Ensemble Worldwide and Universal McCann’s (UM) latest campaign for IKEA Southeast Asia marks the grand opening of Toppen Shopping Centre in Johor.
Toppen Shopping Centre is Malaysia’s first southern region shopping centre anchored by the first IKEA store outside of the Klang Valley, with the launch campaign centering around the theme of ‘Jeles Ek’.
Phang Mei Jeng, General Manager of Ensemble Worldwide commented, “The team used the very colloquial term ‘ek’, tagged typically by Johoreans at the end of a sentence. The idea here was to use it as a positive callout urging others to not get ‘jeles’ (jealous), but to join in the fun at Toppen. Our insights demonstrate that Johoreans are incredibly state proud, hence the fun messaging seemed on point with Toppen’s brand to connect closer to the Johorean customer base.”
A central part of the campaign is the rap/hip-hop music video titled #JelesEk, written and performed by native Johoreans – rapper Joe Flizzow and singer Joyce Chu, with music composed by Alif of Magic Potions.
“We felt the music video would speak to a wider audience in Johor and help make it an anthem for Toppen. The rap serves as an invitation to Johoreans and beyond to gather their family and friends together to enjoy their time at Toppen,” said Mei Jeng.
Andrew Yeoh, Head of Marketing (Shopping Centre) of IKEA Southeast Asia said, “With Toppen, we are taking the next step in transforming from transactional shopping centres to fantastic meeting places. We take great pride in co-creating our centres with the local communities in mind.
“For instance, ‘The Topp’, our rooftop leisure, sporting and entertainment zone, helps position Toppen as the heart and hub of Johor Bahru. In the same vein, this launch campaign has been a conscious effort to celebrate all that makes Johor unique, and the team at Ensemble and UM truly understood this ambition. They have brought our launch to life via locally relevant branded entertainment content that resonates strongly with our core target audience.”
Jennifer Yean, Vice President of UM said, “The team strategised to capture impactful awareness across mass media and digital to make this new mall the talk of the town. Toppen is a family friendly brand with a youthful edge, and as such we want to ensure all consumer touch points are reached effectively with new innovations.”
The campaign further features a collaboration with TikTok as the official social media partner. It is one of the first campaigns in Southeast Asia to feature a branded TikTok AR filter. The #JelesEk TikTok Challenge urges youth to record their best ‘JelesEk’ moves which involves a dance routine while lip-syncing to the #JelesEk rap song.
To date, the #JelesEk challenge is one of TikTok’s most successful campaigns in the region, with more than 10 million views, 250,000 likes and shares and 20,000 user generated entries.
Toppen officially opened on 13th November, with grand launch activities running on-ground till 24th November. The #JelesEk TikTok Challenge ends on 27th November.
View the #JelesEk video here:
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