The paper is distributing single page summaries called FT Briefing as an insert in major regional newspapers as well as at selected venues in Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo. These include Hong Kong's Airport Express, airline lounges, hotels, clubs and coffee shops in the CBDs.
"The main aim is to increase visibility of the FT among senior decision-makers," explained the title's regional managing director, Su-Mei Thompson. "These folks are frequent travellers, hence the initiative with Airport Express. We hope the exercise will drive new readers and subscribers to the FT and FT.com. And what better way to get people engaged with a product than to allow them to sample some of its highlights and best features."
FT Briefing, modelled on a similar product launched in the UK earlier this year called FTPM, features key news stories, a piece from the paper's Lex column and the latest financial developments.
The initiative coincides with the second anniversary of the launch of the FT's Asia edition. The launch of the sampler is accompanied by a new print campaign retaining the paper's core wrapped motif that figured in previous ads, with objects wrapped in the FT's distinctive pink pages prominent in the creative, but adding a new question format focusing on key areas of interest to Asian readers.
The questions are juxtaposed with visuals that also signify the FT's breadth of coverage, with one ad asking 'Can China's champions win abroad?', depicting a close-up of a basketball game with the ball wrapped in the FT. "When you look at what other publications are doing to promote themselves, there is a sense of sameness," Thompson said. "Our approach has always been to stand out -- whether through impactful visuals or witty and memorable taglines." The campaign, created by Doremus, will run in the FT, BusinessWeek and Fortune. A TVC is airing on BBC World and Bloomberg.
OMD handled the media.
