Opinion Archives - Campaign Middle East

The end of performative luxury

Anup Oommen — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:07:40 +0000

For years, marketing in the Middle East relied on the illusion of luxury being unattainable, reserved only for a select few. Now, this narrative is changing, and fast. Audiences today are much harder to impress and far more aware of traditional tactics that both look and feel outdated. Along with this shift in consumer behaviour, […]

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How communities are shaping the future of sports marketing

Hiba Faisal — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:36:54 +0000

Somewhere in the gap between what brands say and what communities actually feel, the future of sports marketing in this region is being decided. The brands paying attention to people know that the old model is no longer enough. The traditional playbook made sense at a time when brands just needed to secure the sponsorship, […]

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From personalisation to prediction

Hiba Faisal — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:22:38 +0000

The tools have never been smarter. The customer has never felt less seen. Eighty-two per cent of UAE marketers say artificial intelligence (AI) now powers their personalisation strategies, yet only 31 per cent of their customers feel that personalised touch. This gap is not a technology problem; it is a strategic one – and closing […]

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The AI trust gap is a communications problem, and it is widening

Hiba Faisal — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:32:46 +0000

Most organisations adopting AI have focused on what the technology can do. Far fewer have thought seriously about what they will say when things go wrong. That gap between deployment and accountability is widening, and in communications terms, it is becoming one of the more consequential blind spots in this region. That is what a […]

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Abu Dhabi’s new OOH guidelines are not red tape. They are market infrastructure.

Hiba Faisal — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:18:16 +0000

In early June, the Abu Dhabi Media Office, working alongside the Department of Economic Development, shared its new Out of Home (OOH) Content Guideline with the market — two substantial toolkits, one for government entities and one for the private sector, running to more than two hundred pages. The industry’s reflex was predictable: more process, […]

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Data-driven PR still needs a human reality check

Anup Oommen — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 04:20:56 +0000

In June, Lululemon organised a yoga festival on the Great Wall of China, which was attended by more than 2,000 guests. The brand had enlisting a Chinese celebrity and designed the PR event to celebrate Chinese culture. But within 24 hours of the first images going live, the campaign fell through. Several users called out […]

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Rethinking the GCC commerce stack when Conversational AI does what superapps promised

Anup Oommen — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 02:30:03 +0000

Ask any marketer in the GCC what one of the biggest trends they were hearing about five years ago, and most would give you the same answer: superapps. Not as a vague aspiration, but as a near-certainty. The logic was sound, the regional appetite was real, and the blueprint was sitting right there. WeChat had […]

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

Anup Oommen — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 06:55:52 +0000

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 […]

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Critical truths every healthcare CEO must comprehend about marketing and communications

Anup Oommen — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 06:55:47 +0000

Across more than two decades in healthcare communications and marketing at leading medical institutions —including more than eleven years in C-suite leadership roles — I’ve observed a recurring challenge in the market: while some healthcare organisations truly understand and embrace the strategic value of marketing and communications, many still fail to give it the consistent […]

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Why the strongest brand partnerships go far beyond mere awareness

Anup Oommen — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 06:00:13 +0000

The role of brand partnerships has changed. What was once largely about visibility, logo placement, co-branded campaigns and shared marketing, is increasingly being used to drive cultural relevance, unlock new occasions and deliver something more tangible for consumers. At the same time, they’re becoming an increasingly important commercial growth strategy. Partnerships give brands the opportunity […]

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