Pinkfong’s international debut in Malaysia creates roaring waves of success

The seventh case study in the ‘Winning Partnership Series’ discusses how Astro’s exclusive collaboration with SmartStudy in bringing the worldwide phenomenon of Pinkfong to Malaysian shores.

Pinkfong and Baby Shark became the latest phenomenon in kids’ animation when the Pinkfong Baby Shark dance and sing-along racked in over 3 billion views online worldwide.

With this breakthrough partnership, Astro offers a great platform for marketers to leverage on this global viral phenomenon to win over parents and kids together.

Seizing Opportunities

The journey of Pinkfong and Baby Shark in Malaysia began in 2017 when they first visited our shores to engage with their fans.

The magenta-coloured fox first met Malaysians in December last year at Astro’s Fun Escapade event which saw a 30k turnout.

This was followed by Dive into the World of Pinkfong which took place in March this year and attracted over 50k fans, on top of driving subscription to Astro’s kids channels.

A month later in April, Astro created another first – Pinkfong & Baby Shark Mini Concert which stormed 1 Utama.

All concert passes for Rock & VIP zones were sold out across all four days.

It was also the first licensing partnership with an ice cream manufacturer to launch the Pinkfong Baby Shark Ice Lolly!

This tremendous response has led to the launch of the Pinkfong & Baby Shark Live Musical.

Home Of GenNext IPs

In early July, Astro announced their partnership with SmartStudy, a Seoul-based global entertainment company, for its hit animated characters including Pinkfong and Baby Shark, over multiple fronts from merchandising to character licensing and signature events in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

In addition to that, Astro also has a strong kid and parents fan base through its original shows, and Pinkfong has joined its list of wonderful characters such as Didi & Friends, Malaysia’s number 1 pre-school brand, Cam & Leon, an animated, nondialogue comedy series and Omar & Hana, a music and faith-inspired animation.

• Didi & Friends – 8.1 million reach
• Omar & Hana – 8.5 million reach
• Cam & Leon – 8 million reach

Pinkfong & Friends was released around mid-July 2018 and has already reached 5.8 million, catching up quickly with the rest of the IPs.

E-commerce extension

Special Pinkfong merchandise were produced for the events, such as plush toys and sound books which were selling fast on Go Shop, Astro’s 24-hour online shopping platform.

Baby Shark plush toys were sold out within 24 hours during the launch in April.

At the recent Pinkfong & Baby Shark Live Musical, the Mummy Shark and Daddy Shark plush toys were launched, together with the first ever CD compilation of Pinkfong songs.

This attracted a long queue at the merchandise counter after each show.

360 Marketing Push

Customised Pinkfong content was curated for television and digital platforms such as Gempak, Xuan, Siakap Keli and Rojak Daily to create high noise
level. Aggressive launch promotional video campaigns on Astro Circle reached over 48K online views and 650 shares within 10 days. In addition to that, four
special episodes of Pinkfong & Baby Shark Kidipedia were aired on Ceria’s YouTube, followed by exposure on Astro Ceria channel a week later to engage the kids
and ultimately drive ticket sales. PinkFong & Kidipedia hosts visited kindergarten children to teach them simple and fun Pinkfong dances.

Astro also engaged celebrities and KOLs with young families to leverage on their influencing power to promote the musical via multiple social media posts. Pinkfong musical giveaway contest was run on Astro On Demand platform, as well as with various partners like Marigold UHT Milk, Tesco, Pinkfong Baby Shark Ice Lolly, VKids and Pavilion. Astro subscribers enjoyed a 20% discount during the early bird period. Maybank and Digi also joined as partners to give special ticket discounts for their customers during the campaign period.

Brand Partnerships

Marigold has come on board to be the main sponsor of Pinkfong and Baby Shark Live Musical, a perfect platform to engage the parents and kids as their key target audience. The campaign kicked off from the ticket launch event in July, where Marigold had a dedicated booth to sell their bundled UHT milk and hand out attractive Pinkfong stickers to draw in the crowd. Happi Cow, Marigold’s mascot also made its appearance during the launch event, sharing the
limelight with Pinkfong and Baby Shark. Marigold also ran a digital contest to win musical tickets with proof of purchase.

Customised branded capsules were curated with strong integration of Pinkfong and Baby Shark to drive contest submissions, as well as attracting high engagement among the kids. The capsules ran across Astro TV channels and digital platforms to maximize reach and impact. Another version of the Marigold branded capsule
with Pinkfong and Baby Shark will be launched in November to continue the partnership initiatives.

During the ticket launch event in Pavilion and nine days of the live musical in KLCC Plenary Hall, there were booths activated by Marigold and other partners such as Carrie Junior, VKids and Photobook, added more spark to the jam-packed event.

Giving back to the community

As part of a CSR initiative driven by Astro, a total of 500 tickets were allocated to bring joy to the children from Kiwanis Club Malaysia and Ti-Ratana Welfare Society. It was a once in a lifetime experience for the kids and their parents, thus giving meaningful value to the musical.

Results

Over 15,000 fans watched the show, with 88% of VVIP and VIP tickets sold. Merchandise sales doubled during the event period with a total of 3000 pieces sold. The best-selling item was the Song Book which sold out before the event ended. It was a great campaign for Marigold as the main sponsor. Brand awareness and engagement improved significantly among their key target audience, associating Marigold UHT Milk with happy families. The contest to win musical tickets received a high response, attracting over 100 entries within two weeks, coming from various states as far as East Malaysia, Alor Setar and Johor.

Carol Goh, Brand Manager of Cotra Enterprises said, “It was a great team effort from Astro and they were committed to deliver and assist in making this campaign successful.”