The Malaysian Insight

WHILE some businesses are going bust because of Covid-19, commercial media agencies and production houses reported better productivity for 2020 as the pandemic has boosted consumption of online content and streaming media.

There was a sudden acceleration in the adoption of technology in response to viewers’ habits, said several players.

“In the advertising industry, digital has been talked about for many years. The pandemic accelerated digital transformations by a hundredfold,” said Eileen Ooi, managing director of PHD, a media agency providing services in communication planning and media buying networks.

One impetus was the shift in consumer behaviour to online video usage, online shopping and over-the-top (OTT) or streamed media using the internet, all of which saw a surge.

PHD Malaysia is a part of the Omnicom Media Group, which digitised its operations and moved into fully remote, work-from-home arrangements the day movement restrictions were imposed last March.

“We had arranged for our IT (information technology) systems to be enhanced, increased our server bandwidth and ensured that all staff have the connection to the internet and server within a couple of days.

“Business was then able to run as usual. And in fact, PHD saw increased 20% productivity in 2020,” Ooi said.

The Core Studios CEO Bryan Lim said prior to the pandemic, such tech-heavy arrangements and options were not on the radar for his broadcasting and media production company.

But even old-school companies have been forced to adapt to digital and utilise more online platforms to run their operations, he said.

Though the industry experienced a hiccup in early 2020, business picked up before the year ended.

“New offerings such as live-stream production, something which we have not done before 2020, filled up most of our year.

“Sales picked up towards the last quarter of the year probably due to companies wanting to use up their supposed annual budget allocation or leveraging the year-end festive season,” Lim said.

The Core produces content for digital marketing, corporate videos, short films and is behind The Ming Thing channel, which has more than 500,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Another media production house based in Kuala Lumpur, which wishes to remain anonymous, said business in 2020 had been “decent”.

“There was about a 30% reduction in revenue. We undertook some pay cuts and took some government assistance for some staff.

“Some jobs were postponed and those that were time-sensitive were cancelled,” said its executive producer.

Overall, the industry can survive as spending on advertising continues, he said.

“For consumer products companies, many have done well under the movement-restriction orders, so they, in turn, are spending.”

Amid better company performance, The Core Studios’ Lim said one difficult aspect of content production during the pandemic was filming, which was banned and categorised as a non-essential business during the MCO from March to May last year.

His company adapted and tackled the situation with virtual production, more concept planning, more strategising and adopting a “one-man-show” shoot.

Ooi of PHD suggests that the government give more focus to digital transformation policies and frameworks with reward schemes.

“While the grants and aids are definitely helpful, smaller businesses at times need the guidance on how they should pivot the business.

“It is important to have policies and support systems, beyond just funds. (There must be) capability building and technology support to enable our small businesses to transform,” she said.

Both Lim and Ooi also raise a significant rise in mental health issues in their business community.

“Mental health is not supported as much in government funding nor education,” said Ooi.

“I do not think we are doing enough as a nation in this aspect. Many employers, employees and individuals need to be more aware and educated to empathise and support.”

One of the ways PHD ensures that all staff stay connected is through group chats and activities.

“We created a sense of normalcy via virtual lunches, virtual drinks and virtual celebrations to ensure the organisation’s culture and people’s connections remained intact.”

The effort seems to have paid off after PHD saw a 0% churn rate (departures) in 2020 despite the unprecedented circumstances. – January 14, 2021.