"When I send money with Western Union, my parents can enjoy their retirement with the home of their dreams," reads the copy in one of the ads, showing an Indian man in Singapore and his happy parents in Chennai.
WU's proposition - speedy, convenient, wide network, established, trusted and reliable, and complying with legal laws in money transfers - takes a backseat in the campaign, which has been adapted from its global 'Uniting people with possibilities' push. Kanta Darmawan, WU regional manager for Singapore, said: "We wanted to show how we understand that a Western Union money transfer take on a significance way beyond its monetary value. It connects loved ones living apart and we feel that this new campaign portrays this well."
This is the first time that WU has chosen to focus on different expatriate communities in Singapore in its advertising. Print advertisements have run in free daily Streats and Tamil Murasu while TV ads on Channel U, Vasantham Central and radio ads on Oli and Ria Radio will be launched from this month.
Andrew Ong, WU director Southeast Asia, said: "While the needs may be the same for money transfers, each expat community has its own preferences in terms of timing and reason to send which we can use to target different ethnicities. This we feel will create a sense of relevance for the campaign among the different ethnicities."
WU, which has been operating in Singapore since 2000, is stepping up its market push. "Singapore is a very important market for WU because of the high penetration of foreign nationals making a living here. It's important to reach out to them through advertising to explain our service and benefits. Besides this, a large number of locals also send and receive money and could also take advantage of the service," said Ong.