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The Challenge
SunsilkClean&Fresh variant was formulated specifically for Hijab wearing young Malaysian women. But due to cultural sensitivities we couldn’t show hijab wearing women washing hair (usage) or flaunting hairstyles (proposition) in communication. This puts forth a unique challenge for Sunsilk – to advertise a shampoo without showing hair!

The Solution – Insight & Idea
Search trends on Google and Yahoo! showed increasing trend for Hijab- styling related terms – all aimed at creating personalized ways of wearing the Hijab. Proprietary research conducted to understand this trend further revealed that by wearing the hijab these women conformed to their culture and religion & by styling it as per their choice they maintained their individuality and distinct personalities. In this process, Hijab was turning from being just a part of their religious attire to a fashion statement – within the confines of ‘Muslimah’ values. Idea: Fusing consumer insight with the brand communication platform, we decided to use ‘Fashionable Hijab’ to represent ‘Fashionable Hair’ in all communication targeting hijab wearing women. Sunsilk embarked on owning the ‘Hijab Fashion’ territory COMPREHENSIVELY on across various mediums targeting to this segment. We embarked on 3 branded content initiatives within the year, and created a well-integrated campaign out of this content. Content designed to feed the increasing requirement for Hijab- styling became the backbone of this campaign. Through these initiatives Sunsilk aimed to build greater affinity with the Hijab wearing women & also highlight how Sunsilk can help keep their hair clean & fresh in shape for the perfect hijab.

The Execution
Introducing new Hijab-styling:

• Sunsilk collaborated with hijab stylists to create styles for different occasions called ‘Sunsilk-Twist’. Online video tutorials were created to promote the styles heavily on FB, Youtube & other social platforms.
• Women in ‘Sunsilk-twist’ style appeared on the cover of Magazines and newspaper targeted at hijab wearing women. #2 Binding this style in Malay culture: To further popularize the Sunsilk style, we created a TV drama series called ‘Dunia Lola’ (AstroRia) about Sunsilk helping realize the dreams of young woman who wants to become a Hijab stylist despite various adversities #3 Making it larger than life: Fashion Reality Show We created a reality show showcasing the journey of the contestants (designers & models), selected from across Malaysia, under the mentorship of renowned local designers. It was aired on TV3 & TV9 as well as Sunsilk’s Facebook & Youtube channel. The winning designs & models walked the ramp of the IslamicFashionFestival (IFF)- 1st ever for CPG brand in Malaysia. All above initiatives included hair care tips for hijab wearing women using Sunsilk.

The Results
Our campaign took the hijab-wearing world by storm! After a decline of –5 % in 2012, Sunsilk registered a +9% growth in 2013. SunsilkClean&Fresh variant (formulated for hijab wearing women) showed +11% growth. A double-digit boost for Sunsilk on brand image statements of ‘Making hair beautiful’ (26% to 43%) and ‘Clean & Fresh Scalp’ (53% to 68%) amongst Malay women despite not hair was shown in the campaign.

The Challenge
In Malaysian families typically once the kid turns 6 years old, Milk consumption reduces to 1/5th of early years, and other perceived cooler food items step into the nutritional gap. Dutch Lady, leading Malaysian dairy brand, faced the challenge of increasing milk consumption among kids, and fostering milk consumption habit.

The Solution – Insight & Idea
Insight: With even 6 year old kids fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, there was a new source of tension for mothers. They appreciated their child emulating the Prophet’s teaching, but couldn’t reconcile themselves to the loss of nutritional intake their baby would go through during fasting days. Strategy: The Holy Book highlights milk as the ‘Drink of Heaven’, culturally relevant insight allowed us to position Dutch Lady as the nutrition source for kids during the Holy Month. We launched a unique 3 Phased campaign- EDUCATE MOMS on the Importance of maintaining nutritional balance during fasting month. ENGAGE through contextual and time- bound messaging. ENTERTAIN Moms & Kids and add Dutch Lady flavor to the festivities. Idea: We understood that at this age mother’s influence wanes, and kids get inspired by their favorite celebrities. We worked with Malaysia’s Darling Daughter Mia Sara, to become a FIRST EVER fasting companion for kids during the holy month, and launched Dutch Lady’s Unique Ramadan campaign. Our extensive analysis of 17 top child celebrities, highlighted Mia Sara as the unanimous choice with highest affinity among kids, and proven ability to connect with mothers through consistent high ratings in TV programs she starred in.

