Modern Technology and New Media: Improving the Middle East News Agency

In an effort to stem the economic downturn affecting media throughout the world, IREX assisted its partners in Egypt to adopt new approaches to achieving growth and income. The Middle East News Agency (MENA) is the oldest and one of the largest agencies in the region. However, with its long history there come some antiquated practices. With the help of the Media Development Program (funded by USAID and implemented by MSI, Inc. in partnership with IREX), the state-run agency is making innovative strides toward modernization and profitability by targeting news consumers and advertisers in addition to its traditional print and broadcast media clientele.

To do so, IREX worked with MENA to deliver advanced Web-based services, demonstrating that the Internet was a prime market for producing profits. In summer 2008, MDP helped the agency develop a supplemental website to cover the Beijing Olympic Games and trained four MENA correspondents to use rich media techniques, including photography, video, and audio, while covering the events live from China.

Capitalizing on the unique window of opportunity provided by the anticipated increase in site traffic, MDP prepared the MENA marketing team for a rapid sales blitz. MDP designed a news service product package, sponsor benefits packages and sales letters in English and Arabic, as well as provided MENA with 15 prospective sponsors – including a contact person at each sponsor – to help jump-start the blitz.

 “This was the first time we’ve worked under such urgency with regards to time, and I think we need to change the way we deal with the market. MENA has real growth potential and has to use it,” said Rasmia El Khouly, MENA’s marketing manager.

The sales blitz resulted in contracts with six news clients for the Beijing Olympics wire service and boosted the MENA website 40,000 places in the global rankings, according to Web information company Alexa. The growth, however, was more than just quantitative. For the first time MENA went beyond its traditional text reporting to include rich media news, using multimedia to attract new users. Those new users for the first time included both press clients and news consumers. By widening its scope, MENA joined the ranks of international and national news agencies like Reuters and Italy’s ANSA in offering the public direct access to their news services.

The project’s success convinced MENA of the value of a more commercial approach, the importance of rich media and the possibilities for generating income through Web advertising. The success was immediate: Egypt Air and a Cairo brokerage company both booked ads on MENA’s site in January 2009 on the occasion of the regional Arab Economic Forum. This led the agency to accept work on a second developmental phase with MDP, which will include an improved Web presence, rich media products, and marketing department development.

MENA’s new media efforts also improved with another major development in early 2008, when it launched a multi-channel and multi-language SMS news delivery system. The service got off to a slow start primarily due to antiquated subscription methods. However, after consulting with MDP, MENA improved its service and methods and subscription skyrocketed from just 1,500 to 41,000. Subscribers are paying EGP5 per month for the service. The new revenue contributed to a 25 percent growth in profit in 2008, and suggests an even more positive outlook for 2009.

“With the help of MDP, MENA can move into a new era of operation as a profitable professional modern news agency,” said MENA Board Chairman Abdallah Hassan at the December 2008 signing of a memorandum of understanding on the new development phase with MDP.

The MDP program has also provided training in business reporting and has provided consulting to MENA’s English Desk.