News

The SME Rise Collective continues in its mission to support the SMEs of the UAE in as many ways it can, from marketing support packages, to free advertising opportunities and partnerships that deliver true value.  The Collective in partnership with Boutique digital marketing agency Digitalina is now offering the chance to upskill your digital capabilities with a special 6-week digital marketing program, with all course fees being used to sponsor marketing packages for UAE SMEs.

Boutique digital marketing and lead generation agency Digitalina is part of SME Rise Collective and is already helping SMEs with digital marketing packages, but they wanted to do more to support the SME community and will be hosting a special 6 week intensive digital program for local service based businesses offering participants the chance to learn the proper way to run Facebook ads in-house to help generate high quality leads and stop wasting money on campaigns that don’t work. “How to Create a Killer Facebook Ad Campaign” is aimed at local B2C business owners that can’t afford an agency and want to learn and upskill themselves to generate a higher ROI on Facebook ads and drive high quality leads.

The 6-week online course costs AED 5,500, but is available for AED 500 for all sign ups before 5^th June and AED 750 thereafter with 50 places available in total.  Each week there will be two classes, 1 x Strategy Class and 1 x Tech Lab and each class will be 1 hour with a 45 minute class and 15 minutes Q&A at the end. After each class, participants will be assigned a simple worksheet to complete for their business to put what they learned in practice and they will have access to a private Facebook group for 24/7 support.

To sign up for the course visit: https://digitalina.io/facebook-ads-course/

A free to attend taster session will take place on Wednesday 3rd June at 10am, with the course kicking off on Monday 8th June and every Monday and Wednesday going forward until completion.  To sign up visit https://digitalina.io/free-webinar/

In just five weeks, the SME Rise Collective has sponsored 12 three-month marketing packages, has partnered with 7 marketing/communications agencies, covered 6 marketing/agency staff salaries for a 3-month period, received +300 SME applications and +50 individuals and companies have sponsored marketing packages.

To apply or support the SME Rise Collective or to just follow this amazing journey, head over to www.smerisecollective.com and @smerisecollective

At home series set to teach and inspire people from the comfort of their own living rooms with the help of Dubai’s top professionals.

Specialist beauty, health and wellness agency, TishTash, has developed a unique series of over 100 virtual masterclasses, activities and workshops to help stem the boredom of lockdown and inspire people to learn and enjoy the comfort of their own homes.

The #StayHomeWithTishTash sessions will be completely free for all to attend and will see experts from across the globe, come together to inspire, teach and keep participants fit through 30 minutes to 1-hour classes. Fitness experts, chefs, make-up artists, fashion stylists, interior designers, HR clinics, authors, upcycling experts, legal clinics, parenting experts, mental health and medical experts and many more will share their knowledge and provide helpful tips and tricks, virtually. There will also be sessions for the youngest members of the family too including crafts, dance and story time.

This series will be held using Zoom technology and is open to all wherever in the world they may be, completely free!  The schedule will run from Monday 11^th May for 2 weeks with 3-8 sessions each day. So, whether you are looking to learn a new skill or just want to enjoy a good yoga class or want to be inspired by some of the best authors and specialists in the region, look no further than #StayHomeWithTishTash

For more information and the latest schedule check out www.stayhomewithtishtash.com and visit the TishTash Instagram pages @tishtashtalks and @tishtashtots.

Team TishTash are excited to announce they are the new PR partner for leading optical chain Grand Optics.

Over the years Grand Optics has captured the imagination of customers by continually providing innovative vision solutions and changing the way they see. One of the most comprehensive eyecare retailers in the market, Grand Optics offers a wide range of products, both functional and fashionable and truly set themselves apart in terms of the latest developments in eye care health, technological advancements and a consumer centric approach to all they do.

As part of their commitment to ensuring customers sight is at the heart of all their services and offering, Grand Optics has a proficient team of eye experts to provide the most advanced advice on both eye care and eyewear with the promise of delivering the quality they can trust. Grand Optics offers the latest technologies for a meticulous and seamless eye checkup experience to truly set it apart.

