2014

The Challenge
Watsons has traditionally been a girl store. All businesses targets growth, but for the case of Watsons where 90% of its customers are women, they have reached a plateau. How then to grow the business in 2013 by 10%, when the population of women doesn’t grow by 10% overnight?

The Solution – Insight & Idea
Watsons as personal care retailer is a brand that is perceived to be female oriented. To grow the business, there’s a need to drive men to visit the stores. How do we change the perception amongst men that there’s plenty of good for them at Watsons? This requires us to delve deep into their inborn trait. Herein lies the insight: We believe men’s inborn trait is drawn to battle and brawn. Today, the battles now fought are in the football fields. Hence leading to our strategy that the football field is the battlefield where we foster masculinity by looking good. In Malaysia, the football championship known as Malaysia Cup is bigger than the Barclays Premier League. Traditionally being seen as a sport dominated by cigarette brands and now Telco brands, we wrested the Malaysia Cup rights of content from those big boys and become the only personal care retailer to exclusively target men via football sponsorship. We envision Watsons to be the sole authority in male masculinity via male grooming and we sought to be associated with the most followed championship in Malaysia, and leverage on men who looks good gracing the football fields.

The Execution
Officially named WATSONS MALAYSIA CUP, a property that we own. At the stadiums, Watsons boards surrounds the pitch, seen by spectators and home viewers catching live/delayed/repeat broadcasts. Watsons logo adorns the sleeves of players, and at the backdrop of every interview broadcasted to millions of viewers. Matches were broadcasted live across Malaysia with total reach well above 2mil viewers. Social media updates on WMCup official FB page put Watsons in the limelight seen by over 800,000 fans. What we did in-store, on-ground and online further fueled the branded content. Special edition loyalty cards printed with football teams’ photos were sold in-store and given out via contests conducted on-air and online. Match tickets were given to customers who spend at Watsons stores, driving footfall. Engagement with viewers was done during live broadcasts, prompting viewers to guess the man of the match which was rebranded Watsons Stylish player, winning them prizes. The Malaysia Cup trophy made appearances at various malls for customers to pose with. Players themselves made appearances where customers got to meet and greet them.

The Results
The unprecedented first attempt to target men exclusively by a personal care retailer resulted in: •15% increase in male grooming product sales •40% increase in male fans in Watsons FB page •94% of limited edition Watsons loyalty card sold •10 times more media value than the investment. •RM1.7mil PR value garnered from the media coverage

The Challenge
On its tenth year of sponsoring Anugerah Skrin (ASK), the Oscars of Malay show business, Pantene had to refresh a long-standing sponsorship. ASK remained a viable property but we needed to dial up execution to break the monotony and staidness of Pantene’s involvement.

The Solution – Insight & Idea
Stardom is a strong promise of ASK that is aligned with Pantene’s SHINE equity. TV3, ASK’s home, remains to be the most popular mass channel and also the country’s celebrity powerhouse. Malays love celebrities, but they think they don’t have what it takes to become a star. They want to do it but they need external validation and community acceptance that they can become a star. In the last two years, Pantene organized a Host Search where winners get to co-host on the red carpet during the live event. But we found out that having a host search may have limited hopefuls. In 2013, we just didn’t look for a host, we searched for a TOTAL STAR. Thus, Pantene Star Search was born. We had to show that the stakes are higher and the prizes, bigger. We used ASK as the venue for them to showcase their talent and signed Malaysia’s Brangelina, Awal Ashari and Scha Al-hyaya, not just as the faces of the campaign but also as mentors. We created a story around the sponsorship with The Journey to Stardom culminating in the Moment to Shine with Pantene with two hopefuls winning talent contracts from Media Prima.

The Execution
Sponsorship properties remained but we focused on the story to reignite the partnership. The Journey to Stardom “Do you have what it takes?” We aired TVCs calling for auditions, along with social conversations on celebrities’ Facebook and Media Prima channel pages. We had an on-ground talent search panel composed of industry experts, who travelled across Malaysia. The drama and action were captured and produced into a 30-minute branded entertainment show aired a week before the Anugerah Skrin live show. The Moment to Shine We upgraded the Mentorship by gathering a pool of expertise including the celebrity ambassadors. We leveraged TV3’s talk shows, radio stations, and lifestyle programs for the Top 10 finalists to be immersed into. Media Prima honed the acting and hosting skills of the talents whilst Pantene and other Procter & Gamble products enabled the transformation of the hopefuls through grooming exercises. Two winners emerged and launched as stars on the night of the live show. After being mentored by Scha and Awal, they covered the red carpet and interviewed the stars.

