 [{"title":"Podcast: L\u2019Or\u00e9al&#8217;s Olfa Messaoudi &#038; Snap&#8217;s Antoine Challita on the creator economy","excerpt":"The creator economy has matured to a point where brands can no longer afford to view it as a decorative media channel or a peripheral part of the marketing mix. Creators are no longer merely amplification channels meant to extend a campaign\u2019s visibility after the strategy has been decided and the planning is complete. Influencers [&hellip;]","author":"Anup Oommen"},{"title":"Experience is the message: How MCH Global shapes culture through the places it works in","excerpt":"The most effective destination marketing does not announce itself. It creates a moment so connected to a place that the place becomes inseparable from the memory. Qatar used Art Basel to tell a global audience something about who it is. Dubai used a creator platform to put itself at the centre of a conversation reaching [&hellip;]","author":"Hiba Faisal"},{"title":"MKV Digital expands into Saudi Arabia with Asia Ali and Waqas Ali at the helm","excerpt":"Dubai-founded social and creator marketing agency MKV Digital has announced its expansion into Saudi Arabia alongside a strengthened leadership structure, marking the agency\u2019s next phase of growth across the GCC and international markets. The expansion follows growing demand from brands and agency partners for specialist social and creator capabilities, as organisations increasingly look to build [&hellip;]","author":"Anup Oommen"},{"title":"GP Inc launches Aurum Advisory to help businesses commercialise first-party data","excerpt":"GP Inc has launched of Aurum Advisory, a specialist advisory firm that helps businesses understand, organise and commercialise their first-party data. Co-founded by Rahul Nagpal, Chairman of GP Inc, and Sohail Nawaz, MBE, Aurum will work with retailers and other consumer-facing businesses across the GCC to develop retail media and data monetisation opportunities. Retail media [&hellip;]","author":"Anup Oommen"},{"title":"Brazen MENA expands into Asia Pacific, appoints Angeline Tan as GM","excerpt":"Brazen MENA, which is ranked among the 100 Best PR Agencies in the World, has officially launched in the Asia Pacific region, with offices in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and the appointment of Angeline Tan as General Manager, APAC. Tan brings 19 years of experience across integrated communications, brand reputation and business growth in Asia [&hellip;]","author":"Anup Oommen"},{"title":"FAST picks ByteDance&#8217;s Regional HR Leader as People &#038; Culture Head","excerpt":"FAST, a Dubai-headquartered marketing technology group, has appointment of Hashim Mahmood as Head of People and Culture. His remit covers the group&#8217;s human teams and the 180 AI agents now working alongside them. FAST runs 180 AI agents across its companies. The agents carry the work that was holding growth back, and the group is [&hellip;]","author":"Anup Oommen"},{"title":"Athar Voices on Campaign: &#8220;The other shows were mine. This is ours.&#8221;","excerpt":"I have judged most of the shows that matter: Cannes, Effies, One Show, Clio. After enough of them, you admit the part we usually leave out. You judge these shows mostly for yourself. For the credential. For permission to open an article with a sentence like the one I just wrote. They are the reason [&hellip;]","author":"Anup Oommen"},{"title":"The digital authenticity gap: What CMOs can do to build customer trust online","excerpt":"We all know how digital has changed the marketing industry; for most industries digital is arguably the primary channel for brand engagement. And yet, it can be hard to gauge how our customers feel about these brand experiences, especially in an age where they are increasingly reaching out to and deal with AI-designed tools. The [&hellip;]","author":"Anup Oommen"},{"title":"Campaign Middle East&#8217;s 40 Over 40 2026","excerpt":"Here is Campaign Middle East\u2019s inaugural 40 over 40 list, an annual initiative starting 2026. This new annual initiative bears a simple purpose: to recognise leaders who have shaped the regional brand and marketing industry over the past 15 years and more, often silently and steadily without applause. This is not a ranking. It is [&hellip;]","author":"Ishwari Khatu"},{"title":"Why destination marketing is more human than you think","excerpt":"There is a moment every traveller knows. You are sitting somewhere new, in a caf\u00e9 in a city you almost did not visit, or by a coastline you only found because someone told you about it, and you think: how did I end up here? The answer, more often than not, is destination marketing. Not [&hellip;]","author":"Shantelle Nagarajan"},{"title":"Is video podcasting diluting what made audio powerful?","excerpt":"Podcasting was built on intimacy \u2013 the ability to listen anywhere, letting voices, stories and conversations fill moments when screens were not an option. But as video becomes important for discovery through platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and social media, the podcast format is increasingly being shaped by cameras, clips and visual-first consumption. So we [&hellip;]","author":"Ishwari Khatu"},{"title":"Campaign Middle East 40 Over 40 2026: Ali Zein, Saatchi &#038; Saatchi Middle East","excerpt":"Ali Zein, Executive Creative Director, Saatchi &amp; Saatchi Middle East has been recognised on Campaign Middle East\u2019s\u00a040 Over 40, which honours leaders who have shaped the regional brand and marketing industry over the past 15 years and more. This is not a ranking. It is the first edition of an annual platform created to spotlight [&hellip;]","author":"Shantelle Nagarajan"}]