ENGR-ISH NO MORE

To buck a declining sales trend, we needed to introduce the classic board game to a younger generation of players. For years Hong Kong's English proficiency index had dropped. The culprit? Chinglish—a mix of English and Chinese that had become an inseparable part of everyday communication. To help our audience to improve their command of the world's most international language, Scrabble created a first: a keyboard app that combines 'AutoComplete' with 'AutoThesaurus'.

We racked up 5000 downloads on Google Play within the first 2 weeks. Schools across Hong Kong also endorsed the app, which earned over 400 000 social media impressions. In the end, Scrabble created a new way for young people to learn English.

THE MEDICINAL BENEFITS OF REAL CHOCOLATE

We needed to find a way to make Very Chocolate stand out on busy shelves. We knew the brand had a high percentage of cacao. We also knew the unbelievable healing powers of unashamedly thick, rich chocolate.

Our brand refresh lifted sales by 40% in the first 7 weeks with a minimal budget. In fact, the brand sold so well, it sold out in many retailers and needed to be reordered.

DELIGHT. DELIVERED.

Pizza and movies are a match made in heaven—an association Pizza Hut has leveraged a long time. How could we extend this union to delight customers? Pizza Hut has always been an innovator in every aspect of its business, from menus and ways to order to delivery methods and packaging technology. To continue this tradition, we turned the humble pizza box into something everybody would want to keep: a movie projector.

The result? $3m HKD worth of PR.

THOUSANDS OF WARM WISHES

Shangri-La embraces every guest with hospitality from the heart. To celebrate the site of our new hotel in Istanbul—on the banks of the Bospherous, we floated thousands of lanterns, containing a handwritten message of goodwill from guests and colleagues around the world, across the Bospherous Straits—a crossing point between East and West for centuries. As each message flicked under the night sky of Istanbul, the beautiful lanterns gracing the Bospherous created an enchanting living line connecting two worlds—Asia and Europe.

GALAXY S20 SERIES / GALAXY NOTE 10 GLOBAL INTRO FILMS

These projects are not award-winning but always challenging. They are huge and consist of many moving parts. They have a specific purpose and require a lot of thinking. Deadlines and parameters are tight. Clients are tough. The agency needs them to run smoothly.

I worked with teams in the US, UK and Seoul. Apart from playing a strategic and conceptual role, I was tasked with penning web copy, feature lines, narratives and scripts.

The first film was part of a global roll out to launch Samsung's flagship 'camera phone' -- the Galaxy S20 Series. Our concept of 'missed moments now found' demonstrated the device's photo and video functionality.

The second film was released to unveil for the very first time the features of the new Galaxy Note 10. They had to be explained in a way that was easy for the world to understand -- next-level power, all in one device.

GALAXY SMARTTAG GLOBAL LAUNCH


Finding important things in your life is now easy, even when they are far away.

The campaign line TAG IT. FIND IT. SIMPLY SMARTER appeared on all assets from digital to KV to tutorial films. Our launch film garnered over half a million YouTube hits.

GALAXY UNPACKED APRIL 2021

To arouse curiosity for a Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled in New York, where Samsung would be launching their most powerful Galaxy Book yet, we created an online teaser with a simple but powerful message.

The event was live-streamed and drew over 10m viewers worldwide.

The teaser was seen almost 2 million times on YouTube.

SAMSUNG HEALTH TOGETHER 1:10 GLOBAL LAUNCH FILM

Just because COVID-19 kept us apart did not mean we had to be alone. Thanks to Samsung Health, friends could still exercise together and encourage each other to stay healthy and positive during the pandemic even though they were physically apart. To demonstrate this, the film focussed on the app's 'Together' chat features.

Once again filming a large scale production during COVID-19 forced us to figure out new ways to get things done.

The campaign led to over 10 million app downloads.

THE ALL NEW GALAXY A52 5G FILM

We had to build a low budget product story around the existing global campaign slogan: awesome is for everyone.

