Boosting the Tourism Economy - Touchmedia Wins "2013 New Media Award" from Shanghai Tourism Bureau

SHANGHAI, May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual "World Travel Fair Awards," co-sponsored by the Shanghai Tourism Bureau and Shanghai World Travel Fair Organizing Committee, have been announced and Touchmedia, China's largest in-taxi interactive media company, has won the only media award for its "Special Contribution for New Media". The Committee cited Touchmedia's customized interactive marketing solution and their uniquely effective targeting of travel consumers as the key reasons for the win.

In recent years, with domestic and overseas tourism growing, especially in first & second tier cities, the demand for travel products has expanded accordingly, led by high-level consumers. Taxis, and hence Touchmedia, are the first choice for such affluent, urban tourists, inbound or outbound. As a result Touchmedia, has become the key media for a range of advertisers including overseas tourist boards targeting urban affluents in cities where Touchmedia operates, or hotels, airlines and other industry participants locally seeking to attract tourist inbound to those cities. For the latter the "City Living" interactive button is the most popular program with more than 250 million viewers over the last few years, watching programs on restaurants, entertainment, shopping and other attractions.

Explained Touchmedia VP of Marketing, Lynne Lee, "The key is to make it involving and rewarding for the viewer. A great example is the Tourism New Zealand program of "Fantasy New Zealand" in Shanghai and Guangzhou. Over 9.7 million passengers saw the advertising, 1,000,000 people participated in the interactive program and more than 60,000 entered their phone number for more information, all in just one month." A perfect target and a special quiet, captive, one-on-one media environment contribute to Touchmedia's effectiveness.

Touchmedia's other key contribution to the tourism industry is as an effective and convenient channel for reaching tourists visiting a city. Since the Shanghai Expo, when the Expo's own research showed more than 200 million people had seen the advertising on Touchmedia, the company has focused on delivering a number of public service and public information messages through its taxis, on topics like performances, special events and even an interactive map featuring famous scenic spots, shopping centers, accommodation, landmarks, transport hubs and the like. The Bureau of the Shanghai World EXPO Coordination recognized the contribution of Touchmedia with the "2010 Media Excellence Award for Its Contribution to Community Services Award".

Micky Fung, the Founder and Chairman of Touchmedia, said, "China has become the biggest tourism market in the world. For the tourism industry, the taxi is a key point of contact for up market visitors, the name card of the city. As an ambassador for the city, Touchmedia can provide convenient public service information for tourists. It can also creatively make the tourists' interactions and entertainment a powerful weapon to push the tourism economy engine."

About Touchmedia

Touchmedia was founded by its Executive Chairman and Co-CEO Micky Fung in 2003 to develop state-of-art touchscreen media technology in China and internationally. Today, Touchmedia is already the largest in-taxi media company in China, providing an innovative marketing platform which allows brands to engage consumers more effectively, building higher involvement for better awareness, recall and response.

For more about Touchmedia: www.touchmedia.cn

SOURCE Touchmedia