A scan through the marketing trade press in the Middle East shows that in the region, digital is becoming as important for brands as it is in Western Europe, Australia or North America.
For example, Campaign Middle East reports that in Lebanon in the run-up to the 7 June general election, bloggers are increasingly setting the tone as political parties are limited to spending a maximum $450,000 each.
The publication also reports on a new media law in the United Arab Emirates making next to no mention of online, despite the fact that Internet penetration in the UAE is now at 49% - this potentially leaves bloggers in a state of limbo about what's permissible and what isn't.
However the most unusual story, at least for someone from the West, comes from Saudi Arabia where Communicate talks about the unique challenges of marketing women's lingerie.
Not only does Saudi Arabia have the strictest 'morality' laws in the region, the policy of keeping women out of public life extends even to the lingerie departments of retailers where you have the odd situation of only men being able to sell underwear to women - something local groups are actively trying to change through a boycott (see this MSNBC report and this Facebook group).
One ad creative put forward last year by Ogilvy on behalf of Danish lingerie and swimwear brand Change poked fun at the censorship laws in the region, which results in Western magazines arriving with black felt tip marks over images considered too revealing.
Using taglines such as 'censor anything but the bikini' and 'edit anything but the bra', the whole body of a model was covered up with marker pens except the hands and face.
The campaign was deemed too close to the bone to run as an above the line campaign, but it did appear as in-store POS material, and went online.
According to Mazen Hassan, creative director of Ogilvy Jeddah, "We submitted it to several local and international blogs, and it was a huge success. Ladies used to e-mail me telling me they really liked it and that they thought it was really smart, because it bends the rules in an acceptable way."
Essentially the digital arena is one of the few areas where women can get up close to brands with relative freedom.
According to Milos Illic of TBWA / Raad Dubai, which also covers the Saudi market and handles rival lingerie brand Nayomi, digital is a "fantastic opportunity...customers could interact with the brand, immerse themselves in it. They could do wonders in Saudi with digital."
Working in the Saudi market as a marketing creative is obviously challenging especially if you come from a Western 'anything goes' environment, but I imagine it's one that forces you to think harder of ways to get around the various barriers, with online being key to that.
As the Communicate article says: "With the Internet allowing for more creative freedom, digital could prove a highly effective bypass route for the Saudi advertising market", and slowly push the boundaries.
Related articles by Zemanta- Middle East Business Environment (slideshare.net)
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