Content Champions: National Environment Agency (Singapore)

The National Environment Agency (NEA) is the leading public organisation responsible for ensuring a clean and sustainable environment for Singapore.

Its key roles are to improve and sustain a clean environment, promote sustainability and resource efficiency, maintain high public health standards, provide timely and reliable meteorological information, and encourage a vibrant hawker culture.

Content Champions is a segment during MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Content360 conference in Singapore in which we highlight brands who have made significant impact in the content marketing space through their campaigns. This campaign was shortlisted for Marketing Events Awards 2023 and chosen for coverage by the editorial team at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. 

Brand: National Environment Agency
Campaign: "K-dramatising public hygiene in Singapore"

Challenge 

Cleanliness is fundamental to public health and shared space enjoyment, a lesson underscored during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reducing germs and bacteria in public areas is paramount, and Singapore, renowned for its cleanliness, must maintain its reputation. Known globally as one of the cleanest cities, Singapore's commitment to public hygiene sets it apart from other major cities. Despite this strong foundation, recent times have presented new challenges: 

1. Gap between recognition and action on personal responsibility for cleanliness
2. Growing dissatisfaction with cleaner efficiency and increased support for more funding

Strategy 

Recognising the need to address these challenges, 2024 was designated the year of public hygiene (YoPH). NEA outlined a comprehensive set of measures to enhance public hygiene standards, including publicising photos of litterbugs and improving the state of public toilets.

To develop an effective content marketing strategy, it was crucial to understand the audience. In 2023, NEA noticed a significant change in media consumption habits, with over-the-top (OTT) platforms becoming one of the fastest-growing media channels.

OTT platforms offer high-quality content, providing access to engaged viewers. Therefore, advertising alongside premium content not only enhances brand credibility but also ensures a brandsafe environment.

Among these, Viu stood out with over 1.7 million users in Singapore, a balanced gender distribution, and a strong presence among our digitally engaged target audience – the 18-34 age group . Driven by its popular Korean dramas (K-dramas), Viu offered an ideal platform to deliver NEA's public hygiene messages.

By leveraging Viu's popularity and the emotional connection that K-dramas create, NEA aimed to make its messages relatable and memorable, ensuring maximum engagement and impact.

Then, it was all about a creative output.

NEA's creative strategy centred on leveraging the emotional resonance of K-dramas to deliver public hygiene messages in a relatable and engaging manner. Recognising that K-dramas create strong emotional bonds with viewers through compelling storytelling and relatable characters, it aimed to harness these elements to drive behaviour change.

Executions 

Departing from its traditional straightforward and official approach to amplifying public hygiene messages, NEA took Viu’s Singapore viewers back to some of the most unforgettable romantic scenes in the Korean drama world.

The strategy involved capitalising on Viu's popularity and integrating our campaign with its trending K-drama content. Advertising alongside premium content on Viu provided a credible and brand-safe environment. This strategic placement aimed to capture the attention of Viu's engaged viewers and drive traffic to NEA's campaign content, supporting its objective of encouraging proactive cleanliness behaviours.

The campaign launched on 25 March 2024 with teasers on Instagram and TikTok to spark excitement. From 25 to 31 March and 5 to 7 April, NEA's video featured prominently in Viu's "Today's Highlights," ensuring prime visibility. Throughout the campaign, it also ran cut-down trailers on Viu to sustain engagement. This roll-out kept its public hygiene messages fresh and engaging, maximising reach and impact.

Check out the other winners here.