asian” theme featured through stunning fashion and accessories shoots, along with fascinating exclusive interviews with international designers Sergio Loro Piana, Narcisso Rodriguez, and the local R&B band “Abri”. Men’s Lifestyle Middle East Golfer Christine and Robbie have been sobbing into their cups of coffee this month during work on a redesign for Middle East Golfer. But after producing a magazine of breathtaking quality and unique vision, I think we can all agree that it was worth the effort. Car Welcome aboard, Tom Bird. He joins CAR ME as Assistant Editor from British TV station, Channel 4's 4car motoring website, where he was Road Test Editor. Tom arrived fresh from the international launch of the new BMW M3, well ahead of any other Middle East motoring journalist, which is a hell of way to start a new job! Charged Charged will be rocking GITEX this year, having planned a live Guitar Hero Challenge at the show, with a PS3 up for grabs. Boat Owner Middle East Gulf Craft's Majesty 88 is off to Cyprus, so we got on board for an exclusive look. While over in the UK, the eye-catching wavepiercer MarySlim is catching the headlines. If its good enough for them, its good enough for Boat Owner. A trip down to Abu Dhabi revealed the Pacer 27 sportsboat, while large yacht sailing is considered in an interview with the owner of the largest single masted sailing yacht in the world, Joe Vittoria.

ITP Executive

While July is traditionally a quiet month, the ITP Executive team have been stepping up the action. It goes without saying that Arabian Business English and Arabic always hit their targets - that stable is now joined by CEO Middle East, which under Andrew Sullivan's sales drive is suddenly a US$100k a month publication. Well done to him, Carmen Aston and Editor Ed Poultney for their amazing work. With other titles such as Arabian Property and Money building up, ITP Exec begins the second half in a very strong position. Editorially, apart from the usual exclusive interviews, the Arabian Business editorial team scooped the rest of the media world by becoming the only journalists and photographers allowed to visit the top of the Burj Dubai - resulting in a spectacular 20 page special. The team is now gearing up for 3 big launches on September 1st - Arabian Property and CEO are going Arabic, and the new executive travel magazine launching.

ITP Lifestyle

New Deputy Managing Director of ITP Lifestyle Publishing, Ali Akawi, made sure the launch of ITP Lifestyle kicked off in spectacular style with Ahlan Arabic launching in Saudi Arabia, Ahlan Masala going way above its sales target, Ahlan English taking over Dubai's television and the Grazia team surviving the disappearance of their editor on holiday during the fashion frenzy of Dubai Summer Surprises (so blame them if you're broke!). New arrivals at ITP Lifestyle include Lauren Odwell as Advertising Manager on Grazia, Mohammed Tarraf as Deputy Ad Manager on Ahlan Arabic and Ahlan! English got another boy on the team, their new stylist, Paul Ewart.

ITP Customer Publishing

July saw ITP Customer Publishing welcoming Tamer Mohammed, Giovanni Angiolini, Rolan Huisamen and Zeina Eid to the team. Tamer hit the ground running, working closely with newly appointed editor Zoe Naylor in overseeing and implementing an overhaul of Visitor magazine. Congratulations on a great job all round, giving Giovanni an excellent product to take to market. Zeina joined Etihad as the Arabic Assistant Editor, joining the classy editorial team of Hala, Katherine and Jessica, demonstrating her talent and very quickly adapting to the role as yet again Mr. Van de Merwe exceeded target on an excellent all round August issue of Etihad Inflight. Rolan Huisamen came onboard as the Catalogues Sales Manager and quickly got stuck into several major shows scheduled for later in the second half, with excellent and encouraging results so far. Emma Milner steps up to the mark as the GITEX word begins its annual reverberation through the corridors of Garhoud, whilst our colleagues in ITP Business have once again delivered, and continue to deliver, substantially and impressively on the revenue side of the largest catalogue in the stable. Tracey Markham's nose had a grindstone finish this month as several impressive pitches were completed, alongside her usual sterling work, ably assisted by Fadi Al Shami, who ensured the Arabic side of the design department ticked along smoothly too.

