Dubai-based marketing agency Acquisit claims to have a steadily growing collection of new businesses, some of which are the biggest brands operating in the Middle East.
The agency opened its doors in 2019 as an independent, specialised digital marketing agency with the goal of helping companies grow online. Since then, it has amassed a roster of both clients and accolades. Having recently onboarded Starzplay, Karcher, Majid Al Futtaim, and a soon-to-be-announced luxury fashion giant.
The firm’s new business wins mark the continuation of a multi-year growth streak that aims to position the company for regional expansion and category leadership.
Despite being a young team, Acquisit has nearly doubled its client roster in the past 18 months, with contracts that span a range of account sizes and verticals, from early-stage regional startups to high-profile global brands looking to accelerate their performance in MENA markets.
In January of this year, the agency began by landing a contract with Abu Dhabi-based Starzplay, a leading all-in-one media streaming platform in the region. Acquisit was tasked with taking over the brand’s SEO to grow their organic traffic in the UAE and KSA. In March, the agency was selected by Karcher, a global manufacturer of industrial cleaning systems, to manage its performance marketing, measurement, and customer acquisition across the UAE, Oman, and KSA.
In June, a luxury fashion giant appointed Acquisit as its designated growth partner to support SEO, performance marketing, and measurement, with the aim of helping them acquire customers and grow sales in the GCC, first with the UAE and KSA, followed by Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Co-founders Timothee Desormeaux and Edouard Daou credit their recent new business success to the formula on which the business is being built: leveraging data science and advanced modelling to allow data and insights to drive every decision and bring deep-seated regional expertise to clients that aren’t well-versed with operating in the region.
“Our recent success is proof that our agency promise aligns with what’s important to brands looking for sustainable growth in our region,” said co-founder and managing partner Desormeaux.
“It’s our local know-how that stems from being built in and for the Middle East that has an edge when it comes to data. Our team of analysts, engineers, and data scientists—instead of agency people—was built by design. And the results we’re delivering are speak for themselves.”
But the human element isn’t lost on the pair of entrepreneurs. Beyond their proposition of technical and local expertise, the team claims to operate on principles of transparency and long-term partnership.
Desormeaux continued, “To us, relationships are everything. We take pride in being good people who do the right thing. It’s what the advertising industry is lacking, and we set out to change that. Our long-standing client relationships are the true testament.”
Acquisit’s other accounts include YSL, Kerastase, Kiehls, L’Occitane, Giorgio Armani, Garnier, Lancôme, Cerave, and Papa Johns, among others.
The agency is in the process of expanding its MENA footprint to support clients from different locations, with several new office locations set to be announced in Q3.
It is already securing a three-year renewal as the GCC and Levant agency of record for L’Oreal Middle East and expects to follow suit with other client renewals and expanded scopes.
Other near-term milestones on the company roadmap include the release of an in-house AI tool and a soon-to-launch new offering to further benefit client teams.
As the agency prepares for its next phase of growth, expanding both its footprint and in-house capabilities, Acquisit aims to be on track to remain the definitive partner for online growth in the MENA region and to continue guiding clients in writing their success stories.
