Challenge

In 2022, U Mobile faced significant challenges in resonating with the Malay community, a key demographic for the brand. This was a significant concern as its previous strategy, heavily focused on producing and promoting annual Raya Brand films, failed to make the intended impact.

Brand index scores among the Malay audience were 10% lower than the overall brand index in Q1 and Q2 of 2022, highlighting a disconnect in brand presence, awareness, and affinity.

U Mobile needed a strategy that could effectively engage the Malay demographic in a more impactful and memorable way, especially in the cluttered advertising landscape and the fierce competition within the telco industry.

Solution

Leveraging on music as the primary medium to connect with Malay audiences on a deeper level, we pivoted away from the conventional path of festive brand films and orchestrated the biggest Raya musical event of the year – Bombastika Raya.

This live mini busking concert featured Malaysia’s top local celebrities performing live in an outdoor concert at a publicly crowded space during the eve of Raya to spread the festive spirit and joy to audiences.

U Mobile partnered with Astro, the leading integrated transmedia network to broadcast the event across TV, radio and social media, reaching over 83% of Malay households.

The campaign unfolded in three phases and maximised U Mobile’s branding and presence by leveraging key assets available across all Astro’s media platforms.

1. Awareness (Pre-Hype)

  • Launched with a festive jingle in a 30-second branded promo video promoting the Bombastika Raya 5G Device Sale.
  • Aired 4x 5-minute lead up episodes on Astro RIA and other channels, featuring behind-the-scenes content, bloopers, and interviews.
  • Featured a special segment on Malaysia’s top entertainment talk show, MeleTOP, to raise awareness, driving viewers to the concert.
  • Initiated a call-in contest on radio, 2 weeks before the concert, offering winners front-row seats and artist meet-and-greets.
  • Conducted extensive promotional activities across Malay radio stations (ERA, SINAR, etc) with recorded promos, live liners, and celebrity call-ins.
  • Leveraged social media platforms of Astro Malay radio stations to disseminate branded promos to maximise reach & frequency.
  • Conducted exclusive cast interviews from Astro’s popular drama series, Projek: High Council, to engage audiences on U Mobile’s YouTube channel.

2. Pinnacle (Live Show Recording):

  • The live concert was broadcast on TV with prominent U Mobile branding and dedicated segments, including a game with radio contest winners.
  • On-ground activities included celebrity meet-and-greets, exclusive seating zones, and a photo booth to foster brand presence and audience interaction.
  • Conducted a live digital call-out during the show and a pre-show on digital platforms, featuring backstage artist interviews.

3. Sustenance:

  • Post-event, special Raya greetings from celebrities and highlights of U Mobile’s 5G Postpaid and Device packages were aired on TV and digital platforms.
  • Continued engagement through post-event highlights and fillers on TV and Digital.
  • Festive greetings from concert artists were broadcast on radio to amplify reach.

Results

The campaign exceeded all targets, achieving a 73% increase in U Mobile’s overall brand index and an impressive 113% growth in brand perception among the Malay demographic. Notably, the Malay demographic brand index scored higher than overall brand index in Q2 2023.

Brand Recall

  • 5.8X increase in brand ad recall. Supported by the U Mobile Bombastika Raya 5G Device Sale promotions, the campaign garnered:
    • 234 million impressions
    • 24 million video views
    • 96,700 digital engagements

TV & VOD

  • Total Reach: 2 million viewers on TV and a total unique VOD viewership of 25,000 with 971,000 minutes watched.
  • TV Ratings: Bombastika Raya achieved higher ratings than the previous year’s Astro Ria Megaraya, by 21%, indicating a successful reception among the audience.
  • Bombastika Raya program even emerged as the Top 10 Variety show in Linear TV during the Raya season. [Source : Kantar DTAM Period 21 April – 5 May 2023]

Digital

  • Total Reach: 8,104,850 with an impressive total impression count of 8,103,257.
  • Total Engagement: 1,269,799, showcasing high interaction levels across digital platforms.
  • Total Video Views: 1,793,684, highlighting significant content consumption.

Social Media

  • Engagement rates were noteworthy, with some Facebook posts reaching an engagement rate of 83.45% and Instagram posts seeing view rates up to 98.89%.
  • On top of that, we achieved 8 million organic (unpaid) TikTok views via user-generated-content (UGC) for Bombastika Raya. This achievement of video views equates to an earned media value of RM320,000.

Radio

  • Total Combined Listenership: 15,134,000, indicating a broad reach across various radio stations, enhanced by artiste calls and contests.

On-Ground Activation

  • Estimated Crowd: Between 500 – 700 attendees for the on-ground mini ‘busking’ concert, featuring artist meet-and-greets, exclusive seating zones, and photobooths, enhancing the live experience and engagement for attendees.