Serviceplan Middle East Launches Mediaplus Espresso As New Media Arm Of Haus Der Kommunikation

Serviceplan Middle East announced its media arm Mediaplus has acquired local agency Espresso, forming Mediaplus Espresso as the regional group for innovative media within the integrated solutions agency. This ‘new media’ agency will go beyond age old buying, by working on new ways of connecting brands and consumers through platform strategy, data analytics and precision targeting.

Mediaplus was named the best independent media agency in the world, as ranked last year by independent French market research institute RECMA, and along with Espresso, the newly formed mid-sized agency offers its clients the best global technology, tools and strategies with passion, creativity and a true commitment towards building successful partnerships with clients.

Mediaplus Espresso’s vision stems from the fact that the media landscape has changed dramatically in recent years; the traditional solutions are no longer the most viable ones, and they might miss the target audience entirely. Media habits have changed whereas audiences are segmented and scattered across multiple platforms, channels, devices and programs. Mediaplus Espresso prides itself in analyzing data to uncover these habits and form strategies to enable delivery of successful campaigns, ultimately improving the success of the brand.

Azhar Siddiqui will head Mediaplus Espresso as Managing Partner, bringing with him over 15 years of regional experience in the advertising industry. Azhar has managed the media buying portfolios of several large, global and local accounts including McDonalds, Mastercard and Unilever. He has previously held positions in OMD, Universal McCann and Magna Global, where he led the agency as Managing Director for over four years, prior to branching out on his own and starting up his media agency Espresso.

“We are thrilled to have Azhar and Espresso join us at our Haus der Kommunikation. Initially, we looked at launching Mediaplus regionally as a stand alone division, as exists in our global offices. However, this decision to combine Espresso’s local knowledge of the advertising field along with German expertise brought on board by Mediaplus is a truly exciting endeavour,” said Rami Hmadeh, Managing Partner of Serviceplan Middle East. “Azhar’s experience from past roles within multi-nationals and networks, coupled with his entrepreneurial spirit, ensure a seamless match between Mediaplus and Espresso,” he added.

Commenting on the acquisition and new partnership, Azhar Siddiqui shared: “Espresso sprang from our desire to break away from the ‘network’ culture and to draw clients’ attention back to the added value of strategy and planning. Partnering with Mediaplus is an ideal move, since we become part of a wider group, enabling us to compete more effectively with global networks, while retaining our independence and working with like-minded entrepreneurs from within the Serviceplan Group.”