Tag: Singapore

Singapore – Unilever’s skin care brand POND’S Skin Institute has partnered with advertising and PR agency Ogilvy Singapore for its new product launch campaign to unveil its elevated brand world.

Pond’s new campaign with Ogilvy aims to revive the brand and breathe new life into it while finding ways to connect science with women around the world.

The skincare brand will undergo a complete redesign of its visual identity and brand essence. It will also onboard K-pop star Tzuyu from Twice as its new global ambassador. She will be instrumental in the brand’s reinvention as it invites women to discover how the science of Pond’s Skin Institute can make miracles happen for their skin.

With the tagline ‘Miracles Happen’, the campaign is set to unveil the transformative power of groundbreaking science and what it would mean for millions of Southeast Asian women.

The new campaign comes as POND’S announces the launch of its newest bright miracle product range, which features new formulations and the Nobel Prize-winning science of autophagy to boost skin’s ability to self-repair and achieve ultimate clarity and radiance.

This brand revamp and new campaign will commence in Indonesia and will cascade throughout Southeast Asia and the rest of the world into 2024 through a series of captivating videos, inspiring social media content, and arresting in-store designs.

Aanchal Sethi, global managing partner at Ogilvy Singapore and Unilever, said, “We tapped into the insight that despite their relentless pursuit, 9 out of 10 women struggle to bridge the gap to their desired skin. They believe it would take a miracle to achieve this skin. Today, we have the science to bridge this gap; the science to make miracles happen.”

Speaking on the campaign, Vandana Suri, global brand lead at POND’S Skin Institute, also shared, “At this pivotal moment for Pond’s Skin Institute, we are excited to showcase our longstanding heritage of skincare innovation while introducing the world to our unparalleled new Bright Miracle product range.”

“As we integrate the best of science and beauty, we couldn’t be more thrilled for our partnership with Tzuyu to invite people everywhere to experience the brand. From her unrelenting ambition, diverse talent, and unique craft to her warm personality and inspiring outlook on beauty, she is truly an icon who makes miracles happen,” she added.

Singapore – Despite repeated outage and service disruption experienced by customers of DBS, the Singaporean multinational bank has its brand health register much higher than of rival banks in the region, according to a recent report from YouGov.

Latest data from YouGov BrandIndex shows that Buzz scores for DBS, which measures whether consumers have heard more positive or negative things about a brand in the past two weeks, plunged 18 points after the recent outage, from 23.8 on October 14 to 5.8 by October 16.

However, DBS’ net scores for Impression, which track the general impression consumers have towards a brand; and Satisfaction, which track whether a brand’s customers are mostly satisfied or dissatisfied with it, did not see a drastic slump.

Consumer impression of DBS – which had grown significantly from 36.4 on September 23 to 51.3 on October 14 – saw a clear drop immediately after the recent outage. But by October 23, it returned to largely similar levels as a month ago.

Notably, there was likewise no significant decline in the percentage of consumers who would consider banking with DBS, over the week following the outage. DBS’ Consideration scores (which track the percentage of Singapore residents who would consider engaging the brand when they are next in the market for financial services) dipped just 2.8 points from 40.1 on October 14 to 37.3 by October 23.

Lastly, DBS’ Index score, referring to an overall measure of brand health calculated as an average of Impression, Quality, Value, Reputation, Satisfaction, Recommendation scores) of 35.8 on October 23 remains markedly higher than its major local rivals OCBC (18.5) and UOB (20.1), as well as digital competitor Trust Bank (20.5), which is backed by Singapore’s sole national trade union centre.

Singapore – Multinational home furnishing retailer IKEA has named independent creative agency The Secret Little Agency as its new lead creative agency of record.

The agency’s remit includes all integrated campaigns, marketing strategy, product campaigns, digital and social communications development, and more.

This win is an expansion of IKEA’s growing relationship with The Secret Little Agency and Mother globally. It is worth noting that Mother London is also leading creative duties for IKEA United Kingdom and Ireland, and both agencies are under a joint venture to expand their services in Asia.

Prior to this appointment, TBWA\Singapore was taking the helm of IKEA Singapore’s creative duties.

Nicholas Ye and Mavis Neo, co-chief creative officers at The Secret Little Agency, said, “We are looking forward to stepping into a new era of inspired creativity together with IKEA. Like all creatives, we are restless to realise the creative opportunity that IKEA presents, but not without staying focused on being real strategic allies to IKEA here and wherever they need.”

