Can a faith-based festival bring the Singaporeans together? MUIS marked its 50 anniversary with a community festival that aims to leave visitors of different ages, lifestyles, and faiths a deeper understanding of the Muslim culture. The event appreciates and celebrates the partnership between MUIS and the public. However, it also had to appeal to the public and youths who would come in for a dash of weekend fun. Can these two goals co-exist? MUIS realised that the festival had to be articulated in ways that pique the interest of Singaporeans, regardless of race or creed.
Positioning the festival as an event that had something for everyone, we opted for familiarity with the event name derived from the word Salam, a universal greeting that embodied the spirit of conviviality inherent in Islam. We decided that storytelling was the way to galvanise the public to act and make their way down to the festival.
An interactive journey was built on the pillars of a Muslim’s life from Islamic education, eating food the Halal way to the Mecca experience. The content was repackaged for a smartphone savvy audience with augmented reality experiences that brought the colourful and rich stories to life! Visitors were compelled to stop by every booth and fill up their event passports. We also launched an integrated marketing campaign to promote the event across multiple platforms and channels, from digital billboard posters to an interactive event website, web banners, EDM and full-page newspaper ads.
The three-day event was the first faith-based inclusive festival of this scale to be organised in Singapore. It welcomed over 12,000 visitors and received great reviews from Muslims who were instilled with a sense of pride and from the public who uncovered new insights into the everyday lives of their Muslim neighbours.
