What do you do

Colleagues or reviewers in the ministry often ask us what the External Advertising Office does. They see a lot of dealers, advertising companies and construction engineers talking to each other

Some look at it simply as the ministry owns bridges and lampposts, offering it to investors who put brand ads on it in an investment partnership that benefits both parties... But it has more dimensions than this and to know in detail the importance of external advertising let's look up at the picture more comprehensively.

Since the revolution of the so-called social media sites, whose impact on all humanity has been noticeable, the face of almost everything has changed, and it was a change of advertising. Before social media, the most popular means of marketing a commodity, event or information was the traditional media: Radio, Television and Newspapers. After social Media came in, those platforms were greatly affected. The advertiser or brand owner started looking to advertise on non-contact sites for a time when the user (the target of the ad) is not attached to his mobile phone.

This occurs throughout the day in two obvious situations: one when a person is asleep, and the second is when he is driving on an external road.

This is why external advertising, which is market-driven, has become one of the most important advertising tools that have not been affected by

the media revolution but have evolved in one way or another. Today, external advertising accounts for 15% of the money spent by advertising companies. Social media accounted for about 60% of the budgets, which 98% of it will be for the giants, Facebook and Google by the beginning of 2026. While the radios survived somewhat because they also benefit from road drivers!

With the huge technical momentum, external advertising has begun to shift to digital panels in what is known as Outdoor Digitalizing with a challenge in the amount of energy spent by screens but clearly the future, and advertising statistics indicate that 26% of drivers are looking for the item or activity on the Internet after watching an ad on the street. 38% of those who view certain ads on Facebook moved in after watching the ad on the street. Oddly enough, a study conducted by Campain Middle East found that the younger generation under 30 trusts external advertising and doubts the ads of the networking sites in terms of credibility where he finds that street ads are reliable while the Internet is a fertile environment for the monument.

The next five years will also see a change in external advertising where interactive ads will start, and to give an example, let's assume that you are driving a BMW for example on Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street heading to Fujairah and when you pass by the large Unipoll panel on the street, you will find your picture on it and the words: Thank you for using a car BMW!! This interactive type has already been applied, in a number of experiences such as British Airways, McDonald's, Mini Cooper and others in certain areas using the issue of (direct interaction) between billboards and their surroundings.

In the ministry and in line with the policy of investing foreign roads, the Office is now studying several projects within a system that harnesses artificial intelligence and technology to develop the investment of advertising, mobile advertising cars will hopefully start with the upcoming Union Day, and focus on future positions will be studied, where Parking lots are the most important points of advertising.

The Office is also interested in coordinating with advertising companies to install the three golden rules for advertising sites: matching texts with the spirit of the sites, and that the sites should be viewable with the same quality in the morning and evening, and know the new opportunities to create a new advertising community with each new infrastructure development project.

 The ambition of the senior management in the ministry is great, and reflects on the team of external advertising in the Roads department, the investment section and the office of external advertising. There is no doubt that the coming days will see more success to contribute to the sustainability and investment of external roads to benefit the homeland, the citizens and the residents.