Lewis Davey, Founder and Creative Director of Idea Farm.Idea Farm, a UK-founded creative PR consultancy, has expanded to the UAE. The announcement comes hot off the back of a successful run of viral campaigns for the UAE’s GymNation.
The agency brings its expertise in bold ideas and social-first earned media to clients in the country. Lewis Davey, Founder and Creative Director of Idea Farm in the UK for six years is leading the expansion, promising the same agency model which has provided white label creative and earned media strategies to more than 50 PR, advertising, and social agencies – while also working directly with brands.
Davey believes the market in the Middle East is “ripe” for this approach.
“Our formula works, and it’s totally fresh for the UAE – the media landscape is different; there are limitations but also opportunities,” he said. “Social media is the heartbeat of culture, so how we leverage big Instagram fan pages, TikTok, and work with influencers to amplify campaigns is a fresh approach for brands and agencies that want to cut through the noise.”
Explaining the consultancy’s approach, he said that the model has been crafted in response to the shifting media landscape of today, which according to him, social media forward.
“About 18 months ago, we saw the media landscape shift – all media outlets have an army of journalists now dedicated to covering viral and trending stories on TikTok, Instagram, X, and Reddit,” he said.
“The comments section is where modern ‘human interest’ stories for journalists live and breathe. This creates a scenario for ‘viral’ to go at the front of a headline, and makes a journalist much more inclined to cover it.”
“In partnership with our TikTok sister agency, TikScript, a lot of our ideas now start on social media, then we leverage the reaction – comments, likes, shares, and views – to fuel earned media angles,” he added.
Davey is promising to bring the consultancy’s reputation for bold ideas to the UAE, but also Idea Farm’s collaborative spirit – working in harmony with agencies, or acting as an extension of in-house teams to make sure the best ideas get out the door.
It’s a strategy that has already paid dividends for GymNation, with Idea Farm masterminding the brand’s recent viral campaigns, including the removal of all weights from their gyms to encourage members to unload for World Mental Health Day, and the viral London billboard offering Londoners an escape to Dubai to learn self-defense in response to London’s soaring phone thefts.
“We’re fortunate to hold great relationships with lots of agencies, some are now set up in the UAE, while others are planning to – that presents a big opportunity for how Idea Farm is set up to work with clients,” he said.
Along with GymNation, Idea Farm is also the retained consultancy for DrivenFlex, the UAE’s first Uber-inspired bus service that’s partnered with the RTA. Two more new clients are set to be announced before Christmas.
“The UAE is such a vibrant place to build a creative hub that can answer briefs that come in from around the world. Our strength has always been that we bring fresh left-field thinking to the table, without the burden of being ingrained in a particular market or client – the UAE is the perfect home for us,” said Davey.
Idea Farm is operating from Barsha Heights and with a growing client list in the UAE, plans to expand the team with two new hires for the start of 2026. The consultancy’s white label creative service is already delivering for agencies in the UK, US and Australia.
Davey is also Chairman of Pixel, the world’s first AI Influencer Talent Management agency. As brands get to grips with AI talent, Pixel helps them connect with existing AI Influencers, build their own, and develop bespoke AI Influencer campaigns. Pixel will also open up shop in the UAE at the start of 2026, says Davey.
