Event to decode needs, behaviours and influence of digital natives

Dubai, 22 April 2025: OMD’s Sense conference returns to the Museum of the Future Auditorium in Dubai for its latest edition, Decoding Generation (H)uman. Held on May 1, this edition of the conference series will explore the evolving human behaviours of digital natives and their influence on marketing and advertising. It will focus on the three key consumer cohorts of Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alphas, as their demands and expectations are reshaping marketing.

Some 300 industry professionals are expected to attend the conference. The event, part of a series that started in 2007, will explore the shift in the way the three consumer cohorts work, connect and live and what brands and companies must do to stay ahead of the game. People’s behaviours, choices, and preferences, which see them fluctuating from consumer to producer, will impact the way marketing is planned and executed. This will require a profound shift in expertise, method, and resources.

The media network, part of Omnicom Media Group, has assembled locally relevant international thought-leadership to prepare its audience of stakeholders and business partners for what lies ahead of them. In addition to OMD’s EMEA and MENA CEOs Blake Cuthbert and Saleh Ghazal, respectively, the impressive speaker line-up includes a world-renowned digital anthropologist and New York Times best-selling author, Rahaf Harfoush, Snap’s computer vision engineering expert Qi Pan, and Dr Noah Raford, head of EMIR Advisory and former Futurist-in-Chief for Dubai. Together, they will help chart a course out of the uncertainty and towards success.

“The digital transformation of marketing and our lifestyles is not only gathering speed, it’s also growing in complexity. Cultures, sub-cultures and trends keep emerging so we must look closely if we want to stay relevant and effective, instead of clubbing all these cohorts together. OMD’s Sense conference is the perfect opportunity to pause, take a deep breath and seek a deeper understanding of the Gen Z, Millenial and Gen A consumers,” commented Saleh Ghazal, CEO of OMD MENA. “They may have differences but together they are reshaping marketing and advertising. They expect brands to provide an authentic connection, cultural relevance, and community-driven initiatives. Decoding Generation H will give our stakeholders a sense of clarity and reassurance about what’s ahead, because the best way to predict the future is to create it.”

OMD’s Sense conference is staged in partnership with Snapchat, a trailblazer in augmented reality, creativity and media technology, and Talon, a global OOH specialist media agency re-imagining and re-inventing the possibilities with the medium. Both have impressive track records of innovation and connecting people and brands.