A refreshed 2022 : Mindshare starts the year with a rebranded corporate ID

Mindshare has rebranded its official corporate logo as the next step in its transformation process, a new font and colour palette, including an iteration where the words  "mind" and "share" are split. 

WPP-owned Mindshare said the new brand identity system has been “created to put Mindshare into the heart of the conversation taking place instead of it being a logo ‘stamp’ found on the back or on the bottom of a communication just to indicate who it is from”.

The colour palette has expanded beyond the famous purple identity of Mindshare, as well as updating the purple tone of the corporate identity.

Mindshare Global CEO, Adam Gerhart added: “The brand identify refresh aligns the Mindshare brand with the strategic direction we communicated earlier this year and is the latest step in our own business transformation.  “Our integrated, client partnership-focused approach to delivering media services for the transformation age demands an identity that is more flexible. I am excited that we now have a brand identity in place which supports our strategy and our purpose of 'Accelerating Good Growth'.”

The rebranding work was undertaken by design agency, NB Studio.

Mindshare MENA CEO, Tony Bourached said: “I’m excited for 2022. We have the strong foundation to continue to deliver Good Growth for our clients, through a passionate team and new products which have been developed globally & regionally to build deeper business insights and tech-led solutions.”

WPP set up Mindshare in 1997 when it was formed through the merger of the media departments of Ogilvy and JWT. Mindshare launched in the Middle East in 1999, and today its 12 offices across 11 markets drives good growth for a diverse portfolio of global, regional and local brands. 

In this piece, we round-up the key trends and insights our data uncovered in the media, content and agencies world in 2021. 

Media consumption has changed – what does it look like now? 

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the global media industry. Among other things it has shut down cinemas in many countries; caused entertainment giants to invest more heavily in streaming content; created mass layoffs in media and advertising agencies; and accelerated the year-on-year decline in traditional newspapers and magazines.

YouGov’s International Media Consumption Report for 2021 – the first of its kind – explores this industry at a unique point in its history. Using Cube data combined with specific, deep-dive custom research, it examines 17 different global markets: from content subscription services in India to advertising in the US and beyond. 

A few takeaways from the international study include: 

Streamed video grew in the US (up 5-percentage points) and UK (up 8-points) as people adapted to their new realities of working remotely and spending more time at home. Podcast listenership also surged in the US (from 39% to 43%) and UK (from 27% to 33%). 

While fewer people listened to the radio in the US (down 8-points), but they tuned in more on their smartphones and computers. This marked a major shift in the occasions for listening and how frequently people are listening throughout the day.  

Significant shares of US and UK consumers say they used social media platforms more often amid the pandemic and TikTok was one of the fastest growing social brands among young consumers over the past year. 

Throughout the year, YouGov looked at consumer adoption of streaming services and the differences between key streaming audiences. In one example, we examined the intersection of streaming and advertising attitudes among British consumers to help advertisers segment and better connect with different types of heavy streamers. YouGov conducted a similar study in the US to help marketers engage with American audiences who vary by their opinions on advertising. 

To keep pace with watching behaviors, we also analyzed the success of popular shows this year such as Squid Game and Ted Lasso. Squid Game was one of Netflix’s big winners on the year and was watched by 25.9 million US viewers in the 14 days following its release, according to YouGov Stream, a fully opt-in data tool that provides insights into SVOD and AVOD viewership across multiple platforms.  

And in a brand new report, we measured the potential reach of streaming platforms in 2021 with the greater aim of understanding how consumers perceive product placement. 

YouGov’s Product Placement White Paper 2021 looks at how popular product placement is with audiences in the US and Great Britain. It looks at consumer awareness and consideration for this type of advertising among people who use streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. 

Which brands won 2021? 

Every year, YouGov measures the top performing brands around the world in our Best Brand Rankings 2021.  

From the brands that people relied on for communication and entertainment to those that improved people’s health and life at home, the most highly ranked brands this year all enriched people’s lives in some way and helped them adjust to the pandemic. 

Here are highlights from our analysis of the top brands this year: 

Globally, technology brands continue to dominate as Google, Samsung, Netflix, YouTube and WhatsApp were the most positively perceived brands. Get the full list of global winners here.

Band-Aid and Dawn topped the list of Best Brands in the US, while Pfizer and CeraVe showed the most improvement and have the most momentum going into 2022. See how the top performing US brands did it. 

