Next Mobile hires two general managers, prepares to 'wow' the market

Ivy Wong resigned from TVB.com at the end of July and joined Next Media Group last September as chief executive officer of Next Mobile, a wholly owned subsidiary responsible for the overall development of the group's mobile business. The company set up a Hong Kong office in December and a Taiwan office in February.

Johan Wong was formerly director of digital strategy at JWT Shanghai and chief digital officer with Leo Burnett. He has also held senior management roles at Shanda's In-Game Media, Onexone and PCCW. 

Chung joins Next Mobile from PCCW's Now TV, where he as media sales head. He has also served as regional business development manager with Cisco and senior business manager of Yahoo Hong Kong.

Ivy Wong explained that the team will focus on formulating mobile strategy for the group, plus developing new mobile opportunities like mobile gaming, mobile commerce and mobile content.

To facilitate the growth of mobile advertising, Next Media's entire 60-strong digital media sales team will also group under Next Mobile. "Therefore, I have a strong digital sales team now who are responsible for all digital advertising solutions, namely websites, mobile apps, etcetera," Wong said.

Next Media's mobile app boasts 3.5 million downloads in Hong Kong and Taiwan, with clients including Estée Lauder, HSBC, Tencent, HKJC, Sun Hung Kei Property, Vaseline and Nokia.

“Our animated news, colourful images and multimedia visual are very well-received among younger readers,” Wong pointed out. "In Taiwan market, Apple Daily is neutral on the political standpoint, unlike other local newspapers which are either pro-KMT or DPP."

The company is also expanding its regional teams to capture overseas Chinese readers. “We are now ready to wow the market with the new wave of digital movement focus on mobile,” Wong said.

Next Mobile's regional team