Arvato Middle East Sales FZ-LLC (Ames) and Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) have formed a joint venture to bring digital media solutions to the Mena region.

The joint venture will launch a series of digital entertainment services under the “Getmo” brand name.

Getmo Arabia will be a 50:50 joint venture firm based in Abu Dhabi and will set new benchmarks for digital entertainment in the region by leveraging the significant local content archive of ADMC, the Global Content Archive of Ames  and the converged Digital Distribution platform Getmo, said an official spokesman.

The announcement of the formation of Getmo Arabia at Mecom 2008, which concludes in Abu Dhabi today (May 28), comes after the signing of the memorandum of understanding between ADMC and the Bertelsmann Group where a number of strategic initiatives were agreed. 

The announcement was accompanied by a showcase demonstration of digital media services that will be deployed. Getmo Arabia will offer its partners the ability to provide their customers with a combination of music, movies, games and infotainment services. These services will be available at any time on any device ranging from mobile phones and PCs connected with broadband to set-top boxes. 

Getmo Arabia will offer services direct to consumers through www.getmo.com where customers can download music, video, movies, games and ringtones in English, Arabic and other Asian languages to their mobile phones and home computers.

This content will be available to users at significantly reduced rates. The service will usher in a new era of mobile and PC entertainment in the region.

Getmo Arabia will change the face of digital entertainment across the region by combining the Getmo offering with affiliate programmes, sponsorship programmes or advertising campaigns of partner companies. 

“The launch of Getmo Arabia is testimony to our vision of creating a company which will bring innovative offerings across the entire value chain to redefine the concept of digital entertainment in this region. We believe the time is right for our groups to collaborate and give the audience in the region a compelling value proposition of entertainment on the device of their choice,” said chairman, ADMC, Mohamed Khalaf Al Mazrouei.

“Our company is focused on identifying future trends in the market and delivering creative solutions to the market. We see the emergence of ad-supported content, customer loyalty programmes and entertainment bundled with devices as three important trends,” said CEO, Abu Dhabi Media Company Ed Borgerding.
With over 33 million Internet and 80 million mobile phone users in the Middle East, consumer demand for instant and personalised access to content is continuously increasing.

As a result media platforms will be allocated an ever increasing share of advertising spend by international brands and marketing agencies looking for direct and relevant new ways of targeting consumers across the Middle East.

“We are excited at the opportunity of working with a renowned media group like Abu Dhabi Media Company to leverage our complementary media services and to increase our collective share of advertising budgets being spent across the Middle East,” said CEO, Arvato Middle East Sales, Sean Emery.

Getmo is a state-of-art platform for the integration and distribution of digital content and offers marketers and the leading brands across the region a unique opportunity to use Getmo as an independent loyalty platform to build an emotional link with their customers through the exciting world of  digital entertainment. – TradeArabia News Service