Christina Maroudias, founder of CM Comms Middle East discusses celbrating five years of entreprenurship and what it takes to build a bespoke brand in the PR industry.
What inspired you to found CM Communications Middle East?
Being able to work on projects I am passionate and excited about truly brings me so much joy. It’s something I never take for granted. I have always wanted to work for myself, and when we need to make a big decision in life, I believe the universe will push us towards it in its own ways. When I started CM Comms, I wanted to develop consistent, curated communications for luxury brands, and become someone within the industry that you can call for PR advice, someone that you can trust.
Every campaign is so different, and I love helping people work out the best approach and strategy for them and their projects. Our work is centered around raising awareness for people, places and concepts that come together to form a balanced lifestyle. Health and happiness are at the core of everything we do – whether it is travel and inspiration, nourishment, movement, or mindfulness. The secret to happiness truly is found in our daily routines, so we aim to highlight concepts that can create a beautiful way of living. Communications that enhance your health, wellness and happiness.
What are some of the key events that CM Communications has worked on?
I am so grateful and feel so proud to have worked on so many fun and exciting projects. We represent Roxie Nafousi, a wonderful and inspiring author and motivational speaker who has helped me immensely on my own personal manifesting journey. Chef Izu Ani, who has a philosophical approach to dining, and has taught me so much about food, life, how to be present and live life fully. Most recently, we opened Mimi MeiFair and Jamavar in Downtown Dubai, an exquisite collection of Michelin-Star restaurants from Mayfair, with Samyukta Nair, who teaches me about the art of hospitality, joy and friendship. This season, we are also working with ZUMA on their beautiful winter pop-up experience in the Ras Al-Khaimah desert, which is a dream come true. For so many years, I wanted to work in hospitality and represent luxury hotels, and it is so exciting to achieve something you have put so much effort into.
I am beyond grateful to work with the Four Seasons and help raise awareness for their beautiful brand and incredible concepts. In November, we celebrated ten years of Four Seasons Dubai at Jumeirah Beach with a beautiful floral installation by Jeff Leatham, and over the summer we had so much fun working with Pavyllon in the Four Seasons Park Lane, an incredible restaurant and terrace by renowned Chef Yannick Alleno. One of my favourite things about my job is seeing the growth and evolution of brands and concepts that we have worked with for a number of years. It fills me with so much joy to see GAIA and Scalini exceed and expand internationally, as I have worked with both restaurants since they opened in Dubai and they hold such a special place in my heart. It really is such an honour to feel included as part of the team – the best partnerships arebased on friendship and collaboration.
What advice would you give to women who wish to launch their own brand?
Listen to your intuition. Sometimes it takes a while, but we all have an inner voice and it just gets louder until we do what we know is right. Understanding what we want, and most importantly, why we want it, can take a few attempts (and many, many mistakes in my case), but starting with a clear, simple goal will be so helpful. Ask yourself what you want to do, and then keep asking yourself why you want to do it until the answers reveal themselves. Sometimes a good friend will help you with this, and sometimes the answers will come after a yoga class, in the shower, during a walk, but mostly when your mind is calm.
I am a huge fan of small incremental upgrades and changes towards our goals – I really believe success is found in the smaller moments. How we spend our time, and the actions we take each day. If we break things down to the most simple, managable next step, we will achieve it – it’s inevitable. Also, we have to celebrate our wins! When you achieve one of your goals, give yourself a little treat. Buy yourself a cute, symbolic gift or take yourself somewhere you have always wanted to go. It will be a gift of gratitude to yourself and a reminder that you can do the things you set your mind to.
How has the PR industry evolved since you’ve launched?
I studied PR and have worked in the industry my entire career, and I still find it fascinating every day. To me, PR is more about psychology and connection than anything else. It is finding, and often creating the “tipping point”, of what becomes interesting to others. It is so important, yet so subtle. At its core, PR is about relating to people, understanding what they want and need, and then translating our messaging into the language that our audience understands best.
Those “translations” can be through events, activation or across traditional media, interviews, press releases, social media, by working with key opinion leaders, personalities and so much more. It really depends on what we want to say and who we want to listen to us. The way that we absorb media and information will continue to evolve, which means that the possibilities and opportunities are really quite endless. Owning a PR agency comes with challenges.
