Insights

AI-Powered Performance Marketing: Bidding, Creative and Budget Allocation (2026)

AI-Powered Performance Marketing: Bidding, Creative and Budget Allocation (2026)

Meta Advantage+ campaigns now capture an estimated 62% of all ecommerce ad spend on the platform, delivering up to 32% lower cost per acquisition through consolidation, while Google's Performance Max delivers 14 to 18% more conversions at a similar cost....Read More
The Sovereign AI Race and What It Means for GCC Brands (2026)

The Sovereign AI Race and What It Means for GCC Brands (2026)

Saudi Arabia's National Data Management Office mandated in 2024 that all government and critical-sector data must be stored and processed inside Saudi borders, a regulation that directly disqualifies non-sovereign AI infrastructure for the majority of high-value public and enterprise deployments....Read More
AI and Automation in GCC Marketing - Sovereign AI and Advertising

AI and Automation in GCC Marketing

GCC AI & automation AI and automation in GCC marketing: sovereign investment meets the customer moment The Gulf is spending tens of billions of dollars to become a global AI hub, and that same infrastructure is already reshaping how brands...Read More
Social, Influencer and Food Content Marketing in the GCC (2026)

Social, Influencer and Food Content Marketing in the GCC (2026)

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have the highest TikTok reach of any countries in the world, at 154% and 135% of the adult population respectively, counting multiple accounts per person. Between 70 and 82% of UAE diners use social media,...Read More
F&B SEO and Local Search: Getting Found and Getting Delivered (2026)

F&B SEO and Local Search: Getting Found and Getting Delivered (2026)

Restaurants with a fully optimised Google Business Profile receive 42% more direction requests and 35% more website clicks than incomplete profiles, structured schema markup can lift click-through rates by up to 30%, and 22% of consumers have already used an...Read More
Ramadan and Seasonal F&B Marketing Campaigns in the GCC (2026)

Ramadan and Seasonal F&B Marketing Campaigns in the GCC (2026)

57% of UAE residents plan to increase spending on dining out and food delivery during Ramadan, 41% of Saudi consumers expect to spend more on food and beverages, and more than 48% of all daily movement in the GCC during...Read More
F&B Loyalty, CRM and Retention in the GCC (2026)

F&B Loyalty, CRM and Retention in the GCC (2026)

Acquiring a new restaurant guest costs five to seven times more than retaining an existing one, automated retention programs deliver three to five times the ROI of constant acquisition spend, and the UAE's loyalty programme market alone is worth USD...Read More
Cloud Kitchens and Delivery-Only Brands: The Marketing Playbook (2026)

Cloud Kitchens and Delivery-Only Brands: The Marketing Playbook (2026)

Kitopi, founded in Dubai in 2018, has raised more than USD 800 million, reached unicorn status in 2021 at a valuation of roughly USD 1.5 billion, and now manages over 200 kitchens serving more than 100 brands across seven GCC...Read More
Performance Marketing for GCC Restaurant and QSR Brands (2026)

Performance Marketing for GCC Restaurant and QSR Brands (2026)

Restaurants and food brands earn some of the lowest cost-per-click rates on Meta anywhere in digital advertising, as little as $0.72 to $0.85 against a $1.72 cross-industry average, and food content pulls a 25.47% hook rate on UGC video, one...Read More
Quick Commerce Marketing: Winning the 15-Minute Delivery Moment (2026)

Quick Commerce Marketing: Winning the 15-Minute Delivery Moment (2026)

A brand's own Instagram story or WhatsApp broadcast telling existing customers "now on Talabat, delivered in 15 minutes" converts at three to five times the rate of cold in-app discovery. Sponsored search listings inside delivery apps intercept a hungry customer...Read More