Brief Explanation

It was BSN Bank's 40th Anniversary and the bank realised is was losing relevance to the youths and urban adults. And this affected all their product marketing activities for savings, credit cards and loans. So BSN wanted to take advantage of this year-long celebration to not only change their old-fashioned, conservative image but also the way they connected with this audience – a new generation of Malaysians who were digitally-savvy and active on social media, a space very new to BSN.

The Brief

Objective: Use BSN Bank's 40th Anniversary celebration to rebuild relationships, grow BSN's Facebook fanbase and increase online engagement with the digitally-savvy youths and urban adults by getting them to realise the Bank has moved on with the times to serve their needs better. Strategy: In Malaysia, youths and urban adults frequented social media, usually to vent their frustrations, sadness or anger. The landscape of late seemed to be filled with negativity. The strategy then was for BSN to use Social Media to spread positivity and happiness during the campaign period to counter the negativity and spark uplifting, jovial, hopeful conversations.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

We wanted to generate some engagement with the fans but we created a nationwide sensation instead. The Happy Cat gave BSN a voice on social media. By being the most talked-about bank in the online space, BSN transformed from an outdated bank into a very relevant one for the digital age. From March 2015, when the campaign commenced: - Facebook engagement increased by 500%, the highest engagement for a bank. - The fastest-growing Facebook Page in Malaysia. 313,692 Fans. The campaign also served as an opening strategy to lead in and maximise all other marketing activities: - New Savings Accounts up by 31,800% - Credit Card sign-ups up by 62% - Loan Applications up by 31%

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Seeing how the online landscape at that time was full of negativity, BSN first ignited a conversation on social media by asking Malaysians how the bank could make them happy. As the wishes came in, BSN unleashed their spokesperson, The Happy Cat, or better known as "Kucing Happy" in the local language. The Happy Cat appeared in Facebook and YouTube videos, where he engaged fans directly by granting some of their wishes with his own cheeky interpretation of what would make them happy. We filtered through the thousands of wishes that came through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram every week. After choosing which wishes to grant, we wrote the script, shot, edited, recorded, added visual effects and then launched a video all in the space of 7 days. Six videos over six weeks saw many wishes granted with a Happy Cat twist and over 1.5 million viewers were entertained.