Blog Archives - Page 5 of 16 - Mutant Communications

The Power of Holiday Marketing (and not just at Christmas!)

Every year as festive seasons approach, consumers all over the world are flooded with a frenzy of marketing campaigns by brands looking to get a slice of the multi-billion dollar holiday shopping pie.

At the heart of the annual holiday marketing procession are the powerful Christmas ads. From Cadbury’s play on the “Secret Santa” ritual backed by an emotive soundtrack, to Heathrow airport’s adorable portrayal of an elderly bear couple coming home to celebrate with their family, brands are creating authentic association with consumers by showing them how a product or service can bring them closer to the people they love.

For giants like Coca-Cola, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, this is now an annual tradition and year after year, consumers wait with bated breath to see the campaigns launched by these iconic brands. In fact, there is so much frenzy around Christmas ads, that every year, thousands of Twitter users mistakenly reach out to a U.S. based science lecturer John Lewis instead of the British departmental store by the same name. Twitter released a cheeky film around this last year showing Lewis painstakingly responding to the messages and giving us all some laughs.

But there’s a reason aside from emotional responses for these ads. Research has shown that consumers are inclined to spend more during festive periods (blame it on the holiday cheer!) and this presents a prime opportunity for brands to boost sales by capitalising on the increased purchasing power. Brands spend considerable time, money and resources to develop creative campaigns that cut through the clutter and grab consumer attention. But do these ads work?

The short answer is yes, they do. The festive air is rife with nostalgia, and ads with an emotional overtone strike a chord with consumers. This aids in customers forming deeper associations with brands –improving brand awareness and perception, and increasing consumers’ likelihood to purchase.

In terms of business results, well-executed campaigns that are emotionally engaging, and relevant to the occasion – with a clear association to the company’s product or service – do well. In terms of brand engagement and, more importantly, in terms of sales – Tesco, as an example, saw a 2.2% rise in UK sales following their successful 2018 Christmas ad.

Closer to home, Chinese New Year is one the biggest annual celebrations, and this year’s Singtel ad adopted a family-focused narrative that showed three young ‘CNY absconders’ who fly to Australia to avoid the traditions of Lunar New Year celebrations. Their joy at escaping their family during this festive time quickly turns to nostalgia, when one of them discovers a letter from her mother in her suitcase amidst clothes and jars full of homemade snacks.

While some brands tell powerful fictional stories, Indian jewellery brand Tanishq’s Diwali ad took viewers into the home of a leading film actress to show her family celebrating the festival in a simple manner – cleaning the house, making sweets and untangling lights. In a country where film actors are practically worshipped, the depiction of a mega star being grounded in her roots and celebrating the country’s biggest festival with family and simple traditions struck all the right chords.

As more brands jump onto the holiday marketing bandwagon, this is not just limited to mainstream celebrations anymore. Almost every major calendar event sees marketers creating specifically tailored campaigns, such as this Mother’s Day ad by Boots and Budweiser’s decision to remake old ads for International Women’s Day. A Valentine’s Day ad by Borosil India took a non-traditional approach to the day of love by featuring a young couple celebrating their first ever V-Day following the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India – another beautiful ad that celebrates a holiday as well as a cultural moment.

So, what makes a good holiday campaign? From animation and celebrity endorsement to good ol’ storytelling, brands are embracing different strategies for their year-round holiday marketing.

The key is simple: take basic human insight that is aligned with the brand’s core values and peg it to a relevant event to create an authentic association with the celebration.

Getting this formula right will not only bring immediate results in terms of engagement and sales, but the benefits of an effective campaign will extend long beyond the holiday itself, building a stronger brand identity and influencing purchase decisions in the long run.

How to Spot a Fake Instagram Influencer

Ever bought an outfit, switched to a new skincare routine, or experimented with a health supplement all because a reasonably famous stranger on Instagram told you to do so? That’s the kind of power some individuals on social media wield over the masses – and their powers of persuasion haven’t gone unnoticed by brands striving to stand out.

Advertisers are increasingly relying upon social media content creators, especially those native to Instagram, to help drive awareness for their products and business. Popular with teens and young adults who are digital natives, Instagram content creators – AKA influencers – hold considerable sway over their audience, who are likely to follow their recommendations and advice seriously, and attempt to emulate their lifestyle.

To hook this younger audience, brands often look for influencers with large followings – after all, numbers speak to brands. Thus, the higher the follower count, the more likely it is for an influencer to be courted with partnerships, endorsements, and collaborations. Unsurprisingly, learning about this system has led some greedy individuals to resort to unscrupulous methods of increasing follower count while offering little substantive content in return.

Because marketing, and especially digital marketing often relies on agility and speed, executives operating under tight deadlines may not have the luxury of properly vetting the follower lists and accounts of the influencers they choose to work with. However, not implementing strict quality checks does not bode well for brands, as working with fake influencers will dilute brand reputation. Additionally, it will lead to wasted marketing dollars spent on reaching bots instead of real people.

If you or your brand are looking to engage influencers, here is a handy guide on how to weed out dubious social media personalities:

Famous nearly overnight

Did the influencer in question start at the bottom with a humble number of followers, but now boasts of tens of thousands of followers nearly overnight – without having committed any notable acts of internet notoriety? Whatever caused the follower count to skyrocket is a mystery that no one can attribute to anything the person posted, leaving you to only guess. To discern whether a following is legitimate or not, use social media tracking tools, which allow you to check the number of followers gained over time. If there a sudden spike that cannot be explained, it’s likely the extra followers were purchased. Another tactic that several fake influencers employ is the “follow-unfollow” ploy, which involves following people and then immediately unfollowing them once they have followed back.

