São Paulo – The Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA) launches on Monday (25) a revamped version of its website. Developed for a better browsing, particularly on mobile, and in tandem with the visual identity of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), which it is part of, the new ANBA also brings more exposure to its news content and a privileged space for advertisers. Launch occurs on March 25, the Brazilian Day of the Arab Community, as part of its celebrations.
“The new website is the new face of the ABCC. It’s modern, responsive, and it provides more visibility both for news articles and ads,” says ABCC Secretary-General & CEO Tamer Mansour. The institution has invested in newer, more digital and more modern forms of dialogue between Brazil and the Arab countries, as well as advanced state-of-the-art tools to facilitate trade, a trend that is reflected on the new version of ANBA.
ANBA was established in 2003 by the ABCC to promote the communication between Arabs and Brazilians. Mansour points out that the website is the sole outlet focused on these relations as well as the only one with versions in Portuguese, English, and Arabic. “Our advertisers will have their brand exposed in a very attractive manner,” he says, pointing out that Brazilian advertisers and interviewees gain visibility overseas through ANBA’s versions in Arabic and English, and the same goes for Arabs through the Brazilian Portuguese version.
The reformulation of ANBA was aimed at optimizing the design components for indexing on major search engines, which are responsible for a third of ANBA’s accesses, and facilitate its viewing on mobile devices, which are used for over half of its accesses. “The new version was developed for better performance, a securer structure, and bearing in mind the best SEO practices for optimizing it for search engines,” says Victor Escobar, head of accounts at Escaesco, the agency responsible for the development of the website.
ANBA now lists its news stories under five major categories – Economy & Business, encompassing economy facts from Brazil and the Arab countries, business opportunities between the two regions, and successful cases of internationalized companies; Foreign Affairs, for topics of Brazilian and Arab diplomacy; Arab-Brazilian Chamber, with actions and affairs related to the institution; Innovation & Sustainability, an area for topics related to digitization, innovative products and solutions, and the environmental and social agenda; and Lifestyle, which includes contents on culture, sports, immigration, and Arab and Brazilian societies.
The new ANBA provides more visibility to the agency’s podcast ANBA Cast, which airs biweekly episodes in Brazilian Portuguese on topics that are useful to the Brazilian exports, inspirational cases of internationalized companies, and other themes related to Brazil-Arab relations. The website also features a section called Special Reports, with detailed reports on various topics, and an Articles section for opinion texts signed by third parties. It also features the link of its partner Arab news agencies.
The revamped website had its publicity spaces redesigned as well, allowing it to offer further evidence and variety. Instead of three ad formats, ANBA now offers six different spaces for ads, from featured banners on the top of the homepage to ads on internal news pages. The rotational ads may all be run across the three languages of the agency. The overall design of the website is also in dialogue with the visual identity of the ABCC, which was overhauled last year under the theme “Opening doors, connecting worlds,” gaining a refreshed look that mixes green and blue tones including in ANBA’s website.
ANBA has approximately 50,000 pageviews per month, with accesses from Brazil and some 40% from elsewhere, mostly from Arab countries. Over its 20 years celebrated in last September, the agency amassed 11 journalism prizes, mostly for news related to economy and agribusiness, the latter an important topic for Brazilian exports to the Arab world. Originally with versions in Portuguese and English only, ANBA started publishing in Arabic, too, in 2019. In 2020, it created its podcast.
The news team has traveled for coverages in 19 countries – Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and Tunisia – as well as 15 states in Brazil. Foreign coverages included major global events like the Rio Earth Summit in Brazil, the COP 27 and 28 climate conferences in Egypt and the UAE, and the world exhibition Expo 2020 in the UAE.
The ABCC’s secretary-general highlighted how essential the agency has become for the institution and Brazil-Arab relations. “You can’t think of the ABCC without thinking ANBA. It is our gateway to the world, a way for us to fulfill our mission of connecting Brazil and the Arab countries and to convey everything we do here. It’s a hallmark of credibility,” says Mansour.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
