With the internet penetration rate in the UAE over 99%, Online marketing is definitely here to stay. However, it is safe to say that offline marketing still claims its space and should be a part of your marketing strategy, especially for your B2C products. Marketers still heavily rely on channels like TV, Radio & Billboards in Dubai to sell their products and etch their names on people’s minds.
Let us take you through the 3 most crucial offline marketing channels which still remain a big piece of the puzzle when it comes to chalking down your marketing strategy to fruition.
Radio
Radio is an extremely popular medium in the UAE. As per Nielsen’s Audience Measurement reports, 92% of the total UAE population aged 10 and above tune into the radio every week.
Listeners in Dubai spend over 7 hours a week listening to the radio. When you’re driving somewhere, the radio seems to be your best friend. And it’s not just people driving to and from work, over 60% of the audience tune in post 8 pm. Radio is not just for the elder demographic, children aged 10-14 years old are the peak segment of the population. People of all age groups are engaged listeners to the Radio in the UAE and this number is growing by the day. For the emirates, Radio remains a powerful way to market your B2C products for wider reach, brand awareness, and credibility.
TV
TV advertisements are still relevant in the UAE where people of all age groups watch TV every day. TV has been a staple medium for marketing for decades and it’s still a robust medium in Dubai. With the number of expats increasing every day, TV viewership and the opportunity to enhance your marketing via TV advertisements are only growing.
UAE residents consume over 7.5 hours of TV every day.
During Ramadan, we saw an almost 80% surge in TV viewership in Arab countries. With the introduction of WebTV, marketers can now target demographics even better.
Billboards/ Hoarding
When it comes to a form of advertising that is eyecatching and recognizable, nothing hits as close to home as Hoarding. Dubai is plush with big brands and companies wanting to make their mark. A stupendous amount of corporations still choose to reach their target customers via Billboards and outdoor advertisements.
According to Zenith Media in 2020, outdoor advertisement spend in the Middle East and North Africa amounted to 832 million U.S. dollars and it is expected to increase to 1.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2024.
During this period the total spending on advertisement across all segments in the region was over eight billion U.S. dollars. The signage market is only moving up in Dubai.
Why is Offline Marketing still an important medium in Dubai?
Offline marketing remains a top-notch way to ensure your brand gets enough of the spotlight. Offline marketing has its own benefits, some of which overpower online marketing. Studies have shown TV & Radio ads make more of an impression than any online ad you’ll see and billboards are a great way to make your brand memorable. Visually seeing a brand on a tangible source day after day imprints it in our minds and influences our buying decision. The power of the subconscious mind has been much researched and its impact on advertising has also been explored which states that elements in our spatial surroundings register in our brains even if we are not directly engaging with them. A drive down the Sheikh Zayed Road will show you how mega brands like KFC, McDonald’s, Van Cleef & Arpels, Gucci, etc use hoardings to remain at the top of the mind and relevant.
People tend to identify with the brand much more when they hear it from other people. This is why radio and television ads work. We like to see our favorite personalities endorse the brand or simply just see or hear about the product in detail. While digital marketing will definitely lead the way, it is safe to say that offline marketing will always be a constant in the marketing world!
Let us help you navigate seamlessly in the offline marketing realm. Reach out to PIXL for offline marketing solutions that get results.
