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Dubai: Online media may attract increasing ad revenues in the Middle East's diversifying marketplace, but the role of traditional news outlets is still very much intact, a top industry official said.
"It is inevitable that online advertising will become more established in an increasingly tech-savvy market like the Middle East, but traditional newspapers and magazines will remain the primary advertising tool for global brands in the meantime," said Bander Asiri, managing director of Saudi Arabia-based advertising sales leader Al Khaleejiah Advertising and Public Relations Co.
Speaking during the first Dubai International Advertising Festival, Asiri added: "Online expansion represents an opportunity, not a threat, to established news outlets. The key challenge will be to harness the equity of famous offline titles in the digital space.
"Web-based and traditional media complement each other, and the potential in the Middle East for publishers and advertisers alike is greater than ever."
Al Khaleejiah, is responsible for the 15 titles put out by the Saudi Research and Publishing Company, including Asharq Al Awsat, Sayidaty, Arriyadiah and Arab News.
Despite storm clouds on the horizon for the international economy, prospects for Middle East advertising are upbeat, with the Olympics and Euro 2008 promising an ad windfall for regional media, especially print media, said Asiri.
"In the last World Cup year, 2006, ad sales for the sports daily Arriyadiah saw year-on-year growth of 122 per cent in the summer period, and the regional print advertising market in general grew 12 per cent. This year's sports schedule promises equally rich opportunities for regional media," he said.
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