Weekly roundup: Changi Airport Group's media pitch results, Nara Smith and more

It has been an exciting week of interesting agency appointments, fun collaborations and intense discussions over influencers.

If you need a quick summary, welcome to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's weekly roundup, a podcast and article feature in which we take you through the biggest stories of the week and take a deep dive into trending topics we've seen in the industry. 

Don't miss:

1. Changi Airport Group picks new media agency

Changi Airport Group (CAG) has picked PHD Singapore as its media agency of record as of 1 July 2024, according to CAG when MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out. 

The contract is for a period of two years, with the option to extend for another two, CAG told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE in an earlier conversation when the pitch was first called in March this year. Submissions for the pitch closed on 27 March.

Read more here. 

2. Elmo just wants to check in on Singaporeans in this localised mental health push

Mediacorp’s weekly current affairs programme Talking Point has launched a public awareness campaign on mental health starring Sesame Street character, Elmo.

To launch the "#WhoIsCheckingIn" campaign, the Talking Point team reached out to nonprofit educational organisation Sesame Workshop to work on a video message helmed by Elmo.

The aim was for Elmo to kickstart a nationwide conversation by being the first to “check in” on Singaporeans, and for the video message to encourage viewers to be open about their emotions, a Mediacorp spokesperson when MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out.

Read more here. 

3. The power of 'empty billboard' influencers: A case study into TikToker Nara Smith

This week, one of the hottest topics of discussion on TikTok has been influencer and model Nara Smith who boasts 8.3 million followers on TikTok alone. She is most well-known for posting content on motherhood and making complex meals from scratch for her family and husband, American model Lucky Blue Smith, who she married in 2020.

Smith has been incredibly popular for a while now for making things such as cereal, bubble gum and bagels from utter scratch but what got netizens talking this week was a TikTok video by Bee Better Company. Bee Better Company is an entrepreneur with an MBA who posted two videos breaking down some of the marketing tactics that Smith uses in order to draw in her millions of loyal followers. He describes them as the "darkest, most psychologically manipulative marketing tactics" he has ever seen on social media.  

Read more here.

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