Through their deal, they aim to ‘revolutionize influencer marketing’ and drive growth in the region DUBAI: YAAP, a specialized influencer marketing company based in Dubai, has has teamed up with data-driven social intelligence platform Tagger Media in a deal that marks the latter’s entry into the Middle East market. Tagger already has 17 offices on six continents and its arrival in the Middle East is part of a global expansion strategy. “The data-driven approach embodied by Tagger’s one-stop platform, and the market knowledge of YAAP, are poised to revolutionize influencer marketing in the Middle East,” said Atul Hegde, the founder of YAAP. “This market possesses a sizable appetite for social intelligence and insight-led influencer marketing, and we will soon be catering to this demand.” YAAP recorded top-line growth of 97 percent and a fivefold increase in profits in 2021-22. Its portfolio of clients includes Bayut, Visit Dubai, Apparel Group, Fitbit, American Express, Disney and Amazon. Tagger’s clients include Omnicom, Bose, Tinder, HBO Max and Pepsico. Its platform provides access to data points of more than 15 billion social posts and more than 278,000 brands worldwide. “Tagger Media was built on the promise of data,” said Dave Dickman, the company’s CEO. “Over the years, we have augmented the platform with customization, workflow integration, linguistics, multi-currency payments and CRM (customer relation management) capabilities. “I believe we have timed our entry into the Middle East well, taking into account the exemplary digitalization and burgeoning influencer culture in this growth market.”