Studio Press

Malaysia's latest local flick, Gubra embodies what DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd is all about, said head of segment marketing Yohani Yusof.

“The movie celebrates Malaysia's cultural differences, and as a local company, this is what we uphold,” she told StarBiz. Yohani said mobile communications was a lifestyle and that the company associated lifestyle with a product when it embarked on sponsorship.

DiGi, the main sponsor of Gubra, views the cinema as a channel to showcase the company's overall values and services. Yohani said consumers had become more demanding, hence it was essential for the company to market itself in a relevant way.

She said DiGi had sponsored three to four movies in the past and that each project would take up to eight months to prepare.

Yohani Yusof

“We have to ensure that whatever we associate our brand with is going to appeal to the masses,” she said, adding that it was essential for the marketing team to “keep their ears to the ground” for popular events that DiGi could associate itself with.

Although Gubra is said to appeal to the Malay community, Yohani believes the movie will catch the attention of all Malaysians because of its urban centric content.

She said the company had allocated 11,000 free tickets to be given out randomly to subscribers based on their tenure with the company.

However, Yohani declined to reveal how much the sponsorship was worth, but said the movie was expected to boost sales and make the company “more attractive'' to consumers.

“The challenge for us is to become even more creative in reaching out to consumers,” she added.

As at the first quarter, the company had a customer base of 4.8 million subscribers. -thestar