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Welcome back to Digital Media & Tech in Dubai, (DMT/d), for the second episode of our brand new podcast focused on bringing listeners topical segments and informative conversations with local experts exploring the latest news and developments in the digital media and tech scene in the burgeoning international capital that is Dubai, as well as the greater ME area. Hosted by Spencer Striker, PhD, Digital Media professor at the American University in Dubai--the episodes are recorded on location at AUD in the heart of Dubai’s Media City. Special guest for episode 2, “PAZ Knows Digital Dubai,” is Joe Akkawi, Chief Digital Officer at PAZ Marketing, an influential PR firm based here in the city that he co-founded with his father and sister back in 2007: http://pazmarketing.com/ As a graduate of the American University in Dubai, Joe went from earning an IT degree in 2004, to working in web development in the early 2000s, to running digital/social for PAZ, where he manages top clients, from hot startups like Fetchr to megabrands like Harley Davidson. Topics discussed in episode 2 include: The growth of PAZ Marketing in Dubai during the city’s dynamic decade. Joe’s opinions on who are the key social media influencers in the region right now, including: Max of Arabia https://www.instagram.com/maxofarabia/ Bin Baz https://www.instagram.com/bin_baz/ Huda Beauty https://www.instagram.com/hudabeauty/ How the expansion of PAZ Marketing has mirrored the rise of the Dubai startup scene these past ten years, whereby key startups have hired PAZ to scale them toward rapid impact, including Cobone.com (acquired by Tiger Global), Sukar (acquired by Souq), and CashU (acquired by Maktoob). Current PAZ clients range from successful Dubai-based startup, Fetchr http://fetchr.us/about/ , to one of America’s most icon brands, Harley-Davidson, http://www.harley-davidson-dubai.com/ , for which Joe has the awesome challenge of strategically rebranding for the GCC, Levant, and NA regions. Finally, Joe provides some expert insights on how to approach a Snapchat marketing play in the region, as well as some of forecasts for the future of digital Dubai. Hosted by: Spencer Striker, PhD, Digital Media professor at the American University in Dubai https://twitter.com/spencerstriker Special Guest: Joe Akkawi, Chief Digital Officer, PAZ Marketing https://twitter.com/JoeAkkawi Special Thanks to Reina Dib and Joy Semaan of the AUD Marcom Team https://www.instagram.com/audubai And huge shout out to stellar AUD student and podcast producer, Rana Daoud https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranadaoud Featuring Video Game Remixes by the legendary Chris Bates