A recent survey by the market research company Real Opinions shows that 94% of business people in the Middle East with advertising or marketing roles believe official company / product websites are the most effective form of advertising and marketing spend. This was closely followed by website advertising with 93% believing it is effective and in third place was television advertising with 91%.

In the context of results is the increasing pressure on many organisations to produce tangible results with their marketing and advertising budgets in light of the global economic downturn. Of those with advertising and marketing responsibilities in the Middle East, 58% claimed their budgets had decreased. As a result, 79% claim their interest in the Internet for marketing and advertising opportunities has either increased or maintained.

When asked to rate their organisation’s present usage of the internet for marketing and advertising, 54% rated it as either very good or good with slightly less than this percent claiming to presently conduct advertising on websites (46%). However, there is a strong desire to do so with an additional 22% claiming they are likely to advertise on websites in the future.

Dan Healy, the CEO of Real Opinions commented, ‘This presents an opportunity for the Internet industry to take up the challenge to help organisations harness the opportunities presented by the Internet and to enter for what many is a new form of advertising. Over 9 in 10 respondents realize the effectiveness of the medium in terms of value for money, but there is a gap between what they’re presently doing and their intention. Real Opinions will be investigating the reasons for this to help organisations jump over the hurdles along the road of the digital evolution.’

In the background of these results is a recent study by Real Opinions with expatriate employees in the UAE which showed that 34% were likely to start their own business in the coming 12 months with a further 11% claiming to have already done so.Healy added, 'The Internet is capable of providing new opportunities in these challenging economic times for many existing organisations and also provide a viable business model for new and in particular small organisations. This is because of the comparatively low digital set-up costs and ability to target potential customers or clients in a global marketplace previously not economically viable with more traditional advertising.’

About Real Opinions
Real Opinions is a full-service market research company, specialising in online media, with global and Middle East research expertise and best practice. Based in Dubai and London, Real Opinions has proven ability to help strategically guide communication, insight and assess the effectiveness of campaigns.

Real Opinions is an accredited member of ESOMAR, an international organisation for market research. For more information about us and this study, please visit www.real-opinions.com

Contact Real Opinions for more information:
inquiry@real-opinions.com