Since launching China’s largest out-of-home (OOH) TV network with a miniscule in-building presence in 2003, Jiang has relentlessly driven the company to the top of the field while pushing sideways into new media spaces through acquisition and organic growth. Now, with the company boasting almost US$5 billion worth of stock on the US-based Nasdaq, Focus has established itself as one of the mainland’s leading media conglomerates, and it’s not showing any signs of easing up.
“He’s done very well. He’s an extremely savvy businessman who knows how to get things done in China, and he runs circles around his competitors, both local and global,” observes one source who declined to be named.
It is fairly obvious, then, that the 34-year-old chairman and CEO finds little time to indulge himself away from the office. So, for a man that reputedly puts in up to 18 to 20 hours a day at work, it is surprising that when he does find time to finally put his feet up, he finds himself, you guessed it, working.
“My leisure time is very poor,” he notes. “Reading and having foot massages are my main pastimes. The former lets me obtain knowledge with quietness and happiness and the latter is helpful to my health. At the same time as having foot massages, though, I can do a lot of things like mini-meetings, interviews, phone calls and so forth.”
Jiang’s company now boasts more than 90,000 display units in commercial locations, 41,000 in in-store locations, 125,000 poster frames along with 200 outdoor LED displays in Shanghai.
In February this year, Focus Media bought out China’s largest online advertising company, Allyes, and in March last year, it acquired mobile and wireless company Dotad Media, renaming it Focus Wireless.
Cash-laden investors are flocking to his side, thanks to global recognition from an impressive line-up of titles. In March this year, it was named one of the top 10 listed companies by BusinessWeek and in January, it was rated by Forbes as the number one in its highly-regarded ‘China Potential 100’ index.
But Jiang admits running a conglomerate has its challenges. Earlier this month, its share price hit an all-time high of more than US$51, only to see it plunge back down to US$44 at Media’s presstime, courtesy of a delayed filing of financial statements. Despite the setback though, Focus’ cumulative year-to-date figures show a valuation increase of almost 33 per cent.
“Running a company is tough. We face different kinds of problems and we do our best to conquer those difficulties each day, and we try and plan for the future,” he says.
Although Jiang coyly avoids giving a direct answer to the issue of whether or not the company’s surging value is sustainable, at least one media analyst has his doubts.
“As any company gets bigger, it tends to slow down. You’ll see sustained growth for another year or so, but the rate will drop off eventually,” says William Bao Bean, partner, Softbank China and India.
But Jiang remains optimistic. Prior to founding Focus, he spent more than a decade in the advertising industry, eventually as general manager of a local advertising agency with a strong presence in online, so he’s confident that moving up the value chain was the right decision.
“In 2001, like other advertising agencies, we ran into a big problem because of the dotcom bubble. We had to put in so much more effort to maintain the same level of profit, and the difficulties we faced made me re-evaluate the agency model,” he explains.
“Ad agencies are downstream — they’re paying more for resources, but profit margins are low and the business is not that stable. As a media owner, things are very different. You’re upstream, so you have many more opportunities. Advertisers need more accurate communication platforms and channels to communicate their message directly to their target consumers,” notes Jiang.
With the Olympics around the corner — relatively speaking — Jiang says Focus is well-placed to capitalise on increasing advertiser spend, particularly in Beijing, where a host of regulations aimed at cleaning up the clutter and protecting Games sponsors’ rights are expected to be announced by year’s end.
Most observers note that while the regulations will make life difficult for traditional OOH players, Focus is happily sitting in a grey area, and so stands to benefit from cashed-up brands eager to cash in on the Games. It’s that expectation of booming growth on the mainland which is likely to keep Jiang up into the night for the foreseeable future, but it appears he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Jason Jiang's CV...
2003 CEO, Focus Media China
1995 General manager, Yongyi Advertising