In this conversation, Mario Soufia, Regional Managing Director, WPP Media, outlines how the Middle East and North Africa’s advertising and marketing landscape is evolving from recovery into acceleration. He discusses the structural drivers behind growth, the region’s increasing global influence, and how brands are adapting to a faster, more culturally connected and performance-driven ecosystem.
After a period of disruption and reinvention, what does recovery actually look like for MENA’s advertising and marketing industry today, and what signals tell you the region is entering its next growth phase?
Recovery in MENA today is more like acceleration than rebound. Despite global uncertainty, the region continues to invest aggressively in growth through digital infrastructure, entertainment, tourism, AI-driven transformation, driven by the ambitions of Vision 2030 and Vision 2040.
The strongest signals are structural: rapid growth in retail media, creator economies, commerce platforms and digital advertising across Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Major long-term catalysts including Expo 2030 Riyadh and the 2034 FIFA World Cup keep creating confidence far beyond the short term.
What is especially exciting is that MENA is no longer simply following global marketing trends, it is shaping them. Brands are becoming faster, more culturally connected and more performance-driven, creating one of the most dynamic and future-facing advertising environments globally.
Which campaign, idea, or strategic shift from 2025-26 best reflects how resilience in MENA has translated into creative and commercial strength, and what does it reveal about the region’s future direction?
For me, the defining strategic shift across MENA has been the acceleration of adaptive, always-on marketing. Rather than pulling back during uncertainty, many brands doubled down on agility, shifting budgets faster, leaning into creators, retail media and AI-powered personalization to stay connected to consumers in real time.
What has stood out the most, is how quickly brands have adapted messaging, media and commerce strategies around changing consumer behavior while still maintaining optimism and momentum. This reflects a region that has become significantly more mature, confident and creative.
MENA brands are now building flexible ecosystems that combine storytelling, performance, culture and commerce together, and the future belongs to those brands that can move at the speed of the region itself.
