Proton Exora - You'll Be Amazed

Could one local MPV thrive in a time of global recession, category decline, rising inflation, mounting competitive pressure, a veritable financial meltdown and cautious consumer spending?

What seemed impossible became our obsession. By involving our consumers in building our brand right from naming, enticing them with arresting ideas that teased their curiosity and amazing them with a campaign that dramatized relevant features, we helped the Proton Exora do the impossible.

The Proton Exora surpassed booking expectations and became the Number 1 best selling MPV in just 2 months after the launch!

What was our strategic communications challenge? 

Could one local MPV head north while the category headed south?

The impossible is often the untried.

How do you successfully launch a car in one of the trying periods of our economic history? To many it would seem the worst time to launch a car.

With a global recession running havoc in the car industry in general and the MPV category in specific, the challenge was indeed daunting.

The prediction of the car industry by 3rd quarter of 08 was dismal, given the world economic crisis coupled with weak consumer sentiments. OSK Research estimated the total industry volume (TIV) in 09 to drop by 13%. (Source:Star Online Thursday, 25 Dec 2008)

In 2008, the MPV market witnessed a 34% drop (Source: Malaysia Automotive Association (MAA) Jan 09) (January 08’s sales 5,303 to December 08 to 3,483 units ). And by January 09, the numbers tumbled to just 2,958 units. 

To make matters worse for our specific category, our audience for MPVs was predominantly families; most cautious during recession. Given a sluggish market environment, rising inflation, financial volatility and the fear of recession hitting our shores, the MPV category became a nice to have but not a necessity. The feeling was ‘our existing sedan is working fine for now’.

PROTON could not afford to fail with the launch of the new PROTON MPV. The mother brand needed this launch to post a revival in order to compete effectively against Perodua, their primary competitor, who had gained tremendous ground with the overwhelmingly successful launches of both Myvi and Viva. 

1. Our launch needed to ensure that consumer sentiment remained bullish despite world economic woes, and also rise above the tiresome problems plaguing the local front caused by an unstable political, economical and financial climate. 
2. It also needed customers to believe that PROTON’s 1st homegrown MPV was going to be on par with established brands e.g. Toyota Avanza, Nissan Grand Livina, Toyota Innova and the impending launch of Perodua’s MPV. 

While the task was mammoth, the opportunity was to take control of the situation and create a strong, unprecedented strategy to convince the target that PROTON’s MPV is the best buy – the right car, at the right time, at the right price - contrary to logical economic barometers, that indicated  Malaysia’s automotive industry was heading for a 13 % decline in 09. 

What were our campaign objectives?

Our task was ambitious; FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION

Despite the market, we had to ensure 4,000 bookings per month. 

To give it perspective:

1. The ENTIRE MPV CATEGORY’s sales in the months preceding the launch of PROTON’s MPV were hovering between 2,900 to 3,500 units only. 
2. Toyota Avanza, the category best seller in January 08 when the market was booming was selling 2,119 units, Nissan Grand Livina at 726 units, Toyota Innova at 532 units and Honda CRV at 402 units. (Source: MAA Jan 08)
   

We had to ensure bookings were much highher than category norm, and defy a declining industry trend. 

What was our big idea? 

Amaze Malaysians with PROTON’s new offering – make them ask - “These are all from PROTON, a Malaysian company?” 

How did we arrive at the big idea? 

Tap into nationalism and build strong belief in an amazing MPV made in Malaysia.

Malaysians were skeptical that PROTON could design, manufacture and successfully market the 1st Malaysian homegrown MPV against the negative market situations, and against Toyota and Nissan within the similar price bracket. 

The idea was to prove the market skeptics wrong, to AMAZE Malaysians that PROTON BOLEH. That there was a new Proton on the prowl.

We built a campaign based on the idea of an amazingly designed, feature-packed MPV, built with people’s needs in mind to drive hype and bookings for the vehicle that is made by Malaysians for Malaysians. 

During the course of the pre-launch activities which included the MPV-naming contest, the sense of national pride surrounding the first Malaysian MPV was very high. 

All these helped to tease, create a lot of interest and curiosity which generated a lot of discussion on blogs and forums. 

How did we bring the idea to life? 

The plans were to create a slow reveal - to build excitement and entice customers to reappraise their perceptions of PROTON’s 1st homegrown MPV via a strong teaser campaign, followed by the lauch of the TVC, print, radio and online blitz.       

