(L: Rami Hmadeh, managing partner of Serviceplan Middle East; R:Azhar Siddiqui, managing partner of Mediaplus Espresso)

Serviceplan Middle East’s media arm Mediaplus has acquired local agency Espresso, forming Mediaplus Espresso as the regional group for media within the integrated solutions agency. The new media agency aims to go beyond traditional buying through platform strategy, data analytics and precision targeting.

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.

Azhar Siddiqui will head Mediaplus Espresso as managing partner, bringing with him over 15 years of regional experience in the advertising industry. Siddiqui 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,” says Rami Hmadeh, managing partner of Serviceplan Middle East, in a press statement.