Marketing is entering an era where intelligence is no longer held in one place. It flows across people, platforms, data, technology and culture. Continuously shaping how brands understand, create and grow.
AI is accelerating this shift, giving marketers new capabilities to anticipate behaviour, personalise experiences, create at speed and make smarter decisions. But technology alone is not the advantage. The real opportunity lies in combining machine intelligence with human creativity, judgement and importantly, cultural understanding.
Collective Pulse: Powered by AI explores how marketers can harness this combined intelligence to build more relevant experiences, stronger connections and growth, while keeping humans firmly at the core.
Tuesday, November 17, 2026
Networking & Registration
MMA MENA Opening Remarks
NEXT! in Collective Pulse: Marketing in an Age of Intelligent Growth
AI is changing not only what marketing can do, but how decisions are made, and how consumers are understood. This opening session explores the emergence of a new marketing model where human insight, creativity, data and machine intelligence operate together. What will differentiate the brands that simply use AI from those that build truly intelligent marketing organizations?
NEXT! in Drowning in Data, Starving for Insight
Redefining What Intelligence Means in the Age of AI
In an age of infinite data and AI-generated answers, insights have never mattered more. Discover how AI is redefining intelligence and transforming the way we understand people, make decisions and unlock growth.
NEXT! in Brand Heritage: How to Evolve Without Erasing in the Age of AI
As AI accelerates change, brands face a growing challenge: how do you evolve without losing what made you distinctive in the first place? This session explores the balance between transformation and continuity. From rebranding and modernising established identities to protecting brand heritage, trust and cultural relevance. As AI reshapes how brands are created, expressed and experienced, we’ll discuss what should change, what should remain, and the responsibility marketers have to protect the long-term value of the brand while moving it forward.
In Partnership With:
NEXT! in Marketing Through the Downturn: Positioning for Recovery
When markets tighten, the first instinct is to cut marketing. New research across the UAE suggests the better question is where to allocate. Drawing on a study of more than 1,200 respondents across aviation, travel, business and UAE residents, this keynote shows that while perception of the UAE has barely moved, behaviour has shifted sharply: plans have been rescheduled, spending has moved online, and confidence in recovery depends more on reliability than on price. Using the Marketing FlyLoop operating model, the session offers a practical way to decide where each dirham should go. How can brands protect their presence today so it turns into market share when demand returns?
NEXT! in Retail Media
Retail media is rapidly changing how brands connect media investment with consumer behaviour and purchase. As retailers unlock richer first-party data and AI improves targeting, personalisation and optimisation, the opportunity is moving far beyond advertising at the point of sale. This session explores where retail media is heading in the UAE, what brands and retailers need from one another, and what must improve across data, measurement and capability for it to become a more meaningful growth channel.
NEXT! in Customer Journey: Find One for Me. Recommend One for Me. Do It for Me.
Not long ago, finding a product meant searching and scrolling through a list. Today, people describe their needs to AI and get an answer. Next, AI agents start acting on their behalf. Through the story of Omar, a father in Dubai looking for a family car, this session follows three requests: "Find one for me", "Recommend one for me" and "Do it for me". And it looks at what each shift means for brands, when being found is no longer the same as being recommended.
In Partnership With:
Savor & Connect: A Networking Lunch Experience
Enjoy a curated lunch while connecting with fellow marketers, speakers and partners, and continue the conversations sparked throughout the morning.
NEXT! in Influencer Effectiveness: A New Guide Beyond Reach
Influencer marketing is becoming more sophisticated, but measurement has not always kept pace. Bringing the MMA Influencer Committee's new guidance to life, this session explores how brands can move beyond reach and engagement to understand genuine effectiveness from brand impact and incrementality to conversion and long-term value.
In Partnership With:
NEXT! in Advertising: From Programmatic to Agentic
Programmatic advertising transformed how media is bought. AI is now beginning to transform how people interact with the advertising ecosystem itself. This keynote explores the evolution from algorithmic optimization and AI-powered assistance toward Agenti
In Partnership With:
NEXT! in Arabic-First AI: Where Cultural Intelligence Meets Artificial Intelligence
AI is only as powerful as its understanding of the people it serves. This conversation explores how brands are combining Arabic language capability, local insight and human cultural understanding with AI to create experiences that genuinely connect. As personalisation becomes increasingly automated, what must remain distinctly human?
In Partnership With:
NEXT! in AI Visibility: From Share of Search to Share of Recommendation
As discovery shifts from search engines to AI-generated answers and recommendations, brand visibility is being rewritten. This session explores what CMOs need to do to ensure their brands are not just found, but understood, trusted and recommended by AI.
NEXT! in Brand Value: When Everything Is Possible, What Remains Priceless?
This keynote session explores how AI transforms disconnected marketing assets into connected consumer experiences.
