Listen to the article
Carat, a dentsu company, has been selected as the media agency of record for Hunger Station, the online food ordering platform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The decision follows a competitive pitch aimed at consolidating all media into one agency group able to accelerate local market collaboration and campaign integration.
It was “Carat’s strong understanding of media planning and optimisation and the opportunity to increase scope through its dentsu network”, which is said to have initially appealed to Hunger Station and secured the win.
“Hunger Station has grown from an early leader in the food and service delivery space to the leading platform in the Kingdom, with the largest customer base and widest selection of restaurants and vendors. It was imperative our ideas brought both simplicity and relevance into HungerStation’s media activation,” said Ramzy Abouchacra, CEO of Carat MENA.
Abouchacra adds: “By understanding the key audience groups and their motivations, as well as key touch points, we were able to show how we can engage more with relevant audiences, to create deeper emotional bonds with customers.”
Ahmad Haidar, Managing Director, dentsu Saudi Arabia, added, “this is a transformational win for us in the Kingdom, we are delighted that HungerStation recognised the desire, energy and passion of our team to deliver on their unique challenges. We can’t wait to get started.”
As of January 2023, Carat will be responsible for all traditional above the line and digital media planning and buying in the Kingdom. This remit will see the media agency working closely with Hunger Station to help shape the future of food delivery across the region and beyond.
Mohammed Jifri, Chief Marketing Officer, HungerStation Saudi Arabia, commented: “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, we want to be more than a platform to order food, groceries and other daily necessities. The Carat team really understood our ambition to be a place of inspiration and engagement for our audiences. We are looking forward to working together on creating deeper connections between our brand and our customers by delivering valuable media-led experiences.”
“As a tech company, we always want to make sure we are using the latest technology, driving efficiencies and reaching the right audiences at the right time. With Carat’s holistic approach to 360 media planning, we are confident we will achieve all of this and more, and we look forward to partnering with them to achieve our goals,” added Ahmed Chatila, Marketing Director, HungerStation Saudi Arabia.