Follow the King, Don’t Just Guard the Palace

“Content Is King” by Bill Gates is an often-cited quote. In the world of marketing, an interesting point to  ponder is if content is king, its palace would be the medium where it resides.  

For so long, TV is the main medium that hosts video content. So, when TV viewership started to decline,  many predicted the end is nigh for TV advertising.  

However, they didn’t consider that connectivity has enriched TV from a solely Linear medium to Video-On Demand (VOD) and Over-The-Top (OTT). And that marketing has also evolved across multi-screen and  plethora of devices, in tandem with the change in viewing consumption, to capture the Content and the Consumer. 

The pandemic may have put a halt to gatherings and celebrations for this year’s Ramadan and Hari Raya, but Astro continued to entertain its audiences with a variety of Ramadan and Raya (RaRa) content across multi-platforms.

Hence unsurprisingly, Astro announced that it has retained its position as the top destination for Raya and Ramadan entertainment, with 94% of total  Malay TV audience who watched Astro Malay channels during the Raya period*. 

The satellite TV and radio operator also announced that Malaysia’s No. 1 drama of 2021, Rindu Awak Separuh Nyawa, recorded a 7.4mil TV reach and a whopping 17 mil digital views.

The era of appointment viewing has evolved  

According to a statement released by Astro, on demand viewing of RaRa content grew exponentially, with close to 7 mil titles streamed across Astro Box and Astro GO which is a 518% increase from a year earlier. 

Meanwhile, mobile viewing continued to gain traction with 65K new users throughout the campaign period. We noticed a major uplift in the engaged viewing too, where Malay drama lovers binge watch and catch up on their favourite series whenever and wherever they wish. 

The surge of video-on-demand viewing also saw two content genres, that are traditionally “niche” on linear TV, emerged in the top 5 chart, shining alongside mainstream genres.  

Top 5 RaRa content genres that ruled the Malay homes:

• Drama: Rindu Awak Separuh Nyawa recorded the highest viewership during campaign period across all platforms with a 7.4 mil TV reach and a whopping 17 mil digital views. Fans watched more than 42 mins per episode, about 1.3x of average time spent in competitor’s drama. It is one of the most watched show on Astro GO and emerged as Malaysia’s No. 1 drama of 2021.
• Astro Original, Projek: Anchor SPM drove high engagement on social media which garnered 105mil video views on TikTok
• Movies: Championing home cinema
  • On Demand: Launched on Astro First, 18 Puasa Di Kampong Pisang emerged as this year’s No. 1 local film in Malaysia raking in over RM5 mil
  • Linear TV: Dominated movie viewing on eve and first day of Raya, with “Syif Malam Raya” and “Mael Totey The Movie” recorded more than 2mil reach respectively, 64% higher than the competitor on same day part.
• Comedy: Sepahtu Reunion Al Raya on Astro Warna garnered 2.9 mil TV reach with 800k rating on the 1st day of Raya, about 80% higher than competitor’s comedy skit.
• LIVE Raya entertainment: Being the only LIVE entertainment programme, MEGA RIA kept viewers entertained from eve until fourth day of Raya, with a total TV reach of 4.5 mil.
• Cooking Show: Pung Pang Rizalman is the only cooking show sharing the limelight with other top content on first day of Raya, ranking after Sepahtu Reunion with high average time spent of 43 mins.

Technology enables human interactions while keeping social distance  

Astro set out to bridge the social distancing requirements during Raya, by leveraging on Augmented Reality (AR) tech to create interaction among Malay households during the stay-home Raya.

The Buka Lembaran Baharu campaign invited Malaysians for a unique “Balik Kampung” experience in Rumah Astro Raya.  

Within the AR world, customers were able to win exclusive giveaways, meet the ‘Skuad Lembaran Baharu’ and have access to a variety of digital entertainment content.

This virtual Rumah Raya created special  memories in the hearts of nearly 180K visitors, translating into over 17 mil joyous impressions and 3x higher  site engagement. 

Community is the ground of any kingdom 

Apart from ensuring 92% of Malay homes are able to have a joyous Raya celebration filled with quality  entertainment programmes for each family member, Astro also collaborated with with McDelivery, Berbakti to  extend love to asnaf families and the country’s frontliners during Ramadan. This two pronged initiative was activated together with Astro celebrities. 

First, Astro radio announcers alongside McDelivery riders sent McDonald’s buka puasa meals, daily essentials and cash donations to 10 asnaf families under the Ziarah Ramadan programme organised by Pusat Pungutan Zakat-Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (PPZ-MAIWP). 

Then, a bike convoy with singer-cum-host, Alif Satar and McDelivery riders delivered meals to 1,000 frontliners at Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontinjen Kuala Lumpur (IPK KL) and Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (PPUM) to show gratitude to the frontliners.

*from 12 to 26 May, 2021

If you want to better navigate content and consumer based marketing, sign in to quake.com.my, the marketing hub for brands powered by Astro Media Solutions. Stay tune for the launch of addressable advertising across VOD, OTT and Linear TV that will bring video advertising to a whole new level.

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