In the Gulf, marketing ambition is accelerating, but many agency rosters still look stuck between global networks and small boutiques. This piece explains why the mid-sized independent tier remains thin, how commercial terms and pitch design quietly filter independents out, and what senior marketers can change to widen choice and improve performance.
Walk into any senior marketing office in the Gulf right now and you can feel the speed; bigger ambitions, faster cycles, more channels, and more scrutiny on what moved the numbers.
It is not just a perception. WPP Media’s mid-year forecast projects the MENA advertising market will grow 8% in 2025 to USD 6.3 billion.
And yet, when you look at many agency rosters, the mix often feels oddly familiar. The same global network names. The same small cluster of boutiques. The same cycle of “we need something different” followed by “we need something safe.”
That contradiction is not about taste. It is about structure.
Why rosters feel stuck
Networks win for reasons that make sense - they can scale, they can absorb procurement friction, they can cover multi-market needs under one umbrella and they can handle the governance that comes with large regional brands, particularly where work spans language, regulation, and multiple stakeholder groups.
Boutiques win for equally rational reasons - they move quickly, they sit close to decision-makers and they often bring sharper craft in a specific lane.
The gap is in the middle
Not start-ups, not holding-company machinery but a proper tier of independent agencies with depth, specialist capability, and operational maturity. The kind of partners a marketing leader can trust with real accountability, without having to buy an entire global operating system to get it.
When that middle is thin, brands pay for it in subtle ways before it becomes obvious. Capability fragments across too many suppliers, so work stops connecting. Choice becomes theoretical, because only certain models can tolerate the commercial terms and timelines. Competitive pressure weakens, and the market defaults to what it already knows.
Why independents opt out
A lot of this comes down to the commercial rules of the game. Strong independents are not afraid of risk, they are afraid of risk that cannot be priced or planned.
Three realities shape who can compete
Cashflow and payment terms
If payment terms are long, approvals are layered, and acceptance criteria are subjective, agencies are forced to finance delivery.
Atradius’ UAE Payment Practices Barometer 2025 reports average payment terms of around 40 days from invoicing, with late payments affecting 56% of B2B invoices. Even if marketing services behave differently from other sectors, the broader payment culture matters because it shapes confidence in when cash will land.
Pitch design as endurance test
Too many processes still behave like endurance tests. Extra rounds appear mid-pitch. Scope expands without clarity. Timelines compress. Feedback is thin or delayed. Large networks can spread that cost across a bigger machine. Mid-sized independents often cannot. That is why the agencies many clients say they want are frequently the first to quietly opt out.
Buying frameworks reward packaging over performance
Fewer vendors, standardised terms, and bundled services are understandable preferences. The unintended consequence is that the market selects for breadth, not excellence. Clients end up paying for coverage rather than sharpness, then wonder why the work feels slower and less distinctive.
What to change now
None of this is unsolvable. It just requires senior marketers to treat operating conditions as part of marketing performance, not admin.
Four changes needed for real independent choice in the Gulf
Make early engagement smaller and clearer
Ensures agencies are not guessing at what success looks like.
Reduce pitch theatre
Go deeper with fewer parties along with clear feedback and decision rights.
Set commercial terms that support delivery
Because senior talent follows predictability.
Brief and buy outcomes
Instead of long output lists, because outcomes force decisions and reduce churn.
The Gulf is one of the most exciting marketing environments in the world right now. Budgets are rising, and expectations are rising with them. The next step is not more noise, but a healthier agency ecosystem that gives clients real choice and gives the best independents a reason to commit for the long term.
