Athar Voices on Campaign: ‘The best Saudi campaigns are starting to lead’

Last year, I had the privilege of serving as a jury member for the Athar Awards, reviewing some of the best creative and marketing work coming out of Saudi Arabia.

After 17 years in the market, I thought I had a good sense of where our industry stands. I have seen the early days of brand building, the rise of digital, the shift from traditional campaigns to integrated experiences, and now the acceleration of creativity in a country transforming at remarkable speed.

But judging the work reminded me of something important: Saudi marketing is not just improving. It is maturing.

What surprised me most was not the quality of the films, the production or the big ideas. Those were expected. What stood out was the confidence behind the work.

Many campaigns were no longer trying to look like international case studies. They were proudly rooted in local culture, local behaviour and local insight. That made them stronger, not smaller.

For years, some brands believed that “global” meant moving away from local language, local references, or Saudi humour. Today, the best work is proving the opposite. The more honestly a campaign understands its audience, the more powerful it becomes.

Another thing that stayed with me was how much stronger the strategic thinking has become. The best entries did not begin with a nice creative idea. They began with a real challenge. A business challenge. A behavioural challenge. A perception challenge. That is where great marketing starts.

In judging, you quickly realise that a beautiful campaign is not enough. A strong idea needs to answer a clear problem. It needs to show why it mattered, who it moved, and what changed because of it.

This is where experience matters. After many years in the field, you learn to look beyond the excitement of the execution. You ask: was this brave, or just loud? Was it relevant, or just attractive? Did it create impact, or only impressions?

Some campaigns answered those questions very well. Others had the craft, but not always the proof.

And that was another important observation. Saudi Arabia now has world-class creative ambition, but we still need to become sharper in how we measure and present effectiveness.

Too many strong campaigns rely heavily on views, reach, and engagement. These are useful numbers, but they do not always tell the full story.

The strongest work connected creativity to business or social impact. It showed a shift in behaviour, a change in perception, a growth result, or a meaningful contribution to the brand.

As marketers, we often spend months building a campaign and only a few days writing the case study. But in an award room, the case is the campaign. If the objective is unclear, or the impact is weakly explained, even great work can lose its power.

I was also surprised by the level of collaboration behind the strongest entries. The best campaigns did not feel like they belonged only to an agency, a marketing department, or a media team.

They felt like the result of alignment between leadership, strategy, communication, creative, digital, and customer experience. That is a healthy sign for the industry.

Marketing today is no longer just about launching a message. It is about building trust, shaping perception, creating experiences, and sometimes even changing habits.

In Saudi Arabia, this role is becoming even more important because our market is moving fast and the audience is becoming more sophisticated every year.

For me, the most memorable campaigns were not always the biggest. They were the ones with a clear human truth. The ones that understood people, respected the audience, and used creativity with purpose. That is what gives a campaign a longer life.

Serving on the jury also reminded me that awards are not only about recognition. They are a mirror. They show us where the industry is strong, where it is heading, and where it still needs to improve. What I saw made me optimistic.

Saudi Arabia is producing work that is more confident, more strategic, and more connected to culture than ever before. But the next stage will require more discipline: clearer objectives, stronger measurement, braver thinking, and a deeper link between creativity and impact.

After 17 years in this market, I can say this with confidence: the best Saudi campaigns are no longer trying to catch up. They are starting to lead.”

The 2026 edition of the Athar Awards is open for entries. Visit awards.atharfestival.com to find out more.

By Ahmad Bin Askar, Chief Communications Officer, Sports Boulevard Foundation Office, Athar 2025 Jury Member