Brands across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are recalibrating marketing strategies as economic and geopolitical uncertainty reshapes priorities, with a growing number of chief marketing officers (CMOs) balancing short-term commercial pressures against long-term brand building, according to a new report by UAE-based creative agency JWI.
The report, titled Marketing Through Uncertainty, is based on conversations with CMOs across sectors including FMCG, technology, aviation, entertainment, food and beverage, and consumer electronics. It paints a picture of a regional marketing industry under pressure but also undergoing a strategic shift.
“Recalibration has become the default response,” the report states, adding that brands now recognise “the role of brand building but are still navigating how to act on it in practice.”
Market recalibration
The findings show that rather than freezing activity altogether, brands are reshaping campaigns and reallocating budgets in response to changing market conditions. According to the report, 71% of brands have delayed or paused campaigns and activities, while 57% have reallocated budgets across channels. Another 36% increased focus on customer communications, and the same percentage adjusted tone and messaging.
“Marketing hasn’t paused. It’s being recalibrated,” the report says. It notes that “campaigns are not stopping. Instead, they are being reshaped.”
The report further explains that in 80% of cases where campaigns were delayed or paused, the decision was combined with other strategic adjustments such as budget reallocation or changes in communication style.
“This points to a more deliberate approach,” the report states. “Rather than withdrawing completely, brands are adjusting, balancing visibility with sensitivity to the moment.”
Only 15% of respondents reported making “no significant change,” reinforcing what the report describes as “an active period of recalibration rather than inactivity.”
The strategic adjustments, however, are not amounting to a complete overhaul. The report found that 65% of CMOs ranked their level of strategic shift at either four or five on a six-point scale, with the average score standing at 3.9.
“Strategic change is widespread but not transformational,” the report says, suggesting that brands are adapting direction rather than reinventing themselves entirely.
One FMCG CMO quoted in the report described uncertainty as a defining leadership test. “Brand leadership is not about growth in stable times, but about clarity and decisiveness in uncertainty – staying focused on what truly matters and protecting both brand trust and business continuity,” the executive said.
Another executive from the travel sector stressed the importance of quick decision-making over perfection. “Agility beats perfection… in disruption, speed of decision-making matters more than perfect decisions,” the CMO said.
One of the report’s key findings is the growing emphasis on brand trust, cultural relevance, and customer loyalty over immediate conversion metrics.
According to the survey, 57% of CMOs said channel strategy and media mix had become their most immediate focus. Brand trust and reputation, along with regional and cultural relevance, were each cited by 50% of respondents, while 43% pointed to customer loyalty and retention.
By comparison, only 36% highlighted conversion and short-term sales as a top priority.
“Priorities are shifting beyond short-term conversion,” the report states. It adds that the data reflects “a broader rebalancing, placing greater emphasis on presence, perception and long-term connection, not just immediate sales.”
A consumer goods CMO quoted in the report said brands must avoid appearing disconnected from local realities.
“Stay locally relevant… do not appear tone deaf. Brand equity and love over transaction should be prioritised in times like this,” the executive said.
Brand vs performance
The report also reveals a striking gap between what CMOs believe drives sustainable growth and what they are currently prioritising in practice.
While 57% identified long-term brand loyalty and another 57% cited investment in brand equity as the key drivers of growth over the next 12 to 18 months, only 28% said long-term brand building was their present focus. Instead, 72% admitted their current emphasis remains on short-term performance.
“This is not a contradiction,” the report says. “It reflects the reality of CMOs operating under immediate commercial pressure.”
The report notes that “revenue targets, performance expectations and organisational demands continue to shape how marketing is prioritised,” creating “a tension between what brands believe will drive growth and what they are required to deliver today.”
Only 14% of respondents identified performance marketing as a key driver of long-term growth, underlining the extent to which brand equity is increasingly viewed as a stabilising force during volatile periods.
A technology sector CMO quoted in the study said: “Strong brand equity and business model resilience are the differentiating factors in tough moments.”
Resilience over reaction
The report concludes that the marketing industry in the GCC is moving “from reaction to resilience,” with brands increasingly designing systems capable of adapting to disruption rather than merely responding to it.
“The most resilient brands are not those that respond fastest, but those that have built clarity, consistency and trust over time,” the report says.
Among the recurring themes identified were the need to “act with speed, not perfection,” use brand as “a stabilising force,” remain close to real consumer behaviour, and “design for change, over stability.”
The report ends by raising broader questions about how marketing success should be measured in the future.
“If brand is now understood as a driver of both growth and stability, then the role of marketing needs to evolve accordingly,” it states, asking whether organisations are prepared to move “from short-term performance delivery to long-term value creation.”
