Challenge

The CelcomDigi merger represented a strategic move to consolidate resources and combine the strengths of Celcom and Digi, leveraging a combined infrastructure to offer better coverage and services to a broader customer base.

Despite significant media attention, the merger left many wondering about the identity and vision of the new entity, ‘CelcomDigi’. This has been compounded by customer concerns over network integration and service quality during the consolidation process.

Communicating the benefits of the CelcomDigi merger to a diverse audience was a key challenge. To make people understand the impact of the CelcomDigi merger, we needed to grab consumers’ attention in the biggest and most impactful way possible.

Our goal was to position CelcomDigi as the top choice for Malaysians seeking reliable and advanced telecommunications solutions. The aim was to enhance brand awareness and improve brand perception by establishing a distinct identity and vision of the new entity.

Solution

To create an impactful demonstration of the merger’s advantage to a massive diverse audience, we orchestrated a historical radio simulcast by uniting 2 rival Malay radio stations – ERA and SURIA.

This strategy was designed to dominate the airwaves by leveraging the top Malay stations with the highest listenership, reaching both young and mature audiences across rural and urban areas. It symbolised the seamless integration of two giants coming together to offer something greater than the sum of their parts.

The campaign was executed in multiple phases to effectively dominate the airwaves, reach diverse demographics and engage audiences.

Phase 1: Building Conversations

  • High-frequency CelcomDigi sonic triggers replaced traditional station identifiers on radio to pique interest.
  • Featured talksets by announcers on Astro radio stations (ERA, HITZ, MY, RAAGA) such as ‘Bunyi apa tu?’ to highlight the new sonic trigger.
  • Radio announcers shared the vision of CelcomDigi and discussed the merger and relevance of the sonic trigger.

Phase 2: Creating Impact & Generating Talkability

  • Announcers introduced the sonic trigger during talk sets, repeating it in high-frequency radio capsules throughout the launch weekend.
  • Launched CelcomDigi Sonic Trigger Contest to invite listeners to remix the CelcomDigi sonic trigger.
  • Listeners were invited to remix or create their own rendition of the sonic trigger to be stitched and shared across social media with hashtags #CreatingAWorldInspiredByYou #celcomdigi, tagging relevant radio stations.
  • Announcers from Hitz, MY, Raaga and ERA shared their renditions on station social media to amplify the contest. Call to action for the contest was promoted across other radio stations to encourage participation and drive submissions.

Phase 3: ERA, SURIA Breakfast Show Takeover Simulcast

  • A first-of-its-kind collaboration, the “ERA SURIA, Di Sini Segalanya Terkini” simulcast, broadcasted simultaneously for four hours on October 23, 2023, from 6-10 am.
  • The broadcast featured segments like “Morning Morning Suria” and “3 Pagi Era,” with engaging discussions and banter among popular radio personalities (Ajak, Shuib, and Suraya from Suria FM, and Nabil, Azad, and Radin from ERA).
  • The show included a selection of duet-themed songs, creating a harmonious broadcast across both frequencies.
  • The crossover was livestreamed on the TikTok accounts of both stations, garnering massive interest and engagement from fans.

Results

The CelcomDigi launch campaign addressed the critical challenge of distinguishing the brand post-merger and enhancing its identity and perception.

Record Achievement:

  • ERA and SURIA FM stations made history in the Malaysia Book of Records for the “First Cross-Network Radio Collaboration to Simultaneously Broadcast the Same Program,” highlighting the campaign’s innovative and impactful approach.

Brand Impact:

  • Post-launch, ‘CelcomDigi’ search volumes soared by 60%, brand awareness rose by 21%, and top-of-mind (TOM) scores increased sixfold.
    Improved perceptions of prepaid and postpaid services, with brand imagery scores climbing ~11% for ‘best network coverage’ and 9% for ‘fast network/internet speed.’

Awareness:

  • Reached over 27 million, generating 63 million digital impressions and 239 million via Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) in Oct – Nov 2023.
  • On ERA, ~6,953,000 listeners heard the campaign about 11.6 times between [Period: 23 Oct – 5 Nov 2023, GFK Radio Audience Measurement (RAM), Wave 2, 2023]
  • On SURIA FM, an estimated 2.578mil listeners heard the campaign, an average 4.4 times. While online listenership had 402,032 listeners [Period: 23 Oct – 30 Oct 2023]

Social Media & Digital Impact:

  • Radio crossover livestreamed both TikTok accounts allowed direct engagement with fans generating 169,967 views and 4,300,000 likes in just 4 hours!
  • The engagement rate of the campaign was more than double the APAC benchmarks, with 11,000 engagements, sparking organic conversation.

Earned Media:

  • Achieved significant media coverage, with over 35 mentions across print, online, and social channels, translating into an estimated media value exceeding RM1.05 million.