Evaluation of information sources in industrial marketing: implications for media planning in the Arabian Gulf Available to Purchase

The top executives of 67 companies located in Saudi Arabia were surveyed to determine the importance of 14 sources of marketing information for making industrial purchases. The study included seven impersonal sources: Arabic magazines and newspapers; English magazines and newspapers; Gulf television; trade shows and exhibitions; billboards; brochures and pamphlets; and direct mail. The study also covered five interpersonal sources: past experience; relatives and family members; friends and colleagues at work; neighbors; and salesmen. The findings of the survey indicate to which sources the top executives attached high importance and which they had mixed feelings about.