“I have been learning about graphic design since I was 11 years old and now I am working for my mother's advertising company. I decided to enter the competition to check my ability and get some experience. The ads about the competition were everywhere, so I decided to participate. Such competitions should happen on a yearly basis so we have a chance to enhance our talent and also have healthy competition to check our level and encourage us to excel in this field.” – Lujain Awad, a 17-year-old student who participated in the competition on the encouragement of her mother who owns an advertising company.“I am here to support women and be a part of their success and I am very pleased that the award is not only for men but also for women as they represent 50 percent of society. Such competitions are a great opportunity to show the world that we have women intellectuals.” – Dr. Aasiha Natto CEO of IHOI optical company“Saudi Arabia is the biggest market in the region in terms of business and in terms of advertising investment. Therefore, it is very important to have an award for this market on its own rather than the ones that are regional. As such it is a good initiative from Okaz for which the industry is thankful.” – Talal Dhulaymi, chairman, Promoaction DDB“It feels good to win. I learned about the award competition from Okaz newspaper and I entered in order to evaluate myself and my creative ability. My entry was about how we can build cities from thought. We do not want to build from concrete and hard stuff, without intelligence and the human touch or human element.” – Fadi Yahya, 23 of Makkah, who won the bronze award and SR 25,000 cash.“The Okaz Award is a very good idea to encourage people in the media business. The Chamber can always help. But an award such as this is more specialized and it has to come from the media people themselves.” – Mohamed A. Al-Fadel, chairman, Council of Saudi Chambers“Like any award, one finds a huge gap between the winning entries and the average performing entries. As for TV, there was a huge gap in integrating the drama with the communication. Usually you build the drama from understanding the consumer and the culture. I think the creative agencies need to do a better job in this area. Most of the entries were concentrated on TV and print, which shows that radio, Internet, and outdoor advertising are underdeveloped and this mirrors investment, most of which is on TV and print, and it offers a huge opportunity. In the Saudi Talent category, when it comes to art, what most students submitted was great. But advertising material needs to integrate visual art with communication to create a brand message so that people can perceive it correctly.” – Rami Youssef Damanhouri, member of the jury and head of brand operations division, Procter & Gamble in the Arabian Peninsula. __
