Tag: SG

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – How many times have you wished to get your favorite celebrities for a personal message? Probably too many, and probably one that remains unfulfilled. 

Regional event hiring platform Effro has just launched a new service arm Gueststar, which allows costumers to commission a media personality to produce unique video content for personal use. 

The company behind the new platform, Effro, provides a talent and services database, which helps event organizers easily find needed talents and services, such as emcees, performers, videographers, and appropriate venues, among others. With its new and one-of-a-kind service, consumers need not grapple to accomplish an often ‘special’ gift for special occasions – a personal video from a favorite celebrity. 

From birthday messages to wedding proposals, and from jokes to pep talk, costumers are able to engage their favorite local stars in Malaysia and Singapore.

Gueststar is a unique platform that aims to bring your favorite stars closer to you. Through digital means, time and space are no longer deterrents in creating a beautiful experience for your loved ones. With Gueststar, the distance between you and your favorite stars is brought closer

Adam Tan, Founder, Gueststar

Through the Gueststar platform, costumers can submit a request to the star of their choice and include pointers for the video’s content. Within 7 days of a submitted request, which is subject to approval, a video ranging from 20 seconds to 2 minutes will be produced and delivered.

On its celebrity roster, 50 stars are available on request. Singapore stars include Allan Wu, Andie Chen, Gurmit Singh, and Jason Godfrey among others; while for Malaysia stars, Gueststar has Adeline Tsen, Aishah, Atilia Haron, and Dina Nadzir, among others.

Clients can also request for special characters such as Batman and Cinderella, impersonators for Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift, and also magician Andrew Lee, who is a past finalist on Asia’s Got Talent and Britain Got Talent.

The costs of engagement range from RM30 to RM3500. While videos are produced mainly in English, users can request for other languages such as Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin. 

Gueststar is now available for customers.

 

Singapore – Singapore dog food brand Furry’s Kitchen’s main value proposition is high quality, fresh, and human-grade dog food, and in its latest marketing stunt, it went out of its way to prove just that. 

In collaboration with creative agency Ogilvy, Furry’s Kitchen enlisted the culinary prowess of celebrity chef Justin Quek to conceptualize a 3-course degustation meal using none other than Furry’s Kitchen’s products, to be put to the ultimate taste and quality test with some of Singapore’s top food influencers. 

The results were just as Furry’s Kitchen expected – not knowing it was dog food, all of the invited influencers loved the dishes and gave their own favorable comments.

Food influencer Sihan Lee described the food as “velvety” in texture and even likened the experience to that of her grandma’s cooking. 

Another food blogger Alain, who goes by the social media name “Alainlicious,” although could not make out the ingredients, commented the food to have “a lot of surprises and a lot of layers.” 

Founder of Furry’s Kitchen Stephen Chua said, “This experiment challenges the perception that food for dogs tastes unpleasant and is made with undiscernible ingredients and preservatives unfit for human consumption.”

Furry’s Kitchen prides itself on delivering dog food that is without preservatives and additives where ingredients are said to be sourced from the same suppliers of restaurants in Singapore. 

Chua added, “Just like how we love to indulge in a delicious meal and feed ourselves and our loved ones with only the best ingredients possible, our furry friends deserve the same and can enjoy the same quality and freshness in their diet.”

Explaining further the experiment, Chef Quek said, “As with any social experiment, we had to keep certain variables under wraps to ensure the most unbiased results. We wanted to know if by removing the negative perception of dog food, we would discover that human-grade food made for dogs could taste both delicious and nutritious too.

“The dishes the food influencers enjoyed have all been taste-tested and quality-checked by me personally. You have my word that I only serve my guests food that I believe in, and food that meets my standards,” he added.

Furry’s Kitchen assured in a press release that participants of the experiment were informed thereafter, where participants understood that ingredients were sourced from the same Singapore Food Agency (SFA)-certified suppliers used by Singaporean restaurants.

Singapore – Singtel launched its annual festive tribute today, an uplifting short film depicting the staunch determination of seniors who refuse to let COVID-19 upend their lives.

Titled “Seniors go digital too!”, the film tells the stories of three seniors as they head back to “school” to pick up digital skills to help them stay connected and overcome the social distancing brought on by the pandemic.

The weekly attendance of seniors aunty Lilian, aunty Shirley, and uncle Andrew at Singtel’s digital clinics under its Digital Silvers program are documented in the film. Through Singtel staff volunteers, the seniors learn the use of smart devices, to surf the internet, stay in touch with loved ones online, and make cashless payments. 

Held at Senior Activity Centres (SACs) across the country, the Digital Silvers initiative is designed to foster digital inclusion and help ease the sense of isolation that the elderly have experienced as COVID curtailed peoples’ ability to socialize. 

