Secret Lives of Singaporeans issue #1: Over-the-top product placements, VTL and SG Budget

SECRET LIVES OF SINGAPOREANS Issue #1 – Week commencing 21 February 2022 Authored with pride by Zhang Weitian, Daniel Liu, Q Akashah, Paolo Alvarez, Frederick Tong

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Secret Lives of Singaporeans is an ongoing collection of marketer-friendly briefs on the fascinating people of the little red dot, by planners and PR consultants from the big red agency. It’s not “thought leadership”, it’s “DO inspiration”.

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Each issue comprises • One thing people in Singapore are talking about • One thing people in Singapore are searching for • One thing that’s in the news in Singapore

<Pic from Q>

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One thing people in Singapore are talking about:

2 HOURS OF MOVIES OR 2 HOURS OF ADS?

Image Credits: Ah Boys To Men Facebook Page

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WHAT

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Stereotypical portrayal of women and distasteful screenplay. Those were not the only things (yikes) movie-goers grumbled about after watching Jack Neo’s Ah Girls Go Army.

It was the blatant product placements and sponsorships that left many criticising and questioning the need to do so.

Although the phenomenon of brand placement in films and television is as old as the industry itself, what was once seen as an ‘organic’ way to reach out to consumers is now being shunned and shamed instead.

Brands need to remember product placements and sponsorships exist precisely because consumers don’t like to be interrupted by ads. These should be used only in ways that integrate with and enhance the consumer experience.

Take the Netflix hit, ‘It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’ as an example. Seo Ye-ji’s wardrobe caught the attention of viewers and fashion industry by storm with listicles and press releases on her iconic looks as screengrabs bombarded the internet with each episode.

As marketers, striking the balance between noticeable and obtrusive is key. We should ensure the brand serves the story and makes natural sense within the storyline. This can then be supplemented with digital ads and other content that amplify the integration.

SO WHAT *Source: Marketing Interactive

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One thing people in Singapore are searching for:

VORACIOUS TRAVEL LONGING

Image Credits: Unsplash

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WHAT The loosening of vaccinated travel lane (VTL) regulations – and we don’t mean in bubbles that burst like the false starts before – has had people in Singapore straining at the leash to scratch their travel itch. In the last 30 days, they made 83,140 VTL-related searches about 23 destination countries.

In a shift from Singaporeans’ most desired destinations as recently as a year ago, the five most searched-for destinations from Singapore are: 1) Malaysia (50% of top five)

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2) Thailand (20%) 3) South Korea (16%) 4) Australia (8%) 5) Indonesia (6%) If you’re a travel marketer, you can multiply these by route yield to guide budget allocation. Drill down into the specific dimensions of searches for each destination and there you have it: content pillars.

SO WHAT

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OGILVY

One thing in the news in Singapore:

ADDRESSING INEQUALITY IN #SGBUDGET2022

Image Credits: Mothership

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WHAT

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#SGBudget2022 saw numerous initiatives introduced to reduce inequality and strengthen social compact.

These range from increasing wealth tax to the government bolstering social spending with an additional S$640m to the Assurance Package for cash payouts and subsidies to middle and lower-income households to cushion the impact of the impending GST hikes and overall cost of living.

1) If you’re a retailer, consider communicating that once-off measures to help consumers are good, but your longstanding offerings are even better.

2) Even if you’re not, it’s a topical opportunity to communicate about commitments that don’t change: your brand’s promise, ethos, service quality and customer experience, for instance.

3) Is your brand pursuing any social initiatives that support Singapore’s efforts to become a more caring and inclusive society? If so, make sure to share about these efforts in a genuine, empathetic and authentic manner e.g. executives sharing on LinkedIn about such social initiatives and why these align with the company’s values.

SO WHAT

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Hungry for more?

Talk to us at secretlivessg@ogilvy.com