The win sees the agency take over from the previous incumbent, Tarek Nour Communications, with OMD now facing the media challenges posed by a post-revolutionary Egypt.
Mohamed Yousry, brand communication senior manager at Vodafone Egypt, confirmed OMD’s appointment, stating that the pitch had been called following the conclusion of the contract with Tarek Nour Communications. “Accordingly we [carried out] a media pitch to shop for the best value and media services across the media providers and OMD was the one chosen after this pitch,” said Yousry.
Yousry added that any increase in advertising spend was dependent on the situation in Egypt’s troubled marketplace.
Vodafone’s creative account is handled by JWT. In June, both JWT and Vodafone faced a public backlash after a video was released implying that the telecoms company had helped inspire January’s revolution. The video had been posted on JWT’s website and combined its award-winning Kowetna campaign with events in Tahrir Square. The tagline read: “We didn’t send people to the streets, we didn’t start the revolution … We only reminded Egyptians how powerful they are.”