Dubai: Global brands will need to tread softly in the Middle East ... and especially when it comes to the politics. A survey finds that more than a third of young Arabs would have no hesitation in ditching a brand if it goes against their political sentiments. This is as true of the young in the Gulf states as those elsewhere in the region, with the instant spread of views on social media helping consolidate such sentiments.
Thirty-eight per cent of youth in the Gulf are likely to boycott a brand, against 29 per cent for Arab youth from the wider region, states the 2016 Asda’a Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey. In the Gulf, only 13 per cent said they would not boycott, while a further 40 per cent answered with a “maybe”. The youth in Saudi Arabia are more likely to get a strong stand on rejecting brands for political reasons, with 57 per cent of the Kingdom’s youth having a pro stance on this. Only 8 per cent said they would not.
“These findings reveal that young Arabs really think about where a brand comes from ... not just in terms of perceived quality, but also in terms of the politics of the country of origin,” said Sunil John, chief executive of Asda’a Burson-Marsteller. “The Arab world, with its 200 million youth, is an increasingly important market for today’s multinationals — but the power of that demographic can see them shut out of large parts of this market over developments beyond their control.”
Outside of political considerations, there are other factors determining the rise or dip of brand fortunes with the region’s young. Fifty two per cent of respondents confirmed they were well aware of a brand’s origin and that it matters to them, while a still substantial 44 per cent suggested that this did not. “This is most pronounced in the GCC, where 58 per cent say origin does matter, and least in the Levant, where a similar number, 55 per cent, say it does not,” according to the survey. As for brand origins, the US is the most popular among Arabs as a whole, with 17 per cent putting it at the top of favoured countries, followed by Germany, France, Japan, Italy, China and South Korea. “While this view is pronounced in the GCC and North Africa (21 and 23 per cent prefer US brands respectively), in the Levant US brands are viewed extremely unfavourably, coming sixth on the list with just 6 per cent picking US brands,” the survey adds. With this demographic, German-made goods come tops, followed by those from France, Japan, China and Italy.
To the question “What is your general attitude towards American brands?”, the overall figure revealed 41 per cent of young Arabs view US brands positively. More than half of Gulf youth have a favourable view of US brands, with 18 per cent having a negative view. In contrast, only 23 per cent of young people in the Levant see US brands in a positive light, with more than a third (36 per cent) viewing US brands negatively.
For this year’s survey, polling firm Penn Schoen Berland conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews with Arab nationals aged 18-24 years. The interviews were conducted from January 11 to February 22.
