MENA marketing disrupted: Trends and predictions shaping the rest of 2025

Remember the film “Back to the Future”? A 1981 DeLorean — the iconic car-meets-time-machine from the movie — was the grand prize in last year's Gemini Developer API competition. But the real magic wasn't about travelling through time; it was about shaping the future.

It was incredible to see people pair creativity and the latest tech, like ARCore, to build diverse and truly inspiring apps. We saw everything from personalised support apps for people with cognitive disabilities, to apps that just make life more fun.

Marketers are also harnessing these technologies to unlock fresh creative ideas. For example, this purely speculative commercial video concept, crafted almost entirely with Veo2, showcases the impressive power of generative AI. Meanwhile, these out-of-home shopping ads in New York prove how AI can be a tactical tool, bringing dynamic, scalable, hyper-local content to the streets (literally) through Gemini and Imagen. And this is just a glimpse of the possibilities when human creativity meets advanced technology.

At Google, we’re on a journey to empower marketers to harness this potential. We're already collaborating with leading thinkers across the region to explore and implement technologies that will define tomorrow's campaigns, a trajectory that has 2025 starting with immense promise.

I'm excited to share perspectives from some of Google’s brightest minds on the region’s evolving digital marketing landscape and its promising future — all to help your business thrive.

Technology is changing fast. We know AI is replacing mundane manual work, but the pace of change is astonishing.

Platforms like Notebook LM are revolutionising research. And Gemini Advanced and Deep Research take it even further. Gemini Advanced excels at complex thinking, coding, and multimodal reasoning — ideal for data analysis, robotics, and more. Deep Research tackles the toughest tasks, accelerating content research, social listening, and competitive analysis. When you’ve got a moment, challenge Deep Research to analyse your industry and see what it uncovers. You'll be impressed.

So, what’s the future of AI? AI agents — advanced systems that learn to reason, plan, and act, moving beyond current AI capabilities. We’ve seen MENA startups like qeen.ai and haloai.app build agents to streamline everything from e-commerce to influencer marketing. Google Agentspace, meanwhile, is boosting productivity, enabling employees to tackle complex tasks with a single prompt. It manages the entire process, from planning and research to content creation and final execution.

Generative AI may have grabbed the headlines the last two years, but this year, it's all about AI agents. And the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with its strong infrastructure, smart tech investments, and growing talent, is primed to make the most of this next big thing.

The Arab world's deep-rooted storytelling tradition is evolving, influencing how people connect with content. We see a video consumption revolution happening, with streaming platforms leading the charge.

Fuelled by local narratives and expanding internet access, MENA’s streaming viewership is projected to explode, reaching 365 million people in the region by 2029 — that’s more than the population of the U.S.! This is propelling YouTube's growth, with a remarkable 94% YouTube penetration in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and 89% in Saudi Arabia.

Connected TV (CTV) is fast becoming a more popular way to experience YouTube in MENA, being one of the fastest growing formats. It’s transforming living room TVs into personalised YouTube hubs, with 2.5 million adults tuning into YouTube via CTV in the UAE, 12 million in Saudi, and 600,000 in Qatar in May 2024 alone. This shift is reshaping home entertainment and creating new opportunities for shared viewing.

And AI is poised to further revolutionise the platform, offering people instant video insights with AI-generated summaries, breaking down language barriers through automatic dubbing, and delivering unprecedented campaign precision for marketers.

With YouTube expanding into audio with podcasts, it’s also tapping into the growing MENA podcast market, which is projected to reach 24.4 million listeners by 2029. This strengthens the platform as a hub for both video and audio, offering new ways for creators and brands to connect with audiences.

The world's getting smaller, and businesses are going global. We're seeing a surge of campaigns from brands like Etihad Airways and tourism bodies like the Egyptian Tourism Authority being based out of MENA and telling their stories to global audiences.

Companies embracing this trend are leveraging platforms like Display & Video 360. These help to reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviours, uncovering untapped market niches. By connecting with a broad audience through a vast publisher network and diverse channels, businesses can maximise reach and impact. But reaching an international audience is only half the battle. The real game-changer? Unlocking insights, fast.

With AI-powered platforms constantly evolving, marketers now have a treasure trove of data at their fingertips to do just that:

• Deep Research can uncover hidden insights and connect the dots in ways you might not have imagined.
• Looker Studio transforms data into clear visuals to show you how campaigns are performing and what customers are doing, for example.
• BigQuery provides the engine to analyse it all, helping marketers make smarter decisions and improve results.

But pairing these insights with a true human connection is what creates a competitive edge. After all, to resonate globally, brands need a local touch. That makes partnering with YouTube creators — who understand local nuances and languages — key to success.

YouTube's global partner network and initiatives like BrandConnect and Partnership Ads allow brands to scale creator collaborations, providing access to a global network of influential voices. By teaming up with these creators, brands can deliver messages that resonate with anyone, anywhere.

We're seeing a surge in innovation across MENA, and Google Cloud is committed to actively contributing to that momentum. In particular, we’re investing in future-proofing local talent, empowering digital marketers to become pioneers in AI-powered marketing. The goal is to cultivate creators and innovators who can leverage AI to shape the future of marketing in the region.

This focus on talent development is crucial, given the rapid evolution of the global digital landscape, where AI is leading the charge. It's inspiring to see MENA poised to be a major player, with its established tech hubs and a fantastic pool of digitally-native talent ready to drive innovation.

Recognising that sustainable progress requires more than just individual skill development — especially in AI and machine learning — we're equally committed to fostering a robust ecosystem that encourages collective innovation. This understanding is the driving force behind Google's regional collaboration in AI development and implementation, exemplified by our AI Opportunity Initiative. As our largest AI project in MENA, it aims to equip half a million individuals with AI skills in two years, alongside a $15 million USD grant to support MENA organisations between 2024 and 2027.

These efforts are all about building a lasting legacy, laying the foundation for sustainable growth, and empowering businesses to tackle challenges using AI solutions developed right here. With this groundwork in place, we’re confident we can empower MENA marketers to not only transform the marketing landscape, but also lead its continued evolution — regionally and globally.

Saudi Arabia enjoys the largest digital economy in MENA, valued at $132 billion USD. And it’s building on this success with further investments that are helping to establish it as a key player in the global tech arena.

Beyond digital, tourism is also ballooning. Domestic travel saw a significant increase last year, complemented by a 73% rise in international tourism. These numbers reflect an effort to attract global travellers, with the kingdom investing in world-class hospitality, preserving its cultural heritage, and expanding the reach of its national airlines. As highlighted at Cannes Lions, the kingdom recognises the power of innovative storytelling and compelling experiences to not only draw tourists, but to also enrich its national identity.

This creativity extends into a thriving startup ecosystem. Saudi Arabia is a major player in the MENA region, attracting $750 million USD in venture capital funding last year — 39% of the region’s total. Success stories like SallaApp's $130 million USD funding round solidify its position as a startup hub.

The kingdom’s AI market is also brimming with opportunity, projected to grow by 43% annually through 2030, with a value of $6.8 billion USD in 2024. Initiatives like the Google Cloud and Public Investment Fund partnership to establish a leading AI hub are key to unlocking this potential and fostering a thriving ecosystem.

With the kingdom's current momentum, marketers have a unique opportunity to leverage advanced technologies and make a tangible impact on marketing Saudi Arabia to a global audience. An experimental mindset is crucial. Consider leveraging AI to share Saudi's story with the world, using the technology to analyse global trends and insights, visualise data, generate relevant creative ads at scale, and reach the right audience at the perfect time. By embracing both opportunity and technology, you can contribute to both your brand's — and Saudi’s — success story.

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