Lower advertising spending during Ramadan would come as a continuation of the downturn in advertising spending in the Middle East in the first six months of the year, Pan Arab Research Center (PARC) said. However, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will continue to witness an increase in advertising spending, the PARC survey noted. Saudi Arabia saw a eight percent increase in ad spending to a total of $643 million, while the UAE ad spend increased marginally to $696 million against $688 million in the first half of 2010. According to surveys nearly 4.7 percent of the population in the Gulf region goes on holiday in August - the peak of the summer break. Advertising revenues in 2010 amounted to $13.7 billion, $2.2 billion of which was generated during Ramadan, PARC data showed. Telecom operators, consumer goods brands and government agencies have been the biggest ad spenders in MENA. Communications companies spending on advertisement constitute nearly 25 percent of the total spending during Ramadan. Other various companies make up the remaining 75 percent. Ramadan is a high season for some companies to advertise, because more time is spent at home and shopping as well as spending more time calling families and relatives overseas. Other companies spend up to 33 per cent of their spending budgets during Ramadan. Yet, this Ramadan, spending is expected to be lower than last year as a result of and tight advertising budgets due to the political unrest sweeping many parts of the region, coupled with the credit downgrade in the US and the debt crisis in Europe. "Initial figures coming out indicate that the bad news from the West that has followed the Arab Spring is likely to impact regional Ramadan spending this year," Shaharyar Umar, marketing director at the Pan Arab Research entre (PARC) was quoted as saying by Dubai
