The Future of Saudi Arabia’s Creativity and Communication

“When we talk about the changes in the Saudi market, we cannot do that without taking into consideration the one major turning point that impacted the core of our industry in KSA: Vision 2030,” says Mohammed Bhamishan, the chief creative officer at Publicis Communications KSA. 

With over 20 years of experience within the industry, Mohammed has worked across the MEA region, with a specific focus on the Saudi Arabian market. Now, as the country aims to economically diversify, attract tourism and build an infrastructure to sustain the country’s future through ‘Vision 2030’, Mohammed shares his take on the creativity that has taken place over the last two decades and the exciting prospect of what's to come.

Saudi Arabia’s newest venture is NEOM’s ‘The Line’, a ‘smart city’ built to be self-sufficient, and sustainable. With residential homes, offices, libraries and schools all within walking distance, this new way of living aims to set a standard for sustainability across the world.

“When we look at a brand like NEOM, and a city like ‘The Line’, we must ask ourselves, ‘Who would be the future communication/creative/strategic partner that would measure up and meet the expectation of such brands?’ This exciting and challenging opportunity was never on the table before Vision 2030. Now, think of the rest of the projects and the sub-brands that have been born since then, carrying the same DNA, to support and cater for the coming progress,” says Mohammed.

Within this new vision, the need for continuous adaptation and change is necessary, as Mohammed explains, “Vision 2030 has impacted every field and industry in endless ways, creativity and communication are no exceptions. Vision 2030 has come with key prerequisites. So, in our industry, we have got to ask ourselves: Do we have the right mindset? Are we continuously preparing the right talent and getting them ready with the right skill set for future brands?"

There are an endless number of possibilities, from superstructure 3D printing to asteroid mining, blockchain banking and even remote robotics – all of which Mohammed has considered and questioned. He believes more should be done to keep up with the country which already has its priorities set for the future. “I believe our creative industry is late, while our government and the public society are more creative and way ahead of us!” He continues, “We need to move faster, with a full understanding of the vision prerequisites and reinvent structures, mindsets, talent skill sets, work approach and practices.”

Looking specifically at the creative industries, Mohammed mentions the ambition of wanting to be known as “the number one destination for global filmmaking and production.” With the history of the MEA market founded through local dubbing rather than original content, the shift in the last few years has meant that they are working towards the reputation of having established talent and facilities, aiming to be a world leader in this category.

“Today, we are witnessing the rise of Saudi directors, DOPs, videographers, editors, producers, and actors from both genders, across all ages. There is no doubt that this country has a massive amount of talent, and vision 2030 has provided the fertile ground for those talents to sprout and grow,” says Mohammed. 

He continues, “From a more executional angle, Vision 2030 has started to scrap the shallow layer of mediocrity. I remember we spent so much precious time and effort discussing if the foreign cast looks Saudi enough, can he wear the Shemagh and still look comfortable? Do we have a veil artist on set? Can they carry themselves well inside the local wardrobe? Plus many other consuming details of relevance.”

“Today, with the rise of local talent entering the market, the only measure of success, more than ever, is merely focused on how good the idea is. How crafted the execution is. How strategic the message is. How to best utilise a certain communication technology, AI, data, etc. So, the effort is much more focused in the right direction which resulted in the great level of local creative executions we have started to see,” says Mohammed. 

Ultimately, the ambition of the nation has brought with it a positive change in the right direction, according to Mohammed. “People today expect us and brands to deliver high standards of creative ideas. We cannot get away with average creative products. People have become the creative police and the cultural police guarding their national identity in every idea and creative product we release,” he says. 

With Vision 2030 rooted in creative solutions to support the growth and development of KSA, Mohammed says, “Right from the very beginning of this vision, we all heard HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman say, ‘We choose to only work with dreamers, those who want to create something new in this planet’. His words went viral, stamping the Saudi nation with a new mindset. Banking on dreaming as the only way forward, and dreamers as achievers and progress agents, this statement is relevant to everyone, but especially to our creative industry because we know that dreaming is the main ingredient of creativity.”