Media+Headlines #05: Little Black Book of the Capital

What’s cooking in the Capital of Kuala Lumpur? Welcome to Issue #05 of Media+Headlines, our brand new article series focusing on the latest trends around media in Malaysia. This edition covers the new CapitalFM, Malaysian Tatler’s guide to Kuala Lumpur’s Who’s Who and the entry of Harian Metro’s magazine.

Capital FM tunes in to Women

In the middle of 2011, The Star Publications’ radio arm, Star RFM acquired 80% of Capital FM from its existing shareholder, Multimedia Distribution and Marketing. After a period of branding and repositioning, Capital FM emerged in December last year as a radio station tuned in to the needs of women. Calling itself Malaysia’s first women’s radio station, Capital FM 88.9 is targeted at the independent, urban woman aged 25-35 years old, living in the city.

Capital FM’s impressive line-up of DJs show how much it subscribes to its tagline – Effervescent comedienne Joanne Kam, former TV hostess Asha Gill, popular personality Xandria Ooi and TV personality/DJ Patricia K are among the DJs on air every day. The radio station is currently only available in the Klang Valley.

BRANDTHINK’s take: Capital FM is one of the few radio stations targeted towards a female demographic. With the growing female workforce in Malaysia, the radio station is bound to be a favorite among commuting office workers. As an advertising opportunity, it makes sense for campaigns that predominately targeted at women.

Tatler’s Society reveals the Little Black Book – 2012 Edition

The annual list of who’s who in Malaysia’s high society circuit has been released by Malaysia Tatler’s Society in their “The List Issue”. The brightest stars, socialites and personalities were discovered by Tatler Society through society events, parties and gatherings, along with some advice from trusted society stalwarts.

Almost 370 figures were chronicled in the Little Black Book, with most of them given at least one specialized award such as Most Invited, Style Icon or the Tatler Awardee. The personalities featured include Malaysian Rulers, CEOs, young entrepreneurs and political figures. The 2012 edition of the Little Black Book is presented by American Express.

BRANDTHINK’s take: The Little Black Book should be a handy guide for those in the PR agency and events industry looking to add glamour to their offerings, besides keeping tab on the wave-makers and influencers of the society.

Harian Metro to Spread its First Magazine

Malay daily Harian Metro is set to introduce a weekly magazine in its Sunday editions of Metro Ahad. The magazine, tentatively named Luminous, is angled as a condensed, lightweight lifestyle magazine for men and women alike.

To differentiate the magazine insert from the newspaper, Luminous will be staple-binded and its cover page and centre spread will be printed on 70gsm wood-free paper, giving it a different feel than the rest of the daily.

The special 24-page weekly insert is set to launch its first edition on 1st April 2012. Its editorials planned so far include a Hobby Column, a Relationship Column and a Bridal Column. The weekly features and highlight could revolve around Personalitiy stories.

BRANDTHINK’s take: Shorter, impactful editorials and visual-heavy publication similar to that of magazines are making its way to newspapers. The trend towards magazine-style publications in dailies could be an indication of change in reader’s preferences.

In that sense, Luminous is similar to English daily The Star’s Clove, which is a monthly publication focused on beauty and lifestyle for women. After a revamp a couple of years ago, Clove began to focus a little more on men’s lifestyle as well.

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Media+Headlines is a brand new series of articles on what’s happening in and around the media scene. Combining resources from our PR, advertising and media agency teams in Malaysia, we’ll be bringing you updates and analysis on the latest trends in publishing, editorial and events related to newspapers, magazines, television and other media in Malaysia.