Kiran Haslam, Global MarketerThere has rarely been a more complex moment to be a marketer. We are operating in an era defined in many ways by contradiction. Today, we have unprecedented access to technology and the benefits it can bring to marketing – from artificial intelligence (AI) agents to hyper-personalisation and real-time data ecosystems.
However, we must recognise the growing discomfort and concerns about the impact of this tidal wave of technology. These concerns range from identity, social media’s physical and mental toll on young people and the weaponisation of data to the growing unease about what it means to be human in an increasingly automated world.
I have spent my career building brands across continents and industries, and there is one thing that has always remained constant: the fact that marketing speaks to the human spirit.
Marketing cannot become captive simply to algorithms, dashboards, the latest platform feature or trend cycle. It must be used to enhance how we talk to people and how we create campaigns that move us, make us pause, and make us feel something we cannot quite name.
For too long, our industry has been focused on just chasing momentum – to capture the next platform, trend and ‘must-do’ innovation. But we have also often mistaken speed for progress and novelty for value, losing sight of marketing’s true purpose: to connect with people and to generate real human-driven outcomes.
Marketing has become more system-driven, shaped by processes that bring consistency and scale. But in the pursuit of efficiency, we risk losing what makes it meaningful. Without a human touch, even the most polished work can feel hollow and easily forgotten.
This is where opportunity lies, particularly in places such as Saudi Arabia, which has vision, intent and alignment around rapid transformation. There is a unique opportunity not in choosing between art or science, but in uniting them.
When you think of the most iconic expressions of creativity in architecture, design, music or film, many would never have existed had they been shaped by today’s marketing playbooks. They would have been tested into mediocrity, refined until they lost their soul. I have already seen this ‘technical democratisation’ of content with AI tools taking over literally every social media platform. This is indeed a slippery slope. Just look up ‘Boaty McBoatface’ as proof of how quickly we slip down these slopes.
I often reflect on a moment earlier in my career with a global luxury brand, which involved a proposal to replace the heritage colour ‘British Racing Green’ with something more contemporary. The argument posed was simple: “Let’s evolve to stay relevant and replace that colour.” I couldn’t have disagreed more. It seemed to be the laziest path forward. Where was the provenance, the origin and meaning? As marketers, it is our job to ensure relevance, help rediscover meaning, deepen feelings and make people fall in love all over again.
So, in that particular instance, I believed marketing’s actual role was to make British Racing Green cool again, and relevant and meaningful again.
It’s here that I believe Saudi Arabia today has a unique role to play if it can focus and find conviction from a marketing perspective. The Kingdom is not just undergoing transformation; it is shaping a new cultural narrative built on meaning – with identity, heritage and authenticity as core to that. So how do we make that relevant to today? How do we modernise without diluting what makes us unique? We must ensure a return to the fundamentals. Creative must be rooted in timeless human truths such as belonging, discovery, fragility, pride and legacy. Driving creativity that values depth over immediacy is key. Communication must be shaped not only by data, but by empathy. People do not connect with campaigns; they connect with meaning.
The current attitude towards AI is a great example of this. While it can generate content at scale, it cannot generate conviction or fully grasp cultural nuance and emotional depth proportionate to that scale.
Ultimately, that responsibility remains ours as professional marketers. It is a tool in our tool chest and must be used wisely – and perhaps, sparingly.
In rapidly transforming markets such as Saudi Arabia, there is an opportunity to rethink how marketers conduct themselves. Perhaps we could resist chasing every latest digital trend and, instead, invest in ideas that take time. Perhaps we could ensure that the creative journey is celebrated more than the creative destination.
Perhaps we can once again prioritise quality in a world that all too often rewards only speed. The future of marketing in this region should be defined by what lasts. In times of uncertainty, people are looking for clarity, connection and meaning.
We are also bringing the next wave of talent into our industry – a very enthusiastic workforce looking for guidance and opportunity. We also have a responsibility to take them through these journeys so that valuable lessons are learned and the creative spirit is not resigned to a prompt in an AI chat.
These choices are not always the fastest or easiest to scale and you need confidence and conviction to make them happen. But they are the ones that create resonance. Because when marketing is grounded in something real – in heritage, purpose and belief – it moves beyond communication and becomes something people can feel. It transcends the obvious context and becomes memorable.
Ultimately, I feel strongly that in our age of seemingly unnecessary reliance on technology platforms, and in a global society where the pursuit of wealth is now eroding our morals and values, where geo-political conflict is prevalent, and the hype of the AI boom-bust cycle is now gripping the financial world, things seem so removed from what makes us human.
Being human in the context of marketing prioritises kindness, ethics, values and the understanding of the long term impact of our actions. This is the standard we must hold ourselves to, and the standard we must pass on to the next generation of marketers, enabling us to create work that performs, work that stands the test of time, and work that moves people and enhances the human spirit.
By Kiran Haslam, Global Marketer
