Case study · Marassi Galleria
Launching a mall that didn’t exist yet.
Marassi Galleria was still under construction, the opening date had shifted, and tenant brands couldn’t be named. We had to build genuine anticipation for a destination with no address, no brand list, and no firm date.
Instagram followers in 18 months — from zero
registered contacts captured before opening day
engagement of any mall in Bahrain — zero engagement hacking
Services: Social Media Management · Content Production · Paid Media · Launch Campaign
The Challenge
Launch a mall that did not exist yet.
Marassi Galleria was still under construction, the opening date had shifted, and tenant brands could not be named because leasing agreements were not yet confirmed. We had to build genuine anticipation for a destination with no address, no brand list, and no firm date.
Then, with roughly two weeks' notice, the green light came: the mall was opening. We had a fortnight to conceive, produce, and execute a launch campaign worthy of the Kingdom’s most ambitious retail destination.
The Strategy
Two decisions shaped everything.
First, we never marketed Marassi Galleria as just a mall. We positioned it as the anchor of an entire beachfront lifestyle destination, tying it to Address Marassi Al Bahrain, Vida Beach Resort, and the wider community. People do not drive across the King Fahd Causeway for a shopping centre. They come for a destination.
Second, we split the audiences. F&B activations and family experiences were marketed to the Bahraini community. Paid budgets across Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat were weighted towards Riyadh, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, turning the mall into a regional weekend and holiday draw rather than a local one.
What We Did
For the launch, working alongside Emaar, we built the Join the Whale campaign. We took an artefact from inside the mall and turned it into a CGI whale, back when CGI campaigns were still painstaking manual builds rather than an everyday tool. The whale appeared in iconic locations across Bahrain on its own dedicated Instagram account, with no reveal of where it was heading.
In three days the account gained 4,700 followers. More than 10,000 people registered to find out what the reveal was. Marassi Galleria opened its doors with a warm database before a single shopper walked in.
Since launch, we have run the mall’s digital presence as its on-the-ground partner: a 90 percent video-first content approach, ongoing paid media across the GCC, and activation concepts to keep the destination on the regional radar.
The Results
- Instagram grown from zero to more than 60,000 followers in 18 months
- The highest engagement rate of any mall in Bahrain, achieved organically, with none of the engagement hacking tactics common in the market
- A genuinely regional audience, with followers and footfall from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE — and the mall busy every weekend and holiday period
- Marassi Galleria is now the mall where Bahrain’s premium and luxury brands choose to open
Watch the work
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