“Even though the majority of the leads are coming from online sources, we still have to mention the quality and importance of different offline touch points – referrals, events and networking. These are the leads that really have higher conversion rates,” said Diana Dzaka Bico, Marketing Director, Engel & Völkers.

Speaking during a panel discussion at the TRIBE – The CMO Connect 2025 conference hosted by Khaleej Times on Wednesday, she said everything shifted towards digital platforms, not just in marketing during the pandemic.

“That’s definitely reflected in real estate, especially on the brokerage side. The lead generation become very focused on online marketing. The majority of leads are coming from offline sources. For brokerage agencies, property portals, social media ads, Google ads, email and WhatsApp are online sources used to generate these leads,” she said during the panel discussion.

On the other side, she noted that developers are quite heavily focused on the offline side of marketing such as billboards, events and project launch launches that are happening daily.

“However, in recent years, I’ve noticed a big shift in terms of their focus on digital marketing and that aspect of lead generation.”

She added that offline is important and brokerages should not leave that out of the mix and balance online and offline marketing.

Katie Allen, head of advertising and revenue at Khaleej Times, moderated the panel – Let’s Talk Billboards, Algorithms & Buyers: Cracking the Code of Real Estate Marketing in 2025.

Quoting Ipsos, she said that in 2024, UAE ad spending was Dh9.4 billion. “Of that enormous amount, Dh1.4 5 billion was spent by the real estate and  79 per cent of Dh1.4 5 billion went towards outdoor advertising,” she added.

Sevgi Gur, chief marketing officer of Property Finder, said research showed that there is a huge role of offline when it comes to real estate decisions from the consumer perspective.

She pointed out that trust is key in real estate.

“When there is no trust, there is no trade. When consumers see someone spending a huge amount of money on high-impact media, they think that they have the pocket. If you are buying a developer who has that kind of marketing budget, your mind is going to believe that most probably it will deliver what it promised to you. Is outdoor advertising helping them to make the decision? Yes. I don’t think that the shift from digital to outdoor is a function of Covid, per se. It is a function of real estate, started growing post-Covid and the ability of developers to launch new products,” she said during the panel discussion.

Curtis Schmidt, CEO of RAPP for Mena, said authenticity is not just a campaign, but a commitment.

“Brands that consistently embody their values —especially in times of crisis — are the ones that earn lasting trust. Curtis highlighted how RAPP leverages CRM to help brands turn complex financial messages, such as rate changes or data sharing, into trust-building opportunities. From proactive communication to humanized automation, preparing in a way that is personal, swift, and customer-focused is key to maintaining trust when it matters most,” Schmidt said.

Ahmed El Sherbini, CEO of Think Human, said everything starts with strategy in the beginning, and if there is no clear strategy and a good understanding of the brand, then there will be challenges moving forward.

“It’s a very transactional business. It’s a very cluttered category. However, it’s one of the highest spending categories in the UAE,” he said.

“We still believe in the integrated marketing communication approach. We can still rely on offline and online. Offline has its own kind of KPIs and parameters – the outdoor activation, print ad etc. Digital is more targeted communication for certain consumers with certain messages at a certain time through different platforms. You have to have the data and the insights to be able to reach that,” he said.

Think Human’s chief executive noted that unfortunately, a lot of ads are very cluttered, whether they’re from brokers, developers or individuals.

“You feel that they do not even understand the brand, and the ad is only about price, price, price, price. It’s very important to look at the brand whether you’re a developer or a broker. By the end of the day, you work for a brand,” he said.