Maktoob

BPA Worldwide Middle East releases January - June 2011 media audit data

editor — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:11:45 -0700

UAE initiates TV audience measurement

editor — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:16:24 -0700

According to A.T.Kearney, a leading management consultuncy company, the UAE has signed a Memorandum of Understanding between key government and private players in the media community. The launch of the UAE’s TV Audience Measurement Project is a significant step that will lead to increased transparency, influencing TV channels’ attractiveness to advertisers and representing a potential of additional TV advertisement revenue for media companies worth more than $2bn.

UAE's TV Audience Measurement Project (TAM) launched

editor — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:04:26 -0700

The recent launch of the UAE's TV Audience Measurement Project (TAM), through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between key government and private players in the media community, is a significant step for the UAE TV and entertainment sector and the broader pan-Arab media industry.

This move by the UAE will lead to increased transparency of viewing habits in the population, which will influence TV channels' attractiveness to advertisers, according to A.T. Kearney, a world leading management consulting company.

Overall Pan-Arab advertising spend increased by approximately 20% annually from 2002 until 2009. Last year advertising spend declined by 14%, according to the Dubai Press Club. As the economic recovery progresses, 2010 has seen a growth in spend again, but to spark a boom in this sector A.T. Kearney highlights the need for transparency. This transparency will enable media companies to charge according to factual measures of viewership. A.T. Kearney research of international benchmarks and best practices in the media sector finds that if audience measurement is rolled out on a pan-Arab scale it represents a potential of additional TV advertisement revenue for media companies worth more than $2bn.

According to A.T. Kearney, television is by far the most important advertisement channel in the Middle East (almost half of advertising revenues and 90% of pan-Arab campaigns), and therefore also the most important channel for pan Arab advertising revenue growth. However, the research highlights that absence of reliable TV audience measurement systems is a barrier to growth, and is a key reason why per-capita advertising spend in the Middle East is up to 30 times lower than in markets with such systems. The round-the-clock monitoring and measurement of TV viewing habits through people meters is going to prove invaluable to TV channels and advertisers alike.

"Robust audience measurement is important for the media sector as a whole. It will not only help advertisers and channels optimize value, but also attract investment from non-regional companies by improving transparency and reducing risks. Eventually audience measurement will drive significant changes in the media landscape and initiate a shake-out of winners and losers," said Dr. Martin Fabel, newly joined Partner and senior media expert, A.T. Kearney Middle East.

TV audience measurement alongside other channel audience measurement is especially relevant in the GCC, where differences exist in the population in terms of nationality, lifestyle and consumer demand. Effective TV audience measurement will additionally allow the targeting of fast-growth demographic groups, such as the fast growing base of young and wealthy Arabs. A.T. Kearney's regional media study highlights the rapidly growing appeal of the GCC media sector. Evidence of the regional commitment to the growing media sector is apparent in the number of new media cities being launched, as well as recent international partnerships within the media industry which were related to the Middle East such as Fox & Rotana and Yahoo & Maktoob.

"What we have seen in the UAE with the signing of a MoU to initiate TV audience measurement is just the beginning. We see a booming GCC media sector ahead for those who take steps to prepare for increased transparency by strategically managing their inventory, scoping their internal processes and engaging with advertiser based on objective measures. The Middle East media sector is a lucrative market for local and international media players and investors." concluded Dr. Fabel.

Yahoo! Arabic services make great progress

editor — Sun, 09 May 2010 00:18:52 -0700

The Jordan Times has reported that Yahoo! is now making a great progress in offering a wide range of its services in Arabic. The services include Yahoo! messenger, search engine, front page and Yahoo! mail. Yahoo! Middle East, which inaugurated its Amman office last week, will be combining the best of Yahoo! and the best of Maktoob. The office will be in charge of creating regional content, product localization and developing new products and services.

Head of BBC Arabic service takes leading position at Yahoo!

editor — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:22:04 -0700

The National reports that Hosam El Sokkari, the first Arab to lead the BBC Arabic service since its launch in 1938, has resigned to take a leadership position at the Middle East unit of Yahoo!, which recently acquired Jordan’s Maktoob web portal.

