Interview with Daniel Marchette, CEO of Globe Media Asia

This week, we spoke with Daniel Marchette, the CEO of Globe Media Asia. Daniel has lived in Cambodia for almost eight years by way of California and has been deeply involved in the media scene. As the head of Globe Media Asia, he has his hands full, organisitng events and publications, and overseeing content that captivates and engages audiences. Read on to find out what he thinks about the media landscape and how Globe Media Asia is pushing for a progressive future in Cambodia.

 

Brian: Why did you initially move to Cambodia and what do you enjoy about living and working in the Kingdom of Wonder?

Daniel : I originally came to Cambodia as a traveller and it was the first place on my trip that I felt I truly connected with. Both the country and the people. I quickly made friends and after going back to an unfulfilling job in California for a few months, I decided to make the move here. I enjoy the lifestyle in Cambodia and the opportunities to travel around the country. I still keep discovering and learning new things, even after living here for nearly 8 years. From a work perspective, I’m really excited to be a part of both the country’s and the media’s, evolving landscape. At Globe Media Asia, we regularly work with people, companies and organizations helping to shape the future of Cambodia, the region and sometimes even the planet. There is no shortage of interesting challenges to tackle and stories to tell.
 

Brian: Could you tell us a little bit about Globe Media Asia.  What does the company do and what does it stand for?

Daniel: Globe Media Asia is a media group consisting of southeastasiaglobe.comfocus-cambodia.com and our sister company, Brains Communication. We’re a progressive company with sustainability and equity at the heart of what we do. We also really love excellent design.

As a publisher we focus on telling stories around those core values of sustainability and equity, about society, enterprise and the environment for leaders and change-makers. Southeast Asia Globe specializes in in-depth reporting from around the region and has an international audience with readers coming from more than 100 countries. Focus is a Khmer language multimedia lifestyle publication for young Cambodians aiming to lead the discussion and make a positive impact towards a sustainable future. 

As a creative agency, Brains Communication is working on 360 marketing and communications solutions for a host of partners in Cambodia. We work with international brands and retailers, as well as large governmental and non-profit agencies. Our foundations are rooted in international standard design and creativity, while we have a strong reputation for our abilities in digital marketing and social media, but over the past year we’ve begun to work much more closely as an entire group and are now providing high quality video, photo and PR services, not to mention events. For 2023, we’ve also incorporated website design and development with the addition of a new dev on our team. 

Globe Media Asia as a group, not only has the the people and teams to create excellent content, but also has the channels to deliver it to local and international audiences.


Brian: What projects are you most excited for in 2023?

Daniel: To start off the year we are working with the EU Delegation on the annual European Film Festival for Cambodia, which will officially kick off mid-February. It’s going to be a 10 day event throughout Phnom Penh with film screenings, short film marathons, networking events and activities for young filmmakers and media students. Brains Communication is responsible for the entire planning, production, marketing, you name it, so it’s an exciting project to be a part of. 

Brains is also working on a national heart health campaign to raise awareness about diabetes and hypertension amongst Cambodian women, and to get them to develop more healthy lifestyle habits and get screened for those diseases. It’s a behavior change campaign, which are always challenging, but it’s for a good cause and we’re responsible for the whole thing, from branding and strategy to social media, events and video production.

At Southeast Asia Globe we’ve recently hired a new Editor in Chief and now have writers on the team in Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. We’re focused on taking a leap forward this year and really zoom in on our audience to improve and diversify the product. We’ll be playing with events, video, audio and more. We’ll have our first photo exhibition in the early February!

Lastly, at Focus we’re in production of our second season Cambodian Eats! a real passion of mine. Cambodian Eats! is a video series focusing on the intersection of food, communities and the environment through the lens of travel. It’s meant to encourage  and promote sustainable practices and solutions. The first episodes will be released in March and we’re lucky to have the kind support for the Heinrich Böll Foundation for this year’s season.
 

Brian: In a landscape of constant content, how do you make sure your content sticks out?

Daniel: Southeast Asia Globe started as a print magazine in 2007 and at that time our differentiating factor was simple. Quality. That’s been a core tenant at Globe Media Asia since it’s founding and it is still what separates us from the pack. As a publisher and as an agency, we pay close attention to the details and take our time to ensure its quality and accuracy. 


Brian: What unique opportunities does Cambodia offer for aspiring content creators or media producers?

Daniel: Personally, I think Cambodia is a fantastic place to be for content creators of all kinds. With the current technologies and platforms, there are no shortages of ways to create, share, distribute and monetize content, with the small caveat being that a number of these platforms do not yet connect with Cambodian banking institutions. Aside from that, the country and people have tons of stories to tell and the lighting, landscapes and cities are so often visually striking and uniquely beautiful. It’s a great place to create content and tell stories in all mediums. It’s also conveniently located in the heart of Southeast Asia, making jumping off into the region easy and affordable. With Southeast Asia being so diverse and dynamic, why wouldn’t someone who is interested in creating media want to be in Cambodia?

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