The Okaz Creative Advertising Award (OCAA) plays a leading role in promoting high quality advertising of an international standard, a number of businessmen and experts told the Saudi Gazette. Jamal Yamani, a well-known Saudi businessman and investor, said that spending in the Saudi market has grown by 12 to 13 percent compared with previous years. This has led to the growth of the advertising industry, he said. The Saudi and regional markets are growing significantly in terms of commercial products and the emergence of new companies that rely heavily on advertising to market their products, said Yamani. He also said that there was an urgent need for a highly competitive local advertising industry. This is the objective of OCAA, which helps creative people and promotes healthy competition. Mohammad Bin Siddiq, a Saudi business advisor, talked about the important role of Okaz in promoting the advertising industry. “You can track the growth of advertising in Okaz and other print and electronic media, which have expanded significantly in the last 15 years.” Bin Siddiq noted that the Okaz award has contributed to nurturing young Saudi talent in the field of advertising. The old notion of sticking to tried and tested methods of advertising campaigns has been replaced with bold, creative and experimental initiatives these days, he said. Bin Siddiq cited the volume of spending on online advertising in the Kingdom and the Gulf region, which has grown almost to the levels of developed countries like Belgium and Germany. “This reflects the importance and the impact of all types of advertising in the Kingdom. OCAA is considered to be a leading initiative providing a healthy environment of competition for Saudi innovators, inspired designers and advertisers,” he said. __
