Introduction
The global media is all about money and profit making. Media companies implement diverse strategies in order to expand their operations and the ability to obtain additional profits. Furthermore, the global media strategies for generating profits almost surpass the film industry.
The different media such as radio, television, newspapers, and online news sources are presently focusing their attention on huge commercials and advertisements in order to expand their profits.
Indeed, most media houses employ marketing professionals who can boost company opportunities to obtain more commercials and advertisements.
Media companies also expand their coverage by more targeted approaches such as opening vernacular radio stations in regions where several ethnic languages.
The motivation for targeting ethnic groups is two fold; to ensure that they are also informed and to enable media houses increase their audience for profit generation.
Much as the global media are in the business of informing the public, they are also focused on expanding their audience and their activities are all about money and profit making.
It is notable that the media companies in the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) also generate huge revenue from print media advertising.
Media and Society
Advertisement and commercials have permeated the media because of the effect they have on the society. The evolution of the media industry has so much to do with the public’s desire for information.
It is notable that presently people require information to influence their decisions on a daily basis. People require information about educational institutions, leisure destinations, entertainment, fashion, personal connections, and healthcare among others (Biagi, 2012).
The media industry has not disappointed the public. They have packaged their advertisements in a way that meets the information needed by the public.
It is noteworthy that the advertisement are presented through the media, which confirms the assertion that global media is all about money and profit making (Biagi, 2012).
The advertisements people get from the mass media and interactive broadcasting sources influence daily life activities. The media industry has continued to churn information, which is targeted at the public because people rely the industry.
The rate at which people require information about current news has kept the media industry growing (Biagi, 2012). People have confidence in the media for its ability to provide appropriate news, learning opportunities, and entertainment.
At the start of the 20th century, the mass media began exposing people to several advertisements and commercials.
The media firms control the information passed to the public in the form of advertisements. The giant media firms control the advertisements because of their expertise (World of Information (Firm), & International Chamber of Commerce, 2003).
Media firms also undertake audience ratings because of the significance of the exercise. Audience ratings reflect a company’s financial, revenue, and profit base. This emanates from the notion that larger audiences translates into more money for the respective media firms.
This happens through the concept that advertisers prefer to place their advertisements with media firms that have larger audiences (Biagi, 2012).
Furthermore, media firms with massive followers sell their advertisement spaces or airtime to people and businesses who present huge amounts of money.
It is noteworthy that businesses that advertise their products and services through the media are willing to pay media firms that have greater audience because they are sure that many people will view or hear such adverts.
The advertisements influence society through decisions made by individuals. People learn about good products through the media. The media present credible advertisements, which people can see or hear (Biagi, 2012).
Furthermore, people are more likely to purchase products, which their superstars testify. In addition, people can buy products the media present as trendy and conventional to society.
It is notable that some media have generated massive revenue from misleading advertisements by particularly targeting specific population groups such as youths. Negative advertising targeting teenagers is a multi-billion source of revenue.
The media use celebrities to promote products such as tobacco, alcohol and other drugs (Biagi, 2012). The negative advertising appears cool for teenagers who are likely to adopt the undesirable lifestyles, which their favorite superstars attest.
Furthermore, the media have depicted idealized pictures of attractive men and good-looking women to escalate the demand for beauty products.
The Global Media and the United Arab Emirates Media Advertising Experience
The global media has expanded rapidly over the last two decades. The audience has also expanded at the same pace because television has become cheaper over time. Today, more people own radio and television thus increasing the audience for the global media.
Furthermore, the emergence of technology and extensive spread of the Internet has also increased online media audience. Media companies are presently giving people real time news through the internet. The emerging approach has reduced reading of print media in many regions.
It is notable that people nowadays watch more television, listen to radio, and view news online than before. The media companies have taken advantage of this trend to escalate their profit making opportunities.
The media industry in the UAE has evolved rapidly into a highly dynamic sector. The industry is now connected by the fast growing digital platform. The media industry has generated exciting programs that keep the viewers in front of television all the time to watch a given program.
The media industry has transformed drastically through providing innovative shows, which the viewers’ identify with. The country has a significant media industry particularly television shows (Plunkett, 2009).
The innovative Dubai Media City and the media zones appealed to major news companies such as CNN, Reuters, and Fox. Furthermore, the country has a flourishing newspaper industry that disseminates information to the society.
Media and communication firms in the UAE provide advertising services in the country to local and global clients. The firms have continued to generate award-winning adverts, which have escalated the prominence of advertising in the print media.
The media firms generate adverts that meet their clients branding and promotional requirements. The notable advertising services include media buy planning, newspaper promotion, social networking site promotion, and graphic designing.
The media sector generates profits in diverse ways including purchase of space in the newspapers by the public. There are also profits generated through subscriptions for magazines. The companies also generate profits from commercials and advertising fees (Plunkett, 2009).
It is notable that commercials and advertising profits remain the biggest source of revenue for the media industry. The companies that have adopted digital platforms and online news have also expanded their advertising profits.
Globally, the media industry generates massive profits, which they use to continue making the sector lucrative. Furthermore, the revenue generated from commercials and advertising was projected to hit $495 billion in the financial year of 2012 (Plunkett, 2009).
Analysts have also suggested that in 2013 the profits from advertisements could grow further to $510.3 billion. These figures also point to the fact that greater growth in advertising revenue exists in the emerging economies.
