Customer Trend Log

Insights into Emirati Conusmer

I am intrigued about in-depth understanding of Emirati consumers. In my opinion, a lot of work can be done to improve our understanding of Emirati Consumers.  I have tried to analyze this segment in IBM Many eyes here is the link for the static image and the Java based live visualization

And this is following is the first draft of my understanding.

Emirati Consumer – Insights

Additional Readings:

Emirati Women Happy with lifestyle:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/emirati-women-satisfied-with-life-in-uae-survey-finds

 http://www.ameinfo.com/todays-emirati-women-emerging-hallmarks-national-320812             

Emirati opinion about quality of life: http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/91-per-cent-of-citizens-happy-with-life-in-the-uae-survey-2012-08-14-1.471482

Traveling Habits: http://www.josourmagazine.ae/english/index.php/2011-09-16-13-30-23/2011-09-16-13-31-00/2011-09-16-13-31-18/893-unique-survey-reveals-travel-habits-of-gcc-nationals  

Very good Economic Survey by ADCED: http://www.adced.ae/imageCollection/EconomicReview/Issue/1014201061854536093750.pdf

Emirati Teen Spending: http://gulftoday.ae/portal/443c50ba-b2aa-4431-851f-9eafdf9c1e64.aspx

Emirati Women in Workforce: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/emirati-women-and-workforce-in-a-clash-of-culture

How to evaluate a marketing research proposal for a public sector research project

We all know how to evaluate a marketing research firm for an FMCG project, white goods project or a consumer brand. But when it comes to marketing research project related to government/public sector projects the selection criteria changes and there is little written about it.

I think the following guide by ESOMAR on how to commission a marketing research project is quiet comprehensive. Plus this one on “How to hire a marketing research company” is also fairly practical. But in my opinion, the rules of the game change when a project for public sector is evaluated.

Here is the checklist of basic elements the marketing research or the consumer insight manager should look for

• MR (Marketing Research) agency’s background (Liaison with ESOMAR, International Affiliations)
• Comprehensiveness of Proposal
  • Understanding of the agency of your research objective. (HINT: look for areas where you can spot whether the agency is still treating your research objective as a private sector project or they understand that for you it is more about consumer and there is limited focus on competitive intelligence)
  • Sampling Methodology
  • Survey Instrument
  • Quality Controls
  • Analysis and reporting (Try and probe further here; maybe the agency is considering including variables raised by EFQM and/or other excellence related authorities. Maybe the agency is proposing to look further into your strategic plan so that they can align the results according to your performance reports. If yes, then this agency should be given a higher weightage as they are trying to display their understanding of public sector excellence models.)
• Previous Experience: If the company has already worked with public sector within your country then chances are that they understand public sector reporting cycles and success criterion.
• Key personnel: Look at the CVs of people working for your project, see if key personnel have worked with UN, Government Sector and/or Social Research projects
• Quality Standards: Pay close attention to this section, most marketing research agencies might not put their details but this should be a make or break element for the project.

In case you are commissioning a large scale project, and you are meeting the teams in person make sure you rate the team on the following parameters

1. Project management skills: Does the team understand the importance of thorough project management approaches. How effective are their gateway approval processes, how are the evaluating and managing their risks
2. Flexibility: How flexible the team is, remember day in and day out these people sell projects to FMCG clients. Their prime focus is to provide competitive intelligence and in most (if not all) public sector marketing research projects the key is consumer for public services and his welfare. This is a very alien concept for someone who is trying to identify consumer’s consumption motivation all the time
3. Relevant Experiences: If some of the key personnel have already handled similar assignments then it should be easy for you understand the terms, jargons and objectives of a public sector client. If that is the case, try an explore the experience of that personnel and read his body language if you observe sign of disgust or dissatisfaction then be aware of the fact that you will have difficulties in handling this member of the team.
4. Check Alignment: Check how aligned and attuned the research company is with public sector center of research. Sometimes even basic definitions like demography are represented differently across public and private sector.

