Samsung Electronics has launched 25 new health conscious air conditioners in the Middle East with built-in digital “i” technology and bionizers — two Samsung technologies that make home and office air conditioners “healthier than ever.” Mansour Addas, AC division manager at United Matbouli Group, the Kingdom’s Samsung agent, said: “By building air conditioners that have self-cleanliness and monitoring capabilities, Samsung ensures that its customers’ health is protected. These 25 new Samsung air conditioners are built with customers’ health at heart.” He remarked the new air conditioners are embedded with digital “i” technology, which is a large circular light emitting diode display that allows consumers to monitor the health of the room in terms of current operation mode, power and room temperature all at a glance. In addition, the new air conditioners are equipped with bionizers. To deliver fresh air, it is essential not only to purify the air but also maintain the cleanliness within the air conditioner, as they are an ideal place for molds. “To counter that, Samsung air conditioners come equipped with Samsung’s bionizer air purifying system that provides the freshest and cleanest air. Along with digital “i” and bionizers, Samsung’s new air conditioners are equipped with dehumidification function that allows consumers to reduce humidity while maintaining room temperature to consumer preferences,” he said.
Hummer/Pepsi
This summer Pepsi is offering football fans in Saudi Arabia the opportunity to win millions of valuable prizes in this year’s “Dare to win” football promotion where everyone is a winner. To celebrate the signing of the newest Pepsi football players, among them Italian superstar Francisco Totti and Brazilian superstar Ronaldhino, Pepsi has decided to share this event with the fans by developing “this unprecedented” promotion on a regional level. With the purchase of a Pepsi, there are two ways to win. All one has to do is look under closure to see if they have won an instant prize or a code. If the closure shows an instant prize, all one has to do is to go to one of the dedicated redemption centers and collect it. “If a code appears, send an SMS message with the code and the brand of your mobile to the number of the dedicated center for your region indicated on the pack,” said a Pepsi spokesman. The winner will then receive an SMS informing him of the valuable prize won. The winning closures maybe found on all Pepsi packs. Prizes include H2 Hummer vehicles, Nokia N-Gage mobile phones, Pepsi star-signed footballs and Pepsi ring tones and logos. Consumers can also win these prizes through participating in a free draw, which will be held on Sept. 2 in Riyadh under the supervision of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Free coupons can be found at major participating supermarkets.
Bayer HealthCare
Bayer HealthCare has introduced its new Levitra therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED) in the Kingdom. “Levitra is about improving ED patients’ lifestyle, Dr. Gamal Kamel Mikhail, Cairo-based senior representative of Bayer HealthCare for the Middle East,” told a press conference at Jeddah Hilton on Tuesday. Recent studies published in many parts of Europe and North America cited that the therapy proved to be a rapid and reliable treatment. The drug has rated a 92 percent efficacy for most men suffering form ED in comparison with other therapies, giving men the confidence that the drug will work time and again after its intake, he said. In addition, the therapy has statistically demonstrated the fastest onset of action of 10 minutes to date. He felt that men in the Arab world were less aware of the ED therapy, as most of the time they looked for alternatives like creams or herbal therapy. “ED could be the result of many psychological or biological factors,” he said, adding that men need to know that ED can be treated and the first step is to talk abut their condition with their doctor who will find them the treatment that is right for them. Licensed and approved by the Food and Drug Association, Levitra was globally launched in 2002. Designed specifically for the treatment of ED, Levitra works rapidly and in most patients works consistently over time offering a therapy with safety and tolerability, he said.
Ray-Ban
Ray-Ban Co. known for sunglasses and opticals, has appointed Lebanese singer Aleesa as the first ambassadress for the company’s products in both the Middle East and North Africa. “We’re proud to have Aleesa as ambassadress for our new 2004 collection,” Abdul Aziz M. Alkhalifa, vision care division manager at Alkhobar-based Gulf Trading Corp. Ltd., said while announcing the partnership between Ray-Ban and the Lebanese singer at a press conference at Jeddah Marriott on Tuesday. “Aleesa is hugely popular among Arab audiences and Ray-Ban has a long history of association with international stars,” Alkhalifa said, adding that the cooperation with Aleesa will consolidate the leading role that Ray-Ban plays in the sunglasses industry. Sunglasses have become a fashion and an essential part of the current world trends “Ray-Ban products are known for their elegant designs fascinating look, top-quality and high international standards,” he said. The announcement was first made in Dubai in the presence of the singer and Ray-Ban’s Middle East Manager Andria Zafein. “Ray-Ban sunglasses appeal to both the fashion-conscious and those desirous of the highest quality and innovative design,” Aleesa said at the Dubai event.
QTEL
Nawras Telecom Consortium, formed by Qtel together with TDC and Omani partners, has won the public tender for the second mobile license in Oman. This was announced on Tuesday by the tender board in Oman, which last week confirmed its selection of the consortium as first preferred bidder. This is the first license Qtel has won outside its native Qatar and underlines the strength of its commitment to building an international presence and also underscores the strong relationship between Oman and Qatar. “Our success in winning this license and being chosen in the face of a high-level competition puts us on the international map and is testament to the Qturn transformation process we kicked off in 2002. We’ll be investing significant funding into this new business and we’ll be playing an active role in the management. We look forward to creating an outstandingly successful new operator in Oman and to making further announcements on our international expansion in the next couple of years,” Qtel Chairman Abdullah ibn Mohammed ibn Saud Al-Thani, said. “The success certainly adds to the remarkable achievements made under the guidance and foresight of the emir of Qatar,” he added. Qtel won the license against a particularly strong international competition of 28 consortia including Vodafone and Orange as well as the elite of the regional operators with MTC and Cable & Wireless/Batelco. Qtel is contributing two of its senior management team with many years of mobile and startup experience as the CEO and COO of Nawras Telecom, and TDC will be providing many experienced and knowledgeable mobile and telecommunications experts to form part of the senior management team.
Saudi Import Company
Saudi Import Co. (Banaja) has signed a sole distribution agreement with the Denmark Verosan Corp. With this, Banaja will market and distribute “Imedeen Perfection” products of skin and beauty care across the Kingdom. The development takes place at a time when the volume of cosmetics and skin care products has reached SR2.8 billion in the Saudi market, 40 percent of the Gulf’s SR7 billion market, a company spokesman said. The signing ceremony was held in Jeddah in the presence of Banaja General Manager Yousif Abdul Latif Banaja. A top executive of Verosan Corp. said the Kingdom’s health and beauty care products market was one of the biggest in this part of the world. Banaja Marketing Manager Maher Jamil Khidhir said the market of cosmetics and skin care in the Gulf continued to increase.
Kodak
Kodak has sponsored Miss Lebanon for 2004. It has displayed a giant board around which contestants gather to demonstrate and recall their exciting memories, and print and post their fun activities together. It offered its easy share digital camera along with dock printer for Miss Photogenic 2004 to capture “real Kodak quality photos in minutes.” With one touch the photos are ready to share with family and friends. In addition, Kodak has allocated 16 easy share digital cameras to all 16 contestants for their permanent use. Kodak claims the camera to be a pioneer in photography.