1. Beginning with the “Naming of Malaysia’s 1st homegrown MPV” contest - the strategy was to involve and mobilize locals to be part of Malaysian history and its latest achievement – producing its 1st homegrown MPV. 
2. The press and online campaign struck a chord with Malaysians. A total of 251,763 (Source – Proton’s Contest Audited by Price Waterhouse Coopers) entries were received, surpassing the target of 100,000 by 151%. The sense of national pride surrounding the first Malaysian MPV surged with this first strategic move.  The end of the contest saw PROTON EXORA being chosen as the name of Malaysia’s 1st homegrown MPV.
3. Sustaining the momentum, a pre launch campaign kicked off in February as a lead up to the launch in April. The teaser press and radio campaign highlighted PROTON EXORA’s amazing features in comfort, safety and performance. 
4. When the first batch of bookings trickled in, some 20 buyers were invited to test drive the PROTON EXORA. We tapped into the positive vibes from these customers and created testimonial press ads, that in themselves, were the most powerful and convincing advertisements for PROTON EXORA. 
5. By the time the launch campaign rolled out across TV, radio, press, live telecast launch, online and outdoor, the reception for PROTON EXORA was already positive and in fact, overwhelming. 
6. We also launched a 1st time ever jacket wrap in SUN newspaper which featured the PROTON EXORA against a white background and a stripped down version of the car on the reverse page with text printed in mirror-image. The sub headline encouraged readers to hold up the ad against the light to discover just how amazing the car is. And this ad caught the attention of many SUN readers, and SUN ran a free editorial on their readers’ response to the ad, to which it quoted one of it’s reader’s comments -

“ At first I wondered if the page had been misprinted, then I read the instructions. I held it up to the sun and was amazed. It’s simply brilliant!” (Source: Sun Article (page 2) Date Friday April 17)

How do we know it worked? 

• 4,000 bookings in a month – and we over achieved by delivering 13,000 (Source: Proton bookings record) (just 2 months after the launch)
• Proton Exora officially launched on 16 April. 
• Within the first week of launch, the bookings jumped to 4,200 units.(Source: MAA May)
• 2 months after the official launch, the bookings for PROTON EXORA escalated to 13,000 units and, counting. 
• The Proton Exora surpassed booking expectations and became the Number 1 best selling MPV in just 2 months after launch!

Anything else going on that might have helped drive results? 

The blog sites ranging from Paul Tan, to motor sites to personal blog sites were all covering stories on PROTON EXORA and a national newspaper’s controversial front page reveal of the ‘secret’ picture of the Proton Exora before the official reveal, all helped fuel the hype and excitement. All of which eventually lead to Malaysians proudly supporting and believing in an MPV designed, developed and produced by Malaysians

Maybelline - The All-Girl Blogger Make-Up Party

When a market is as cluttered and saturated as the lipstick market, you need to rethink just about every aspect of your strategy. For Maybelline we realized that in this environment Word-of-Mouth was a far more influential a medium than advertising. And who better to influence young Malaysian women than the bloggers they look up to for advice. We moved away from traditional media and threw a make-up party with Malaysia’s most influential women bloggers and inspired them with our products to influence their followers. They did the rest. 

What was our strategic communications challenge? 

Define success in your category. What was going on? Provide the information on the category, the marketplace, the company, the competitive environment, the target audience and/or the product/service that created your challenge and your response to it. 

Harnessing the power of girl talk

The lipstick category is so fragmented that success comes only to the brand with the ability to engage and interact with consumers. That is why fresh, innovative ideas that break away from clutter have always been the utmost priority for a brand like Maybelline. 

Especially when your consumers are made up of young women with low brand affinity, we needed a touch point that is credible, engaging and last but not least uncluttered. What better medium could tackle the Gen-Y and yet fulfil all criterias than a digital platform – the Internet.  

Our core audience – 15-34-year-olds – constituted the chunk of heavy Internet users; students aged 15-24 who averaged nearly 1-3 hours (Source: Engaging APAC consumers in digital world, Universal McCann Consumer Insight)  on the Internet daily. The interesting discovery that ultimately led to our direction was that nearly 44% (Source: Engaging APAC consumers in digital world, Universal McCann Consumer Insight)  of 15-24-year-olds were most progressive when it came to blogging and blogging-related activities. It seemed that our audience was immensely swayed and influenced by the lives and views of other people through their blogs.

