The surge of a digital-savvy generation in the Middle East in tandem with colossal technological breakthroughs have shifted priorities towards key partnerships, diversified strategies, borderless branding, data-driven decisions, and heavy investments in talent, digital infrastructure, and sponsorships.
The long overdue blend of the right assets, content, events, and entertainment have created several innovative ways for advertisers to connect with specific demographics, redefining the media, advertising, sports, and entertainment landscape in the Middle East.
Campaign Middle East welcomed Khalid Alkhudair, CEO of SMC, to its On The Record podcast to discuss key trends and how SMC is shaping this landscape.
SMC – Evolution of a regional powerhouse
Khalid Alkhudair, who is the first Ashoka Fellow from Saudi Arabia, a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, and a member of the General Entertainment Authority’s Board of Management, joined SMC in 2022 and since then has overseen remarkable investments, partnerships, profits, and transformation through this tenure.
However, dialling back the clock to SMC’s origins, Alkhudair revealed, “When it was birthed six years ago, the organisation was initially called Al-Wasail Company and was solely focused on working together with the Saudi Broadcasting Authority, as its exclusive media sales representative. Over time, Al-Wasail expanded into other verticals, including an investment in Alawwal Park – which is currently home to the Al-Nassr Football Club and, thus, diversified the company from being a media entity into having an investment arm in sports and entertainment, as well.”
He added, “In 2022, we had a reshuffle in the strategy. We had to consolidate our approach to the market, and that’s when SMC was born. The management of the company had a vision that SMC would turn into the national champion for Saudi in the field of media. To achieve this vision, we created a brand that hits a home run in the Kingdom, and at the same time is adaptable and agile on a regional and global level.”
As part of the Engineer Holding Group (EHG), SMC is the sister company of Saudi Arabia’s out of home (OOH) giant Al Arabia. SMC has invested in commercial integrated advertising and content solutions provider MBC Media Solutions (MMS) and owns 40 percent of the entity.
“Today, SMC is divided into three verticals,” Alkhudair explained. “The first vertical is media and digital, where we work on a number of assets – locally and globally – including offline media, print, digital, as well as airline inflight entertainment. The second vertical is sports and entertainment, which includes an investment in Alawwal Park stadium, which SMC operates and manages. The third vertical is its investments, including in Webook.com, one of the largest ticketing platforms in the region.”
SMC is also the commercial representative for the Saudi Football Federation and the Riyadh Season – a series of entertainment, cultural, and sporting events held in Saudi Arabia’s capital City of Riyadh. Additionally, the company has partnerships with the BeIN Media Group, and the Saudi Broadcasting Authority.
The company also manages IPs for Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport and the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, while also bringing in successful IPs such as the Egypt Super Cup played during the Riyadh Season in Alawwal Park. For these events, the company identifies media opportunities, packages and prices them, negotiates sponsorships, and oversees the execution of on-ground activations.
“We now have three offices across Riyadh, Dubai, and Cairo with more than 100 employees. We’re very proud that we’ve witnessed more than 200 per cent growth over the past two years and that growth is continuing,” Alkhudair said.
When asked about the secret behind this success, he added, “Our strength lies in our relationships. Take into consideration that our sister company Al Arabia has been a major player in the OOH and media industry for more than 45 years, and has set a great baseline. We’ve built on this baseline and have established great relationships with media buying agencies across the region.”
“We understand the Kindom’s vision, the target audiences and demographics that we need to communicate to, and we then partner and acquire assets that are tailored to the needs of the audiences that Saudi Arabia’s governmental entities are targeting,” Alkhudair explained.
How SMC turned a stadium into a global sporting hub
SMC has also been credited with the digitalisation of the Alawwal Park, which has now also become home to footballing legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays with Al Nassr Football Club.
“When we decided to invest in it, Alawwal Park was a government-owned university stadium, previously called the King Saud University Stadium, where several local football team used to play. When the owners and management of SMC bid for the stadium at the tender, it caused quite a stir as this would make it the first privatised stadium in the Kingdom,” Khalid Alkhudair revealed.
SMC then brought in several top consultants and stadium managers to look into the full experience that the stadium could potentially provide, which led to the digitalisation of the stadium.