Netflix and Marks & Spencer led the Bet Brand Rankings in the UK, with Thomas Cook and Disney+ being top improved brands over the last year. Explore the full list of the UK’s Best Brands here. 

On-demand webinar: Hear from M&S, Whirlpool & Octopus Energy as they discuss how they made it into the UK’s Best Brands of 2021

Looming changes to data privacy 

Consumers have become increasingly concerned about who controls their personal data in recent years, however, and laws have been passed in places around the world forcing websites and companies to be transparent about how they collect and use people’s data. 

The looming elimination of third-party cookies will have a major impact on the digital advertising landscape, forcing businesses to shift away from third-party data and, in turn, evaluate other sources to identify potential customers and inform their advertising strategy. 

To help brands prepare for the rapid shifts in data collection and the privacy climate, YouGov looked at how loyalty programs can help provide insight into consumer attitudes and engagement, while also creating meaningful interactions with consumers as part of a value exchange.

Below are a few key takeaways from the analysis: 

Consumers say it’s fair to share personal data if they get something valuable in return (88%). 

People like when brands offer discounts and personalized benefits based on their purchase history (68%). 

A separate study also looked at a real-world example of McDonald’s customer base, how this audience feels about loyalty programs and why the debut of McDonald’s Rewards program couldn’t have been timelier for the brand.  

And on the topic of data privacy, one of the most visible impacts of data privacy regulations are pop-up cookies disclosures. 

YouGov asked consumers in 17 markets about what they do upon seeing cookie disclosures. Our analysis revealed that consumers covered by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in countries such as Poland, Spain, the UK and Sweden are more likely to agree they always ‘accept all’ cookies after being asked for consent.   

Five-Part Series Set to Air in MENA Region from Jan 10th

BBC Earth is delighted to announce its brand new five-part landmark series from BBC Studios Natural History Unit, The Green Planet, narrated by legendary English broadcaster and natural historian, Sir David Attenborough.

Set to air in the MENA region beginning January 10th, The Green Planet will be the first immersive portrayal of an unseen, inter-connected world, full of remarkable new behaviour, emotional stories, and surprising heroes in the plant world. This is Planet Earth from the perspective of plants.

Commenting on the announcement, Sir David Attenborough said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to explore a neglected yet truly remarkable part of the natural world. Once again, the innovative approach of the BBC NHU and ground-breaking technology will reveal new and surprising wonders to the audiences.”

Mike Gunton, Executive Producer of The Green Planet, said: “This series will take viewers into a world beyond their imagination - see things no eye has ever seen. The world of plants is a mind-blowing parallel universe; one that we can now bring to life using a whole range of exciting new camera technology. This is Planet Earth for plants!”

Across the series, David will travel to the USA, Costa Rica, Croatia, and northern Europe, from deserts to mountains, from rainforests to the frozen north, to find new stories and a fresh understanding of how plants live their lives. He will meet the largest living things that have ever existed; trees that care for each other; and plants that breed so fast they could cover the planet in a matter of months.

He will find time-travellers - seeds that can outlive civilisations, and plants that remain unchanged for decades. He will examine our relationship with plants, past, present, and future, and reveal how all animal life, ourselves included, is totally dependent on plants.

Using brand new technological advances and over two decades of new discoveries, the show will take the viewer on a journey into a magical world. Audiences will discover that plants are as aggressive, competitive, and dramatic as animals - locked in desperate battles for food, for light, to reproduce and to scatter their young. They are social - they communicate with each other, they care for their young, they help their weak and injured. They can plan, they can count, they can remember.

Plants are the stars of this series but there will also be box-office animals - plants are the arch-manipulators of the natural world. They bend the actions and lives of animals, including ourselves, to their own ends.

The series uses new developments in robotics, moving time-lapse, super-detail thermal cameras, deep focus ‘frame-stacking’ and ultra-high-speed to travel beyond the power of the human eye and make visible the amazing, hidden life of the green planet.

The Green Planet (w/t) a 5x60’ series for BBC Earth and PBS, is made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit. The Executive Producer is Mike Gunton. It was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Director, BBC Content. For PBS the series is overseen by Bill Gardner, Vice President, Programming and Development. It was co-produced by ZDF and The Open University.

The Green Planet (5 x 60) premieres on beIN on Monday 10th of January at 21:00

ZEE5 Global, the world’s largest streaming platform of South Asian Content, announced the release of Subhash Ghai’s 36 Farmhouse, produced by ZEE Studios and Mukta Arts Ltd.

