Dubai-based talent management agency Reach recently secured emerging creator Alaa Abou Harb as its newest exclusive talent, adding a strategic cross-cultural voice to its growing roster. Alaa, whose comedy videos have gained viral status across the UAE, has already secured partnerships with Chevrolet, noon, and Emirates NBD within weeks of signing, showing the agency’s ability to connect multicultural talent with major brands.

The partnership began following the agency’s methodical approach to talent selection. After noticing her viral videos, Reach collaborated with her on a paid project, which company founder and CEO Ihab Ghazal describes as “super smooth.” The connection grew through personal interactions at Reach’s creator events, including a staycation and Ramadan iftar gathering, where Ihab and his team got to know Alaa and her family before formalizing the partnership.

What initially caught Reach’s attention was Alaa’s natural comedic talent and her origin story. “She was mistaken for a Syrian actress. She looks exactly like her,” Ihab explains. “People thought she was her, and they started. They gave her the time to watch her videos, and then they realized she’s very funny.”

As Ihab notes, Alaa’s cross-cultural appeal makes her valuable in Dubai’s diverse market: “Alaa was born and raised in the UAE, so she was exposed to all multicultural nationalities. She knows how to deal with everyone. She knows what relates to everyone, which is the main key, because, at the end of the day, clients’ target audiences include all the nationalities who are in Dubai specifically and the UAE in general.”

He highlights Alaa’s versatility and genuine style. “She shows her time with her kids. She shows her time cooking. At the same time, she can pull off a dress on a red carpet,” Ihab notes. “It makes people look up to her.” This ability to represent multiple facets of life has connected with audiences—Alaa has grown by approximately 100,000 followers in just over a month since signing with Reach.

Her engagement metrics also increased, which Ihab attributes partly to her relatively recent entry into content creation. “She’s been on social media for only two and a half years. So she’s one of the last batch, so her engagement is still very high. Instagram loves new accounts.”

Reach’s Full-Service Approach to Creator Management

Founded in 2022, Reach began when Ihab, drawing from his experience as an account manager at another agency, identified key problems in client retention. “I saw a problem and Reach was the solution,” explains Ihab. “The major gap in the market was client retention. At the end of the day, it’s the service that matters.”

The Alaa signing showcases Reach’s approach to talent management, which extends beyond typical agency-creator relationships to deep investments in creative development and strategic guidance.

“If you go to other agencies, they only see it as a transaction,” Ihab observes. “We go into the creative, we work with the creators on the script, we work with the creators on everything. A to Z. If you ask about my talents, they speak to me more than their spouses or wives. Literally.”

Ihab also highlights Reach’s complete support system, which begins not with content strategy but with financial planning—an often overlooked aspect of creator management that he has identified as essential.

“The first thing we do before we do content is we do finance strategy because we need to make sure they’re abiding by the laws and regulations in terms of tax,” Ihab reveals. “You’d be surprised that content creators do not understand how their tax needs to be managed, even when signed with the biggest agencies.”

This full-service support includes helping creators secure proper licenses, manage their finances, and ensure regulatory compliance. “We manage their finances and licenses, ensure they abide by all the rules, and provide all those services for them. They can focus more on their content,” Ihab explains.

Only after establishing this foundation does Reach turn to content strategy, providing ongoing creative guidance. “We have a weekly call set with the team to make sure she has the content planned for the rest of the month,” explains Ihab. “We have a brainstorming session. We think we should do this. Let’s do more of that. This is relatable. So we dig into details and analytics.”

A key distinction in Reach’s business is its contract ownership philosophy—ensuring that creators maintain full access to their business information.

“We set up everything in place where, let’s say, if the talent wants to leave us on any day, they have their full database with them,” Ihab states. “It’s a core value in Reach where we don’t take people’s databases. It’s all theirs. It’s their right.”

This stance reflects Ihab’s core belief about the creator-agency relationship. “I always tell all our creators we will never say we made you because their effort, time, and blood in this game got them where they are today. No agency should ever take credit for things that creators did.”

Unlike many other agencies in Dubai, Reach operates without a dedicated sales department and grows entirely through word-of-mouth referrals. “We do not have a sales department, we do not do outreach,” says Ihab. “It’s all word of mouth. And it all goes back to the strategy we implemented.” 

This relationship-centered approach has become their market advantage: “The client wants a relationship, good prices, and good service. If you give them all three, the client will never leave.”

Building a Creator Community in Dubai

The Alaa signing comes at a pivotal moment as Dubai positions itself as a global hub for creator economy activity. Ihab points to the presence of international brands, creators, and marketing budgets in the UAE.

“All the international brands are here. All the international creators are here, all the big budgets are here,” he explains. “Dubai is working in a way where they want all the creators to come from all around the world.”

Events like the recent 1 Billion Followers Summit, which featured creators from numerous countries, show Dubai’s growing importance in the creator field. The city has also become a preferred location for product launches and celebrity appearances, which creates opportunities for creators like Alaa.

In this active market, Reach is building what Ihab describes as a “powerhouse of influential voices”—not just by expanding its talent roster (currently seven creators, with plans to reach 15 within two years) but also by building relationships among its represented creators.

“We do not fuel competition between our talents. We let our talents build relationships with each other,” Ihab explains. “If you look at our talent list, they all revolve around comedy, couples, and moms. So they’re somewhat similar.”

This community approach, Ihab adds, creates tangible benefits for creators like Alaa. “If you see them in events, they’re sitting together. They don’t just say hi to each other and leave,” he notes. “They go into each other’s videos now and then. They support each other. When someone needs an actor, the other joins the videos.”

Brand-Creator Relationships

For creators like Alaa who excel at cross-cultural content, Ihab has observed a change in how brands approach partnerships this year compared to previous years.

“What I’m seeing differently this year than previous years is brands are letting the creators create,” he says, describing this as a welcome change from the rigid brief-driven approach that dominated previously. “Up until the end of last year, sticking to brand briefs resulted in low engagement.”

This creative freedom is especially valuable for creators like Alaa, whose voice and cultural understanding allow her to make content that connects across different groups.

However, challenges remain, particularly from what Ihab describes as “wannabe” creators who purchase fake engagement, creating an unfair comparison that can harm legitimate creators’ business opportunities.

“Many brands and agencies told me that another creator did [something] and got the engagement. But as an expert in the field, I understand that engagement is bots 100%,” he explains. “It creates an unfair comparison between proper creators and imposters.”

Transparency as the Key to Future Growth

Ihab emphasizes transparency as the guiding principle for Reach’s future direction because, as he says, “It’s not just about reaching the audience. It’s working transparently. Whether it’s between us and our clients or creators, it’s the most important thing before giving a good service.”

For brands looking to work effectively with multicultural creators like Alaa, Ihab offers straightforward advice: “Let the creators create. Give them creative freedom because that will give them their money’s worth.” 

He also urges brands to “actually understand influencer marketing before allocating money for influencer marketing,” emphasizing the importance of working with real creators with genuine audience connections.

And for creators working in Dubai’s competitive market? “Remember how you became content creators. It was for fun. The moment you start losing the passion, just like in any field, once you lose the passion, you lose yourself, you lose your page,” Ihab advises. “Focus on yourself, because Dubai will be a hub for all content creators, which means the competition will increase. If each creator focuses on him or herself with the passion that they started with, they’ll be fine.”