When Kijamii announced its rebrand earlier this year, the Cairo-born agency framed its new promise simply, a North Star rooted in Work That Works. But behind the slogan sits more than a decade of building cultural relevance in the region – from launching Netflix crossovers that lived on the football pitch to introducing Ring’s first campaign in Saudi Arabia to reshaping public perception about the Saudi-based ERP platform, Daftra.
Under the leadership of Bassem Elhady, Executive Chairman and Bahy Aboelezz, CEO, the agency says it is ready for its new chapter, marrying creativity with measurable outcomes, embedding AI without losing the human spark, and balancing hyper-local insight with regional scale.
Anchored in consistent philosophy
With a presence in Riyadh, Dubai and Cairo, the agency is doubling down on the markets and audiences that have driven its success for more than 14 years. When asked what keeps Kijami focused on outcome-driven creativity, both leaders point to a consistent philosophy, from awareness to meaningful conversions.
Bassem Elhady, Executive Chairman at Kijamii, says, “Since we started the agency, we’ve always focused on the value we bring to our clients. That’s why we expanded our services to deliver end-to-end results-driven solutions, from consumer insights to content, paid media, and production.”
Bahy Aboelezz, CEO at Kijamii, adds, “Our North Star is ‘Work That Works’. For us, creativity isn’t only about producing noise, it’s about producing impact. The work we’re proudest of are the ones that spark cultural conversations and, at the same time, deliver measurable results for the brand; whether that’s awareness, consideration, or sales. That dual lens of cultural relevance and business outcome is what keeps us grounded and focused.”
Elhady elaborates on the agency’s philosophy, “For us, advertising is not just about a catchy copy or a viral idea. We take the time to diagnose a brand’s marketing needs, from awareness to conversion, and build fully integrated campaigns across insights, strategy, creative, social, paid media, and influencers. This approach ensures we deliver on brands’ KPIs.”
For Kijamii, Work That Works is more than a slogan – it’s a promise embedded into their value propositions, guiding how they combine creativity, strategy, and technology to deliver campaigns that resonate culturally and perform commercially.
People and AI: Driving authenticity
In an age where AI dominates marketing conversations, Kijamii places human talent at the centre.
“At Kijamii, our motto is that we are driven by people, powered by AI. We’re putting real effort into embedding AI at the heart of everything we do; it allows us to work faster, easier, at better quality, and to unlock possibilities we couldn’t reach before. But AI is only a tool, without the human element to guide it, without the right creative thinking and cultural insight, AI produces nothing. The core creativity of our people is what drives the business forward, AI simply amplifies it,” says Aboelezz.
As highlighted in previous coverage by Zeyad Salem, Executive Creative Director at Kijamii, this approach reflects the agency’s broader philosophy: AI and data are tools to craft narratives that move people, but they cannot generate meaningful work on their own. Data only becomes valuable when guided by human insight, and the ultimate spark comes from people who understand culture, context, and storytelling.
The agency signals a deliberate balance: technology enhances output but does not replace the cultural insight, creative thinking, or originality that defines its work.
Hyper-local leadership, regional reach and the “Everyday Fandom”
The Middle East is not one market, it’s a mosaic of cultures and communities and in order for agencies to navigate these complexities, they need to be embedded in the local community.
“Our leadership restructure reflects this reality: think hyper-local, act regional. Each office has strong leadership that’s deeply rooted in its community, giving us the cultural insight to be truly relevant in each market. At the same time, we’re fully connected across markets, so we can take what works locally and scale it across the region. This structure ensures brands don’t just reach people, they connect with them in a way that feels native, authentic, and scalable,” says Aboelezz.
By leveraging deep local insights alongside regional coordination, Kijamii creates campaigns that are both culturally authentic and scalable. Nowhere is this more evident than in its sports and entertainment work – sectors where audience passion runs highest and hyper-local understanding drives campaigns that truly resonate.
“Sports and entertainment are huge in the region, and we take pride in shaping how both industries connect with audiences in the MENA region. Since Salah moved to Chelsea in 2014 and Netflix launched in the MENA region, we’ve been expanding our sports and entertainment portfolio. We’ve seen how passionate these audiences are, and they expect authenticity, connection, and respect from brands. It’s not about simply localising global plans; it’s about building original strategies and content rooted in the culture. The winning work is always the one that connects with authentic regional moments,” says Elhady.
“Sports and entertainment have become the heartbeat of pop culture in the Middle East, from global football moments to regional music and film. We see them as the two loudest fans on the internet, and they shaped how we built our approach to ‘Everyday Fandom’. People don’t wake up wanting to hear from brands, they wake up to scroll, laugh, and feel connected. That’s why we don’t just chase attention; we earn it by showing up in the right moments, with the right energy. We started by applying this with sports and entertainment brands, but once we saw the impact clearly, we scaled the same approach across other industries. The principle is the same: create content that resonates and feels like it belongs. Not just branded, not just timely, but part of the culture people actually care about,” says Aboelezz.
One of the most memorable examples was in 2018 with the launch of Netflix’s La Casa De Papel Season 2. Saudis had embraced the show so deeply it became part of pop culture, even showing up on the football pitch. At an Al Ittihad match, fans held a banner with players in masks and their coach as El Professor.
Spotting the cultural moment, Kijami led a Netflix and Al Ittihad partnership that blended football with the Casa universe. From a shoutout by Berlin to a pre-match training video Casa-style to a Snapchat activation and mugshot video of the full squad, the campaign lived seamlessly across platforms.
The campaign generated 4,526,124 organic views, 43,000,000 organic impressions, and $465K in earned media. The result was a powerful marriage of Netflix, Al Ittihad, and culture. It drove massive buzz and growth for both brands, and even rival fans showed admiration – all while becoming part of the magic behind Al Ittihad’s King’s Cup victory.
Looking ahead
Kijamii’s next chapter is a balancing act: leveraging AI while keeping people central, scaling across markets while retaining hyper-local relevance, and embedding brands into cultural moments without losing authenticity.
Guided by its North Star philosophy, the agency defines success not by impressions alone, but by meaningful connections, measurable outcomes, and work that truly resonates.
