The Out of Home (OOH) advertising industry has grown several folds in the last few years in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In the United Arab Emirates alone, it became a billion dollar industry with several factors impacting its growth including Dubai becoming popular both as a home for expats and a tourist destination.
The growing on road traffic in Dubai, accommodating over 1.4 million cars this year, has essentially meant good news for OOH advertisers. Most OOH players have recorded a constant increase in revenues since 2013, and Group Plus, an OOH marketing company, is no exception.
Commenting on Group Plus’ rising market share, Imad El Choueiri, Managing Director, Group Plus – GCC said in a conversation with The Arabian Marketer, “Today we nearly control 30 to 40 per cent specific type of OOH media, while others are probably at 5 per cent.”
The company won one of the biggest tenders recently for the installation of eight LED screens in the Dubai International Financial District area. “Our reach is not just in UAE but in the entire region. In Bahrain, we won the exclusivity of the outdoor of lampposts signs in Manama. We control a big portion of the market here. We are expanding and we succeeded in acquiring these contracts,” he added.
As the industry embraced new technologies, companies such as Group Plus have strived to lead the change. “The advancement in creative advertising has been supported with technological advancements. For instance, 3D scaffolding is a new type of advertising tool that is now available in the markets along with LED screens,” Mr Choueiri informed.
While Middle East maybe classified as an organized OOH advertising market, the same is not the case in emerging markets like Africa where OOH frameworks and regulations are comparatively ambiguous. “We have seen opportunities in Africa but the structure and legal framework is not clear, and hence risk prone. The markets in Middle East are also some of the biggest OOH markets, one of the biggest spenders being the KSA followed by UAE, Bahrain and Lebanon,” he said.
The booming sector presents its own challenges. “Some of the challenges in this market is faced by the region on the whole. While in the UAE, there is a kind of vision which is helping us plan, the sector could be become more structured and organized by sector governing bodies. The industry is continually evolving, and it would require similar paced frameworks that will in turn help in closing the gap between the supply versus the demand,” Mr Choueiri explained.
