
UAE residents report 70% stress relief after The Smash Room sessions: Report
The Smash Room, launched in 2018, has shared data highlighting the rising demand for experiential entertainment in the UAE.
Known for offering stress relief through adrenaline-driven activities, the concept provides a space for customers to smash items in a controlled environment.
According to internal data, 70 per cent of customers reported significant stress relief after their sessions.
Women account for 55 per cent of the customer base, and 60 per cent of visitors are from Gen Z. The diverse audience also includes 30 per cent locals, 30 per cent Europeans, and 40 per cent from other backgrounds.
Bookings peak on Fridays and Saturdays, with the summer months seeing heightened demand as an indoor activity.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Arabian Business (@arabianbusiness)
Guests pay between AED99 and AED300 for 30-minute sessions. Popular items for smashing include printers and glassware, with bats being the preferred tool.
Corporate bookings are also increasing, with businesses opting for team-building activities at The Smash Room.
The brand operates in multiple locations, including Al Quoz, Mirdif, and Abu Dhabi. The Smash Room City in Mirdif features themed spaces such as office and laundry rooms, while the Al Quoz branch's Ecstasy and Euphoria packages are customer favourites.
The Smash Mobile offers a portable version of the experience across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, and Fujairah.
The pandemic posed challenges, but The Smash Room has demonstrated resilience with a 20 per cent year-on-year growth in bookings. While Ramadan is a slower period, the brand remains a preferred choice for stress relief and entertainment.
The Smash Room's founders, Hiba Balfaqih and Ibrahim Abudyak, aim to blend therapy and entertainment. Visitors have embraced this unique offering as a way to release stress and connect with others.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Campaign ME
15 hours ago
- Campaign ME
JD Sports and adidas lead with local culture in their ‘SMU campaign'
JD Sports fashion and adidas' partnered for a nostalgic campaign driven by culture-first storytelling and a clear goal to connect with the region's youth through an authentic lens. This campaign brought the story closer to home. 'Our insights highlighted the strong performance of localised campaigns in the region, consistently showing deeper consumer engagement and stronger results. This reinforced the importance of crafting a narrative rooted in local culture – something that feels familiar, authentic, and relevant to our audience,' said Eugene Karasev, adidas Senior Brand Director, EMC. As a result of this approach Mehak Nanda, Brand Marketing Manager, GMG found that, 'The campaign sparked a sense of nostalgia among younger audiences, even those who hadn't grown up in Dubai, highlighting how shared cultural aesthetics across the Middle East can create emotional connections across generations.' The campaign rollout spanned JD's social platforms, META ads and in-store touchpoints, including digital screens and POSMs across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and Kuwait. It targeted Gen Z and young adults (ages 13–30) in the UAE, especially those passionate about streetwear, sneaker culture, and lifestyle fashion, with a strong inclination toward brands that reflect their identity and environment. Many are digital natives who value authenticity over aspiration. The creative approach reflects that energy. To bring the story to life, the team developed 'The Neighbourhood' – a fictional but familiar setting inspired by youth culture in the region. Shot in a heritage-style Dubai neighbourhood, the visuals capture raw textures and tones that feel culturally rooted and visually compelling. The storyline follows a local artist navigating the city in standout adidas sneakers, crossing paths with a cast of creatives who appear throughout. The campaign zeroes in on JD's exclusive styles – known as SMUs. 'The narrative was shaped by the first-hand stories and lived experiences of third culture kids – those who grew up in old Dubai, spent time in its backstreets, and witnessed the city evolve around them. This was a passion project and a localised campaign launch fuelled by memory, community, and a genuine desire to portray the region in its truest form,' says Nanda. View this post on Instagram A post shared by JD Sports Middle East (@jdsportsme) Influencers were carefully selected for their connection to local communities and relevance within the adidas originals universe. The campaign featured a mix of regional micro-influencers – from artists and athletes to fashion creatives – selected for their genuine ties to community and culture. The result was bold, energetic content that reflected the sneaker culture through the lens of music and sport as well as regional identity. 