Mada Media gives PHI Advertising six Ras Al Khor Road sites.
Mada Media, which runs Dubai's outdoor advertising sector, has awarded PHI Advertising the rights to six sites along Ras Al Khor Road. The package is four bridge panels and two static hoardings on one of the city's main arterial routes.
The award was announced on 27 October and signed at Mada Media's Dubai headquarters by its chief executive, Mansoor Al Sabahi, and PHI Advertising's chairman, Naif Saleh Al Rajhi. PHI gets the rights to install, operate and sell the six assets. Ras Al Khor Road links the Dubai–Al Ain Road with Al Khail Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, serves residential and industrial areas, and is a main way into Dubai Creek Harbour.
It is Mada Media's fifth tender of 2026. The company says this year's tenders drew about 100 local and regional advertising companies and covered 683 digital and non-digital assets. Mada Media was set up in September 2024 to organise Dubai's outdoor sector, and it presents its tenders as open to firms of different sizes, with published criteria meant to stop any one operator dominating. Al Sabahi said this tender drew strong participation; Al Rajhi called it a milestone for PHI's presence in Dubai. The award comes a week after Dubai set new content rules for outdoor ads, including AI-generated work.
Neither side disclosed the value of the bid, the length of the concession, the other bidders or when the sites will go live.
For media buyers in the UAE, the steady run of Mada tenders means more operators selling Dubai roadside inventory and more competition on price and formats. For operators based in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf, it shows Dubai's outdoor market is open to newcomers through a public process rather than legacy contracts.
Why it matters
Dubai's outdoor inventory is being spread across more operators through open tenders, which gives buyers more choice and gives regional players a way into the market.
Related trends.
UAE SMEs spend five times more on AI while advertising falls by a third
Pemo's first SME Spend Index says its UAE business customers spent about five times more on AI tools in the third quarter of 2026 than a year earlier, while their advertising spend fell by a third. The company is a spend-management platform, so the data comes from its own customers.
Why it mattersIn one UAE payments platform's sample, small firms moved money from advertising into AI tools, which matters for agencies pitching SME budgets.
Pinterest sells its ads through Amazon, Google and Yahoo buying platforms
Pinterest has made Programmatic Deals generally available, so advertisers can buy its display and video inventory through outside buying platforms. Magnite is the main supply-side partner, and the deals run in North America, South America and Asia Pacific.
Why it mattersPinterest becomes a line item in existing DSP plans rather than a separate buy, which lowers the effort for enterprise advertisers once the deals reach the Middle East.
Hyundai sells its SUV range through four lifestyle personas across MEA
Hyundai Motor Middle East and Africa has launched Match Your Energy, a regional campaign that sells its SUVs through the lives of their drivers rather than vehicle features. It runs until early December with four hero films, digital content and creator collaborations.
Why it mattersA car brand is building a regional campaign around audience personas and creators rather than specs, an approach many Gulf brands are weighing.
