Collaborate Launches in the Middle East
Collaborate Global, one of the fastest growing independent global experience agencies, has announced the opening of Middle East headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and an international hub in Dubai, UAE.
With over twenty years of international and local Middle East expertise, the Collaborate team offers the region a powerful blend of global quality, local knowledge and a strong track record of award-winning experiential across local and international brands, regional and global agencies, and government led projects.
Globally, Collaborate is creating impactful experiential campaigns at scale across optimised in-store activations, product launches, pop-up shops, concerts and highly personalised experiences for iconic brands including The Goodwood Estate, Aston Martin, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, eBay, Colgate and pharmaceutical leader Novartis.
Growth of experiences and events
The launch comes in response to growing demand as people crave unique, in real life experiences as an antidote to digital fatigue. According to Eye of Dubai, the Middle East and Africa events market is projected to grow from US$53.63 billion in 2022 to US$76.67 billion by 2028. While Splash’s 2024 Outlook on Events reports 83% of marketers view events critical to business growth.
Global reach/local roots
Comments Ben McMahon, CEO and founder, Collaborate Global, “Collaborate was founded with a culture of global reach, local roots. And this belief is happily driving accelerated growth for our clients across markets.
He continues, “Our leadership and locally based teams in Saudi and the UAE are here to stay, bringing our ground-breaking 'Collaboration Model' and a collaborative approach to brand, culture, and partnerships. The Middle East is an extraordinary, exciting business catalyst with a winning combination of innovation, commercial opportunity, strategic investment, and youthful, tech-savvy population. We’re strengthening our service here to help ambitious brands grow regionally and on the world stage.”
The Collaboration Model delivers partnership with communications agencies, from large scale network giants to local PR and content specialists, designed to amplify brand storytelling and engagement at the critical intersection of experiential marketing, content creation and public relations.
The independent global agency is partnering with brands and agencies in The Middle East on experiential activations from cultural storytelling to digital innovation for the city of Madinah; to a tactical launch of Audi’s E-tron range; to an influencer campaign for Vita Coca in Saudi Arabia, and production of Qiddiya Football FanZones with Rise Sponsorship.
Global team/local expertise
Collaborate’s Middle East operation is led by global chief expansion officer Ross Oxenham and global chief growth officer Chris Ambidge.
Strengthening agency presence, Nick Walsh is named regional growth partner. Based in Dubai, Nick recently launched Migrate, a consultancy focused on supporting fast-growing independent agencies in the region. He brings 16 years of leading agencies and brands to growth in the Middle East, with leadership roles in the experiential space for WPP agencies Geometry, Ogilvy, and Y&R.
Ross Oxenham brings a unique perspective on market adaptability and local relevance, including the successfully established Collaborate Africa. Chris Ambidge, whose experience within WPP’s network in driving global client growth across diverse markets, offers deep insight into scalable communications strategies and agency collaboration.
