Here’s a front row seat to what the industry was talking about at Athar Festival 2025

Campaign Middle East reported live from Athar Festival 2025, covering key conversations, exclusive interviews, and on-the-ground insights from industry leaders shaping the future of advertising, media, and marketing.

Over the two days, the festival celebrated Saudi and regional talent while offering a lens into the current state and future trajectory of the industry. Campaign Middle East had the opportunity to speak with regional leaders, attend panel discussions, and spotlight emerging trends. Here are the sharpest insights, real-time reflections, and unfiltered takes from the festival.

Here’s what the industry had to say:

A call for collaboration from Nabil Sleiman, Head of Marketing Communications, Almarai at Athar Festival 2025.

Saudi Gen Z Voices Hesah and Sara Share a Message to Marketers at Athar Festival 2025.

Simon Shaw, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, King Salman Park on Creativity, Innovation and Emotion.

Thamer AlGhamdi, Head of Marketing, Brand & Media at HUMAIN on how to speak to Gen Z audiences – Athar Festival 2025.

Munir Khoja, Managing Director, Jameel Motorsport and Reem AlAboud, Racing Driver, on Starting a Bold Journey at Athar Festival 2025.

Melanie de Souza, Executive Director – Marketing, The Royal Commission for AlUla on Clarity, Strategy Informing Creativity, Sustainability and Purposeful Travel at Athar Festival 2025.

Bill Watkins, Chief Revenue Officer, Pinterest on activating for Gen Z audiences at Athar Festival 2025.

Bertille Toledano, CEO, HAVAS Creative Middle East and President, HAVAS Creative Network shares key messages for the region at Athar Festival 2025.

Mohammad Aljuhani, Senior Manager – Marketing & Communications, Expo 2030 Riyadh, calls for a stronger focus on strategy in Saudi Arabia at Athar Festival 2025.

Filip Jabbour, Regional GM – MENA, Amazon Ads, talks about the growing need to drive soft KPIs and hard KPIs hand in hand at Athar Festival 2025.

Mohammed Jefri, CMO, Hungerstation, shares a piece of advice for young marketers at Athar Festival 2025.

Kiran Haslam, Chief Marketing Officer, Diriyah Company on contextual creativity, contextual authenticity and being a force for good at Athar Festival 2025.

Hussain Abdrabalnabi is the Executive Director of Marketing & Digital at Alat, a PIF company, shares a message for young marketers at Athar Festival 2025.

Bilal Hallab, Group Marketing MD, Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Group on the need for transparency and accountability in agency client relationships at Athar Festival 2025.

Amit Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of Luma AI; Steve Plimsoll, Chief Strategy Officer and Acting CMO of HUMAIN; and Bassel Kakish, Group CEO of Publicis Groupe Middle East & Turkey discuss the need to disrupt the current brand and marketing landscape by deploying tools that set new benchmarks for the region.

This year’s awards featured 274 finalists across 35 categories, with 87 trophies presented – up from 51 in 2024 – including 36 Gold, 34 Silver and 17 Bronze. For an overview of the festival read here.

Athar Festival 2025 and Athar Awards are presented by Motivate Media Group and TRACCS.