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CONTENT 1. Executive Summary 2. Introduction 3. Current State of Affairs 3.1 Concept 3.2 Why is it ineffective? 3.2.1 Lack of focus 3.2.2 Lack of sensitivity of content 3.2.3 Poor customer service 3.2.4 Bad user interface 4, Proposal 4.1 New Concept 4.2 New Target Audience 4.3 Concept Execution 4.3.1 Creating New Interface 4.3.2 Create better User Interface 4.3.3 Applying new marketing and promotional strategies 4.4 Deliverables 4.4.1 New Interface 4.4.2 New Better Content 4.4.3 New Marketing/Promotional strategies 5. Pricing 6. Timeline 7. Conclusion 8. Reference (A.P.A)
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1. Executive Summary This report provides a proposal on the possible rebranding of the company Toggle.sg to update its services, interface and content to become and remain relevant and competitive in its market as well as to boost its revenue and profits. In detail, this proposal includes a brief overview of the current state of Toggle.sg, a new concept for the company as well as the execution of the concept, analysis of the strategies we will be employing, the expected results of our rebranding, the deliverables and our expected timeline. 2. Introduction Toggle.sg is a Singaporean online entertainment service that provides content such as celebrity lifestyle gossips, TV shows, videos and radio channels. The company was created in 2013 and is a subsidiary of Media Corp. As such, Toggle.sg has close ties to Media Corp often functioning as a dumping ground of sorts for the media generated by its parent company. Toggle.sg has a wide target demographic, featuring an array of content that ranges from Miao Mi, an educational channel targeted at children, to their celebrity gossip content that focuses on an older demographic. Toggle has shown itself to be ineffectual in marketing itself and its content and as such, we propose a possible rebranding of Toggle.sg, to refresh and refocus its efforts.
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3. Current State of affairs 3.1 Concept Toggle.sg was conceptualised as a platform to promote and market Mediacorp’s entertainment media to the general public of Singapore. Currently Toggle’s main product is video streaming service that features media content from Mediacorp as well as self-generated media content such as Toggle Originals. The service caters to a wide range of demographics as evident with their wide, age appropriate content in their streaming service. 3.2 Why it didn’t work Toggle has tried its best to cater to its chosen audience. While they have been successful in providing media that caters to most, their underlying issue is their overly broad scope of target audience, causing their content to be unfocused. They also show a lack of discretion for their content, misleading information and bad customer service.These are the few factors that contribute to the re-branding. 3.2.1 Lack of focus Toggle.sg has shown intent to narrow the age range of its target. They have acknowledged that “60% of our viewers are under 35, mobile viewership is two-thirds of that ”. For the year of 2017 and 2018, they have begun their attempt to narrow their field of vision by providing new titles catered to that age group. Unfortunately, despite this, Toggle.sg has yet to restructure their website in line with this new direction undercutting their own effort as their website is their primary means of interface. 3.2.2. Lack of sensitivity of content As a public service, Toggle must be sensitive about the content it puts out. Singapore as a nation prides itself in being racially harmonious and we have different cultures to cater to in this country. Despite this, the amount of Chinese-oriented shows they have far outnumber the amount of Malay and Tamil shows. This shows that they have made very little effort to cater to the various communities. In October 2016, Toggle faced controversy for releasing an episode on Toggle’s Chinese Drama “I Want To Be A Star” for carrying an offensive remark by one of the characters. The character said Indians and Africans were the same and that it would make no difference casting an Indian as an African in a TV production. The episode also featured a Chinese man in ‘blackface’ to portray an African-American man. IMDA then imposed a financial penalty of $5,500 on Mediacorp for breaching the Video-OnDemand Programme Code. They analysed the situation and came to the constituted racial stereotyping that might offend certain groups in Singapore’s community. IMDA also requested for Mediacorp’s prompt removal of the offensive video and imposed the penalty on them to prevent any incidents like this in the future.
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3.2.3 Poor customer service In an experiment, we called up Toggle’s helpline to inquire about their paid packages. The answers we received from the customer service operator did not tally with some of the information featured on the website. When clarifying what “Audio commentary only for ‘live’ Premier League matches” meant, a feature of Manchester TV and Chelsea TV, we were then told that the audio commentary were not of actual live Premier League matches when it was stated in the description that it was ‘live’. This left us very confused. We had also asked about “Exclusive access to Toggle Originals”, a feature of Toggle-It-First. We asked him what were some specific Toggle Originals that we could only watch after paying and he unable to provide us with a proper answer. 3.2.4 Bad user interface As a result of its lack of focus, Toggle.sg’s website is difficult to navigate. This is largely due to the huge amount of content that they feature on their site. As a result, their website has too many pages making it difficult to navigate to the viewer’s desired page. Their app has also received many negative reviews on the Apple app store and Google marketplace. Many users have complained about the “lag” of the app as well as there being too many advertisements. Some users have also complained that the app does not even work on their phones suggesting that there are compatibility issues.
