29 Nov 2019

TIGER ROAR YUKI EDITION UNITES UNCONVENTIONAL TALENTS FROM SINGAPORE + JAPAN IN TOKYO

It was also the first time the iconic Singaporean beer and STB ventured out of Singapore together since inking a two-year marketing partnership in June 2019. The Heineken Asia-Pacific Export team worked with GOVT Singapore to conceptualize and produce TIGER ROAR: YUKI EDITION. The event drew a total of over 38,000 visitors across 4 days. The event was a celebration of food, art, fashion and music from Singapore and Japan. It presented a rare opportunity for 10 Tiger RAW artists from both nations to showcase their unconventional talents and uncage their unexpected possibilities. Launched in Korea in November 2018, Tiger Roar is a global platform for undiscovered talent to connect, collaborate, and get inspired. By signing up and submitting their work, these talents will be able to connect with like-minded people, showcase their craft to a wider audience, and submit their work to participate in Tiger Beer’s upcoming initiatives happening around the world. One of the highlights was an exclusive menu specially created by Tiger Beer’s global chef Aaron Wong, in collaboration with Japanese Chef Sakura Akimoto. The menu served up 7 mouth-wateringdishes, each showcasing the amalgamation of distinctive flavours from both countries, such as Samsui Chicken skewers, Japanese Curry Puff, Orh Jian (Fried Oyster Egg) with Miso Paste, Bak Kut Teh Ramen and more. Other interesting collaborations included the pairing of Japanese unorthodox watercolourist, Yoshitaka Nishigaki with Singaporean Polymath artist, Messymsxi. The two teamed up to create The Little Red Dot artwork that symbolised the similarities and differences of both countries, with the artwork further extended to Japan exclusive limited edition Tiger Beer bottles. The duo also further collaborated with Amos Ananda Yeo, a Singaporean fashion designer who was most recently awarded Most Influential International Designer at the China International Fashion Week, to create the limited edition Little Red Dot apparel that includes tees and bomber jackets – for sale exclusively at the event. There was also a unique music and art cross-over, where Ikebana artist Ryota Hagiwara joined forces with Japanese musician, KEIZOmachine! to produce an energetic performance that combined traditional Japanese floristry with hip-hop beats. Visitors were also treated to the incredible voices and music of Japanese electronic artist Sapphire Slows, Singapore’s indie-electronic duo, .gif, and homegrown Spotify sensation Linying. TIGER ROAR: YUKI EDITION further introduced Japan to a new way of drinking Tiger draft beer with the BLADE machine – a revolutionary new counter-top system made for small spaces. It draws from 8-litre PET kegs, using an air compressor to offer better-quality draft beers. Johnny Tan, Japan market lead for Heineken Asia-Pacific Export said: “TIGER ROAR: YUKI EDITION is the epitome of what Tiger Roar represents; There is a tiger in all of us, and we just need the right platform to uncage it. A huge thank you to Singapore Tourism Board and the Global Tiger Brand Team for their belief, support and partnership spirit. A huge congratulations to the entire Japan working team and all the Raw talents for a very successful event.”

05 Nov 2019

Changi Airport’s ground handler makes foray into B2C market, promotes travel app

Changi Airport's ground handler SATS has launched a multi-channel campaign for its travel app, Ready to Travel. Making a foray into the B2C landscape, SATS first launched the app two years ago and aims to promote its new collaborative itinerary planning feature. The company has partnered with GOVT Singapore, after a pitch called earlier this year. As part of the campaign, the agency has rolled out a series of social videos called "The Next Timers". The first video called "Inspiration" follows a group of friends?who discuss a potential holiday destination but put it off after one says there is nothing much to do there. At that moment, a bystander jumps in to interrupt the friends and introduce "Ready to Travel" which has ideas and recommendations for those planning a trip. Meanwhile, the second spot captures a different scenario with the same group of friends. This time, the friends plan a trip to get away from work woes but realise that creating an itinerary is time-consuming in their busy lives. The same bystander overhears the conversation and encourages the friends to use the Ready to Travel app to jointly select activities and add to the itinerary list within the app. In both videos, a friend constantly says "next time" to brush off the holiday trip. According to SATS, the app looks to play a role in turning "next time" into "right now". The videos will be featured on social, as well as outdoor?with cinema placements. The media was handled by Havas Media Singapore. Keith Loke, head of marketing, Ready To Travel, Consumer Services, SATS, said the travel app is garnering positive response with the recent brand launch and social engagement efforts.According to Loke, Ready to Travel is in line with SATS' vision to connect Asia travellers, particularly the millennial?and free-independent travellers in the region. "It has been a valuable partnership with GOVT where the agency team has brought positive energy, understanding of the emerging traveller market and eCommerce industry insights. We are excited?for what's to come in 2020," he added. SATS looks to continue an aggressive push of the app in 2020, with more engagements in the pipeline. Meanwhile, Min Mei Foong, senior account director at GOVT said the agency is looking forward to helping the brand expand into the B2C segment, "which possesses great growth potential especially in today's digital travel economy.

