I-gency.com - First or Last?

I-gency.com - a Dubai based web agency - recently published a press release on AME Info claiming to be the first agency in the Middle East offering “real-time sales activity reporting”. Let me correct that: Besides Flip Media, the following Middle East based agencies are using real-time sales activity reporting for more than a year and [...]

I-gency.com - a Dubai based web agency - recently published a press release on AME Info claiming to be the first agency in the Middle East offering “real-time sales activity reporting”.

Let me correct that: Besides Flip Media, the following Middle East based agencies are using real-time sales activity reporting for more than a year and if not longer: Impact Proximity, Fluid Insight, eWorks, Wunderman, Media Edge:CIA, Ogilvy1, Catch (121 Agencies), Mindshare, Media Insight, OMD, BBDO, and please leave a comment if I have forgotten anyone else.

I-gency also claims to be The First Arab Interactive Agency as you can see from this Google link.

Finally, I found one area where the can undoubtly claim to be last, that is their own website:

comments

dotone

February 28th, 2006 at 6:22 am

PRs please! the region aint the same anymore! please don’t bring up all this “First something” it’s so uninformed, don’t these PRs know that there might be really informed & sound technologists and mareketers in this region or what?

First Interactive Agency? What are the other agencies then? don’t they deliver or is it that this new tag is supposed to be sprayed everywhere?

Earlier some Internet City company claimed to be implementing RSS for the first time in the region; big deal? First podcast, so? I don’t know if I’m missing something over here but does that mean their ahead of the game by claiming all that? Plus, they couldn’t claim all these unless a thirdparty indentifies them as that but again that doesn’t count for such small services even though they’re of value. So please PRs.

PJ

March 2nd, 2006 at 2:19 am

I dont think first counts for much today…after all…google wasnt the first seach engine!!
Its being customer focused and able to deliver the right product to the right audience at the right time…and thats what brought google to the top…and a bit of smart…yet subtle pr!

lets b real

March 4th, 2006 at 11:10 am

I see all agencies doing the same. Didn’t you guys come up in press saying you were the first to do video streaming with flip cast. It’s a simple built-in component in flash. And introducing podcasting…. my message is guys let’s be real and do some real work.

Martin Diessner

March 4th, 2006 at 11:22 am

I don’t see all agencies doing the same, and it certainly does not drive the industry forward by over PRing things, and certainly not by providing wrong information on a fact.

In order to respond to your comment about flipcast, that was the first video streaming player in the ME (launched 2003) that worked without a component and it’s been doing its job.

I fully agree with you about real work, and I am sure if anyone @ I-Gency reads through these comments those guys will be hopefully REALly doing something about their own website…

lets b real

March 4th, 2006 at 11:51 am

I still say all agencies are doing the same. And what about over PRing by Flip. Are you driving the industry forward. Below is a clear example of over PRing. Are you guys re-inventing the wheel. If you say you introduced flipcast which is a very simple flash component and then pod casting then I fully support i-gency for their PR. Agencies are fooling clients as they are not tech savy.
———————————————–
Leading Independent Interactive Marketing Agency Achieves Another First in Breakthrough Internet Technologies.
Flip Media, the region’s leading, independent, interactive marketing agency has announced the launch of their Flip PodCaster product in the region

Martin Diessner

March 4th, 2006 at 11:56 am

Yes I do. PRing is one thing that everyone can do.

Saying that i-gency is the first one bringing post-click into the region and that no one else did before is just simply wrong.

If you look at the FACTS you will see that we did it for the first time and that people followed.

Space banners is another simple example: Flip were the FIRST to do space banners (not a huge invention like flying to space) but its been widely adapted (220×550) even in Europe and the States.

Either way, I just felt sorry for i-gency to jump on the post-click train in mid 2006 while everyone else has been doing it since 2004.

dotone

March 4th, 2006 at 4:14 pm

It’s not like it’s an invention! The introduction/implementation for the first time is something we get spammed about all the time. I think it’s out of value to PR that way with the way information flows these days, it’s an obsolete way of PRing and as I mentioned before it’s so uninformed.

