Nando's MY mimics ministerial press conferences in latest marketing stunt

With the pandemic bringing about challenges for companies and dampening the spirits of individuals, Nando's Malaysia is focused on spreading positivity and fun with its Nando's Ministry of Happiness. This is in a bid to reward its loyal members for supporting the brand in 2020. However, the brand did not just go about announcing its latest campaign via a simple social media post.

Given that press conferences have become a commonplace in Malaysia nowadays, with the Ministry of Health, for example, holding press conferences to offer updates on the COVID-19 situation within the country,  Nando's decided to jump on this trend and have its mascot, Barci, hold its very own press conference for the Nando's Ministry of Happiness. 

During the press conference, Barci announced that diners get to have meals for the price of one to celebrate their year-end. "There's no need to think about whether consumers should go here or there, or make a u-turn to eat. Just come to Nando's," Barci said in the press conference. Besides trendjacking the press conference, Barci also threw out some phrases that Malaysian politicians have used in recent times, such as "ke sini" and "ke sana", during its press conference.

https://twitter.com/NandosMY/status/1337231977041326080

On 9 December, Nando's first released a teaser on social media, stating that the support of its loyal customers throughout 2020 has been important to its Ministry of Happiness. As part of its latest campaign, Nando's wants to belanja (treat) all members to a fulfilling year-end celebration and told consumers to stay tuned for a special treat. Fisherman was involved in the latest campaign.

https://twitter.com/NandosMY/status/1336597243818778625

Nando's Malaysia's marketing director Chai Hui Fung told A+M: "It has been a trying year for everyone and Nando's wants to reward its loyal members for supporting the brand this year. Instead of a normal social media post, we turned it into a press conference, mimicking the usual press conferences that the ministries in Malaysia usually have."

The company is known for injecting creativity and humour into its marketing campaigns. In September, it intentionally created confusion among consumers by wishing them "Happy Chinese New Year" and "Selamat Hari Raya". It later revealed that the stunt was in conjunction with its campaign to recelebrate 2020 and raise awareness about its RM10 promotion for its full platter of four. Its marketing stunt led to brands such as Shopee, myBurgerLab, GSC, MBO, EVA Airways, Xiaomi Malaysia, Marrybrown and the New Straits Times chime in on the hype too.

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