Malaysia-based ★ Marketing Excellence Awards 2015 Announced: Permani, an Asahi Group subsidiary, named Marketer of the Year

Winners of Malaysia's "Marketing Excellence Awards 2015," hosted by Marketing Interactive, were announced on October 29th. Permais, a beverage company under the Asahi Group, was selected as "Marketer of the Year."

Its communication strategies for the canned coffee "Wonda" and the carbonated soft drink "Mountain Dew" were highly evaluated. This led to the company winning six Gold, two Silver, and three Bronze awards across a wide range of categories including Advertising, Integrated Marketing, Marketing Innovation, Brand Awareness, Media Strategy, OOH, Print, and Mobile.

Facing the challenge of boosting sales and product awareness in this year's fiercely competitive soft drink market, Mountain Dew changed its bottle packaging to fluorescent materials. It launched the "Neon Campaign," centered around this new packaging.

The campaign featured a TV commercial prominently showcasing the luminous packaging, special print ads that glow when touched, and a popular radio program soliciting locations for Mountain Dew to light up. As a result, landmarks in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Penang, Alor Setar, and Johor Bahru were successively illuminated in green neon. Additionally, integrated efforts including social media engagement, large-scale sampling, and retail promotions resulted in the product achieving its highest-ever sales in Malaysia.

Wanda, which faced the challenge of differentiating itself from competitors, targeted coffee enthusiasts as a "gourmet canned coffee" against the backdrop of rising coffee popularity in Malaysia, aiming to cultivate a new customer base.

Targeting International Coffee Day on September 29th, a 360-degree integrated campaign was launched, encompassing TV commercials, print ads, radio, social media, and a collaboration with the widely adopted taxi booking app "MyTeksi." The campaign's highlight was an initiative targeting all five senses on the LRT public transit system. Beyond appealing to the sense of smell by filling the cars with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee using specialized equipment, "Visual = In-car advertising" "Auditory = In-car announcements with ads" "Tactile = Coupons on the straps" "Gustatory = Promotions at kiosks"

As a result of the campaign, Wanda's market share significantly increased from 8.9% to 18.6%, establishing its position as a new premium canned coffee brand. (Click the image below to view a video explaining the campaign on a separate site)

Marketing Interactive cited the award for Marketer of the Year, stating, "This is true integrated marketing that designed numerous contact points with exceptional effectiveness." Fumiya Koike of Dentsu Inc. Malaysia, who handled communications for both brands, expressed his joy: "We were recognized for our total marketing communications. Sharing this award's joy with our client is what pleases me most. We look forward to moving forward together on our next project."

At the Marketing Excellence Awards, other Dentsu Group companies also received honors: KARA, under DAN, won Gold in the Media Strategy category, and iProspect won Silver in the Search Marketing category.