Sun setting on renowned print players

Sun setting on renowned print players

The demise of a former household staple underscores the sea change in the industry.

"Koo Sang Koo Som" magazine is the latest victim of the high tide of online media.

Damrong Puttan did not think his romance-themed Koo Sang Koo Som, at one time a must-read magazine for most Thai households, would one day come to an end.

But after 38 years of uninterrupted publication with nearly 302 million copies sold, the curtain has fallen on the monthly magazine.

The 1,005th and final edition of Koo Sang Koo Som hits news-stands across the country this month amid a plunge in readership and plummeting advertisements.

Koo Sang Koo Som is the latest victim of the fast-changing publishing business. Similar to elsewhere in the world, the magazine has fallen prey to disruptive technology -- online media and digital content.

Over the past year, at least 10 major Thai magazines, many of which have become institutions in their own league, have ceased their print operations. They include Dichan and Kwanruen magazines.

"We decided to put out the last edition of Koo Sang Koo Som this month, about three years earlier than planned. The real reason is, I am very tired and the digital wave has changed people's lifestyles globally," Mr Damrong, the 74-year-old founder of Koo Sang Koo Som Thailand Co Ltd, the publisher of the magazine, told the Bangkok Post.

"You can read tomorrow's news today. You can access the content anytime, anywhere you want through various formats. I, therefore, am terminating our business while we are still on top so that we can leave a legend that our staff will be proud of.

"I always feel pain every time I see some information from our magazine, particularly horoscopes, immediately appearing on social media after the magazine is published, without getting permission from us," he said, noting that "this factor is also a catalyst for my decision".

UNABLE TO COMPETE

As the lights are turned off at Koo Sang Koo Som, more than two dozen other magazines have terminated business operations in the past three years. They include Praew, Image, Madame Figaro, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Sakulthai, Marie Claire, Health & Cuisine, Who, Women's Health, Men's Health, WE Magazine, Her World, Lisa, Barefoot, In Magazine, B1, Billboard Thailand, The Hollywood Reporter, I design, Ploy Kaem Petch, Wallpaper and Living.

Damrong Puttan, founder of 'Koo Sang Koo Som' magazine, says print is too slow in a digital age.

Mr Damrong said he had thought of shutting down his business over the past three years, but he worried about the fate of his editorial staff.

Besides the issue of declining readership, the rising digital wave has pushed Thai people living around the world to supply less content for the magazine, resulting in a less enticing experience for readers.

"During our peak, there were so many advertisements, we didn't have enough space for them all," Mr Damrong said. "[But] the number of advertisements has declined to only two pieces now."

Mr Damrong was also a content provider for a well-known channel for one year.

"[The programme] aired at prime time with good content, [but] nobody saw it," he said. "I talked with my daughter about watching my TV programme, but she told me she could watch it later online. This reflects that television is also being affected by the digital wave, not only print media.

"From now on, I will spend my time and enjoy life as normal people do, not rushing like in the past. I am not interested in doing an e-book as suggested by others."

Traditional media has been feeling the pinch of the digital revolution. Thailand's ad spending across media outlets fell by 5.7% in the first 11 months of the year to 92.6 billion baht, with magazines facing the biggest drop, according to market research firm Nielsen Thailand.

As advertisers shifted their budgets to online and out-of-home media, ad spending on traditional media such as magazines saw the biggest drop of 34.2%, falling to 1.78 billion baht in the 11-month period, followed by newspapers, dipping 20.5% to 7.07 billion, and cable and satellite TV, down 15.5% at 2.69 billion.

Satida Klongvessa, executive editor at Srisiam Printing Co Ltd, the publisher of Kwanruen magazine, said the last edition of Kwanruen is hitting the streets and the magazine will cease its print operations after 49 years.

"It is a proper time amid the current situation. We can no longer compete in this digital world," Ms Satida said.

With the digital influence and changes in reader behaviour, the number of advertisements has dwindled to 10, down from 100 during the magazine's zenith.

The decline is not only restricted to the scope of media expenditure at Kwanruen magazine, which continues to go down against rising paper costs, but the number of sales agents and spaces to sell magazines has also declined sharply.

"Kwanruen is still available via digital channels such as websites, YouTube and Facebook, but the content will be adjusted to be more modern and up-to-date, in line with the current climate," Ms Satida said.

