Campaign’s Digital Faces to Watch 2020 – Jalal Hassoun, Social media account manager, Merkle
Age: 30
Victor Madueno, commercial director, Merkle MENA: Jalal has been pushing the boundaries of what brands can do on the social media landscape over the past five years, achieving great results on his current clients. With Pringles he has beaten all FMCG industry and MENA market KPIs, achieving a 20 per cent sales increase, with little or no other ATL/BTL than the usual in-store advertising. Also, he has been driving brands like Hardee’s, Etisalat and RSA Insurance on their social media journeys, transforming the way they think and act on social and digital.
Career highlights
I still remember my first interview in the digital advertising world, and throughout the past five years, I have been grateful for the opportunity of working in different roles with different clients from diverse industries. Working in the social media team helped me understand the people, while working with the insights and analysis team helped me learn what works best and what doesn’t; and, finally, working with the creative team helped me understand the efforts and hours spent on an idea. I believe that the knowledge I carried from all these experiences helps me manage my clients without burdening my colleagues.
Guiding principles
“Shine on you crazy diamond” by Pink Floyd. It always inspired me to move forward, no matter what happens.
Dream job
Aside from the advertising, there’s one passion I have, which is to play music.
Since I was a little kid I always played the keyboards, along with other musical instruments, but over the past years I had to stop for some time as I was focusing more on building my career. Now I managed to make room for music again in my life, as I believe it is what inspires me to do more. Hoping one day I can become a professional music composer.
Side hustle
My side baby would be my keyboards, and the music I am playing. It hasn’t been so long since I got back to playing, but ever since I did, there hasn’t been a day that I do not practise; and that’s the road for another dream to achieve.
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