With the story and music done by the legend Subhash Ghai himself, the family drama is directed by Ram Ramesh Sharma and stars Amol Parashar, Sanjay Mishra, Flora Saini, Barkha Singh, Vijay Raaz, and Ashwini Kalsekar in pivotal roles.

36 Farmhouse is a complete family entertainer. The story revolves around 3 kids who try every possible trick to own their mother’s will. The film is bound to take you on a trip of complete drama filled with lots of emotions. With all the fiasco happening at the farmhouse, one will also get to witness the dichotomy between the rich and the poor.

Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “Our commitment is to bring our viewers content that resonates and relates with them and makes them feel part of the story. As we start the new year we are happy to announce our partnership with the legendary filmmaker Subhash Ghai for 36 Farmhouse to take it to audiences across the world.”

The Legendary filmmaker, Subhash Ghai said, “I believe change is the only constant. Especially now with OTT, people have started consuming so much content. It is amusing that we can reach out to so many people just with a click on their device. 36 Farmhouse reflects the family issues of a lot of Indian families and sheds light upon the differences between the rich and the poor. My team has put in the best work and I am sure viewers are going to enjoy watching my film on ZEE5. I am looking forward to the premiere.”

YouGov’s latest report reveals attitudes and beliefs towards AI across 17 global markets

YouGov’s latest technology report reveals the industries and institutions where consumers show enthusiasm for automation as well as the areas where they oppose it.

The whitepaper titled International Technology Report 2021 explores sentiments and perceptions towards AI across 17 geographies and 19,000 consumers, and aims to help public and private sector organisations plan, while acknowledging and empathizing with human aspirations and concerns.

The data shows beliefs about the impact of automation on society skew more towards positive feelings among UAE residents. About three in ten (30%) consumers in UAE stated ‘Acceptance’ as the word to describe their feeling towards AI & automation, and almost a similar proportion chose optimism, hope, and excitement (28% each). Comparatively, less than one in five respondents in the country feel skeptical (18%) towards AI or chose words like fear (18%), confusion (19%), and unnecessary (15%) to describe their feelings towards automation.

In UAE, almost three in ten (29%) consumers feel AI will have a “more positive than negative” impact on the society. However, this number increases to 44% among those who claim to be well informed about the technology, highlighting a positive correlation between knowledge and positive perceptions about AI.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now a part of our everyday existence and has impacted many sectors of our lives. On a personal level, UAE consumers are generally comfortable with automation in most life areas except a few. They are comfortable with AI in their homes (54%), for shopping (53%), manufacturing (51%), mobility (47%) and travel (43%), but prefer humans-led approach in areas such as education, medical consultation and government policies.

When asked about the industries that will be more profoundly impacted by AI, about two in five consumers in UAE think that the manufacturing industry (41%) will have the greatest impact followed by communications (39%), banking & financial services (38%), transport and mobility (36%) and education (32%).

Finally, when we look at the entities that people trust with the developing ethical automated solutions, we find that consumers across the globe are more likely to put their trust in big, established companies over small ones, and the private sector more than the public sphere.

Among UAE residents, even though the big technology companies (46%) are trusted the most with this responsibility, the trust in government is also high and is above the global average (33% vs 16%).

On the other hand, trust in non-government public-serving entities and foreign governments is the least in the country (18% each). Therefore, building trust and credibility will be crucial for institutions to reinforce positive consumer sentiment.

We're taking a look at what we got right in culture, technology and travel.

Our annual Future 100 report dives into the trends, innovation and cultural changes that will drive the next year. How did last year’s predictions fare? Below, we look back at our most accurate predictions in culture, technology and travel.

Culture

New gaming frontiers 

Gaming spaces continued to transform for a range of events and audiences for virtual gathering and connection.

Gaming platforms are hosting large events acting as virtual venues. Ariana Grande’s Rift Tour, hosted on Fortnite, kicked off in August and allowed players to watch, dance, and travel virtually in-game during the concert. Networking and professional events took advantage of gaming platforms as well. The South by Southwest (SXSW) 2021 Conference and Festival was hosted by Unreal Engine for thousands of viewers.

Branded virtual worlds are popping up across industries, generating fresh engagement with new audiences. Vans World launched as a virtual skatepark in September where Roblox players can practice skateboarding tricks, design their own Vans shoes and skateboards, and try on virtual gear. The Hyundai Mobility Adventure launched on Roblox in September, made up of five “parks” where users can race, play games, learn about Hyundai’s technologies and take part in festivals. Roblox is also hosting the Ralph Lauren Winter Escape, a holiday-themed popup experience where users can experience the Ralph Lauren world and purchase limited-edition items from the collection.

