- Launch of ‘Arab Eye’ designed to give a voice to consumers in the Arab world by providing them a vibrant online platform where they can meet and interact with one another
Continuing its efforts to redefine online research in the MENA region, Maktoob Research (
www.maktoob-research.com) has unveiled ‘Arab Eye’ (
www.arab-eye.com) – a highly interactive online community designed to give a voice to consumers in the Arab world.
Targeted at the general public, ‘Arab Eye’ aims to create a vibrant community of consumers who participate in online surveys and polls on topics that concern their specific areas of interest. The website, which features an English as well as Arabic interface, incorporates several features designed to ensure that the surveys undertaken invariably reach the right consumers, such as a personalized logon and profile page for each member that would identify them in the community. Members can view and update their profile to ensure that they receive accurate surveys that match their profile and interest.
Focusing on the community aspect of the website, ‘Arab Eye’ allows members to meet and interact within the community through
chats and
discussion boards. It also offers exciting
rewards to members under a point system; members will be able to collect points by participating in surveys, polls and discussions, which can then be redeemed against
cashU credit, thus allowing them to take advantage of the wide network of cashU partners that include several leading gift shops and gaming companies as well as Skype.
“We at Maktoob Research believe that good research starts with good sampling, and our sample is our active members, making it imperative for us to ensure that the members are rightly selected and are kept interested in taking surveys,” said Marouane Sanhaji, Maktoob Research’s Panel Manager. “One of the fundamental factors that differentiate credible and successful research firms from the rest of the pack is the amount of attention they give to the actual people who spend their valuable time answering online surveys. By introducing ‘Arab Eye’, we seek to provide our members an exciting and rewarding community environment while offering them a dynamic platform to express their thoughts, ideas and opinions.”
A unique feature of ‘Arab Eye’ is that it allows members to become researchers by
posting poll questions or by putting forth questions on the
discussion boards; members will be able to view
live results of their poll questions on the website.
Maktoob Research is quickly emerging as the research partner of choice for leading companies from around the Arab world. A prime example illustrating this point would be a survey the company conducted for Oreo, a leading biscuit brand by Kraft Foods. A total of 800 mothers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait took part in the Oreo Cookies & Milk Survey, which aimed to establish the milk consumption habits amongst children and the creative ways mothers could use to encourage their children to drink their milk.
Maktoob Research’s reputation and popularity, however, is fast extending beyond the Middle East and the company had recently conducted a survey on behalf of the White House. The online poll, which was commissioned by InterMedia, a leading international research and consulting organization, sought to assess the impact of US President Barack Obama’s landmark speech in Cairo on America’s relationship with the Arab and Muslim world.
The online poll gathered reactions to the US President’s speech from a cross-section of the public in key Arab nations such as Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, offering a unique glimpse into how the Arab society perceives the changing dynamics of the United States’ ties with the Muslim world in general and Arab nations in particular.
More than 75 per cent of the survey respondents said they viewed the speech favorably, while more than 50 per cent believed, based on the President's speech, that US policies towards the Arab world and towards their individual countries would improve. The findings of the Maktoob Research survey were highlighted prominently in the official White House press release on the impact of and reactions to President Obama’s address to the Muslim world.
