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Mideast consumers want engagement
Middle East users are ready for engagement, but creative agencies and portals are lagging behind, said panellists on day two of AME Info's Digital Marketing Conference. 'Users have always been ahead of the agencies and the clients,' said Laith Zraiket, director of innovation and co-founder of Jeeran. Fadi Kachkouche, regional marketing manager at Cisco, added: 'You feel close to something you are part of or have helped create. You embrace any brand you have had a say in.' But Mohammad Itani, digital director at Mediacom warned that while users are ready for engagement marketing, 'from the tracking side, it's not ready'.
ITV to cut 600 jobs
ITV Plc, the UK's biggest commercial broadcaster, said it plans to cut a further 600 jobs and omit dividend payments after posting a £2.56 billion net loss for 2008. Ad revenue dropped 4% to £1.43bn last year while the overall market declined 5%, the London-based company said in a statement yesterday. 'Current conditions in the advertising market are the most challenging I have experienced in over 30 years in UK broadcasting,' Executive Chairman Michael Grade said in the statement.
Google's single result dream
Husni Khuffash, UAE Country Business Development Manager for Google, has said the search engine giant's dream is to be able to return just one result from a search query. Speaking at the AME Info Digital Marketing Conference in Dubai, he said the company would love to one day be in a position where a single, perfect search result could be returned. He told delegates that if only one result is returned it means 'you truly understand the person searching on Google'. It means being able to understand that person's online use - which requires registration - in terms of their search patterns and history, he added.
No silver bullet to topping Google
Search engine expert Laszlo Horvath, President of ActiveMedia, has told delegates at the AME Info Digital Marketing Conference that there is no silver bullet to get a company to the top of a search ranking. The most effective method of being on the first few pages of results is to ensure you are 'relevant to your customers', because that way, a company is likely to be using the correct keywords that will make their site more visible.
ROI measurement 'obsolete'
Return on Investment is an 'obsolete' metric and companies should instead concentrate on understanding their Profit on Investment. Speaking at the AME Info Digital Marketing Conference in Dubai today, Alain Portman, founding partner of agency Web Liquid, said that ROI looks only at the advertising return, but ignores all the associated costs that are incurred, such as staffing or office.
Search and social media growing in market downturn
The use of search and social media for marketing and advertising will grow quickly in the digital sector, albeit from a low base. Speaking at the AME Info Digital Marketing Conference in Dubai, speakers said some companies are pushing more of their budgets towards search spend, although with budgets currently being slashed, it is difficult to tell whether it is a big growth market.
MidEast online creative agencies 'price themselves out of the market'
Nathalie Turpin, the regional director of marketing for Hilton Hotels, told delegates at the AME Info Digital Marketing conference that online creative agencies in the Middle East 'priced themselves out' of the market.
'80% of users' buy product on recommendation
Nahel Menon, eComms Director, Du, told delegates at the AME Info Digital Marketing conference that marketers could not afford to neglect the importance of social media on customer choice. Menon reiterated that 80% of users buy a product based on recommendations by people in their network.
Digital media set to thrive in Gulf
Revenue from digital media in the next couple of years will overtake analogue revenue in everything from music sales to journalism, although profits will be lower, Edward Borgerding, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), said in his keynote speech at the Middle East Cable, Satellite, Broadcast and Communications Exhibition (CABSAT) yesterday. He said digital media is dismantling the profitability of the old business models of analogue media, levelling the global playing field and creating a historic opportunity for Middle-Eastern media companies, reported The National.
Dubai Film Festival dates announced
The Dubai Film Festival's (DIFF) sixth edition will run from December 9 to December 16, organisers have said. A total of 47,000 people are said to have attended DIFF screenings last year.
Media Council launches 2009 yearbook
The UAE National Media Council has launched the 2009 edition of the national Yearbook, which aims to provide comprehensive analysis of developments in the UAE. The 336-page Yearbook is produced in English, Arabic and French and comes with a 'UAE-at-a-glance' version and DVD.
Dnata Cargo wins ad award
Dnata Cargo has been a awarded a Silver for its 'humorous' and 'clever' cargo advert in the recent Air Transport World 2009 Advertising Awards held in Washington DC, USA. Dnata Cargo's ad was given the Silver Ad Award in the Cargo Services Category. According to the judges, Dnata's ad was an example of a very simple concept that uses humour to make a point.
UAE newspaper wins 22 design awards
Abu Dhabi-based The National newspaper has won 22 awards at the Society for News Design competition, held in New York. The newspaper won three silver awards and 19 awards of excellence, mostly for its feature pages and news and business presentation, according to MediaWeek magazine.
Google offers free Adwords at Digital Marketing 2009
Companies attending the AME Info Digital Marketing Conference 2009, to be held March 3-5 at Le Royal Meridien, Dubai, will receive a $50 AdWords voucher from internet giant Google. The company will be taking part in a panel discussion on internet search and its importance to a company's bottom line on the opening day of the conference.
SRMG to launch 8 new titles
The Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG) has said it is publishing eight new magazine titles, including the kingdom's first magazine on Islamic banking to be published in May, and a political-affairs title, Al-Majalla, as an electronic magazine starting April 1, Arab News has reported. Other magazines that are to be launched in Arabic include Robb Report, a US luxury lifestyle magazine; Parents, a US family magazine; Better Home and Gardens, a US interior decoration magazine; and Quattroruote, an Italian automobile magazine.
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