Issue214

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ISSUE 214 /// MID - JAN 2018

INSIDE MOST AWARDED AGENCIES IN 2017 AGENCY OF THE MONTH: BBDO MALAYSIA HOW SOCIAL MEDIA WILL AFFECT GE14 CREATIVE BRAIN DRAIN

KDN NO. PP15776/03/2013 (033405) RM3.50

ISSUE 214 /// MID-JAN2018 COVER STORY

05 Prashant left a legacy which celebrated an amazing streak of global awards, breakthrough campaigns and innovative milestones that made the competition reel in relative daze. Of course, detractors love to hate their guts, while marketers seem to respect their bravery...

EVENTS CALENDAR 2018 8 FEBRUARY

MALAYSIAN MEDIA CONFERENCE 16 & 17 APRIL

APPIES MALAYSIA MARKETING AWARDS 8 JUNE

MALAYSIAN CMO CONFERENCE 29 JUNE

MC2 AWARDS (MARKETING, CREATIVE, CONTENT) 21 AUGUST

The explosion of consumer touchpoints and the growing prevalence of ad blocking requires marketers...

DRAGONS OF MALAYSIA & ASIA AWARDS NIGHT 26 NOVEMBER

MALAYSIAN MARKETINGTECH CONFERENCE

Art Director / Designer Chemical Ali ali@adoimagazine.com Events & Workshops Ruby Lim ruby@adoimagazine.com

Members of Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA) were interviewed on their retail sales performances for the second half of 2017...

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04 YOU ASK THE QUESTIONS, WE GET THE ANSWERS!

26 OCTOBER

11

Avinash Sahu, Head of Orion Worldwide, Malaysia asks Henry Tan, Group Chief Content & Consumer Officer of Astro...

HAMIFICATION IS HERE!

Dear Valued Reader, As we move into our 21st year in publishing, we have changed our format to a tabloid, increased our frequency to once in two weeks and made the magazine available in 200 bookstores...

AGENCY OF THE MONTH

14

We begin our Agency of the Month series with a take on BBDO Malaysia. Here we spotlight the thoughts of agency head Farrah Harith McPherson (who came on board a year ago), Executive Creative Director VJ Anand (of Cannes Lions fame) and Planning Director Rafiq Ridzwan...

AGENCY RANKING

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES

MEDIA MATTERS

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WHO STOLE THE LIMELIGHT LAST YEAR?

Contributors: Greg Paull, Sue-Ann Lim, Kim Chew Printer: Cetakrapi Sdn Bhd 22, Jalan Kepong, Taman Sri Ehsan, 52100 Kuala Lumpur

MARKETING magazine in now available in over 200 selected bookstores across the Klang Valley.

BBDO

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Web & Digital: Nurul Amira Ibrahim, Saravana Kumaa

© All Rights Reserved By: Sledgehammer Communications (M) Sdn Bhd (289967-W) No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without prior permission in writing from the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions and/ or for any consequences of reliance upon information in this publication.

The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher or editor. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertisers.

THE WORK THE WORK THE WORK

HOW SERIOUS IS MALAYSIA’S CREATIVE BRAIN DRAIN? ABOUT 60 BRAINS SERIOUS ENOUGH? REALITY CHECK INSIDE...

Roving Photographer: Mccain Goh

MARKETING magazine is published by Sledgehammer Communications (M) Sdn Bhd 22B, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad Satu, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

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RETAIL MARKETING

MALAYSIA RETAIL INDUSTRY REPORT

Q&A

MALAYSIAN CHIEF MARKETING OFFICERS (CMO) AWARDS

Business Development Manager Jarrod Sunil Solomon jarrod@adoimagazine.com

EDITOR'S NOTE

SIX EMERGING TOUCHPOINTS FOR THE EVOLVING CONSUMER PURCHASE JOURNEY

24 SEPTEMBER

Content Officer Aradhana Takhtani anna@adoimagazine.com

THE MOST POWERFUL INSIGHTS AND IDEAS.

CONTENTS AND DATA

BEST OF GLOBAL DIGITAL MARKETING CONFERENCE

Regional CEO Professor Harmandar Singh ham@adoimagazine.com

MADE IN FUTURE!

17 13

BRAND FINANCE

SOCIAL MEDIA

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PERSONALITY FEATURE

NOMENCLATURE, DATO SERI VIDA, BELGIUM WINNING THE WORLD CUP...

How does it feel to have helmed an international agency, then run your own shop Merdeka LHS, and now back to leading a global communications network?...

TONTON HERALDS 2018 WITH NEW COLLABORATIONS...

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GE 14: HOW TO WIN VOTES AND PEOPLE USING SOCIAL MEDIA DIGITAL REVOLUTION

CELCOM BECOMES MALAYSIA STRONGEST BRAND IN 2017

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Every year, leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance puts thousands of the world’s top brands to the test,...

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3 MARKETING TRENDS THAT BOMBED IN 2017 Digital is no longer a channel when it’s part and parcel of our daily experience. In 2018, we will see the explosion of the Internet of Things and instead of just having more people connected to one another, there will be more connected devices...

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HAMIFICATION IS HERE

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

EDITOR’S NOTE

By The Turbanned Stranger | ham@adoimagazine.com

Dear Valued Reader, As we move into our 21st year in publishing, we have changed our format to a tabloid, increased our frequency to once in two weeks and made the magazine available in 200 bookstores.

Yes, you could say we are on a suicide mission. But isn’t that what 2018 is looking like for many?

Who says print is dead?

The distractors say so.

But not the disrupters.

Meanwhile, I have decided to shamelessly feature my LinkedIn profile here....

Harmandar Singh, known as Ham, is an advertising Creative Director gone rogue.

After a stint as a failed pub guitarist, he created over 400 TV commercials and picked up hundreds of awards to his name early in his career.

Then he lost it, and broke out on his own.

Been there, seen it, done it, Ham has worked as a creative lead in top ad agencies in London, New York, Tokyo, Manila….

For 11 years, he was a weekly columnist with The Star and New Sunday Times writing about stuff people wanted to read but did not have the cojones to speak up about.

He has his own magazine called MARKETING and tries to stop writing 10,000 words a week.

CONTENTS & DATA

SIX EMERGING TOUCHPOINTS FOR THE EVOLVING CONSUMER PURCHASE JOURNEY

By Greg Paull is the Principal & Co-Founder of R3

Ham was the first to start an independent industry magazine in the region 15 years ago but has since folded his business in Singapore (citing boredom), and in Jakarta gave it all away to his staff.

Marketing Conference…

In 2009, in a fit of psychotropic delirium, Ham created and hosted the Youth Engagement Summit (YES), inspired

by Obama’s victory on the theme of Change.

On the quiet, Ham has led media missions for MERCY Malaysia to Nepal and Syrian refugee camps in the Beqaa Valley.

It featured Donald Trump, Twitter Founder Biz Stone, Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg, etc.

Ham has run industry events like the Malaysian Creative Circle Awards (MC2), Malaysian Media Conference, Malaysian CMO Conference, APPIES Malaysia, the Best of Global Digital

He had his very own Advertising School once and has collaborated on a Bachelor degree programme on Social Comms for local university UPSI.

Ham wears many hats, but only one turban.

Respectfully,

Harmandar Singh

The explosion of consumer touchpoints and the growing prevalence of ad blocking requires marketers to find new ways for brands to connect with consumers throughout their daily lives and their purchase decision journey.

According to Greg Paull, Principal & Co-Founder of global consultancy R3, “Exploring uncharted territories necessitates a willingness to take measured risks, a test and learn mindset and skillset, contextually relevant content, and the allocation of a budget dedicated to learning.”

He pointed out that there are six emerging touchpoints that can infuse digital innovation into a core media strategy. While relevance and feasibility will vary by category and market, these offer a way to increase experimentation and update initiatives.

Beacons: These are triggered geolocation mobile experiences through small wireless sensors that transmit targeted messages and information to nearby mobile devices. While retailers were among the earliest beacon adopters, the devices are now being deployed at sports and concert arenas, airports, trade shows, conferences, schools, museums, and other popular venues.

Marketers across categories are using beacons to learn more about specific audience segments and reach consumers based on their traffic patterns. For example, a beacon-equipped department store could send special offers on beauty products to customers as they enter or linger in the cosmetics department, or commuters can receive travel offers while they wait for their train.

Wearables: Going beyond smart watches and fitness trackers, marketers are using wearables to deepen

engagement and connectivity with their customers. Consider these examples: - The contactless payment ring with Mastercard and Kerv taking the friction out of payments.

- Disney’s Magic Band enables quick check-ins, FastPass+ entrances, hotel room access and more.

- Under Armour’s Smart Gear includes wearable technology in their running sneakers that help you understand how you should be running to their sleepwear that claims to help you recover better.

Chatbots: Screen and voice-based services, powered by rules and artificial intelligence, that interact with consumers via chat interfaces. The service can range from functional to entertaining, and it could live in any major chat product (Facebook Messenger, Slack, Text Messages, etc.). For marketers, a chatbot should address a specific consumer need as it relates to their product category.

AR/VR Glasses/Headsets: Now growing in popularity (i.e. Oculus, HoloLens, etc.). There is already a directory for VR agencies and content studios that can help marketers with strategy and implementation.

For inspiration, below are examples of how marketers are using the space: - McDonald’s made VR Happy Goggles, a virtual reality headset from happy meal boxes that kids could use to play a skithemed VR game.

- Jaguar Land Rover’s new banner ad lets you test drive a car from your phone using AR technology.

- Casa Coca-Cola used VR technology to immerse visitors into the World Cup game, where visitors could play for their home team and experience the action on the field.

Connected Cars: They provide the ability to target drivers with location-

based offers or alerts. Marketers can use information about driving habits, entertainment preferences, app usage and other specific datasets to deliver targeted, personalized messaging through platforms like Android Auto and Dash services.

Voice-Powered Search: According to eMarketer, there are forty-five million voice-assisted devices now in use in the U.S. and that number is expected to rise to 67 million by 2019. Amazon’s Echo (Alexa) owns roughly 70% of the market. To understand this evolving space, search experts are laying the groundwork by focusing on what can be done within the Amazon and Google Home ecosystems to ensure brands are ready for voice-powered search.

For example, the Staples B2B Voice AI initiative in partnership with IBM Watson, added an intelligent, voiceactivated ordering service to “it’s easy button,” which already had been tested by office managers with enterprise clients.

Integrating these touchpoints into a marketing strategy may seem like a daunting task. There are a number of guiding principles to consider when revamping a digital media strategy.

