An Incomprehensible Gap

Conventional wisdom dictates that marketers advertise in a medium close to customers but, strangely, Oman belies the trend – companies continue to spend most of their advertising budgets on print media even though consumers have migrated to social and digital media platforms.

Technology is the biggest game changer in the world and is impacting the media industry in myriad ways – from changing the way media is consumed, to forcing bricks-and-mortar companies to adapt and reinvent themselves. GCC countries are also feeling the cross currents of this new wave, as a tech-savvy, younger demographic ditches traditional forms of media in favour of new-age devices and social media options such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Even if the younger generation has not completely given up on newspapers, magazines, television and so on, they are more inclined to get their daily dose of news on gadgets such as tablets, iPhones, Android devices and smartphones.

“The media has changed. Earlier there were three channels – the sender, the receiver and the medium – but new media is completely different,” says Sayyid Nasr Bin Badr Al Busaidi, Member of the National Youth Commission, and Chairperson of the Communication and Public Relations sub-committee of the National Youth Commission. “The sender can be anyone, it need not necessarily be a PR practitioner. The channel can be a smartphone or a tablet and the receiver can be anyone. In Oman, we have started to understand new media and, while traditional media is still valid, we at the National Youth Commission regularly use social media to reach out to the youth.”

While this tectonic shift is changing the media landscape, there seems to be a disconnection between where the readers/viewers are in Oman and where most advertisers are putting their money. Although most new age consumers are on social media and digital platforms, advertisers are still allocating most of their advertising spending to traditional media platforms such as newspapers. Moreover, media entities across categories – such as print, television, radio and outdoors – see their present role as merely carrying advertisements of clients. They feel that showcasing or airing clients’ adverts is enough. But as media options increase and the highly interactive social media sector grows, companies and clients are looking for enhanced value and solutions from the media. Media entities that do not graduate to seeing themselves as partners and bring more to the table will lose ground in the coming years.

The media in Oman needs to start delivering solutions and learn to work with clients and consumers as equal stakeholders. There is a vital need to become more accountable by bringing in new metrics such as measurability, return on investment and transparency.

Despite the advent of social media, newspapers continued to garner the lion’s share of the advertising pie last year with RO93.42 million – a whopping 85 per cent share of the total spend. The big shift is that for the first time in years, the share of newspapers has gone down by two per cent, a sure sign of the changing times.

Television is the other big loser with a 23 per cent reduction in advertising spending. TV spending dropped from RO4.32m in 2012 to RO3.33m last year. This reflects the weakness of Oman TV from a content and viewership point of view and its limitations as an advertising option. Secondly, the fragmented nature of regional channels makes it difficult to pick and choose the right advertising medium for most companies in Oman. Finally, the prohibitive cost of advertising on regional TV channels makes it difficult for local companies to use it as an effective medium.

Advertising spending in magazines also continued its downward slide, with a three per cent drop to RO3.9m. Magazines seem to be caught between two stools of mass media, such as newspapers, and new media options such as radio and outdoors.

Radio enjoyed the biggest gain among all media, with advertising spending increasing by six per cent to RO3.5m last year. The rise reflects the growing acknowledgement of radio as the next big frontier for marketers. The medium has strong tailwinds helping it, such as growing traffic, more listeners and greater awareness. The other big winner was the outdoor sector, which had a two per cent rise in advertising spending, touching a high of RO5.23m.

Still in its infancy in comparison with other mediums, social and digital media’s growing pervasiveness and importance is a topic that occupies much thought, from boardrooms to casual conversation.

“Social media as a communication media is something that has its ear to the ground and affects perceptions – it has an effect on buying decisions and has become a very critical part of our communications mix,” says Greg Young, chief executive of Nawras. “We have had a very strong focus on it from the very beginning. In many ways, it is complementary to our business as it drives telecom connectivity and demand from broadband. It is a double-edged benefit for us – it is both a ear to market and a engagement with customers, or potential customers, and a stimulator for our business. So there is a double reason for us to engage or stimulate social media.”

