Every visit to Dubai promises something new. From record-breaking attractions that are
changing the skyline to fresh surprises for the family to enjoy and exciting thrills to try for
the adventurous, there’s so much to take in on every trip
Dubai’s advertising industry is big with an enormous range of products and services and huge
amounts being spent by brands for branding and marketing. The Out of home advertising (OOH) is
one of the most widely used formats for advertising and brand promotion. In fact the Gulf nations
have an obsession for the largest when it comes to billboard or buildings. The Guinness Record for
the largest billboard rests with Dubai. The largest outdoor advertising structure (billboard) measures
6,260 m² (67,382 ft² 11 in²), and was achieved by Emirates Intellectual Property Association – EIPA
(UAE), in Dubai, UAE, on 5 November 2018. The billboard displayed logos of different entities to
raise awareness about intellectual property rights.
Dubai is known as a global city. The city has hundreds of luxurious hotels, restaurants, apartments,
metros and investment centres that really mark it as a global city. With its hip restaurants, hotels,
museums, and art it has made the rankings in being a global city. It has been able to become a city of
desire and curiosity to many tourists. A bustling metropolis, Dubai is very diverse with a lot of
different nationalities and ethnicities.
Dubai portrays itself as a glamorous and luxurious city, where the population enjoys a wealthy
lifestyle. It is also portrayed as the perfect place for foreign investment, as a small amount of money
invested in Dubai can yield high profits. Metro stations, luxurious hotels, expensive apartment
buildings, and quality schools attract rich people from all over the world to Dubai. The city continues
to produce extravagant sky scrapers such as the Burj Al Arab, or the Burj Khalifa and Palm Jumeirah,
and the tourism flow increases. All major International brands have a presence in the city as the
purchasing power of the population in the city is really high.
As mentioned OOH is one of the most preferred ways of advertising by brands to advertise their
product. From Dubai International Airport which is one of the world’s busiest airports by
international passenger traffic and which connects around 280 destinations, you will see the OOH
advertising in various forms. Since the city is organised, the advertising sector is also well organised.
There are prescribed spots for advertising and are well organised. It is a blessing as unorganised
display of advertising can make the target audience tired of them.
Unipole advertising, Large billboards, LED billboards, Lampost advertising, Bridge / Gantry
advertising, Human billboard, LED screen trucks, Interactive displays, Promo trucks, Taxi advertising
are all common in Dubai OOH sector.
One of the prime locations for OOH advertising by the brands is the Sheikh Zayed Road. The longest
road in UAE covering almost 558.44km from Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah, connecting all 7 Emirates
Taxi advertising is another way to reach the target audience by the brands as it goes around well-
known shopping belts, business districts, heartlands and entertainment coves of Dubai. It provides
mobility, high brand exposure to consumers and operative ways to promote brands, products,
services and events.
it is no wonder Sheikh Zayed Road is also one of the busiest roads in the UAE. Sheikh Zayed Road is
home to most of Dubai’s skyscrapers, including the Emirates Towers. The highway also connects
other developments such as the Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Marina. The road has most of the Red
Line of Dubai Metro running alongside it. You can see many billboards in Sheikh Zayed Road in the
prescribed areas for advertising. There are many large billboards here. The sheer size of the
billboards attracts the curiosity of travellers. Large format LED screens for advertising are also used.
LED screens at prime locations are another way carried out by brands to reach their target audience.
Locations such as Dubai Gateway hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road opposite to Habtoor Palace, LXR
Hotels & Resorts, near Dubai Canal Bridge are key locations ideal for brands. No doubt that these are
prime locations. There are also LED digital unipoles with a size of 16:9. Multiple messages can be
displayed repeatedly on it. The large-format digital billboards sitting near to the shoulder of the
freeway guarantee exposure from long distances and have excellent visibility day and night due to
their LED screens. They offer artwork flexibility as they can display moving images.
Unipole advertising is static, eye-catching and visually captivating, the perfect medium for image
based campaigns, large format logos and scene marketing.
Lamppost advertising is one of the most traditional forms of outdoor advertising because of their
ability to guarantee exposure in high traffic locations. Sheikh Zayed Road freeway carries more than
500,000 cars every day; having your advert on lamp posts allows the viewer to see the ad as they
slowly move through the traffic. The lamp post advertising space that runs along most of the road’s
length is some of the most sought-after media in the country. This is due to the excellent results it
delivers. It offers mass exposure to a mix of UAE locals, residents and tourists of all ages and
nationalities.
Bridge/ Gantry Advertising is also popular in Dubai OOH especially with the metro train service.
Dubai Metro is one of the main public transport modes for many of the city’s population. It connects
all main areas of Dubai and carries 2.5 million passengers a week. Advertisements along various
metro station bridges crossing the city’s main freeway, Sheikh Zayed Road will garner high visibility
that offers excellent large-scale awareness for advertisers. Through direct visibility and direct to eye
level, it is the ideal means to catch the target audience with the trademark colour scheme, slogan or
catch phrase. It includes special LED lights, dye-cuts or even a twist of humour and you are sure to
captivate everyone.
Human billboard also known as walking billboards or backpack billboards are backlit advertising
board that are interactive in nature. Human billboard signs are worn by promoters to attract target
audience or a speculated location. The human billboards advertising provide an extended brand
recall. It has a large display area of 130 cm that provides prominence from all angles and are
combined with energy efficient illumination that are portable, well-designed and light-weighted
backpack billboard.
High-end LED screen trucks and LED truck signages in Dubai are also ideal way to promote brands.
The city offers exclusive range of fully equipped and technologically advanced LED Truck
advertisements in the region.