Social media has also provided companies with additional opportunity to advertise using digital platform. More people own Smartphones that are able to access the internet.
Furthermore, whenever people open the social networking sites such as Facebook they find several advertisements aimed at influencing them to purchase certain items (Plunkett, 2009).
Commercials and advertisements have permeated the media industry extensively because the revenue generated from such sources keeps media companies in business.
Touted as one of the most rapidly growing sectors, internet-based media have so far provided a vast market for significant advertising. It is common practice to see advertisements on blogging sites, virtual worlds and social networks.
The UAE’s advertising revenue also suffered with the 2008 economic downturn, which drastically affected all sectors. However, the advertising sector of the media industry has continued to expand at 11% growth rate.
Indeed, advertising has raised massive revenue for the media firms in the country. The advertising sector raised US$ 784 million in 2009 alone (Dubai Press Club, 2009). However, it is projected that by the end of 2013, this figure may expand to approximately US$ 1.2 billion.
It is noteworthy that the advertising business in the UAE has remained strong in the print media including newspapers. The print media account for approximately 90% of all advertising revenue in the country (Dubai Press Club, 2009).
The remaining revenue is generated from other media such as television and Internet based- news sources. The advertising business in the country is provided by the real estate sector.
The notable print media that provide more advertisement are the newspapers that are read by more UAE residents. The newspapers such as Al Khaleej, Gulf News, and Al Ittihad are the most read print media in the country.
It is notable that they provide news in both English and Arabic (Oxford Business Group, 2010). Furthermore, about 90% of news consumers buy newspapers in the country. Fewer people in UAE obtain news from online sources.
Magazines remain the second most prominent platform for advertising accounting for approximately 10% of total revenue. The revenue obtained from magazine advertisements was 12% in 2008 (Dubai Press Club, 2009).
The UAE has several print media including international editions news sources, which explains its huge contribution to the advertising revenue.
The most bought magazines in the country include Kull Al Usra, Zahrat and Al Khaleej (Oxford Business Group, 2007). More women than men purchase the magazines.
The local UAE TV stations generate lower profits from advertising in the country. It is notable that TV stations with wider regional coverage offer more advertisements than those with smaller audiences.
The TV stations accounted for approximately 4% advertising revenue in 2009 (Dubai Press Club, 2009).
This was approximately US$ 32 million. The two major media firms Abu Dhabi Media Company together with Dubai Media Incorporated run ten TV stations out of all the thirteen channels.
The government launched the People Meter, an automated system that advertisers use to measure the audience for any TV station (Dubai Press Club, 2009). Therefore, advertisers are able to make informed decisions about TV stations, which they can use to promote their products.
The TV advertising sector is also anticipated to expand in the coming years. Analysts argue that by the end of 2013, the TV advertising could expand to account for approximately 7% of the total revenue (Dubai Press Club, 2009).
The expansion in the number of people using the Internet in the country is poised to generate more revenue from online advertising. The advertising activity taking place online already accounted for about 2.5% of the total revenue (Dubai Press Club, 2009).
However, it is anticipated that online advertising will escalate and surpass TV promotional activities. Digital platform advertising will account for approximately 6% revenue at the end of this year.
From the ongoing discussions, it is evident that the global media is all about money and profits (Dubai Press Club, 2009). The media companies in the UAE are expanding rapidly because of their ability to develop superior advertisements.
The growth of the advertising sector is anticipated to escalate further in the international arena. The cultural diversity in the UAE is partly responsible for the unprecedented growth (Dubai SME, 2010). The country has many Arab and Non – Arab news consumers.
At the global level, the revenue generated from advertising has continued to escalate. However, print media advertising at the global level performs poorly compared to TV and online platforms.
Newspaper and magazine firms have started adopting alternative technologies in order to remain relevant and offer innovative advertising platform. For example, most newspaper companies have started offering their news online in order to benefit from the massive population of Internet users.
Conclusion
In summary, the paper has established that the global media is all about money and profit making. The media companies have taken advantage of the public’s desire for accurate information to present advertisements in diverse platforms.
The society is also highly influenced by the information obtained from the media. Therefore, media companies undertake massive research in order to give the public news and information that can positively influence their daily decision making processes.
It is notable that print media in the UAE provide the greatest platform for advertising business. The sector accounts for approximately 90% of all advertising revenue in the country.
This is an indicator that indeed all media firms are engaged in the business with the desire to make profits and not just to ensure that people get access to news.
References
Biagi, S. (2012). Media/impact: An introduction to mass media. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Dubai Press Club. (2009). Arab media outlook 2009 – 2013 3rd edition: inspiring local content forecasts and analysis of traditional and digital media in the Arab world. Web.
Dubai SME. (2010). A small and medium enterprises development Perspective of the media industry in Dubai. Web.
Oxford Business Group. (2007). the Report: Dubai 2007. London: Oxford Business Group.
Oxford Business Group. (2010). Qatar, 2010. S.l.: Oxford Business Group.
Plunkett, J. W. (2009). Plunkett’s entertainment & media industry almanac 2009: The only comprehensive guide to the entertainment & media industry. Houston, Texas: Plunkett Research.
World of Information (Firm), & International Chamber of Commerce. (2003). Middle East review 2003/04: The economic and business report. London: Kogan Page.