With a legacy of over two decades in the region and since its inception in 1997, Grand Optics now has 13 stores located in the most prestigious shopping malls across the UAE including Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Mirdif, City Centre Deira, City Centre Ajman, YAS Mall, and its presence is ever growing.

We’re excited to get our hands on one of the best optical shops in town and all the new season sunnies!  Stay tuned for all the news from them.

For all enquiries drop a line to ylova@tishtash.com

New division aims to get clients to end target consumers even faster through specialist events, activations and strategic use of consumer database

As the lines between PR, marketing, advertising, etc, continue to blur, so does the role agencies play with their clients. Whilst PR and other marketing and communications will always hold value in terms of credibility and mass reach, clients are demanding more tangible and immediate results from PR, especially in challenging economic times.

To meet increased demands from clients to get brands to their end consumers as quickly and effectively as possible in order to drive leads and ultimately sales, specialist PR and marketing agency TishTash has launched their own consumer division. 

Over the past 8 months the agency has been growing their own consumer database through social media and digital channels, events and on the ground activations and now has over 8,000 UAE consumers (90% female) registered along with a wide selection of demographic data. In addition, the agency has entered into a strategic agreement with a leading e-commerce company in the region to have access to their database of 80,000 to invite to events and send exclusive offers as required.

The agency’s new consumer team offers clients a mix of events (in-store and stand alone launch events), activations, social campaigns and database marketing aimed at allowing clients to reach their target audience directly.

The team has already secured contracts with a number of the large retail groups in the region and have filled in-store events with 800+  target consumers and delivered sales in excess of AED 50,000 over 3 hours.  Some of the agency’s exclusive client codes are now driving AED 30,000 of recurring revenue for clients each month.

“Whilst traditional PR and marketing communications remains the bread and butter of what we do as an agency and I passionately believe in the power of PR and what it can achieve for a brand,  as an agency we need to move with the changing times and client demand. Reaching consumers at a quicker speed was something we had so much demand for and no other agency was moving into this space, so we decided to focus strategically in this area as a business,” said Founder and CEO of TishTash, Natasha Hatherall.

Hatherall continues, “I worked for over 5 years with Diageo, who due to the nature of their business have some of the most sophisticated databases and CRM capabilities.  Taking this experience, along with my 20 years experience in PR and marketing, seemed like a natural move as few companies seem to understand the power of customer data and that it’s one of the most powerful assets to any business, yet alone how to optimise it to full effect. I am genuinely excited about this new chapter for our agency and believe it will be one of our fastest growing areas in the year ahead and a great addition to the other services we provide.”

Launched by Natasha Hatherall in January 2012, TishTash Marketing and Public Relations has swiftly grown to be one of the most sought-after specialist PR and marketing agencies operating in two areas; beauty, health and wellness and kids and family focused brands with their little sister TishTash Tots.

For more information visit www.tishtash.com or @tishtashtalks.

Today, feelings of worry, uneasiness and nervousness are commonplace, and they often result in a state of feeling helpless and hopeless in the face of spiraling emotions. Problem and persistent anxiety can develop for many reasons and globally, there are over 1 billion people who are struggling with an anxiety disorder (WHO, 2017). There are many reasons for anxiety and this can include anything from adjusting to big life changes, to enduring an ongoing stressful situation, to questioning our purpose and future goals, or having had negative experiences that tell us the world is a dangerous place and bad things can happen at any time. Regardless of the cause, evidence-based skills can be learnt and can help to reduce the impact of anxiety in your day-to-day.

The LightHouse Arabia, a community mental health and wellness center on Al Wasl Road, leads the way in helping to improve mental health in the UAE. As part of this, they have just announced their new Anxiety Management therapy group in response to the upward rise of those struggling with anxiety and needing professional support at a more affordable price point in comparison to one-on-one therapy.

“This fall, we have received a surge of phone calls from people struggling with anxiety and depression. Many can’t afford to come into one-on-one therapy and others come but cannot complete the recommended treatment due to cost. And then there are those who have to wait weeks to get an appointment because our clinicians are fully booked. We have always operated from the basis of ‘what does our community need?’, and right now, the answer to that question is, ‘evidence-based treatment for anxiety in the form of group therapy’”.

