Zawaya, Monday November 5, 2007

NEMP launches "The Grand Draw UAE", a unique incentive program for UAE shoppers
 Zawya
November 5, 2007

Shoppers can win quarterly grand prizes of Dhs100,000 as well as daily guaranteed prizes of varying amounts

DUBAI, UAE, November 1, 2007: Emirates Marketing & Promotions (EMP), a subsidiary of Emirates Post, and On Line Media (OLM), a regional marketing and business development firm, today announced a new joint venture, "The Grand Draw UAE", an ambitious retail marketing incentive program delivering extra value for UAE shoppers all year round.

The unique incentive program offers shoppers a chance to win quarterly grand prizes of Dhs100,000, holiday packages and attractive electronic items as well as a host of daily instant prizes, Mr. Ahmad Tahlak, CEO of EMP, announced at a press conference today.

With every purchase made at participating outlets, customers receive a Grand Draw Ticket and guaranteed Instant Prizes of value of Dhs4 to Dhs200. With the ticket, the shopper can opt to participate in three optional draws by sending an SMS at Dhs1.50 per message: the Quarterly Grand Draw to win Dhs100,000 in cash and other exciting prizes, the Personal Registration Draw to win Dhs10,000 in cash and electronic prizes and the Secondary Draw to win PlayStation 3, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Nintendo WII and other products.

The incentive program, available from mid-December 2007, will be executed in collaboration with Gulf Greetings L.L.C., the main sponsor of the project, through its Hallmark and The Toy Store outlets. Gulf Greetings is investing in instant prizes valued at Dhs25 million per annum. Other sponsors include the leading chain electronics megastores, Sharaf DG, providing valuable electronics items for the Draw and 24 Seven, the chain of convenience stores; in addition to The Entertainer, known for their successful "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" voucher publications, offering instant prizes worth over Dhs5 million in Entertainer Savings Vouchers.

"The name 'The Grand Draw UAE' reflects our vision to establish a new standard in value and magnitude for promotional draw concepts," said Mr. Ahmad Tahlak, CEO of EMP. "We aim to distribute over 10 million tickets annually in Phase 1 and our target is to reach over 60 million tickets in Phase 2 in 2009."

"The information aggregated from The Grand Draw will help the participating retail partners get a better understanding of the UAE's retail market and consumers, which will support the strategic planning function in building future strategies. We are committed to supporting the initiatives of the UAE to maintain its well-deserved regional leadership in retail, tourism, and hospitality," Mr. Tahlak added.

Mr. Ahmed El Gibaly, CEO of On Line Media L.L.C., said: "The Grand Draw UAE is an exciting incentive program giving shoppers many chances of winning dream prizes as well as instant prizes. As the marketing partner of this program, OLM is committed to making it available in a large number of outlets in the UAE. We are positive this scheme will be a catalyst in generating larger sales in participating outlets."

Mr. Richard Blair, Managing Partner of Gulf Greetings L.L.C., commented: "We are supporting 'The Grand Draw UAE' through an investment of Dhs25 million in instant prizes annually. We believe this incentive program has all the ingredients of success, and will definitely mark a turning point in the history of such programs in the region."

'The Grand Draw UAE' is yet another dynamic offering from EMP, which has emerged as a major turnkey solutions provider in direct marketing, promotions and call centre management. Supported by a database of over 2.8 million records and backed by Emirates Post's postal infrastructure, EMP is strongly placed to deliver unmatched service in this field.

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