C True sees big boost in revenue after acquiring magazine business
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C TRUE has high hopes of synergising its newly acquired six-title magazine business with its event business to achieve revenue of Bt150 million next year.
Early this year, entertainment giant GMM Grammy decided to sell its magazine business, valued at Bt45 million, to Thai AirAsia chief executive officer Tassapon Bijleveld. In the meantime, Tassapon had also acquired major stakes in C True, an event agency.
As a result of these acquisitions, C True now holds six big-title magazines: Image, Attitude Thailand, Maxim, Madame Figaro, In and Her World.
“I do not consider magazines as just print media, but it is a content business,” Tassapon said yesterday |in his capacity as chairman of |C True.
Although Thai print media are facing a decline in terms of subscribers in accordance with the global trend, Tassapon still believes that there is room for the content business to grow even in today’s digital age. The event agency will utilise the magazines’ content and integrate them with online business and on-ground activities.
Managing director Kittapat Supaton said C True would see |about Bt50 million in revenue this year and could reach Bt150 million next year. Its event business and related activities will contribute about 80 per cent, while the remaining 20 per cent will come from sales of magazines.
“We expect to see an annual growth rate of 30-40 per cent. Our company also plans to organise three big events next year, ‘Maxim World’, ‘Image Fashion’ and ‘Attitude Rainbow Week’, with the hope of attracting sponsors,” he said.
Kittapat said online services would be a new direction for the company. It will launch an online marketing service and full-scale digital magazines next year while expanding its subscribers by increasing the points of sale in the provinces.
The agency yesterday announced its partnership with Singapore-based visual-search start-up iQNECT to introduce image recognition and mobile commerce capabilities for magazines run by C True.
IQNECT will provide an application to enable magazine readers to access interactive digital content simply by taking a picture of any page’s images with their smartphones.
The app can also lead readers to products and brands.
“For the brands and publishers, this will mean a point of sale as |well as a measurement of their |return on investment of any creative campaigns,” said Niamh Byrne, chief operating officer of iQNECT.
C True plans to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand by 2018.
