INES CLARIANA, CEO YANGO PLAY ON GENDER, STREAMING AND ARAB AUDIENCES
Ines Clariana spoke to Communicate on her trip via tech and the many current touchpoints she deals with as CEO of Yango Play.
A woman in tech. Can you please walk us through your experience as a woman on top of a tech and entertainment company?
My journey in tech and entertainment has been incredibly rewarding, filled with continuous learning and excitement. It all started with a background in consultancy, where I focused on process optimization. This led to over a decade of leading marketing teams across MENA in the luxury industry, where attention to detail is essential. That experience taught me that every small element counts, shaping the way I approach every project. Over time, I transitioned into the entertainment industry, a field I’ve come to truly love. As I honed my marketing expertise, I naturally found myself gravitating toward operations, where I discovered my passion for optimizing processes, improving efficiency, and streamlining teams, areas where I knew I could make a real difference.
The most rewarding part of my career has always been building and empowering teams, fostering clear communication, and creating a collaborative environment. This has been my unwavering priority, and it has allowed me to form strong, unified teams who work together toward shared goals. I take the time to listen to each team member, valuing their contributions and supporting their continuous development. This approach has kept my teams motivated and performing at their best, and it’s ultimately what brought me to Yango, where such a culture and team focus are essential. I’m proud to say that my role here is the culmination of all my experiences, combining my commitment to empowering teams, my passion for precision, and my drive for efficiency to create a meaningful impact across the organization.
Do you feel your gender has played against you or that you have been underestimated or marginalized as a woman?
I can honestly say that I’ve never felt that my gender has worked against me or caused me to be underestimated or marginalized in any way. Throughout my career, I’ve been given the same opportunities as anyone else, and I truly believe that what sets individuals apart in any field is hard work, dedication, and a constant drive to learn and grow. In my experience, success isn’t about gender; it’s about having the passion and commitment to excel in whatever you do.
Additionally, Dubai is a city full of opportunities for everyone, and my time here has only reinforced my beliefs. Over the 15 years I’ve lived and worked in this dynamic city, I’ve seen firsthand how talent and ambition are recognized and nurtured, regardless of gender. One thing I’ve done, which I consider basic out of respect, is take the time to understand the cultural nuances of the region, which has certainly made my experience here smoother. However, and ultimately, I’ve learned that success comes down to hard work, resilience, and determination, and in Dubai, these qualities are celebrated without barriers.
Streaming is gaining traction in the middle east, how are you as Yango Play harnessing this and what are you offering to seduce the viewer and keep them coming as it turns out many viewers are not faithful to channels but to content?
The streaming surge in the Middle East represents a significant opportunity, and Yango Play is strategically positioned to capitalize on it. As consumer behavior shifts and viewers have access to a vast array of content, the region’s appetite for relevant, culturally resonant stories continues to grow. We are deeply focused on listening to the region’s needs and tastes, ensuring our content reflects local identities and traditions. With incredible local talent, we’re committed to investing in it, supporting creators, and expanding the reach of their work. Our approach goes beyond content creation; we are dedicated to developing the entire entertainment industry in the region as a long-term project.
In addition to high-quality original productions, we offer a unique value proposition with a comprehensive entertainment ecosystem, all under one subscription. Our first-of-its-kind entertainment super app combines movies, series, music, a virtual assistant named Yasmina, and games, providing a unique, seamless, and engaging experience for our users.
Through pioneering technology, we also personalize recommendations to help users discover content tailored to their individual tastes. A very good example of that is My Vibe which is a personalized music recommendation system analyzing over a thousand indicators. My Vibe ensures our users have a never-ending supply of music tailored to their tastes as it dynamically tunes into their preferences, learns from their choices, and delivers the perfect soundtracks, albums, and playlists. As COO, I focus on optimizing operations to support this vision, ultimately fostering a deeper connection with our audience and keeping them coming back for more.
How do you feel you can tailor your content to a very diversified audience, just here in the MENA region, despite the unifying language tastes vary by region?
The MENA region’s diversity is both a valuable asset and a strategic complexity. While Arabic serves as a unifying language, cultural nuances and content preferences can vary widely across different markets. At Yango Play, we approach this challenge with two strategies to ensure we tailor our content effectively.
First, we create strong productions and stories that can travel well across different countries. To make this work, we invest in thorough market research and adapt our marketing campaigns and communications to each country. This means that one story can have multiple angles, tailored to resonate with the specific demographics, preferred channels, and cultural contexts of each market. We focus on understanding what matters to each audience, so we can speak directly to them, where they are, and about what they care about.
Secondly, we produce content specifically for certain markets, ensuring we create hyper-local relevance where it’s needed. This allows us to cater directly to unique cultural preferences and ensure that the content feels deeply connected to the local audience.
Ultimately, our goal is to strike the right balance between pan-regional appeal and hyper-local relevance. We celebrate the rich diversity of MENA’s cultures while delivering a cohesive and consistently engaging platform experience for our audience.
And where to from here? Where do you feel the next move to streaming is especially that many streamers went back to the equation of advertising inside films and series much like regular “television”?
The future of streaming lies in continuous evolution, personalized experiences, and the creation of truly immersive and interactive entertainment. We’re constantly exploring emerging technologies, experimenting with new content formats, and seeking innovative ways to deepen audience engagement. We believe in leveraging data-driven insights to enhance personalization and create dynamic user journeys.
Regarding advertising, we recognize its role within the broader streaming landscape. However, at Yango Play, we are committed to a premium, ad-free subscription model. We believe our users value uninterrupted, high-quality content. Our focus is on delivering exceptional value that justifies the subscription, providing a seamless and enriching entertainment experience that fosters lasting customer loyalty. And as COO, I’m focused on building the operational infrastructure and scalable processes to support this strategic vision, ensuring Yango Play remains at the forefront of the streaming evolution.
