'Suara BSD' ads cover half of costs
TANGERANG (JP): It has just celebrated its first anniversary but Suara BSD (Voice of BSD), a tabloid community magazine has already managed to cover half of its production costs from advertising revenues.
"On average, we can earn around Rp 8 million (US$920) from the ads which is half of the Rp 16 million cost of producing this monthly," chief editor Dhony Rahajoe told reporters here on Friday.
Published by BSD developer PT Bumi Serpong Damai, in cooperation with Nexus Communications, the 16-page community paper -- firstly launched on Sept. 15 last year -- focuses on the free distribution of copies to the some 8,700 families living in the vast BSD housing complex.
"About 9,000 copies are regularly distributed freely to BSD residents, while the rest are sent to other involved parties or distributed at certain events, such as housing exhibitions," said Dhony, who was accompanied by BSD president Budiarsa Sastrawinata.
"In the near future, we will run more color pages to accommodate a possible growing demand for advertisements but with still the same number of pages," he said.
Dhony added that additional copies should be produced since his office runs out of stock every month shortly after the magazine is published.
A full-page colored ad on the back cover is priced at Rp 2.5 million, while a similar black-and-white ad costs Rp 1.2 million. A classified ad with a minimum of three lines comes in at Rp 15,000.
According to Budiarsa, the company had no plans originally to turn the paper into a commercial venture.
"It's simply a service for BSD residents," said a senior advisor to the Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI).
The magazine currently has a team of six people, including two reporters, a photographer, and a lay-out designer.
"But they receive strong backup from the 11 staff of BSD's promotion and marketing division," Dhony said.
Unlike many similar publications which more resemble bulletins on the developer's activities, Suara BSD also features interesting articles, such as interviews with noted celebrities.
The ads primarily concern everyday needs and services.
Suara BSD was initially published in the form of a 40-page bulletin back in 1990, or a year after the complex was first constructed.
Its publication was then halted due to the expensive production costs and poor design.
Similar magazines in leading housing-complexes in the capital include the four-year-old Info Gading which is published for the residents of the Kelapa Gading housing complex in North Jakarta and the bimonthly Good News for families living in the Lippo Cikarang township in Bekasi. (bsr)