5 marketing incidents and moments that our SG audiences were glued to reading

This year, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw a flurry of news on marketing campaigns and executions in Singapore. Along with that, there were also plenty of news around partnerships, collaborations and of course, lawsuits. Looking at our an analytics throughout the year, we distilled some of the most read stories that captured our audiences.

The list below reflects five brand related incidents that our readers were truly interested in finding out more about. In this list, we've taken the liberty to omit out people movement related news and pitch stories - which of course are always a hot favorite.

Moreover, following the publication of the stories, we had several interested parties asking us for follow up details. Let's review the year to see what these pieces of news were:

1. Why are consumers over the moon with the Swatch X OMEGA collab?

Snaking queues emerged globally as Swatch and OMEGA announced the drop of its BIOCERAMIC MoonSwatch collection. The 11 series collection pays homage to planets and were priced at an affordable US$258. The hot new collaboration puts a youthful twist to OMEGA's iconic Speedmaster Moonwatch which sells at a minimum of US$6,600. The launch of the watches saw consumers queuing in the wee hours of the morning not just in Singapore, but across markets such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and many others. 

The collaboration came as The Swatch Group, which oversees 17 brands including OMEGA, struggled in the past few years with global sales of the watches and fine jewellery industries heavily impacted due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The partnership even saw the likes of Golden Village and NTUC FairPrice in Singapore having their own take on the  frenzy.

2. NOC pivoted from influencer-led company

A decade after it was founded, Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) pivoted from an influencer-led company to a content-driven one. Alongside this shift is a new website that the company launched with the aim of becoming a 360-degree content hub. In an interview with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Singaporean YouTuber and co-founder of NOC, Sylvia Chan, said the decision was made after she came under the spotlight last year for reportedly using slurs and mistreating employees.

Since then Chan has made several new strides, including joining Gushcloud to lead its content initiatives. Chan is currently the regional head of content and IP (intellectual properties) in Asia, and will develop the full portfolio of media channels and content properties across Southeast Asia and will work closely with Gushcloud’s Southeast Asia offices  across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to improve and introduce new content.

3. DBS pushed regional brand campaign to continue defying what being a bank means

Financial services group DBS made a big splash with its regional campaign that reflects its belief that, by behaving more like a startup, more like a techie, more like an eco-warrior, and less like a "traditional bank, it can be a bank for the times – because a post-COVID world demands for a different kind of bank". The brand campaign which comes four years after its “Live more, Bank less” positioning, builds on what DBS wants to stand for and aims to defy the status quo of what being a bank means.

The campaign, which initially rolled out across six markets in Asia, namely Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Taiwan, showcased DBS' commitment to becoming more like a forward looking tech company offering financial services. Done together with Tribal Worldwide Singapore, the campaign ran largely on digital, social and OOH platforms. 

4. Standard Chartered SG’s new digital-only bank name and logo unveiled

Standard Chartered entered a joint venture deal to launch a digital-only bank in Singapore with National Trades Union Congress in 2021. While understood to be referred to as Project Phoenix to those on the projects with the unnamed bank, the digital-only bank unveiled a name for itself – Trust Bank, as seen first by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

Trust Bank’s venture comes shortly after StanChart launched its digital-only Mox Bank brand in Hong Kong in 2020. At its official launch, a massive marketing blitz was launched spearheaded by Iris Worldwide and Havas Media. The brand was created with the help of branding agency Superunion. The bank’s marketing initiatives are also led by CMO Kelvin Tan.

5. Grab faced possible investigation in US over ‘misleading statements’

Singapore headquartered super-app Grab faced possible investigation by several US law firms on whether the company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. According to a report on ST, at least eight law firms announced their intention to investigate Grab and such investigations are not uncommon in the US and 35 such claims have been filed this year. 

Along with Grab, Sea Group also came under investigations around “whether Sea and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices”, said Pomerantz, one of the firms looking into the matter. This was following India banning 54 apps, said the report on Bloomberg.

Related articles: 

After OMEGA success, Swatch fires up partnership with Dragon Ball Z
NOC's Sylvia Chan apologises, removes herself from artiste lineup
DBS brings back content marketing web series Sparks for third edition
Standard Chartered concludes global creative pitch, parts with TBWA\ after 18 years
Meet Grab SG's giant grandma created with Fisherman Integrated