2025 Display Advertising Trends: What’s Actually Shifting in MENA

Let’s get one thing straight: display advertising in 2025 isn’t about “breaking the internet” or chasing vanity metrics anymore. In MENA, a region shaped by cultural nuance, digital maturity, and a booming youth demographic, the game has evolved.

This isn’t your typical trend piece packed with buzzwords and overblown predictions. This is a grounded, region-specific look at what’s actually changing, and how marketers can stop wasting ad spend and start building real relevance.

1. AI in MENA Ads

Yes, AI is everywhere—but in MENA, 2025 is the year it goes from novelty to necessity. Brands across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and beyond are using AI to generate dynamic creative tailored to local audiences in Arabic and English.

From real-time creative testing to context-aware messaging, AI helps marketers adapt tone, language, and visuals to fit Riyadh’s Gen Z and Dubai’s professionals, all from one intelligent platform.

Retail media connection:
Retailers are now using AI-driven retail media platforms to personalize ads at the point of sale. Whether it’s an FMCG brand targeting grocery shoppers in Abu Dhabi or a fashion label reaching trend-conscious teens in Jeddah, AI-backed retail media advertising makes personalization scalable and effective.

Tip: Stop treating AI like a trend. Start feeding it localized, real customer data, specially through retail media networks where purchase intent is highest.

2. Immersive Ads Aren’t Just for the Big Players Anymore

Augmented and virtual reality are no longer gimmicks; they’re tools. In 2025, MENA’s retail, F&B, and real estate sectors are embracing immersive ads that go beyond clicks to create memorable micro-experiences.

Picture this: A shopper in Doha virtually tries on abayas via an AR ad. Or someone in Cairo remodels their kitchen with a 360° interactive preview. all within a display ad.

Retail media connection:
These immersive formats are making their way into retail media ads too. Smart retailers are enabling 3D product previews and interactive banners directly on their apps and websites—right when customers are ready to buy.

Tip: You don’t need a massive budget. Retail media networks like Ritelo offer the tech and infrastructure to support immersive placements that drive engagement and conversions.

3. Personalization Without the Creep Factor

Consumers in MENA are savvy. They expect relevance, but not surveillance. The days of stalker-like retargeting are fading fast.

Instead, personalization is shifting to first-party data, collected through loyalty programs, apps, WhatsApp, or surveys, and delivered with context and consent.

Retail media connection:
Retailers are sitting on goldmines of consented, first-party data. Retail media platforms allow brands to use that data to serve relevant, respectful ads inside the purchase journey. It’s relevance without intrusion.

Tip: Focus on intent-based personalization. Target people based on what they’re doing, not what they did weeks ago.

4. Privacy Is Now a Brand Differentiator

Privacy laws in MENA are still developing, but user expectations are already ahead of the curve. In 2025, brands are building trust not just through policies, but through transparent ad practices.

Retail media connection:
Unlike open web advertising, retail media advertising occurs in trusted, closed environments. This gives brands a cleaner, safer way to reach customers without compromising data integrity.

Tip: Be transparent. Let customers know how data powers their ad experiences, especially in retail environments where trust is the currency.

5. Short-Form Video Is the New Display Standard

If you’re still relying on static banners, you’ve lost half your audience. MENA consumers are mobile-first and video-obsessed, especially in the Gulf.

Short-form video ads (under 30 seconds) with local cultural cues, subtitles, and fast hooks are outperforming static creatives, across social, programmatic, and now even retail media channels.

Retail media connection:
Retail media platforms are integrating video into native placements, giving brands the ability to run TikTok-style videos inside grocery apps, fashion sites, or electronics marketplaces, where purchase intent is at its peak.

Tip: Treat retail media videos like social videos. Local language. Native hooks. Format matters more than format length.

6. Programmatic Is Getting Smarter, and More Democratic

Gone are the days when programmatic was only for agencies. In 2025, MENA’s SMEs are running hyper-local, language-specific campaigns across channels, from mobile to connected TV, thanks to more accessible platforms.

Retail media connection:
Retail media platforms like Ritelo bring programmatic buying directly into the retail funnel. Brands can A/B test creatives in Arabic for Dubai and English for Cairo, all in one unified dashboard tied to sales outcomes.

Tip: Partner with a retail media provider who understands cultural nuance and regional buying behaviors, not just CPMs.

What MENA Marketers Need to Think About Next

In 2025 and beyond, display advertising in MENA will be defined by:

• Cultural fluency 
• Channel specificity 
• Respectful personalization 
• First-party data empowerment 
• Retail relevance 

Whether you’re a fintech startup in Manama or a beauty brand in Amman, the future belongs to marketers who build intent-first campaigns in places where people are ready to buy.

It’s Not About What’s New. It’s About What Works—Here.

Trends will come and go, but in MENA, relevance is king. And relevance today means showing up where people shop, in the language they speak, with the stories they connect to.

Stop copying templates from global playbooks. Build from the ground up—for your region, your customer, your market.

Why Ritelo?

Ritelo is the leading retail media advertising platform in the MENA region, empowering both brands and retailers to unlock the full potential of display advertising inside high-intent environments.

From personalized product placements to short-form video ads and immersive experiences, Ritelo helps you serve the right message at the right time, directly within shopping journeys across apps and websites.

With advanced contextual targeting, AI-powered creative tools, and full-funnel analytics, Ritelo isn’t just a retail media platform. It’s your growth partner in MENA.

🎯 Ready to stop guessing and start converting?