YouGovSiraj's completes latest survey on the UAE nation's attitude to advertising content and creativity

• 55% of residents say advertising in the UAE is not original

• A large majority, 71% of UAE consumers, believe only a small percentage (0-29%) of advertising is relevant to them.

These are the results of YouGovSiraj's latest survey on the UAE nation's attitude to advertising content and creativity. 1066 UAE consumers responded to the online poll in August.

The survey reveals, for the first time, the size of the gap between what advertisers are trying to achieve and the actual impact of advertising.

Another key finding shows advertising in the UAE is failing to build, the all important, bond between brand and consumer. 68% of UAE residents believe the majority of adverts do not make them feel good about the brand being advertised.

'Millions of Dirhams are being wasted on advertising that could be improved if creative concepts were tested in advance. More time needs to be spent on understanding consumers and creating bolder messages that engage and relate to them', Nassim Ghrayeb, CEO of YouGovSiraj says.

Another indication of the UAE's displeasure with advertising is the fact 55% of people in the UAE believe advertising is not original and another 55% say they do not talk to their friends about the adverts they see and hear.

The UAE's billion dollar advertising industry is thriving but this survey reveals the extent to which adverts in the UAE are failing to meet their objectives.

'Brand stakeholders need to take bolder directions with their advertising. Generally the reason for the 'safe' and 'unoriginal' advertising is an unwillingness to take risks when large budgets are involved. Testing advertising concepts before they go live, at a fraction of the overall cost, takes away the guess work, prevents advertising dollars being wasted and enables bolder creativity', Nassim Ghrayeb continues.

'In a world of ever shrinking functional difference between products, and in the context of the learning we have on the way the brain functions, advertising that has an emotional impact and stands out will be necessary to win the brand game in the long run', says Nassim Ghrayeb.

Based on this new research YouGovSiraj is urging companies to spend their advertising dollars better by testing creative concepts at the start. YouGovSiraj uses a world class advertising pre-testing tool called Add+Impact. It is a technique which uses the latest learnings from neuro-science on how the brain receives messages from media.