ITP Digital

ITP Digital looks set to beat the heat with traffic on ITP.net and TimeOutDubai.com on course to beat June, and with ArabianBusiness.com looking game and set to match it. Stars this month were Andrew Seymour, the Editor of Channel Middle East, who broke several cracking news stories for ITP.net, and Daniel Stanton, the Editor of Arabian Banking and Finance, who helped ArabianBusiness.com be first with news of the EBI and NBD merger. Praise must also go to Safura Rahimi for stepping up to the plate and managing ArabianBusiness.com on her own as the holiday season hit. She did so with some style, with traffic for ArabianBusiness.com going up during her week at the helm. The biggest traffic driver for the month however was ArabianBusiness.com's coverage of the Burj Dubai. Dylan Bowman had prepared numerous features and picture stories several weeks prior to the announcement of the world's tallest building. As a result ArabianBusiness.com was not only prepared for Burj Dubai's big day, but had more news and views on the 512m building than any other Middle East resource. Commercially, ITP Digital's July all-stars were Colin Saldanha and Karl Hougaard on course to beat target for ITP.net. Special thanks go to Richard Judd for his 12K contribution to the technology portal's total. This month ITP Digital also welcomed Toni Morley-Taylor who will guide the commercial development for ArabianBusiness.com/jobs. Only into her second week in the role Toni has begun winning over the agencies - with a second commitment to the site in as many weeks. Finally a fascinating fact: The only place hotter than Dubai's midday sun is the meeting point of our creative, upload and development teams. What are Craig Willers, Asad Azizi and Mohammed Affan working on...? Find out next month...

Spectrum Digital Print Solutions

Operations We welcome a new member to our team Todd Arriola, who joins us initially to strengthen our Creative Services capability and in time will become an additional Press Operator and Prepress specialist . It has become noticeable that new clients are now often won by presenting them with finished VDP visuals customized to their application .Todd’s role is to make sure the designs are as effective as they can be thus ensuring results which will see the client’s signing up for an annual contract. We have had the first major order which involved using data from ITP for the personalization , we expect this to become a more regular request. During the course of July we are installing and configuring the latest version of The Digital Storefront from EFI. We are one of the first companies in the world to deploy this and certainly the only one in the Middle East. This latest version will enable us to switch entirely to a "web to print" basis which will streamline our operations and create an enhanced customer experience with a broader reach. Our bindery department has been working non stop to full fill our first Major Sale to Airmiles, the mailing consists of a very complicated hand finishing operation which we believe is a first for the region, thank you to the team for all the extra hours to get this job completed in time. Sales Digital Several large Digital Print clients were won during July to send out personalized mail for their direct marketing campaigns. Orders were confirmed from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Showtime Arabia, Etihad Airways, Hyder Consulting and EIS Asset Management. We expect a significant order from London Business School this week (well done to George Varghese for winning LBS in his first month at Spectrum). The marketplace is becoming increasingly aware of Spectrum and Digital Printing and we are currently talking to several more companies about their customer communications. Print Management We were successful in winning a major order from Chase Response Agency for Enrolment Brochures and are waiting for decisions on several more projects. We have some very good meetings set up over the coming weeks with blue chip companies. A final house keeping note , DIFC have now altered their policy on parking at DIFC , all day free parking is now a thing of the past and is restricted to one hour free and a second hour can be validated against a receipt for 20 Dhs or more.

Internal Vacancies

The Ahlan! English team is looking for a passionate and celeb-obsessed Art Editor to join our glamorous team. If you're interested in joining the team, please email your CV and the answer to this week's question of the week to catherine.warde@itp.com before Thursday 9 August.

