London, May 8: Advertising pundits in the Middle East are hoping that the month of Ramadan will give a boost to what has so far been a lackluster year for the industry. Overall GCC ad spends have plummeted with an estimated 25 percent regional drop from 2016 to 2017 alone, data from Ipsos Stat showed.
Ramadan has traditionally been peak season for broadcasters, but a volatile regional economy, the introduction of VAT levies and a rise in digital consumption have compounded uncertainty in the industry, experts said.
According to a report from Google Think, Ramadan viewership on YouTube over the past three years has increased threefold in comparison to TV, while TV viewership remained flat.
Some major GCC advertisers are not spending on TV at all this Ramadan, which represents a sea change for traditional advertisers. “All in all, TV — especially Arabic TV — will see some ads but this Ramadan marks a significant moment in budgets shifting to digital,” Zaira Lakhpatwala, managing editor, Communicate, told Arab News.
Austyn Allison, editor of Campaign Middle East, said the advertising market is “leveling out.”
“Brands are spreading their budgets more evenly throughout the year, and they are also moving them away from television,” he said.
According to Allison, TV stations are “sitting planning their Ramadan grids right now,” trying not to give too much away to the competition and hoping that their Ramadan shows will catch more audience than their competitors.
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