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

In an INMA ideas blog, Azhar Kasman – lead product manager for the SPH Media masthead in Singapore, tells how collaboration helped it transform its newsroom and reach new audiences.

He says 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,” he says.

BH took a cross-departmental approach to its digital transformation, its Malay audience strategy serving 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,” says Kasman. “While BH Lab stories made up less than ten per cent of monthly output, they drove more than 20 per cent of monthly pageviews.”

In parallel, the newsroom surveyed nearly 1500 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 such as 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.

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,” says Kasman. “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 ten months, OMG had grown to over 43,000 followers, with 70 per cent of its audience within the target demographic.”

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 three per cent of total monthly pageviews.

A smart content conversion feature created with the consumer division, made premium stories automatically available to registered users after seven days, extending the shelf life of high-quality content while encouraging readers to register and subscribe. “Since its launch, this initiative has contributed to a four per cent rise in pageviews from registered users,” Kasman says.

“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.”

Between January and December 2024, BH saw a 68 per cent increase in total pageviews across web and app. Social media growth was equally impressive with TikTok engagement jumping 124 per cent, and YouTube video views growing by 487 per cent, while Instagram followers rose by 26 per cent.

“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."