Brief Explanation

Advertisers receive countless direct mailers and invitations from vendors, suppliers and media owners. Astro’s invitation must be distinctive enough to achieve cut-through, recall and the desire to attend. The station also wanted advertisers to be more keenly aware of the different tastes and preferences among Malays, and the need for targeted media solutions to reach this diverse market.

The Brief

Astro is Malaysia’s top pay-TV station. It needed to convince advertisers that it understood the Malay audience well – and therefore could cater to their tastes better than the local free-to-air stations. Contrary to popular belief, the Malay audience is remarkably diverse. The task was to open advertisers’ eyes to this diversity and to Astro being their best media partner. Astro planned to invite advertisers and media buyers to an event where it would present its insights on Malay viewers and the channels customized to reach them more effectively.

How the final design was conceived

In a world of passing fads, we decided to go back to our cultural roots. The invitation came in the form of a basket bearing local delicacies, or kuih muih, which also represented Astro’s rich array of Malay programs. A testament to traditional Malay hospitality, the hand-delivered invite tasted as good as it looked. It was also designed to demonstrate a point. The recipients’ responses, i.e. “I prefer kuih lapis!” or “I want that pulut inti!”, proved that different Malays do indeed have different tastes.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

50 invitations were delivered. It created so much excitement, 130 key account clients and prospective advertisers attended the event. As affirmed by the recipients, the “edible invitation” triggered an awareness of diversity within the Malay audience. They now see the need for targeted media solutions in order to reach different Malay segments effectively.