RTA launches social media campaign

Dubai's RTA, the Roads & Transport Authority that is responsible for planning, providing and administrating transport, roads & traffic services and infrastructure for the Emirate, has launched its own social media campaign, so says yesterday's official press release. The Authorities social media campaign kicks-off in advance of the opening of the Dubai Metro on September 9th.

The RTA begun opening social media profiles during June 2009 and now uses Blogger, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The Authority's YouTube channel has already been a marked success with 1,148 videos watched from the 64 videos uploaded (27 August 2009). The RTA's Facebook group has 1,475 members (27 August 2009).

According to Peyman Younes Parham, Director of the RTA's Marketing and Corporate Communication Department "Using these social networks plays a vital role in opening a two-way communication channel with the public. Clients can benefit from the information about RTA services uploaded in these social networks portals, whereas RTA will have the benefit of improving its services through capitalizing on communication."

My City My Metro
The RTA is also already using its new social presence for its first social media promotion campaign: "My City, My Metro". The YouTube video competition was launched on 19 August with an accompanying Facebook page. However, so far all the 28 videos that are shown in the "My Metro and My City" playlist (all of them uploaded on 19 August 2009), seem to be example videos shot and produced by the RTA or its marketing agencies. However, this is effectively at the end of week one and there are yet two more weeks before the Metro official opening!

Campaign URLs
Website: RTA
Facebook: RTA
YouTube: RTA
Twitter: RTA (English)
Twitter: RTA (Arabic)
Blogger: The Official Blog of RTA (English)
Blogger: The Official Blog of RTA (Arabic)
Facebook: My City My Metro
Youtube: My City My Metro Playlist

Friends, fans and followers
Facebook: RTA - 1,475 members, 16 discussion topics, 232 Wall posts (27 August 2009), 1,600 members, 19 discussion topics, 251 wall posts (7 September 2009)
YouTube: RTA - 89 subscribers, 1,148 videos watched, 6,991 channel views (27 August 2009), 98 subscribers, 1,200 videos watches, 8,120 channel views (7 September 2009)
Twitter: RTA (English) 64 followers (27 August 2009), 226 followers (7 September)
Twitter: RTA (Arabic) 7 followers (27 August 2009), 11 followers (7 September 2009)
Blogger: RTA number of subscribers unavailable
Facebook: My City My Metro - 195 fans (27 August 2009), 280 fans (7 September 2009)
Youtube: My City My Metro Playlist - 354 views, 28 videos (27 August 2009), 575 views, 28 videos (7 September 2009)

News stories
Gulf News: RTA launches Blogger, Twitter accounts (26 August 2009)

Ban men from selling lingerie

The online-offline "Ban Men From Selling Lingerie in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" campaign was started in July 2008 by women consumers using Facebook as its primary online platform. Led by Reem Asaad, a finance lecturer at Dar al-Hikma Women's College in Jeddah, the campaign aims to persuade the government to implement Saudi Labor Law No. 120, which states "only females may be employed in women apparel and accessories stores". The law was passed in 2006, but never implemented.

Although the Facebook group (started September 2008) has received modest online support over the past year (2,245 members at time of writing, and many of those foreigners), the campaign has achieved significant press coverage both inside and outside the Kingdom and some support from bloggers across the Middle East. In March 2009, a group of 50 women in Jeddah launched a public boycott of lingerie shops urging women to boycott lingerie shops that employed male service staff. Meanwhile, 1,700 people were reported to have signed the campaign's petition by March 2009.


In June 2009, a group of 26 Saudi women attended a widely publicised 10 day training course on selling lingerie, led by an Australian woman who had heard about the boycott campaign online .A group of Victoria's Secret employees who had heard about the campaign on Facebook sent a box filled with colorful cotton bras to be used in the training.

The campaign called for a two week boycott of all lingerie shops that employ men starting from the 13th of February 2010, which has been covered in local Saudi press and by Saudi bloggers.

The campaign continues. 

Updated 13 February 2010. 

Campaign URLs
Facebook: Facebook

Friends, fans and followers
Facebook: 1,200 members(17 January '09), 2,245 members (24 August '09), 4,409 members (13 February '10)

News stories
The Huffington Post: Saudi Women Train To Sell Lingerie (24 June 2009)
Saudi Gazette: ‘I’d rather not buy my unmentionables from you’ (March 2009)
BBC: Saudi lingerie trade in a twist (25 February 2009)
Arab News: Women’s campaign for right to sell lingerie in Saudi Arabia fails (18 January 2009)
Arab News: Shattering glass ceilings at lingerie shops (15 October 2008)
Saudiwoman's Weblog: Ban men from selling lingerie in KSA (16 January '10)
Arab News: ‘Manned’ lingerie shops targeted (13 February 2010)

National Democratic Party of Egypt's Sharek Campaign

The Chairman of the Policies Committee at the National Democratic Party of Egypt and son of Egyptian President Gamal Mubarak launched an online campaign called Sharek (meaning "participate" in Arabic) on Sunday 9th August 2009.


The new forum targets Egyptian youth via an online Sharek forum and social media channels including Facebook, YouTube and Flickr and aims to answer Egyptians’ questions about the NDP. Participants are invited to post their questions via the campaign website or Facebook and many of these were answered by Gamal Mubarak in a live 3 hour online video forum broadcast from an event at the NDP's headquarters in Cairo. 230 students from Egyptian universities and research centers at the NDP’s headquarters in Cairo. MUbarak answered questions submitted in advance via email, Facebook, or directly on the website www.sharek.eg. The videos will later be hosted on the website and via Youtube.

