By Flora Chio
In the 21st century, there is an inseparable connection between “Generation Y" and “Technology". People get used to reading news “online" or via “apps", as it is more convenient, cheaper and paper-free. The newspaper industry is believed to decline. However, on the contrary, the first free tabloid Exmoo, was launched first as a weekly in Macao last year. It seems that Exmoo goes in a reverse direction, and the reason behind it is puzzling.
In Hong Kong, the free newspaper market has dominated for 10 years, featuring a total of six free newspapers. Metropolis Daily was first launched in April 2002, followed by Headline Daily, am730, Sky Post and Sharp Daily. Besides, The Standard became a free newspaper from 2007. It is now Hong Kong’s first and only free English newspaper. Overall, hundreds of thousands of copies are circulated each day. Those tabloids are very popular as the content is said to be creative, entertaining and somewhat objective. The penetration rate is rather high, it’s like a “must-read" item everyday for Hong Kong people as it is so easy to grab one.
Frank Ng, marketing director of Central International Communication Company Limited (CICC), emphasized, “We aim to issue a newspaper that is really for Macao citizens," other than stories just covering local associations and general local news. He added, “Exmoo reports on topics that are close to people’s livelihood, and truly voices out for citizens." Usually the newspaper carries feature stories which explore the details of events.
“Exmoo is ‘free’ so that everyone can get access to it," said Ng. Especially for elder people, most of them don’t have electronic devices. They are used to buying newspapers, watching television, or listening to the radio news and information, rather than searching on the computer or through the smartphone. Exmoo targets at all Macao citizens, and launching only online would be limited to a specific range of readers. In addition, not all of them are willing to pay for it, but as it’s free, everyone is willing to get it, and read it. This “free" tabloid would cover larger and more diverse age groups, holding up the spirit of serving society, said Ng.
The tabloid has distinctive content. Although there are just 32 pages, it is dedicated to different big and small issues in Macao, in various aspects. All-round sections cover not only local news and international news, but also about health and fashion. Features introduce new shops, entertainment or travel information in Macao. With the support and encouragement from Macao citizens, Exmoo successfully developed into a daily post, distributed in all weekdays. “We are proud of this accomplishment and our mission has been achieved," Ng said. “In the future, we hoped to report the news but at the same time reflect opinions and wishes from people."
Exmoo is operated by CICC which was established in 2011, aiming to perform an “omnibearing multimedia platform", through publications and online platform across Macao, Hong Kong, and mainland China. It is the first tourism, hospitality and media enterprise in Macao. Besides Exmoo, there are other subsidiary publications including magazines “e-travellers" and information sites “youaomen" and “uocar" for travellers. The company handquaters is in Macao, and has branches in Beijing, Zhuhai and Foshen.
Futhermore, within a year, Exmoo has obviously expanded its distribution network. Initially it started by having 100 people randomly distributing all around Macao. Now it expanded to over 100 placing spots, including convenience stores, supermarkets, shopping malls, university libraries, car park tollbooths, etc., according to Ng. In the future, the spots in residential buildings would be expanded to make sure that every household could have one.