Meydan Free Zone wins top Marquee Awards 2026 for performance marketing and SEO
Organic search generated thousands of licences and Dh82.5 million in revenue
DUBAI – The Meydan Free Zone has secured two honours at the Marquee Awards 2026, winning Technical Excellence in Performance Marketing and Technical Excellence in SEO.
The awards were presented by Martechvibe during a ceremony at Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah last week, where 24 organisations were recognised across 20 categories. Meydan Free Zone was among only three organisations to win in two categories.
The award-winning campaigns were developed and delivered by the free zone's in-house marketing team, with entries assessed on commercial outcomes rather than marketing activity alone. The approach reflects a broader shift towards connecting digital marketing directly with licensing and sales performance.
Performance gains
In the Performance Marketing category, Meydan Free Zone was recognised for restructuring its paid media strategy around CRM-verified opportunities and closed sales instead of relying primarily on lead volumes.
Between January and June 2026, blended sales conversion increased from 13% to 23%, while cost per sale dropped by 63%. Media spending also declined by 71%, with paid return on ad spend reaching a peak of 13.49x. Over a 14-month period, the campaign was credited with generating Dh156.3 million in revenue.
The SEO award recognised a strategy combining organic search with AI-driven discovery. The campaign involved rebuilding the website architecture, expanding long-tail business activity pages and structuring entity data to help ensure Meydan Free Zone's propositions were accurately surfaced in AI-generated responses.
The work resulted in increases of between 166% and 169% in organic sessions and impressions, while Domain Authority rose from 23 to 47. Organic channels generated 3,812 licences and Dh82.5 million in revenue.
Digital model
Anisha Sagar, Head of Marketing and Communications at Meydan Free Zone, said the team focused on making the free zone easier to discover and act on through search engines, AI assistants and advertising platforms.
She said the work involved rebuilding foundations including website architecture and the connection between marketing channels and the sales pipeline, adding that the double recognition highlighted the team's focus on commercial outcomes.
The two awards also reflect Meydan Free Zone's positioning as the UAE's only 24/7 Digital Free Zone, with licensing, payments and member services delivered through its own platform.
This digital-first structure provides the marketing team with direct visibility across the customer journey, from an initial search or advertisement to a licence being issued.
Global reach
Jay Shaholia, Chief Operating Officer at Meydan Free Zone, said entrepreneurs increasingly compare jurisdictions remotely and form their views before speaking with a representative or travelling to a destination.
He said the business was built to allow founders to discover, understand and act on its offering under those conditions, while highlighting the number of companies operating in Dubai as the key measure of its digital and commercial strategy.