Motive Entertainment

What Motive Entertainment does

Motive Entertainment, operating commercially as Motive Marketing, is a Malibu, California-based marketing agency founded in 2003 that pioneered a community-driven "motive marketing" approach for faith-based and influencer-led campaigns. The company designs grassroots marketing campaigns that activate trusted community leaders—"Channel Partners" such as pastors, micro-influencers, educators, and athletes—rather than relying on traditional advertising. Its central proprietary asset is SocialChoir, a curated network of over 1,000,000 marketplace voices across social media, blogs, podcasts, faith communities, education, sports, niche demographics, and youth organizations, segmented into packaged offerings including Motive 250 (250,000 audiences with 100 million reach) and Motive Top 2,000 (top faith and family leaders).

The company serves enterprise clients across entertainment (major Hollywood studios including Universal, Warner Bros., MGM, Netflix, Disney, Sony, Paramount, Lionsgate, 20th Century Studios), publishing (Simon & Schuster, Hachette, Tyndale), broadcasting (NBC, CBS, A&E, UP TV, TLC), retail (Walmart, Amazon), and consumer goods (Procter & Gamble). Its go-to-market is a community-led model delivered through direct client relationships on a project and retainer basis. Notably, the firm claims to be the only agency in its space to win Ad Age's Top 50 Marketer of the Year award and authored the historic grassroots campaign for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."

Revenue is generated through professional services fees for campaign design and execution; no pricing model is publicly disclosed. The firm operates with only 6 employees despite a blue-chip client roster and 100+ project portfolio spanning films, TV shows, books, music releases, social platforms, apps, and events. SocialChoir's proprietary influencer database and the firm's long-standing relationships with faith community gatekeepers constitute its primary competitive differentiation, though no AI/ML capabilities, technology platform architecture, or funding history are disclosed in the available data.

Name

Motive Entertainment

Legal name

Motive Marketing

Website

https://motiveentertainment.biz

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Motive Entertainment (Motive Marketing) is a Malibu-based marketing agency that designs faith-based and influencer-driven grassroots campaigns for major entertainment, publishing, broadcasting, retail, and consumer brands, leveraging its proprietary SocialChoir network of 1,000,000+ community voices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing and Advertising Services

NAICS

Media Representatives (541840), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Influencer PR & Seeding (Gifting/Press Kits) (MPAAAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cause/Sustainability & Purpose-Driven Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAL), Sponsorship Activation & Experiential Marketing (THAHAGAC)

Keywords

• Influencer marketing services
• Faith-based marketing
• Entertainment marketing
• Social media campaigns
• Marketing agency services

Headquarters

HQ city

Malibu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Marketing Agency Services: Professional marketing agency services for entertainment, faith-based, and consumer campaigns. Revenue is generated through project-based work and retainer agreements with major studios, publishers, and entertainment companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Motive Entertainment is a boutique marketing agency that designs and executes faith-based marketing and influencer marketing campaigns for major entertainment and media brands. Its proprietary SocialChoir influencer network, with more than 1 million voices, enables mass social media amplification for client campaigns.

Product overview

Motive Marketing is a marketing agency offering a unified service centered on 'motive marketing' — a community-driven approach that serves rather than sells to target audiences. The core offering is supported by SocialChoir, a proprietary influencer network with over 1,000,000 marketplace voices across social media, blogs, and podcasts. This network is segmented into Motive 250 (250,000 audiences totaling 100 million reach) and Motive Top 2,000 (top faith and family leaders). Together, these products enable clients to build trust with key community leaders who then amplify marketing messages through a 'choral effect' to their followers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SocialChoir: Motive's network of trusted influencers across social media, blogs, and podcasts. A database of over 1,000,000 marketplace voices with proprietary tools to find and recruit new partners, turning influencers into passionate evangelists.

Products and services

• Faith-Based Marketing Campaigns

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.8B in Hollywood box office attributed to campaigns worked on
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers34 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SocialChoircoreOthersSocialChoir is Motive's proprietary network of trusted influencers across social media, blogs, and podcasts. With a database of over 1,000,000 marketplace voices and proprietary tools to find and recruit new partners, SocialChoir enables the company to turn influencers into passionate evangelists for client causes.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• RPA: Full-service ad agency with a storied entertainment portfolio (notably Honda and American Honda). Comparable to Motive in servicing major entertainment-adjacent brands through integrated creative and media work, but at significantly larger scale.
• Edelman: Largest independent global PR firm with entertainment, consumer, and corporate practices. Overlaps with Motive's publicity, influencer, and cause-driven work but operates at vastly greater scale across unrelated verticals.
• Weber Shandwick: Top-five global PR and integrated marketing firm serving entertainment, consumer, and corporate clients. Comparable in offering entertainment publicity, influencer activation, and purpose-driven campaigns, though much broader in scope.

Emerging players

• Pray.com: Faith-based media platform with prayer app, podcast network, and creator community reaching tens of millions. Overlaps with Motive in monetizing faith-audience reach and connecting brands/creators to church communities, though Pray is a tech/media company rather than an agency.
• IZEA Worldwide: Influencer marketing technology platform connecting brands with creators at scale. Represents the technology-enabled layer that competes with Motive's manual SocialChoir recruitment, particularly for clients seeking software-based influencer activation.

Direct peers

• m/Six: Independent media and entertainment marketing agency with deep studio and streaming client relationships. Comparable in focus on film/TV marketing and multi-channel campaign activation for major entertainment clients.
• Allied Global Marketing: Entertainment marketing agency providing publicity, promotions, and grassroots campaigns to film studios and streaming platforms. Directly comparable to Motive given overlapping studio client base and grassroots/influencer-led campaign methodology.
• The Marketing Arm: Omnicom-owned entertainment and influencer marketing agency that activates celebrity and creator partnerships for studios, broadcasters, and consumer brands. Closely mirrors Motive's celebrity-talent + influencer hybrid model for film and TV clients.
• United Entertainment Group: Entertainment marketing and talent-driven agency serving film studios, streaming platforms, and consumer brands. Comparable to Motive in its blend of influencer activation, celebrity endorsements, and integrated campaign execution.

Regional players

• Pure Flix Entertainment: Faith-based film production and distribution company with an in-house marketing function. Sits on the client side of Motive's roster but is a comparable operator in the niche of reaching faith-audience entertainment consumers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/motive-entertainment

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Motive Entertainment