Because the device was only available online, our film took the form of an online review, which highlighted key features and benefits in a more authentic way -- through a series of consumer messages and chats.

AUTO SWITCH GLOBAL FILM

The Samsung Galaxy Ecosystem delivers seamless, convenient, super easy, connected experiences.

A perfect example of this is Auto Switch on Galaxy Buds2 Pro which allows users to switch audio sources from Samsung TV to Galaxy S23, with just a tap.

Our job was to increase global awareness and sales of both buds and Samsung TV with a simple Auto Switch product story that would run across digital Samsung channels.

GALAXY BUDS2 PRO GLOBAL CAMPAIGN: RECOMMENDED BY THE PROS

Our idea was simple. Galaxy Buds2 Pro delivers the ultimate sound. So you can hear your music like it's meant to be heard.

Our first film featured producer, songwriter and BTS superstar, Suga, explaining how Galaxy Buds2 Pro helps him achieve his vision: to ensure his army of fans hear and feel the exact sound he has painstakingly crafted.

For our second film, Galaxy Bud2 Pro partnered with OneRepublic frontman and 3x Grammy winner, Ryan Tedder to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his iconic hit 'Counting Stars' by helping him release a 2023 version of the song. We follow his musical journey and see how Galaxy Buds2 Pro bridges two worlds: the studio and the real world of the listener, allowing them to hear the re-envisioned track the way Ryan and the band truly intended it to be heard.

GALAXY Z FLIP5 BTS CAMPAIGN: EVERYDAY ARCHIVE BY @rkive

Samsung Galaxy has been doing partnership campaigns for over 4 years now with the world's biggest supergroup: BTS.

RM is a rapper, songwriter, music producer and leader of the band. His Instagram ID is @rkive, meaning he loves to archive and record moments of his daily life, which are all captured and posted with his Galaxy. This led to our idea: Everyday collector or archive.

In our other films, other band members demonstrated different Galaxy Z Flip5 features in unique ways which were also true to their everyday life. This maintained the authenticity between the brand and the character of the superstars who promoted it.

The campaign was appreciated most by the band's 'army' of fans who flooded social media with positive responses from around the world. Now more are fans of the brand than ever before.

Our campaign continued Galaxy's global 'Join the Flip Side' theme.

WELCOME TO BESPOKE AI GLOBAL LAUNCH CAMPAIGN

We had to announce the arrival of BESPOKE AI with short, teaser films across social channels. Each required a fresh, simple product story to deliver a campaign message:

Samsung's BESPOKE appliance range is now supercharged by AI to provide more convenient, customized and intelligent experiences that allow users to do less and live more.

Our films were shot in Seoul, Spain and the US.

Samsung Appliances liked the campaign so much, we got projects to work on that had actually been earmarked for other agencies.

SAMSUNG X PARIS 2024: GAMES SHARED #withGalaxy + VICTORY SELFIE


Under the global campaign theme 'Open Always Wins' we produced a tech partnership film to show how Samsung uses innovation and collaboration to make the Olympics more open to all.

We also had to find a way to drive sales for the new foldable Galaxy Z Flip6 with AI.

To demonstrate Samsung's commitment to enhancing the athlete experience as well as meaningful human connections, every Olympian received a Galaxy Z Flip6 the moment they arrived in Paris. Custom-built features included live translate, dual-screen interpreter and special services for unlimited public transport.

We also not only used the phone to broadcast the opening ceremony and sailing events. We developed a Victory Selfie camera application for the athletes. For the first time they could use Galaxy Z Flip6 at the podium to capture and share with the world the raw emotion behind winning a medal. While Samsung got associated with some of the Game's biggest moments that showcased the unifying power of sport. All powered by AI.

Besides leveraging a global platform to maximize media buzz and a positive impact, we secured a 23% spike in Galaxy Z Flip6 sales on 30 July compared to an average day at the Olympics.

