BUSINESS TODAY Thailand: A New Business News and Content Platform Launched on O2O Strategy

Bangkok, Thailand – BUSINESS TODAY (BT) has been introduced and positioned as a major business news content player, mobilized by a strong editorial team of veteran journalists, Tech Startups, digital tools, and fully-fledged Online-To-Offline (O2O) strategy.

As a business content platform, BT offers the coverage of business and economic stories, in Thai, via multi-channels in digital, broadcast, social media, online, and in print formats. The new provider also plans to provide contents in English for online channels.

Business Today was initiated by Dr. Thanachai Theerapattanavong, Honorary Chairman of Media Expertise International (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (MEI) and veteran editors and journalists Adisak Limprungpattakij and Nha-Kran Loahavilai, joined by experienced business news journalists.

“For over 40 years I’ve worked with professional journalists from various media: newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. But never had I witnessed such drastic changes in the media industry as much as the current impact of digital disruption.

It’s a huge challenge for the mass media. Any media outlet, unable to adapt itself, will find it difficult to continue its business. This circumstance has forced many “professional journalists,” in newspapers, radio, and television, who are adhered to the profession and ethics, to lose their jobs,” said Dr. Thanachai, who also manages Nectar Co., Ltd., which runs Business Today under MEI.

The new business content platform aims to create a new “Media Ecosystem” to better serve consumers and business communities as Thailand is moving from “Thailand 4.0” towards the 5G development in a few years.

With the O2O strategy, BT’s content and operation are prepared for online and offline capabilities via the formats of being “on-print, on-ground, on-air, and on- demand” to ensure “Maximum Impact,” he added.

MEI’s editorial teams, led by new-generation top media executives Dr. Thitikorn Theerapattanavong and Kittikorn Theerapattanavong, who run Harper’s BAZAAR Magazine, Sawasdee Magazine (Thai Airways International’s inflight magazine), Hua Hin Today (an English-language monthly newspaper) and Myanmar Business Today (an English-language business weekly newspaper in Myanmar).Adisak Limprungpattakij, Chief Executive Officer at Business Today, said, BT is a business content platform that goes beyond being a media outlet. It embraces the concept of “Beyond Journalism”, which offers contents in all dimensions, for example, in the form of storytelling, which is driven by new digital tools such as Big Data and Social Listening via intensive and sophisticated Infographic Design.

BT’s core concept is Answering All Questions in the Business Community, he added.

“Big Data, creative design, and creative content will make the presentation more attractive, sophisticated, but easier to understand. We embrace iiAE (Insightful, Informative, Analysis, and Exclusive) for BT. Original contents are selected from analytical thinking to provide insights by experts, using Big Data and informative infographic presentation for exclusivity that is not available elsewhere,” said Adisak.

BT does not work alone but supported by more than 50 noted editors, journalists, columnists, content creators and storytellers as alliances from Tech Startups as well as influencers,” Adisak added.

Storytelling is key to the contents as it’s believed that every business has a story, distributed as text and video for online channels including websites; audio format for online and social media outlets and podcasts, in addition to animation, photo essay, Infographic presentation, and data visualization.

Nha-Kran Loahavilai, BT’s Editor in Chief, said, “The contents of Business Today are business contents catered as a must for the business communities especially in the disruption. The contents are divided into five groups as follows:

IT and Technology: Telecom, Network Infrastructure, Internet, Media, Social Media, Tech Startup, Computer, Mobile Phones, IoI (Internet of Things), Logistics, and Digital Transformation, etc.

Marketing and Corporates: Marketing strategies, Property, SMEs, Retail, Modern Trade, Lifestyle Business, and Hospitality Businesses such as hospitals, hotels, restaurants, healthcare, entertainment, etc.

Finance and Investment: Macro Economy, Banks, Stock Markets, Money Markets, Investment, Savings, Insurance, Personal Finance, Infrastructures, Mega Projects, etc.

World Business: International Trade, Stocks, Financial Markets of Superpower Countries, Global Companies, Global Platforms, and Global Tech Startups, etc.

