Why is this work relevant for Creative Strategy?

The inspiration behind the launch of the ‘PLAY@HOME Initiative’ was to find an innovative yet executable way to fulfil the needs of our customers during an unprecedented period of time in a global pandemic. As an esports cafe operator, most if not all of our customers come to our outlets for gaming purposes. A void had been created for them and we looked for viable ways to fulfil this void. We decided to give our consumers the same enjoyment in the comfort of their own home, with high end gaming PC delivery.

Background

The impact that the COVID-19 outbreak had caused within Malaysia was a huge one and a sector that has also been heavily affected is the esports cafe business and general retail businesses. Having 32 outlets in Malaysia now closed we needed to solve 2 main problems; business continuity during the foreseeable future and meeting the needs of our customers. Driving an overall win-win situation for our business, as well as our customers are always our top priority. In support of the Movement Control Order implemented by the Malaysian government, Orange Esports Cafe launched an initiative addressing the need to stay at home during this crucial period along with irresistible promotional packages for esports cafe goers that bring double rewards and joy to gamers in Klang Valley.

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

Specifically honing down on Orange Esports Cafes, our business was heavily impacted during MCO as we’ve had to close all 33 esports café outlets. Our business model for the café is driven by our customers being physically present in our outlets to enjoy gaming, entertainment and esports. The pandemic was a major disruptor to our operations that put the business on the backfoot for the 2020 year and resulted in a 90% decline in revenue during the MCO period. The management saw this as detrimental however, also saw this as an opportunity for innovating the traditional way esports cafes generating their income. The immediate responses taken was to internally assess our revenue driving assets, financials, our cash position, regroup to discuss internal strategies we could implement for our existing customer base, and new potential customers, and lastly, exploring external support systems that were available.

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

We finalized 2 core strategies: our ‘PLAY@HOME' Rental Initiative, and our FREEDOM Top-Up Campaign. Both designed with purpose to cater to our current and potential customer base. For the ‘PLAY@HOME' Rental Initiative we pulled a team together that comprised two companies within our group; Orange Esports Café and The Gaming Company (TGC). A core strategy for the success of this campaign was to include a partner to increase our community offering, we decided to include our long-term partner Logitech Malaysia to further enhance the offering for our customers, and our exposure to the market with the common mindset of helping those in need during the MCO period in Malaysia. The FREEDOM Top-Up campaign was designed for our members of Orange Esports Café (approximately 190,000 members) who have member accounts with us. The top up campaign featured a value for money top-up and a free Orange Esports limited edition jersey.

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

The creative strategy involved approaching our target audience who were mainly consumers and avid gamers who frequently visited our Orange Esports Café but were unable to do so due to the Movement Control Order implemented by the government. 1. From the conceptualization of the idea to launch it took 4 days. We looped in two of our businesses The Gaming Company (TGC) and Orange Esports Café to work on the strategy, implementation and execution of the initiative. 2. An interactive platform was also built for the audience to be engaged with the promotion throughout social media platforms where consumers can enquire more about the promotions. 3. Once consumers were approached and have signed up for any of the promotions available, relevant policies and agreements were agreed upon before initiating delivery process of the gaming computers to the consumers’ homes.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

The results that followed were overall 90% positive feedback from customers, a positive increase in brand awareness and brand relatability across Malaysia, and Southeast Asia gaming and esports communities, an affordable solution for hardware for small businesses and consumers during this pandemic, the exploration of new unconventional revenue lines and business shifts to maintain relevant for future growth, and the ability to sustain a positive cashflow during this pandemic. 1. Feedback from the community. We managed to meet community demands and exhausted all available rental units. Pre-orders for the promotion were also launched and they too were fully booked until the third week of April 2020. 2. Solidifying future implementations of the promotion. Due to the overwhelming success of the initiative, a continuation of the promotion has been initiated

Please tell us how disruption in your market place inspired the work

For years the esports café business has been conducted in a tradition manner. The pandemic has forced all esports café businesses to evolve in a way which was not considered before, in order to survive. Moving forward, our though processes are not only to cater to our present business needs, but to also branch out and explore future proof business continuation strategies. We have built on the current strategies implemented during the pandemic to continue to maintain, and evolve these plans as a core part of our future offering to both consumers and brands.