Virtual real estate development has naturally evolved as well. Upland raised $ 18 million at $300M valuation in November for an NFT-based virtual real estate game. The Sandbox virtual gaming world hosted their first multi-week play to earn event from November to December, allowing gamers to purchase digital land, create non-fungible tokens within the game and monetize on their quests and builds.

Tech & innovation

Data sustainability 

Brands are pledging to combat their digital footprints on the environment.

Mastercard launched a global Sustainability Innovation Lab in September in Stockholm, Sweden. The global research and development center will develop digital products and solutions with climate in mind, while also supporting impact driven startups and customers.

NHS Digital announced a plan to move towards carbon neutral practices, including revising cloud hosting technologies. Its commitment will support staff and update sustainable practices throughout the company.

The Bitcoin Mining Council debuted in June 2021, aiming to increase transparency in the industry. To temper backlash for the industry’s high-energy consumption, the group aims to standardize energy reporting and address global community concerns related to Bitcoin.

El Salvador’s Bitcoin city announced plans to be built at the base of a volcano, fueling Bitcoin mining with geothermal energy.

Travel & hospitality

Informed journeys 

Travelers are turning to apps to navigate their journeys sustainably and safely.

Travelers can now track the carbon impact of their flight before they book it via Google Flight’s carbon emission estimates. Each flight is labeled as high, low, typical, or unknown.

Environmental awareness is driving travel in other ways as well. The European Commission proposed the European Year of Rail initiative in 2021, highlighting sustainable and safe transport in post-pandemic times.

Booking.com’s 2021 Sustainable Travel Report assessed responses from 29,000 travelers across 30 countries. 61% stated that the pandemic made consumers want to travel more sustainably, and 49% believe there are not enough sustainable travel options available. To combat this, Booking.com is now showing third-party sustainability certifications for properties around the world.

Source:Wunderman Thompson Intelligence

The Arabic adaptation of the smash-hit Italian feature will star an acclaimed Pan-Arab Cast

Dinner with friends is supposed to be an intimate, social moment. One where we should disconnect from our phones, and enjoy each other’s company. But what if we did the opposite? 

What if our dinner entertainment was, in fact, to share everything, including our phones and what is on them, indiscriminately? Are we prepared to reveal all to those whom we say are our closest friends and partners? 

“Perfect Strangers”, the first Arabic Netflix film based on the smash-hit Italian feature, tells the story of seven close friends who get together for dinner and decide to play a game that involves them placing their cell phones on the dinner table, and agreeing to openly share every call, text and voice message as it comes. What starts out as fun, quickly unfolds into an uncharted path of untold secrets that reveals more than what they wish to share. 

The Arabic version of the most remade film in cinema history with 18 remakes, features a remarkable Pan-Arab cast coming together for the first time including Lebanese award winning director/actor Nadine Labaki, Egyptian star Mona Zaki, Eyad Nassar, Georges Khabbaz, Adel Karam, Fouad Yammine and Diamand Abou Abboud. Directed by Wissam Smayra, Perfect Strangers marks Wissam’s debut as a film director. 

“Perfect Strangers” is the first Arabic Netflix film and is expected to release on 20 January 2022 in 190 countries. The film is produced by Front Row Filmed Entertainment, Film Clinic, Empire Entertainment and Yalla Yalla and is the first of many films produced by Front Row as part of a first look deal signed with Netflix. 

With CES 2022 just two short weeks away, and as I embark on a new role here at Samsung, I am greatly honored to be hosting our pre-show keynote, held under the theme ‘Together for Tomorrow.’

Since the last time we connected at CES in person, we’ve all undergone a period of significant change. We’ve had to re-examine our relationship with the world around us and re-prioritize the things we care about most. We have found greater value in “togetherness,” being closer with our family and friends.

In this new era, we’ve found that innovation can no longer be a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Customized devices and personalized spaces are more important now than ever. So are the connections and experiences our technologies enable. Our experience at home has become so much more important, and technologies are no longer just helpful tools but true lifelines to our family, friends, and hobbies.

This reality has strengthened our commitment to creating new and meaningful experiences for our customers. It has led us to explore better ways to bring our devices more closely together, for improved connectivity and customization. At Samsung, we believe your devices should reflect your lifestyle, your passions and your personal tastes, from the smartphones in your hand to your appliances and screens. And by working together seamlessly, they should make your life easier, so you can do more of the things you love.

