Malaysia Airlines (MAS) faced two unprecedented crises within a span of less than 6 month - MH370 that disappeared on 8 March and MH17 that was shot down in the Ukraine air space on 17 July.
The Malaysian people pride themselves for their "Malaysian Hospitality" and look to the airline as a symbol of their nation's brand. Traumatized and numb from the shock of the two losses, they took to social media to express their pain and sadness, as well as send prayers to the families of those who lost their loved ones. MAS engaged with their social media ambassador to express her faith in the brand and to remind the 1.2 million followers of Yuna that MAS would get through this and keep #flyinghigh.
MAS leveraged on Yuna's influence over the Malaysian youth and previous engagements with the brand such as the first ever online album launch in Malaysia via YouTube live stream. A unique Malaysian story, Terbang, was scripted, filmed and launched during the National Independence Day. Yuna wrote a song, Langit to accompany the short film and also created a music video that served as a tribute to the all victims of the incidents.
The music video has received over 1 million views on YouTube. Music being the universal language united the global community in overcoming grief and garnered positive conversations for MAS. Malaysians were able to relate to the song in remembrance of the victims as well as look to MAS with hope.
In the face of two unprecedented crises within a span of less than 6 month - MH370 that disappeared on 8 March and MH17 that was shot down in the Ukraine air space on 17 July, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) suffered all-time low staff morale, negative consumer sentiment, and a losing trust in the brand.
The Malaysian people pride themselves for their "Malaysian Hospitality" and look to the airline as a symbol of their nation's brand. The circumstances of the two losses made them question "Why us?" Traumatized and numb from the shock, they took to social media to express their pain and sadness, as well as send prayers to the families of those who lost their loved ones. While in this inter-connected digital world, news traveled at lightning speed. Emotions, messages, prayers, news and information, even false rumours and speculations were being shared on the internet hard and fast.
While steps were taken to ensure the negative comments were drowned and false rumours refuted, the brand also engaged with their social media ambassador to express her faith in the brand to the local people to remind them that they would get through this and keep #flyinghigh.
Yuna, is one the revered local artist that the youth aspire to be, she's talentedly unique, worldly and still very much Malaysian, rooted and humble. The brand looked to leverage on her influence over the Malaysian youth and previous engagements with the brand such as the first ever online album launch in Malaysia via YouTube live stream. A unique Malaysian story, Terbang, was scripted, filmed and launched during the National Independence Day, also known as Merdeka Day in Malaysia. Yuna wrote a song, Langit to accompany the short film and also created a music video that served as a tribute to the all victims of the incidents. The Langit music video continues to garner views on YouTube.
In addition, Yuna continued to share messages from Malaysia Airlines as well as her own support for the brand to her 1.2M followers on Twitter. The music video has received over 1 million views and is also available on Spotify. Music being the universal language united the global community in overcoming grief and garnered positive conversations for the brand. Malaysians were able to relate to the song in remembrance of the victims as well as look to the brand with hope.