The Results

• We retained media return on investment levels i.e. 4x the investment
• Audition participation delivered 43% higher than objective which led to sales uplift in partner stores: MYDIN index 106; Giant index 102(ASO 2013)
• Sales increased by almost 30% of average monthly sales (vs. the previous quarter).

The Challenge
PETRONAS had always stronger affinity with the Malays. To grow trials, PETRONAS wanted to connect with the Chinese segment, and grow affinity with them. We had identified the Chinese youth as a viable segment as they are more open minded and adventurous. Question was how to attract the Chinese Youth?

The Solution – Insight & Idea
Music crosses boundaries and connects easily with the young Chinese. Chinese international singers have a strong following base amongst Malaysian Chinese, judging from the high attendance every time their concerts are held here. But we knew that to sponsor a concert requires high investment which we do not have. Radio stations have always collaborated with the music label companies as Official Radio Stations of promo tours for albums launches. And these promo tours are usually quite localized into Chinese centric venues. With that in mind, we took the opportunity to collaborate and partner with both MyFm and UniversalMusic to sponsor the next few popular international Chinese singers to Malaysia for their next promo tours. Perfect fit as MyFm to provide the required media platform to reach the Chinese and UniversalMusic to provide the relevant Chinese artists. As a result, we have promo tours sponsored by PETRONAS going straight into the strong Chinese community locations. This sponsorship provided a strong platform for PETRONAS to connect with the Young Chinese and at the same time, tying back to the brand’s proposition of the “Petrol That Gives You More” for bringing the artists to them.

The Execution
The sponsorship of PETRONAS promo tours with MyFm and UniversalMusic was executed at multiple levels to generate high return on investment.

1. Four popular international HongKong and Taiwanese singers were brought over to Malaysia by PETRONAS.
2. This delivered 15 promo tours in Chinese centric venues (eg PenangParagonMall, SungeiWangPlaza and a few Chinese colleges like UTAR) with PETRONAS’s visibility of banners and buntings.
3.  On ground support whereby special KadMesra counters was set up for fans to register for the PETRONAS KadMesra.
4.  For “The Fuel That Gives You More”, PETRONAS rewarded their KadMesra members with VIP seats, Meet & Greet, photo opportunities and on stage activities with the artists during the promo tours.
5.  Press conferences for the mass media people, which provided earned media.
6.  Negotiated for on air radio contest, whereby listeners are able to win KadMesra loyalty points to convert for fuel.
7.  PETRONAS’s radio promos were broadcast on MyFm and MelodyFM during the tours, to provide further support.

The Results
As expected, there was high turnout at each event with average of 1000 fans per event. 795 new Chinese KadMesra members were signed up during the tours. And to date, more than 70% of them are still active users. From PETRONAS Facebook, there were 7,619 social likes of these postings. The sponsorship package delivered ROI of 3.1X. PETRONAS considered this as a start of a heartfelt engagement with the Chinese audiences.

The Challenge
Volkswagen, with its expanding portfolio, wants to expand their customer base and acquiring new ones. PMEB’S, the group with the highest Japanese car ownership, perceive them as innovative, reliable and value for money. Our challenge: Strengthen the appeal of VW among PMEBs.

The Solution – Insight & Idea
PMEBs, as we have discovered are a highly driven demographic – ambitious, progressive in thinking and always seeking knowledge to better themselves*. Whilst a few have taken off in success, many still linger behind as opportunity has yet to manifest for them. Hence, they admire and take from idols who have made it; always on the lookout for stories and lessons that they can take away as and when it is time for them to craft their own journey to success. We understood the opportunity was to latch on to a piece of content that showcased like-minded PMEBs’ journey to success. Building on this further, we also needed the content piece to feature an idol closer to home – someone who is not only successful, but had his own VW story to tell. Introducing Apprentice Asia – shot in the city of Kuala Lumpur, featuring Tony Fernandez. The message we needed to convey was clear – position VW as the vehicle brand of choice for the business world, alluding to success pegs, whilst dialing up each vehicle’s specific strengths. *3D Premium 2013

