Chat apps have been the ‘up and coming’ distribution network for a few years, and most of the world’s major publishers are now using them to grow their audiences and share their content.The Economist began publishing on Line in January this year as an experiment, and since then has reached almost 250,000 subscribers after publishing 780 posts (at the time of publishing in June 2016). Many of those subscribers are in key developing markets - like Cambodia. For Denise Law, The Economist community editor, it made sense for the UK publication to publish content there: “It’s an amazing opportunity for us to build communities and develop audiences in the Asian market.” Digital subscriptions to The Economist have grown 45% year-on-year in Asia, which is a key market for the publisher.

(Song: Paint the Sky by Hans Atom)