General elections in Malaysia are notoriously rambunctious, unpredictable affairs. But even the canniest political observers were shocked by the 8 March poll. The ruling Barisan Nasional party suffered its heaviest losses in history, losing its long-held two-thirds parliamentary majority and five states to the opposition.
When the dust had settled, the outcome was hailed a victory for democracy in a country all too familiar with political scandal. The people had spoken. But what about Malaysia’s marketing industry? Did it win or lose?
It is still too early to call, but at first glance it looks like a defeat. Malaysia’s stock market reported a 40 per cent slump in first quarter profits last week, partly because of the credit crisis in the US, and partly because of Malaysia’s political wobble. This has left marketers with an “air of uncertainty”, says Ajay Thrivikraman, the former MD of Bates141 Malaysia, who recently joined Publicis Singapore.
Not that it should, he adds. While advertising spend growth is not expected to dip below the sluggish six per cent growth predicted for 2008, consumer confidence has been lifted by the elections. “Marketers should see this as an opportunity. After so many years of political dominance by a single party, Malaysian consumers have been struck by a feeling that they can make a difference. They now feel more empowered.”
Tony Savarimuthu, the MD of McCann Worldgroup Malaysia, adds that the outcome of the elections has sent “positive signals” to marketers which have been cool on Malaysia in the past because of its apparent lack of transparency.
“The Government seems committed to eliminating corruption, and now that it it’s on the backfoot, it will make the necessary changes faster,” he says.
One change the Government is certain to make is its approach to new media. To his credit, the prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was quick to admit that his “biggest mistake” had been to ignore campaigning by his opponents on the web. Distrustful of Government-backed newspapers, many voters went online for an alternative perspective.
“We certainly lost the internet war, the cyber war,” Badawi said. “We thought that the print media and TV was supposed to be important, but young Malaysians were looking at SMS and blogs.”
This, says Mike Liew, MD, Southeast Asia, of PR consultancy UpstreamAsia, is a lesson for marketers who have, until now, shunned digital media. “The opposition used new media more than the government, to reach 20 to 40 year-old voters. But what shocked everybody was that, according to research from a government body, well-educated Malaysians say they are more influenced by blogs than they are by mainstream media.”
This shouldn’t really worry Malaysia’s newspapers publishers, says Liew, as long as they can find a way to restore credibility among their readers.
“Newspaper readership is unlikely to fall. Malaysia is a political country, one that likes to read about politics. The question is how newspapers win back reader confidence,” he says.
Which they’ll have to do amid rising competition. The Government last week revealed plans to give opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s political party a permit to start his own newspaper.
But perhaps the most significant change has been the new political faces the election has brought in.
Agency bosses will be looking to build bridges with the likes of Shaziman Abu Mansor, the new minister for Energy, Water and Communications, and Azalina Othman, the new Tourism Minister, in the hope that they will want to make their presence felt by changing agencies.