Rajesh Raman, vice president at Y&R Muscat and Menacom Group, adds: “There has been a growth in digital and more clients are getting a better understanding of the medium. We are seeing one or two specialised digital agencies as well, and it is a service requirement for more clients – earlier you would not present a digital plan at the concept stage. As the base is small, the growth is looking more significant though it is still a minor part of the overall budget. But it has grown phenomenally – it has almost doubled over the last year.”

Felicity Glover, the managing editor of Y Magazine, says social and digital media are crucial elements that should be included in all media and advertising strategies.

“The global explosion of social and digital media means that nobody can afford to omit these platforms from their strategies,” she says. “Savvy marketing and advertising specialists know this, but the ones who are resisting it are putting a lot at risk, including revenue, reach and brand awareness.”

Mediate carried out a Media Consumption Survey in Oman with a sample size of 2,559, and the survey corroborated the growing strength of social media in Oman. For example, it found that:

• Newspapers are no longer the number one consumed media (48.1 per cent). TV is now on top with a 64 per cent share, but the consumption of local/regional channels is less than international channels. Magazines (53.3 per cent) and tabloids (53.7 per cent) are also consumed more than newspapers, probably because they are free to pick up;
• 47.77 per cent of the respondents spent less than 15 minutes reading newspapers, while 29.04 per cent spent less than 30 minutes;
• Facebook and WhatsApp dominate the social media scene, with Twitter, YouTube and Instagram also catching up. High usage of YouTube indicates the accessibility of higher bandwidth for customers;
• 36.93 per cent of people spend between three and six hours on social media every day, while 31.99 per cent spend anywhere between one and two hours. The high use of social media indicates the use of multiple social media platforms and digital sites by consumers.

The Online Project (TOP) also carried out a survey to determine what was occupying the time of youth in the Arab world. In Oman, users spend more than 35 per cent of their time on social media, predominantly Facebook, followed by Twitter (a little more than 20 per cent). Instagram and YouTube came in a distant third with a 10 per cent usage, followed by Keek and Snapchat. Interestingly, LinkedIn and Pinterest are not very popular in Oman.

Oman has 860,000 Facebook users – the second lowest in the region after Bahrain, which has 560,000. Saudi Arabia boasts the most users at 8.6 million. The same is true of Twitter, with Oman having 80,800 users compared with Saudi Arabia’s 2.41m active users.

The average cost per fan in Oman is $0.38 (RO0.15). This is the second lowest in the region after Saudi Arabia, where cost per fan is $0.35. In comparison, the cost per fan in Bahrain is $0.43; Kuwait is $0.41; Qatar is $0.45; and the UAE is $0.43.

In Oman, the fashion industry spends the most, $0.54, to gain a fan, while public figures spend the least, just $0.24, to acquire a fan.

Social Media During Ramadan in Oman

Constant growth in the consumption of social media platforms in the Middle East means they are among the most instrumental vehicles brands use to connect with audiences. Online platforms are an essential part of marketing strategies, specifically while engaging through bigger campaigns. Such campaigns are usually done during Ramadan.

The Holy Month has a clear effect on people’s behaviours and daily routines in the Middle East, according to the TOP study. This also reflects consumption habits of social media. Such a surge in activity levels inspired brands to flock to social media to drive engagement and increase their share of voice. Brands are dedicating bigger budgets for social media because they understand that more users will be online and will be hungry to engage.

Social media usage in Oman during Ramadan:

• People in Oman engage slightly more on Twitter, with 51 per cent of all tweets being replies and retweets;
• Omanis tweet in Arabic most of the time – 79 per cent of tweets are in Arabic, with 21 per cent in English;
• Omanis tweet mostly from mobile devices, with a higher percentage from Android devices (49 per cent) followed by iOS, with 29 per cent of tweets. Web-based tweets make up 12 per cent of all tweets.
• The topics tweeted about in Oman last Ramadan were mostly related to the Holy Month, but many of them were also about the Sultanate. The most active times were between 7pm and 9pm.

