Malay Mail gets 'juicy' with new look

The Malay Mail, Malaysia's oldest daily newspaper at 110 years old, has undergone a complete makeover in order to reach a new demographic of trendy, young urbanites. In an effort to help it move away from its perceived image as 'my father's newspaper', extensive research was conducted into what the target demographic - 18- to 30-year-old urban Malays -looked for in a daily. Calling itself 'The paper that cares', the Malay Mail's community-oriented news approach has not been able to stem steadily declining readership figures. Thus, based on the insight that Malaysian youth are looking for a modern approach to coverage and easier-to-digest content, the Malay Mail's new format is now similar to that of a magazine, with larger pictures, bite-sized articles and a bigger focus on sport, entertainment, travel and lifestyle-themed entertainment. The previous editor of FHM Malaysia, Mohd Zulkifli, has been brought on board in the capacity of chief operating officer and editor to handle the relaunch, as well as a younger editorial team. "We'll squeeze the juice from the news and provide all the essential lifestyle and information readers need," said Zulkifli. BBDO Malaysia handled the rebranding exercise which also included the creation of a new masthead and typeface for the New Straits Times Press-published title. A campaign consisting of teaser ads and print, radio and two television spots is being launched to spark interest for the new 'juicier' title. The campaign's creative pivots on the idea that the Malay Mail is no longer boring but offers 'juicy' news, using the tagline 'More good stuff'. "The Malay Mail will still include important daily news, but will now make that news relevant to a 20-year-old's life in a more modern, fresh and cutting-edge format," said Intan Mokhnar, senior account director, BBDO Malaysia. The English-language daily newspaper has now also reduced its weekend offering to only one edition, Weekend Mail, with a 60:40 ratio of entertainment to news stories.

by | 06/28/2006

The Malay Mail, Malaysia's oldest daily newspaper at 110 years old, has undergone a complete makeover in order to reach a new demographic of trendy, young urbanites.

In an effort to help it move away from its perceived image as 'my father's newspaper', extensive research was conducted into what the target demographic â€” 18- to 30-year-old urban Malays â€”looked for in a daily.

Calling itself 'The paper that cares', the Malay Mail's community-oriented news approach has not been able to stem steadily declining readership figures. Thus, based on the insight that Malaysian youth are looking for a modern approach to coverage and easier-to-digest content, the Malay Mail's new format is now similar to that of a magazine, with larger pictures, bite-sized articles and a bigger focus on sport, entertainment, travel and lifestyle-themed entertainment.

The previous editor of FHM Malaysia, Mohd Zulkifli, has been brought on board in the capacity of chief operating officer and editor to handle the relaunch, as well as a younger editorial team. "We'll squeeze the juice from the news and provide all the essential lifestyle and information readers need," said Zulkifli.

BBDO Malaysia handled the rebranding exercise which also included the creation of a new masthead and typeface for the New Straits Times Press-published title.

A campaign consisting of teaser ads and print, radio and two television spots is being launched to spark interest for the new 'juicier' title.

The campaign's creative pivots on the idea that the Malay Mail is no longer boring but offers 'juicy' news, using the tagline 'More good stuff'. "The Malay Mail will still include important daily news, but will now make that news relevant to a 20-year-old's life in a more modern, fresh and cutting-edge format," said Intan Mokhnar, senior account director, BBDO Malaysia.

The English-language daily newspaper has now also reduced its weekend offering to only one edition, Weekend Mail, with a 60:40 ratio of entertainment to news stories.