Investor Central: several thousand viewers on MSN

Our multi-pronged approach to syndication is paying off.

The latest statistics we have from MSN show that our site attracts on average 2,000 hits a month in Singapore alone. We’re very pleased with these statistics because:

1. It demonstrates there is clearly a market for ‘investor news’ content despite the turmoil in the financial markets


2. We’ve had a dedicated page on MSN for only three months


3. Our videos about selected Singapore stocks are designed for a small, tightly focused market


4. We can syndicate the MSN page through a variety of portals, allowing anyone with a website to immediately carry our content

We have dedicated sites on MSN Video for Singapore and Malaysia, although our agreement covers all of Southeast Asia and once we start producing content for the other Southeast Asian markets will likely be added.

At the same time, the viewers we are gathering on MSN is just part of our audience. I’ve been preaching to whoever’s been willing to listen that the days of “OR” are long over. It’s a learning curve some of our corporate clients are yet to climb.

In essence, it means we are no longer just talking about syndicating content through one channel or another (hence, “or”). It’s about syndicating through one channel and another. And another. And another.

Consumers make the choice which portal they want to watch through.

Similarly, language. It’s not a matter of program producers deciding whether to use English or Mandarin or Arabic as their language of communication. But produce it in English and Mandarin and Arabic, and allow the consumer to choose.

People in the Web 2.0 business refer to this phenomenon as “self-programming”.

The more self-programming options you give your viewers, the sooner you’ll serve them better and the quicker you’ll get to understand their preferences.

As always, I’m available for further discussion.

Best regards
Mark Laudi
Managing Director
Hong Bao Media (Holdings) Pte Ltd

Investor Central Malaysia launched

I'm pleased to advise Investor Central has been successfully launched in Malaysia, focusing on Bursa Malaysia-listed stocks.

Our program is being carried by DiGi’s and Maxis’ mobile TV channels, as part of their existing news channels. This is excellent exposure for us, because we are able to tap into the existing viewing audience.

The program is updated marketdaily.

Subscribers pay a flat monthly fee per channel or bundle of channels. But they do not pay datacharges.

We are producing fresh BottomFishing and SecondOpinion reports on Malaysian stocks, which allow retail investors to get access to investment opportunities without all the jargon or one-sided analysts’ opinions.

These content items will also be available individually to our subscribers of our soon-to-be-launched Malaysia-specific website http://my.investorcentral.org.

Our focus has been on-demand content for some time, where the viewer has control over what s/he watches and when.

But news is a double-sided coin: many people go in search of specific information. They want to zero in very quickly to the content they are interested in. But many others are news browsers, who want to “discover” what is currently making the news.

By producing both a linear program and on-demand, viewers have a choice. I’m eagerly awaiting the first viewership stats, so we can see which option viewers are more likely to take.

After more than two years since I left CNBC, it’s been an interesting experience to get back into producing and presenting a linear program. All the rigidities of a program, and the question which is never answered until the show is over of “what’s next?”.

Please contact me for a sample program.


Best regards

Mark Laudi
Managing Director
Hong Bao Media (Holdings) Pte Ltd
mark.laudi@hongbaomedia.com

Raoul Sponsorship For Investor Central

Hong Bao Media (Holdings) Pte Ltd is pleased to announce Investor Central-branded Singapore equities market content is now being sponsored by the fashionable clothing brand, Raoul.

Following the successful launch of our content on the outdoor video billboards in McDonald's and Delifrance Restaurants in Singapore, FJ Benjamin agreed to supply shirts and ties to our on-camera presenters. In return, the Raoul name will be featured on-screen during the video presentation.

The Raoul name will also be seen on our online and mobile content.

It's apparent FJ Benjamin sees the value in our delivery channels and our content to promote its very successful Raoul brand.

There are more opportunities for you to sponsor our existing content on these screens, or for us to create specific content which you can sponsor.

For more information, or to discuss how this development can help you, please email me or call me on +65 6223 2249 or +65 9017 3534.

Best regards

Mark Laudi
Managing Director
Hong Bao Media (Holdings) Pte Ltd

Investor Central Now In McDonald's & Delifrance Restaurants

Hong Bao Media (Holdings) Pte Ltd is pleased to announce we will be delivering our Investor Central-branded Singapore equities market content to diners in McDonald's and Delifrance restaurants in Singapore, starting December 1, 2007.

These restaurants are frequented by hundreds of thousands of people a week, with half Singapore's population visiting at least one of them every month. We have some specific reach figures which we can share with you.

There are 160 television screens positioned in prominent places in dining areas in these restaurants, as well as the ferry terminals at HarbourFront and Tanah Merah.

We are supplying our existing content to these screens, but there are also additional spin-offs which we are going to exploit: bluetooth delivery of content to restaurant goers, and promoting an SMS delivery option, which will allow restaurant goers to bookmark our content on their handphones for reference when they are out of the restaurant.

By screening our content on outdoor video billboards such as these we are proving the scalability of the content we produce – online, mobile, outdoor and others.

There are opportunities for you to sponsor our existing content on these screens, or for us to create specific content which you can sponsor.

The company which operates the screens also manages McDonald's popular loyalty program.

For more information, or to discuss how this development can help you, please email me or call me on +65 6223 2249 or +65 9017 3534.

Best regards

Mark Laudi
Managing Director
Hong Bao Media (Holdings) Pte Ltd

Investor Central Going Live on SingTel 3GTV

Hong Bao Media (Holdings) Pte Ltd is pleased to announce our Investor Central-branded Singapore equities news content is going live on the SingTel 3GTV mobile content portal from October 1, 2007.

Critically, we have been informed we are replacing CNBC's reports.

This is an important development for us. We have been live on the StarHub i-mode portal since November 2005 and on the MobileOne miworld portal since October 2006. Adding SingTel, with its top market share of 38% and average revenue per user (ARPU) of S$ is an important milestone for us.

Significantly, our content will also be part of the IDEAS News Pack, a bundled monthly subscription costing S$5 with no data charges for accessing the content.

Being on-portal – that is, part of the official content portals of the telcos – is also a credibility booster.

We didn't seek to replace CNBC, but it appears that we have anyway. We see this as an endorsement of our locally-relevant and actionable reports, which will also boost the Investor Central brand.

To access our content, go to the IDEAS WAP portal on your SingTel mobile phone, then click "News & Finance" > "Finance" > "Financial News".

For more information, or to discuss how this development can help you, please email me or call me on +65 6223 2249 or +65 9017 3534.

Best regards

Mark Laudi
Managing Director
Hong Bao Media (Holdings) Pte Ltd