Here are some selected MR companies affiliated with ESOMAR that are working in United Arab Emirates (Dubai / Abu Dhabi)

AMRB

205 Arbift Tower
Baniyas Road, Deira
4327 Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971-4-221.5267
Fax: +971-4-223.6316
E-mail
Website   

Feedback

601 Crystal Tower
Buhairah Corniche
29663 Sharjah
United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971-6-574.7979
Fax: +971-6-574.7749
E-mail
Website

IPSOS

Dubai Media City, Al Thuraya Tower 1, 8th floor
PO Box 71283 Dubai
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971-4-4408980
Fax: +971-4-4408981
E-mail

Website

TNS

Level 3, Makeen Building
Airport Road, P.O. Box 60992
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971-4-282.2688
Fax: +971-4-282.2711
E-mail
Website

YouGov

Suite 302
Cayan Business Centre, Tecom 3
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971 4367 0340
Fax: +971 4367 2830
E-mail
Website

(I am wondering why ACNielsen in UAE is not registered with ESOMAR)

Best of luck for your projects – Ayesha Saeed

Social Media Statistics in United Arab Emirates

Key questions this data raises:-

1. Average ad-spend on social media per annum is AED 50,000 only. The question is, in a market where TV is extremely fragmented and print is very expensive what is stopping brands from exploring new media?
2. Why no conventional brand is topping the chart?
3. E-Commerce market of USD 2 billion and still we don’t see anything about www.souq.com , this raises the question about the rating calculation.
4. Is share of subscribers a good indicator, or we should explore more into user sentiment, loyalty and spending

All the data, is also consolidated in UAE databank . UAE databank, is a project of www.customertrendlog.com which aims at combining all the scattered data of UAE consumer in one place. Contact us if you would like to submit or discover any indicator about UAE consumer.

Author Info: Anam Saeed is an emerging marketing research executive with a knack to explore new age media. She has developed content for multiple local and international clients. Based out of South Asia she brings a perspective of developing markets in her research studies.

How to build a brand in UAE? Ten rules that all marketers should know

The world is full of global brands. Which were never designed to be global brands? How to dominate the world is about how to beat them.

This presentation adds insights from United Arab Emirates to the points raised by Simon Silvester

Rule 1: Think Zeitgest  - UAE has startled the world through its development and growth, brands should capitalize that

Rule 2: Think Trial – UAE is a paradise of retail outlets, think trial to all the young audience and the expats that have recently arrived

Rule 3: Think Visual – When 208 nationalities combine speaking multiple languages, the language of your brand should be visual

Rule 4: Think Youthquake – UAE population has an average age of 27, you should connect to the young & rising.

Rule 5: Think Small – UAE is getting green, your brand should be saving on paper and all avoidable wastes because you love environment

Rule 6: Think Print – The media in UAE is print, followed by digital. Think visual, body copy and go crazy

Rule 7: Think Fast – People are on the move, fads are coming and going and where the hell is your brand? Move fast because if you will not your competition will

Rule 8: Think Cultural Neutrality – So many cultures, so many languages but one dream — Dubai Dream

Rule 9: Think Kiasu – Ambition charges UAE population & your brand should fuel it

Rule 10: Think Mobile 200% penetration rate of mobiles asks brand to evolve through modern technology

Brand Mantra: In UAE brand should capture human imagination, and should capture it faster than human imagination

Reading: How to dominate the world by Simon Silvester

UAE customer Trend: 6 questions that TGI (Target group Index report) raises about UAE Food market

TGI 2011 product book aims at providing percentage penetration of multiple product categories in different countries.

What I have done in the following table is that I have compared penetration of food products in UAE with countries that have scored high in that category. 

Now this data set poses following questions  

1. Is UAE market of Colas smaller than the market of Fizzy drink/energy drinks?
2. Cola market is smaller than ready to drink fruit and vegetable juices? If yes, then Almarai, Al Ain juices and other such brands have done a good job
3. Obesity in UAE is rising, maybe because of 83% penetration of potato crisps?
4.  Why Chewing Gum penetration is only 63%?
5. If South Koreans are not using oil for cooking than what are they using, because that might lead to low level of obesity?
6. Is there a room for expansion in Mayonnaise or soup market in UAE, considering the eating habits of majority?  

The sampling details for TGI-UAE market are as follow

• UAE 15+
•  8 urban cities
• Sample Size  5,000
• Jul 2009 – Dec 2009

If you have more questions and want to contact TGI group directly, you can drop them an email at enquiries@globaltgi.com

Consumer Insight: Sally in Dubai and social media

What Sally (a Filipina Maid) is telling the social media enthusiasts? I just saw an article about a blog by a Filipina maid in the Gulf-news.  

