Isolation to integration: How lifting Syria sanctions will reboot digital marketing
On May 13, 2025, President Donald Trump announced the lifting of all US sanctions on Syria, signaling a seismic shift: brands and agencies can finally deploy paid ads, leverage global analytics platforms, and reconnect Syria to the SWIFT banking system.
his article outlines the immediate implications for digital marketing in Syria—restored ad buying, universal analytics, streamlined payments — and provides a three-phase playbook for agencies and in-market brands to seize this historic moment.
Get your tickets to the Campaign Breakfast Briefing: Marketing Strategies 2025 on May 29, where top industry leaders will gather to unpack game-changing practices within the world of marketing.
Restoring paid media: Rebirth of digital campaigns in Syria
For over a decade, Meta, Google, and LinkedIn ad accounts in Syria were effectively blacklisted. Marketers relied on organic Facebook posts, peer-to-peer Telegram broadcasts, and manual tracking. Now, with sanctions lifted, Syrian businesses can:
Reopen Meta and Google ads : Targeted campaigns using lookalike audiences and interest segments become possible again.
: Targeted campaigns using lookalike audiences and interest segments become possible again. Leverage LinkedIn ads : B2B firms can run account-based marketing campaigns to reach regional and international buyers.
: B2B firms can run account-based marketing campaigns to reach regional and international buyers. Activate programmatic DSPs: DSPs like The Trade Desk can now bid on Syrian IPs, unlocking display and video inventory across the open web.
Universal analytics and measurement: From manual to automated
Without Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics, Syrian marketers built bespoke UTM-based spreadsheets and used local tools for basic click counts. The sanctions lift enables:
Google Analytics 4 and Facebook Pixel : Full-funnel tracking, event measurement, and conversion modeling.
: Full-funnel tracking, event measurement, and conversion modeling. Multi-touch attribution : Agencies can now deploy Data-Driven Attribution models to optimize bidding and creative in real time.
: Agencies can now deploy Data-Driven Attribution models to optimize bidding and creative in real time. Standardised reporting: Clients will demand dashboards built on universal metrics — sessions, bounce rates, ROAS — boosting agency credibility.
Banking reintegration: Fluid ad spend and payments
Reconnection to SWIFT is the final piece of the marketing puzzle. Previously, ad payments required complex workarounds—third-party intermediaries, cryptocurrency, or reliance on a handful of regional partners. Post-sanctions:
Direct billing : Agencies can fund ad accounts with corporate credit cards and bank transfers, eliminating payment delays.
: Agencies can fund ad accounts with corporate credit cards and bank transfers, eliminating payment delays. Digital wallets and e-payments : Integration with STC Pay, Apple Pay, and emerging fintech solutions will streamline in-app purchases and subscription billing.
: Integration with STC Pay, Apple Pay, and emerging fintech solutions will streamline in-app purchases and subscription billing. Expanded media buys: With formal banking, larger campaign budgets (SAR 50k+) can be processed, enabling scale for national brand launches.
A three-phase go-to-market playbook
To capitalise on this transition, agencies should adopt a structured approach:
Phase 1 – Quick wins (0–2 months)
Pilot paid campaigns : Allocate a modest budget (SAR 5–10 k) to test key segments on Facebook and Google.
: Allocate a modest budget (SAR 5–10 k) to test key segments on Facebook and Google. Re-establish presence: Use 'Welcome Back Syria' creative to earn earned media and social shares.
Phase 2 – Expansion and retargeting (2–4 months)
Retarget website visitors : Deploy dynamic retargeting for cart abandoners using new analytics.
: Deploy dynamic retargeting for cart abandoners using new analytics. Email drip campaigns: Leverage Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign to nurture leads captured through paid ads.
Phase 3 – Localisation and narrative (4+ months)
Localised storytelling : Partner with local influencers and media to craft narratives around reconstruction and renewal.
: Partner with local influencers and media to craft narratives around reconstruction and renewal. Cross-platform integration: Sync campaigns across social, search, and DSP for cohesive omnichannel journeys.
Risks and mitigations
While the reopening is promising, marketers must navigate:
Currency volatility : Black-market exchange rates may persist; build buffer budgets.
: Black-market exchange rates may persist; build buffer budgets. Regulatory flux : Track new guidance from U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on permissible transactions.
: Track new guidance from U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on permissible transactions. Trust rebuilding: Consumers may be wary; lead with transparent messaging and verified offers.
Conclusion: Seizing Syria's second start
Syria's re-entry into the global financial and digital ecosystem is more than a political milestone—it's a marketer's opportunity.
By quickly relaunching paid channels, adopting universal analytics, and integrating formal banking, brands can leapfrog from ad-hoc workarounds to world-class campaigns.
In a market primed for growth, the first movers will define the post-sanctions era.
By Alber Makhoul, Founder and Principal, Sawad Consultation Group
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
'Flight Deals': Google launches new AI-powered search tool for 'best bargains'
On August 14, Google introduced a new AI-powered search tool called 'Flight Deals'. The tech giant said that the tool is "designed for flexible travellers whose number one goal is saving money on their next trip". In a blog post detailing how it works, Google said that users can just describe when, where and how they'd like to travel "as though you're talking to a friend" to uncover top deals. Users can search something like 'week-long trip this winter to a city with great food, nonstop only' to see the "best bargains available" across destinations. The blog post said: "What makes Flight Deals unique is that it uses Google's advanced AI to understand the nuances of what you're looking for and identify matching destinations. Then, it'll tap into real-time Google Flights data to quickly show you relevant, up-to-date options from hundreds of airlines and booking sites." This feature will be rolling out in the coming week in the US, Canada and India. Flight Deals is being launched in beta to gather feedback as of now. The original Google Flights will continue to stay.
