Dubai Business

Chapal Sports and Dubai Sports City (DSC) have signed an exclusive agreement for all on-ground and sponsorship rights of the forthcoming Pakistan-England Twenty20 series to be played at the Dubai Sports City in February. As per the terms of this multi-million dirham deal, Chapal Sports has now acquired all marketing rights of the event including title sponsorship, presenting sponsorship, co-sponsorship, associate sponsorship, ground logos and boards, entertainment branding or any other advertising opportunity on the venue. England will be arriving in Dubai on February 14 and play the Twenty20 world champions before flying to Bangladesh on February 21. The matches will be held on February 19 and 20.

Chapal Sports is a UAE based full-spectrum sports management company, owned by the renowned real estate developers and master planners, the Chapal Group. Their scope of business includes sports events management, sports rights acquisition and re-selling, sports personalities’ management, developing and executing sports related mega events and projects. Having its head office in Dubai and branch offices in Karachi and London, the company primarily focuses on cricket besides other interests in hockey, soccer, golf and polo. Dr Ahsan Malik, the former marketing and commercial director of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), is the founding chief operating officer of Chapal Sports while Khurram Ijaz, former PCB general marketing, heads the business operations of the company.

Ahmed Chapal, the chief executive officer of Chapal Sports, said Tuesday that they were delighted to enter into this agreement with the DSC. “Considering that the world’s number one T20 team is up against a very competitive England side just before the T20 World Cup, the level of interest from cricket fans and hence the potential sponsors is enormous. We are confident to put up a wonderful show in collaboration with the DSC management and at the same time generate a good commercial value out of the event. Chapal Sports will always have the cricket passion on top of everything and especially when it comes to supporting Pakistan cricket,” he added.

DubaiKidz.biz, the best and first online resource for families in Dubai, today reveals its new website design loaded with new features such as an interactive map of nurseries.

To celebrate the launch of the new site, DubaiKidz.biz is giving away a prize a day throughout February these include a hotel stay and family brunch at Kempinski Hotel, event tickets, baby activity classes, family photo sittings, party entertainment, spa and shopping vouchers and plenty more.

Founder Petra Sander and her business partner Amelia Wilson have been busy updating and redesigning the new site, which was last month awarded its second UAE Web Award.

“When I launched DubaiKidz.biz in 2005, I did all the design and programming work myself in a simplistic manner that I could easily maintain and up date,” explains Petra. “While we haven’t changed the look and feel of the site too dramatically, as we know that our readers appreciate the neat and tidy look of it, Amelia’s new design will look fresher and offer new features, like a Google map of all the nurseries in the Dubai area and we hope to be doing the same with the schools listings soon.”

Since 2005, many new features and services have been introduced to the site including the E-zine, an online magazine containing articles about motherhood in the UAE written by mums for mums, a free newsletter service, which is distributed to more than 4,400 subscribers bi-monthly, and Facebook pages that keep 1,500 fans up-to-date with vital information for parents in the UAE.

The popular site, which saw more than 19,000 site visits or 34,800 page views, during December 2009, provides a valuable source of essential information for families, especially first-time mums.

“New mums often feel isolated – they have just left their job and living in Dubai often means that they’re far away from family and friends. Being online is another mean of being in touch and not feeling left alone with all the changes and challenges that you face as being a mum,” Petra said.

One of Amelia and Petra’s greatest challenges is staying on top of all the new things happening; new shops and schools or nurseries that open their doors as Dubai grows so rapidly.

“More of today’s mums are working and don’t have much time to sort out activities for the weekend and appreciate our What’s On section, which covers a diverse range of activities from theatre and flea markets to music and sport lessons – even the latest sales!” added Amelia.

In what promises to be a busy year for the business, 2010 will also see the launch of AbuDhabiKidz.biz and the team are also looking at setting up franchising opportunities that will see the sites concept expand to other regions in the GCC and even perhaps across the world.

Middle East Creative Services (mecs) is a European owned and managed design agency bringing a diverse range of services to businesses in the UAE. Formed in Kuwait by a British Master Printer and a Creative Director, mecs quickly became renowned for their graphic design and outstanding print quality; working with clients such as IKEA, and producing high-end Corporate Profiles for companies including Kharafi National, S.H.Behbehani & Sons and the Middle East’s largest retailer.

Having operated in the GCC region for 15 years, mecs have recently relocated from Kuwait to Dubai, with a view to entering the UAE market with renewed focus.

In a market flooded with ad agencies of all sizes, mecs offer something different. Traditionally, ad agencies buy advertising space for the client, and receive a commission (typically 15%) from the media provider, in return for the sale. By contrast, mecs define their role as a ‘design agency’ – believing most companies have their own staff dedicated to marketing strategy, media planning and buying, and that they should not be incurring additional costs from their agencies in these areas. The client makes decisions – mecs handle the design and execution, seeing those decisions through to successful results. This means far greater choice, flexibility and freedom for the customer; and of course, better value for money.

Breaking into a cash-strapped market is not easy, and the majority of new orders still come from existing clients in Kuwait; but the response in Dubai is promising. Already, mecs have signed up private jet charter companies, property developers and an international bank. Fledgling start-ups are also attracted by the transparent, results driven ethos. This week the company launched a website aimed exclusively at attracting businesses in Dubai, visit uaedesign.com for more information.

mecs is a European owned and managed design agency based in Dubai, UAE.
With over 15 years experience in the Middle East, our services combine professional European design with extensive knowledge and understanding of local markets.