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driving trends

Saleh Zakwani, publisher, Apex Press and Publishing speaks about the coming of age of the media as an industry

The changing face of publishing industry in the sultanate
When we started Oman Today in 1980, the publishing industry did not exist here. The few who were involved in publishing did not take it seriously as they were not sure of the industry’s growth potential. I have always had great faith in the economy and the development of this country. We saw an opportunity and seized it by launching Oman Today. Whenever Apex launches a new publication, we endeavour to give the readers something fresh and different from what exists in the market.

Advertising and marketing in ’70s
In the late ’70s, the concept of marketing was completely alien in this market. The prevailing mindset was, ‘let’s open a shop and sell our products.’ No thought was given to something as elementary as signages or even display, as these were hardly seen as marketing tools. The same held true for advertising, there was no concept of branding. It used to be, ‘let’s put an ad, it will be good for us.’ No artwork or advertising material was given to publications. The latter was responsible for executing an ad. Back then, advertising was just a cut and paste job. Since a lot of gum, called cow gum, was used in the studio, the whole office used to smell of it.

In the ’80s, we were constantly asked where we printed, as it was presumed that our quality of printing would not be possible in Oman. But all our publications were printed here. Right from the beginning, we had a production depar-tment with people who understood the nuances of printing and production at Apex and that made a big difference to quality. Others used to just give their material to the printer and ask them to print. But our people would go to the printer and tell him, ‘look, this is how we want the final product to be.’ We were clear about what we wanted and we got it. In a way, it was a learning process for the printing industry here and the first time that someone was setting the standards.

The market transformation
Things have changed since then. The market is becoming more and more complex with people looking at return on investments on the marketing side. It is no longer about placing an ad, it is all about reaching out to one’s target audience. As the market grew, agencies have grown along with it, most of them changing rapidly in the late ’90s. The last five years have seen an acceleration in the pace of change. Apex has been at the forefront of this change with new ideas, concepts and publications.

Evolution of media
It’s very heartening to see the growth of media as an industry. Every publishing house is trying to develop the market. This is obvious from the number of new publications that have come into the market, each title bringing new ideas to the table. For example, the first free newspaper in the region, The Week, was brought out by Apex in 2003. The concept already existed in the West and Asia, we adapted the concept to fit the the sultanate and ensured that the editorial integrity and quality of the publi-cation were maintained.

Constraints of television
I will give you an example. For years there was only one mobile telecommunications company in the country, Oman Mobile. Then a second player, Nawras, entered the market. Comp-etition between the two has created value for customers and the market has also grown. In the television arena, today we have just two government-run TV channels, and I do not see them competing with each other. If there is a new player from the private sector, there is bound to be change and development.

Market saturation
I still see a lot of growth potential in this market. Publishers and media companies can contri-bute to this by becoming more transparent and coming up with quality products. Transparency in publishing works for everybody. We have started auditing our publications for the simple reason that any claim made by a publication regarding its circulation or readership is not credible till it is verified by an independent audit agency. The Week is the first publication in the sultanate to get audited. It is not enough to say, ‘I saved my client a few rials’ or that ‘I got my client some discount from a publication’ because, if the ad does not reach its target audience, the advertiser cannot legitimately claim to have got his client a better deal. Giving authenticated numbers give clients, when they place an ad in a publication, the confidence that they are investing, not just spending money.

Ensuring media accountability
We have made a start in this direction. I think the fear amongst our friends in the industry is that they may lose face as their claims regarding circulation can fall flat if they go in for an independent audit. There is always potential to grow your numbers and then get audited. I have been lobbying with most publishers to get audited by a professional audit firm, as being transparent is good for one’s business.

Media and ad innovations
There is a perception that media is not receptive to innovative ads. Making a production change involves more money. The question is whether publishers are saying no or just asking for a higher production fee. If a client is ready to bear that cost and the innovation does not take away the sanctity of one’s brand, I don’t think publi-cations have any reservations on this issue.