LinkDotNet discusses regional online media potential at ‘Microsoft Advertising Summit’ in Dubai

Seeking to develop its already existing and flourishing activities in the region, LinkDotNet, the leading internet service and solutions provider in the Middle East, subsidiary of Orascom Telecom Holding Company, today hosted an exclusive session on the future and potential of online advertising in the region at the ‘Microsoft Advertising Summit’ in Dubai.

This potential was recently highlighted in a ‘Research and Markets’ report titled “Middle East broadband forecast to 2010″ that showed, and projected a high demand for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) products and services in the Middle East.

This soaring demand is evident on the internet with portals such as MSN Arabia which maintained an internet population estimated at over 33 million, together with Hotmail users reaching almost 16 million this year. On Windows Live Properties, approximately 28 million internet users in the region were found to have a Hotmail account and almost 21 million were Messenger users.

“We believe that Hotmail and Messenger are very strong and indispensable online tools for advertisers to reach their target audiences. Latest research shows that at least one out of every two internet users in the region is actually a Hotmail user, which further underscores their importance,” said Mohamed El Mehairy, Managing Director of Connect Ads, a subsidiary of LinkDotNet and the exclusive media agent for MSN Arabia, MSN Maghreb, and their network.

“It’s needless to say that the interactive element of those portals, along with their network and ability to target multiple audiences and their ability to measure the impact of an online campaign, make them of critical importance to all marketers,” El Mehairy added.

Commenting on the Summit’s participation, Mohamed ElSayad, General Manager, MSN Arabia and MSN Maghreb, said, “MSN has been partnering with LinkDotNet in the region since 2002 and capitalized on the significant opportunities that the online Middle Eastern markets offer. The success story was shared with the Summit attendees today highlighting to the industry experts the value in localizing and operating portals in the region.”

“At MSN Arabia we are planning to launch a portal per country soon, starting with the major three markets – Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE. We are also introducing a new “Social Aspect” to our portals with further details to be announced in due course,” ElSayad added.

“We hope this summit inspires the attendees to realize the online advertising potential and help them envision how it can support their business now and in the future,” El Mehairy said.

LinkDotNet’s presentation revolved around new concepts in digital advertising, online consumer behavior findings, online advertising forecast, best practices, case studies and MSN Arabia’s statistics. As the largest Internet Solutions Provider in the region, LinkDotNet also owns one of the biggest internet backbone bandwidths in the Egyptian market.