Is your brand orchestrating the sing-along?
Tom Roy ponders over whether consumers’ multi-screening is an opportunity or threat for brands
(from Campaign Middle East, October 26, 2014)
Our target audience today is consuming media across...
RTA launches 'Smart City' apps for Dubai's way forward
RTA - The Road and Transport Authority have launched five new apps (and a website) that offers as many as 30 new services to customers. This is a big positive step towards establishing Dubai as a Smart City. Every app is available for free download...
Why you should directly upload videos to Facebook.
Facebook is encouraging direct video uploads onto brand pages, because according to them "video consumption on Facebook is growing rapidly and Facebook's news fees gives you the opportunity to place your brand at the center of daily discovery....
Do ad agencies need Growth Hackers to work for their clients?
Why should growth hacking be limited to start-ups and entrepreneurs? If the purpose of ad agencies is to increase sales, grow the business and deliver ROI for their clients' brands, isn't it time they hired a couple of growth hackers?
Before...
Smart Homes, smart cities, smart people. The Internet of Things.
The fridge calls your mobile and alerts you that you are out of milk. Doors open and close automatically as you go in and out. The alarm clock starts your coffee machine. Car engines start as you get ready for work. City wide wifi allows instant...
Is multitasking and multi-screen attention taking away from a brand's reach?
Multi-screen or multi device marketing is a big buzzword. Screen journeying is another. But is this new consumer habit taking away valuable focus and attention to a brand's message?
People today are performing sequential screening between devices....
Optimizing your brand's performance on Facebook
I may have lost my mind, but I've read somewhere that there are over 100,000 factors that help decide what a user sees on their News Feed, And for those who have been under a rock for the last one year, EdgeRank isn't one of them. That got killed...
eMail marketing hasn't died. It has evolved and going strong. But...
eMail isn't quite dead as a marketing tool just yet. It is re-shaping itself, becoming more intelligent, getting mostly automated, and emerging as a nice little 'responsive' and 'creative' marketing tool for brands.
In a recent global survey done...
Using the Big Data advantage
Every one wants to talk about Big Data. Very few really know what to do with it. Big data is a means to an end – and that end is insight and a business advantage gained out of that insight. Information without result is worthless.
Most every one...
Smartphone users are smart – but not loyal
With smartphone penetration sky rocketing in the Middle East, there's a democratization of brand loyalties that's altering the marketplace. We've always had Apple fanboys who would never move out of the orchard. And android geeks have stuck with...
Scared of MERS, but advertising inaction
I don't work at a hospital. I'm not scanning people from Saudi Arabia at the airport. My only face to face contact with people from the kingdom who may have close contact with camels or with people who have been exposed to the MERS virus is through...
Facebook wants to Move Fast but be Stable
Facebook is moving fast towards changing their mantra. From "Move Fast and Break Things" to "Move Fast with Stable Infra". Huh?
Essentially, Facebook is saying, yes, moving fast is important, but it's important to get it right, to fix those bugs quick,...
Loyalty in automotive: Why I stuck with Audi – and will...
What makes a driver loyal to a car brand? Great driving experience? Got what you paid for and more? Or is it the after sales experience at the Service Center?
I've been in Dubai for a while now – and have had the good fortune to own and drive several...
Get your new Twitter profile now
I just updated my twitter profile to the new format. You too can. Do it here, now.
You'll ideally need to have a bigger, better (and perhaps more recent?) photo ready to upload for your bigger format profile photo. And there is now a large widescreen...
e-commerce in the Middle East growing fast – 2014 Mastercard report
According to a special Mastercard Shopping Behavior Study released recently, e-commerce is finally making its mark in the Middle East, and how. The UAE leads the table with just above 50% of consumers reporting that they had used an e-commerce platform....
10 types of advertising and marketing agencies in the Middle East
The advertising, marketing and media agency and service scenario in the Middle East has evolved over the years. From a large behemoth ad agency model to various specializations today, the industry is being fragmented in certain segments and integrated...
Social Gaming is Winning: 375 million play games on Facebook every month
The numbers are big on Social Gaming. Every one seems to be playing games – on social media. Facebook, with 1.3 billion active users has revealed that 375 million Facebook users play at least one Facebook-platformed game every month! That's a lot...
Lean Forward and Lean Back: Using mobile in two ways. And the new 'first screen'
There's been a lot of talk about engagement via mobile in the advertising and marketing circles, but the overwhelming agreement is that mobile is clearly emerging worldwide as the new 'first' screen – or the device of primary engagement.
That does...
