Carat opening new office in Riyadh

Carat MENA is continuing its rapid expansion across the Middle East and North Africa by opening a new office in Riyadh to support its growing portfolio in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The operation will be wholly owned by Aegis Media, Carat’s parent company and will work in partnership with the Jeddah-based office that was established in 2006.

The office opening and necessary investment illustrates the importance Carat is placing on the Kingdom’s media market, which is worth over $1bn, and the subsequent need to support clients from both business hubs of the Kingdom.

Ahmed Haidar, who was previously Managing Director in Jeddah and is now Managing Director for Saudi Arabia will lead the office and has already hired Jean-Claude Gholam, previously at MEC, as Head of Operations in Riyadh. Together they will spearhead the growth of the Riyadh operation which opens with an existing client base retained on a regional and/or global scale. This includes Total, Nokia, Kellogg’s, Ikea and Philips.

Speaking about the new office, Regional Corporate Services Director for Aegis Media, Antonio Chedrawy said: “An expansion into new territory is dictated by the opportunity it offers for a business that has a unique edge. In this regard, Riyadh has huge promise fuelled by urbanization and a growing sense of consumerism. For Carat, the edge is our proprietary planning tools, our digital DNA and the more transparent remuneration models to which we adhere. As a consequence we expect to create campaigns that will redefine the media market for Riyadh and resonate with Saudi’s on a whole new level.”

Managing Director of Carat Saudi Arabia, Ahmad Haidar adds: “The advertising market in Saudi Arabia grew over 10% in the first quarter of 2011. This is fuelled by clients that are stretching marketing budgets across the entire spectrum of communication channels and demanding partners who can think across bought, owned and earned media. Carat has such capabilities, but only by being close to our clients and the media in Riyadh, can we combine creativity and local insight with global scale.”

Carat, which was recently named Campaign’s Global Media Agency of the Year, now has 20 offices in the Middle East and North Africa with over 200 staff and it recently won the regional account for Mattel. Meanwhile, Aegis Media has also launched Isobar in the Middle East and North Africa in order to meet regional demand for full service digital solutions.

Notes and media contacts
About Carat MENA Carat is a global independent media communications network represented in 82 countries and offers clients a range of services including: communications planning, sponsorship, interactive, direct, event, pr, consumer research and insight, business to business, international services, regional and global client servicing. Carat is part of Aegis Media, the media communications business of Aegis Group plc.

About Aegis Media Aegis Group plc is the world’s fastest growing marketing communications group. It operates in marketing communications with Aegis Media, and market research with Synovate. Listed on the London Stock Exchange (AGS.L), it is capitalised at ca. £1.5bn.

Aegis’s advantages include an entrepreneurial spirit, a belief that digital is changing everything, and crucially, reinventing the way brands are built by being independent of outdated advertising models and providing integration and deep specialization across the five global powerbrands.

For more information contact James Holmes
call +971 50 114 2216