Design Orchard unveils 'fire deals' following Ferrero Rocher burning Christmas tree incident

Design Orchard is heating things up for Black Friday sales, by putting a playful twist on a recent incident involving its Ferrero Rocher Christmas tree.

Over the weekend, the Ferrero Rocher Christmas tree at Design Orchard was seen going up in flames. According to a spokesperson for Design Orchard, the incident happened at 9.30pm and the contractor and partner, Ferrero Rocher, were contacted immediately. Industry players MARKETING-INTERACTIVE spoke to say that the cost of such brand placement can range anywhere between SG$100,000 to SG$200,000 due to the high visibility and placement.

Following the incident, Design Orchard took to Instagram to focus "all its energy on the upcoming Black Friday weekend", it said in a post. The post featured a video where a woman is seen sharing the store's upcoming Black Friday sales, poking fun at the incident and using puns to promote available deals. 

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"If you didn't know where or what Design Orchard is before last weekend, well now you do. If you're looking for Christmas gifts that won't burn a hole in your wallet. We've got you covered," said the woman as she leads viewers around the store. 

"Our excitement about Christmas is heating up with these absolutely fire deals. Up to 70% off this Black Friday. You could say our deals are getting hotter than ever," she added.  The video ends with a black and white video of the Ferrero Rocher Christmas tree before it caught fire. The accompanying text reads "Forever missed. Never forgotten. It was a beautiful two weeks." 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Design Orchard for more. 

All jokes aside, Design Orchard has assured that "everyone is safe and that's most important". 

When MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out, a spokesperson from Ferrero confirmed the incident saying that: “We can confirm a fire at the Ferrero Xmas tree at Design Orchard Level 2 Roof Garden in late November 23. Fortunately, no one was injured, and the local fire services were able to extinguish the fire quickly."

"We are grateful for the prompt and effective response from the emergency services and mall management. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined. We are committed to ensuring the safety of our customers and the communities we serve," the spokesperson added. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Design Orchard on whether compensations will be ensured. When asked about compensation, Ferrero did not comment. 

Currently, the Singapore Orchard Road district is lit up with Christmas lights and celebratory sales. Most recently, Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) launched a Sustainability Roadmap and Pledge today for businesses along Singapore’s iconic lifestyle belt to take eco-friendly actions, in a bid to reduce the precinct’s carbon footprint.

The Orchard Road Sustainability Roadmap was developed with ORBA members last year and outlines key areas where initiatives to tackle climate change can be implemented. The key areas are energy efficiency, green procurement, sustainability certification, waste management, and water sustainability - categorised under “sustainability approaches”.

ORBA chairman Mark Shaw said that ORBA aims to leverage its position in connecting stakeholders to drive sustainability.

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