While Dubai has gradually become the heart of the regional advertising industry, Beirut remains the main center for the production of television commercials and music videos.
“Even at its peak, Dubai would not do half of what we in Lebanon produce annually,” said Gabriel Chamoun, chief executive officer of The Talkies, one of the country’s leading media production houses.
It is estimated that Lebanon produces up to 500 commercials and music videos every year. The vast majority of these — Chamoun estimates some 75 percent — are aimed at the pan-Arab and foreign markets. Therefore, only an estimated 25 percent or so comes on the account of Lebanese advertisement budgets. Exact numbers are hard to come by, as the Association of Lebanese Commercial Producers was only recently established with the aim to bring more structure and transparency to the market.
Currently, there are 10 relatively large production houses based in and around Beirut, which in addition to The Talkies include such firms as Signature Productions, VIP Films and Laser Films, and some 15 smaller companies. Most leading Lebanese firms have opened branches in Dubai, as it is there that most international advertising agencies have their head offices. Traveling in the opposite direction, in recent years several Gulf-based production houses opened up shop in Beirut. They include Joy Films, The Big Kahuna, Dolce Vita and Film Works.
“Beirut is more cost-efficient than Dubai and can deliver the goods,” said Chamoun. “In fact, I’d say that Beirut offers the best value for money in the world. We have all the state-of-the-art facilities, as well as a well educated and flexible workforce that’s willing to work hard.”
The latter is no doubt a plus in a sector that is, more often than not, characterized by long working hours and overtime.
In addition, Beirut is centrally located, multilingual, has a varied urban and natural landscape, a good educational system and, as some consider, is the cultural and artistic heart of the Arab world. All of these factors are good reasons for firms to head Beirut’s way. On an international level, Lebanon’s biggest (non-Western) competitor is South Africa.
“For us, 2009 was pretty similar to 2008, both in terms of annual turnover and the number of commercials (50) we produced,” said Chamoun. “Perhaps we have been less affected by the regional crisis than other firms, as our strength has always been based on fast moving consumer goods. However, we did notice that advertisement budgets were somewhat tighter this year, causing clients to bargain harder.”
Compared to previous years, 2009 witnessed a decline in the production of music videos. Due to the economic crisis, the success of digital media and piracy, compact disc sales plummeted around the world, including the Middle East. In addition, the Arab world’s leading music producer, Lebanon-based Rotana, suffered from the fact that its majority shareholder, Prince Waleed Bin Talal, lost part of his formidable fortune in the downturn of the world’s financial markets.
Beirut’s billboard jungle
Lebanon’s outdoor advertising sector arguably profited most from the election craze that held the country in its grip leading up to June 2009. Billboards were the preferred vehicle for parliamentary hopefuls to bring their message to the public. The outdoor firms Pikasso and Groupe Plus, which control about half the market, both reported an increase in turnover of some 20 percent. Both firms were established shortly after the end of the Civil War, when Lebanon was still virgin territory in terms of outdoor ads, and the two have since become regional players with networks in Syria, Jordan, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Algeria, among others.
Since the early 1990s, however, dozens of medium and small-sized companies have entered the Lebanese market, which is characterized by an overall lack of regulation and hardly any enforcement of those that exist. Today, there are an estimated 14,000 billboards in Lebanon, as well as some 600 double-faced unipoles, and 1,300 rooftop and wall signs. Most are located in and around Beirut, with a high number along the country’s main roads and highways.
The overgrowth is undoubtebly nowhere more visible than in the billboard jungle that hedges the highways between Beirut and major cities. The visual chaos, and potential danger to drivers, is perhaps best summed up by the huge billboard near Aley, which depicts a giant and very appealing lady in lingerie, with the text: “Keep your eyes on the road.”
As the art of outdoor advertising is all about maximizing visibility and exposure, one could ask: how effective can billboards be, placed as they are along the coastal highway, when their messages seem to drown in a sea of publicity?
“Everyone in the industry agrees that the current situation is not ideal,” said Tony Khoury, group sales director at Groupe Plus. “We tried once to sit down with all the parties involved and we tried to bring down the number of billboards by 25 percent, yet the smaller firms refused. They only have a very limited network and fear to lose out.”
It is often these firms, which have very limited networks and hardly the best locations, which undercut prices.
“They may have five billboards and claim they have a network,” Khoury said. “We are engaged in a continual debate with clients to explain that a network based on good locations with good visibility and good service has its price. One well-lit billboard on the entrance road to Hamra is worth 100 obscure ones.”
The solution, according to Khoury, is simple.
“There is a law,” he said. “It may not be a prefect law, but it is better than nothing and it clearly stipulates, for example, that there should be a distance of 100 meters between billboards, 1,000 meters between unipoles, and they should be placed at least 3 meters away from the road. The problem is not the law. The problem is that it is not implemented.”
Of course, outdoor firms are not the only ones to blame. To place a billboard, firms pay the private or public owner of the plot of land — or the roof — where the advertisement is to be located.
What’s more, for every sign, firms are obliged to pay a fee to the municipality. In other words, billboards are an important source of extra income for both landlords and municipalities, most of whom do not play according to the law.
Media expenditures
January to October 2008
January to October 2009