“Not only do people change the entire course of their daily lives during Ramadan, but they also change their online usage behaviour and activity,” says Halaby, co-founder and business development director for TOP. “Brands and marketers must, in return, anticipate said behavioural changes and adapt to them accordingly. Some of these changes include a shift in posting times and in customising their content according to fan interests and tastes. Capturing the attention of your audience when they are most online promises a positive ripple effect.”

To optimise social media best practices for brand engagement during Ramadan, publishing times and content mix must be altered according to the shift in the habits of the fan base across all platforms.

“By tuning into these habits, brands and marketers will have a deep and thorough understanding of their target audience in regards to their characteristics, preferences, lifestyle. This in return will ensure greater relevance of content and will humanise the brand in the eyes of customers, thus creating a stronger relationship with followers,” says Firas Steitiyeh, managing director of TOP in Amman, Jordan.

A company called iStrategyLabs in the US conducted a survey this year which found that there had been a major drop in youth adoption of Facebook, with a migration to social media platforms such as Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram. The research made headlines worldwide, igniting debates on whether this heralded the demise of Facebook.

“We wanted to see whether something similar was happening in the GCC region. We found that on the contrary, Facebook is a dominant and growing social media platform with aggressive growth rates in Oman, Egypt and Iraq,” says Halaby. In Oman, Facebook grew by 110 per cent last year.

Oman also stands out for another reason. “Oman has one of the highest use of smartphones/mobile devices for Twitter and Facebook usage in the region. This is an important development that advertisers need to factor in to their campaign strategy,” says Roula Khatib, TOP’s head of advertising.

According to a July 2014 study by We Are Social, mobile subscription penetration in Oman has reached a whopping 174 per cent. This compares with a global average of 98 per cent. Indeed, the penetration rate of mobile subscriptions across the GCC is way above the global average: Kuwait comes out on top with 212 per cent, followed by Bahrain with 193 per cent, Saudi with 188 per cent and the UAE with 168 per cent.

In the past, people would build mobile websites and adopt them to mobile platforms, but with mobile penetration now higher, it is the other way around.

Spending on digital media has increased, but in most markets, marketers face a three-part journey before they come to terms with social media.

Phase 1: Most companies are hesitant and have concerns – for example, a chief executive wants to be on social media as he wants to have a presence or a fan base, but most of them do not understand the requirements of a proper engagement strategy for their brands.

Phase 2: This is the testing phase when companies experience a learning curve. They handle the work themselves or use an agency and acquire a better understanding of what works for them and what does not.

Phase 3: Companies discover what social media means to them and how much to spend on it. By this point they are in a position to define the value and return on investment that social media can add to the bottom line.

Most companies in Oman are probably in the second phase of this journey. Any company that is keen to understand social media can do so – there is a lot of information available publicly and there are a number of conferences, influencers and thought leaders who are ready to share knowledge. It is important for companies to know who is on which social media platform and when. Based on this insight, they can boost their advertising returns.

The budget to be allocated to social media is a tricky question that confuses most companies. “It is all about the objective of the client. When it comes to social media, you can spend as low as one dollar to as high as multi-million dollars, based on multiple factors. A specialised agency can help clients to maximise returns,” says Steitiyeh. “Social media is very measurable and once the objectives have been defined, one can measure as how the ad spends are helping you to get there.”

Halaby, from TOP, adds: “Earlier, clients were cutting from media spends on other media, but social media is now getting its own allocation.

“Three years ago, it would come out of the traditional media budget, but now companies are allocating specifically for social media and this is coming from erstwhile print or outdoor budgets, as they are the biggest portion.”

Purists maintain that social media is an engagement platform and advertising mitigates users’ experiences. Companies which overuse or intrude on the user experience run the risk of offending their customers, while something that is understated may fail to catch their eye.