Prior to its acquisition by Yahoo!, Maktoob made considerable investments in creating news content, launching its own news websites and hiring journalists in the region.

Online advertising in GCC maintains 50% growth

editor — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:58:15 -0700

According to Emirates Business’s interview with Isam Bayazidi, the CEO of ikoo, GCC has a growth potential that exceeds 50 per cent every year and for the next few years. Bayazidi expects media planners and marketers to continue tapping the power and reach of online advertising to complete and balance their overall media plans. Throughout the interview, he charts the growth of online advertising and marketing and shares insights on the virtual reality of the industry.

Emirates Business speaks to Isam Bayazidi about ikoo’s possible expansion plans, partnerships, challenges, funding requirements and more.

Saudi Arabia prime market for digital marketing

editor — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:50:30 -0800

In a recent survey conducted by the International Quality and Productivity Centre, 73% of 1,048 respondents have chosen Saudi Arabia as the country they are most likely to position their digital marketing focus for 2010-2011.

In a country of almost 30 million where 40% of the population are Arabic speaking digital natives - there has been a rapid increase in global media and consultancies competing to do business with local companies and brands in their native language.

The acquisition of Maktoob by Yahoo! in 2009 along with Google's recent announcement to launch its Buzz feature in Arabic predicts a robust and sustained future for the digital marketing industry in the region.

At the recent partnership launch between Facebook and Connect Ads it was revealed that 9.7 million people in the region are part of the social networking platform, providing a great opportunity for brands to actively engage directly with this as-yet untapped consumer base.

Click 4.0, a digital marketing conference being held in Dubai from June 20 to 24, 2010 commissioned this survey to gauge what marketers across all industries in the region felt about critical subjects like social media, integration of digital marketing into the traditional campaign mix and tackling transparency issues. The survey aims to provide an accurate reflection of the most pressing issues marketers face in order to help the developers of Click 4.0 feature the strategies and solutions needed to tackle them.

51% of respondents also mentioned that their biggest dilemma in the region was marketing in Arabic, with one marketer wondering how to 'create remarkable, relevant content... which sticks or resonates' with the target market.

Abdulla Al-Dabbagh, Marketing Manager of Yahoo! Middle East, Lead Sponsor for Click 4.0, says: "The Internet is a great tool for advertisers as it provides them with the tools to effectively engage with the region's online consumers through various sophisticated targeting capabilities and innovative engagement opportunities. There is a great potential in this market where the spending on online advertising is expected to grow by 35 - 40% this year in the region, according to Madar Research. Online is definitely the way forward and our region is on the right track!"

Joining Yahoo! Middle East as speakers are the region's digital leaders including Yousef Tuqan of Flip Media, Abdullatif Al Sayegh, former CEO of Arab Media Group, Alex McNabb of Spot On PR, Kapil Bhatia of HSBC Middle East Limited, Islam Zween of Logta.com and Reem Bishara of Burger King. International support for the event has come from all aspects of the digital marketing industry, including Digital Buzz - the world's number one digital marketing blog, Communicate Magazine, Mashable, eConsultancy, Zawya and Visibility Magazine.

Yahoo Purchased Maktoob For $164 Million

editor — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:39:46 -0800

According to reports from the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Yahoo acquired Maktoob for $164 million in cash —almost double the amount that had previously been widely reported, according to the company’s 10K, which was just filed with the SEC.

The filing includes other details about the company’s purchases and divestments. Among them: Yahoo says it spent $30 million on two other acquisitions last year.

Yahoo also generated net proceeds of $120 million by selling its stake in Korean auction business Gmarket to eBay and $145 million from selling its investment in Alibaba.com.

Jeeran signs up for Nielsen's market intelligence solution in Mena

editor — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:48:13 -0700

The region's largest Arab blogging community, Jeeran is the latest media to sign up for Nielsen's Market Intelligence, the leading online measurement solution for Mena.
Launched in 2000, Jeeran is the first Arab web hosting community, whose vision is to provide Arab users with the latest web technologies and the means to communicate and connect. It is currently the largest site in the Arab world for consumer-generated media. Jeeran is currently expanding its services to North Africa with the release of its French interface.

