Dubai
The feel-good factor continues to fuel the UAE’s advertising industry, with an estimated $398 million (Dh1.46 billion) being spent in the first three months of the year against $381 million same time last year. And it looks as if the upbeat sentiment will run for quite a while yet.
As has been the case for some time, local government agencies and government-owned enterprises continues to take the lead in pumping in the ad dollars into the marketplace — in the first quarter, they spent an estimated $79 million for an overall 20 per cent share of the overall ad billings, according to data from Pan Arab Research Centre (Parc), which tracks official media rate cards. (Interestingly, the UAE Armed Forces had the highest measured spend on TV during this period, with $3.88 million.)
The three pillars of the local economy — retail, entertainment and hospitality — took up the next three spots, based on Parc numbers. Then comes real estate specific advertising, or more precisely its return with an 88 per cent increase in ad spend compared with a year ago, with a total estimated at $32 million.
A clear pattern is starting to show up since early 2013 — if the first-half of last year saw steady increases in spending, there was a sharp spike in the second-half as build-up towards the confirmation of Dubai as the host city for World Expo 2020 in late November. December sparked a celebratory round of advertising highs as marketers and the local ad industry got the confirmation that the upturn was well and truly on.
The first quarter of 2014 confirms the bullishness. If anything, advertisers were hoping for more — “The start was not slow, but I think most of us were — and are — a trifle more bullish,” said Avishesha Bhojani, BPG | Group CEO.
Traditional media continues to hold its own in the UAE’s ad mix; newspapers pulled in $227 million for a steady 57 per cent share, while magazines accounted for $58 million (15 per cent share of the overall). Television commercials fetched $31 million in the first quarter, representing 8 per cent of the total. The share of outdoor media, at $59 million, was also put at 15 per cent. (The Parc numbers do not track digital media spend.)
“Currently both multinational brands as well as strong local brands are spending, though there are variations in the individual spending patterns,” said Mahesh Sundaresan, CEO at Ikon Advertising & Marketing. “MNC brands will always consider media that delivers reach across markets, such as pan-Arab television. As for digital, it is registering strong growth driven by both MNCs as well as local brands.
“Where we can see clear spike in ad spend is in retail, services and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) which is in line with Nielsen’s UAE consumer Confidence Index for Q1-2014 which is positive. While real estate spends have gone up, these have been on very select projects.”
