SPH Media Trust names new CMO

SPH Media Trust (SMT) has elevated Joanna Ho to the role of chief marketing officer. Ho is in charge of the group marketing division, reporting directly to SPH Media Group CEO Teo Lay Lim. She is also concurrently in charge of the sales and operations teams as head of commercial excellence (CE) in the media solutions division, reporting to chief commercial officer Ignatius Low.

According to Ho, the group marketing division is in charge of working in tandem with stakeholders across the company to build brand trust and love. The group marketing division manages and executes online, offline, digital marketing and branding campaigns to enhance brand awareness, grow audience reach and deepen engagement across SMT’s product portfolio, audience segments and platforms.

SMT's portfolio includes its newspapers and digital sites, lifestyle media, content marketing, audio, outdoor and events.

Ho was previously holding the role of head of business planning and operations excellence as well as commercial excellence head for over two years. During her time in the industry, she has also worked as marketing director at Courts and held the role of vice president of marketing and communications at SGX. Other brands Ho has also worked with include the likes of Shell, 3M, OCBC and Motorola.

Coming from a commercial background, SMT said that with her appointment, the team is confident she will be able to connect the commercial and marketing dots to ensure that brand priorities and sales objectives are aligned. “This will ensure that end-to-end solutions are streamlined, resulting in increased efficiency and improved synergy for SMT and our clients,” Ho told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

Ho added: “These are exciting times for the marketing industry. SMT believes that a 360 approach - beyond standard print and digital ads - will value-add to our customers who are always-on and more discerning than ever. With SMT’s integrated media solutions suite that cuts across our different platforms featuring new digital formats and optimised content marketing solutions, we will be able to reach and engage consumers at multiple touchpoints.”

Earlier this year, it was reported that SMT will receive up to SG$900 million in funding support from the Singapore government over the next five years. Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo said during a parliament sitting that the funding, which amounts up to SG$180 million annually will enable SMT to make "essential investments" that help propel it "decisively" into the digital era.

SMT was spun off from SPH last year to become a not for profit entity amidst the ongoing challenge of dipping revenue. According to Teo, MCI predicts SMT will spend about 40% of the funding on digital talent and tech investments. The rest will be set aside for building up newsroom capabilities, especially for the vernacular newsrooms, The Straits Times said. Although SMT has mapped out a "promising" direction, Teo said investments are still required, adding that it "will likely be loss-making" during the transition period. 

Related articles:
SPH receives court's approval to convene Cuscaden scheme meeting
Keppel commences arbitration against SPH
SPH Media Trust hires Accenture veteran as CEO. So where should the focus now be?
New consortium linked to Temasek and Mapletree makes rival offer for SPH
SPH posts rise in operating profit, media biz still in flux