Once again, thank you for reading another exciting digitalization story of our successful client. In this post, we feature Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC) or GreenTech Malaysia, the organizer of IGEM who generated a huge response for the events they organized using the power of Digital Marketing.
We are happy to have Mr. Zaid of MGTC to share with us his digital marketing journey with Exabytes.
About MGTC
Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC) or GreenTech Malaysia is the government agency under the purview of the Ministry of Environment & Water ( Kementerian Alam Sekitar dan Air).
They are tasked to lead the nation in the areas of Green Growth, Climate Change Mitigation and Climate Resilience and Adaptation.
Under Green Growth, MGTC focuses on three key areas:
(1) Green Incentives and Certification
(2) Green Advisory and Capacity Building
(3) Green Promotion and Investment
Moreover, MGTC has now expanded its focus on Climate Change Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation through Policy Analysis, National Reporting, National Programmes Coordination, Focal Point for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Data Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA).
About IGEM
International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (IGEM) has established itself as South East Asia’s largest trade event for green technologies and eco-solutions.
IGEM is an ideal platform for solution providers and green energy businesses to tap into the fast-expanding ASEAN market by showcasing the latest innovations to policymakers, government organisations, investors and the mass markets of the IGEM brand.
Over the years, IGEM has successfully generated over RM30 billion in business leads since its initiation in 2010.
To date, IGEM has attracted the attendance of over 490,000 visitors including delegates, dignitaries and companies from over 60 countries.
The Challenges
Organising Events Virtually
During this pandemic and with many COVID-19 cases, all in-person events and campaigns were halted. The majority of us had to stay at home and do everything online. The situation made MGTC venture out to find a virtual approach.
It was a challenge for the MGTC team because they are still new at organising virtual events and other related issues.
With 11 years of track record, IGEM decided to duplicate the physical event to a virtual format to continue its roles in providing opportunities and position itself as a leading event organizer when it comes to Green Technology, Environment Sustainable Energy, Climate Change, etc.
In addition, the virtual event also provided an effective marketing platform to the regular IGEM exhibitors to boost their online presence.
Traditional Media Is Now Less Effective at Reaching an Audience
Before MGTC went into digital marketing, it used traditional media such as newspapers, television, and radio to promote IGEM 2019. The team spent a lot of money on traditional advertisements in physical newspapers to reach its target audience.
During the town hall meeting, the MGTC team brainstormed and asked each other and the stakeholder critical questions such as ‘How many of you learned about the campaign through newspapers?’
It turned out no one heard about the campaign through newspapers. In fact, all of them heard about it from either word of mouth (WOM), referrals, or email-direct mail (EDM).
The IGEM team realised that traditional media advertising is no longer effective in the digital age, especially in the new normal. People interact more on digital channels such as social media platforms and websites.
That was when the team decided to venture out and try a new method they were not familiar with—digital marketing—to promote all the events they organise.
The Journey to Kick-start Digital Marketing with Exabytes
IGEM Went Virtual
MGTC kick-started a tender process to meet more vendors and organise IGEM events virtually. The team added Digital Marketing as one of the components in the Request of Proposal (RFP).
They want the vendors to also focus on digital advertising and explore how digital marketing works and drives the success of a campaign.
Vendors recommended Exabytes to MGTC
During the tender process, MGTC explored virtual platforms together with its vendors. One of the vendors – QUBE introduced Exabytes to MGTC. Mr. Zaid and his team got in touch with the Exabytes team and briefed them on the planning and expectation of the campaign.
Next, the Exabytes team brainstormed the next plan of action and presented a digital marketing proposal to Mr. Zaid and his team.
The Journey of Digitalization with Exabytes
During the interview, Mr. Zaid expressed his appreciation and trust for a great digitalisation journey with the Exabytes team, who provided guidance and advice along every single step on digital marketing.
The areas/efforts particularly liked by Mr Zaid are the creative campaign posters, the choice of advertising channels, analysis of target market and setting of campaign goals.
Extra Budget Added to Reach a Wider Audience
Initially, MGTC’s budget for vendor development in Malaysia was around RM40,000 (approx. SGD 13,000).
However, after reading the proposal and action plan developed by Exabytes, MGTC decided to increase the budget to around RM100,000 for Digital Marketing Services to reach out to other regions, including the Asia Pacific and Europe.
Awareness, Visibility and Engagement
Once the digital marketing campaign kick-started, IGEM has generated lots of response on social media. Mr Zaid was happy to have gained more engagement for the event digitally.
In addition, the stakeholders noticed the IGEM Campaign on social media. The team was elated that awareness and visibility were successfully created.
Mr Zaid also shared his experience with us back in 2014-2015. A media company was helping his team with digital marketing but it was not effective. For one, the target market was wrong.
Last year, the IGEM online campaign was a successful one. Although the campaign only lasted around 2-3 weeks, the expectation was high and Mr Zaid was glad about the outcome. From there, Mr Zaid decided to engage Exabytes for their next campaigns.
MGTC’s Experience with the Exabytes Team
Thanks to Exabytes’ proven track record, Mr. Zaid has continued to work with Exabytes three times in the interview.
He mentioned the valuable experience with Exabytes, including being guided by the team along every step. Mr Zaid’s team learned tremendously along the journey.
Although there was a miscommunication in the beginning, issues were solved instantly. As Mr Zaid gained more confidence with Exabytes services, he entrusted his next campaign to Exabytes — the National Energy Awards Campaign.
Upcoming Collaboration with Exabytes
After great collaboration on the IGEM Campaign, MGTC engaged Exabytes for another new project – National Energy Awards.
The initial plan was to still advertise in the newspaper during Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) in Malaysia but unfortunately, MCO 2.0 (equivalent to the Circuit Breaker in Singapore) came in January 2021.
As a result, MGTC decided to scrap traditional advertising entirely. This is also because not many people would grab the physical copies of the newspaper during MCO.
The National Energy Awards is expected to create another miracle using the power of digital marketing.
Author’s Thoughts
It was a great sharing by Mr. Zaid on how he went through a digital marketing journey with Exabytes. I would like to thank Mr. Zaid for taking his time to share his experience and journey with us.
I’m happy to hear that our customers are satisfied with our ideas and services. As part of the Exabytes team, I’m proud to have assisted our customers in their digital transformation journey and put a smile on their face.
As a Digital Marketing Strategist, I do agree that digital marketing will be a boom in the next few years. People now spend most of their time on the Internet, this makes it a must for businesses to go digital and get their customers online.
Once again, thanks for spending your time reading the success story. I appreciate it, and hope it will inspire you to digitise your business in the near future!
