In early December, following a multi-agency pitch, MBC Group appointed Dubai-based independent And Us Dubai as its creative agency of record for the streaming video-on-demand platform Shahid VIP, overseeing its strategic planning, marketing communications, design and branding. The win was the third big account And Us bagged in 2020, following successful agency-of-record pitches for Bahraini Telecoms giant Batelco and Hardee’s across MENA.
2 Netizency wins TikTok for Business
After working with TikTok for Business for a virtual launch event, local digital shop Netizency announced it had won the TikTok For Business MENAT assignment. Netizency will be responsible for the social and digital content, as well as event branding for TikTok for Business in MENAT.
3 Horizon FCB & BPN win DHL Express
Following a regional pitch that extended over a period of four months, courier firm DHL appointed Horizon FCB and the creative agency’s sister company BPN to manage its creative and media business for the MENA region, with focus on the GCC, Egypt and Morocco.
4 Science & Sunshine wins Virgin mobile
Virgin Mobile UAE in January selected Dubai-based independent creative shop Science & Sunshine
to handle creative duties for the digital mobile service, following a competitive pitch involving
several agencies.
5 Wavemaker wins Perfetti Van Melle
At the start of the year, Perfetti
Van Melle Middle East appointed Wavemaker as its media agency of record, to manage strategic communication planning, offline and digital media planning and buying for its complete portfolio of brands, including Mentos, Chupa Chups, Smint, Fruitella and Alpenliebe.
In February ad agency Cheil MENA was named creative agency for Volkswagen Middle East. The win came after an extensive three-month pitch process, which included four other agencies also based in Dubai.
Carat MENA has been awarded the media responsibilities for Meraas, the Dubai-based holding company managing a diverse portfolio across real estate, dining, leisure, hospitality and healthcare.
Coty, one of the biggest beauty players in the world, has awarded its social media business to Havas Middle East. The agency will be the social media agency of record, responsible for social media strategy, creative, content creation and community management for the consumer beauty brands of Coty Middle East: Bourjois, Max Factor and Rimmel.
9 Carat wins Kraft Heinz in MENA
The Kraft Heinz Company announced that following an intensive competitive review, it has chosen two agencies to support its media planning and buying around the world. Four media agencies participated in this eight-month global review. It will use Starcom in the US, and Dentsu’s Carat in other markets including MENA.
Nomads has been awarded a two-year digital retainer contract with food and drink company PepsiCo and will be handling all strategic and creative development of PepsiCo’s Corporate digital and social media presence.
