Malaysian Media Awards Winners Showcase

Objective & Challenge
Covid19 has caused untold human suffering and unforgettable impact on the SmallMediumBusiness(SME). During times of crisis SMEs are often the least resilient as typically SMEs have limited cash reserves, smaller client bases, and less capacity to manage commercial pressures than larger companies. Analysts predicted that around 60 percent of SMEs may close before the pandemic is over. At the backdrop of the depressing scene, PTTI a tuition center operating from a shop lot at Bangi fully reliant on physical classrooms, lost their ability to operate. It was a make-or-break situation for this SME tuition center. They were on the verge of collapsing with no income for nearly 6 months! Challenge: The agency’s task was to work with PTTI to strategize its survival during Covid-19, transitioning from an offline-to-online tuition center, setting PTTI on a growth trajectory.

Insight & Strategy
Covid-19 impact saw a historic shutdown of schools which kept students out of physical classroom for almost 24 months. School systems were understandably overwhelmed and unequipped to respond. The Academic life of 1.8 million secondary school students were disrupted and 400,455 (total addressable market) of them were SPM students who rely on tuition to accelerate their exam preparation; the necessary supplement to build SPM students immunity to face the challenging upcoming SPM exams which determines their future. Imagine what happens when tuition classes become suddenly inaccessible, in a society where scoring A in examinations is absolutely crucial. We leveraged two key insights. 1. Student Insight: For SPM students, being underprepared is not an option. As the fear of failure causes extreme anxiety, therefore tuition is not an option. It becomes a critical academic tool that gives students the emotional reassurance and mental strength that they are doing everything possible to secure their future success. Students were accustomed to tuition classes given their parents obsession with scoring perfect A’s. Students were also immensely eager to excel academically even when physical tuition centers were shut down. During this time, we saw students resort to extreme measures such as climbing onto trees for more stable connection just to gain access to educational content. Understanding the desire to excel at SPM exams it was imperative to transform PTTI into an ed-tech company from an offline tuition center to capture the ready market needs. 2. Brand insight: PTTI was a center that guaranteed educational excellence, however it was struggling for digital excellence Operating from physical classroom in a shop lot, PTTI positioned themselves as a premier tuition center with a 85% passing rate versus the national average of 60%. They had built their credibility on having a panel of highly specialized SPM science teachers that were well-known for producing straight A students. PTTI already had the right educational credentials. What PTTI did not do was plan for virtual education system from enrolment to e-payment. PTTI is made up of a team of fine educators. However, they lacked the expertise on how to transform their business and make it thrive in the digital ecosystem. Understanding this, we decided to present a business case to turn PTTI into an EdTech provider.

Execution
We took four key measures: 1. The UI/UX was revised creating an inclusive and easy to navigate portal. Imagine, being stuck to a schedule of online classes during the pandemic. PTTI made it easier for the students to self learn and for teachers to also teach. If students missed live sessions, they were able to watch a library of uploaded online classes at their own free time. 2. We created a content hub, using WORDPRESS as a content management system which allowed teachers to upload their materials (e.g pre-recorded classes, videos, notes, tips or study hacks). These were made easily downloadable as study materials. 3. We created a function for students to ask questions anonymously during live virtual sessions, something shy students were afraid to do in physical classes. 4. The digital portal was transformed into an eCommerce transactional site, and we integrated SALESFORCE as a technology that enabled lead collection for potential new students. Transforming brick & mortar into bits & bytes for the convenience of both teachers and students.

Effectiveness
We brought back a business on the brink of failure, with no opportunity to earn revenue and transformed it into thriving educational SME. Demonstrating that technology need not be complicated to drive business results. 1. Scalability and accessibility – To ensure no students were left behind we scaled PTTI’s business from a 3,000sq ft shop lot is now to an online education hub accessible across 329,847 sq kilometers nationwide. 2. Business Performance – Acquired 7.6x more student registrations with 25,826 students vs the previous year with 3,000 students. – From the total audience base that media targeted, we converted 8.5% of students. 3. Campaign Performance – Improved website traffic by 159x from 1,300 to 208,000. – Drove 101,920 paid traffic to the website, 69% of them were new potential. – Achieve CPL of RM1.11 (-56% cheaper vs industry benchmark RM2.50).