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BRANDING & BLOGS BRANDS IN BLOGS Where Compliments Can Go Viral in a Big Way It’s become pretty much endemic because everyone in Malaysia seems to know a Blogger. And you do not need to ‘qualify’ to blog. Want to be heard? Have lots of free time? Want to feel powerful? Just blog! It’s the ultimate in user-generatedcontent! And here’s one proof-point if you do not believe in its power; Malaysian politicians are some of the most prolifi c bloggers. Not surprisingly, no one can offer an accurate tally of blogs in Malaysia. “Though we represent a community 85,000 of bloggers, the actual number far exceeds what we know,” says Timothy Tiah, the executive director of Asia’s fi rst blog advertising community, Nuffnang.com. Nuffnang’s business model helps Bloggers monetize their blogs; and advertisers to deliver their brand experience through blogs. For the uninitiated a blog simply is a web log, and carries a chronological publication of personal thoughts. People can blog on any topic – politics, photography, personal musings, babycare, recipes, entertainment, hobbies etc.; it’s almost never ending. The Blogger becomes a publisher of ideas, experiences and opinions. Popular blogs draw a large audience of followers that range from passionate loyalists to just-passing-bys’. But they have the power to infl uence. And it’s a double edged sword as well. “A travel blog can attract 3000 readers every day. The popular entertainment blog budiey.com receives anywhere between 20,000 to 30,000 visitors every day,” Timothy reveals. Stories of Tony Fernandez engaging Blogger Kenny Sia immediately after his outburst about AirAsia’s service quality have been told many times. Stories of this type make blogs more credible, and acknowledges the power it can wield. Brand Builders can through blogs engage customers at a micro level to create excitement for their brand. “There are two ways of doing it. The company can advertise in a blog or engage a Blogger to write their experience with the brand,” Timothy says. “Bloggers can also be engaged to trial a product and post their experience. Or they can be paid to write about it, and that would be an advertorial,” he adds. Seeding of new products, or an existing product’s benefi ts and upcoming events through blogs is one way of getting the word out fast. Very often, they can kickstart a word-of-mouth campaign. But the results can be positive or negative. Timothy Tiah 36 Brand Equity Volume 2, 2010 There’s no guarantee that a Blogger can be absolutely ethical. Quid pro quo does rear its ugly head sometimes; or often. Treat Bloggers well and your brand is in for happy times. So how do we connect Rice Cookers, blogs and target customers? Explains Timothy, “Let’s assume that Housewives with a household income exceeding RM2000 and a family size of three would be the target. The next thing to do is to explore blog categories that housewives are likely to visit, such as parenting, cooking. Or, we can broaden that to include the above 40s.” “Next we plan how to engage the target customer. We could organize a family day, invite parent bloggers, their friends and blog visitors to participate in activities.” But Malaysian brand builders are hesitating to use blogs in a big way; a good number simply hop into the bandwagon. Timothy admits that blogs are not a primary means of engaging target customers yet. Standalone blog campaigns have not taken off in a big way. “Blogs are usually brought in to support a major campaign. However, we organized a standalone campaign in April this year and it entered the Malaysia Book of Records. Over 500 fun loving Bloggers came together at the Gatsby Deodorant Street Fair.” There’s an interesting point to note here – its 500 bloggers and not their target readers. What if their readers were invited? The numbers could have been staggering! Blog are yet to reach critical mass; and that may not be far off. But its power to infl uence cannot be ignored by the brand building fraternity. And did you know that there were over 500,000 active Bloggers during and after the 2008 general elections? That’s mega infl uence at work – big time and overtime! Timothy Tiah can be reached at timothy@nuffnang.com
Nuffnang Chipster Pajama Party Challenge New to the potato chips market, Chipster wanted a visible platform to increase its customer base. Solution In collaboration with Nuffnang’s First year Anniversary, Chipster tied in and came up with an event: Nuffnang Chipster Pajama Party! The event was pushed through Nuffnang’s platform. To receive invites to the event, bloggers had to write a blog entry titled ‘I sleep better with Chipster’. Results The blogsphere was full of Nuffnang Chipster Pajama Party buzz. And it appeared Top 10 on Technorati search list. Not only did top bloggers grace the event, but a total of 350 turned up! The event received over RM80k worth of media coverage including a total of 400 blog write ups about Chipster! Nuffnang Friso Family Day Out Challenge Spoilt with choice, blogger parents of youngsters and bloggers parents-to-be do not know which milk powder is the best. Friso wanted to grab hold of this opportunity & educate the bloggers on Friso Gold. Solution Nuffnang organised their fi rst blogger parents gathering – Nuffnang Friso Family Day Out! Friso came over to introduce the benefi ts of Friso Gold. Nuffnang’s home page was skinned with Friso to enhance the campaign. Nuffnang even got top blogger – Chan Lilian to emcee the event! Results The turnout was encouraging! Over 300 pax with their families attended the event! Media coverage was secured from NST, The Star, China Press and Sinchew Daily. Nuffnang blogger parents such as Redmummy was buzzing post-event on their blogs expressing how much their children enjoyed the Nuffnang Friso Family Day Out! Brand Equity Volume 2, 2010 37
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Page 7 and 8: Last December, CWR took a bold step

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