The Advertising Business Group (ABG) will bring together senior marketing, media and technology leaders in Dubai on 29 October for its Marketer of the Future 2026 forum, focusing on the role of human judgment, creativity and trust as artificial intelligence reshapes the marketing industry.
The event, themed The Human Edge, will take place at TODA Theatre, Souk Madinat Jumeirah. Communicate is the media partner for the forum, which will feature speakers from L’Oréal, P&G, Unilever, Mashreq, G42, TikTok, Expo City Dubai, the World Federation of Advertisers, Ebiquity, Ipsos, EMIR and Creative Equals, among others.
The programme will examine how marketers can retain a competitive edge as AI increasingly handles tasks ranging from content production to media planning and investment decisions. Discussions will explore the value of human creativity, cultural understanding, judgment and trust in a marketing environment where access to AI tools is becoming widespread.
“AI is changing how marketing gets done, faster than most organisations can adapt. What it hasn’t changed is who carries the responsibility for the decisions. Marketer of the Future brings global and regional leaders together to talk honestly about where human judgment matters most, and how to build teams and brands around it,” said Eleni Kitra, CEO and executive director of ABG.
Ipsos to unveil new research
Ipsos will present research examining the respective contributions of AI and human creativity to brand performance. The findings will be unveiled during Athanas Jamo’s session, titled The Human+ Era.
The session will address a key challenge facing marketers: how brands can differentiate themselves when competitors have access to the same AI tools and technologies.
The forum is ABG’s flagship leadership event, bringing regional and global industry leaders together to discuss the forces shaping marketing and the capabilities brands will need to remain competitive.
Marketer of the Future 2026 is supported by GoWit and TikTok as gold partners, Hypermedia as the official out-of-home media partner, and Publicis Groupe as the agency partner. Communicate is the communications partner, alongside its role as media partner. The Trade Desk is the leadership lunch partner, Ipsos the insights partner and Project Agora the community partner.
(More info about the event HERE)
