Dubai: It did not take long for the UAE to record one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world. Given that it had already built up the highest mobile phone usage rates — on a per capita basis — through the better part of the last decade, the upgrade to smartphones was the easiest thing to do.
The UAE leads the world in smartphone penetration (at 94 per cent) based on a Global TGI survey conducted across 68 markets. (The survey was carried out in the region by Pan Arab Research Centre in partnership with Global TGI, UK.)
Here are some numbers that further accentuate the hold the smartphone has on a UAE resident’s life. Nearly every adult in the country has used the internet in the past 12 months (97.5 per cent) with nearly half the population accessing it on a daily basis, according to findings by Global TGI, a research firm. “Handheld devices have been propelling internet usage as 52 per cent of users have done so on their smartphones and 13 per cent of the adult population have used tablets to do so,” said Shaharyar Umar, marketing director at Pan Arab Research Centre.
“Based on the findings, we assume that every adult owns a mobile phone, makes an average of 21 calls a day, while 42 per cent have used emails and 7.3 per cent have used mobile TV on the phones. An estimated 30 per cent have used mobiles to make their payments.”
This should be the signal for brands and their campaign managers to pursue mobile-based advertising within the wider framework of digital media. While hard numbers are difficult to come by, ad industry sources reckon that mobile-based campaigns have had limited traction to date. What is already out there on user screens are pop-ups and streaming banner messages, which are more often seen as an irritant by the user than compelling viewing.
If advertisers are serious about connecting with a smartphone-savvy demographic — and in the UAE that is just about everyone — they have to bring on the carefully crafted ad videos that can hold their own against TV commercials.
But the industry, going by available evidence, has been approaching it on a piecemeal basis. Some in the industry talk about the cost, and not just the one incurred by a prospective advertiser.
“Tariff rates on packages from local telecom service providers may have to come down further for subscribers to be willing to use their monthly data quota on mobile ad videos,” said an advertising industry executive. “Failing that, it would be difficult to convince them, and this is why marketers are taking their time.”
According to Amit Vyas, CEO of Dubai-based Nexa, the digital marketing agency and SEO (search engine optimisation) consultant, “A reduction in the cost of packages will, of course, positively impact consumption of video from mobile devices. There is evidence of this in both Europe and the US. That said, a (growing) number of retailers, malls, hotels and other public spaces are offering free Wi-Fi ... therefore, video and rich media consumption is already increasing on the back of this.”
According to the TGI data, just under half the local adult population are connected to public wireless hot spots.
Over the last two years in particular, digital media has rearranged the entire narrative within the local advertising sector. Social media channels imposed their own momentum to the pace of change.
At some point in the near future, mobile-based platforms will want to plug in and reap in the advertising windfall. Lots more of free Wi-Fi hot spots and some revisions on data packages can go a long way in freeing up advertisers’ budgets.
