The advertising market in Saudi Arabia has come a long way, but a lot still needs to be done, according to Marwan M. Qutub, CEO, and co-founder of 3Points, a 100 percent local advertising agency “celebrating 10 years of creativity”. The industry in the Kingdom still needs to capitalize on the establishment of multi-national companies, professional ad agencies thriving on digital marketing. But a new age requires a new way of thinking for Qutub. The industry needs to break away from the conventions of conservative clients in Saudi Arabia following a classical “safe” approach, which is just a repetition of what one sees in different forms. The making of an all-new image then becomes a job of agencies to get the client into the beats of a new digital age of a totally different generation, Qutub said. The new generation graduating from Saudi schools with a mission of innovation like Dar Al-Hekma is a good fit for a creative field like advertising as many of their graduates have joined 3Points and other advertising companies, he said. Empowered with both cultural and technological literacy coupled with creative thinking, the number of women interested in advertising has substantially increased, he said. They are simply targeting an audience they know what it takes to make it stop and think about an artwork, he added. The Okaz Creative Advertising Awards competition has found many of the Saudi talents, which would help increase creativity in the industry. Referring to Akim Salatak, an ad campaign to encourage youth to perform prayers, Qutub said that 3Points puts the community service as its core mission. “Being local means we are the consumer. We know what's hot and what's not,” he said.