First, it is important to align the innovation roadmap to your business objective and strategy. Always set goals.

Ask yourself, what does success look like? Establish a learnings agenda and relevant metrics (i.e. gain insight into channel capabilities, consumer usage, reach, costs, influence on consumer behaviour, overall effectiveness, etc.).

Next, make it easier to launch vs. block; reward experimentation, successes and failures. Make sure to launch efforts quickly, track progress and iterate as needed, and shut down mediocre efforts plus prioritize resources.

CURIOUS AGILE PLAYFUL RELENTLESS INVENTIVE

From left: Saurabh (Data and Tech Services) Sam (Media Investment), Rama (Integrated Services) Jane (Client leadership), Soo Mei (Media Innovation) Derek (Content & Social), Prashant (Lain Lain)

Sixteen months ago, in a combustive fit of euphoria, multiple award-winner Prashant Kumar left his high profile role as President of IPG Mediabrands Asia World Markets and CEO of IPG Mediabrands Malaysia, to dive into Malaysia’s marketing wilderness.

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ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

COVER STORY

He left a legacy which celebrated an amazing streak of global awards, breakthrough campaigns and innovative milestones that made the competition reel in relative daze.

Of course, detractors love to hate their guts, while marketers seem to respect their bravery.

Going by their list of clients, it’s hard to deny the latter.

But isn’t rebellious thinking the path to innovation? #jointhedissent From his global network position, managing and investing US$37 billion in global media assets on behalf of clients, Prashant pressed the Reset button at Ground Zero with ENTROPIA. “The advent of deep data and marketing technology has caused massive chaos and complexity in the marketing ecosystem. However no one has the final answer to what the right way out should be,” he observed, as he echoed many confused voices in the marketplace.

Prashant declared, “We started from a white sheet and seek to reconceive what Marketing in the future could be like, by playing with different models, skills mix, structures and processes. In all humility, we don’t claim we have found the God particle. It is going to be a very honest, unattached and interesting exploration.”

True to his word, the agency has rewritten its future by harnessing the power of the universe and began writing a new narrative for the industry.

Propelled by disruptive change agents like Ram, Saurabh, Sam, Jane, Soo Mei, Derek and more…. they have not looked back since.

In a space of one year, the agency has gone to spawn new arms in eCommerce, CRM, AI technology, content marketing, big data and creative personalisation, slowly defining what a new age marketing services mothership is all about.

MADE IN FUTURE!

THE MOST POWERFUL INSIGHTS AND IDEAS...

To address marketers’ fears of digital transparency they authored a white paper on digital hygiene called ‘7 Original Sins of Digital Marketing’ recently.

In a special industry survey by this magazine, after scoring more than 20 local, regional and global awards shows, ENTROPIA reached the top of the media agencies awards ranking table for last year.

We stormed their offices recently, to expose these rebels from the future…

How has the journey been so far?

This has got to be the fastest year in our lives. It would be a

lie if I said that it was all very smooth and perfect.

We faced many economic headwinds, and there were very few big pitches this year.

But we also expanded from 16 people to about 90 people, going from 6 clients to 27 in this period, becoming a midsized company in the industry from scratch, with no carry-over clients, no global hand-medowns, no sister or mother (or godfather) company.

Also we are looking towards healthy profits in our first year.

And that, I suppose has to be quite exceptional, probably a record.

We laugh about the fact that there could not have been

a worse time to start a new company - but then there could not have been a better time to validate our product.

Congratulations. With hindsight, what would you have done differently?

Well, to be candid, a whole lot of things did not turn out as we expected. What went great was we managed to gather a wonderful team together; got some lovely early clients; got some delightful support from partners, giving us a big boost in the opening run.

We also raised more funds, than what in retrospect we actually needed, which ensured that today our paid-up capital

is higher than most of our peer group. Also most of the capital raised actually never got used.

What did not turn out well apart from the economy - I think certain competitors were a bit unreasonably paranoid about us. And they behaved in bad taste.

We love good competition.

And it is not unusual to see our team cheering for an opponent, if we really like something they did. Truth is we are all competing against the future, and as a progressive force, ENTROPIA adds value to the industry.

There is a lot of confusion about what ENTROPIA really does. Are you a media

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

The top 20-30% of our people are continuously being reassigned to newer team configurations simply because a particular campaign requires them to work with a content strategist rather than an experiential technology expert.

On one client, they could be working with a data architect to define cross-platform analytics; on another, they could be arguing with an AI expert on defining parameters of creative personalization. Agile is the new strong, and that agility goes deep in our DNA. We also realize Integration is a journey really, as the boundaries of what all you can put under it, is itself expanding.

But we are ahead and we keep getting better.

You won a great number of awards. What makes your work different?

What makes us particularly happy is that our innovation has been recognized not just on one or two clients, but on all our major clients. This shows that our commitment to quality is not just limited to a few, but runs across. Every client is different, but then every client presents its own area of opportunity to make a difference.

For the same reason, it would be difficult to point out one way our work is different.

But yes, common themes would be strategic relevance of ideas, new age innovations, outcome centricity, etc.

And though we do make mistakes sometimes, we are highly responsive, and we take our commitments to clients very seriously.

agency or a creative agency or a consultancy or a digital agency?

To be honest, we do not want to define ourselves by traditional scopes and boundaries.

Because we think future lives at those boundaries itself.

Yes, we are a media agency.

A highly competitive media agency, which has won a slew of blue chip clients and innovation awards against the biggest and the best. As per Nielsen, we handle almost RM300 million worth of media.

But Yes, we also are a new age creative, social & content agency - with a whole lot of clients who are looking for the best of both worlds - old world insightful storytelling, married with new age data and technology.

And yes, most of our clients see us as a digital transformation consultant, due to our depth in the data and tech arena. We have also done really good work in platform design, data consulting and CRM arena. Some of our most exciting assignments have been in these areas.

So yes, we think the lines are really blurred, and today you cannot bring differentiation in one arena, without depth in or integration with another.

Holding groups around the world struggle to offer integration. Where does ENTROPIA see itself on this?

Yes, holding groups have struggled because they were a sort of holding pens for numerous scope silos all these years, guarded fiercely by turf lords.

At ENTROPIA, we are a young team with no such baggage (Plus our CAPRI cultural system (CAPRI is Curious, Agile, Playful, Relentless and Inventive) - was at many levels designed to discourage such tendencies.

We made the CAPRI check essential for all our appraisals, recruitment and career pathway discussions. Plus we expect our leaders to not define themselves in narrow stagnant ways. Having confident, secure and multifaceted leaders, who enjoy working with each other, mean a lot to us.

Talent has been one of the biggest challenges for our industry, how are you coping?

Well just as we have few pure play managers, we have plenty of good mentors - most at the top of their game. We are a place for young people to learn fast and grow fast. It is a place, where you can be you, and you can live and learn the future.

Also we see a lot of interest in mid and senior level leaders, who see us as a futuristic place, to learn and fast track their careers with.

We have had our average share of churn; but we have by and large managed to retain our top quality people.

The way we see it is, culture, learning, and a genuine opportunity to be your best (and be recognized for it), will on most days beat size, heft, silos, and the glorious anonymity that assembly lines offer.

Where does ENTROPIA go from here?

When we look at what we have done, we feel good. And then we look at what can be done, and we feel better. Where

we want to be, there is a whole lot more to be done.

We would like to keep deepening our differentiation, while bringing our offerings to new clients, new categories, new geographies, without losing sight of promises made to those who put their trust in us. The journey so far has been better than expected, but less than dreamt.

7 COVER STORY

We have miles to go...

YES, WE ALSO ARE A NEW AGE �CREATIVE, SOCIAL & CONTENT

AGENCY - WITH A WHOLE LOT OF CLIENTS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS - OLD WORLD INSIGHTFUL STORYTELLING, MARRIED WITH NEW AGE DATA AND TECHNOLOGY. PRASHANT KUMAR

“

RAPIDFIRE Your take on plagiarism?

To take inspiration is to learn. But to not add your own value to that is cheap.

Marketing is war, do you agree?

Well, yes, but more and more the enemy is the future.

You have an unfair advantage due to your stealthy approach Predictable is boring.

Agencies tout something new everyday..

We live in a world obsessed with the new. It is unfair to blame only agencies for it. We try to put some sense in it.

Is the Industry dying?

I do not think so. It is going through deep changes and the future will look different, but the essence of what we did will remain. Digital is opportunity, but must be deployed right. Print will not die, but will shrink, like Radio.

Will media get automated?

Left brain aspects will get automated. But the conceptual and the creative will be ever more valuable.

On media owners consolidation?

I think it is expected. Their competitive reference has changed. They are now fighting against common enemies, who are giant powerful monopolies. They have got to figure out a common game.

Where is mobile headed?

Almost all digital will be mobile. Future is by and large mobile. Screen sizes will differ depending on space and power availability, but no one needs a desktop or a laptop in future.

Seven Original Sins of Digital?

1. Viewability is critical. 2. Track your campaign reach 3.

Firewall your data 4. Get real time transparency in campaign performance 5. Inventory neutrality is basic 6. Digital can be creative 7. Right platforms in right roles is important.

What happened to great ideas?

Great ideas remain the only true disruptive force in marketing. People are right now obsessed with digitizing their customer journey and delivery mechanisms; and the efficiencies and the new form factors it can offer. Ideas will come back.

Ideas must come back. We just need good creative people, who get the new language of ideas.

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

COMPARISON OF RETAIL SALES WITH OTHER ECONOMIC INDICATORS For the third quarter of 2017, Malaysia’s national economy recorded a stronger growth rate of 6.2% (Table 2, at constant prices), as compared to -1.1% for retail sales (at current prices). Private consumption registered the highest growth rates during this period (Table 2).

The average inflation rate during the third quarter of 2017 slowed down to 3.8%. The growth rates during July, August and September were 3.2%, 3.7% and 4.3% respectively. The top two increases were transportation as well as food & non-alcoholic beverages. The double-digit increase in monthly transportation costs (11.7% in September) during the last two months was due mainly to higher fuel prices.

On rising food prices, cooking oil registered the highest increase (49% in September).

Private consumption continued to climb higher by 7.2% during the third quarter of 2017.

Once again, Malaysian consumers were spending more on dining out,

services and internet shopping.

After slight improvements during the last two quarters, the Consumer Sentiment Index (by MIER) retreated to 77.1 in the latest quarter. When their takehome income did not improve, Malaysian consumers remained cautious in their monthly spending while struggling with the higher cost of living.

Unemployment rates during the third quarter of 2017 were maintained at 3.4%.

