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Media leaders discussed connected TV and audio at The Trade Desk’s first Dubai Open Forum, hosted at Someone’s House, with sessions on outdoor media and AI.
Someone’s House welcomed The Trade Desk’s first Dubai Open Forum, where advertising professionals gathered to discuss audience habits and media investment.
Advertisers joined agency teams at the event. Media owners attended alongside technology partners. Discussions covered connected television and audio, digital out-of-home advertising, and artificial intelligence.
Terry Kane, The Trade Desk’s managing director for Africa, the Middle East and Turkey, opened the forum by discussing collaboration among the companies involved in advertising. He discussed creative work and media technology, as well as the role measurement plays in commercial growth.
Lukas Fassbender, The Trade Desk’s senior vice president for EMEA, discussed the gap between audience habits and established media plans. His presentation asked advertisers to assess channels according to their contribution to business growth. He discussed the influence of familiarity on media choices and the difficulty of evaluating longer-term brand outcomes.
The connected TV panel featured Teresa Antas Rio from OSN+ and Salah Gadallah from Netflix. Ruben Lawrence from The Walt Disney Company joined Jad Saab from MBC Shahid for the discussion. Speakers examined premium content and advertising. The panel considered the value of reaching audiences who choose what they watch.
Cultural relevance formed part of the conversation, with speakers discussing language and local stories alongside the creative work placed within viewing environments. Measurement received attention too, particularly the difficulty of assessing audience attention alongside reach.
Anghami and Next Audio took part in an audio advertising discussion that addressed perceptions of the channel’s cost and measurement. Capital.com joined the discussion. Next Audio’s Lemya Soltani spoke during the session, alongside Patricia Lyn Dixon from Capital.com. Speakers considered the need for campaign objectives suited to listening habits and methods for assessing results.
The panel examined the difficulty advertisers face when they seek existing evidence for a channel that requires investment to generate new findings. Its discussion encouraged testing with suitable objectives and measurement.
Ashnee Thacker from The Trade Desk moderated the digital out-of-home session, with Yasmine Al-Turk from WPP Media and Dylan Temple-Heald from Hypermedia among the speakers. Dom Kozak from JCDecaux joined the panel.
The panel addressed audience information and programmatic technology, with a discussion on including outdoor media early in campaign planning. Participants examined how creative teams and media partners develop work for the format alongside other channels.
Dr. Noah Raford delivered the closing keynote on artificial intelligence and its relationship with creativity and culture. His talk added a wider perspective to the forum’s discussions on the decisions people make when technology enters advertising. The keynote examined the relationship between technical advances and the human judgment behind commercial choices.
The Trade Desk’s forum took place at Someone’s House on Al Khayat Avenue in Al Quoz 1, Dubai. Private meetings and panel discussions are among the events hosted at the venue. Invitation-led launches take place there too.
Hosts choose the event format and guest list according to their plans, with the House available for private business gatherings and other events. Visit Someone’s House for venue information and booking inquiries.