Recent figures published by Pan Arab Research Centre (PARC) states that the advertisement expenditure in UAE during the first three months of this year amounted to US$379 million (1.4 billion dhs), which shows an increase of 20 million dollars compared to the US$359 million spent for the same period last year.
Saudi Arabia stood next in line with an advertising expenditure of US$ 340 million (which was US$ 323 million from a year ago), while Kuwait spent US$ 211 million (US$ 219 million last year). Lebanon too reported an increase of 6 million USD.
The findings by PARC are based on official media rate cards. The statistical report states that the average ad budget in Egypt decreased due to the unstable conditions in the region.
There was a drop of 70 million USD in ad expenditure spend during the first quarter of this year. Print Media in UAE too benefited from the boom in the market. Newspaper advertisements were figured to be around USD 218 million, while magazines took in USD 54 million.
“The entertainment sector has pulled up spending in the UAE,” said Shaharyar Umar, marketing director at PARC.
He added, “It does look like this trend will keep repeating through the rest of the year.” PARC reports that established brands like Carrefour, Etisalat and Dubai Shopping Festival had the major share among print advertisers.
