New regional awards for results-driven marketing open in Dubai
Organisers of the long-established Dragons of Asia awards have launched Dragons of MENA, a Dubai-based programme aimed at recognising marketing communications that deliver measurable business outcomes. The inaugural edition, scheduled for September 2026, opened for entries this month with submissions closing on 15 June 2026.
Positioned as a complement to creativity-led festivals, Dragons of MENA places equal weight on four judging pillars: strategy, concept, execution and results. The organisers say the model is designed to reward campaigns that produce quantifiable impact in areas such as sales, behaviour change, brand growth, loyalty and acquisition.
Background and structure
The new programme is an extension of the PMAA Dragons of Asia awards, which were founded in 2000 and run satellite programmes in several Asian markets. Dragons of Asia is already considered part of the wider set of industry awards that emphasise marketing effectiveness alongside creative craft, including the Effies and IPA Effectiveness Awards.
For its MENA debut, the awards will feature 10 categories: eight core categories carried over from the Dragons of Asia framework, plus two regional categories tailored to local priorities. Those region-specific slots are intended to reflect place-based impact and the cultural and seasonal dimensions of communications in the Arab world.
All entries are judged on the same four criteria, equally weighted. That focus seeks to address a long-standing gap: promotional marketing, PR, experiential, activation and shopper-marketing campaigns often struggle to find recognition in awards programmes that prioritise craft over outcomes.
Eligibility, fees and reach
Entries are open to agencies of all sizes, in-house marketing teams, brand owners, government entities and NGOs operating across the MENA region, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Qatar and Kuwait. Eligible campaigns must have run between 1 January 2025 and 15 June 2026.
The organisers have set a single entry fee of AU$200 (around US$140). That fee covers submission to both Dragons of MENA and Dragons of Asia, allowing campaigns to be considered for regional and pan-Asian recognition from a single entry.
Winners will receive global visibility through AdForum, which is named as the awards’ media partner, and successful campaigns will automatically qualify to compete in the Dragons of Asia final in Kuala Lumpur, where top-scoring entries are recognised with tiered Dragons awards.
Industry context and implications
The launch comes at a time when marketers in the Gulf and wider MENA are increasingly focused on demonstrable return on investment. Regional marketing budgets continue to grow, driven by events, tourism, and public-sector campaigns tied to national economic strategies. That growth is prompting greater demand for robust measurement and for awards that validate effectiveness as well as creativity.
For agencies and brand teams, a new, regionally based effectiveness award provides several potential benefits. It offers a lower-cost route to international exposure compared with some global competitions, it creates a platform for disciplines that have previously been underrepresented in trophy-led markets, and it may encourage more rigorous results-tracking within campaign planning.
From a broader perspective, the arrival of Dragons of MENA adds another layer to the awards ecosystem that mediates which regional campaigns are visible to global juries and buyers. By linking winners into the Dragons of Asia programme, organisers are positioning MENA work within a wider pan-Asian competitive field, which could increase cross-regional benchmarking and opportunities for agencies seeking to scale beyond local markets.
Next steps and practical details
Submissions are being accepted now via the programme’s official site. The closing date for entries is 15 June 2026. Organisers plan to stage the Dubai awards ceremony in September, with venue and event partners to be announced later.
Organising responsibilities for Dragons of MENA sit with Unthinkable Creative Co. LLC, a UAE-based company. The Dragons of Asia founder, who has led the parent awards since 2000, has framed the regional expansion as a response to demand from agencies and brands in the Gulf and broader MENA markets.
For agencies and marketers weighing a submission, the programme highlights the commercial case for documenting measurable outcomes: campaigns that can demonstrate business impact may gain recognition in an awards landscape increasingly attentive to effectiveness alongside craft.
How to enter: Details on categories, entry requirements and fees are available on the Dragons of Asia MENA page. Deadline for submissions is 15 June 2026.
