Industry reports place the marketing and advertising agency market in the low‑to‑mid $2bn range, growing at roughly 5 to 6 per cent annually — healthy, but well below the more exuberant expansion of the early Vision 2030 years.​Government entities and large corporates remained the primary spenders, yet their internal controls became stricter. This generated a high volume of smaller briefs—social content, tactical activations, influencer work—that demanded agility from agencies but offered lower average project value. Contracts increasingly linked remuneration to measurable outcomes, with pressure to demonstrate tangible impact through conversions, leads, or behavioral shifts rather than only reach and impressions. Ministries tightened procurement and compliance requirements, increasing scrutiny of content, brand safety, and cultural fit, which made scatter‑shot advertising less viable and pushed teams toward targeted, insight‑led campaigns.​2026 early outlookAs 2026 begins, forecasts for the Saudi marketing and advertising sector point to steady, not explosive, growth supported by digitalisation, tourism, and SME activity. By Ahmed Ghazi, Accounts Director at Thabet Agency, a Thabet Investment Company