Dubai: Total advertising spend in the Middle East and North Africa rose 10.4 per cent in the first quarter 2011 over the same period last year.
The spike is a full 1.6 per cent ahead of the 8.8 per cent total ad increase globally, reports Nielsen's GlobalAdview.
And unlike newspaper counterparts in the West where classified advertising has plunged from $19.6 billion (Dh71.99 billion) in 2000 to $5.6 billion in 2010, newspapers in the Middle East — most notably the United Arab Emirates — are still enjoying strong newspaper classified sales.
"The percentage spent on classified in the UAE has increased from 9.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 to around 11.8 per cent during the second quarter of 2011," said Shaharyar Umar, marketing director, Pan Arab Research Centre (Parc) based in Dubai.
"As much as 41 per cent of the adult population reads classified in UAE," he told Gulf News, noting that "heavy readers of newspapers in UAE tend to be amongst higher age groups than heavy internet users. A small portion of advertising revenue may flow from traditional newspaper classifieds towards digital but the classified is likely to retain its charisma at least in the near future."
Umar said that while newspapers in the Middle East are forecast to stay healthy with marginally rising revenues in coming years, digital expansion of advertising through social media and higher handheld mobile usage will erode traditional media over time in emerging markets.
"In the long run," Umar said, "the internet has the potential of acting as a media carrier capable of carrying other media vehicles."
For example, Umar said "20 per cent of internet users read newspapers online."
Latest numbers released by Parc show that print classifieds in the UAE resulted in $21.8 million in revenues in the first quarter of 2010. That figure grew to $23.2 million in the first quarter of 2011, he said.
Shakun Mohnani, group advertising manager for Al Nisr Publishing Dubai, oversees classified advertising in Gulf News tabloid inserts Classified, Properties, Freehold, as well as Appointments section in the regular broadsheet newspaper. Gulf News also offers classifieds online.
Mohnani said she believes classified advertising in the region is returning to higher levels after a couple of tough financial years globally.
Traditional classified ads should remain competitive in years to come, she said.
"Print classified will not die down in this part of the world," Mohnani said.
One of the key reasons for classifieds in print mediums remaining at the forefront of sales is the element of trust by readers built up over decades, something not easily replicated by dozens of new online classifieds sites in the UAE.
"The chances of mistrust are far less in the print product," said Mohnani. "It's a service industry for Gulf News. When you want a job, property or a car, you still pick up Gulf News classifieds products. You can trust it. For the last 25 years, we've been doing this."
Trust has been earned thanks to a thorough internal checklist that subjects each classified advertiser to a series of tests to ensure accuracy.
Reza Saraiezadeh, general manager of Richland Real Estate in Dubai, has relied on classifieds for years to reach customers directly.
Today, he prefers to use the front page of Gulf News Freehold section for Richland ads at least five or six times a month for maximum impact with the public.
"From this page, when we have a good product, we are getting a good number of calls. Of course, we can't have front page every day."
Hussain Khan, sales manager for Advanced Systems, which deals in financial equities and futures, said print classified advertising works for his firm.
"The right positioning makes a lot of difference," Khan said. "For the last couple of years, we have done a mix of advertising. It depends on the season, timing and days."