The dominance of social is the most defining feature of the Middle East and North Africa region’s digital advertising scene, says Ian Manning, Executive Director at IAB MENA. No other channel comes close to shaping budgets, strategies, and market structure the way social does. In 2024, social platforms accounted for 60 percent of all digital adspend in MENA, which is far higher than in many mature markets.
Manning explains that this dominance is rooted in the region’s long-standing reputation as a video-first market. The combination of high video consumption and social platforms’ shift toward video formats has fuelled social video investment growth of nearly 30 percent year on year. “While we are beginning to see diversification beyond social, many of these new investments, such as influencer marketing and commerce media, are still closely tied to social channels,” said Manning.
However, this overwhelming reliance on global social and video platforms comes with consequences—without comparable scale in audience reach or technological investment, local publishers face higher costs and lower reach. Their main point of differentiation is often premium or niche content, but demonstrating the true value of this content, in terms of attention and engagement, remains difficult without clear attribution, making it increasingly challenging for local publishers to justify premium pricing, despite their role in producing high-quality local content.
IAB MENA’s annual Digital Adspend Report shows that digital adspend in MENA reached $6.95 billion in 2024, placing the region among the Top 5 markets in EMEA, with Saudi Arabia ranking among the Top 10 individual markets globally. Manning said that MENA continues to outpace the European growth average, making it one of the most dynamic advertising markets worldwide.
On a per-capita basis, the UAE is already comparable to developed markets, while other parts of the region still have significant room to grow. He also notes that adspend/GDP comparisons are less useful in MENA because of the region’s high levels of non-consumer and export-driven GDP, combined with a global decoupling between GDP and digital adspend driven by widespread digital adoption.
To help the industry better navigate this evolving landscape, Manning highlights four priorities that emerged from IAB MENA’s recent partnership with Altman Solon to identify regional growth drivers.
- Build trust through better measurement and pricing transparency. He urges the industry to focus on meaningful KPIs, invest in anti-fraud measures, and strengthen the link between media activity and business outcomes.
- Deepen partnerships between clients, agencies, and publishers. Manning stresses the need for greater advertiser education and a more transparent three-way partnership to guide effective budget allocation and programmatic buying.
- Advance outcomes-based measurement. With attribution and cross-media measurement still limited, he suggests that AI may accelerate progress—but only with stronger data sharing and higher-quality inputs.
- Address structural and valuation challenges in emerging media. Retail Media, CTV, Audio, and programmatic DOOH require clearer benchmarking and standardization to unlock their full potential.
With strong inbound investment and a growing pool of regional talent, MENA is poised to maintain its impressive growth trajectory, Manning said. “As the market evolves, so too will the sophistication of its offerings, tools, and measurement solutions, creating a virtuous cycle that continues to elevate the region’s digital advertising landscape,” he added.
