Valued at 16.4 billion dollars in 2023, the Influencer marketing industry is a massive global industry in the US, Canada, and the UK. Still, it is at a developing stage in most Middle Eastern countries.

According to a recent report by YAAP, the influencer marketing industry in the Middle East will be worth 1.3 billion by the end of 2023 as brands shift their marketing budgets from TV, print, and outdoor to influencer marketing.

When research for the report was conducted in late March 2023, the influencer marketing industry was worth roughly $300 million. The exponential growth is at a rate of over %4200 times the industry’s current market value. 

The report surveys all collaborating partners with YAAP in the Middle East, including over 150 corporations that comprise a marketing team of executives, CMOs, and managers. 

Read along as we delve deep into what makes the Middle-Eastern influencer marketing sector one of the world’s fastest-growing marketing domains in 2023 and why YAAP is betting on the UAE and neighboring markets.

Findings of the State of Influencer Marketing UAE 2023 Report 

The report estimated the Middle East’s influencer marketing industry to reach a staggering valuation of $1.3 billion by 2023 while underlining the supporting technologies and trends. 

Supporting the acceleration of influencer marketing in the region is the finding that roughly 76.9% of marketers view it as their second priority after creating social media content. 

While influencer marketing budgets continue to grow within each corporation, an overwhelming majority of 76.5% of surveyed marketers have canceled their investments in TV, and Print campaigns, as influencer marketing is proven more efficient in today’s digital era.

Interestingly, 79.3% of marketers felt that influencers still growing their social presence and are considered relatively early in their online careers are most important to the success of campaigns. 

The technological imperative found that 71.8% of marketers expressed that they measure engagement in their influencer marketing campaigns.

Finally, the research hinted at the increasing role of AI in influencer marketing in 2023, with virtual or CGI influencers primed for an uptake. 

About Yaap  

YAAP is a modern media solutions agency and influencer marketing company with operations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Manama, Bahrain, and Singapore. 

The Mumbai-based firm has fully acquired Crayons Communications, an advertising agency with over 250 ongoing projects and a presence in Dubai and Manama. YAAP’s purchase of Crayons Creative is a fast market entry tactic to hit the ground running, focusing mainly on introducing new marketing solutions for the Web3 space and leveraging influencer marketing. 

The resources and information YAAP has acquired and learned through collaborating with big names in the middle east are sufficient to provide complete market insight into the region’s influencer marketing state. 

In addition to the existing client base acquired by YAAP, the marketing agency has partnered up with Tagger, the US-based influencer marketing agency.

Tagger Media’s clients include Omnicom, Bose, Tinder, HBO Max, and Pepsico. With its end-to-end influencer marketing services, Tagger has established itself as a market leader. The company’s platform has access to more than 15 billion social media posts and over 278,000 brands worldwide.

The collaboration with leading US marketing firm Tagger will speed up the growth process for YAAP and help them cash in on their new expansion to these markets.

Key Takeaways

Rising opportunities for influencer marketing in the Middle East

Due to the exceptionally fast market growth, Middle Eastern markets are now hubs for accelerated growth for social media agencies. From this angle, there is plenty of room for new market entrants and collaborations with existing beans that want to dominate, such as YAAP. 

Mid-tier influencers will see the most demand for brand collaborations

In the US and Canada, influencers are often hired for their micro or mega-sized followings; however, according to YAAP’s market study of the Middle East, the region will favor a different segment of influencers. 

Mid-size influencers’ can be classified as those with 100,000 to 300,000 followers. The mid-trier influencer segment is favored by marketers to how socially conscious and relevant they are, along with their proximity of social class with targeted consumers. 

The Middle Eastern market is catching up

The influencer marketing domain in the US was valued at 4.1 billion in 2022, while the UAE market is only catching up with its 2023 acceleration. 

The advantage Western countries currently have over specific geographical areas is the insight into what is bound to be the next big thing. While many are oblivious to this advantage, Yaap made the right moves at the right time to be the next Viral Nation or Hype Factory of the Middle East. 

AI will play a significant role in the market’s growth

While the report didn’t investigate the importance of AI much, it broadly hinted that measuring tools and mechanisms are needed to make this market trend profitable. 

With AI offering convenient solutions to pave the way to growth and economic efficiency, it is still a developing market itself and will need to be adopted and modified to serve the region before marketers jump on the AI wave. 

AI tools tailored to the massive marketing trend in the Middle Eastern market will secure a significant industry position in the next few years. 

Conclusion

The influencer marketing industry, just like other technology and advertising innovations, evolved faster in some regions than others. This offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for brand agencies and professionals like YAAP. 

While the strategies used in the middle eastern markets will differ slightly from those used in the US and Canada, baseline concepts and the overall objective are the same.

YAAP and their American partners secured partnerships with leading industry names such as Disney Games, Dell, Apple, Lufthansa, Amex, and more by being early entrants to the Middle Eastern market. 

Although YAAP is ahead of the game and signing all the big names in the UAE and nearby countries, there is still vast untapped potential considering the market’s growth rate in 2023. 

If you have the expertise and missed out on the influencer marketing boom in your local market, this is your sign to explore your options in the Middle East.