Jeeran's subscriptions will provide insights into the competitive online landscape through independent, near real-time performance ranking and audience demographic profiling of audited Web and Mobile sites and Video Streaming activities. The Nielsen service tracks unique browsers, page impressions, frequency and session duration and other metrics to build a comprehensive picture of actual domestic and global traffic to audited websites.

"We believe Nielsen's measurement products deliver exceptional value to the agencies and their clients. The reach of Nielsen will help deliver Jeeran's audience to customers on a global scale," said Omar Koudsi, CEO and Co-founder of Jeeran.
Tahir Khalil, Associate Director - Nielsen Online - Middle East and North Africa, said: "We welcome high calibre publishers like Jeeran onto our system. Jeeran will join our growing list of publishers across Mena including Maktoob, The Sarmady group, ITP, 7 Days, Orange Telecommunications and Propertyfinder, who have chosen Nielsen's Market Intelligence for their third party audience measurement solution."

Nielsen believes that when a credible third party supplier is able to provide robust, transparent and accurate data about traffic, then the revenue streams follow accordingly. With today's tighter budgets and the depth of information available to digital advertisers compared to other media it is possible online revenues could jump in the near future.

"The market is demanding credible and transparent 3rd party measurement data. Independent measurement of the Internet within the Mena region will help advertising growth and proper allocation of budgets amongst the websites," said Omar Koudsi.

"Nielsen is committed to bringing such transparent global measurement system to Mena which will not only measure consumption across media but also the interplay between them," said Piyush Mathur, Regional Managing Director, The Nielsen Company, Middle East, North Africa & Pakistan.

"Nielsen's Market Intelligence Solution is a tool designed specifically to provide agencies with the metrics they need allowing them to better target their on line campaigns and maximize the return on investment for their end clients," added Tahir Khalil.

Nielsen's online division now measures online audience and advertising across a geography representing more than 80% of the world's online activity. Its global footprint includes the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, the U.S. and now the Middle East and North Africa markets.

CNN joins Media and Marketing Show 2009 as the International News Partner

editor — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:42:05 -0700

Marketing Show Managing Director, Ms. Maysoon Abulhoul

Media and Marketing Show 2009, the region's prime media and marketing related event, announces its strategic partnership with CNN, the world's leading international news provider.

As the show's International News Partner, CNN will be sponsoring the Media Center that will host journalists during the 3 day event.

In addition, CNN delegates will be present at the dedicated stand to network with other media representatives and discuss the latest issues and challenges in the media scene. They will also be attending various workshops and conferences that will take place during the show

Commenting on the partnership, Ms. Maysoon Abulhoul, Managing Director MMS, said:
'Year after year, MMS is proving to be the leading exhibition in the media and marketing field. MMS 2009 has partnered with the finest names in the media and marketing industry such as O3 Productions, Al Riyadh Newspaper, Al Ayyam Publishing, Maktoob, ITP, Mediaquest, Dar Al Sayyad to name a few making the event a rewarding, enriching and successful venture. Today we welcome CNN onboard as our International News Partner and we are very pleased to be in collaboration with such a prominent media giant.'

She further added, 'This has all been made possible with the trust that the esteemed regional and international players have placed in the show and with our organization's unwavering commitment to doing all that we can to enhance the overall communications industry across the globe.'

Managed by the Domus Group, MMS 2009 features innovative resources such as workshops, seminars, knowledge sharing discussions and extensive networking opportunities for members of the industry. MMS 2009 is the ideal forum for communications professionals, producers, service providers, specialists and media and marketing executives.

CNN, the world's leading international news provider, has become synonymous with fast, accurate and impartial coverage since it went on air as the world's first 24-hour news channel in 1980.

CNN's branded networks and services across television, radio, mobile services and the Internet are available to more than one billion people in more than 200 countries and territories, and has global and local reach through 47 bureaus worldwide.

Moreover, in 2000 CNN launched its first Arabic Dubai-based website, a leading online news and information site providing the latest international and regional news in Arabic.