Malaysian daily the Malay Mail has sold 30,000 subscriptions on the strength of a unique offer which packages a phablet or smartphone with the paper and apps.
Currently readers – mostly in the country’s peninsula region – can buy a subscription for RM288 (under $100) and get an 8Gb Huawei Mediapad and a package of apps into the bargain. A 16Gb Galaxy Tab 3 is also available.
So successful has the Gr8 tablet project been, that a second phase is planned shortly.
Editor-in-chief Wong Sai Wan says the main objective was to capture younger readers and counter pressure from digital advertising: “The Gr8 project meets both objectives in one stroke,” he says.
The ‘opportunity window’ for a white label device bundled with content has become appealing as the costs of newsprint and physical newspaper delivery – especially in urban areas – have continued to rise, while the device cost has dropped significantly.
The Malay Mail plans to push 100,000 devices – including tablets, phablets and smartphones – in 12 months through a partnership with Huawei and Serioustec.
Devices from Huawei have ‘burned-in’ apps from project sponsors including e-bookstore Karangkraf, radio station durianFM and TGV Cinemas, while Samsung devices have them preloaded.
The devices also carry e-reader apps and newsfeeds for the English-language Malay Mail and Media Alliance partner publications including Hong Kong Chinese daily Oriental Daily, Malay (Bahasa) daily Sinar Harian and Tamil daily Makkal Osai. News also comes from Mail stablemate the Malaysian Reserve, also owned by the Redberry group.
John Fong of technology partner Serioustec says the success of the sponsor apps – which cannot be deleted – is key to the project: “I believe this is the first initiative of its kind,” he says. “So far, results have been very strong with more than 30,000 devices sold to date and a second phase is going to roll out soon.”
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