Nigel Richardson, head of marketing at IKEA Southeast Asia, also shared, “After going through the competitive pitch and creative response process, The Secret Little Agency demonstrated strong strategic thinking, a solid knowledge of the IKEA brand, the IKEA tone of voice, and were a great values and culture fit. Their mindset of being a creative company that solves problems in surprising and entertaining ways sits very well with IKEA, a vision-driven home furnishing retailer.”

KFC Singapore spices up SGAG office in flavour-packed campaign to bring back a fan-fave menu 

Singapore – Global fast-food chain KFC has partnered with Havas Media and media company SGAG for its latest campaign that announces the return of a well-loved KFC menu.

The fun campaign featured a secret operation orchestrated by KFC, Havas Media, and select SGAG members in the SGAG office. The special surprise is to announce the return of KFC’s fan favourite, ‘Cheesy Zinger Meltz’.

For the grand reveal, SGAG cast members Sean and Amy enter the office holding a Cheesy Zinger Meltz and are accompanied by KFC balloons and party hats, turning the office atmosphere into a full party.

Other cast members, including Xiaoming, Nancy, and Syakeel, also joined in on the fun. And for every game or challenge won, the members can have as many of the Cheesy Zinger Meltz as they want.

The launch party was captured on reel and shared on SGAG’s TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook with supplementary meme posts. It was also shared on the members’ Instagram stories to extend and amplify the viewers excitement for the comeback of KFC’s Cheesy Zinger Meltz.

Together with the comeback of the fans’ well-loved menu product, the fast-food chain will also be launching the newest addition to the menu, a limited-time ‘KFC Cajun Wedges’.

Kelvin Goh, media director at Havas Media Group Singapore, said, “The exclusive and carefully orchestrated launch party at SGAG’s office was a unique activation that does justice to an eagerly anticipated re-launch. Not only were we able to showcase the joyful reaction that KFC’s Cheesy Zinger Meltz brings, but the surprise activation also served a strong role in breaking the news on social platforms.” 

Speaking on the campaign, Sheryl Thong, Director of Business Development at HEPMIL Singapore, also shared, “SGAG teamed up with KFC to bring the cheesy excitement right to our office! We’ve turned our office into a tasty haven with the delicious smell of KFC. Our team enjoyed fun challenges and got to taste the new KFC Cheesy Zinger Meltz before it’s available in stores. Working with KFC and the Havas Media team has been an amazing experience, and we’re excited to bring the latest zinger delight to our audiences!”

Singapore – Unified customer experience management platform Sprinklr has announced the integration of TikTok Video Shopping Ads directly into the Sprinklr platform. This enables international brands to optimise ad performance and create a variety of TikTok Video Shopping Ads kinds. 

These advertisements can target and captivate both new and returning audiences, allowing brands to boost engagement, increase TikTok sales, and maximise their return on ad investment.

Any activity that a user or customer performs on their website or app can be recorded using data connections. With more knowledge of the shopper’s user journey, which includes holiday planning, gifting, celebrating, indulging, sharing, and more, the system is able to reach users with holiday messaging and Video Shopping Ads that will resonate with them.

To maximise the benefits of data connections, brands should set up both TikTok Pixel and Events API before the start of Q4 to ensure the ad delivery in preparation for the holiday season. This not only allows for integration between the platform and the user’s systems, but it also improves TikTok Ads Manager’s ability to precisely determine the optimal timing and placement for ad delivery, increasing the potential for the conversions. 

Sprinklr signed on as TikTok’s first advertising partner in 2020, and in 2022 it grew by adding a content marketing specialty. Sprinklr has recently added video shopping ads, to be able to help marketers manage, carry out, and optimise campaigns for both organic and paid content on TikTok.

Singapore – TikTok’s premium-only music streaming service TikTok officially makes it public launch in Singapore. The service was previously only made available closed group of beta testers in the market.

To coincide with the launch in Singapore, TikTok Music has added some new music discovery features, including Party It, for personalised collaborative listening, FYP Tuning, where users can swipe right for a choice of music scenes and moods, and Tonik, a music discovery personal assistant powered by ChatGPT, which provides answers to questions TikTok Music users have about music. 

Users can ask Tonik to search for an artist, track or playlist, ask about concerts and music news, learn about the stories behind the music, and much more.

