From vanity to virality: How Beiersdorf Malaysia's micro-dramas hit the sweet spot

In an age of fleeting attention spans and screen fatigue, brands are constantly searching for ways to earn, not demand, consumer attention. For Beiersdorf Malaysia, the answer lies in micro-dramas.

While the format has traditionally thrived on entertainment platforms, Beiersdorf has been testing its potential as a powerful branded content tool for NIVEA. According to Wailun Cheong, Beiersdorf’s head of marketing for Malaysia and Singapore, the decision to embrace micro-dramas was not just about keeping up with digital trends. It was a strategic move to meet Malaysians where they are, on their phones, immersed in short, emotionally charged stories.

“With consumers shifting media consumption to digital in the past few years, we needed to be where consumers are, especially in an age where attention is getting shorter,” Cheong told A+M exclusively. He also added: 

Micro-dramas also offer a chance to create engaging and humorous content that seamlessly integrates brand mentions through authentic storytelling.

Don't miss: China's micro-drama industry booms: How brands can script their own success

Beiersdorf’s experiment with micro-dramas came to life through two festive campaigns: “NIVEA shed the old, start anew” for Chinese New Year (CNY) and “NIVEA antara cinta & cemburu” (‘Between love and jealousy’) for Raya.

The CNY series, a four-episode arc, follows Sherman, a content creator who returns to his village hoping to claim his grandmother’s pineapple tart recipe. What he gets instead is a deeper reconnection with family and tradition. Meanwhile, the Raya campaign focused on Alya, who suspects her husband Izhan of cheating, only to discover he’s secretly preparing a skincare gift for her. These bite-sized stories captured culturally specific moments, and integrated NIVEA products into every episode.

Both series were created in partnership with OMD Malaysia and Media Prima OMNiA and distributed across platforms such as SAYS, Viral Cham, Oh! Bulan, and Xtra, channels well-aligned with the digital habits of Beiersdorf Malaysia's target audience.

The impact was tangible. “Our brand health metrics improved by two to three percentage points based on YouGov data, and most importantly, we saw sales increase by almost a double-digit percentage, which could be directly attributed to the success of the micro-dramas,” added Cheong. Engagement rates also surged to levels eight times higher than typical publisher benchmarks.

Beyond virality, a blueprint for impact

The success wasn’t accidental. Beiersdorf ensured its content strategy was multi-pronged, incorporating storytelling, ecommerce integration, and key opinion leader (KOL) amplification. The result was not just virality, but resonance.

Brands need to innovate and think outside the box to drive consumer attention and connection. We are keen to explore similar opportunities in the micro-drama space and fine-tune the blueprint for success. And this is based on its approach of being witty, instead of just being loud especially during the festive periods. Cheong said: 

Brands need to innovate and think outside the box to drive consumer attention and connection. We are keen to explore similar opportunities in the micro-drama space and fine-tune the blueprint for success.

That blueprint includes measurement and agility, two pillars supported by the brand’s media partners. OMD Malaysia’s head of strategy, Chetan Muley, underscores the importance of setting a clear measurement framework from the start.

“For NIVEA, the end objective was to connect strongly,” Muley said. “So, we tracked engagement, view-through rate, and how the content influenced business outcomes. Once it worked, it became something we could scale.”

On the casting of key opinion leaders (KOLs) for the NIVEA micro-dramas, Muley also added that it presented the perfect opportunity for Beiersdorf to enhance brand relatability, as well as foster trust and authenticity.

OMG Malaysia's CEO Winnie Chen-Head added that the rise of micro-dramas reflects a broader evolution in marketing. “With the rise of data and technology like AI, we have more tools to experiment, collaborate and optimise efficiently. The ecosystem is becoming more collaborative and experimental, guided by data-driven insights.”

Is this the future of brand storytelling?

Beiersdorf is not alone. Other brands such as Kiehl’s have dipped their toes into the micro-drama space. Its TikTok series Cahaya Raya followed a young woman’s personal journey through heartbreak and self-discovery during Hari Raya, tapping into similar emotional beats of identity and belonging. 

Jasmine, one of Malaysia’s longest-standing rice brands, also took an unconventional turn for Ramadan with the launch of "Seharum bunga jasmine" ('The scent of jasmine flowers'), a TikTok-exclusive 30-episode micro-drama. The show follows a fictional billionaire’s hunt for a successor, with each episode lasting around two to three minutes each. 

For Cheong, the rise of micro-dramas is also a sign of Asia’s increasing influence on global cultural trends, from K-pop and anime to mobile-first storytelling. He said:

These regional trends present an opportunity for Asian marketers to lead the way and showcase the region’s rich heritage and diversity.

Based on a MARKETING-INTERACTIVE analysis on the cultural phenomenon of micro-dramas, other industry watchers agreed with this. To cut through the noise, micro-dramas need to be distinctly ownable by the brand, both in voice and visual style. Every creative decision — from scripting, lighting, colours, cinematography, the typeface used, should be intentional and aligned with the brand identity, said industry players. 

Based on information from the China Internet Network Information Center quoted in China Daily, as of June 2024, micro-drama viewers accounted for 52.4% of total internet users (1.1 billion) in China, while the proportion of web users accessing short-form videos of all forms stood at 95.5%. In 2024, KFC China launched its own micro-drama series featuring an ancient empress searching for a drumstick in the royal kitchen, but who is then accidentally transported to modern-day China, where she discovers KFC as her favorite food and seamlessly promotes its weekend deals.

Over in Singapore, Mediacorp put out a call-for-proposals for a micro-drama initiative, titled "First frames: SG60" in December last year. This initiative comes on the back of Mediacorp’s first-ever Chinese micro-drama, "Falling for CEO’s son", which stars DJs from Mediacorp YES 933 and has been a hit with viewers on TikTok since its launch in November. Loyalty programme yuu Rewards Club also jumped in on the series, entering a partnership with Mediacorp for a product placement spot. 

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