Digital Media Asia 2018: Creating sustainable revenue streams for news publishers

Asia's largest digital media conference on digital revenue,technology and innovation

Keynotes by South China Morning Post's Gary Liu and Schibsted Media's Torry Pedersen

HONG KONG,Oct. 19,2018 -- Transforming business models,identifying new digital revenue streams and meeting the demand for news in hyperlocal markets are some of the key topics that will be discussed at the coming Digital Media Asia in Hong Kong from November 7-9,2018 which is organized by WAN-IFRA Asia Pacific.

Organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA),Digital Media Asia is the region's largest media industry conference on digital revenues,technology and innovation. Check out the power-packed conference programme to learn from leaders who are transforming the news industry! Find out what new business models and revenue streams they have found to be most effective in driving a profitable and sustainable media business.

SCMP and Schibsted charting the digital transformation

Delivering the opening keynote addresses are South China Morning Post's (SCMP) CEO,Gary Liu,and Schibsted Norway's Head of Editorial,Torry Pedersen.

Backed by new owner Alibaba,SCMP started its digital journey in 2015 when it revitalised the newsroom,reinvigorated the company culture and took on a print-to-digital approach,with a strong focus on data and analytics. Since dropping its paywall in 2016,it has been in aggressive product development mode to launch new content channels and other offerings,such as video and podcasts,with a view to devising new revenue models which will set the company on a path to profitability by 2023.

Often held up as THE shining example of a legacy media company which has succeeded in transforming itself digitally,the Schibsted Media Group makes disruption seem hip. Today,more than 60% of revenue comes from digital activities and its largest revenue generator is its online classifieds section which enjoys an annual growth of 15-20%.This is one company which is not afraid of disrupting itself.

Driving new revenue with local communities

Diversifying revenue streams has become a key priority for news publishers. As media companies grapple with identifying new products,the conference will also feature established publishers who have become disruptors in their communities. One of them is Stuff. Sinead Boucher,Stuff's CEO will share how the company - formerly Fairfax New Zealand - has undergone a makeover into a revenue-generating hyperlocal social platform reaching 3 million people a month,in a country with a population of just 4.5 million. While maintaining a steadfast commitment to quality content,this company with a history going back 160 years,has branched out into providing fibre broadband,electricity at cost price,movie streaming and even private health insurance.

Driving new revenue with native advertising,quality content and subscription

Other news publishers are seeing an explosion in growth of sponsored content. With increasing demand for branded and high-quality content,publishers have set up content labs to serve their clients better. Speakers from Bloomberg|Quint,The Wall Street Journal Custom Studio and T Brand Studio International (the content marketing unit of The New York Times) will discuss the trends,challenges and innovative sponsored content solutions,including creating campaigns in AR/VR and over WhatsApp,which till now,has been notoriously hard to crack as an advertising platform,with good reason.

Celebrating digital media excellence

Over 30 awards across 10 categories will be presented at the Asian Digital Media Awards Presentation Ceremony on 8 November 2018.

Digital Media Asia is the region's largest digital media conference organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). More than 30 speakers from 10 countries will share their best practices at this three-day conference designed for senior management and executives in the publishing and media industries. They will tackle key issues such as transformation models,diversification of revenue streams,media consumption patterns,digital subscription,engagement and monetisation in the news publishing landscape.

Media buyers,marketing and communications professionals and academia will also find the sessions to be of value,given the massive changes in the way media is consumed globally.

Other speakers at the conference:

Nicole Bales,Director,APAC,The Wall Street Journal Customs Studios

Sinead Boucher,CEO,Stuff,Fairfax New Zealand

Chua Kong Ho,Technology Editor,South China Morning Post

Ankit Dhadda,Head,Product & Marketing Bloomberg|Quint

Grig Davidovitz,RGB Media

John Fong,MD,Woodwing APAC & Digital Services

Tobias Henning,General Manager,Premium,BILD

Ravi Hiranand,Executive Producer,Abacus,South China Morning Post

Angie Lau,Co-founder & Head,Forkast.News

Korey Lee,Data Analytics & Insights,South China Morning Post

Steven Neubauer,Former Managing Director,Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Rasmus Nielsen,Director of Research,Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism

Reno Ong,Pre-Sale Director,T-Brand Studio,The New York Times

Simon Park,Content Strategist,Mediati.kr

Jess Ross,Chief Product Officer,Fairfax Media,Australia

Gaurav Sachdeva,Singapore Press Holdings

Tilman Wagner,Innovation Manager,Deutsche Welle

Erika Tapalla,Senior Manager,Business Development,Reuters News Agency

Mark van der Kamp,Escenic

Joon-Ian Wong,MD for Europe & Asia,CoinDesk

About WAN-IFRA

WAN-IFRA (www.wan-ifra.org),or the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers,is based in Paris,France,and Frankfurt,Germany,with subsidiaries in Singapore,India and Mexico. It represents more than 18,000 publications,15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.

The WAN-IFRA Asia Pacific office,based in Singapore,helps to bring services such as training,events,consulting,and publications closer to members in the region.

For more information and speaker interview requests,contact:

Joon-Nie Lau

Programme Director

WAN-IFRA Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd

Phone: +65-6562-8442

Email: lau.joon-nie@wan-ifra.org

dma.wan-ifra.com | www.wan-ifra.org

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20181018/2271935-1