According to the platform, TikTok Music harnesses the power of music discovery on TikTok, helping users to enjoy their favourite viral tracks and artists on TikTok Music, giving them the ability to listen, download and share full tracks to their community, and to transition between TikTok and TikTok Music seamlessly.

Ole Obermann, global head of music business development at TikTok, said, “We are pleased to publicly launch TikTok Music, a new kind of service that combines the power of music discovery on TikTok with a best-in-class streaming service. TikTok Music will make it easy for people to save, download and share their favourite viral tracks from TikTok.”

He added, “We are excited about the opportunities TikTok Music presents for both music fans and artists, and the great potential it has for driving significant value to the music industry.”

The new service offers music from thousands of labels and artists, uninterrupted ad-free listening and a download function for listening offline, as well as aiming to offer a listening experience while increasing opportunities and revenue for artists and rightsholders.

Singapore – Data collaboration platform LiveRamp has announced its expanded partnership with Yahoo to scale addressability and enhance reach and interoperability within the advertising ecosystem. 

The partnership will allow publishers, marketers, and more to leverage better post-signal connectivity. Publishers using LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution (ATS) can take advantage of Yahoo ConnectID, a cookieless identity solution, to unlock additional addressable demand. 

Furthermore, brands using Yahoo DSP can achieve greater reach through Yahoo ConnectID, which benefits from RampID and the expanded scale of LiveRamp’s ATS. 

Yahoo ConnectID is powered by the direct consumer relationships of nearly 335 million authenticated users globally. It enables omnichannel addressable inventory across all of the Yahoo owned-and-operated properties and thousands of other publisher domains.

Meanwhile, RampID and LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution power the data platform’s person-based approach to identity. This enables authenticated addressability across browsers, mobile devices, and CTV at scale across hundreds of destinations. With this, clients will be able to develop deeper customer relationships, create value throughout the customer journey, and maintain control of data.

It will require minimal effort for publishers using LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution (ATS) to integrate Yahoo ConnectID and better monetize their addressable supply.

Therefore, publishers and marketers can deliver customised experiences everywhere without any additional configuration or resources for authenticated audiences at scale.

Through this partnership, publishers can also expect increased monetisation on their authenticated inventory via the Authenticated Traffic Solution, as Yahoo ConnectID will now be available as an identifier. Additionally, marketers looking for post-signal loss solutions will have an increased reach of authenticated users across publishers that have adopted RampID and/or Yahoo ConnectID via the Yahoo DSP.

Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, chief revenue officer at Yahoo, said, “We strongly believe in authenticated addressability, and this partnership enables greater reach that will endure beyond third-party signal loss. We’re making it easier for marketers and publishers to leverage these solutions and maximise results while simultaneously supporting more seamless transactions across the open Web.”

Travis Clinger, SVP for activations and addressability at LiveRamp, also commented, “Yahoo is a powerful advocate for authenticated identity, and the connectivity we’re partnering to enable across their DSP and Yahoo ConnectID will help make the post-signal world a better experience for marketers than the world of today. Marketers and publishers now have even more flexibility to engage, personalise, and measure their customer journey.”

Singapore – Tech-enabled coffee chain Flash Coffee has announced its exit from the Singaporean market, closing all of its 11 local chains.

In a statement to MARKETECH APAC, a spokesperson for Flash Coffee said that the closure of its Singaporean presence was to focus more on its more promising markets.

“To facilitate this renewed focus, we have ceased operations in Singapore today, comprising 11 stores out of our ~200 global stores. This decision wasn’t made lightly, especially as we have nothing but love for our team and our customers in Singapore,” they stated.

Moreover, despite said exit, the company said that they will remain firm in their mission to serve up coffee across Asia and likely some additional markets in the medium term, and stay committed to scaling their business sustainably in the long term.

“Most of our markets have demonstrated tremendous traction on top of a healthy foundation and show strong unit economics and future growth potential, with some of the markets nearing EBITDA break-even in the coming months already,” they added.

Flash Coffee also assured that the well-being and future of their employees remains their utmost priority. They have also extended our deepest gratitude to their dedicated customers in Singapore. 

“Your trust, love, and support for Flash Coffee have given us the opportunity to serve up millions of high-quality brews,” they concluded.

Flash Coffee recently completed its Series B financing round back in May raising US$50m in funding. Back then, the company said it is doubling down its presence in Asia-Pacific, which also includes its target markets of Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and South Korea.

