We fussed around and found out: AsiaOne wins award for coverage on Ridout Road saga
Remember Ridout Road?
In 2023, Ridout Road became the topic du jour when online critics raised allegations about cabinet ministers renting black-and-white colonial houses.
Netizens questioned how the ministers were able to afford the rent for such properties, with terms like 'Good Class Bungalow (GCB)', 'black-and-white colonial house' and 'heritage properties' being thrown around interchangeably.
It was then we realised there was a crucial knowledge gap: Are people aware of the differences between a GCB and a black-and-white colonial house?
On the other side of the newsroom, our consumer insights team also conducted a sentiment analysis. They discovered that audiences are seeking more than just a straightforward recitation of facts and figures on the Ridout Road saga.
It got our gears turning, which eventually led to creation of 'What the fuss: Are black-and-white colonial houses as good as good class bungalows?' - a mere six days after the idea was first conceptualised.
The video delved into the distinctions among various types of bungalows, offering viewers an exclusive glimpse into the conditions of rented black-and-white colonial houses and the experience of living in one.
On April 24, this video project won an award at the Digital Media Awards Asia 2024 for Best in Audience Engagement - small to medium media category.
The video achieved substantial engagement across our Facebook, YouTube and website, garnering over 416,500 views and reaching out to almost 2 million users.
On its 16th edition, the Digital Media Awards Asia seeks to recognise and celebrate the best of digital media. Organised by the World Association of News Publishers, this year's award saw AsiaOne taking home two wins: Best in Audience Engagement and Best Native Advertising in the small to medium media category.
"It took a collaborative and cross-functional approach from our newsroom to our media production unit, with inputs from our consumer insights colleagues." says AsiaOne's CEO Sean Ler of the effort behind 'What the fuss'.
"The public was interested in the matter, and it was up to us to understand it, dissect it, and be able to present the facts to our audiences."
"You cannot buy traffic and hope to get engagements. What we can do as news and media practitioners is to keep our fingers on the pulse, eyes on the matter and our audience; to focus on delivering content that matters - fairly and squarely," he adds.
The team behind 'What the fuss' shared that understanding audience interests and using a persistent "ground-up" approach was key to the storytelling process.
"We based the content on a real understanding of Singaporean perceptions, guided by sentiment pulses from our in-house Consumer Insights & Analytics Office," says Jasper Lim, AsiaOne's producer.
"In an era where attention span continues to wane, AsiaOne believes that a compelling product that understands audience interests would be one that could create genuine, lasting and compelling engagements."
Making Yishun great again
Our other award-winning piece was 'Discovering hidden gems in Yishun', which took home the award for Best Native Advertising.
Faced with a request to promote the merchants of Yishun - a town with a notorious reputation that precedes its name - the team capitalised on our strengths by employing our distinctive "off centre, on trend" approach to spotlight the array of offerings within the neighbourhood.
AsiaOne's director for clients and brands partnership, Lynette Phua shares: "Working with Nee Soon Merchant's Association gave us the opportunity to truly explore the neighbourhood through the eyes of its residents, uncovering hidden gems for AsiaOne viewers."
"This kind of hyper-local content is just what our viewers enjoy watching," she adds.
kimberly.foo@asiaone.com
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