Mindshare Singapore voted as Media Agency Of The Year for 5th consecutive year!

Mindshare Singapore is yet again the Marketing Magazine Media Agency of the Year! This is the 5th year in a row the Singapore office have won the award. The awards were given to agencies in different categories, not evaluated by a panel of judges, like most awards, but voted through a survey by close to a thousand senior clients & industry leaders.

Apart from being voted as the Media Agency of the Year 2009, Singapore was also voted top 5 in 2 new digital categories this year :


1. Online Advertising Agency : # 4
Mindshare was one of only 2 media agencies voted in this category where the Bronze award escaped from it by a mere one vote!

2. Search Marketing Agency : # 5
Mindshare was the ONLY media agency voted in this category!

Marketing Magazine attributed Mindshare Singapore’s unprecedented success to its ability to react swiftly to the uncertainty of the economy and resulting needs of its clients. It reported that the office had been busy expanding its service offering and expertise in new areas such as content creation, activation and sports sponsorship. Mindshare also launched new platforms like M-Xchange, M-Alert and M-Networking which were aimed at helping clients counteract the repercussions of the recession.

For instance, M-Xchange allows collaborations between clients to share marketing resources in order to generate better returns on their campaigns’ investments. While M-Alert was a media channel launched to help its clients to advertise their campaigns across its rich database of clients, partners, as well as the Group M and WPP networks in Singapore. Lastly, M-Networking is an industry outreach programme for clients and media partners to meet every 2 months to share and receive the marketing world's best practices.

‘As a result of the slump, some advertisers started to source for agencies that could offer more services through a single gateway, and our new business structure enabled us to meet those needs. A single-sourced partner like us enables marketers to be more efficient as it allows them to implement integrated campaigns with lesser vendors and this win is a reflection that they are buying into this philosophy,’ Sony Wong, leader of Mindshare Singapore, said.

On the new business front, Marketing also reported the office’s prolific streak of bagging major accounts like Aviva, TMP, Bank Julius Baer, Health Promotion Board and Sime Darby Motor Group. They were accounts like Nissan and Olympus which appointed Mindshare without a pitch, with the biggest coup being the capture of Starhub, Singapore’s 2nd largest telco. The office snapped the account from ZenithOptimedia.
Long standing clients such as Asia Pacific Breweries, CMC Markets and Zuji also extended their relationship with the agency.

In terms of high profile work, Marketing noted its recent Tiger beer ‘Winning The World Over’ digital work and Kotex’s “Be Absolutely U’ integrated content platform. Another highlight was its branded content partnership with Singapore’s Playboy edition, VIP Mag and television channel AXN to launch the VIP publication. In the area of activation, the office successfully executed the Aviva’s Guinness Book of World Records for the Longest Badminton Rally, Nissan 307Z Tokyo Rendezvous campaign, Nissan Summer Car Wash Charity Campaign as well as the Nestle Gold Chocolate “Valentine’s Day’ campaign.

‘The company culture has morphed into a media-neutral creative solutions partner to help us create competitive advantages for our clients’ businesses as marketers face intense pressure to deliver results rapidly,’ said Jimmy Lim, executive director.

Mindshare Invention Creates Marketing Programme for Nissan

The first in a series of upcoming marketing activities that are based on a consumer engagement platform conceptualised and managed by Mindshare, Nissan recently launched the 'Nissan Summer Car Wash' campaign.

The campaign comprises of a summer festival at its showrooms on Aug 1 and 2, with key highlights such as Charity Car Wash and a Charity Dunking Game involving OMY celebrity bloggers like Holly Jean and Naomi Liu. Other activities to keep visitors busy at the summer festival include water games like 'Spongy Summer Sponge' and 'Summer Super Shooter'. Visitors can also look forward to winning a trip to Tokyo at the summer festival.

