Monetising media in Qatar and the GCC

Delivering promotional marketing content is something the GCC is gradually familiarising itself with.

Internet or online advertising has set its precedents in various parts of the world and what is worthy of mention is the immense revenue streams it has roped in over the last few years.

Compared to print, digital media consumption in the GCC is far behind.

Online advertising is slowly picking pace in the region despite being in the low-spend category.

Brands and several agencies are now slowly acknowledging the benefits of interactive advertising and the experiences and opportunities it presents.

“Online advertising is becoming more popular every day in this region as advertisers recognise its value and its return on investment versus traditional advertising like in malls for instance besides outdoor and print,” Avraam Georgakarakos, online marketing manager at Vodafone Qatar, tells BQ magazine.

Bilal Randeree, managing director of popular web portal Qatarliving.com, feels currently, online advertising might be the most popular mode of advertising in the region.

“It is a lot more popular than it was just a few years ago and it is constantly increasing,” he says.

Learning from the West

The West is far more developed and proactive in terms of online and digital advertising. In the third quarter of 2014, internet advertising revenues hit a record high of USD 12.4 bn in the US, according to IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report figures.

The recent shift to digital media corrects what analysts have called the “online advertising gap”, referring to the lower share of ad money flowing to those channels despite consumers spending a higher percentage of their time there.

Many marketers still view legacy media, such as print and television, as more influential. This is especially true of this region.

According to Randeree, the advertising budgets of most Qatar companies are still heavily directed towards print and newspapers specifically.

“But we are seeing a gradual switch over to online advertising,” he admits.

Online advertising in the region is quite different from the US in terms of choice of channels, types of advertisements and choice of ad servers.

Countries like Dubai and the US have taken great leaps in HTML ads, rich media ads and interactive video ads.

"Qatar has fallen behind but is quickly gaining ground,” says the general manager of media buying agency Action Digital (part of Action Global Communications) Dimitris Loannides.

For more on this please visit bq magazine’s website.