Archives

Objective & Challenge
/* BACKGROUND: 2021’s COVID 2.0*/ One year into pandemic, Malaysian women had adjusted skincare rituals, sought new brands, simplified routines as they WFH and traded down to hedge against an uncertain economy. Traditional channels like department store retail counters were closed. Shiseido’s competitors were outspending them eg Lancome spends were 3x-5x those of Shiseido. Ecommerce platforms offered little brand differentiation. Facing these challenges, we had to re-launch Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate. The objective: boost engagement and sales on Shiseido’s own virtual store, using martech if possible.

Insight & Strategy
/* INSIGHTS & STRATEGY: TRANSFORMING LIMITATIONS INTO DIFFERENTIATIONS */ Due to limited budgets, it was critical to find the right audience and create a differentiated proposition for our relatively expensive product. Three key data insights: Insight #1 — Malaysians flocked to online entertainment and gaming, viewing increased 5x times for casual gaming videos from March 2020. (source: Google Malaysia) Women outnumber men for casual games by 3:1. (source: YouGov) Insight #2 — Skincare searches include growing informational intent, signalling a behaviour shift towards self-discovery fuelled by the rise of ‘prejuvenation’ — preventing tell-tale signs of skin aging before they begin. (source: Google Trends) Insight #3 — Covid-19 cases soared in Q1’2021. Consumers were more pessimistic about 2021 vs 2020 (Invoke poll: Statista) /* HONING IN ON ULTIMUNE™’s PRIME PROSPECTS */ The gaming tribe had high affinity for skincare, wellness, technology and had strong passion for understanding how things work. They admire brands that innovate, embrace trends authentically and actively empower. As per insights below: · I research before buying, 65% Non-gamer Females vs. 73% of Gamer Girls (12%+ Overindex difference) · I am confident using new technology, 38% Non-gamer Females vs. 51% of Gamer Girls (34%+ Overindex difference) · I have personal interest in beauty / cosmetics, 63% Non-gamer Females vs. 72% of Gamer Girls (14%+ Overindex difference) · A brand role in consumer’s life should be: Innovative, 53% Non-gamer Females vs. 63% of Gamer Girl Tribe (19%+ Overindex difference) · A brand role in consumer’s life should be: Improve knowledge & skills, 40% Non-gamer Females vs. 51% of Gamer Girl (28%+ Overindex difference) · I tend to buy premium version of products, 13% Non-gamer Females vs. 17% of Gamer Girls (31%+ Overindex difference) Prime prospects: female 16 – 34, interested in games,.22 million in Klang Valley (GWI Q1’2020 to Q1’2021) THE STRATEGY: /* LIFTING BRAND PRESTIGE THROUGH TRANSFORMATION OF ECOMM JOURNEY */ The challenge for our e-commerce was to create engagement that drove purchase. Traditional digital marketing would follow a funnel: run ads for reach on other media channels, generate some engagement with a trickle down to sales on client website. INSTEAD, we decided to broaden the funnel and REIMAGINE it: high engagement in a seamless new VIRTUAL REALITY DIGITAL SPACE where product experience is similar to a real world store, and purchasing can happen seamlessly on the client’s website with one simple click. Given the target audience (gamer girls), the experience needed (smooth and engaging) and the drawbacks of traditional video (don’t convert, slowburn) we decided to bring the glamour and stye of Shiseido’s flagship store in Tokyo to Malaysia by launching a category-first Virtual Reality Tokyo Ginza Street, an E-commerce enabler that would excite interest and boost better conversion on their existing Shiseido Virtual Store. /* HOW: REENGINEERING BRAND DELIGHT */ We crafted a premium, cool yet geeky experience with gamification to skincare edutainment, instilling charm together with science via a new, interactive, immersive medium.

