Freshly Brewed Story Every Morning

SCMP Morning Studio draws upon the publisher’s resources to forge new paths in storytelling.

For more than 116 years, the South China Morning Post (SCMP), a leading global media company headquartered in Hong Kong, has been the authoritative and trusted source for information for news consumers around the world. In 2018, a dedicated creative unit, Morning Studio, was incorporated to reach out to an even wider audience providing a full toolbox of offerings, including custom publishing, event curation and content solutions.

“Morning Studio was created to tell your brand’s stories,” explained Karrie Lam, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Solutions at SCMP. “It lives in the pulse of SCMP — we were born to be a content creator. Our vision is to translate Asia to the rest of the world. The brand stories we create will reach millions of global readers through SCMP.com by the same delivery, insight and artificial intelligence (AI) powered distribution that you would expect from SCMP.”

In less than a year since its inception, Morning Studio has garnered top talent from international news organisations and publishers, including world class journalists, storytelling experts, brand strategists, multimedia designers, and audio and visual specialists. As a vibrant city that embraces different cultures and creativity, Hong Kong is a magnet for talent from every corner of the globe. “With Hong Kong as the headquarters of SCMP, we are proud to have incorporated this award-winning group to pioneer the next frontier,” said Lam.

Audience Engagement is the Key

She sees a seismic shift in how content is created and consumed as audiences increasingly gravitate towards digital platforms that allow them to easily manage their information consumption. “Engagement becomes a very important key performance indicator,” noted Lam. “Media companies now invest in developing engaging videos, infographics and animation, as well as AI and search engine optimisation for better distribution. We can see how many people are reading a story at a given time, how long they stay on a page and where they navigate to next. Digital publishing also allows the media company to respond in real time.”

Lam believes that as Morning Studio evolves, it will expand by building stronger communities through thought leadership programmes. “Morning Studio MasterClass is one of the best examples showcasing our commitment to offer insights, trends and best practices across different topics,” she explained. “These include engaging online videos, effective content distributions as well as a cautious commitment to captivate Gen Z audiences.”

She looks to InvestHK to help global and regional marketers understand that SCMP has progressed beyond a traditional publishing house through its publicity support, networking events and resource of potential suppliers. “We are a media tech company that combines quality content, audience data and insights to deliver the best marketing performance for brands,” Lam stated.