Singapore – Unlimited free deliveries, anyone? Food and grocery delivery platform, foodpanda, has launched its biggest giveaway campaign yet, shaking up Singapore’s “most boring” neighbourhood, Yew Tee, with free pandapro subscriptions and unlimited deliveries.
Dubbed a neighbourhood with “nothing to do,” foodpanda set out to challenge this misguided perception of Yew Tee by introducing a campaign that would highlight the area’s vibrant local eateries and hidden restaurant gems.
To delve deeper into this campaign, MARKETECH APAC spoke exclusively with Darryl Chua, marketing director of foodpanda Singapore, to discuss its execution, its social impact, and the strategic choice behind launching a hyperlocal marketing initiative.
Celebrating the hidden potential of local communities
As a nation of close-knit communities, foodpanda understands that Singaporeans hold strong opinions about their food and neighbourhoods. Through this campaign, foodpanda aims to celebrate Singapore’s diverse locales by shining a spotlight on lesser-known areas like Yew Tee.
Given the online labelling of Yew Tee as ‘boring’, foodpanda saw an opportunity to bring some excitement to the neighbourhood and celebrate Yew Tee in a way that only the food and grocery delivery platform can: empowering all 53,000 residents to brag about their area’s best eats with unlimited free deliveries to their doorstep.
“We’ve always been about delivering convenience and affordability to customers. Following the refresh of our pandapro subscription program, we wanted to excite our customers like never before with foodpanda’s biggest giveaway to date,” Chua shared.
In this hyperlocal campaign, foodpanda distributed door-to-door flyers to 250 homes and letterbox flyers to the rest of Yew Tee, ensuring every resident could benefit from the offer. To redeem their free month of pandapro perks, residents simply enter the unique redemption code provided on the flyers delivered to their door or letterbox.
“With this campaign, we wanted to celebrate Singapore’s unique locales by spotlighting a lesser-known area,” Chua explained. “Targeting a specific neighbourhood as opposed to executing a broader, nationwide campaign allowed us to do more in terms of activation.”
Engaging communities and creating FOMO
foodpanda’s hyperlocal campaign went beyond just delivering free subscriptions. Participants were asked to comment on foodpanda’s Instagram post with the name of their neighbourhood, gathering likes from friends and neighbours to win pandapro subscriptions for their block.
This aspect of the campaign generated remarkable engagement, with over 1,700 comments, a reach of 2 million, and the highest participation to date—amassing more than 5,900 likes and 3,000 shares.
According to Chua, they wanted to play on the allure of people wanting what they don’t have, playing into the powerful emotion of FOMO, or fear of missing out.
“By distributing free pandapro subscriptions to just one neighbourhood, we wanted to create a sense of FOMO. This allowed us to involve the rest of Singapore as part of the campaign by creating a contest in which participants could win pandapro subscriptions for their neighbourhood as well,” Chua expressed.
Chua acknowledged that they aimed for a playful tone in this campaign but emphasised that they were very mindful of its reception. “Every piece of content and phrasing was carefully crafted to ensure our celebration of Yew Tee was communicated exactly as intended,” he explained.
Building on success to deliver the next chapter
While the primary goal of the campaign was to offer value to residents, the initiative also had a broader community impact.
“Through this campaign, we wanted to make a lasting impact on our customers by providing meaningful value,” says Chua. “Good food brings joy, and as a food delivery platform, we want to enhance that joy by delivering our customers’ favourite meals at wallet-friendly prices.”
By encouraging Yew Tee residents to explore local eateries and hidden food gems, foodpanda not only boosted excitement within the community but also drove business to its merchant partners in the area. With more residents ordering from Yew Tee-based vendors, the campaign helped support the local economy while fostering a sense of community pride.
Furthermore, following the success of the Instagram contest, where a resident of Simei garnered an impressive 1,302 likes on their comment, the next pandapro giveaway was secured for their block. Simei residents will soon enjoy complimentary pandapro subscriptions, bringing the same level of excitement and engagement to yet another community.
“We started this campaign to celebrate the vast flavours that make each Singaporean neighbourhood unique. Over the past few weeks, we have seen our nation’s overwhelming pride in both their food and their community,” Chua enthused. “We hear your cravings and by popular demand, foodpanda is delivering even more shockingly good deals to our neighbours in the east: Simei.”
Simei residents can redeem a free one-month pandapro subscription from 16 to 23 September via email or geo-targeted messaging in the foodpanda app. Non-subscribers can also use the code during this period, with limited daily redemptions. The subscription offers perks like unlimited $3 off delivery, free delivery from selected restaurants, 10% off all pick-up orders, and exclusive monthly deals on restaurants, pandamart, foodpanda shops, and pandago.
“We know that Singaporeans love great deals and friendly competition. As long as we roll out these campaigns with care, I’m confident we can bring even more excitement to communities across Singapore,” Chua commented.
With such a well-received campaign under its belt, foodpanda is poised to continue driving hyperlocal engagement and creating memorable experiences for customers. Through targeted campaigns, the brand is redefining the meaning of community engagement, one delivery at a time.