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.
