Page 40 - Internationalist Magazine 2015 75

walk where no one has tread before.” Eka believes that most ly-held, Somo now has over 180 employees in its of ces in

CMOs are aware of this, but struggle to get the rest of the London, as well as it satellites in San Francisco, New York,

company leadership to believe and invest in something that and Bristol, UK.

lacks a track record.
Maani also runs Somo’s global innovation labs in New

York and London. Designed as centers for creativity, con- At the heart of his mission to expand hasan & part-
ceptual thinking and technological innovation, Maani and ners is the need to ensure the agency understands how to

his team use next-generation mobile products to guide and demonstrate its contribution to a client’s business reality and

deliver solutions for clients looking to use mobile to create provide relevant advice on business-critical decisions. “This

better ef ciency for their brands.
is the only way to earn a seat at the boardroom table that so

many agencies cherish, but so few seem to have access to. In Maani Safa’s career took off at the early age of 26 when
our original home market of Nordics, we are able to call up he was Head of Mobile for The Telegraph Group in London.

almost any CEO and get a meeting. Not to talk about adver- He built, designed and launched the rst news app on iOS

tising but about growing their business.”
and Android.

Among his new project is a company that he founded Originally from Iran, Maani›s family were forced to

under the hasan & partners Group called Frankly Partners, a leave their home country when he two years old for praciging
consumer insight agency. “I have the honor of being the chair- the Baha›i faith. He has since called London his home, but

man of Frankly, and I’ve been a part of building a vision that continues to live by the Baha›i mantra: «The Earth is but one

enables data and intuition to form a holy alliance. Frankly’s country and mankind its citizens.» He considers himself a

rst full year was a huge success, and its future looks extremely true global citizen.

bright. Data does boost creativity. It’s simply magical.”
Jonathan Schaaf,

Maani Safa, Vice President, Creative & President Of Digital
Innovation — Somo Ltd.
Investment —

Omnicom Media
As the Vice President of Inno-
Group
vation and Creative, and the

As President of Digital In-
founder of both the innova-
vestment, Jonathan Schaaf
tion and product divisions of
oversees Global Partnerships,
Somo, Maani is credited with
Digital Marketplace and Performance Analytics teams across helping global clients reinvent

all brands within the Omnicom Media Group. He has been consumer engagement and

able to structure the kind of partnerships and investments interaction by in uencing

that help Omnicom agencies gain real-time insights, inte- how brands like Audi, De-
grate of ine and online media, better use new models for
Beers, Domino’s, Disney and Red Bull devise and deliver
cross-channel attribution, while also enabling clients to
industry-leading, award-winning mobile solutions. These cus-
leverage greater scale. Ultimately, his goal is to drive a higher tomized solutions range from virtual test drives for Audi to

return on investment back to clients investing in the media, utilizing high frequency audio triggers to allow festival goers

so that Omnicom Media agencies can become stronger busi- to check-in at different stages of a music festival.
ness partners to brands.
Maani is responsible for driving the ideation, conceptu-
Given his signi cant accomplishments for Omnicom
alization, and creation of some of the world’s leading mobile
products for more than 80 global brands.
and his 17 years of experience with “all things digital”-- from

online and traditional media strategy, buying, planning, as Somo considers itself both a prominent mobile agency

well as social media and mobile marketing, Jonathan was and a company that creates solutions for “the connected
recently named to the rst Board of Advisors for the IAB’s
world.” With a strong emphasis on strategy and insights,
Digital Video Center of Excellence. This new group of senior
Somo focuses on custom product development, marketing
brand marketers and top media-buying executives is charged for the connected world, and products and platforms. Their

with providing insights and recommendations that will help mission is to help businesses increase sales, customer

propel digital video – on all platforms– to become a signi -
engagement, and productivity. Founded in 2009 and private-

38 the internationalist