The world of TV is changing everywhere, majorly influenced by the advent of satelltites. This change increases competition between TV stations and as such has a major impact on TV audience measurement. Because of the increasing number of stations, the choice for the consumer and thus for the advertiser is increasing. TV stations need to provide continuous data rather than the once or twice a year snapshot of a diary or a recall study. The data need to be comparable between stations and between countries making the peoplemeter more attractive. There has been encouraging progress in the Middle East since the last conference two years ago. There is more of a consensus between advertisers and the media on the need for proper audience measurement. The first peoplemeter panel has been installed in the UAE. This provides single source measurement for TV. There is still diversion of opinion as to who should pay for media research. The need for harmonization of audience measurement is increasing because of the overspill of programs and advertising messages from one country to the other. This necessitates comparable reading of data between countries. Lack of harmonization can lead to drastically different data as shown by several examples. The demands of the advertising community on an audience measurement system are mainly to get minute by minute ratings which are fully harmonized, accessible on line and paid for by TV stations. The generation and distribution of the data should be organized by tripartite advisory bodies of TV stations, advertising agencies and advertisers. Deep and open discussion is needed between the three parties in order to promote the penetration of peoplemeters throughout the Middle East. Top priority is with Saudi, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Egypt.
Undoubtedly, when real regional peace is achieved the Arab countries will face fierce competition from Israel's financial, manufacturing and services corporations. This threat must be realized and plans must be developed by Middle East countries to respond and identify ways in which they can, in turn, benefit from the opportunities created to promote themselves in a larger marketplace. A marketplace that will also include Israel. But do they really have any other choice? We know the answer and we are expected to play our role: induce change.
The Gulf War had a profound impact on Saudi Arabia's political climate as well as its economic and market structures. Macro-economic dislocations have included sizeable budget deficits and dwindling financial reserves, not only due to the direct costs incurred during the war but due to substantially increased military spending since the war. Other developments have included a change in the composition of the expatriate workforce due to the government work permit policies, which had a particularly marked impact on the retail trade. Economic recovery has been unexpectedly buoyant, largely driven by private sector confidence. As a result, prospects for marketers look as promising as ever as attested by strong consumer as well as institutional demand for products and services. The paper will discuss demographic, macro-economic as well as market related changes since the Gulf War and will draw on the results of research carried out by MEMRB on: the changing structure of the retail trade and prevailing retailer attitudes' consumer beliefs and attitudes towards key socio-economic issues Through this period of rapid change market research has played a vital role in assisting companies come to grips with the changing political, social as well as economic landscape, providing vital input for the formulation of business strategy.
This paper describes how standard Retail Audit data can be enhanced "Management Information". The dynamism seen in the F.M.C.G's in the Middle East markets over the past two years with the explosive launch of new brands has focused the emphasis of this paper onto measuring the relative progress of the launch of new brands and ultimately at an early stage predicting their final success in the market. The ideas expressed in this paper have by no means been fully validated and are given as a hypothesis for further testing. They are produced in response to the request of many internal decision makers who, anxious about the launch of their brands, are looking for ways of monitoring the validity of their marketing strategy without relying on wishful and unrealistic climbs in share. This paper proposes that for new brand launches one needs to monitor and focus on four Retail Audit variables. These are classified as "Total marketing response variables" as they are seen to reflect a measure of how both consumers and retailers react to the various marketing activities occurring at any point in time. One of the four key variables that the paper introduces is the concept of the "Stock Pressure Index." The paper concludes by summarising the conceptual model for using Retail Audit data to predict the success of a new brand.
Market modelling techniques are at the leading edge of market research technology, an increasingly important part of the technical armoury of marketing companies around the world. 'They cover a wide range of applications: from pricing research and concept development to brand image engineering and market testing. My aim here is not to to read out a highly technical treatise on the theory and mechanics of market modelling. I can do better than that - with a straightforward view of the fundamental principles underlying some key modelling techniques - and a demonstration of how they have been adapted for use in the Middle East. Supported by rapid developments in computer technology, market micro-modelling breaks away from traditional market research methodologies. Whilst they were largely confined to the descriptive (or at best diagnostic) micro-modelling allows market researchers to predict what will really happen out there, in the real world. The real world... this is the key point. Maybe it's the only point. It has been said before but I will say it again. Market places are not tidy, well-ordered vacuums where research theories can be put smoothly into practice. If they were, our lives would be simpler, but less interesting. Markets are essentially untidy places, subject to subtle undercurrents, cultural influences - and that irritating phenomenon known as the competition.
In the Middle East, consumer testing of fragrances for personal products poses all of the same methodological problems as in other parts of the world, plus some particular problems having to do with the place of perfume in Moslem culture. The Firmenich Company, as a supplier of fragrances, has attempted to come to terms with these difficulties by adapting its market research methods and at the same time adjusting to the social and cultural climate of the region. The approach is illustrated by a case study, covering a consumer product test of a range of fragrances for a brand of toilet soap, carried out in one of the Gulf countries (Kuwait). The research involved a sequential monadic testing methodology, using a "Round Robin" design, and was carried out as a central location test. Some comparisons are made with similar consumer research carried out in one of the countries of West Africa (Nigeria). The paper will seek to illustrate how it is possible, in this product category, to obtain robust and reliable results from a central location test, providing that careful attention is paid both to the adaptation of the basic testing method, and to the particular connotations of perfume in this part of the world.
