M+C Saatchi already offers one of the most comprehensive and competitive capability suites in the region, spanning marketing and communications, media and sponsorship, talent management, global and social issues, PR, social media, growth strategy and consulting, and production. Which is a lot on all fronts, can you tell us how one achieves such a large and broad spectrum of activities?
We’ve built M+C Saatchi Middle East with focus and intent, because the market no longer rewards agencies that try to be everything to everyone. While others are consolidating, folding, or diluting their value through generalisation, we’re expanding with purpose. And that purpose is anchored in what clients want: Meaningful Growth.
But not just any growth — strategic, sustainable, and purposeful growth. For that, clients need access to deep specialisms: whether it’s sport and entertainment, talent management, PR, consulting, or media. And more importantly, they want those specialisms to connect, to operate in sync, guided by leadership that understands how each piece contributes to the bigger picture. They want the confidence that their agency isn’t offering services, it’s offering solutions built on insight, capability, and cohesion.
That’s the model we’ve created. M+C Saatchi Middle East is deliberately structured as a group of “Connected Specialisms”. Each team leads in its field and offers more than a generalist agency can. And our leadership doesn’t just manage, they orchestrate. We build bespoke teams with the right blend of capabilities to match each client’s ambition, bringing clarity and commercial focus from the very top.
It’s why we recently rebranded from M&C Saatchi to M+C Saatchi. That Plus sign says it all. We are a modular, but deeply integrated, agency where expertise can be engaged individually or brought together seamlessly to deliver more than the sum of its parts.
We offer the right capabilities, purposefully selected and tightly aligned. With the strategic oversight, cultural fluency, and entrepreneurial mindset to make them work in concert, all in service of one thing: delivering business solutions and meaningful growth for our clients.
M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, announced its strategic acquisition of leading Middle East-based marketing, communication and commercial experts DUNE | 23. Can you walk us through this rationale?
DUNE | 23 was a really strong fit for us. For over two years, Co-Founders Jamie Hosie and Lloyd McMillan have built an agency we’ve admired from afar. Their momentum in the region, paired with standout work for clients like Emirates Dubai 7s, Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, LIWA Festival, SailGP, Zeekr, Dubai Watch Week, Longines Global Champions Tour, Chicago Bulls, and BRED by Hypebeast, made it difficult for us not to notice them.
They also share our entrepreneurial spirit, our obsession with cultural impact and results. That’s why we didn’t hesitate to bring them in to lead and scale the Middle East arm of M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment. This is our globally awarded specialist agency, with a 20-year track record partnering with brands like Barclays, LEGO, Kia, Adidas, NFL, Heineken, Sky, and UEFA. As seven-time winners of Sport Industry Agency of the Year, our global team — led by Robin Clarke, Global CEO of Passions and PR — has already set the benchmark high. I have no doubt the DUNE | 23 team will rise to meet it.
Now, with DUNE | 23 officially joining our network, we are supercharging the sixth global office of M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, right here in the Middle East, that we launched only months ago.
Sport and entertainment in the Middle East is no longer a niche, it’s a cultural and commercial engine driving everything from tourism to tech to youth engagement. Our proprietary Fancom report makes it clear, fandom today is emotional, participatory, and identity-driven. Consumers aren’t just watching, they’re aligning with movements. And that’s exactly where brands and rights holders need to be — and DUNE | 23 intuitively know how to make that happen.
Together, we’re building a sport and entertainment proposition that is globally ambitious, locally resonant, and culturally powerful. And we’re doing it with the right team, in the right market, at exactly the right moment.
Your head count is now 160 in the region, and naturally every company has its own ethics and culture, how would M+C Saatchi in the region blend with DUNE | 23?
From the very first conversation with Jamie and Lloyd, it was clear that DUNE | 23 share a similar DNA. They operate with the same energy we pride ourselves on at M+C Saatchi — entrepreneurialism, ambition, and a relentless drive to do meaningful work. They’re the kind of people who don’t wait around, they move fast, think boldly, and find opportunities where others stay in their lane.
At M+C Saatchi, we’ve built a business around specialists who care deeply about what they do. People who work hard, have fun, and show up with purpose. We hire experts, and we empower them to stretch briefs, break convention, and chase impact.
