Network of the Year (Middle East and Africa) 2024
Saatchi & Saatchi's Middle East network took the top spot for Network of the Year (Middle East and Africa) 2024 as a Silver winner at this year's Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards.
The network posted a notable 32 per cent year-on-year growth in 2024, underpinned by a disciplined return to fundamentals and a focus on integration.
The Publicis Groupe's network's 'Power of One' model – connecting strategy, creative, and execution under a single point of contact – has become a core part of its pitch and delivery. Its Dubai, Riyadh and Doha offices showed steady progress and consistent creative performance – account wins in 2024 included Pfizer, Subway and Amazon.
Internally, the agency reports 89 per cent employee retention – a rate that suggests its culture efforts are resonating, including learning and development initiatives focused on upskilling across creative, strategic, and technical disciplines such as AI tools aligning staff development with evolving client needs.
It launched new AI-powered service offerings for clients, as well as PubCubs – offering aspiring talent the opportunity to experience the ad industry by supporting teams and contributing to client work.
Bronze:
TBWA (South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates)
Spanning the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, TBWA's 1,000-plus employees, referred to as 'Pirates' grew revenue at double-digit rates, and welcomed almost 50 new clients aboard.
Its work included honouring the late South African hip-hop icon Riky Rick, with TBWA\South Africa by turning his final social media posts into 'Stronger', a song created with AI to amplify his words; a high-fashion collaboration with 50 global luxury brands that elevated Istanbul's Beymen luxury department store brand; and a 120-metre CGI Nissan billboard lighting up Dubai's busiest highway, which hit five million views in 24 hours.
This content was first published on Campaign UK.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Campaign ME
a day ago
- Campaign ME
Winners revealed: Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards
More than 200 guests from around the world attended the Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards yesterday at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel in London. A record number of entries – 117 companies from 27 countries – was received for this year's Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards. The Middle East celebrates with a haul of six big wins across five categories in Gold, Silver and Bronze. Leaders at Publicis Groupe Middle East & Turkey won two leadership category awards. The Gold award for Head of Agency went to the network's CEO Bassel Kakish. Tahaab Rais took home Strategic Planning Leader of The Year 2024 as the Gold winner in the category. Along with these wins, TBWA celebrates three, with TBWA\RAAD clinching Gold for Best Place to Work: Individual Shop & Network, along with Romy Abdelnour winning Gold for Corporate Communications/Marketing Person of The Year 2024. The agency also won Bronze in the Best Network: Middle East & Africa category, while Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East took the lead in this category with a Silver win. Here is a full breakdown of the Middle East winners: Head of Agency of the Year 2024: Bassel Kakish, Publicis Groupe ME&T Best Place to Work: Individual Shop/Network of the Year 2024: TBWA\RAAD (UAE) Strategic Planning Leader of The Year 2024: Tahaab Rais, Publicis Groupe ME&T Corporate Communications/Marketing Person of The Year 2024: Romy Abdelnour, TBWA\RAAD Network of the Year (Middle East and Africa) 2024 – Silver: Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East Network of the Year (Middle East and Africa) 2024 – Bronze: TBWA Click here for the full list of winners.
Campaign ME
a day ago
- Campaign ME
Corporate Communications/Marketing Person of The Year 2024: Romy Abdelnour, TBWA\RAAD
The Gold winner of Corporate Communications/Marketing Person of The Year 2024 for Campaign's Global Agency of the Year Awards is Romy Abdelnour, Head of Communications, TBWA\RAAD. When United Arab Emirates-based agency TBWA\RAAD decided to hit the reset button in 2024, its top-down transformation was designed to redefine the agency's culture around four core values: courage, belief, hunger, and collaboration. But first they needed someone who could turn corporate transformation into compelling narrative. Enter Romy Abdelnour: the communications maestro who orchestrated agency-wide change. She turned internal transformation into external triumph through a symphony of strategic storytelling. The numbers don't lie: 81 per cent employee engagement (up 14 points), 77 per cent drop in resignations, and 10 per cent revenue growth in 2024 alone, meant Omnicom's TBWA\RAAD emerged as a new benchmark for agencies in the Middle East and North Africa. Not bad for a year's work. But Abdelnour's genius wasn't just in the metrics, it was in the execution. She transformed International Women's Day from corporate box-ticking into genuine policy change, adding 75 days full maternity pay, extra WFH days for working mothers, and annual wellbeing days. The result? A 48-point boost in female employee satisfaction and Fast Company recognition as a 'Best Workplace for Women'. From launching #IAmRemarkable workshops to hosting industry-shaping events like the TikTok White Paper Launch: 'Storytelling in the Next Creative Renaissance,' analysing how technology fuels creativity in modern marketing, Abdelnour elevated the agency's voice and influence. Her efforts amplified the work of agency leaders, garnered $10m+ in earned media, and led to soaring client trust scores with brands like Nissan and Hilton. Judges praised Abdelnour's 'strong track record on brand building, brand reputation and media relations.' This content was first published on Campaign UK.
Campaign ME
a day ago
- Campaign ME
Best Place to Work: Individual Shop/Network of the Year 2024: TBWA\RAAD (UAE)
The Gold winner of Best Place to Work: Individual Shop/Network of the Year 2024 for Campaign's Global Agency of the Year Awards is TBWA\RAAD. The creative shop's systematic overhaul of its workplace culture delivered measurable results that justify this recognition. The Dubai-based agency engineered change through data-driven initiatives, and the numbers tell the story. Employee engagement jumped from 68 per cent to 81 per cent, while the resignation rate decreased from 28 per cent to 11 per cent, a 62 per cent reduction that saved the agency AED1.5m annually. Trust in senior leadership rose from 60.6 per cent to 79.8 per cent, reflecting the success of its collaborative agency reset programme. TBWA\RAAD's approach centred on four core values, 'Belief, Courage, Hunger, and Collaboration,' embedded across every touchpoint from hiring to performance reviews. A standout initiative was the shop's Women & Working Mothers programme, addressing industry-specific challenges with extended maternity leave (75 days' full pay), additional work-from-home days, and annual wellbeing days, driving a more inclusive, family-friendly culture. The impact was immediate: female employees' Net Promoter Score shifted dramatically from -20 to +28. TBWA\RAAD also introduced 'We Win, You Win' incentives to reward teams for successful pitches, fostering greater collaboration and equity across the agency. Meanwhile, the agency's 'Always-On Listening' strategy captured feedback through multiple channels – stay interviews, exit interviews, and leadership workshops – creating personalised retention plans that achieved zero turnover among key talent. Internal promotions increased 50 per cent, with women receiving 47 per cent of promotions (up from 18 per cent the previous year). Judges commended 'the increase in the trust of senior leadership is not only an outstanding result, but incredibly good news for their business.' Shortlisted for Best Place to Work: Individual Shop/Network of the Year 2024: Apparent Communications TBWA\SMP This content was first published on Campaign UK.
