Anyone who has been to Saudi Arabia since the ‘Vision 2030’ transformation was launched, will tell you: it’s extraordinary.
Gone are the centuries-old rules of behaviour. Today, women are free to travel independently, to drive cars, to get jobs, to build careers. There are new green cities, the world’s longest subway line, fashion shows, fine dining, music festivals in the desert. Cristiano Ronaldo's wife Georgina Rodriguez is a bigger star than Cristiano.
But something else is changing. Saudis used to sit by, while foreigners did the work. Especially in the ‘creative industries’.
Today, ‘Saudi-isation’ is the buzzword. Foreigners are welcome, but expected to share their skills and help young Saudis to take their place at the table.
This session will hear about agencies built by Saudis are re-inventing the way creativity is developed – and how it is rewarded. We will also hear about how creatives from outside Saudi Arabia have been able to collaborate with Saudis – and achieve results which a few years ago, no-one would have thought possible.
After 14 years with traditional network agencies, living and working in London, Amsterdam, Sao Paulo and New York, Julian founded thenetworkone in 2005.
Representing 1500 agencies in 117 countries worldwide, from Japan to Chile and from Australia to Iceland, it’s by far the world’s largest independent agency community.
Thenetworkone has been active in Saudi Arabia for more than ten years, working with leading Saudi-owned creative and PR agencies as well as international independents.
Thenetworkone doesn’t only work with independent talent, it thinks independently too.
Indies tend to spot trends before large corporations. Julian talks constantly to thenetworkone's members – from the giant Indie agencies like Vayner, Serviceplan and VCCP to small boutiques like Kurio in Finland (with whom we co-publish an annual Social Media Management trends survey), we keep our finger on the pulse of where our industry is going next.
And we love nothing better than to share what we learn.
We don’t do exclusivity. We do inclusivity.
We don’t do control. We do collaboration.
In his “spare time”, Julian has studied at Cambridge University where he gained a Master’s degree in English Literature; spent eight years as a Governor of a primary school, specialised in integrating children with learning difficulties into mainstream education; served for six years as a Non-Executive Director of the Marketing Society (where he remains a Fellow); and has recently been elected Master of the Worshipful Company of Marketors, a City of London Livery Company.
Fadi Mroue is the Chief Creative Officer at SRMG, the Middle East’s largest Media Group, as well Managing Diretor of SRMG Labs. A graduate of the the New York Pratt Institute, Fadi began his career at BBDO before establishing République in 2008. Over his 20-year trajectory, he accumulated more than 60 local and international awards including Cannes Lions, New York Festivals, Cresta, Clio, LIA, and Dubai Lynx. In 2024 he led SRMG Labs to be ranked in the top 10 agencies in MENA according to the Cannes Lions Rankings, the most awarded agency at the Athar Festival of Creativity, as well as the most awarded MENA agency at LIA.
Heide’s background includes eight years at Red Bull as Global Brand Communications and Media Director, where she led projects such as Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic free fall from the edge of space in 2012 and helped drive the creation of Red Bull Media House. She then spent three years at the helm of Bacardi, one of the largest family-owned spirits companies in the world, as their Global Brand Communications and Creative Director. Striking out on her own, Heide founded Studio Art + Commerce, a successful entertainment and experiences agency. Her work includes international projects such as MDL Beast, Saudi Arabia’s first-ever EDM and arts festival, and collaborations with clients like Mandarin Oriental, Vogue, Ralph Lauren, Stella Artois, and HSBC.
