The heat is on. And Brand Dubai is vibrantly resonating across the globe. There is no better illustration of the evolution in the media and advertising industry in the region.

 Every corner, nook and cranny has a billboard popping out. Mupies, bus-stands, building facades and glazings, there is not an inch of space that is being left unadorned - some product, service, artifact, idea, concept or financing opportunity – they are all out there vying for attention. The newspaper gets thicker every month – to accommodate the hoards of advertisements. With so much visual overload, it is not surprising that new media too has enjoyed a positive year, although their power relative to traditional media has been more openly debated, and the continued dominance of television, radio and print more widely acknowledged. Web and online marketing (the virtual world) is predicted to be in vogue in 2008 internationally and will be going niche with more specialty worlds being created, closely associated with the lifestyles or interests of the target market.

So what is behind this sudden explosion? And will it last? What are the media and advertising gurus predicting for 2008? We spoke to some of the biggest agencies in UAE.

The general consensus among the industry leaders is that there is a definite and positive growth in this sector and that is here to stay. Outdoor media has gained significant importance over the last couple of years and the increased spending in this area is a key indicator of that.  “Advertising investments have increased in outdoor media as a result of rocketing demand from many new sectors, such as real estate and telecom, rising prices and the introduction of a host of new formats in straight outdoor and the wider ambient advertising category. However, monitoring services are not doing justice to the true scale of the medium, under-reporting its significance for lack of comprehensive coverage in the UAE” says Pierre Azzam, Chief Operating Officer, IMPACT/BBDO Group, a leading Middle East Marketing Communications Group.

Mukhtar Mody, Managing Director, AXIS Integrated agrees. “It was not too long ago that the only outdoor media option was the roof-top sign, unipoles and street circuits (mupies), but these days the vendor base has increased significantly and so have the options. One of the reasons for this explosion is greater buying flexibility offered to agencies and advertisers as opposed to stringent long-term location rentals earlier, which were too high a commitment.” He adds that the cost of production of display material has decreased dramatically while “the turnaround time, hence advertising copy, is becoming tactical as opposed to being mostly brand”

With the revolution that the technological innovation in communications has created, there is greater opportunity as well as risk in the media marketplace. The market channels are multiplying and revenue streams are expanding but with greater complexity and challenges. Though the print media still dominates the region, the lack of transparency in terms of audited circulations as well as the growing concern with visual cluttering has given greater impetus to the digital industry, speeding up the migration of the traditional advertising hoardings to digital media.  “In the digital sphere, we have the same situation as outdoor. Although the current monitoring of online or digital advertising is totally inadequate, advertising investments in the medium are growing rapidly.  Advertisers are increasingly taking advantage of the unique attributes of digital media and new technologies.  Its inherent accountability is another contributing factor to its growing success” says Pierre Azzam.

With the continued growth of the real estate sector and allied industries in the UAE, as well as the economic boom of the region, new media trends are constantly emerging. “The overall spend increase in advertising and marketing is driven primarily by real estate players as it is a very suitable and cost-effective media for the category. Disruptive advertising is a route that many advertisers are now using to break through the high clutter - belly bands, false covers etc. Online and web marketing is also gaining importance by the day with the region having one of the highest growth rates in the world for online users. However I would say not as an alternative medium, but more as a support media. Social networking is another emerging trend - sites like facebook and youtube are gaining huge popularity. "Engagement" is the new buzzword for most media and advertising agencies,” believes Vishal Shah of Universal Media.

 “Dailies and the various publications are getting more and more innovative in giving advertisers the opportunity to make a greater impact through wraps and jackets. The quality the print media has is probably one of the best in the world. TV is trying to make a comeback and will become viable because of the high cost of the print option, radio will continue to inventively expand its reach and transit advertising on taxis and RTA buses will also grow as more bus routes and the metro become a reality” says Mukhtar Mody.

The number of local editions of International publications is a strategic indicator of the growing interest in the local media and advertising market. “International media brands have noticed the appeal of this region and are now seeking to achieve here the growth that their more traditional markets fail to deliver. It is also noticeable that media accountability will now intensify. Advertisers are finding it increasingly hard to justify large advertising investments without proper and independent validation of these decisions,” adds Pierre Azzam.

