Blue Fin Restaurant. A campaign for a local restaurant in Singapore used a very simple idea, gently taking the mickey out of the all-too-common slimming ads with their outrageous claims and turning the concept around nicely. The objective was to target previous customers and have them back for a new experience on a Sunday lunchtime. The 60 per cent attendance rate achieved says a lot, but how many customers can an establishment like this one actually have? (Assuming they could and actually did read the tiny type!) This won Best Use of Channel, Direct Mail (flat mail).
Discovery Channel. 'See what you are missing' is an excellent multimedia approach, personalising future communications based on preferences offered via the web profiling of the viewers themselves. Not a new communications strategy for a TV station,however; I remember Sky in the UK running a lot of football and movie stuff on the 'don't miss what you're into' platform, but this was a bold, well-executed campaign with a genuine intention for permission-based marketing in the future, relevant to the data collected.
Not enough of this kind of thing is done these days. Deservedly won Best Of Show Strategy.
China Mobile. 'Be Yourself @ M-Zone' was a really outstanding web acquisition campaign. The results were stunning: I know China's a big place, but still - 8.7 million visitors, 2.3 million unique viewers, 34,000 newly-registered visitors contributing 33,000 articles in the first month ... M-Zone is a community website targeted at younger mobile telephone users in China.
The objective was, as the results suggest, to attract and sign up new younger users, and to have them contribute actively to their own site.
It's hard through these still visuals to convey the action, but what happens is a great mix of intrinsically Chinese culture - morning tai chi exercises, a good bit of cheek (they actually kick your mouse off the screen) and a kind of back-to-the-early-'90s 'boys room' and 'girls room' personalised home page designs and functions. You have got to go to www.m-zone.com.on and check it out. This won the Best of Show overall.
Salt and Light Ventures. The nightmare brief - the client calls and says, "I've got a really important honcho in from HQ; we're having an event in two weeks at which he's speaking. We need a campaign to get maximum attendance - and if it doesn't work, it's your fault ..." 'Straight Jacket' used an acquisition tactic that is simply a great idea, with the past-future 'if only I had' old saw. I'm hoping that a few people who didn't make DM Asia are feeling this way! This won Best of Show Creative, and did apparently save everyone's skins, as well as tie them up for a while.
BLUE FIN RESTAURANT
Project: Sunday Seafood Brunch
Client: Blue Fin Restaurant
Brief: Promote the establishment's Sunday brunch buffet
Agency: Precious Singapore
Creative director: Nick Gordon
Copywriter: Nick Gordon
Art director: Kirsten Ackland
Account management: P. Jinapan, Linda Hu
DISCOVERY CHANNEL
Project: See What You Are Missing
Client: Discovery Channel
Brief: Promote the channel's programme line-up, as well as build the
base for targeted permission marketing
Agency: OgilvyOne Singapore
Creative director: Peter Moss
Copywriters: Peter Moss, Justine Lee
Art director: Andrew Phang
Account management: Martin Dorsett, Geraldine Tay
CHINA MOBILE
Project: Be Yourself @ M-Zone
Client: China Mobile
Brief: Acquire new, younger subscribers via web campaign
Agency: OgilvyOne Beijing
Creative director: Dirk Eschenbacher
Copywriter: Ivy Zhong
Art director: Yang Yanyan
Account management: Angel Chen, Cicy Chiu
Producers: Liu Xin, Hua Huo
SALT AND LIGHT VENTURES
Project: Straight Jacket
Client: Salt and Light Ventures
Brief: Promote a speaker event
Agency: BCD Pinpoint Philippines
Creative director: Mia Silva
Copywriters: Dickie Soriano, Cristina Sanchez
Art director: Wowie Villaflor
Account management: Wine Chua
Producer: Edmar Villaflor
Interested in having your campaigns reviewed? Send submissions to Alfred Hille in the form of trims, transparencies or video printouts for TVCs plus the TVC itself, and proofs for print ads and posters.
Please send all material to Media, 2201, 22/F The Centrium, 60 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong.