MediaCorp opens up on failures and future direction in the digital and startup space

We’re seeing MediaCorp getting pretty active in the technology and startup scene of late, venturing into mobile apps, e-commerce, startup incubation, and venture capital investments. In an on-stage interview at the Startup Asia Jakarta 2013 conference, MediaCorp’s strategic planning head Guillaume Sachet (pictured right) talked about the shift in consumption patterns away from print, which caused the media giant to look more closely at the digital and startup space. We grabbed Sachet on the sidelines to find out more about MediaCorp’s involvement and updates on its current projects.

Vanessa: MediaCorp launched a food recommendation app a couple of months back. What was the decision behind making this new app?

Sachet: The decision was quite natural. Our entertainment magazine 8 Days itself had a lot of food reviews, and is very well-followed by Singaporeans. There are also a lot of TV shows around the topic of food, and the creation of the app was a natural extension into the digital space. This also applies to StyleXStyle, which is part of our digital initiatives, where our core is to capture new customers. Right now, 8 Days Eat app only focuses on food.

What are the demographics like, and how is it different from other apps within the same space, such as HungryGoWhere, OpenRice, and Burpple?

Our users are aged between 16 to 49 years old. We think it’s different from the apps you’ve mentioned, and possibly better. We have a professional editorial team coming together to curate food reviews, as compared to user generated content. We also have MediaCorp staff to endorse our content, such as featuring the favourite restaurants of celebrity DJs Justin Ang and Vernon A. (also known as Muttons). These are strong differentiators in itself.

What was the decision behind using the pink hue (Editor: which resembles Burpple)?

The color pink was a decision made with the creative director, which has a refreshing feeling that is trendy and hip. We are also looking at how else we can improve the app, where you can like, comment, and bridge professional and user generated content. That is important because it helps to bring volume. There are also considerations such as other features and video content you need to have to enrich the application.

Any expansion plans for 8 Days Eat?

We are looking to expand in the region, but the strategy has not been finalized yet. The natural expansion would be Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, but first we would need to build a strong home base before talking about expansion.

Why did ilovebooks.com close down?

When it launched, it was under tough market conditions and was not commercially viable, and hence the decision to exit. We had about 700,000 titles in 40 categories, which was not enough traction to make it viable. The e-books industry was a business to get better deals. You need to get directly to the source. Once you go through distributors, it is not any cheaper and we didn’t have a wider collection.

What were the lessons learned?