I’ve never been a fan of Lonely Planet or any other guide books that go out of date before they hit the shelves, so I’ve been on the look out for a recently published guide book slash magazine that lists events, reviews, interviews and that sort of thing to further enhance my time spent here in Hanoi.
I picked up the Time Out magazine, which was really disappointing… so here’s my idea: Create a by weekly or monthly guide book covering things to do, see, eat and stay in Hanoi. It would be so easy to set up, and with the fierce hotel and restaurant trade here, anyone could sell ad space to create a revenue stream to create a nice little business.
I think most cafe’s and hotels would stack the free publication in their stores for a non-premium listing. And with no competition, low cost print and distribution overheads, I think it’s a golden opportunity that needs filling.
If anyone is interested, I would love to chat… with my experience in Marketing and my contacts with people who have some $$ to invest, this would be a great project for someone who wants to spend a year or two in Hanoi.
What do you think?
There’s a Hanoi edition of TimeOut magazine?
If there genuinely is no competition and there is a big enough potential readership then it sounds like an exciting opportunity. Bangkok101 has just expanded to Phuket and Chiang Mai, and I’m guessing you’re thinking about something along those lines?
The Time Out mag was a supplement to a Business weekly newspaper… Not sure why as no one get’s to see it on the shelves! I only fount it by asking the lady behind the counter and she pulled it out of the newspaper. Saying that, it was very lame.
I think it’s a great opportunity, however I’m not in a position to handle this myself, although I’d defo invest in such a project with the right people behind it.
I’ve never come across Bangkok101 – although I was never on the look out for guide mags when I lived there. There was a free Bangkok Post supplement on Friday’s that wasn’t that bad… had reviews, up to date listings and that sort of thing.
Interesting … In Bangkok you have Guru (the one from Bangkok Post) as well as BK. They’re both free and similar in both content and style.
TO was hoping to have a Bangkok/Thailand English edition a few years ago but no agreement has yet been negotiated with local publishers.
I don’t know the Vietnam market well enough right now to make an informed decision, but I do have contacts in the publishing industry there so I’ll chat to them and let you know.