Quality of comments

If the comments on an influencer’s post consist mostly of generalised compliments with dubious grammar or entirely of emojis, they are probably generated by hundreds of bot accounts. While they might seem genuine upon first glance, a few comments repeating the same variation of “great job”, “keep it up”, and “wow” are a tell-tale sign of non-human interaction. Spam accounts also often post comments begging for likes or follows on their own page, and may even ask you to check out a link on their bio (you are strongly advised not to do this as you might be redirected to a compromised website). So how do you know when comments are genuine? Look for positive and negative feedback, or people tagging their friends and interacting with them on the post itself.

Engagement rates

Engagement rates are one of the primary metrics marketers look for when choosing influencers to partner with. While the “magic number” for influencer engagement rates differs from company to company, 1-3% seems to be the generally accepted figure. On the part of the influencers, factors such as type, timing, and frequency of posts also play a role in how often followers interact with their content. If an influencer with a massive following (in the tens of thousands or more) attract a paltry sum of likes (10-20) per post or has a low engagement rate, their follower base definitely consists of bots. For exact figures, tools such as SocialBlade will automatically generate a report card detailing an influencer’s overall ranking, grade, and engagement rates. For more extensive campaigns, brands can also consider tools like Meltwater’s* Social Influencers discovery tool that has more in-depth analytics tools that break down an account’s demographics, interests and other metrics

Quality of followers

To gain a better idea of the influencer’s target audience, look at the kinds of accounts that follow them. Right off the bat, you’ll be able to tell if the accounts are suspect or not. For example, if the accounts have random strings of letters and numbers for names, then it is safe to assume they are spam accounts. Accounts like these be can bought by the thousands for a small sum of money, so if an influencer’s following is impressive, but consists mostly of these types of accounts, they’re probably not the real deal.

Social media presence outside of Instagram

While this might sound counterintuitive, it is not uncommon for influencers to maintain a presence across multiple social media sites. If they are experts in their niche (beauty, fashion, art, design, food, travel) check to see if they have been featured in magazines and newspapers. If they are genuine content creators, it’s likely they will have worked with other influencers, brands and companies. Keep an eye out for any public events they might attend, such as launch parties, interviews or television shows. If these “influencers” are virtually ghosts outside of the colourful pastiche that is Instagram, alarm bells should be sounding off in your head.

By following these guidelines, you should be able to determine if an influencer is legitimate or not. Fingers crossed the ones you have shortlisted are, and that you get to work with them!

Need help finding a popular face to better reach your Gen Z customers? Just say ‘hi’ at [email protected] and we’ll talk.

*Disclaimer – Meltwater is a client of Mutant Communications, but this blog is not sponsored by them

4 PR Trends to Look Out For in 2019

It’s that time of year where companies take stock of their performance in the first quarter of 2019 and make plans on how best to move into their new fiscal year. If your numbers aren’t what you hoped, or it’s clear you need a new strategy, now is the time to pivot. To help get you on your way, here are four PR trends you should watch out for in 2019:

1) Content marketing will be better aligned with PR

PR teams are often the best advisors to lead the content marketing narrative, as they own the brand narrative and are great at storytelling. As marketing teams see an increase in engagement and quality leads driven by strong content strategies, PR folks will move from just amplifying content to being more involved with assisting in the initial stages of crafting it.

2) PR pros will prove their worth with savvy measurements

Moving beyond vanity metrics, PR teams will be under pressure to prove how they have impacted the bottom line. PR firms that don’t do this well will get left behind. By showcasing how earned media ties into building awareness, engagement, trust and even leads, 2019 will be a year of absolute accountability. Using tools to measure share of voice, sentiments and lead generation is the way forward.

3) PR tech stack will drive more efficiencies

Gone are the days where an entire morning is spent media monitoring (thank goodness!). With news alerts pushed 24/7, there’s simply no reason to do this any longer.

From data-driven newsjacking to spotting a crisis before it escalates through real-time social listening, the right tech tools can help a team focus on what’s important by automating tasks – such as reporting and upkeeping an ever-changing media database. PR teams should invest in the right tech stack in 2019 to become more efficient and agile.

4) More journalists will join the “dark side”

The “dark side” is an old trope, but it ain’t so “dark” anymore. As the need for great content-driven by storytelling increases, more writers – including experienced journalists and editors – will find great opportunities in communications. At Mutant, we have built a team of senior editors and writers who are essential to creating smart content that’s amplified through PR.

At the end of the day, storytelling is at the core of what we do as PR professionals, and that won’t change. But how brand stories are told and the ways in which PR and marketing teams operate are changing – and those companies that need to breathe new life into their strategies should consider jumping in on these four trends in order to have a great 2019.

If you want your brand to keep up in 2019 and beyond, give us a shout at [email protected]

#MutantsTakePhuket: Team Retreat to Phuket!

Sometimes you’ve got to say ‘Phuket, let’s go to Phuket’ 😉

A private villa, a schedule of exciting team challenges, and heaps of Thai food – us Mutants were whisked away to Phuket this February for our annual Mutant Offsite. Yep, we’re lucky enough that for three days every year, our entire team heads out of Singapore for a teambuilding experience like no other. And after a rather big and busy 2018, we wanted to kick off this year with a bang. Phuket seemed to be the obvious choice for a company retreat.

After an hour’s ride from the airport, we arrived at our accommodation near the peaceful Nai Harn Beach, seemingly a world away from the usual Patong haunts.

