Tesco MY ties up with Astro to give away free ad packages to SMEs

Tesco Stores Malaysia has tied up with Astro Malaysia to launch the "Hero Bangkit Contest", which is aimed to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The contest, which runs from now until 30 August, will see 10 local entrepreneurs winning free advertising packages that will be aired on Astro Radio’s terrestrial and digital platforms, and a total of RM50,000 worth of Tesco vouchers. A+M has reached out for additional information.

Interested entrepreneurs who are interested can visit "Hero Bangkit" microsite to share how their businesses have been affected by COVID-19, what have they planned to rebuild it and why should they be chosen as the winners. The top 20 entries will then be shortlisted for public voting, before the 10 winners are selected on 7 September.

Vivian Yap, Tesco customer director, said the contest offers a platform of encouragement and support to Malaysian entrepreneurs, and is designed to recognise and further empower them. "We believe that Merdeka month is the best time to do this given that it is a month that has been traditionally associated with heroic efforts and these entrepreneurs are heroes in our eyes,” she added.

Jeyapuvan Somasundram, vice president, Astro Media Solutions said by participating in the contest, local entrepreneurs will be in the running for free radio airtime to promote their businesses on Astro Radio. “With 16.9 million weekly listeners and three million monthly digital users, Astro Radio’s listenership remains healthy across our 11 radio brands. We are glad to play our part in supporting the SMEs in need and we hope the exposure will help in reviving their businesses, leveraging the extensive reach of our radio brands,” he added.

This partnership also comes a month after Astro reported a revenue dip in its TV and radio segment for its first quarter of 2020. Advertising revenue for its TV segment dropped 38% to RM53.1 million compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, its subscription revenue also declined by 11% YoY to RM821.5 million. Total revenue for TV dropped 16% to RM920.4 million, mainly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its EBITDA dipped by 23.3% YoY to RM319.0 million.

Its radio revenue also decreased 37% to RM37.2 million despite an increase in listeners from 16.2 million last year to 16.9 million Q1 2021. Consistent with the contraction in business, Astro also experienced a 38% YoY drop in ad expenditure to RM90 million as advertisers pulled back ad spend. Despite the decrease in ad expenditure, Astro Radio's radex share increased by four percentage points to 84%.

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