| Kippreport.com

2010: Trends and realities, Part I

January 4, 2010 10:35 by Precious de Leon

As for mobile marketing, 46 percent of all mobile phones around the world are expected to be smartphones by next year, which means mobile marketing will start to feature prominently.

But while micro-blogging and social networking are becoming an important aspect of marketing, traditional media should still remain in the mix. In other words, the growth of online does not signal the death of TV or print, but rather the merger of all media.

A Maktoob study, for example, shows that 57 percent of viewers in the region watch TV at the same time they’re on the computer. In addition, 85 percent watch TV online. They are still watching; they are just not as attentive as they used to be.

When it comes to media measurement, Nielsen ABG along with other research agencies is investing in an integrated system that measures exposure on different screens simultaneously – TV, PC, mobile, etc. These screens even include game consoles, with 2 million people signing into Facebook through their Xbox Live.

Within each media platform, further mergers are predicted, illustrated by smaller companies acquired by bigger regional networks and some regional networks becoming part of international ones.

The regional poster child of such mergers so far was last year’s announcement concerning Orbit and Showtime. More recent is the report that News Corp is set to buy a 10 percent stake in Rotana, potentially giving Rotana enough added muscle to knock staunch competitor MBC off its top spot.

This news follows announcement of Rotana Media Group and Fox International’s $26.7 million partnership with Walt Disney Co, bringing exclusive programming to the free-to-air channel.

First seen in Gulf Marketing Review magazine.

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Tags: 2009, 2010, brands, Financial Crisis, gcc, marketing, new year