New Staff - July 07

Glenn Abarilla - Housekeeping Glenn originates from the Philippines and joins ITP from the Dusit Hotel in Dubai where he worked on their housekeeping staff. Tamer Mohammed Zourob - Designer, Visitor Tamer joins ITP from RMS Publishing House in Media City where he was employed as a Senior Graphic Designer. He had previously worked for Vogue LLC again in Media City. Mohammed Aly Sergie - Staff Writer, Arabian Business Mohammed previously worked for Hill & Knowlton in Dubai as an Account Executive. He is a graduate in Political Science from Northwestern University in Rhode Island, USA. Abraham John - Production Manager, Business Information Abraham originates from India but has recently been working for Ali Bin Al Advertising and Production in Doha as a Process Controller. Pepita Fernandez - Designer, VIVA Pepita joins ITP from Australia where she worked for Emap Australia in Sydney as a Designer on Outdoor Magazine. She had previously worked for Emap as Art Director on Smash Hits. Paul Ewart - Stylist, Ahlan! Paul joins ITP from the UK where he worked for Accent Magazines in Newcastle as a Features Writer. He was also involved with Punch PR, founding the agency which specialises in fashion, beauty and entertainment. Lauren Odwell - Advertisement Manager, Grazia Lauren also joins ITP from the UK where she was employed by The National Magazine Company as a Senior Sales Executive on Cosmopolitan magazine. Lauren Fryer - Sales Manager, Harpers Lauren joins ITP from Melbourne, Australia where she worked for Time Inc. Magazines as Group Sales Account Manager. Priti Bhambhani - Database Researcher, Business Information Priti joins our new Business Information Services division based at DMC. She previously worked for The Centre for Executive Education at Knowledge Village as a Student Relationship Officer. Teodorico Arriola - Designer, Press Operator, Spectrum Teodorico joins the Spectrum team from Midex Advertising and Publishing where he worked as a Creative Design Consultant. Thomas Bird - Assistant Editor, CAR Middle East Tom joins ITP from the UK where he worked for IWC Media – channel4.com/4car as a Road Test Editor. Celia Topping - Picture Researcher, Viva Celia also joins ITP from the UK where she was employed as freelance Picture Researcher on Yours magazine. She has also worked on the Independent on Sunday and The Sunday Mirror. Beth Crowder - Senior Sales Executive, Comms MEA Beth is also from the UK where she worked as Assistant Advertising Manager on Audio Visual for Haymarket Publishing. Lijo John - Distribution Co-ordinator Lijo previously worked for Apparel Group (BooksPlus) in Dubai as a Buying and Logistics Co-ordinator. Fazil Nazir Vohra - Advertising Manager, Business Information Fazil joins ITP from Concept Media Group in Dubai where he worked as a Senior Marketing and Sales Consultant. Kunhi Muhammed Riaz - Sales Manager, Business Information Kunhi previously worked for Al Hamra Real Estate Development in Ras Al Khaimah as a Sales Manager. Nancy Johnson - Snr Database Researcher, Business Information Nancy previously worked for Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai as a Supervisor in Phone Banking. Pembe Peri-Natgi - Sales Manager, Arabian Property Pembe joins ITP from the UK where she worked for Blendon Communications as an Events Sales Manager. Farrah Phillips - Sales Executive, Hotelier Farrah also joins ITP from the UK where she was employed as a Sales and Marketing Executive by Full On Publications in London. Viona D’Silva - Administrative Executive, DMC Viona joins ITP in our DMC office from International Empire Traders in Dubai where she worked as a receptionist. Toni Morley-Taylor - Sales Manager, Recruitment, ITP Digital Toni joins ITP from the UK where she worked as a Corporate Key Account Manager for Friends Reunited Jobs / ITV. She had previously worked as a Consultancy Manager at Fish4Jobs. Kavitha Rajagopal - Web Developer Kavitha joins ITP from Torry Harris Business Solutions in Bangalore. Mohammad Tarraf - Deputy Advertisement Manager, Consumer Mohammed previously worked for Al Waseet Magazine in Dubai as a Senior Sales Supervisor. Aparna Chadha - Corporate Affairs Co-ordinator Aparna originates from India but was educated in the USA and Nairobi. She previously worked as Guest Relations Manager at The Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai. K. K. Denny - Production Co-ordinator KK joins ITP from Color Lines in Dubai where he worked as a Prepress Manager. Jumana Farah - Production Co-ordinator Jumana previously worked for Wunderman & Team Young & Rubicam as a Designer. Nisal Bandara - Web Developer Nisal previously worked for Genesiis Software as a Web Application Designer / Developer. Leena Loungani - Advertising Manager, Business Directories Leena joins ITP from Lunad Publicity in Dubai where she worked as a Sales Representative. Feroz Ahmad - Advertising Manager, Business Directories Feroz previously worked for Emirates Evening Post as an Area Manager. He had previously worked as an Account Executive at Al Wahda Express (Etisalat Yellow Pages). Brid-Aine Conway - Staff Writer, ACN Brid-Aine joins ITP from Ireland where she has worked as News & Feature Writer for Limerick Leader. She has also been employed as Political Features Writer, for Veritas in Edinburgh. John Parnell - Staff Writer, Sound & Stage John joins ITP from Edinburgh where he was employed as a researcher and writer for BBC Radio 4/ Five Live. Catherine Langley - Features Writer, Viva Catherine previously worked as a key member of Hello Middle East’s start up team as a Feature Writer. Mark Smith - Guides Writer, Time Out Mark joins ITP from London where he worked as a Freelance contributor to Time Out London. He also was employed as a Bar Reviewer for Time Out London Bar Guide. Vernon Baxter - Assistant Editor, Medical Times Vernon joins ITP from Edinburgh where he was Editor of the Edinburgh University Student Newspaper. Mohammad Sohail Khan - Graphic Designer, Business Directories Mohammad originates from Pakistan, but joins ITP from Continent Advertising in Dubai where he worked as a Graphic Designer. Nicola Joubert - Sales Manager, ME Architect Nicola is South African by origin but joins ITP from European Research Review where she was employed as Advertising Manager. Julianna Barnaby - Features Writer, Visitor Juliana was previously employed as a Freelance Writer for Rough Guides Ultimate Experiences. She was also Sub-Editor on the Oxford University Student Publications. Lisa Magloff - Editor, Caterer Lisa joins ITP from the UK where she was employed as Publishing Project Manager with various large publishing houses in London. Welcome back! Thair Soukar - Group Editor, Men’s Lifestyle

© 2007 ITP