Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Innovative digital campaigns

Saturday September 19, 2009
Innovative digital campaigns
By EUGENE MAHALINGAM

Thinking out of the box to get hits.

EARLY this year, fast food giant Burger King launched an online campaign on Facebook called The Whopper Sacrifice. The concept of the campaign was to “dump” (delete) 10 of your friends from Facebook to receive a coupon for a free Whopper hamburger.

According to reports, 233,906 friends were removed by 82,771 people in less than a week.

Burger King launched the online campaign on Facebook called The Whopper Sacrifice – AFP

And Facebook members even created unofficial groups, offering to let other members add them as friends and then delete them for Whopper Sacrifice purposes!

Facebook had the campaign banned less than two weeks later, claiming that it was a violation of user privacy.

Some observers felt Facebook pulled the plug on the campaign for fear that it would affect its online user traffic.

Whatever the reason, one can’t deny that it was a ‘killer’ campaign, winning many accolades at Cannes Lions this year.

Says Universal McCann chief executive officer Prashant Kumar: “It was a very simple campaign, yet it was so effective. I myself got sacrificed a few times!”

On the local front, a host of online campaigns have been compelling enough to create a huge stir with its respective target audiences.

Prior to the launch of Proton Holdings Bhd’s Exora multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) earlier this year, Universal McCann and creative agency McCann Erickson worked on a digital-based naming contest for the vehicle.

Because the MPV was going to be Proton’s first vehicle with fully homegrown technology, an ultrasound image of a partially complete Exora in a mother’s womb was used to attract participants for the naming contest.


Tiger FC’s website

Needless to say, the month-long campaign that ended in September last year was a hit, attracting 251,763 entries, 84% of which were online submissions while the rest were via SMS.

When the car was finally launched this year, it was almost simultaneously launched on Twitter to capture the fancies of the Twitterati, which comprise some of the leading influencers in Malaysia.

“The campaign was so successful that it even became a case study for social media. The ultra sound photo was used to show that it was Malaysia’s baby. We wanted to cultivate a reaction that Proton was homegrown,” says Prashant.

“The Twitter campaign elicited excellent reactions and even became a case study for social media.”

He adds that Proton spent very little on media in the campaign.

Universal McCann claims that even before the launch of the MPV in April this year, Google had showed 1.5 million links to Exora.

Another digital campaign that was worked by Universal McCann was an online game for insurance company, Axa Affin Insurance Bhd.

Called Turning Point, the online game allowed a person to experience life by managing his or her wealth while balancing it with the quality of the person’s life.


The ultrasound image of Exora.

The game challenges a person to manage their wealth at four different life stages – fresh graduate, newly married, married with children, and golden age, which were represented by four levels in the game.

The aim was to drive relevance among ‘digitally-savvy young white collars, who, unlike their parents’ generation, live in a world that does not save, plan or think about tomorrow. Whoever made the ‘most money’ in the game would be the winner – participants also stood a chance to win cash prizes.

The online gimmick, which was held in 2008, attracted over two million visits in just two months, with over 4,000 participants taking part. Over 10,000 referrals were generated.

Axa Affin’s gross premiums surged over 50% as a result of the campaign.

“People loved it,” says Prashant.

Media Specialists Association president Tan Siang Lin recalls a website that was set up in 2004 to promote Tiger FC, the football marketing platform for Tiger Beer. (The campaign, developed by Grey Direct, won the Best of the Best award at the Direct Marketing Association of Malaysia Awards.)

“What I like about this campaign is it was based on local insight, developed with local craftsmanship, and it will always be attractive to the local audience,” she says.

The website had on it a ‘fantasy league’ that visitors could participate in, contests and online games.

The website had attracted about 100,000 unique visitors and over two million page views in the last two years, Tan says.

She says a successful campaign was one that was unique and different.

“Think out of the box. To get the message out, marketers and agencies need to spend considerable effort conceiving creative and innovative approaches, as well as packaging and distributing that message,” Tan says.

Related Stories:

The rise of digital marketing

Dos and don’ts of digital advertising

Social media make waves

Emergence of online ad networks

Corporates on the Net

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The Global Fast Food industry

The Global Fast Food industry profile is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the fast food industry. It includes detailed data on market size and segmentation, plus textual and graphical analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, leading companies and demographic information.