Compiled and written by Retail Group Malaysia

TABLE 1

RETAIL PERFORMANCE For the third quarter of 2017, Malaysia’s retail industry reported another disappointing result. For this latest quarter, retail sales declined by 1.1% as compared to the same period in 2016 (see Table 1).

Once again, this latest quarterly result did not meet market expectations. Members of MRA projected the third quarter growth rate in August 2017 at 2.9%. It was also way below Retail Group Malaysia forecast at 4.0%.

After a short recovery during the second quarter of this year, retail sales slid into the red again in the latest quarter.

The retail industry failed to bounce back from the poor performance during the same period in 2016 (1.9% in third quarter of 2016). The early Hari Raya festival this year (in June 2017 as compared to July 2016) partly contributed to lower retail sales.

Despite the strong economic performance during the third quarter, the majority of consumers did not receive higher take-home income. The propensity to spend was not high as reflected in the decline in Consumer Sentiment Index during the same period.

Rising costs of living also deteriorated the purchasing power of Malaysian consumers.

For the first 9 months of this year, the retail sales growth rate was 1.9%, as compared to the same period a year ago.

MALAYSIA RETAIL INDUSTRY REPORT

YEAR ON YEAR PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN RETAIL SALES (WEIGHTED), 2016/17 TYPE

PERIOD

% GROWTH

Retail sales

Jul-Sep 2016

1.9

Jan-Mar 2017

-1.2

Apr-Jun 2017

4.9

Jul-Sep 2017

-1.1

Jan-Sep 2017

1.9

Source: MRA/ Retail Group Malaysia

TABLE 2

Members of Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA) were interviewed on their retail sales performances for the second half of 2017.

COMPARISON OF RETAIL SALES WITH OTHER ECONOMIC INDICATORS, 2017 ECONOMIC INDICATOR

1ST QTR

2ND QTR

3RD QTR

GDP (%)

5.6

5.8

6.2

Inflation rate (%)

4.3

4.0

3.8

Private consumption (%)

6.6

7.1

7.2

Retail sales (%)

-1.2

4.9

-1.1

Consumer Sentiment Index

76.6

80.7

77.1

Unemployment rate (%)

3.5

3.4

3.4

Source: Bank Negara/ Department of Statistics/ MIER/ Retail Group Malaysia

TABLE 3

RETAIL MARKETING

YEAR ON YEAR PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN RETAIL SALES BY RETAIL SUB-SECTOR, 2017 RETAIL SUB-SECTOR

1ST QTR

2ND QTR

3RD QTR

Department store cum supermarket Department store

-3.7

4.1

-3.5

-0.1

15.1

-4.4

Supermarket and hypermarket

-4.8

0.8

-5.2

Fashion and fashion accessories

-0.1

2.5

-4.8

Pharmacy and personal care

3.7

7.9

6.0

Other specialty retail stores

-3.1

6.3

5.9

Source: MRA/Retail Group Malaysia

TABLE 4

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3-MONTH RETAIL SALES FORECAST BY RETAIL SUB-SECTOR, OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2017 RETAIL SUB-SECTOR

% GROWTH RATE

Overall (weighted)

3.8

Department store cum supermarket

1.8

Department store

9.3

Supermarket and hypermarket

-1.2

Fashion and fashion accessories

5.4

Pharmacy and personal care

7.1

Other specialty retail stores

7.3

Source: MRA/Retail Group Malaysia

RETAIL SUB-SECTORS’ SALES COMPARISON During the third quarter of 2017, all retail sub-sectors suffered declines in sales except Pharmacy and Personal Care subsector and Other Specialty Retail Stores sub-sector (see Table 3).

After a short recovery, the Department Store cum Supermarket sub-sector suffered a dip in sales during the third 3 months of this year with a growth of -3.5%.

After a strong rebound during the previous quarter, the Department Store sub-sector slid into the red with a growth rate of -4.4% during the third quarter.

Despite selling basic necessities, the Supermarket and Hypermarket sub-sector reported the worst result during the latest quarter. For the third quarter of 2017, retail sales of this subsector dropped by 5.2%.

The Fashion and Fashion Accessories sub-sector did not fare well during the third quarter of 2017. As compared to the same period a year ago, fashion retailers suffered a negative growth of 4.8% during this latest quarter.

During the third 3-month period of this year, sales in the Pharmacy and Personal Care sub-sector recorded a sustainable growth rate of 6.0%. This is the best performer among the retail sub-sectors during the third quarter of 2017.

The Other Specialty Stores sub-sector (including photo shop, toy stores, fitness equipment, second-hand goods’ stores, TV shopping channels as well as foods & beverage outlets) reported another encouraging growth rate of 5.9% during the third quarter of 2017, compared to the same period last year.

NEXT 3 MONTHS’ FORECAST Once again, members of the Retailers’ Association are not optimistic about their businesses in the next 3 months. They estimate an average growth rate of 3.8% during the fourth quarter of 2017 (see Table 4) The department store cum supermarket operators are expecting their businesses to rebound moderately with a growth rate of 1.8% during the last quarter of this year.

On the other hand, department store operators look forward to their businesses bouncing back strongly with a growth rate of 9.3% for the last

”

DURING THE THIRD 3-MONTH PERIOD OF THIS YEAR, SALES IN THE PHARMACY AND PERSONAL CARE SUBSECTOR RECORDED A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RATE OF 6.0%. THIS IS THE BEST PERFORMER AMONG THE RETAIL SUB-SECTORS IN THE THIRD QUARTER. 2017.

“

3-month period of 2017.

Supermarket and hypermarket operators do not anticipate their businesses to return to black anytime soon.

Their businesses will remain in the red with a -1.2% growth rate for the fourth quarter of 2017.

The business of retailers in the Fashion and Fashion Accessories sub-sector is expected to recover well with a positive growth rate of 5.4% during the last quarter of 2017.

Retailers in the Pharmacy and Personal Care sub-sector are expecting to maintain their growth at 7.1% during the fourth quarter of 2017.

Retailers in the Other Specialty Stores sub-sector (including photo shops, toys store, fitness equipment stores, secondhand goods’ stores, TV shopping channels as well as foods & beverages outlets) remain optimistic about their businesses in the coming months. For the last 3-month period of 2017, this sub-sector expects its business to expand by 7.3% as compared to the same period a year ago.

REST OF 2017 AND YEAR 2018 With consideration of the latest poor results, Retail Group Malaysia (RGM) revised its annual growth forecast downwards again from 3.7% to 2.2% for the Malaysian retail industry in 2017.

This is the third revision since the end of last year.

Based on this latest revision, the total sales turnover for Malaysia retail industry in 2017 is estimated at RM 100 billion.

Fourth quarter growth rate’s estimate has been revised from 5.5% to 4.5%, taking into consideration the growth of 0.3% achieved during the same period a year ago. Retail Group Malaysia is more hopeful of the retail performance during the year-end festive period and school holiday as compared to MRA retailers (estimate at 3.8%).

Retail Group Malaysia projects a 6.0% growth rate in retail sales for 2018. The recovery of the Malaysian retail market next year is highly dependent on the general elections, external economic demand and the ringgit’s performance.

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

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ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

YOU ASK THE QUESTIONS WE GET THE ANSWERS!

11

Q&A

We invite readers to ask questions to prominent industry leaders and we will publish their answers here…

Avinash Sahu, Head of Orion Worldwide Malaysia ASKS Henry Tan, Group Chief Content & Consumer Officer of Astro...

Q

Astro has embarked on the journey towards digital transformation and the latest strategic partnership with Karangkraf is one of the many steps. How will you bridge the divide between TV & Digital to realise the value of cross-platform planning and buying? How is Astro TV going to provide metrics that is consistent with the current digital performance metrics, so there’s a consolidated view of a campaign’s performance?

We believe the next digital wave will be “digital vernaculars” and our partnership with Karangkraf paves the way for us to realise this next big opportunity. Increasing demand for ‘video inventory’ will provide opportunities for the large library within Astro and we look to create new video-IPs from Karangkraf.

Everything being digitised, we believe there will not be a divide between TV, Radio and Digital as they will be one and the same. Consumerism will change; how they view, enjoy and experience content will evolve but the fundamentals of understanding and delighting consumers remain.

We are working on integrating all consumer research from digital, TV, radio and purchase behaviour, into one data point allowing advertisers and agencies a smart sensible means to measure and plan across platforms in a true 360 manner.

Five industry changes that will facilitate new smart measurement...

A

1. Analog television transmission is expected to end in 2018. As more homes receive ‘digital television’, their ability to send back rich data (RPD) improves, resulting in better insights.

2. With the maturing of audiowatermarking and/or audio-matching technologies, there is an efficient way

to bring daily reporting to Radio Listenership, combined with TV-like post-buys.

3. Astro uses comScore tags across all its digital-assets and the reporting can be seamlessly combined with TV-viewership and Radio-listenership data.

4. Purchase Panel Data is already fused into TV Measurement in the form of “Buyer Ratings”. In the near future, a client can combine their datasets with our system to build their own custom audience-segments for greater targeting and higher ROI. 5. With close to 75% household penetration, Astro has transactional and billing relationship with our customers. Every day, we are adding more colour and attributes for our consumers, all of which will fuel our subscription and advertising initiatives.

Stephanie Lim, Director of Top Vision Outdoor ASKS Bala Pomaleh, CEO of IPG Mediabrands Malaysia...

Q

1) How do you feel about consolidation among OOH media owners?

2) Are proposals for media integration acceptable to clients and media agencies?

3) Can the market accept media integration?

1) There are over 300 Out-Of-Hone (OOH) media owners in Malaysia, many enterprises owning just one site. Big Tree Outdoor which is the largest player in the market is estimated to corner 35% of the market. The other players making up the top 10 list are estimated to collectively have 35% share too. The balance are made up of smaller players. In most advanced markets there are only 3 to 4 dominant players. I am all for consolidation as there will be better economies of scale for the vendors and...

- More uniformity of sites, there are too many formats, sizes and designs now. Too cluttered.

- Better geographical coverage for vendors which means it will be more competitive and can add value to clients.

- Bigger geographical footprint means you can compete with other national media. No reason why OOH cannot be a primary media option in a client’s plan.

A

2) Clients want integrated solutions.

Integration of not just media channels or formats but also with creative messaging.

Then you have a powerful campaign. Our best work has been when we are able to integrate message and media.

CUSTOMERS’ ”EXPECTATIONS

WILL OUTPACE COMPANIES’ ABILITIES TO EVOLVE OR INVENT EXPERIENCES, AND THE DEFERRED TRANSFORMATION IN 2017 MEANS THAT COMPANIES CAN’T ADJUST FAST ENOUGH OR WELL ENOUGH.

