In December 2010, the first Ipsos Gemius Audience study results for KSA & Jordan were published. The research, presently being implemented in seventeen MENA countries, will provide a thorough insight into current trends and changes in the local internet market.
The Online Audience Measurement is launched by Ipsos in cooperation with Gemius, leading online research company in the CEE Region, Denmark and Turkey.
The study is currently being implemented in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria, Yemen, Libya and the Palestinian Autonomy. Currently, the recruitment of the panelists is conducted through cookie panels. The second phase, planned to be launched in the second quarter of 2011, will employ the creation of a software panel in key countries in order to have data for major websites that are not part of the cookie panel.
Once the software panel is established Ipsos will have a flagship online service that covers all registered website traffic, demographic data and media analysis figures.
The Online Audience Measurement reports online traffic and usage results on a market level as well as regional level. Panels are independently recruited for each of the countries.
The possibility of socio-demographical analysis in the study is a fact of crucial importance for the MENA market. “Thanks to Gemius Audience study, the MENA population of internet users may be presented as separate and unique target groups according to their age, gender, education level, occupation, household monthly income, nationality and ten other variables,” says Joud Nawar, Media Research Manager at Ipsos UAE.
Providing such data will be of significant help for the local media houses and agencies in campaign planning; at the same time, such information will prove helpful for publishers who want to understand their visitors’ behavior and will identify their target profile.
In the MENA Region, population of internet users is estimated at a level of 65-70m (total population in the region – 320m). As Wael Ghonim, Marketing Manager at Google MENA predicts, there will be 100m internet users from the Arabic countries by 2015. Online media in 2010 spent about $100m in the region, which translates into about 1.5% share in total MENA media spend.
The implementation of the Online Audience Measurement study in the MENA region by Ipsos is a successful one and a positive continuation in a line of MEDIACT research monitoring services including the syndicated measurement such as TLM, RDM and NRS in MENA countries.
The Online Audience Measurement tool follows Ipsos strict research guidelines; to deliver the most possibly accurate and reliable data. The research service combines site-centric and user-centric measurement as well as questionnaires displayed on the enrolled websites with results of independent offline studies.
Moreover, the research method is tailored to each market individually so that it suits its unique characteristics, this way adding to data accuracy. Results delivered with Online Audience Measurement are an indispensable tool for representatives of media houses, publishers, advertisers, analysts and journalists.
Notes and media contacts
About Gemius
Gemius – an international research agency, the leader and forerunner in the field of research of the internet and on the internet in Europe. The Company offers professional research solutions, analytical and advisory services, from site-centric and user-centric studies to technologically-advanced tools for studying internet user behaviour on chosen websites (gemiusTraffic), internet user socio-demographic profiles (gemiusProfile), the quality of WWW page usage (gemiusUsability) and the effectiveness of internet advertising campaigns (gemiusEffect). Gemius also conducts research related to subjects submitted by customers (gemiusAdHoc). Apart from the above-mentioned research services, Gemius offers a study on the behaviour of users who view online multimedia content (gemiusStream) and a research tool for immediate measurement and presentation of all clicks made by internet users on a website (gemiusHeatMap).Gemius sets the standard for online audience and internet application measurement (gemiusAudience) in almost half of all European countries.
Gemius, established in Poland in 1999, is active in 20 countries in Europe and the Middle East.
About Ipsos MENA
Ipsos MENA is a part of Ipsos Group, worldwide known research agency, established in 1975 with offices in 67 countries, conducting yearly over 100 000 research projects for more than 7 000 clients.
Ipsos MENA started its operations in 1988 in Lebanon. Today, Ipsos is one of the leading research agencies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, operating in most of the major Arab countries with a full fledge offices in 10 countries and having field set up and affiliate offices in entire MENA region.
Ipsos MENA is working with Gemius on the online audience measurement project in MENA region since the beginning of 2010.