Scope

* Contains an executive summary and data on value, volume and/or segmentation

* Provides textual analysis of the industry’s recent performance and future prospects

* Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards

* Includes a five-year forecast of the industry

* The leading companies are profiled with supporting key financial metrics

* Supported by the key macroeconomic and demographic data affecting the market

Highlights

* Detailed information is included on market size, measured by value and/or volume

* Five forces scorecards provide an accessible yet in depth view of the market’s competitive landscape

Why you should buy this report

* Spot future trends and developments

* Inform your business decisions

* Add weight to presentations and marketing materials

* Save time carrying out entry-level research

Market Definition

The fast food market is defined as the sale of food and drinks for immediate consumption either on the premises or in designated eating areas shared with other foodservice operators, or for consumption elsewhere.

Datamonitor's definition excludes sales through vending machines and is restricted to sales in specific foodservice channels (please see channel definitions below). All market values are given in Operator Buying Prices that is the amount spent by foodservice operators on the food and drink that they serve and not the amount the consumers spend on food and drinks (Operator Selling Prices - OSPs) in these channels.

The difference is the mark up the foodservice operator adds in order to cover their other costs and generate a profit. This therefore values the market in terms of the amount of money for which food and drinks manufacturers are competing. All currency conversions were performed using constant 2008 average annual exchange rates.

Market volumes are classed as the total number of visits by individuals to foodservice locations that involve the consumption of either food. Multiple purchases made during the same visit are counted as one transaction.

The purchase of drink with food in the same location in the same visit is also considered as one transaction, not two. The market is broken down in to four segments: Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), Takeaways, Mobile & Street Vendors and Leisure Locations. QSR's ares defined as: locations where the primary function is to provide full meals but where table service is not offered.

Takeaways are defined as: establishments that provide freshly prepared food for immediate consumption and where typically 80% or more of revenues come from consumers who take the food off the premises to consume.

Mobile & street vendors are defined as: Either individual mobile stalls or vans that offer a limited range of freshly prepared food as well as beverages. Leisure locations are defined as: locations serving food and drinks for immediate consumption on premises within leisure outlets (such as Cinemas, Theatres, Racecourses etc.) that the Leisure operator owns and operates itself.

For the purpose of this report the global figure is deemed to comprise of the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

The Americas comprises Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, and the US.

Europe comprises Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Asia-Pacific comprises Australia, China, Japan, India, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Ramly Burger

The Ramly Burger, also known as the Burger Ramly, is a Malaysian burger created by Ramly Moknin popular in Malaysia and Singapore. Though the term "Ramly Burger" may refer to any of the hamburgers sold in a Ramly Burger stall, it most commonly refers to the Ramly Burger Special. While the amount and type of ingredients vary greatly depending on location, a typical Ramly Burger consists of a beef or chicken patty, margarine, onions, an egg, cabbage, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and Maggi Seasoning. This list is subjective, however, as Ramly Burgers are famous for being highly customizab

History
Burger Ramly started out in 1979 as a small family business operated from a mobile kiosk on Lorong Haji Hussin in Kuala Lumpur. The family recipe soon became a hit among Malaysians.

An original Beef Ramly Burger Special.The Ramly Burger is distinctive from most other hamburgers due to the unique way in which the ingredients are served. Rather than the usual method of stacking the ingredients within the bun, the patty in the Ramly Burger is first covered with the desired condiments, then wrapped in a thin layer of egg. The end result is packet-like and enhances the texture of the burger while simultaneously reducing mess from the condiments. The Ramly Burger served in this way is known as Ramly Burger Special.

Besides the Burger Special, Ramly Burgers can also be served in conventional way, with the patty being cooked together with ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, curry powder or some pepper as flavorings.

Controversy
Despite its popularity among Singaporeans, the import of Ramly Burger into Singapore is prohibited (a strange fact as frozen Ramly Burger patties are approved for sale there), along with all other Malaysian beef products. However, several stalls have smuggled the burger, albeit illegally, into the country. In particular, Ramly Burger stalls are rampant in pasar malams, which are harder to track due to their itinerant nature.

External links
Official site of Ramly Food Processing
Kuala What to look out for in a good Ramly Burger

Sejarah

Burger Ramly merupakan produk bumiputera milik Ramly bin Mokni yang telah menjadi salah satu makanan segera yang popular di Malaysia. Burger Ramly lebih mudah didapati gerai makanan ditepi jalan dan restoran. Kemudiannya, Burger Ramly telah menular ke Singapura dan menjadi makanan segera yang popular dikalangan penduduk Singapura.


Ramly Food Processsing adalah industri bumiputera yang terkenal dalam industri pembuatan produk makanan berasaskan daging lembu, ayam dan hasilan laut berjenama ramly, Burger, nuget, frankfurter dan drummet adalah diantara produk yang paling diminati.