“The idea is not to intrude on the user experience,” says Khatib. “Engaging content or something that appeals to users scores much higher than product-related plugs on social media. People are not on social media to read advertisements that appear in newspapers and magazines, and a number of companies are looking at a content-led strategy.”

With a marked shift towards digital, it is imperative that agencies invest in capabilities in this domain. Not doing so could prove to be their death knell. Asha Advertising recently tied up with the Havas Group to boost its digital muscle.

“As a local agency, there are always challenges regarding the quality of talent that you can hire, the core specialities that you can create, because of the size of the market and you need to sustain that,” says Ajit Singh, group general manager for retail at Asha Enterprises, which includes Havas Oman. “With a network behind you, one can leverage regional and global strengths. Havas International has been strong in the digital space and we have been able to leverage that learning.”

Sensing its growing importance and future potential, most agencies are investing resources in the digital space. “With a booming youth population who are extremely mobile savvy, it is a no-brainer that you will have to invest in technology and digital to reach out to them,” says Raman. “We have invested in a digital media planner, who has had experience in other markets – we are investing in creative people who have a background in digital. We have access to regional resources who have worked in markets, which are much more sophisticated in the digital space and we are learning from their best practices.”

While the growing importance of digital is a no-brainer, there is a more pertinent question – what is the role of social media in terms of engagement versus advertising? Social media is an engagement platform that ensures your brand engages positively with consumers. This notion of engagement opens up the opportunity of carefully understanding consumer desires, behaviour and so on, and this information can be used for targeted, tactical digital advertising by knowing where your consumers frequent digitally.

“We all understand the importance of digital but we are not clear about what marketers want from social or digital,” says Mohammad Al Farei, managing director at the Zeenah Group. “Everyone wants to have a presence on digital and social but the question is, what are their objectives? If it is only about pushing your messages, then it becomes a mere communication tool, which is not even 10 per cent of the possibilities that digital media can achieve. In a nutshell, digital is all about a two-way conversation and connecting people. Unfortunately, most marketers today are using digital as a platform to push their messages rather than conversing with the audience. On social and digital media it is very much possible to do targeted advertising for your focus group. We can reach out to a certain target group using the digital platform.”

There are those who feel that social media is a necessary evil and brands need to engage, but who do not expect a sharp spike in sales due to their digital presence. Whether one agrees with the marketing potential of digital social media or not, advertisers, agencies and the media should ignore its potential at their peril.

With social media opening up avenues for people to promote their products or brands, the PR space is also expected to change for the better

However, there are some who point to the substandard quality of press releases in Oman, and other woes.

“Finding a PR agency that will take on a one-off product or campaign is impossible. We had a retainer with a PR agency for several years and all the PRs looked identical, as if they were written by the same person. One did not even have to read the PR because the build-up, the middle and the end were almost the same, they just changed the quotes in the middle,” says Kim Jepsen, general manager of IDdesign.

As social media becomes more prominent, companies and marketers can use it to promote their products directly to customers, potentially cutting out the middleman.

This year has seen a few other positive changes – companies have a better understanding about the need to engage with users. The tipping point of social media spending seems to be around the corner and it is just a matter of time before the scales tip decisively in its favour.

From an advertisers’ point of view, media is a bridge between a brand or company and the consumer. The media’s role is to showcase, inform and educate the consumer about the brand. Unfortunately, there seems to be a disconnection between client expectations and what the media and agencies are delivering in Oman.

“The media demonstrates certain trends that shows traits of an immature market,” says Young. “There is no culture of investigative journalism. Journalists come to press conferences, pick up their gifts and go. There is little awareness or interest in engaging in a discussion.”

“The media needs to be more performance driven. The news in the Arabic media is just PR and journalists need to be encouraged to investigate,” adds Al Busaidi.

“Every single media sales person who comes to meet me starts with selling the discount,” says Jepsen. “They don’t understand that I am not buying the discount, I want to get value and mileage for my products. It may have to do with the fact that you hardly see the same sales person in a company twice, because of the targets and stuff like that – for me, it is annoying. There is very little trust in the credibility of the media.”