This tucked-away bungalow villa can house up to 32 guests, and has two swimming pools! | Photo by: Sreya Sanyal

Work first, then pool time? Thai and stop us… | Photo by: Ian Lee

The view from one of the rooms in the villa. | Photo by: Yeo Sze-G

A living space with an abundance of plants is definitely #goals. | Photo by: Claire Choo

Shark Tank (minus Kevin O’Leary)

After everyone settled in (and dried off from a dip in the pool with a gigantic blow-up rainbow unicorn), we were given our first task of the trip – after all, what’s a team retreat without some mind-boggling team challenges?

Our CEO, Joe, recapping company performance in 2018 before the mini challenge began | Photo: Yeo Sze-G

After being split into teams, the challenge was to choose an item that could be found in the villa and pitch it, with just 15 minutes’ prep time. We had to come up with a name for our product, its target audience, a tagline, and an elevator pitch to a bunch of ‘investors’ (our bosses). From a vertical garden to the humble toilet roll, the exercise was all about being bold and thinking out of the box.

Team Towel-In-Oneturned an ordinary orange beach towel a convertible garment. | Photo: Rebecca Lewis

Team Lifeline: The winners for our first challenge made toilet paper a must-have accessory! | Photo: Rebecca Lewis

The winner from the first challenge was Team ‘Lifeline’, who pitched customisable toilet roll. It was a close call between teams, but their creativity, humour and solid pitching skills ultimately won the challenge.

“It was great getting to know more about my colleagues outside an office setting, and it was also refreshing teaming up with people I don’t usually work with during the challenges,” said Alyson, our Senior Account Executive.

Mutant’s Storytelling Challenge

The second day in Phuket was all about storytelling, and an exercise that focused on creating visual narratives for a specific audience. We were again split into teams, and then tasked with finding an underrated place in Phuket, travelling there, scripting a video and then editing a two-minute piece to present to everyone – all in about 5 hours’ time! Talk about meeting tough deadlines…

Getting a Thai massage fix

Photos: Alyson Tay, Bethany Bloch, Ian Lee, Tina Sales

Our first team explored the world of Thai massage on the island. Profiling a pop-up stall on the beach and a massage studio in a strip mall, they taught us all about the art of benefits of a traditional Thai massage and emphasised that you don’t need to go to a ritzy resort for a high-quality experience.

Exploring a living museum

Photos: Kent Toh, Richa Shah, Yeo Sze-G

With team member Kent as the main lead in their video, Team 2 headed to Baan Chinpracha Museumin Old Phuket Town, and told us the history of Chinese culture in Phuket through the rustic imagery of a 100-year-old house that was built by a wealthy Chinese family in the early 1900s.

Being #Basic

Photos: Ivan Tan, Priscillia Chun, Sreya Sanyal

Team 3 gave us the ultimate guide to having some #summertimegladness on the streets of Old Phuket Town. They showed us where we could go to live our best Instagram life by introducing trendy clothing stores and the coolest cafés in the area.

Patong by day

Photos: Claire Choo, Rhea Arora

Reporting from the sands of the most (in)famous nightlife hotspot in Phuket, Team 4 demonstrated why the area is worth a daytime visit, highlighting where to eat, shop and play.

“This challenge was all about emphasising the soft skills required for collaborative storytelling and meshing different perspectives and angles into a coherent narrative. Some of us are lifestyle-y sorts while others are corporate-y data people, so emotive storytellers and data storytellers were able to come together to create these videos,” said Ian, our Account Manager.

Putting the “treat” in “retreat”

While some of us had fun in the sun… | Photos: Alyson Tay, Ian Lee

…others experienced a bit of discomfort. But the good kind – who doesn’t love a good
Thai massage? | Photos: Alyson Tay, Ian Lee

After all the brainstorming and sun exposure, we made sure to unwind the best way we know how: with good, local food. Nai Harn still retains its quiet charm with only a few hotels and villas in the area, and authentic local restaurants dot the shore.

We made sure not to miss out on the classic pineapple fried rice! | Photo: Yeo Sze-G

Our outdoor dinner setting on the last night | Photo: Bethany Bloch

It was a feast! | Photo: Alyson Tay

We had a great time bonding over delicious food, fun challenges and convenience store snack and beverage runs. Sometimes, to relieve stress from hectic work schedules and deadlines, you just need to get everyone out of the office to relax and have fun!

A 360 team photo at Nai Harn Beach | Photo: Ian Lee

“It was time well spent. We don’t only work hard, but we play hard, too,” said Kent, our Business Development Executive.

Refreshed and reinvigorated, we Mutants are back in the office – though perhaps daydreaming every now and then about green curry in our bellies and sand between our toes.

Want to know about the other cool stuff we do while having fun? Contact us at [email protected].

Is product placement right for your brand?

Remember that epic selfie Ellen DeGeneres took at the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3? That tweet not only broke the record for retweets previously set by President Obama, but also caused Twitter’s servers to crash.

At this year’s Golden Globes, Fiji Water attempted a similar stunt by hiring model Kelleth Cuthbert, who spent most her time photobombing stars on the red carpet while holding a tray of Fiji Water bottles. The stunt worked: the hashtag #FijiWaterGirl trended on Twitter, and earned 98.9 million impressions on the platform.

As far as product placements go, Samsung is still the one to beat – but there’s no one-size-fits-all approach for successful product placement. Brands are often torn between seamlessly integrating products into the broader narrative, or making it apparent enough to trigger a viral moment on social media.

So, how do you decide what’s right for your brand?

Start with a goal
The goal of any product placement is to reach your target audience, but having precise goals is key to ensuring success. Do you want to drive brand awareness? Is it higher recall you’re after, or are you aiming for greater brand loyalty? Answering these questions will not only inform your strategy and approach, but also help identify the metrics you use to measure success.

