Digital platforms picking up pace in Middle East

Media and entertainment industry has been facing challenges from within as digitisation picks up pace. A majority of professionals surveyed by international auditing and marketing research company Ernst & Young spoke in favour of depending on digital platform. As a result, specialised media companies providing tailored digital solutions for branding and mass communication are mushrooming. Emirates Business talks to Alexander Rauser, Chief Executive Officer of Connect that offers bespoke solutions on digital platforms. Highlighting the country's growing population communicating on the digital path, he says: "More than 20 per cent of the UAE's population is using social networking tools and it definitely makes sense for organisations to explore the opportunities offered by these tools." He talks about some of the most common of the queries and spells out the complexities in an interview. What is the extent of market for digital and online marketing – in volume and revenue? The digital and online marketing industry in the region is set to surge, with the growth of broadband penetration in the Arab World, more people are using faster connections and surfing the internet. Last year, 12 per cent of households had broadband, and by 2013 the figure is expected to rise to 20 per cent. The above statistics signify the rapid growth the industry is going through. According to the Arab Media Outlook report, which was produced by the Dubai Press Club and Value Partners, the online marketing/advertising industry is set to increase from one per cent to 4.2 per cent by 2013. Today, the online platform accounts for advertising revenues of about one per cent, on a pan-regional level. There is no doubt that the online marketing and advertising industry is a booming sector. What level of executives are using social networking sites and tools? Globally, executives at all levels are using social networks and even the top executives will have their private accounts. Within the region, we find that mostly entrepreneurs are using tools such as Twitter to update their followers about their organisation. We have seen some successful examples of this in the past six months. Do you recommend your clients to use this tool and is this propagated in your office as well? Yes, more than 20 per cent of the UAE's population is using social networking tools and it definitely makes sense for organisations to explore the opportunities offered by these tools. Activities such as joining the conversation as an individual or a company, running marketing campaigns are all possible on social networks, but the success of these activities depends on the authenticity and added value. With the limited content offered in the region, marketers should look at social networks in order to find their target audiences. Do you feel that there are not enough sites or tools in Arabic for social networking in the region? There is definitively potential for Arabic social networking sites. Facebook for example, which is extremely popular in the region, supports Arabic content and attracts (according to internet sources) more than five million Arab users already. The question is: do we need to worry about where it comes from as long as we have a platform available? However, there is plenty of opportunity to create localised communities in Arabic. We do not necessarily need another Facebook, but more platforms that provide Arabic content. To what extent do social networking tools and sites contribute to "numbers" revenue and profit of the companies? Regionally, we have no figures. However, internationally, we have seen many companies increasing their brand and product awareness using social networking tools. The reason for such success can be attributed to the openness and responsiveness of these tools. What is the extent of social networking in the region and how does it compare to global figures? Looking at statistics and growth rate, the region is not behind in the acceptance of social networks, as marketers had success in the past year to use social networks to their advantage. However, there is plenty of room for development, as corporations need to look at this form of communication as an added advantage, while keeping corporate policies in mind. Social networking is a recent phenomenon and no one realised the potential of this until it arrived and people started using it. Do you see this phenomenon staying around – in near future? It will definitely stay. The concept of social networking is not new. It has been in existence for a while… only the tools have changed in the past few years which has made it mainstream. In the past, we have had forums, chats or community sites, which were used by selected audiences such as gaming forums or developer communities. Now, social media is for everyone. Mobile plays a big role in the development of social media as we are now able to interact with others using mobile devices. The growing availability of broadband mobile c