KUWAIT: (From left) Rita Makhoul, Managing Editor of ArabNet, Dana Al-Hanbali, managing partner of Beattie and Dane, Bilal Mourad, Regional Connect Director - MENA, IPSOS and Nael Halabi, Managing Director at Vivaki Productions. —Photo by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: ArabNet organized a discussion panel titled 'MediaXchange', and that recently at Sirdab Lab in Kuwait City. The event featured a panel on 'what it takes to succeed in new media - online content and distribution,' which discussed the proliferation of mediums and platforms that consumers can access content on, and the time spent on traditional media outlets (reading physical newspapers and watching TV) that has shrunk.

According to Nielsen, TV viewership has been decreasing internationally, down by a staggering 30 percent within some demographics. Meanwhile, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region consumes 23.5 billion hours of video content each month, according to Deloitte. The region is also considered the second largest international consumer of YouTube content globally. Consumer interest and behavior is shifting towards social media channels and on-demand content.

During the discussion panel, Bilal Mourad, Regional Connect Director - MENA, IPSOS said that People want to express themselves "and that is why the world is developing in platforms in Twitter, Instgram, Facebook, and Snapchat. People want something fast." He added "Newspapers will not die in Kuwait, because the owners have their own traditional agenda they cannot change. Maybe they will shift to digital under the fait accompli."

Dana Al-Hanbali, managing partner of Beattie and Dane, said meanwhile: "We need to better understand our consumers, what they need and which channel is the best to use. I appreciate the infusers' cultures because they understand who they are talking to, and how to reach them." Hanbali stated "I would love to talk to the media channels to discuss the best ways, but they do not want to take the risk to go on the creativity way."

Different types

For Nael Halabi, Managing Director at Vivaki Productions, traditional media still do not know how to deal with different types of channels. "The common mistake that all ads do is they put the same ad in all media channels. They do not know that each media has its own purpose."

Halabi noted that social media followers want something interesting, or else content would end up being a waste of time and money. "Customers are becoming less and less attentive because of a lot of distractions in many channels. We need to know how to improve the content," he explained.

He added "It is a mistake to use the same ad from TV on YouTube, because you have five seconds to attract consumers. If the ad does not attract them, they will skip it. You need to change the story of the ad according of the media channel that you use. Social media is not a competitor; it complements traditional media to reach different people."

Interactive media

On the sideline of the discussion, Kuwait Times spoke with Rita Makhoul, Managing Editor of ArabNet, who also moderated the panel. Makhoul pointed out that people no longer are interested in reading 4,000 words. Instead, they want visual content, short details with videos and pictures, as well as interactive material. "We felt that there is a gap. We have done some research, so we requested to do a media exchange across the region. More importantly, this will help educate the media about how to transform from traditional to digital means Traditional media has been suffering and we want to help and support them."

She added that ArabNet received a lot of feedback talking about financial loses affecting traditional media in the region. "But there is always a way to get better," she said. "It is all about understanding the audience better. Whether it is Kuwait, Lebanon, United Arab Emiratis or Saudi Arabia, all media in those countries are the same."

Makhoul revealed that ArabNet will hold the 'Digitize Kuwait conference under the patronage of Khaled Nasser Al-Roudan, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, and the attendance of Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs.

ArabNet conference will be held in October 17-18 for the second year in a row. The two-day conference particularly focuses on the Kuwaiti and GCC ecosystem. The event will highlight the latest trends and opportunities that have emerged in recent years in Kuwait. The main speakers will be startups and entrepreneurs from the Kuwaiti ecosystem who will have the opportunity to convene and have discussions in an open and inclusive environment.

This year, ArabNet Kuwait will feature top investors highlighting their investment strategies and the market trends, and successful entrepreneurs sharing best practices for fundraising, team-building and scaling. Digital commerce is flourishing in Kuwait, with KNET processing over $1.6 billion in online transactions in Kuwait in 2016. Banks, retailers, and service businesses are increasingly investing in digital innovation to meet consumer demands. ArabNet Kuwait will highlight the latest trends in e-retail and e-commerce - including omnichannel and on-demand strategies - as well as fintech and banking innovation - including mobile banking / payments and the future of the branch.

Furthermore, two competitions will be held at ArabNet Kuwait; the Ideathon competition for entrepreneurs with innovative digital ideas that have not been built, and the Startup Battle competition for entrepreneurs with innovative digital young startups less than two years old.

This round table gathers content producers, journalists and new media professionals to discuss the diverse landscape of online (and mobile) platforms: best practices in content production and adapting to various platforms and skills needed to produce and stay-up-to-date with new platforms.