Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s evolution has progressed beyond infrastructure to encompass culture, media, and consumer behavior. The reason comes down to a demographic advantage that few markets can replicate.
Around 69.4% of Saudi citizens are under the age of 35, with nearly a third under 15. It is a young, digital-first population that has created a new advertising logic for the content they consume.
From Audience to Influence
When it comes to building campaigns, brands do not bring in creators after the idea is locked. Creators are instead part of the idea itself.
“Our guiding principle is to build durable brand assets that resonate with our audience,” says Ziad Ghawi, Managing Director at Ogilvy.
“That’s especially critical in a trust-based market like Saudi Arabia. Creators are partners in shaping the brand narrative.”
This evolution repositions creators from media channels to strategic contributors.
“When selecting creators, we also focus on three core pillars,” Ghawi continues. “Authentic voice and integrity, alignment with the brand’s narrative, and deep cultural resonance. It’s less about follower count and more about the trust they command.”
One debate continues to surface across the region: local versus global creators.
“The Saudi consumer is becoming decisively more responsive to creators with cultural authenticity, regardless of origin,” Ghawi says. “Local creators often have an advantage, but international creators who genuinely understand and respect the culture can also be highly influential.”
A Market Built for Creators
Saudi creators in the ecosystem share their experience with Communicate.
“Being a content creator in Saudi Arabia today is a unique experience,” says Lojain Omran, one of the most influential media personalities in the Arab world.
“It’s a dynamic environment that supports creativity and values quality. Vision 2030 has opened new opportunities and strengthened our role in shaping the Kingdom’s modern image.”
Omran points to three key changes: “What supported my career is cultural openness, the rapid expansion of the media and entertainment sectors, and stronger institutional support for creators under Vision 2030, which has created greater opportunities for visibility, impact, and audience reach.”
Together, they have turned visibility into a real opportunity.
For creators like Nahar Al Marzouqi, who began curating content at a young age, the change is unmistakable.
“Nowadays, the region is different,” he says. “Fashion, lifestyle, and food creators thrive here because it’s a market that loves trends and experiences. But it’s not just about the niche. If your content feels authentic and culturally in tune, you grow fast.”
Saudi’s scale amplifies that effect. “The geography is big, so the reach is powerful,” he adds. “And if Saudis support you, they support you all the way.”
That level of loyalty is hard to replicate in other markets.
From corporate to creator economy
The momentum is also pulling in talent from outside traditional media.
Nada Baeshen, Saudi TV host and social media celebrity, represents a growing profile of professionals transitioning from corporate roles into the creator economy.
“I moved from a process-driven environment into one that is fast-paced and constantly evolving,” she says. “Content creation is all about storytelling, consistency, and building trust. You have to think strategically and execute at the same time.”
What makes Saudi different, she agrees, is the ecosystem around that transition.
“Vision 2030 has expanded opportunities across media, entertainment, and digital industries. There’s real investment in talent and more space to explore non-traditional career paths. It’s now possible to build something sustainable.”
Budgets Follow Behavior
In this creator boom, budgets are following behavior.
“What’s interesting in Saudi Arabia is how budgets are being built,” says Dr Faddy Sadideen, Marketing & Visitor Experience expert with the KSA Giga Projects.
“It’s much more demand-led now than media-led.”
Over the past two to three years, GCC advertising has moved toward digital-first, performance-driven, and locally tailored strategies. Within that transition, Saudi Arabia is taking a larger share of regional attention and investment.
“Dubai remains a major planning and production hub, but Saudi Arabia is increasingly where brands want to activate and capture scale,” he says.
He explains that this is due to a population of over 35 million, more than 90 percent online, and daily engagement across platforms. But Saudi’s transformation goes further.
“With giga-projects, real estate, and infrastructure, you’re creating more demand,” Sadideen explains. “Campaigns are built around real moments of change. New places, new behaviors, new ways of living.”
That is what is turning Saudi Arabia into the starting point for major campaigns.
Creators as commercial drivers
In this environment, creators have become commercial drivers, especially on large-scale developments.
“Creators are amplifying campaigns while shaping new lifestyles and narratives,” Sadideen says. “In many cases, they outperform traditional media because they bridge national ambition with everyday behavior.”
The result is visible across sectors. Luxury and premium brands are increasingly choosing Riyadh for high-impact activations, with Saudi Arabia now dominating a significant share of those budgets, according to the expert.
The performance reality
For brands, however, the equation is not about replacing traditional media. It is about making it more effective.
“Paid media still drives the bulk of our conversions,” says Hania Serry, Chief Marketing Officer at Savola Foods. “That’s the reality in FMCG. But creators do something that paid media can’t. They build the trust that makes people ready to buy.”
Her framing is simple, but precise.
“When we run both together, we see a real difference,” she says. “The GCC influencer market is now worth over $315 million and growing fast. That’s not a coincidence. Brands are seeing results.”
A New Center of Gravity
Gone are the days when Saudi Arabia was simply a market for ads. Today, the Kingdom is nurturing and elevating some of the region’s most creative voices. More importantly, it has become a central force in advertising, attracting budgets and setting the stage where campaigns are expected to perform.
While markets like Dubai remain essential, Saudi Arabia is increasingly where campaigns are activated, scaled, and measured against real consumer impact.
In other words, the region’s advertising ecosystem is no longer anchored in one place. It is being redefined. At the heart of that transformation is Saudi Arabia: young, digital, culturally assertive, and economically ambitious.
