QCC Wraps Up Awareness Campaign on Ask Manaa Product Recall and Incident Reporting System

• Announces Winners of Phase III #AskManaa Competition
• Campaign Draws Wide Participation from All Segments of Society

Abu Dhabi, UAE: 29 December 2015: Abu Dhabi Quality & Conformity Council (QCC), the entity responsible for developing quality infrastructure and raising awareness on quality standards in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, has wrapped up the third and final phase of its awareness drive on the Ask Manaa consumer safety system.

Run in three phases, the campaign included a variety of promotional activities on radio, print and online media as well as at major shopping malls in Abu Dhabi emirate towards raising consumer awareness on the risks associated with the use of non-compliant products.

A public competition aimed at promoting the Manaa product recall and incident reporting system served as the key highlight of phase III of the initiative. Conducted through the Manaa website (www.manaa.ae), the competition required participants to spread the message of consumer safety and help protect their family and friends through referring as many friends as possible on the Manaa system (www.manaa.ae). Those that achieved the highest number of referrals were announced as winners in Phase III.

In the third and final phase of the competition, Alaa’ Omar won the first prize, while six others were honoured for their active participation. The winners won a home makeover from Manaa.

Congratulating the competition winners and all other participants of the campaign, Mohammed Helal Al Balooshi, Acting Director - Marketing & Communications at QCC, said: “We are pleased with the huge success of our latest awareness drive on Ask Manaa consumer safety system across its three phases. We would like to thank everyone for their active participation in the various activities of the campaign that aimed to achieve its goals through highlighting the importance and benefits of the Manaa system.”

Al Balooshi added: “The campaign articulates QCC’s priority to increase awareness among all segments of society about the hazards of using products that do not comply with the UAE quality standards and specifications set by ESMA. In addition to engaging the participation of the community, the initiative also supports QCC’s priority to raise the culture of quality among consumers and businesses.”

The campaign in its 3 phases served as a successful example of when governments efficiently utilize modern awareness tools including social media and digital targeting to deliver their awareness messages to citizens.

Manaa is a first-of-its-kind interactive product recall and incident reporting system that allows consumers to view and identify products that have been withdrawn from the market for non-compliance to the UAE’s safety standards. The web-based system features images of the recalled products such as toys and electrical appliances, as well as model numbers and reasons for withdrawal. For added convenience of customers, the portal can be accessed on smart devices through downloading the app from the Apple and Samsung application stores.

The Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council was established in 2009 to raise the quality of the emirate’s exports and locally traded products, while protecting the interests of consumers and supporting the UAE’s competitive economy. This is achieved through empowering regulators to establish and implement product safety, legal metrology and conformity schemes. QCC also sets guidelines and benchmarks to identify and verify that the products manufactured and traded in Abu Dhabi conform to the highest quality standards.