Personal belief systems supported by social and community norms challenge the success of social campaigns to change traditional attitudes and behaviors, especially when the campaigns attempt to transport the values of developed countries to traditional cultures in less-developed countries. The introduction of well-designed, well-researched social marketing campaigns can increase the overall success rate of public, attitude-change campaigns. By utilizing professional marketing techniques (i.e., the "four 'P's' of marketing: product, price, place (distribution), and promotion), change agents can successfully sell an idea, even if people's beliefs are very much opposed to it. In this paper, the authors present a case history of "Memoirs of a Female Doctor," a 25- spot campaign which was designed to tackle more than a dozen anti-family planning social beliefs and values held by an illiterate and rural target audience in Egypt. With a high frequency of broadcasting of those spots, and with high reach using one medium- television, the campaign succeeded in considerable attitude change toward family planning. In her "memoirs," a female physician appears every night on television to present one situation of an encounter with an ordinary citizen who has some sort of misunderstanding of misconception of family planning and contraceptives. The situation usually ends with clarifying that misunderstanding and correcting the misconception. The popular, highly- respected, mother-like actress enjoyed the audience's respect and trust. By altering deeply ingrained traditional mores, the campaign managed to change behavior in the desired direction. Independent research shows an increase in contraceptive prevalence in Egypt from 37.8 in 1988 to 47.1 in 1992. This is coupled with change in knowledge and attitude regarding family planning and the use of contraceptives.
Several common problems in designing and evaluating nationally representative sampling frames for countries in the Middle East are identified, with Jordan being used as a case study. Due to the absence of reliable information on several key demographic variables for the population, and practical constraints on finance and time, a "hybrid" methodology combining random selection principles with a quota "overlay" was employed for a national survey of media use in Jordan in September 1993. The design and implementation of the study are described, and key results are presented. Reference is also made to problems encountered during the fieldwork stages, and the procedures used to address them.
The paper highlights the commitment of General Motors to marketing research, not for the sake of doing research but as a tool for making decisions and taking actions on the marketing scene. It shows how research has paid off for General Motors and has lead to base its advertising strategies with Impact-Dubai on sound grounds. It features especially the use of a proprietary technique to BBDO the photosort, in the quest of achieving an appealing imagery to the customer. The technique consists of a validated deck of photos which are submitted to the respondents in the survey. The people express their opinions about brands and how far do they like/dislike them (affinity/rejection scores), using photos rather than words. It shows how this allows to assess in a more reliable way the imagery related to a brand. Words in general fall short of expressing all the nuances of the pictures in our heads a brand might evoke. Add to this that, in a multicultural business environment, words might be a source of miscommunication. Let us take for example the attribute avant-garde. It might evoke things in the mind of the customer that are different of what the creative director might imagine because he happens to belong to another culture. Pictures do not suffer from the same shortcomings. The signs are tangible and do not need an interpretation process. The paper is based on a research on 400 car owners of the middle category and up, and covered Saudi Arabia and UAE. It displays the methodology used to process the data obtained from the photos and how it was put into use by General Motors and Impact-Dubai. It demonstrates specifically the use of such research tools for elaborating an advertising strategy and the kind of guidance it provides in the design of copies, especially in the case of multimodel car company where every care must be taken to reinforce the overall corporate image, while not letting the models cannibalise each other.
This presentation charts the contribution of research to development of Immac as a brand in the depilatory category and hence one of the more sensitive areas in this segment. We outline the key stages of research used in developing the brand positioning and then how this was developed into an award winning campaign which has proven extremely successful. The research done initially on the positioning clearly pointed our way forward and, as results have proven, contributed significantly towards the brands success. We did also use research as a guide on product and pack development (Many of the detailed findings it should be noted have been omitted due to respecting client confidentiality). As a final point, it became evident that any positioning or advertising had to respect the sensitivities of this market and yet give a credible and motivating rational for purchase. It's a fine balance which meant that the research was essential in guiding us through a potential minefield.
This paper attempts to show the role research is capable of playing in the process of advertising development - once the brand proposition and positioning have been firmed up. It presents a basic model for research in the advertising development process and explains the kinds of objectives research should be designed to meet at each stage, and the kinds of materials that may be used. The paper illustrates each stage with examples. A second, and subsidiary part, of the paper is the issue of gratuity bias in this market. Some thoughts about coping with this phenomenon are put forward as high top box results make interpretation of research results, including advertising pre- tests rather difficult to judge.
In various countries in the Middle East, there are numerous problems facing marketing research, which are hindering and affecting the overall quality of research. Some of these problems relate to lack of understanding of marketing research, others to the culture of the various countries in the region, and yet others, to government controls and restrictions. This paper outlines some major problems facing the research industry in the region.