MEDIA RELATIONS: Thrill of The chase

Lee Nian Tjoe
Editor
Torque
SPH

Target audience? Torque is for the car buyer, car enthusiast and the car owner.

Main focus? Cars of course takes pride of place in the magazine. We also dedicate a section on how to improve cars. Topping it off is a lifestyle section that includes guides to what music to play in the cars and the most stylish watches to satisfy our audience's reading diet.

USP? The reviews are authoritative, being filed by the most experienced motoring journalists in Singapore.

Preferred PR approach? Being genuine.
Worst time to contact you? Mondays and Fridays.

Preferred day for attending events? Thursdays.

Deadlines and materials? At least two months ahead.

Dos and don'ts when approaching you? Do be honest. Don't call to ask, ‘Has my clients' story come out yet?'.

Best PR approach so far? Coming up with unique story opportunities that caters to our readers.

Your attitude towards a free lunch? That will be the day.

CarBuyer
Derryn Wong
Editor
CarBuyer
Big Fish Publishing

Target audience? Mostly men above 25 with an interest in motoring, but broadly speaking, anyone who needs help in buying a car!

Main focus? Everything involving the car industry, especially stories most relevant to Singapore readers.

USP? We're Singapore's only fortnightly motoring publication, we specialise in knowing everything about the car industry here, then presenting it an easy-to-read format.

Preferred PR approach? Simple and straightforward.

Worst time to contact you? While driving.

Preferred day for attending events? Any day, but either early or late in the day is best.

Deadlines and materials? As soon as humanly possible.

Dos and don'ts when approaching you? Do know what you're talking about. When it comes to cars, we want to know what's new, how much it'll cost and when it'll be available.

Best PR approach so far? Nothing stands out so far but putting a face to a name always helps.

Your attitude towards a free lunch? I'm fine with it as long as it's really ‘just lunch'.

WHEELS ASIA
Jackson Toh
Editor
Regent Media

Target audience? Working adults with families aged between 30-50.

Main focus? Test drive of cars, automotive related with a little bit of lifestyle elements.

USP? Only car magazine in Singapore with various promotions targetted at drivers.

Preferred PR approach? Phone-call followed by emails at least two weeks ahead of the event/launch.

Worst time to contact you? Production period - usually the first two weeks of every month.

Preferred day for attending events? Weekday afternoons to evenings.

Deadlines and materials? End of the second week of each month.

Dos and don'ts when approaching you? Don't make last-minute invites or ask me to go anywhere during production period.

Best PR approach so far? Car companies will usually fly us around the world to attend various car launches, I like travelling a lot.

Your attitude towards a free lunch? It's all good. Companies want a good write-up so they try to win over our hearts and our stomachs.

MOTORING
Raymond Yeo
Assistant editor
Eastern Holdings

Target audience? New car buyers, driving enthusiasts and all who are interested in cars.

Main focus? Reviews of new cars. We concentrate on mass-market cars but once in a while we'd have performance models and supercars.

USP? Easy to read and understand - more comparison tests and no B.S. presentations.

Preferred PR approach? Impartial and honest.

Worst time to contact you? Every 15th of the month, give or take five days.

Preferred day in attending events? Weekdays except when it's a public holiday.

Deadlines and material? First week of the month before the targeted issue.

Dos and don'ts when approaching you? Do identify yourself and your purpose - don't be rude

Best PR approach so far? Impartial.

Your attitude towards a free lunch? You were honest when you said "free", right? In that case, date, time and place please.