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2021 | |

Unlimited FUNZ – Turning a Radio Station Into a Mobile Gaming Hub for Malaysians

Advertiser: U Mobile
Brand: U Mobile
Creative Agency: TBWA
Credits: -

36_FINALIST_EC2_UNLIMITEDFUNZ REC

Objective & Challenge
The Unlimited FUNZ Pack was introduced around July to August 2019 as a refresh to U Mobile’s Unlimited Power prepaid pack, which offers unlimited data for social media, messaging apps and mobile gaming. As with any new product, we needed to build awareness quickly, but Unlimited FUNZ was launched in a challenging environment where the telco market was saturated and new launches were often received with strong negative sentiments from a cynical market accustomed to voicing their disenchantment on social media. As the e–sports arena is a saturated space occupied by almost all the telcos in Malaysia, we had to strengthen our gaming proposition further amongst casual gamers – which would be more relatable to the masses while distancing ourselves from the professional realm of e–sports.

Insight & Strategy
Interest in mobile gaming is enormous, with 57% of Malaysians showing some interest or participation. This amounts to a massive 11 million individuals. The recent 2019 SEA Games saw the inclusion of e–sports as one of its medal events. U Mobile has also been synonymous with sponsoring global e–sporting events such as KL Major 2018, M1 World Championship 2019, and many more. We further extended our engagement with gamers by supporting the local e–sports team – Geek Fam. GlobalWebIndex shows that 40% prefer to play games with their friends. While the realm of professional e–sports is abuzz, this data tells us that most mobile gamers are casual players who play games as a form of entertainment amongst their friends. Delving into the psyche of casual gamers, it was recorded that 41% are continuously looking to improve their gameplay, and they do so by watching how other players play on livestream, such as Twitch TV, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming. We needed to engage with these audiences on a large scale basis, and a radio presence such as Hot FM’s with a sizeable listenership as well as its 3.4 million Facebook followers propelled us to embark on a partnership culminating in a 1–day gaming hub takeover where we hosted live matches between DJs and callers in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile. PUBGM was selected as it is one of the mobile games that subscribers can enjoy unlimited data for with U Mobile’s Unlimited FUNZ.

Execution
The takeover day was a full day with breakdowns to different segments engaging both gamers and non–gamers alike with relatable content. Days before the actual station takeover, we ran multiple teasers to help create hype and inform listeners about the takeover on–air and online. https://www.instagram.com/p/B1YmOFPhn9/ On 21 August, the actual takeover day, HotFM officially announced that the takeover would be running from 6AM to 12AM. With the teasers that ran up until this point, listeners would already be prepared to tune in for a day’s worth of exclusive content. Morning Kick–start talkset (2 minutes) – the takeover started with a talkset introducing U Mobile and explaining that the Unlimited FUNZ Prepaid Pack has taken over Hot FM for a day to bring exciting and exhilarating gameplay to listeners. Game Break (10AM to 12AM) – bite– sized game tips were shared on Hot FM’s social pages to keep audiences engaged via a 1 min on–air and online capsule. https://www.facebook.com/hotfm976/photos/a.436390514270/10157992329209271/?type=3&theater Game Session (12PM to 2PM) – at noon, gameplay was streamed live across various social media platforms broadcasting matches between the DJs, professional gamers and listeners. https://www.facebook.com/umobile/videos/1067279953469926/? comment_id=1067316580132930 Drive Time (4PM) – leveraging on their existing “Cerita Viral” segment, we got the announcers to share mind–blowing stories related to gaming which sparked interest in listeners. Drive Time (6PM) – as evening drive time is one of peak segments with the highest listenership, we got Geek Fam to share personal experiences based on ridiculous stunts that they have pulled or done to level up their gameplay. Night Segment (8PM) – The takeover was capped with a finale giveaway to the first caller through who shared their favourite gaming soundtrack.

Effectiveness
With this one–day takeover, 2.465 million listeners tuned in to the livestream, providing excellent exposure for the Unlimited FUNZ Prepaid Pack as the presenting sponsor. The live session garnered over 39,000 views and 1,000 engagements within 2 hours. We also observed an uplift of 21% in search interest for Unlimited FUNZ during the takeover period, which contributed to a 2x increase in website traffic to the Unlimited FUNZ webpage. As the livestream and pro tips were broadcasted on social media, we noted an increase of 20% in the size of U Mobile’s Facebook fan base on a week–on–week average. By converting a radio station into a mobile gaming hub for Malaysians, U Mobile not only appealed to the broader base of casual gamers, but also won their attention and interest.