Vishal Shah believes that the print media is not losing its charm and is unlikely to do so in the near future. “Print as a media is always a very reliable media from the consumers’ point of view. It is a very effective medium to share details and information about the company/brand/product etc. It is a media that is close to the consumer and a media that one trusts and relies on to get information on anything.” However, “in our market it is an extremely over cluttered media, especially newspapers. Magazines on the other hand are becoming very fragmented with so many publications opening and closing shop,” he said.

But what about PR and its importance in building and positioning of brands? Has its importance increased as opposed to a larger focus on advertising earlier? And has PR now finally come of age in the region? Little differentiation among products and services, fragmenting audiences as well as diverse interests and sub-markets have necessitated the use of integrated communications – a marketing mix which includes both advertising and PR. Mody believes that “depending on the type and category in which the brand/product competes, a communication mix of advertising and PR is used and one cannot grow at the expense of the other and a combination of the two is central to a successful brand development.” He adds, “When we say PR in the region has gained importance, what we possibly mean is that the true role of PR in the communication mix is only now being understood.”

Azzam believes any brand that can communicate with its consumer through multiple touch points will always prevail over those that don’t. As audiences continue to fragment (particularly in this region), engaging with these disparate audiences needs to become ever more sophisticated to deliver a clear brand value. This is where the role of PR comes into play. “We need to focus on having that conversation for our clients with their audiences at a direct level across the Middle East. Be they directors of international banking houses, purchasing teams in SMBs looking for advice for a blade server, parents buying oral care for their children or even 30 year old Arab men looking for their next 4x4, in each instance, we need to help shape the communications platform that will help boost the brand and deliver tangible business benefits.”

“With the explosion of online and social media, online communications are increasingly impacting on and influencing brand reputation. Transparency is paramount and the communications tools best equipped to help companies manage this is PR. The rapidity of the spread of information ensures companies are doing the right thing and that simply makes PR even more important,” he says. 

“One can’t just expect audiences to automatically love a brand. They need to engage with that brand, see its relevance and understand how it can truly benefit their own life. As more and more brands launch in the region, each brand needs to constantly create and recreate its own individual identity and deliver the brand experience to its consumers through a forum that consumers trust. Through managing messaging in target press with journalists, through to stakeholder audits, consumer surveys, product reviews, issues and crisis management, trade and channel marketing, PR can help create that relationship between an organisation and its primary audiences and this in turn will generate true brand loyalty,” says Azzam

Notwithstanding the growth of the advertising and media Industry in the region, how does it compare with International scenarios in this field? According to Vishal Shah, the market is still relatively pre-mature but growing at a fast pace. Many developments like people meters, new media audit companies, more international publications, media, newspapers, channels etc opening up in the near future will broaden the horizon and scope of the industry.”

“On the Advertising front, the UAE is slowly picking-up in the sense that creativity is constantly improving and has reached a higher level of sophistication and finesse as it compares with the past decade. The Middle East generally and the UAE more particularly, has managed to put the region on the global creative map with awards won at major International shows namely, Epica, The Lorries and most noticeably Cannes. From a media perspective, again the scene is expanding with a proliferation of media alternative across all available vehicles. The difference with the international arena, however, is the lack of a single media performance measurement tool to confirm the viability and efficiency of the various media available and to aid in sharper and more effective media planning,” Azzam explains.

Overall the spirit in the industry seems buoyant, the outlook optimistic and there is a distinct upbeat feeling about the trends being forecast. “I think this is an exciting time in the advertising industry for real players that are in the business of producing genuine concepts/ strategic advertising and it presents major growth opportunities” says Mody. “Fragmented consumers (melting pot of cultures), social and religious peculiarities, multiple country spillover media, many global and local marketers and advertisers - all these factors make the market very challenging and exciting,” he says.

The message is clear – this is just the beginning and as the market for advertising and media matures, the momentum of this growth is only going to intensify.