More importantly, young women declared that they paid a lot of attention to reviews of brands in blogs before trying them out. This meant that a new medium could be harnessed to influence our audience. Blog marketing became the primary platform for an entirely new Maybelline experience.

What were our campaign objectives? 

Your entry may have one or all of the following objectives: A. Quantifiable, B. Behavioral, C. Perceptual/ Attitudinal. Give specific goals for all of these if all apply to your campaign. Provide a % or # for all goals. If you do not have quantifiable goals, state this in the Entry Form and explain why. Provide benchmark and context for your goals versus year prior and in context of competitive landscape. Explain: What was the behavioral or perceptual/ attitudinal response you were looking for in the context of your competition and category? Examples: to meet a concrete share or sales target; to obtain a specific behavioral response, to modify existing brand perceptions, to establish new product awareness. 

Even during its introduction into the market, the Maybelline Watershine 3D Collagen sales numbers weren’t at all positive. We needed to find a new way to inject energy into our brand. The campaign was set to be measured quantitatively and qualitatively:

From ugly Betty to shining diva

Quantitative

• Blog traffic
• Organic search results

Qualitative

• High word-of-mouth
• Re-establish brand awareness 

What was our big idea? 
“Our Shining Moments”


How did we arrive at the big idea? 

We needed to impact an uncontested playing field to drive maximum impact for Maybelline.  

Maybelline Watershine 3D collagen needed to be experienced first-hand within a group/ community where social bonds are formed based on memorable shared experiences, (Source: Engaging APAC consumers in digital world, Universal McCann Consumer Insight) a ‘sisterhood’ moment that allows both the group as well as the individual to shine and impress. 

This would ultimately lead to a stronger, more influential voice for Maybelline to their customers. 

How did we bring the idea to life? 

The big idea was to invite the most influential women bloggers to create memorable experiences around Maybelline to encourage positive brand reviews, thereby influencing our audience towards purchase. 

The idea kicked off with an exciting “Make-Up Party”. The party, though small, was cozy and united 6 bloggers (none whom had never met previously) to indulge themselves and to tangibly experience the product. 

2 Fashion & Beauty bloggers were engaged for a 4-week long blog marketing campaign. A limited budget meant zero media placement so extra pizzazz and ingenuity was needed to generate hype and get that extra buzz going. 

We engaged 4 more high-profile female bloggers with high site-traffic to also attend the Make-Up Party. We requested these 4 bloggers to focus more on the experience of using Maybelline rather than just the product and its benefits, as opposed to the brief given to the 2 Fashion & Beauty bloggers. This helped us cover both the product, as well as the critical experience, with this rather personal category. 

It was no surprise that the whole experience of experimenting with the different looks they could achieve with Maybelline’s make-up brought a smile to every blogger’s face. They identified the colours that suited them, put on make-up for each other and discovered new looks they never though they could achieve. The best part was that this lipstick worked to enhance every look they attempted.

How do we know it worked? 

Blog Traffic & Word-of-mouth

The campaign resulted in 6 product reviews within the first week of the campaign, all with details of the product and the bloggers’ unforgettable experience at the Maybelline Make-Up Party. The result was an overwhelming demand from other women bloggers for Maybelline to host another Maybelline Make-Up Party.

Site-traffic for the www.mywomenstuff.com (one of the niche Fashion & Beauty bloggers) increased 12% after the first Maybelline post was published. Traffic soared a further 13% after the other 2 supporting blogs published their posts.(Source: Blogger Site Traffic Report, Nuffnang  21 July – 24 Aug’08)

Organic Search Results

Within 2 weeks into the campaign, our key search words ¬– Maybelline and Watershine 3D Collagen displayed the engaged blog sites with Maybelline posts coming up in the top 10 list in organic searches on Google Malaysia and Yahoo! search engines. 

Brand Awareness

While product sales were not part of the campaign’s KPI, the online blog campaign successfully managed to arrest sales from dipping further since its launch in July (Jul-Aug: 0.23%). (Source: L’Oreal Malaysia) 

International Role Model

Due to the overwhelming response we received via this campaign, Maybelline New York and Paris have been using our campaign as a model for case studies in other markets to showcase the success of utilising out of the box ideas to launch a product and generate the necessary buzz and word-of-mouth it needs to take off.

Anything else going on that might have helped  drive results? 

