Page 188 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

172 Dubai & Co.

Figure 6.5 Acceptable in the UAE, questionable in Saudi Arabia
By Western standards, the ad is not risqué: the model is wear-
ing long sleeves, and her skirt nearly reaches her knees. Yet in the
socially conservative Saudi market, we were told, the ad would be
considered inappropriate and would attract criticism. Marketers
are thus left with a dilemma: whether to use different ads for differ-
ent Gulf markets or to develop materials that can be deployed
across the region. Especially if customization of ad content or lan-
guage is called for, economies of scale suggest that firms are often
better off avoiding the controversial and finding other ways to com-
municate the edginess of their brand.
The International Journal of Advertising piece cited above also
confirms a fundamental market reality that we discussed in
Chapter 2, on misconceptions. Female buyers in the Gulf, like
female buyers everywhere, make the majority of purchase deci-
sions and are therefore the target audience for savvy marketers.
Women in the GCC countries decide not only what household