2001 had been a bad year. The shock of the September 11 terrorist action in the US had global ramifications and made a bad year even worse.
But coming into 2002, things were definitely looking brighter. There were signs in the US that the economic downturn was relatively short-lived and that was good news for many of Asia's export-based economies. Ad budgets, which had been tight to begin with in 2001 and then largely cut at the end of the year, would, hopefully, return.
The real boom-days for the Asian media scene of course were pre-August 1997, before the Asian economic crisis. Foreign companies were pouring investment into Asia's overheated economies and local companies saw only growth ahead of them. Overspending, heavy investment and speculation were par for the course. Advertising agencies expanded and media owners gleefully saw their revenues grow.
But it could not last and as the Asian countries came to terms with the reality, advertising budgets rapidly declined. There was some respite with the internet and technology boom but this bubble did burst soon after.
So where does this leave us? The US recovery has yet to happen, Japan continues to struggle and there is very real concern over possible military action in Iraq. Advertisers don't like uncertainty. Budgets are cut or put on hold and what activities do take place are often in the form of below-the-line promotions.
For regional media, in particular, this has been a tough time with recent years seeing the closure of a number of titles including Asia Magazine, World Executive Digest, Asia Times and more recently Asiaweek and Asian Business.
As is often the case in difficult times, only the fittest survive. Publishers have to work harder on all aspects of our business. We need to have a greater understanding of our customers and make our magazines and newspapers more important to them than ever before. For some titles this may mean re-invention for others evolution. Being in-touch with our readers can then enable us, if we're smart, to put together meaningful programmes for clients. We will need to work even closer with agencies to understand how we can make an idea generate business and a measurable return.
At Reader's Digest, we have been undergoing this product evolution for some time and we continually look to leverage resources to bring more effectiveness to advertising promotions. And guess what - it is still not enough. As the regional advertising pie has declined we have turned to the much bigger, local advertising pie in each of our core markets.
Looking for new areas of revenue, whether it be new geographies, new categories or different elements of marketing budgets has to become an essential part of our normal operations.
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? I fear for those publishers willing to wait for the light to appear. Reality is that we will probably have to dig our way out.
