ONMEDIAONMEDIAONMEDIAONMEDIAONMEDIAONMEDIAONMEDIA December 2010 Newsletter

The Outdoor Lifestyle

Future Watch: The Outdoor Lifestyle

Have you ever noticed that there are an increasing numbers of Thai magazines specializing in traveling and dining. Also a lot of Thai newspaper and tabloid invented a section contributing to Traveling and Dining. More people go to the public parks for outdoor exercise and activities.

Why is that? Because health, wellbeing and the body beautiful have been moving to the very centre of consumers’ attention.

Growing numbers of consumers across the world are now able to enjoy paid holidays and a well-cartered for old age. And for many, this serves as an opportunity to get out and enjoy nature, or at least physical activity.

Source: Euromonitor International, 2010

Global consumer expenditure on tourism and leisure and recreation: 2004-2009

Source: Euromonitor International from trade source/OECD/national statistics

Future DirectionsOld and fit – A generation on the move

On yer bikesThe Allure of gardening

The over- 50s have discovered the joys of physical activity. Never has a generation benefited from such good nutrition, such outstanding educational opportunities and such wealth as the baby boomers and they are determined to guard their health by all means necessary. And they have money to spend. For example they invest in good outdoor clothing; in Europe now there is hardly a walker without the inevitable pair of Nordic walking sticks for enhancing exercise.

While gardening has always been a prerogative of ladies of a certain age, it is now becoming eco-fashionable. ‘Lohas’ consumers (green consumers living lifestyles of health and sustainability) love to garden, grow their own vegetables and blog about it. Gardening can be just for fun and, I would say, fashionable now as you may see a lot of vertical garden of Emporium and Siam Paragon.

Trail and mountain biking is turning into a tourist industry, with endless numbers of consumers of all ages from 6 to 60 crossing the Alps by bikes. And with the increasing number of cycle commuters, urban bike stations are popping up in many parts of the world. In Bangkok there is a company called Amazing Bangkok Cyclist (ABC), which promote Bangkok sight seeing biking tour and someone probably see people with foldable bikes in BTS

Future Directions (cont’)Splendor on the grass: Outdoor eating

Outdoor does not have to equal sport…but it usually doesNo need to stay indoors to be a nerd

It is one of the enduring mysteries how England, of all countries, has become the mother of the great picnic tradition. Other than picnic, cooking food on a barbecue is a more domestic cultural habit that has caught on everywhere in the world where people eat. Though those are not quite popular in Thailand, but we seem to enjoy eating in outdoor type of restaurant and coffee shop. Those type of restaurants with gardening/ outdoor setting popped up like mushroom in Thailand.

Now that with the Blackberry, the iPod and notebooks, even TV receivers, electronic media can be mobile, there is no need ever to be at home any more. We all have no doubt about that. However, there is a little homework left to do for Apple. In the chat forum macrumours.com, one contributor describes the iPad as having “one major flaw in that it is totally useless in direct sunlight…”

Trendwatching.com sees the powerful tandem of mass urbanization and mass experiences resulting in “an orgy of real world activities and happenings that are all about mingling; from countless cultural and not so cultural events, concerts, festivals, and seminars, to a burgeoning and truly global bar/dining/party scene. Hundred of pop festivals (think Music/Jazz festivals in Thailand) all over the world are getting young people to sleep in tents and snack in the grass. However, never has sport been more accessible to the general public, both passively through the media and actively in terms of participatory sports. Sport has become a unifying factor for consumer locally, nationally, and globally.

Point to Marketers

New business openings•Consumers love to live the outdoor lifestyle, given half a chance. Market for outdoor comfort to be explored – from furniture and gadgets to clothes.

•Sport has now become one of the most effective channels through which brands can extend their global reach and become visible to millions of viewers. One a level closer to the consumer, sports brands are the badges of youth culture, while older consumers are more attached to quality and are aware of price rather than a brand image.

•Outdoor and leisurewear have long become a style statement especially for young people. Meanwhile, it is becoming increasingly acceptable for older people to dress down in leisurewear too, thus demographics worldwide are supporting the leisure fashion industry.

•Competition is strong, it is important to innovate and be closer to your consumer group by following the myriad comments in media like consumer blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Be aware of changes in attitudes to nature; see what they read by checking non-fiction book rankings.

The new context•There is now growing public concern about nature in jeopardy. TV programs like the 2006 BBC series “Planet Earth” are public favorites. A distribution arm of the Disney Corporation dedicated to nature documentaries, Disneynature, released its second film, “Oceans,” on April the 22nd, Earth Day (the first, “Earth” was also released on Earth Day, last year).

•All over the globe, consumers seem to want to get closer to nature. They are also discovering that messing about outdoors can be fun. As Mark Twain put it: “Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

ONMEDIAONMEDIAONMEDIAONMEDIAONMEDIAONMEDIAONMEDIA Media market snapshot

Facilitate an outdoor lifestyle with the new and upcoming format, Digital Magazine

The US’s Digital Magazine April issue says what lies beneath this phenomenon are

• Generation shift in technology

• Proliferation of mobile devices

Magazine Format: Preference by Age

Source: The Survival Of Magazines In The Digital Age, Feb 2010

It’s so popular because

.Content is tailored to be short & precise

.Attractive photos and VDOs

.Gimmick on interactive functions

Source: Prachachart Turakij, 28 Nov 2010

The future has just begun!

1. designed to compete for the attention of online readers, not print readers

2. designed for easy interaction between readers and the magazine, not just for one-way content delivery

3. contained ads that readers can interact with

Most digital magazines today are simply digital replicas of print magazines. However, interactive digital magazines in the future will be entirely different. They are…

Source: The Case for Advertising in Interactive Digital Magazines, April 2010

What happened here in Thailand?With the official launch of the iPad in Thailand comes at least a dozen Thai magazines coming out with e-versions. The apps themselves are free to download. But then there is a shop where you can buy individual magazines or subscribe. Below just for example…

Ideas on what to do and cost

For more detail, please contact our magazine specialists