Several of the region's leading agencies are understood to have pitched for the business, including Mediaedge:cia, MindShare, Universal Media and Jeddah-based i-com.
MindShare was thought to be close after fellow WPP-aligned agency, JWT, took the creative brief for the client's Al Jawal mobile network from Leo Burnett earlier this year; however, Starcom has retained the lucrative account.
According to the Pan-Arab Research Center, Saudi Telecom was the region’s biggest spending advertiser last year, with an estimated spend of $43m between January and September, across Gulf, Levant, Pan-Arab and Arasian markets.
Matt Blackborn, CEO of Publicis Groupe Media in the Middle East and North Africa, said: "We have got a very good track record and we have a strong team in Riyadh, which is critical. Our competition hasn’t got the resource in place.
"Telecoms is an extremely dynamic sector, and they want to make sure that they stay as number one."
Saudi Arabia’s telecoms market is booming, thanks to a young, communication-savvy population. The market was opened up in 2005 with the launch of a second operator, Mobily, with a third operator expected soon.
Earlier this year Saudi Telecom awarded Al Jawal, the biggest chunk of its advertising business, to JWT after a pitch against incumbent Leo Burnett. Leo Burnett retained its hold on three other advertising units -- corporate, home and enterprise.
Nagib Badreddine, CEO of JWT in Saudi Arabia, said at the time that the agency's "integrated" approach had paid off.
JWT pitched for the account alongside its sister PR agency Buchanan, brand consultancy Enterprise IG, and customer relationship management agency RMG Connect.
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