Execution
Our VR world had 7 engagement levels: 1. The Ultimune™ Museum uncovered the secrets behind previous generations of this prestigious product, creating credibility. 2. In the Botanicals Boutique, users interacted with key Ultimune™ ingredients learning of the brilliant anti-aging effects of Reishi Mushroom Extract and Roselle Extract, to help achieve their personal prejuvenation goals. 3. The Beauty Lab provided users a front seat into understanding Shiseido’s technological prowess in science and botanical expertise fusing together in pure skincare synergy. Users were then quizzed to give them a chance to win the product itself. 4. Shiseido Virtual Store gave users a novel experience of shopping in a VR world. At the beauty product bar a user could browses products just like in a physical store, and buy immediately. 5. To lower barrier to entry, samples were offered. Prospects could register when they learnt of Ultimune™’s key USP of ‘visible change in 3 days’. 6. We built an Entertainment Hub, a virtual arcade ‘Red Power Game’ situated on Tokyo Ginza’s Game Street for Gamer Tribe to try their hand at winning prizes worth RM450 each. 7. Recognising women’s interest towards holistic wellness, the platform offered invites (FOC) to real world Flow Studio Pilates and Yoga Classes. We drove traffic to our VR platform using paid search, Facebook and Instagram ads, targeting Gamer Girl Tribe by age, gender, geo-locations, handset type, psychographics, and more.We constantly optimized the process, based on feedback data from our platform, to drive better quality traffic.

Effectiveness
/* NEW MEDIA BRILLIANCE SURPASSING TARGETS */ The virtual world surpassed all expectations within the campaign period July 12 – August 31 2021 · Over 1.8 million reach on social (Facebook and Instagram) · Over 9 million impressions · 1.16 million video views, +677% achieved vs booked KPI · 102,100 link clicks, +240% from booked KPI · Over achieved Shiseido member registrations Visitors purposefully engaged with the VR experience: · Low bounce rate <1% on landing page vs. category average of 20% to 30% · Average time spent: around 3 minutes · 93% of virtual visitors completed the games · Sample registrations, overachieving 116% against target · Garnered highest interest in its largest-volume 50ml set at the Shiseido Virtual Store Above achievements directly contributed to jump in Shiseido’s online sales, with double digit growth during the campaign, its highest ever. PR coverage worth RM150,000+. The campaign has won 5 awards so far (D-awards 3, Marketing Excellence 2) Shiseido Ultimune™ Ginza Tokyo Street had successfully boosted media performance with a CATEGORY FIRST VIRTUAL REALITY MARTECH to change the game.

Objective & Challenge
Covid19 has caused untold human suffering and unforgettable impact on the SmallMediumBusiness(SME). During times of crisis SMEs are often the least resilient as typically SMEs have limited cash reserves, smaller client bases, and less capacity to manage commercial pressures than larger companies. Analysts predicted that around 60 percent of SMEs may close before the pandemic is over. At the backdrop of the depressing scene, PTTI a tuition center operating from a shop lot at Bangi fully reliant on physical classrooms, lost their ability to operate. It was a make-or-break situation for this SME tuition center. They were on the verge of collapsing with no income for nearly 6 months! Challenge: The agency’s task was to work with PTTI to strategize its survival during Covid-19, transitioning from an offline-to-online tuition center, setting PTTI on a growth trajectory.

Insight & Strategy
Covid-19 impact saw a historic shutdown of schools which kept students out of physical classroom for almost 24 months. School systems were understandably overwhelmed and unequipped to respond. The Academic life of 1.8 million secondary school students were disrupted and 400,455 (total addressable market) of them were SPM students who rely on tuition to accelerate their exam preparation; the necessary supplement to build SPM students immunity to face the challenging upcoming SPM exams which determines their future. Imagine what happens when tuition classes become suddenly inaccessible, in a society where scoring A in examinations is absolutely crucial. We leveraged two key insights. 1. Student Insight: For SPM students, being underprepared is not an option. As the fear of failure causes extreme anxiety, therefore tuition is not an option. It becomes a critical academic tool that gives students the emotional reassurance and mental strength that they are doing everything possible to secure their future success. Students were accustomed to tuition classes given their parents obsession with scoring perfect A’s. Students were also immensely eager to excel academically even when physical tuition centers were shut down. During this time, we saw students resort to extreme measures such as climbing onto trees for more stable connection just to gain access to educational content. Understanding the desire to excel at SPM exams it was imperative to transform PTTI into an ed-tech company from an offline tuition center to capture the ready market needs. 2. Brand insight: PTTI was a center that guaranteed educational excellence, however it was struggling for digital excellence Operating from physical classroom in a shop lot, PTTI positioned themselves as a premier tuition center with a 85% passing rate versus the national average of 60%. They had built their credibility on having a panel of highly specialized SPM science teachers that were well-known for producing straight A students. PTTI already had the right educational credentials. What PTTI did not do was plan for virtual education system from enrolment to e-payment. PTTI is made up of a team of fine educators. However, they lacked the expertise on how to transform their business and make it thrive in the digital ecosystem. Understanding this, we decided to present a business case to turn PTTI into an EdTech provider.