It’s been a tough year for everyone, but the elderly are one of the more vulnerable groups affected by the pandemic. While most of us can easily access the plethora of online channels and apps for communication and entertainment, the older generation may not have the requisite digital skills to do so. This is what we’re trying to address through our digitalization initiative

Lian Pek, Vice President of Group Strategic Communications and Brand, Singtel

In the film, viewers see the conclusion of the seniors’ digital boot camp, with all of them finding a new sense of confidence and purpose: Aunty Lilian learns how to further her singing hobby and learn songs with the aid of apps on her device; Uncle Andrew learns how to use Zoom to stay in touch with friends and family, and Aunty Shirley becomes a “messaging expert”, connecting with her children as well as learning to use the contact tracing app TraceTogether.

Singtel shared that moving forward, the Digital Silvers program will see S$1M worth of assistance go towards transforming SACs into digital hubs to help more than 10,000 seniors build confidence in using digital devices and platforms. This involves tech upgrades including Wi-Fi connections, Singtel TV content, and tablets to facilitate virtual engagement as well as digital clinics and one-to-one tutorials run by Singtel staff volunteers. 

In addition, Singtel has also set aside priority queues for seniors at stores and hotlines so that they can be given digital guidance and served more expediently. 

Commenting on the program, Jeannie Ho, head of social enterprise NTUC Health’s senior cluster network said, “We’re very heartened to see many seniors from our Senior Activity Centres excitedly pick up new skills in the past month, as they realize that going digital is not as difficult as they imagined. This program and the digital workshops by Singtel have greatly empowered seniors to become so much more comfortable with using technology, enabling them to remain connected with their friends and loved ones amid the pandemic and especially during the festive season.”

Lian Pek added, “Even before COVID-19 and the pivot to online channels and tools, digitalization was already happening at breakneck pace, and for the elderly left on the wrong side of the digital divide, this can be very overwhelming. We believe that seniors can benefit from the digital revolution and that the process of picking up tech-related skills, no matter how basic, can also go a long way in helping their active aging.”

The short film is the final film in Singtel’s year-long brand campaign encouraging Singaporeans to keep their spirits up in the current climate through the feature of the lives of ordinary folks. This includes “This Is The Year”, Singtel’s annual National Day film which paid tribute to the Majulah spirit, and “Keeping The Spirit Of Hari Raya Alive” which documented how the Malay Community kept the spirit of Ramadan alive during the circuit breaker period.

The six-minute film will air on Singtel TV and on various social media channels from 3 to 25 December 2020.

Singapore – As if the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) hasn’t made clear its strong intention to revive tourism, here comes a new initiative which seeks to provide a space for catalytic dialogue on tourism, not just to bring back to shape the country’s but the world’s as well.

Called SingapoReimagine, the platform aims to spark conversations, stories, and ideas to collectively shape the future of the country’s sector. The initiative will be kicked off by “Reimagine Travel – Global Conversations,” a series of forums on reactivating global travel. 

For a start, STB will be sharing its learnings on how the public and private sectors have come together to create new possibilities for the country’s visitors. As part of the forums, global partners will be invited to share knowledge and exchange ideas, with the first one in Singapore next year, before being hosted in other parts of the world.

Closer to home, STB will also roll out “Reimagine Travel in Singapore,” a series of engagements with passionate members of the local community and tourism partners to co-create ideas and spur the renewal of Singapore tourism. This complements the SingapoRediscovers domestic campaign, which encourages locals to rediscover and reconnect with Singapore’s hidden gems and experiences. Both of the forums will be launched in 2021. 

COVID-19 is the biggest crisis we have ever faced in travel and tourism. But it also offers us an opportunity to reset and revive our industries in ways that we never imagined were possible a year ago. The journey to reimagine travel has already started in Singapore, and we want to continue this journey with those whose voices matter – our community in Singapore, and our partners here and around the world. We look forward to co-creating ideas and strategies with all of them, to make travel better.

Keith Tan, chief executive at STB

STB said SingapoReimagine will also about creating a new standard for travel. The initiative will be rolling out the following sub-initiatives:

Reimagine Safety – STB has been working closely with industry partners to elevate health and safety measures based on new national standards so that future visitors can enjoy the city’s refreshed experiences with added peace of mind. Such initiatives include the SG Clean Quality mark, which requires tourism establishments to adhere to stringent levels of hygiene and sanitization as well as Safe Management Measures (SMMs).

Reimagine Technology – Technology will be the heart of these efforts. From the use of contactless technology and cleaning robots, to the contact tracing app TraceTogether and token, the world’s first national digital contact tracing tool, Singapore aims to make travel safer, yet seamless and efficient. Virtual experiences, hybrid meeting venues and events, and even robot baristas are now offered, enabling new ways to delight visitors without compromising on safety.

Reimagine City & Nature – Looking further ahead, Singapore aims to be the world’s most sustainable urban destination. That is why the country is investing in new products and pilots that take into account the needs of the community and the environment, such as the ambition to transform Singapore into a “City In Nature” over the next decade, developing the Jurong Lake District Tourism Development to be a world-class lifestyle destination, and reimagining the Mandai Precinct as a world-class eco-themed nature cluster, with the introduction of new wildlife attractions as well as eco-friendly accommodation offerings 

The SingapoReimagine initiative will also be used as a platform for stories. As travel gradually resumes, the story of these new experiences – for both leisure and MICE – will be told through SingapoReimagine. STB will be working with international and in-market media key influencers as well as content and trade partners to engage audiences in key markets to drive the anticipation for travel in Singapore.

