PETALING JAYA: Star Media Group (SMG) is a silver medal winner at the prestigious WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Asia 2021.

       The group’s Subscriber Acquisition Strategy (The Star) was recognised in the Best Paid Content Strategy (including pay wall, membership or crowd funding models) category.

       The country’s first-ever news portal and its pioneering mobile app launched a digital membership plan on March 11 last year, making it the country’s first mainstream media to implement a paid content strategy.

       SMG chief content officer Esther Ng said despite the intense planning and hard work that went into the project, it was still daunting for the group to take a leap into the unknown.

       “We are the first mainstream media to introduce a paywall and among the first in the country to embark on a new business model built on the paid content strategy.

       “It is rewarding to know that we are on the right track. This win is not the end. In fact, it is only the beginning.

       “We are driven to constantly improve our deliver of quality content to our readers,” she said.

       The gold medal for the category was won by Apple Daily Ltd while kumparan took the bronze.

       The winners were announced on the WAN-IFRA website.