GfK and Partner Form Middle East Media Specialist

GfK has partnered with ARA Marketing Research & Consultancy to establish GfK Media Research Middle East (GfK MRME), and to launch a series of studies focusing on media usage across a number of Arab countries.

Founded in 2002, ARA has offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait City and Beirut, from which it offers customer satisfaction and mystery shopping programmes, real estate studies, industrial research and opinion polling. In addition to a raft of clients in the media sector, ARA serves automotive, public sector, real estate, investment and hospitality markets.

The new company will offer media consumer behaviour and attitude studies, including print research in Lebanon and in Kuwait; radio tracker research in Kuwait, UAE and Jordan; and quant and qual TV research across the region.

In addition, the new entity has launched 'The TV Ramadan Viewership Study' across Lebanon, Kuwait, KSA and Egypt to cover TV audience viewership habits during the holy month of Ramadan.

Tarek Ammar, the new firm's Regional Director, says its audience research experience will enable it 'to provide the targeted markets with the most comprehensive and accurate data and competitive intelligence'.

Web sites: www.gfk.com and www.ararac.com .