CAIRO: Last month an agreement was signed by CNN International with the Egyptian company Artoc to sponsor the monthly business show "CNN Business Traveller, the latest in a line of Egyptian corporations to sponsor business shows on the international news channel. The show, hosted by CNN anchor Richard Quest, covers many facets of the traveling entrepreneur and offers advice on how business executives can maintain their lifestyle on the go. In addition to this latest venture, Orascom Telecom has been sponsoring the monthly show "Inside the Middle East on CNN and the channel also broadcasts advertising for Egypt Tourism amongst other local companies. Daily News Egypt conducted an interview via email with Rani R. Raad, vice president of ad sales at CNN International to discuss the news channel's future plans concerning the region, namely Egypt. Daily News Egypt:With the new deal being signed between CNN and Artoc, is this an indication of a paradigm shift for CNN in terms of focusing more on the Middle East, and Egypt specifically? Rani Raad: We are delighted to have signed Artoc as the new sponsor for "CNN Business Traveller and are very pleased that their sponsorship of this award-winning program will enable them to reach a very targeted audience of affluent international businessmen with their brand messages. The sponsorship does not relate to the content of the show, however, so it does not mean that we will now be covering Egypt or the Middle East more on CNN. But commercially, it does stand as a very strong statement about our business relationship with the region and is proof of the fact that there are influential companies in Egypt investing in global brand awareness. CNN s coverage of the Middle East and Egypt is already quite extensive with the highly successful monthly show "Inside the Middle East and now with the newest show to launch [called] "CNN Marketplace Middle East. What does this deal signify in respect to Egyptian involvement in such partnerships with CNN? We already have a number of Egyptian advertisers on CNN - including Orascom Telecom who have sponsored "Inside the Middle East since the show launched in 2003. A number of Egyptian companies [such as Artoc] wish to position themselves before a global audience. Are there future CNN plans for creating similar avenues of partnership dealings in Egypt? If so, what is your focus? We are always open to talking to potential commercial partners about the benefits of working with CNN for global brand positioning. We are in conversation with a number of companies in Egypt and already have a number of Egyptian clients. How does CNN view Egypt, and the region, in terms of relevance on a global level in this arena? I can only speak for how CNN works with Egypt on a commercial level where we are working with a number of companies in Egypt and see considerable potential in the market. For example, Orascom Telecom is our longest standing show sponsor and recently signed up for a fourth year of sponsoring the show, which is a very encouraging indication of the successful results that we can deliver for our partners and clients. Egypt Tourism is also one of CNN s longest standing advertisers and it is great to now add Artoc as the newest company on that list. CNN offers companies the opportunity to position themselves on a global platform and it is encouraging to see Egyptian companies taking this opportunity to look beyond their own borders or just the Middle Eastern region. CNN International broadcasts to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, South Asia and Japan.
