The communication industry is evolving at light speed. With the advancement in technologies and the unprecedented amount of big data, agencies are kept on the their toes; constantly adopting new strategies and techniques to stay relevant, adapt to change and sustain their position.  

The Brandberries has exclusively interviewed Roy Aftimos, Managing Director of C2 Communications, a prominent communications consultancy agency based in Dubai, to shed some light on “The Next” in the communications Industry.    

BB: The communication environment is getting more and more complicated, forcing agencies to adopt new approaches and techniques to stay relevant and in the game. C2 has introduced to the MENA market a new approach coined under the term ‘Strategic and Scientific Alternative Communication’, can you weigh on what is it all about? 

RA: Businesses in our current marketplace want results that matter. While equity building continues to happen, the more urgent need is to see growth in numbers. 

Roy Aftimos – Managing Director of C2 Communications

This is where we at C2 Communications come in. 

While we do not neglect the need to consistently promote any brand, we set our focus an achieving and supplementing our clients’ KPI. By this, we mean sitting down with the key stakeholders and analyzing the data and information we have in front of us. These figures after all give us a clear indication on where the problem and opportunity areas are.  Then, through our “science”, we develop the strategy that are zeroed to the audience we intend to reach and not mass-communicate.

BB: How does ‘Strategic and Scientific Alternative Communication’ help clients capture opportunities in a changing marketplace? 

RA: For the longest of time, clients were operating on the “push factor”. Brands were reaching out to consumers by feeding them with communication. Today however, push has become shove as the need to meet targets has become paramount. Through our Strategic and Scientific Alternative Communication, we turn the flow of traffic by initiating the “pull factor”. We want the consumers to come to the brand because they naturally want to. 

Consumers don’t buy Brand X ice cream because it’s indulgence. They buy ice cream because it’s hot. And when we make them choose our brand, then our task is a success. It’s easier said than done, and that’s what we have capitalized on. 

BB: C2 Communications has undergone a rebrand, does this come along with a new vision for the company? How will this reposition the agency in the regional industry scene? 

RA: More than a rebrand, it’s rethink, reinvent, reposition and reinvigorate.

While the essence and our heritage remain the same, the way we approach today is synchronized to what today is. This is the only way to stay relevant not just in the region but globally as well.


BB: Out with the old, in with the new. Can you shed some lights on the creative inspiration behind the rebrand? 

RA: We draw our inspiration from what’s close to us. By understanding our cultural nuances and market dynamics, we bring relevancy to our clients. We embrace creativity as a way of life and not merely a discipline. Individuals, regardless of designation or competence have the right to express themselves. Only by being courageous, will we be able to venture into the unknown. Only by being curious, will we keep asking questions. And only by being progressive, will we move forward.

These are values and the inspiration on why we are now C2 Communications.

BB: The tech race is on. How is C2 embracing technology to enhance its proposition to clients and drive growth? 

RA: We believe there is no tech race. It’s really evolution. The love for music has never changed. However, the vessel that delivers it has evolved from vinyls to cassettes to compact disks to streaming today.

We do take pride in ourselves for being early adaptors in the tech evolution with the establishment of C2 Native. A data-driven communications lab, our digital alter ego specializes in orchestrating AI, modern social media, future technologies, big data advertising, and marketing automation. 

BB: The agency slogan is ‘Architects Of The Next’. In your opinion, what’s next in the MENA communications landscape? Where is the industry heading? 

RA: It is without doubt that our industry has changed on a macro scale. The typical consumers’ path-to-purchase has been repaved, technological advances has seen the rise of innovative mediums and data now allows campaigns to be better targeted. Brands and clients are refusing to stick to just a familiar format – they want use interchangeable mediums to gain and to attain the results the have set their eyes upon. 

Virtually everything we see in and around our business landscape has evolved. So, rather than being the one that jumps into the bandwagon, we have taken the lead to be one that drives it. The MENA region has become a very competitive market place. This is courtesy of the amalgamation of talents and expertise from around the world. And when you have such serving at your doorstep, there’s no stopping you for being one that defines the way forward. The time has come for us in the region to take charge and to change how the communication business moves. Why settle on being one that builds from a blueprint, when we can be the one that architects it?