Singapore Press : Heartwarming moments with SPH’s Personalised Print

Singapore, 12 January 2017- Readers from all walks of life have been using the Personalised Print in creative ways to commemorate life's special occasions. They range from milestone birthdays that mark the turning of 16, 21 or 60 years old, to wedding anniversaries, pets' birthdays, corporate gifting, and even marriage proposals.

Mr Roland Tay had planned to propose to his girlfriend this year. But when the 51-year-old saw the Christmas Edition for Personalised Print being promoted, he was struck with an idea. On the morning of Christmas Eve, Mr Tay arranged for the surprise delivery of a personalised, exclusive copy of The Straits Times to girlfriend Ruth Lau. Printed on the newspaper's front page was a love poem he wrote, including the words: Will you marry me?

'I decided to propose earlier as I felt it would make Christmas extra special to have a personalised gift that doubles up as a token of love,' said Mr Tay.

His novel marriage proposal took Ms Lau by complete surprise.

'It was wonderful. I was absolutely amazed when I saw it. He likes giving me surprises but this is the best he has done to date,' said the 44-year-old, who works in the IT security industry.

'I didn't expect it. It took me awhile to pick up on the hints Roland was giving me to check on the copy of The Straits Times delivered to our door on Christmas. I like how the newspaper design was exclusive, which made the gift private and intimate.'

Mr Tay said: 'I was taken with the idea of being able to personalise an exclusive copy of the newspaper as my own. Having my poem printed on the front page of a national newspaper is a tribute to the love Ruth and I share. It serves as a significant milestone that marks the beginning of another chapter in our lives together.'

This account of the newly-engaged couple is just an example of how readers having been using the Personalised Print in creative ways to commemorate life's various milestones. The product, launched on 16 November 2016, allows readers to publish personalised messages on the front pages of The Straits Times, The Business Times, or Lianhe Zaobao, for any date in advance. Each printed copy is exclusive, and delivered to the recipient on the actual day of publication.

Here are some of the highlights from the Personalised Print Christmas Edition:

· Mr Rodd Harrison, 57, a sales and marketing manager, commemorated two major events with the Personalised Print Christmas Edition - his son's appointment as head prefect at school, as well as congratulating his son's piano teacher, who is expecting a baby this month.
Mr Harrison said: 'It's a fantastic and innovative idea. Nowhere else in the world am I able to do a personalised newspaper like this for publication dates in advance. A gift like this is certainly more meaningful than the usual presents that are available.'

· Ms Deborah Werner, 50, saw the The Straits Times' Personalised Print Christmas Edition as a novel means of celebrating her twin daughters' sweet 16.
Ms Werner said: 'I wanted something special to celebrate my daughters' 16th birthdays, and give them something to remember of their time spent growing up in Singapore after they go back to the United States. There is no better way to help them cherish the friendships and memories they have developed here than by letting them keep their own personalised copies of The Straits Times.'

· Ms Connie Low, 49, a property agent, took the opportunity to use Personalised Print to mark her 24 years of marriage to her husband and, on top of that, send additional copies to wow her clients on Christmas Day.
Ms Low said: 'I placed three orders. One was for my husband to honour our wedding anniversary. The other two were for my clients, to show appreciation for the wonderful working relationships we've had through the years.'

· For Mr Andrew Reid, 61, the Personalised Print Christmas Edition served as a timely souvenir for him to celebrate the arrival of his wife Heather Reid, 61, from Australia to Singapore a few days before Christmas. He shared that Ms Reid and him have been living apart for five months ever since he relocated to work as the principal of a bible college here.

Mr Reid said: 'I enjoy writing on cards and letters. Being able to do it on the front page of the newspaper certainly tops the list of unusual and clever things I can do to convey my thoughts to the person I love. The Personalised Print gives my wife something to remember of her big move here. It's a positive start to the time she'll spend here to pursue her doctorate in theological studies.'

Mrs Reid said: 'Receiving a personalised copy of The Straits Times on Christmas sits right at the top of the list of surprises I have ever been given. I intend to laminate and frame this copy of The Straits Times and keep it as a momento.'

· The element of surprise that Personalised Print provides is also the reason why Mr Lam Fook Choy, 62, has decided to place a second order for Personalised Print after giving his mother-in-law a copy of the Christmas Edition.

Mr Lam said: 'My mother-in-law was pleasantly surprised by the gift my family arranged for her during Christmas. Seeing her delighted with joy when she received it was the high point of our celebrations. The gift created a lot of excitement among my relatives. So I've decided to put in a second order for the upcoming Chinese New Year Edition.'
Mr Jerry Siah, Head of Product Innovation and Pricing at SPH Integrated Marketing Division, said: 'Our readers have used the Personalised Print product in ways beyond what we had initially planned for. We are encouraged by the positive feedback from readers locally as well as people from around the world who have read about it.'

The Daily Edition of Personalised Print allows readers to publish personally curated messages on the premium front page newspaper advertisement space worth between $8,000 and $28,000, of their chosen newspaper titles and publication date. Recipients of this special experience will get an exclusive, framed copy of the selected newspaper title accompanied by a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne.

