Challenge
EFQM brought its Middle East Summit to Dubai in 2022, then to Abu Dhabi in 2023 for a second edition staged in partnership with Abu Dhabi Police. Both editions demanded international press attention, VIP handling and precise on-site logistics.
Then, two days before the 2022 summit, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan passed away, and a carefully planned event suddenly required crisis communication in a country in mourning.
Approach
DaBuzz managed the events end to end: media relations, press release distribution, VIP invitations with direct stakeholder contact, and on-site troubleshooting through both editions. In 2022, that extended to crisis communication around the President's passing.
For the 2023 edition, two bilingual releases, in Arabic and English, carried the story: a pre-event announcement in September and the awards winners release in October, distributed across the Gulf and international wires.
Launch choreography
- Sep 15Pre-event release2023 Abu Dhabi summit announced in Arabic and English
- Oct 17Winners releaseAwards results distributed in Arabic and English
- Oct 17–24Coverage window114 placements secured across the Gulf and beyond
Results
The summits drew 380+ participants in 2022 and 500 in 2023. The winners release alone secured 114 placements through wire distribution, worth US$114K in PR value, published between October 17 and 24.
Placements landed across the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and wider MENA, with pickups as far as Africa.com and Ventures Africa.