
Gambit Communications was awarded the PR / Communications Agency of the Year 2024 trophy at Campaign Middle East’s Agency of the Year Middle East Awards.
For this award, the judges chose a team that – in football parlance – played an ‘Invincibles’ season over the past 12 months, dominating on every playing field in its fifth year of existence.
Jamal Al Mawed, Founder and Managing Director, Gambit Communications shared his reflections after the agency added to its cabinet of 22 industry trophies in 2024.
How does this award reflect the culmination of your efforts in 2024?
It’s a great way to wrap up our record-breaking fifth year, where we continued this success story that we are so blessed to be part of. We won 37 major trophies including five agency of the year titles; retained 100 per cent of our retainer clients; 100 per cent of our project clients; won major tenders such as Uber, Omniyat, Western Digital and Essilor Luxottica Group; took home the MENA Young Lions gold for the second consecutive year; grew the team 30 per cent making conquest international and senior hires; and even built a fashion boutique in our office.
As you soak in the win, what top learnings from 2024 will you take into the year ahead?
We learned the importance of adapting to consumer sentiments in real-time, as audience distraction was a genuine challenge in 2024. We’ve had the dichotomy of a disastrous global geopolitical and financial landscape combined with rapid economic growth and opportunities in the region, so naturally, consumers have lacked concentration. Creating content that could cut through all of that required laser-focused targeting.
How has the balance between purpose and profits contributed to your successes over the past 12 months?
It is the driving force. Our team culture is our biggest superpower but that requires business investment. We consistently decline to work with brands or people that don’t fit our values, so the team never has to work on a client that might conflict with their cultural, religious or even personal beliefs. We ensure that client-team discourse is always healthy, and we invest heavily in team growth, team building and outings. When you give up some of your profits in order to protect your purpose, you win the trust and respect of your team and clients.
What do you think the industry needs to change or fix on priority in the months ahead?
Artificial intelligence is a slippery slope in the PR industry. Of course, it is important to learn how to apply it correctly and harness its potential, but what is mostly happening now is people taking shortcuts for writing emails, press releases, generating plans and even thinking of ideas. It’s a worrying trend as AI should replace basic tasks, not basic skills.
In your opinion, what do consumers really want, and how can agencies help brands meet this need?
If we look at our region, the last 15 months of the wars in Palestine, Lebanon and now Syria have really made people re-evaluate where they spend their money, what brands they associate with, and what celebrities they support. It has also made people much more cynical of media, and more interested in independent journalism, so we are seeing major paradigm shifts. At the heart of all this is a common goal of wanting brands to uphold values that go over and above politics and profits, so agencies really need to help brands showcase their values now because the audience demands to know what they are.
What are the key facets to securing client wins and sustaining client retention?
Team chemistry and a winning culture. We always request that tenders happen face-to-face rather than a video call as we believe in the strength of our culture and it shines through when we meet and interact with clients, and that is also what keeps the relationship going once you sign. In terms of retention, if you have a winning culture ingrained in the team then they will always try to supersede their own achievements, and clients want that energy and drive. We will always set our own bar higher than the KPIs we are given.
What are your agency’s New Year’s resolutions for 2025?
Keep winning and always put decency before profits.