Motivate Media Group

Motivate Media Group is a privately operated media company headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Founded in 1979 by Ian Fairservice, the business began with the launch of What's On, described as the first English-language magazine serving the Persian Gulf region. The publication was designed for visitors and the expatriate population, combining information about entertainment, restaurants and events with a practical guide to life in the UAE. Its launch established the company around locally relevant English-language publishing at a time when the Gulf's tourism, expatriate and commercial communities were expanding. The company was previously known as Motivate Publishing and subsequently developed into a broader media group. Its portfolio includes consumer, business, professional and specialist titles. These include What's On in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Emirates Woman, Gulf Business, Identity, Campaign Middle East, Business Traveller Middle East and Golf Digest Middle East. The publications cover entertainment and dining, women's lifestyle, GCC business, architecture and design, advertising and marketing, business travel, and golf and related lifestyle interests. Several titles operate through regional licensing arrangements, including Campaign Middle East, which is associated with Haymarket Media Group, Business Traveller Middle East, which is based on a title from Panacea Media Group, and Golf Digest Middle East, whose international brand history includes ownership by Condé Nast before its association with Discovery. Motivate also operates beyond magazine publishing. Its Books Arabia division publishes books focused on Middle Eastern subjects and has issued works associated with figures including Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Wilfred Thesiger and Yusuf Islam, also known as Cat Stevens. The group has expanded into cinema advertising through Motivate Val Morgan, a joint venture formed in 1989 with Val Morgan Cinema Network, a division of Hoyts. That operation sells cinema advertising across markets including the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Oman, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, where it works with MUVI Cinemas. Another related activity is Motivate VAMP, a regional partnership with Vamp Brands that connects advertising clients with social-media influencers. The group is also involved in the Dubai Lynx International Advertising Festival and Awards, a regional advertising and marketing event operated in partnership with the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. These activities give Motivate a role not only as a publisher but also as a provider of advertising inventory, influencer-marketing services and industry events. Motivate is operated through a partnership between Ian Fairservice and Obaid Al Tayer. Al Tayer is identified as chairman of Al Tayer Group and as a former UAE Minister of State for Finance. The company's offices and activities extend beyond Dubai to Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and London, while its commercial media and cinema operations reach additional Middle Eastern markets. The available reference material does not provide current revenue, employee numbers, detailed ownership percentages, or a corporate website. Motivate's overall positioning is that of a regional media house combining established English-language brands, licensed international titles, original Middle Eastern publishing, advertising services and professional events.

Motivate Media Group was established in Dubai in 1979 by Ian Fairservice. Its first major publishing product was What's On, an English-language guide to entertainment, restaurants and events in the UAE. The magazine addressed both international visitors and the expatriate population, helping establish a locally focused English-language media proposition in the Gulf. The company later broadened its portfolio from a single leisure title into a multi-category publishing business. Its magazines came to address women's lifestyle, GCC business, architecture and design, advertising and marketing, business travel, and golf. The portfolio included original regional publications as well as licensed editions of international media brands. This mix enabled the group to combine local editorial knowledge with recognized global publishing identities. In 1989, Motivate formed Motivate Val Morgan, a joint venture with Val Morgan Cinema Network, a division of Hoyts. The venture extended the group's activities into cinema advertising and eventually served advertisers in several Middle Eastern markets, including the UAE, Lebanon, Oman, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Motivate also developed Books Arabia as a book-publishing division focused on Middle Eastern topics. Its published authors have included Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Wilfred Thesiger and Yusuf Islam. The business later expanded into marketing services and industry infrastructure. Motivate VAMP was formed as a regional partnership with Vamp Brands to connect advertising clients with social-media influencers. The group also became involved in the Dubai Lynx International Advertising Festival and Awards, held in partnership with the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Through these ventures, Motivate's activities came to include publishing, books, cinema advertising, influencer marketing and advertising-industry events. The company was previously known as Motivate Publishing and is now operated as Motivate Media Group. Its activities and offices extend from its Dubai base to Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and London, while its media and cinema-advertising operations reach additional markets in the Middle East. The available reference material does not document a precise date for the name change, detailed ownership percentages, or subsequent corporate transactions.

• 1989

  Motivate Val Morgan is formed

  [1]Motivate Media Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Motivate establishes a cinema-advertising joint venture with Val Morgan Cinema Network, a division of Hoyts.

• 1979

  Motivate is founded and launches What's On

  [1]Motivate Media Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Ian Fairservice establishes the company in Dubai and launches What's On, an English-language UAE entertainment and lifestyle guide aimed at visitors and expatriate residents.

A regional English-language media and marketing group serving consumers, business audiences, advertisers and creative-industry professionals across the Gulf and wider Middle East.

• Entertainment and lifestyle magazine · 1979

  What's On

  What's On is Motivate's founding publication and an English-language guide to entertainment, restaurants and events in the United Arab Emirates. It began as a service for tourists and expatriate residents and developed into editions covering Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The title represents the group's original focus on locally useful consumer information and remains one of its best-known regional media brands.

• Women's lifestyle magazine

  Emirates Woman

  Emirates Woman is a monthly lifestyle publication focused on women and the luxury, cultural and professional interests associated with the UAE and wider Middle East. It forms part of Motivate's consumer publishing portfolio and extends the group beyond event and entertainment listings into editorial coverage of lifestyle and regional society.

• Business magazine

  Gulf Business

  Gulf Business is a monthly publication covering business sectors and commercial developments across the Gulf Cooperation Council region. It serves a professional and executive readership and gives Motivate a business-media presence alongside its consumer lifestyle titles.

• Architecture, design and interiors magazine

  Identity

  Identity is a specialist magazine focused on architecture, design and interiors. The title serves design professionals and interested consumers, adding a built-environment and creative-design segment to Motivate's regional publishing portfolio.

• Advertising and marketing magazine

  Campaign Middle East

  Campaign Middle East is the regional edition of the advertising and media publication Campaign. It is licensed from Haymarket Media Group and covers the advertising, marketing, communications and media industries in the Middle East, complementing Motivate's involvement in professional events and marketing services.

• Business travel magazine

  Business Traveller Middle East

  Business Traveller Middle East is a regional business-travel publication based on the Business Traveller brand and licensed from Panacea Media Group. It addresses business travelers and the travel industry, covering the commercial travel ecosystem in the Middle East.

• Golf and lifestyle magazine

  Golf Digest Middle East

  Golf Digest Middle East is the regional edition of Golf Digest, covering golf and related lifestyle subjects for audiences in the Middle East. The international title was previously owned and operated by Condé Nast before its association with Discovery.

• Book publishing

  Books Arabia

  Books Arabia is Motivate's book-publishing division. It publishes works connected with the Middle East and has issued books by or associated with authors including Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Wilfred Thesiger and Yusuf Islam, also known as Cat Stevens.

• Cinema advertising · 1989

  Motivate Val Morgan

  Motivate Val Morgan is a cinema-advertising joint venture created with Val Morgan Cinema Network, a division of Hoyts. It provides advertisers with cinema media inventory across the UAE, Lebanon, Oman and Egypt, as well as Saudi Arabia through MUVI Cinemas.

• Dubai Lynx International Advertising Festival and Awards

  United Arab Emirates · Middle East

  Motivate Media Group hosts and supports the Dubai Lynx International Advertising Festival and Awards, a regional advertising and marketing event held in partnership with the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. The event provides a platform for creative-industry recognition and professional exchange in the Middle East.

  Source

1. 1Motivate Media Groupen.wikipedia.org