Unlocking the Power of Upper Funnel Marketing in MENA’s Retail Media Landscape

 Here’s the truth that few marketers in MENA are talking about: The greatest untapped growth lies not at the bottom of the funnel, but at the very top, where potential customers first discover your brand. This moment of discovery is where magic happens. It’s where brands create desire, curiosity, and emotional connection that turn casual scrollers into committed shoppers months down the line.

If you’re still obsessing over immediate sales, you’re missing the bigger picture. The digital world is noisy, attention spans are shrinking, and consumers are overwhelmed with choices. In this chaos, brands that invest boldly in upper funnel strategies — eye-catching storytelling, relevant content, immersive experiences — will be the ones that cut through the clutter and build pipelines packed with high-intent buyers.

For MENA brands, this shift is not just a trend, it’s a seismic change. The region’s rapidly growing internet population, booming e-commerce, and unique cultural nuances demand marketing that goes beyond quick wins. It requires patience, insight, and a long game focused on creating meaningful connections before conversions.

2025 will be the year that smart marketers stop viewing upper funnel marketing as a cost and start treating it as the investment that fuels every successful sale. Because when discovery works, everything else falls into place.

Why Upper Funnel Marketing Matters More Than Ever in MENA

Many marketers focus heavily on the bottom of the funnel, driving conversions and immediate sales. But in markets like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and beyond, where consumer behavior is dynamic and highly digital-savvy, the upper funnel plays a critical role in shaping long-term success.

Upper funnel marketing targets consumers before they are ready to buy. It introduces your brand, creates awareness, and nurtures interest. In MENA, where brand trust and familiarity significantly influence purchase decisions, discovery campaigns help expand your audience, build brand equity, and create a stronger pipeline for future sales.

The ROI of Investing Upstream

A common misconception is that upper funnel campaigns don’t deliver measurable ROI. In reality, when executed and measured correctly, they can:

• Lower customer acquisition costs by engaging high-potential customers early in their journey
  
• Boost conversion rates by ensuring shoppers are familiar with your brand when they are ready to buy
  
• Increase customer lifetime value (CLV) by fostering deeper brand relationships through multi-touch engagement
  

In fact, brands using upper funnel strategies in MENA report up to a 35% increase in new customer acquisition rates and significantly improved engagement metrics.

Measuring What Truly Matters: Beyond Clicks and Immediate Sales

To capture the full value of your upper funnel efforts, focus on both immediate and secondary metrics:

Immediate Metrics: The Starting Point

• Website Visits: Gauge the volume of traffic generated by awareness ads.
  
• Click-Through Rates (CTR): Measure the effectiveness of your creatives in grabbing attention.
  
• Engagement Time: See if visitors are exploring your site or bouncing quickly.
  
• Direct Sales: Track immediate purchases from discovery campaigns.

Secondary Metrics: The Full Impact

• Assisted Conversions: Identify conversions influenced indirectly by awareness campaigns.
  
• View-Through Conversions: Track sales from users who saw your ad but didn’t click immediately.
  
• Incrementality: Understand additional sales directly attributable to your campaigns.
  
• Brand Lift: Measure growth in brand searches, social mentions, and overall awareness.
  
• Funnel Progression: Monitor how users move from discovery to engagement and finally purchase.
  

This multi-layered measurement approach is especially crucial in MENA, where customer journeys tend to be longer and multi-device, often involving multiple touchpoints before conversion.

Read also: How to Reach Motivated Buyers with Sponsored Product Ads

How to Connect Discovery Campaigns to Real Conversions

Today’s consumers in MENA don’t follow a linear path. They browse on their phones, research on laptops, consult social media, and compare options before purchasing. To unlock the full potential of retail media in 2025, marketers need to:

1. Map the Entire Customer Journey: Use advanced analytics to track behavior across devices and channels, connecting early awareness efforts to final sales.
   
2. Adopt Multi-Touch Attribution Models: Move beyond last-click attribution to recognize every interaction that contributes to conversion.
   
3. Segment Your Audiences: Analyze campaign results by audience types, region, or platform to refine targeting and creative strategies.
   

For example, a shopper in Dubai might see a brand video on Instagram, then later search the brand on Google, and finally purchase via a local e-commerce site, only with full funnel tracking can you credit each step of that journey.

Practical Upper Funnel Strategies for MENA Retailers and Brands

1. Leverage Video and Social Discovery

Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat dominate digital engagement in MENA. Using video to showcase products and tell your brand story helps spark interest and build emotional connections early.

2. Invest in Contextual and Native Ads

Native ads that blend seamlessly with content in local news portals, lifestyle blogs, or regional e-commerce platforms resonate well with consumers who value relevant, non-disruptive messaging.

3. Utilize Influencer-Led Discovery

MENA consumers place high trust in influencers, especially micro-influencers with local cultural relevance. Collaborative discovery campaigns can extend reach authentically.

4. Optimize for Mobile First

With over 75% of internet traffic in MENA coming from mobile devices, ensuring discovery campaigns are mobile-friendly with fast-loading creatives is vital.

What’s Next?

In 2025, upper funnel marketing will no longer be just a complementary tactic but a core pillar of retail media strategies across MENA. Marketers who invest in discovery and understand how to measure its true impact will unlock deeper customer relationships, increased sales, and sustainable growth.

If your brand is ready to break beyond immediate conversions and harness the full potential of retail media, now is the time to adopt a full-funnel mindset, one that sees awareness, engagement, and conversion as interconnected steps toward lasting success.