UAE ad' spend to hit $ 2bn by 2010

According to IIR Middle East, the organisers of Signage, Imaging and Media (SIM 2008), which takes place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from 25-27 November, the credit crunch maybe impacting advertising in the developed markets, but is being largely balanced globally by dynamic emerging markets such as the Middle East.

The growing regional market was highlighted in the latest forecasts of global media services agency ZenithOptimedia.

While the report downgraded 2008 advertising growth forecasts for North America and Western Europe from 4.4% to 3.8%, growth continues to strengthen elsewhere and the agency has increased its 2008 forecasts for the rest of the world from 10.9% to 11.1%.

Of the top 10 contributors to growth in global ad' expenditure between 2007 and 2010, Russia comes top - it is expected to grow by 92% over the period. It is followed by China (61.5%), the Middle East (54.2%), India (52.2%), Brazil (46.6%) and South Africa (45.8%).

Spencer Felix, Exhibition Manager for SIM 2008 commented, "Advertising spend in the United Arab Emirates alone increased from $869m in 2005 to $1.3bn in 2007, the highest in the Middle East. So applying an average 54% growth, the UAE will spend well in excess of $2bn by 2010."

The bulk of the money - about 64% - went to Arabic and English newspapers. Television accounted for 16%, while magazines got 13%. Another 2% went to radio commercials, 5% to outdoor ads and 1% to cinema adverts.

"In terms of where advertisers are expected to spend their money, in the future digital media is expected to reap the benefits," said Felix. The ZenithOptimedia report reveals that internet spend will continue to grow and will account for 9.7% of world advertising expenditure this year and 12.3% in 2010.

Cinema and outdoor are the only media apart from the internet to be gaining market share.

Cinema is growing rapidly in the US where it is benefiting from the spread of digital distribution technology, which is reducing production costs and allows advertisers to run time-sensitive campaigns and easily target local areas.

Digital technology is likewise enhancing the value of outdoor to advertisers.

SIM 2008 is a combination of three events under one roof providing access to important decision-makers from across the marketing spectrum throughout the Middle East.

The focus sectors of SIM 2008 include printing; signage; banners and posters; pre-press; digital imaging, capture, storage and processing; electronic media; advertising production; marketing and public relations; outdoor media; new media and entertainment.