TM to put social media account up for open tender

Telekom Malaysia (TM) is launching an open tender soon and has invited agencies to register their intent as part of the brand’s search for a new social media agency partner. The appointment will be for TM Technology Services, the main operating entity which houses the group’s overall brands, including Unifi and TM One.

According to the registration of intent notice released by TM, no deadline was shared. However, interested parties are required to indicate their intent by sending an email with the subject “Open Tender for The Appointment of Agencies for Social Media Partners: Registration of Intent” to TM’s authorised representatives. They are Amira Bahiah binti Mohamad (amirabahiah@tm.com.my ), Iffa binti Sharuddin (iffa.sharuddin@tm.com.my ), and Mohd Ismail bin Hashim (mismailh@tm.com.my ).

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Interested agencies, and their persons-in-charge, must also be registered on TM’s supplier network, Ariba, and provide their Ariba network IDs as supplementary information.

The notice also states that, notwithstanding agencies’ interest to participate, the issuance of the event invitation is subject to TM’s discretion. Upon receipt of the event invitation from TM, access to the event will be provided through its Ariba portal.

Additionally, only one submission is allowed from each group of companies or network, as defined under the Companies Act 2016. Further information can be found in the registration of intent notice shared on TM’s tender notices site.

Alyaa Ramlan, head of social for Unifi, also shared the notice on her LinkedIn page, saying: “TM’s registration of intent for social media agency partners is up. Looking forward to receiving you guys, and possibly (having you as) part of our agency panel.”

Back in December, A+M reported that Unifi, the internet service provider of TM has launched two separate pitches, in search for a new creative and media partner agency. At the time, seven agencies were through the second round for the creative pitch, while four agencies are in the running for the media remit. Unifi's incumbent incumbent creative and media agencies are also taking part in the pitch.

Earlier this year, Unifi took a novel approach to local celebrity culture with a campaign centred on the nuptials of Fattah Amin and Amira Othman. The campaign, described by Unifi as a first-of-its-kind in Malaysia, transformed the couple’s wedding into a nationwide entertainment event.

The "Setulus takdir: Fattah & Amira" ("A sincere fate: Fattah & Amira") campaign kicked off on 8 September with a 10-episode documentary series chronicling the couple’s journey. The climax was the ijab kabul (proposal) ceremony, which was streamed live exclusively on Unifi TV 2.0. To make sure no one missed it, the campaign also featured a Klang Valley-wide billboard takeover urging Malaysians to tune in.

This comes after the brand tapped Fattah Amin as its brand ambassador in March. Unifi has been featuring various Malaysian celebrities and influencers on its social media content but has not been known to have picked a brand ambassador before in recent years. 

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