There was no additional communication support for the online campaign at this period. Point-of-sales materials were incorporated into retails stores in November while TVC was re-aired in December 2008, contributing to a sales increase of 0.44%. (Source: L’Oreal Malaysia)

Nestle Koko Krunch - School Fuel

What was our strategic communications challenge? 

The Big Fish in a Small Pond

For over 10 years, Nestle Breakfast Cereals has had a history of strong, consistent growth in Malaysia. They are the leader in the breakfast cereal category with 85.1% (Source:Cold Cereals NDO8, Nielsen) of market share, yet category penetration for kids cereals remain at 33.4% (Source: Worldpanel™ Malaysia, TNS FY2008) while Nestle Breakfasts Cereals penetration is 27.1% (Source: Worldpanel™ Malaysia, TNS FY2008)

Consumer loyalty is also low, where even the average household in the category purchase cereals on an average of 2.9 times a year (Source: Worldpanel™ Malaysia, TNS FY2008)

The Nestle Koko Krunch franchise forms 61% (Source: Cold Cereals NDO8, Nielsen) of the entire kids cereal category – which is the lead brand in the Nestle Breakfast Cereal portfolio. 

To grow, Nestle needed to develop the category by bring in new users and encourage more consumption. 

Sweet, Cold and Crunchy vs. Savoury, Warm and Soft

Kids naturally love the taste and fun associated with breakfast cereals, the greatest barrier towards the growth of breakfast cereals in Malaysia is the niggling doubts that mothers have on its “nutritional credentials”. Mothers are not convinced that breakfast cereals are somehow better than the breakfast  they are currently serving (Source: Agency Research, 2008)

The ideal breakfast for moms in Malaysia is something savory, warm and soft. In fact, these attributes  is often synonymous with being nutritious. Typical examples would include sandwiches, “nasi lemak”, fried noodles and if the morning is rushed, a warm chocolate beverage with bread or biscuits. (Source: Agency Research, 2008)

“ If my child likes it, it can’t be good for them”.

One reason could be mothers reluctance in believing a product that comes in a colourful box which is dominated by a cartoon character,  the product comes in shapes that looks like “crisps”,  it is predominantly chocolate flavoured and there are multiple “toy” promotions throughout the year (Source: Agency Research, 2008) could be nutritious and good for her children.

What is wholegrain?

In 2008, Nestlé Breakfast Cereals launched a nutritionally improved product, reformulated with whole grain. Leveraging whole grain as a growth driver however was a challenge, as most Malaysian mothers  were unfamiliar with the concept of whole grain. (Source: Agency Research, 2008)

Double Trouble

The strategic communications challenge was not only to establish Nestle Breakfast Cereals as a credible kids breakfast option amidst mothers considerable resistance. The challenge was also to explain the benefits of wholegrain cereal and what it can do for her child.

What were our campaign objectives? 

Business Objectives

• Drive double-digit volume  growth of Nestle Koko Krunch
• Strengthen health and nutrition credentials of Nestle Breakfast Cereals with the introduction of wholegrain.

Communication Objectives

Educate To Persuade Convince  And Change Behavior 

• Create the awareness that wholegrain is important 
• Create awareness that Nestle Breakfast Cereals are made with wholegrain which is a nutritious and modern breakfast option for her child.

What was our big idea? 

“Fuel for School”

How did we arrive at the big idea? 

“ I do my best everyday to ensure that my children are equipped to succeed in life.”

Mothers believe that they prepare her kids for success in life through her everyday efforts including doing all she can in the morning. She considers breakfast as the most important meal of the day.  It helps her children perform better in school, which to her is an assurance of success in life. 

Global studies also support that people who eat breakfast do better in memory tests, problem solving and in school. Memory function appears to be linked to blood glucose levels and, whilst

failure to eat breakfast does not affect intelligence test performance, it positively boosts memory tasks such as word recall. 

Armed with this knowledge and the understanding that mothers are always looking for ways to help her children perform in school at their peak levels, the big idea was derived.

How did we bring the idea to life? 

For the big idea to work it needed to be presented at two levels; the educational and the persuasive. There had to be an element of education that appealed to a mother’s more logical mind while the idea also needed to persuade her that she was doing the right thing; after all we didn’t want her to feel that she was being any less of a mother by serving her kids something out of a box.

