Still spending

Still spending

Despite the current economic situation, advertisers in the region are still pumping a lot of money into television, say research reports.

August 20, 2009 2:20 by Aarti Nagraj

Advertisers in the region have spent 40 percent more money in the first half of 2009 as compared to the same period last year, according to a report by the Pan Arab Research Centre (PARC). However, in terms of media, television was the only gainer, with the ad spend on newspapers and magazines reducing during the period, claims Digital Production.

A report released by the Arab Advisors Group this week, found that ad rates on free-to-air satellite channels in the Arab World have been their highest level ever this year. The average rate for a 30-second advertisement spot during peak time on a regional channel is $3,362, it said.

“In 2007, the rates of major channels appear[ed] to have stabilized: slightly above those of 2005 and below those of 2004. In 2009, the peak average advertising rates of major free-to-air satellite channels were 25 percent higher than that of 2007,” said Issa Goussous, senior research analyst, Arab Advisors.

According to another analyst from the group, movies, series, news, current affairs and general channels have the highest average advertising rates because of “high viewership and wide variety of content.”

“Advertisers seem to be focusing more on stations like MBC and Fox Movies, which are broadcast right across the MENA region,” said Elie Jichi, operations and production manager, PARC.

While the UAE attracts the largest advertising spend in the region, it saw a decline of 26 percent compared to the first half of 2008.

“Last year was a big year for advertising, especially in the UAE, up until the winter period,” said Jitchi. “Many companies in the property and construction sectors were spending a lot on advertising [last year], now, government organizations and telecoms are the top spenders,” he added.

While ad spend by real estate developers in Dubai may have reduced drastically because of the financial crisis, developers in Abu Dhabi are beginning to take advantage of the situation, says a report published by media research company Mediastow.

“Abu Dhabi has got more money and is still spending through the crisis while Dubai developers are relaxing. There is an opportunity for Abu Dhabi to pounce on this and grow,” said Mohamed Elzubeir, managing director of Mediastow.

According to the report, Aldar and Sorouh, Abu Dhabi’s biggest property developers, will be more talked about in the media than Dubai’s property sector by the year end.