Edgy global media brand VICE Media Group today unveiled the expansion of its commercial operations into Riyadh with the launch of a new local office and partnership with top Saudi media brand, the Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG).
Vice Media.
The Riyadh office will be located in a converted warehouse in JAX, a new arts and culture district in the industrial Ad-Diriyah zone that will serve as a hub for cultural and creative industries. JAX hosts a mix of exhibition spaces, studios and art galleries, embedding VICE Media Group right at the heart of the city’s creative community, according to a report in campaignme.com.
VICE Media Group is also partnering with the Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG) – the MENA region’s premier media business operation that owns brands like Arab News and others – to set up a training and mentoring program for young creative talents in the Kingdom, the campaignme.com reports. The details of the program will be announced soon.
According to that report, the VICE move to Riyadh makes permanent a presence the media organization has had in the region for years. VICE Media Group has operated in the Middle East and North Africa since 2017, and it has “a team comprising some of the brightest young content creators, strategists, creatives and producers across the entire region. With VICE Arabia having reached over 40 Million young people in 2020, VICE Media Group remains committed to representing and highlighting different perspectives from every part of the region.”
The office will start as a “small operation mostly focussed on commercial and business-to-business offerings,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“Our growth in the region has always been driven by our mission to champion young voices. Given how dynamic youth culture currently is in this part of the world, this move represents a natural expansion of our operations.” said Jason Leavy, Vice Media’s senior vice president, international growth, in a statement “Having a presence on the ground, with the corresponding insights and storytelling capabilities that gives us, means we are also better placed to partner with leading brands who want to connect with audiences in a meaningful way.”
