Outdoor and other out-of-home advertisers, among the worst hit by the recent downturn in the property market, are diversifying their client bases, lowering prices and restructuring payment plans as they try to weather the economic downturn.
Even large, global companies are feeling the pinch. JCDecaux Dicon, the UK-based advertising firm that recently signed a 10-year contract for exclusive advertising concessions at Dubai International Airport, is having to look to new places for clients as its old ones pull back their marketing budgets.
"Eighty-five per cent of our clients are in property," said Halima Khatoon, a sales manager at the company. "All our main targets were real estate."
As property companies announce layoffs and stalled projects, JCDecaux has to widen its search for business. "We are planning to approach other brands - luxury brands, perfume. We want auto makers, all of the other kinds of brands," she said.
It could also have to lower some of its rates. Until now, the company bragged that the prices it charged at its Emirates airline-occupied Terminal 3 locations were "10 per cent higher than Heathrow", Ms Khatoon said, but a review of some of its prices was likely "because the market has gone down".
Even if prices do not change, the way they are collected probably will. "Instead of yearly, we might give monthly prices," she said.
These changes are not necessarily a bad thing, argued several members of the industry at today's Outdoor Advertising Forum in Abu Dhabi.
Scott Rowe, the director of sales marketing and business development at Right Angle Media, which earlier this year won the concession for advertising on Dubai's bus shelters, believes a correction can restore health to the industry.
"If nothing else, the credit crisis, and particularly its effect on the property market, will drive the market to be more normal, just driven by one sector," he said. But in the near-term there will be pain.
"It's affecting everyone. Our business has just dropped. Everybody is holding their horses," said Nabih Muslimani, the sales supervisor at Synaxis Media, the Abu Dhabi-based out-of-home digital media company responsible for the blinking LED advertisements in malls around the capital and Al Ain.
But the economic climate won't stop the company from switching on the lights of its first outdoor sign this week on the Fotouh Al Khair shopping centre, between Hamdan and Zayed the First streets on Airport Road. Dubbed the largest LED screen in the Middle East, Europe and Africa, "The Opulence" originally was scheduled to launch in September, but was delayed by shipping problems. It is now scheduled to go live by the end of the month. Able to hold 12 advertisements, with 10-seconds given to each spot, it would be visible from a kilometre away, he said.
"It's something unique," he said. "It's going to sell itself."
But will it? Some experts are saying that the era of "the biggest in the world" buzz is now giving way to a period of tactical advertisements that offer consumers value and details.
"If we witness a slowdown and recession, the content of the advertising will go towards more value and packaging, more tactical, trying to increase sales and affect sales directly, rather than building brands and establishing images," said Ghassan Harfouche, the treasurer of the International Advertising Association. "That's certain. That's how the past has been."
khagey@thenational.ae
Schedule:
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPAD%20PRO%20(12.9%22%2C%202022)
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Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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A%20MAN%20FROM%20MOTIHARI
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5