14 May 2026
Uzbekistan's marketing future lies not in randomly going viral but in systematically creating ideas people believe in — built on its own cultural material, not copied from New York or Dubai.
Marina Aleksandrovskaya — CEO and Co-Founder of the creative AI agency TDIGROUPCA.
The market is definitely no longer chaotic. But it is important now to keep strengthening professional rules, measurement standards, and industry benchmarks.
Uzbekistan has a very strong foundation: it is the largest market in Central Asia by population, with a rapidly growing economy, a young audience, and high digital activity. According to DataReportal, by the end of 2025 the country had approximately 33 million internet users. For advertising, this means one simple thing: the audience has long been digital, and brands need to be there too — not as a checkbox exercise, but systematically.
But being systematic is not just about everyone knowing how to run targeted ads and produce videos. True systematization begins where there are clear rules, reliable data, transparent measurement, strong talent, and professional dialogue between clients, agencies, media, and the government. In Uzbekistan, rapid movement in this direction is now visible. For example, the digital economy is developing, the government is specifically addressing the creative economy, IT exports are growing, and outdoor advertising measurement is emerging.
The first problem is a shortage of strong specialists. Not just people who know how to manage social media or launch ads, but people who understand business, strategy, creative, numbers, and the consumer simultaneously. That is a rare combination. Admittedly, it is rare everywhere, not just in Uzbekistan. It is simply that on fast-growing markets, the shortage of such people is felt especially acutely.
The second issue is the varying levels of business readiness for marketing. Some companies already think in modern terms: they work with data, build brands, and think about long-term value. Others still perceive marketing as "make us nice social media and a banner." An interesting fact: according to OECD data, a few years ago only about a quarter of formal private companies in Uzbekistan had their own websites.
The third problem is measurement. In advertising, everyone loves to talk about "effectiveness," but unfortunately, effectiveness cannot be felt in your heart. It needs to be measured. And that requires clear data, independent research, and transparent reporting by channel.
If a brand has no clear positioning, no understanding of its audience, and no product clarity, then any tools become cosmetics. And cosmetics do not save a business — at best, they put a nice powder on it.
The rules are becoming more transparent — that much is certain. There is an updated advertising law, regulation of outdoor advertising, enforcement against dishonest advertising, a personal data protection law, and so on. In other words, the market is no longer operating in a "let's work it out between us" mode but within increasingly clear legal frameworks.
However, it is important to be honest: transparency in the economy and investment policy is developing faster than transparency specifically in the advertising and media industry. Platforms are needed where the discussion goes beyond budgets and tenders to address standards: how to measure effectiveness, how to handle data, how to label influencer advertising, how to protect children in advertising, and how to avoid misleading consumers.
Corporate social responsibility is currently going through an important stage of maturation. Previously, it was often understood quite narrowly: charity, sponsoring holidays, attractive social initiatives. All of this matters, but today it is no longer enough.
For modern business, social responsibility is not a one-off campaign once a year but a daily management habit. How a company hires people. How it communicates with clients. How honest its promises are. How it handles data. How it advertises products to children and teenagers. How it treats local culture. Whether it misleads consumers with fine print. In modern marketing, social responsibility is not a brand decoration — it is part of its competitiveness.
This potential is very high. The country has a young population and enormous interest in digital professions. The IT sector is growing rapidly. According to IT Park, Uzbekistan's IT exports grew from hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2017 to hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years. This is no longer a story of "we have talented people." This is a story of "we have a market that is beginning to export intellect."
Uzbekistan is culturally very compelling. It is a country with a powerful visual code: the Silk Road, Islamic architecture, contemporary urban culture, music, food, crafts, and emerging fashion. All of this can become the foundation for strong brands and creative products.
Uzbekistan is capable of adopting new methodologies and, in fact, is already doing so. There is an AI development strategy, IT Park is expanding, a creative economy law has been adopted, and the government is beginning to measure the contribution of digital and creative sectors to the economy.
But there is an important nuance. New methodologies cannot simply be translated from English and pasted into a presentation. It is essential for Uzbekistan not just to introduce new terminology but to explain it in the language of local business. For example, not "we need a data-driven strategy" but "we need to understand who our buyer is, where we are losing them, and why our advertising is not paying off."
Marketing and advertising are no longer a narrow topic "about videos, banners, and social media." This is a conversation about business development, market trust, data quality, the country's reputation, the export of creative services, and how Uzbekistan will be perceived by the world.
The discussion needs to be broader: involving business, government, universities, technology companies, media, bloggers, lawyers, and researchers. It is especially important to talk about three things:
Uzbekistan today is at precisely the point where it can make a major leap — not only in the quantity of advertising but in its quality. The key is not to be afraid to speak honestly: yes, the market has enormous potential, but to unlock it, we need more professional discipline, more data, more strong people, and less magical thinking. The future of Uzbekistan's marketing lies not in randomly "going viral" somewhere, but in systematically creating ideas that people believe in.
Uzbekistan does not need to copy New York, Dubai, Istanbul, or London. It should take the best, but assemble its own model. Because the country has its own cultural material. And in the creative industry, that is gold.