FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Publishers cut titles, costs as ad spending fall in print media continues

Publishers cut titles, costs as ad spending fall in print media continues

IN THE WAKE of a decline in print-media advertising spending, coupled with the economic slowdown, a number of publishers have been forced to drop magazines from store shelves this year. 

Newspaper publishers have been hit by the same factors, resulting in them cutting costs and jobs in order to maintain their operations and aspirations, with one even deciding to exit the market altogether. 
According to media research company Nielsen, 18 magazines – Baan Lae Tokaeng, Casaviva, Phoo-Ying, Decoration Guide, Priew, Volume, Stuff, First Mobile, Slimming, S Cawaii, Instyle Thailand, Health Today, Ice, Hi!, Hair Today, Ying Thai, Seventeen Thailand and Skul Thai – are no longer on store shelves.
Meanwhile, the publisher of Baan Mueang recently announced that the newspaper would cease operations, effective January 1, with the owners of the 44-year-old daily cutting jobs and possibly turning their focus to online media instead. 
The publishers of some magazine titles have chosen to reduce their frequency of issue, in order to maintain costs during a period of continuing decline in readership. 
For example, Di-Chan fashion magazine and OK! have moved from fortnightly to monthly, while one of the country’s most popular titles, Koo Sang Koo Som, now comes out fortnightly instead of weekly. 
Looking back at advertising expenditure by brand owners and corporates throughout the last four or five years, it is clear that both the magazine and newspaper sectors have had limited opportunity to move forward.
Nielsen Thailand reported that in the first 10 months of this year, advertising in magazines was Bt2.51 billion, down almost 30 per cent from the same period last year. 
However, magazine advertising seems to have been in a state of continuous decline since 2012, falling from Bt5.22 billion that year to Bt4.22 billion in 2015. 
Newspaper ad spending has been on a similar downward path, decreasing from Bt15.18 billion in 2012 to Bt12.33 billion last year, while spending was just Bt8.16 billion in the first 10 months of this year. 
Wannee Rattanaphon, chairwoman of IPG Mediabrands, said the overall Thai media industry had experienced three consecutive years of decline, mainly due to the domestic |economic slowdown and weak consumption. 
Triluj Navamarat, chairman of the Media Agency Association of Thailand, forecast that this year’s total ad spending would fall by 10 per cent from last year’s level. 
Meanwhile, media scholar Sikares Sirakan said the emergence of social media had |created a new type of online reader and pushed a migration from offline to the online platform. 
He pointed to the continued growth of advertising expenditure via online media being negatively reflected in the current situation in regard to traditional media. 
“In 2012, online advertising spending was just Bt2.78 billion. When it came to last year, the |figure had hit Bt8.08 billion |and the Digital Agency Association (Thailand) forecast that online advertising this year would be Bt9.88 billion,” he added. 
To deal with these challenges, some publishers have their own strategy to create a strong presence in multi-platforms, particularly online, to help generate a new revenue stream. 

This is the first half of a two-part special report. The second part will talk about “content marketing”, which is now becoming a key strategy for publishers to explore new opportunities in emerging online territory.
 

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