Tag: The Secret Little Agency

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.”

Singapore – In its continued quest to honour the rich and diverse food hawker culture in Singapore, DBS has relaunched its ‘DBS PayLah! Hawker Awards’, which aims to encourage Singaporeans to support their hawkers in this challenging time, by reminding them of all the love that hawkers show us—from verbal affirmations (hello sayang) to actual physical gifts (of extra rice and curry).

The campaign, done alongside The Secret Little Agency (TSLA), the focus of the awards will not be on the food but instead the people behind the delicious hawker fare we enjoy. While most food hawkers would rather not raise prices or reduce their portions, the realities of rising inflation, rental costs and an increasingly volatile market, leave them with little choice, with them being sandwiched between higher cost and unhappy customers. 

Speaking about the campaign, Lim Bee Bee, executive director and head of marketing for consumer banking group at DBS Singapore, said that the hawker culture has been an intrinsic part of the way of life for Singaporeans and Singapore residents, whether in good and tough times. For them, the dedication that our hawkers put in their food have brought people together.

“We thought there is no better way for everyone to bond and share our love for food than through this public voting in the Hawker Awards, which is already in its third-year running. At the same time, we can also spotlight the many hidden gems and interesting hawkers of all ages and backgrounds in our community to show how the hawker trade has evolved with the times to cater to the tastes of different generations of Singaporeans,” she said.

Bee Bee also added, “At DBS, we have been championing and celebrating our hawker culture. Through our 5 Million Hawker Meals subsidy programme and Adopt-a-Hawker Centre initiative, we really hope to get everyone to go to our hawker centres and keep our hawker centres bustling.”

In order to get this message across and reach the hearts of Singaporeans, the campaign ‘Hawker Nation’ hijacks the media landscape of August 2023, giving hawkers the ‘Presidential’ treatment they deserve. 

This is followed by out-of-home buys, which feature past winners paired with statements reflective of relatable everyday experiences and interactions with the hawkers. 

A spokesperson for The Secret Little Agency said, “We decided on this unorthodox strategy in order to really capture the attention of the public. Our hawkers serve us – quite literally – and they’ve represented Singapore on the world stage. They may not qualify to run for office, but they are every bit as important as the people who do. Because let’s be real – our nation would fall apart in no time without their hawker fare. Our hawkers rally Singaporeans from all walks of life, so we created a very different kind of election to ensure DBS’s place at the forefront of this cultural conversation.”

They added, “Marketing metrics aside, the real intangible measure of success would be for Singaporeans to recognise and sayang (show love in Malay) their hawkers. It’s no easy task being a hawker in this climate, and they deserve to be celebrated just as much as we need that warming fish soup on a cold rainy day.”

Singapore – Singapore’s Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) has launched its ‘You Already Care’ campaign, which aims to revamp community care roles to meet demands of mature workers and ITE students who found renewed motivation in pursuing meaningful, impactful work.

Developed in partnership with The Secret Little Agency, AIC launched its campaign with the goal of shedding light on the one universal requirement which a career in community care needs.

You Already Care was created with the aim of demystifying misconceptions surrounding community care jobs, reiterating to Singaporeans the simple truth behind the qualifications necessary to work in community care – you simply just need to care.

Commenting on the campaign, Eva Lim Sng, director, integrated communications and marketing department at Singapore’s Agency for Integrated Care, said, “We understood that for many, a career in community care can appear daunting. We knew that it was necessary that we break down the barriers and preconceived notions people had about such careers. Care is already inside all of us; we hope through this campaign, more and more people heed the call and feel inspired to build fulfilling careers in community care together with us.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from The Secret Little Agency commented, “Our campaign was inspired by the everyday acts of care we observed in our daily lives – from giving up your seats in the MRT, to friendly chats with strangers – these very human habits and quirks were our proof of the skills that everyone had in them to join a career in care.”  

“We always joke that a campaign has truly made its mark when it starts circulating like wildfire in the WhatsApp groups of our older generation. The fact that in just a couple of weeks we’ve found it making the rounds, was enough validation that the campaign has captured the hearts and attention of future community care professionals,” he added.

The campaign will run till September 2023, with placements all over the country; from out-of-home placements at bus stops, train stations, kopitiams, to digital and social, and even radio commercials.

