Nadya Tereshina on UAE's Creative Evolution: Adapting, Innovating, Globalising
The m25 Premium Network Founders Series celebrates the real people behind productions. In an era where AI can churn out endless content in minutes, it’s easy to forget that true creativity still begins with a human spark. Behind every seamless shoot, every cross‑border collaboration, and every bold production decision lies a person whose vision and persistence make it possible.
This chapter turns the spotlight on Nadya Tershina, part of the driving force behind Singularity, UAE. Arriving in the UAE in 2011 from an agency background, Nadya’s initial idea was simple yet ambitious to bring clients to shoot in the Emirates. Within weeks, she landed her first service jobs, including a high‑profile sports celebrity campaign in Dubai. The process was different from anywhere she’d worked before, but she embraced it, quickly building relationships with local crews and international teams from the UK and USA.
Her path wasn’t linear, a return to agency life at Publicis and TBWA sharpened her strategic instincts before she committed fully to production. What shaped her most was resilience, adaptability, and a fearless willingness to 'just go and do it.' For Nadya, every campaign is a standout, because each pitch, each win, and each challenge brings new lessons. Her open‑minded approach and belief that “there is always a solution you just need to look from a different perspective” have become the foundation of her leadership style.
From navigating cultural nuances to pioneering AI‑driven production solutions, Nadya is helping position the UAE as a global creative hub, a place where diversity of talent, strategic location, and an innovation‑first mindset converge. Her work with brands like Honda Middle East and Maybelline during Ramadan campaigns shows how she blends cultural sensitivity with global production standards.
In a region that thrives on pushing boundaries, Nadya and SIgularity stand out as a connector, a problem‑solver, and a creative leader who sees the whole world as her production playground.
Q> In what ways is UAE positioning itself on the global advertising stage, and what unique strengths does it offer that resonate with international brands and agencies?
Nadya> UAE becoming a place to be! I think there is a global trend and a lot of companies coming to the region, especially opening of Saudi Arabia helped a lot. The region has become very attractive itself. As UAE we’re strategically based between all continents and with our airline pretty much everything is a direct flight away. I think one of the biggest strengths is actually a diversity of talent – we’re almost 120 nationalities here, meaning the perspective and vision is very open and a mix of cultures can truly give a unique feel both to work and to the process itself. UAE government offered as well incentive like rebate for shoots in Abu Dhabi, which attracted a number of Hollywood productions. I think one of our main strengths is that the nature of the UAE itself makes everyone living here think globally. We connect talents across multiple countries and continents to ensure the process and the result. Being a result driven team we always look at how we can achieve the best results, rather than 'where'.
Q> How do local cultural values and consumer behaviours influence advertising strategies in UAE?
Nadya> UAE is a very young country, however deeply rooted in tradition and they have pride over their own Emirati culture, as well as Islamic traditions. Every year we do Ramadan campaigns and these campaigns are deeply rooted in how people celebrate Ramadan and its values. Last year with Gotham New York we did the Maybelline Ramadan campaign, where regional celebrities showed us how they prepare and celebrate the holy month. This project was a great collaboration between multiple cultures, ensuring we deliver the best result. Often we are also tasked with adapting global campaigns to the region, whether it is a messaging tweaking or adapting situations and vignettes in the film. A few years back myself and Zubin helped to adapt one of the first Geely’s campaigns for the local market, where we kept the main look & feel, but changed the vignettes to be more suited for MENA and GCC.
Q> With the rapid adoption of digital tools and AI, how is technology reshaping advertising processes and outcomes in UAE’s advertising industry?
Nadya> I’m all up for tech and innovation. I think with incorporation of AI the turn around timeline became shorter, whether it's doing research or generating some look & feel images. One of our clients is an AI based company and we closely work with them for some of their internal content done fully in AI. It has challenges, certain road blocks we hit a few times along the way, but that’s where you actually get to think creatively and find solutions. I personally think merging technology and creativity is a way forward to really push boundaries of what can be done.
Q> What advice would you give to young talent aspiring to enter the advertising industry in the UAE?
Nadya> An open mind is very important in my opinion. The more rigid you are, the less chances. I think the industry here is pioneering brave talents, who are not afraid to go out of their comfort zone.
Q> How does the vibrant advertising landscape in UAE encourage innovation compared to more traditional markets?
Nadya> The UAE is innovative. The whole country is pioneering innovations, to be on the forefront of technology and implement it for greater good. As a Dubai & Abu Dhabi based company we’re challenged to look differently and to find different solutions. If we talk about specific examples here, we’re constantly challenged by our client Honda Middle East to come up with ideas and solutions on how to push the execution boundaries. The main challenge we had was the locations in a few years of production we shot almost in every corner and the team at Honda tasked us to come up with something different. After a week of scouting, we came up with an R & D idea to use AI to create backgrounds. It was two years back and AI was not widely adapted, nor the resolution was yet good enough. We did a couple of tests and delivered an image library with a mix of location and AI generated backgrounds. Some of the markets are still using those images two years later, now AI is adopted way better, but I think Honda team was the one who initially pushed us to expand the boundaries and also think outside the box.
Now you have more and more clients and agencies, who want production to push the boundaries, look for smart solutions and ideas. In the era of fast paced content the time is key as well.
Q> What are the key challenges that production companies face when expanding their services within the UAE market, and how have they overcome them?
Nadya> As anywhere in the world it would start with cultural differences and certain work flow, which for example would be hard for a company from another region. It doesn’t mean that anything is good or bad, its just a different approach. The key is adaptability. When you bring best practices from global and adapt it to local work flow everything falls into place. The production process itself is not really different anywhere in the world, what is different is certain communication and cultural aspects. When you implement and respect both, there are no other borders.
Q> Looking to the future, what trends do you predict will shape the UAE production industry in the next five to 10 years?
Nadya> Technology. If you don’t evolve and implement it, you definitely will be left out. More global focus, the whole world is a playground and with technology remote work is very easy. This inclusivity and diversity will shape the whole production and post approach.
