Malaysian Media Awards Winners Showcase

The Challenges
Fernleaf, inactive in ATL advertising for the past 2 years had focused primarily on in-store tactical promotions. Operating in a highly competitive Milk category and having a low SOV, consumers had started to forget what the brand stands for, with research showing that Fernleaf ranks a distant fourth in reason to choose, despite having significant presence at point-of-sale, leading to stagnating sales volumes.

Insight, Strategy and the Idea
One of the most important factors driving brand equity and purchase in the category is whether the brand comes from and is endorsed by a trusted source. For over 30 years, Fernleaf has been bringing the goodness of the finest dairy from New Zealand farms all the way to Malaysia. Thus, our strategy was to rally Malaysians to not settle for less quality, by coloring our message with the voices of people who haven’t, at scale in big reach-building channels. The campaign “Goodness Feeds Greatness” was conceptualised to rally Malaysians to not settle for less, and to always strive for greatness and that Fernleaf supports this. We wanted to exemplify and personalize this message through KOL-driven activation with inspiring stories of greatness achieved from pure intentions. For example: > Mavin – went against the stereotype and became a Bharatanatyam expert an art form taken mostly by females and now performs at BROADWAY, USA > Siti Haniza – the youngest Malay Female to climb Mount-Everest. > Hayati Ismail – the food savior: quit a desk job to champion Food Aid foundation, which processes uneaten food for safe consumption among needy communities. We brought these stories to the centre stage through “quantity of media” (driving maximum reach) and “quality of assets” (right creatives reaching the right audiences).

Media Execution
Created a 5-by-5-by-5 plan: 5 inspirational KOL stories (capsules) that were promoted on 5 different Mediums that reached 5 million Malaysians. (1) FTA and AstroTV were used to drive reach while digital mediums were used to create consideration by giving more information to consumers. FTATV was strategically used to target Malays and Indians via Astro. Keeping to the same targeting strategy, our KOLs’ special inspirational capsules were aired on (2) RADIO which were supplemented with advertorials on print and featured in key digital publications. To further build an emotional connect, (4) long-form videos were promoted on YouTube while (5) Facebook was used to extend reach. All digital platforms diverted traffic to our micro-site by inviting people to share their stories of achieving greatness through a contest, inspiring others in the process, as earned content was generated.

Results and Effectiveness
We exceeded objectives, inspired a nation and stood out from competition. Achieved overall reach of 80% and our videos performed remarkably well vs. industry benchmarks i.e 22% VCR on 60sec videos (15% benchmark). 50 people were inspired to share their stories onto our micro-site, producing ready content assets for the client. – Fernleaf registered highest market share in three years. – Within 4 months of launch, volume grew 43% from 39%. – Widened gap between Nestle Everyday by 9.1 points – Brand equity: +8 points, TOM: +13 points and Authenticity: +13 points *Source: Nielsen Retail Audit