AsiaOne celebrates one year of record growth

Pivoting to interactive and mobile-friendly digital content better serves the evolving needs of readers and advertisers.

SINGAPORE - AsiaOne, a leading entertainment and lifestyle news site in Asia, recently marked its first anniversary under a new joint ownership by mm2 Asia and Singapore Press Holdings, and accelerating its growth as a regional news portal. Between June 2018 and June 2019, AsiaOne has more than doubled its unique visitors, recording a 108 per cent increase, making it Singapore's fourth most popular news website. According to Comscore, site visits to the 24-year-old digital content portal have also increased to 1.2 million monthly as at June 2019.

Under the new ownership, AsiaOne has been focused on introducing more original lifestyle and entertainment content, particularly in video-based formats, which it has been serving through an enhanced omnichannel presence that grows its reach and supports better engagement with readers.

This shift in the site's content offering is underpinned by the brand's change in approach to news. By sourcing for content directly from social media conversations and trending topics in Singapore, Malaysia and the wider region, AsiaOne delivers compelling stories that matter to readers.

In tandem with the shift in content offering, AsiaOne expanded its presence on other social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, which has since quadrupled its social reach. This growth is supported by personality driven weekly video series that augment AsiaOne's original content slate as well as shape a more holistic cross-platform experience for readers. Mixed Entertainment and Lifestyle formats around food, retail and events also helped to expand AsiaOne into new audience segments.

Earlier this year, the platform revamped its Digital section to launch its all-new Tech, Games and Digital Culture team. Apart from trending tech news and product launches, the new vertical covers eSports and gaming culture with a community reporting approach as well as through multiple media partnerships with streaming channels and the upcoming Singapore Comic Con.

Additionally, AsiaOne counts a diverse group of blue chip companies as its commercial partners. These include the Ministry of Communications & Information (MCI), Ministry of Defence (Nexus), LandLease, CapitaLand Malls, Maybank Singapore, Singapore Pools, and Twitter.

This evolution in AsiaOne's ecosystem presents new opportunities for advertisers. In addition to display ads, AsiaOne can now deliver integrated digital marketing campaigns, with live and scripted content experiences that are tailored to its audience across different platforms. Brands on the AsiaOne platform are welcomed to explore multiple ways of amplifying their marketing campaigns, including branded content such as co-created articles, scripted and live videos, live event coverage and performance marketing initiatives.

Chang Long Jong, CEO, mm2 Asia said, "AsiaOne has had a stellar year of growth and we're excited for what's to come next. We're pioneers in the digital news space, and we'll continue to be at the forefront of industry change and disruption. More than just a news site, AsiaOne is fast transforming into a dynamic commercial content hub which provides engaging content for readers and innovative advertising solutions for advertisers."

In the year ahead, AsiaOne is set to step up its content offerings, with plans for expansion already in the pipelines. This includes creating more popular lifestyle content and features, as well as relevant and interactive digital editorial and video content. Readers and advertisers can also look forward to a refreshed user experience on the AsiaOne mobile and web sites in the months to come.