Archives




2014 | |

Its Shampoo Advertising. But Where’s the Hair?!

Advertiser: Unilever Malaysia
Brand: Sunsilk
Creative Agency: Immerse Communications Sdn Bhd
Credits: Mindshare Malaysia — Chan Foong Mei (Media Planner), Saurabh Tyagi (Director – Client Leadership),Prajakta Paranjpe (Head of Planning),Looi Yew Mun (Senior Manager),Anne Leow (Head of Exchange), Susan Lim (Senior Manager), Sarah Boey (Manager - Digital), Hooi Yin Yin (Executive - Digital), Cassy Liew (Senior Executive), Shankar Rajagopal (Director – Client Leadership); Unilever Malaysia — Phoenix Ho (Brand Manager)

The Challenge
SunsilkClean&Fresh variant was formulated specifically for Hijab wearing young Malaysian women. 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 shampoo without showing hair!

The Solution – Insight & Idea
Insight: 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. Strategy & Idea: Fusing the 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. 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. Given the evolving media landscape, it was imperative for Sunsilk to create bespoke content projects creatively using multiple media, each with clear defined role to address the evolving consumers’ media habits.

The Execution
Introducing new Hijab-styling: Digital & Magazine 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 Facebook, Youtube & other social platforms. Women in ‘Sunsilk-twist’ style appeared on the cover of Magazines targeted at hijab wearing women. Binding this style in Malay culture: TV & Digital 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 life’s adversities. Making it larger than life: Fashion Reality Show through TV, Digital, Activation, Event We created a reality show showcasing the journey of the contestants (designers & models), selected from across Malaysia, under the mentorship of renowned hijab designers. It was aired on TV3 & TV9 as well as Sunsilk’s Facebook & Youtube. The winning designs & models walked the ramp of the IslamicFashionFestival (IFF). 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.

2014 | |

Its Shampoo Advertising. But Where’s the Hair?!

Advertiser: Unilever Malaysia
Brand: Sunsilk
Creative Agency: Immerse Communications Sdn Bhd
Credits: Mindshare Malaysia — Chan Foong Mei (Media Planner), Saurabh Tyagi (Director – Client Leadership), Prajakta Paranjpe (Head of Planning), Looi Yew Mun (Senior Manager), Anne Leow (Head of Exchange), Susan Lim (Senior Manager), Sarah Boey (Manager - Digital), Hooi Yin Yin (Executive - Digital), Cassy Liew (Senior Executive), Shankar Rajagopal (Director – Client Leadership); Unilever Malaysia — Phoenix Ho (Brand Manager)

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.

2017 | |

Maxis Transforms an act of Shopping into an act of Giving

Advertiser: Maxis Communications
Brand: Maxis
Creative Agency: -
Credits: -

The Challenge
The usual way of asking for donations doesn’t work anymore. With rising charity scam reports, Malaysians are more cautious when donating. Hence last CNY when Maxis partnered with EpicHomes, a nonprofit that builds homes for rural families, we needed to find a way that would inspire donations.

Insight, Strategy and the Idea
We realised: 1.”Home” is a core value for CNY So traditions like home decorating and reunion dinner happens at home. A ‘building homes for underprivileged’ campaign would drive a message that hits the right chord. 2.CNY one of the biggest online shopping season With +3million shoppers browsing for clothes and decorations, eCommerce sites are high traffic platforms to target these captive audience. Capitalising on shoppers’ mindset, we decided to turn Malaysia’s top 5 eCommerce platforms into new medium for awareness, participation and volunteer recruitment. We transformed these online SHOPPING platforms into online GIVING platforms and created ‘Maxis Kongsi Home Project’.

Media Execution
Instead of soliciting donations, we ‘SOLD’ donations as raw house building materials like wood panels and water taps. Strategically PLACED ALONGSIDE normal merchandises as NATIVE PLACEMENTS, shoppers were sure to see our ‘ads’ on these adfree platforms. Donations can be BOUGHT through a simple ‘Add to Cart’. To promote ‘purchases’, we created a series of cheeky FengShui themed videos. Each video promoted a building material and gave shoppers auspicious reasons to ‘purchase’. Traffic was then directed to eCommerce sites to complete the transaction. Ads and postings on Maxis and partners’ social platforms drove awareness to 24.61million fans (combined profiles). The final push, retargeting banners to those who’ve interacted to drive second chance conversions.

