FOCUS: AGENCY OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2000 - MTV Youth Marketing Award - Burnett wins with SingTel 'Pod' strategy

<p>Category: MTV Youth </p><p>Marketing Award </p><p>Winner: SingTel "Pod" </p><p>Agency: Leo Burnett Singapore </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Leo Burnett Singapore has won this year's MTV Youth Marketing Award, for </p><p>a campaign created for Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>When the telecom market was liberalised in Singapore last April, the key </p><p>implication for SingTel was unprecedented competition - prior to </p><p>liberalisation, it had enjoyed a virtual monopoly. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The telco decided to target the youth market, having already established </p><p>itself solidly with the older generation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Burnett was called on to create a new telco brand for Singapore youth, </p><p>with the objective being to expand SingTel's market share through this </p><p>segment. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>SingTel would be positioned as a full-service provider with cutting-edge </p><p>products and services. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The name "Pod" was devised, connoting futuristic space, organic </p><p>sensations and new birth. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Pod logo was to be dynamic, ever-changing and a complement to the </p><p>fluid nature of the telecommunications industry. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The tagline was "Make Contact", representing the need of today's youths </p><p>to remain connected and in touch with their friends, and to express the </p><p>desire of Pod to reach out and meet these needs. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A multimedia advertising campaign was created, incorporating </p><p>above-the-line (print, TV) and below-the-line (stickers, premiums, </p><p>collaterals, email invites to the Pod launch party, postmarks on local </p><p>mail, etcetera). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Across all advertising creative, Burnett strove to consistently use new </p><p>images, models and locations. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The launch TVC was shot in Bangkok to achieve "freshness" and </p><p>mystery. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This was in tandem with objectives to keep Pod ahead of the game and </p><p>connected to its youth audience. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>An on-street survey conducted by Burnett showed that brand awareness of </p><p>Pod was high, with more than 70 per cent of respondents recalling Pod's </p><p>logo and tagline. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, ACNielsen's stochastic report showed that: </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Pod's TVC and print campaign achieved 50 per cent awareness; </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- the TVC (teaser and full spot) generated awareness of 45 per cent; </p><p>and </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Ad awareness scores were extremely favourable in the target group (75 </p><p>per cent among 15 to 19-year-olds and 62 per cent among 20 to </p><p>29-year-olds). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Most crucially, more than 80,000 new subscribers in both the mobile and </p><p>pager segments signed up for Pod, showing that Burnett had achieved the </p><p>client's objectives. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>