Get inspired as the inaugural Athar festival lands in Riyadh this November
The Saudi Festival of Creativity will feature a seminar with a 12 times Cannes Lions Grand Prix Winner…
Launching this November, Athar – Saudi Festival of Creativity, is the largest gathering of the creative marketing industry in the Kingdom. Recognising and celebrating local creativity, the event will take place from November 13 to 16 at the Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC.
Organised by Motivate Media Group and TRACCS, the festival’s inaugural edition will bring together 1,500 delegates, host more than 80 national, international and celebrity speakers, and feature 12 academies for young professionals, along with dedicated CMO and executive women training programs.
One of its most hotly anticipated speakers, Fernando Machado, Chief Marketing Officer at the game-changing food tech leader NotCo., is no stranger to the creative festival circuit. Across his distinguished career, he has garnered 12 Cannes Grand Prix wins and over 200 Lions. This visionary global marketer will take to the stage alongside other soon-to-be-announced speakers.
Rayyan Aoun, left and Fernando Machado, right
This event, the very first of its kind for Saudi Arabia, comes at a time when the nation has truly begun to come into its own as a regional creative hotspot. This has most recently culminated in Saudi Arabia’s first Grand Prix at the 2023 Cannes Lions Awards. Wunderman Thompson KSA’s winning campaign for Saudi food delivery giant Hunger Station, The Subconscious Order, perfectly illustrated how the application’s AI-powered restaurant curation feature helped cut customer scrolling time and overcome the frustration of decision fatigue.
For Rayyan Aoun, Wunderman Thompson KSA’s Executive Creative Director, this achievement is only the tip of the iceberg. “We have always held high hopes for the creative industry in Saudi Arabia. We believed in its potential, invested in its talent, and played a role in putting Saudi Arabia on the creative map,” he says. “However, I believe we have only just begun tapping into the incredible capabilities this country holds,” he added.
Register now
The festival has just opened its doors to early-bird delegate and awards gala dinner registration. Delegates will have the opportunity to connect with visionary leaders, explore trailblazing ideas, and gain insights into Saudi’s transformative giga projects and other exciting business prospects within the Kingdom. You can find out more via atharfestival.com