The report from 'Identity for Brand Development' outlines Saudi Arabia (KSA) as a highly attractive country in the Gulf and Africa in terms of global innovation, opportunity index, and digital landscape. It highlights significant economic factors, including the weakening economies of other oil producers and the attractiveness of the Saudi riyal for foreign investment, as well as social and technological opportunities for businesses. Additionally, conclusions emphasize the need for companies to adapt marketing budgets in response to changing consumer behaviors, particularly in digital and e-commerce markets.

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3. Index
1. Business: Summary
2. Global innovation index, local competition and market concentration
3. Global opportunity index
4. Economics, Society & Technology
5. Summary of digital
• Annual growth
• Digital device ownership
• Time spent with media
• Internet users: perspective
• Frequency of Internet use
• Share of web traffic
6. Social media use
• Top active social platforms
• Facebook user profile
7. Mobile users & connections
• Mobile connections
• Mobile activities
8. E-commerce by device
9. Conclusions

4. Business Summary

5. Business Summary
• KSA is among three the most attractive countries in terms of global
innovation index, local competition and market concentration in the Gulf &
Africa.
• KSA is among six the most attractive countries in terms of global
opportunity index in the Gulf & Africa.
• KSA is among the most attractive countries in terms of digital landscape.
• KSA is among six the most attractive countries according to results of
economic, social and technological factors analysis.
See summary below & details further in the report.
Among 3-6
the most
attractive
countries*
Global
innovation
index, local
competition
and market
concentration
Global
opportunity
index
Digital
landscape
Economic,
Social and
Technological
Analysis
KSA Yes Yes Yes Yes
* Conclusions are based on cross-country comparisons among Bahrain,
Egypt, Jordan, KSA, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, South
Africa and UAE

6. Global Innovation Index,
Local Competition and
Market Concentration

7. Global Innovation index,
Local Competition and
Market Concentration
KSA is among three the most attractive countries in terms of global innovation
index, competition and market concentration. *
Country
Global Innovation
Index (Percentage
Rank) (1)
Intensity of Local
Competition (2)
Extent of Market
Dominance (3)
KSA 0.70 73.5 4.6
Key to table
Attractive
factor
Neutral
factor
Discouraging
factor
Sources: (1) www.globalinnovationindex.org/content/page/data-analysis/ ,
(2) 100 = extremely intense https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/content/page/data-
analysis/ , Higher competition means healthier markets and more demand for marketing and
advertising services (other things equal).
(3) how corporate activity is characterized in the below countries (1 = dominated by a few
business groups; 7 = spread among many firms) http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2013-
14/GCR_Pillar6_2013-14.pdf
* Conclusions are based on cross-country comparisons among Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, KSA, Kuwait,
Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, South Africa and UAE

8. Global Opportunity Index

9. Global Opportunity Index
Country
Composite
(Score/Rank) (1)
Economic
Fundamentals (1)
Ease of Doing
Business (1)
Quality of
Regulations (1)
Rule of Law (1)
KSA 6.41/36 5.45/52 6.79/41 6.40/40 7.00/21
Source: (1) http://www.globalopportunityindex.org/opportunity.taf?page=compare
Explanation: Each category measures an aspect of the power of economic and institutional factors to attract foreign direct
investment. The assigned composite index value is the average score of the four categories (called component scores). Each
variable is normalized from 0 to 1. Within each category, the normalized variables are then given equal weight and aggregated,
resulting in a normalized category score between 10, indicating the most favorable conditions for investment, and 0, signaling the
least favorable.
Economic Fundamentals measures the extent to which a country's macroeconomic environment is conducive to foreign direct
investment. A value of 10 indicates very strong economic fundamentals, while a value of 0 indicatesrelatively weak conditions.
Ease of Doing Business measures explicit and implicit costs associated with business operations. A value of 10 indicates very low
costs of doingbusinessin a country, 0 – very high.
Quality of Regulations/Regulatory Barriers to Investment assesses the effectiveness of policymaking and enforcement in a country
and similarly reflects the extent to which a country's laws and regulations prevent the free flow of trade and investment. A value of
10 indicatesefficient enforcementof policies andminimalbarriersto capital flows,while a value of 0 indicatesthe opposite.
Rule of Law reflects the extent to which a country's legal system protects investors and property rights to support and enhance
business investment. A value of 10 indicatescommitment tothe rule of law, while a value of 0 indicates the opposite.
* Conclusions are based on cross-country comparisons among Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, KSA,
Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, South Africa and UAE
Key to table
Attractive
factor
Neutral
factor
Discouraging
factor
KSA is among six the most attractive countries in terms of global
opportunity index in the Gulf & Africa. *

10. Economics, Society & Technology

11. Economics, Society & Technology
Country Opportunities
Economic factors
• Weakening economies of other oil producing countries will allow KSA to strengthen its dominating
positions in the global oil market. This way KSA will strengthen its global economic positions and
growth of its markets.
• State policies will keep the markets running for a while generating demand for business development
e.g. marketing and advertising
• Activation of equity market, broadening of investor base
• The Saudi Riyal is pegged to the US dollar, it is an attractive aspect for foreign investors considering
the stability of currency, trade and income flows
Social factors
• Average size of consumer markets
• High demand for luxury goods and premium trademarks
• Relative variety of ethnic groups and niche demand, need of targeted marketing strategies
• Business opportunitiesfor businesses targeting youth and parents of young children
• Multinational companies need expert support in marketing their products due to cultural and legal
limits
Technological
factors
• Development of smart telecoms, smart industries, smart governments and smart cities all running on
smart infrastructure, hence new jobs opening & establishing of new businesses
• New employment opportunities & establishing of new businesses
• New digital ways of doing business, demand for digital marketing and advertising
Key to table
More opportunities
than threats
Opportunities and
threats are balanced
More threats than
opportunities
KSA is among six the most attractive countries according to results of EST analysis. *
* Conclusions are based on cross-country comparisonsamong 11 countries: Bahrain, Egypt,
Jordan, KSA, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, South Africa and UAE
All the sources and detailed factors are available upon request. Email us: info@identity-mena.com

12. Source: We are social
KSA Digital Landscape – 2016

21. Social Media Use
Source: We are social

25. Mobile Users & Connections
Source: We are social

29. E-commerce by Device
Source: We are social

31. Conclusions
• Corporates will at least maintain same marketing budgets and will
even increase it in order to rectify any possible recession caused by
the drop of oil prices.
• The competition will be very aggressive due to the above
conclusion.
• People in KSA are spending 2 hours daily on TV and 8 hours on
internet (4 times more). Corporates should consider this ratio while
allocating budgets.
• KSA Digital landscape is very rich and powerful, empowered by the
percentage of the young generations as well as the dominance of
smart phones.
• In digital & e-commerce, corporates should pay more attention to
the mobile optimization of their digital assets and services.

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