‘60% of any brand audience is youth’

‘60% of any brand audience is youth’ Staff Reporter / 24 May 2013 On the second and final day of the Digital Media Forum (DMF) 2013, held at the One and Only Royal Mirage Hotel, close to 1,000 industry peers, executives and students participated in a debate over digital growth in the Middle East. Guy Yalif, Head of Global Product Marketing, Twitter, US, said that mobile users are primarily interested in brands. Beyond that, they are responsible for 40 million tweets per week and that interesting content can travel the world in a matter of hours. He said, “A tweeter doesn’t necessarily have to have a huge following but it is the way he tweets that makes a difference.” Guy Yalif addressing the audience on the second day of the Digital Media Forum in Dubai on Thursday. — Supplied photo Furthering this sentiment in a later session was the regional digital lead of Wundermand, Manuel Schmidt, whose succinct understanding of the players in the digital space summed it up. “There is nothing more boring”, he said, “than a brand talking about itself.” About social media, and specifically about Facebook, he said, “It’s no longer about likes anymore, but about engagement, comments and shares.” As on the first day, some interesting statistics were shared with the audience. Sixty per cent of any brand’s audience is the youth, and social media penetration in Jordan is at an exceptional high of more than 80 per cent – more than Saudi and Lebanon. Mohammad Megahed, Commercial Director at Connect Ads, the exclusive Mena sales partner of Twitter comments: “Events like DMF add value to the digital scene in the Mena region, through the speakers and rich content provided. Clients and attendees gained awareness on trends and benefited greatly from the case studies and panels. They will leverage their businesses once they start incorporating these approaches into their strategies. Connect Ad’s goals are aligned with those of DMF as we both aim to transfer digital knowledge to the region.” All throughout the two-day forum, tweets were constantly uploaded and projected on the two big screens at the event, everything from quotes of the speakers to the chicken in mushroom sauce was put up online at a viral pace, only fitting at a Digital Media event. Najla Semaan Mazboudi, Managing Director of SPOTON Media Services and Events, commented that a versatility of topics was brought to the table that held the attention of all who attended. “In fact, social media channels were ablaze with top trends and insights shared, along with questions and comments from people not even in attendance causing #DMF2013 — the official hashtag of the event — to become a top trending topic in the UAE.” nivriti@khaleejtimes.com Taylor Scott International