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 Re-designed
AsiaOne offers more lifestyle content, interactive features and greater
usability – to help readers stay ahead
Singapore, 26 September 2006 – Undecided about where
to go for a spa holiday, which mobile phone to buy or where to take
your date for a romantic dinner? Considering which car or wine cooler
best suits your image or your needs? Or looking for advice on how
to upgrade your skills to get ahead in your job?
Look no further than the new AsiaOne, Singapore Press Holdings’
award-winning news and lifestyle portal, which has sharpened its
focus on providing the information you need to get ahead and stay
ahead in life.
Be the one who leads by using the rich database of text and tips,
picture galleries and vodcasts, polls and forums, from the wider
selection of sources AsiaOne now taps. This includes the group’s
14 newspapers, over 80 magazines, wire agencies, staff and you –
our readers. And you get all this – for FREE – at your
finger tips.
Besides offering a re-designed, easier-to-use navigational system,
AsiaOne also comes with a commitment to make you a part of the creation
and delivery process rather than a mere consumer of our outpourings.
Every report comes with a space for your comments. Every section
has a poll. Every click on a page contributes to a ranking of the
stories so that you can see, at a glance, what is the most-read
item.
The main changes – across all 10 sections - are aimed at giving
info-seekers and busy professionals more data and analyses to help
you with your jobs and careers; your relationships with family and
friends; and your pursuit of leisure activities. That is, improving
all aspects of your life.
AsiaOne (www.asiaone.com)
will be re-launched on Thursday, September 28, 2006. It is
moving from a portal primarily driven by information consumption
to a more interactive model.
AsiaOne, which currently enjoys monthly page views of 100 million
and 6 million unique visitors, was last revamped in March 2005.
On the need to refresh AsiaOne and add more depth and breath to
its content, its Editor, Irene Ngoo, said: “With the rapid
changes in the digital world, we have to adopt new technologies
and functionalities to keep pace in order to remain relevant to
our readers, who are becoming more discerning and demanding, and
want news and infotainment to be delivered in a faster and more
interesting way, whether they’re at home or on the move.
“Readers are no longer happy to just take what you give them.
They want to give back, share, interact, converse and help shape
the content. It’s a two-way process, not one-way.
”We also want to maximise use of the rich store of materials
which SPH’s publications and multi-media platforms produce
daily, and also dip into its treasure trove of archived stories
to beef up AsiaOne’s content.
”With the new design and enhanced content, giving greater
variety and coverage of a wider range of lifestyle topics, advertisers
will find it even more attractive to come to AsiaOne to reach out
to the right audience for their marketing campaigns and promotional
messages.“
Among those which have taken advantage of the new AsiaOne are DaimlerChrysler,
promoting its Mercedes Benz E-class, Zuji travel portal and DBS
Bank for its i-banking and auto insurance and loans products.
AsiaOne’s Supervising Editor Paul Jansen said: “The improvements
we have made prior to these changes were well received and resulted
in very high page views and unique visitors as well as awards. Building
on users’ suggestions and learning from any criticism, we have
produced this new AsiaOne, a revitalised site, which we hope will
be even more popular among readers and advertisers.”
The re-designed AsiaOne is brighter, with colour-coded sections
to identify the three broad sections – Work, Live and Play.
Each section will have user facilities, such as calculator and
search tools. For example, the Health microsite carries a calorie
counter to help readers work out the calorie intake of their meal
– and how much exercise they must do to burn off the extra
fat.
In the Digital site, besides product reviews on the latest tech
gadgets and home appliances, there will be a virtual home to help
readers see how the products fit into their living room or bedroom.
Within each section are many smaller sections, and new sub-sections.
For instance, in the Business section, there are three sub-sections
– Office, SME Central and My Money, which deals with personal
finance. The Wine & Dine section has been expanded to include
“Unwind”, which covers arts, entertainment, leisure and
gardening.
With a fresh, keen team of content producers and web designers
and web masters, AsiaOne is building on its strength to seek, select,
package and deliver news and infotainment in a more relevant and
meaningful way to its target audience, giving them premium content
the best display on the web.
The revamp of AsiaOne underlines the determination with which Singapore
Press Holdings wants to build the online platform as a complement
to its premier print publications to enhance and enrich reader experience,
and make it the website of choice for the discerning.
What’s in store for readers in the new-look AsiaOne:
- AsiaOne Motoring
If it’s got wheels and an engine, we’ve got it. This
site has been revved up with a new, sexier design and exciting
new offerings to pump up any car lover’s RPMs. Readers can
get the latest COE prices, useful tools like financial calculators,
new car launches and accessories, reviews (more than 200 of them!)
and join a discussion board for the motoring community.
- AsiaOne Wine, Dine & Unwind
Packed with over 200 restaurant, food and wine reviews, readers’
picks and recipes, this section is dedicated to Singaporeans’
favourite pastime.
The large database of stories going back more than two years,
is organised by location and cuisine type for easy navigation
- from a quick guide to the buffet places in town to dining in
the park. There is a recipe for any occasion.
What’s more, readers can also turn food critic and send in
their reviews.