Gulf Today
5 hours ago
- Gulf Today
US Fed to cut rates in September and once more this year: Experts
A Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September, the first this year, followed perhaps by another before year-end remains the base forecast for most economists polled by Reuters amid rising concerns about the health of the world's biggest economy. US inflation is rising again, with more upward pressure expected from President Donald Trump's tariffs, and there have been big downward revisions to hiring figures over recent months that suggest the job market is weakening. Trump has berated Fed Chair Jerome Powell over his reluctance to cut rates. And at the July meeting there was clear divergence from the steady rates position among a minority of Federal Open Market Committee members. Alongside simmering doubts over the Fed's independence from political interference and declining reliability of economic data, it has become more difficult for economists to make predictions with great conviction. August is not typically a month for big forecast changes either. Many are waiting for the next round of inflation and jobs data, as well as a speech from Powell, his last at the Fed's annual Jackson Hole conference held this month as his term as Fed chief ends in May. Economists are broadly sticking to a more cautious outlook than interest rate futures traders, whose pricing suggests a near-certainty of a September cut and strong likelihood of another, and the possibility of a third by year-end. A 61% majority, 67 of 110, predicted the Fed would lower its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.00%-4.25% on September 17 for the first time this year, up from 53% in July's survey. One forecast a 50 basis point move. The remaining 42 said the Fed would hold rates again. 'We think that market participants are excessively confident in a September cut, as they are misinterpreting both the FOMC's assessment of labour market conditions and its reaction function,' wrote economists at Barclays in a note. 'In our view, the main question is not so much about whether the Fed needs to ease policy to lean against job declines, but whether the situation warrants cuts on the grounds that the balance of risks has shifted away from inflation and toward the full employment mandate.' Over 60% of respondents, 68 of 110, predicted there would be either one or two rate cuts this year, broadly unchanged from last month. But there was no consensus on where the federal funds rate would be at end-2025. A near-80% majority of economists who answered an extra question, fewer than the usual sample, said the inflation impact from tariffs would be temporary. A 68% majority also expected no serious erosion of the Fed's independence during the remainder of Powell's term. Inflation forecasts were broadly unchanged from last month, averaging above the Fed's 2% target through at least 2027. The unemployment rate was expected to be around the current 4.2% or slightly above over the next few years, suggesting economists have not yet fully responded to the recent sharp downward revisions to hiring and may do so in the next poll if August jobs data are also weak. 'We come down on the side of thinking the Fed would prefer to retain optionality,' said Michael Gapen, chief US economist at Morgan Stanley. 'This would leave room for a soft August employment report to open the door for cuts, or a reasonably strong employment report plus another round of firming in CPI inflation to keep the Fed on hold.' Separately, Foreign holdings of US Treasuries rose to record levels in June, topping $9 trillion for a fourth straight month, data from the Treasury Department showed on Friday. Holdings of US Treasuries climbed to $9.13 trillion in June, up from $9.05 trillion in May. Compared with a year earlier, Treasuries owned by foreigners were up nearly $1 trillion, or 10% higher. However, on a transaction basis, the US experienced outflows of $5 billion after buying roughly $147 billion in Treasuries in May, the largest since August 2022. In April, there was an outflow of $40.8 billion as President Donald Trump's back-and-forth tariff policies roiled markets. Japan remained the largest non-U.S. holder of Treasuries, with a record $1.147 trillion in June, up $12.6 billion from the previous month's $1.134 trillion. UK investors, the second-largest owner of US government debt, raised their pool of Treasuries to another record of$858.1 billion, up 0.6% from $809.4 billion in May. The UK overtook China as the second-largest non-US holder of Treasuries in March. The UK is widely viewed as a custody country, generally a proxy for hedge fund investments. Other countries used by hedge funds for custody services include the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. Treasury holdings of China, the third-largest owner of US government debt, were little changed at$756.4 billion, compared with $756.3 billion in May, which was the lowest since February 2009 when the country's stock of Treasuries dropped to$744.2 billion. Agencies
Khaleej Times
5 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE welcomes historic Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska
UAE welcomed the summit held in Alaska between US President Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Emirates "appreciated the efforts made by President Trump to promote dialogue and find peaceful solutions," it said in a statement. UAE considered the summit to be an important step toward enhancing international peace and security and fostering an atmosphere of trust in the European continent. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs praised this "historic meeting, affirming that constructive dialogue is the optimal way to bridge perspectives and resolve conflicts". The ministry also noted that the joint efforts of the two presidents to end the Ukraine crisis represent a source of hope for promoting global peace and stability. Although no ceasefire agreement was brokered during the meeting, both leaders described the talks as productive. After the summit, Ukraine's Zelensky, who had voiced concerns about a lack of Ukraine representation in the Trump-Putin meeting, announced he would meet with the US President on August 18 in Washington. A Kremlin spokesman had previously said that a three-way meeting could be possible depending on if the proceedings went well in Alaska.