Execution
We took four key measures: 1. The UI/UX was revised creating an inclusive and easy to navigate portal. Imagine, being stuck to a schedule of online classes during the pandemic. PTTI made it easier for the students to self learn and for teachers to also teach. If students missed live sessions, they were able to watch a library of uploaded online classes at their own free time. 2. We created a content hub, using WORDPRESS as a content management system which allowed teachers to upload their materials (e.g pre-recorded classes, videos, notes, tips or study hacks). These were made easily downloadable as study materials. 3. We created a function for students to ask questions anonymously during live virtual sessions, something shy students were afraid to do in physical classes. 4. The digital portal was transformed into an eCommerce transactional site, and we integrated SALESFORCE as a technology that enabled lead collection for potential new students. Transforming brick & mortar into bits & bytes for the convenience of both teachers and students.

Effectiveness
We brought back a business on the brink of failure, with no opportunity to earn revenue and transformed it into thriving educational SME. Demonstrating that technology need not be complicated to drive business results. 1. Scalability and accessibility – To ensure no students were left behind we scaled PTTI’s business from a 3,000sq ft shop lot is now to an online education hub accessible across 329,847 sq kilometers nationwide. 2. Business Performance – Acquired 7.6x more student registrations with 25,826 students vs the previous year with 3,000 students. – From the total audience base that media targeted, we converted 8.5% of students. 3. Campaign Performance – Improved website traffic by 159x from 1,300 to 208,000. – Drove 101,920 paid traffic to the website, 69% of them were new potential. – Achieve CPL of RM1.11 (-56% cheaper vs industry benchmark RM2.50).

Objective & Challenge
With the economy opening up and the potential of the country opening its borders, there was a sense of heightened optimism in the air as Malaysians prepared to celebrate Chinese New Year (CNY) 2022. During CNY, revenge spending on big ticket items like TVs, white goods and cars were on the rise. This OPTIMISM was also seen in the property market as 4 in 5 Malaysians intended to buy properties in the next 6 to 24 months. Sime Darby Property (SDP), welcomed this optimism after a bleak 2 years, as property sales took a nosedive during the peak of Covid-19. To capture this latent intent, CNY presented the perfect opportunity SDP to launch a festive campaign with a sales purpose. The objective was to usher the new year with a ROARSOME promotion that allowed homebuyers to make their dream home a reality. However, SDP was not the only real estate advertiser that saw CNY as the opportunity to win customers. UEM Sunrise, Gamuda and Mah Sing also launched their own festive campaigns to build emotional appeal and push sales. Challenge: The agency’s task was to sell 192 units, new and leftover properties across 8 townships and 20 developments (from high rises, terrace homes, bungalows and semi-Ds). Each development had 2 or 3 of such units left which we needed to sell

Insight & Strategy
SDP’s core target audience (TA) were PMEBs who had the ability to take long-tenure home loans and afford a SDP property averagely priced at RM900k. But beyond this, we knew that when it came to home buying, everyone had a different imagination and reasons for a ‘dream home’. From price points to home location, to township, to size of unit and life stages, the trigger to purchase differed from person to person. Unlike traditional property launches where sales launches were specific to a particular development; the leftover units were extremely hard to sell and undesirable for various reasons. And as the saying goes, “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.” We needed to make each leftover unit desirable, and we needed to develop a campaign that covered different aspirations & motivations to purchase the various properties that SDP had on hand. Strategy: Blending Established Planning Techniques With Innovative Audience Systems to serve hyper-personalised messages to each customer. To develop deep understanding of property buyer beyond macro aspirations, we knew we needed to also understand micro motivations and behaviour, thus we blended 1st , 2nd and 3rd party data through our proprietary platform. 1. Usage of 1st party data: We conducted an online survey of 10,000 home buyers across Malaysia to understand their homebuying aspirations, motivations and purchase intention. 2. Usage of 2nd party data: Then used mobile device matching to link each individual’s results to their browsing behaviour. This allowed us to create a bespoke audience segmentation based on property buying life stages (e.g FirstTimeHomeBuyers, Upgraders and Investors). 3. Usage of 3rd party data: We then overlaid additional insights from 3rd party data providers (e.g YouGov, Eyeota and Mobilewalla) to create richer target group profiles. Using the methodology above, we broke down homebuyers into 7 audiences across 3 strategic groups: 1. First time home buyers (Newly-weds, Living Alone, Govt Servants) 2. Upgraders (Mature Families, Empty Nesters & Govt Servants) 3. Investors Drilling deep into data we could see which triggers and touchpoints were relevant to our target groups, which types of properties appealed to them, which features and specifications mattered to them – as well as their general interests. We developed a mapping tool that: – Quantified the groups to ensure they were sizeable – Matched and prioritised SDP types of properties and features for each group – Provided a framework for tailored creative messaging

