Mag publisher Media Transasia Thailand turns focus on digital media after flat e-books growth
Media Transasia Thailand, a leading magazine publisher, is banking on digital media and the production of branded video content for advertisers in a bid to boost income, following flat growth in its e-book business.
“Like fashion, which comes and goes, our company has witnessed flat growth in its e-book business since the end of last year, after enjoying tremendous growth in 2013,” Rasina Uberoi Bajaj, group editor-in-chief of Media Transasia Thailand, said yesterday.
Last year, revenue from e-books soared 40 per cent from the previous 12 months, but the business has since faced a flat growth rate – a trend that is expected to continue in the near future, she said.
To cope with this decline, the company has earmarked about Bt10 million for its digital-media department to develop and create branded video content for its advertisers and clients.
The story lines will be developed and related to those published in its publications, while the video clips – to be made available on social media – will be between 30 seconds and 10 minutes long.
She expects the digital-media department, which consists of six multimedia-skilled staff, will be able to produce and distribute one video clip per day under the new service, which will be launched next year.
Media Transasia Thailand has the rights to publish and distribute a number of top-title magazines, namely, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, OK, Seventeen and Travel and Leisure Southeast Asia.
The company expects its new digital-media strategy to boost the digital contribution to 20 per cent of overall revenue next year, said Rasina.
Revenue from digital media – covering social media, display advertising and e-book service – currently accounts for 15 per cent of income.
Rasina said the company would also introduce a new-title sports magazine with an investment of Bt10 million next year, although she was not at liberty to name the magazine at this time.
Though advertising spending had experienced a significant year-on-year drop of almost 10 per cent during the first eight months, some advertisers resumed spending their budgets in July, she said, adding that she hoped the current half would therefore be better than the first.
With its new strategies and new product, 37-year-old Media Transasia Thailand expects next year to be a good year with at least 10-per-cent growth in terms of revenue generation, she said.
The company prefers not to publicly mention its annual revenue figures.
