Heart attacks come in many forms. Would the symptoms (or at least the thought that there are many varied symptoms) be more recognizable if they appeared as a brand? To that end, BFM89.9 was the first radio station to rebrand itself as the many varied symptoms of heart attacks, rotating between 12 versions of symptoms over a space of week.

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 – which were then turned into acronyms of the symptoms of heart attacks, read in the familiar style as the regular IDs.

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.

We gave these station IDs an unexpected twist. 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 three to four times every hour.

The pre-campaign survey that helped form the strategy was used to check post-campaign. Results showed a change in awareness, knowledge of symptoms and action: more heart health checkups were seen across major healthcare specialists and BFM itself gained positive reputation points.

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.

And still, BFM89.9 was a big beneficiary: Its reputation as a 'trusted, intelligent and innovative media source' was up by 23 percentage points.

We helped undo the misperception surrounding heart attacks by turning the brand itself into an innovative public service announcement – that reminded Malaysians that heart attacks can come in any form, even as BFM 89.9 station IDs.