Dentsu Aegis Network has announced a new partnership with International Communications Agency (ICA) in Iran. The two agencies began working together in January 2015 and have now officially formed their first partnership, Carat-ICA. With offices based in Tehran, Carat-ICA will take full responsibility for the media planning and buying requirements of Carat and other Dentsu Aegis Network clients in Iran going forward.

With more than 70 million people, Iran is one of the largest and fastest growing countries in the Middle East. The newly formed and exclusive Carat-ICA alliance aims to add value to both clients and media stakeholders.

With offices in Tehran and Dubai, ICA has insight into the opportunities available and the necessary marketing research expertise. The Tehran office has 35 dedicated media, creative and digital  specialists. Existing clients already building their presence  in the market include Reebok, Dr. Wolff, Native Union and Telda.

Speaking of the agreement, Michael Nederlof, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network, MENA says in a press statement: “We have been doing business with ICA under the paramenters of the pre-existing sanctions and regulations since January this year and moving forward we forecast a bright future for the Iranian market.The newly formed Carat-ICA  partnership has the on-the-ground capabilities and a ‘Generation Y’ team of digital and media experts. This, paired with our network’s global resources, skills and knowledge, will allow us to support the needs of our clients in Iran and add another key growth market to our offering.”

Ben Karmi, managing director Carat-ICA adds: “We were looking at ways we could further evolve and improve our offering to both new and existing clients. Carat’s, and the wider Dentsu Aegis Network’s, focus on innovation and their entrepreneurial spirit made them the perfect fit.