The Execution
We developed 30 special videos featuring Mia Sara, Dutch Lady’s unique fasting companion for Kids. The 3 phased campaign began with 30 videos EDUCATING mothers about the importance of complete nutritional intake during fasting. Each new video was aired on TV at night and we timed it coincide with the period during which mothers prepared for Sahur (Last meal before fasting) for next morning. Mia Sara showcased everday issues faced by kids during fasting, and presented Dutch Lady milk as the solution. We ENGAGED moms in a CONTEXTUAL, TIME-BOUND manner. Each video message was customized at 4 levels- Time, Stage of the Fasting Month, and also targeted kids & Raya content searches on video platforms via Performance Marketing. A special Raya Dutch Lady calendar reminded mothers to use Dutch Lady everyday for Sahur. Charming Mia Sara ENTERTAINED Moms and Kids with her witty responses. We gave away special cups to kids, which could be used like a mug, a sippy cup or with a straw.

The Results
Campaign reached 93% of Muslim mothers, with 15% sales coming from first time Dutch Lady Users, and 16% sales coming from competitors’ users. Brand scores outperformed industry benchmark with 88% Moms enjoyed watching the video and 78% Moms being more inclined to use the brand. Sales volume increased by 8.5%, which is commendable considering 70% of Malaysia was fasting in Ramadan, and there was general decline in the sales volume across food & beverage category.

The Challenge
Raya period is a time when consumer spending is highest, making the market place extremely competitive and cluttered with offers and promotions from retailers. Watsons’ business target was to increase sales in Malay segment by 20% but with all the noise, it’s extremely challenging to standout above the rest.

The Solution – Insight & Idea
Raya is a time when emotions are complex, leading to these insights: 1. Raya celebrates starting afresh with renewed positivity. Ramadan is a time for spiritual cleansing and rejuvenation. Often, this translates into a Resolution or “Azam” for the year. 2. Music is integral to Raya celebrations. What is a celebration without music? There’s growth in Indi Rock culture with tremendous fan following. 3. Peer Pressure peaks during festivities. It’s customary having family and friends over to a ‘Raya Open House’. Thus, the desire to ‘look good, feel great’ and be ahead of peers in the celebrations is high. The 3 points above formed the basis of our strategy: ‘Look Good, Feel Great’ with Watsons this Raya 1. Encourage audiences to start afresh by making an Azam (resolution) to look good and feel great this Raya. 2. Resolutions would be incorporated into a new people- powered Raya song by Malaysian Indi Rock artiste – Faizal Tahir. 3. Faizal Tahir would visit the person who made the most popular Azam, making the latter’s Open House the talk of town! The core idea was to create crowd- sourced branded content that would result in Faizal’s new Raya song.

The Execution
The content included not only the Raya song but also various clips of Faizal progressively creating this people-powered Raya song across YouTube, social media and mainstream media. ‘Look Good, Fell great’ this Raya was emphasized right through the content. Watsons FB page was the content building platform. Malaysians submitted resolutions that will inspire Faizal’s composition. Faizal made public appearances to encourage resolution submissions, and announcing the song he’s composing. The person with the most original resolution would win a visit by Faizal to their house to celebrate Raya. This chance of a lifetime visit by a celebrity really hits hard at the Malays’ sweet spot because they love opportunities for bragging rights. The hugely anticipated day came when Watsons’ Raya song is finally released, garnering rave reviews leading to significant PR news coverage. The visit by Faizal to the winner’s house on Raya created additional shareworthy content. The winner’s family and friends numbering close to 100 came to rub shoulders with Faizal, and had a feast sponsored by Watsons.

The Results
The campaign completely embodied the spirit of Raya, standing apart from all other retailers’ promo- only driven efforts. •Watsons recorded 80.95% increase in sales from the Malay segment. •Watsons Loyalty Card registrations recorded an increase of 11.81% compared to average 5% growth per month. •PTAT percentages on the Watsons FB page swelled by 410%. •YouTube Raya song MTV reached 120,000 views with 600 likes and 120 comments within just a week of release.

The Challenge
Travelers today are a discerning lot. Vacations are no more about sightseeing but about creating memorable journeys and personalized experiences. The challenge was showcase Australia to the experience seeking traveler as a destination that provides memorable journeys. The aim was to increase tourist arrivals by 10% within 12 months.

