MAGS LAUNCHING DESPITE 'MELTDOWN'
Despite the global economic situation and what some are calling a "meltdown" in the print publishing industry, there are still magazines making their debut on the shelves in Thailand.
The latest, and one of two I've seen this week, is Biz which is dubbed "interactive English for business". This magazine appears to be a business-focused spin-off from an existing magazine produced by publishers DID International.
The debut issue is priced at 99 baht and includes a DVD, MP3 and VCD. Advertising is practically non existent in the 82-page issue so all the revenues will have to come from copy sales. Any publisher knows that's difficult right now.
I've looked at the business English sector myself and it did seem an exploitable area for magazine publishers. One concern was lack of potential advertising revenue and that's been highlighted by this first edition of Biz.
Note: Although the cover price is 99 baht the B2S shop where I got my copy had priced it at 79 baht. I wonder whether the publisher will get their full share of income from what looks like an error?
6 comments:
Interesting!
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Well ... in Thailand at least many, many companies still choose offline media to promote their brands - hence the fact magazines are still launching.
The issue here is that few in Thailand fully understand how to use online media and get the best out of their website, blog or any other way they can promote their brand online.
Despite Internet penetration here being quite low, in Bangkok it gets heavy usage. But there are a number of things that prevent online marketing being fully embraced.
-lack of knowledge from businesses
-uncertainty of who is using online services (if it is perceived as a young adult it may not be the companies target)
-revenues from print are much greater than online (for the provider)
-lack of resources to fully implement a strategy
...the list goes on.
One should also point out that new media marketing is just one part of the marketing package. For example while Dell have an innovative and well-used online presence (through blogs and their marketing presence) they still have a huge banner on the side of MBK and advertise in print media. Online is but a complement to traditional media, not a replacement.
I believe new magazine products will be launched and successful if they are niche products. Many readers like getting away from a computer screen to read in peace as then it doesn't feel like work.
I also think that companies find it very hard to get the best out of online marketing as they don't have the resources (people or money), and it does take a lot of work to maximise your online presence as people expect constant change. In a traditional print medium the ad is static but there is no expectation for anything else.
Thailand has some way to go before companies can provide a truly competitive online message.
The first post is an ad. A click on the user's website linked off their profile goes to http://www.seotrafficspider.com/.
As you screen comments on this blog and the user does not address the content of your post (except to say 'Interesting') I wonder if there was any point in letting it through?
Emil. Thank you for your comment.
I chose to publish the first comment despite it being what some would label spam, because it highlights an important point about online and offline media - and the differences between what is working in other parts of the world compared to the reality of what's happening in Thailand.
Believe me, if it was a straight forward ad I would not have published it, however I believe it shows the author has no real understanding of the market here in Thailand.
Additionally, that comment makes no mention of any website or company so one has to click on the profile, as you have done, which is not obligatory.
Back in the hoary stone age of the internet, about 1993, I was in Thailand at a business meeting with our US based executives. One of them was effusive about the wonders of e-mail, and how it would solve all our communications problems between our offices in the US and field offices in Japan and Thailand. At the time, e-mail use in Japan was about 9%, and in Thailand was still pretty much at the BBS stage.
The international view is so different from the local view. It's important to remember that the vast majority of Thais have no internet access, and if they did, would not know what to do with it. Therefore print media, even in the major cities, is still important.
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