DUBAI, United Arab Emirates,
Aug. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 (Chairman) and Tim Baker (Chief Executive Officer), hug digital
is one of the largest and fastest growing 360°digital agencies in
the MENA region.
hug digital provides digital campaigns, social media, content,
influencer and activation marketing, web and mobile app
development, media planning and buying as well as digital research,
analysis and social listening.
"Grey Group's acquisition of hug digital enhances our leadership
position in the MENA creative and digital space," said Nirvik Singh, Chairman and CEO of Grey Group
Asia Pacific, Middle East and
Africa. "It underscores Grey's
commitment to expand our offering and deliver quality, value-added
services to our clients."
Headquartered in Dubai (UAE),
with offices in Egypt and
India, hug digital employs around
145 full-time staff. Their blue-chip client roster 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, HMD Nokia, Shell,
Festival City Group, Nestle's Maggi, Clorox, Sarai by MNHD and
Emaar among others.
"We're very excited about our new partnership," stated
Oussama Jamal. "We are eager to take
our digital expertise and knowledge of the MENA region and scale
this with WPP and Grey Group. This acquisition will enable us to
access resources that will expand our capabilities and accelerate
our growth."
As Chairman and CEO respectively, Jamal and Baker will continue
to head the hug digital operations whilst working closely with
Nirvik Singh to set the overall
strategic digital growth plan for the region.
"This deal cements seven years of hard collective work from our
dedicated team. We are proud to become part of the world's largest
communications group, WPP, partner with Grey and continue our
digital journey with the same enthusiasm as the day we started hug
digital," said Tim Baker.
The acquisition will bring additional benefits to clients of hug
digital, including access to Grey Group's offerings in production,
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.
About Grey Group
Grey Group ranks among the largest
global communications companies. Its parent company is WPP (NASDAQ:
WPPGY). Under the banner of "Grey Famously Effective Since 1917",
the agency serves a blue-chip client roster of many of the world's
best known companies: Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline,
Pfizer, Canon, Revlon and Boehringer Ingelheim. Grey MENA
Website: http://grey.com/mena. In the Asia Pacific region, Grey Group covers 28
cities in 16 countries and works with some of the biggest brands in
the region. For more information, please visit
http://grey.com/apac.
About hug digital
hug digital is a regional digital
agency with a presence in the UAE, Egypt and India. It comprises of 145 staff members from
18 different nationalities and aims to harness the power of digital
in delivering simple, great ideas. Website: www.hugdigital.com
Media Contacts
Owen Dougherty
Chief Communications
Officer
Grey Group
Email:
owen.dougherty@grey.com
Phone: 212-546-2551
Huma Qureshi
Regional
Director
PR & Corporate Communications
Grey Group Asia Pacific
Email: huma.qureshi@grey.com
Mobile: (852) 9388 5686
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SOURCE Grey