We stay small on purpose.

Black Sheep Ideas is a branding and marketing consultancy in the UAE. Between the two of us we have worked across the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia, for global brands, government projects and small businesses finding their feet.

Why we keep the team lean

We have both worked in large agencies, and we liked a lot about them. What we did not like was how far a client could end up from the people actually doing the work. So we built this the other way round.

The two of us lead every project ourselves. Around us is a close group of strategists, designers, writers, developers and production partners in the UAE and beyond, and we bring in the right people for each job. You get the range of a bigger agency, and you always know who to call.

Ridhima Sinha

Co-founder, brand strategist and writer

Ridhima lives in Dubai and came to branding through journalism, psychology and media, with time at Condé Nast, Thomson Reuters and Starcom along the way. You can see that mix in her work: she writes like an editor and plans like a strategist.

She has led brand work across wellness, lifestyle and hospitality, and she has a sharp feel for how people in this region think and buy. That is a big part of why our work here feels right for the people it is made for.

Saurabh Khatri

Co-founder, brand and digital strategist

Saurabh has spent more than 18 years in strategy and creative leadership across the UAE, India and Southeast Asia. In Jakarta he led digital strategy for Dettol, Mentos and Burger King, and he also runs an independent brand and web practice in India.

He believes a brand is a business decision before it is a creative one. So he starts with the idea and what it needs to achieve, and picks the media after that, which keeps the work honest and easy to measure.

What working with us is like

We are straight with you

If we think something will not work, we will say so early and explain why. And when we say we will do something, we do it.

We care about your brand

We treat it the way we would treat our own, and we get properly invested in seeing it do well.

Our ideas are meant to be used

We love a bold idea, but it also has to fit your budget, your team and your timeline, or it is not much use to you.

We look for a way through

Projects hit snags. When they do, we try to spot them early and come to you with options rather than problems.

We would like to be the people a business calls when it is about to change, and to help it build a brand that people trust, act on and remember.