Malaysian Media Awards Winners Showcase

Challenge
HSBC Amanah offers Islamic financing product and services, but faces an uphill battle gaining grounds with Malays who perceive the brand negatively with connotations such as “not for me”, “expensive bank”, “difficult to apply”. The challenge was to improve brand imagery and to ultimately build incremental considerations among Malays.

Solution
Insights reveal that Malays love contests and the chance to win prizes. “Pantun” (poetry) is among the most popular Malay traditional literary genres and is still very much alive today. They are learned by heart, are recited fluently and lighten the spirit of those reciting it. Combining the above in an engaging contest that radio stations are known for, HSBC Amanah customized a “pantun”-based contest to lift the negative connotations of the brand.

Execution
We created ‘Pantun Seloka’, a humorous poetry contest on Sinar FM, the most popular radio station among Malays. Listeners were challenged to creatively use HSBC Amanah product benefits in a poem, and callers would recite a four-lined verse in a fixed rhythm consisting of alternating rhymes. The best poem would win a cash prize. Daily winning poems were also uploaded online as a podcast, as a viral platform to push the campaign further.

Results
In less than a month, HSBC Amanah saw an amazing +7% growth in its Malay customer base. Brand consideration among Malays reached a peak of 40% and unaided HSBC Amanah ad awareness also reached an all-time high at 63% (the highest in the past year).