Total advertising expenditure in the GCC region rose to US$2.22 billion during Q1 2010, representing an increase of 17% over the same period in 2009. According to an industry expert, the positive results reflect a significant return of confidence among advertisers in the region as the impact of the global financial recession stabilizes.
Speaking as the International Advertising Association’s (IAA) 42nd World Congress convened in Moscow, Khamis Al Muqla, Chairman of Gulf Marcom Group and President of the Bahrain Chapter of the IAA said that Pan-Arab region media’s share in advertising expenditure during this time rose to US$1.17 billion, compared to US$890 million.
Despite a 5% decline, the UAE market still topped the GCC’s advertising spend at US$337 million. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, witnessed a 4% increase to US$257 million, topping the GCC markets by volume. Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain followed.
Other Arab markets recorded impressive growth, led by Egypt (45%); Lebanon (24%) and Jordan (19%) with a total spend of US$ 478 million, an overall increase of 38%.
According to Al Muqla, “The rise in confidence in the power of advertising to reach consumers was led by the F&B sector which increased its ad-spend by 45%, followed by the telecom sector at 38% and the public sector at 36%.”
Television attracted the highest share at 57%, followed by newsprint, periodicals, outdoor, radio and cinema.
