Saudi Arabia’s United Sugar Company (USC) has appointed OMD after a review of its media arrangements. The network’s Riyadh office also signed with two leading retail brands.
The win of USC is a significant move into one of Saudi Arabia’s leading conglomerates, the Savola Group. The incumbent was Starcom. OMD’s contract, effective immediately, covers all USC brands, including Al Osra and Ziadah. The account is managed OMD’s Jeddah office, while the creative work is split between a number of agencies.
“We were extremely impressed with OMD’s high level of professionalism and ability to deliver on all counts,” said Walid Awad, USC’s head of marketing. “We were committed to a fair and un-biased review and OMD proved better in this process,” he added.
“Savola is one of the most prestigious and successful groups in Saudi Arabia. It is an honor to be working with them and we’re very excited at the prospects of working with USC. We have many opportunities to achieve great things together,” said Choucrallah Abou Samra, OMD Arabia’s general manager.
According to monitoring figures, USC invested some $7 million across its two brands in 2004, primarily in Saudi and pan-Arab TV.
OMD Riyadh has also proved successful in securing new accounts, including Al Muhaideb Hardware, part of the Al Muhaideb Group and one of the largest hardware companies in Saudi Arabia. This account was won from Starcom. Earlier, it had secured PriceRite International, a retailer of furniture and household products headquartered in Hong Kong.
“Today, businesses operate in a world where change has become a constant. With OMD’s professionalism and impressive capabilities, we know we can capitalize and benefit from that change,” said Youssef Hajj Ali, operations manager at the Al Rashid Group, which manages the PriceRite International operation in the Kingdom.
“There is a clear trend in the Kingdom for local Saudi businesses to adopt international best practice and appoint media specialists on their media business,” commented Toni El Rahi, manager of OMD’s Riyadh operation. “Those who haven’t already done so are now considering it and at OMD, we are confident that we have the people, expertise and technology to help them take advantage of market opportunities. These two wins illustrate this beautifully.”
