Are marketing executives in the Middle East ready and willing for the digital era? (image source: http://www.219group.com)

One of my favourite reads on marketing in the Middle East is a monthly publication called Gulf Marketing Review. This month’s edition included the title’s inaugural value exchange survey for the region. The survey, which is conducted by da Vinci Marketing, reached out to marketing executives across the region to better understand what is happening on a brand management level.

The report, which was included face-to-face interviews with a host of marketing executives from leading brands, outlines a number of trends across the marketing strata in the region:

1) All digital – there’s more marketing focus online but marketing executives are demanding more information to better understand the benefits of digital solutions/technologies.

2) Increased specialization – clients are increasingly moving towards ‘niche’ agencies who have specific skills sets.

3) Social, mobile and content – questions remain about who manages social media (i.e. is social media handled in-house on the client side or by the client’s agency), and the importance of search and mobile to marketing teams across the region.

You can download the da Vinci’s inaugural Value Exchange Study in GMR through this link. And if you’re based in the Middle East it’s well worth buying a hard copy of this issue’s magazine. The insights are fascinating.