SPH partners Google on joint business plan for 2020

Singapore

MEDIA and property group Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) on Thursday announced the launch of a "wide-ranging" joint business plan with Google for this year, covering three main pillars: growing digital advertising revenue, driving the search for subscription audiences in new platforms, as well as developing SPH's digital video content business.

On the digital advertising front, SPH and Google will boost the programmatic ecosystem and expand advertisers' budget on programmatic direct. Programmatic direct is a way to automate direct ad buys for set campaigns, which means there is a direct deal between sellers and buyers that eliminates the need for ad exchange parties.

As for subscriptions, both companies will work on "reducing churn and friction with Google and experiment the delivery of innovative news experiences through video and audio content", SPH said.

In addition, they will collaborate in the areas of talent and innovation-culture building, as well as industry thought leadership, through training provided by Google which includes design-thinking training and certifications.

SPH, which publishes The Business Times, said it has had a long-standing collaborative relationship with Google. For instance, since the launch of Google Nest Hub last year, users have been able to get audio and video news feeds from BT and The Straits Times.

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SPH has also implemented enterprise analytics tool Google Analytics 360 which tracks users' behaviour across multiple channels such as apps and websites.

Anthony Tan, deputy chief executive officer of SPH, said: "The Covid-19 crisis has brought on new challenges and will require us to adapt to new business and audience requirements and expectations." The joint business plan reflects the commitment of SPH and Google to deepen their collaboration in identified areas of mutual interests.

"Besides potential positive business outcomes, a transforming SPH will stand to benefit from enhanced technology and product innovation capabilities through working with Google. This will further strengthen the sustainability of the digital advertising and news publishing ecosystem where both companies are key stakeholders," Mr Tan added.

Shares in SPH closed at S$1.48 on Thursday, down 0.67 per cent.