Whatever your objectives are, public relations can play a crucial role in reaching your desired audience, and then sparking and shaping conversations with them. There are many ways a strong PR strategy can do this – and tied with a content marketing approach it can go beyond awareness and actually drive leads for your business that you can track and measure.

Make it believable
Pulling off a product placement tie-in is only successful if it is believable. When deciding on a partnership, brands need to identify whether it’s a good fit and in line with its own tonality and values.

Don’t force your brand into a piece of content where it doesn’t feel right – because you will get called out. Reebok’s association with Jerry Maguire is a great example of product placement gone wrong. Reebok paid production company Tristar $1.5 million to feature its products, but the company somehow ended up being portrayed as a villain because of its refusal to sponsor Cuba Gooding Jr’s character. After some legal back and forth, the two companies reached a settlement, which included an ad for Reebok in the film’s credits.

Consider different content types
For most marketers, TV shows and movies are obvious product placement choices. But increasingly, we’re seeing brands experimenting with other formats, only to reap rich rewards. Coca Cola and Subway have both used video games to promote their brands, while musicians like Lady Gaga and Kanye West have seamlessly included brands in their music videos. For instance, brands such as Miracle Whip, Polaroid and Virgin Active made conspicuous appearances in her “Telephone” video, while West’s video for “Wolves” doubled as a promotional ad for fashion house Balmain.

As a marketing tactic, product placements can work incredibly well or backfire spectacularly – so be savvy and cover all your bases when considering a new association.

Want to put some cool products in your ad? We’ll tell you how to go about it when you email us at [email protected]

How to grow your business with content marketing in 2019

The year is in full swing and marketing strategies are being rolled out… but maybe you kind of haven’t started yours yet? Don’t worry, it’s not too late to begin – especially since content marketing isn’t solely about driving leads, but the stories you want to tell.

Based on our content marketing experience with brands across Singapore and Southeast Asia, we have put together a few tips and techniques you can use to beef up your efforts this year, regardless of whether you have done your marketing homework or not.

#1 Quality over quantity

Although a regular content output remains important, the quality of each piece is more important than ever before. With thousands of posts, articles and newsletters being published and pushed out every single day, the sheer volume of available content is overwhelming. Simply rehashing your competitors’ communications won’t be convincing or engaging, to say the least.

If you are going to create content in 2019, make sure it matters to your audience and feels fresh. Whether it’s your own opinion posted to LinkedIn, your next company blog or a product-related post on Facebook, give it substance, a point of view, and ask yourself if it adds any value. Also, don’t simply produce content for the sake of it – instead publish content when you have something to say.

Want to know more about how to take a stance as a brand? Read this.

#2 Email marketing doesn’t rely on algorithms

If you are worried about social media advertising algorithms messing about with your budget, then it’s time to revitalise your email marketing strategy. Email is one of the only channels that doesn’t rely on ever-changing algorithms.

Whether you already have a solid database or are just starting out, an email marketing strategy is a worthy investment. With great visuals, quality content, and an opinionated subject line, you can grab the attention of the people that matter.

Tip: Don’t overload your newsletters with too much content. Have a topic that ties back to your business for each newsletter.

#3 Influencers? Yes, but…

It’s the age if the influencer… including the ‘fake’, wannabe inauthentic ‘influencers’ that pop of everywhere claiming to have a phenomenal reach. There are just as many ‘fake’ influencers promoting their services and reach to any brand that is keen enough listen as there are real ones, and so it comes as no surprise that Instagrammers look to buy followers or use other shady tactics. Just last year, Singapore-based Daryl Aiden Yow was exposed for passing off stock images as his own, offering his photography services at the same time.

To identify influencers who actually add value to your business, take a deep look into their feeds. Look critically at their engagement and comments. If it seems legit, it’s time to meet them – if not in person, then at least over a quick call. Their personality and attitude will often provide better insight into whether they are in it for a quick buck or if they are passionate content creators worthy of investment.

#4 Merge quality with measurement

We can’t say it often enough – create, measure, analyse and optimise. While this may sound straightforward, these simple steps divide content teams everywhere.

There are two camps in content marketing: On one side are the editorial purists, who polish each sentence until it could win a literary prize. On the other side are the SEO-minded Google Analytics marketers, who tend to produce conglomerations of keyword that will make great use of checklists and algorithms.

Who’s the better content marketer? Well, they both are, if they work together.

The truth is that the most common concern regarding content marketing, especially among SMEs and startups, is related to their return on investment (ROI). Be it brand awareness, website clicks, conversions or leads, setting KPIs and measuring your content rigorously is important. But it’s equally important to craft well-written and informative pieces that people actually want to read.

#5 Don’t forget about employer branding

Content marketing is not only a way for brands to create awareness for their products and services, but also to attract and recruit highly-skilled talent.

While a lot of brands successfully market their offerings and attract customers, they are often not so great at telling their story as an employer and engaging the right people to work for them. Though client work always comes first, remember that without the right people working for your company, you won’t be able to offer the highest quality work or grow your business.

Ensure you communicate across different channels, highlighting aspects of your business that matters to the audiences on each channel. While your company blog is a great way to showcase your expertise and express thoughts more freely on a variety of topics, Facebook and Instagram should highlight the fun side of your company in a way that’s as visual as possible. Both LinkedIn and Glassdoor are not only platforms to post jobs but are great for communicating company news to a professional audience. However, don’t forget to leverage marketing and HR titles (or other trade titles) to express your thoughts and opinions on the wider industry.