MAJOR OVERHAUL

Traditional media has to adapt or risk going under, as the digital age spares no mercy for those who are reluctant to change their business models.

Pornvipa Thientanavanich, vice-president of Mass Group, the publisher of the Thai edition of L'Optimum, last Friday announced major changes to L'Optimum Thailand and Men's Fitness Thailand, two magazines published in the country with licences from Les Editions Jalou and American Media Inc.

L'Optimum will be renamed L'Officiel Hommes. The first copy will hit bookshelves in February 2018.

Publication of Men's Fitness Thailand will cease after the last edition is published in December.

The end of Men's Fitness in Thailand is in line with American Media Inc's move to terminate global publication of the magazine, Ms Pornvipa said.

She said the renaming of L'Optimum to L'Officiel Hommes is part of a strategy to attract more readers. The content will continue to reflect the style of the French edition of L'Officiel Hommes, which caters to fashion-conscious men.

L'Officiel Hommes, with monthly circulation of 156,000, will hit bookshelves on the fifth of each month.

Ms Pornvipa said that from now on all online channels will be deployed to reach a wider group of readers and facilitate marketing activities in the digital age.

"Mass Group has put an emphasis on producing all types of media to create diverse platforms for our brand," she said. "We took to online media when it was in the nascent stage. We have learned what kind of content fits each online platform, be they websites, Facebook or Instagram."

As media consumption behaviour changes, speed and accuracy will also be in the cards, not just brand building. A specialised team is thus required to create effective content and reach target groups in the most effective manner.

"Millennials do not care about advertisements, and given their open-mindedness, they pursue facts," Ms Pornvipa said. "Nevertheless, our posts must be enticing. Given the different nature of online and print media consumption, we need concise and enticing content. When the online version of Men's Fitness was unveiled before the actual publication, we succeeded in creating awareness and witnessed an overwhelming response.

"Six months after launching in Thailand in 2012, L'Optimum went online, boosting first-year revenue by 50% against our 10-20% target. In the second year, revenue expanded by 10-20%. Whenever we launch a new magazine, the growth rate is as high as 1,000-fold. In 2018, our revenue growth target is set at 20-25%."

BUSINESS REVAMP

One may fear that digital and social media will completely supplant traditional media, but that is likely not the case -- at least for the next few years.

Relatively speaking, digital channels in Thailand are still quite primitive. In the short run, television will remain dominant because it can reach the largest number of consumers. Radio will also remain competitive for upcountry households with a higher average age.

Having said that, the doomsday clock is ticking and traditional media players need to revamp their business models to stay relevant to consumers and advertisers. Of course, the key question is how to go about it.

Traditional media must comprehend that their rivals are no longer the only big players in town, as millions of individuals have user-generated blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other platforms at their fingertips. It is unlikely that major publishing firms with limited numbers of writers can compete with millions of individual netizens.

Aitsanart Wuthithanakul, director of new business development at Kantar Worldpanel, said the portion of spending on newspaper ads is expected to fall to 7.6% in 2018, a sharp drop from 20% in 2010, according to GroupM forecast.

While all traditional media platforms such as newspapers, magazines and radio have been suffering from the changing media landscape, spending on digital ads has surged to 12.9% this year -- the second-largest share after TV ads.

Mana Treelayapewat, dean of the school of communication arts at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the print media industry, especially magazines and newspapers, has been directly affected by free online content across social media platforms, which are much easier to access for the younger generation.

Magazine publishers are still facing high operating and production costs, while advertising agencies have shifted their budgets to online media, Mr Mana said.

Suchada Sahasakul, the newly appointed president of the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand, said she didn't agree that print media in Thailand will die out as so many have predicted.

Despite the dire situation for domestic print media, a sign of hope can be seen in revenue growth among independent and famous publishing houses in the country, Ms Suchada said.

"As long as bookworms still exist in our country, I strongly believe that physical books will have a great chance of future growth, because it is not about how people consume [print media], but also about how much they love reading in the classic way," she said.

Ms Suchada said newspapers and magazines could only survive by not relying solely on advertisements, but rather by focusing on generating good sales volume.

Many publishing houses have adapted themselves to tap into the digital trend by using online channels to help drive sales volume, she said.

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