Publicitas edges out rivals to buy Time's Emphasis

HONG KONG: Publicitas Promotion Network has scooped up Emphasis Custom Media (ECM), beating about four other international contenders, which is believed to have included communications giant WPP. The purchase will allow the Swiss-based global advertising sales company to make its first foray into the contract publishing business. Following the purchase, Publicitas Asia chief executive Barrie Goodridge will take over from ECM managing director Jonathan Kiehnau as acting managing director. Kiehnau is returning to AOL Time Warner in New York. ECM is the region's largest publisher of custom magazines for leading Asian airlines such as Cathay Pacific's Discovery, Thai Airways' Sawasdee, China Airlines' Dynasty and Korean Air's Morning Calm. ECM has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time since 1998, but the publishing group decided to offload it to concentrate on its core business of magazine publishing. Despite the sale, Time, however, insisted that ECM's business model remained viable. Goodridge said: "Airlines are increasingly looking at turnkey solutions in publishing, video production and advertising. The strategy of acquiring ECM is, therefore, to get the expertise." Publicitas will soon be opening Emphasis offices in London, Paris and New York.

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