Execution
For digital communications, our earlier work with our proprietary platform became invaluable. We could serve them creatives specifically tailored to their home-buying motivations and attitudes, following the framework in our mapping tool. What’s more, we could build lookalike audiences at scale, and target those individuals too. 1. Using DCO to speak to different homebuyers: To deploy the creatives, we used the DynamicCreativeOptimisation (DCO) technology, which had been integrated within our proprietary platform. We created a comprehensive system of modular creative elements (images/copy/videos) that covered various township scenes, property types, sale promotions, etc. which was dynamically populated when each ad was served. 2. Geofencing our hunting grounds: At an even deeper level, we also used live data signals like geolocation to drive traffic to showrooms and SDP roadshows. We geofenced customers who were within 2km of a showroom or roadshow, and served them ads as soon as they entered the catchment areas. 3. Using AI to optimise the hunt: In view of that it would take more than one message to trigger a person’s consideration for home purchase, we had to ensure that the next ad messaging that our audience saw, was optimized based on their level of intention to buy a property. To create an intent scoring framework, we looked at multiple signals (e.g number of page visits, dwell time, page views and incomplete lead forms) and weighted it using a machine learning algorithm. Once we gauged their intention, we retargeted page visitors with different creative messaging, to drive quality lead generation. In total over 3,360 personalized creative variations were delivered dynamically as animated banners. This level of campaign personalisation was the first for SDP, enabling us to speak effectively to each individual.

Effectiveness
We exceeded all targets and exceeded industry benchmarks. 1. Overachieved units booked target by 380% (730 vs target of 192) 2. High volume of leads generated: 14K leads vs target 7.5K leads 3. High quality of leads generated: 73% of bookings converted to sales vs industry benchmark 30% 4. Improved conversion rate from leads to unit bookings (5.22% vs previous benchmark 2.53%) 5. Drove 2,438 Footfall to roadshows and sales galleries Spending less for more. 1. Cost-per-lead Cost efficiency by 21% reduction: RM71 CPL vs industry benchmark RM90 CPL (21% reduction) 2. RM1370 CPA vs industry benchmark RM1500 3. Total Clicks of 374K and CTR 0.95%

