Grey Beirut has won the global advertising account for water pipe tobacco firm Nakhla Tobacco Company.

Part of Grey Group MENA, Grey Beirut will orchestrate Nakhla’s brand, trade and consumer marketing initiatives globally.

The new account follows a number of other wins for Grey, including Duracell, Daher International Food Company (Difco), the Lebanese cereal manufacturer behind the Poppins brand, and Subway in Saudi Arabia.

The agency’s success in the Middle East follows the appointment of Mike Shackle as chief creative officer in August 2015.

Prior to then, the agency had both regionally and globally had struggled to carve a mark on the advertising landscape for a number of years.

Commenting on the win, Karim Nader, Grey Beirut’s managing director, said: “We are excited about our partnership with Nakhla. As part of our agreement, we will be collaborating together on handling the brand’s various marketing initiatives and we are thrilled to be fusing the creative minds in both of our teams, to drive the brand’s strength, growth and its engagement with consumers.”

Elias Constantine, Nakhla’s global marketing lead, added: “Our partnership with Grey will empower us to increase Nakhla’s brand equity and expand our reach while consolidating our leadership position in the market, and effectively communicating to various consumers through the right channels. We are looking forward to teaming up with Grey to embark on this exciting journey together.”

Founded in Egypt in 1913, Nakhla began as a family-owned business dedicated to producing the very best water pipe tobacco. It was acquired by Japan Tobacco Inc (JTI) in 2013.