The Romans was named the PR/ Communications Agency of the Year at Campaign Agency of the Year Middle East Awards 2025.
“The Romans bring a breath of fresh air to the market. Their rise has been fast, fearless, and full of personality – showing how indie agencies can make waves with creativity and culture. The work is sharp, the team feels tight, and the attitude is infectious,” said the jurors.
Joe Lipscombe, Partner, The Romans MENA shares his reflections on winning the award, after the agency also bagged the Startup/ New Agency of the Year Award for 2025.
How does this award reflect the culmination of your efforts in 2025?
It was a bit of a unicorn moment for The Romans. We started work on our first officially retained client on October 1, 2024. So to win PR Agency of the Year 14 months later, for us, is a culmination of every single piece of client work and effort we’ve delivered since day one. It captures every idea, win, loss, risk and move.
Which industry pressure or shift most influenced how you operated in 2025?
When we arrived here in 2024, we wanted to dramatically change how the marcomms industry saw PR from a creative perspective – where it sat and the role it played. We knew that PR clients were sick and tired of doing the “PR bits” of their colleagues’ creative work. They wanted to drive concepts from ideation to execution, with an earned focus. Our vision was to be the solution to that itch. To be the most disruptive creative PR partner in the region, bringing earned, culture-first pieces of work through new and traditional PR channels.
Honestly speaking, we thought this would be a journey. But in 2024, we found that many of the brands we met didn’t need convincing. In fact, it was more of a “where have you been?” situation. That insight influenced how we turned up in 2025.
We went big, we went for the top projects and best brands, and worked with them to deliver fresh PR. We didn’t get everything right, but we held nothing back. And that was our promise.
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What do you think the industry needs to change or fix on priority in the months ahead?
Start, and continue, to back PR agencies and teams to drive big creative moments. PR’s understanding of influence, story, culture, speed, agility, tone, perception and taste make it the ideal owner of large creative moments in today’s disconnected and complex world. Mark my words, we’ll be seeing more PR agencies winning at the major award shows and more clients asking for earned results as we move through 2026.
In your opinion, what do consumers really want, and how can agencies help brands meet this need?
Surprise, consistency, quality, and transparency. Agencies just have to remember these things when their brand partners are busy operating a business. We also have to remember that creativity is an avenue to connection and impact, not the destination itself.
What will matter most as the industry moves into 2026?
Consistency. The market suffers from a lack of consistent brands. Turning up frequently, for better or worse, taking risks, making a statement, backing themselves. I’d argue some of the best known brands in the region aren’t the strongest – they’re just consistent.
