Challenge 

Farm Fresh, Malaysia’s leading natural dairy milk brand, boasted a 51% market share and 23% share within the liquid product category. To sustain its growth, the brand continuously produces new dairy products to cater to consumers’ needs.

Growing Up Milk (GUM) category presented a lucrative market valued at USD180M in 2020, however with intense competition among 11 brands. Recognising the need for a 100% natural liquid GUM with no hidden ingredients, Farm Fresh developed Farm Fresh Grow UHT Formulated Milk. The objective of the campaign was twofold, 1) Launch Farm Fresh Grow in the market and generate consumer demand for the product. 2) Raise awareness among Malaysian parents about the “other” lesser-known ingredients in existing GUM products in the market.

The goal was to persuade Malaysian parents to choose Farm Fresh Grow as their preferred natural, healthy, and balanced milk nutrition for their children. Given the intense competition among dominant GUM players, the campaign required innovative strategies to effectively reach and win over the target market.

 

Solution

We strategised a campaign using a “shock marketing” approach to get public attention and bring up controversial, true facts about the hidden ingredients added in GUM products. This was done to initiate conversations about the importance of healthy, natural milk nutrition for Malaysian children.

Farm Fresh also developed the concept of “Honest Growing Up Milk”, highlighting the brand’s dedication to producing products that contain only essential vitamins and nutrients necessary for children’s optimal growth and development, with no hidden harmful ingredients. The concept introduced a catchy tagline for the campaign & brand such as “SEMOOOOOANYA(™) BAIK” (English version: “IT’S ALLLLLLLLL(™) GOOD”), effectively conveying the goodness of Farm Fresh Grow. The campaign employed various approaches as outlined below:

We identified one of Astro’s successful IPs – Gegar Vaganza, Malaysia’s no.1 family entertainment show in its 9th year running to launch the campaign. Gegar Vaganza’s audience profile are predominantly families, parents with kids, aged 30 years and above. With over 6.9 million reach and 32.9 million digital views, it’s undeniably an influential platform to reach audiences both on-air and online, maximising impact and reach for the campaign.

 

Launch Phase: 

The brand kickstarted the launch by appointing past prominent Gegar Vaganza’s judge and Malaysia’s sweetheart and songstress, Dato Sri Siti Nurhaliza as brand ambassador as she resonated with the Farm Fresh’s core values and ethos. The TV commercial featured the singer and her daughter, Aafiyah which debuted during the show’s ad breaks. The brand’s catchy tune ‘Semooonya Baik’ sung by Dato Sri Siti Nurhaliza on the Gegar Vaganza Live stage, created a viral following, increasing exposure and high brand recall.

 

Content Amplification: 

‘Boss Susu’ (Milk Boss) Weekly Capsules 

  • Introduced a special segment, featuring the ‘Milk Boss’ interacting live on stage with the hosts and talking about the benefits of Farm Fresh Grow to live audiences.

Cerita Farm Fresh (Farm Fresh Story) 

  • A 3-minute capsule series educated the public on nutrition milk facts. 30 sec cutdown version scheduled as commercial lead in and out, before every ad break.

Generasi Farm Fresh (Farm Fresh Generation) 

  • Weekly capsules featured talented kids across Malaysia, plus a short interview with the Milk Boss himself, awarding them a cash prize of RM2,000 each for their sheer passion and dedication towards their achievements, plus a supply of Farm Fresh Grow products.

 

Branding Integration 

  • Lower Third branding enforced the Farm Fresh Grow message and product benefits.
  • Maximised brand visibility through branding and product placements at the judges table, contestants’ weekly interviews and backstage access show, Gegar Vaganza Live+ on Astro Gempak YouTube channel.

 

Digital Extension 

  • To drive conversion, QR IT Banners appeared during certain episodes, redirecting viewers to purchase Farm Fresh Grow online through a subscription-based e-commerce marketplace platform, Subplace. QR IT banners also appeared on other programmes across Astro Malay channels, during high rated time slots.
  • To amplify reach, branded advertorials and social postings were shared across ERA, Gempak and Awani’s digital and social media platforms.

 

Results

Media

  • Television – The brand was exposed to over 6.6 million TV audiences.
  • Digital & Social Media – Achieved over 1.5 million (1,579,022) reach on digital and social media across Astro’s network – Gempak, Awani and ERA. Recorded over 9.2 million views (9,265,301) across Astro Gempak’s social media and YouTube channel.

 

Brand

A significant jump in Google Search terms for ‘Farm Fresh’ and ‘Maltodextrin’, the highest peak recorded on 18 September 2022, coincided with the first episode of Gegar Vaganza. This proved the campaign succeeded in engaging audiences to search about the product, creating high awareness amongst parents.

 

Market Performance

Farm Fresh’s Grow has experienced impressive month-on-month growth since its launch in September 2022. Sales increased within just one month, reaching the highest peak sales during the campaign.

Following the campaign, Farm Fresh Grow continued to witness strong demand and potential. This was fueled by the brand’s increased presence in 8 retail channels, including hypermarkets, supermarkets, mini markets, and the newly opened social commerce channel on TikTok in February. Moreover, the brand’s strategic partnerships with mothers and media networks, along with activations and sampling, contributed to its growth.