Need help with some or all of the above? Just say ‘hi’ at [email protected] and we’ll talk.

Working mums: Let’s talk about flex

“Are you planning to have children?”

I’m willing to bet almost every woman of a certain age has been asked a form of this question in a job interview. It may not be as blatant as, “So are ya planning on getting knocked up?” but there are ways employers dance around the topic without landing directly on it.

Even though an illegal employment practice in many countries, including Singapore where I live, it’s something plenty of women can probably relate to. And yet, how many of us would feel comfortable asking a potential employer about their maternity packages? Most wouldn’t dream of it for fear of being ‘accused’ of wanting children someday. How dare they.

And even when you do have children, the guise continues for many of us. Amidst managing school holidays, childcare, sickness and toddlers who just refuse to put their bloody shoes on in the morning, the desire for a child is far easier than pretending your actual, real life tiny human doesn’t exist.

Instead, we stride into job interviews or go about our work with the air of a single, career-focused businesswoman whose ovaries are immune to any clock we might feel ticking inside. I have heard of women taking off wedding bands and blatantly lying about even having so much as a hint of a boyfriend, too.

I read somewhere that women often pretend they don’t have a job when at home and that they don’t have children when they’re at the office. This shame is completely misplaced, and—with two children of my own and working in full-time paid employment (I feel the need to clarify the ‘paid’ element here, because having children and staying at home with them is definitely, certainly also ‘work’)—I can see how destructive this mentality is to both career women and employers.

Thankfully, this is changing, slowly. According to the latest Conditions of Employment Report released by the Singapore MOM this month, the number of companies offering flexible working arrangements is growing—with 72% of workers saying their employers offer at least one type of arrangement, up from 70% in 2017. More employees are also being offered ad-hoc arrangements, up to 87% in 2018 from 81% the previous year.

And it’s 100% necessary, because—newsflash—while people still care about money, they care more about culture, experience and how they are treated in the workplace. This includes having options available that allows them to dictate the best way to manage their office and home life.

An example of this is here at Mutant. We offer the standard 12 to 16 weeks’ (paid), but then we provide a staggered approach to return to work. So, when I returned three months after my daughter was born, the first month I worked just 10 hours per week. The following month it was 20 hours, then 30, and then back up to 40+—all while on full pay. The goal here is retention, engagement and building loyalty. Suddenly ripping a mother away from her child and forcing her back to work eight hours a day is a shock to the system. It sucks, and it’s why so many new mums end up resigning. But this approach passes the power back to the employee.

And it’s a mentality we carry over to flexible working for all our staff. For the first time in my life, I am able to make work fit into my life in a way that suits me. It means I can come in late, leave early, or work from home some days. It means I don’t feel guilty if I have to rush off for sick kids. It also means I am efficient, productive and squarely focused on getting my work done well, because the payoff is huge: I get the satisfaction of doing a good job at work and being present at home to do a good job as a mum. Basically, the dream.

Many employers will probably lump this flexi-shift in the ‘too hard’ basket, but changing the way we think about work and judging staff on their ability to do good work (not on how well they sit in a chair until the boss leaves) is a win-win for employee and employer. It means a happier team, lower costs and higher productivity.

And the change can start small. It can be as simple as employers openly and actively mentioning maternity and paternity benefits during the interview, in the same breath they discuss sick leave and vacation days. It’s as basic as understanding that flexibility is a people issue, not just about ‘mums who want to see their kids more’. Flexibility is not just about parents, but being able to draw out the best results from every individual.

And until we understand this, people will continue to fail at juggling responsibilities, hide the fact they have children, feel they can’t ever stop and take a breath, and overwhelm themselves until they quit what is essentially a game they can’t win.

This article first appeared in Campaign Asia-Pacific.

What to expect from clients based on their Chinese zodiac sign

This Lunar New Year, we’re analysing clients and their behaviours according to their animal sign as per the Chinese Zodiac. Do any of these traits seem familiar?

Rat

In times of crisis, you can count on your Rat client to remain calm, cool and collected. If they find themselves in a hole (which they might or might not have dug for themselves), you can expect them to be willing to put in the work to climb their way out of it – gracefully.

The Ox client might not initially be receptive to new ways of doing things, and may come off as resistant to change. Convincing them to take that leap of faith with you will be a bit of a challenge since they tend to be stubborn, but they’ll place their unwavering trust in you once you’ve won them over.

Tiger

For the adventurous Tiger client, the theme is ‘the bigger the better’. This year, they will pounce on the most outrageous, larger-than-life ideas you throw at them – no matter how ambitious it may seem. So let your imagination run wild.

Rabbit

The Rabbit client is naturally empathetic and sensitive, with an astute understanding of the human condition. Where others may not care about subtle details or dismiss the finer points of a proposal as irrelevant, it’s all about those little flourishes for the Rabbit, so be sure to pay attention to even the most minor points if you want them to hop on board.

Dragon

It’s fun working with Dragon clients – they’re enigmatic and charming like no other. However, they might not be the most agreeable people when things do not go their way, so employ diplomacy when breaking bad news or delivering less than stellar results.

Snake

Snake clients are sophisticated, and will go to great lengths to ensure everything they sign-off on adheres to their personal standards. This can sometimes be tedious or frustrating – especially because they can be less outgoing than others and you might find yourself pulling out all the stops in order to really connect with them – but it’s worth it, in the end.

Horse

Horse clients are incredibly spirited, and will likely say yes to every idea you and your team come up with. What’s more, you can count on Horses to gallop in order to get work done – but that also means they expect work to be completed at a brisk pace. Do you best to keep pace, but also be clear in communicating the deadlines you and your team are capable of delivering.