My first question is, is this blog by a maid in Dubai for real

My first question is, is this blog by a maid in Dubai for real? If it is, then it is time to ask the following questions

• Depth and breadth of social media in UAE – from face book to blogger, how many do we have? What are the numbers? What are they doing? And how can they be accessed & influenced? I compiled some statistics on social media users in UAE but this needs to be updated and expanded.
•  Work ethics and social media guidelines – This young lady is the first drop of water, now magnify this to the workforce in UAE. Key Question companies need to ask from themselves is when will I be developing my social media usage guidelines, will I be developing them at all? Example of social media guidelines
•  This Filipina lady is a lesson in blogging – I think copyblogger should present it as a case study; this blog caught the eye of press despite of poor language, no proper training in headline development etc.

Key questions she has asked

• Marketers, are you ready to tap into the social media (blogging) world of Dubai?  (don’t forget that expats contribute a lot in your retail success in UAE and the average online shopping spend in UAE is USD 1048. More stats on UAE purchase potential)
• Policy Makers in organizations; are you ready with your guidelines and policies of use of social media?

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Customer Insight: Marketing to Muslims

We are living in a world where almost 1 out of every 5 person is a Muslim. The degree to which they practice religion is subject to debate, but the fact that is important to understand that Muslims are too big a niche to be ignored.

• According to JWT Muslims are Britain’s biggest untapped Niche (ref: article on tapping Muslim community)
• When British banking  giant HSBC began offering Islamic banking practices in Malaysia, it was surprised that more than half of its customers were non-Muslim (business week article on Islamic banks )

We need to explore more powerful means to tap into this segment. I am sharing a presentation that elaborates my POV.

Continue reading “Customer Insight: Marketing to Muslims” »

Advertising Sector: Success elements for Social Media Companies in UAE

One question that I was asking myself for quite some time is what is I want to launch an internet concern, a social media company or something on the digital revolution lines in UAE. What will help me succeed? I am trying to answer that question in this blog entry, hope you will find it useful.

Question 1 – Why consider launching a digital company in UAE

UAE has the purchase potential: Per capita income is $54,430 , E-commerce in UAE to hit $36bn by 2010 this is bigger than the whole economy of Lebanon.Credit cards are everywhere so online purchase is not an issue and probably this is why the online retail sphere in UAE is constantly growing

UAE is ready for digital revolution: it is the top ranking Arab state in terms of e-readiness, 3 out of 5 people in UAE have internet access. UAE is a world leader in terms of mobile lines per person, with almost 2 phones lines per person. (There were 1.5 million 3G handsets in UAE in 2008)

For more more statistics on UAE internet penetration  (previous blog entry) 

Now let us see what the key consumer-desires in UAE are and how can we leverage those: -

Here is a detailed presentation, FYR.

• Recognition: UAE and people in UAE have an uncontrollable urge to be recognized. Capitalize that.
  • Innovate : Make UAE the platform for something new (it will gain traction, usage, build community)
  • Be the First 1 in some respect: Example UAE the first one to launch Windows 7

• Identity, Personality and Cultural Uniqueness: From Government to a common Emirati, everyone is keen to maintain the unique Emirati identity
  • Maintain the Identity : Learn from leading Arab online communities maktoob , travian , UAE women network or follow the guidelines chalked out for brand Abu-Dhabi
  • Language: Arabic. The journey of culture, identity and heritage begins from there. (plus, language will help you fit-in well with Arabic speakers)
  • Segmentation: Create activity groups of and for Emiratis. Provide Emiratis some form of exclusivity 

• Empower Youth: Government is investing a lot in UAEs youth and is promoting a culture that will enable their Youth to lead from the front in today’s competitive world
  • Enable: Be an enabler; either by connecting, providing knowledge, providing ideas, facilitating education. Enlighten / connect / update / Equip / provide voice etc
  • Encourage: Occasionally and/or regularly encourage offline and online activities through your social media that helps youngsters at UAE to be heard at international level

• UAE is a business hub. 
  • Help the entrepreneurs interact, exchange knowledge, and use it as a platform to revolutionize their business. Better yet, promote SMEs

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