'Ultimately, the automotive sector in Singapore will become increasingly competitive and marques need to be more innovative in their marketing by being more relevant in the consumer journeys. The Nissan Lifestyle Series programme is designed to present Nissan showrooms not as cold hard places for car viewings only, but also as a lifestyle destination of choice,' says Jimmy Lim, executive director of Mindshare Singapore.

In partnership with SPH Asiaone Network, Mindshare is also managing the campaign's online awareness and database marketing programme. In addition, Mindshare was also tasked to manage sponsorship opportunities for the platform. Zuji, a Mindshare client, was roped in for the current campaign.

'The Nissan marketing platform is one of the various platforms created and managed by Mindshare's Invention unit, showcasing our capabilities beyond media buying services,' adds Lim.


NB : THE INVENTION PROCESS 101

Invention is where we reinvent the industry, through blending our core skill of contact planning with our newest skill of content planning. Channel and content experts working together to generate and execute consumer journeys, instead of a factory from the last century churning out 30” TV commercials and banners and buttons for the web.

Invention focuses on the combination of contact and content – both being crucially important. The reach delivered by the smartest comms plan will be synergistic with the invention of content, services and applications that capture the attention of our clients' customers – essentially creating the ideal customer journey. We know that some of the most effective work comes when media and creative people work closely together –and Invention gives us a structure that can be game changing.

Having agreed the platform and architecture both internally and with clients, our team will move into production. They will work with craft specialists to develop the campaign assets – our open source approach allows us to collaborate with the most appropriate talent and media partner.

The Invention production people will know the best people to create TV programming, build microsites, develop mobile applications, organize live events and execute retail promotions and will commission (and manage) them to work on these projects.

Mindshare Sets World Record With Aviva

Aviva has successfully engaged its brand across segments and generations of Singaporeans to set a Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Badminton Rally
Event conceived by Mindshare and produced in partnership with Proximity and Fulford PR

Mindshare Invention unit created marketing history by conceptualising an activation platform for Aviva as a run-up to the Aviva Badminton Open 2009.

More than 600 Singaporeans from all age-groups took part in a day-long event on May 23 at the Raffles City mall to set a record for the World’s Largest Badminton Rally.

Shaun Meadows, CEO Aviva, Singapore & Hong Kong, launched the record attempt by sending a shuttlecock across to Paul Hughes, Aviva’s Director of Strategic Development. They were joined by Singapore's national players Ronald Susilo and Kendrick Lee.

The longest rally was achieved at 2.55pm with a total of 96 different people each hitting a shot in one continuous rally. Youth players; Goh Noriko and Tan Kiah Hui; and national doubles players cum sisters, Vanessa and Samantha Neo were part of this record-setting group.

Paul Hughes, Director of Strategic Development said, “We are ecstatic about setting a world record in the run up to the Aviva Open Singapore 2009. And we couldn’t be more pleased with the way the Aviva brand had engaged with the Singaporean community across all segments, generations and races via this unique idea.”

“Badminton is one of the largest participatory sports in Singapore, and going for the world record engages consumers with Aviva in an idea they love to share”, said Bharad Ramesh, deputy leader Mindshare Singapore, who was also one of the 96 participants in the record-setting group.

One of the most popular sporting events in Singapore, the Aviva Open Singapore will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 9 to 14 June 2009 and a star-studded line-up is expected to battle for the total prize purse of US$200,000.

Some public links to the record :

Guinness World Records
http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Most-People-Participating-in-a-Badminton-Rally/BLOG/287133/7691.html

Channel News Asia
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/431261/1/.html

Digital Marketing In A Recession? Just Do It (Part 4 of 4)

Welcome to ‘The Digital Reality’, a discussion forum in partnership with Microsoft Advertising. Over a series of 4 parts, we look at how marketers can overcome their fears of the digital frontier, which they can capitalize on to create competitive advantages for the brands they manage as well as for their own marketing careers.

In this final part, we’ll explore how we can tame the digital cold waters that freeze most marketers with fear.

Quiz : How do you kill a dinosaur? Read on to find the answer.

