Heart attacks are Malaysia's #1 cause of death. They are not always very obvious. It can come in many forms, and no two are the same. And only immediate medical attention can help. But the problem is, most victims do not recognize the symptoms early enough to seek treatment.

The reputation of a heart attack as a dramatic, chest-clutching episode needed to be broken. And to do that, we used one of BFM89.9's most iconic brand assets – its acronym-driven station IDs.

The strategy:

Imprint the symptoms of heart attacks into their minds in the same way a person might feel the symptoms of a heart attack themselves - as something that was almost familiar, but would catch you unaware.

We didn't aim for this campaign to merely spread virally, or create general awareness – this was a very targeted effort, and it paid off.

This unexpected twist helped generate awareness of various symptoms, cause people to seek deeper knowledge from specialists, and most importantly, take action to go for a heart health checkup and to watch over friends and family members with this new knowledge.

It helped break the reputation of a heart attack as something obvious, and helped build BFM89.9's reputation as a trusted, intelligent and innovative source of media.

BFM89.9 is well-known for its iconic, acronym-driven station IDs. Here are some samples:

Bold, Factual Media. BFM89.9

Big, Front Man. BFM89.9

Be Faithful Men. BFM89.9

Listeners look out for new versions, usually released every quarter.

On the days leading up to World Heart Day, 28 September 2012, listeners heard:

"Mistaken For Heartburn MFH89.9

And a reminder: "The symptoms of a heart attack can take on many forms. No two are the same. Learn to spot the signs and save a life. See malaysianheart.org for more information. This is MFH 89.9, in support of World Heart Day."

Other versions included:

• Not Anxiety Attack NAA 89.9

• Slight Lasting Discomfort SLD 89.9

• Limp Tingly Arms LTA 89.9

• It's Not Flu? INF 89.9"

12 versions were aired as IDs, each one was followed by the same 'mis-branded' reminder. These were aired at least twice every hour.

Results showed a change in awareness, knowledge of symptoms and action:

Heart health checkups sought at major healthcare specialists increased 28%.

Outpatients requesting for blood pressure and heart rate checks was up 24 percentage points.

Awareness of a broad variety of subtle symptoms was up 41.4 percentage points on average.

BFM89.9's reputation as a 'trusted, intelligent and innovative media source' was up by 23 percentage points.

By turning the brand itself into an innovative public service announcement we reminded Malaysians that heart attacks can come in any form, even as BFM 89.9 station IDs.