BFM 89.9 Radio Campaign

Campaign Title: B.F.M

Client: BFM Media Sdn. Bhd.

Product or Service being featured: Radio station

With the intellectual capital of Malaysian radio stations at a new low, BFM emerged like a breath of fresh air by streamlining into business and financial news; focusing on people that really matter. Using the 3 letters to showcase the essence and spectrum of the station, BFM not only managed to carve a niche for itself but successfully engaged high-value consumers and major corporations in conversation, creating relevancy and establishing a solid bond with the station.

Background

BFM or Business FM is a 24-hour radio station that officially started its broadcast on Sept, 4 2008. The focus of the station is business news spanning marketing, finance, technology, business productivity and more.

Target Audience

BFM listeners consist of a mature audience aged between 35-55. Business executives, finance professionals and the investing public who are also decision makers in their organization and home.

How BFM started

BFM is the brainchild of Malek Ali who while working for Maxis realized the potential of format radio – radio stations that cater to a niche audience by designing programs for their specific needs and wants. With that in mind, he saw an opportunity to start a business-oriented radio station that caters to those who appreciate intellectual exchanges instead of trivial, inconsequential ramblings from stations that mostly talked down to their audience.

Marketing Objectives

Create awareness for the station amongst target audience and more importantly craft a strong identity reflecting the brand’s values of no frills professionalism and candour.

Campaign Strategy

1. Less fluff, more stuff – More and more Malaysians are sick and tired of sedate, trivial and repetitive programs they are getting from radio stations. They are looking for radio stations with substance and solid offerings that will not only entertain but enlighten. [Source:The Star Aug 28: Less fluff, more stuff]
2. Attention to details – These are the people that do not just see radio as a form of entertainment and recreation. Other than music, they are information-hungry and pro-actively seek high value discussions on current topic; business and technology.
3. Wit and candour – Our core being highly educated and decision makers/influencers in their respective institutions, appreciate wit and value sincerity in discussions.

Based on these 3 important insights – we arrived at the campaign concept – B.F.M

Campaign Concept

Being a radio station that survived from investments from entrepreneurs, BFM only has a total capital of RM 5million with a monthly overhead of RM200k. That does not leave much for A&P. The challenge was to create a sense of immediacy and familiarity, triggering instant brand recognition with our limited resources.

So we took the letters B, F and M to task, entrenching these letters in the minds of consumers via acronyms that bring the brand’s essence to life. We also applied the acronym on topical intepretations based on current economic, social and political situations; providing humor and a sense of inclusion for our sophisticated but jaded target audience, tired of clichés.

Among some of the examples:-

Nature of business - BUSINESS, FINANCE & MORE

Social - BAGI FREE MINYAK? (Escalating fuel prices)

BOLLYWOOD FINDS MELAKA (Shah Rukh Khan Datukship fiasco)

Finance / Business - BLEEDING FINANCIAL MARKETS

BANKERS FLEE MORTGAGES (All 3 for global financial meltdown)

BRACE FOR MORE?

Political - BODEK FREE MINUTES (Culture of cronyism)

BARRACK FOILED McCAIN (U.S presidential elections)

Campaign Execution

We were also discerning in selecting touchpoints that would maximize reach while keeping tab of the RM10k allocated monthly.

Design Rationale

The design and layout of BFM was purposely kept clean and simple to reflect it’s no frills and professional approach towards business news. The black and white theme reflects ‘no grey area’ – stamping our authority and credibility as a knowledgable radio station.

Taxi liners

According to a study, our audience spends an average 1.5 - 2 hours on the road daily due to traffic congestion and business dealings – making taxis an ideal medium to advertise a radio station. Coupled with our witty lines, it will not be too hard to capture our audience’s attention. This is besides the point that we ‘owned’ 1000 taxis always on the move 24 hours everyday.

Car stickers

Based on the same thought of mobility, more than 2,500 car stickers were distributed during the launch to associates, friends and peers. Consumers who log on to BFM’s website can also provide their details to receive complimentary car stickers. Stocks are depleting fast as most drivers loved the witty lines that echo their sentiments on the road, and a second round are being printed as we speak.

Half-page & Panel ads

BFM also advertises with panel ads on The Expat KL Guide and The Edge Financial Daily, reaching out to corporate leaders, decision makers and entrepreneurs. Ads are also utilized whenever there are prominent guests attending the talk shows.

Facebook

No successful and modern brand is complete without social media. BFM’s FB page is home to 1000 Facebookers and allows them to leave comments, suggestions and even send in their enquiries. On top of the interaction, the page also functions as an updater for upcoming events and a database of press releases and news.

Website

The website was again designed to be minimal, arranged in a blog format for easy reading and perusal. The site allows you to listen to the station live and also keeps track of programs in the form of podcast that you can listen to 24 hours after they went live.

Summary

The campaign was a tremendous success. Not only has it invoked curiosity and generated awareness, it got people talking about the station with listeners contributing their versions of what BFM stands for - at their own free will with no incentive! A lot of businesses and brands are knocking on BFM’s doors in search of co-branding opportunities as the B.F.M platform allows for low-cost, flexible and effective branding that reflects their very own values.

Results

• BFM recorded a traffic of 1,629 visits and 4,699 page views on its website in just the month of launch (Oct ’08) alone. The average retention period of each visit is 3 minutes 44 seconds, making it a microsite with high engagement value. (Source: Google Analytics Oct ‘08)
• By March ’09, the numbers shot up to 13,913 visits (up 754%) with 34,063 page views (up 624%). Retention period also improved to 3 minutes 47 seconds. Excellent for a format radio. (Source: Google Analytics March ‘09)
• 9230 podcasts have been downloaded (Source: BFM Media Sdn. Bhd.)
• Ranked no. 8 in Top 10 Most Interesting Use of Web 2.0 by Malaysian Brands (Source: greyreview.com)
• Created a buzz on social sites discussing the innovative acronyms for BFM (Source: BFM Media Sdn. Bhd.)
• Approached by top brands to discuss potential collaboration using the BFM acronym platform – Amongst the ones that are confirmed will be MAS (Source: BFM Media Sdn. Bhd.)
• PR value of RM110k – with absolute zero PR budget (Source: BFM Media Sdn. Bhd.)

- Successfully attracted high value listeners

• Over 55% are corporate decision makers
• Has median HHI of RM7,500 to RM10,000 per month (Malaysian median HHI RM 3,500)
• Almost 80% have funds earmarked for investments
• Over 40% have an investment portfolio worth at least RM100,000 (average portfolio size is over RM600,000)

(Source: BFM Media Sdn. Bhd., 331 respondents March ’09)