Grey Group (WPP) acquires a majority stake in hug digital
Grey Group has acquired a majority stake in hug digital – a leading independent regional digital marketing agency, based in the Middle East. Founded in 2009 by Oussama Jamal and Timothy Michael Baker, hug digital is one of the largest and fastest growing, 360°digital agencies in the MENA region.
The full extent of the services offered by hug digital encompasses handling their clients brands’ social assets, content creation, influencer marketing, digital products development, full-fledged digital campaigns, web and mobile app development (UX / UI), on-ground and digital activations, media planning & buying as well as digital research, analysis and social listening.
Headquartered in Dubai (UAE) and with offices in Egypt, India, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the agency has a headcount of 160+ full-time staff. Their impressive clientele list includes more than 70 international, regional and local brands such as;
- Americana (Hardees, TGI Fridays, Krispy Kreme)
- Al-Futtaim (Al Futtaim automotive group, Toyota, Honda, Lexus), Majid Al Futtaim (Ski Dubai, Magic Planet, iFly, Little Explorer, LEGO)
- Commercial Bank of Dubai
- Dubai Tourism
- Alwaleed Philanthropies (KSA)
- Rafal Real Estate (KSA)
- Shell (Egypt & UAE)
- Festival City Group (Egypt)
- Sarai and Taj City by MNHD (Egypt)
- Toys ‘R’ Us (Egypt)
- Allianz (Egypt)
- Emaar Misr (Egypt)
“We’re incredibly excited about our new partnership with Grey Group.” stated Oussama Jamal, Chairman of hug digital. He added, “As a team, we are very eager to take our digital know-how and intimate knowledge of digital in the MENA region and scale this with Grey Group. The acquisition means access to incredible resources that will enable our personnel to excel further and service our digital partners and brands even more.”
As chairman and CEO, Jamal and Baker will continue to head the hug digital operations whilst working closely with Nirvik Singh (Chairman and CEO, GREY GROUP, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa) to set the overall strategic digital direction and growth for the region.
The acquisition is expected to bring additional benefits to the clients of hug digital, including access to Grey Group’s vast offerings such as its in-house broadcast production facility, GreyWorks, its shopper-marketing agency, Grey DPI, and its highly-regarded creative and design technology company, Vinyl-i. Similarly, Grey Group’s clients from across the globe will benefit from the digital technology and local expertise of Hug Digital.
“Grey Group is rapidly establishing a strong leadership position in the MENA creative and digital space. The partnership with Hug Digital is an excellent strategic fit to lead with ground-breaking digital work especially as it has always been Grey’s commitment to constantly deliver quality value-added services to our clients. With this acquisition, we are heading in the right direction.” said Nirvik Singh, Chairman and CEO of Grey Group Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
