Loula Zaklama:

Barriers are for breaking

Business is her life.
She is one of the top 50 women entrepreneurs -- worldwide

Profile by Rehab Saad

In 1998, after years of hard work, Zaklama was recognised by an international committee of economic experts, supervised by Fortune magazine, as one of 50 leading women entrepreneurs. In 1986, she was recognised by the International Advertising Association (IAA) as one of the top ten individuals who have contributed to the profession. At a ceremony in Chicago, she was awarded a medal of merit.

No wonder, then, that Zaklama's clothes, style, and way of talking and moving all give the impression that she is a real businesswoman: energetic, dynamic and full of stamina.

Zaklama is the first Arab woman to hold the post of vice-president of the IAA, a pioneer in the Egyptian advertising business in the '60s, and one of the first people to move into marketing research and public relations in the '80s. Always a go-getter, she was even the first woman in her family to work and have a career. "That was a big surprise to my family. They are from Assiut, I am an Upper Egyptian, and no woman in my family ever worked before. My family did not know any women who worked," she laughs.

She is also an active member in quite a few organisations: a board member of the American Chamber of Commerce, and former chair of its marketing committee; a member of the board of the IAA in Egypt and New York, of the European Society of Marketing Research, and of the Public Relations Association. Quite a Jane of all trades --Êand mastering all of them.

Fortune magazine's elected few share certain characteristics. First, these top women entrepreneurs have their own businesses: they are not employees. Second, they build the business themselves --Êno pampered heiresses here. They must be leaders in their field and, above all, they must have contributed to their society. Zaklama meets all these criteria. "My contribution was related to my business and to the profession itself," she explains.

In 1962, Zaklama started out, running the first private advertising agency in Egypt (there were public agencies, connected with newspapers). She did not choose the career, but "was thrown into it". She is wry, even today: "It was not at all easy and I would not wish upon my bitterest enemy -- if I have any enemies -- to go through what I went through."

In 1961, her husband, who was working for EgyptAir, thought of starting an advertising agency as a part-time job. He was then arrested and detained. Loula was still a student at the American University in Cairo, only 19 but already a mother of two. "I was left alone. I had to survive," she says simply.

She decided to run her husband's company. At first, she had no idea of what the business was about, so she took advertising courses while still at university. "I had to read, understand and teach myself," she remembers.

Zaklama also to struggle against the system. "Everything was against me -- especially the socialist regime. I was defying the system because I was in the private sector at a time when only people working for the government were able to survive. Even men working in private companies were quitting. I was fighting not against another company, but against power." She admits, however, that there were beneficial aspects to these hard times. "I would not have studied advertising so seriously had I not been forced into it. Knowledge was my tool. I had no other means of putting up a fight."

Surprisingly, Zaklama says she never had problems as a woman invading a man's world. Her only problems stemmed from the fact that she was running a private company and was competing with the state for business. "Even now, I do not have problems because I am a woman. People just want high-quality work; they don't care if it is done by a woman or a man."

In early '80s, Zaklama moved into marketing research and public relations. Circumstances at the time urged her to make that change. The Open Door policy of the late '70s paved the way for her shift into marketing research. "The Infitah meant that a lot of products were imported into Egypt. Consumers faced a lot of new choices. International and multinational companies began to operate in Egypt. The only way for these companies to market their products and get to the consumer was to understand consumers needs. This defines what we do," she explains.

Marketing research deals with products and consumers' needs and behaviour. Loula's tips: those entering the field should have a sense of endurance as well as the will to learn -- and keep on learning. "The first step to failure is to say I do not need to learn, I know it all and I have done it all," she emphasises.

Zaklama has also had to fight to improve the advertising industry in Egypt by introducing the International Advertising Association (IAA) course to the American University in Cairo, and also by bringing the international congress of the IAA, held every two years in a different country, to Egypt for the first time. This year will witness the association's 36th congress.

"This diploma is one of my contributions to the profession. It was a team effort, carried out four years ago. It was really difficult, though," Zaklama says. The course, the curriculum of which is supervised by the IAA, is recognised worldwide. The IAA was reluctant to work with AUC at first, since the association only grants accreditation after it has evaluated the university. "Here in Egypt, we know how strong this university is. When they were sure of the university, they gave us the accreditation. We worked until we got it through." Zaklama is clearly proud of her efforts --Êand pleased with her success.

