Social, influencer and content marketing agency for retail, lifestyle and gaming brands across MENA, based in the UAE
We run your social channels, find the right creators, shoot the content and produce the events, for shops, cafés, beauty and fashion labels, venues, tech brands and game publishers across MENA.
Our team has run campaigns with
Who we work with
Lifestyle, retail and gaming brands
Different audiences, same discipline: understand the people first, then make content they actually want to watch. Whether they're choosing a café, a gift or a game.
Retail and lifestyle
Shops, cafés, restaurants, beauty and fashion brands, venues and consumer tech that need steady content and local reach.
- Retail and boutiquesShops, boutiques, gift and concept stores, e-commerce
- Cafés and restaurantsCafés, restaurants, bakeries, dessert and delivery brands
- Beauty, fashion and wellnessSalons, clinics, fashion labels, fragrance and fitness
- Entertainment and leisureMalls, cinemas, venues, attractions and events
- Tech and telecomTelecom operators, gaming gear, devices and apps
Gaming and esports
Game launches, community growth, esports events and brands that want a credible way into gaming culture.
- Publishers and game studiosLaunches, live-ops beats, creator programmes
- Esports events and teamsTournament production, broadcast, community
- Brands entering gamingSponsorships, in-game activations, streamers
- Gaming venues and arenasOpenings, community nights, tournaments
- Gaming gear and telecomHardware launches, bundles, streamer setups
Services
What we do
Six services that work alone or together. Start with the one you need now and add the rest as you grow.
Social media management
Content calendars, posting, community management and monthly reporting across Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, X and LinkedIn.
Influencer marketing
Creator casting, licence checks, briefs, contracts, campaign management and reporting, from streamers to lifestyle and food creators.
Content production
Short-form video, product and lifestyle photography, creative direction, editing and motion graphics, delivered in every format you need.
Creative and strategy
Brand positioning, campaign ideas, story arcs and launch plans built around the seasons that move your audience.
Events and activations
Launch events, pop-ups, in-store and mall activations, community nights and tournaments, with content captured on the day.
Gaming and esports marketing
PC, console and mobile game launches, streamer and creator programmes, brand integration, in-game activations, community and esports operations.
Work
How we'd approach your brief
Three concepts that show how we think: the goal, the insight, the idea and the plan. Our own client case studies are on the way.
Opening a specialty café in Riyadh
Filling the tables in the first eight weeks with a countdown, a creator preview night and a reason to come back.
A concept store's White Friday in Dubai
Winning the biggest shopping weekend of the year with curated gift edits instead of the deepest discount.
A mobile game launch across Saudi Arabia and the UAE
A launch weekend built around streamers and a community tournament, so players arrive together and stay.
The region
Big audiences, very different habits
The platform that works in Dubai is not always the one that works in Riyadh or Cairo. That is why we plan per market.
of Saudi Arabia's population reached by Snapchat ads
of the UAE's population reached by Facebook ads
adults in Egypt reached by TikTok ads
gamers across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt
Sources: Niko Partners (end of 2024); DataReportal Digital 2026 reports.
How we work
From brief to report in four steps
A small senior team on every account, an extended network for production, and a plan you can read in one page.
- 01
Listen
We audit your channels, competitors and audience, and agree one or two goals that matter to the business.
- 02
Plan
A content calendar, creator shortlist and budget split per channel and market, timed to the seasons that move your sales.
- 03
Make
Shoots, edits, creator content and events, produced to platform specs and checked against local rules before anything goes live.
- 04
Run and report
We publish, reply to the community and send a monthly report on reach, engagement and the results you asked for.
Markets
Where we work
We're a MENA agency, with most of our work in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Each market has its own platforms, creators, holidays and rules, so we plan them one by one.
United Arab Emirates
Our home market. High platform reach, a mixed resident population and creators who need an Advertiser Permit.
UAE marketingSASaudi Arabia
The largest market in the Gulf, with Snapchat and YouTube reaching most of the population and Mawthooq-licensed creators.
KSA marketingEGEgypt
The largest audience in the Arab world, with Facebook, YouTube and TikTok each reaching tens of millions of adults.
Egypt marketingGCCGCC
Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. High spending power, close-knit audiences and different rules in each country.
GCC marketingLEVLevant and Iraq
Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Creative, highly social audiences and Iraq's fast-growing market of over 47 million people.
Levant marketingNANorth Africa
Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Large Facebook and YouTube audiences, with Arabic, Darija and French all in play.
North Africa marketingFAQ
Questions we get asked
What does HighGround do?
HighGround is a marketing agency based in the UAE. We run social media accounts, plan and manage influencer campaigns, produce photo and video content, shape campaign ideas and produce events and in-store activations. We work for gaming and esports brands and for retail, café, beauty, fashion and entertainment brands across the Middle East and North Africa, with a focus on the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
What kinds of brands do you work with?
Any brand that sells to people who spend their day on their phones. That includes shops and boutiques, cafés and restaurants, beauty, fashion and wellness brands, malls, cinemas and venues, tech and telecom companies, and game publishers and esports organisations. The approach is the same for all of them: understand the audience first, then make content they actually want to watch.
Which countries do you cover?
We are based in the UAE and work across the Middle East and North Africa. Most of our work is in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and we also run campaigns in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Campaigns that run in more than one country are planned per market, because platforms, creators, holidays and rules differ between them.
Do you work with small businesses like cafés and boutiques?
Yes. A single shop or café often needs the same things a large brand needs, just at a different scale: a clear content plan, good photos and video, the right local creators and someone to run the accounts every week. We scope the work to the size of the business.
Are the influencers you book licensed?
We check before we book. In the UAE, creators who promote third-party products need an Advertiser Permit from the National Media Authority, mandatory since 31 January 2026. In Saudi Arabia, paid promotion requires a Mawthooq licence, including for visiting creators. Our guide to influencer rules covers the details.
How do we start working together?
Send a short brief to team@highground.ae or use the contact form. Tell us what you sell, where, and what you want people to do. We come back with questions, then a proposal with scope, timeline and fees.
Tell us what you sell and where you sell it
Send a short brief: your brand, your market and what you want people to do. We come back with questions or a first plan.