'Influencer marketing played a key role in the campaign. The cast featured a curated group of local micro-influencers – spanning music, fashion, and multisport – who are well-known within their communities. These talents were chosen not only to reflect adidas Originals' deep ties to culture and creativity but also to ensure the campaign felt grounded in the region, bringing an added layer of authenticity and local relevance to the storytelling,' said Karasev. 'We handpicked a diverse mix of talent from the local community – it wasn't about influencer reach but about authentically highlighting JD's connection to music, fashion, and art in the region. We also created some fun behind-the-scenes content, styling reels, and location shoutouts (rolling out soon!) to further amplify the community-first message,' says Nanda. At the same time, the partnership focused on converting that awareness into sales by creating demand through impactful, locally resonant storytelling. According to Karasev, the primary goal of the campaign was to drive awareness around adidas and JD exclusives, positioning them as must-have drops within the region. 'The campaign was driven by JD's reputation for exclusive product offerings – known as SMUs – which are spotlighted through their signature 'Only at JD' callouts. These styles are central to JD's global and regional success and consistently resonate with consumers, yet there's often limited content to support them,' says Karasev. 'With both JD and adidas' growing footprint in the Middle East, this partnership presented a timely opportunity to spotlight adidas SMUs through a fresh, localised lens. The goal was to craft premium, bespoke content that not only captures the essence of both brands but also speaks directly to our regional audience. By delivering an always-on content approach across our partner's channels, the campaign reinforces the message of exclusivity while driving demand and differentiation in a highly competitive market,' said Karasev. 'Rooted in the streets of our region, it brings together adidas Originals' spirit of individuality with JD's 'King of the Streets' attitude,' says Nanda. The campaign is currently live across all JD stores and will run until the end of June 2025. It was launched across JD's social channels, META ads and in-store platforms, including POSMs and digital screens across key regional markets – UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and Kuwait. 'While the campaign is still live and the full report is in progress. We're primarily tracking reach and sell-through as key performance indicators,' said Karasev. As the market continues to demand deeper, more meaningful connections, this campaign suggests one thing loud and clear – when it comes to exclusivity, context is everything.


Khaleej Times
6 days ago
- Khaleej Times
Streaming trends 2025: Are weekly episodes replacing the binge?
For years, streaming taught us to binge. Entire seasons dropped in one go, the 'Next Episode' button eliminated cliffhanger suspense, and weekend marathons became the norm. But now, something surprising is happening — especially among Gen Z: the weekly drop is back, and it's not just working — it's winning. Take The Last of Us Season 2 on OSN+, a gritty, emotionally devastating post-apocalyptic series that concluded after a seven-week run on May 26 in the UAE, becoming a Monday ritual across the Middle East. The show didn't just dominate timelines — it's dominated time. One episode a week. No skipping ahead. No spoilers unless you dare. What changed? This is the generation long believed to crave instant gratification — the same cohort known for skipping intros, doubling playback speed, and abandoning a series two minutes in. Yet they're showing up week after week for slow-burn television, emotionally raw narratives, and serialised suspense. Why? Because binge culture may have offered control, but the weekly drop delivers community. According to OSN+, Gen Z viewers in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) are choosing weekly drops over binge dumps; 47 of the top 50 most in-demand shows in early 2023 in MENA followed a weekly or staggered release model. TikTok and the rise of episodic attention Ironically, the same Gen Z that's glued to TikTok's short-form content is helping drive this shift. TikTok, once known for its 15-second dopamine hits, has evolved into a platform of mini-episodic storytelling. Viral multi-part sagas like the 'Who Did I Marry?' series or real-life 'Storytime' confessions span five, ten, sometimes twenty clips — and viewers stick around. These aren't just passive watches; they're participatory. Viewers stitch reactions, drop theories, and stay hooked until the final reveal. Sound familiar? It's the same energy fueling weekly appointment TV. In Gen Z's own vernacular, 