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The LBSTR logoStrategy and storytelling, DXB UAE, The LBSTR, EST 2025
Strategy and storytelling. The LBSTR. DXB UAE. EST. 2025.
(Scroll for the story, skip ahead with the menu or just stay and catch the lobsters.)
(Scroll for the story or skip ahead with the menu.)
05
.
2015

Our story starts in May 2015, at the Cannes
Film Festival.

That’s when a film called “The Lobster” was having its world premiere. Written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, it’s set in a dystopian world where single people must find a mate within 45 days or be turned into an animal. And in the original screenplay of the film, there’s a particularly inspiring piece of dialogue.

(The original screenplay, written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou)
Hotel Manager
Have you decided what animal you would like to be if you end up alone?
David
A lobster.
Hotel Manager
Why a lobster?
David
Because a lobster lives to be over 100 years old, has blue blood just like an aristocrat and stays fertile all its life. And I like the sea very much. I waterski and swim quite well, ever since I was a teenager.
Hotel Manager
I must congratulate you. Usually the first thing people think of is a dog and that's why the world is full of dogs. Very few choose to become unusual animals, which is why they are endangered. Rarely does someone choose to be a tuna fish, due to the dangers it faces, or a polar bear, due to its adverse living conditions. A lobster is an excellent choice.
The LBSTR Icon
A lobster is an excellent choice.
The LBSTR Icon
Ekta in a Budapest bar.

Few choose the unknown.
Ekta is one of them.

In 2018, she quit her well-paid advertising job as a copywriter to become an independent film director.

During the summer of that same year, she found herself at a party filled with strangers, leading a 3-question game as a way to control her social anxiety. But what she couldn’t control was how one of those strangers would answer her questions.

(This is Ekta at a bar in Budapest, even though she rarely drinks.)
Ekta
If you could be any animal, what would you be?
Stranger
A lobster.
Ekta
Why a lobster?
Stranger
Because a lobster lives to be over 100 years old. But really, it’s because it’s a film by one of my favourite directors.
Ekta
Yorgos.
Stranger
Yes, Yorgos Lanthimos! You’ve seen it!!??
Ekta
Of course.
(The stranger’s name was Robert. And the rest, as they say, is history.)
05
.
2025
Robert and Ekta.
6 years later, in 2024, Ekta and Robert tied the knot.

By the end of that same year, Robert decided to leave the ad agency where he spent the past decade; following Ekta in choosing the unknown.

In May 2025, exactly 10 years after the premiere of that odd film Ekta & Robert connected on, The LBSTR was born.
Ekta Saran, Co-Founder & Film Director
Robert Habib, Co-Founder & Strategist
The LBSTR is a filmmaker-strategist duo. One an artist, the other an analyst. Although to be fair, the two tend to overlap.
‍
We’re both obsessed with a good story. How to arrive at it, craft it and tell it to the world.
‍
Between the two of us, there’s 25 years of award-winning expertise in integrated strategy and creative storytelling for some of the most distinctive names in business.
‍
And the people we worked with? They would probably sum us up in 3 words: Obsessed, disciplined and kind.
(And yes, you got that right, that poster above is Notting Hill.)

Disciplined

Everything counts and we’re always there when it counts. We’re the 3:00 am phone call for people who need clarity, reassurance and reliability.

Obsessed

We really love what we do and we really care about everything that goes into it. The contemplation, the detail, the nuance, the refinement. It all adds up to doing the best possible work.

Kind

Being nice shouldn't be a nice to have. Our work should be memorable not only because of the outcome, but because of the collaborative experience that got us there.
(I guess you could call these things our “values”)

That’s the promise we deliver through two crafts…

Strategy

+

Storytelling

Our strategy doesn’t stop at the first draft.

(Or second… or third…)
Like a good script, a strategy is only as good as the story it tells. And sometimes, the magic is in the rewrites.
We dig deep to extract the most compelling truths that bring ideas to life. Because the good stuff comes from repeated prodding and poking, not just prompting.

