Business | Markets
Ad market shrinks during first two quarters
The UAE advertising market fell six per cent during the first two quarters of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005, according to a market research firm.
- By Ivan Gale, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 July 3, 2006
Dubai: The UAE advertising market fell six per cent during the first two quarters of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005, according to a market research firm.
Ipsos statistics showed advertising spending in the UAE was $498 million (Dh1.8 billion) from January through June, down from $529 million during the first half of 2005.
Tarek Shaikh Al Shabab, media manager at Ipsos, attributed the drop to several factors. Several magazines stopped publishing this year, which slimmed the print market, and some local TV stations moved to pan-Arabian satellite, he said.
Ipsos research tracks ad spending in five advertising markets: cinema, outdoor, radio, print and TV. In every sector, spending was down. Print advertising, comprising the bulk of the UAE ad expenditures, tallied $459 million in the first half of 2006 compared with $481 in the same period in 2005.
Outdoor ad spending fell from $20.6 million to $16.4 million, and TV dropped from $22 million to $14 million.
Bucking the trend, cinema ads rose 17 per cent to $5.3 million, while radio dropped from $10.2 million to $3.3 million. Al Shabab said that problems recording data from radio suppliers may have skewed the results, and he believes ad spending has actually increased this year.
Meanwhile, Communications conglomerate The Holding Group (THG) announced it was on target to reap Dh 1.4 billion ($381 million) in revenues for 2006.
THG chief executive Joseph Ghossoub said high growth in the public relations and direct marketing sectors are driving company revenues to rise 23 per cent this year, compared to around Dh $1.2 billion in 2005.
The company employs 1,340 people through its family of advertising, public relations, direct marketing and media buying firms.
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