'it's giving… community.' Weekly drops vs. the binge: What platforms are doing Streaming services have started to take notice and vary their release strategies accordingly: Netflix remains synonymous with binge culture (Bridgerton, Baby Reindeer, Selling Sunset) — often dropping entire seasons at once. But it has flirted with the weekly format for reality shows like The Circle and Love Is Blind, using cliffhangers and staggered episodes to fuel online buzz. It also drops seasons in parts; for instance, makers of Stranger Things released seven episodes of their hit show's fourth season on May 27, 2022, and the remaining two episodes on July 1, 2022. Disney+ almost exclusively releases episodes weekly for major titles like The Mandalorian, Loki, and The Acolyte, leaning into fandom discussion and long-tail engagement. Amazon Prime Video often uses a hybrid model. Shows like The Boys and Invincible premiere with two or three episodes, then shift to weekly drops. HBO/Max (and by extension OSN+ in the Middle East) is a purist in this space, famously championing weekly releases for shows like House of the Dragon, and now The Last of Us. The result? A groundswell of online chatter, theories, and emotional build-up that just doesn't happen with full-season dumps. Each model serves a purpose, but there's a growing appetite for the slow-burn — especially when the story deserves space to breathe. When The Last of Us S2 premiered on OSN+, fans weren't just watching — they were posting, reacting, and predicting. Major character arcs — like the divisive arrival of Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever), or the emotionally loaded moments with Joel (Pedro Pascal) — became weekly conversation starters. TikTok exploded with edits and think pieces; Reddit threads broke down symbolism, flashbacks, even line delivery. This isn't just consumption — it's participation. Each episode becomes a cultural event, a shared pause in the chaos of content overload. And in a world where everything moves fast, the wait becomes a feature, not a flaw. The return of the weekly drop isn't just a throwback — it's a digital coping mechanism. It builds anticipation. It invites reflection. It lets stories sink in. For a generation bombarded with stimuli, the wait might just be the magic. Binge culture trained us to race. Weekly TV is teaching us to feel. What do you prefer? Binge watching or weekly episode drops.


Broadcast Pro
01-06-2025
- Broadcast Pro
Twitch announces major platform upgrades at TwitchCon Rotterdam 2025
In 2024, viewers across MENA spent 209m+ hours watching content on Twitch Twitch has unveiled a series of significant updates to its products and services during the opening ceremony of TwitchCon Rotterdam 2025. CEO Dan Clancy announced the new features ahead of the in-person festival, emphasising Twitch's continued dedication to enhancing the streaming experience and empowering content creators. Building on the goals outlined in its 2025 open letter to the community, Twitch is introducing new tools designed to help streamers grow their audiences and increase monetisation opportunities. These include the introduction of dual-format and 2K streaming in Open Beta, customisable sub gift promotions, a newly launched interactive feature called Combos, and extensive upgrades to the mobile app—some of which are designed specifically to serve the growing audience in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Twitch remains a dominant force in the gaming livestreaming space, holding over 60% of the market and drawing viewers who collectively watch an average of 46m hours of content daily. This upward trend is also reflected in the MENA region, where viewers spent over 209m hours on Twitch in 2024 alone, underscoring the platform's increasing popularity across diverse global markets. Addressing the audience in Rotterdam, Clancy described TwitchCon as a celebration of creativity, connection, and shared experiences. He emphasised the company's commitment to nurturing streamers' growth, especially in regions like MENA, where interest in gaming and esports continues to rise. 'We're excited to keep building in MENA, because when streamers thrive, so do the communities around them,' he stated. Twitch's user base is largely composed of Gen Z and Millennials, with nearly 70% of its viewers aged between 18 and 34. The platform now attracts over 105m average monthly visitors, with more than 2.5m viewers tuning in at any given moment. Content is broadcast in 35 languages, reflecting Twitch's global reach and influence. TwitchCon remains the platform's biggest in-person event, bringing together thousands of creators, fans, and brands for a weekend of gaming, collaboration, and celebration. This year's event in Rotterdam continues that tradition, showcasing Twitch's evolving role in shaping the future of interactive entertainment.