The Strategist

In his decade plus run with brands, Robert has always been chasing an answer to the same question: “What’s the story?”. In every agency leadership role he has held, from brand and media, to technology and strategy, he has found himself in service of the narrative.
‍
For understanding it and then defining it.
Using data. Conversations. Observations.
Shaping it with empathy and honesty.
And delivering it relevantly.
Telling it consistently.
Perhaps differently at certain times. But telling it consistently.
Always measuring it and always learning from it.
Most definitely innovating it.
For big brands across a dozen markets.
For small brands across a single community.
To change something.
To connect with someone.
To grow the business.
Or perhaps completely reimagining it.

As co-founder and strategist at The LBSTR, Robert is still asking “What’s the story?”, by helping brands make decisions to tell the most compelling ones.

Bio

Bio [+]

In his decade plus run with brands, Robert has always been chasing an answer to the same question: “What’s the story?”. In every agency leadership role he has held, from brand and media, to technology and strategy, he has found himself in service of the narrative.

For understanding it and then defining it.
Using data. Conversations. Observations.
Shaping it with empathy and honesty.
And delivering it relevantly.
Telling it consistently.
Perhaps differently at certain times.
But telling it consistently.
Always measuring it and always learning from it. Most definitely innovating it.  
For big brands across a dozen markets.
For small brands across a single community.
To change something.
To connect with someone.
To grow the business.
Or perhaps completely reimagining it.

As co-founder and strategist at The LBSTR, Robert is still asking “What’s the story?”, by helping brands make decisions to tell the most compelling ones.

Brands

Brands [+]

Abu Dhabi Pension Fund
Arabia Insurance
Audi
AutoPro
California Garden
Citroen
Dubai Culture
EBDA
ENOC
Fonterra
Hallab 1881
JA Resorts & Hotels
Lamb Weston
Maserati
MG
O! Millionaire
Peugeot
Porsche
Salmontini
Taaleem
Volkswagen
ZOOM

Abu Dhabi Pension Fund
Arabia Insurance
Audi
AutoPro
California Garden
Citroen
Dubai Culture
EBDA
ENOC
Fonterra
Hallab 1881
JA Resorts & Hotels
Lamb Weston
Maserati
MG
O! Millionaire
Peugeot
Porsche
Salmontini
Taaleem
Volkswagen
ZOOM

Recognition

Recognition [+]

Campaign ME
MENA Effie
The Marketing Society GCC
WARC Awards
Young Digital Lions

Campaign ME
The Marketing Society
MENA Effie
WARC 
Young Digital Lions

We help brands answer challenges like...

“We're getting mixed feedback on what our brand stands for"
"We're not sure where the growth opportunities are anymore"
"There are new audience segments we don't understand well enough"
"Our marketing investments aren't delivering like they used to"
"Our social says one thing, our website says another, and our ads say something else"
"We're not sure which marketing activities are actually driving results"
"Our competitors are showing up in ways we aren't"
"We need to fundamentally shift how people perceive our business"
"We need to adapt our approach for different cultural contexts"
"We have too many messages competing for attention"
"We're losing the value perception battle against competitors"
"Competitors are eating into our volume share with aggressive tactics"
“We're getting traffic, but it's not converting to sales"
"Our storytelling isn't creating the kind of feeling we want to evoke"
(We also help brands tell stories...)

Everyone can tell a story.

Only a few can tell one that people will remember.

