Allaa Ramadan, Co-Founder & CGO, Publicist Inc.Ramadan has become a creative battlefield, with dramas, products and brands all vying for audience attention.
But attention spans are short and fragmented, divided across screens, platforms and social media. While compelling storylines still matter, content rooted in local culture wins the most.
Success is no longer measured by domestic engagement alone. It is measured by how far content travels across borders, screens and platforms. Bridging traditional TV, emerging digital platforms and social media has become essential to achieve maximum exposure. New trends are taking shape alongside this shift, from shorter formats and bite-sized microdrama to AI-powered production and dramas that build awareness around wider social causes.
As the agency behind three consecutive years of tracking the region’s most competitive entertainment season, Publicist Inc. has built a precise understanding of what drives content from conversation to cultural impact. This year’s findings put the full scale of that shift into perspective.
Audiences prefer stories rooted in local culture
Social drama accounted for 54 per cent of total productions this season. Series inspired by real and legendary stories, including Sohab El Ard, Years of Darkness, Hekayet Narges and Wo7oosh 2, reflect a clear audience preference for locally anchored storytelling.
Social conversations reflected the same pattern: social drama surpassed 1 billion interactions in Egypt and led the GCC at 541.6 million, outperforming comedy and thrillers. For brands, the key takeaway is simple: local storytelling wins. Humor drives engagement, but relying on humour alone is not enough as audience preferences evolve and shift between seasons.
Nostalgia sells. Creativity keeps them engaged.
Returning titles like Share3 El Asha, Shabab el Bomb and Yawmeyat Ragol Motazaweg proves anticipation drives early interest in sequels, but also raises the creative bar.
While nostalgia pulls people in; creativity keeps them engaged. Wo7oosh 2 is a strong example. The Kuwaiti horror drama based on legendary stories did not just rely on its narrative. It introduced an innovative release model that disrupted market norms and helped it travel across borders.
Success for brands now lives beyond the TV screen
Drama’s success today is no longer defined by viewership alone. It is shaped by how content lives socially, how deeply it engages audiences and how fluidly it moves across platforms.
Where content is distributed matters just as much as the content itself.
What stands out this season is not how competitive the streaming market has become, but how each platform is finding its own lane, format, distribution model and its own content identity. Shasha, is the clearest example: it built a loyal following by specialising in psychological thrillers, dropping full series at once and committing to shorter formats before the wider market moved in that direction.
For brands, this diversification is a genuine opportunity. The platforms that are growing fastest are also the least crowded. Showing up there now, before everyone else does gives brands a competitive edge. Keeping pace with emerging platforms that are breaking conventional rules is important.
Brands are tapping shorter formats and AI-video content
Despite 64 per cent of Gulf and 84 per cent of Levant productions following 30-episode structures, appetite for shorter content is growing.
Microdrama entered the 2026 season with momentum. Tayar streamed on YouTube, while Maybelline’s Bedoon Athar ran across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
In Egypt, AI was used to create intros for 15 productions and powered the first fully AI-produced show, Alf Leila w Leila, sparking some conversations. For brands, this trend points toward a future in which content becomes shorter, more integrated into daily scrolling habits, and easier to produce at scale.
Investing in engaging microdrama is an increasingly viable way to build genuine emotional connection with audiences. AI also opens opportunities for smarter, more contextual ad targeting at a time when many Arab audiences feel Ramadan has become too commercialised.
The lesson for brands is clear: stay rooted in culture, sharpen your creative lens, align with broader norms and family values, show up across platforms, invest in emerging platforms and shorter formats and snackable content that builds emotional connection within the natural rhythm of daily life and leverage AI where it genuinely adds value, and stand for something greater than the product itself.
By Allaa Ramadan, Co-Founder & CGO, Publicist Inc.
