Shying away from audits

Dubai: By easily commanding more than 60 per cent of the ad spend year after year, local newspapers unlike elsewhere are holding their own against the onslaught of digital media.

But unlike in other markets, the majority of UAE newspapers are steadfastly holding out against getting audited.

This is a state of affairs that advertisers and agencies are finding it difficult to understand.

Media buying unit BPG Maxus chief operating officer Satish Mayya said: "Advertisers have the full right to ask for audited circulation for any media vehicle they tend to utilise.

"We actually advise our clients to meet up with unaudited media and join the effort in pushing them logically and professionally to go for an audit," he said.

While individual initiatives such as that by BPG Maxus are welcome, it is doubtful whether this would be enough to get local newspapers started on the audit process. The power of persuasion and logic has traditionally not worked with this group.

Economically, they see no sense to change even now. Unlike in the US or Western Europe, print newspapers' importance as the medium of choice for advertising in the UAE is unlikely to diminish at any point in the near future.

In fact, the demise of many magazines during the downturn has actually led to a situation where the remaining publications — and newspapers primarily — could conceivably attract a higher ad spend for themselves.

Thus, market reality rather than logic would ensure these publications would hold out against even the faintest suggestion of an audit. Media audit agency BPA Worldwide Middle East business development manager Aspen Aman said: "If we were to cite one issue, most of the Arabic language newspapers in the region are government controlled, or partially- or quasi-owned by it".

"For them increased ad sales are not the be-all and end-all of their existence," Aman said. "Then where's the possibility of convincing them to do audits?"

A pertinent point, and made more so by the fact that local and regional publications have traded on highly inflated print and circulation numbers to convince advertisers and media buyers of their credentials.

With the onset of the downturn, local publications have had to drastically cut down on their actual print runs. This has made it even more difficult for advertisers to gauge the gap between the "claimed" and "actual" print run numbers.

Scary feeling

Media buying house Mediaedge:cia regional managing director Mohan Nambiar said: "Even before the recession, newspapers and publications here were downright scared what an audit would do to them.

"Even a print run of 2,000 copies is not necessarily a bad thing provided they reach an identifiable audience," Nambiar said.

"But there weren't too many takers for this line."

Aman of BPA dismissed such talk that publications are uninformed.

"We hold the databases of some of the biggest print publications in the world, including those of direct competition," she said.

"No one has once complained this compromises their position or that we are cutting one publication some slack at the expense of another.

"We have our mandatory reporting parameters — which all publications wishing to be audited have to follow — and those that are optional."

But it may take more time for a greater number of local publications to be convinced. That is, unless they are confronted with a threat of boycott and advertisers/agencies actually follow up on it.

Even then, reaching a consensus among advertisers and agencies does not seem probable.

Mayya of BPG Maxus, for one, has doubts whether such an approach would yield the desired results. "With only 15 to 20 per cent audited titles, it becomes difficult to avoid advertising in other titles," he said.

But there are many who feel the soft approach can only work to a point. Aspen is one of them. "A small amount of pressure if applied judiciously will yield more in the way of desired results. As long as there are unaudited publishers who are lying about their numbers are not punished, why should they change their behaviour?"

That's a valid point. But the market would hope that a middle path be found between gentle persuasion and issuing dire threats. Everyone would be game for that.

Why the audit

One look at the UAE ad split would tell anyone why advertisers are insistent on getting audited numbers from the print media. Newspapers and magazines between themselves carved up 79 per cent of the overall $1.47 billion (Dh5.4billion) ad spend during 2009 in the UAE, according to data from Pan Arab Research Centre.

In comparison, television had a 12 per cent share valued at $177 million. "Even though the ad dollars have come down appreciably since 2008, the print media is still rated the most viable platform to reach a local audience whereas TV ads tend to be more regional," said Mohan Nambiar of Mediaedge:cia.

"Some publications have questioned the processes they need to go through to get audited. Our response to them is these processes have been followed for decades by publications everywhere in the world.

"It has worked elsewhere, there's no rational explanation to think they will not do so here. These are just excuses and delaying tactics on the part of local publications.

"The market situation will demand that sooner than later most publications here will need to start the audit process. Not doing so will only harm them in the long run.

Marginal growth

In the first three months of the year, newspaper advertising in the UAE actually gained two percentage points compared to the same period a year before. The gains were led by Arabic newspapers by pulling in $99 million (Dh363.6 million) against $81 million in the first quarter of 2009, according to the Pan Arab Research Centre (Parc) data.

Advertising in English newspapers dropped from $46 million to $41 million during the same period, the Parc numbers show. Magazines just about held their own, down to $40 million from $41 million.

Surprisingly, ad exposure on television took the biggest hit to total $29 million in the first quarter of 2010 from the lofty highs of $40 million. Interestingly enough, ad spend on television was valued at $27 million in the first three months of 2008 when the local marketplace was at its peak.

Carrot approach helps

A former member of the Castor Committee believes a lot of good did emerge from all the changes it made for media auditing since inception. And she insists the Committee's "soft" approach was the only way under the circumstances.

"I think our carrot approach has been the right one and slowly achieved results as shown by the 350 per cent increase in audited titles over three years," said Margie Gilbride, marketing communications manager at the Middle East operations of Beiersdorf, which owns the Nivea personal care brand. "Many unaudited English titles that were around in 2006 are no longer there. It's really not practical or constructive to wield the stick against advertisers who use unaudited Arabic press when there is no alternative."