The Campaign

Branded content in Malaysia hardly exists, as brands prefer to go into sponsorship deals instead of creating content themselves. The little branded content that does exist is usually in the form of reality-based “product demo” shows or sketch comedy produced by local YouTube celebrities. There are many entertainment restrictions in Malaysia due to religious, cultural and ethnic sensitivities. These restrictions are imposed by the government, and do not necessarily represent the beliefs or attitudes of the people. For example, the portrayal of multi-racial relationships is still considered taboo, even though they are a norm in this multi-cultural society. We set out to create a love story that breaks cultural barriers. By airing it on YouTube and circumventing the censors, we told a story of young Malaysians bridging racial divides in the style of a Korean drama.

Results

The objective was to demonstrate the role of the new GALAXY S4 as a ‘Life Companion’, showcasing the scope and potential of its features in a way that would resonate with Malaysians. The target market is fanatical about Korean culture and entertainment, so we developed an 8-episode Korean drama series that featured two Malaysian star-crossed lovers and the Samsung GALAXY S4. We collaborated with Korean director Jang Jae Hyuk, best known for creating music videos for K-pop sensations Rain and the Wonder Girls, to give ‘Wind Chimes’ the treatment and style of Korean dramas. And because of the unique premise, compelling story and high production quality, we wanted to create numerous opportunities for earned media to support the project. The cast and director attended dinners, meet-and-greets, press conferences, and even culinary events where media representatives learned to bake the pastries featured in the series. Viewers could further immerse themselves in the series by downloading an accompanying android app that mirrored the main character’s mobile content, updating itself with new content as the series progressed. Fans could also interact with the Facebook profiles of the main characters, and explore the connected timelines of our two main protagonists. Calls to make the series into a movie were answered with a cinema premiere for the final episode, where the series was re-edited into a feature film, complete with red carpet gala.

Audiences were drawn to the content through an extensive media blitz that promoted the web series as a full-fledged feature film. The series was featured heavily in traditional and digital media, celebrated by news editorials and bloggers alike. Print, outdoor, in-store, digital and TV advertising directed people to the web series.

‘Wind Chimes in a Bakery’ reached over 4.5 million viewers, who watched over 13 million minutes in the first 6 weeks. This is in a country that only has about 6 million English speakers. Viewers gave the series an approval rating of 97% and comments flooded in supporting the multi-racial storyline. Subscribers to the Samsung Malaysia YouTube channel shot up by over 200%. Fan covers of the soundtrack were created. Most importantly, GALAXY S4 sales were boosted, which helped to raise Samsung's market share to a record 76%.