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Challenge
100 years of success and making its way into millions of homes and hearts is great cause for celebration. However, large-scale 100th-year celebrations marking this milestone may be seen as “pompous”, risking negative sentiments from consumers. Our challenge was to reinforce Nestle’s longstanding reputation, heritage and success without sounding arrogant.

Solution
Consumers are always more interested in stories about people than stories about companies. Therefore, we decided that the “Nestle 100 years” campaign should be co-created by the people of Malaysia, with their own stories as the building blocks. Of course, consumers are always fascinated by social influencers’ stories, so what better way to kick-start consumer participation than to get social influencers to share their Nestle stories.

Execution
We first turned to major print publications and convinced editors of various columns to share their Nestle stories in their style (sports story by sports writer Zalina Som, comic illustration by comic editor Reggie Lee, etc). These stories appealed to all walks of life and triggered Malaysians to reminisce their own experiences. At the end of each article, readers were encouraged to share their own stories with the publications or at “Nestle 100 Years” microsite.

Results
The nation responded with 108,000 Nestle stories within 3 months of campaign, making it the largest crowd-sourced brand campaign in Malaysian history. Nestle’s corporate image improved 24% post campaign and 87% of Malaysians felt a stronger connection with Nestle. (Source: MillwardBrown). Nestle closed the year with +12% in stock price.

Challenge
In 2012, ALPO’s advertising budget was at an all time low at RM70,000 while its competitor tripled theirs. Consequently, research showed that dog owners were more likely to support the competitor. The challenge was coming up with a sustainable creative solution, without the help of an advertising agency.

Solution
Based on a pet ownership study in Malaysia, over 85% of dog owners are Chinese whose preferred medium is the Chinese newspaper, and especially loyal China Press readers. After connecting with China Press, we found that they wanted to start a Pet Section but lacked the content. As an internationally renowned brand, ALPO possesses a wealth of information on dogs; hence we offered to contribute content in return for advertorial space and creative resources.

Execution
This collaboration launched the 1st ever Pet Section in China Press. Testimonials about ALPO from readers and celebrity dog owners were obtained by China Press and featured in the pet section. These articles created the perception that ALPO was highly recommended over other brands. As ALPO set the themes and provided weekly content, articles were angled on dog issues that ALPO could clearly make a difference. This further elevated ALPO’s credibility in the category.

Results
By end of our 3 month campaign, ALPO’s volume share was 15% higher compared to a year ago. Consumer’s consideration level had increased by 6% compared to a year ago. This partnership entitled us to various resources such as editorial, creative and talents, amounting to 300% return on investment.