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Kuwait's online ads market only an addition, not an alternative
24/9/2009
The status of the internet has moved from being a means of communication to conduct business, taking a much more complex and greater role in our everyday life. From reading news, keeping in touch with friends and members of the family, shopping, or even ordering food, the internet has proven to be an essential part of our daily life. This status makes it an appealing medium for advertisers to promote their products, services and even ideas.
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Kuwait Times |
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Article
In Kuwait, after the internet took the country by storm during the early years of the millennium, people have slowly begun to pick up on the drastic effects the Internet can have on people's opinions. With many interferences made by Parliament members to organize the freedom of blogging, to the blocking of numerous websites, the Internet certainly has a huge rank in society.
But when it comes to advertising, the internet has a long distance to cross in this region, says Sarosh Daruwalla, Director of Operations at P and A Advertising Agency. He stated that print advertisement still ranks number one, explaining that "people love reading newspapers in this part of the world.
Given the size of Kuwait, we do indeed have quite a lot of newspapers and other publications. "There are so many magazines as well, and they wouldn't be there if there was no readership.
Advertising on the internet is certainly cheaper at the moment, says Daruwalla, suggesting that the prices could begin to increase as soon as the demand begins to pick up. "Globally, a lot is happening on the internet," he adds, explaining that this part of the world is not excluded, but is still holding on to the familiar mediums of advertising.
Internet advertising is certainly popular among the young generation, who are more tech savvy than the old ones. But certainly, if we wait for ten or fifteen years, we will notice that a lot of these tech-savvy young people have actually become business owners," explained Daruwalla.
For the time being, though, print advertisement is dominant in the region. "Online ads are only an addition, not an alternative," he noted conclusively.
Aywaa Group, an agency that offers clients online advertisement packages, wrote an explainer on their website listing the benefits of online advertising. The agency lists "extensive coverage ... direct response ... effectiveness ... cheap rates" among many other reasons to consider online advertising.
It explains that advertisers are only charged each time a click is made on their ad. As people spend a lot of quality time on the internet rather than any other media outlet, which is why a lot of ad agencies are creating personalized messages to appear to certain target customers depending on which website they choose to use.
For example, websites that are student-oriented often have ads of MP3 players, video games and similar products that concern consumers within the traditional age range of college students. Gaya Kruchlik of Paragon Marketing Communications explains: "Online advertising is only effective if you know how to target the right audience.
Ranking the websites that advertisers use in Kuwait, Kruchlik said that Facebook comes in number one, for many reasons. Other than the fact that a majority of internet users use Facebook daily, it also has affordable ads compared to its other competitors, she explained. The second on the list is Microsoft's Messenger, and the third is YouTube. "There are also several blogs where many advertisers choose to place their ads, depending on the readership," she said.
Speaking of the nature of the ads and who the advertisers are, Kruchlik says that almost all the ads are of private sector companies offering either special promotions or new products. "If I were to say what kind of products, I'd say perhaps restaurants, beauty salons and spas, and other retailers," she notes.
Online advertising has become a handy political tool.
During the elections season last May, many candidates showed interest in online advertisement given the involvement of the youth in both politics and the online world. Kruchlik says that ad agencies offered full packages of online campaigns which covered banners on various websites as well as direct e-mails. "Of course, with a package that includes many services, the price is almost equivalent to using any other advertising method. That's why there were candidates that did not pursue online advertising," s
he notes.
The general feeling towards online advertising, despite its notable growth, says Kruchlik, is still nowhere near competing with the traditional advertising methods, be they TV, radio, or press. |
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