The Education Phase

This part of our campaign focused on the qualities of whole grain.  A new icon was designed to educate and identify the addition of this new ingredient to mothers. The icon is the main component that bridged all communication material from the packaging to TV commercial for the entire campaign.

To ensure the success of the educational phase, on-ground events and sampling was conducted to involve mothers to create deeper understanding, of the importance of wholegrain, what are its benefits were and why it was important for their school age children.

Print advertisements, outdoor billboards and on-ground events and sampling  were also used to announce and educate mothers on the new product ingredient and its benefits.

This created a force multiplier effect amongst moms.

The Persuasion Phase

While education was making mothers come around to the idea of wholegrain, we introduced our TV commercial, which played a pivotal part in demonstrating the benefits of Nestle Breakfast Cereals with wholegrain in a school scenario. 

How do we know it worked? 

Business Objectives

• The entire Nestle Breakfast Cereal business brand achieved an increase of 18.2%
• The flagship brand franchise, Nestle Koko Krunch saw growth of 23.9%

(Source : Advertiser Data)

Communication Objectives

• Create the awareness that wholegrain is important 

 - Change in perception on the importance of wholegrain from 0 to 74% of mothers agree on the importance of wholegrain

 - 52% of mothers now agree that wholegrain is very important as a part of their child’s diet.

• Create awareness that Nestle Breakfast Cereals are made with wholegrain

 - From 0 to 85% awareness of Nestle wholegrain symbol 

(Source: Wholegrain Tracker December 2008, Millward Brown)

Anything else going on that might have helped drive results? 

Every year Nestle Breakfast Cereals has global communication activities to drive their core brands under the Kids Cereal umbrella. This consists of running a thematic TVC for each brand and also promotional tag-on’s, which is in-line with the global promotions calendar.

Core brands

• Nestle Koko Krunch: Rollercoaster TVC (March)
• Nestle Koko Krunch Duo: Mirror (April)

Promotional Campaigns

• Batman Promotion: July
• Madagascar Promotion: November

KFC - Hot Rods

At a time when short term fads are bigger than long term fashion, appealing to the youth segment has never been tougher. We recognized this flirtatious nature of our audience when launching KFC Hot Rods and realized that we needed to immerse the brand in the prevailing pop culture. For Malaysian youth, that meant music and dance. The idea was a contest, “Shuffle your way to Melbourne”; a Melbourne-shuffle dance contest in a prominent high traffic area in Kuala Lumpur that created the required buzz for our launch.

What was our strategic communications challenge? 

The Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) category is in a stage of aggressively reacting to the economic downturn. Brands are busy discounting, bundling products and promoting to get more and more people walk in their stores. Success today is defined not merely by brand awareness and recall but more importantly by footfalls and ultimately, purchase. For many QSRs, it has become a matter of survival. It is in this uncertain climate that we had to make KFC Hot Rods a runaway success.

While the dynamics of the QSR category were being stretched by the economic downturn, the younger, hipper brand imagery of KFC’s primary competitor McDonald’s was slowly chipping away at KFC’s youth segment. While KFC still retains leadership position in the category, McDonald’s was stepping up competitive pressure to gain loyalty from the urban 15-24 year olds. This was a tricky dilemma as KFC had consciously targeted families rather than a niche youth audience. So while KFC became the more family hangout, McDonald’s over the years has begun to be seen more as a youth hangout.

KFC Hot Rods was specially developed to target this younger audience and bring them back into the KFC franchise. KFC Hot Rods are boneless Hot & Spicy chicken chunks with a delicious, crispy outer coating. It is positioned more as a snack than a meal. With this product, KFC hoped to capitalize on the highly mobile and fast-paced life of young Malaysians. This new product innovation is served on a skewer, providing them with the convenience to enjoy it anytime, anywhere.

What were our campaign objectives? 

1. Achieve 1 million KFC Hot Rod skewer sales within a 2-month promotional period.
2. Increase traction amongst youth market and build KFC perception as a brand that was relevant for the youth as well as families.

What was our big idea? 

“Unleash Your Inner Sizzle!”

How did we arrive at the big idea? 

