Elizabeth Lloyd reports on Malaysia's increasing internet connectivity and mobile penetration -- marketers, take note.
According to the Computer Industry Almanac, as of March 2005, 37.9 percent of Malayia's population is online. The number of users has tripled in just five years. One of the reasons for such rapid growth is the Malaysian government's involvement in bringing broadband access to its people. In July of last year, Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik, Malaysia's minister of Energy, Water and Communications announced its plans to bridge the countries' digital divide by making broadband available to all.
Kevin Huang, chief executive officer of Pixel Media Hong Kong & Malaysia, a leading online media seller in Malaysia whose web media partners include Friendster.com, ICQ Malaysia, and Klue, states:
"Malaysia has over 8 million users online, about 1/3 of the total population. The online population is 2x that of the entire Singapore population already. Having said that, the internet infrastructure needs to be improved in order for the online population to continue its growth and encourage greater usage of the internet."
According to Huei Min Lee, research manager, telecommunications research, IDC Malaysia, "In the next five years, Malaysia's broadband subscriber market is expected to increase at a healthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.9 percent from 2004 to 2009."
With statistics like this, it is no surprise why online advertisers such as HSBC, Volvo, Ford Motor, BMW, Nike, Samsung and Dell are starting to look into this country. Most if not all of these advertisers run campaigns that reach their audiences online with a consistent message across all channels. Take Dell as an example. Since Dell does not have a physical local presence in Malaysia, they have turned to local market specific advertising strategies to increase brand awareness and generate sales online. According to Danny Tham, vice president of Bullet Ads, a leading online advertising network headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, "Dell is one of Malaysia's largest online advertisers as they do not have a actual retail shop to sell their product."
Aside from broadband access, the Malaysian government has been supportive of the high tech industries with the Multimedia Super Corridor initiative (conceptualized in 1996), which has helped propelled many new industries in this area including that of online related companies. The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) is Malaysia's initiative for the global information and communication technology (ICT) industry. Currently, the MSC is hosting more than 900 multinationals, foreign-owned and home-grown Malaysian companies focused on multimedia and communications solutions and research development.
"Malaysia has already grown many leading regional players that have flourished beyond its borders. A Good example is Jobstreet.com which is the leading recruitment website in Asia and is a homegrown Malaysian company. Malaysia has a big potential to become a leading internet market in South East Asia. I hope that Malaysia will one day become THE hub for leading internet companies and high tech industries for South East Asia or even the entire Asia region," states Huang.
Recent statistics from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) have shown that there are more than 13 million mobile phone subscribers in the country, with the penetration rate now surpassing the 50 percent mark. The AT Kearney Global Outsourcing Survey has recognized Malaysia as the third highest positioning globally because of its attractiveness as mobile content and applications centre.
According to Malaysian mobile marketing company, MobileExec, whose clients include Cadbury, Mastercard, and FIFA World Cup Committee, there are more than 9 million mobile phone users, which is well above the 35 percent mobile penetration rate (vs. total population) which makes Malaysia an ideal environment for mobile marketing. MobileExec currently provides premium rate SMS messaging across the all major Malaysian carriers -- Celcom, DiGi, Maxis and TMtouch. MobileExec's services are currently utilized by many mobile content providers to receive requests and send ring tone, logo and picture messages.
Christian Kwok-Leun Yau Heilesen, founder and CEO of Funmobile, a mobile content developer and messaging service provider with operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, states:
"The late introduction of broadband and lack of spending in infrastructure presents the greatest barrier to wide adoption of internet beyond office usage in Malaysia. Compared to the USA, internet in Malaysia is not popular. As more Malaysian people have mobile phones than PC's, this presents an ideal opportunity for mobile marketing as the mobile phone is more easily available than the internet in Malaysia."
The AT Kearney Global Outsourcing Survey on mobile marketing has given Malaysia the third highest ranking due to its aspiration to be the world's leading mobile content and applications center. It certainly seems that Malaysia is poised to reach its goal. In December of last year, NEC Corporation and NEC Malaysia announced its new mobile phones and branding strategy to further expand its mobile business in Malaysia.
Hiromi Orikasa, general manager of mobile terminals marketing & sales division, NEC Corporation states:
"Malaysia is one of NEC's most important markets where NEC can demonstrate its full competence in mobile internet. NEC expects further strong initiatives by NEC Malaysia will help create the market and aid NEC in obtaining a leading position there."
Additionally, last month, Samsung entered Malaysia's 3G mobile phone market with its introduction of the world's smallest 3G handset. Samsung has had much success in the Malasyain market -- in 2004, Samsung had achieved 26.5 percent market share, up from 19 percent in 2003.
It is evident that Malaysia has a very promising future -- both for online advertising opportunities as well as mobile marketing. Malaysia is becoming a major player in these industries and and will grow dramatically in the foreseeable future. Not only do the number of Internet and mobile users increase daily, but the many initiatives that are taking place to penetrate this market are incredible. With all the news lately focusing on China's lucrative internet opportunities, it would benefit marketers to start analyzing other countries in APAC.
Elizabeth M. Lloyd is Managing Partner of Dragon Media Online, an online media services and technology company that offers comprehensive media solutions to penetrate multicultural and international markets. Lloyd's work on international online marketing has been highlighted in numerous publications as well as in academic curricula for MBA international marketing programs worldwide.