Braun. The Holiday.
Image: The Holiday, Braun
Image: The Journey, ADNOC
Ekta worked in Advertising as a Creative long before she jumped over to become a Director. Even then, she never quite understood how Strategists would dig through the piles of data thrown at them to arrive at a singular insight.
That one little nugget that allowed her Creative Brain to go places but was also an anchor point to tie her imaginary ideas to. The rambling brainstorms, the scribbles, the squiggles, the 3:00 am Eurekas needed to hang onto something.
That’s carried through to the rest of her career as a filmmaker. “What’s the idea?” is a question that has haunted her many a night. But one that’s crucial to how she works.
Image: The Journey, ADNOC
Words are important. Visuals even more so.
Ekta Saran is a writer first, self-taught director next who is obsessed with the details and craft of filmmaking. Inspired by her docu and photography background, her films always seek to bring out raw emotions preferably with a technical twist.
She’s currently co-writing and directing a feature film green lit by Image Nation. Her other accolades include The Laundromat which won Best Microfilm at the 2024 Top Shorts Film Festival and Karama 267 in 2021.
Born in Abu Dhabi, she studied in Vancouver and splits her time between Dubai, Vancouver and Bombay.

The Storyteller

Bio [+]

(commercial stories)

Memories
Mini Cooper
[01:10]
We Know Pimples
Himalaya
[00:36]
The Holiday
Braun
[01:23]
A Journey to Remember
ADNOC
[01:44]
Coming Home
Aldar x Chef Izu
[00:37]

(personal stories)

The Laundromat
[02:33]
Like Father
Datsun Fairlady 280Z
[01:45]
Karama 267
[05:30]
Chasing Bur Dubai
Part 1
[03:29]
Chasing Bur Dubai
Part 2
[04:50]

The ways we create value

(We also give great book + movie recommendations)
It’s not always easy to understand who you are, who you want to talk to and most importantly, who you want listening to you. Unlock your brand identity with us.  

[1] Brand diagnosis
[2] Audience targeting
[3] Promise definition
[4] Positioning
[5] Strategic narrative
[6] Brand architecture
[7] Distinctive brand assets identification
[8] Category entry points mapping
[9] Messaging framework
[10] Implementation guide
A good brand story always comes from great insight. You may know who you are but you just don’t know where you’re going. Let our creative strategy be your compass.

[1] Strategic insight
[2] Creative territory definition
[3] Creative ideation
[4] Messaging architecture
Telling a story that makes an impact is not luck. At least that’s not what we think. It takes a lot of planning, hmmming and aaahing over many directions and then going in with a solid plan. And with your gut.

[1] Customer journey mapping
[2] Full-funnel content strategy
[3] Omni-channel planning
[4] Investment allocation
[5] Measurement framework
[6] Risk mitigation
Perhaps you have a challenge that can't be neatly covered from what we listed. But if you can google it, we can solve it. You just have to ask. Here are some examples:

[1] Channel-specific strategies 
[2] Agency RFP planning 
[3] Marketing capabilities workshop
[4] On-ground qualitative research 
[5] Thought leadership papers and presentations
Writing can feel a little bit like magic. It’s messy, iterative, and a little emotional. Perhaps you know the beats in your head, but they’re playing out of rhythm on the page. We help you get to the heart of your story and craft a script that knows what it’s doing. We’re here for the structure, the rewrites, and adaptations.  

[1] 15", 30", 60" and 90" Scripts
[2] Episodic Content Scripts
Before the cameras roll, you need to build the world. The tone, the visual language, the hooks. Whether it’s a single scene or a feature-length vision, we help give your idea bones, breath, and a point of view that’s yours and yours alone.

[1] Core Concept
[2] Visual Moodboard
[3] References
Directing is 90% listening and 10% knowing when to say "cut." We’re here to create films and content that speak your language. Whether it’s a 15-seconder quickie or an immersive long form number, it’s all about the execution.

Strategy

Strategy stamp.

Brand [+]

Creative [+]

Integrated Communications [+]

Solve for [+]

Storytelling

Storytelling stamp.

Scriptwriting [+]

Film Conceptualisation [+]

Film Directing [+]

The end?

WORK WITH US
REQUEST A PORTFOLIO
(Or just ask us for a book recommendation.)
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Storytelling

Services

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The LBSTR

Strategy

Storytelling

Services

Contact