Re-imagine reality. Discover new technology. Design the future. The 37^th Edition of GITEX Technology Week Exhibition (7 – 12 October 2017) was an opportunity to do that. Attracting the world’ tech pioneers, GITEX 2017 raised standards as the globe’s most advanced technology event. As lovers of apps, everything web, and all technology, it’s no wonder we caught the GITEX fever. Trade events are a great opportunity to be exposed to the latest industry trends, learn from industry giants and bring these new practices home. GITEX 2017 didn’t disappoint in presenting digital transformation in diverse sectors. It also showcased sensational applications of AR and VR technologies and introduced new platforms and tools that increase ROI – with personalized marketing, new trends and the use of video in content marketing, the future of native marketing, and other hot topics took center stage. Key people from Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Instagram discussed digital disruption, the increase in online sales, and the impact of social media on purchase decisions. Since these media giants are channeling a lot of energy into social media marketing measurement and attribution, they shared enlightening facts and figures plus meaningful analysis. The great talk by Careem was a call to stop idolizing Western brands and to start being locally inspired: to create local success by truly being local and not just Arabizing. Adding value to the region makes you a successful company since it involves you actively thinking of how you are solving local problems. Long-term strategies are obviously important, but marketing strategies are being updated rapidly. This means you have to react very fast. Being a good marketer today means looking at all the layers from operations to finance and HR. As Christian Eid insightfully remarked, “the best campaign is when your customers talk to each other about you.” And everything is ultimately time sensitive since “marketing strategies die every 2 weeks.” Instagram’s Brand Development Lead Priya Patel revealed that most content is now in the stories. This means the format has to be friendly and to work with sound on or off. It also stresses that including subtitles in the stories can go a long way. Amazon’s talk unveiled an exciting development that shows how booming e-commerce will become in the next few years: Amazon and Alibaba are establishing a new datacenter in the GCC. This highlights how certain businesses need to start moving to an e-commerce supported model soon. We even discovered more about the AI and blockchain technology initiatives launched by the Dubai Government. GITEX really delivered on “re-imaging realities” and we were right there, fired up to reimagine apps, web, design, marketing, branding, creativity, and strategy. After all, the future starts today.