UK-based creative agency, The Romans has expanded into the region with its Dubai office opening. The expansion marks the agency’s third global office, preceded by Brooklyn, with further international expansion slated for late 2022 and 2023.
The UK-based agency also recently won Campaign’s PR Agency of The Year 2021 award.
The Romans Dubai office, which is already working with Etihad Airways, will be spearheaded by Alexandra Dewar, who joins as a Partner.
Dewar has spent 20 years in the region and most recently held positions at Teneo in London before moving to its Middle East office in early 2021. She has previously worked at Weber Shandwick and Havas, with brands including Meta, Yoox Net-A-Porter, Dow, NatWest, Vitality, Tesco, and The Coca-Cola group.
Dewar’s first hire is Egyptian native Mohamed El-Daly, who joins The Romans as a Director. El-Daly has more than eleven years of experience in the region, specialising in digital and social media campaigns across EMEA. He has worked with the likes of Google, L’Oréal, The Coca-Cola Group, Nestlé, Red Bull, Dubai Tourism, Sony Music, and Emirates Airlines.
According to a statement, “The agency will be based in Dubai’s bustling Business Bay area and will focus on delivering creative campaigns across PR and digital, for domestic and international brands, cultural institutions, and sports and entertainment properties.”
Alexandra Dewar, partner at The Romans, said: “I have been lucky to call the UAE home for most of my life and witness its incredible transformation firsthand. So when I returned to Dubai in 2021 and felt the electric energy of the creative community, I knew I wanted to be part of it.”
“Bringing The Romans’ bold creative visionary practice to the UAE is a unique opportunity to contribute to culturally relevant and purpose-led storytelling in the region. We are so excited for what’s to come.”
Joe Mackay-Sinclair, CEO of The Romans commented: “For a long time UK consumer brand clients have been asking us if we’d ever open in the Middle East. We’ve just been waiting to find the right team to help us shape what a best-in-class creative offering could look like. We’ve undoubtedly got that in Ally and Mohamed. As the region continues to embrace creative approaches to PR, we feel The Romans is perfectly placed to build an impactful agency focused on creative, content and influencer campaigns.”
The Romans has previously created campaigns for a Muslim audience. It has created the ‘Sundown Spots’ for Uber Eats, providing free Iftar meals for delivery drivers during Ramadan. It has also created ‘Fast + Slow’ for Sports Direct, to help Muslims train safely during the Holy Month. The campaign was shortlisted at Cannes and won PR Week’s Best Sport and Entertainment campaign in 2021.
