Building Marketing Resilience

Executive Summary

This report is written for marketing leaders, business owners, and the finance directors and chief executives they report to. Its purpose is simple: to give you the evidence and the arguments you need to make informed decisions about marketing during a period of uncertainty.

The central finding, drawn from decades of independent research and supported by real cases from this region, is this. Marketing does not stop during a crisis. What changes is how you show up. The brands that adapt their approach and maintain a meaningful presence tend to recover faster, hold more ground, and emerge from uncertainty in a stronger competitive position than those that go quiet.

The Middle East context adds a layer of complexity that generic global research does not capture. Consumer sentiment in this region can shift quickly and with significant commercial consequence. Boycott movements, geopolitical tension, and cultural sensitivities are not abstract risks. They are measurable realities that have already reshaped competitive landscapes across multiple categories. At the same time, not every industry and not every consumer is equally affected. Some sectors face sharp pressure on demand. Others face pressure on tone and relevance. Some consumers are managing genuine financial strain. Others retain full spending power. A crisis is rarely uniform, and your marketing response should reflect that.

What follows is the evidence behind these conclusions, the regional context that shapes them, and the key findings any marketing leader can take into a conversation with their leadership team.

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The brands that adapt their approach during uncertainty tend to recover faster and come out stronger. The cost of going silent is greater than the cost of staying present.

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Why This Report Matters Now

The MENA region has experienced an extended and layered period of uncertainty. Geopolitical conflict, shifts in consumer activism, economic pressure on household incomes, and rapid changes in sentiment have created conditions that most marketing playbooks were not built for.

Marketers in the region are being asked to make difficult decisions with limited guidance. Should we pause campaigns? Should we reduce spend? How do we talk to consumers who are distressed or angry? What happens if we go quiet for a quarter? These are legitimate questions, and the answers are not obvious.

The challenge is compounded by the fact that crises in this region are rarely just economic. They carry cultural and political dimensions that affect how consumers feel about the brands they buy from. A brand that gets this wrong does not just lose sales in the short term. It can lose trust in a way that takes years to rebuild.

This report exists to give marketing leaders a grounded, evidence based answer to those questions. It draws on published research, regional data, and real cases from the Middle East and beyond. It is written to be useful, not to be comprehensive. Our aim is to give you what you need to make a good decision and defend it.

$6.6B
‍MENA digital ad market value in 2023.

$44.8B
‍Projected market value by 2032

23.9%
‍Compound annual growth rate

‍Source: MENA digital advertising market data, 2024

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Understanding the MENA Reality

Before looking at the global evidence, it is worth being specific about what makes marketing during a crisis more complex in this region than in most others.

Consumer Activism Is Measurable and Commercial

In Saudi Arabia, research from YouGov found that 72% of consumers say they are actively avoiding brands they believe support one side of the current conflict. In the UAE, that figure is 57%. Globally, over one third of consumers are boycotting brands based on perceived political stances. These are not marginal behaviours. They are mainstream, and they carry real commercial consequences.

The commercial impact is measurable. Starbucks reported a 70% decrease in sales across its Middle East markets in October and November 2023, with the company subsequently cutting 2,000 regional roles. Western beverage brands saw a 7% sales decline across the region in the first half of 2024, according to NielsenIQ.

72%
‍Saudi consumers actively avoiding  perceived brands

57%
‍UAE consumers doing the same

70%
‍Starbucks MENA sales decline, Oct–Nov  2023

‍Sources: YouGov Middle East Brand Boycott Report; Starbucks earnings reports, 2023

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Local Brands Are Building Lasting Advantage

When international brands lose trust, local alternatives do not just fill a temporary gap. In a number of cases, they have built durable market positions that are outlasting the initial catalyst.

Matrix Cola in Jordan is the clearest example. It saw a 200% rise in sales from December 2023, doubled its production capacity, and expanded distribution regionally. Its sales team reported that customers who switched during the boycott period continued buying afterwards. They asked for it by name. What started as a protest purchase became a preference.

The Middle East and Africa carbonated beverages market is projected to grow from $21.7 billion in 2024 to $26.3 billion by 2032. The brands that invested during this period are well placed to capture that growth.

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The lesson from the boycott period is not about boycotts. It is about what happens when consumers go looking for alternatives and find good ones that earn their loyalty. Presence and quality win when consumers are looking for something new.

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Not Every Industry and Not Every Consumer Is Equally Affected

One of the most important things to understand about a regional crisis is that its impact is not uniform. Different industries feel pressure in different ways, and at different speeds.

Travel, tourism, and hospitality tend to face the sharpest pressure on demand. Consumer confidence affects discretionary spending first, and these sectors have seen meaningful volume declines during both COVID and the current period of regional tension.

Everyday goods and services face a different challenge. Demand may hold, but tone and relevance require careful management. Being seen to be out of touch when your customer is under pressure carries real risk.