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4. Proposal 4.1 New Concept The new concept we are proposing is the idea of “Focus”. Focus is defined as an act of concentrating interest or activity on something. Other words associated with it are “centre”, “heart” and “hub”. The idea here is that we want to take all the aspects that currently make up Toggle and distill and concentrate them. In its current state, Toggle is a huge mess. It has a target audience that is too wide and content that reflects this. It is clear that it does not have a key aspect that they have concentrated on. What we want to do is correct this. The main aspect of Toggle that we have chosen to “focus” on is on our new customer demographic of Singaporeans between the ages of 17 to 35.
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4.2 New Target Audience Toggle has admitted that more than 60% of their users are under 35 years old. By making this age group our key target demographic, it allows us to focus on the lifestyles and habits of this much smaller group. The users in the age group between 17 to 35, i.e. students and working adults have busy mobile lifestyles. Toggle’s streaming services can be accessed on all devices and as such, can match up with their lifestyles allowing them to watch their favourite shows on-the-go. Young people are more influenced by the ongoings of social media which we can capitalise on. By focusing on this age group, we can structure our marketing strategies around social media, eg. Instagram and Youtube. An example of a successful company is Apple. Apple’s iPhone 7 advertisement was targeted towards younger people. 4.3 Concept Execution In line with this new concept, we plan to execute three major initiatives. 4.3.1 Creating a new interface - Redesigned aesthetic that reflects our new concept - Redesigning interface to improve user experience 4.3.2 Creating new better content - Smarter, more engaging content - Use of more modern film techniques (cinematography) - Employing a new cast of actors 4.3.4 Applying new marketing and promotional strategies - New strategies based on lifestyles and habits of new target audience - New aesthetic based on preferences of new target audience 4.4 Deliverables 4.4.1 New Interface 4.4.1.1 Brand Redesign In light of Toggle’s shortcomings and negative public opinion, we will be redesigning Toggle’s brand. This will allow us to differentiate and distinguish the new Toggle from its predecessor. This will entail a new design aesthetic and a new logo that are in line with our new concept “Focus”.
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For full information on rebranding, please refer to the report attached.
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4.4.1.2 Streamline Interface As stated before, Toggle’s website is difficult to navigate. As such we redesigned the interface to increase the ease of use and improve the user experience.
Streamline Content In line with our new concept of “Focus”, we removed all content not relevant to Toggle’s video streaming service. In doing so, we will be able to cut back on the number of links and sub links in the navigation bar as well as the number of pages the website will have, making it easier to navigate to the viewer’s desired content.
Redesigning User Interface (UI) With less elements in play, we redesigned the interface to better communicate that we are a video streaming service and tied in the concept of “Focus” into the user experience. We did this by employing modern design techniques into the new interface. For instance, when you hover on Toggle’s logo at the website, the whole word will expand out. The hamburger menu is added to make the website a lot cleaner and organised. The mobile, however, we designed it to be more straight forward and eye catching.
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Effectiveness of Redesigning UI As for the effectiveness of redesigning the UI, another streaming service like Netflix has done their UI redesigning back in 2015. The results were successful, where revenues increased by $2,051,158 in the following year. Whereas the few years prior to 2015, the revenue were increasing at a small fraction, less than a million dollars.
SWOT Analysis Strengths: By streamlining the interface and improving the user experience, we improve the site’s usability, allowing for the smooth completion of any task at hand thereby making everything enjoyable and flexible as per the requirements of users. Weaknesses: It is possible that a redesign of the interface will isolate users who have gotten used to the current interface. Thus, there is an imperative to make the interface as intuitive as possible. Opportunities: This will not only ensure that current users will return to the site but also garner new users whom would have been initially put off by the previous site design. Threats: Other websites might have more interactive websites that would be more interesting than our site. 4.4.2 New better content Singaporeans, especially those in the age range of our target demographic have shown an inclination to media content and shows that feature smarter and riskier plotlines that also employ interesting and engaging cinematography. This is evident with the uprise in popularity of shows like “Stranger Things”, and “Sherlock”. As such, in line with our concept “Focus”, we plan to create new content that caters to our target audience. 4.4.2.1 Smarter, more engaging content We plan to create new content that feature plotlines that are more intelligent and engaging than the current standards. The potential for this has already been demonstrated. An example of this would be the Singaporean film “Apprentice” which won several awards for its story narrative including the “Best Narrative Film” at the Interfaith Awards of St. Louis International Film Festival. This new content will also be more careful in terms of being culturally sensitive to the many cultures in Singapore.
