Why a laundry brand is sending Singaporeans on a 'Ka Keys' scavenger hunt

Laundry capsule company Kapodo (Ka), a brand under FMCG company Whealthfields Lohmann, has tied up with FairPrice to launch a campaign with a gamified approach titled "Ka Car Hunt". Running from now until 13 November, the campaign aims to drive awareness for the brand and to educate the public on the use of laundry capsules.

The campaign sees Ka sending its customers on a scavenger hunt for a mystery car, and in turn could win an actual car for themselves. A total of 1,000 Ka car keys were hidden in selected Ka products, which were then distributed across various FairPrice physical stores such as FairPrice, FairPrice Xtra, FairPrice Finest, and FairPrice Online.

The campaign also includes getting customers to follow Ka’s Facebook and Instagram page for clues. These clues will be posted on Ka’s social media platforms periodically, providing hints of the location where the mystery car can be found. The mystery car will also be parked at a new location every 48 hours and the first person to find it, trigger the car with the Ka car key, and call the hotline provided will be named the winner. Within days of the campaign launch, the car was discovered using the clues on Ka's social media platforms. The brand has also since decided to extend a bonus round, for those who still have the Ka car keys. From now until 13 November, customers with the Ka car keys can continue to follow the clues on Ka's social media platform that will lead them to the car, for an opportunity to win cash prizes. Putting a spin on the original version of the hunt, Ka will be awarding SG$5,000 for customers who solve the first clue, and SG$2,000 for the subsequent clues. If the car is not found within two days, the intended amount of cash gets snowballed to the next clue as well. 

According to Sharie Lim, head of Singapore, Whealthfields Lohmann, the campaign comes as Ka wanted to do something special to thank its customers for their support, given that the Ka three-in-one laundry capsules have done very well since the brand introduced it into the Singapore market. "With all the gloom in recent months, we thought we would do something fun to lift the mood. A scavenger hunt across the island with a brand new Lexus at stake seemed to fit the bill,” she added.

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Lim said to promote the campaign, it is working closely with the FairPrice team to ensure that the point-of-sales materials are clear and communicate the campaign to shoppers. Ka has also engaged a number of KOLs in the lifestyle and parenting sector to promote the campaign on their social media platforms, and to participate in the hunt themselves. The brand hopes the digital marketing efforts will raise awareness and increase virality of the campaign. Lim declined to comment on the amount invested in the campaign, but said it was "a significant amount".

The Ka Car Hunt campaign was done in collaboration with creative agency GOVT. Lim said the brand chose to work with GOVT as it really liked the campaign idea the team proposed, which allows the possibility of having 1000 potential winners instead of the usual one lucky winner from a typical win-a-car lucky draw, often determined by the draw of luck. "By dispersing 1000 real working keys islandwide on a treasure hunt, coupled with clues found on social media that highlight our product benefits, consumers can expect some good old treasure hunting and maybe with a bit of luck, to unlock the possibility of winning a luxury car," Lim added. 

Leon Lai, CEO of GOVT Singapore, said: “Promotion campaigns need not be expected to be executed in a lucky draw format, the idea behind Ka Car Hunt is evidence of that. Being mindful of the current COVID-19 situation, and with social distancing always on our minds, we are proud to present an activation campaign that not only allows our consumers to learn more about Kapodo as a brand and product, but also have fun in a socially responsible manner.”

“We are really excited with the turn out of this campaign, and how invested our customers have been with finding the mystery car just a week into the launch. We’ve even come across social media groups created for participants to discuss the possible locations of the mystery car. It’s always heartening to see such a warm welcome for anything we put out and are glad with the response we’ve received," Lim told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

Gamified campaigns are increasing in popularity among brands in recent months. Last week, NTUC FairPrice unveiled a campaign inspired by the game of Tikam-Tikam (which means “random pick” in Malay), a popular game among children in the 1950s to 1970s. The game will see customers who spend SG$30 receiving a Tikam-Tikam card. They will then need to match and collect a pre-determined set of five cards to win prizes such as Philips TV and soundbar, Cuisinart steam oven, and Nintendo Switch console and games. Different sets of cards collected will allow customers to win different prizes. In addition, there are also bonus cards such as FairPrice gift vouchers. According to Lynn Chong, deputy director, channel marketing (retail business), FairPrice Group, the campaign aims to bring back some sense of nostalgia given this year’s lukewarm consumer sentiment. It also seeks to instill shopper confidence and reinforce FairPrice’s position as retailer of choice by providing customers with visible savings each time they shop with the retail company. 

In a similar clue-finding scavenger hunt, telco Circles.Life rolled out an interactive game on its website where it turned participants into detectives and got them to use clues to play the game and win prizes. The initiative leveraged on the festive sale 9.9 hype and aimed to promote its new multi-SIM offer which includes its eSIMs, multi-SIM offer and data only plans. The telco wanted to give a twist to the shopping festival and take it a step further by relating it to comedic detective show Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Separately, Circles.Life also launched a gamified rewards platform a couple of months later in October.

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