30 Sep 2019

GOVT hires former BBDO Shanghai MD Alvina Seah to lead SG operations

Former BBDO Shanghai managing director Alvina Seah (pictured) has joined independent creative agency GOVT as managing director. Based in Singapore, Seah succeeds former GOVT CEO Jeremy Heng who left the agency in June. Her remit will be to lead the agency’s cultural, strategic and financial health, as well as the agency’s key accounts. Seah will report to Leon Lai, co-founder and group CEO of ALT Worldwide, the parent company of GOVT. The agency was established has grown from a three-man start up to that of a 60-man strong agency in Singapore and well-known across Southeast Asia. GOVT Singapore counts the likes of OCBC Bank, Julie’s, Tiger Beer and Netflix amongst its roster of clients. According to Lai, Seah represents the new breed of agency leaders in the world today and in the past two months with the agency, has shown real gravitas and commanded respect by not being afraid to roll her sleeves up and get to the work. “You don’t rise to be managing director in nine years in a network agency in a highly competitive market such as China by being lousy in your job. The partners are incredibly excited to be working with Seah to lead GOVT to the next phase of growth,” he said. Seah was previously based in Shanghai, China for her role with BBDO. She has been with the Omnicom-owned ad agency since 2010, starting as an account director and scaling her way to the MD role. During her nine-year stint with the agency, Seah has handled global brands such as Pepsico, Visa, P&G, McDonald’s and many others. She moved to BBDO’s boutique arm EnergyBBDO in 2016 as general manager for two years. Prior to joining BBDO, Seah was within the parent network’s creative shop TBWA\Group Singapore. She served for over four years as an account manager. Before that, she had a brief stint with BBDO’s Proximity Singapore. “In this era, the one constant that the marketing and creative landscape will face, is change. To be part of an agency such as GOVT who sees the need for this agility to change makes it an exciting place to contribute to the energy and vigour of the industry,” Seah said.

23 Sep 2019

GOVT, THE LAB AND TIGER PAY HOMAGE TO THE DAY BEFORE SINGAPORE’S NATIONAL DAY

This year, Tiger disrupts conventional celebrations by paying homage to the day before, 8 August, to honour the journey of hard work and determination that brought us to our day of success. From National Day to Graduation Day and Opening Day, everyone celebrates the actual day of our achievements. Yet, it’s actually the days and days before our success that really mattered. This much-awaited Big Day is amassed by long hours and late nights of sheer dedication and determination. Drawing on this shared experience, Tiger released a tribute video today on 8 August that champions and celebrates every moment of that journey to bring home the message that “it is what we do today that we will celebrate tomorrow”. Titled ‘The Day Before’, the short film draws a parallel between Singapore’s transformation and Singaporeans’ journey to success. Released intentionally the day before National Day, Tiger looks to relive the struggle-to-success moments of homegrown talents from all walks of life and how it reflects our journey as one people and one nation. Featuring Paul and Wayne Liew from Michelin-Plated Keng Eng Kee Seafood, founder of design retailer Naiise Dennis Tay, Hokkien opera singer Lee Ah Lek, pop-rock band TKB, and fashion designer Amos Ananda Yeo, the film focuses on their memories, experiences and occasions to celebrate the Singapore spirit. “Born and brewed in Singapore, it is in Tiger’s DNA to champion local talents and celebrate what it means to be Singaporeans. By highlighting the momentous journey of each unique homegrown talent, we want to jolt Singaporeans into realising the significance of National Day by remembering the journey that brought us to our big day. Whether as a local brand or a nation, we are where we are today because we pushed against the limits to unlock possibilities and uncage potential. It is this journey and the unwavering spirits of Singaporeans that got us here today and will drive us forward tomorrow,” said Faye Wee, Marketing Director of Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore. Conceptualised by GOVT & THE LAB and produced in collaboration with The Momentum, the video airs on TV, cinema, digital and social media channels on 8 August. In the lead-up to the release of the campaign film on 8 August, Tiger also shared short teaser cuts and images created by AKA Asia across Facebook and Instagram that cast a spotlight on each talent’s journey.

23 Sep 2019

GOVT Singapore helps biscuit brand Julie’s resonate with China market

Malaysian household brand Julie's has launched a short film, as it delves deeper into the China market. The film runs for about 15 mins, and on all Julie's social channels regionally. Conceptualised and written by GOVT Singapore, the film was co-produced with Thailand-based Wakeup Rabbit. The spot revolves around a professional translator based in Thailand who describes his job as one that requires a person to be void of emotions. The translator excels at helping others communicate, but in his own life, he lacks social skills. The film starts off as the translator is on set for a biscuit commercial, and takes viewers around the lead character's journey of self-discovery about what being human truly means. Speaking to Marketing, Aaron Koh, chief creative officer and Kevin Joseph, creative group head at GOVT said while the China market is booming with TikTok users and with the growing demand for snackable content, Julie’s had other ideas with the story they wanted to tell. They added that "the team never set out to write a story to fit a particular time limit", and as such, 15 mins just "happened to be the amount of time the team needed to tell the story to the fullest".  Both Koh and Joseph explained that this is despite the fact that more and more clients are now asking for film times to be cut down. "It's the story that counts, however long it takes to tell it," they said. According to the agency, the objective behind the film was to widen Julie's awareness and increase its sales. Koh and Joseph also told Marketing that before stepping into the China market, the team undertook a long research process and after writing the script, the team consulted with its on-ground counterparts to ensure the story would resonate with the Chinese audience.  "In the end, we felt that this was a human story, not merely a Chinese one. Love and sacrifice are concepts anyone can relate to," they said. Credits: Client: Julie's Agency: GOVT Singapore Creative director: Aaron Koh Group head: Kevin Joseph Writer: Aaron Koh, Kevin Joseph Accounts servicing: Vanessa Aguirre Tan, Sheryl Chua Senior producer: Jasmine Tan Production house: Wakeup Rabbit Producer: Sirikarn Thanaphaisarnsiri Director: Pagorn Jungrungruang

23 Sep 2019

OCBC BANK, GOVT SINGAPORE AND ROYSTON TAN TELL GURMIT SINGH’S IMPERFECT JOURNEY

Singaporeans have grown up side-by-side with Gurmit Singh, who was born the same year Singapore was founded. But beyond the laughs they’ve shared with him, they’ve never really got to know his real story.