When Eddie Moutran left Intermarkets in 1984 to establish Middle East Marketing and Communications (Memac), his objective was to service the Silk Cut cigarettes account. However, when Intermarkets signed an affiliation agreement with Saatchi & Saatchi in 1982, Ogilvy – like all the other global agencies who had been using Intermarkets as their MENA affiliates – had to quickly find an alternative. Eddie had been close to Ogilvy during his Intermarkets days, so Memac was selected. In 1998, Ogilvy acquired 20 per cent of Memac[1] and another 20 per cent in 2002. Since then, that percentage has been increased.
Earlier[2] I mentioned the arrival of Grey Advertising in the Middle East. The development of this American agency in the region dates to 1989, when the president of Grey International visited Beirut. The agency was searching for an associate to help it with its part of the P&G portfolio in the MENA region. The visitor struck a deal with Camp Saade & Skaff (CS&S), as Grey was under pressure to move fast. By 1993, Grey acquired 30 per cent ownership in CS&S, which was rebranded as CSS & Grey. In 2011, the three founding partners left, and the agency became fully owned by the international group and its name changed to Grey Advertising.
Rafic Saadeh, my partner in our early adventures in Saudi Arabia[3], left Promotec and founded Horizon in partnership with Saad Hijjawi in 1967. In 1999, FCB partnered with Horizon, which by then had moved its office from Kuwait to Athens. The group added the public relations consultancy Golin Harris to its offering, as well as a digital arm with the name Blue Barracuda[4]. It also built a network across the main MENA markets.
[1] Lebanon Communicating – Pages 110, 172 & 173
[2] The Story of Middle East Advertising – Chapter 91