CASE STUDY: Far Eastone beats difficult times in Taiwan

Aim

Far eastone (FET) wanted to rise above difficult economic times by giving people the chance to win something in exchange for their custom - and in so doing raise its profile.

Execution

The competition offered all participants the chance to win monthly fee deductions of up to US$15 via scratchcards. A lucky draw offered a top prize of $30,000 (NT1 million) in gold, along with other pirzes such as a premium handset, a games console and a digital photo frame. The promotional campaign, developed by Ogilvy, centred around a TVC depicting an officer worker who sees the world around him turn to gold upon hearing about FET's 'Golden month'. The exaggerated approach was designed to show consumers that the chance to win was within reach. OOH installations included life-sized 'man of gold'' stickers on partitions in subway carriages; buzz was driven on the street in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung by gold-clad mime artists.

Results

The initiative generated considerable interest online: it was featured in over 250 discussions and 60 unofficial blogs. Most importantly, post-campaign, FET sales grew by 150 per cent.

This article was originally published as part of the 2010 Top 1000 Brands report.