by Dana Lee on 11th Mar 2026 in Video Interviews

In this episode of A Coffee With... Ian Manning, executive director of IAB MENA, joins ExchangeWire's COO Lindsay Rowntree over a flat white to chat digital advertising in the region.

Formally launched just before Covid, IAB MENA has made significant strides in encouraging dialogue within the industry and spotlighting the role of collaboration vs. competitiveness. Tune in as Ian and Lindsay discuss growth in the market, requirements for success, and the need for standards and diversification.

*This session was recorded before recent events across the Middle East, and as such makes no mention of the geopolitical situation in the region.

Market Growth and Perceptions

MENA estimated close to $7bn digital ad spend in 2024, positioning it alongside the top five European markets by scale. From an opportunity perspective, it represents a substantive emerging market, typically delivering 15–20% annual growth on an already sizeable base, and therefore requires proper investment, resources, and talent.

While the region is led by video and social, Ian believes there is room for more investment without reallocating away from those channels. CTV is small but rapidly expanding; retail media presents major opportunities; OOH is historically strong, with a recent shift towards digital and programmatic. Population and middle-class growth – notably in the UAE, with longer-term residents replacing transient expat patterns – has created a viable audience, marking a shift in outside perceptions of the market.

Succeeding in the Market

MENA's scale has compelled companies to treat it as a serious market, not a place to casually "fly in" and win business. Sustainable success demands long-term commitment and thoughtful strategy, rather than the short-termism that often fails after initial spikes. Many have come into the market expecting it to be easy to capitalise on the growth simply by being there.

But it's not easy. You need to build trust. You need to build confidence in either you as a person or you as a company, and it's a long-term process. So the companies and people that succeed are those that commit. The ones that tend to have maybe a short-term blip and then fail are the ones that come in for the gold rush, so to speak. —Ian Manning

Entry also requires humility: knowing you don’t have all the answers, and seeking to understand nuances. Despite language and cultural ties, MENA is not one homogenous market – for instance, the UAE differs from Saudi Arabia. While regional buys were once simple, each individual market increasingly warrants dedicated attention, strategy, and investment.

Standards and Ecosystem Health

With baseline data established, IAB MENA is moving from information provision towards defining market standards, helping to facilitate growth, trust, and ease of spend. The focus is particularly on newer channels such as CTV and retail media, as less entrenched heritage means less to change, encouraging more forward-looking mindsets.

Collaboration across the various stakeholders is essential to diversify spend, address trust and measurement gaps, and maintain a healthy, empowered ecosystem. Publishers must improve offerings, agencies must guide advertisers, and brave advertisers should seize opportunities to ensure a robust ecosystem.

We will be heading to MENA for our first ever ATS Dubai event in November. If you're interested in commercial opportunities at the event, contact sales@thewirecorp.com

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