The view from Dubai

Directory interviews Fadi Yaish, Regional Executive Creative Director Impact BBDO.

Fadi has been described as 'the dark horse' of the MENA region for making both his agency and the UAE famous by stealth.

While he was the first executive creative director from the region to get a ranking in the Directory Big Won global rankings, coming at No.3 in 2014, he has never set out to promote himself. What drives him is the BBDO mantra of 'the work, the work, the work' and, as this interview reveals, a fierce desire for his people, his agency and his region to have a presence on the world stage.

This year, Impact BBDO was Agency of the Year at the Dubai Lynx awards. His ambition is for the agency to top the worldwide rankings.

Directory: Creatively, Dubai punches above its weight in the world. Why do you think this is?

It's true, we have been in the top 10 rankings of every Directory Big Won report and we are winning in every show. And since award-winning work and rankings reflect healthy business and creative excellence, it seems a lot of people, including Directory, assume that Dubai punches above its weight when it comes to creativity. While that may be true (and you can brand me a perfectionist or just hard to please) in my opinion while we're counting trophies on our shelves, the world outside is looking through the trophies and at the work behind it. The question, is are we doing enough globally famous campaigns? Are we making heads turn? Because only trophies don't do the job anymore. And that is why some are still wondering that despite winning at so many award shows and being in the top 10 of everything, why the rest of the world is not looking at us as a force to reckon with.

The truth is, there are no shortcuts for big ambitions. And as a region we had to go through phase one of our journey first. At that time, we were hungry for acknowledgment, recognition and fame. We all have to move now to the next phase - a more mature stage that reflects our true abilities and creativity in brand-building work.

At Impact BBDO, we want to continue steering the wheel in the region and keep pushing on and you can see this evident in our work. We are adamant that we should build our fame with work that wins hearts and market share before it wins awards. Work that doesn't expire by the end of the award season but work which people continue talking about for the longest time. Work that is great because it is great, not because it won an award or two. In short, awards are a consequence of great work. Work that drives business and solves real issues for our clients.

We still have a long way to go and have more ripples to make before we start to be looked up to. Having said that, there has been no better time for advertising in our region. Today, ideas can go beyond any medium and platform. And for that, our media plans have to cater to ideas and not the other way around.

If you look at it and realise what we have all been able to accomplish together here in the past few years you will be impressed. If you compare where we are today to markets which have been doing the world's best work for longer than we all can remember, you will realise it's no mean feat. Let's keep at it and with such determination and great will, we'll eventually get there.

There is an amazingly cosmopolitan creative scene in Dubai with talent from the UK, Germany, India, South Africa. As well as making it more diverse, does it bring any problems? Are there many Emiratis in creative departments?

I can't think of any other market that has similar conditions and challenges to the ones we face in Dubai. Even in the most cosmopolitan cities like NYC, the majority of the advertising workforce are NYC locals. In comparison, in our office alone we have around 35 nationalities. Some come from places I never heard of before. I love the fact that because these people come from different agencies and networks and from different cultures, they bring different experiences and inspirations. And they put it all out on the table.

That said, the major drawback is lack of stability.

Some talents think working in Dubai is like a paid holiday until they realise it's one of the most competitive markets in the world and the benchmark is really high.

Then there are some who see it as a stop-over before moving on somewhere else after they win some awards and make some money. This creates a sense of a lack of loyalty and endurance to market challenges.

A few come with big ambitions and are ready to give it their all and those are the few we are interested in working with.

The whole scene is different here in Dubai. But so what! It is what it is, and to tell the truth, it's plenty of fun.

As a top creative director yourself, what are your ambitions for the agency within the region and the region within the world?

This is the bottom line. Ambition. One word that defines everything. It drives the attitude, approach, energy and the outcome of any agency. Because whatever your ambition, small or big, then everyone in the agency will be measuring themselves against it. It's a daily mindset of, "If I do something in a certain way, will it get to me where I want to be? If the answer is yes, only then will I do it."

So for me personally, ambition is what defines the culture of an agency because it all starts and ends there.

My ambition to the agency is to do work that redefines the industry. Work that is out of the box and takes one's breath away. It should be long-remembered and be a reference point to many clients and agencies around the world. But at the same time, it should be a stimulus for us to beat it and do even better. Our ambition has no boundaries, not only between us and our competition, but between us and ourselves.

If you were to look for role models within the industry, who would you look up to and why?

Classic. My role models in the industry? They are too many. And they last only for a moment. Every time I see a great out-of-the box idea, it makes me feel bad because we did not do it first. And those who make it happen should be celebrated. Because we all know the toughest part of what we do is not coming up with the idea itself, it is actually the challenge of bringing it to life. Great work inspires me to move on and try harder so I can be a role model in my own right - to myself and to others.

As advertising changes so radically, what are your hopes and fears for both the agency and the region?

Fear, I have none. Because I don't know what I should be worried about. Who can think ahead of time these days? Most of those 'experts' who claim they can tell what's coming up in any field of any business are wrong most of the time. Because we live in a world with variables and parameters that are constantly changing. I live every day as it comes, giving it all I have and trying to stay true to our ambition. It's all about that and nothing else.

My hopes for our agency and the region are very simple. Do the world's best work. And then beat it. And then repeat it all over again.

What examples of work from the region do you most admire? How do they represent the very best of what is happening in the UAE and where the industry is heading?

This is the money question. And to be honest, none. Maybe I am too harsh on myself and my peers. Perhaps others can see examples of great work that represents the region. We can't be winning 30 Lions a year if we weren't doing something well, right? But for me there is no work I truly admire. Yet. It's certainly on its way, though. We are in good shape for where we should be. And it's on us to get there. For the generations to come, we have a huge responsibility here. My generation had no mentors in the region. We had to learn it all by ourselves and it took us some time. A long time. We had to start from nothing. Now we have to pass on the torch and be the mentors we never had to those who are rising up to be the new leaders. So much has to be done. So let's get it done.