Results and Effectiveness
An astounding 15,751 donations ‘sold’, that’s RM126,008 to build 3 homes for 3 families! Donations 6x more than previous Maxis CSR project. Campaign garnered +52.3million impressions and reached 31.67million online profiles (combined networks). RM1.93million earned media value. Maxis ‘Caring Brand’ scores +7% and ‘Good Workplace’ +8%.

2018 | |

How answering awkward family CNY questions lead Listerine to prosperity

Advertiser: Johnson & Johnson Sdn Bhd
Brand: Listerine
Creative Agency: -
Credits: -

The Challenges
Listerine had declined in sales for 3 years straight during CNY. Mouthwash is largely purchased by Chinese but most see it as a “nice to have” and would rather spend on “CNY essentials” or switch to cheaper brands. How did we then get the Chinese to buy Listerine during CNY?

Insight, Strategy and the Idea
We knew killing germs wasn’t enough, research told us that mouthwash instills speaking confidence. So when do people need confidence during CNY? Trawling social media, we found the one area everyone needed a confidence boost in is the awkward, no filter questions family asks when they visit. Could Listerine inspire Malaysians to have confidence answering these awkward questions? “KongDouZhun, WongDouZhun (Bold mouth equals prosperity)”, addressing the top questions found on social with witty answers that viewers could use during CNY.

Media Execution
We curated the top CNY questions people complained about for the past 3 years and created various 30s TVCs answering them i.e “Why you not boss yet?” “Because being boss would mean that I work very late. Work very late means I cannot spend time with family.” From social we ascertained which target groups the answers would resonate with i.e. Career questions for the 30-40′s, Relationship questions for the 18-25′s, Marriage questions 25-35, and etc… and cherrypicked channels accordingly, ensuring the right audience would resonate with our witty TVCs i.e. buying late afternoon slots for the relationship questions (18-25) or primetime spots for the marriage questions (25-40).

Results and Effectiveness
1.+7.4% sales during CNY period, first positive growth in the last 3 years!! 2. Listerine grew the mouthwash category +6% by getting new users in (competitors declined or remained flat during same period) 3. Videos garnered a total of 1.1 million views, average VTR Rate 24.8% vs industry 15% 2. 6x more engagement rate vs previous campaigns.

2018 | |

If you want them to buy,ask them to sell

Advertiser: Mudah.my Sdn Bhd
Brand: Mudah.my
Creative Agency: -
Credits: -

The Challenges
Mudah.my is Malaysia’s largest online marketplace, However, it is often perceived to be just a second hand marketplace, which is something the Chinese tend to avoid during CNY. What the brand was up against was not just a perception but a cultural taboo. How do we then build affinity with the Chinese during this festive period?

Insight, Strategy and the Idea
Immersing ourselves into Chinese culture, we discovered that CNY was obviously the season for buying. However CNY was also the time for cleansing – a time to sweep out bad luck and usher in prosperity So was born the radical idea – in the season of buying, focus on selling. It was certain that if we can get the Chinese to sell on Mudah, buying would be their next natural move. So, when every brand across every category screamed to the Chinese to ‘buy’ – Mudah stood out by choosing to encourage the Chinese ‘to sell’. Introducing, ‘HoEeKi’ (literally Let It Go)

Media Execution
#1 Kindling conversations We turned HoEeKi into a movement, delivered through a funny video with catchy music, reminding people to let go of their old items.Tasking media to deliver maximum frequency, we conquered the web via Google, Facebook & Programmatic buys. We also worked with RojakLah & TanTan building shareable articles. #2 Nudge Selling Contextually, we conquered all product categories that the Chinese were likely to buy through an extensive performance campaign, and urged them to sell. So when people searched for Red cheongsam, we told them to sell their old one that they no longer fit into and make way for prosperity.

Results and Effectiveness
People HoEeKi-ed :
• Mudah witnessed a 213% increase in ‘value for money’ evaluation
• Listings surged by 7% (Vs the average 1.7%)
• 10% gain in Chinese visitors & • 40% increase in intent to use Mudah
• The HoEeKi video amassed 5Mn views