The First Step Is Not To Dive In Immediately

Marketers today are suffering from paralysis by over-analyzing digital. It was the same when marketers faced the same dilemma as TV began its run as the new media darling during the days went radio advertising was all that was.

While we are already welcoming Web 2.0, some marketers are still stuck at Web 1.0. Marketers must act more than they think, especially during the current recession. Otherwise, their competition will pull even further away. Be curious about digital and take steps to lay the foundations of your brand’s digital regime.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the Romans didn’t stand around wondering how it was going to look like. They took the first step by laying the foundations.

You don’t dive immediately into a pond before checking how cold the water is. So you test it with your feet first. In the same way, you can start learning about digital marketing by checking with the digital experts.

The recent Mindshare business restructure was our first step to respond to the ever changing consumer landscapes, with the key driver being the digitalisation of the consumers. The aim was to deliver a comprehensive offering through a simplified framework while maintaining a media-neutral stance. We are moving beyond just media-centric solutions to integrating digital, content creation and business planning into our company culture, to create competitive advantages for our clients’ businesses.

Many of us in Mindshare didn’t become digital experts overnight, we learnt progressively but you need to take the first step to go forward.

So get your feet wet and you’ll learn along the way. That’s the first step to accustom yourself to the digital cold waters before your body is wholly submerged in the pond.

But we’re not talking about just hosting a cool website and banner ads. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Start with a small campaign, analyse the results, tweak accordingly and use the measurements to improve the next one. As you learn and modify progressively, your confidence grows and eventually you’ll begin to shape a long term digital strategy.

The tipping point

One of the biggest obstacles keeping marketers from “just doing it” is not recognizing when they’re about to hit their tipping point in their marketing strategies and their own careers.

If a marketer starts to ask, “is this all there is to marketing?”, then a brand is closely approaching its tipping point and their own careers would have reached a plateau.

At that point, there is no incremental value that traditional marketing can deliver for your brand and even yourself as a marketer. You can either succumb to your fears; let your brand wilt away in the barren desert of traditional thinking, or you can seek the oasis of long term brand and career survival, the digital arena.

If Nike and its people had already use digital to fortify the brand and their own careers, what risks are you taking for your own brand and career?

Nothing.

For those who really want new results during the current recession, you can’t keep doing the same old things. It’s time to do things differently, and that’s what new marketing is about.

In reality, “Just Do It” is much easier said than done. But choosing to ignore digital marketing will place a brand and even your career at a greater risk of slipping into oblivion.

So how do you kill a dinosaur? You don’t, evolution will.

Article by :
Jimmy Lim,
Executive Director of Mindshare Singapore,


For more information, please contact Jimmy.Lim@mindshareworld.com

Mindshare kicked off with VIP on a high

To view more photos from the Party, please click the link below :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38624350@N06/

Mindshare Singapore’s Invention unit recently teamed up with Rabbithead Enterprise, the publisher of VIP Singapore, to strategize and develop sponsorship platforms in conjunction with its Singapore launch. VIP is an extension of the world’s best selling men’s magazine, Playboy.

One of the platforms jointly conceptualized was the classic Playboy Party, which was marketed to lifestyle brands like Mini, Armand De Brignac Champagne and Heineken. Billed as the private party of the year, the world famous Playboy Playmates were flown in to grace the launch event where 5 lucky men won all-expense paid dates with the Playmates.

Over 500 specially-invited advertisers and business partners gathered at Oosh on 16th April and were treated to a night of great company and endless flow of exquisite food and drinks.

‘We are honoured to be the lead business partner for Playboy. The venture leveraged on the new Mindshare Value Exchange Framework of blending our core skill of contact planning with the skill of content planning,’ said Jimmy Lim, executive director of Mindshare Singapore.

AXN Asia, the leading English general entertainment cable channel in the region, was roped in as media and production partner. The search for the lucky men was aired on the AXN original production, The Duke, a glossy men’s magazine show that showcases Asia’s elite men and their inspirational success stories, and the latest in upscale lifestyle trends and happenings.

