M&C SAATCHI AND ETIHAD PART WAYS Mindshare MENA CEO Samir Ayoub resigns as Ravi Rao takes over RAJA TRAD BECOMES CEO OF PUBLICIS COMMUNICATIONS MIDDLE EAST JWT NAMES BEZERRA NEW ECD Serviceplan ME acquires Espresso
Serviceplan Middle East has acquired independent Dubai agency Espresso and launched a new media company.
The agency’s media arm Mediaplus has now relaunched itself as Mediaplus Espresso, which will be overseen by Espresso’s founder and managing director Azhar Siddiqui.
As well as traditional media planning and buying, the new agency will offer expertise is platform strategy, data analytics and precision targeting.
“We are thrilled to have Azhar and Espresso join us at our ‘Haus der Kommunikation’. Initially, we looked at launching Mediaplus regionally as a standalone division, as exists in our global offices. However, this decision to combine Espresso’s local knowledge of the advertising field along with German expertise brought on board by Mediaplus is a truly exciting endeavour,” said Rami Hmadeh, managing partner of Serviceplan Middle East.
“Azhar’s experience from past roles within multinationals and networks, coupled with his entrepreneurial spirit, ensure a seamless match between Mediaplus and Espresso.”
In a career spanning 15 years, Siddiqui has managed the media buying portfolios of several large, global and local accounts including McDonalds, MasterCard and Unilever, working for agencies including OMD and Universal McCann.
Prior to founding Espresso in 2013, Siddiqui led Magna
Global in the United Arab Emirates as managing director. He said: “Espresso sprang from our desire to break away from the ‘network’ culture and to draw clients’ attention back to the added value of strategy and planning. Partnering with Mediaplus is an ideal move, since we become part of a wider group, enabling us to compete more effectively with global networks, while retaining our independence and working with like-minded entrepreneurs from within the
Serviceplan Group.”
Part of the Munichheadquartered Serviceplan Group, the Media City-based MENA hub was introduced to the region in late 2013. At the time, the agency operated Serviceplan for advertising and plan.net for its digital offering, with the media arm Mediaplus forming in April 2014.
Last year, Mediaplus was named the best independent media agency in the world by independent French market research institute RECMA.