Over a period of time, the market has become a discount-driven one, with media houses offering ridiculous discounts on card rates. Other offers such as free adverts and freebies are thrown in to entice clients. A number of marketers aver to this, forcing them to buy space they would not ordinarily buy in other markets as they are allocated a budget from their principals and if they do not spend the amount, they will get a smaller allocation next year.

The lack of industry-based metrics, such as audits, viewership/listenership data, circulation or readership figures, remains a black hole. Saleem Ahmed Abdullatif, general manager of marketing at Omantel’s consumer business unit, says: “With newspapers, the challenge is their circulation and, being a small market, the number of titles is endless. None of the publications know as to what they are doing, who is reading them and what is their circulation.”

Overlooking these drawbacks could prove to be a costly mistake for the media. To cite an example, the telecom sector is spending less globally because of enhanced competition, reduced margins and market saturation in terms of penetration. This is forcing telecom companies to look for lower-cost mediums to engage with its customers.

Nawras is undergoing a rebranding exercise and will become Ooredoo. The exercise focuses on the translation of the Nawras brand, brand equity and values into the Ooredoo brand. The shift will also bring about changes in the way the company/brand advertises.

“The rebranding will drive some inherent changes in our advertising strategy,” says Young. “Right now, only 30 per cent of Omanis watch Oman-based TV channels – the other 70 per cent comes out of regionalised TV. The reality is that the delivery mechanism cannot be segmented to certain countries. As Nawras, which is an Omani company operating in a small market, I cannot afford to buy primetime space on OSN, NBC or any of the regional satellite delivery platforms, but Ooredoo can do so. This is one of the demonstrated benefits that we will get from being a part of a larger group and being a regional brand. You will see Ooredoo appearing in regional publications. This will help us to leverage some of the regional advertising properties.”

Given this background and growing regional and local options, it is important that the local media delivers value.

The growing salience of social media poses another threat/opportunity for media entities.

“The usage behaviour of our clients has changed – we are dealing with smartphone penetration and enhanced text messaging. People have broadband phones and there are increasing number options available through apps and social media. This poses a challenge for providers like us,” says Abdullatif.

“Social media as a communication platform that has its ear to the ground has become a very critical part of our communications mix,” adds Young. “In many ways it is complementary to our business as it drives telecom connectivity and demand from broadband. It provides us with a double-edged benefit – it is an engagement platform with customers and a stimulator for our business.”

Social media can be a double-edged sword, as the wrong statement can spread rapidly and needs to be responded to quickly. Unlike a press release in a newspaper, for which a company can take a considerable period of time to respond, the same luxury is not available on social media.

But the fault does not always lie at the doorstep of the media – there are times when the client or agency fails to create relevant or interesting communication.

“For a good advertising campaign, you need a few things like a good product, a product that is simple to use, easy to understand and buy,” says Abdullatif. “I am the product owner and I need to understand my product and explain it to the agency because they do not understand my product. They need to know what I want to do with my product, so it comes down to the brief and whether it is clear and timely. The other thing is how much time and effort is an agency ready to give to a campaign and how stretched they are. At Omantel, we give a brief and then have a session with the agency – they come and tell us what they understand from the brief, so that we can bridge any gaps. So the fault lies both with clients and the agency.”

“The capability of advertising agencies in the country needs to improve – there is too much reliance on expertise from outside the country and, sometimes, you do not get the right flavour or cultural nuances in the creative,” adds Young. While social media is a platform that clients are looking at closely, everyone agrees that real advertising spending on this is still a few years away. In the meantime, advertisers are shifting to other platforms that offer a better return on investment.

“We use radio quite a bit for the personal touch,” says Jepsen. “We use radio because people are confined to a limited space and they are listening to the radio, so we only advertise during drive-time and you can see the difference. When we do a radio advert the footfalls go up immediately, while you may not see any spike if you use print. We follow up the radio campaign with a text message and that is the most effective.