This is why earlier this month we announced a major change in our organization, one aimed at strengthening synergies between our different products and services. Under this new structure, all of our consumer electronics, from TVs and home appliances to mobile devices, will come under one larger roof, coherent with our vision to create meaningful experiences through innovation.

And of course, Samsung’s vision for the future is not just about connecting devices. Re-connecting with the planet and leaving a positive impact, is an integral part of our plan. As the world leader in consumer electronics, Samsung has a responsibility to protect our environment and build a better future. Our innovation leadership needs to be matched with our leadership in “sustainable innovation” as well.

We are very excited to embark on this new journey and look forward to sharing more in the months to come.

As a starter, we plan to share a glimpse of the direction we are taking at the upcoming CES 2022. Here is a quick preview of what we will be announcing then:

Creating Customized Experiences

Samsung’s culture of innovation is rooted in pushing limits and breaking barriers. Now, Samsung is innovating for a new age, where technologies are flexible and adaptable to you. At CES, you will see our latest innovations and experiences – including products that give you the freedom to watch TV from anywhere and turn any space into a landscape or a piece of art. The gaming experience will become even simpler, more immersive and hassle-free. And because everyone has their own unique personal taste and lifestyle, we want to empower you to customize your devices based on what matters to you most. A new, customizable future of personal technologies is here, and I am excited to show you how it comes to life across our home appliances, mobile devices, and screens everywhere.

Powering Seamless Connectivity

We envision a world where technology is customized to every consumer’s lifestyle and needs, and one way to achieve this is through seamless connectivity. At CES, we will share more about our collaboration with industry experts and partners to create a truly enhanced connected experience. Because at Samsung, we believe a secure and open ecosystem is what provides the best experience for our customers, offering you the freedom to design experiences that best suit your unique lifestyle. In addition, we will also introduce a new solution that helps you better integrate all your smart home devices.

Reimagining a Better Planet

This is an important moment for our planet. Protecting it is everyone’s job. At Samsung, we are infusing sustainability into everything we do, from the chips that power our products to the consumer experience on the devices themselves. At CES, we will share more about how we are making meaningful updates in our innovation process that enable you, our consumers, to make these changes, too in your everyday lives. Plus, we’ll share new ways we are working with partners for unique sustainability solutions.

It’s time to evolve our products and experiences to better fit the needs of a new generation of users. As we champion an ecosystem of inclusive and connected technology, I look forward to sharing how we have been inspired by the people, values and lifestyles that create our global community, and how we can continue to support them through people-first programs and innovation.

Written By JH Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of DX (Device eXperience) Division, Samsung Electronics

Diversity, transparency, fair work for fair pay and disruptive no retainer model have led to outstanding success for FREEDM

FREEDM is celebrating remarkable company growth in its first five months of business. FREEDM is a brand-new creative agency created to service clients looking for exceptional work from a truly diverse and empowered global workforce. A first of its kind agency worldwide, the business delivers industry leading creative and branding work by empowering and elevating global creative professionals without barriers or bias. This approach to a deeply diverse team allows for previously unseen talent to be impacting the region for the first time.

The UAE-headquartered agency has secured more than a dozen clients purely through reputation alone, and the agency’s rapid growth underlines that demand to conduct more meaningful business with purpose – with a human-centred, empathetic approach – is spreading to the marketing and advertising sectors. 

FREEDM brings a fresh new human, empathy-centric approach to business, and now works with 13 clients from the USA, Sri Lanka, UAE, Indonesia, South Africa, the Netherlands, Egypt and KSA. Clients appreciate FREEDM’s UNESCO SDG-aligned approach to business, and the choice to innovate with new financial partnership models that move away from old fashioned retainers.

With a global approach to business, Dubai was chosen as a hub for the emergent brand, which has a staff across the USA, UAE, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Singapore and India. FREEDM’s growing business will see a new hub opening in Sri Lanka in 2022. 

Creative CEO and bestselling author, Mimi Nicklin, says: “Beyond our commitment to conscientious business I believe our new value based model is proving that the existing agency models are outdated. The more clients I speak to the more I realise most don’t want arduous contracts and long term retainers that hide from transparent partnership. Both clients and agencies work better together when focused on strategic and creative projects that extract true passion and clear shared value creation.”