Objective & Challenge
In second half of 2021, while the rest of the world moved towards a reformative situation on the COVID front, Malaysia still struggled with more than 20,000 reported cases daily the highest since the pandemic began. Importance of hygiene, particularly hand hygiene (Hand Washing and Sanitizing) became most Important than ever before. Lifebuoy as a germ protection brand wanted to be at the forefront of COVID19 in rural and urban communities. Their mission is to inform and educate Malaysians on the importance of handwashing – as it is our first line of defense against the deadly virus. The challenge: Lifebuoy strongest USP is a direct defense against hard to kill germs. Although the timing was perfect to reiterate Lifebuoy’s USP, commercial advertisers are banned from associating or advertising any covid19 related communication. How did Lifebuoy navigate this precarious challenge in the digital space?
Insight & Strategy
The nation was in the state of panic. Even the slightest symptom like sneezing will send a panic attack and a frantic Google search to validate next course of action. Based on this insight, we analysed the “Google Trends” data searched on Covid topics compared against the number of daily/weekly reported cases in Malaysia. These two data sets showed a strong CoRelation of 80% accuracy, which indicated that covid outbreak locations can potentially be forecasted based on Covid searches. We then concluded that if we marry those data points with our media execution, we will be able to activate a more targeted education efforts on Hand Washing. This strategy immediately circumvented the digital platform limitations and offered extreme agility and speed to market keeping within the regulated advertising code. THE BIG IDEA In partnership with Google, embracing the power of AI and big data, we created a predictive and hypercustomised infection alert system by combining two powerful datasets: 1. A custom built algorithm by Google – Using proprietary signals to measure outbreak potentials. 2. Brand Communication framework – an integrated asset framework, which was set up to serve ads dynamically and could be automatically activated in milliseconds. With Lifebuoy’s Infection Alert System, citizens could be constantly reminded about the basic hygiene of handwashing to prevent the spread of Covid. Best of all, Lifebuoy could take better control of relevant brand message delivery across the nation.
Execution
The system consolidated real time data from our custom built Google algorithm and Google Search Trends to predict outbreaks with an accuracy better than a weather forecast. It enabled us to target areas that were highly infectious across different states and cities, in real time. ▶ Google search data on Covid related queries and mobility data get tracked at the system backend in real time ▶ Through API based solution, data sets that contained daily search volumes of the top 10 cities with the highest daily Covid cases were ingested. The value of the dataset was determined severity of the search intent (for example Level 1: Covid cases near me, Level 2: Covid symptom, Level 3: Covid tests, Level 4: Hospital Treating Covid) ▶ We created a customized Google ads Script, that automatically served ads based on the covid heatmap dynamically. This was all done WITHOUT manual intervention. ▶ The campaign was activated via YouTube and Google Display ads. Using geotarget ads, independent assets were customized for each city that was impacted. Each ad contained a message to remind our audience to exercise caution and stop the spread of Harmful Germs by constantly washing their hands with Lifebuoy.
Effectiveness
“This Covid Alert System” allowed us to be laser sharp with our message delivery, high risk regions and audiences, without infringing on Covid19 related topics and keywords. The relevance and efficiency of our message delivery using the predictive alert system resulted in improvement in brand, business and media: ▶ The search intent for Lifebuoy increased by 50% YOY during campaign period ▶ Lifebuoy market share increased by 20% YOY in Peninsular Malaysia and specifically on the targeted highrisk regions such as Kuching, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Petaling Jaya, Puchong, Johor Bahru, Georgetown, Shah Alam and Ipoh. ▶ Due to higher relevancy and efficiency in delivery, our YouTube ads achieved 27% improvement on CTR at 0.25% vs. 0.2% industry benchmark, and lower CPM at RM5 vs. our usual campaign RM6.5 (30% cost savings) ▶ The display ads achieved RM1.33 CPM vs. industry benchmark of RM4.50 and hence delivered 70% more impression at 3.4 million With all the achievements in commercial and media, Lifebuoy is proud to be an advocator for Covid19 prevention for Malaysians.

Objective & Challenge
Category Challenge Beauty and skincare regime have been around for centuries, and women tend to focus on elaborative facial skincare routines. When comes to body care, they generally pay much less attention, and many are comfortable not doing anything. With 79% of women think facecare is more important than body skin care routine, it is not surprising why Vaseline the leading body care brand faced an uphill battle in recruiting new customers. Brand Challenge In the body care category, Vaseline holds the strongest proposition of treating dry skin with its signature petroleum jelly jar which has withhold the test of time. However, with the influx of new body care with super-ingredient, Vaseline was losing appeal especially amongst the new-age beauty product users. Media Challenge Body care category faced one of the toughest fights as consumers are generally less engaged in purchase decision compared to facecare. Hence, recruitment task got to evolve from mass awareness to targeted need-based communication, creating temptation for Vaseline body skincare. With the impending cookie-less world, Vaseline needs to find an alternative to the 3rd Party Cookie to do precise targeting to connect with the target audience. Agency’s Task: The launch of “Vaseline Vitamin Serum with Extracts of Super Fruits” is the brand’s way forward to recruit the new-age body care users by extending their care and aspiration for glowing skin from face to the entire body. Agency’s task was to drive trial for the new Vaseline variant and collect Audience Data in view of the cookies-less world ahead.

