Wissal Bouhaddou, Brand Communications Manager at Ellington Properties, has watched Dubai’s investor base widen considerably over the past year, and with it, the rules for how developers need to communicate.
July 09, 2026 | Wissal Bouhaddou | UAE | Real Estate
Wissal Bouhaddou’s view of 2026 is shaped less by what buyers want to hear and more by what they have already come to expect.
For Bouhaddou, the easing of residency requirements and the broader movement of regional capital has changed who developers are speaking to, and how. “The expansion of the investor base is encouraging developers to communicate in a far more segmented and intentional way,” she says. What has changed, she explains, is the nature of the conversation itself.
“A first-time international investor is often looking for trust, transparency, and accessibility, while a more experienced buyer may be evaluating design quality, long-term value, and lifestyle integration,” she adds.
Five years ago, broad messaging worked. “Today, relevance matters more than reach,” she notes. At Ellington, that has meant moving beyond price points and payment plans to communicate the full ownership experience.
With more than 80,000 units scheduled for delivery in 2026, Bouhaddou believes credibility has become one of the strongest differentiators in real estate marketing.
“Buyers are paying much closer attention to who is behind a project, what they have delivered previously, and whether the promise being marketed is supported by proven execution,” she says.
The shift she has observed is structural. “Buyers no longer separate marketing from delivery. The strongest campaigns today are built on proof rather than promises,” she explains.
“Credibility itself has become a marketing asset. The brands that will stand out are those capable of consistently connecting marketing with trust, quality, and long-term value,” she adds.
Bouhaddou points out that successful launches today are built around emotional connection rather than short-term hype. “The teaser phase is about creating intrigue and introducing a lifestyle, a feeling, or a story that people can connect with emotionally,” she says.
As more details emerge, the focus shifts as buyers today are highly informed, so every touchpoint needs to align with the product itself. “Successful sell-through is no longer defined by how quickly a project sells on day one, but by how effectively trust and engagement are maintained throughout the entire lifecycle of the development,” she believes.
Asked what marketing capability has been hardest to find this year, Bouhaddou points to a specific combination. “One of the most difficult capabilities to find today is the ability to combine creativity, commercial understanding, and data-driven decision-making within a single role,” she says.
“The strongest marketers are no longer specialists in just one area. They need to be equally comfortable developing a creative campaign, interpreting performance data, understanding customer behaviour, and translating business objectives into meaningful communication,” she explains. “Achieving that balance is not easy, which is exactly why it has become one of the most valuable skill sets in the industry today,” asserts Bouhaddou.
The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of Real Estate Market Times.
