Emaar Founder Mohamed Alabbar Shares "Why I Let Go of My Marketing Team" Alabbar says team were not able to change strategy.

Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar says his marketing team "had to go," after they were unable to measure how spending affects sales.

Addressing he audience during a his session entitled "Why I Let Go of My Marketing Team," at the 1 Billion Followers Summit 2025, Alabbar, whose leadership has propelled Emaar and other property companies to develop over US$350 billion in real estate projects across 18 countries, shared his unconventional approach to building one of the world's most recognised real estate and hospitality brands.

Alabbar underscored the importance of focusing on product quality, citing Emaar's distinct business model compared to companies like Emirates for instance, which necessitates a different approach than massive ad campaigns. "When I started Noon, I learned that massive ad campaigns are not necessarily what we need. What we need is to monetise and measure how spending affects our sales. My marketing team couldn't do that, so it had to go."

While eschewing traditional marketing, Alabbar occasionally collaborates with content creators, emphasising the importance of aligning the right product with the right audience and the right location. He believes in leveraging content creators strategically for specific products and targeted audiences, rather than relying on broad, untargeted marketing campaigns.

Alabbar revealed that Emaar initially outsourced marketing services before ultimately ceasing all traditional marketing activities. He played for the audience a video featuring himself and his grandchildren, which, despite a $70,000 production cost, generated $3.5 billion in real estate sales. "You can't do this if you're not genuine and if your product isn't good," he added. "You also need to be supported by the best team and choose the right audience."

The Emaar boss is advice to social media influencers and content creators echoed his core message, urging them to focus on genuine content, authenticity and quality products. He emphasised the foundational elements of Emaar's success: "Success never lasts if you don't have these key elements: quality, credibility and authenticity – as well as a good team. We are lucky because we have the best team and we live in the best city in the world, Dubai."

To prove his point that he can't be impressed easily, and that that was in part why he let go of his marketing team, Alabbar issued two challenges to the audience, inviting them to submit creative content ideas for a chance to win a significant financial reward and potentially a contract with his company.

Alabbar's session was part of the third edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit, the world's largest gathering dedicated to the content creator economy which ran from January 11-13, 2025. The UAE Government Media Office organised the summit across iconic venues, including Dubai's Emirates Towers, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and the Museum of the Future. Held under the theme 'Content for Good,' the event brought together over 15,000 content creators and influencers, more than 420 speakers, and 125 CEOs and global experts.

Related: Emaar Founder Mohamed Alabbar Offers "Incredible Reward" to Content Creators