Goat

Working with Goat clients is usually a smooth process thanks to their easy-going, mellow demeanour. They rely a fair bit on their instincts, which may lead them to act on the first solution they’re presented with rather than taking the time to pause and consider others, but with the right encouragement, they’ll consider all options and then climb the mountain with you.

Monkey

Facts, figures and numbers may appeal more to the Monkey client than aesthetic images and lofty ideas. Make them see the practicality and profitability of your ideas, and they will be all yours.

Rooster

Of all of your clients, you will find the Rooster is extremely particular about timeliness. If you have decided on certain deadlines when negotiating with a Rooster client, they might as well be set in stone, so you’d better deliver.

Dog

You can depend on the Dog client to keep their word and stick with plans until the very end, even if they have to do so at a great personal cost. They will likely be reluctant to ask for help even if they need it, so do offer to take some responsibilities off their plate if you sense they can use some relief.

Pig

Pigs are very sociable and people-oriented, and you can be assured of a good time when you are working with them. Easily trusting, the Pig client can come across as gullible, but fear not – they are surprisingly clever.

Was your prediction accurate? Drop us an email at [email protected] if we got it right.

How to be a Mindful Communicator

When I worked for a government organisation, I was tasked with drafting an internal document that would help outline a new project. After a month, it was a multi-chaptered, highly detailed and cross-indexed behemoth – the kind of document you complain about putting together, but are secretly proud of when you send it “upstairs” for approval.

Unfortunately, “upstairs” was not as in love as I was, and what followed was a week of vague feedback about “alignment” and “strategic integration”. Frustrated and dejected, I eventually went to a more senior colleague who, after a quick read, said “Aiyah! No wonder they said no. Don’t have the buzzwords they wanted!” He then proceeded to give me a list of “key terms” that needed to be added to the document. These phrases did not add much meaning, they did not communicate anything new, and, in some cases, had to be shoehorned in to fit. But you can guess how this story ends: magically, the document was now perfectly aligned and strategically integrated.

Most people laugh at this story because it’s relatable – everyone in the working world has come up against this type of corporate speak at least once. But to me, it’s both a humorous anecdote and a cautionary tale: because I sometimes catch myself automatically lapsing into buzzwords and corporate speak.

So in 2019, let’s Marie Kondo our habits and aim to be a more mindful communicator.

The importance of mindful communication

In George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, he introduced the idea of “Newspeak” – a totalitarian government’s attempt at stripping language down to its bare essentials to eliminate “undesired thoughts”. Within the novel, Orwell theorised that if people had restricted grammar and limited vocabulary, it would limit freedom of thought.

Though the world hasn’t completely reduced the value of discourse (okay, maybe a little), I’ve seen many instances where people opt for the shorthand of corporate speak instead of taking the time to explain fully what they mean. Though the use of corporate buzzwords can be essential at times, the danger lies in when it comes time to think about new things or to improve on existing models.

To help us break out of the spin cycle and practise mindful communication, I’m sharing a few lessons I’ve learned over the years and that I, too, am using on the daily.

1. Communicate with intent

There’s a misconception that many people in the PR industry talk for talking’s sake. I believe the opposite is true. Most of my peers are hyper-aware of everything they say, and if it’s a choice between saying nothing or risk saying something that doesn’t have value, they tend to err on the side of caution. Before starting on any type of correspondence, ask yourself if there’s a clear intention behind it. If there really isn’t – and you’d be surprised how often this happens – then not communicating might even be a better choice. If there is a clear intention, though, then let that be your starting point. For example, if your email is to request information from a client, then start your email with that request upfront and gear the rest of the email towards helping your client fulfil that request.

2. Think beyond words

Communication is closely tied to words and language, but it’s about so much more than locution. There are studies that indicate using mind maps helps with the ability to recall that information. This makes practical sense, as the bias toward visuals is probably why YouTube has become the world’s second most used search engine (consider the last time you needed a “how-to” guide).

A mindful communicator should be prepared to explore other means of communication, such as illustrations, videos or charts, in order to make a point. Even with text-heavy documents something as simple as inserting bullet points and tables can be immensely helpful when discussing dense information.

3. More than just buzzwords

Jargon, buzzwords and industry slang can be great in certain situations, but you’ve got to be mindful of how you use these terms.

Take, for example, the phrase “end-to-end solution”. Technically it means a product or service that encompasses an entire process, but this term has become overused (and misused, in some cases) within the tech industry. Not only has it lost its meaning and impact, those outside the tech likely will not fully understand what it means. This happens often with buzzwords (e.g. “sustainability”, “holistic” “360-degree-approach”), and thus the challenge is to find new ways to phrase concepts that are both accurate and succinct.

So, the next time you find yourself slipping into a buzzword fugue state, take a cleansing breath and try to bring a little more awareness and mindfulness into how you communicate – hopefully you’ll find a new way of breaking through an already noisy world.

Promoting Sincerity: The Marketing Power of BTS

“Do you know BTS?”

The oft-repeated line began as a question that Jin, one of the members of K-pop group BTS, would ask random people during the group’s early days, when few outside of South Korea were aware of them. But now, Jin asks this question semi-ironically, knowing many people around the world know exactly who the group is. Which is to say, if you don’t know BTS, you haven’t been paying attention.