Radio is growing as a media of choice for advertisers in Oman. One of the main reasons for this is the emotional connect and interactivity levels that presenters share with listeners. The engagement levels for radio advertising are the highest for any mass media, which offers every opportunity for a brand’s message to reach listeners. Unlike newspapers or television, radio is everywhere – in the car, at work and in the home. Compared with the cost of reaching a similar-sized audience with the same frequency, radio advertising has a pretty reasonable entry cost (commercial time cost) that can be tailored to a specific need or budget.

“Once we moved away from print media and into radio and SMS, we shaved off 40 per cent of our advertising budget and our turnover has gone up,” says Jepsen. “In print media, one ad does not work. You need to put an ad in a leading newspaper for two weeks and they charge an arm and a leg – they are really expensive. Radio is not a cheaper option, but a more effective option compared with print.”

Given the evolving music tastes of people in Oman, there is a feeling that there is room for more radio stations.

“I am a great fan of radio and I think radio has made a return with FM,” says Najeeb Mohamed, general manager of FP7/MCT (Fortune Promoseven). “Radio is bound to grow and there is a space for another radio station which caters to the Indian subcontinent diaspora.”

“People in Oman are evolving with their taste of music – our radio stations get numerous requests about airing various kinds of music genres at different drive-time hours, which wasn’t the case earlier,” adds Mayur. “A variety of radio stations would also allow advertisers to profile their audience.”

Radio has not merely come of age in Oman, but has established itself as the medium to beat in the Sultanate. We’ve probably only seen the tip of the iceberg.

Any change in customer consumption patterns or marketer sensibilities poses a grave threat to the print media – both newspapers and magazines. “The biggest shift in 2013-14 is the shift towards digital media. We have seen this in the readership ratings of our online editions and on the internet, plus Omanis involved in social media are growing rapidly and it is alarming to media entities like us,” says Ahmed Essa Al Zedjali, chief executive of Muscat Press and Publishing House (MPPH) and editor-in-chief at Al Shabiba.

And no wonder media companies are alarmed. Internet penetration in Oman has hit 80 per cent, twice that of the global average. The same is being seen across the GCC – Kuwait has an internet penetration of 99 per cent, Qatar and Bahrain 97 per cent and the UAE 94 per cent. Saudi is lagging at 64 per cent, but this is still above the global average of 41 per cent. Clearly, the consumer shift to digital media began some time ago – and the sooner the media and advertising sector catch up, the better it will be for their bottom lines.

Five years ago newspapers used to compete with each other, but today they compete with TV, radio, social media and even individuals creating content, so the challenges are on a bigger scale than before. Moreover, with 70 per cent of Oman’s population being below the age of 30, and 50 per cent being below the age of 15, the younger generation is expected to adopt social media faster from here on.

“The challenge for us is that there are individuals in the market who are creating news. They steal news from Al Shabiba, Times of Oman and other media and publish it on their websites, and there is no law to stop them. Tomorrow, if Times of Oman’s readership goes to these websites, then we will lose advertising,” says Al Zedjali.

Top Sectors By Advertising – Percentage Spend

According to Mediate’s survey, social media users consumed 63.2 per cent of news content. Moreover, people own more than one mobile device and 68.3 per cent of people consume news on their smartphones. Aware of this tectonic shift, traditional media houses are gearing themselves to combat the imminent onslaught. For example, MPPH is focusing heavily on digital media. When hiring, they have mandated that journalists should have the ability to multitask and contribute to the digital side of the business. The organisation has created digital services such as What’s News in English and What’s Al Youm in Arabic. The media house also has a TV channel on YouTube and it is planning to introduce many more mobile services.

“Unfortunately, most agencies in Oman are classic and they do not want to change into new markets,” says Al Zedjali. “Tomorrow, even if we invest in new media, technology and trends, the advertising agencies will not be ready to acknowledge these trends as they are caught up in a classical mould.”

