Júlia dos Santos, Director of Partnerships, MassiveMusic Dubai

The Middle East and North Africa is one of the most exciting regions for media and branding professionals, with an unprecedented number of home-grown brands being created, a dynamic influx of multicultural talent, a growing global economic interest in the Middle East and a uniquely dynamic and youthful demographic. Added to this, over recent years, key economic players in MENA like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have grown to prioritize the creative industry as a key pillar of socio economic and cultural growth. As a result, the industry – from advertising and branding, to media, entertainment, production and music – is ripe with opportunities for growth and creativity across all verticals. 

MassiveMusic and Songtradr operate at the intersection of all of these segments of the industry, so am privileged to have a bird’s eye view on common opportunities. We can no longer afford to work in silos across different segments of the industry, but should all be catching the tail winds of growth that are happening all around, with interdisciplinary collaborations. For example, the Middle East is currently home to one of the world’s fastest growing music industries, creating a prime opportunity for brands to leverage this momentum and collaborate to position themselves as culture builders and enablers, rather than as passive players riding the waves of culture. 

When it comes to brand building strategies, one of the most exciting evolutions is a growth in holistic thinking. More and more brands – especially new ones – are starting to understand that to truly stand out in our fragmented media landscape, they must consider the holistic sum of its parts across touchpoints and opportunities to impact and enhance the customer experience.

This means thinking beyond a single-minded focus on visual identities, media spend strategy and an obsession with virality, and moving towards building meaningful brands that consider other key branding pillars, such as sound, to enable consistent, considered and distinctive experiences to their audiences. 

The evidence of this shift is clear. In the past, sonic branding was seen as an added edge that few brands chose to benefit from. Now, it is a default request for brand builders looking to build truly robust brands that communicate effectively. We will see more of this as the competitive landscape grows and brands require every resource available to build distinctiveness and foster audience connections.

While the industry witnesses great opportunities, it also faces challenges and pitfalls that must be overcome. Mental health, promoting healthy working dynamics in-house between client and agency partners, reducing burnout and prioritizing employee wellbeing are issues that need addressing at all levels of the industry. There is a big talent churn rate and dissatisfaction among some bright professionals in the industry, which could be tackled with flexible work options, transparent communication and support for mental healthcare.

Finally, the role of AI in the creative process is an exciting, albeit sensitive, new area of exploration. Our approach at MassiveMusic/Songtradr is to use technology to optimize processes and platforms to improve decision making, enable creative exploration and facilitate collaborations, rather than a “click-and-go” generative approach. Long term, that’s the sweet spot: to strategically put technology to work in a supporting role to enable – not replace – creativity and craft, for the benefit of agencies, clients and consumers.