Fishermen Integrated: Proudly making waves in Asia, and beyond

This post is sponsored by Fishermen Integrated.

A disruptive and challenger agency. This was the shared vision of Fishermen Integrated’s founders when they launched their sampan (boat) in 2012.

The team has come a long way since its humble beginnings – from a four-person start-up, Fishermen has evolved into a fully fledged creative agency.

Having established itself as a top player in Malaysia, it began setting its sights on success abroad, making inroads into the regional and global markets. And after several years of hard, unconventional and entertaining work, the team’s efforts are beginning to pay off, starting with a historic win on the global stage.

First Webby for Malaysia

In May, Fishermen was announced as a winner at the 28th Annual Webby Awards in New York City – its first-ever international accolade, and a first by a Malaysian agency/company.

Widely considered as the most prestigious honour for excellence on the internet, the Webby Awards are overseen by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over 3,000 industry experts and technology innovators. Honoured for its work on the PETRONAS 2022 Integrated Report website, which earned the Webby People’s Voice Award for Best Use of Video or Moving Image, Fishermen is now among the few from Asia to have won a Webby.

Victory at Mob-Ex

In July, Fishermen made its triumphant debut at the 2024 Mob-Ex Awards in Singapore, which honours the most effective, creative and innovative mobile marketing campaigns from across Asia and Oceania. The team reeled in three gold awards at the event: Best Awareness Campaign; Best Use of KOLs/Influencers; and Best Use of Social for its work on Reckitt Benckiser’s Durex Academy.

The campaign addressed the topic of sex education in Muslim-majority Malaysia, which is hardly dealt with due to cultural and religious influences, as well as tight censorship laws.

“Sex has always been a taboo subject at home, in schools, and even on social media,” said Andrew Tan, Fishermen partner and executive creative director.

“With these barriers to proper sex education, curious Malaysian youths had to rely on questionable sources such as adult streaming websites. We realised they needed a safe platform to discuss and learn more about sex, pleasures and protection, and saw this as an opportunity for Durex to stand out.

“So we introduced Durex Academy to provide sex education in an entertaining way, with lessons conducted by a group of educators led by Malaysia’s Ms Puiyi, Southeast Asia’s first Penthouse Covergirl.”

Over 300,000 Malaysian youths signed up for Durex Academy’s engaging and enticing content, delivered through social media. As a result, Durex saw a 12% increase in sales and achieved a 68% market share – its highest ever.

Local heroes go global

Fishermen’s Webby and Mob-Ex wins come as the team marks its 12th year in the creative business, further cementing its reputation as among the industry’s best. Partner and group brand director Joyce Gan said the accolades serve as yet another tangible reminder of how far the team has come since its early days of working out of cafés.

“We couldn’t be more proud and thrilled with our recent achievements outside our home base. It proves that it’s not impossible for independent players like us to make it big abroad,” she said.

“We are thankful to Durex and our other regional clients for the opportunity to collaborate. Our goal now is to do more work beyond Malaysia with campaigns that help elevate Malaysia’s creative industry on the global stage, and more importantly, deliver successful business results.”

Fishermen’s base in Singapore, established in 2016, plays a key role in its international ambitions. Partner and executive creative director Adam Miranda, who leads the Singapore office, said being a regional and global hub allows it to work with clients in and out of the country.

“We have brought the Fishermen flavour to our Singapore-based clients such as the National University of Singapore, WOODS’, Shake Shack and Nando’s. The other half of the work we do are international campaigns for global clients such as Betadine, Zespri, and Jollibee – thus, giving the world a taste of what Fishermen can do,” he said.