A recent recipient of Personalised Print Daily Edition is Mr Raymond Lim, who turned 60 last week. He received an exclusive, personalised and framed copy of The Straits Times together with a cake and a bottle of champagne. His wife Julie Tan arranged for the surprise delivery of his birthday present to his office during lunchtime, with the help of his colleagues.
'It was unbelievable. Having SPH representatives showing up at my desk with my birthday present followed by my colleagues singing me a birthday song certainly took me by surprise,' said Mr Lim.

'It's amazing to have The Straits Times exclusively designed for me, and to see my photo and birthday wishes alongside front page news. Now I have something to look back on to remember the day I turned 60.'

Ms Tan said: 'The personal touch by SPH was excellent. Compared to the usual birthday gifts available, the Personalised Print is relatively affordable considering that it is customised. The process to prepare it was also easy. The SPH staff did a great job in giving me ideas on how I could craft my message on the newspaper's front page.'

Ms Elsie Chua, Chief Marketing Officer of SPH Integrated Marketing Division, said: 'Our national newspapers have been serving our readers for a long time. We are delighted that our recently launched Personalised Print initiative allows us to build a new emotional connection with our readers. It provides a platform for our readers to connect with each other, and celebrate important milestones in their lives.'

Personalised Print will be having Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day editions. Readers can opt to send Chinese New Year or Valentine's Day gifts in the form of personalised auspicious greetings or messages printed on the front page of Lianhe Zaobao or The Straits Times on Chinese New Year Eve (27 Jan) or Valentine's Day (14 Feb) respectively. Visitpersonal.sphads.com.sg/cny or personal.sphads.com.sg/valentine for more information.

Links to more information:
Personalised Print Chinese New Year Edition:personal.sphads.com.sg/cny
Personalised Print Valentine's Day Edition:personal.sphads.com.sg/valentine

Attachments:

Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Co. Regn. No. 198402868E

For more information, please contact:

Jerry Siah
Head, Product Innovation & Pricing (Print & Classified)
Integrated Marketing Division
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
DID: 6319 5959
Email: [e-mail]

Hector Tan
Assistant Manager, Product Innovation & Pricing (Print & Classified)
Integrated Marketing Division
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
DID: 6319 5924Email: [e-mail]

Deror Wong
Assistant Manager
Corporate Communications & CSR
Singapore Press Holdings Limited
DID: 6319 1226
E-mail: [e-mail]

About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd

Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is Asia's leading media organisation, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms.

Media The English/Malay/Tamil Media group comprises the print and digital operations of The Straits Times, The Business Times, The New Paper, Berita Harian and their respective student publications. It also includes subsidiaries Tamil Murasu Ltd, which publishes Tamil Murasu and tabla!; book publishing arm Straits Times Press; SPH Data Services, which licenses the use of the Straits Times Index in partnership with the Singapore Exchange and FTSE-Russell Ltd; financial data company ShareInvestor; the two English stations of SPH Radio - Kiss92 and ONE FM 91.3 and SPH Golf (including SPH Pacom Ltd).

The Chinese Media group publishes three Chinese newspapers in print and digital format - Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News; four student weeklies - zbCOMMA, Thumbs Up, Thumbs Up Junior and Thumbs Up Little Junior, and ZBBZ Newsgazine. It also operates SPH Radio's Chinese radio station, UFM100.3, and Focus Publishing, which produces a range of books and magazines including U-Weekly.

SPH's other new media initiatives include AsiaOne, Stomp, zaobao.sg, zaobao.comand SPH Razor. On an average day, 2.5 million* individuals or 59 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH's news publications in print copies or one of our digital platforms. (* Nielsen Media Index 2016, Monday-Sunday, read any SPH newspapers in print or digital format)

SPH Magazines, SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, publishes and produces more than 100 magazine titles and has various online sites, like hardwarezone.com, herworldplus.comand luxuryinsider.comin Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology. It has also invested in digital newsstand Magzter.

SPH also provides out-of-home (OOH) advertising options where it manages large format digital screens and static billboards at key locations in the Central Business District, Orchard Road, City Fringe as well as major heartland hubs.

SPH Buzz is a modern retail convenience chain with a network of stores around the island.

SPH has a 20 per cent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8 and U, and a 40 per cent stake in MediaCorp Press Limited, which publishes the free newspaper, Today.

PropertiesSPH REIT is a Singapore-based REIT established to invest in a portfolio of income-producing real estate primarily for retail purposes. SPH REIT comprises Paragon, a premier upscale retail mall and medical suite/office property in Orchard Road and The Clementi Mall, a mid-market suburban mall in the centre of Clementi town.

The Seletar Mall, located in Sengkang, is SPH's latest retail development. This property is a potential asset to be injected into SPH REIT. SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, also developed a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road.

Other Businesses

Online ClassifiedsSPH's online classifieds include the leading online marketplace for jobs (STJobs, FastJobs), property (STProperty), cars (STCars) and general classifieds (STClassifieds, Trezo), sgCarMart and StreetSine.
SPH's regional joint venture online classifieds business has a number of leading online classifieds sites in the region.

Events and ExhibitionsSphere Exhibits, Sphere Conferences, Exhibits Inc and Bizlink Exhibition Services organise innovative consumer and trade events and exhibitions as well as large scale conferences in Singapore and the region.

EducationSPH has a 22 per cent stake in preschool and enrichment provider MindChamps.

For more information, please visit www.sph.com.sg