According to Khaleej Times report, total advertising spend on newspapers in the UAE declined to $183 million in the first quarter this year from $199 million in the same period a year ago, according to the latest data on advertising spending provided by IPSOS.

 

In contrast, magazine advertising edged up by 1.36 per cent in the first quarter 2011 to $74 million from $73 million even as the print media, comprising newspapers and magazines, suffered a sustained setback. 

 

In the first quarter, total ad revenues claimed by the print media declined 5.88 per cent to $256 million from $272 million a year ago.

 

Top three brands in terms of ad spend in the UAE during the first quarter are etisalat at $9 million, du at $7 million and Emirates NBD at $4 million.

 

Since 2008, print advertising in the UAE has been falling, drastically shrinking newspaper publishers’ main source of income. 

 

Along with the newspaper industry, cinema industry also registered a decline in its ad spend share — from one per cent in 2008 to 0.8 per cent in 2011 first quarter. The setback suffered by UAE newspapers reflects a downward trend which faced the industry in the US and Europe. 

He said television and online media are poised to thrive by grabbing an increased share of the ad spend in the coming years.

 

In 2010, US online ad spending rose by 13.9 per cent, reaching a new record of $25.8 billion after a downslide in 2009.   

 

According to digital marketing research firm eMarketer, this figure surpasses that of advertising spending in newspapers (print and online editions).

 

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the upswing of digital media advertising and online marketing is reaching a critical juncture in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. According to Google, digital advertising is expected to grow by 45 per cent in 2011 with 85 million of the Mena’s total population of 337 million now online.

 

Market watchers said along with on-line media,  e-mail marketing and social media would be accounting for an increased share of the total ad spend in the coming years given the internet penetration in UAE is 73 per cent. According to the latest available data from Pan Arab Research Centre, or PARC, with an overall ad spend of $349 million in the first three months, the UAE has repositioned itself as the Arab world’s top advertising market by accounting for 12 per cent of the overall Middle East advertisement spend during the first quarter.

 

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