Poh Heng pushes for inclusivity as it breaks away from being just your mum's jeweller

With over 70 years of history, local jewellery brand Poh Heng is now looking to move from being your mum’s jeweller to your jeweller.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE assistant general manager of Poh Heng Jewellery, Pamela Seow said, “ Heritage is not a weakness but a strength. This is something Poh Heng Jewellery can attest to, with more than 70 years of history. It may be easy to follow trends, but it takes resolve to build on what we have and to evolve while keeping a genuine voice and a genuine heart.”

Keeping this in mind, Poh Heng has recently launched its "Created for Love" campaign, amplifying its intentions of creating love for everyone regardless of their race, religion or background. The jewellery brand shared several posts on its Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube platforms. Its first Facebook post includes four images of three ladies in traditional Indian, Chinese and Malay bridal outfits. This was followed by a second post that included the main video of the campaign titled "Our Singapore Wedding Story". The video depicts three different bridal entrances and ceremonies during a Chinese, Malay, and Indian wedding respectively. The brand has also posted the "Our Wedding Story" on its YouTube page as well, which received over 93,000 views at the time of writing. 

In an email to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, assistant general manager of Poh Heng Jewellery, Pamela Seow, said the campaign attempts to showcases the real values of Poh Heng and stories of consumers that is worth putting together. She hopes the campaign will strike a chord with most Singaporeans.

The campaign will be running on several platforms, including local television channels such as Channel 5, Channel 8, Suria, Vasantham, and video streaming sites such as Viu and MeWatch. It will also be featured on programmatic display, mobile applications, and Poh Heng's own website. 

"Created for Love is not about selling jewellery for any bride, it is about the heart. Our Singapore Wedding Story was released precisely because all Singaporeans can relate to it, regardless of age, race or religion,” Seow said.  With weddings as a key motif of the campaign, the brand wanted to pay homage to Singapore’s unique multicultural society, incorporating different elements from local cultures and highlighting three familiar local faces in our brand campaign.

"This is to exemplify the iconic spirit of Poh Heng Jewellery and our ability to harness tradition in transformative life experiences that make up its identity," she added. 

The initial campaign was conceptualised and set to run in 2019, in partnership with creative agency, Ace of Hearts. However, Poh Heng's plans were disrupted due to COVID-19 pandemic. "We had intended to launch the campaign in 2019. Like many other businesses, however, Poh Heng Jewellery was not exempt from the impact of COVID-19,” she said, adding:

While the pandemic may not be over, we have chosen to launch ‘Created for Love’ in 2021 as we wish to inspire hope and happiness in Singaporeans. Now more than ever, is when we need to share love and appreciation with one another. 

While Seow did not comment on the investment, she explained that "a considerable amount of both time and money was spent on ideation, creation and production, starting from concept to media to store". This investment is likely to continue through the years given "Created for Love" is a value the brand wants to carry on showcasing for the long haul.

This is not the first time Poh Heng has looked to create a campaign around inclusivity. Three years ago, Poh Heng also made headlines for launching a daring photo exhibition called "A Journey of Trust", which featured images of local personalities and people with their loved ones. The exhibition ran across Orchard Road and boldly featured images of two same-sex couples on an OOH billboard.

Unconventional for a local heritage brand, Seow had then explained that the campaign was created to display how all of the relationships embody the value that Poh Heng stands for - that is trust, regardless of gender. While Seow did not directly comment on why the same-sex couples were chosen for the ad, she said, “The exhibition, A Journey of Trust, was conceptualised to honour people from all walks of life, races, ages, and vocations. It is a celebration of the relationships and friendships we enjoy with our customers all these years.”

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