H/Advisors Opens Riyadh Office as PR Firms Target Saudi Market
H/Advisors opens Riyadh office as Vision 2030 drives global PR networks into Saudi Arabia. What the Middle East expansion wave means for Asia-focused agencies.
H/Advisors, the Havas-owned advisory network, will open an office in Riyadh this month, joining a wave of global communications firms establishing permanent operations in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom's economic transformation creates new demand for strategic advisory services.
Major Networks Establish Middle East Foothold
The Riyadh office launch builds on more than a decade of H/Advisors work with Saudi clients, including the AlUla tourism campaign and the successful Riyadh Expo 2030 bid. Executive chairman Stephane Fouks told PRWeek the firm is exploring additional Saudi acquisitions, with "maybe more to come" in 2026.
The move reflects broader industry momentum. H/Advisors currently operates over 40 offices across Europe, the U.S., Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, employing more than 1,500 people. The firm has acquired six agencies this decade, including Germany's Gauly in November.
Fouks emphasized a selective expansion philosophy: "We don't want to be everywhere. We want to be in all the strategic places with a leading agency in the top five of the market."
Saudi Vision 2030 Drives Communications Demand
The rush to establish Saudi operations centers on Vision 2030, the kingdom's economic plan to reduce oil dependence and diversify into tourism, entertainment, technology, and financial services. These initiatives require extensive communications support, from positioning new mega-projects to international audiences to managing relationships across government, business, and public sectors.
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Saudi Arabia's PR sector has gained momentum through the kingdom's focus on data-driven strategy and international partnerships. Major infrastructure projects, cultural initiatives, and business reforms have created sustained demand for sophisticated advisory services that local firms alone cannot meet.
The communications opportunities extend beyond traditional PR. Advisory firms are supporting corporate restructurings, IPO preparations, crisis management, and reputation building as Saudi companies expand globally and international firms enter the kingdom.
Implications for Asian Markets
H/Advisors is simultaneously targeting organic growth in Canada, Brazil, and India, markets where it operates without owned offices. The firm identified the U.S. as a prime acquisition target, with Fouks calling it "a good time to make our mark in the U.S." While the network's U.S. financial communications business advised on Medline's $30 billion IPO in 2025, the world's largest that year, H/Advisors plans both acquisitions and organic growth to strengthen other disciplines.
The firm will also establish a permanent presence in Poland through an undisclosed agency acquisition this year, completing its European expansion strategy.
For Asian marketing executives, the Saudi expansion pattern offers lessons. Similar dynamics are emerging across Belt and Road Initiative markets and other developing economies seeking to reshape their global positioning. Countries pursuing economic diversification and international investment increasingly require sophisticated communications infrastructure that creates opportunities for established networks.
The H/Advisors expansion demonstrates how geopolitical realignment and government-led economic transformation programs create sustained demand for advisory services in previously underserved markets.
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