The shift towards digital is an acknowledged fact, but for now print remains the overwhelming medium of choice for advertisers, for various reasons. Explaining the prominence of the print media, Raman says: “A lot of this is to do with the nature of advertising in Oman, which is tactical – announcements, sale, promotions – and so newspapers tend to get a larger share.”

“In Oman there is a nice habit of doing things with caution, second there is a sense of inertia,” Mohamed says. “There is a safety valve or cocoon that has been built. When you have a share of voice, wherein 80 per cent goes into print, by the sheer rule of probability and past experience of doing campaigns and realising that these have brought benefits, clients put in their money thinking and hoping that they will reap benefits.” Morad Awad, agency head at The Agency/SABCO Art Events, adds: “Oman is largely driven by the public sector and there are a number of people who read newspapers in their offices. Probably this explains the predominance of the newspapers.”

GCC Ad Spend – 2012-13

The big lacuna in print is the lack of any scientific metrics to gauge accountability and responsiveness. The media fakes claimed numbers and, without any authentic numbers, advertising becomes a matter of relationships. There are some silver linings emerging in this bleak scenario, with some publishers seeking audits.

Advertising agencies worldwide are changing from mere creators to consultants and brand custodians, who guide and help clients to reach their goals. But, unfortunately, there seems to be a disconnect on both sides of the divide in Oman – agencies are seen as mere vendors by clients, while the media and agencies share more of a love-hate relationship than a symbiotic one.

Top Sectors By Advertisers – Percentage Change

 

The disconnect stems from fundamental and age-old issues that remain unresolved. Let us look at a few of these. The three-cornered relationship between clients, agencies and the media continues to be a stumbling block because of a lack of transparency and trust. It also stems from a deeper problem related to the lack of clarity on the role of an agency vis-a-vis media houses. Media houses and agencies have a complementary role in bringing benefits to the client, but legacy issues in Oman mean they are seen as being in conflict. Agencies do not share client knowledge with the media as they fear a loss of control and their fears are not unfounded, as media partners do not value the role of agencies and tend to deal directly with clients.

“To set things right, all three entities need to strike a healthy partnership,” says Raman. “Media going to clients directly is a big issue, not merely because of a loss of media commission, but the larger issue at stake is about controlling the brand.”

“Most clients see advertising agencies as a vendor and not as a partner,” adds Mohamed. “We can develop a brand as a partner and not as a vendor. People see Oman as a trading market but, after Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Oman has the largest land area and there are a number of manufacturing units and industrial estates which have come up with their own brands, so there is a good case for building home-grown brands.”

The media feels that agencies do not invest in research and planning and are unable to give their clients the right advice and guidance. Most business owners still see advertising as a cost and not as an investment, and in the lack of proper return on investment they keep shifting from one agency to another.

“We would love to work with agencies as they have multiple clients and they help out with the creative and logistics like billing, collection, etcetera,” says Al Zedjali. “We want agencies to grow because if agencies grow the media will grow. Unfortunately, the problem is that the agencies are not willing to invest in their resources.”

The quality of creative work in Oman also leaves much to be desired, according to Narayan Iyer, general manager at OHI Leo Burnett.

“The quality of work is below par. This is because neither clients nor the agencies are ready to commit budgets and resources to the creative process, or the development of an advertisement,” Iyer says. “All the money is spent on releases. The creation and production of an advertisement has taken a secondary role. Neither the agencies nor the clients want to experiment as everyone wants to play safe.”

“You see some ads that do not make any sense,” adds Awad. “In some advertisements the design leaves much to be desired. Even if the concept is wrong, agencies should at least get the execution right, but a number of ads get the basics wrong.”

The dominance of expatriates and a lack of qualified Omanis remains one of the biggest drawbacks of agencies in the Sultanate.

“Most expatriates think in English and the creative gets converted into Arabic,” says Singh. “If an Omani/Arabic creative person thinks of something it is sure to be far better as the latter are clued into local mores.”  On the strategic side, there seems to be little thought given to the timing and periodicity of releases.

