Founded in 1988 and chaired by Lawrence Fung, the Hong Kong Economic Times Group ("HKET Group") started off as a publisher of Hong Kong Economics Times (HKET)-the first Chinese-language financial newspaper in Hong Kong. Launched when the city's economy was booming, the newspaper set out to be the Chinese-language equivalent of the Financial Times and to become one of the pre-eminent financial and business information and service providers in Greater China. Widely recognized for its quality content and leading market status, Hong Kong Economic Times has evolved closely with the economic and business environment of the city, catering to the changing needs of the local business community, such as the addition of a property section during the rise of the property market in the early 1990s and an IT section during the dotcom bubble in the mid- to late 1990s. In the face of new challenges to traditional newspaper industry like the proliferation of the Internet, the HKET Group responds by focusing on two fundamental driving forces that have become the pillars to its success: diversification and differentiation. With a vision to becoming a diversified media group, HKET has branched out to book publishing, multimedia services, electronic information services, recruitment advertising and training. Set in 2006, this case addresses the changes faced by the print newspaper industry and HKET's market positioning amid such changes. The case explores the role of creativity, especially in the context of Blue Ocean Strategy. It can also be used to teach differentiation strategy and entrepreneurship. All of these concepts can be discussed within the context of a corporate culture that creates a healthy environment for business growth.

Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings ("Phoenix TV") was established in 2006 as a joint venture with News Corporation's ("News Corp's") STAR TV unit and Liu Changle, a Shanghai businessman and former military journalist, as the major stakeholders. Presenting its family of channels as the Chinese TV viewers' window to the world, Phoenix TV was able to capitalize on ambiguities in China's regulatory environment and (with tacit consent from the authorities) was the only foreign TV broadcaster to target news programming at mainland Chinese viewers. In China, where significant restrictions existed on audience measurement and advertising was still a young business, ad sales were largely driven by a media outlet's image. Phoenix TV claimed an audience comprising China's highly educated, high-income, urban elite. The broadcaster's access to the highly coveted Chinese market far surpassed that of foreign media groups such as Time Warner and Viacom. Yet its share of viewing, on a national basis, trailed behind that of the state broadcaster, CCTV, and large domestic media groups, who were raising production standards and winning over audiences with dramatic programming. Phoenix TV's management was mindful of looming developments on the horizon: the convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting, the further liberalization of China's media industry, and the gradual roll-out of digital TV networks around the country, which would increase demand for content and provide new possibilities for subscription-based TV. Above all, Phoenix TV's chairman, Liu Changle, was concerned that the broadcaster was overly dependent on advertising revenue. In June 2006, China Mobile acquired a 19.9% stake in Phoenix TV from News Corp. Through a new alliance, Phoenix TV hoped to branch out into new media as a content provider for China's largest mobile operator.