This paper collates the results of recent market research which has been fed into the formulation of physical plans for several proposed holiday resorts and other leisure facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This research entailed both quantitative and qualitative studies, aiming at providing useful data for determining the desired product mix, potential clientele and future marketing strategies.
In the rapidly evolving marketing environment in the Middle East, the communication process is becoming increasingly important and hence so is the need to evaluate the efficiency of an organisation's communication activities. The BUY TEST is an advertising pre-testing technique which is widely used in developing countries for evaluating advertising effectiveness and has been used in the Middle East region for the past 3 years. The paper first briefly describes the BUY TEST approach to advertising pre-testing and examines some of the issues relating to its implementation in Arab countries. It illustrates some of the practical problems faced and the measures which have been adopted to ensure successful and valid data collection, and assesses how the distribution of responses among Arab consumers differs from those in Western countries.
MEMRB has pioneered the introduction of retail audits to the Middle East. The first panels were established in 1971 1972 and since then retail audit panels have been operating continuously in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the DAE. The first tasks that had to be undertaken, as is the case with the establishment of any audit panel, were the following: 1. The enumeration of the universe E. The selection of the panel 3. The operation of the panel.
This paper presents the broad data requirements and the concomitant research tools needed for spatial and economic planning in the context of an Arab metropolis. It then stresses the need for creating a programme of research which continually updates the information base in accordance with the new conception of planning as a continuous process as opposed to a static blueprint. Finally, the paper examines the necessity for adjusting research methods and definitions (in procedural as well as substantive terms) so as to reflect the cultural and environmental context of the project area.
The research programme was valuable in two main respects. First, it was early experience of a simulated test market in the region which helped in making a launch/no launch decision. In the event the major parameters predicted by the LOCATOR test were replicated in the actual market place. Secondly, the post-launch tracking research did highlight weaknesses, in the brand's marketing mix, which enabled the marketing management to focus their efforts to meet these. The tracking research had the subsidiary, but important role of evaluating the validity of the initial pre-launch simulated test market.
The paper examines the impact of advertising on rented video cassettes on the advertising scene in the Middle East and specifically Saudi Arabia, and the way in which household panel research has been used to monitor this development.
This paper describes the application of qualitative research in a project to investigate the existing market and the potential for gold jewellery in the Middle East. The first section sets outs the background to the project and the objectives. Then the choice of methodology and the reasons for the choice are given, together with a description of the special considerations and adaptations required for conducting research in the Middle East countries, taking into account the religious, social and cultural conditions compared to Western Europe. Key results from the research project are sat out in the following, in which the behaviour of women in acquiring gold jewellery is described, together with their attitudes towards possessing and wearing it. The final section of the paper demonstrates the need for advertisers to understand and take into account women's attitudes towards gold jewellery, whilst at the same time respecting the religious and cultural background of Middle East society.
The paper presents the practical difficulties that an industrial researcher faces when undertaking a survey in the Middle Bast. The techniques and the approach are overall the same as in the West, but the task is that much harder. Desk research is useful and absolutely necessary, but the sources of information are more limited and more analysis and investigation is needed to develop data. Any industrial research project has to rely mainly on fieldwork, and fieldwork in the Middle East means personal, face-to-face interviews. Telephone interviewing, as it is known in the West, is of no practical relevance. Telephone interviewing can be of assistance today particularly in identifying incidence of usage and in smoothing the way towards a person-to-person interview. Because of the lack of adequate secondary data, estimating the market size and the market trends can be done only through the creative usage and interaction of desk research, on-the-field collection of secondary data and extensive personal interviews supported by telephone interviews. The process should not be looked upon as separate activities, but rather as supporting each other and leading through creative analysis to conclusions concerning the market size, its structure, its characteristics and its future prospect.
The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to show through a series of examples and specific applications how the Middle East Marketing Research Bureau has applied and adapted modern market research techniques and standards across the whole Middle Eastern region. The paper is divided into two parts: The first part deals with the different framework within which research company operates in developing countries and the implications these differences have on the tasks and duties the research company has to fulfil. The second part will show, through two case studies, the solutions and techniques adopted by MEMRB in order to ensure that universally accepted survey principles are successfully applied to the local social, economic, demographic and cultural conditions.