“

FORRESTER REPORT 2018 PREDICTIONS

3) I don’t see why the market will be against integration. Consumers don’t consume media in isolation. The cartoon below illustrates this point very well. It is critical to understand the role of each media so that they work in sync.

Focussing only on last mile attribution is a big mistake.

Readers can send their questions, and who they wish to direct them to at ham@adoimagazine.com

IN ONLINE ”MARKETING, DATA IS MOSTLY JUST A FANCY WORD FOR PERSONAL AND PRIVATE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU THAT IS COLLECTED WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT.

“

ADCONTRARIAN

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ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

HOW SERIOUS IS MALAYSIA’S CREATIVE BRAIN DRAIN?

IS ABOUT 60 SERIOUS ENOUGH? HERE YOU GO…..

COURTESY OF CREATIVE INDUSTRY SUPER SLEUTH EDWARD ONG. Adam Miranda - Founder and Creative Director, Fishermen Integrated Singapore Alex Lim - Executive Creative Director, Cheil Worldwide Singapore Andrew Low - Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy Beijing Andy Soong Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Alpha, Vietnam Boon Chuang - Freelance Creative Director, Shanghai Boone Wong - Creative, Anomaly Shanghai Brian Capel - CEO, Publicis ONE Indonesia Cheok Boon Keng - Group Creative Director, 180China, Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai Chow Kok Keong - Executive Creative Director, Hakuhodo Indonesia Christel Chong - Regional Art Director, Red Fuse Communications Hong Kong Colin Pereira - Founder and Head of Creative, Fuse Singapore Daniel Kee - Creative Director, MullenLowe Singapore Danny Thong - Creative Director, Dentsu Myanmar Desmond Ho - Creative Partner & Head of Tech, Tian Yu Kong Shanghai Douglas Goh - Creative Group Head, TBWA\ Group Singapore Eddie Azadi - Creative Director, Google APAC, Singapore Edmund Choe - Executive Creative Director, TBWA Group\APAC, Singapore Edwin Leong - Executive Creative Director, JWT Indonesia Greg Yeo - Freelance Creative Director, Singapore Hor Yew Pong - Creative Director, Cheil Worldwide Hong Kong Izwar Zakri - Co-Founder & Creative Director, K+Z advertising, Cambodia Jamie Toh - Senior Art Director, McCann Health Australia Jazzy Chan - Group Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai Joanna Spencer – Social Media Strategist, Shire Council, Australia Joe Teoh - Ex Creative Director Publicis Vietnam - now running production house Joel Lim - Associate Creative Director, iris Worldwide, London Joey Khor - Executive Creative Director, George P Johnson Experience Marketing, Beijing Joshua Tay - Regional Creative Director, Red Fuse Communications, Hong Kong Karen Wong - Head of Art, Havas Media Singapore Kay Khoo - Partner, Fish Do It Consultants, India Kelvin Leong - Executive Creative Director, BBDO Shanghai Kevin Lee - Co-Founder & Creative, logicillogic, Shanghai Kit Ong – Chief Creative Officer & Partner, The Purpose Group, Vietnam

Lee Gaik Bee - Executive Creative Director, Hakuhodo Indonesia Lennie Chan Siew Lian – VP, Digital Content, DBS Singapore Leslie Paul - Creative Director, The Classic Partnership, Dubai Lydia Lim Former No.1 in CampaignBrief Asia Creative Rankings, Singapore Malcolm Soh - Owner & Executive Producer, Laughing Buddha, Vietnam Mo Nazmi Ahmad - Creative, Saatchi & Saatchi, Dubai Naz Kasim - Creative Director, Havas Worldwide New York Nikken Chong - Associate Creative Director, Anomaly Shanghai Ong Kien Hoe - Executive Creative Director, Y&R China Pebble Goh - Creative Director, BBDO New York Primus Nair - Executive Creative Director, BBDO Singapore Richard Chong - Group Creative Director, McCann Health Beijing Ronald Ng – Chief Creative Officer North America, DigitasLBi New York Sathi Anand - Executive Creative Director, Publicis Indonesia Sid Quah - Director Of Photography, Carat Content APAC, Singapore Simon Fong - Associate Creative Director, MullenLowe Shanghai Tan Giap How - Associate Creative Director & Head of Art, BBDO Singapore Tan Yan Chay - Executive Creative Director, BBDO Shanghai Ted Lim - Regional Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Aegis Network APAC, Singapore Theophilues Tan - Associate Creative Director, BBDO Singapore Tim Chan - Founder & Creative Director, GOVT Singapore Weina Cheryl - Senior Copywriter, Cornwell Brand & Communications, Australia Woon Hoh, Chief Creative Officer, Hakuhodo Asia Pacific, Bangkok Yee Wai Khuen - Executive Creative Director, Y&R Hong Kong Yuki Siew - Freelance Creative Director, Hong Kong

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

Who stole the limelight last year?

The Malaysian advertising, media and marketing industries spend millions on award shows every year.

There is an award show almost every month for the marketing communications industry in Malaysia. Fame brings fortune is the mantra most companies adhere to in an industry that is as competitive as it is aggressive in promoting its victories. We looked at more than 20 award competitions over the past year and tabulated these rankings from all the major global, regional and local shows. For those who made it to the Top 10 list, congratulations. And here’s to another year of celebrating excellence with your peers in the industry.

TOP 10 MOST AWARDED MARKETERS 2017

1 Etika 2 Maxis 3 McDonald’s 4 KFC 5 Unilever 6 Mamee 6 Mudah.my 7 Nestlé 8 Beiersdorf 9 Lazada 9 Nippon Paint

2

3

AGENCY RANKING

1 Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide 2 Naga DDB 3 Dentsu LHS 4 FCB 5 Ensemble Worldwide 6 Geometry Global 7 TBWA 8 M&C Saatchi 9 theLABEL Ads 10 BBDO

Top 10 Most Awarded Media Agencies 2017 1 ENTROPIA 2 Universal McCann 3 Initiative Media 4 OMD 5 Mindshare 6 Zenith Media 7 Vizeum 8 Starcom Mediavest Group 9 m/SIX 10 Dentsu X

Top 10 Most Awarded Digital Agencies 2017

Top Awarded Agency Networks 2017

1

Top 10 Most Awarded Creative Agencies 2017

13

4

5

6

1 Isobar 2 Society 3 Fishermen Integrated 4 Orion Social Media 5 SearchGuru 6 Dreamteam Agency 7 Torpedo Ideas 7 FALCON Agency 7 Lion & Lion 7 Kingdom Digital

Rankings were tabulated by scoring metal wins from the following shows: Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, WARC Awards, Spikes Asia, AdFest, The Drum Awards, Ad Stars, New York Festivals, AME Awards, Clio Awards, London International Award, Dragons of Malaysia & Asia, Putra Awards, Malaysian Media Awards, A+M Marketing Excellence Awards, A+M Agency of the Year Awards, Kancils, APPIES Malaysia & Asia, Malaysian Effie Awards.

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ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

AGENCY OF THE MONTH

THE WORK THE WORK THE WORK

BBDO

From left: Rafiq Ridzwan, VJ Anand, Farrah Harith McPherson.

We begin our Agency of the Month series with a take on BBDO Malaysia. Here we spotlight the thoughts of agency head Farrah Harith McPherson (who came on board a year ago), Executive Creative Director VJ Anand (of Cannes Lions fame) and Planning Director Rafiq Ridzwan (an Asian Marketing Effectiveness award winner).

BBDO Malaysia is also riding high on its ‘Heels of Steel’ initiative – a series of talks by prominent leaders aimed at inspiring and accelerating the progress of women in the workplace. But there’s more to BBDO than it being the most creative agency network in the world in The Gunn Report, 11 years in a row...

There are exciting brand stories in this digital age; going up in a flash and then forgotten soon. How do you create ideas that do not get swept away with this crazypaced media blitzkrieg?

VJ Anand: There are a lot of campaigns coming out using new technology such as A.I. based ideas and data driven campaigns but when we get lost with doing what’s new and what’s trendy, we forget to do what’s memorable. That’s one thing we try to make sure we do here in BBDO. We make sure our work is memorable.

We make sure that it always goes back to a human truth and insight. We always go back to what’s relevant in our culture and society, then make sure Malaysians connect with it.

There’s something iconic about each piece of work so that they will remember it. All the data in the world is meaningless unless it is anchored in a sound strategy with compelling creative that will result in the desired behavioural change.

BBDO’s key focus is always

Business Director Andrea Ma and Farrah

to deliver creative work that will drive business results for clients. A good example of this is our Mercedes Benz C Class campaign on Instastories (Instagram Stories). This campaign drove actual footfall and test drive bookings for our client, which at the end of the day is why we do what we do.

Do you think there needs to be a shift from managing brands to manage the culture around the brand?

What processes you believe should be in place to implement this in 2018?

VJ Anand: It’s not just about managing culture around the brand. It’s a whole ecosystem and economy around the brand. Things are moving from a product and brand economy to an experience economy. We believe in building experiences around the brand and its audience. Connecting them and engaging them. There’s a danger of thinking our job is to just push that particular product, when our job in fact is to create a connection between the brand and the ones who experience it. That’s when we start moving away from the dated way of tackling consumers

and advertising. For example, we were extremely lucky to be able to work with Taylor’s University to create a “mind reading café” at their Open Day. This was a very engaging way to connect with their audience in a nontraditional way.

To acquire this deep and lasting connect with brands, the agency will need capabilities and resources to understand the diverse platforms that will be at play to prop up the brand’s cultural role. What challenges do you see in building those capabilities?

Rafiq: The challenge to build capabilities is an ongoing one, and we are constantly evaluating which capabilities we should focus on to make the work better. The biggest challenge we face as an industry is that we get carried away with tools and packaging them in a way that is ‘marketable’ to our clients, and we seem to be forgetting the fundamentals that go into creating a connection between the brand and the audience – the human truth and insight.

What’s exciting is that there are so many more avenues where we can find access to the data

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AGENCY OF THE MONTH

What are the key BBDO Malaysia strengths you will pitch to your prospective clients in 2018?

Farrah: BBDO has an unwavering commitment to understanding the Malaysian consumer. We are also fueled by our creative DNA that runs through the veins of everyone in the #bbdofam throughout the network, which is always about delivering the most creative work that drives business results.

”

that informs the experience we want to create - from social listening, to lookalike targeting, to programmatic. Building capabilities is about ensuring we have the right people, processes and tools to deliver what is best for our clients.

