The inaugural ‘YouTube Week Malaysia’ set to launch in December

Four years after the launch of YouTube Malaysia, the platform will be holding its very first YouTube Week Malaysia in the week of December 5th.This is to celebrate the brands, local and international content, as well as many of the talented creators that make the platform a daily destination for entertainment, information and education.The week-long celebration is set to line up a brand showcase event for advertisers and agencies; a content showcase and creator workshops for budding YouTubers and marketers; and product demos and interactive stations with entertainment elements. YouTube Week Malaysia will be supported by the Malaysian Advertising Association (MAA) and Advertising + Marketing Magazine, the official content partner.In a conversation with A+M, Sajith Sivanandan, managing director of Google Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines and New Emerging Markets said the whole idea took about five months of planning and deciding. The birth of the concept came around seeing the excitement of marketers around the YouTube Ads Leaderboards.He added that in the last couple of years, the excitement has only grown with local marketers really upping their content strategies and tapping into the emotional connection with audiences.“It was a deeply humbling experience and means something great to us because we work with these brands. We too are always excited to see who did well. This is true voting and people are seeing this. When you look at this from that perspective, extending that to make it more inclusive, aspirational and involve all parts of the ecosystem,” Sivanandan said.The YouTube ecosystem, he elaborated, consists of the users and audience who are generally the most important in the mix. Also in the ecosystem are creators who fuel the creativity and entertainment factor of the platform and brands that are looking to reach out to the large user base.“We talk a lot about the YouTube ecosystem. This is the first step to bring it all together. So a lot of time is spent talking to advertisers and agencies and how they can use that to reach their target audience but there’s also the audience part of it which is basically the viewers. And so we need to have an event that would also reach them,” he added.Part of YouTube’s plan in Malaysia this year is having really great local content and reaching out to great content creators and to reaching new aspiring creators. Hence with the event, YouTube hopes to nurture both local talent and also watch out for future stars. One of the areas in which Google Malaysia is working hard on this year is to get the 10,000 to 100,000 subscriber base creators.“There was no way to reach this huge community in one given afternoon or evening and hence the semi-modular approach,” Sivanandan explained. As such on-going conversations with content creators, agencies, and marketers are a must for feedback on the topics and interest areas.Currently, about 65% of Malaysians are watching YouTube on mobile. Just three years ago the number was next to nothing on mobile and just the watch time, which is essentially the time people are spending watching, is increasing 60% year-on-year. With 2 out of 3 Malaysians today owning smartphones, more and more people are no doubt watching their favorite YouTube content while on the move.As such, to be seen and heard in today’s complex media landscape, marketers need to go to where Malaysians are currently spending their time and really grab their attention.Moreover, a recent TNS Research and Google Malaysia study also found that 16 to 34 year-old Malaysians watch more YouTube than TV on a monthly basis. Interestingly, half of the 55 to 64 year-olds surveyed are also avid YouTube watchers, making the popular video platform very much a mass media destination. YouTube is also considered more ‘sticky’, with consumers rarely watching just one video per visit.“Great content will always get great response, and with platforms such as YouTube, you can now tell a real story without cramming it all in a short time span. Now there’s a real proper story you can tell no matter how long it is and it lives on forever,” Sivanandan said.YouTube Week Malaysia will also play host to the very first YouTube Malaysia Ads Awards, and in conjunction with that YouTube is making an early call for entries. Brands and agencies can submit their 2016 YouTube ads using this form (http://goo.gl/RrH466) to compete for the following possible 10 award categories:YouTube Malaysia Ad of the Year, 2016      Finance      Retail      Travel      Consumer Goods      Tech & Telco      Best Storytelling      Best 5 Second Intro      Best Long Form Ad (2 min+)      Best Animated Ad " These mobile-first Malaysians are already watching what they want, whenever they want, on whatever device is closest. Great content always gets a great audience. ​YouTube​ continues to be a great platform for content ​creators and​ brands ​to flourish on today’s most influential video and social platform. It welcomes the new and experimental and being able to engage directly with the audience creates a virtuous cycle of watching, sharing and shaping,” said Sivanandan.