FREEDM’s diverse team members follow the philosophy that true diversity starts with the hiring base – the agency actively works with people with no previous agency experience or with alternate industry experience as well as people from branding, production and B2B backgrounds. 

FREEDM’s carefully-curated team has diversity at its core. Team members with physical and neuro diversity will be joining the team in early 2022.

Mimi adds: “The momentum has been humbling. I feel so reassured that clients across sectors from FMCG, travel, real estate, beauty, organisational performance and coaching have found resonance in working with an entirely new model. 

“It’s a scary thing to do, to change everything our industry knew, but every day a client reminds us we are doing the right thing. 2021 is ending as a year when the world has truly shifted and client expectations and openness to evolution has changed.”

Launch of inaugural mentorship programme to support the UAE on its quest to increase women in leadership roles

Bentley hosts Forces of Inspiration event to foster the next generation of Extraordinary Women

Bentley partners with leading UAE professionals and two key universities

Bentley Motors, the British luxury car manufacturer, has announced a special mentoring programme designed to support women in the fields of technology, engineering, design and business. Kicking off in the United Arab Emirates, the initiative will comprise a series of bespoke Extraordinary Women mentorships that will be organised in various countries around the world, with the aim of increasing the number of women in leadership positions.

The official programme launch event, named ‘Forces of Inspiration’, brought together a group of high-achieving women from across the region – the ‘Founding Pioneers’ – at The Opus in Business Bay, Dubai, to meet and inspire young students. The all-female event consisted of inspirational panel talks, a stimulating gallery exhibition and the official launch of the exclusive mentoring programme – this global initiative is part of Bentley’s Women In Automotive programme, which aims to employ 30% diverse candidates in management by 2025. 

The five Founding Pioneers, who pledged their commitment to the Extraordinary Women initiative are:

• Amna Habtoor – an entrepreneur with a background in the luxury car industry who later followed her passion and trained as a perfumier

• Alanoud Alhashmi, a member of the Young Arab Leaders and CEO of The Futurist Company, which aims to contribute to the UAE’s advancement as a hub of the latest technologies

• Reem Al Marzouqi, an engineer and the first citizen of the UAE to be granted a patent in the United States of America for designing a car that can be driven without hands

• Amna Al Hashemi, the UAE’s First Female Chef Patron and the founder of the popular Mitts & Trays, and a contributor to the UAE’s surge of women workers in the culinary world

• Eman Ali Al Shorafa, COO Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women & Children – the youngest female Emirati COOs in the UAE’s healthcare sector

The Pioneers were joined in the panel discussions by Hind Al Rabaeesi, the UAE’s first female sports photographer, and founder of HND Studio, and Dr Vian Ahmed, Professor in Industrial Engineering at American Univeristy of Sharjah (AUS). Bentley is partnering with AUS, along with Heriot-Watt University, in this initiative. The panel talks, where the Pioneers and Dr Vian shared stories and insights about their professional journeys, were attended by a group of female students from the two universities, who were also able to question the speakers about their experiences in more detail. 

The students will now have the chance to apply to take part in an exclusive mentoring programme, with the opportunity to connect with the Pioneers, the university faculties and senior members of the Bentley leadership team. Four specially selected students will later travel to Bentley’s Crewe headquarters in the UK for a one-week visit where they will learn more about Bentley’s diversity and inclusion ambitions and gain valuable career advice, while seeing how Bentley engages with its female talent in what is traditionally a male-focussed business. This intiative will take an annual format, and the students will return to be involved in mentoring the next generation of students. Such is to be the legacy of these Extraordinary Women.

The initiative from Bentley champions female empowerment in the region – currently Emirati women make up 70% of all UAE university graduates yet, according to data from the UAE’s Gender Balance Council, while women constitute around two thirds of public sector workers, only 30% are in leadership positions. The initiative brings together some of the UAE’s most ‘Extraordinary Women’ from across a range of disciplines to join forces and use their experience, learning and passion to inspire the next generation of female professionals.

Bentley will work with the Founding Pioneers in the UAE, as well as the partnering Universities; American University of Sharjah and Heriot-Watt University, to provide inspiration and mentorship. 

The mentorship programme was officially launched by Jo O’Brien, Head of Sustainable Communications at Bentley Motors: “Today was an incredibly uplifting experience – listening to these women tell their stories was truly inspiring. The purpose of the event was to launch our mentoring programme, which will provide a very valuable experience for the students that are chosen to take part. Today was incredibly important as we start to build a legacy to benefit the future female leaders of their fields.”