Campaign is preparing to host professionals from across the PR and communications industry at the inaugural Marcomms360 conference on October 4 at Dubai’s Steigenberger Hotel Business Bay.

The event, which is being presented by Campaign Middle East publisher Motivate and Campaign brand owner Haymarket, aims to discuss the most pressing issues facing the communications industry as the lines between PR, marketing, digital, social and creative blur.

Through a programme of speakers, including some of the top communications executives in the MENA region, Marcomms360 will aim to determine if the industry is ready for a changing world where upskilling employees and nurturing new talent will be critical.

During the first panel session, The Talent Challenge, top communications managers including Dubizzle’s Abdallah Touqan, MBC Group’s Mazen Hayek, M&C Saatchi’s Amy Brill and Procter & Gamble’s Alex Malouf will highlight what the industry is doing to address these issues and seek to answer whether organisations are getting their localisation strategy right.

Later, Hanover Middle East managing director Jonty Summers will share his insights from advising CEOs of top government and private organisations in the region.

Other sessions of note include an onstage talk with Arab News editor-in-chief Faisal Abbas on how he has transformed the English-language Saudi publication into a force to be reckoned with in the GCC media scene and kept its content authentic in the era of fake news.

There will also be a panel on whether media institutions are keeping up with the pace of change in the digital age, before the conference breaks out into focus areas with topics including social and digital strategies, opportunities in Saudi Arabia, responsible business practices and workshops on writing the best brief and advice for practitioners.

Attendees will then be presented with sessions on social strategy and insights including how to run a fully integrated campaign with Coca Cola’s Islam ElDessouky, influencer campaigns with Sony Mobile’s Gita Ghaemmaghami and social media monitoring and insight with Facebook’s Mark Hamilton.

For the full agenda and booking information go to http://www.marcomms360.com.