Gulf Marcom Group (GMG), a leading media company, recently partnered with Mazoon Printing, a subsidiary of W J Towell, to launch Gulf Marcom Oman, a new media firm targeting Oman’s advertising sector.

'We are delighted to be entering into this solid and strategic partnership with the Gulf Marcom Group, which will allow us to benefit from the extraordinary growth opportunities in Oman—particularly in the sectors of advertising, public relations, and event management,” said Jamil Sultan, board member of the W J Towell Group.

Thamer Khamis Al Muqla, CEO of GMG, said: 'We are very pleased to enter into a strategic partnership with Mazoon Printing and Publishing—a company which has an impressive track record as the first in Oman to specialize in this sector upon its establishment in 1966.”

“Today, it remains one of the largest companies in this sector, and it falls under the W.J. Towell Group, which has a trading history dating back to more than 140 years,” he added.

“Whereas, the Gulf Marcom Group also enjoys a lengthy and prestigious past in advertising, marketing and communications, since its inception in 1974. Moreover, GMG expanded its operations to many of the Gulf and regional markets and has formed strategic alliances with companies of regional and international prominence.”

'We specifically chose Oman after conducting thorough market research of the its advertising sector, through which we found that Oman’s high growth rate in advertising expenditure and has been ranked second in the GCC, increasing 42 per cent from $71 million to $120 million in 2008,” Al Muqla continued.

“Moreover, the people of Oman and Bahrain have always enjoyed the bonds of brotherhood, friendship, and historic relations which have been full of alliances—both personal and commercial—for centuries.

'Despite the global financial crisis and its repercussions on the GCC economies, we are optimistic about the future of the region. Our GCC leaders have handled the crisis wisely and our vision for the future has driven us to act decisively, and to lay the foundational building blocks of strategic alliances which will benefit both groups.

'Although the Gulf region is not isolated from the global economic system and the negative effects of the financial crisis on companies and governments, thanks to God, the Gulf Marcom Group was able to deal with the crisis with minimal damage compared to its counterparts. Unlike other companies, the GMG team did not decrease; on the contrary, we have been attracting new staff representing local and global experience, with staff growth increasing by 12 per cent.”

“In fact, staff growth at Eventscom, a GMG company specialised in event management, increased by a rate of 33 per cent during 2008. The launch of GMG’s new companies, such as Gulf Marcom Media House, a company specialized in the development efficient low-cost advertising ideas and strategies, also contributed to the human resource growth rate,' Al Muqla concluded.

Jamil Sultan added: 'In Oman, we need outstanding and high-achieving partners in the fields of advertising and marketing communications, who can contribute to the wise and successful execution of our plans.”

“It is for this reason that we chose Gulf Marcom, since their experiences are deeply rooted in this sector and date back more than 35 years in Bahrain, the Gulf region, and Arab world,” Sultan noted. – TradeArabia News Service