Advertisers look to get inside your head and heart

Mobile advertising makes up less than 5 per cent of the total digital advertising spending in the Mena region. Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP

Stress levels running high after a gruelling day in the office? Don’t be surprised if your phone displays an advert pointing you to a spa or massage deal nearby.

The rise in wearable technology is pushing advertisers to emotion-based marketing. Wristbands that measure heart rate, stress levels, sweat or smart glasses that track your eyeball and iris to gauge your emotions are starting to be used by advertisers to target customers on an individual basis.

“Social media has equalled the playing field so small businesses can compete now with the larger brands,” said David AbiDaoud, the regional director of innovation and engagement at Leo Burnett at the Digital Media Forum in Dubai. “With wearables, marketing based on emotions is the next level.”

The market for wearables is still small, especially in the Middle East. The US-based consultancy Deloitte predicts sales of wearables should reach 10 million units this year, generating US$3 billion. Of these, smart glasses and digital fitness bands are set to contribute 4 million units each with smartwatches expected to contribute 2 million units.

Sony has led the pack among the global electronics manufacturers with its smart wristband and LifeLogger app that monitors the user’s activities and recommends products from its other businesses. Apple is also rumoured to be heading into the wearables space.

“It is still quite far away [from becoming widespread],” said Roy Michel Haddad, WPP’s director in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena). “Effectively the good thing about the whole digital landscape is that you can have a one to one ecosystem. That one to one communication allows businesses to be much closer to users in terms of brand affinity and they are now getting closer to consumers like never before.”

Mobile advertising makes up less than 5 per cent of the total digital advertising spending in the Mena region. Total advertising spending last year across the Middle East is estimated at US$5 billion, with less than 10 per cent of that spent on digital advertising. By 2016, digital ad spending is set to reach $2.8bn across the region, according to the technology researcher Gartner.

But advertisers point to the region’s high smartphone and mobile penetration rate to signal the potential for growth. The UAE has a smartphone penetration rate of 72 per cent. That rises to 79 per cent in Saudi Arabia. The social media penetration rate among internet users in the UAE stands at 87 per cent and 81 per cent in Saudi Arabia, according to Ipsos.

“The technology is here, now, we just have to see how companies will leverage it” said Mr AbiDaoud.

Concerns over user privacy are likely to prevail, however, and may hold back the industry if regulators enforce restrictions.

“Consumers are giving up their privacy in an unprecedented way – sometimes way more than they realise,” said Yousef Tuqan, the chief innovation officer at Leo Burnett. “Just because you can track someone’s activity, it doesn’t mean you should. We have accelerated very quickly and brands need to be careful. Wearables is the next frontier, I think what is interesting is what will advertisers do and what they will be willing to give consumers in exchange for their incredibly personal data.”

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