Lagos, 13 June 2008

Etisalat's careful selection of strategic partners yesterday yielded another result as the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a leading media independent company, mediaReach OMD, with an objective to receive the best and most innovative message spread in Nigerian media.

At the signing ceremony in Lagos, Etisalat, the fifth entrant into the Nigerian telecom market, reiterated its commitment to its values of care, optimism and simplicity and emphasized that these values will always drive its dealings in the Nigerian market and expressed the hope that Nigerians would begin to relate with them.

Saoud Al Shamsi, Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria represented by Wael Ammar, Vice President Marketing, said, ''we are commencing this timely and strategic partnership with mediaReach OMD as our media buying agency and we use this opportunity to restate that customer needs are at the centre of our services, they are always at the heart of what Etisalat provides''.

He added that Etisalat's choice of mediaReach OMD was in consonance with the company's reputation for transparency in identifying and selecting its strategic business partners. “The relationship with mediaReach OMD is a reinforcement of mutual benefit of each other’s strengths”, Al Shamsi said.

Tolu Ogunkoya, Managing Director of mediaReach OMD, said Etisalat’s selection of his agency was an exciting experience and the company was poised to deliver cutting edge and innovative service to the telecom giant. He said, ''We are enthused by Etisalat’s pedigree of successful roll - out of networks in 15 countries across Africa, Middle East and Asia. It’s exciting for us to add this brand to our portfolio.”

He revealed that the agency already has a dedicated team for Etisalat business. “The team is quite excited and reveling the Etisalat brand and all it will mean to consumers”, he said while noting that Etisalat’s vision for Nigeria provided mediaReach OMD with a clear sense of direction to deliver on many aspects of marketing and media communications.