Diasaskan pada tahun 1984 oleh Tuan Haji Ramly b. Mokni dan Puan Hajjah Shala Siah Bt. Abdul Manap dari cetusan idea dan hasrat murni untuk mengeluarkan produk yang halal, bersih dan bermutu.

Kini syarikat ini telah mempunyai 2 buah kilang pemerosesan di Kawasan Perindustrian Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras dan di Taman Perindustrian IKS, Mukim Batu, Kuala Lumpur dengan menawarkan peluang pekerjaan dari pengurusan, pengeluaran hinggalah ke pemasaran produk. Produk berjenama ramly kini begitu unggul di pasaran Malaysia dan bakal ke taraf antarabangsa.


Jenis warung atau gerai burger Ramly yang banyak terdapat di Malaysia
[sunting] Pengedaran
Lebih dari 120 orang pemborong berdaftar sebagai anak syarikat bagi mengedarkan produk-produk RAMLY. Kesemua pemborong berdaftar ini dibawah pemasaran Ramly Mokni Sendirian Berhad. Syarikat pemasaran ini beribupejabat di Desa Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Penubuhan syarikat ini bertujuan dalam menawarkan khidmat jualan kepada pelanggan. Bagi memastikan pengedaran dan penghantaran produk dijamin kualiti dan kesegarannya, kenderaan kontena sejukbeku digunakan.

Sebuah anak syarikat Ramly yang berobjektif dalam memastikan produknya mudah didapati dipasaran telah ditubuh di Lorong Raja Bot (Off Jalan Raja Alang) di Kuala Lumpur. Anak syarikat ini dikenali sebagai Ramly Supermarket Sendirian Berhad, dan ia beroperasi 24jam. Pembukaan anak syarikat ini bagi memastikan khidmat borong dan runcit boleh dilaksanakan diantara RAMLY dengan penjaja dan orang awam.


Kualiti
Penubuhan Makma Mikrobiologi yang dijalankan oleh Ramly, bagi mengawal kualiti produk. Tujuan penubuhan makmal ini adalah memasitkan produknya adalah suci (dari pemilihan bahan mentah hingga produk siap) dan selamat untuk dimakan. Selain itu, makmal ini berfungi sebagai satu tempat penyelidikan dan pembangunan produk. Makmal Mikrobiologi Ramly lengkap dengan peralatan teknologi tinggi.


Produksi
Satu kajian penyelidikan dan pembangunan produk dijalankan oleh Ramly, bagi tujuan kesegaran, kelazatan dan kualiti produknya. Cara pembungkusan yang menarik juga dikaji dalam memastikan produk kelihatan menarik dan boleh dinikmati. Pengimplementasi kepakaran teknologi oleh Ramly, adalah memastikan pengeluran daging dan hasil laut dapat memenuhi citarasa pengguna dan pengemar Ramly. Kepakaran teknologi yang digunakan juga memastikan produktiviti produk.


Penyediaan
Untuk memasak burger Ramly, tidak begitu sukar, cuma yang diperlukan ialah kuali atau plet leper, penekan daging burger, dapur, gas masakan, ban burger dan daging burger. Untuk rencah atau isi-isinya pula ialah timun dan kobis. Untuk bahan perisanya, biasa digunakan ialah sos Worcester (wu-ches-ter) atau juga dikenali sebagai kicap burger dikalangan orang Malaysia. Sebagai sos tambahan pula ialah mayonis, sos tomato, sos cili ataupun sos barbeku.

Ramly burger

The Ramly Burger, also known as the Burger Ramly, is a Malaysian hamburger created by Ramly Moknin popular in Malaysia and Singapore. While the term “Ramly Burger” may refer to any of the hamburgers sold in a Ramly Burger stall, it most commonly refers to the Ramly Burger Special. While the amount and type of ingredients vary greatly depending on location, a typical Ramly Burger consists of a beef or chicken patty, margarine, onions, an egg, cabbage, mayonnaise, and Worcestershire sauce. This list is subjective, however, as Ramly Burgers are famous for being highly customizable.

BURGER Ramly started out in 1979 as a small family business operated from a mobile kiosk on Lorong Haji Hussin in Kuala Lumpur. The family recipe soon became a hit among Malaysians.

Shown above is a Burger Daging Special bought from a stall under Siang Leng’s apartment. Looking at pictures, they don’t look that nice hor? Quite messy also, with all the chilli sauce and mayo.. Anyway, at RM3.00, it has most of the stuff described above plus a half slice of cheese. The guy who prepared my burger squeezed some thousand island dressing between the patties. I must admit it’s a good idea because it really made the burger nicer, really perfect for suppers. Most stalls also put black pepper sauce in their burgers, but I don’t like the taste. Do you?