'Initially a one-off initiative,' says Darlie MY's GM about latest year-long campaign

Darlie Malaysia has kickstarted its four-part year-long campaign, #SemangatTogether, starting with a Hari Raya activation. The overarching campaign is inspired by the resilience Malaysians showed during the pandemic, and particularly the extraordinary lengths Malaysians went to take care of one another.

Built around the four pillars intrinsic to the fabric of Malaysian culture – music, arts, food and travel – #SemangatTogether is done in collaboration with FCB SHOUT, which has been Darlie Malaysia’s creative agency and partner since 2019. The four-part campaign will be the brand’s main marketing focus for the year, with each component of the campaign slated to be rolled out in the coming months, alongside product promotions and seasonal offerings for each activation.

For the first activation, "Semangat Hari Raya”, music takes precedence in the brand’s musically-driven Raya film. In line with the campaign ethos, the film aims to reconnect the Malaysian community during this year’s Raya season and convey the message that everyone can persevere together and enjoy a brighter future, even in the most challenging of times. This follows Malaysia having its first in-person holiday celebrations after two years.

The Raya campaign film was created in collaboration with musicians Reza Salleh and MuZza (both pictured above), and documents the duo’s journey in composing an original Raya tune and completing it with its most essential component – the voices of the people.

Ian Chew (pictured below), general manager, Darlie Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, told A+M that the campaign idea came about last year when the brand developed the ambition to inspire and help Malaysians reconnect with all the things that they have missed about the country during the pandemic.

While the initial plan was to have a one-off initiative, the brand’s collaboration with FCB SHOUT allowed Darlie to create a single year-long brand platform under an overarching theme, with the ability to adopt different narratives and brand activities. “As we say in marketing, the idea ‘has legs, which is key for us in reaching out and inspiring a wider group of audience,” said Chew.

Semangat Hari Raya will be followed by the second part of the #SemangatTogether campaign, dubbed “The Art of Semangat”, which will see Darlie partner with two artists from East Malaysia to create visual masterpieces that tell the #SemangatTogether story, specifically through the lenses of Sarawakians and Sabahans. It is scheduled to be released in May this year. The third and fourth parts of the campaign are slated for release in July and November respectively.

Chew added that beyond the brand’s principal objective of giving fresh breath and good oral health, Darlie is a brand that stands for strengthening and creating connections – more so during Malaysia’s pandemic recovery stage. “We want to do our part in encouraging Malaysians to come together and demonstrate the same spirit that has gotten us through these two trying years. When we can do that, we can continue the process of building back what was lost. That is what the #SemangatTogether campaign is all about,” said Chew.

Additionally, Darlie Malaysia will be giving its customers a chance to be part of the project through bespoke premiums. For example, during the course of the Semangat Hari Raya campaign, buyers of the Darlie Double Action Bonus Pack will be able to turn the packaging of the packs into their very own Darlie Raya FM – a DIY speaker that amplifies the audio from their mobile device to share their favourite Raya tunes, such as “Semangat Hari Raya”.

Chew told A+M that he hopes for the #SemangatTogether campaign to strengthen Darlie's brand affinity amongst Malaysians, seeing the campaign as a great opportunity to demonstrate the brand's localness and heritage. Emotional ads are also popular among brands, especially during the festive season. To cut through the clutter, Chew stressed the need to be authentic, adding:

Every brand has its own purpose and distinctive story to tell; effective branding is about how the brand can consistently and successfully deliver on both.

"This obviously takes time to incubate, but the rewards are so much more sustainable than what you get from merely tapping into fads and gimmicky executions. The emotions have to be real, not forced," he explained. 

Meanwhile, Ong Shi Ping, co-owner and chief creative officer at FCB SHOUT, commended the brand for daring to create a campaign empathetic of what the rakyat has gone through during the pandemic and hopes the campaign will show consumers what Malaysians can achieve when they come together, both with the brand and one another.

Ong added: “The Malaysian spirit is a powerful force that is inherent in each and every one of us. One challenging time after another, it has given us strength and kept us united in the face of adversity, even when the odds seem insurmountable. We’re excited to be on this journey with Darlie.”

Aside from Malaysia, Chew also oversees the Indonesia and Brunei markets. In Indonesia, the brand is currently running a Ramadan-Raya campaign, #SenyumDarlieHati (Smile from the Heart), which encompasses social media and on-ground activations, along with online and offline promotional offers. In Brunei, the brand focused on creating impactful in-store visibility for promotional pack offers.

Chew explained that the marketing approach varies for each market. In Indonesia for example, the brand’s focus is on building its distribution channels and brand awareness. Nonetheless, he said the brand still has "a long way to go in Indonesia" in terms of improving the availability of Darlie products in the market and getting more people to recognise and try out the brand.

Meanwhile, the brand's marketing plans for Brunei are more closely aligned with Malaysia’s due to geographical proximity and historical connection, which Chew cited as a key factor in the brand’s marketing approach. Alongside Malaysia, Darlie has had a presence in Brunei for more than 40 years.

“As such, most people in these countries already have an understanding or at least a perception of what the Darlie brand offers. But for Indonesia, as we have just re-entered the market a little under 10 years ago, we are still considered a new brand and thus, there are plenty of opportunities for us to excite the locals,” said Chew.

The brand utilises a best practices approach for its young Indonesian market, leveraging on the best practices from its Malaysian market, and applying them within the local context in Indonesia. However, this practice works two-fold, with the Malaysia team drawing inspiration from some of the work it has done in Indonesia, especially on social media and eCommerce, where the brand carries a younger and more modern image.

In spite of the differences, he added that overall, consumers in all three markets have a shared goal of wanting to look good and feel good, and are more appreciative of high-quality brands that are able to meet their demands.

Hawley & Hazel, the manufacturer of Darlie in the Southeast Asian and Chinese markets, changed Darlie's Chinese name last year to "Haolai" (好來), echoing Hawley & Hazel's Chinese name. According to the company, the change exemplifies Darlie's brand belief of "Good Things Come with a Smile". The belief conveys the company's mission to spread confidence with more smiles. Alongside the updated name, Darlie's brand assets will now include more engaging and modern stylised fonts and highlight the signature Darlie smile.

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