Matthew Moore, Group Marketing Manager at GN Media, tells TMN about the media industry and how it tends to make an impact in the Middle East…
Name: Matthew Moore
Age: 37
From: UK
Current Job Title: Group Marketing Manager, Gulf News
When did you first arrive in Dubai?
At the end of January 2016, straight from the UK.
Where did you work prior?
Before coming to Dubai, I was Head of Marketing at Johnston Press, one of the UK’s leading media organisations and before that I was at DMGT, working mainly on The Daily Mail.
What were your first impressions of the media industry in the Middle East?
I have been really impressed, it is diverse and evolving at a really fast pace so it’s an exciting time to be involved.
Has your opinion changed much?
A little, there are certainly differences compared to the UK. Some trends are less prominent whilst others are more advanced than I had imagined. I’ve been really surprised at how relevant mobile adoption and usage is here. As a marketer that’s a great platform for engaging, rich content.
Tell us about your current role…
I drive the marketing strategy for Gulf News Media (Al Nisr Publishing LLC), we publish the Gulf News and a wide range of magazines. It’s marketing’s job to grow our audiences across all of our brands, to increase customer engagement and from a revenue perspective, monetise our audiences as well.
What challenges do you face?
There has never been more choice for audiences in terms of where they get their news, and any other content that’s interesting and relevant to them. So the main challenge is ensuring our brands, their content and our marketing – cuts through – and is attractive, engaging as well as relevant to our audiences, so they continue to choose our brands. On the flip side for b2b, it’s about using insights and data we have to connect brands with our audiences through clever, creative solutions.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
Seeing a campaign come to life and consumers engaging with it. We now have a wealth of data and analytics, so we can see in real-time how a campaign or content piece is working. It’s also great for the team that works so hard to see their efforts pay off.
How would you rather be contacted at work?
I suppose email is the most convenient, and we all use it but I’d prefer to have a conversation!
Describe yourself in five words…
Competitive, committed, driven, friendly and happy
What’s your most overused saying?
Trust me, it will be fine?!
Five things you can’t live without?
My family, friends, sports (I will watch anything! Rodeo from Texas was on TV last night and I was hooked) good coffee and I hate to say it but I guess my phone.
If you weren’t in your current role, what would you be doing?
I’ve always quite liked the idea of being a chef, a professional golfer or a tennis player also appeals.
What is your favourite form of media (i.e; TV, radio, print)?
Wow – difficult. I really enjoy them all for different reasons. Great radio is really absorbing and engaging; and I’m a fan of rolling TV news, whilst digital, mobile and social media continue to grow rapidly – so I’ll say print. There is still something really nice about holding a physical newspaper or magazine, I think there is a nostalgic element to print which people relate to.
