AIBD In-Country Workshop on ‘Marketing and Commercialisation’ was held in Kuala Lumpur from 1 – 3 April 2019. This three-day workshop introduces participants to the principles and techniques of creative, persuasive marketing, the production of content that is commercially desirable and ratings successful, both new productions/programmes and marketing/sales materials and the boosting of sales and reputation and gaining of sponsorship, through creative, persuasive storytelling in all media and on all platforms.

The workshop aims to equip participants, in theory and in practice, with knowledge and skills for:

• Making programmes that are more commercially desirable and ratings successful
• How to sell radio and TV programmes to different companies
• How to package and produce creative and persuasive marketing and sales pitches
• Successfully persuading sponsors
• Identifying the appropriate formats and stories to include as marketing content about your programmes ensuring suitable approaches to companies

The workshop then applies these theories in practical sessions to designing marketing and sales campaigns with specific aims for creating and marketing commercially successful and desirable programmes, attracting and persuading sponsors and potential customers, and producing persuasive story materials in appropriate and creative formats.

The primary consultant for this workshop was international media expert Mr Turan Ali, who has almost 30 years of BBC production experience, a respected trainer and consultant, who is the former director of international media training centre RNTC. 

Guest experts included Mr Cai Yanjiang, Director, Sports department, from ABU, who worked at CCTV where he was Senior Producer of the CCTV sports channel and Mr Amir Marvian, Google Analytics Engineer.  Mr Yanjiang concentrated on the strategy of selling, while Mr Marvian did a demonstration on how to set up and monitor analytics.

37 participant attended this workshop. They were RTM staff working in Marketing and Promotion department as well as content creators from the various government channels.

During the closing ceremony Ms Philomena Gnanapragasam, Officiating Director, AIBD, gave a brief remark on importance of training the marketing and sales staff and how it can elevate any organisation’s image and revenue.  

Tuan Haji Abd Muis Shefii, Director General of Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) was the guest of honour for the closing ceremony. He highlighted the importance of getting right training at the right time.

‘In a globalised world, technology and creativity plays an important role in marketability. The ability to combine stories and persuasion and the creative use of media formats will determine a sales pitch for your production.’ – stated Tuan Haji Abd Muis Shefii in his closing remarks.