A insider's perspective on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - A story of paradoxes and contradictions! Disclaimer: All views in this document are strictly personal.

1. The Story of
Saudi Arabia

2. Land of Paradox and Contradiction

3. Saudi Arabia to an Outsider

4. Saudi Arabia in Reality

5. What makes Saudi Arabia so unique?

6. Affluence, Restriction and...

7. ...Youth!

8. Saudi Arabia is an extremely closed society...
...on the face of it!

9. Yet beneath the surface there are a vast array of
thriving sub-cultures and private kingdoms!

10. Combination of Affluence and Restriction with
Prevalence of Youth has Created a New Kind of
Society

11. Society of Paradoxes

12. Society is modeled
around the family

13. Probably the only
country in the
world...
Separate a singles section and a
family section in a restaurant
Malls on weekends become
families only in Riyadh!

14. Yet Saudi Arabia has the Second Highest Divorce
Rate in the World!*
*Alarming Divorce Rate ‘Must Be Addressed Urgently’ - Source: Art Arabia - Saudi Affairs - http://inci.to/fwrOzp

15. Business and Society are structured around
religious values
Holidays, Weekends and Workdays are geared around Islamic practices

16. A man can get
arrested if he is idling
around at prayer time

17. Yet according to WHO per capita consumption of
alcohol is Saudi Arabia is 0.6L

18. In parts of the country an unveiled face can get into
serious trouble

19. Women are not
allowed to drive...

20. ...but they have the freedom to
hire a maid for each of their
children and more for every
thinkable household task!

21. There are no cinemas in Saudi
Arabia
But piracy is costing the entertainment industry
$95 million.

22. There are no music concerts in Saudi Arabia
But there is an active underground music scene happening from girl only rock
band to Saudi Rappers!

23. It is OK for men to
kiss each other in
public
but not OK for women to work in
a public place!

24. You will see groups of men eating at the same time you will see
roast lamb and rice from a single others ordering Salad at a boutique
restaurant using the iPad
plate

25. There are women whose lives are so restricted -
they even go through childbirth at home

26. While there are women entrepreneurs at every level
From owners of big companies to cupcake factories at home
Single women who have lived, studied and worked abroad at the highest level

27. Stunt Driving is a profession
In Saudi it is a youth leisure activity!
in some countries

28. To express themselves
admirers would write a
love letter in some
parts of the world
In Saudi Arabia men write their
phone numbers on a piece of
paper and force it upon the
subjects of their admiration

29. Bluetooth is a file exchange technology
In Saudi it is a popular dating tool to share flirtatious messages and poetry to
spark a conversation

30. Popular Bumper Sticker in Saudi Arabia
BB PIN Number!

31. Education spend per capita as a % of total
government spend is second highest in the world
Yet the quality of education is poor!

32. Saudi Arabia has the highest per
capital Oil Production
Yet the infrastructure is close to that of a third world
country. 111 mm of rain in a day drowned the city of
Jeddah.
Reserves were estimated at $500 billion when the oil prices
hit $100 a barrel

33. In sum...
• Saudi Arabia is unique because it is one of the only societies in the world
which is both affluent and publicly restricted at the same time
• There are either affluent societies with no restrictions
• Or restricted societies with no affluence
• This is the paradox which makes Saudi Arabia unique

34. Affluence has also led
to excess!
Saudi Arabia suffers from a high
rate of obesity, diabetes and heart
diseases

35. How to make sense of this paradox?
Segmenting Saudi Arabia

36. From Popular Culture

37. Segmenting Saudi
Arabia
Name: Sattam
Age: 32
Occupation: unemployed
Sattam spends his days hanging
out at coffee shops and goes for Kobra
desert trips in his GMC. His name
in bluetooth is friend of the night

38. Segmenting Saudi
Arabia
Name: Rami
Age: 23
Occupation: Student of College of
Business
Rami had a fight with his barber. Kaddash
His father spoils him. Bought him
the latest convertible Lamborghini

39. Segmenting Saudi
Arabia
Name: Wadha
Age: 38
Occupation: Teacher
Wadha is a school teacher.
Divorced with seven daughters Garweha
and one boy

40. Segmenting Saudi
Arabia
Name: Mai
Age: 16
Occupation: Student
Student at International School.
Always expelled from school and Tom Boy
is always looking for trouble

41. Segmenting Saudi
Arabia
Name: Abdullah
Age: 40
Occupation: School Principal
Abdullah prays all his prayers in
the mosque. Wishes everybody Al-Multazim
to find the righteous way

42. Segmenting Saudi
Arabia
Name: George
Age: 35
Occupation: Sales Manager
George works for a big media
company. He has lived in Saudi Khawaja
Arabia for ten years but his
sponsor let him go.

43. Segmenting Saudi
Arabia
Name: Sarah
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Sarah graduated from college and
wears nothing but high end Bint Al-Kash
brands. She likes to spend time at
the beach

44. Segmenting Saudi
Arabia
Name: Marzoog
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Marzoog has nothing on his mind
except to play soccer with his Arbaji
friends in the streets

45. From primary segmentation research in Saudi
Arabia
• Saudi Arabia can be divided into four key segments
• The Radicals
• The Balancers
• The Dreamers
• The Traditionalists

46. Thank you!