Need candid advice? PropertyGuru SG turns heads with fleet of vans

PropertyGuru's mortgage marketplace, PropertyGuru Finance, has revealed itself as the mastermind behind the #SmartHonestAdvice movement that caught the attention of Singapore consumers last weekend. The movement featured a fleet of vans with candid advice on home financing, among other general topics in life, hitting over 50 locations across Singapore with high commuter traffic. These include neighbourhoods such as Hougang, Woodlands, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Jurong East, Orchard, Commonwealth, Queenstown, Bugis, Chinatown, Bedok, Ubi, and Tampines.

For instance, one van said that "Your home isn't the most expensive thing you own. Your mortgage is." while another said," Without the pearls, it's just tea." in reference to the bubble tea drink. A board printed with #SmartHonestAdvice was also attached on both sides of the vans. The vans' brutally honest insights quickly gained traction on social media, with netizens posting images of the vans, along with the hashtag #SmartHonestAdvice. 

A PropertyGuru spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the PropertyGuru Finance #SmartHonestAdvice campaign is the brand’s largest brand campaign to date, and more than SG$1 million was invested in the campaign. 

Bjorn Sprengers, CMO and head of fintech at property marketplace PropertyGuru Group, said that the concept of the campaign was to spark conversations among Singaporeans around the importance of seeking real, honest advice that can help them make better decisions for almost any life situation; including financial matters such as securing the best home loan.

"This brought up the idea of taking honest advice to the public as a friendly reminder that we all need someone who will call out the truth with no holds barred. We also want to encourage Singaporeans to lead such conversations by sharing their own #SmartHonestAdvice on social media. On a less serious note, we hope to get a light chuckle out of those who catch the advice," he added. 

As part of the #SmartHonestAdvice movement, PropertyGuru Finance is also engaging online personalities in Singapore, such as Gladys Ng and Alexia Lim, to share their own #SmartHonestAdvice on their social networks; while also encouraging their followers to do the same. 

According to PropertyGuru, the movement also aligns with its PropertyGuru Finance – Smart, Honest Advice brand campaign. The campaign included comical TV commercials that metaphorically depict the pain a family of four feels when they discover their “could haves” from the money saved from their mortgages, including owning a pet dog and enjoying a king crab seafood feast as a family. The commercials were further amplified across digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, as well as online sites such as Yahoo.com; raking up to over two million views.

The campaign has also been deployed through OOH activations that will run until January 2022 in multiple locations such as Orchard, Tampines, and Jurong East, as well as shopping malls, bus stops, in-taxi and in-cinema screens, and HDB and condominium networks. The campaign will also feature a giveaway contest on PropertyGuru’s Instagram profile from 2 December 2021, where participants can stand a chance to win attractive prizes by simply sharing their own take of #SmartHonestAdvice.

According to PropertyGuru's spokesperson, the brand's ambition moving forward is to build Southeast Asia’s property Trust Platform, whereby anyone seeking property – consumers, agents, developers, banks, governments and more – can make confident property decisions. To that end, PropertyGuru will focus on delivering high-quality solutions to its customers through investing in its teams and technology.

"We will continue to support these efforts as part of our marketing strategies in Singapore which includes digital and product marketing as well as brand partnerships for both PropertyGuru and PropertyGuru Finance. This year, for example, we’ve collaborated with Mediacorp for the first time to launch Exceptional Homes, the nation’s largest luxury virtual real estate event offering the latest launched private property projects for sale through an immersive digital experience," the spokesperson added. Archetype Singapore handled PR duties for this campaign.

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