Singapore – After a highly competitive pitch spanning 6 months, Star Alliance has appointed The Secret Little Agency as its global creative agency of record.

The Secret Little Agency’s remit includes global brand and marketing strategy and communications development including brand and product campaigns. TSLA is the first APAC-based agency to be appointed as global AOR for Star Alliance.

Founded in 1997, Star Alliance is the world’s first and largest airline alliance, with 26 member airlines including many of the world’s top aviation companies like Air China, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, amongst others.

Sidharth Grover, director of communications and marketing at Star Alliance, said, “We’re happy to collaborate with the highly dynamic The Secret Little Agency, which captured our attention with their strategic and creative talent. This partnership marks a step forward reflecting our commitment to impactful brand building, and we eagerly look forward to the creative ventures that lie ahead.”

Meanwhile, Eunice Tan, group CEO at The Secret Little Agency, commented, “We are thrilled to be given this opportunity to take the Star Alliance brand to new heights, and incredibly humbled by the trust placed in us – it’s amazing when we meet clients that mirror our drive and determination to create great work. We’re confident of the excellence we will unlock together in this new creative partnership.”

Singapore – To commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary, FairPrice Group has penned down a love letter that honours the country’s frontliners, and how the company played a key role in securing the nation’s food supply through thick and thin in the midst of a pandemic.

The love letter, running under the company’s ‘Always, FairPrice’ campaign, was conceptualised by The Secret Little Agency (TSLA). The  love letter, which ran across all four languages of Singapore Press Holding’s main vernacular dailies, promises to safeguard its customers’ way of life in Singapore.

Alvin Neo, chief customer and marketing officer at FairPrice Group said that the campaign was developed at a time where Singapore is facing its highest rate of inflation in 14 years.

“Our love letter to all in Singapore aims to assure customers that through economic highs and lows, good times and tough ones; FPG will remain focused on moderating the cost of living by setting the benchmark for prices of daily staples, so as to keep food and essentials within reach and readily available. The word ‘always’ in ‘Always, FairPrice’ represents that long term commitment,” he added.

With its 50th anniversary celebrations, the public can also look forward to the launch of a nationwide ‘behind-the-scenes’ video quiz series which features real life stories of frontliners working around the clock to deliver daily essentials to all in Singapore.

Moreover, the brand campaign’s creative direction also features re-created miniatures of FairPrice Group employees visually representing every little effort that the FairPrice takes to ensure that it stays true to the promise of safeguarding the way of life, where essential products such as eggs take centre stage.

Singapore – Marriott Bonvoy, a travel programme and marketplace under Marriott International, has launched its new campaign to celebrate the return of travel in APAC. Titled ‘Here’, the campaign builds on Marriott Bonvoy‘s global tagline ‘Where Can We Take You’, with ‘Here’ as an expression for revelling the authentic, relatable little moments missed by travellers.

Created in collaboration with Singapore-based creative company, The Secret Little Agency, the films were shot across Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan. and New Zealand. The films celebrate the power of travel with moments that everyone can relate to, from trips with best friends to family vacations. The idea also extends to the key visuals, from wading through the muddy but scenic green rice terraces in Bali, to getting unexpectedly caught in the lively celebration of Holi in India.

Bart Buiring, Marriott International’s chief sales and marketing officer for APAC, shared that while travelling can be about fabulous bucket-list destinations and dining in world-class restaurants or local food at hawker stalls; they recognise that there are likely also unexpected, spontaneous, and perhaps some less-than-perfect but memorable moments.

“With our new Marriott Bonvoy campaign, we hope to inspire travellers to embark on their next Asian journey and thoroughly enjoy the return of travel. We want to remind them that the joy of travel is as much about unscripted and authentic moments as the picture-perfect ones. It’s all these little moments that make big memories and leave you craving for your next adventure,” said Buiring.

The campaign is available in both digital and out-of-home media across APAC. The film and visuals will also be prominently featured across several locations including at Seoul’s Gimpo Airport, Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya Metro Station, and Melbourne’s Central Station. Moreover, it will appear on select inflight entertainment and across digital and social channels.

Travellers are also invited to join the conversation and connect with one another by using #TravelMakesUs to share their travel moments on Instagram and TikTok.