virality Archives - Campaign Middle East

Cultural fluency without clichés: Hospitality marketing that builds brands through Ramadan

Anup Oommen — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 05:30:53 +0000

When I first moved to the UAE, I had very little experience marketing in the region. I was thrown straight into the deep end with my first major role at Aura Skypool, one of Dubai’s most visible venues, and arguably one of its most photographed. It was a masterclass in momentum. But here’s what I […]

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Rebuilding trust in a post-authenticity era

Anup Oommen — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 06:30:17 +0000

Audiences are tired of authenticity. Not authenticity itself, but the performance of it. They’re tired of watching it get staged. The same old references, dressed up as something new. The “here’s our values” post that looks like it was written by a committee, approved by a lawyer, and then posted exactly at 6:03pm because someone […]

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Why strategic personal brands are an impactful marketing asset: Dubai’s celeb brokers

Anup Oommen — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:00:13 +0000

Reality television and social media have turned real estate brokers into recognisable personalities, even celebrities, with personal brands now viewed as strong commercial and real estate marketing assets. But as Dubai’s luxury property market matures, visibility alone no longer sells. The brokers who are succeeding treat marketing not as spectacle, but as strategy, rooted in […]

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SSUP World’s CEO on how brands can balance creativity, culture, channels and community

Anup Oommen — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 05:54:51 +0000

Amid conversations about ‘moving at the speed of technology advancements’ and ‘moving at the speed of culture’ brands are attempting to navigate the dizzying pace of social and cultural change without losing their core brand identity. However, finding the balance between brand-safe trends, creative originality in the age of AI, authentic collaboration and co-creation with […]

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AED 500,000 hook: Holo UAE campaign drives leads, engagement, brand affinity

Anup Oommen — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 05:06:28 +0000

Holo, a proptech company and digital home-buying platform based in the MENA region, has launched an integrated, omnichannel campaign to position the brand as the region’s go-to digital destination for homeownership. The goal of the Holo campaign wasn’t merely to make noise; it was to deliver measurable impact. As such, the brand set out a […]

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Beyond the hashtags: Celebrating Emirati women with truth, not tokenism

Anup Oommen — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 07:50:46 +0000

Every August, my feeds flood with beautifully designed posts celebrating Emirati Women’s Day. Brands roll out glossy campaigns, offices share carefully curated graphics, and timelines fill with hashtags about empowerment and progress. It’s a heartening sight but it also raises a question I find myself asking year after year: are we truly celebrating Emirati women, […]

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Marketers react to American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney ad: Virality vs. value

Anup Oommen — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 09:32:27 +0000

If there’s one topic that absolutely every marketer seems to have an opinion on at the moment – whether spoken out loud, or silently in coffee huddles, or not verbalised but constantly thought about – it’s New York Stock Exchange-listed American Eagle Outfitters’ Sydney Sweeney campaign. The discussions brought back the age-old debate about how […]

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The craft of writing for financial and professional services

Anup Oommen — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 07:38:50 +0000

Consumer PR dazzles. Financial and professional services do not. Or so the assumption goes. In the hierarchy of perceived creativity, writing for banks, insurers, consultancies, or asset managers rarely attracts attention — unless you work in those sectors. It isn’t flashy. It doesn’t carry the immediacy of a campaign designed for clicks, virality, or visual […]

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Why authenticity beats virality as the new communications currency

Shantelle Nagarajan — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 05:30:50 +0000

For years, “going viral” has been the holy grail of marketing and PR in the Middle East. Brands dream of that one moment when a post explodes, hashtags trend, and everyone’s talking. But in 2025, in a market as sophisticated, diverse, and digitally savvy as the UAE, we must ask ourselves: are we chasing the […]

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Gaming Matters Dubai: MENA’s moment to lead the future of gaming

Anup Oommen — Wed, 21 May 2025 04:00:13 +0000

Attending Gaming Matters Dubai this year felt like a pivotal moment—not just for the Middle East, but for the global gaming industry. Held at the So Uptown Dubai, the event was a high-energy convergence of creators, investors, brands, vendors, developers, and policymakers. It was a clear declaration: MENA is ready to lead the next chapter […]

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