At the IAA's international congress, 1,500 delegates of international advertising agencies, media men and experts on information technology will take part in the biggest advertising gathering worldwide. The congress will be held under the patronage of President Mubarak and the last session will be chaired by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak. "This congress is the best thing that can happen to a country, because it puts that country on the international map. It benefits the host country as far as economy, tourism and advertisement are concerned," she explains. "This is why the competition is always tough. We had to convince the IAA board that we have the necessary facilities as well as the ability to organise the congress and provide a good programme." As an active member of the IAA since 1968 , Zaklama's job was to get the board's support.

Zaklama's dream was shared by all her colleagues. "Abdallah Abdel-Bari, former chairman of the board of Al-Ahram Organisation, and a leader in advertising, was always dreaming of holding this conference in Egypt. We went together to Zurich where the board meeting was held and where Egypt was chosen. Adel Afifi, Al-Ahram's former general manager of advertising, also worked very hard with us. Unfortunately, they both died before they could see the fruits of their work," she says.

Then the Luxor massacre left tens of tourists dead. After the tragedy, some delegate cancellations were reported and some even suggested that the congress should be pulled out of Egypt. "We fought, talked and toured countries, asking our friends to support us," she says. It is obvious that to Zaklama, the conference was a deeply personal issue.

The support of the Arab countries was crucial. "They were all wonderful. They all gathered in Egypt and issued a report backing us. They were all supportive because this is a great opportunity to move the Middle East forward, to where it deserves to be," she exclaims.

Although Zaklama's work takes up most of her time, her house showcases the efforts of a devoted homemaker: oil paintings on the walls, silver trinkets, pottery, small carpets which splash the white tiles with colour. On the other hand, her Heliopolis office is sheer practicality: modern furniture, desks, shelves, business magazines, books, files and certificates praising her work.

The advertising industry in Egypt still has a long way to go, Zaklama says: laws and restrictions should be less stringent, she argues, and this, in turn, requires that advertisers regulate their profession themselves, by respecting Egyptian culture. Her adamant conviction that advertising is not just packaged illusions stems from sound business sense: "Consumers can be cheated once, but never again."

Zaklama also feels that TV advertising in Egypt is based not on the products themselves but on other elements -- a famous actor, for instance -- a ploy which distracts the consumer. "In my company we always measure the effectiveness of advertisements on people, and I discovered that people sometimes remember the name of the actor or actress appearing in the commercial, but not the name of the product. Worse, they sometimes confuse a product with a competitor," she says, horrified.

The 45-minute commercial break which precedes the last movie of the evening or the serial is also an ineffective ploy, she states firmly. "Six ads for shampoo are followed by six toothpaste ads, then ten for ceramics... People either get up and leave or get very confused," she explained.

Through her work in public relations, Zaklama promotes investments by explaining Egypt's economic potentials and investment facilities. "In order to convey Egypt's assets to people abroad, we needed a campaign to tell them what is going on. We provide facts and figures as well as current investment success stories, information we get from the Investment Authority or the Ministry of Economy."

Zaklama is also trying to lend a helping hand in reviving tourism through a PR campaign called "Embrace Egypt", launched at the initiative of the private tourism industry. The campaign targeted the US and Europe. "We invited foreign security officials and dignitaries to come to Egypt and investigate. This campaign had positive results and may help in overcoming the current crisis," she explains.

All these activities have exacted a toll. As a young woman, she was often on the verge of panic -- "I did it, but this does not mean I managed." She also missed out on her daughters' childhood. "My mother and my mother-in-law took care of the children. At the time, I was too busy studying, struggling and running like mad to keep my few clients." Tears come to her eyes at the memory. "I gave up the pleasure of being with my children. I think that's a high price to pay."

Now Zaklama's daughters work with her. This is some consolation. And all that hard work did pay off personally. "They did not work the way I did and did not suffer like me because the company was already established and everything is fine. Now the hard days are over and we can reap the fruit."