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4.4.2.2 Use of more modern film techniques Many of Singapore’s films & TV shows use a very simplistic cinematography style with basic camera shots, angles and movements. As a result, these shows become uninteresting and repetitive common execution styles always applied in their films and shows include, unnecessarily stretched duration for their long dialogues and applying stale back-and-forth shots at the same scene within the same location, so as to increase screening time of the film/ show. Our plan is to concentrate more on the videography, utilizing different camera shots such as Over-the-shoulder shot & Establishing shot, or Panning & Dolly shots for the movements, and also be able to make the story as entertaining as possible within a short timeframe. This is to ensure that future Singaporean films & TV shows can be distinguished from one another, respective to their genre. Examples of the employment of these techniques are short films like “I never lie”(2015) by Chang Kai Xiang and “Ah Kong”(2010) by Royston Tan. Touching on our USP, Toggle Originals will also drive home a taste of our local culture. We like things we can relate to and according to an article on Mothership.sg, “As we become more global with our mindset (our demand for the ease of accessibility), we also want local content that can tug at our Singapore hearts.” SWOT Analysis Strengths: Caters to a smarter audience, therefore gaining us more views Weaknesses: Requires having a bigger budget as well as more time to produce Opportunities: Better content would possibly allow us to gain an international audience. Threats: Viddsee filmmakers and local youtubers were able to create a large scale of content with minimal effort, that cater to their viewers easily.
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4.4.2.3 Employing a new cast of actors In order to further differentiate the rebranded Toggle from its predecessor, we plan to employ an entirely new cast of actors that proprietarily star in Toggle Originals. This will also allow us to groom actors in line with our vision and concept. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Newer, smarter content will allow us to better cater to our consumer. This in turn will increase our viewer numbers as well as site traffic. Weaknesses: By employing riskier film techniques and edgier story writing, there is a possibility of offending certain communities, and casting new unknown actors, might lead to lower view numbers as they do not have a following. Opportunities: By employing these factors, it is possible to win accolades from international award events like the “Asian Film Awards�. This will gain the films and Toggle by association, recognition on an international scale opening up viewership markets in other countries. Threats: - Limited funding (new actors get funded less because they have yet to garner a following) - Opposition (Some of the users might dislike the changes made) 4.4.3 New Marketing and Promotional Strategies With our new target audience identified (17 to 35 y/os), we will be adjusting our approach to promotion to better suit them. 4.4.3.1 Launching Toggle Refocused 2 months before the official launch of Toggle Refocused, blurred out posters of our logo will be put around singapore to raise eyebrows and create suspicion to what is coming soon. These posters will be put up at bus stop advertising boards and MRT platform screen doors.
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Upon the launch the blurred posters would then be replaced by a clear one to introduce Toggle Refocused. Furthermore, a 5 second video of our blurred logo transitioning to a clear one would be advertised on youtube.
After a week, a 40 second video would be released on the same platform. This new video would be an informative video of what Toggle Refocused has to offer. It will explain our new content, the easy navigation of the website and price plans. This same video will be post on Instagram as a sponsored post. Video : https://tinyurl.com/togglefocus
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4.4.3.2 New strategies based on lifestyles and habits These new strategies will centre around social media, specifically Instagram and Youtube, a mainstay in the daily lives of our target audience. We will have accounts on these social media platforms to advertise our brand and keep users up to date. These new strategies will also incorporate current events and trends to capitalize on the generated buzz and popularity.
4.4.3.3 Strategy for our Instagram account For our Instagram account, we decided to have a concurrency running through the layout and design of the posts. Types of posts would include three-in-a-rows for new shows and films that we produce, teaser shots for upcoming shows, dedication and seasonal posts for occasions like Christmas, Chinese New Year etc. and the occasional promotional posts for current shows. We would also have a posting schedule to ensure our audience are constantly updated with the latest from us. Posts are uploaded at 12PM to 1PM, the general lunchtime for the working adults, and 6PM to 7PM, the general time students and adults are done with work and school
4.4.3.4 Effectiveness of Social Media Marketing We know that this would be effective based on case studies on Mercedes- Benz and Levi’s. Both well known before the uprise of social media. Mercedes was going to launch their first compact SUV and wanted it to gain good exposure. They asked photographers what they would pack in their SUV for a weekend trip. The items were laid on the GLA cargo mat to show how many things could easily fit on it. This gave Mercedes a 54% increase in website visit from branding ads and a 580% increase in direct response ads. As for Levi’s, they wanted to express the idea of living in the moment in their photos on Instagram to 18 to 34 year olds in the US. Pictures of the models wearing Levi’s jeans were posted and it got to total of 7.4 million people in the US and a 24pt lift in ad recall.