Update 28 August 2009

Campaign URLs
Website: Sharek
Facebook: Sharek
Youtube: Sharek - details to follow
Flickr: Sharek
Website: National Democratic Party of Egypt
Facebook: Gamal Mubarak
Facebook: National Democratic Party of Egypt (1)
Facebook: National Democratic Party of Egypt (2)

Friends, fans and followers
Facebook: Sharek - 3,529 supporters (12 August 2009), 3,359 supporters (28 August '09)
Facebook: Gamal Mubarak - 378 supporters (28 August 2009)
Facebook: NDP 1 - 2,859 members (28 August 2009)
Facebook: NDP 2 - 145 members (28 August 2009)

News stories
Al-Jazeera International: Connecting with Egypt's Youth (video, 14 August 2009)
Al Ahram Weekly: You've got mail (13 August 2009)
Daily News Egypt: Reaction to Gamal Mubarak’s ‘open dialogue’ differs according to venue (13 August 2009)
MENASSAT: Gamal Mubarak + social media = true (12 August 2009)
Global Voices Advocacy: Egyptian Government utilizes Electronic Media (12 August 2009)
National Democratic Party: Gamal Mubarak connects with Egyptians via Facebook (9 August 2009)
Egypt.com News: Facebook Activists support Gamal Mubarak (2 July 2009)

Je suis un 9%

TelQuel (French) and Nichane (Arabic) magazines were taken off Moroccan newstands by the Ministry of the Interior on August 1st after they published an opinion poll in conjunction with France's Le Monde newspaper about the reign of King Mohammed VI, despite the fact that the results stated 91% of Moroccans approved of his first ten years of rule. In addition to the seisure of the total circulation of both publications (some 85,000 magazines), an edition of Le Monde published later that week was also banned by the Moroccan government and all imported copies of the newspaper were confiscated at the airport on arrival.

A protest campaign quickly gained momentum under the banner of "Je suis un 9%" (I am a 9%), referring to the 9% of those surveyed that did not approve of the North African monarch's first ten years of rule. Since the week of the censorship, the Twittoma, as the Moroccan Twitter community like to call themselves, has been using the hashtag #9pcMaroc, Moroccan blogger Larbi published the poll results on his blog and bloggers such as Annous criticised the governments move and helped or organise a social media campaign. The Je suis un 9% Facebook group has secured 860 members (at time of posting) in just nine days.



The Je suis un 9% campaign is running across Twitter, Facebook and the Moroccan blogosphere, whilst the government's action itself has been roundly condemned by Committee to Protect Journalists, International Federation of Journalists and other international organisations.

Campaign URLs
Facebook: Au Maroc, je suis un 9%
Twitter: @9pcmaroc

Friends, fans and followers
Facebook: 860 members (11 August 2009), 1,137 members (28 August 2009)
Twitter: 48 followers (11 August 2009), 56 followers (28 August 2009)

News stories
AFP: Moroccan magazines seized after king opinion poll (1 August 2009)
Global Voices: Morocco: Bloggers React to the Banning of Magazines (11 August 2009)
Online Journalism Review: The Nine-Percenters: A Moroccan micro-blogging mutiny (11 August 2009)

Umm Zakiyyah, Author

Umm Zakiyyah, American novelist living in Saudi Arabia who writes on Muslim themes, launched her Facebook fan page in May 2009 and attracted 760 fans in one month. She uses the Facebook fan page and other social media to promote her novels including "Realities of Submission" and "If I should speak", which explore the differences between Muslim and Western cultures.

According to a Saudi Gazette interview with Zakiyyah in May 2009, she claimed to have achieved tangible results in terms of sales as a result of social networking.


Campaign URLs
Facebook: Umm Zakiyyah

Friends, followers and fans
Facebook: 750 (May 2009); 854 (August 2009)

News stories
Saudi Gazette: Social networking finds its calling in the world of marketing (27 June 2009)

The Mina Effect

One of the United Arab Emirates' longest standing commercial blogs, started in January 2007, The Mina Effect is the official blog of Le Meridien Mina Seyahi in Dubai.



The blog and Le Meridien Mina Seyahi's other social media resources are today becoming more and more integrated into the hotel's promotion campaigns (although Facebook & Twitter are not yet linked to via the blog).

Campaign URLs
Blog: The Mina Effect
Facebook: The Barasti Bar; Le Meridien Mina Seyahi; Westin Dubai
Twitter: @minaseyahi
Website: Le Meridien Mina Seyahi

Friends, followers and fans
Blog: followers not available; Technorati Authority (1)
Facebook: The Barasti Bar 1,727 members (March 2009); 2,385 (11 August 2009)
Facebook: Le Meridien Mina Seyahi 165 fans (11 August 2009)
Facebook: Westin Dubai 155 fans (11 August 2009)
Twitter: 140 followers (March 2009); 473 followers (11 August 2009)

N7nu - We the women

A postgraduate student's thesis on women driving in Saudi Arabia turned into a social media campaign which launched its own online forum in April 2009 to encourage open discussion on the issue.

The "N7nu — We the Women" campaign aims to raise awareness for the issue of women driving in Saudi Arabia and to start a public debate. Women are currently not allowed to drive themselves in the Kingdom. The campaign uses Flickr, Facebook, Google News and YouTube.


Campaign URLs
Website: www.n7nudrive.com
Facebook: N7nu
YouTube: N7nu
Flickr: N7nu

Friends, followers and fans
Facebook: 2,211 fans (11 August 2009)
YouTube: 25 subsribers (11 August 2009); 2,864 channel views (11 August 2009)

News stories
Arab News: The driving force! (26 April 2009)