Asia360 gets new backing

Luxury media company WhiteWave Media Group (WWMG) has made a strategic investment in regional news magazine Asia360 which focuses on business and socio- political issues across the region.The move whilst offering Asia360 a regional network to leverage on, also signals WWMG diversification into other areas of publishing.The integrated luxury media group publishes luxury magazines, websites and mobile apps, with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Its product portfolio includes BACCARAT Magazine, Ultima Magazine, a controlled circulation title for Citibank's ultra-affluent Ultima clients and its flagship product Luxury-Insider.com and InLuxe.cn.The resulting partnership will see WWMG and Asia360 work closely on an enhanced integrated offering for Asia360 in print, online and mobile, to be re-launched before Q1 2013.The magazine first announced its launch in March of 2010 and finally hit the market in 2011 under founder and editor-in-chief Goh Chien Yen, targeting PMEBs, C-suite executives and women.The renewed push which comes after a period of struggle for the business, will see WWMG CEO Julian Peh (pictured) take on the newly-created role of publishing director of Asia360.It will reorganise along fully integrated publishing workflows, with its regional network of journalists producing content that optimised for all three mediums, instead of merely re-purposing print content for cross-publication in digital mediums, according to Peh.The fortnightly magazine will not see a change in advertiser focus and has plans to get audited in the future.On Asia360's to-be-launched integrated publishing platform, Peh said advertisers are well-served by media companies that can truly provide a way to use digital effectively to reach across geographical boundaries."With Asia360's upcoming launch of its integrated platform, we hope to increase ROI for regional advertisers looking for a way to reach the discerning readers and intelligentsia across Asia."Goh said Asia360 fulfills a gap for in-depth regional news and analysis for some of the most sophisticated readers in Asia."The strategic partnership with WWMG will enhance our digital publishing capabilities to make sure our readers can have the content they want, wherever they are.