- AsiaOne Travel
You don’t have to cross the globe to travel. This site, with
some 250 reviews of holiday destinations and places of interest
in over 50 countries, keeps you informed about the latest developments
in the travel world, new services and routes, and susses out the
popular and less trodden tourist trails, as well as lists where
to eat, stay and visit.
Readers can also share their travel experience by sending in travelogues,
holiday snaps, tips and recommendations. There are also useful
search tools for planning a vacation.
- AsiaOne Business
Make it your business to know, grow and seize opportunity. This
section carries more than 100 articles, ranging from one-on-one
interviews with captains of industry to up-and-coming entrepreneurs,
features on career advancement, and commentaries from industry
experts, to help you plan and develop your investment choices
and pursue your career.
Besides Investor Relations, for Singapore companies which want
to reach out to their shareholders and investors in a fast and
cost-effective way, and Office, which covers career and employment
matters, two new sections have been added to this site.
They are SME Central and My Money, a personal finance sub-section.
Among other things, readers can send in questions on business-related
issues which will be answered by industry professionals. There
will be interviews with people from vastly different experiences
and background and a listing of books for leisure reading and
self-improvement.
- AsiaOne Digital
You don’t have to be a geek to know what’s going on
in the digital world. This is your easy, one-stop guide to advances
in technology, from the simple vacuum cleaner for your living
room to the home computer in your study or the printer for your
SoHo.
Look out for the Interactive Home, which allows users to check
out the specs of the latest digital gizmo and home electronic
gadgets in a fun way. Readers can also see how these fit into
a living room, office, bedroom or kitchen.
- AsiaOne Just Woman
The site for everything a woman needs to know.
Apart from fashion and beauty tips galore, the latest and hottest
trends in the fashion world, there are also a site for new and
young mums, and a mummy’s blog on how she’s juggling
work and motherhood, a gallery for parents to post photos of their
cuties and sweeties, and easy-to-follow fitness workouts.
- AsiaOne Health
Get a heads-up on the latest health and medical front. We bring
you the latest health issues, medical breakthroughs, and wellness
trends.
Use the calorie counter which will tell you how those portions
you consumed during lunch are going to impact on your body.
- AsiaOne Multimedia
Pictures speak a thousand words.
There will be more podcasts, vodcasts and photo galleries. Viewers
can watch AsiaOne video clips on demand across a broad range of
news and lifestyle topics.
Specials will include community-based programmes and coverage
on special interest groups activities, such as hobbies clubs and
communities.
Be the one who’s a step ahead by being the first to check
out the new-look AsiaOne.
Issued by Singapore Press Holdings
Co. Regn. No: 198402868E
For more information, please contact:
Irene Ngoo
Editor, AsiaOne
DID: 6319 1066
Email: ingoo@sph.com.sg
About Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Main board listed Singapore Press Holdings Limited is the leading
media company in Singapore, in the print, Internet and broadcasting
platforms. It publishes 14 newspapers in the four official languages,
including Singapore's first free Chinese newspaper, My Paper, and
over 80 magazine titles. Everyday, 2.7 million individuals, or 83
per cent of the people above 15 years old, read one of the SPH publications.
Its Internet Business Unit manages the online editions of SPH's
major newspapers, which enjoy over 100 million pageviews from 6
million unique visitors every month. More recent online additions
are the classified website, ST701, and STOMP (Straits Times Online
Mobile Print), a portal that connects, engages and interacts with
readers on the Internet and via mobile messaging.
SPH owns and operates Paragon, the prime shopping and office building
in the heart of Orchard Road. Paragon features international brands
and luxury goods, restaurants serving wide-ranging cuisines and
lifestyle facilities such as spas and a fitness club.
SPH also owns a 20% stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which
operates free-to-air channels 5, 8, U and TV Mobile, and a 40% stake
in MediaCorp Press Pte Ltd, which publishes free sheet Today. SPH
has a 70% stake in SPH UnionWorks, which operates two entertainment
radio channels, Radio 100.3 in Chinese and Radio 91.3 in English.
In addition, SPH holds an 80% stake in SPH MediaBoxOffice Pte Ltd,
Singapore’s largest LED network media company, and a 35% stake
in TOM Outdoor Media Group, a leading outdoor advertising company
in China.
About AsiaOne
AsiaOne is a free-access, one-stop information mall which serves
users’ news, business and lifestyle needs. Within the all-encompassing
portal are unique communities where users congregate online for
their various interests. Besides accessing news and infotainment
from Singapore Press Holdings’ (SPH) suite of newspapers, AsiaOne
users can engage in special interest sites which cover finance,
motoring, technology, health and various lifestyle topics.
Every month, the AsiaOne homepage and its various microsites enjoy
100 million pageviews from 6 million unique visitors. Online advertising
and interactive marketing opportunities at AsiaOne include: banner
advertising, mobile advertising, electronic direct mailer, viral
marketing gateway, sponsorship and these can be integrated with
SPH’s other media platforms.
AsiaOne connects marketers to a desirable demographic that represents
the cream of online audiences.
For more information, please visit www.asiaone.com.sg
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