Singapore – Etiqa Insurance has officially unveiled its first 3D interactive installation as part of its latest ‘With You for the Ride’ campaign that encourages Singaporeans to explore life’s uncharted possibilities.

The out-of-home (OOH) installation is strategically positioned at the Dhoby Ghaut MRT B3 transit hall (near Exit D). The installation emphasises the goal of having Singaporeans embrace life’s unexpected journeys with Etiqa as their trusted companion.

Through the new 3D interactive installation, Etiqa underscores its dedication to being ‘With You for the Ride’, adding a human touch to the concept of insurance and aiming to ignite the spirit of adventure among Singaporeans.

The installation represents just one facet of the insurance provider’s comprehensive, multi-channel campaign. Etiqa has teased months prior, on the launch of their ‘With You for the Ride’ campaign in August, that they are planning to release a series of initiatives across a 360-degree campaign mix spanning both online and offline channels.

Etiqa is also spearheading a social media contest as part of the new campaign. The insurance provider is inviting the public to join by snapping a picture of themselves having fun with the installation and posting it on social media. Winners will get one of the 100 exclusive sets of Etiqa Insurance Singapore macarons.

Previously, Etiqa released a digital film that touches on the dreams and aspirations of Singaporeans, inspiring them to embrace the excitement of unexpected journeys.

Shirley Tan, chief marketing officer at Etiqa Insurance Singapore, said, “In a world full of uncertainties, Etiqa Insurance Singapore is more than just an insurance provider; we are ‘With Singaporeans for the Ride.’ Our new out-of-home installation at Dhoby Ghaut, the first of many exciting activities under our new brand campaign, serves as an invitation to all Singaporeans to embark on a journey of possibility with Etiqa Insurance Singapore as their trusted companion. We believe that together, we can transform life’s unexpected journey into one filled with excitement, further empowered by the security of knowing we have got you covered.”

Singapore – Stellar Ace, the advertising arm of Stellar Lifestyle, has announced the launch of ‘WINK Hunt,’ an islandwide phygital game in Singapore that transforms daily commutes into exciting adventures, and encouraging fun for locals, both online and offline.

Commuters can embark on this fun journey as they ride the MRT, scanning QR codes strategically placed within MRT stations across Singapore, along the North-South Line, East-West Line, and Circle Line. At its core, WINK Hunt is about bringing joy, interactivity, and a touch of fun and lifestyle to the daily commute, encouraging everyone to embark on an exciting journey as they ride the MRT. 

The comprehensive list of prizes made possible through support of DCS Card Centre, SMRT Trains, Holland & Barrett, CUCKOO, Japan Airlines, Marigold, Maxi-Cash, OSIM, Trafalgar, Difflam, Etiqa Insurance, amongst others.

To boost their chances of winning top prizes, players can invite friends to ‘Join My Team,’ forming a team of up to four members. Additionally, participants can earn more game cards by exploring the Brand Wall within the game, engaging with brands, and taking advantage of offers such as signing up for a DCS Card at MRT stations or making purchases at partner merchants.

Jeslyn Tan, managing director of Stellar Ace, said, “Stellar Ace is bringing fun to commuters with WINK Hunt, crystallising our idea of blending physical and digital experiences. As the inaugural edition of an annual adventure, we want to establish meaningful connections between people and places. People spend a lot of time online and offline, and this game will engage them both ways, among friends and fellow commuters.”

She added, “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our sponsors, particularly DCS, who have placed their trust in us and collaborated seamlessly to bring this game to life. It’s a testament to our commitment to continually explore innovative avenues that empower advertisers to engage consumers effectively, with ‘phygital’ experiences leading the way. Stellar Ace also commemorates the golden jubilee of DCS Card Centre through WINK Hunt, marking our joint achievements in pioneering new and innovative milestones in Singapore.”

Meanwhile, Karen Low, CEO of DCS Card Centre, commented, “We are thrilled to be the Title Sponsor of the very first WINK Hunt as we celebrate DCS Card Centre’s 50th anniversary. In 1973, we pioneered cashless payments in Singapore by issuing its first credit and charge cards. Today, we celebrate the same legacy of pioneering the next payment frontiers with a renewed commitment towards delivering integrated payment experiences through innovation and digitalization.”

She added, “The WINK Hunt is a fun and interactive campaign that engages a large population of commuters, providing an excellent platform for us to celebrate our ambitions and reward our customers for their ongoing support.”