Dubai Holding to cut ad, marketing budget by 25%

DUBAILAND PROJECT: The mega project is being developed by Tatweer, one of the companies under the Dubai Holding umbrella.

Dubai Holding has announced that it will cut its marketing and advertising spending by 25 percent in 2009 in response to the economic slowdown.

Dubai Holding encompasses seven main companies: Jumeirah Group, TECOM Investments, Dubai Group, Dubai Properties, Tatweer, Sama Dubai and Dubai International Capital.

Of these, the property-related companies would be pulling back spending the most, Khalid al-Shafar, director of group marketing for Dubai Holding said in comments published by UAE daily The National.

“In the current economic climate, there is increased pressure on marketing and advertising budgets as business strategies and objectives change. As a result, it has been decided to reduce the group’s total marketing and advertising spend by 25 per cent in 2009, compared to 2008," he told the paper.

TECOM, the media-related arm of the group that oversees companies such as Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City, will also experience some changes, the paper reported.

Dubai Holding is a major player in advertising in the Emirates, with Dubai Investment, a subsidiary of Dubai Group, ranking among the top dozen TV advertising spenders in the first three quarters of 2008, according to the Pan Arab Research Center.

Shafar said the group would be seeking more cost-efficient channels of communications, shifting away from more traditional outlets to digital.

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