Adwork makes advertising more affordable for MY SMEs with self-serve platform

Self-serve end-to-end advertising platform, Adwork, aims to offer easy, affordable and effective advertising experiences for SME business owners in Malaysia and the Southeast Asian region. Led by CEO Kumaresh Visvanathan (pictured right), former VP, global sales and marketing at 123RF, the online advertising marketplace features a variety of advertising products and options through an online selection.

They include an array of advertising mediums including newspaper, magazines, radio, television, static and digital billboards, cinema, transportation, hospitals/clinics, in-store, talk-shows and digital platforms. The platform also has a three-step booking process - media selection, creative service, and payment - thereby offering ease, simplicity, and accessibility. According to Adwork, it currently has more than 5,000 media for selection.

As part of its launch initiatives, Adwork will be offering RM2 million worth of free advertising space to users through cash rebates, value-added deals and discounts of up to 70%. From the RM2 million giveaway, Adwork will be offering up to RM1 million worth of free ad space to SMEs under SME Corp’s database. To obtain these promotions, they can either create an account or follow Adwork's social media pages.

Meanwhile, Visvanathan has over 20 years of experience in various stages of corporate commercial activities, including international sales and marketing, new business development, key account management and business strategy, across various industries including telecommunication, computing, energy and technology. Besides 123RF, he also worked at Lifesight and Redflex Traffic Systems, according to his LinkedIn.

Visvanathan said mainstream advertising has been a "privilege" of large-scale organisations with huge marketing budgets which enable them to engage with media agencies. "SMEs - businesses with an annual revenue of RM50 million or below - do not have this luxury. This is a disconnect we want to change, by making advertising more accessible online and affordable for SMEs," he explained.

Adwork’s objectives are in line with Budget 2020’s Shared Prosperity goals, especially “Development for All” which aims to restructure the country’s economy to be more progressive, high-value and knowledge-based with full community participation. It will collaborate closely and directly with media partners to craft special promotion deals for SMEs, and expects to see a strong take-up and increased overall advertising expenditure by SMEs. According to Visvanathan, Adwork targets an initial estimated RM5.7 million in revenue by the end of 2020.

“While the focus for such platforms in other markets typically focus on billboard and print media, Adwork’s initial offering of 12 advertising mediums will provide more value and wider options for SMEs to advertise. In time, we expect to add more channels to the repertoire of products on the platform,” he added.