Dragons, a results-focused marketing communications awards programme built on 26 years of global recognition and credibility, has revealed further details about its debut in Dubai as Dragons of MENA.
The programme is an extension of the PMAA Dragons of Asia Awards, established in 2000 and recognised as one of the industry’s most respected results-focused awards programmes, with satellite programmes already running in Malaysia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It has been created in response to growing demand from agencies and brand owners across the region.
The MENA region has long been producing world-class marketing communications work, much of it underrepresented in global awards.
Unlike programmes that celebrate craft and creativity alone, Dragons of MENA recognises campaigns that deliver measurable business results: sales, behaviour change, brand growth, loyalty and acquisition.
Sharing his thoughts in conversation with Campaign Middle East, Khaled AlShehhi, Executive Director of Marketing and Communication, UAE Government Media Office, and Campaign Middle East’s Marketer of the Year 2025, said, “The UAE has become a natural home for the global industry. We welcome platforms that hold work to a real standard. An award that judges reward based on results belongs here in the UAE. What matters in the end is the work and what it achieves. The region has more than enough to show, and it is ready to be measured that way.”
The Dragons of MENA entry categories include:
- Marketing Discipline,
- Innovative Idea or Concept,
- Business or Trade Marketing,
- Event or Experiential,
- Social Media including TikTok & Snapchat,
- Public Relations,
- Content Creation & Artificial Intelligence.
Entries in these categories will also automatically be entered again in the 2026 Dragons of Asia Programme, for a chance to win Dragons of Asia, Dragons.
Additionally, the Dragons of MENA will have two special categories with Gold, Silver & Bronze Dragons of MENA awarded for:
- Nation, City & Place Impact,
- Faith, Arabic Culture & Seasonal Communications.
Who can enter the Dragons of MENA awards
The Dragons of MENA awards will accept entries from agencies or companies working within the following Marketing Communication disciplines:
- Advertising,
- Promotion,
- Sponsorship,
- Activation,
- Mobile,
- Experiential,
- Integration,
- Social, Influencing & content creation,
- Digital,
- Public Relations,
- Entertainment,
- Events, and
- Media.
Entries are open to agencies of all sizes, brand owners, government entities, NGOs and in-house marketing teams across the MENA region, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait and beyond.
The programme aims to fill a gap for disciplines such as promotional marketing, PR, experiential, activation and shopper marketing, where results matter as much as the creative idea.
Speaking to Campaign Middle East, Mike Da Silva, Founder of Dragons of Asia, said, “For more than 26 years, Dragons has recognised marketing communications that deliver measurable business results. With Dragons of MENA, we’re excited to bring that same focus on effectiveness, accessibility and inclusion to one of the world’s most dynamic and fast-growing regions.”
Deadlines, entry details, criteria, judging process and more
All entries need to have been in operation between 1 January 2025 and 15 June 2026.
Entries must be fully completed by 15 June, 2026.
However, if agencies “ask nicely” chances are that the entry deadlines can be extended, the organisers told Campaign Middle East.
Each entry is judged four times by four different judges in the International Judging Panels. Scores are based on four criteria:
- Campaign Strategy: (20 points),
- Campaign Concept: (30 points),
- Campaign Execution: (30 points) and
- Campaign Results: (20 points).
The highest scoring entries from MENA entrants in all 10 entry categories will be awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze Dragons of MENA, Dragons.
Black Dragons (certificates) will be awarded to a number of entries whose final scores settle just below the Bronze recognition level, at the discretion of the Judges.
In conversation with Campaign Middle East, Julián Hernández, Co-Founder, Unthinkable Creative, and MENA Partner for Dragons of Asia / Dragons of MENA, said, “Our industry benefits when more voices are heard. Dragons of MENA aims to create another route for outstanding work to be recognised, particularly from specialist agencies, consultancies, independent teams and in-house marketing departments that may not always enter larger global festivals. The wider the conversation, the stronger and more diverse our industry becomes.”
The top 10 ranked Agencies in Asia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and MENA, based on Category points awarded in each Programme, will be recognised with artwork to promote their rankings.
Category points are: Gold: 10, Silver 7, Bronze 5 and Black 1.
The 2026 winners will be announced at the gala awards event in Dubai, planned for September.
In Asia, the Dragon is a symbol of strength, wisdom and prosperity. In the MENA region, the symbolism carries a different nuance: the Dragon represents a force to be faced, challenged and ultimately conquered. To earn a Dragon here is not simply to win. It is to overcome.
