Heart Media acquired by media industry veterans and set for regional expansion

Burlot and Peh lead a new media holding company that announced its acquisition of Heart Media Group on Tuesday.

The newly established company, Heart Media Holdings, will acquire Heart Media´s entire business, including its Malaysian and Indonesian entities, as well as digital properties. The titles including WOW (World of Watches), Men’s Folio, Form (Singapore) and Room (Malaysia) are published and circulated in Singapore, Malaysia and major cities in Asia.

Olivier Burlot, the newly appointed CEO and publisher, told Campaign Asia-Pacific that the magazine industry in Southeast Asia is growing and increasingly demanding.

“Aspirations from consumers in these markets, as part of the affluent group of consumers, are strong,” he said. “Therefore Heart Media magazines answer such needs of understanding the latest trends, introducing new products and innovations, discovering what opinion leaders are contemplating, purchasing and recommending.”

Burlot pointed out that high-end magazines are not a struggling industry, as readers want to identify with a specific lifestyle, and magazines are one of the best ways to mirror their own aspirations.

“There is a also a strong need from fashion and luxury brands to keep on reaching affluent consumers and keep building on their brands,” he said. “Magazines are still the most effective medium to do such.”

Burlot said he is confident about the future of new Heart Media with its more than 15 years of history and extremely strong magazine brands that already enjoy a high degree of loyalty and trust with both readers and advertisers.

Heart Media is currently present in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, and is planning to expand into other new territories over the coming 18 months, including China, Hong Kong, Thailand and India, according to the company.

Burlot said the company will put a more aggressive marketing strategy into action, including digital campaigns, POP (point of purchase) materials, animations, events and a stronger distribution push toward its audience.

To better engage digital-savvy consumers, Heart Media will also push its brands into the digital space, in both web and mobile platforms, while maintaining the high quality of its publications, by, for example, continuing to invest in fashion shoots and upscale photography.

WhiteWave, an integrated luxury media group led by Peh, group founder and CEO, will partner with Heart Media to create exclusive digital-media environments that are immersive for sophisticated readers, and yet impactful for advertisers, the company said.

Burlot said Men's Folio will celebrate its 16^th year with outdoor campaigns across Singapore later and parties in September. WOW and Men’s Folio in Indonesia will launch more editions across the region over the next 24 months, with a new digital platform for WOW coming in the fourth quarter this year.

In other publishing news, French lifestyle magazine Elle is also set to join the competition in Southeast Asia's magazine industry with the launch of Elle Malaysia in March 2014. Mongoose, the publisher of magazines including Time Out KL, Time Out Singapore, Esquire Malaysia, Esquire Singapore and Voyage, will publish the magazine under licence from Lagardère Active.