Saudi companies have spent more in advertising during the first half of 2010, compared with the same period last year, placing SR.2.179 billion worth of advertisement in television, newspapers, and billboards, according to the Pan Arab Research Center (PARC). In the first half of 2009, local companies placed SR1.995 billion value of advertisement. The biggest advertising spender from January to June this year was the communication and public utilities sector, dominated by the telecommunications firms. This sector posted an advertising growth rate of 39 percent during the period under review, and making 15 percent share of the overall advertising pie. PARC figures on advertising spending in the Gulf region during the first six months of the current year show that United Arab Emirates retained its lead, although the advertising spending in the Emirate dropped compared with that of the first half of 2009. UAE companies spent SR2,550 billion in advertising placement during the period under review, down by SR120 million from SR2,670 billion figure registered during the first half of 2009. PARC reported that advertising expenditures in GCC countries and Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan during the first half of 2010 reached SR19 billion, compared to SR16 billion during the same period of 2009. Khamis Al-Mugla, chaiman of the Bahrain-based Gulf Marcom Group and board member of the International Advertising Association, said in a press statement that the increase in GCC advertising expenditures exceeded the expectation of the industry, given the impact of the global financial crisis that hit the Middle East. “Should the positive rate of advertising spending continue, the region's expenditure could reach SR37.5 billion by the end of 2010,” – Al