This also means ensuring we have the right partnerships in place that can help us achieve this. For example, the BBDO Creative Agency partnership with Facebook puts us as an agency in a very strong position to leverage on that platform from a creative standpoint.

The advertising culture of the masses, and all things linear are disappearing. How do you think agencies will do the uncoupling of their various departments, units, resources? In short, do you foresee some restructuring

trends in 2018?

Farrah: We are already beginning to see restructuring happening in agencies. In the good old days, media and creative were one. One team, providing one solution for clients.

Then to respond to clients’ demands for more transparency and accountability, the functions were split between media and creative. With the rise of digital, we began to see specialist agencies pop up. The result of that saw clients finding it increasingly difficult to manage so many agencies on their roster as it was a challenge to ensure seamless integration between agencies. Recognizing this, we at BBDO Malaysia have done away with the traditional division of labour between traditional and creative digital teams. Our team is a hybrid, led by a digital native. Our objective is to come

WITH THE RISE OF DIGITAL, WE BEGAN TO SEE SPECIALIST AGENCIES POP UP. THE RESULT OF SAW CLIENTS FINDING IT INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO MANAGE SO MANY AGENCIES ON THEIR ROSTER AS IT WAS A CHALLENGE TO ENSURE SEAMLESS INTEGRATION BETWEEN AGENCIES.

“

FARRAH HARITH MCPHERSON, GENERAL MANAGER, BBDO MALAYSIA

up with a media-neutral creative idea, that is anchored in sound strategy – and then figure out the best way to dimensionalise this idea through the different channels.

We are also beginning to see more clients request ONE team – and we at BBDO Malaysia are beginning to present the “BEST OF” teams – which gives us the ability to pick the most capable people, for the right roles and offer a customized client team that best caters to their needs.

New communication channels are coming up even as agencies try to grasp the existing ones.

Should brands pick and choose?

Farrah: Definitely! Brands should be more open to trying out new channels – but this decision should be based on what will work best with their target audience. Given the current economic challenges, where we spend our clients money, and how we spend it is extremely important. While we want to be innovative and excite consumers by being present in all new channels, relevance and audience understanding must be the basis for decision making.

We need to have a strategy for how we are going to use that channel and decide on the objectives upfront.

An important element that is sometimes forgotten in the excitement of new channels is measurement. There needs to be a structured way to measure the performance of the channel against the objectives set.

Do you see the advertising industry struggling to find young brilliant minds join the industry?

Farrah: A few years ago, we started having a massive brain drain to our neighboring countries. Now, more of our brilliant minds are moving into the consulting sphere.

We need to find ways to attract and retain the best talent. It is a vicious circle though, as we can only afford to pay what we earn.

With the cut-throat competition out there, and our agency fees being slashed – it gets difficult to hire the best talent and pay them accordingly.

On a non-monetary level, we need to increase the prestige of working in the industry and demonstrate to young graduates that advertising opens up a world of opportunity for them.

We need to show them that it is not just graduates of mass communications who enter into this field.

Some of the best talents I have come across were lawyers by profession, for example.

We need people with strong analytical backgrounds, psychology, tech, finance – the list goes on.

What we do have as a massive advantage in this industry is the culture of creativity. We need to do a better job of articulating how great this industry is.

This is one of the most exciting times to be in advertising and it is a shame if we can’t get more people to see that and join us.

BBDO recently won Campaign magazine’s Gold for Southeast Asia’s Creative Agency of the Year!

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ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

PERSONALITY FEATURE

How does it feel to have helmed an international agency, then run your own shop Merdeka LHS, and now back to leading a global communications network?

Merdeka LHS is still an ongoing project – partnering with entrepreneurs and start-ups, creating new brands from the ground up and also working with a select group of multi-nationals on important briefs. In our startup phase, we had support from many friends, MNCs such as Coca-Cola, Unilever and Nestlé as well as SMEs. Running Merdeka LHS was a good learning curve for us, both as people and entrepreneurs.

You soon learn that the friendships you built over the years are going to hold you in good stead. The briefs are very clear, given by the people who approve the creatives, and does not rely on hierarchies and there is no power distance. Our clients knew exactly what they wanted – creative ideas that made them stand out.

The marketing world was also moving at breakneck speed, we needed to be on the right train and we decided the Dentsu Aegis Network was the best one. It operated as one team with many companies embracing the potential of disruption together and progressing quickly to become a 100% digital economy business.

Ted Lim also sold us the idea of being in a weird and wonderful place!

What must evolve in the marketer’s mindset to unleash the power of creativity?

Once we learn the new industry nomenclature: Programmatic advertising, content with context, new and emerging technologies – AI, VR and AR, machine learning and voice activation – and we have to master how all of these work – it comes back to the people element.

We need people who can think, create, produce, and imagine, stand from a new place and take you to new ones. So you would need to inculcate a hybrid culture at the workplace - originate and build prototypes of creative ideas, design and bring human-centric principles to marketing solutions.

Art Directors and Copywriters are inventions of the 196070s Mad Men period where print was the

NOMENCLATURE, DATO SERI VIDA, BELGIUM WINNING THE WORLD CUP...

TONY SAVARIMUTHU IS A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, AN AD PERSONA WHO HAS WORKED WITH THE BEST IN THE WORLD AND CONTINUES TO DO SO. HE NOW LEADS DENTSU LHS AND RELISHES HIS ROLE AS AGENT PROVOCATEUR...

prevalent medium. But the primacy of the idea was never in doubt and its ability to deliver thought and drive action was also a high point.

Today we have to do a number of things – we can’t be stuck in functional, average and everyday executions. We have made accepting this as a norm and both clients and agencies at the very least need to deliver a clever and unexpected take, and craft this to high standards.

Reducing budgets make the latter near impossible at times.

Tell us about a social media

campaign in Malaysia that stuck with you?

Perhaps we should not get into tags such as social media campaigns. Good Creative work with insightful thinking gets shared on social media, has high WOM, drives results and wins awards. The strategy, context of the work and creative idea should precede the media platform.

Mudah.my’s Ho Ee Ki had all of these and was a great creative campaign and as such was a phenomenon on social media. Etika’s Dairy Champ billboards

which featured Datuk David Arumugam and Datuk Seri Vida are good examples where traditional media initiated great social media engagement and WOM. What is the best clientagency dynamic?

Client leaders should have the last word on strategy and agency creative leaders should have the last word on the creative product. I have heard some say that Creative Directors have lost their gravitas in board rooms, if they make it there at all. I don’t believe this to be true at all. The most creative companies I have worked with were highly organised, did not have hierarchical structures which agencies had to plod through, and did not operate through decision making by large committees.

What’s exciting for Dentsu LHS in 2018?

We are attempting to redefine our world by building brand communities around digital and brand catalysts, analysts, creative hybrids, creative technologists and experience designers. Our creative heads, Szu and Hwa, have initiated the Dentsu Innovation Scale project which will redefine our creative product to help us drive our own creative standards for our clients, and our Chief Strategy Officer Dr. Milan has just completed work on our Data Rich Creativity planning model.

What books have you been reading lah?

I am re-reading Douglas Coupland’s Eleanor Rigby and Gen X – Tales For an Accelerated Culture and Absolutely on Music – Murakami’s conversations with Seiji Ozawa. I am also contemplating the World Cup, SXSW and the Heartland Festival for 2018.

Am listening to R.E.M on Spotify and I think Belgium is going to win the World Cup because of Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard.

Tony Savarimuthu was recently awarded the International Advertising Association “Inspire Global Champion” Award in Bucharest. He has led awardwinning agencies at McCann Worldgroup Malaysia and Singapore, Leo Burnett and the Malaysian 4As in a 25-year career span. Tony also sits on the Board of MyCreative Ventures, the Government’s investment arm to elevate the creative industries.

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1

GEN Z IS IN Gen-Zers are those aged 22 and below, in 2017.

Goldman Sachs’ research found Gen Z more valuable to organisations than millennials because of their purchasing power. They make up the new workforce; and are the largest consumers of social media. So pay heed to the Gen Zs, and not think millennials.

VIDEO CONSUMPTION TO RISE If you haven’t integrated video into your content strategy, it’s time! Data is no longer a barrier as cost loses steam. Trends show that video is growing, matching the growth Gen- Zers. Social Media Today found that audiences spend an average of 40 minutes on YouTube daily, 5 minutes more than on Facebook.

TO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY FOR 2018 Brands are scrambling to get their brand plans and social media strategies ready for this coming year. If you haven’t started, now’s the time! Here are our 2018 predictions to help you out with that...

EPHEMERAL CONTENT WILL GROW With over 200 million daily active users worldwide, Instagram has surpassed Snapchat since the launch of Instagram Stories less than a year ago. This means if you want to appeal to Gen Zs, you need to incorporate Instagram Stories into your social media strategy.

8

AR USE WILL RISE With the release of iPhone 8, iPhone X, and Zenfone AR, all of which have implemented AR technology, mobile gaming and social media platforms will see a rise in AR experiences.

In 2018, expect to see Live events and video entertainment being a major consumer-centric application of AR.

by Kim Chew Business Director, Society IPG Mediabrands Malaysia.

7

INFLUENCER MARKETING Marketers should not leave influencer marketing out in 2018. Likely, brands will continue to leverage on influencer marketing to connect with audiences, particularly Gen Z. In fact, a study by Linqia finds that 94% of marketers who utilise influencer marketing believe that it is successful. If you don’t want to fall behind, be sure to include this as part of your plan for 2018.

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SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES

CONTENT NEEDS MOBILE Marketers must leverage on vertical content that is optimised for mobile. Studies establish that vertical content is effective in marketing to Gen Zs. Ad recalls are higher when mobile-optimised. ComScore found 33% of Malaysians aged between 15- 24 and 25-34 rely on their mobiles to access digital content. Go for opportunities that help you curate vertical, thumb-stopping posts.

PREDICTIONS

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USER-GENERATED CONTENT 2018 will continue with user-generated content as key to brand’s social media strategy, as users tend to see UGCs as a source of credibility.

According to Econsultancy’s 2017 Digital Trends, UGCs depicting particular product or service are 68% more effective for brands compared to just photos, videos, and text ads.

5 CONTENT MARKETING SUPREME Users are more inclined to relate to stories, and that’s why brands are noticing the power relevant content has in influencing customer behaviour.

An increased conversion potential, more social traffic, and even a stronger brand-consumer relationship are all positive spin-offs. Econsultancy and Adobe report 29% of brands consider this top priority.

OFFLINE TO ONLINE AD TARGETING With Facebook testing ad targeting to people who’ve visited physical stores and vice versa, brands will convert their existing customer bases into an audience on both Facebook and Instagram. On top of that, brands can also use this audience to find people with similar interests, who are likely to drop by their brick-and-mortar store.

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ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

BRAND RANKINGS

CELCOM BECOMES MALAYSIA’S STRONGEST BRAND IN 2017

First to achieve AAA rating in Malaysia Every year, leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance puts thousands of the world’s top brands to the test, evaluating which are the most powerful and valuable, publishing the Brand Finance Top 100 Malaysia Brands.

Brand Finance Asia Pacific annual Top 100 Malaysia Brands rankings showed sustained growth in overall brand value by Malaysian brands.

PETRONAS, Genting and Maybank continue to dominate the top 3 rankings in 2017 with a combined brand value of over US$15 billion.

PETRONAS stays on top and becomes the first US$10 billion brand in Malaysia.

Far ahead of the #2 ranked Genting which had a brand value of US$ 3.17 billion highlighting the significant gap between the top two brands.

The US$27.5 billion combined value of top 10 brands make up for 61% of the total value of the top 100. This shows the significant effort required by brands outside of the top 10 in terms of brand strength improvement and revenue growth if they wish to compete in the top 10 space.

Celcom has taken over the title of the strongest Malaysian brand from CIMB and the only brand with AAA brand rating while Digi managed to get back to the top 10 with TM just out of the top 10 position.

The brand value gap between #1 and #2 in 2017 continues to be an astronomical figure of US$7 billion making it hard to displace PETRONAS from their #1 position. Sime Darby became the most improved brand with an increase of absolute value of US$586 million this year.

There are 5 new entrants coming into this year Top 100 rankings namely OSK, Takaful Malaysia, Press Metal, Gas Malaysia and Altel.

The highest intangible value brand continues to be Padini Holdings with a brand value to Enterprise value ratio of 57%, a slight

increase of 1% comparing to last year highlighting the role of brand for business success.

Samir Dixit, Managing Director of Brand Finance Asia Pacific highlighted that “PETRONAS is in a very strong position and it will continue to grow its brand strength and brand value.

While Malaysian brands have grown considerably well overall, it is the brand strength for most brands that still remains a concern.”

“Also, the rankings still remains very top heavy with 61% of the total brand value contributed by the Top 10 brands and 93% contributed by the Top 50 brands. We would like to see a more diverse mix at the top and more significant value increase at the bottom which means other brands must start focusing on their value and brand strengtha.”

Samir also challenged Malaysian companies to be more brand-driven and not sales or offers-driven, “These, while help sell in the short term, might destroy the long term value and the strength of the brand.”

“Brand has to be a strategic agenda for the senior management and boards and must be managed like any other business asset and not just a legal trademark.”

Focus on Brand Strength The brand strength, measured by Brand Strength Index (‘BSI’), have remained stagnant in terms of their brand strength and while they may be doing well locally, they have been losing out to some of the key competitors in the region as they lack competitiveness outside of Malaysia market.

Celcom is named the strongest brand as a first timer with the only brand attaining triple-A brand rating replacing CIMB this year.

CIMB however, has lost their rating and has dropped few rating behind making it harder for the close up between Digi, PETRONAS and Maybank who are following closely behind Celcom with their AAArating.

MALAYSIA’S TOP 10 MOST VALUABLE BRANDS RANK 2017

RANK 2016

BRAND

SECTOR

BRAND VALUE 2017 (USDM)

BRAND VALUE 2016 (USDM)

BV/EV 2017

BRAND RATING 2017

BRAND RATING 2016

1

1

PETRONAS

Oil & Gas

10,596

10,024

18%

AAA-

AA+

2

2

Genting

Hotels

3,179

2,996

25%

AA

AA

3

3

Maybank

Banks

2,548

2,050

15%

AAA-

AA+

4

6

Sime Darby

Food

2,225

1,639

13%

AA-

AA

5

5

CIMB

Banks

1,894

1,716

19%

AA+

AAA-

6

7

Tenaga Nasional

Utilities

1,583

1,187

6%

AA

AA

7

9

Public Bank

Banks

1,477

1,087

8%

AA+

AA

8

4

YTL

Engineering & Construction

1,468

1,895

13%

A

AA-

9

10

Maxis

Telecoms

1,369

1,080

11%

AA+

AA+

10

11

Digi

Telecoms

1,244

947

13%

AAA-

AA+

MALAYSIA’S MOST VALUABLE BRANDS (11-50) 11

8

TM

1,215

AA+

18%

1,101

AA

12

17

Celcom

909

AAA

17%

500

AA

13

15

Berjaya

825

A

32%

613

A+

14

13

Astro Malaysia

786

AA

19%

810

AA+

15

12

IOI Group

732

A+

6%

859

A+

16

14

Axiata

679

AA-

N/A

625

AA

17

16

RHB Bank

627

A+

14%

506

A+

18

28

Setia

572

A+

17%

251

A+

19

22

AirAsia

535

AA+

12%

323

AA

20

20

Hong Leong Financial

472

AA-

11%

353

A+

21

24

KLK

436

A-

6%

312

AA-

22

18

Felda Global Ventures

423

A

15%

389

A

23

21

Sunway

398

A+

17%

330

A

24

27

AmBank

392

AA

12%

279

A+

25

19

Misc

365

A

4%

386

AA-

26

26

IHH

336

A-

2%

280

A+

27

42

IJM

326

A

8%

162

AA-

28

23

Malaysia Airlines

314

A+

N/A

316

A

29

37

U Mobile

301

AA-

31%

185

A

30

25

Magnum

276

A+

N/A

289

A+

31

32

Eco World

242

A+

16%

209

A+

32

31

Hap Seng

241

A+

4%

215

A+

33

34

Gamuda

238

A+

6%

195

AA-

34

33

Bank Islam

233

AA-

14%

196

A

35

41

Parkson

233

AA-

35%

164

A

36

30

Sapura Energy

229

A

4%

227

A

37

40

Batu Kawan

226

A-

6%

173

A

38

35

Dutch Lady Milk

226

AA-

28%

191

A+

39

44

Mah Sing

214

BBB

20%

155

A-

40

29

Proton

212

A+

14%

234

A+

41

58

Padini

206

AA-

57%

88

A+

42

36

Malaysia Airports

196

AA-

5%

189

AA-

43

39

Malakoff

182

A+

4%

179

A+

44

72

Tropicana

175

A+

27%

46

A-

45

47

Kossan Rubber Industries

161

BBB

15%

140

A+

46

49

Top Glove

160

A+

11%

130

AA-

47

0

OSK

158

A

31%

-

A-

48

51

DRB-HICOM

156

A-

N/A

125

A+

49

45

KPJ Healthcare

156

A

11%

149

A

50

50

Affin Bank

150

AA-

14%

130

A

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

4 TRENDS TRANSFORMING MALAYSIAN DIGITAL MARKETING

19

TRENDS 2018

By Dheeraj Raina, Managing Director Malaysia for AdParlor Asia Pacific

THE RISE OF THE BUY BUTTON 2018 is likely to see social commerce take off in a big way in Malaysia.

Businesses in Malaysia have the luxury of operating in a market that enjoys high penetration of digital, social and smartphones. Combined, this means that the consumer base here is largely mobile-first, digitally savvy and always connected.

Instead of just using social media advertising to drum up interest in products or drive users to a separate landing page, brands are now be able to compress the entire marketing funnel by integrating ‘buy’-buttons in their campaigns.

To do this, businesses must analyse and optimise existing factors such as operation processes and UX design, to provide a more seamless online shopping experience. With a built-in buy button and mobile payment options, customers should be able to go from discovery to

checkout with a single click.

It also means that marketers will finally make the big leap to measuring success beyond vanity metrics such as likes, follows and shares, to meaningful performance markers such as conversions.

CASHLESS ECONOMY GOES MAINSTREAM In 2018, selling to customers on the go will no longer be recognised as the sole domain of e-tailers and hightech e-commerce startups. Recent developments in the industry indicate that mobile payment is set to go fully mainstream in the coming year, and every merchant needs to be prepared.

As the economy continues to go cashless in a major way, advertisers need to acknowledge that their responsibilities no longer stop at awareness-based metrics. To fully capitalise on the rise of mobile payment systems, brands and marketers need to have such capabilities

Group CEO and Founder of Trapper Media Group, Sivanathan Krishnan says, “It is an honour and privilege to be part of a vibrant endeavour to fill the void in the out-of-home scene with the launch of Malaysia’s first Golf Course Advertising Platform, a one stop centre to enable advertisers to reach over 70 golf clubs in Malaysia.

On average per year, there are around 1.7 million golf rounds being played around the country. And in a flight of 4, that’s close to 7 million eye balls for advertisers. They get to reach these PARGAME TO DRIVE target consumers in an uncluttered BRANDS FURTHER ON and unfettered situation for 4 to 6 hours.”

THE GREENS! He adds, “An advertiser will now be able to place ads on 4,200 and more PARGAME, a subsidiary of Trapper golf carts throughout the country.

Media Group, has been appointed on That’s just one advertising medium. a 5-year contract by the Malaysian Check out www.pargame.com.my to Golf Association (MGA) in partnership drive your brand further.” with its GoGolf Programme to oversee Left to right: Datuk Ishak Mohd the programme’s media and event Esa – General Manager of MGA, offerings.

Andrew Bryan Perera – Honorary PARGAME allows advertisers and Treasurer of MGA and Chairman of marketers to reach 2.1 million golf GoGolf Programme, Dato’ Zulkifli enthusiasts of whom, more than half a Dato’ Ismail – Honorary Secretary of million are high-net-worth individuals, MGA, Sivanathan Krishnan – CEO of across its growing network of golf clubs PARGAME and Group CEO of Trapper throughout Malaysia.

Media Group TRENDING SEARCHES OF 2017 1 BR1M 2 Hero Seorang Cinderella 3 SEA Games 2017 4 Titian Cinta 5 SAPS NKRA 6 Fast and Furious 8 7 Suamiku Paling Sweet 8 Despacito 9 Bigg Boss Vote 10 Myvi 2018 TRENDING PEOPLE OF 2017 1 Izara Aishah 2 Gal Gadot 3 Hannah Delisha 4 Afifah Nasir 5 Aiman Tino

6 7 8 9 10

Faiz Subri Aliff Aziz Alicia Amin Fathia Latiff Mat Over

TRENDING NEWS TOPICS 1 JJPTR (JJ Poor to Rich) 2 Petrol Price Malaysia 3 Budget 2018 4 MRT Malaysia 5 Lembaga Getah Malaysia 6 Hurricane Irma 7 Catalonia 8 Tahfiz terbakar 9 Fattah Amin-Fazura 10 Banjir di Pulau Pinang

readily integrated into their platforms, allowing for seamless discovery-topurchase processes.

LESS BECOMES MORE WITH INFLUENCER MARKETING The meteoric rise of Instagram – both globally and in Malaysia – has made celebrities out of a select group of prolific users. Brands hoping to borrow some of their reach and credibility have quickly followed with sponsorships and endorsements. As a result ‘Instastardom’ has become somewhat of a full-time job for these high-profile users, who juggle both paid and organic content for their armies of followers.

Unlike traditional influencers, microinfluencers, both on YouTube and Instagram usually have a more modest following, and share content that revolve around a specific passion, such as food or fitness.

Until recently, many brands have

overlooked these microinfluencers – and their hyper-engaged audiences.

CONTENT MARKETING REACHES ADULTHOOD For too long, even marketers themselves have recognised content marketing simply as a subset of their usual advertising and marketing efforts.

As the always-on customer takes centre stage in the coming year, content marketing is set to grow in importance and establish itself as a separate pillar of marketing altogether. 2018 will be the year where personalised marketing will hit the escape velocity in Malaysia and in the region

substantial data faster: build and sell ideas in less time and cost - Understand large behavioural data for any market size estimation - Build predictive models with data: customer behaviour in a digital world - Mine new data to enrich CRM programs - Learn how to establish credible performance measurements: custom SUBHENDU IS BACK! data, analytics, search and social, business intelligence data Data Strategist, Founder and Commenting on Subhendu’s work, Director of start-up The Tenth Floor Aaron MacKendrick, Senior Director of Pte Ltd, Subhendu Mukherjee is back Marketing at Visa Asia Pacific, called again and this time he is exploring it, “Very ground-breaking, inspiring and methods used by businesses to eye opening. I gained inspiration and understand data, faster, sharper. new ideas to immediately implement His digital data workshop, called into our team.”

“Growth Hack Any Business with Digital Evonne Ching, Data Analytics for Data”, organised by MARKETING on Star Media Group Berhad, said, “The the 22nd of January 2018, will give hands-on approach is effective as it participants a hands on experience in enables us to learn and understand a managing data to develop models for lot quicker. I also like it that there are rapid market expansion. case studies being shared as it helps This workshop is ideal for us to put these learnings into context.” marketing leaders, marketing data “I successfully applied these professionals in media and brand tools in real life business situations agencies, brand managers, start-up to uncover consumer insights driving entrepreneurs and business growth purchasing behaviour,” commented trainers.

Ajish Henry Morris, Airline Manager, - Make business cases with Jetstar Airways.

TRENDING MOVIES 1 Fast and Furious 8 2 Justice League 3 Beauty and the Beast 4 Wonder Woman 5 It 6 Logan 7 Annabelle: Creation 8 Bad Genius 9 Dunkirk 10 Bahubali 2 TRENDING LOCAL DRAMA SERIES 1 Hero Seorang Cinderella 2 Titian Cinta 3 Suamiku Paling Sweet 4 Andainya Takdir 5 Mencintaimu Mr Photographer

6 7 8 9 10

NEWS

The workshop will be held at the Sime Darby Convention Centre on January 22, 2018.

Details with ruby@ adoimagzine.com

Biar Aku Jadi Penunggu Isteri Tuan Ihsan Duda Pujaan Dara Sayang Papa Saya Tak Pinggan Tak Retak Nasi Tak Dingin

TRENDING DEVICES 1 iPhone 8 2 iPhone X 3 Oppo F5 4 Huawei Nova 2i 5 Huawei P10 6 Oppo R9s 7 Vivo V5 8 Samsung Galaxy S8 9 Huawei Mate 10 10 Huawei P9

20

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

MEDIA MATTERS

TONTON HERALDS 2018

WITH NEW

COOL

COLLABORATIONS,

ENTERTAINMENT AND A LIFESTYLE

PORTAL! 90% OF TONTON’S PREMIUM CONTENT IS NOW AVAILABLE FREE FOR USERS IN MALAYSIA.

Launch of xtra by Datuk Kamal Khalid Group Managing Director of MPB

Listed as Malaysia’s #1 ‘Over The Top’ (OTT) service according to Media Partners Asia and as the first and largest homegrown streaming service with over 7.55 million users, tonton are expanding even further.

Redza Rosli

tonton hosted the #RatedXtra Party at Zouk KL recently.

Over three hundred guests comprising of VVIPs, celebrity guests as well as social media stars made a special appearance at today’s glittering event.

The star-studded event was packed with electrifying performances and exciting announcements made by Ben Jern Loh, the General Manager of tonton. The event was hosted

by Malaysia’s beloved hosts; Fly FM’s Hafiz Hatim as well as Zooey of Pop Bytes.

Other stars in attendance were Ayda Jebat and Redza Rosli as faces of tonton, ThomasJack, the famous Malaysian singing sensation duo, Farah Nabilah and Daler Yusuf of the hit local drama series Titian Cinta plus top Malaysian YouTubers from JinnyboyTV and The Ming Thing.

SMART TV PLATFORM In an effort to expand its reach into the living room, tonton gave the guests a preview of its upcoming Smart TV platform that will be compatible with the latest models of LG, Samsung and Panasonic televisions. In development is also tonton’s Android OTT Box app that will be compatible with major android boxes and Smart TVs. Both of tonton’s Smart TV platforms will be made available in January 2018.

SOCIAL WATCHING In Q1 of 2018, tonton will be the first OTT player in the region to introduce Camment, a technology that allows tonton users to interact with other users who are connected to their social circles using voice and video. The technology also allows for intelligent social marketing where brands can partner with the platform to advertise relevant content based on the interaction made between users through voice recognition technology.

“We are very excited bringing Camment to the Malaysian market. tonton is the perfect partner for us, with their large audience and a team that is focused on innovation,” says Tomi Kaukinen, CEO & Cofounder of Camment Strategic OTT partnerships with dimsum and EROS NOW

Ayda Jebat

featuring product bundling, content integration, unified search as well as crossmarketing have also been announced, offering urban, Chinese, Korean, Thai plus top Bollywood movies and shows

respectively.

Lam Swee Kim, Chief Marketing Officer at dimsum commented, “We at dimsum are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with tonton.”

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

Ben Jern Loh GM, tonton

21

MEDIA MATTERS

Queen of tonton : Datuk Seri Vida

subscription to the service,” said Prashant Pathmanaban, Digi’s Head of Digital Products and Services. tonton also extended its partnership with GOASEAN, a Southeast Asian travel lifestyle content platform.

“GOASEAN believes multiplatform content consumption is the future and what a better way to promote the amazing destinations, people and stories of ASEAN to a wider audience to encourage tourists to come visit Southeast Asia.

This partnership with tonton will allow our fans to keep watching GOASEAN Originals on the platform anywhere at any time” shared Edwin Raj, Senior Vice President of GOASEAN. “With the tremendous success achieved by tonton this year, we are positive of more success for tonton as we promise to serve only the best quality entertainment,” said Airin Zainul, Director of tonton & Licensing and Merchandising, Media Prima Television Networks. www. xtra.com is tonton’s buzz central vlog, a new portal that was launched recently to complement your online watching experience. Xtra covers all the latest news on entertainment, controversies, viral stories as well as lifestyle tips from the ‘millenials’ lense!

Get to know the latest controversies behind the scenes and, the latest and sensational news from all over the country. xtra.com is an entertainment lifestyle portal promising FREE LIVE TV, the latest, most sensational entertainment plus lifestyle stories that uniquely comes in three languages; English, Malay and Mandarin.

ThomasJack

Apart from this, By MY Side, tonton and JinnyboyTV’s firstever featured film was released on iTunes worldwide and on tonton Malaysia. To further enhance the partnership, JinnyboyTV has announced that they will be producing an exclusive TV series for tonton slated for the platform’s content line-up in 2018.

“We remain focused on expanding our global reach and gaining greater visibility in Malaysia by joining hands with a leading player like Media Prima.

With over two million people of Indian origin in Malaysia and an

exceptional growth in demand for Bollywood and Indian language content, our local strategic association enables us to continue engaging with Malaysian fans who can enjoy Eros Now’s premium south Asian

content with tonton,” added Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO, Eros Digital.

“We are excited to extend our relationship with tonton through Digi Video Freedom. tonton is

an amazing treasure trove of Malaysian-made content and we’re happy to offer it at a very affordable price of RM5 a month with an additional 5GB of internet to enjoy streaming tonton content as well as

If one top YouTuber isn’t enough, tonton is also joining forces with The Ming Thing, one of Malaysia’s leading English YouTube channels in producing yet another original series which will be slated for release by April 2018.

22

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

GENERAL ELECTIONS

During Social Media week 2013, Prime Minister Najib Razak declared that GE 13 would be Malaysia’s first “social media” election - and he was right. Despite his realisation of the potential of social media, the government coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), lost 7 seats that election, along with the popular vote.

In the past 4 years, social media has become the primary operating system we use to organise our lives. Today, 100% of Malaysian netizens are social media users and mobile social media has rocketed from 70% in 2013 to 90% in 2017 (Source: We Are Social).

So it should be no surprise that all political parties have realised that social media is a key tool in reaching their audience.

Since the last election, the number of political parties with social media presence has more than doubled. These vast improvements come on the heels of government initiatives to improve the public sectors’ fluency in how to use social media. In 2016, the Malaysian Digital Innovation Centre was set up and launched during Social Media Week to serve as a “platform for government employees to learn and develop skills for new media technologies” (Source: Limkokwing). Other foreign non-profit entities, like the USbased National Endowment for Democracy, have also come to help train political candidates on social media, across party lines, in a global-effort to strengthen democracy (Source: The Star).

As we inevitably approach Malaysia’s 14th general election, it’s interesting to note

VOTES HOW TO WIN

AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE USING SOCIAL MEDIA

By Chris Greenough, CMO & Co-Founder, HYPERLAB

the similar opportunities and challenges that social media presents to the public sector.

After a thorough review, some trends emerge that all marketers should take note and use in their business.

LISTEN-FIRST In ‘How To Win Friends And Influence People’ Dale Carnegie said “talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours”. But, in order to talk about them you have to know them. What do they like? What do they love? What makes them angry? For example, did you know Malaysian’s ‘love’ political posts?!

After such a close GE13, political parties experienced the influence that social media had on their voters and began to adopt a ‘listen-first’ strategy

to more effectively earn engagement. Many began to employ big data companies, even create them, to better understand and target their audience segments.

Last year, PKR Vice-President Rafizi Ramli started Invoke, a big data company working with 50 candidates to help identify their prime segments. In an interview with The Malay Mail, Rafizi shares some marketing wisdom: “You should never preach or campaign to converted people... we should only campaign to persuadable swing voters” (Source: The Malay Mail).

Rafizi’s goal is identify those people whom he has the most potential to convert into a vote come election day.

Other companies that have publicly stated they’re working with Malaysian political

parties or candidates include a Singaporean company AutoPolitical and global social media monitoring company Meltwater. There are many other social media strategy and consulting groups who have given their expertise over the last four years to help bolster each party’s strategy in different ways.

IDENTIFY YOUR SEGMENTS While many parties are employing data companies to listen, each is executing in different ways. BN parties have focused on building segmented fan bases, while opposition parties have been focused on increasing engagement.

The Democratic Action Party has employed a topdown approach, leverages targeting capabilities from

their centralised page, posting a staggering 65X per week!

According to Socialbakers a vast majority of DAP posts are promoted, which has earned them 43 of the top 50 most engaging political posts on Facebook.

Meanwhile, UMNO has taken a bottom-up approach, creating multiple Facebook pages that cater to each of their segments at a grassroots level. As a testament to their hard work, Malaysians have interacted with political party posts about 5 million times in 2017.

By segmenting their voters, political parties are able to use state-centric venacular and discuss issues that directly affect their audience. Politweet, a non-partisan social media research and analytics firm, has done extensive research on the relationships between language, location and political preference, which points to how each party could effectively market themselves in different vernaculars.

CREATE 1:1 CONVERSATIONS Improved 4G networks and 6 million more mobile social users since GE13 have made having a mobile strategy imperative for modern political parties in Malaysia. As a result, almost all major political parties assert that WhatsApp is one of their main social media channels.

Amanah for example heavily relies on WhatsApp groups, created by leaders in the local surau, parentteachers’ associations, and other neighbourhood groups to communicate (Source: The Star). While Amanah employs a grassroots strategy, former

23

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

GENERAL ELECTIONS

deter national discussion about actual policy.

In a more orchestrated effort, Singapore public officials have started using Workplace, by Facebook, to more effectively communicate between departments. (Source: Straits Times).

Prime Minister Tun Mahathir, created memes designed to be shared in messaging apps (Source: The Malaysian Insight).

Both Amanah and Tun Mahathir have also effectively used Facebook Live to facilitate open and personal conversations at scale. In his web series #HangpaTanyaCheDetJawab, Tun M shares his thoughts in very open interviews leveraging the format to create an

experience that feels like you are in the room with him (Source: Malaysian Digest).

Messaging apps aren’t just a strategy to communicate with constituents, they are also a way for leaders to better organise. PM Najib opened his Telegram account to the public in September, but it’s likely that politicians have been using the highly secure messaging app for internal communication as well (Source: New Straits Times).

BUILD PERSONAL BRANDS Partly because of Malaysia’s fragmented multi-party system, Malaysia’s political party landscape on social media is incredibly fragmented and decentralised. As a result, politicians personal pages have become the primary podium for politicians to communicate with their constituents, wielding as much or more influence than some of the top brands and celebrities in Malaysia. Leading this is UMNO Youth & Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, who is the most followed Malaysian on Twitter, according to Politweet.

Remember organic reach?... politicians still get it. In a single tweet, Khairy can reach 35% of Malaysian twitter users and in single Facebook Post, Rafizi claims to reach about 500,000 Malaysians without spending a single sen.

Building a strong personal brand in politics is also a way to signal to voters who’s in charge.

This has been the primary struggle of the opposition coalition, in being able to deliver a leader who is clear to the people of Malaysia. Using social listening tool, digimind, we can see the difference in leadership between parties. Tan Kok Wai, the leader of DAP, is only mentioned 2% as often as his party, while former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, is mentioned 5X more than his newly formed PPBM party.

But it’s not just the big names like Khairy, Mahathir and Najib who are effective at leveraging their personal brand on social media. Oliver Woods, Director of Red2 Digital in Vietnam and former Director

of Social Media at Leo Burnett Malaysia, also notes that new Warisan Party lead, Shafie Apdal and UMNO Minister and senior leader Abdul Rahman Dahlan, have been very successful in using Twitter, Facebook and other digital channels to communicate their agendas and steer the online debate in a positive direction. In effect, these politicians are proving that the sum of their political parts are greater than the whole of their political party brand.

FIGHT MISINFORMATION Just as brands must fight online trolls, the public sector must fight similar agents of chaos. Not exclusive to the United States, #FakeNews also poses a challenge for both politicians and the electorate in Malaysia as well. This was the theme for Social Media Week 2017, where PM Najib Razak’s called on Malaysian’s to “take fake news seriously” and to “not believe every post and tweet.”

(Source: Free Malaysia Today) To fight fake news, the government launched Sebenarnya.my, an “information verification forum” that seeks to combat the spread of false information. Quite often, misinformation is shared through private messaging apps, which makes it even harder to track and call out. Recently, a fake article entitled “Starbucks Disahkan Haram oleh JAKIM?” went viral on WhatsApp in September (Source: The Sun Daily).

There are also those who claim that the #FakeNews debate is used to delegitimize real information being shared on real social media accounts. “It’s a campaign of misinformation,” says Amanah communications director Khalid Samad. In a country where political partisanship is heavily based on race and religion, misinformation only serves to further polarise opinion and

ENGAGING YOUTH While Facebook struggles with teen apathy on their platform, political parties are faced with it in their electorate. According to Politweet “interest in political parties has dropped to its lowest point in recent years – 33.68% of potential voters.”

This decline is the steepest among young voters.

Between October 2016 and January 2017, BN lost 48% of this audience while the Opposition lost 40%.

(Disclaimer: Different sources claim Facebook deleted between “tens of thousands” upwards to 5.8 million fake profiles around this time, which could impact this).

Understanding this threat, Najib recently told UMNO Youth to be “more aggressive in reaching new voters” (Source: The Malay Mail).

Also recognising the apathy, Mahathir and his wife did the Mannequin Challenge, which went viral across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in an effort to engage the youth.

(Source: Vulcan Post) However, compared to global trends, Malaysia hasn’t had a problem getting people to the polls. Participation spiked to 84.8% for the 2013 elections up from 76% in 2008, compared to the global average of 65% in 2014.

(Source: Quartz).

Despite the challenges, Malaysian politicians at all levels have proven that their social media savvy has improved greatly since 2013.

From being a powerful tool to get input on Budget 2018, to creating personalised viral memes and sharing live content, there is something every brand can learn from for their social media strategies.

Back at Social Media Week 2013, Najib aptly described social media like “running on a treadmill that never stops” (Source: The Star) - a sentiment most brands and marketers can empathise with.

If GE13 was Malaysia’s first true social media election, characterised by the opposition’s ability to be a first-mover in leveraging the platform, then GE14 looks to be more like an arms race between parties and politicians who are using sophisticated technologies and strategies in an attempt to influence votes. Let’s see if it influences yours.

24

ISSUE214MID-JAN2018

DIGITAL REVOLUTION

THAT FULL DIGITAL IS THE WAY TO GO Digital is no longer a channel when it’s part and parcel of our daily experience. In 2018, we will see the explosion of the Internet of Things and instead of just having more people connected to one another, there will be more connected devices.

In preparation for a full digital economy, there will be strong digital evangelist marketers who will decide to cross out offline from their channel strategy, citing visibility and efficiency as reasons. Of course, these are two of the many reasons why digital marketing is great in our era, but from our own TV Stack data, we found that the most effective strategies are usually stacked channels according to optimum reach and investments. Even our research partner, Kantar TNS agrees that marketers get greater ROI when they find optimum balance between offline and digital spends, than just each channel on its own.

THAT ANY CONTENT IS GOOD FOR THE BRAND One of the biggest industry news of last year is when P&G decided to cut more than US$140 million in digital spend because not only they attested that it didn’t impact their sales, they were more concerned about where the ads were appearing. While content marketing is certainly very important in today’s era of social media, not all content is good content for the brand.

Marketers who are used to getting a lot of ‘impressions’ over a small budget now find themselves in a conundrum because their ads might be appearing with negative, and worse, offensive content in whatever form. The question then, is that effective reach?

Someone sees your ad but what do they think about you? The most recent personal experience I had was seeing the advertising of a particular mayonnaise brand in the break of a video talking about the discovery of a 1200-year old fossilized poo.

Honestly, not very tasteful. There are options now for marketers to consider quality exposure instead of quantity by activating brand safety measures and they should. It might seem like it is going to hurt the pocket a little, but the brand value you protect in return should justify the incremental investment.

When digital becomes the norm, it will cease to exist. And that’s when the price of quality digital inventories will also change.

THREE MARKETING TRENDS THAT BOMBED IN 2017

By Sue-Ann Lim

THE RECENT ”11.11... SAW ALIBABA

BREAKING ALL RECORDS WHERE THEY CLOCKED IN US$7BILLION OF SALES IN THE FIRST 30 MINUTES...

“

THAT ECOMMERCE WAS JUST A FAD So Lazada recently sold 12 limited edition Beetles in collaboration with Volkswagen on 12.12. It makes you rethink about possibilities of online commerce. If we can sell white goods worth a few thousand online (which we previously couldn’t) then why can’t we sell cars and properties as well?

In this coming year, marketers

will start to straighten up and consider the importance of online commerce in whatever platform and device. The question is not about whether we are ready to sell online but how. The recent 11.11 saw Alibaba breaking all records where they clocked in US$7billion of sales in the first 30 minutes. Closer to home, Lazada recorded $123million sales in South East Asia on a single day event, which is a 171% growth from the previous year. The thing about the digital environment is; growth might not always be linear, or even a predictable slow and steady one. Sometimes, someone, somewhere can launch a major disruption and put everyone else scrambling for plans to respond.

As such, marketers who have the foresight of these major consumer trends, should always have a plan at the back of their minds and not just discount them as just fads.

Sue-Anne Lim Chief Data Officer Dentsu Aegis Network, Malaysia

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CLAIMABLE

Subhendu Mukherjee has almost 20 years of global experience in the business of Marketing Strategy and Communications. He is interested in supporting people and organisations transition into Digital Data Driven decision making.

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Gained inspiration and new ideas to immediately implement into our team.”

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A selection of businesses Subhendu has worked with

Founder Director - The Tenth Floor (Singapore) Former Managing Director - JWT Malaysia Former Head Of Integrated Strategy - McCann Singapore

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