The IAB MENA released the results of the 2022 Digital Adspend study at a member-only event on 9 June 2023.

This year’s report, available to IAB MENA members, includes more detailed breakdowns and regional granularity, including for the first-time estimates on the size of programmatic buy types and social video.

With $5,5B in Digital Adspend, the MENA region ranks in the Top4 EMEA markets by size, while KSA moves into the Top10 for the first time.

• The growth rate of 20.1% places the MENA region among the fastest growing regions in EMEA, while individually both UAE and KSA are in the Top3 fastest growing markets in EMEA.
• KSA alone accounted for 58% of total MENA growth.
• Social Video accounted for 51% of the total growth.

Commenting on the results, Ian Manning, IAB MENA Executive Director said: “With increased participation we were able to continue to improve the detail in the report and provide a more insightful picture of the market. The fact that MENA growth continues to outpace the rest of EMEA, despite its significant size, is real evidence of the region’s vibrancy.”

As in previous years, the methodology included a mix of actual spends, collaborative estimates, mathematical modelling and comparative benchmarks to reach agreed figures and growth rates.

Michel Malkoun, Chair of the IAB MENA Board highlighted: “This study is one of many initiatives IAB MENA is focused on to provide valuable market insights, increased knowledge and higher standards in an effort to drive further industry growth. The value of this report is evident by the high level of participation, and of the role it plays in helping businesses with sound business planning. The growth is not only driven by cyclical or short term factors, but also by some structural market conditions and thus we believe we will see the strong growth trend continue.”

Mohamad Itani, Vice-Chair of the IAB MENA Board added: “The market remains a Video first market, and social is still the largest share of the pie, but we are starting to witness fast growth potential in areas such as CTV, DOOH and Retail Media. These could play a pivotal part of the growth story in future years.”

The full report is only available to members of the IAB MENA. The infographic can be downloaded by members and non-members for free below.

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