Agencies Archives - Campaign Middle East

Women in Advertising 2026: Found her in research, Lost her in approvals

Ishwari Khatu — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:54:21 +0000

Picture this. A usual Monday afternoon. A brand comes in with a female shopper-centric brief. There is data, a clear unique selling proposition (USP) and every reason this product should matter to her. As an agency, of course we sharpen it. We dig deeper, we even push for more research, more shopper studies, just to […]

The post Women in Advertising 2026: Found her in research, Lost her in approvals appeared first on Campaign Middle East.

Podcast: MarkApp’s Sotiris Oikonomou on contextual ads, CTV and data ownership

Anup Oommen — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 06:49:47 +0000

The cookie debate has become one of the industry’s longest-running weather reports. Every few months, the clouds gather, someone predicts a storm, and the market responds with a mix of urgency and hesitation: some run towards contextual advertising in the rain, others stay under the shrinking shelters of third-party cookies, while many stand somewhere in […]

The post Podcast: MarkApp’s Sotiris Oikonomou on contextual ads, CTV and data ownership appeared first on Campaign Middle East.

Independent agency CEOs call out the industry’s biggest challenges

Anup Oommen — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 06:11:47 +0000

Twenty-five chief executives from across the region’s independent marketing sector gathered in Dubai last week for the inaugural CEO Summit of the Alliance of Independent Agencies Middle East, themed ‘From Request for Proposal to Request for Partnership’. The summit surfaced a clear and consistent view of what is not working, and where the industry must […]

The post Independent agency CEOs call out the industry’s biggest challenges appeared first on Campaign Middle East.

Advertising Business Group, Publicis Groupe ME partner to shape the future of retail media

Anup Oommen — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 13:00:14 +0000

The Advertising Business Group (ABG) and Publicis Groupe Middle East have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at advancing the retail media ecosystem across the region. Bringing together advertisers, retailers, agencies, platforms and technology partners, the partnership will establish the MENA Retail Media Task Force and a series of industry initiatives designed to create a […]

The post Advertising Business Group, Publicis Groupe ME partner to shape the future of retail media appeared first on Campaign Middle East.

SMC Media inks strategic deal with TikTok to become official ad partner in KSA & Egypt

Anup Oommen — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 05:00:03 +0000

SMC Media, the media and advertising arm of SMC Group, has revealed a strategic partnership with TikTok, the leading global platform for short-form mobile video, under which SMC Media becomes the official advertising partner for TikTok in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the Arab Republic of Egypt. The partnership reflects the shared commitment […]

The post SMC Media inks strategic deal with TikTok to become official ad partner in KSA & Egypt appeared first on Campaign Middle East.

ADNOC Distribution appoints Sofiane Haddadi as VP – Marketing, Activations and Operations

Anup Oommen — Mon, 25 May 2026 06:13:35 +0000

ADNOC Distribution has appointed Sofiane Haddadi as Vice President of Marketing, Activations and Operations, with a focus on making marketing more connected, measurable and closely tied to business impact. The company operates across four core business lines, fuel retail, non-fuel retail, commercial and EV charging, spanning the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Serving approximately 700,000 […]

The post ADNOC Distribution appoints Sofiane Haddadi as VP – Marketing, Activations and Operations appeared first on Campaign Middle East.

Industry Snapshot: Set trends from Saudi Arabia

Hiba Faisal — Thu, 21 May 2026 12:53:09 +0000

TBWA\RAAD Saudi Arabia’s Dany Aouad on rising client expectations, building stronger account talent, and why Saudi brands need to embrace real disruption and set trends. How have Saudi client expectations changed in the last two years? The Saudi market has accelerated tremendously, and so have client expectations. The shift from traditional advertising services to tech-enabled, […]

The post Industry Snapshot: Set trends from Saudi Arabia appeared first on Campaign Middle East.

Industry Snapshot: Why cultural instinct is now a brand advantage

Hiba Faisal — Thu, 14 May 2026 08:14:05 +0000

C&B’s Ahmad Itani explores why credibility, cultural instinct and market-specific insight are becoming the defining advantages in the Kingdom’s next era of brand-building. What are global brands still getting wrong about marketing in Saudi? Most global brands still treat localisation as translation. The tagline is in Arabic, while the rest of the campaign gets lifted […]

The post Industry Snapshot: Why cultural instinct is now a brand advantage appeared first on Campaign Middle East.

In the defence of pitches

Ishwari Khatu — Wed, 13 May 2026 06:00:50 +0000

If you listened to the industry long enough, you’d think pitching was beyond saving. Too long, too expensive and too painful. A process that everyone complains about but no one really changes. But that’s not the full picture. When it works – and it does – it’s one of the few moments where this industry […]

The post In the defence of pitches appeared first on Campaign Middle East.

Cover Feature: From a pitch to a partnership

Anup Oommen — Mon, 11 May 2026 05:00:34 +0000

A strange paradox has been normalised at the heart of the brand-agency partnership landscape in the Middle East. Brands claim that they want sharper thinking, strategic consumer insights, stronger distinctiveness, larger share of voice, tangible returns on investment and creative work that connects with communities long after campaigns end. Yet, current pitch systems and the […]

The post Cover Feature: From a pitch to a partnership appeared first on Campaign Middle East.