2018 was a particularly proud year for Malaysians, where the country’s ethnically diverse population united to accomplish a bloodless change in government. Malaysia Day, celebrated on September 16th, was the perfect occasion to honour this solidarity. As a bank with a long history of promoting workforce diversity, CIMB wished to use the occasion to connect its vision of social harmony with the public’s current sentiment for unity.

Instead of the usual one-way communication often seen on Malaysia Day, CIMB’s message was made by the people for the people – in the form of a one-of-a-kind symphony made with the help of every day Malaysians. Capitalizing on the people’s nationalistic pride post-election, ‘Sound of a Nation’ had a simple message: beautiful things happen when we come together.

Across the globe, National Day is an emotional occasion that resonates with the whole population. But in a country filled with multiple ethnicities, it is a huge challenge for any brand in any category to speak to all, let alone own the moment.

How can a bank, already in a challenging yet low-engagement industry, connect with the public and be able to build an integrated strategy to interact with all Malaysians?

We dug deep. And through the understanding of the gravitational points that Malaysians have in common, we uncovered their shared interest in music as well as their high internet usage.

Instead of speaking to all, we got them to speak to us instead. We urged Malaysians to be part of something bigger by sending just a photo of themselves that would in turn be composed into an original piece of music - paying tribute our diversity.

The campaign began with a microsite, where a participant can take a picture of his or her face. Facial recognition identified the person’s most prominent features. These points were laid into a musical tablature, creating the individual’s unique melodic signature. Height map determined how loud or soft the notes are played. Different parts of the country were represented by different instruments.

All the collected melodies were then placed in the hands of leading Malaysian composers, who weaved them into an original composition. On September 16, Malaysia Day, the final product was unveiled online as a unique piece of music that was created by the multicultural and diverse faces of Malaysians.

5 million views for three online films

159,692 visits to the microsite

147,136,799 impressions on Facebook and Youtube