By Ziad Khammar, COO, DMS

2min read

I recently began the New Year by taking on my new role as COO of DMS. In the short 2 weeks which have elapsed, I can already say that this new journey will be even more exciting than I could have imagined. Surrounded by an excellent team engaged in representing the best in class publishers and platforms, my time has been filled with meetings with many industry stakeholders, including advertisers. In my discussions, I have been welcomed by an overwhelmingly common theme: Supporting local publishers and platforms is paramount for the Arab media industry.

Over a decade ago, DMS was launched with a mission of representing leading digital media brands in the region, to help them build their commercial businesses. We have played a key role in ensuring that our partner publishers consistently met the needs of advertisers. Our investments in ad tech and people have always been aimed at offering advertisers cutting edge solutions on the leading Arab media brands.

The Arab media industry is made up of news organizations, lifestyle publications, information websites, music applications and VOD platforms, all powered by Arab journalists, engineers, strategists, marketers and a plethora of multi-talented associated staff based across the region. A healthy media industry leads to an even more informed society, a powerful economy, and higher standards of living for all.

In a world battling privacy and tracking, where users are growing sick of the abuse of personal data, fake news and bots; local Arab media brands are increasingly offering brand safe and audience loyal environments. Their readership / viewership has grown to include influential business leaders, high-spending Arab youth and young parents of large Arab families, etc. Within his context, Arab media brands allow advertisers to engage, inform and convert audiences to business.

Our commitment to supporting local publishers is not a call for charity. It is rather a warning, imagining a world without journalism, a world without truth, without debate and lack of credible information. A world solely made up of user generated content, unmoderated social posts and trolling. While subscriptions and revenue diversification will play a role in saving the media industry, advertising is still the lifeblood of Arab media and we are proud of representing the best in class media brands.

 What’s next for DMS?

• Our publishers can expect even more investments and efforts towards growing their businesses, as we take pride in representing them.
• Our advertisers can expect continued innovation, service excellence and offerings that will better match with their needs and expectations.
• Our staff, most importantly, can expect continued investments aimed at skill development, promotion opportunities and so much more.

I hope you share in my enthusiasm, as I look forward to engaging everyone in helping DMS raise the volume of the voice of independent publishers, even higher.