Samsung can be difficult to write for. They can change copy and make mistakes at the same time. You have little control. I've kept this film even though it's long and the copy not always great because I like the idea behind why we made it. It also explains the scale of our project, which was bang on brand and strategically sound. And finally, the last bit touches on my favorite part -- Victory Selfie.

ENJOY AN UPGRADE

To promote a grid scratch-off lottery game, we gave viewers a glimpse of how 6 winning numbers could suddenly enhance their somewhat mundane lives.

PANTENE 3 MINUTE MIRACLE. HAIR REBORN.

Research showed that most women in China don't believe conditioner can revive damaged hair. Many are also tired of trends and prefer to find strength in their traditions and cultural roots.

So we created a unique brand experience that showcased 3 Minute Miracle's power to transform hair and revive an ancient art. 3 masters, led by Zhou Yinghua, turned damaged hair (brought back to life by 3MM) into a breathtaking Tang Dynasty embroidery. The final masterpiece was exhibited in China's National Museum in Suzhou.

SHOES THAT SPARKLE LIKE NEVER BEFORE

When polishing shoes so shiny, you'll enjoy looking down in ANY occasion.

ALL ROUND AGILITY

The Smart fortwo's turning circle is so small, it makes even the tightest spots look and feel really big. To show this, we took 360 degree shots in small spaces and then stretched them out in a 2D format.

WHAT IS THE VERY HEART OF SHANGHAI?

To celebrate the opening of our new landmark hotel in the heart of Shanghai—the Jing An District, we invited Weibo fans across China to send photos of what they believed was the true heart of this incredible city, whether it was a place, person or object.

Our social media campaign picked up bronze for Branded Content at the 2013 Marketing Excellence Awards. It was also awarded a SMITTY Award (Social Media in Travel and Tourism) by Travel & Leisure in the U.S.A.

The campaign earned 204 million media impressions for the hotel, well ahead of what was expected.

HELP YOU CAN BET ON

In 2005, Singapore's National Council on Problem Gambling was set up, following the government's decision to legalise casino gambling and build 2 integrated resorts at Marina Bay and Sentosa. At the time, research showed that 60% of all visitors would be Singaporeans. Our brief was to capture the dangers of gaming addiction and how families can be affected while showing that help for the problem was now available.

The campaign raised awareness of the social costs with requests for counselling services increasing by 40%. Numerous donations from organisations and corporations across Singapore were also received.

THINK WITH A BIGGER HEAD

We needed a category-defying idea to maximise visibility and boost subscription revenue. Couriers who delivered The Economist wore oversized helmets during the daily course of their duties.

In the 8 weeks of the campaign, sales to non-subscribers jumped almost 5% while we achieved over 500 new subscriptions with a 250% return on investment. Using existing couriers as our advertising space reduced media spend to zero.

PLAY IT LOUD

Commercial radio maybe be losing its lustre as listeners flock online to digital channels but not in Singapore. Listenership is growing robustly especially for Mediacorp's 98.7FM—a station that offers a younger audience 24 hours of the very best hits. Our idea was simple. 98.7FM's music is too good to turn down.

A PARTNER. NOT A CLIENT.

Exclusive Books are South Africa's largest bookselling chain with stores throughout the country. Harrison Human Bates formed a great partnership with them—a partnership that let us create work that worked. Graham Warsop, Loeries Hall of Fame member and the most awarded CD in SA advertising history, said this was the best long copy ad written by a South African, he'd ever read. Of course we didn't tell the MD of Exclusive Books. He may have got a bit too cocky for his own good!

THE REBIRTH OF A LEGEND

After almost a year, Shangri-La Singapore finished renovating their iconic Garden Wing. They wanted guests to know that 158 nature-inspired rooms and suites were open for business. So we created an online species-spotting game that allowed viewers to explore all 5 locations of the new Garden Wing, learn about the fascinating plants and animals that now inhabited the 15 acres of tropical greenery and unlock a wonderful prize while doing so.

Within the first month the number of page views and registered users exceeded 10 000. The share rate was an unbelievable 80% while hotel website traffic increased by almost 50%.