Augustus April Newsletter 2025

This tribute captures all things media, thought leadership, content, and business development. Keep track of Augustus Media’s brands: Lovin Dubai, Lovin Saudi, Smashi, and ODEUM. Let’s take a deep dive into recent content and campaign highlights, along with our latest commercial updates.

Message From The CEO

If You’re Not Fast, You’re Last: Why Speed Is the New Currency in Business

This week, an advertisement on SZR highlighted the ability to open a new business bank account in just 72 hours. But why not 2 hours? In today’s on-demand, tap-of-a-button world, speed and utility are paramount—especially in ride-hailing, delivery, and home service apps. When a service takes three days but customers expect it sooner, it signals an opportunity for disruption.

A commercial director from another media company recently shared that they lost a booking because their content team couldn’t launch a campaign over the weekend. By Monday, it was too late. The client seamlessly ran the campaign with Lovin Dubai instead, and the event has since concluded.

This underscores a critical point: clients value real-time delivery. Expectations for service today are not only personal—they’re centered on speed and efficiency.

Richard Fitzgerald
CEO & Founder

📱 All Things Content

April brought dynamic growth, impactful launches, and major wins across platforms! Lovin Cairo hit 42M views on Instagram, powered by engaging content and Ramadan coverage. Lovin Alex grew to 18K followers, while The Lovin Cairo Show featured trending guests, pushing snippets to over 500K views! We introduced “Reel Reactions,” a new format that quickly gained traction with thousands of views and strong engagement.

Regionally, Lovin Riyadh and Lovin Jeddah rolled out Eid-themed daily podcasts, increasing listens by 40%. We also executed creative Eid and Q1 recap campaigns for brands like Danone, Samsung, and Uber. Lovin Dubai gained 51K new followers, reaching a massive 122 million people. TikTok views crossed 10 million, while YouTube soared past 1.6M views, up 23% from March. The Lovin Dubai Show welcomed stars like Khalid Al Ameri, achieving 90K listens. Our X strategy continues to grow with an 18% engagement jump.

Lovin Saudi reached 300K Instagram followers, with 26M monthly views. Lovin Riyadh crossed 250K followers (+8K), with 603K engagements. TikTok saw major growth: Lovin Saudi hit 290K followers (+20K), 25M views, and 370K likes. Website traffic jumped: Lovin Saudi articles hit 180K views (+57K).

Smashi Business closed 5 new sponsored deals and gained 8.2K new followers. Smashi Sports broke records with 6.7M views (+59%), while the new Smashi Talks episodes saw strong traction. Podcast downloads climbed with daily episodes and influencer collaborations, boosting our reach across platforms.

We activated media partnerships at Saudi Anime Expo and Red Sea Fashion Week, and continued FAST Launch content development with three new show pilots and on-site filming. The Lovin Dubai X boosting strategy continued to perform, generating over 800K additional impressions in just one week.

Saima Iqbal
Senior Content Director

👀 Tap Into Business Performance

Notable achievements in April also included overachieving the monthly revenue targets with high-impact campaigns for SABIS School, IMKAN, Pepsi, and ADIO; securing long-term partnerships such as the RTA retainer for AED 25K/month and a preferred vendor status with Dubai South for content creation; running successful media activations at major events, including the Offlimits festival with 50K+ attendees, and collaborating with PepsiCo for the Riyadh HQ launch; delivering 80% of the $50K MDLBEAST deal ahead of schedule, closing major activations like the Nescafé event at the Ed Sheeran concert, and securing deals with top media agencies like Zenith, PHD, and Initiative; engaging in meaningful collaborations with brands like KIA, McDonald's, and Abu Dhabi Comedy Fest; and continuing to drive growth with campaigns for high-profile names like Travis Scott, IKEA, and Moto GP. We are also proud of the strong relationships we’ve built across the industry and the recognition we’ve earned through successful campaigns and activations. Looking ahead, we are entering Q2 with confidence, creativity, and a clear focus on our next growth phase, with upcoming projects like Etihad Water & Electricity’s Social Media Management RFP and more media partnerships.

Mayowa Tola-Voss
Senior Commercial Director