How do you foster creativity and collaboration within your team?
I am so beyond lucky to work with such an incredible, talented team. We all actually just like each other and support one another which is so rare. I aim to create an environment where everyone feels heard, supported and appreciated, and I am so grateful to work with people that make me feel that way too. Our work is fast paced and often quite a lot of pressure, but when you take a moment to understand why, you realise that it is important to people because they care about what they are putting out into the world.
It is quite an honour to be able to be a part of that and to help our clients achieve their goals and dreams. I think honesty is so important, and I am quite open with how I feel about things which is not always so common in my role. I think being vulnerable, kind and transparent allows others to feel safe to open up and be themselves too.
What makes your agency stand out in the industry?
I consciously curate our client portfolio to ensure that everyone we work with aligns with our values to create a balanced approach. We focus on luxury because their products and services are crafted with time and energy, there is a depth and beauty to their story which is so interesting to talk about. We put our energy into quality over quantity, as I believe that creates the best opportunities for exposure, and allows us to really dive deeply into the story behind each concept and campaign. Quiet luxury is something that we naturally navigate towards, I prefer an understated approach that truly showcases the brand, personality or product itself.
I like to maintain humility and transparency across everything we do, which means that we don’t represent brands that we don’t believe in or promote things that wouldn’t fit into a healthy, happy lifestyle. Those are my non-negotiables, and I sometimes struggle to explain that to people driven by growth, numbers or renumeration, but I would much rather be selective so that we have the ability to work on projects and with people that I adore.
What’s next in the pipeline for the brand?
I would love to work on curated campaigns for global luxury brands and hotels, becoming an extension of their in-house team and incorporating the elements of a happy, healthy lifestyle across all of our campaigns. Moving forwards, I aim to focus on highlighting international concepts to a regional audience, and working with people and on projects that inspire and excite me, and everyone else. One of my biggest ambitions is to build and sustain a really happy team, and a balanced, flexible schedule that allows everyone the space to be creative and feel passionate about their work.
The agency celebrates five years this January. What are you most proud of?
Honestly, I am most proud of staying true to myself in such a competitive industry. I genuinely really appreciate all of the guidance and advice I receive, but the past five years have taught me to listen to that voice inside, trust myself and do what I know is right. Acting in alignment with ourselves and our values truly is a form of self-care and selflove, even when it doesn’t make sense to others. We have to ignore the outside noise a lot of the time, which is fairly terrifying, but understanding what we want and need gives us the ability to find and connect with people that truly align with us.
How do you think women can support each other to achieve better quality results?
When we have a mindset of abundance and gratitude, and believe that there are more than enough opportunities for us all, it naturally allows us to encourage and empower each other. As women, we listen, communicate and support each other so well, and we have the ability to understand and connect with one another. One of my closest friends recently mentioned how rich we are in health and friendship and it is something I now remind myself of every day – I am so so grateful to have such a supportive group of friends and to be surrounded by people that make me laugh, listen to me when I’m over thinking and encourage me when I’m not feeling my best. I really hope I make them feel the same way, it’s one of my biggest life goals to be supportive and nurturing to those around me.
This is The Optimism Issue – how do you stay positive during testing times?
In the most testing of times I actually write a gratitude list for the issue itself or the things I am anxious about. It takes a little time, but it is such a healing process. It helps me realise that every issue we face is curriculum for our personal growth and expansion, and the things that test us are really our next steps towards our goals – even if they don’t look that way at the time. I love a little routine and the daily rituals that ground me and make me feel content, having a little morning walk, listening to podcasts, yoga, running at sunset, going to Pilates, and phone calls or voice notes with my mum, sister and best friends.
When I need an extra boost of motivation, I like to create vision boards to manifest the life I would like to build and things I would love to experience. I pop onto Pinterest for visual inspiration, and have a little think about the next steps I need to take in order to achieve it. The only difference between us and the people living the life we want, is that those people actually planned it. We must take a moment to appreciate it all, the good and the not so good, and have a little laugh along the way.
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