The Solution – Insight & Idea
Each Australian state has different experiences to offer. But, research shows that Malaysians feel that regardless of which Australian city they visit, the experience would not differ much. This is the hurdle in encouraging repeat visits. To overcome this hurdle, we needed to showcase Australia’s unique stories and hidden gems in a way that would whet the target’s appetite and have them clamor for more. Finding the right story teller was imperative; we needed to identify someone with multi-faceted performance capabilities. One who would be as comfortable being a host as he would be an actor. And, one who is active on the social media front. The best way to put forth the stories was through content. These stories needed to be presented and reinforced in different forms to create context for different traveler’s needs. Hence, we needed to identify a media conglomerate who can offer us multi platforms to seed the content on.

The Execution
We worked with TheStarMediaGroup as it provided avenues on both television and print. JasonGodfrey with his multifaceted resume and easy going personality, was selected as the host of “Jason Down Under”, a 7 episodic programme highlighting Australia’s hidden gems. To ensure the target’s interest does not wane, content from the programme was presented in other formats as well. Jason extended the content from the programme to the travel section of TheStar via a weekly write up mirroring the places which he introduced in that week’s programme plus some personal anecdotes to boot. He also regularly posted exclusive behind- the-scenes photos on Facebook and Instagram to keep the target’s interest. To spur engagement and advocacy amongst the target, a Watch and Win contest was created on Facebook. Across 7 weeks, 14 photos were posted. Viewers had to answer all photos correctly and write a slogan to be in the running to win a memorable journey down under.

The Results
The multi-platform campaign saw an increase of 13.4% of Malaysians tourists arriving into Australia within 12 months of the campaign – surpassing the targeted increase of 10%. Jason’s Facebook posts generated 62,000 responses seeking advice and tips on featured places which caught their fancy. The programme created interest amongst broadcasters and was snapped up by TVB Asia. Hence, sharing the memorable journey with Australia stories with a larger audience across TVB Asia’s footprint.

The Challenge
Touch screen pioneer Apple and goliath Samsung are crushing every other smartphone, even the once- cool Blackberry failed to keep pace with its rivals. Youth perceive ‘QWERTY’ as outdated and a not-for- me phone. The newly launched Blackberry Q5 needed to find a space in the hearts of Malaysian youth.

The Solution – Insight & Idea
College students are now willing to explore alternative jobs upon graduation. Gone are the days where Malaysian graduates go after accounting, law and engineering jobs. They form the generation of ‘Millennials’ who are connected via smartphones and are attracted to self entrepreneurism. With this insight, we begun by identifying a variety of ‘alternative’ jobs that resonate with these Millennials. For each job, we found recent graduate hipsters who owned pop-up retail outlets, artisan coffee houses etc. Also, with iPhones and other Android based smartphones being in the ‘mainstream’; instead of battling in a losing field, we recommended that Blackberry shift from mainstream to alternative – to be indie, to be hipster, to be bold and be daring to inspire youth to take a bold step in their lives. Blackberry needed to be the new forbidden fruit. Our content idea, “Empowering Ambitions” was to inspire students to go after their real dreams, and not settle with mainstream jobs. The five commandments of Empowering Ambitions are: Passion and the ability to inspire. Clear set of values. Role models will be admired. Commitment to community. Selflessness and acceptance of others. Ability to overcome obstacles.

The Execution
In Phase 1, we got students to talk about their dreams, not just their careers. The call for action was on YouTube. Students had to upload videos of themselves on the Empowering Ambitions microsite stating their dreams. On-ground visits of selected colleges to hunt for more dream chasers were organized. The next phase, we aired videos on YouTube comprising a story with 5 minisodes that depict five real life friends who are professionals and in the midst of chasing their dreams. They have different backgrounds, different jobs – a fashion designer, chef, top blogger, web content visualiser, and a model. The cast were actually portraying their real jobs in these videos. What kept the group together, despite their busy lives was their BlackBerry Q5s. The story started with the fashion designer who had a crisis and called for help from her 4 friends. As the story unfolds, so do the product features. The final episode revealed the student winner, Umadevi Vengedesh, where she spent a day with the cast as her mentors.

The Results
Blackberry succeeded in reaching out to the Millennials. The microsite and video attracted over 5,195,365 impressions with 745,201 completed views and 72,563 clicks. This exceeded KPI by 54%. In 2 weeks, there were over 800 student entries. Conversations and photos were shared across social media and Instagram.