Tom Online chief tunes into needs of the young for growth strategy

Wang Leilei is the embodiment of his target market, the 'young and trendy'. At 30, the head of Tom Online is among the youngest chief executives in China.

He is also trendy, a Salem dangling from his lip while he demonstrates his company's music services on Motorola's latest smart-phone. 'We think music is always popular, with a long-life period.'

Tom Online is one of four leading internet portals in China competing in a maturing market for short messaging services (SMS). The company nevertheless expects top-line growth of 50 per cent this year from US$77.1 million last year, as 2.5G and interactive voice response (IVR) services account for a greater portion of revenue.

To reach the goal, Mr Wang plans to boost content acquisitions, focusing on sports and music. He recently hired Joshua Maa Liang-chun, former chief executive of Taiwan's Rock Mobile, the mobile music services business set up by Rock Music.

Tom Online seeks to reach its target audience through a variety of media pitches.

'Traditional media is very important,' Mr Wang said. 'They are targeting the young and trendy demographic. We are looking forward to co-operating with popular TV and radio stations.'

Other off-line channels include partnerships with handset manufacturers. Non-internet sales account for about 30 per cent of SMS turnover, although margins from these channels are lower due to a 50-50 revenue sharing model.