Case Study
How foodpanda Malaysia unleashed the joy during lockdown
Key Results
75.9M
impressions
40%
lower CPM*
3x
increase in delivery orders**
The opportunity
At the height of Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO) nearly half of all Malaysians — 47.3% to be exact — took to Twitter to express their concerns about confusing dining regulations and closing times1. Many also shared concerns about the safety of eating out2, prompting conversations around food deliveries to reach a staggering 2M3.
To help homebound Malaysians, who might need an essential or an ingredient at a moment’s notice, foodpanda Malaysia (@foodpanda_my) decided to boost their recently launched grocery delivery service called pandamart.
The delivery service rolled out the “Unleash the Joy” campaign, which focussed on providing people with safe and quick access to basics and their favourite foods. @foodpanda_my decided Twitter would be the perfect platform to help them reach a wide audience and lead the conversations instead of just joining in.
The strategy
While many brands may be concerned about launching a new product or feature during a downturn, @foodpanda_my was confident in pandamart’s potential — and that the pandemic would be the right time to share the service with Malaysians.
The brand also understood that when people are under strenuous circumstances, creating relatable and heartwarming content, especially the kind that spotlights humanity and levity, is a great way to create rapport — and empathy — with audiences.
With those insights, @foodpanda_my created the “Unleash the Joy” campaign, which focussed on providing people with safe and quick access to basics. It showcased the simple joys in life, such as having your favourite foods delivered to your doorstep. They also decided that Twitter would be the best place to launch the campaign, and applied the Launch and Sustain model to roll it out.
In the Launch phase, @foodpanda_my wanted to garner mass awareness for the campaign — specifically for the joy that foodpanda delivery riders could bring to Malaysians — even during lockdowns. To maximize this awareness, @foodpanda_my leveraged an impressive eight Trend Takeovers over a two month period using hashtag #PesanKeriangan (Unleash the Joy) and used a Timeline Takeover to gain priority access to people’s first impression of the day.
The campaign creatives played a critical role by reflecting key MCO-related conversations @foodpanda_my had heard on Twitter, including difficulties in buying groceries and the struggles of cooking while juggling work. @foodpanda_my was determined to offer relief to Malaysians stuck at home and provide some joy along the way. Audiences responded positively to the empathy shown, and the brand was quickly propelled to the forefront of the conversations.
Next, in the Sustain phase, @foodpanda_my used a suite of Twitter Ads solutions to drive deeper engagement and, ultimately, deliveries. Video Ads demonstrated the brand’s always-on presence while promoting a discount code to encourage customers to try their new pandamart service.
01
Dare to lead during a crisis.
There are many ways a brand can lead, including by listening, introducing something new or leading with positivity. @foodpanda_my, for instance, thrived in times of crisis because they understood that people want brands to be communicative, supportive, and people-first.
02
Adopt audience-first strategy.
@foodpanda_my reached out to audiences when they were the most receptive. For example, they tailored their campaign to weekday users by encouraging people to order their meals by 4 pm. This allowed them to receive their deliveries well before the curfew — it also served as a reminder for busy WFH employees to plan and have their dinners.
03
Optimise by combining creatives with bid execution.
@foodpanda_my produced a series of video ads designed to grab viewers’ attention within the first few seconds. The video delivered maximum impact and achieved enviable view rates through the use of clear messaging throughout.
They also used auto-bid to drive healthy bid competition during the early stages of the video ads campaign, achieving cost efficiencies.
The success
The multi-pronged campaign garnered a staggering 75.9M impressions throughout its run on Twitter. The tremendous campaign overperformed on nearly every key metric, with Trend Takeovers driving 178% higher impressions than planned and 29% higher video views than the industry benchmark.
Cost per thousand (CPM) also hit 58% lower than benchmark (4.16 MYR vs 10 MYR). Meanwhile, the campaign saw 481% more clicks than planned, and the cost-per-click (CPC) turned out to be 89% lower than the industry average. The engagement rate was 31% higher than the benchmark.
But that’s not all — the campaign also delivered fantastic business results. Food delivery demand saw a 3x increase from the onset of the campaign and maintained a 3.7x month-on-month growth in orders while order value doubled*, clearly signifying that conversation can indeed drive lower-funnel results.
Twitter has grown exponentially over the last year as Malaysians continue to rely on the platform for updates on the pandemic and related SOPs. Our position on Twitter allowed us to provide the perfect solution to all Malaysians by striking high relevance with our target audience through safe access to their favourite food and essentials.
Having a premium placement on people’s Twitter feeds provided us with the opportunity to inform Malaysian households about pandamart’s unique benefits and what sets us apart from others. It gave us an extra boost in growth — which correlates Twitter’s year on year audience growth with that of foodpanda’s new service offerings and overall business.
Footnotes:
1. *the month after the campaign launch vs. pre-campaign vs. *industry benchmark
2. **2 months of campaign period vs. 2 months of pre-campaign launch period
Sources:
1. GWI Q1-Q2’20, Malaysia
2. Euromonitor data for the category showed that a fear of eating-in led food delivery sales to grow from 5.5% in 2019 to 12.8% in 2020.
3. Source: Brandwatch, Jan-Sept 2020, Malaysia
Solutions Used
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