Interesting youth trends and insights triggered the big idea:

•  Youth of today are often capricious and whimsical, depending on what piques their ever-changing interests. More and more, they crave platforms for self-expression – Friendster, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the list keeps on growing 

(Source – McCann Social Discovery)

• Music and its forms of expression are amongst the most frequent leisure time activities for youth 

(Source – Synovate Survey 2008, 18-24 years) 

• Hip Hop – the new youth attitude, is all about freedom, it makes people breakout of their boxes and expand themselves 

(Source - McCann Social Discovery, Issue 002) 

What was left was for us to fit the pieces of the puzzle together and link them in a meaningful way to our product. As it was apparent that our target especially appreciated expression in the forms of music & dance, we decided to build KFC Hot Rod as the perfect catalyst. We therefore likened its Hot and Spicy flavor to the youths burning desire for self-expression and demonstrated how it could be used to “release their inner sizzle’.

How did we bring the idea to life? 

To bring this idea to life, we latched onto a fast-growing dance trend – The Shuffle. The shuffle, originating from Melbourne Australia, is made up of variations of rapid heel-to-toe movement, the ideal platform for youth to express themselves creatively and individualistically via choreography of moves.

We embarked on a full-scale 5-star campaign, consisting of Above & Below-the-Line communication, fully synergized to the central theme – Unleash your Inner sizzle!

Part 1 – Revving Up Curiosity Amongst Our Target

We needed to give media and our target a glimpse into the consumption experience. An energetic Media Launch with a high-adrenaline Act of Launch ensued – whereby ordinary teenagers who consumed KFC Hot Rods, unleashed their inner sizzle by exploding into a sequence of Shuffling after taking a bite.

Simultaneously at a consumer level, a tactical TVC routed to the campaign Big Idea hit all major TV channels. Press ads were launched in key dailies, to introduce the new product and persuade readers to visit a nearby KFC to ‘unleash their inner sizzle’.

All of which were routed on the Big Idea.

Part 2 – Creating Food Appeal

A series of tactical radio ads were also developed to garner awareness and push trial. Two executions were aired across major stations:

1. One version focused on highlighting tangible product attributes of the new product innovation (ie hot & spicy flavour, crunchy outer layer encasing succulent tender meat)
2. Another version focused on highlighting the intangible product benefit (ie the power to unleash one’s inner sizzle). 

Outdoor, we invested in LRT in-train advertising. We leveraged on trains on-route to KFC outlets, by placing mouth-watering visuals of our product to appeal to commuters shuttling from one-destination-to-another, who may very well appreciate a quick & delicious pick-me-up.

A comprehensive list of eye-catching, in-store Point of Sale Materials (POSM) was also developed to support the launch. Leveraging on visual appeal, walk-in customers were greeted by a host of collaterals expounding on product attributes and encouraging trial. 

Part 3 – Engaging Youth Participation

To bring to life the shuffling experience to youth on-ground, we embarked on joint partnership with Fly FM & Hot FM to organise a ‘Shuffle Your Way to Melbourne’ Contest, with the Grand Prize consisting of a trip for two to Melbourne, the birthplace of the Shuffle. 

All interested participants needed to do was either upload their ‘Shuffle’ video onto the contest website or at any of the roadshow locations. With the aim of discovering the best shuffler in Malaysia, the contest was supported by : 

1. Online ads & radio promos : to garner interest and promote the contest, provide details on how to participate as well as updates on roadshow locations.
2. Website : providing comprehensive details to support the contest, facilitate participation as well as engage online users with a host of games and activities with instant prize carrots attached – eg. Virtual Shuffler & DJ Booth.
3. Recruitment roadshows : Carried out by the Fly FM Troopers & Hot FM Zoomers at over 60 locations.
4.  In-store POSM : to further bolster contest awareness.

Part 4 – The Culmination

Out of over 200 entries, 60 finalists were shortlisted based on popular vote for the Grand Finale Event at Sunway Pyramid main entrance. The top 20 had their videos uploaded for a final round of voting to determine the Grand Prize winner.

How do we know it worked? 

1. Two month campaign reached 6.7 million adults & pushed sales of over 3 million skewers of Hot Rods (Source – KFC Holdings ) – effectively 300% of the initial target set by Client – contributing to a 16% growth in the Snackables segment (Source – KFC Holdings Malaysia Bhd).
2. Quarter 4, 2008 Brand Image Tracking Survey, indicated a positive boost in the Teen’s past 3 month’s incidence in Chicken QSR of 3% (ie from 94—97%) which is admirable given a short 3-month duration (Source – Q4 2008 BITS for KFC Holdings, Nielsen)– hence further building KFC’s appeal amongst a highly impressionable target audience.
3. To testify to the level of appeal the campaign had amongst the target, a group of Malaysian students created their very own interpretation of the ‘KFC Hot Rods – Shuffle TV Commercial’, uploaded on YouTube, with over 10,720 views (Source – YouTube.com).
4. The online contest generated 31,335 unique supporters, with the final round of online voting to determine the Grand Prize capturing 10,733 votes over a period of 5 days (Source – Carat Interactive)

