New research by Omnicom Media Group suggests that internet advertising in the GCC and Levant will reach 9 per cent of the total advertising market this year, and is fast approaching the proportions spent in developed markets such as the US and Germany.

A new travel resource for the region, Joob.com, currently in its beta version, has appointed a consortium of Omnicom Group agencies to handle its brand communications requirements. In addition to the digital team at Omnicom Media Group, who will lead on the account and manage digital and social media as well as search marketing, PHD and DDB will be handling traditional media and creative strategy and deployment respectively.

According to The National, Effective Measure and Nielsen are battling to be the dominant online audience measurement service in the Middle East, with each company releasing a client list following Nielsen's recent entry into the Middle East. Industry leaders, such as Dimitri Metaxas, want to help resolve this situation.

In a regional first, OMD Digital, an Omnicom Media Group company, has successfully launched an in-game advertising campaign targeting the youth market in Saudi Arabia. OMD Digital bought 250,000 impressions over two months in Saudi homes, across major X-Box and PC titles.