Insight & Strategy
The invasion of Hallyu (Korean Pop-Culture) influence has long infiltrated into our society be it food, fashion, films/drama or celebrities. Fans often take inspiration from their Korean idols especially on natural beauty and skincare to improve their overall appearance top to toe wanting to look as beautiful as their idols. Using the Agency’s proprietary audience tool, we deep-dived into our TA (new-age beauty lover) and studied their behavioural pattern. Our TA wants glowing skin tone just as they are awed by the natural flawless skin of Korean celebrities. They highly appreciate natural product ingredients which resembles the K-beauty product promotion. These insights are backed by Statista survey which showed that 51% of Malaysian beauty users owned and perceived K-beauty products to better meet their skincare needs. We knew that by tracing back to their primary source for K-Beauty reference -Korean Drama, we will find the high affinity audience for Vaseline serum new launch. During the pandemic lockdown, we saw high indexing of our TA towards OTT streaming platforms. Among all, VIU stood out as the Number 1 OTT platform for Korean content. And we found a perfect platform to launch Vaseline vitamin serum with Viu. However, we need to go beyond the usual sponsorship package and ad placement to drive data collection. Research showed that more than 50% of our TA are receptive to connect with brands that listen to their feedback and be rewarded for participation. Hence, we invented the value exchange model for ZERO-PARTY-DATA (Z-P-D). The Z-P-D VALUE EXCHANGE MODEL refers to personal data given by consumer voluntarily in exchange for a value, such as rewards/ prizes. The strategy: we invited our TA who are also the die-hard Korean Drama fans to participate in a feedback survey for an irresistible reward – a VIU premium subscription code to watch the latest K-Drama.

Execution
The Z-P-D VALUE EXCHANGE MODEL We initiated this first-of-its-kind data partnership with VIU and developed a bespoke lead generation system to collect Z-P-D via Shopalyst (DigitalMarketing&AdsPlatform) • The strategic intent of the survey was to ‘kill three birds’ with one stone: 1. To build affinity with our TA who wants Vaseline to listen to their feedback 2. To gain a better understanding on how this segment consume body care and their product preferences 3. The submission of their personal data was part of the process for them to redeem the rewards upon completion of the survey • We sponsored an on-demand Korean Drama and use VIU premium subscription code as call-to-action to drive viewers to the Shopalyst page where they could participate in the simple survey in exchange for the reward BUILD BRAND SALIENCE THROUGH SEAMLESS CONTENT INTEGRATION • To strengthen our brand appeal and association with the natural flawless skin of the lead cast, we created social media assets by contextually incorporating our new product into the key scenes of the much-anticipated new drama series: “Doom At Your Service”. Under normal circumstances using Korean celebrity to promote Vaseline could have costs millions in endorsement. • The seamless content integration with the celebrity, ParkBoYoung (lead cast) further amplified the organic healthy glowing skin proposition. A STRUCTURED REMARKETING MODEL WITH Z-P-D • We collected a total of 4,737 zero-party-data and ended the survey phase earlier as the premium VIU subscription codes were fully redeemed within a week. Hence, we activated our conversion campaign immediately. The richness of Z-P-D enabled us to widen the percentage of look-a-like audience from 5% into 10% to build a larger remarketing pool while still maintaining high accuracy.

Effectiveness
Z-P-D MADE NEW RECORDS • Vaseline surpassed the market leader Nivea for the first time during the launch campaign period by 200 BasisPoints (bps, 1 bps = 0.01%) • Overall brand share grew by +140bps, 2x faster than the industry growth rate • The new Vaseline Vitamin Serum with Extracts of Super Fruits itself captured +475bps, 4x faster than the industry growth rate • Return-on-Adspend for eCommerce saw 2x improvement • Social campaign achieved 4x higher in CTR and 56% lower in CostPerLinkClick • Choosing the right Korean content, integrating it with Vaseline serum to influence buyer behavior saved Unilever RM1Million celebrity endorsement costs. A DOUBLE-V VICTORY (VASELINE-VIU) • The campaign broke the record of VIU Video benchmark: o Interstitial CTR: 5% (vs VIU 1-3%) o Push Notification CTR: 1.63% (vs VIU 1%) o 15s Video Performance: 98% completion rate (vs VIU 75%) More importantly, both parties enriched their beauty audience data through the collection of Z-P-D for immediate remarketing opportunities.