The Execution
We executed this with 4 most relevant models:

1. Sharan: Executive mobility; highly spacious with scenes from within the vehicle
2. Passat: Executive premium sedan, projecting absolute advanced comfort the official car driven by Tony Fernandes’ two trusted advisors Mark Lancaster & Kathleen Tan in the show.
3. Touareg: engineered to excel inside and out: the executive 4-wheel drive where Tony Fernandes is chauffeured in multiple episodes.
4. The Beetle: iconic. The subject of the challenge: contestants were tasked to produce a LIVE TV commercial to accurately portray the image of the iconic Beetle. In this episode, Tony Fernandes related his experience with VW as his “First ever brand of vehicle driven – which was a Polo” Our presence was extended on ground through: i. The Apprentice Asia launch Party (VIP Hospitality passes) ii. Press Conference with Tony Fernandes And the execution was amplified on the digital space via i. Streaming of Volkswagen’s TVC ii. Cross linking from Volkswagen Malaysia website iii. Volkswagen banner ads & logo

The Results
The Sponsorship appealed to the PMEBs at large, garnering a total of 1.5million loyal PMEBs viewers throughout the entire season. Web search interest grew by 173% (in June) for “Passat”. Search for “Volkswagen Beetle” increased a whopping 217% in web search interest since the 1st episode of the Apprentice Asia went on air! Furthermore, on the week of the Beetle Case study episode (Jul 7-13, 2013), image search for “Volkswagen Beetle” shot up by 185%!

The Challenge
Tefal is launching a new blender in the market. Their TVC has been disapproved by MIM because of the violence element demonstrating the blender. They don’t have a local website /social platform that limits their brand exposure and engagement with consumer. Competitors like Vees, Panasonic,Pensonic are outspending in the market.

The Solution – Insight & Idea
The fact that with all limits Tefal is facing, their exposure is extremely minimal and most of time absent among their potential consumers. They’re not the top-of- mind with strong presence of their competitors, dominating across platforms with or without their share. Rather than striving for head-to-head competition, we know that in order to elevate Tefal exposure is to partner with a robust and highly recognized network. It was a smart move for Tefal to be associated with a big name within its category, leveraging on its grids and intensifies the brand exposure. 1. We know our target always searches for tips and new recipes for family. Despite their hectic life, they are modern working women that aim for perfect balance between career and family. 2. Consume on multi-screens, they’re digital savvy and socially connected, spending quality time with family at home and shops over weekends. We pitched for an all-inclusive sponsorship with well-established network, Asian Food Channel a.k.a. ‘Home of the Chefs’ as its housed of all leading and renowned celebrity chefs. We’d also engaged with uprising Malaysia celebrity Chef Anis. Across 6 weeks, the collaboration had flourish, upraising Tefal to whole new level of engagement with their consumers.

The Execution
Leveraging on the excitement of Christmas at the end of the year, Chef Anis had created 12 perfect- blended smoothie recipes made easy by using Tefal blender. All recipes were showcased in AFC website to cater to online viewers, while 3 of the recipes were picked and formed into exclusive vignettes produced by AFC. The vignettes were aired on Asian Food Channel on Astro to cater to their channel viewers. Understanding the strong passion on recipes among their fans, AFC had also further extended the vignettes on their Facebook and Google+ page, giving Tefal the opportunity to reach more potential consumers than ever before. The excitement didn’t stop there and was brought to an exclusive ‘Get Together’ event that took placed at Paradigm Mall organized by AFC and hosted by Chef Anis. The event had given Tefal a milestone to further engaged with consumers in real-time. AFC had also created an exclusive Tefal recipe booklet featuring all 12 recipes which were distributed during event for audiences to take home, given a notable value to Tefal.

The Results
Sales volume increased by 72% in December 2013 compared to previous year. Tefal market share had increased by 47% within their segment. The brand managed to connect with audiences on TV, digital and social media. Their very first Facebook entry had garnered 622 likes, 60 shares within 5 short days, captured 350,000 Malaysian eyeballs on Facebook. More than 8 times of media value was achieved from the collaboration.