It’s like waiting for windows Vista and whoever installs it first trigers the “first one news”.

What is Flipcast? Okay, I did my homework, it’s a streamer. A component you could develope easily even back in 2003 with Flash MX 6.0, guess what? It was available in Macromedia Exchange site even then for free!! I’m not trying to undervalue the streaming component but I guess branding such a small thing and selling it means the market is still virgin which makes my statement about the market maturity wrong, but, still that’s smart selling, not using the uninformed.

To conclude, I see it really fliping! The media and PRs are defining what’s real for businesses and strategists; No technology-push, no market-pull, but only PR injections are defining what bussineses need and can have. This is hapening because it is hard for entraprenures to go up on stage and have some light on them. Live long PRs. This signigies the lack of tech-communities in the region, lack of tech-events and gatherings for the specialists/engineers/artists instead of execs.

I-Dont-See

March 5th, 2006 at 5:53 am

Its about innovation. And if someone did bring it out before others then PR is good. Why is apples iPod a bigger hit, although they were late to the mp3 Market. Diamond Rios were there before, i guess it is how it is put together. Flipcast, as a good example was a nice innovation to bring bloomberg style TV to the Net. And that too much before anyone else in the market. So kudos to the guys for coming up with something innovative rather than zero invention from the i-gency guys, who I know from sources dont have much talent.

Farrukh: copywriter & journalist

March 5th, 2006 at 5:15 pm

Interesting discussion. I would like to read the view from the other side too, Martin. What do you say?

Farrukh: copywriter & journalist

March 5th, 2006 at 5:26 pm

In the technology industry, bluffs are easily caught by early adopters and trendsetting consumers. So false claims will only be detrimental.

Also, being first in the market need not necessarily mean being the consumer’s first choice. Does it?

The brand that clicks (or flips?) with its market is the brand that rules.

And of course, there is this thing about the state of PR in the region - it needs some serious professional therapy… LOL.

I’d like to hear it from the other side too - what do they have to say? Do they blog? There’s a feature on the company in Campaign.

Martin Diessner

March 6th, 2006 at 9:06 am

I’d love to see what i-gency.com has to say. In my eyes, it was a cheap PR stunt which will result in some business leads to i-gency.com from un-educated and unexperience clients (so many exist….).

It’s also a bit of a surprise to me to see that someone being years behind of everyone elses technology (see list of agencies) claims owership and diminishes the creditability of agencies being on track for such a long time.

Either way, at the end of the day the client should decide by service, results and other means who to work with and PR like the above is not changing the world.

C Ellen - Marketing Manager

March 6th, 2006 at 9:53 am

From the client side, I have never relied on an agencies ability to PR themselves as a basis to work with them, or consider to invite them to tender. A marketing manager should do their job and research the agencies. PR’s keep me informed, but ‘the proof is in the pudding’ the agencies work and account servicing, must deliver returns.

I read the article in Campaign and thought to myself, how can igency make such a claim when my campaigns have been successfully tracked and return on investment measured by brand central since 2004, funny! Leads me to believe that igency didn’t research their competitors in the region, which is a bit concerning.

Dimitri

March 7th, 2006 at 8:38 am

Globally, agencies (as any other business) will do whatever they can to PR themselves and this can only be expected.

However it is the role of the media whose editorial integrity dictates the need to vet clear company self-endorsements such as iGency’s and conduct the vital research to gauge false claims. Unfortunately it is Campaign ME’s mistake on this occasion for not having done their due diligence and publishing the article.

The fact that they did not themselves believe the claim and indeed added quotation marks to “first” in the title begs one to question why they published this in the end. The article becomes

Dimitri

March 7th, 2006 at 8:51 am

pointless and un-newsworthy if iGency aren’t the first.

It does deserve pointing out that Campaign ME clearly have the market on our industry news as our discussion reflects so despite the mistake we have to give them credit for publishing what has become a must-read every two weeks. I just hope it stays that way.

Flip Media