“This is a great initiative by Mindshare, cleverly designing a platform to pull in all relevant partners to give clients a bigger bang for the buck,” said Ricky Ow, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SPE Networks – Asia.

Lim adds, ‘Our Value Exchange Framework allows our channel and content experts to work together on the VIP platform, to capture the attention of our clients’ customers – essentially creating the ideal customer journey.’

“VIP’s partnership with Mindshare and AXN has exceeded our expectations,” says Norlindah Sumaidi, VIP Magazine’s Associate Publisher. “For a new brand like ours to get this amount of regional exposure is extremely beneficial for all parties and we look forward to continuing this relationship for future VIP projects.”

A glimpse of the party’s antics will also be available on AXN’s eBuzz, a weekly entertainment magazine show featuring the latest in the glamorous world of celebrities, movies, music and television.

‘This venture has shifted the dynamics of the relationship between agency and media owners, from a reseller structure to a partnership model,’ said Lim.

Digital Marketing In A Recession? Just Do It (Part 3 of 4)

Welcome to ‘The Digital Reality’, a discussion forum in partnership with Microsoft Advertising. Over a series of 4 parts, we look at how marketers can overcome their fears of the digital frontier, which they can capitalize on to create competitive advantages for the brands they manage as well as for their own marketing careers.

This week, we look at managing change and profiting from it in the face of increasing competition.

Greatness Starts With Taking Risks

Not surprisingly that today, Nike remains one of the most recognised brands in the world since it blazed the marketing trail with its Air Jordan campaigns in the 80s.

Nike continues to succeed because it recognises the constant changes in the consumer spaces, understands the risks of not adapting to these changes, and then devises marketing strategies around these changes.

Marketers need to possess that same ‘Can Do’ spirit when it comes to digital marketing. ‘Just Do It’ embodies the crucial tipping point in which one will go from fearful, worrying about the risks and repercussions; to actually doing it by integrating digital into its marketing DNA.

It’s pretty scary to take a plunge but remember that time is ticking away. Every minute, a brand gets closer to its end if it doesn’t recognize the forces of change within the new consumer landscapes. Soon, it will be left for death, as more brands leave the barren land and hop onto the information super highway where consumers are commuting on.

While your competition are still numbed with fear and trying to figure out digital, you can speed ahead by capitalizing on first mover advantage with digital marketing.


Death And Taxes, Or Choose Action

Nothing will motivate a person more to live than death itself. The only constant in life are death and taxes, everything else are in perpetual flux. So perhaps the fear of a career death would then jolt a marketer into action. Sadly, many of us do not realize death until we’re inflicted with a disease.

If Bill Gates had lived in the fear of the unknown during the slump of the 80s, the world would not have enjoyed improved productivity.

Don’t worry whether you fail or not. Don’t think about the money you’ll lose. The internet is measurable and you can change your marketing dynamics according to the responses tracked, faster and swifter than any other traditional mediums.

Next week, we’ll explore how we can tame the digital cold waters that freeze most marketers with fear.

Contributed by :
Jimmy Lim
Mindshare Singapore
jimmy.lim@mindshareworld.com

Tiger beer takes digital engagement route

The latest Tiger beer TVCs, showcasing its international appeal, takes on a new milestone. Working with Mindshare Singapore, Tiger embarked on a digital engagement platform to extend the campaign beyond reach and frequency.

Beyond just banner advertising, the campaign sought to ensure the target audience understand the TVCS' message and in doing so, they get rewarded with a chance to win a trip to London for 4 people. The digital campaign signifies a shift from sole reliance on terrestrial TV to deliver the reach and frequency.

'With consumers shifting towards digital, they are getting harder to reach through the traditional platforms. The web is a one-to-many and two-way conductor, as well as the facilitator of conversations between consumers. The Tiger team recognised this and thus saw the value in the integrated approach of SPH's digital platform,' said Jimmy Lim, executive director of Mindshare Singapore.