Riyadh · served from Calicut, Kerala
Marketlube is a digital marketing agency for Riyadh and Saudi brands, run from our office in Calicut, Kerala, two and a half hours ahead of Riyadh. We plan Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and Google campaigns for Arabic-first audiences, time them around Ramadan, Founding Day and National Day, and can fly in for kick-offs and shoots when a project needs it.
Riyadh · AST
––:––
Calicut is 2½ hours ahead. Our working day here: 7:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Our workTea Today, GCCArabic wordmarkYour buyers read
العربيةEnglish
Few capitals are changing as fast as Riyadh. Vision 2030 has pulled regional headquarters, entertainment, tourism and a wave of new retail and F&B brands into the city, and the audience they're all chasing is young, mobile-first and fluent in video. Marketing here rewards speed and a steady supply of good creative, and it punishes anything that feels translated.
Arabic comes first. Saudi audiences expect copy and voice-over in a natural Saudi register, not Egyptian or Levantine Arabic and not a stiff translation of an English ad. English still matters for B2B, for the expat workforce and for companies setting up regional headquarters, but the hook, the humour and the trust signals should be built in Arabic from the start.
Platform habits differ from India and even from the UAE. Snapchat is part of daily life for a huge share of Saudis, TikTok is where trends start, and X remains the place for news and debate. E-commerce runs through Salla and Zid storefronts, Noon and Amazon.sa, with mada cards and instalment options like Tabby and Tamara at checkout, so the path from a Snap ad to a paid order has to be short.
We serve Saudi clients from Calicut: no Riyadh office, and no pretending otherwise. The team works Riyadh hours for most of its day, can travel in for kick-offs and shoots when a project needs it, and brings the same process behind our Gulf work so far, including master brand guidelines for Tagus Global, a Saudi group, Tea Today's bilingual identity for the Gulf and Blaze Electromechanical's social launch in Doha.
Ramadan, which should start around 8 February in 2027, is the biggest media month, with viewing moving to after iftar and deep into the night. Founding Day (22 February) and National Day (23 September) call for green, pride-led creative handled with care. Riyadh Season fills the cooler months from autumn into spring, and White Friday and 11.11 drive November e-commerce.
Saudi campaigns should be built for a vertical screen first: Snapchat and TikTok cuts and Instagram Reels, then search to catch the demand they create. These platforms burn through creative fast, so we plan fresh batches of hooks every month. Budgets run in riyals, usually from SAR 5,000 a month in media for a first campaign.
Anyone paid to advertise on social media in Saudi Arabia needs a Mawthooq licence from the General Authority for Media Regulation (formerly GCAM). It costs about SAR 15,000 for three years. We check licences before briefing any creator, and keep dress, family and religious references within Saudi norms.
We work as a growth partner, not a supplier: one Calicut team for strategy, creative, media and software, with every riyal you spend planned against the number that matters to you, whether that's enquiries, sales or cost per lead.
Hooks, formats and on-screen text are planned for an Arabic-first audience from the brief, not adapted from an English ad at the end.
Our office is in Calicut, two and a half hours ahead of Riyadh. We run daily work remotely and can fly in for kick-offs, shoots and launches when a project needs it, rather than rent an address we'd never staff.
Design, motion and video work side by side, so a new batch of Snapchat and TikTok cuts moves from idea to live in days, not weeks.
Websites, apps and storefronts are designed for Arabic and right-to-left from the first wireframe, with English as a clean second language.
The mix Riyadh brands ask us for most: strategy, creative, media and software from one Calicut team. The pictures are real Marketlube work. All services
Reels, content and community that turn followers into buyers.
Meta and Google ads tracked to revenue, not reach.
Ad films, reels and product shoots that stop the scroll.
Identity systems that make you the obvious choice.
Shopify and WooCommerce stores built to sell.
Apps, dashboards and portals people understand on first use.
Industries we know here
Real Marketlube projects for Gulf brands, covering brand guidelines, bilingual identities, packaging and social. All work
A globe carved with a T, in oasis green and Diriyah gold, for a Saudi group spanning freight, facilities and travel.
Saudi Arabia · Brand guidelines
A bilingual English–Arabic identity for a Gulf tea café.
GCC
Cups, boxes and wraps that carry the café to go.
GCC
A clean social launch for an MEP and HVAC contractor in Doha.
Doha, Qatar
Bright yellow social for a tailoring service that comes to you.
UAE
No, and we won't invent one. Our only office is in Calicut, Kerala; Saudi work runs remotely on Riyadh hours, with visits for kick-offs, shoots and launches. If a project needs a Saudi-registered vendor, as some government work does, we'll tell you at the start.
Usually Snapchat and TikTok for reach and discovery, Instagram for brand and community, Google Search and YouTube for intent, and X for news-led or B2B conversation. The mix depends on your audience and category. A Riyadh café and a B2B software firm should look nothing alike on a media plan.
Yes. Individuals who earn money from advertising on social media need a Mawthooq licence, issued by the General Authority for Media Regulation (formerly GCAM). We only brief licensed creators and keep licence details on file for every campaign.
Yes. We design bilingual Arabic–English websites and storefronts with right-to-left layouts from the first wireframe, whether the store runs on Shopify, a custom build or a Saudi platform like Salla or Zid, with mada and instalment payments planned into checkout.
As a planning range, start from around SAR 5,000 a month in media for a first campaign, paid directly from your own ad accounts, plus a flat monthly management retainer. Production for Ramadan or National Day is quoted separately so it can be booked months ahead.
One Calicut team runs every market below, each with its own calendar, language and rules.
Marketing in Riyadh
Tell us what you sell, who buys it and what a customer is worth. A strategist replies within one working day, and after a short call your plan for Riyadh follows in writing within 48 hours. Or just say hi on WhatsApp.
Every rupee you spend with us has to earn its keep.
