As geopolitical tensions reshape the media landscape across the Middle East, brands are being forced to reassess how, where, and even whether they communicate. In moments when news cycles intensify and public sentiment shifts rapidly, the balance between maintaining brand presence and showing sensitivity becomes increasingly delicate. In this insight session, Middle East Communications Network (MCN) MENAT outlines how it is guiding clients through the current regional crisis — from safeguarding brand placements and monitoring sentiment shifts to recalibrating media strategies and prioritizing people within organizations.
With news and social feeds so intense right now, how are you helping clients navigate brand safety and ensure their messages appear in the right context?
Brand safety is built into every plan, for every brand, across all disciplines, from the outset. Each client has preset measures calibrated to their sector and purpose in the market, so when a crisis hits, we’re not starting from scratch. We activate what’s already in place, immediately.
What evolves is the specificity. As the situation develops, we continuously revisit and update those measures to reflect what’s unfolding. The regional picture during this existing crisis is also far more nuanced. A brand may be right to remain active in KSA and Egypt, while pausing in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, or Bahrain, where the sensitivity and proximity to the crisis are far more acute. Our regional experience allows us to guide clients through those decisions thoughtfully and precisely. The guiding principle throughout is intentional empathy, prioritizing long-term brand integrity over short-term reflexes.
What early signals or patterns do you watch closely to guide media strategy when markets and sentiment are so volatile?
It’s a time to pause any of your pre-planned activities and ensure that a brand reflects the new contextual reality we woke up to a few days ago. We watch the convergence of macro signals – sentiment shifts, platform engagement patterns, search behavior changes – alongside what clients are hearing directly from their own customers. That combination is what allows us to move with both speed and precision. Our teams are structured to pivot quickly, whether that means pausing activity in certain environments, reallocating to lower-risk channels, or adjusting messaging tone in near real-time.
We also draw on learnings from past crises – COVID, previous global market disruptions, and periods of regional geopolitical tension – which means our response is never purely reactive. It’s structured, experience-led, and anchored in what’s best for our clients.
Do periods of geopolitical tension tend to accelerate shifts in media planning, like leaning more on retail media, contextual targeting, or first-party data? How are you seeing that play out?
Geopolitical tension doesn’t just shift media, it shifts behavior. Consumer habits change, purchasing patterns change, and brand engagement changes, often simultaneously. Our job is to understand where that shift is happening and redirect accordingly. When people are spending more time at home, mass media like out-of-home media lose their impact. That’s when precision-led environments – contextual targeting, retail media, first-party data – become not just smarter, but more effective. These channels connect brands to audiences based on intent, not proximity to volatile content. The playbook is unique by client sector and objective, but the principle is consistent: follow the behavior shift and be ready to move with it.
What’s the first thing you focus on in a crisis: people, teams, operations, or messaging, and why?
During crisis situations, the first priority is always people. People affected by a crisis situation, people in our teams and their families, and the people who are our clients and their families. To support people, our messaging must be clear, concise, compassionate – and supported by concrete and proactive actions. It’s important to assure our people that their safety is a priority, their mental health matters, and that we all stand by one another in times of crisis. Then we look to the continuity of operations and ensure minimal disruption so that we can provide clients with relevant counsel and support depending on their business priorities, industry and geography.