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4.4.3.5 Other touchpoints that were explored Another form of advertisement we are exploring are posters that are plastered on bus stop advertising boards and MRT platform screen doors. Students and working adults that fall under our target audience commute to school and work everyday using public transport so bus stops and MRTs are good places which we could use to connect with them.
SWOT Analysis Strengths: Increase in brand awareness and brand association which would possibly lead to an increase in users. Weaknesses: Difficult to stay on top of and implement current affairs and trends. It would require constant monitoring and updating. Opportunities: Using social media influencers or even possibly creating our own. Threats: Social media is saturated with similar concepts and companies trying to do the same. It would be difficult to differentiate ourselves from them. 4.4.4 Additional points Toggle Classics In addition to Toggle Originals, we will be introducing a new category called “Toggle Classics�. This category will feature Singaporean classics such as Phua Chu Kang, Fighting Spiders, Police and Thief etc. Toggle Classics acts as a bait to pull in users to the website. Toggle Classics gives users a nostalgic feeling which would keep them coming back for the shows. As users watch Toggle Classics, they will also discover Toggle Originals and the Curated Films. This builds awareness for the premium shows. For example, Spotify and Pandora have ad-supported and paid plans and by far have the most users. Tidal and Apple Music, however, are paid only and have less users. This shows that having free content is important in bringing in paid users.
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Regional films We also plan on bringing in popular, award winning films from the Southeast Asian region like “Ruined Heart: Another Love Story between a Criminal and a Whore” (2014) an Indonesian film and featuring them alongside some of our local hits like “Apprentice” (2016). 5. Pricing With a revamp of the content, we decided that it was essential to rethink the pricing strategy we will employ and as such, we have come up with a few plans for our viewers.
The pricing was set at this point to be competitive in the video streaming market. Comparing prices, netflix starts its pricing at $10/month, Amazon prime starts at $8.25/month and Hulu plus starts at $8/month. Also, considering that a good portion of our target audience are students, we plan to introduce a student plan to cater to their lower purchasing power.
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To entice potential users, we plan on introducing a free first month of subscription, as well as seasonal discounts for holidays like Christmas and Chinese new year. Strategies like this have been employed by companies like spotify and Netflix to a degree of success. 6. Timeline 6.1 Launch campaign begins 6.2 Release of brand logo and website The introduction of Toggle’s redesigned logo will be the catalyst in which the distinction between the old Toggle and new become significantly clear for the viewers. We will release the logo on our social media platforms. 6.3 Marketing Campaign After releasing our brand logo onto our social media platforms, we will then begin to launch our specially curated content for promotional efforts. 6.5 Release of content In addition to the release of our logo, we will also introduce snippets of our new content on our social media platforms. This will give our existing and potential viewers a taste of what Toggle:Refocused will be. 7. Conclusion In conclusion, we managed to determine that the backbone of toggle’s rebranding lies in our redefined target audience. Through this, we can focus on the preferences and sensibilities, lifestyles and habits of this new group. Moving forward, the next step for toggle is to bridge into the regional, asian pacific market. Our vision is that toggle.sg becomes a hub for local content and eventually becomes the biggest player in that industry.
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8. Reference (A.P.A) Tay, V. (2016). Toggle’s use of blackface makeup on Chinese actor backfires. [online] Marketing Interactive. Available at: http://www.marketing-interactive.com/toggles-use-of-black-face-makeup-onchinese-actor-backfires/ Lay, B. (2017). Mediacorp fined S$5,500 for racially insensitive blackface content. [online] Mothership. sg. Available at: https://mothership.sg/2017/05/mediacorp-fined-s5500-for-racially-insensitiveblackface-content/ [Accessed 12 Dec. 2017]. Madigan, T. (2017). Target Audience: The Importance of Appealing to Young Adults - Sharp Cat. [online] Sharp Cat. Available at: https://www.sharpcat.co.uk/target-audience-importance-appealing-young-adults/ Dickinson, E. (2017). Mediacorp’s Toggle head: ‘We are on track towards profitability’. [online] Mumbrella Asia. Available at: https://www.mumbrella.asia/2017/09/mediacorps-toggle-head-tracktowards-profitability SEC Filings. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2017, from https://ir.netflix.com/sec.cfm
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