INSIGHTS ON HOW EMIRATIS USE DIGITAL SOCIAL MEDIA FOR GYRO

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Outdoor – Direct and Not Invasive

• The most prominent form of marketing communication to Emiratis that is also the most underestimated.

• For many years, Emiratis in focus groups have reiterated time and again that they love to see outdoor advertising, the bigger the better, the more the merrier

– It says the company who's advertising cares and invests in their products or services.

– It tells them company has nothing to hide.

– It tells them what's the latest.

– Its non invasive unlike some social media or direct marketing.

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Emirati Social Media (National Males, 20s)

• They’re very private – their social media use is much like the way they live as a community – little information or conversation with the outside world and they make it tough for the outside world to come in.

• They like to use nicknames and not use their own names.

• Use it mainly to just chat, waste time.

• Guys like to cuss at each other, look at girls photos and comment on them.

• They like Facebook to create an identity and make themselves seem “high, high” i.e. sophisticated (older guys, see Teens later).

• They come up with a persona where they are the the cool guy, the top dog.

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• They like to make fun of each other.

• They like to post pics of what they see in public or in their environment that are outrageous or funny.

• They like to keep their personal life private.

• They use Vclip.

• They use Kik – the latest hot thing.

• They also use Keek – personal files, funny things people do…probably became popular via Saudi Arabia.

• They like to put down others and feel great about it.

Emirati Social Media (National Males, 20s)

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• They don’t use any one type of social media for long and are not loyal to any one form.

• They can change platforms entirely within a year.

• They don’t talk politics via social media.

• Always aware that they might be watched.

• Kik though is used for more serious chatting as well as WhatsApp.

• For videos its Keek, Vclip, Youtube and Facebook.

Emirati Social Media (National Males, 20s)

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• They like to see break dance videos but also the funny stuff like Harlem Shake.

• They like to watch TV series like Game of Thrones and anything from How I met Your Mother to Arabic Anime – modern ones not like kids cartoons.

• They like anime series like Naruto or Bleach.

• Twitter is also used by many (at least they have an account).

Emirati Social Media (National Males, 20s)

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• Younger guys are less into Facebook (teens) but use WhatsApp and Kik.

• Some teens don’t even have a Facebook account.

• Social Games are very hot like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Amal al Shuoob (there’s an Arabic version of it).

– A lot of older guys are into it.

• Younger guys are closing their World of Warcraft accounts for Amal Al Shuoob because mainly its totally free.

• That said, it’s taboo to ask or talk about if its affordable or not.

Emirati Social Media (National Males, TEENS)

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Emirati Social Media

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• Says it all ;)

Emirati Social Media (National Females)

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Emirati Social Media (National Females)

• Have a different sense of privacy then males.

• Are much more paranoid about being watched or letting information out including pics.

• Horror stories of veiled girls that spread like a forest fire in the digital world make many keen on what they share.

• However, they do like to use Instagram and carefully choose the pics they post, mostly without showing family faces but scenic views of places they visit.

• Most groups are closed, Facebook especially.

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Emirati Social Media (National Females)

• Public profiles are few and far between.

• However, their usage of WhatsApp and Kik is massive – almost to the point where it has replaced phone conversation because it allows to them to chat anytime and anywhere with whomever they like.

• Conversations are not saved.

• They love to share fashion, funny jokes, photos of places they visited, Poetry, Islamic prayers and Hadeeths.

• They also use Twitter but not as much (similar to male usage).

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Emirati Social Media

• In summary, there is no real public social media for Emiratis as compared to other communities.

• Some seem to open accounts just for the status of having an account.

• A very closed knit virtual community where it is very difficult to know who is who because of the false information that is used during registration.

• The commercial application of social media seems to be more for females than it is for males (i.e. fashion).

• Guys do not take social media seriously, i.e. it is just a fun activity and has not replaced anything in the real world (i.e. human f2f interaction as with other communities).

• For females, it seems to have opened more “practical” doors since they are relatively less mobile than their male counterparts and use it as a form of continuous communication with their friends and family.

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