When Berita Harian (BH), Singapore’s sole Malay-language daily, began its digital transformation journey, the goal was clear: to grow its audience, especially among younger Malays, while staying rooted in its cultural mission.

But the strategy wasn’t just about more content or new platforms — it was about working differently.

At the heart of BH’s transformation was a whole-of-newsroom approach, closely integrated with colleagues across product, design, technology, data and consumer divisions. This cross-departmental collaboration became the engine driving audience growth, product innovation, and measurable business outcomes.

Content with purpose

BH’s Malay audience strategy served as the guiding framework for transformation. One of the newsroom’s priorities was to tackle news avoidance by becoming hyperlocal and hyper-relevant.

A small but nimble BH Lab team was formed to track community stories and break news fast using an episodic publishing model. The team managed end-to-end workflows — from writing and publishing to creating social media content — and delivered outsized results. While BH Lab stories made up less than 10% of monthly output, they drove more than 20% of monthly pageviews.

In parallel, the newsroom surveyed nearly 1,500 Malay readers to identify content gaps. This led to a focus on three key lifestyle pillars: food, travel, and parenting.

The editorial team ramped up content production under newly branded series — Kaki Makan, Kaki Jalan, and Dunia Anak — supported by events like pasta-making workshops and parenting conferences. Writers partnered with the social media and audience growth teams to build vibrant communities on platforms like Telegram, with regular engagement through polls and quizzes.

New brands, new voices

To engage Malays aged 18–34, BH launched OMG (Orang Muda Gitew), a bilingual youth brand designed for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, in late 2023. The content was hyper-local, highly visual, and culturally resonant, from lifestyle explainers like “Tahu Tak” to relatable posts about wedding dowries.

OMG’s success wasn’t limited to digital content. The team conducted 11 in-person engagements at local institutes of higher learning, culminating in the Jauhari Series — monthly fireside chats with successful professionals. Within 10 months, OMG had grown to over 43,000 followers, with 70% of its audience within the target demographic.

Innovation through collaboration

What truly set BH’s transformation apart was its open-door culture of innovation. The newsroom actively partnered with SPH Media’s Agile team — including product managers, designers, and developers — to co-create tools that met real user needs.

One standout idea was the Daily Word Quiz, an interactive bilingual game encouraging readers to strengthen their Malay vocabulary. Initially launched as an overlay, the team iterated on the design to create a dedicated page, allowing engagements to be counted as pageviews. This single feature now accounts for 3% of total monthly pageviews.

The product team also worked with the consumer division to introduce a smart content conversion feature: premium stories would automatically become available to registered users after seven days. This extended the shelf life of high-quality content while encouraging readers to register and subscribe. Since its launch, this initiative has contributed to a 4% rise in pageviews from registered users.

Data was central to every decision. BH’s newsroom worked closely with SPH Media’s centralised data team to build custom dashboards and explore AI-powered features, such as an article summarisation tool for busy readers. These insights fuelled BH’s editorial choices and helped align content with audience needs.

Measurable impact, lasting change

Between January and December 2024, BH saw a 68% increase in total pageviews across Web and app. Social media growth was equally impressive: TikTok engagement jumped 124%, YouTube video views grew by 487%, and Instagram followers rose by 26%.

BH’s transformation illustrates that impactful change is not driven by the newsroom alone, but by embracing cross-functional teamwork and aligning around a shared mission. For BH, that mission is clear: to serve Singapore’s Malay-speaking community with content that informs, inspires and connects — wherever they are.

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