The Campaign

Our insights tell us we need to localize to connect and Malaysians love using slang. Next to “Lah”, “Wei” is the next most commonly used suffix and it is a perfect play to our brand name. We needed to incorporate “Wei” into our campaign. We ‘hijacked’ ASK with live integration and customized content to weave in the display and usage of Huawei products. We created localized hashtags on social media channels so that engagements were trackable and encouraged online conversations and engagements. In the backstage, our branded booths allowed winning artists to pose and comment about their wins. These were posted in their social media, multiplying our exposure. It also indirectly gave us access to top celebrities. A popular local band created the “Huawei Best Wei” song which was disseminated via Radio, TV, YouTube and social media; making it easier for Malaysians to remember, pronounce, and recall the Huawei brand.

Creative Execution

Our campaign kicked off with the AnugerahSkrin award show with hosts reading scripts from Huawei tablets, selfied with Huawei smartphones throughout the show and an integrated sitcom. Activation was simultaneously happening at the backstage via a Thank You camera with an elegant backdrop for artists to capture their victorious moments featuring and using Huawei. Prior to that, we conducted #HUAWEIBESTWEI Contest to find best dressed participants. Winners attended the live show, met their idols and walked away with Huawei phones. A storyline driven commercial for the new Huawei ‘MateS’ smartphone was launched, featuring top celebrities Siti Saleha and Syarul Ridzwan; spurring anticipation over this new phone. For high impact reach, quirky #HUAWEIBESTWEI capsules populated TV3, TV9, and social media. These memorably distinctive capsules featured familiar expressions of Malaysians. To engage millennials, a music video featuring popular rock band, Bunkface was created and broadcasted across TV3, TV9, YouTube and social media.

During this period, Huawei double its market share and achieved a 100% increase in sales versus forecast. Based on a post-campaign IPSOS study, we scored impressive metrics across the board. Brand Awareness +87% Brand Preference +100% Brand Consideration +120% Use Huawei as Primary Phone +200% We warmed and won Malaysian hearts wei!

Despite ongoing marketing efforts, Huawei’s Brand Awareness and Consideration stagnated at a mere 49% and 7% respectively. In Malaysia, the challenge was to take Huawei from just another Chinese phone manufacturer to a global brand that Malaysians, especially Malays, could resonate with. To break the barrier, we partnered Media Prima, to ride on one of Malaysia’s longest running, highly rated and biggest entertainment production local award show of the year, AnugerahSkrin (ASK) with an integrated series of content where we spiced it all up with a local twist so that all Malaysians can accept it with opened arms.

We realized that we were facing a unique challenge – Malaysians were finding it hard to enunciate the ‘Hua’ in Huawei. As a result, we could not relate with the brand and brand recall was poor. We needed to break this barrier and make Huawei likeable at the same time. Furthermore, regional ads from China did not help either. Malaysians cannot relate to the Chinese philosophy of design and work ethics which drives Huawei devices. We also know that Malaysians are most comfortable and accepting of local content. We know we need to build customized local content to connect with them. Most importantly, further insight revealed that the use of local slangs resonates strongly with all Malaysians. Together with Media Prima, we used a popular local slang – “wei” and built it into our integrated campaign fondly coined “Huawei Best Wei!”