The move is with the aim of further marketing Singapore as a safe MICE destination, in order to rebuild short to mid-term consideration of Singapore among MICE event planners.

Singapore – In a bid to help stem the rising tide of scams, Singapore telecom giant Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) has released a campaign series to educate Singaporeans on identifying scams. 

Titled “Jaga your data!” where “jaga” is a Malay verb and a Singaporean slang for “to guard,” the campaign uses elements of situational comedy such as a comic storyline, theatrical portrayal, and bright settings to pique interest in a rather technical and serious matter.

It comprises a series of short films, each playing out a telco-related ruse that has snared many an unsuspecting victim, driving home the message that everyone needs to do their part and stay watchful to avoid falling prey to scams. 

Scammers are casting their net wider than before, where in Singtel, customers have flagged double the number of instances of telco-related scam calls in the year to date compared to the same period last year. 

In a common variant known as “tech support” scams, featured in one of the films called “This is tech support calling,” a fraudster masquerades as Singtel’s technical support, convincing the victim that her IP address has been hacked. 

Fooled by the urgency of the scammer, the victim downloads software that enables remote control of the desktop to solve the problem, and unwittingly hands over internet banking one-time passwords (OTP) when asked. The scammers then make off with the victim’s money.  

It’s unfortunate that on-going scams using the Singtel name or that of other companies have been so pervasive and that many people have become the targets of tricksters impersonating our technicians and customer service officers

Lian Pek, vice president of Group Strategic Communications and Brand at Singtel.

Pek added, “By serving up anti-scam advice and lessons with a dash of humor with the aim of making the messages stick, we hope to foil some of these scammers’ efforts by encouraging Singaporeans to stay vigilant to protect themselves and their families.”

Featuring local actors Pamela Oei and Shane Mardjuki who take on different personalities of varying ages in each scam scenario, the films are designed to engage viewers of all generations and demonstrate how anyone, regardless of age or gender, is vulnerable. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xu6bY_qfaw

Pek said the current campaign builds on the company’s ongoing efforts to mitigate scams such as issuing regular scam advisories and implementing a proprietary fraud management system that uses analytics to block scam calls.

Since April this year, the company has also worked with the government to add a “+” prefix to international incoming calls spoofed to look like local numbers, making scam calls easier to identify.

Gerald Singham, the chairman of National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), commented, “To prevent these crimes, public awareness is the first line of defense, and I’m heartened that Singtel has taken the initiative to support NCPC in our fight against scams by educating people with these light-hearted but effective videos.”

Conceptualized by Singtel’s brand team and produced in collaboration with Akanga Films, the campaign will run from 20 November to 17 December 2020. 

The first two films in the series have already been released on the telco’s pay television service Singtel TV and its various social media channels, while the third one is slated for 25 November. 

Singapore – Food and beverage company Ebb & Flow has launched Sunny Slices, the country’s first full-on vegetable pizza joint to a growing response of vegetarians in the country.

The pizza joint will be offering six flavors, namely:

  • Homestead Harvest (broccoli, butternut squash, green capsicum, Spanish onions, oyster mushrooms topped with toasted cashews on a tomato base) 
  • Katzoo (vegan chicken Katsu on a homemade vegan Bulldog sauce base, topped with shredded purple cabbage, vegan kewpie mayo, nori, and sesame seeds) 
  • Mushroom & Pesto (three different kinds of mushrooms, pesto and topped with baby spinach)
  • Peking Jackfruit (charred young jackfruit, cucumber, and spring onions on a homemade hoisin sauce base)
  • Seafood Laksa (“Prawns” and “Squid” made from Konjac, laksa leaves and topped with fried shallots)
  • Meatless Lovers (Omni Pork ™ and Impossible Meat ™ accompanied by onions and black olives on a spicy tomato base, topped with garlic oil and fresh basil)

Feline Gondokusomo, chief strategy officer of Ebb & Flow Group said, “It was clear to us that there was a gap in the market for consumers who enjoy fast food but with plant-based options. People have a misconception that vegan food has to be plain and healthy but we want to show that it can be fun and delicious.” 

The pizza joint will be spearheaded by head chefs Addis Tan and Dylan Choong. Tan is head chef of Love Handle Burgers and 8ASH and Choong is previously with Cheek by Jowl and Tippling Club. 

“We decided on plant-based pizza because it’s close to our ethos – it’s fun, approachable, convenient, and challenging. And the best part about Sunny Slices is that after indulging in our pizzas, you will still feel good about yourself,” said Tan.

Sunny Slices is available on sunnyslices.com for islandwide delivery or via Foodpanda, Deliveroo, or Grab Food within the Orchard area.