Speaking at the first GCC OOH Industry Summit (Gulf Cooperation Council countries include Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain) curated by measurement specialist Seventh Decimal, WOO President Tom Goddard praised regional OOH media owners for securing 20% of regional Adex (well ahead of other global regions) and the growth of DOOH, heading for 70% of an OOH market set to rise from $1.5bn to $1.8bn this year.
The Summit took place at the Habtoor Grand Hotel in JBR, Dubai on February 13.
Goddard also underlined the need for greater collaboration for continued OOH sector growth, pointing out that the real competition to OOH in GCC came from alternative media owners, who continue to grow their majority share. Sector growth from working together at industry level, led to five times more individual bottom line benefit than standard inter-company competition emphasised Goddard.
Better use of data is one key to growth highlighted Goddard as he praised Seventh Decimal for its widespread work on measurement in the region. Among growth drivers he highlighted:
- Data Analytics Opportunities - endless but is the medium making the most of them?
- Automation: AdTech development is hotting up, but we have still to see its real impact in GCC as automation is the real key to programmatic trading by making the medium easier to transact.
- Making the case that OOH is better value than any other medium more strongly.
- Retail Media: The GCC especially, with its huge retail malls and hypermarkets, can lead the way in the ad world's fastest-growing medium.
- Developing a strong representative trade association to harness collaboration and drive sector growth.
In conclusion he reminded the audience of two of the unparalleled but sometimes overlooked advantages of the OOH medium: Firstly its unique contribution to cities providing free civic amenity benefits such as high-speed Wi-Fi, Public Transport Updates, Eco Initiatives and Public Transportation Schemes and secondly its unmatched creativity, critical in developing effective advertising.
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