Brand experience agency Collaborate Global expands into Abu Dhabi.
Collaborate Global, an independent brand experience agency, has expanded into Abu Dhabi. It will chase destination marketing, government campaigns, international roadshows and large brand experiences from the emirate.
The move was reported by Campaign Middle East and Communicate on 27 October. It adds to the agency's existing operations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and a growing presence in Africa. Gregory Mardikian, general manager for the Middle East and Africa, said ideas made centrally and exported unchanged to other markets were losing relevance, and that many projects developed in Abu Dhabi are meant for international audiences from the start. Chief executive Ben McMahon said clients increasingly want partners that know a market well but can deliver globally.
The agency says it has worked with brands in Abu Dhabi before and will connect its regional team with delivery capability in the UK, Asia and the US. Its client list includes eBay, Hyundai, TAG Heuer, Boots, Nike and Aston Martin. It has not said how many people will be based in Abu Dhabi, whether it has an office there yet, or which government or destination clients it is pitching.
For Gulf tourism boards and government entities that run roadshows abroad, the expansion adds another experiential agency that can stage events in source markets as well as at home.
Why it matters
Destination and government roadshows are a large experiential budget line in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, and more agencies are setting up locally to compete for them.
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