Since their debut in 2013, BTS has been making headlines, topping music charts, and breaking linguistic and cultural barriers across the world in a way that no other Korean act has. In 2018, BTS’ popularity boomed worldwide, and in Singapore, tickets to their 19 January concert at the 55,000-seat National Stadium sold out in four hours. Demand for tickets to watch their documentary, Burn the Stage: The Movie crashed the Shaw Theatres website for hours and they were the second most listened to artist on Spotify in Singapore.

But what is it about these seemingly normal young men that draws in the masses and turns everything they touch into marketing gold?

Sincere messaging and communication

The group’s popularity is largely thanks to the socially conscious lyrics they often pen themselves, their brotherly group dynamics and their impressive stage performances. But their use of social media and passion marketing are factors to their success that cannot be ignored – and that we can all learn from.

Passion and sincerity are important elements of any marketing and social media strategy, but it can be hard for these to come through in execution – especially because consumers can sense when a brand is faking it. But brands that are successful in communicating their passions genuinely will find that an audience is more willing to engage with and support them; a fact that BTS can attest to. Their savvy use of multiple social media platforms, including Twitter, Weibo, and VLive, allows them to communicate with their fans, known as ARMY, and provide them with content that both functions as added value and extends their messages.

Unique and relevant storytelling

Since the group’s debut, they’ve used their songs to critique the society they grew up in through lyrics that decry South Korea’s education system; reject the idea that Millennials and Gen Z are lazy; and denounce socio-economic hierarchies in South Korea. The group’s progressive views are what initially attracted many fans – they found BTS to be not just talented, but resonant. For example, in their Love Yourself series, BTS explores how the journey of self-love is complicated and difficult, if also joyous and ultimately worthwhile – a poignant cause for a group from the nation with the second highest suicide rate in the world to champion.

Beyond this, BTS and their parent company, Big Hit Entertainment, have created a complex fictional universe – known as Bangtan Universe, or BU – in which the unchronological story of seven friends is told. What’s unique about this storytelling is that it’s gone beyond music video content and short films, spilling over into printed content called “The Notes” that came bundled with the Love Yourself albums, but that are also sometimes released via Twitter, and through a webtoon, launched on 17 January.

This combination of inspirational yet relatable lyrics with multi-platform storytelling has not only gained an audience, but hooked them.

Use of free content

All seven members of BTS regularly take to Twitter to share their lives with their nearly 18 million followers. Big Hit Entertainment also provides BTS photos and videos – ranging from teasers and music videos to behind-the-scenes footage and even things like 100 seconds of a BTS member eating snacks – on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

The majority of this content is provided for free. ARMY has even confounded the music industry by purchasing music they can obtain for free. The support for the group and the belief in what they communicate means their world tours sell out, their feature film-length documentary saw global box office results of over S$25 million, and their label is estimated to be valued at nearly S$3 billion. Where other brands struggle with translating a social media following and free content into sales conversions, Big Hit has yet to face that issue.

Of course, this sort of loyalty isn’t won overnight, but brands can learn from BTS’ unwavering dedication to the cause and constant stream of relevant content to drive and nurture their audience’s affection.

The power of passion

In the end, it isn’t flashy outfits, catchy beats and multi-tiered marketing campaigns that fuel BTS’ truly impressive global presence – it’s relevant messages of change, sincerity, love.

Though these messages are genuine, they have also worked as brilliant marketing tools and content pillars, skyrocketing the group to international acclaim. It is through this that BTS and Big Hit have succeeded in demonstrating passion marketing at its finest, positioning the group as thought leaders and voices of their generation. But more importantly, they have created genuine reciprocity between BTS and their ARMY.

Why Celebrity Endorsements Still Work

Celebrities are immensely powerful people. Whether you believe their power stems from genuine talent, notoriety or even the Illuminati, one thing’s for sure – they hold massive sway over their enthralled fans – including how their fans spend money.

In the latest example of celebrities flexing their muscles, the likes of Rihanna, John Legend and Taylor Swift have been using their influence to get people to vote in U.S. elections. Having recently broken her political silence, Swift took to the American Music Awards to encourage people to vote and shared the same message to her 112 million-strong following on Instagram. Within the next 24 hours, more than 166,000 people registered to vote, nearly half being Millennials.

Given that a single Instagram post from a celebrity can move people to leave their homes, fill out a government form, and flock to cast ballots, it is hardly surprising when eager crowds queue to lay their hands on Yeezy drops or a Balmain x H&M x Jenner collab.

So, what is it about celebrity endorsements that make us open our wallets?

The rise of accessible visual social platforms

In years past, you had to actually switch on the telly to catch a glimpse of your favourite A-lister selling you a fancy appliance. But thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and social media, these stars effectively live in our pockets. Given the amount of time we spend scrolling through our social feeds, we can’t help but be inundated with images of the new eyeshadow palette or sneaker they’re posing with.

In the 21st century, a celebrity’s star power, coupled with social media is a formidable pairing. By keeping up with personalities we admire via social media, we feel a strange sense of familiarity and solidarity. Suddenly, the stars we adore don’t seem so inaccessible. The distance between ourselves and these inaccessible stars is greatly reduced. And given that celebrities are finding caché and more opportunities to make money due to their online engagement numbers, following them on social media now includes not just seeing what they ate for lunch or how they spent their Sunday, but being updated on every single one of their paid partnerships.

We can’t get enough of a familiar name or face

Would we buy products emblazoned with the faces and signatures of a popular figure? The answer is yes, absolutely. Marketers understand our obsession with recognisable faces. Celebrities have become more than a comforting and familiar escape. They feel like our friends, even though it’s likely we’ve never met. We laugh with them, celebrate their successes and hardly think twice before double-tapping on their (probably) carefully photographed “candids”.

