#MARKiesAwards MY 2021 highlight: Selangor state govt reaches out to MSMEs to counter pandemic

When the pandemic hit in 2020, it illuminated social tensions globally and affected not only businesses, but individuals as well, especially in terms of finances. Malaysia was no exception to the challenges of the pandemic, which affected the local industry and MSMEs.

To combat the issue, the Selangor state government rolled out a series of interview videos with creative advertising agency Wofollow to broadcast the challenges MSMEs faced during this challenging time. 

With the campaign, “Post pandemic recovery industry dialogue”, the Selangor state government and Wofollow impressed the judges, clinching a finalist spot for the Government Sector/Non-Profit Marketing category at A+M’s MARKies Awards 2021 Malaysia.

Challenges 

A total of 10 representatives from 10 business industries were chosen to share the challenges they faced, and the solutions used. According to the Selangor state government, the interview videos were designed to recognise the contributions of the industry and MSMEs, and their pandemic recovery plans.

The goal was to share ideas on how to counter the challenges of the pandemic from the perspective of individuals from different industries. Aside from rolling out a series of interview videos, the Selangor state government also issued a public statement on how the SME-friendly actions and policies it had were helping to build the economy. 

Strategy 

Working with Wofollow, the Selangor state government chose to produce the videos in a series format to encourage dialogue between the state government and the industry.

By showcasing the different expertise from the different industries, the videos aimed to touch on viewers who were in similar industries. Thus, showing these individuals the idea of planning during the pandemic and the process of the government’s SME-friendly initiatives. 

Additionally, the government also collaborated with Malaysian politician Teng Chang Khim, enlisting him to host the interview videos. According to the Selangor state government, Teng’s participation in the videos was “crucial to connect the MSMEs in a positive way”.

To ensure the video interviews covered a wider reach of audiences, Wofollow and the Selangor state government decided to tap on social media to publish the interviews. By posting on social media, the agency and government banked on how fast the videos could be shared among users. Aside from social media, the Selangor state government also collaborated with online and traditional press media companies to ensure it would reach out to more audiences. 

Execution 

Faced with the challenge of the conditional movement control order, the Selangor state government and Wofollow set up a temporary stage and had the interview videos recorded in a studio. From the design of the backdrop to the furniture choices, the government and the agency aimed to create a professional, yet comfortable space to ensure the interviews were held in a friendly environment. 

Before the interview videos were launched, a shout-out video by Teng was released as a teaser, informing netizens of this video series and encouraging them to watch it.

After the teaser was released, the videos were scheduled by episodes with clear titles to indicate the featured industry. To ensure there was social chatter built up from the videos, social media ads were invested to boost the video exposure.

Additionally, a PR article was created and shared with media companies such as New Straits Times, Oriental Daily, Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press, among others. This PR article was to be shared over the media companies’ social media. 

Results 

After its execution, the campaign proved to be a success, generating more than RM150,000 in PR value. This was accomplished with the support of more than 20 online and traditional media coverage for the campaign.