“Worldwide, a brand appears in a certain media regularly to connect with its audience, but in Oman you find brands that jump from title to title,” says Al Farei. “Marketers go with where they get the cheapest rates. While they think they are gaining from the deal, they don’t realise that the brand is not strategically benefitting from such moves.”

Top Companies By Advertising – Percentage Change

Iyer points to a more fundamental flaw: “Oman is not even a tactical market, it is more of ‘I will advertise when I want to’. Clients don’t feel that advertising is adding value to their business.”

In terms of creativity, things are changing – but they are not changing as fast as they should. A lot of agencies blame clients for not buying good work, but agencies are equally to blame for not thinking out of the box. For example, agencies get even simple things such as the choice of adverts for a particular media wrong. A lot of agencies still present creative proposals in the form of newspaper adverts to clients, knowing full well that the client is not even going to have one newspaper advert.

“Agencies also do not have people who are trained to think on outdoors,” says Raman. “For example, you see outdoor versions of print ads and they are pathetic, with no readability, the wrong choice of colours. The same is happening with digital as there is hardly anyone who understands the format. Most agencies struggle to provide artworks – forget creativity when it comes to digital.”

With a number of global agencies linking up with Oman-based ones, the question being asked is whether the Sultanate is becoming a more attractive proposition for international agencies. But the truth seems to lie somewhere else.

“Before 2008, Dubai built up capacities which were far in excess of its needs,” says Iyer. “When the global financial crisis took place, these agencies started looking at regional clients and that’s the time that international agencies started diversifying into Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and other GCC markets. Moreover, the margins on working with some of the bigger regional clients is better.”

There have been instances when hole-in-the-wall agencies from Dubai have faked their capabilities to win clients in Oman.

“The system can be abused in any market but, in principle, it is good to choose agencies that have international exposure,” says Raman. “Some people use Dubai as a catchphrase for all solutions, which is wrong – you will find good and mediocre agencies in all markets, so it is about choosing carefully.”

Outdoors is another media format that was in the news last year, largely due to the entry of JC Decaux. Secondly, advertising spending on outdoors has also shot up. “We use outdoor based on the campaign,” says Abdullatif. “There are places where we have a long-term agreement with media owners.”

Top Brands By Advertising

There are others who are less than receptive about outdoor media. “The outdoor process will go through a correction process, as it has spiralled and is no longer value for money,” says Young. “By that I mean the costs incurred in keeping the outdoor refreshed.”

Top Companies By Advertising

“We do not use outdoors because our brand owners see it as a downgrade,” adds Jepsen. “People drive through the same road for a year and they only have a couple of seconds to look at the outdoor ad.”

The efficiencies caused by quality and pricing in Oman’s market will continue across industries and verticals. Some of the bigger players on the agency side will lose out if they are not willing to change. One can expect many more specialised agencies coming up in digital space. The media industry is going to change with the ensuing opportunities in mobile and online advertising. The larger infrastructure and tourism projects in Oman will prove to be the next big frontier.

Top Brands By Advertising – Percentage Change

Overall, the operative word seems to be incoherence and it is prevalent at all levels – there is a divide between advertisers/marketers and consumers. Consumers have moved on to new media, but advertisers are still spending their money on traditional platforms. This disconnect stems from age-old mindsets and resistance to change. If marketers continue throwing money on old media, their spending is sure to go into a big black hole. The sudden advent of digital and social media has been a major game changer and the media, agencies and advertisers need to change. Arming themselves with the knowledge to catch up with technology and consumers is just a matter of time – but this needs to be acknowledged and embraced quickly.

Disclaimer
This article has been collated from IPSOS-STAT data and our informed deductions and analysis. Despite such a fundamentally strong pool of empirical evidence we would like readers, advertisers, agencies and publishers to use the inferences in this article as a broad guideline, rather than an absolute given. The supporting data used in this article is based on advertising card rates given by companies. As a standard operating practice, media houses offer discounts ranging anywhere between 30 to 50 percent on these rates and readers can arrive at more realistic figures by doing a back of the envelope calculation.