But brands are not limiting themselves to A-listers. Independent content creators with a sizeable following on Instagram or Youtube are also endorsing a variety of products, ranging from appetite-killing lollies to charcoal toothpaste. Given that social media plays a hand in determining our decision-making process, we’re bound to be tempted to buy whatever it is our faves are posing with.

Being featured in the same space as a figure of international renown has worked well for little-known names such as Fashion Nova, Supreme, and Boohoo, which were propelled to the forefront of public consciousness by mere association. The coveted Adidas x Yeezy collection attained cult status solely because of its association with Kanye West.

It’s all about credibility, baby

When a household name tells us what to buy, wear, and eat, we sit up and listen with rapt attention, because of our conviction in their opinion. By consuming the products they endorse, we experience a bump in our social status and feel a kindred connection with them. Most of us trust the quality of a product or a service which is backed by a celebrity’s testimony. We believe that they want the best for their fans, and would be careful as to never sell us anything that doesn’t align with their personal set of values. In this aspect, it is refreshing when public figures explain why they decided to collaborate with, or turn down a sponsored partnership with a brand or business.

The celebrity’s public persona and reputation matters greatly, too. You won’t see brands rushing to sign Lindsay Lohan as the face of their products anytime soon.

Furthermore, if a public figure promotes a brand directly related to their line of work, we are compelled to take their word for it. Do we believe that Rihanna is a chemist who labours away in a lab, painstakingly churning elixirs and formulas in a quest for to create foundation for every skin type? Not at all. But as a performing artiste with impeccable personal style, it is hardly surprising when her eponymous makeup line sells like hot cakes. We trust her to provide high-quality cosmetics and to educate us on how to groom ourselves.

There are several factors that play a role in determining the success of an endorsement: the celebrity in question, their past reputation and social media persona, credibility of their advice and testimonial, and the quality of work they produce in their line of work.

But for a celebrity endorsement to truly succeed, the personality – and their audience – need to be a perfect match for the product. So when considering engaging an influencer to hawk your wares, do your due diligence about not just who you like, but who your target audience likes, and go from there.

Endorsements are not miracle making tools. Brands must still be aware of possible ramifications of using such a tool and use it wisely, lest they become another case study on what not to do.

Need a beautiful person to influence others to buy your products? We can help: [email protected]

Cover photo: Pinterest

Steer Clear Of These Five Things When Working With A Designer

People employ designers for a variety of reasons: their company’s website requires a facelift, they need a hip logo for their book club, or they want to impress a client with cool infographics. Working with us designers can be a fun, seamless, and painless process…but only if you avoid committing these five cardinal sins:

Being vague with instructions and feedback

“Make it pop? Sure. By the way, I’ll be sending you an invoice for my mind reading services, too.”

Be as specific as possible when it comes to giving designers with instructions, direction or feedback on a project. Ambiguity isn’t going to help you achieve what you need, and will only leave the designer feeling stumped. To minimise frustration, be clear, direct and transparent when providing feedback to your designers. We are not psychic, and do not work well with meaningless phrases such as “make it pop” (how?), or “make this more yellow” (what kind of yellow?) or “this artwork is missing an X-factor” (What, exactly, is the X-factor for you?).

Designers are visual creatures, so use that to your advantage! It only takes a few minutes to throw together a mood board, which is a thematic collage that captures the essence of what you want the final artwork to look like. Attach examples of other projects in line with your vision so your designers can better ascertain the aesthetic you’re aiming for.

(Source: Electric Trends)

Getting your designer to work on non-editable files/low resolution images.

To effectively solve your business problems, we need tools that will help us get the job done. This includes assets such as working, editable files (think Adobe Creative Suite, not JPGs or PDFs), font files, text which can be copy-pasted and high-quality images (72 DPI for web and 300 PPI for print, as increasing the size of a low-resolution image would lead to pixelation) for efficiency. Heads up: screenshots and Microsoft Powerpoint or Word files do not count as design assets, as we cannot modify them.

(Source: Yearbook Machine)

Providing inadequate content

Designers are not magicians and cannot conjure artworks out of thin air. If you don’t provide assets or content for us to work with, you are setting everyone involved in the project up for failure. When giving us the design brief, it’s okay not to have all content in place. However, expecting the designers to rely solely on placeholder text and images to work with will only create the possibility of several rounds of re-design. If there is no finalised content, there can be no design.

On the other hand, dumping a mountain of content on us and expecting us to sift through the suitable parts will cause us to miss our deadlines, both internal and external. If you are the kind of person who expects work to be turned around quickly, make both our lives easier by providing us with the relevant, approved content so that there is minimal back-and-forth.

Expecting your designers to make changes instantly

The adage “good things come to those who wait” has never been more applicable. For the duration of the project, changes both major and minor are expected. However, expecting your designers to complete all edits in an hour is rather unreasonable.

Don’t underestimate the time needed to incorporate changes – even if the change seems simple to you, it may not actually be an easy fix. To save time, it is best to collate all edits and hand it over to your designer, and do try your best to keep the rounds of changes to a minimum. For everyone’s sanity.

Setting the deadlines without consulting the designer

The luxury of time is something we designers do not possess, as we are usually juggling multiple projects. If you give us unreasonable timelines, we will not be able to deliver. Procuring assets, loading files onto our digital workstations, conducting research and ideation, designing, editing, and testing digital platforms are time-consuming processes.

Never set a deadline without prior consultation with your designers. By having a chat about what’s an appropriate turn-around time expectations on both sides are adequately managed and no one will be disappointed.

Need a designer to whip up some beautiful artwork for your marketing campaign? Chat with us at [email protected]