Content Champions: PETRONAS

Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) is Malaysia’s national oil and gas company, responsible for managing the country’s hydrocarbon resources. It operates an integrated energy business spanning oil and gas exploration and production, petrochemicals, and petroleum products, while expanding into cleaner energy solutions.

Content Champions is a segment during A+M's Content360 conference in Malaysia in which we highlight brands who have made significant impact in the content marketing space through their campaigns. This campaign was shortlisted for Marketing Excellence Awards 2025 and chosen for coverage by the editorial team at A+M. 

Brand: Petronas 
Campaign: "From fuel pumps to For You pages: How PETRONAS won TikTok and Malaysia's Gen Z" 

Challenge: 

PETRONAS was facing a growing perception gap among younger audiences, particularly Gen Z. While the brand remains widely recognised in Malaysia, often associated with oil and gas, petrol stations, and its long-running festive films, it was increasingly viewed as traditional and less future-focused.

Brand tracking indicated that although PETRONAS continues to command respect, its emotional resonance with younger consumers was weakening, signalling a disconnect between the brand’s legacy and how it is perceived by the next generation.

At the same time, TikTok has emerged as Malaysia’s fastest-growing platform among Gen Z. Yet it remained largely untapped by energy companies, which tend to rely on corporate and generic content that lacked authenticity. This presented both a challenge and an opportunity for PETRONAS to reposition itself.

Against this backdrop, the brand looked to establish a stronger foothold on TikTok, with ambitions to be seen as progressive, innovative, and sustainable. Its focus was on reshaping perceptions beyond oil and gas, building authentic connections with Gen Z, and setting a new benchmark for how legacy brands engage younger audiences on social.

Strategy: 

To address its perception gap with younger audiences, PETRONAS developed a Gen Z-focused content strategy built on cultural relevance, participation, and platform-native execution.

At the core was a proprietary “5E” content engine — 'Explore', 'Engage', 'Elevate', 'Echo', and 'Evolve' — designed to structure how the brand shows up on fast-moving social platforms such as TikTok.

The framework combined daily social listening and trendspotting (Explore) with interactive, community-led formats (Engage), while using storytelling to reshape brand perception (Elevate). Offline activations were repurposed into digital content to extend reach (Echo), with ongoing optimisation driven by performance data (Evolve).

Beyond content, PETRONAS focused on democratising creation. Through employee creator workshops, staff across markets were trained to become brand advocates and co-creators. These sessions covered TikTok fundamentals, platform best practices, and hands-on ideation, enabling employees to produce content that felt authentic while staying aligned with brand guidelines. For international teams, localised frameworks ensured cultural relevance without compromising consistency.

Execution was also tailored to platform dynamics. To improve performance, content was built around algorithm-friendly principles, including strong opening hooks within the first five seconds, the use of human-centric visuals, and auto-captions to capture attention in sound-off environments. Posting schedules were aligned with peak user activity to maximise reach and engagement.

At the same time, governance remained critical given PETRONAS’ status as a government-linked company. A “Green-Amber-Red” review system was implemented to ensure all content met brand, regulatory, and reputational standards, while still allowing room for creative expression.

Content pillars were clearly defined to ensure consistency and depth. Brand storytelling focused on PETRONAS’ sustainability journey and national significance, while employer branding humanised the organisation through employee-led narratives. Sustainability content highlighted its net zero ambitions and community initiatives, while innovation and technology positioned the company as a forward-looking energy player.

Execution: 

To bring its TikTok strategy to life, PETRONAS executed a series of platform-native video content anchored across four key pillars: brand story, employer branding, sustainability, and innovation and technology. It ensured that each piece was culturally relevant, human-led, and optimised for engagement.

Under its brand storytelling pillar, PETRONAS tapped into national passion points to build relevance with younger audiences. Its “#GemilangkanLagi” series leveraged the country’s strong affinity for badminton, spotlighting its sponsorship of the Badminton Association of Malaysia while celebrating fan culture, national pride, and the next generation of athletes through Olympian-led content.

This was complemented by festive and cultural moments, where employees created Gen Z-style content from casual “0.5 selfies” to themed videos around occasions such as Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, and International Women’s Day, positioning the brand as inclusive and culturally in tune.

Employer branding content focused on humanising the organisation by putting its people front and centre. Employees across markets were featured as storytellers, highlighting their contributions and career journeys, while reinforcing PETRONAS’ commitment to talent development.

This was further amplified through the “11 Questions” series, inspired by rapid-fire interview formats, featuring employees, partners, and personalities including Formula 1 drivers. The series offered a more personal, behind-the-scenes look at the people shaping the brand, helping to make PETRONAS more relatable to younger audiences.

On sustainability, PETRONAS leaned into emotional, human-first storytelling. Its “Uplifting Lives” and “50 Dreams” series spotlighted beneficiaries and underserved communities, giving them a platform to share their stories and experiences. These narratives were designed to highlight the brand’s social impact while building deeper emotional resonance.

Around key environmental moments such as Earth Hour, PETRONAS also experimented with more creative executions, including a parallax-style video of the PETRONAS Twin Towers going dark, using a child protagonist to underscore the importance of sustainability for future generations.

Meanwhile, content under innovation and technology positioned PETRONAS as a forward-looking energy player. Campaigns tied to moments such as International Girls in ICT Day showcased the role of young women in technical and digital functions across the organisation, highlighting real-world applications of technology, from innovation to problem-solving, while encouraging greater participation in STEM-related careers.

Across all pillars, execution remained consistent: short-form, visually engaging videos built around strong hooks, human stories, and culturally relevant formats. By blending national identity, employee advocacy, and purpose-driven storytelling, PETRONAS was able to translate its broader brand narrative into content that resonates with Gen Z on TikTok.

Check out the other winners here.