Join on WhatsApp 
Join on Telegram Casablanca – Casablanca’s Four Seasons Hotel was today the center of Morocco’s advertising world as the country hosted its first-ever National Advertising Conference. This event brings together all stakeholders in the advertising sector to discuss the current state of the market, its challenges, and the steps needed to create a modern and strategic vision for Moroccan advertising.
The conference comes at a time when the advertising ecosystem is undergoing profound transformations. Changes in global digital communication, the rise of major international platforms, and the shift in audience behavior are reshaping the way brands reach Moroccan consumers.
The event aims to explore how the country can strengthen its advertising industry while maintaining transparency, creativity, and cultural relevance.
A focus on strategy, ethics, and innovation
The event began with an opening ceremony featuring speeches from leading figures, including Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, Morocco’s Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication.
“We live in a world of accelerated economic competition, and the importance of reputation, brand, and signature is undeniable. Advertising is not just a source of creativity, it is also a pillar of national and digital sovereignty that Morocco seeks to defend,” he said.
Advertising is more than just a market tool, the minister emphasized, explaining that it is a key driver of economic growth, a source of creativity, and a pillar for cultural and digital sovereignty.
According to him, a strong advertising sector is crucial not only for funding media and creative industries but also for asserting Morocco’s independence in an increasingly globalized market.
Latifa Akharbach, President of the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HACA), also spoke at the opening. She highlighted the importance of regulation in ensuring that advertising supports society, respects ethical standards, and protects citizens.
“Advertising is a narrative, a discourse that shapes desire, builds image, confers prestige, and establishes social norms… it cannot escape ethical demands,” she said.
Akharbach stressed that advertising should not only be about generating revenue but also about shaping public narratives responsibly. She pointed out that misleading or harmful advertising, as well as content that promotes stereotypes, needs to be addressed to reflect Morocco’s social values and diversity.
Aziz Khayati, Deputy Director of the Budget at Morocco’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, speaking on behalf of Fawzi Lekjaa, highlighted the strategic role of advertising in Morocco’s economic and digital landscape.
He stressed that the sector is at the crossroads of creativity, technology, and national sovereignty, and that its development requires coordinated efforts among all stakeholders.
“The development of the advertising sector requires renewed governance capable of uniting all actors around shared goals of transparency, equity, and value creation,” he said.
Khayati pointed out that building local measurement tools, creating competitive domestic platforms, and including SMEs, young talents, and women in the value chain are essential steps to ensure that the benefits of advertising strengthen Morocco’s media and creative industries.
Ilham Harawi, Director of Advertising and Digital Solutions at SNRT, read the speech of Faïcal Laraïchi, President of the Public Audiovisual Pole.
“Advertising is more than a profession; it is a real driver of economic growth, creativity, and innovation,” she said.
She highlighted SNRT’s strategic role in the digital space, mentioning the fully Moroccan VOD platform Folger, which has reached nearly 4 million downloads. She concluded by pledging that the public sector will continue supporting creativity, competitiveness, and the development of a robust advertising ecosystem in Morocco.
Panels and key discussions
The two-day event is structured around thematic panels. Today’s sessions focused on three main topics: the legal and regulatory framework of advertising, taxation and economic balance in the advertising market, and ethical governance with professional regulation.
Tomorrow, attention will shift to a fourth panel on the advertising market and the digital challenge, followed by a final session to synthesize and adopt the recommendations.
One key topic was the rise of digital advertising and its implications for media sovereignty. Speakers pointed out that most online advertising revenue currently goes to large global platforms, leaving local media with limited resources.
Strengthening local infrastructure, developing national measurement tools, and creating competitive digital platforms were seen as essential steps to ensure Morocco’s media independence.
Another significant discussion point was the ethical responsibility of advertisers. Panelists stressed that advertising should promote positive social messages, gender equality, and inclusion while avoiding harmful stereotypes or misleading claims.
The goal of this conference is to ensure that advertising contributes to the country’s social and cultural development, not just economic growth.
As the who’s who of Moroccan advertisement gathered to assess their industry’s current state in Morocco and strategize about making it more viable in the future, today’s event ended up being more than a simple gathering of industry leaders.
By the time the curtains dropped today on Morocco’s first-ever such national conference, both the event’s many enthusiastic attendees and its visibly satisfied organizers almost unanimously described it as a critical step toward creating a structured, transparent, and innovative advertising sector in Morocco.
Pledging to work towards addressing legal frameworks, fiscal policies, ethical standards, and digital transformation, the organizers said the conference’s ultimate aim is to provide a roadmap for a national advertising ecosystem that is competitive, inclusive, and culturally rooted.
