By: Melis Ertem: MMA MEA & DACH CEO

Looking back at 2025, the most defining shift was not technological. It was structural.

Across the MENA region, marketing moved from a phase of experimentation into integration, as the focus shifted from what we use to how it all works together.

We saw creativity mature into a strategic discipline, rather than an executional output. Trust emerged as a core performance indicator, not just a brand value. Search and discovery became fragmented across platforms, requiring marketers to rethink visibility and relevance. And AI moved from novelty to necessity, forcing leaders to confront questions of governance, ethics, and accountability.

The defining lesson of 2025 was that progress is no longer driven by optimisation alone. Improving individual parts of the system is no longer enough. Sustainable advantage now comes from designing how data, technology, creativity, culture, and people interact.

That shift requires leadership maturity. It demands comfort with complexity, a willingness to challenge legacy models, and the confidence to invest beyond short-term metrics.

Looking ahead to 2026, my strongest prediction is that trust will become the primary competitive differentiator in marketing.

As AI becomes embedded across workflows, content creation accelerates, and personalisation deepens, audiences will become increasingly sensitive to how their data is used, how messages are shaped, and how transparent brands really are. In this environment, speed and scale will be easy to replicate. Credibility will not.

The organisations that succeed in 2026 will be those that embed ethical thinking, cultural intelligence, and human oversight into their operating models. They will design systems that move quickly without losing coherence. They will treat creativity as a strategic asset, not a decorative one. And they will prioritise long-term relationships over short-term reach.

In many ways, 2026 will be less about doing more, and more about doing better.

The future of marketing in MENA will be shaped not by those who adopt new tools fastest, but by those who combine innovation with integrity, ambition with accountability, and growth with purpose.