South East Asia Awards 2021

APAC / South East Asia Business Awards 2021 33 , May21407 Leaders in Entrepreneurial Publishing &Marketing 2021 The YakMagazine is a publication that has made a name for itself by appealing to amarket that Bali previously had not. With a creative, passionate, tongue-in-cheek tone and a dedication to showing the side of Bali that so very rarely got any recognition in publications aimed internationally, it is bringing a young, diverse, alternative crowd into the sphere of luxury travel. So much more than a luxury lifestyle magazine, The Yak is an exemplary source of fashion and culture news that shows readers the true essence of Bali; its vibrance, its alternative side, and its attitude. With over 2,040,000 engagements across its online social media platforms annually, an unrivalled international reach, and a distribution of physical copies that gets over 90,000 readers per edition, it has truly made itself a household name in terms of publications about the region, by some of the very people who love it most. And as to what has made this all possible? The heart behind the publication. It has grown from very humble beginnings, the initial ideas born over ‘Bloody Mary fuelled banter’ between the co-founders Michelle Lamb and Sophie Digby in 2013. With that being long in the past, having met and passed the milestone of its 50th issue and its annual Yak Awards getting bigger and better by the year, in 2015 it kicked off its first ever Yak Magazine Gold Invitational – just a few of the goalposts it has glided past on its exponential trajectory to greater success. In the past years, the Yak website has undergone a lot of work, too. The newly revamped and stunning design has increased its draw to readers national and international, allowing it to continue bucking the trend of Bali magazines that were mainly just geared towards hotels and tourism – this is a principle that has remained since its founding, with Yak wishing to prove that there is more to Bali than resort stays and beaches. After all, initially, the founders’ local area of Seminyak was not yet the hotspot of international interest and national gem that it is today. Yak Magazine was one of the inciting products that made this happen, taking the region beyond the loose collection of luxury resorts, hotels, and villas that already existed there. It also threw off the usual magazine trend of needing half a million dollars or more in initial investment. Yak Magazine was truly a ground-up project, using heart, passion, and ferocious ambition to get it off the ground, making friends and connections across its industry in order to earn readers piece by piece, showing in the work it does the potential not only of its work, but of the area more broadly. Edition by edition, it brought to light the vibrance and cultural beauty in Seminyak and Bali. This and the belief it cultivated behind it allowed it to grow its team, bringing on board more personalities and perspectives that had Yak Magazine continue to grow from strength to strength; going from the product of the early years to something far greater, something that reflected the true diversity it wished to embody. This catalysed a change in the type of people interested in – and taking trips to – the country, with Yak Magazine’s work attracting an influx of creative and alternative people looking to fully embrace all sides of Bali culture, fashion, and modern life. Uninterested in appealing to those who are just focussed on living by 5-star reviews or social norms, Yak Magazine was in sync with the development of a new type of travel, resonating with those who appreciate a tone that matches their attitude: a bit rude, a bit cheeky, and a bit more irreverent. As it continues on its path towards a passionate, quirky future, it looks forward to inspiring and empowering many more readers – and encourages each of them to visit the stunning vacation destination to come and see ‘their Bali’ for themselves. Company: The Yak Magazine - PT L.I.P. Contact: Sophie Digby Website: https://www.theyakmag.com/ ‘‘The Yak gave the world a window so that people could see Bali and go; ohmy God. Is that Bali? I didn’t realize that was Bali.’’ – Sophie Digby, Co-Founder