Amazon-focused marketing agency Podean launches in the Middle East

Global Amazon agency and marketplace consultancy Podean has launched in the Middle East with its regional headquarters located in Dubai.

The agency, which has appointed Paul Hart as the managing director for the MENA region, is reportedly the first independent global Amazon services provider to offer end-to-end marketplace marketing solutions to both international and local brands in the region.

Podean said that it would offer brands consulting services and Amazon retail and advertising solutions.

It has over 80 clients across categories from retail to analytics, logistics/supply chain, creative, content, and voice and media management, who are serviced by its global headquarters in New York, as well as its offices in Los Angeles, Sydney, London, Singapore and now Dubai.

It said that it will provide brands that don’t sell physical products in the marketplace the ability to drive optimal marketing results by leveraging display and video advertising through Amazon’s DSP (demand-side platform).

Podean will launch its proprietary tools including Journey, the first ever Amazon media-mix-modelling and channel planning tool that optimises investment across all Amazon advertising products.

It will also launch Prophet, an analysis framework that optimises brands’ Amazon business beyond just return on advertising spend (ROAS) and advertising cost of scale (ACOS)and addresses all critical elements to drive success, from strategy to supply chain through to content and media. It said that the combination of the two platforms has seen its clients increase revenues by upwards of 40 per cent and profits by 60 per cent.

Research conducted by Podean in September 2020 found that 45 per cent of UAE adults shop regularly on Amazon.

The most popular category is food and grocery with 26 per cent of respondents having purchased items in the category over the past month, followed closely by electronics and home appliances with 25 per cent.

Podean’s presence in the Middle East will equip brands to drive incremental revenues among the region’s combined population of 230 million people across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey.

Globally, revenues from e-commerce grew by an unprecedented 71 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous year, according to the Salesforce Q2 Shopping Index.

Read: E-commerce revenues jump 71% in Q2 amid Covid-19 – report

Podean added that in the UAE alone, e-commerce is expected to grow 30 per cent from 2020 to 2021, with consumer confidence in the Saudi Arabia ranking second highest in the world.

“We are excited to be launching in the Middle East, a sophisticated consumer market experiencing strong ecommerce growth. While the world continues to face uncertainty due to Covid-19, we know that Amazon’s model will meet these changing consumer needs. Our company is uniquely positioned to help brands grow their revenues in the Middle East, and to support their global ambitions. The addition of this office further reinforce Podean’s reputation as the leading global Amazon agency network,” said Mark Power, founder of Podean.

Managing director for the MENA, Hart, added: “Through Podean’s global network we are able to provide the experience, expertise, specialist resources, tools and technologies to our MENA clients that no other agency in the region has access to.”