“The digitalisation initiative created new revenue streams. We commercialised the seating, the lounges, and the VIP box,” Alkhudair added. “Although it generally takes a long time to break even on large assets, we managed to realise profits within a very short span of time. Today, we have Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the stadium, which has not only brought in global fans and a global audience, but has also helped us take the next step in launching season tickets for all Al Nassr games at our stadium. What does this say about SMC? We remain a commercially driven organisation that likes to think outside the box.”
As the exclusive commercial partner for the Saudi Football Federation, SMC also brokered the deal for the naming rights of the Saudi Super Cup, bringing KSA UNESCO heritage destination Diriyah on board for the sports event to be named the Diriyah Saudi Super Cup. Beyond playing a part in contracting the deal for the Saudi Super Cup, SMC was also involved in the management and organisation of the Diriyah Saudi Super Cup held in Abu Dhabi.
“That is the beauty of working with strong partners, because you can come up with great, innovative solutions that can work for both entities,” Alkhudair said.
Earlier this year, the SMC team also brought together Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF)-owned business and lifestyle destination King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) with the Globe Soccer Awards European edition, securing the naming rights for the 2024 edition of the event to be called the KAFD Globe Soccer Awards. The event was attended by the likes of French national and Real Madrid football star Kylian Mbappe.
SMC also manages the commercial assets for Riyadh Season sponsorships and successfully oversaw more than SAR 500mn in sponsorships for the 2023 season. Additionally, SMC facilitated a shirt sponsorship deal for AS Roma, with the Riyadh Season logo prominently displayed on the front of the shirt.
Furthermore, SMC orchestrated the largest sponsorship agreement between the Saudi Football Federation and the Saudi National Bank, the Kingdom’s largest financial institution.
Demonstrating the magnitude of the stadium’s growth, in January 2024, Alawwal Park also hosted the 2024 iteration of the Supercopa de España (Spanish Super Cup), hosting arguably the most-celebrated clubs in the world – Real Madrid and Barcelona – thus garnering worldwide attention and establishing it as a global sporting hub.
The future: From a KSA champion to a regional champion
Although the media, sports and entertainment landscape in the Middle East is in a constant state of flux, SMC has continued to accelerate on the highest gear, driving the advertising industry towards growth and innovation.
Alkhudair said, “From a media perspective, everything is changing. We have to look at the latest technologies that are out there and how we can continue to create solutions for advertisers. SMC recently opened up opportunities for in-game advertising in the GCC region through a partnership with gaming content and activations company Evolution Group.”
“This will create more organic offerings, which is a big trend for the coming period. Organisations want their products to be placed within television programmes, movies, video on demand content, or games as organically as possible. The cost for such opportunities is higher, but the message is stronger,” he added.
Of course, our conversation with Alkhudair also encompassed the topic that has dominated most conversations in the region: artificial intelligence (AI), which is causing advertisers to focus more on measurement, outcomes, return on advertising spend (ROAS), and real-time and predictive data-driven insights.
“Yes, AI is in its initial stages, but it is definitely going to change the game,” Alkhudair said. “Everyone wants access to data, better insights, more predictive analytics. If this is available, they will definitely utilise it. In the coming years, we will also see AI play a role in the ways and means that messages are being delivered to audiences – whether it is digital or in real life.”
“AI is already replacing a lot of redundant and repetitive tasks. This means that the onus is on us to keep up with the change, because if we don’t keep up with the constantly evolving industry, there’s a possibility that AI will replace us, as well,” he added.
When asked about the challenges we face today, and how that is likely to affect the future, Alkhudair doubled down on the need to address the skills gap.
“One of the main challenges we face today is talent. The industry has is transforming digitally. So, those who have been working for the past 25 years in the fields of print and production need to shape up to the latest trends and start learning,” he said.
SMC has already begun advocating for technology and training within the organisation.
“It’s very simple, in order to reach this audience, we need to truly understand them, their behaviour, what they’re looking for. So, having people of that age working in your organisation helps add a new perspective. Advertisers also need to start paying attention to the needs and demands of this age group,” Alkhudair said. “At SMC, we ensure that we hire a very big batch of co-ops from universities, a programme that combines classroom education with valuable paid work experience. This not only provides them with the opportunity to get hands-on experience, but also provides us the opportunity to learn from them. This helps us adopt what they are looking for within our products and services.”
Alkhudair confirmed that his outlook for the future of SMC remains positive.
“We have built good momentum, and we’re looking forward carrying this momentum forward. We are already the Saudi champion in the fields of media, sports, entertainment, advertising, and sponsorships. and by the end of the year we will be the regional champion,” he concluded.
