By Roxanne Gahol, Head of Strategy, OMD MENA
“If you influence attention, then you impact intention.”
That line has stayed with me throughout my career. Over the past decade, I have moved from planning TV schedules to leading strategy conversations with CMOs across one of the most digitally ambitious regions in the world.
The tools have evolved and the pace has accelerated, but one principle remains constant: growth comes from being disciplined about where we place our attention and honest about what we are trying to mean to people.
Across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, automation is now embedded in how we operate. According to IAB MENA, digital advertising spend across the region reached USD 6.95 billion in 2024, reinforcing how rapidly budgets are shifting toward digital channels across markets including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia specifically, digital continues to grow at double-digit rates, driven by mobile, video and social consumption.
What once felt like innovation is now infrastructure. Efficiency is no longer a competitive advantage. It is the baseline.
As machines take on more functional decisions, a paradox emerges. The more capable technology becomes, the more valuable human meaning grows. When systems negotiate speed, price and precision with other systems, distinctiveness becomes harder to sustain. What remains defensible is emotional value: trust, identity, empathy and cultural relevance.
For brand marketers, this is not abstract thinking. It has practical implications.
Perfecting individual channels is no longer enough. Optimising in silos may improve short-term performance, but sustainable growth comes from connected systems that learn and adapt in real time. When media, creative and commerce are aligned, insight compounds instead of resetting each quarter. The brands that move ahead treat data as a continuous feedback loop, not a report filed away after a presentation.
At the same time, culture is evolving faster than campaign cycles. In Saudi Arabia, 71 per cent of the population is under 35, according to the General Authority for Statistics. The Kingdom’s online gaming market is projected to grow to USD 4.44 billion by 2033, supported by significant national investment linked to Vision 2030. In the UAE, where internet penetration reached 99 per cent in 2024 according to DataReportal, audiences move fluidly between platforms, languages and identities.
In this context, meaning cannot be automated. Diriyah Company has embedded heritage and national identity into a modern destination strategy aligned with Vision 2030. Emirates Airline balances global ambition with regional storytelling, reinforcing both premium positioning and belonging. Noon competes in a highly automated retail environment yet stands out through a distinctly regional voice.
These brands are not simply optimising faster. They are clear about what they mean to people.
Content can no longer be treated as a fixed deliverable. It must function as a system that generates relevance and invites participation. Planning cycles are shorter, and community signals often carry as much weight as reach metrics. Relevance is earned through contribution, not interruption.
As efficiency becomes standardised, more fundamental questions rise to the surface. What do we stand for beyond our category? Which human tension are we genuinely helping to resolve? What role do we play in someone’s everyday life? Access to automation is increasingly shared. Perspective is not.
At OMD, we talk about creating what is next. For me, that is not about chasing trends. It is about responding to change with clarity and empathy. Automation can enhance action, but it cannot define purpose. That responsibility still belongs to us.
Empathy remains the most powerful strategic advantage. Understanding the motivations behind behaviour and the cultural codes shaping identity gives strategy its weight. Influence is earned through relevance.
For CMOs and marketing leaders across MENA, the responsibility is to build systems that learn, treat content as engagement rather than output, and protect brand meaning as carefully as performance. Efficiency can be replicated. Intention cannot.
Machines will continue to outperform us in speed and scale. That is not a threat. It is a reminder to focus on what only we can define.
If automation handles optimisation, our task is to shape intention. Because when intention is clear, attention follows. And in a region as ambitious and fast-moving as MENA, clarity of meaning is what keeps brands ahead.