KFC - Good Things Come Together With KFC

A recession compounded by a series of socio-economic negativities and competitive pressure was adversely affecting KFC sales. Malaysians were being cautious with their spending.  So the solution wasn’t only about price-offs and promotions; it was about morale. We knew KFC had a strong emotional connection with generations of Malaysians by virtue of its heritage. KFC wasn’t fast food; it was comfort food for millions of Malaysians. It was the everyday, touching stories of Malaysians around KFC that formed the core of our idea to win back their hearts. 

What was our strategic communications challenge? 

KFC hit by poor sales driven by external market conditions

A triple market siege on the brand hit KFC’s first quarter business creating a gaping chasm between KFC and consumers that threatened to substantially erode KFC’s market share and put us in the red for the rest of 2009. We were acutely aware that the business needed a powerful jump-start before it was too late but the odds were stacked heavily against KFC with external market forces keeping the customers away.

A 3rd consecutive month of poor sales might put the entire KFC business in jeopardy

As early as January 09, sale transactions started to fall dangerously low against forecasted numbers and contrary to the brisk business normally experienced during this period on account of CNY. The threat of a three-month consecutive dip in in-store transaction volume was imminent, that risks placing KFC Malaysia well into the red for the rest of 2009. 

Three distinctively different factors were at play against KFC :-

1. A worsening global economic climate provided all the trappings for an overtly cautious consumer. As consumer confidence plummeted, so did consumer expenditure at KFC.
2. McDonald’s dealt yet another blow on KFC when it launched phenomenal price reductions of up to 30% off regular prices to popular combo meals over Lunch and Dinner, the biggest dining parts of a day! The novelty of a full meal at dramatically affordable price points at McDonalds fueled greater hype with a full on advertising blitz and major couponing promotions. 
3. KFC’s situation was further complicated with the boycott of American brands by The Malaysian Islamic Consumers Association and NGOs following Washington’s support of Israel. Some 100 products ranging from food, beauty to clothing were identified as American. KFC was strongly hit since the Malay community formed a contribution to the KFC business. The drop-out rate amongst the core Malay target made the threat of loss more eminent than ever.

KFC numbers were reflecting the market factors

In the month of February 2009, KFC experienced its sharpest decline in sales recorded at -19% for its same store growth as a direct result of external, market forces at play.

The Challenge was clear

KFC had to revive its sales of KFC and get people eating fried chicken again amidst a recessionary doom and gloom and to overcome the negative sentiments caused by the boycott. We also had to address a price sensitive market interested in getting more for their money. 

The challenge was to connect emotionally with Malaysians by making KFC an intrinsic part of Malaysian life. Pivotal to this is to give consumers a strong emotive reason to continue supporting the brand amidst so much negative sentiment.

What were our campaign objectives?

1. Reverse the negative trend of -19% decline in sales dollar value accrued in Feb 09 (the signs of decline already evident in Jan 09) and return to healthier numbers averaged between -1% to 1% sales.
2. Sustain high Top of Mind Recall for the brand against negative sentiments prevalent as outlined above.
3. Effect flat to negative consumer response to burger category in light of McDonald’s aggressive price down campaign.

What was oour big idea? 

“Good things come together with KFC”

How did we arrive at the big idea? 

The insight was inspired by something all Malaysians relate to easily

KFC is food that Malaysians grew up with and is familiar to generations of Malaysians who love it for its great taste.  It is KFC’s inimitable taste and style of fried chicken that never fails to delight and bring families together, forges friendships, cements bonds between people and nourishes the soul – all the things only a great meal can do!

Conjuring typical scenarios of a life of harmony and togetherness ala a Malaysian style was key to bringing the idea to life

Pneumonic device acts as a rallying call

We first developed a symbol that was used in all our communications as a beacon/rallying flag to show the brand encouraged togetherness. Visually, we knew it was an effective and rapid approach to communicating ‘contact’ and togetherness so Malaysians could quickly comprehend the core of the message.

Two pieces of jigsaw in a perfect fit portraying Malaysians coming together became the symbol that formed the mainstay of all our communication.

