BEIJING, April 24 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- "TOWONA maintained a strong growth in the first quarter of 2009, even when many other media counterparts are suffering from the downturn. The company achieved a growth of around 20% from last year, and regional accounts increased by 50%," said Mr. Gareth Chang, Chairman and CEO of TOWONA Media Holding Company Ltd., an operator of bus mobile TVs. "With the consolidation of our media resources, the company is now operating more efficiently and cost is effectively controlled. This high-quality media platform is attracting more and more customers to place advertisements, and many enterprises have signed strategic cooperative contracts with us." Meanwhile, related sources reveals that the company had acquired new PE investment in April 2009 so as to support the company and to consider new acquisitions.
Since its establishment in 2003, TOWONA has evolved from a local bus Mobile TV operator to a national player. The company now operates a network in over 30 cities including 24 subsidiaries, many of which with exclusive media rights, plus distributorships in 10 cities. In 2008, TOWONA appointed Mr. Gareth Chang, an international media expert, as Chairman and CEO. Mr. Chang initiated changes in business strategy, solidified media resources, and improved the quality of the management team, resulting in greater overall company performance. The company grew by 100% in 2008 from previous year, and the number of customers topped the industry. In 2009, despite the domestic economic slowdown and tightened enterprise budgets on advertisement, the company set a growth objective of 100%. This high goal definitely helps to boost employee's morale and shareholders' confidence.
When speaking of the company's development, Mr. Chang pointed out that "on one hand, TOWONA has abandoned the old strategy to avoid irrational expansion and consolidated media resources to ensure the company's future growth; while on the other hand, the company should grasp the opportunity offered by this new media boom, and appropriately adjust the company's organization in accordance to its business strategy, focusing on strengthening our efforts in sales and marketing, especially in the development of national accounts. The accomplishment in the first quarter of 2009 has proven that the measures taken by the company are effective, becoming a bright spot in the advertising industry. As a result, TOWONA gained better recognition from its customers for excellent service quality and media value, at the same time securing additional capital injection through gaining investor's confidence." Mr. Chang further asserts that "with the company having a clear understanding of the mobile TV sector and outdoor media, we will choose the appropriate time to lead the common synergistic growth through the consolidation of the industry."
Moreover, in response to the rumors of industry integration in the sector, Mr. Chang says, "Chinese media, especially new media, have entered a reshuffling phase after the booming development in previous years. However, TOWONA will continue to play the leading role, actively searching for the right target to enhance our strength." He also adds that "the mobile TV is a public oriented media, it can sustain at a single point in a single location, and it does not require a national network for its subsistence. However, such a national network is a necessary condition for the media to improve performance and to realize higher valuation. Therefore, there will be great challenges during this consolidation process."
"If Focus Media can integrate into SINA, nothing is impossible," he added.
On the issue of the recent financial crisis, Mr. Gareth Chang noted, "The financial crisis can also be an opportunity, and we should grasp the opportunity. While clients reduce their advertising budgets, they are normally unwilling to reduce the size of audience, and thus shifting their attentions to less expansive and more effective media, adopting a more pragmatic strategy. Comparing with traditional media, Mobile TV has a better performance/price ratio, and this is our strategy for subsistence and development, and crisis management. It is a fact that Mobile TV sector has grown under this financial crisis, and is expected to continue growing in the future. Of course, we must remain careful, and take more flexible measures so as to effectively keep the media cost and operating cost at a low level while improving relationships with customers. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is actively implementing economic stimulus plans such as increasing domestic demands and investments, and the tier-2 and tier-3 cities' economy is expected to boost, which greatly matches the resource distribution of TOWONA, and provides powerful foundations for our future performance growth. We hope that the Chinese economy will turn around before the end of 2009, and TOWONA will have a head start in the spring of 2010."
