SOUND OF A NATION

TitleSOUND OF A NATION
BrandCIMB BANK
Product / ServiceCIMB SOUND OF A NATION
CategoryA14. Innovation in Entertainment
EntrantGEOMETRY GLOBAL KUALA LUMPUR Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Idea Creation GEOMETRY GLOBAL KUALA LUMPUR Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Production RESERVE TANK SDN. BHD Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Kenny Loh Geometry Malaysia Chief Executive Officer
Michael Fillon Geometry Malaysia Executive Creative Director
Phoecus Lee Geometry Malaysia Creative Director
Joseph Laihee Geometry Malaysia Brand Experience Architect
Wendy Chiu Geometry Malaysia Head of Design
Chin Ling Yeo Geometry Malaysia Interface Team Lead
Jason Lee Geometry Malaysia Senior Web Developer
Fareez Shahrizad Geometry Malaysia Designer
Darren Chia Geometry Malaysia Senior Copywriter
Jason Wong Geometry Group Managing Director
Ian Choe Geometry Malaysia Head of Brand
Beverly Ong Geometry Malaysia Associate Account Director

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

“Sound of a Nation” is an original musical composition aired by CIMB as a Malaysia Day tribute. However, the true composers were the Malaysian people. Because in this symphony, every melody and every beat from every instrument was sourced from the facial recognition data of Malaysians, representing the country’s different ethnic, cultural and religious communities, bringing to life a harmony that created by a country's togetherness.

Background

2018 was a particularly proud year for Malaysians, where the country’s ethnically diverse population united to accomplish a bloodless change in government. Malaysia Day, celebrated on September 16th, was the perfect occasion to honour this solidarity. As a bank with a long history of promoting workforce diversity, CIMB wished to use the occasion to connect its vision of social harmony with the public’s current sentiment for unity.

Describe the creative idea

Instead of the usual one-way communication often seen on Malaysia Day, CIMB’s message was made by the people for the people – in the form of a symphony made with the help of every day Malaysians. Capitalizing on the people’s nationalistic pride post-election, ‘Sound of a Nation’ had a simple message: beautiful things happen when we come together.

Describe the strategy

Across the globe, National Day is an emotional occasion that resonates with the whole population. But in a country filled with multiple ethnicities, it is a huge challenge for any brand in any category to speak to all, let alone own the moment. How can a bank, already in a challenging yet low-engagement industry, connect with the public and be able to build an integrated strategy to interact with all Malaysians? We dug deep. And through the understanding of the gravitational points that Malaysians have in common, we uncovered their shared interest in music as well as their high internet usage. Instead of speaking to all, we got them to speak to us instead. We urged Malaysians to be part of something bigger by sending just a photo of themselves that would in turn be composed into an original piece of music - paying tribute our diversity.

Describe the execution

The campaign began with a microsite, where a participant can take a picture of his or her face. Facial recognition identified the person’s most prominent features. These points were laid into a musical tablature, creating the individual’s unique melodic signature. Height map determined how loud or soft the notes are played. Different parts of the country were represented by different instruments. All the collected melodies were then placed in the hands of leading Malaysian composers, who weaved them into an original composition. On September 16, Malaysia Day, the music was unveiled online, to the country and world - expressing Malaysia's camaraderie in the form of a unique song only Malaysia could claim.

Describe the outcome

5 million views for three online films 159,692 visits to the microsite 147,136,799 impressions on Facebook and Youtube

Links

Video URL