Magna Global MENA was named the Media Agency of the Year 2025 at Campaign Agency of the Year Middle East Awards.
According to the jurors, Magna is “An outstanding, future-focused media agency driving innovation and growth.” They added that the agency shows “strong momentum and bold thinking. Their focus on innovation, automation, and new products reflects a smart reinvention of what a media agency can be.”
Lara Arbid, CEO, Magna Global MENA, shared her reflections after the agency was named the Media Agency of the Year for 2025.
How does this award reflect the culmination of your efforts in 2025?
This recognition is the result of years of deliberate transformation that truly crystallised in 2025. We made bold decisions to fundamentally reorganise how we work, embedding artificial intelligence (AI) and automation into the very fabric of our operations – from planning and activation through to optimisation and core business processes. The impact has been significant: reduced manual workloads, increased speed to market, and enhanced precision across everything we do. Combined with new business growth that saw us establish ourselves in new markets while consistently driving measurable impact on our clients’ bottom lines, this award
is validation for an entire team that has worked relentlessly
to earn it.
Which industry pressure or shift most influenced how you operated in 2025?
The most significant pressure was the intensifying demand for accountability and efficiency. Clients operate in increasingly complex, fast-moving environments where slow decision-making, fragmented outputs and manual-heavy processes are no longer viable. Simultaneously, platforms, data, and consumer behaviours have evolved at unprecedented pace. This motivated us to move beyond traditional ways of working and fundamentally rethink our approach. We accelerated investment in AI, automation, and proprietary tools to simplify complexity, improve speed to market, and deliver consistent outcomes. This shift pushed us to operate less like a service provider and more like a strategic growth partner for our clients.
How have expectations within media shifted over the past 12 months?
Expectations have fundamentally shifted from delivery to impact. Clients now expect media to directly drive business key performance indicators (KPIs) – not just awareness or efficiency metrics. Speed, agility and real-time optimisation are no longer aspirations; they are table stakes. Transparency around performance has become non-negotiable. Equally critical is the expectation that agencies bring genuine technology-led solutions to the table, not simply platform access or buying scale. This requires media teams to seamlessly integrate strategy, data, technology and commercial understanding –and that is exactly the capability we’ve built to deliver.
What do you think the industry needs to change or fix on priority in the months ahead?
The industry urgently needs to simplify and standardise how media is planned, measured and optimised. The fragmentation across tools, metrics and processes slows down decision-making and creates inefficiency across the board. AI adoption must move decisively from experimental pilots to full integration into everyday workflows. Equally important is rebalancing our collective focus from short-term optimisation to long-term value creation. Media investments should be building sustainable growth, not merely chasing isolated performance metrics.
In your opinion, what do consumers really want, and how can agencies help brands meet this need?
Consumers want relevance, simplicity and value. They expect brands to understand their needs and context without being intrusive or overwhelming. Today, attention is earned by being useful – not by being loud. Agencies have a crucial role to play here: using data and behavioural signals responsibly to deliver timely, contextually relevant messages, and designing media experiences that feel seamless across channels. It’s about respecting the consumer journey while adding genuine value at every touchpoint.
What will matter most as the industry moves into 2026?
Success in 2026 will be defined by operating models that combine speed, intelligence, and accountability in equal measure. We must continue automating the ‘how’ so we can focus our human intelligence on the ‘why’ – insight, strategy, and creativity. Outcome-based measurement will become the standard, with direct, transparent links between media investment and business growth. Equally critical will be talent that can navigate both technology and culture with confidence. The future belongs to those who can move fast without losing sight of what actually matters.