Dr. Saliha Afridi, Clinical Psychologist & Managing Director, The LightHouse Arabia

A group setting has been shown to have many therapeutic benefits. The power of groups lies in the unique opportunity to receive multiple perspectives, support, encouragement and feedback from other individuals in a safe and confidential environment. She adds, “Group therapy is very powerful because anxiety and depression are very isolating mental illnesses. When you are with a group sharing your experiences, learning how to manage and cope together – it reduces shame and validates your struggles.”

The Anxiety Management therapy group at The LightHouse Arabia will be led by a licensed, senior clinician using evidence-based practices. Those participating in the group can expect to learn more about anxiety – its development and its physiology, while being taught practical skills to manage and reduce the physical symptoms, anxious thoughts and impact on behavior. The group setting makes it an opportunity to learn from and share with others who are experiencing similar difficulties.

Dr. Afridi emphasizes the importance of working with a licensed professional when it comes to one’s mental health and wellbeing. ”When people are suffering with a mental illness they can be easily exploited by others. Often time due to costs, these people take the cheaper route to wellness by working with an unqualified coach or an unlicensed therapist. The problem is that they can then become even more vulnerable and at risk when they engage with those charlatans.” All clinicians at The LightHouse Arabia are licensed by UAE governing bodies.

The Anxiety Management therapy group is open to adults ages 21 years and above and is limited to eight participants in a closed group structure. It will run two times per week, for six weeks this fall (dates & timings TBC). The cost will be AED 1,740 + 5% VAT (payment plan available). Those interested in participating should email info@lighthousearabia.com or call T. (0)4 380 2088 to request an initial phone consultation from the team to assess suitability before they qualify to attend.

For those seeking quality and affordable support in other areas of life, The LightHouse Arabia offers a wide variety of free-of-cost support groups. These include:

• General Grief support group (for children, tweens, teens and adults)
• Motherless Daughters
• Coping with Cancer
• Support After Loss to Suicide (SALS)
• Little Lifetimes (pregnancy and infant loss)
• ADHD (support group for parents of children with ADHD)
• Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)/Asperger’s support group
• Infertility support group
• University Stress support group

The LightHouse Arabia also has clinicians who spend many hours a week within companies or schools delivering seminars at no-cost and raising awareness about mental health and wellbeing practices. The LightHouse Arabia is also the only facility in the UAE licensed to deliver the world-renowned Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) program, which trains adults and adolescents on being first responders to mental health issues, and have trained over 800 MHFA responders in the in the last year.

The LightHouse Arabia was founded in 2011 by clinical psychologists Dr. Saliha Afridi and
Dr. Tara Wyne, whose shared mission and vision is to make the region happier and healthier. With an international team of over 20 licensed psychologists and psychiatrists,
The LightHouse is a community mental health and wellness center providing quality care to children, adults, couples and families. The LightHouse also work with corporations, schools, hospitals and other institutions to promote mental wellness through education and training programs.  The center is also home to the Raymee Grief Center, a free-of-charge grief support service – the first of its kind in the region. 

The LightHouse Arabia is leading the way in promoting the mental wellbeing of the Middle East and you can find out more by visiting www.lighthousearabia.com or following them at @LightHouseArabia and Dr. Saliha Afridi @drsalihaafridi

We had so much fun as PR partner for the Professional Beauty GCC Show, that we’re doing it all again in 2020!

For those of you who may not know, Professional Beauty GCC is a must attend event for those who want to discover the latest trends in the beauty industry. It’s the leading beauty, hair and spa expo for the local, Middle Eastern market, with the beauty, hair, make-up, nail, spa and aesthetics industry all under one roof for 2 days and an exciting schedule of workshops, masterclasses and expert panels.

We’ll be back with a bigger and bolder fun media lounge and we can’t wait to see lots of you there!  More info and the show announcement coming soon!

For all enquiries drop a line to marwa@tishtash.com