"Advertising is the foot on the accelerator, the hand on the throttle, the spur on the flank that keeps our economy surging forward."
- Robert W Sarnoff

Over the years we have realised that the annual Advertising Spend Survey can spring few surprises, at least as far as the top three ad spenders are concerned. For a nation passionate about cars, and some of the biggest names in the country involved in the business of selling cars, it is little wonder that the automobile sector tops the survey year after year. Except the year 2005, when the telecom sector toppled banks to bag the second spot, there has hardly been any surprise in the runner-up position as well. Yet, number crunching is what we do year after year, not because there will be surprise victories or shake-ups, but because it is the nuances in the differentiation that will give our readers, advertisers and marketers a clue to things to come and an understanding of the dynamics of the year that went by.

The banking sector has reclaimed its No.2 position once again, mainly because it has spent over RO1mn more in advertising in 2006 as compared to 2005, probably due to enhanced competition as well as the imminent entry of new big players in the market. With new banks in the field, we might see more action in the banking arena this year, like what happened in the telecom sector in 2005 as a new player entered the fray, shaking the market leaders out of complacency. As our exclusive interview with Nani Javeri, CEO, Bank Sohar, indicates, the new entrant seems to have done its homework well and has found niches to target and strategies to adopt.

In keeping with the theme of our cover story, we have put together a special issue on advertising. Over the past one year, we have witnessed a sea change in the sultanate’s advertising scenario. As companies here vie for a global footprint and the economy opens up, most agencies have gone in for international tie-ups. Of course there are conflicting opinions about the merits of such a move, but the very fact that international agencies are scouting for local partners is indicative of the increasing prominence of Oman. The working of the ad world is some sort of a mystery for most of us. So, in this issue, we go behind the scenes and decode this obscure world as also take a look at the evolution of the advertising scenario in the sultanate.

And, when we say Apex has always been a trendsetter – from setting quality standards for the printing industry in the early ’80s to becoming the first publishing house in Oman to get its publication audited by an independent agency in 2006 – it is not about chest thumping. It is more about knowing our worth and having a vision. And it is also about showing the way to being accountable and achieving better standards.

Mohana Prabhakar
Managing editor