UNIQLO taps on foodpanda riders as walking promos for new AIRism mask

UNIQLO Singapore has partnered with foodpanda to promote its latest AIRism masks. In an Instagram post, UNIQLO Singapore said it distributed 13,000 AIRism masks to the entire foodpanda rider fleet. This is to thank them for being Singapore's "true heroes" during this pandemic. The post also featured foodpanda delivery riders wearing its AIRism masks, with a few of them giving testimonies about their experience wearing the masks.  The social media post garnered 2,737 likes in less than 24 hours of its posting. In its comments section, many netizens praised UNIQLO for the initiative as well. Marketing has reached out to UNIQLO and foodpanda for additional information about the collaboration.

UNIQLO launched its AIRism Mask, both online and offline, on 24 August. In a press release, UNIQLO said it drew on the common practice of wearing protective masks now and customer requests to develop a mask that would optimise protection and comfort in daily use. The mask claims to be more comfortable than non-woven or cotton masks with a high protection filtering. 

The UNIQLO and foodpanda partnership dates back to July, where UNIQLO gave away "3-in-1 Life Packages", which consists of a UNIQLO Eco Bag, SG$5 foodpanda voucher and SG$5 foodpanda shops vouchers. According to a press release, the Life Package was designed to make shopping and eating at home in the new normal a little easier for Singaporeans. 

Commenting on the UNIQLO and foodpanda partnership, Joyce Tan, marketing director of UNIQLO Singapore, said then that the company sees synergy in the partnership. Tan added that the two companies will work together to provide customers with "daily essentials that matter the most during this period", and aims to provide a value-added shopping experience for its consumers with this partnership.

This is not foodpanda's first initiative to show appreciation to delivery workers. Earlier in April, it rolled out a series of out-of-home advertisements to pay tribute to the contributions of delivery riders in Singapore. The #SGUnited 'riders unite' illustration was an expression of appreciation for all frontline delivery heroes who are keeping the rest of Singapore safe, healthy and fed during the circuit breaker period. The image featured riders clad in Deliveroo, Grab, McDonald's and Pizza Hut uniform standing together with a fellow foodpanda rider. The banners were displayed across a total of 764 screens, in partnership with Target Media, Media Taurus and Suntec City Convention Centre. 

In a separate initiative to thank delivery workers during the same time, local creative agency Kinetic Singapore launched a campaign titled #ThankYouDeliveryHeroes, which aimed to encourage Singaporeans to show their appreciation for delivery workers. The agency created 24 posters for Singaporeans to print and place it at their doorstep. Each poster showed appreciation for the delivery person's hard work, and reminded them to take a break as well.

Meanwhile, KFC Malaysia also voiced its support for delivery riders during its lockdown period. In a Facebook post, KFC said the abang-abang delivery are "as strong as steel" and they salute the delivery riders who have consumers' backs, and are satisfying consumers' cravings whenever and wherever possible.

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