May has been busy and quite atypical. While overall occupancy has remained stable at 83% throughout the period, the start of Ramadan at the end of the month has seen a storm of new campaigns barging in all over the city, replacing messages at many locations for just the last few days of the month. Real Estate has ranked number one again, with some brands making an impact. Such is the case of the summer project AMWAJ from Sabbour and the new launch of AEON by MARAKEZ. NEWGIZA has also replaced messages more than once this month, while SARAI has kept their own rhythm and INERTIA has spoken nautical at JEFAIRA. However, the overall outdoor growth of the Real Estate industry has come to a temporary halt as Broadcast Media took over the outdoor landscape from the beginning of May. Raising their occupancy share from less than 6% to almost 20%, Egyptian TV networks have taken over the first five positions of our Top 20 monthly Ranking in their attempt to advertise the special shows for the Holy month. The campaign “Ramadan sweeter” from Al Nahar, has taken a prominent and undisputed first place with over 150 ad faces across the Greater Cairo, surprising viewers with Branding zones and Gates serials. Followed closely by DMC and their Crescent moon campaign and ON TV, which not only has launched a brand-new channel just in time for the holiday, but has also brought football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to be the brand ambassador for a very special (and still mysterious!) Ramadan initiative. Likewise, the Food & Beverages industry has been real busy, with both local and international brands competing to remind Egyptians of their tasty properties in an attempt to tilt consumers’ preferences. Though there was no specific reference to Ramadan, local brands have made a point of being present and approached the month of celebrations very differently: Lamar focused its efforts on special die-cuts, while Halayeb rebranded with the help of food experts and ranked 16th in our Top 20, and Arma Crystal celebrated their 25th anniversary. Notwithstanding the fierce competition on the supermarket shelves, bakeries have been the queens of the month, and their messages targeted Ramadan openly. Etoile Patisserie chose to interact with consumers with a very eccentric message, while Monginis fusioned the art of baking with the holy celebration and Tseppas chose to stay simply sweet and more traditional. Communication providers have also made an impact. We have seen regular campaigns, such as Orange and its new plan structure, with jungle animals that invaded billboards in different locations of the city, as well as Emirati provider Etisalat targeting the youth with brainy messages. The first Ramadan campaign from the Communication industry came at the very end of the month from the hands of Vodafone, whose massive campaign celebrates the “Joy of Ramadan for the first time” with lots of familiar faces. Our usual ranking industries – Banking, Ceramics & Sanitary Ware, Education, Events & Exhibitions – have all lost part of their occupancy share in favor of the favorite consumer goods products for the holiday, such as Mobile Devices, Fashion & Accessories, and Home Appliances. As we get ready for Eid al-Fitr, we expect these industries to gain even more occupancy during the month of June. Stay tuned for our special report on Ramadan Campaigns, to learn more about brands’ strategies in the fierce arena of outdoor advertising. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest updates for the Egyptian OOH Media market directly in your inbox! Remember: the better the insights, the better the strategy!
