This Day in History (2003): Communications initiative to spread the word about company

From the Jan. 15, 2003, edition of The Arabian Sun

Saudi Aramco's first-ever television advertisement will air Jan. 16 on CNBC and later on other networks.

The TV commercial is part of a comprehensive communications initiative aimed at enhancing understanding of the company's scope in the international community and reinforcing its leading position in the global petroleum industry.

The initiative will consist of a television ad airing on major business and news networks, print ads published in key industry and business publications, trade exhibitions, and programs for visiting opinion leaders in Saudi Arabia.

"This initiative is part of a multi-faceted effort to underscore the continuing role of Saudi Aramco in providing stable, reliable, and cost-effective energy to the world," said Abdullatif A. Al-Othman, executive director of Saudi Aramco Affairs, the organization that is overseeing the initiative. "And it will accentuate the company's top-priority commitment to excellence in all its operations.

Beginning Jan. 16, the television commercial will also be viewable on Saudi Aramco's Intranet and Internet Web sites.

Later in the year, a series of print advertisements highlighting various key aspects of the company will be published in regional and international-language industry and business publications such as "World Oil," "Upstream, Oil and Gas Journal," Oil and Gas Investor," and "Middle East Economic Digest."

"The advertisements will complement Saudi Aramco's ongoing public relations efforts to sustain the company's image of quality, credibility, and balance in the industry and around the world, and they should also enhance our effectiveness and global presence at regional and international exhibitions and conferences," said Nasser A. Al-Nafisee, manager of the Public Relations Department.

Caption for top photo: Images such as these are part of a communications initiative that includes Saudi Aramco's first TV ads.

Also on this date (Jan. 16)

2021 — Phil Spector, American record producer and songwriter, dies after being taken to a prison hospital on New Year’s Eve

2020 — The first impeachment of Donald Trump formally moves into its trial phase in the U.S. Senate

2003 — The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107, which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry

2001 — U.S. President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish-American War

1991 — The Gulf War begins

1979 — The last Iranian Shah flees Iran with his family and relocates to Egypt

1945 — Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker

1920 — The League of Nations holds its first council meeting in Paris

1909 — Ernest Shackleton’s expedition finds the magnetic South Pole

1883 — The Pendelton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the U.S. Civil Service, is enacted by Congress

1707 — The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain

27 BC — Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire