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ISSUE #253 JULY 2020
popculture
WEEKENDER
How classy is your coffee?
WEEKENDER 11
popculture
EDITOR'S NOTE
Rumbles and Rambles in the Digiverse
COVER STORY
Are we on the cusp of a coffee war?
In a creative twist of in-your-face marketing, brand Wonda seems to be putting market leader Nescafe Classic on its backfoot....
The relaunch of Utusan and Kosmo newspapers is slated for Monday 20th July, 2020. This brave step may see the resurgence of Malay print in the market (also read voters). ..
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Marketing returns are REAL in Virtual events
How brands can harness fan frenzy at virtual concerts.
Astana winning the hearts of customers through emotional branding The 5th edition of the APPIES Marketing Campaign Awards made history...
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Will Twitter make @ RealDonaldTrump a one-term president?
Let’s face it, @ RealDonaldTrump became the Heisman Trophy...
MARKETING WEEKENDER is published by Sledgehammer Communications (M) Sdn Bhd 22B, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 1, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: 603-7726 2588 ham@adoimagazine.com. www.marketingmagazine.com.my Š 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.
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EDITOR’S NOTE
Rumbles and Rambles in the Digiverse
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he relaunch of Utusan and Kosmo newspapers is slated for Monday 20th July, 2020. This brave step may see the resurgence of Malay print in the market (also read voters). But the financial fate of theSun is still precarious as of now. Owners Berjaya Media still have to pull through their PN17 status as approval is pending from Bursa regarding an extension of time to submit regularisation plans. On a personal branding note, for those who buy fame rather than earn it, honorific titles issued by state rulers have hit a new low in Malaysia. A widespread sale of items bearing the national coat of arms is rampant on online shopping platforms Malaysiakini reports. Scores of other items related to government enforcement agencies - from the Prisons
Department to the Immigration Department, People’s Volunteer Corps’ (Rela), and the Royal Malaysian Air Force are up for sale. Available on Lazada, Carousell and Shoppee (who took remedial steps immediately). According to TrafficGuard, while online advertising increased in importance as budgets decreased over the past three months, fraudsters are eyeing an influx of new and unaware digital properties as new prey. Key performance indicators (KPIs) that previously pointed to normal or abnormal performance of marketing efforts are no longer reliable, because of the extreme changes in consumer behaviour and consumer confidence that have accompanied the pandemic. Dying to catch the common cold: we had a strange question
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EDITOR’S NOTE
... A widespread sale of items bearing the national coat of arms is rampant on online... from a reader this week, ”I haven’t had the common cold for sometime now, is my immune system wearing down making me more prone to COVID? A kind doctor friend answered, “Immune systems are very specific. The best way to make yourself immune to COVID would be to catch COVID. Of course, the default position is to always remain illness-free regardless.” In other news, Indonesia imposed a 10% value-added tax (VAT) on services by technology firms like Amazon, Netflix, Spotify and Google three days ago.
The country’s tax office said it has already assigned tax identification numbers to Amazon Web Services, Netflix, Spotify and Alphabet’s Google for its Google Asia Pacific, Google Ireland, and Google LLC units. The US Trade Representative office has launched an investigation into Indonesia and other countries for adopting Digital Services Taxes, but Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Muyani Indrawati said the VAT move was not part of it. Effective 1st January 2020, service tax is charged and levied on any digital service provided by a foreign registered person (FRP) to consumers in Malaysia. We are the second country in South-East Asia to introduce such a tax, along with Singapore. Of course, to be in compliance with Malaysia’s new SST, Google is passing the cost to us by charging 6% Service Tax. In the name of fair trade, perhaps they don’t consume Malaysian oxygen when doing business with us. Have your coffee while it is still hot!
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AWARD WINNER
Marketing returns are REAL in Virtual events How brands can harness fan frenzy at virtual concerts.
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Big Stage’s FIRST 360º Virtual Interactive Concert in Malaysia!
ontrary to conventional wisdom, the ROI on virtual events is poised to skyrocket post COVID. Let’s check out what Astro’s up to on this score with its first 360º Virtual Interactive Concert in Malaysia! Their coming Big Stage event (third season next month) means LED studio walls in a 360º arena for a complete immersion
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AWARD WINNER
... with over 21.9mil digital views and 3.5mil fans watching online on Gempak’s IG, and brands were able to showcase their products to a 5.7mil audience... experience and audience seats are taken over by their faces on gadgets in video. By moving your smart device, you can look into every corner and achieve the full effect of the 360 degree experience. The marketing opportunities for brands have literally taken on a “new dimension”. Perodua used this event to launch Axia targeting Gen Z consumers last year, in a campaign that was applauded by leading marketers in Malaysia and it won at the APPIES awards 2020 for Consumer Durables. The phenomenon had over 21.9mil digital views and 3.5mil fans watching online on Gempak’s IG, and brands were able to showcase their products to a 5.7mil audience through brand integration across an entire media ecosystem – TV, Digital & Onground, and this trended on
Twitter and YouTube Malaysia for 8 weeks. Car registrations volume for the Axia exceeded by +79% and were overbooked midway into their campaign! Their website had a 710% spike in traffic while online searches for the car jumped by 78%. More brands want Gen-Zs now Hosted by Sherry Alhadad and Alif Satar, the show is a reality singing competition for upcoming Budak-Budak Baru Nak Up (BBBNU) social media stars. While Vivo, Perodua, Farm Fresh Milk Malaysia and Hotlink were last year’s sponsors, quite a few brands are now looking at this LIVE virtual interactive 360 degree experience to increase fan engagement and elevate the at-home experience. Perfect example of technology powering brand partnerships with new possibilites. According to a survey by The 614 Group last week, 51% of marketing professionals expect virtual events to stay. To make sure your brand is in the front row or on-stage click here, the AMS team is on standby here.
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APPIES2020
Astana winning the hearts of customers through emotional branding
APPIES 2020 Gold Award (left). Team Astana and Petron Malaysia at APPIES Marketing Awards in 2019 (right).
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he 5th edition of the APPIES Marketing Campaign Awards made history as we saw shortlisted submissions presented virtually to a panel of judges, adapting to the new norm and working from home during the COVID-19 outbreak. For Astana International, it was the second consecutive year that we participated in the APPIES. Gratefully for both years, we were recognised by our peers and awarded for our hard work in collaboration with our clients at Petron Malaysia. It was also thanks to the team at Petron Malaysia who shared our beliefs for the consumers. As Astana International celebrates its 25th anniversary
this year, we credit our resilience through the years to prioritising building brand empathy and developing better emotional understanding with our audiences. We go beyond brand perception or purchasing behaviours and looking at their aspirations, motivators, and current sentiments. This has always been the mantra of our Founder & CEO Dato’ Shafri Mohamad’s core approach when he is met with a new brief from brand owners. In our quest of developing stronger brand empathy for brands, we realised there were several gaps with how the industry collected insights. For
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APPIES2020
instance, how focus groups are typically conducted. Now, in no way are we implying that focus groups are entirely obsolete, in fact, they are a great way to introduce and observe the interactions consumers might have with a new product. However, the challenge arises when brands use single focus groups with a moderator prompting questions to a small audience. In the case the moderator is not able to build enough rapport with the group, accurate and meaningful insights may be difficult to obtain. Furthermore, people interact differently with different moderators – things like gender, language or dialect spoken, and even race can play a role on how an audience would respond. Behavioural Economics Neuromarketing COVID-19 has accelerated the adaptation to the digital age and while it offers many marketing opportunities, the digital age also presents many challenges. While businesses enjoy more touchpoints to engage with consumers, consumers
are overwhelmed and spoilt for choice. The irony is that going digital was supposed to give us more time, but in reality, we are spending more time deciding. As Behavioural Economist Barry Schwartz puts it, this is the paradox of choice – with more information, more time is required for decision making. Understandably, marketers tend to focus on helping customers rationalise their decisions through cold-hard facts and figures. However, Nobel Laureate Professor Kahnemann found in his studies is that up to 95% of decisions are driven by the autopilot vs the pilot –emotions rather than logic. Insights from research conducted by neuroscientists and behavioural economist have been beneficial for brand owners and marketers to build a greater understanding of their audience. In fact, neuromarketing is a branch of marketing that utilises neuroscience to understand consumer behaviour and has existed for a long while. But the interest about neuromarketing in our industry, like the tide; ebbs and flows.
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During periods economic uncertainty, marketers tend to value any solution that will translate to greater conversion. Thus, rather than investing in neuroscience, let alone trying to comprehend neuroscientific insights, there is a temptation to oversimplify and over-claim. Fortunately for us, we found like-minded partners in Germany, TrioGroup, who are pioneers in emotional branding and neuromarketing. Brandsync helps brands attain Emotional Brand Synchronisation with their customers In their neuromarketing pursuits, they have invested more than a decade with scientists at the Center For Applied Neuroscience in Berlin to create the Brandsync tool. The tool utilises the insights of Prof. Kahnemann along with other scientific models, like the Zurich Model of Social Motivation, to identify key emotive drivers of consumers from data collected via a combination of research and social listening methodologies. Using these drivers, we can then create an emotional brand strategy that resonates with
the audiences’ reward systems. In doing so, we can provide strategies that are more accurate and validated.
Dato Shafri with TrioGroup partners at launch of BrandSync in Malaysia We are pleased with the response and results we have gained since introducing this proprietary tool. Beyond winning marketing awards and growing market share, Brandsync helps brands attain Emotional Brand Synchronisation with their customers – an emotional bond with the target audience. We have extended our strategic partnership with TrioGroup and expanded our responsibilities by covering the ASEAN region to deliver emotional branding solutions. As we look ahead to the future, we are also working on the next iteration of Brandsync that will combine AI, Machine Learning, and predictive analytics with the tool.
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MY GUESS IS THAT ALL THESE ADVERTISERS WILL BE BACK ON THE PLATFORM SOON ENOUGH...WE’RE NOT GONNA CHANGE OUR POLICIES OR APPROACH ON ANYTHING BECAUSE OF A THREAT TO A SMALL PERCENT OF OUR REVENUE...”
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IN VICTORY, YOU DESERVE CHAMPAGNE; IN DEFEAT, YOU NEED IT. Napoleon Bonaparte
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BE CAREFUL ABOUT READING HEALTH BOOKS. YOU MAY DIE OF A MISPRINT.
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Mark Twain
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Facebook boss and third richest man in the world Mark Zuckerberg, in response to the latest advertisers’ boycott of his platform.
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COVER STORY
Are we on the cusp of a coffee war? BY THE HAMMER
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n a creative twist of in-yourface marketing, brand Wonda seems to be putting market leader Nescafe Classic on its backfoot. As we bring you this breaking news story, we have been furiously gathering details to meet our Friday evening deadline for WEEKENDER.
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COVER STORY
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COVER STORY
... the TVC in a harmless act of “belling the cat” provides much room for gossip and reading between the lines... Attempts to reach ETIKA for further info were unsuccessful up to press time but enough sources have made this story possible. The new TVC, which I think also breaks with this WEEKENDER edition, takes on a cheeky smart-ass poke at Nescafe Classic playing on the Class vs Classic interchanges. The TVC in a harmless act of “belling the cat” provides much room for gossip and reading between the lines. In particular, when it is going head on with Nescafe Classic in real life too. No prizes for guessing who the red cup refers to, but that’s just my infantile reaction. You can watch the video here. But let me unpack this “gathering storm in a coffee cup”.… For many years, rebel brand Wonda has been a thorn in the side of collosal brand Nescafe Classic. But it has been entertaining as their new spot shows. They have also
demonstrated that there are so many ways to skin a cat. Wonda is the second ranked ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee player in the market and is the fastest growing coffee player in the RTD coffee segment, contributing 27% value share as of year-to-date But does Wonda want to awaken the sleeping giant and market leader who prefers to remain reactionary than otherwise? Or am I overthinking that this new TVC is a stealth stab at the Nescafe Classic brand
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COVER STORY
... Now whether the viewer makes the connection that the protagonist in this plot is Wonda and the antagonist is Nescafe Classic is left to the imagination...
in a public domain space? After all, they are the Goliath in this market segment and have proven to be so in their domineering mindset. Permit to shamelessly share a personal experience I had with Nestlé Malaysia: Some years
ago, when we celebrated the 20th anniversary of MARKETING magazine we did a personalized edition of our magazine for each reader who received his/her copy with their face on the cover. While it was a world’s first in publishing parlance, it delighted many readers and some still keep their copy till this day. After all, there will be only one such copy of it in the world. Nestlé Malaysia however took this as an affront as the project was supported by Etika, so we immediately got a friend inside Nestle Malaysia to hijack the copies at the Reception table and destroy all 46 hand-made copies meant for Nestlé marketing staff. While I saw this as a childish reaction to a task that took three months, I moved on. After that there were more such erratic and immature incidents, but we’ll save it for another day, ya? Now back to this new TVC: by juxtaposing Classic (read dated) with Class (sexy and in), the commercial uses a series of vignettes to express this point. Depicted through the lens of specific audience segments, the message is clear. Now, whether the viewer
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COVER STORY
makes the connection that the protagonist in this plot is Wonda and the antagonist Nescafe Classic is left to the imagination. But it does provide ample fodder for talk and entertainment. Perhaps this is what buzz marketing is all about, even though the Advertising
Standards Authority of Malaysia may not fully agree with me. For them and the uninitiated, this marketing strategy is not new: from the Pepsi Challenge Taste test in the 70s to Burger King’s McDonald’stargeted advertising, which we showcased recently, it is open season for fair game. Meantime, enjoy your
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COVER STORY
weekend with your favourite coffee. And be a class act! We welcome your views on this piece at ham@adoimagazine.com TVC credits:
CLIENT: Etika, Senior VP of Marketing & Alternative Business Santharuban T Sundaram, Marketing Manager Cheong May Yeen, Brand Manager Alia Ibrahim, Senior Brand Executive Melissa Chang. AGENCY: Dentsu LHS, Art Director Yu Chee Hao, Copywriters David Winston Foenander and Chak Mohd, Producer Rachel Liam, Senior Account Director Frances Angus, Senior Account Manager Jenny Lim, Account Executive Athira Zulkernaini, Director of Studio Services Yap Wai Hung. PRODUCTION HOUSE: Playhouse Pictures, Film Director Adrian Nguyen, Executive Producer Ryan Chong, Producer Lim Lin Cuey.
Keep your feedback up to 100 words only. But if you’re dying to vent, email your rants and ramblings and we’ll decide whether to publish or suggest a therapist. Letters will be edited for brevity and depravity. We welcome pseudonyms, plaudits and profanities (they’ll be greeked). Provide your actual name because we can publish a nickname or moniker. No publisher on the planet prints content from anonymous sources. We are done with cyber cowards and closet cry babies; go open a fake Facebook account. At least your content will have an owner: Facebook Inc.
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CREATIVE SHOWCASE
Burger King turns local McDonald’s into their delivery hot-spots! Helsinkians could order out Burger King and pick up their order from their nearest McDonald’s restaurants free of charge from the 29th of June to the 1st of July. A local food delivery and takeout app Wolt (similar to UberEats) is in with the prank. The campaign revolves around outdoor advertising in a few carefully selected places near local McDonald’s restaurants. It can also be spotted on social media where micro influencers share their experiences on the free delivery. Agency: TBWAHelsinki
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TRUMPISM
Will Twitter make @ RealDonaldTrump a one-term president?
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et’s face it, @RealDonaldTrump became the Heisman Trophy winner of this new media, tirelessly tweeting out shocking news and changing the conversation. But the irony lies in his Twitter handle’s first four letters: R-E-A-L. Trump doesn’t demonstrate the persona of a politician who is focused on policy; there is no need for a late-night talk show interview to understand the soft personal side of this president.
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TRUMPISM
... Even if these knee-jerk thoughts are eventually deleted, he has built up a consistent pattern for Americans to judge his character...
We’ve gotten to know exactly who he is by hearing from him 24 hours a day for the past four years. Twitter gave this reality TV show host his biggest weapon in 2016, and now it may be the biggest reason for his downfall. Without handlers able to hide their loose cannon of a client, we are fortunate to know exactly what and how President Trump thinks. We have seen years of Trump’s name-calling, his promotion of hate speech, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Even if these knee-jerk thoughts are eventually deleted, he has built up a consistent pattern for Americans to judge his character.
His tweets are clear about his beliefs, instincts and political convictions. Unfortunately, we are not seeing the same type of honest emotion from the other side to counterbalance these deeply personal opinions from the right. Shortly after the 2016 election, I challenged Democrats to do better on social media by using some of Trump’s 2016 playbook. This included speaking directly to base voters through hashtags while tweeting around the clock in the same way Trump does with his #MAGA base. “Clearly, Mr. Trump took #NoFilter to the extreme,” I wrote a few days after the election, “But all candidates need
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TRUMPISM
to be more authentic online. However appalled we may have been by Mr. Trump’s tweets, they did not feel washed through a political spin machine.” Most Democratic candidates still have staffers tweeting from a list of approved phrases that are scheduled and placed on content calendars, instead of using these platforms to amplify the candidate’s actual personality. None can compete against the vitriolic, emotionally charged tweets that are Trump’s specialty. While Twitter recently started flagging Trump’s tweets for violation of services, his true colors have already shown. I believe this is great news for the 2020 election. We have had a front-row seat to the naked emperor and all his thoughts for the last four years. The curtain was pulled back so far that we know exactly how the machine works. While millions of voters fell for Trump’s childish branding of “Crooked Hillary,” nobody seems to be responding to his branding of Joe Biden as “Sleepy Joe.” I hope the Twitter president will be served an ironic outcome of biblical proportions come
“But all candidates need to be more authentic online. However appalled we may have been by Mr. Trump’s tweets, they did not feel washed through a political spin machine.” November. If Trump loses, it won’t be because America doesn’t know who the real Donald Trump is. It will be because we know him all too well. MARKETING magazine has brought Scott Goodstein to speak in Malaysia. Scott was the external online director for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign in charge of the campaign’s social media platforms, mobile technology, and lifestyle marketing. He was a lead digital strategist on Bernie Sanders’s 2016 campaign and is the founder of CatalystCampaigns.com
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