SPH, News Corp Australia to bring digital marketing service for SMEs to Singapore

SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) and News Corp Australia (NCA) have signed a three-year partnership to bring NCA's digital marketing service, News Xtend, to Singapore, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.

The partnership will expand mainboard-listed SPH's advertising network to include a one-stop, outcome-based digital marketing solution for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), they added.

Under the partnership, enterprises can sign up for digital marketing packages through an "affordable and cost-effective" monthly subscription model, SPH and NCA said.

Clients will have the option for their businesses to be marketed online, with the optimisation of marketing through channels including SPH digital assets, programmatic advertising, search engine marketing and social media advertising. They can also add on other SPH media assets to their subscription package. Digital performance metrics can be tracked easily in real-time through a customer dashboard.

"With News Xtend, businesses can achieve their desired business outcomes such as customer engagement, online sales and lead generation through Web and phone calls," SPH and NCA said.

SPH deputy chief executive Anthony Tan said News Xtend addresses a gap in the solutions available in the market today that will benefit SMEs. SPH chief commercial officer Ignatius Low added that the digital marketing service's subscription model allows clients to maximise budget efficiency.

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NCA managing director for commercial product and platforms Emma Fawcett said News Xtend selects the services and channels that deliver the "best and most cost-effective" outcomes for the customer.

NCA executive chairman Michael Miller added that News Xtend, which has won international accolades for its digital marketing and customer service, is one of NCA's fastest-growing businesses over the past five years. NCA is exporting its know-how by partnering another media company that has successfully transitioned to the digital landscape, he added.

Shares of SPH, which publishes The Business Times, were trading at S$1.06 as at 11am on Monday, up S$0.02 or 1.9 per cent.