MindShare pioneers multidimensional research approach to Media Planning in region

MCCS involved 1500 face-to-face interviews in UAE conducted on MindShare's behalf by PARC. MCCS has already been rolled out in Egypt and KSA, and is expected to roll out in Kuwait during the second half of 2006.

"Research is a fundamental tool in our business. Today we are at the dawn of a new planning era, whereby we must take into consideration the way in which media is consumed, when and how messages are most effective and not just be satisfied with the knowledge that the message has reached people - it's how they process it that matters,"

explained Samir Ayoub, CEO MindShare MENA.

Contrary to the traditional research approach of basic media audience measurement, MCCS's focus shifts to an in-depth analysis of consumer's behaviour towards various communication channels and aptitude to receive and digest various commercial messages through different media. The process filters through many parameters varying from communication channel effectiveness, category of advertised brand and programme genre to consumer mood and receptiveness levels.

"MCCS is an effective research approach that helps our media planners to strategically allocate advertising budgets throughout all stages of an advertising campaign across all media," added Ayoub.

The study confirms that TV remains the most effective medium in UAE with 77.2% of Arab males impacted by car ads, 71.5% of them perceive TV to be the most effective medium for soft drinks while for Arab females the percentages are 78.6% for soft drinks and 81.9% for chocolates.

Other parameters explored in the study were the attribution of each product to the right medium, message warmth, receptiveness levels of consumers, influencing power of the message, image & entertaining values among many others. 67.8% of the Arab consumers in UAE are for instance influenced by advertisements on TV, 28.7% by outdoor, 30.3 % by newspapers, 18.1% by radio and 22.5% by indoor.