KUWAIT

The epidemic of reduced advertising budgets and a heightened sense of despondency survived well and strong in 2016. Brands and marketers’ wariness to invest in advertising and the continued glut in oil prices ensured that Kuwait witnesses another year where the overall media spend was lower than the previous. Expenditure dropped by a huge margin of 19% in 2016 (as compared to 2015), a trend that has been continuing for the past four years. Political instability in the region and the recent dissolution (and re-election) of Kuwait’s Parliament are also significant factors contributing to the decline in ad spending. Newspapers spending dropped by 17% while TV expenditure was reduced by half in 2016. Magazines too are facing the brunt with a 26% decrease in spending. Radio remains relatively unscathed, with just 7% decrease. On the heels of major changes in the radio market towards the end of the 2016, the radio scene in Kuwait might finally be heating up. The biggest (and only) gainer continues to be Outdoor media, with a substantial 18% increase in spending. 2017 will at long last see the revival of the OOH industry in Kuwait after a lull of nearly four years, and it will be interesting to see how it affects the media landscape. Print media takes the cake with 61% SOE, followed by 23% for OOH, 13% for TV and 3% for radio. The following tables highlight exactly how the top brands are performing when it comes to media spend by type: