Consumer Insight: UAE dictionary of change

Consumer Insights with Ayesha Saeed

UAE Consumer Insights
Dictionary of Change

Mail: ms.ayeshasaeed@gmail.com Blog: www.asaeed.wordpress.com


Leading Content
Creation


“Leading Content Creation”

There has always been a search and hunger for local relevant valuable
content everywhere in the world and UAE has never been an exception.
People living in UAE have always been looking for valuable content. The

trick in UAE however is the population mix, UAE is a country where almost
7.5 million people are residing and only 13.3% are Natives (Emiratis). How
to produce the content that is relevant to the most, if not all?

A scene from City of life, UAE’s first large scale home grown movie A From the sets of City of life (Courtesy guardian.co.uk)

City of Life
Dubai's dreams of being the region's version of Hollywood got closer to
realization with the release of Dubai’s first mega budget home-grown
movie “City of life” Dubai may be rich but it never had a film industry –
until now. And now the country is ready to see more and more home
grown movies. Dubai has already been established as a place to shoot
movies. This trend is bound to go up; as government is actively seeking
means to promote national heritage and culture as part of their
strategic plan (Cohesive Society and Preserved Identity is the number
one strategic priority)


twofour54’s vision is to enable the development of world class Arabic media
and entertainment content, by Arabs for Arabs, and to position Abu Dhabi as
a regional centre of excellence in content creation across all media platforms
including film, broadcast, music, digital media, events, gaming and
publishing. With this massive investment, Abu Dhabi (UAE) is ready to ride
the airwaves.



Focusing Abu
Dhabi


Focus shifting to Abu Dhabi

Above Left – Previous logo of world’s tallest building, it was called Burj Dubai . Above Right: The current logo , new name
of the building is Burj Khalifa. It is named after the President of UAE Sheikh Khalifa.

Cash-Rich, Publicity-Shy, Abu Dhabi is drawing attention because of its
enviable stable position during the current financial crisis. Abu Dhabi has
more than 90% of UAE’s oil & gas resources, it is world’s second most
expensive city in terms of business travel and it is considered one of the
richest cities in the world.

But recent downturn has drawn world’s attention to the cash-rich Emirate
of UAE. Since money doesn’t seem like problem in Abu Dhabi’s larger than
life ambitions. Following is the list of some key projects in Abu Dhabi,
which are making Abu Dhabi a center of attraction for tourists

• Yas Island , world’s first Ferrari theme park

• World's first carbon-neutral zero waste city (and the new HQ of
IRENA)

• Saadiyat Island: The cultural hub & the home of Guggenheim
Museum, the Louvre, a Maritime Museum and Sheikh Zayed
National Museum

Focus shifting to Abu Dhabi

Above Left – Previous logo of world’s tallest building, it was called Burj Dubai . Above Right: The current logo , new name
of the building is Burj Khalifa. It is named after the President of UAE Sheikh Khalifa.

Abu Dhabi's GDP seen at US$179 billion in 2010, this positive increase in
GDP is ensuring steady consumption patterns in the Emirate. Job market is
relatively secure and thus Abu Dhabi is being eyed by the brands. And the
trend is bound to rise upwards.



Connectivity


Connected market

Mobile Penetration rate in UAE stands at 193% as of September
2009. This is the highest in the Arab world. On top of that, the

market at large is shifting from voice only mobile to more
sophisticated mobiles The number of 3G subscribers is expected
to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around
25 per cent between 2007 and 2012 to reach 2.4 million by the
end of 2012.

Broadband subscriptions in the
UAE are growing continuously as
the number of both domestic
and business users of high-
speed services continued to
increase. "The main factor
fuelling the growth of
broadband services is the strong
growth in the number of small
to medium-sized businesses. The
number of broadband The recent offer from Etisalat - Go mobile with
Etisalat’s unlimited broadband package for AED99 only
subscribers grew at a CAGR of with free USB dongle Is going to fuel the growth rate of
around 60 per cent internet penetration and usage

from 129,000 subscribers in
2005 to 529,000 in 2008. The
penetration rate also increased
from a mere 7.9 per cent in
2005 to 26.9 per cent in 2008."


Connected Market

Considering the overwhelming penetration of mobile phones Two four 54
(the change agent mentioned under content creation) has launched Apps-Arabia i.e. an

investment fund for development of mobile and online application.

The strength of UAE in this sector can be categorized as follows

• UAE ranked No. 1 for ICT readiness in Middle East

•Attractive zones and technology parks such as Dubai internet City,
Dubai Media City and Knowledge Village City and Knowledge Village

• A strong percentage of literate population carrying the latest
mobile gadgets


Implications

• More and more local insights will be generated,

the concept of imported media/entertainment
will be of less & less importance

• Abu Dhabi has taken a lead but Abu Dhabi is not
Dubai
– There are many differences between the Abu
Dhabi Culture & Dubai culture, while brands shift
their focus to Abu Dhabi they should carefully
analyze the differences

• Mobile services & application has immense
potential in UAE, which is waiting to be tapped


Consumer Insight: UAE dictionary of change

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