YouTube hosted its annual YouTube Festival Awards 2022 to share the latest trends, insights and successes on the platform with advertisers and marketers including the future of video and multiformat content for Malaysians, creators and brands.
Connected TV is the fastest-growing screen for people to watch YouTube and in Malaysia, there is continued growth in people consuming content on their TV screens. According to YouTube Internal Data, over 7.5 million people in Malaysia streamed YouTube on their TV in May 2022. And this evolution has changed the way viewers define TV itself: 66% of Malaysian viewers say that YouTube “is TV” when it’s viewed on their television screen.
Loh Ben Jern, Head of YouTube Malaysia said, “This year, YouTube celebrates 10 years in Malaysia and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together. Over the years, we’ve built a vibrant ecosystem for our creators, our viewers and our advertisers here in Malaysia. According to a recent survey by Ipsos, YouTube is the number one platform that viewers aged 18-24 would miss the most if it was no longer available. And this is because audiences of all ages come to YouTube for a lot more than just entertainment. They come to find content that’s relevant, unique and diverse for their ever-changing lives and interests. In the same survey, 85% of viewers in Malaysia agree that YouTube has unique content they can’t find anywhere else, while 94% of viewers say YouTube helps them learn something new. YouTube has evolved from being just a place where people upload and share videos to a leading destination for creators to build communities. And in turn, a place for businesses to connect deeply with their audiences.”
Ben Jern, Head of YouTube Malaysia: “85% of viewers in Malaysia agree that YouTube has unique content they can’t find anywhere else, while 94% of viewers say YouTube helps them learn something new”
With YouTube playing such an important role in the lives of Malaysians, YouTube watch time in Malaysia grew by over 30% year over year in February 2021 vs 2020. This makes YouTube a platform that matters to creators, and a leading destination for them to build communities. The total hours of content being uploaded on YouTube by Malaysians channels grew by 20% last year and there are more than 100 channels in Malaysia with over 1 million subscribers, an increase of 30% from last year. This is a testament to the variety of content available from large TV stations, big and small music labels, production houses, celebrities and creators of all kinds.
Nadia Khan (center), Head of Communications for Google Malaysia, with this year’s recipients of the Gold Creator Award: (from left) Dumpling Soda’s Lizz Chloe, Isaac Osman, Syafiq Aiman, Azfar Badrul, Alex Ho from 알렉스티비ALEXTV, Roshede Basri from Syedot ASMR, Banden Tong of Banden, and Changyong.
“Creators are the lifeblood of YouTube and we are committed to providing them with the tools they need to succeed. From short form on mobile and livestreaming on desktop to audio-first content and connected TV, YouTube’s multi-platform ecosystem allows creators to create how they want, audiences to consume how they want. And this is what makes YouTube truly unique – its multi-format creativity that it gives creators every screen and every format possible to succeed. Getting the needs of creators right is foundational, as it allows advertisers to tap into the unique creativity and consumption that comes along with that. We are excited to see how creators, marketers and brands will continue to leverage the benefits of YouTube for their communities and businesses”, added Loh Ben Jern.
ARE YOU A CREATOR?
YouTube Works Awards winners were also announced at the event. Now in its 7th year, YouTube Works Awards recognises and celebrates the most compelling, effective and creative campaigns. Brands competed across five categories, with CARSOME taking home the Malaysia Ad of the Year award for its “CARSOME X Cantona: Driving Standards Forward ” campaign, which also won the award for Best Media Innovation. The campaign features football legend Eric Cantona as he runs through the car e-commerce platform’s multi-step process of preparing used cars for sale and shopping options available to customers, in under two minutes.
The CARSOME team taking home the award for YouTube Malaysia Ad of the Year, led by Chief Marketing Officer Ravi Shankar (center with trophy), and joined by award presenters and YouTube creators Haze Leong (in red) and Banden (in white).
“As CARSOME shifted to building brand awareness, we adopted a YouTube first approach in this campaign with football legend Eric Cantona to reach the right audience in a way that they would be truly excited by. With YouTube, we were able to leverage a single platform to engage with new audiences, such as the sporting community, resonating with viewers across four regions through their love for sport and football” said Ravi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, CARSOME.
Here are the full list of winners of the YouTube Works Awards 2022:
Action Driver
Allianz Malaysia – Ring Ring Just Call Allianz
Agencies: The Black Sheep, IPG Mediabrands Sdn Bhd
Best Collaboration: Brand & YouTube Creators
Hotlink – #BSJ Caraku, Caramu
Agencies: Leo Burnett Malaysia (Publicis Groupe)
Best Media Innovation
CARSOME Malaysia – CARSOME X Cantona: Driving Standards Forward
Best Storytelling
Celcom Axiata – Celebrating Raya with gratitude
Agencies: The Graph Studio Malaysia, M&C Saatchi Performance and Grab Creative Studio
Force For Good
RHB Group – RHB Chinese New Year 2022: A Spark For Change
Agencies: FCB SHOUT
YouTube Malaysia Ad of the Year 2022
CARSOME Malaysia – CARSOME X Cantona: Driving Standards Forward (overall winner)