Soft Content: Local and international contents regarding digital lifestyle of people in the businesses to feature their lives at work and after-work for a happy work-life balance.

Business Today is also joined by a Thai-language weekly newspaper: BLT (BEST-LIVING-TASTE) under MEI. The paper features lifestyle contents of urban people in Bangkok. As currently becoming a part of Business Today, BLT is growing its coverage to reach audiences across the country. BLT’s distribution will also be expanded in addition to be available at coffee shops, expressways, and office buildings, etc.

Nha-Kran added that in addition to BLT, Business Today has already teamed up with more than 50 noted journalist and content creators, such as
including Tawee Mee-ngern, Tossaporn Chokechaiphol, Nattapong Okapanom, Chakrapong Srisuntorn, Vitay Saeng-Aroon, Asia Parawasin, Kanokwan Maneesaengsakorn, Anchalee Payakkaso, Nares Laopanarai, Lakana Suriyong, and Sunanthavadee Uthayo, etc;

Business Today is also in partnership key business persons from Tech Startups and veteran digital, data, and marketing companies including Dr. Somkiat Chinthamit (WealthMagik), Dr. Asama Kulavanitchaiyanunt (Coraline), Pawoot Pongvittayapanu (Creden), Dr. Thanachat Noomnond (IMC), Dr. Udomtipok Phaikaset (Digital Business Consultant), Maliwan Dejaritt (Passage Thailand), etc.

Among influencers and business content creators are Pattanadech Asasappakij, Aroon Parirak, Pongsook “Nui” Siranyapruek #beartai, Naowarat Charoenprapin, and Dao Kansuchada Suwanakorn, and many others from various business communities.

Business Today in the form of a weekly newspaper will be available officially on September 9, 2019, and reach its audiences on Mondays. Early, the business content platform has been made available via www.businesstoday.co, social media channels, a television program on NewTV18 channel, and as a radio format at FM90.5 MHz for about a month.

For the media to overcome the threat of digital disruption, “Beyond Journalism” is key. It involves a membership model or a subscription model to combine an online presence of the media and print version to lessen their dependence on advertisement revenues and tradition media distribution channels and create new online formats.

“A major trend large media organizations in the United States and Europe are adjusting themselves by altering their business models to focus on a membership system or a subscription model with a better payment system, combined with highly effective logistics system, making their products to be delivered to consumers faster,” Adisak said.

Successful newspapers using a new business model are, such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, for example.

Business Today, as a business content platform, aims to upgrade the duty of independent media in the business content to go further than general media. BT’s vision is to become an institution of business media knowledge management. In the pipeline, BT also eyes to create a co-creation space with an area of over 700 square meters combined with a still image photo shooting studio to serve as a mini-convention and a stage for holding business gatherings and exchange knowledge for media people and business people.

Together with all of the services and plans, Business Today has designed its packages called business content service packages into:

Exclusive Annual Membership: Bt1,500 as a business service fee and a companion to business journey for 1) Business Today in print delivered directly to you for one year. Each is priced at 30 Baht or a total of 52 issues; 2) A membership to access information on BT’s website (worth BT1,200 and with the access for information insights such as data analysis for every quarter); 3) Free entrance to BT’s training courses for 30 hours.

VIP Membership: An assigned access to exclusive contents prior to the availability of its print version and read columnists’ articles and other content creators’ writings. More than 50 people are in the section or choose another option for 10 columns to read on the website. The members can also access full reports for analytical writings, exclusively available at Business Today only.

Basic Membership: An access to to BTs website for free of charge, except the columnists’ section and data analytics.

Business Today’s design in the print version is magazine-like or so-called newspaper creative design. BT is available only at bookstores in Modern Trade, Se-Ed, Nai-in, B2S, and through 7-11 shops located in office buildings, starting September 8, 2019.
The cover price is Bt30 and delivered directly to members on the same day. Office members will receive on Monday, September 9 onwards.