Interview with Ronald Hollet of TBWA\Zeenah

February 2008

Personal Details
Name: Ronald Hollet
Nationality: British
Website: http://www.tbwazeenah.com

$TBWA\Zeenah - Oman3D Interview$ Ronald Hollet - Oman3D Interview

Oman3D interviewed Ronald Hollett, the Creative Director of Business Development at TBWA\ZEENAH, Oman's leading advertising agency. TBWA\ZEENAH counts several leading organisations among its clients, for whom it undertakes branding and advertising campaigns. These include the Zubair Automotive Group, BankMuscat and Muriya Tourism Development, among others. TBWA\ZEENAH‘s work is regularly seen in newspapers and on billboards all over town.

$TBWA\Zeenah Staff$ Ronald in Salalah
Left: TBWA\ZEENAH staff. Right: An unusual position for art direction —photography for Muriya’s Salalah Beach campaign.

Ron has been in the advertising business for approximately 35 years and has previously worked for OWT, Publicis and McCann’s. His first experience in the Middle East was in Riyadh, KSA. He joined TBWA\ZEENAH 11 months ago after gaining experience working on Ford, Al Marai and De Beers’ accounts in other parts of the region.

$Muriya - TBWA\Zeenah$ $Muriya - TBWA\Zeenah$
Muriya Tourism Development’s promotional advertising.

When asked about what makes TBWA\ZEENAH stand out from the competition, Ron explained that TBWA\ZEENAH creates the best results for its clients, partly through the diversity of talent among its staff, who come from 14 different nations, and partly because the agency is associated with the greater TBWA\Worldwide network, an international agency, which offers the opportunity to work with international brands and provides access to collective learning, market research data and other critical information. TBWA\ZEENAH’s relationship with TBWA\Worldwide has also given staff members the opportunity to work with a global network. The agency has benefited in the local market through its association with The Zubair Corporation, one of the biggest companies in the country, which has helped foster relationships with other local and regional clients.

$Xerox Event - TBWA\Zeenah$ $TBWA\Zeenah Charity Work$
Left: Entertainment during an event organised by TBWA\ZEENAH for Xerox. Right: TBWA\ZEENAH’s charity work - making a video to help raise funds for the Muscat Disabled Care and Rehabilitation Centre.

Ron also talked about 'Disruption', or TBWA\ZEENAH’s model for producing work that stands out from the crowd. Disruption is defined by Ron as the thing that makes brand owners question conventional approaches to advertising by ‘thinking outside the box’ to produce ideas that maximise the impact of their products and services to consumers.

Bank Muscat - Zeenah $Jack Samaha - Zeenah\TBWA$
Left: Promotional advertising for BankMuscat demonstrating TBWA\ZEENAH’s disruption model. Right: Jack Samaha, TBWA\ZEENAH's Art Director, doubles as a model for a new business presentation.

The most challenging aspect about working in the advertising business in Oman, in Ron's opinion, is the lack of support agencies have in terms of video production and modeling agencies, both of which are readily available in Dubai. Ron believes that client education is a vital and that consultants should nurture their clients to help them better understand the role an agency plays. He adds, however, that as people are becoming more aware of the importance of branding and advertising, this aspect is continually improving.