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SPH looks to inject more life to its newspapers

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SPH is looking to inject some life into the print medium by tying it to the world of digital.When subscribers read the “PDF” or electronic version of the newspaper on their smart phones or tablets, they will notice some of the advertisements on the paper move. Upon being touched, these ads will immediately produce several call- to-action buttons that will allow readers to call, message or go to advertisers’ websites. Currently the function is available for The Straits Times and My Paper.According to SPH, readers can also share the app easily via emails, phone messages or through their social media account.The first phase of the interactive newspaper journey for The Straits Times has already started for all its print display and classified ads. SPH also has plans make news stories and pictures interactive in the near future in a bid to make the whole newspaper look alive on smart devices”.Elsie Chua, executive VP and head, marketing division at SPH, said: "We are pleased to introduce these new features to our advertisers and readers. With these new functions, advertisers can reach out to a wider target group more effectively and for the readers, the user-friendly functions definitely provide an efficient platform for them to get connected to the vendors or suppliers.”She added the innovation is the brainchild of a team of enterprising staff at Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) which publishes The Straits Times. The team has even secured a patent for the interactive newspaper, making it a breakthrough technology for the 171-year-old broadsheet.Tan Ooi Boon, head of integrated sales and print classified, noted that his team had been testing these features on the free Classified mobile app since last year and every month, thousands of users would use it to call and message the advertisers directly from their mobile phones with just a touch.He hopes that all advertisers would take advantage of these features as it only requires simple adjustments to how they create the ad copy to make it interactive on SPH’s platforms.“Newspapers are no longer static. When viewed on smart devices, they move, like how they do in the Harry Potter movies. Such features will greatly attract our readers and when they get excited, they will surely respond and get in touch with the advertisers. We look forward to working closely with all our advertisers so that their newspaper ads become even more effective and impactful in connecting with their customers,” he said.According to Nielsen’s report, the print  advertisements in The Straits Times have gone beyond the reach of 1.2 million readers daily through new features in its e-paper version, chalking up another 150,000 reach daily from readers who are accessing the print replica through their smartphones and tablets. For My Paper, the reach in print is 227,000, with additional opportunity to reach out more in its e-paper version as 100,000 has been downloaded on its app.Earlier this month, SPH said its media business revenue fell $12.2 million or 6.0% yoy, mainly due to a $9.5 million or 6.5% dip in advertisement revenue.

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