Executive Interview
Executive Interviews
An Interview with
Markus Kreth
Chief Executive Officer
Asia Media Publishing Group
Founded by Markus Kreth, the Asia Media Publishing Group is one of Thailand’s premier, international, multilingual, multi-media companies, focused on four main areas of expertise: PR & Marketing, Content Creation, Product and Company Launches, and SE Asian Market Research.
The Asia Media Publishing Group services clients both in Thailand, and companies from all over the world, who wish to make their mark within SE Asia, and the Kingdom of Thailand, in particular. From traditional, solid and effective PR & Marketing, right through to working with (and for) Influencers and Brands utilizing solely digital media, AMPG has also proved itself time and time again at providing the very service to a broad range of clients. Additional services include Market Research, Strategic Planning Solutions, Company and Product Launch Campaigns, and general advertising strategy and media information for companies wishing to penetrate the market through all mediums.
Publish Date:
22 March 2021
Tell us about your background, and what are you most passionate about?
I started working when I was 6years old, no I wasn't in a child labor camp, thank god! No, I did it because I wanted to. I started painting and selling silk scarves to family members and friends of them and started trading with a lot of different things and began to be a leader very early. when I was young I always had older friends where I could learn a lot from them, such for example when I was 13years all my friends were 18, when I was 18 all my friend were 35, and now most of them are 60-70 even so I'm just 38.
I started when I was 18 working for one of the Leading Event, marketing, and PR agencies in Frankfurt where my role was in doing every part of overlooking and controlling and I could learn and develop many skills.
I realized soon that I want to own my own company, and after I spent 6month in Ibiza a beautiful Island in Spain I open my first own company, the Fightshop Sport Trading GMBH , one of Europeans leading Sport equipment companies, and we're lucky to have 15 film shooting days the biggest german TV Station with me while opening the first real store in Frankfurts shopping area and they have made a one hour documentary about it and me opening it. through I was able to get broadcasted all over Europe on TV and everyone knows me and ordered online and even traveled from other countries to my shop.
then I started with my own brands and produced them in southeast Asia, especially Thailand where then here I was falling in love with the country, people, food, and the beach and decided to selling my company and moving here.
from here then I opened my own factory and produced for all the distributors I was ordering before in Germany and helped their brands to develop.
But then somehow I got 12 years ago into the media business and helped, managed, and consulted since then different companies, governments, especially for Southeast Asia.
till I've opened the Asia media publishing group in 2017 in Bangkok. Our clients are in Southeast Asia, Europe, America, Canada, and China.
last year then I have opened additionally the MK Global Trading Group in Singapore, which is specialized in the PPE Business, a Medical Wholesale Company working with our own manufacturing partners to produce Masks, Gloves, Test Kits worldwide to help solve the Covid-19 crisis.
Describe a time you had to make a tough decision (e.g. budget cuts, organizational restructuring, market withdrawal, etc.). What did you do and what was the result?
Actually, I am currently created and developed my secret method in outsourcing similar like Grab, UBER, etc and it's working great. So I have a less fixed cost and the same efficiency.
From this year we are becoming more leads and clients than ever before, huge international brands contacting us from all over the world and I am very excited to see the result for this year and planning to retire and wheater to sell the business or having someone might running it for me as I am planning to go next year on a 6month South America vacation.
How would others define your communication style? Do you prefer to be close to your employees or maintain a healthy distance, and why?
I love to be close, and I am treating whether in my company or outside the same. I don't care if it's a maid or someone in the highest position, everyone I am threatening the same and with respect. But yes because of the pandemic you are working with many business partners only online, but I don't mind that. I feel that you can develop or phone or video call and the same or similar relationship and it's not necessary to meet in person and its saves time and travel expenses.
How has the industry been changing in recent years? What do you think are the biggest challenges your industry will face in the next 5 years?
You need to be fast. I mean really fast and adopting trends and new products and trends are emerging! there are right now so many big companies who are sleeping.. but when I say sleeping they are doing hibernation.
If I am looking at some of the oldest and "biggest" traditional media companies and that's what I least they think they are and they not even can get their own Facebook page and social media presence right and links aren't working and not checked, then I am asking myself how to want to impress and client and what the client should think about that. if the client is smart and checking it, then do you want to trust them and give your company out of the hands to let someone manage your marketing and PR if you not even yourself can doing it right?
There were big phone companies who were the biggest in the market and for decades and then someone small came out and overtakes the company like on the highway and now are the leading and the other one is gone.
What I am trying to say is stay awake and be alerted, looking for new trends in the market. what was in today can be tomorrow out and completely changed.
It is not like it was before, things can change fast!
What personality traits make a good leader?
I think the idea of a leader is often misunderstood. In my opinion, leaders do not have to know and be able to do everything, but they have to know which fastest and easiest way to choose to solve the problem or job to achieve this .
I, for example, don't know everything, but I am very good at solving things fast and have a huge network so I always know who to choose for each job, wheater it should be the best or cheapest solution.
I always describe myself as an old Chinese man with a whistle in my mouth and behind an antiques wooden cabinet with a thousand drawers where for each job I have the right person inside and take it out if needed perfectly matches the criteria of the job.
What does the future hold for your company?
Only the Best! We got many inquires already from big International Media Companies that were asking us to buy an Asia Media Publishing Group, merge, and partner, and buying shares.
I think if the offer were right I would mind too, but I am not in a rush. Or if I am continuing at the speed I am now, who knows, maybe one day I am buying them...