WPP Media Announces the Third Edition of NextM in MENA: "Uncharted"

One step for man, a giant leap for the media industry. NextM: Uncharted will launch clients and business partners into the next frontier of AI and new consumer worlds leaving the audience well equipped for 2027 and beyond. 

WPP Media is thrilled to announce the third edition of its highly anticipated regional event, NextM, returning to Dubai on 12 November 2026. Hosted at the awe-inspiring, fully immersive SEE Institute in Sustainable City, NextM 2026: Uncharted will serve as an extraordinary mission briefing for the new era of media and marketing.

The inspiration for this year's bold, space-exploration theme comes directly from WPP Media's clients, who described their 2025 event ‘NextM: The Canopy Effect’ as an "out of this world" experience. WPP Media decided to take that feedback quite literally for this year.

A Launchpad into the Unknown

The edge of the marketing map is no longer the boundary; it is the starting line. The industry stands on the precipice of a new cosmos, a vast expanse of uncharted territory where the rules are unwritten, and the greatest opportunities lie hidden in the deep space of what is next.

NextM 2026: Uncharted invites the pioneers, the explorers, and the leaders who are ready to navigate the profound unknowns of media, advertising, and technology, including Artificial Intelligence, the emerging consumer worlds of tomorrow, new media owners, and much more.

The half day strategic briefing will venture beyond the comfort of established strategies. It will explore how to lead in the face of chaos and plant a flag in territories that do not yet exist on any chart. NextM will be more than an event; it will be a launchpad into a new era of exploratory, intelligent marketing.

A lineup of extraordinary global and regional voices

Attendees will join the vanguard of the industry: the mission commanders, technological innovators, and cultural cartographers. They will be guided through diverse, immersive sessions that will provide them with the navigational intelligence and courage needed to define the future and lead their brands into the unknown.

Delving into the technological frontier is Dr. Daniel Hulme, WPP's Chief AI Officer, CEO of Satalia and Founder & CEO of Conscium, he is ranked among the top ten Chief AI Officers globally. His company Conscium is the world's first commercial research organisation exploring machine consciousness, and with over 25 years of academic authority in AI, and Dr Hulme’s session will provide a confident, expert roadmap for ethically harnessing AI to drive purposeful innovation.

Focusing on the emerging audiences of tomorrow, Mark McCrindle, an award-winning social researcher and the visionary demographer who originally coined the label ‘Generation Alpha’, will share his unparalleled expertise. A trusted advisor to global executive boards, Mark will help attendees discover how to effectively engage the cohort set to become the largest generation in history.

Alongside these remarkable speakers, guests will hear from the ‘media owners of the future’ in a lively panel featuring top podcaster Hikmat Wehbe, popular lifestyle content creator Hadeel Alazaweey, and larger than life YouTuber Rami Alosta.  The once familiar map of influencer marketing is growing obsolete. Today’s creators have evolved far beyond the confines of a simple social feed; they are building media empires, creating content studios, launching original product lines, and becoming what we are calling ‘the new media owners’ in their own right. This forward-looking panel featuring a YouTuber, a gamer, a podcaster and a leading influencer will examine how individual creators have become the definitive media owners of our modern digital ecosystem.

A panel led by Trade Desk and Terry Kane, MD of Trade Desk will follow on the topic of The Automation Black Hole: Who Really Owns Your Data? As algorithms increasingly take the wheel, the true battleground for survival in this uncharted cosmos lies in first-party data and supply chain transparency. This cross-industry expedition chart the shifting balance of power between advertisers and the gravitational pull of walled gardens. Guests will walk away with a definitive navigational compass, knowing exactly which marketing decisions to safely automate and which vital data assets you must fiercely protect. 

Furthermore, Richard Nockles, Creative Director of Sports Innovation at Sky Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), will deliver a captivating presentation on how merging Generative AI and game engines will create personalised, ‘Beyond TV’ interactive experiences for the next generation of sports fans. 

The convergence of gaming, broadcast and artificial intelligence is triggering a seismic shift in sports entertainment. This session explores how advanced AI semantically interprets live action, from tactical analysis to player visualisations, to create interactive 3D digital twins. Learn how your brand can harness real-time data and immersive storytelling to meet a new generation’s demand for active participation, engaging tomorrow’s fans in an uncharted digital arena.

Among their stellar lineup, WPP Media will welcome the events headliner speaker, Sara Sabry, the first Arab and African woman in space, and the first Egyptian astronaut, to the stage. Sara is recognised as one of The Explorers Club’s “50 People Changing the World” and will draw on her unique experiences to equip leaders with the tools, skills and resilience needed to navigate the unknown, and lead through the chaos.

NextM: Uncharted stands as a testament to WPP Media’s unwavering commitment to pioneering the future of media and marketing across the MENA region. As we navigate an era of unprecedented technological advancement and shifting consumer paradigms, our mandate is clear: to equip our clients and partners with the strategic foresight necessary to thrive in tomorrow's media ecosystem. This immersive summit will not merely showcase the frontier of marketing innovation; it will actively empower the region's industry leaders to turn the unknown into their greatest competitive advantage, architecting the future of media as we look toward 2027 and beyond.

WPP Media is proud to be partnering with Amazon and Sky Media (Platinum), The Trade Desk (Gold), Seedtag and JustAd (Silver), and DoubleVerify and Multiply Media Group (MMG) (Bronze) to bring to life this truly spectacular event.

Please note: NextM 2026 is an invite-only event.

For more information on the event, or to register your interest in attending, please reach out to [email protected].