It’s that mindset — of always going the extra mile — that wins clients and keeps them. Look at Aldar. M+C Saatchi Middle East has partnered with them for over eight years, not because they are a globally aligned client, but because we continue to deliver and earn that relationship. Nothing is handed to us, and we like it that way. DUNE | 23 is cut from the same cloth. Every client they’ve won in this region has been earned through solid strategy, creativity and trust, and not because of a name above the door.
They understand the category they operate in, and love it. That passion for sport and entertainment runs deep. Their agility, their willingness to go to the end of the earth to make things happen for a client, their ability to flex and turn faster is what makes them not just respected, but sought-after.
That’s the kind of culture we’ve built at M+C Saatchi Middle East — driven, agile, and unafraid. So when two companies share that same entrepreneurial tenacity and cultural pride, the question isn’t whether it will work. The question is: how fast can we go, and how far can we take it?
Sports and entertainment, or rather sports is entertainment, any thoughts about this, specifically in the GCC region?
Sport is definitely entertainment. But more than that, it’s a cultural force. In this region, events like Formula 1, the AFC Asian Cup, and the UFC aren’t just competitions. They’re assets where consumer identity, aspiration, and fandom converge. Today, these moments are as much about music, emotion, and shared experience as they are about athletic performance.
That’s why we define our practice as sport and entertainment. Because entertainment in our world goes far beyond sport. It includes music, festivals, film, gaming and streaming culture, and lifestyle experiences. Whether it’s a sold-out AJ Tracey show, Craig David performing at SailGP or Stormzy headlining Emirates Dubai 7’s, these aren’t just entertainment acts — they’re cultural touchpoints.
Take F1 as an example. It’s a sport, but it’s also one of the most glamorous entertainment spectacles on the planet. That intersection is exactly what makes it powerful. Sport and entertainment are two of the most emotionally rich, high-attention spaces for brands to engage in, and that’s why they matter.
Brands today aren’t just looking for visibility. They need to resonate, they need Cultural Power. They want to show up where consumer passion and brands can connect. And in this region, where demand for experience, identity, and self-expression is rising fast, sport and entertainment have become central to how people connect and what they value.
When a brand aligns with what its audience loves, when it participates in moments that matter emotionally, it builds Cultural Power. That’s the space we operate in. And that’s where we intend to lead.
Sports in the region is growing at an alarming pace, but mostly as viewers as opposed to participants, is there a distinction between the two when it comes to events and activations for your clients?
Absolutely, there’s a distinction between viewership and participation, but we find that both are accelerating, and both should matter deeply to brands. In this region, we’re still seeing growth in viewership for global passion sports like football, cricket and Formula 1. These are cultural juggernauts that command mass attention, and that’s not slowing down. Audiences are tuning in, aligning themselves with the identity and lifestyle these sports represent, and spending time and money to be part of those communities.
At the same time, there’s been a remarkable rise in participation across more accessible, lifestyle-led sports and events. Padel Tennis, Cycling, Triathlons, MMA, HYROX, and numerous Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) are surging in popularity, especially among younger demographics looking for experiences over possessions. For brands like PUMA, these spaces are unlocking powerful engagement opportunities, precisely because they sit at the intersection of sport, community, and self-expression.
The reason this growth is happening on both fronts is because consumers want more than a transaction. They want to belong. They want to invest their energy in experiences that reflect who they are. Sport and entertainment, in all forms, give them that outlet.
Esports is perhaps the most striking example of this dual dynamic. It’s where viewership and participation are both booming, and where cultural connection happens in real time. At M+C Saatchi Middle East, we’re already working with key authorities in Saudi Arabia and across the GCC to help brands enter the gaming and esports space with authenticity and scale. It’s not just a growth category, it’s a movement, one that blends entertainment, community, competition, and identity seamlessly – in short, it has real opportunity for Cultural Power.
What we’re seeing in the Middle East isn’t just a trend. It’s a transformation. This is a region leaning into its passion points, with sport and entertainment driving everything from cultural relevance to economic diversification. And for us, that’s exactly where we want to lead — now, with the added strength of DUNE | 23 by our side, it will happen faster.
