Hong Kong dailies go to war with revamps to lure new readers

An English-language newspaper war in Hong Kong appears to be on the horizon as market leader South China Morning Post rolled out a redesigned daily while the Hongkong Standard is going for a total brand overhaul. SCMP editor Robert Keatley said the new look initiative was undertaken to make the paper more "user-friendly". "The paper wasn't as consistent and organised as it might have been," he told MEDIA. Mr Keatley said that in order to rectify this, more colour and graphics were incorporated into the layout of the paper to make it more appealing to the eye. The editorial content was also improved with stories being given the space it deserved. The biggest surprise came from the Sing Tao Group's English-language paper, Hongkong Standard. In the largest brand overhaul of its more than 50-year history, the paper will change its name to Hong Kong iMail and shrink to a tabloid-sized publication from the end of this month. It is believed the change was made primarily because of the circulation scandal that has dogged the daily since the late 1990s. Hong Kong iMail has also defined its readership positioning, targeting predominantly local and overseas Chinese aged 20 to 40, compared with the SCMP, whose readership represents Hong Kong's elite. The paper also has new blood infused into it: editor Andrew Lynch who joined in January from the SCMP, where he was deputy night editor; and Mr Nigel Oakins, who recently came on board as a publishing consultant while retaining his links with the International Herald Tribune. Mr Lynch said the tabloid size would be functional in Hong Kong as a large number of people read newspapers during their morning commute to work. On the editorial changes, he said: "It will become more up-market, we'll be bringing in new columnists and we will concentrate on stories that are important and relevant to our readers. That means adding context and depth to the news coverage." The redesign of both newspapers was conducted in-house. The SCMP's launch of the new look was accompanied by a DDB-created TVC, which played on the 'new is better than old' theme. McCann is also creating a TV campaign for Hong Kong iMail and that is expected to be aired by the end of the month.

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