Seasonality of Product Marketing and Communication Campaigns in the United Arab Emirates
摘要
The research aims to identify and understand the patterns associated with product seasonality in the United Arab Emirates, based on products associated with different cultures and traditions. In addition, the research aims to identify UAE-based consumers’ attitudes and behaviors toward the seasonality of the products. The study also aims to offer recommendations for strategizing marketing and communication campaigns of seasonal products in the UAE. A systematic review of the available literature sources has been performed to identify factors that influence the seasonality of the products. Further, the findings of the systematic review have been contextualized within the specific context of Middle Eastern cultural influences on marketing of seasonal products. Following this, the surveys with participants from the United Arab Emirates (N = 300) have been deployed to understand consumer behavior and motivation related to highly seasonal products, such as Vimto and Pumpkin Spice Latte. The findings indicate that numerous factors influence the seasonality of product campaigns in the United Arab Emirates. The factors can be grouped into two clusters: objective (e.g., weather conditions, climate) and subjective (e.g., religion, beliefs). Due to the influence of these factors, some products show high seasonality even though marketing and communication efforts are made throughout the entire year. Moreover, consumer attitudes show potential to expand the purchasing range for the products by alignment and introduction of different product modifications. According to the available body of literature, this is the first research that analyzes the seasonality of the products in the United Arab Emirates in a dual context—combining both systematic review and quantitative research. Also, the research offers suggestions and guidelines for marketing and communication practitioners on how to set up campaigns to increase the purchasing periods of the products in the UAE market.