Case study · Technology · UAE and Saudi Arabia · 2026
Right story, right week, founder in the room.
When French marketing group Heroiks opened Heroiks MENA in Dubai, Bannerton led the launch across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, from the timing of the announcement to the founder's interviews.
pieces of UAE coverage from February to May 2026
business radio interviews, Dubai Eye 103.8 and Mira Business FM
markets, with separate releases for the UAE and Saudi Arabia
The coverage, in numbers
12 pieces, in four months.
pieces in launch week, from Campaign Middle East to the Reuters newsfeed, with the group president live on Mira Business FM.
The challenge
A crowded news week
A European agency opening in Dubai is not news by itself. The launch window ran into Davos and a news cycle dominated by Iran, and the group's president could only spend a few days in the region.
What we did
Timing is the strategy
We advised holding the announcement until the president was on the ground, because Gulf business editors want access to the founder, not a release from Paris. We localised the French announcement into two English versions, a UAE release anchored on the Dubai office and a Saudi version that framed the Kingdom as a priority market from day one. We briefed the photography, set the release for 6.45am Gulf time to reach UAE and Saudi desks first, and lined up interviews for the days the president was in Dubai.
In the Gulf, the founder is the story.
The results
Launched in Dubai, read in Riyadh.
2 Feb 2026
A week before the announcement, Heroiks MENA CEO Hicham Auajjar joins Dubai Eye 103.8's The Agenda live in studio, on AI and the future of agency hiring.
9 to 13 Feb 2026
Heroiks MENA launches, with the story in Campaign Middle East, Communicate, PRmoment MENA, The Arabian Post, GCC Business News and Adgully Middle East, and on the Reuters newsfeed through Zawya.
9 Feb 2026
Group president Anthony Ravau joins Mira Business FM's Morning Drive for a 21 minute interview on whether UAE advertising is on a par with Europe.
Mar 2026
Bizpreneur Middle East runs a Company Spotlight on Anthony Ravau.
Apr and May 2026
Communicate quotes Hicham Auajjar in two features on AI in advertising and the Gulf enterprise.
In pictures
