New beginnings: UAE association relaunched

On 29 November, the Advertising Business Group (ABG) was officially relaunched in Dubai, along with the unveiling of a new brand positioning, new members and a new Board.

Sanjiv Kakkar, Executive Vice President for MENA, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus at Unilever, was named the ABG's Chairperson. He is joined by Samar Hayat, Commercial Leader and Brand Director for the Arabian Peninsula at Procter & Gamble, as Vice Chair.

ABG will have an increased focus on advertising self-regulation, with the main objectives of improving existing ad standards and giving one voice to the industry within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

"We believe in the effectiveness of self-regulation, and that such regulation protects consumers and brands without stifling innovation. We are part of society and we have to take on the responsibility for ethical advertising and behaviour ourselves as an industry", Kakkar said.

Established in March 2005, the association was renamed "Advertising Business Group" from "Advertisers Business Group" to reflect the diversity of its current members %u2013 advertisers, agencies and media owners %u2013 and ABG's broader scope of issues affecting the industry. ABG's current corporate members include, among others, Abbott, The Coca-Cola Company, L'Oréal Group, P&G, Visa and Unilever.

For more information, contact ABG.