| 25 Nov 2009 |
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The Advertisers Business Group hosts networking event with Maktoob on Digital Marketing
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Dubai, UAE - The Advertisers Business Group (ABG), in partnership with MaktoobMaktoob
, held a networking event at the rooftop terrace of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Dubai Media City. Among the attendees were marketeers, brand builders and advertisers from renowned local and multinational organizations. The event was one of several networking events organized by the ABG throughout the year to raise awareness of the work of the association and enable members to learn more on key marketing and media issues. The strong turnout was a clear reflection of the region's growth and critical importance of digital media and marketing.
The guests were welcomed by Sara Sahely, Vice Chair of the ABG , who introduced the members of ABG's recently established Online Media Measurement Task Force, led by Inger Hedin. The committee comprises representation from major multinational advertisers and has been established to evaluate the internet research in the GCC (and MENA) region.
Sara Sahely introduced the evening's guest speaker, Ahmed Nassef, Vice President of the MaktoobMaktoob Group and General Manager of MaktoobMaktoob.com, the Arab world's leading web portal and online community, who gave an insightful presentation on 'Digital Marketing in the Arab World'. He highlighted the fact that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has the fastest rate of internet user growth in the world and touched on the challenges of marketing to a Pan Arab audience. Some markets in the Gulf, such as the UAE, already have high internet penetration.
Ahmed went on to discuss online media trends, such as discussion forums. He stressed that internet usage in the region had reached a "tipping point" and that it was time for advertisers to follow the audience and invest more in online advertising. Only 1% of ad spending in the GCC/Levant is currently invested in the internet, although it is growing faster than other media. Digital technologies lend themselves to precise auditing and measurement like no other media platform and the region also has to catch up with other parts of the world in terms of online audience measurement. This will help to grow confidence.
Ahmed finished by discussing the merger between Yahoo! And MaktoobMaktoob and what it would mean for users and advertisers in the region. Benefits would include Yahoo! media products in Arabic, customized for the Arab world, massive combined reach, targeting technologies to improve ROI and investment in industry best practices, transparency and measurement.
"Increased internet penetration will drive online ad spend" stressed Inger Hedin following the presentation. "This medium is measurable, which means that the advertisers know exactly what they are getting for their investment. The presentation by Ahmed Nasser, and the following discussion, showed an increased interest in the internet as a medium in this region", she added.
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About Advertisers Business Group (ABG)
Formed in March 2005, the ABG (formerly the GCC Association of Advertisers (GCC AA)) is a pressure group with a remit to reflect the values and mission of the World Federation of Advertisers, tailored to local conditions and needs. The ABG is dedicated to bringing international standards and best practices in the field of media and advertising to the local market and aims to foster a fair and accountable marketplace in the Middle East.
The Group offers a unique platform to agree on common issues and to voice concerns that significantly impact the effectiveness of the members ad spend. ABG members comprise the biggest names in the global advertising arena, most of whom are members of the World Federation of Advertisers and who, together, represent approximately 75% of the region's ad spend.
About MaktoobMaktoob
.com: MaktoobMaktoob
.com was founded in the year 2000 as the world's first Arabic/English email service. In a few years, MaktoobMaktoob has grown to become the most popular Web portal in the Arab world, offering world-class communications and information tools that empower the Arab Internet user. MaktoobMaktoob.com offers everything from chat to discussion forums, from e-cards to mobile downloads, from news to the latest jokes and everything in between. MaktoobMaktoob's main mission is to maintain and grow its position as the world's leading Arab Internet portal by constantly offering its users a unique experience and by providing them with new services and products that encourage open communications and community building.
About MaktoobMaktoob Group:
MaktoobMaktoob Group comprises a network of leading online media companies and websites. In addition to the Arab world's leading portal, www.maktoob.com, the MaktoobMaktoob Group network includes Souq.com (www.souq.com) auctions and marketplace, Araby.com (www.Araby.com) the first Arabic search engine, MaktoobMaktoob Research (www.maktoob-research.com) the first regional market research company with an online sample of over 2 million consumers, and cashU (www.cashu.com) the electronic payment solution, in addition to several other leading sites and services in the region. In 2007, Tiger Global, a leading US-based private equity firm, acquired a majority stake in MaktoobMaktoob.
For further information, please contact:
Debbie Cook
Advertisers Business Group
Tel: +97155 9189173
Email: debbie.cook@advertisersbusinessgroup.com
Website: www.advertisersbusinessgroup.com
© Press Release 2009
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