How SRMG Labs rewrote the in-house playbook

by Iain Akerman

February 10, 2026

By creating an in-house agency, SRMG gained the clarity and control to transform from within. Now, on the back of its creative success, it’s extending its expertise beyond the group

SRMG Labs, one of the standout performers of 2025, had the kind of year creatives dream of. Its innovative, technology-driven campaigns won a string of major awards, catapulting the in-house agency of the Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) from relative obscurity to regional prominence.

Led by Fadi Mroue, the founder of République, an independent agency formerly headquartered in Beirut’s Achrafieh, SRMG Labs won a gold Lion at Cannes for ‘The Second Release’, followed by two golds at the Athar Festival in October. The same campaign picked up a PR grand prix at the Dubai Lynx in April and helped SMRG Labs land the creative team of the year accolade at Athar, cementing what has been a formidable year. The campaign for Billboard Arabia centres on a remastered version of Etab’s patriotic anthem Ya Saudi, Ya Saudi, first released in the 1980s.

With this backdrop of success, ArabAd caught up with Mroue, SRMG’s chief creative and marketing officer and Athar Festival’s creative leader of the year.

Three Lions, including a gold, is some achievement. What do these wins represent for SRMG Labs, both creatively and strategically?

They mark a creative breakthrough, but more importantly, a strategic one. Creatively, they show that bold, culturally rooted work from our region can resonate globally. Strategically, it’s proof that home-grown agencies, especially in Saudi Arabia, have the talent, the will, and the means to compete at the highest level. It also reflects SRMG’s broader vision: to invest in local talent, drive innovation, and shape the future of media from the region outward.

Can you tell us more about the campaign that won, and what you think made it stand out to the juries?

The winning campaign was a tribute to Saudi Arabia’s first female singer, Etab—not just to her voice, but to her legacy and what she might represent in today’s Saudi. We didn’t use AI to recreate her past. We used it to imagine what it would look like to bring her to life again, not in memory, but in the present—a modern Etab, confident and at home in a new cultural landscape. What made the campaign stand out was the intention behind it. It wasn’t driven by nostalgia or novelty. It was about reintroducing a powerful figure to a new generation that didn’t know her, using the tools and language of today.

You launched SRMG Labs three years ago to drive creative and product transformation from within. What gaps or needs were you responding to at the time?

There was a clear need for dedicated, focused transformation, not just in how we communicate, but in how we build. We needed a team that could move fast, think across disciplines, and work deep inside the organisation. SRMG Labs was created to meet that need, bringing together creativity, product, and tech in one place to help the group evolve.

Why did you opt for an in-house model rather than relying on external agencies? Has that decision been validated by the results so far?

There was a lot to do, and we needed to move fast. The scale of transformation we were aiming for required full focus and deep alignment with the group’s priorities. We brought together some of the best minds in tech, creativity, and product to make that happen. Building in-house gave us the clarity and control we needed. The creative output and internal shift it enabled are things we simply couldn’t have outsourced.

How has your team at SRMG Labs helped shift internal perceptions of what creativity can do for a legacy media organisation?

We’ve helped expand the definition of creativity within the group. It’s no longer limited to branding or campaigns. It’s about building products, shaping platforms, and thinking differently about what a media company can be. SRMG Labs isn’t a traditional in-house agency. We operate more like a venture studio, exploring AI workflows, launching experiments, and helping the organisation evolve from the inside out.

What’s next for SRMG Labs?

We’re entering a new phase. While we’ll continue to build with and for SRMG, we’re also starting to offer our capabilities to select external partners. The focus remains the same: to create work that delivers real impact. But we’re now looking outward as well. Whether it’s audience growth, product innovation, or brand development, we collaborate with ambitious partners who share our belief in the power of culturally relevant, tech-enabled creativity.

How do you see the role of in-house agencies changing across the media and publishing sectors globally?

The role is shifting. The most effective internal teams are no longer just service providers. They are catalysts for transformation, driving innovation, shaping workflows, and connecting creativity with business strategy. That is not just true in publishing, it’s for any organisation that wants to stay relevant.