Over the past twelve months, something has shifted for brands and agencies across the GCC. Budgets are being scrutinised more closely. Every hiring decision carries more weight. But while the conditions have changed, the expectations have not.
Campaigns still need to go live. Events still need to run. Content still needs to be produced. And behind all of it, there is still the same requirement: finding the right creative talent, quickly and reliably, without adding another cost layer to a process that already costs more than it should.
The Real Problem Is Not Demand — It Is Access
When Thrilla's founding team started speaking to brands, agencies, and production houses across the UAE and GCC, one thing became clear quickly. The issue was not a lack of talent. It was the way talent was accessed.
Most teams are still relying on the same combination of WhatsApp threads, personal contacts, scattered spreadsheets, and agency relationships that have not materially evolved in a decade. It works until it does not. It is slow, it is inconsistent, and at a time when operational efficiency matters more than ever, it creates unnecessary friction at every step of the production process.
There is also a risk layer that nobody talks about openly. Unverified talent, last-minute cancellations, unclear deliverable expectations, and no formal record of what was agreed. These are not minor inconveniences. They are the kinds of issues that cost more than just time.
Why the GCC Creative Economy Needs Better Infrastructure
The demand for professional creative talent across the GCC is not slowing down. According to Strategy& Middle East's MENA Media Outlook, the region's media and entertainment market is forecast to grow steadily through 2028, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE remaining the dominant markets. Total advertising spending is forecast to exceed consumer spending for the first time by 2028.
That growth means more briefs, more productions, more content, and more demand for the actors, models, photographers, videographers, stylists, DJs, and production crew who make it all possible. What has not kept pace with that demand is the infrastructure connecting clients to that talent.
According to Thrilla's survey of over 5,000 UAE creative professionals, 75% have waited six months or more to get paid, more than once. That is not only a talent problem. It is a client problem too. Every payment delay represents an engagement that was not structured correctly from the start.
What Thrilla Gives Brands and Agencies in the UAE
Thrilla is the GCC's first AI-native creative talent marketplace. Founded in Dubai in 2025 by Jack Deakin, Jason Murphy, and Billie Van Der Veen, the platform was built specifically around the way the GCC creative industry actually operates, not how a procurement manual says it should.
The process for clients is straightforward. You post a brief on Thrilla describing the role, timeline, location, budget, and requirements. The platform's AI matching engine surfaces verified talent profiles that fit the scope. You review portfolios, check availability and rates, communicate directly, and book. Every step is documented. Every engagement is professional from day one.
The difference from the informal WhatsApp-based process is not subtle. You are no longer starting from a personal contact who has a contact who might know someone. You are starting from a shortlist of verified professionals whose work, rates, and availability are confirmed before you reach out.
Why Thrilla Is Free for Clients
One of the first decisions made in building Thrilla was that the platform would always be free for businesses to use.
No subscription. No commission. No hidden fees.
This was not a growth tactic. It was a founding position. The creative industry in the GCC already has enough cost layers extracting value from both sides of every booking. Adding another one would be contrary to everything Thrilla exists to do.
When budgets are under pressure, removing friction and removing costs both matter. Thrilla does both simultaneously. Clients get access to a marketplace of 5,500+ verified creative professionals across the UAE and wider GCC, and they pay nothing to use it. The platform earns through talent subscriptions, not client fees, because that alignment — where talent invests in the platform and clients are incentivised to use it — is what builds a marketplace that actually works for both sides.
What This Means for How You Hire
Thrilla does not reinvent the creative hiring process. It removes the parts of it that have always been unnecessary.
The back-and-forth to establish basic facts like rates, availability, and portfolio quality happens on the platform before any conversation starts. The informal verbal agreement is replaced with a documented booking. The payment conversation, which currently happens at the end of a project when the talent has already delivered and the client has all the leverage, happens at the point of booking instead.
Thrilla is also building toward escrow-backed guaranteed payments as a core upcoming feature — where funds will be held securely and released on job completion. That infrastructure is in development and will be the most significant operational shift the platform brings to how creative work is commissioned across the GCC.
A More Structured Way to Work With Creative Talent in the GCC
The creative industry in the UAE and wider GCC is growing quickly. The systems that support the talent working inside it have not kept pace. That mismatch is not inevitable — it is just what happens when infrastructure is built around agency interests rather than the needs of the people doing the work and the businesses commissioning it.
Thrilla is a step toward a more structured, transparent way of working that reflects how fast the industry is actually moving. Not just for talent. For the brands, agencies, and production houses that depend on that talent to deliver.
Post your next creative brief on Thrilla and connect with verified talent across the UAE and GCC — free, with clear rates, documented bookings, and agreed payment terms from the start. Join Thrilla as a creative professional and get your verified profile in front of the brands and agencies that are actively hiring right now.