Break down the stigma of Americanism

We needed to dismantle projections of KFC as anything but foreign. We realized that the one advantage we had was that the brand was widely familiar with Malaysians through generations. We decided to reinforce this advantage strongly so Malaysians remember the brand as a way of Malaysian life instead of a symbol of Americanism.

Five TV spots - (carefree, good times, close knits, warm welcome and close knit. With the existing spots, a 6th spot was produced ¬- a vignette, which captured the essence of all five themes) were created. Each spot was designed to capture a slice of typically Malaysian life, each showing how KFC is deeply immersed in the happiness of Malaysian life and encouraging togetherness even in diversity in race, color and creed.

Pushing the point of differentiation strongly against McDonald’s

We were acutely aware that McDonald’s lost out to KFC on one thing. Its meals were individualistic or excluding in nature and presentation. KFC on the other hand was inclusive in every way – pieces of chicken and servings we offered points towards the ideals of eating together – one aspect of Malaysian life which we love. The idea of sharing was strongly visualized in our communication to drive home the fact that sharing was one thing that one could never really experience at McDonald’s no matter how cheap its meals. Sharing and togetherness that KFC offered was priceless if you will.

Make Malaysians forget the Doom and Gloom of the Recession

The campaign built upon light moments and optimism with KFC. We are inherently familiar food and is a source of comfort to Malaysians amidst the doom and gloom of the recession. We knew that it was exactly what KFC could do and we simply built on it as an opportunity in our communications and get more Malaysians consuming KFC. 

How did we bring the idea to life? 

Coming together to engage consumers

The main objective for the thematic campaign was to create immediate coverage across a wide group of demographics in Malaysia. Hence a multi media combination approach (TV, Print and Radio) was used to create the bigness and immediacy needed. 

The TV campaign kicked off with 5 different versions of TVCs. Careful consideration was made to match each version of the ads with the relevant channel as well as programme genre to create a stronger connection with the audience. 

The print campaign covered all major titles (both national and local) with extensive reach across different states. Ads carrying heartwarming messages were placed in prominent positions within the main news pages of each paper, to evoke a sense of cheer amidst the gloom and doom normally prevalent during challenging times.

The radio campaign kicked off with a long 60secs jingle covering various feel good moments shared with family and friends. The ads were placed on prime drive time segments not only to achieve high listenership numbers, but also to entertain listeners as they brave through traffic as part of a typical workday. The jingle was thereafter shortened to drive frequency.

The entire media campaign was played out across 4 weeks and obtained a coverage of 95% of Urban Adults between the ages of 15 to 39 (Base : 5 million), achieving an average frequency of 17 times*.

When measured against the Total adults 15yrs, the entire campaign reached 85%* (Base: 14.2 mil). (Source: Weekly Nielsen Media Research report) 

How do we know it worked? 

From ashes to phoenix 

• We need to illustrate the point that last fiscal 2008, KFC recorded its best performance in 35 years grossing the highest sales (Dollar Value) at an average of 18% sales between January and May 08 on a same store basis.
• In the same period of 2009 this year, KFC has not only reversed its downtrend of -19% in Feb 09 but also to return sales levels to par with 2008 average across 5 months (Jan-May 09). Challenged by the economic downturn and highly charged negativities against KFC in the same period, this is phenomenal results considering that 2008 was also a record sales year. 

(Source: KFC sales results)

Other info

• KFC effectively sustained its Past 3 Months incidence rating amongst its principal Malay target at 97% average between Quarter 4 ’08 and Quarter 1 ’09 with a negligible (+/- )1% difference. 
• This is further substantiated by a marked decline in Hamburger QSR (KFC’s principal source of competition) incidence amongst Malays in the same period dropping from 68% to 58%.
• KFC’s high value Family segment also effectively sustained its Past 3 Months incidence rating recorded at 96% average between Quarter 4 ’08 and Quarter 1 ’09 with a negligible (+/-)1% difference
• Top of Mind levels for KFC also continue to lead strongly at 69% compared to McDonald’s at 22% for Quarter 1 ’09. 

(Source: Nielsen Omnibus – Brand Image Tracking Q109)

Anything else going on that might have helped  drive results? 

1. Musical Coin-box premium promotion for Family Feast which ran between (March and April 09).
2. JOM Jimat value meal campaign which ran between (April and May 09).