As businesses and giga projects in the MENA region expand to capture wider audiences, advertisers increase their marketing and promotional activities to drive growth and enhance brand visibility.

This surge in advertising spending opens new avenues for agencies, media outlets, and technology providers throughout the region.

TBWA\Worldwide President & CEO Troy Ruhanen emphasizes that while technology advances at incomprehensible speeds, the role of creativity has not and will not change. He believes, “Creativity will continue to be the most powerful tool to solve the most complex of problems. The exciting part is that we’ll have more tools to inform our creative output.”

GROWING OPPORTUNITY

Saudi Arabia offers a tremendous opportunity for the advertising industry, adds Ruhanen. With over 88 of Interbrand’s Top 100 companies now established in the kingdom, the Middle East presents significant prospects for TBWA. Additionally, the kingdom’s infrastructure projects, such as NEOM and AlUla, fuel opportunities for the industry.

“Looking broadly at where TBWA sees these cultural shifts having an outsized influence. I’m excited by not just the giga project and sporting sector opportunities but also how the world, business, and even retirees are moving towards this region,” Ruhanen says. “Looking at the numbers of registered businesses versus two years ago, the growth is staggering.”

Beyond infrastructure, Saudi Arabia’s investments in key sectors like sports are driving significant growth. 

The recent acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo by Al Nassr exemplifies the kingdom’s efforts to enhance its global profile. TBWA is using its sector-specific expertise to assist clients in capitalizing on these opportunities and creating effective advertising campaigns.

“And these are just the tips of the creative opportunity iceberg. It’s not surprising 2023 was TBWA\RAAD’s strongest year ever in business performance,” Ruhanen adds. 

THE ROLE OF AI

Artificial intelligence is swiftly reshaping advertising in the region, with marketers increasingly leveraging its capabilities to enhance their campaigns.

According to a report by the Marketing AI Institute, AI adoption and understanding are on the rise, with 99% of respondents using AI in some capacity. Also, 36% of respondents report that AI is now integrated into their daily workflows, up from 29% last year.

The study also reveals a significant rise in the number of individuals who “couldn’t live without AI.” This year, 15% of respondents expressed this sentiment, a notable increase from 6% in 2023. This trend indicates that AI is becoming an essential tool for many marketers and business leaders.

Ruhanen stated that TBWA is increasing its investments in creativity, innovation, and talent, particularly focusing on its proprietary AI platform, CollectiveAI, which draws on over 50 years of ideas and insights from 11,000 creatives across 40 countries.

While AI enhances automation and efficiency across industries, Ruhanen argues that its true potential extends far beyond these capabilities.

“The real power of AI is moving us away from interruptions towards content and brand experiences that people want to embrace and that solve real business problems and exercise real cultural opportunities.”

TBWA’s incoming Global CEO, Erin Riley, recently remarked, “Speed is robbing us all of the time to think, resulting in imprecise client briefs and a shallow understanding of business by agencies. We must have the discipline to slow down to go fast—especially when setting expectations upfront and defining the problem to solve.” Consequently, TBWA is working to balance its innovation goals with preserving its rich legacy.

Led by Global Chief Innovation Officer Luke Eid, the NEXT practice assists brands in exploring new opportunities, as seen in TBWA\RAAD’s animated Patrol billboard for Nissan. On January 1st, Omnicom will launch the Omnicom Advertising Group (OAG), consolidating BBDO, DDB, TBWA, and the Advertising Collective under one leadership.

“Within OAG, distinct agency brands and cultures will continue to thrive, but with the opportunity to share, develop and tap into the best of one another to deliver more,” notes Ruhanen.

INCLUSIVITY AND PURPOSEFUL ADVERTISING 

Ruhanen is focused on purpose-driven advertising and creating work that positively impacts the world. “I firmly believe in creating real work for real clients with real impact. The industry continues to generate a lot of work with a purpose and then looks to find a client to tie it to. Creativity can change the world for good, but purpose-driven advertising created solely for awards solves nothing.”

Ruhanen highlights Nissan’s #SheDrives campaign as an excellent example of using advertising to drive change. He also notes TBWA\Paris’s collaboration with WWF, which created unique nesting dolls to promote Umbrella Species, boosting awareness and increasing WWF donations by 10% year-on-year.

“Both purpose-driven campaigns simultaneously delivered real impact for real clients. A testament to true creative effectiveness.

“But good enough is not enough and we know there’s much more work to do. TBWA has implemented a proprietary program, DE&I by Design, which aligns goals with business strategy to instill collective accountability.”

TBWA’s CollectiveAI platform features an “Inclusive AI” tool based on the “DEI by Design” framework to promote inclusivity in products and services. This tool enables teams to evaluate creative work for inclusivity, identify diverse creators and suppliers, and provide employees with a safe space for guidance on inclusivity and belonging.

“The work needs to connect and engage with a broad range of real, diverse people, to elicit feeling, connection and commitment.”

THE FUTURE OF ADVERTISING

According to Ruhanen, the future of advertising lies in “Curious, creative humans. Always.”

He emphasizes that as marketing channels, consumer expectations, data, technology, and AI evolve, the industry will need top creative talent to meet these demands. With support from Omnicom Advertising Group, TBWA’s creative teams will access new tools and technologies, streamlining their work and enhancing its effectiveness.

“I want our agencies to be where people come to do the best work of their careers, and I firmly believe this will make that even more possible,” he asserts.