Festival Intelligence: Moment, Media & Message – FOMA Awards 2019 | M&M Global

Festival Intelligence: Moment, Media & Message – FOMA Awards 2019

Food & beverage (26%), FMCG (18%), retail (14%), tech & telecoms and pharmaceutical (both 9%) brands were among the top performers at the Festival of Media Asia-Pacific Awards 2019, with these industry sectors taking home more than three quarters (76%) of the available Gold, Silver and Bronze trophies handed out during the recent awards ceremony in Singapore.

Of the total 65 awards given, China and Australia were the top two countries by a long stretch, taking home 21 (32%) and 18 (28%) of total awards, respectively. Their closest country rivals were India with five wins, Malaysia and New Zealand with four each, and Indonesia with three.

WPP’s Mindshare agency alone scooped an impressive 27 awards (42% of all awards given out) for a range of clients including Nike, KFC, Rexona and Uniqlo. PHD took home 12 (18%), MediaCom six, Initiative five, with both Havas and UM taking away three each.   

Based on the performance of five campaigns that were winners in multiple (three or more) categories, we’ve picked up on a number of key trends and ways of working with media. The first being that all three of the campaigns that won Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for ‘Best Engagement Strategy’ went on to win at least two more awards in other categories. Creating a tangible engagement with consumers is not limited to one particular media channel. That said, digital and social platforms proved to be the most effective for producing metrics that count.

‘Moment, Media and Message’ sums up the three key trends across these best-practice entries at the Festival of Media Asia-Pacific Awards 2019. Each of the campaigns identified a key moment in their consumers’ everyday experiences to target them with a relevant message through a range of content (branded, video and social) across different media platforms.   

There was a strong digital and tech element across all entries, brought to life through a range of media partnerships to create original and custom content. Significant use of technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), chatbots and recommendation engines, powered through data, was also noted, showing increased sophistication amongst brands in exploring with and adopting new technologies.

Mobile [notably apps] was a pertinent media channel in delivering the message to engage with consumers in real-time in the right context and in the most relevant ways. Influencers were also engaged to add an authentic and credible voice to brand communications.

The key to success is finding the right moment of interaction, identifying the best media platform through which to engage and ensuring the message is relevant and shareable. Advertising is no longer just a one way communication to mass audiences but is increasingly moving towards creating a two-way conversation with consumers which is personal and relatable, brought to life through relevant media techniques to leave a lasting impression.

We put the spotlight on the five multi-award winning campaigns from the Festival of Media Asia-Pacific Awards 2019, which highlight these trends:

kfc colonel

KFC The First Colonel to Conquer eSports | KFC | Mindshare | China

Shortlisted for: Best Use of Gamification (GOLD WINNER), Best Use of Technology (GOLD WINNER), Best Engagement Strategy (SILVER WINNER), Best Event, Experiential or Sponsorship (SILVER WINNER), Best Integrated Campaign (SILVER WINNER), Best Use of Mobile

Summary:

Gamers like their numbers. Win ratios. Gold collected. Magic stats. Health stats. Attack damage. eSports games like League of Legends have many more numbers than a typical game of football or basketball. No typical fan has the time to do predictive probability calculations while watching a game which has four or five things happening all at the same time. One famous online influencer Huang Xudong bravely attempted to make these predictions for fans. However, he became even more famous because of wrong predictions, so fans jokingly nicknamed him “Poison Milk”. Hence, KFC saw this as the biggest opportunity to address an unmet need and elevate the fan experience.

Enter Colonel KI (KFC-AI) – KFC’s AI algorithm for predicting League of Legend winners. Giving fans this new capability was the only way for KFC to be truly integral to the experience, and The Colonel was the perfect persona to deliver this to fans.KFC partnered with data company PentaQ to create an algorithm based on all historical data and real-time data for each team. The algorithm in the form of Colonel KI was capable of giving out real-time predictions on who would win a match based on game stats. KFC added value from start to finish as all gamers and fans could track the predictions before, during and after the matches. This approach served the objective of making KFC an integral part of the game, bringing added value to the game, gamers, fans, and of course, the brand.

Colonel KI’s predictions were featured on the actual game screen. He appeared at the beginning of each game and in every break during the live-streaming to give predictions. During the game, a Colonel KI graph at the bottom of the screen appeared to show real-time win rates (pointing to the team who is likely to win) that changed as the game progressed. Fans could also log into the KFC app to access and track the predictions throughout the match. At the most exciting moments of the game, Colonel KI also served as a warm-hearted cheerleader and distributed KFC coupons to all fans – inviting the audience to order KFC online and have fried chicken while enjoying the game.

Also see here: Festival Intelligence: It’s game on for retail in China

thrush

Thrush: The Musical | Canesten | PHD | Australia

Shortlisted for: Best Branded Content (GOLD WINNER), Best Use of Content (GOLD WINNER), Best Use of Talent (GOLD WINNER)

Canesten has a 40-year heritage in the thrush treatment category. Thrush treatments are a non-prescription medicine which can ONLY be obtained upon the consultation of a pharmacist. Canesten was increasingly at the mercy of pharmacists who were recommending pharmacy-owned and low-price generic treatments instead of Canesten. PHD had to make Canesten SYNONYMOUS with thrush and get women to RECALL and ask for the brand BY NAME. Seems simple, however, it had one BIG problem: Women share a lot of things. But when it comes to issues ‘down there’, they’re all too silent.

The strategy was therefore, to use humour to open the conversation about thrush and drive organic content sharing and discussion. Enter SketchSHE – an Aussie comedy phenomenon who have amassed over 134 million views on their YouTube channel with their now-famous in-car lip-syncing videos. The agency knew the girls could create the kind of engaging content which could cut through the torrent of mediocrity out there, and deliver the brand messages in a way that would resonate with this audience.

If you can’t talk about it, sing about it! That was the central idea behind Thrush: The Musical, a blockbuster comedic jaunt about a common vaginal infection many women are WAY too embarrassed to admit having. The content was posted by the girls on SketchSHE’s social channels – Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram – to leverage their passionate audience and drive further conversation and sharing. PHD then created a 15-second and 6-second cutdown of the content which it programmatically targeted to its audience across TrueView on YouTube, Facebook, as well as other female-targeted environments.

daring

Daring teenage footballers to be the best they can be! | Nike | Mindshare | China

Shortlisted for: Best Engagement Strategy (GOLD WINNER), Best Use of Digital Media (GOLD WINNER), Best Social Media Campaign (BRONZE WINNER), Best Local Execution of a Global Brand

Chinese football is in a slump. The poor standard of the national team and the negative sentiment stifling the nation was impacting how young players were playing. They were lacking the confidence to express themselves on the pitch. Every four years, the World Cup presents a huge business opportunity for Nike. The very obvious issue for Nike China in 2018 though: China wasn’t in the tournament. Again. How could it command attention from young Chinese footballers during a tournament where their team was not playing and make them better, more confident players for the future?

The quarter finals would offer the best opportunity to influence players when they were most focused on the World Cup. This was the media moment Nike would need to own. Those three days had to be synonymous with Nike. This moment of peak audience attention was the opportunity to launch an epic brand film, depicting a future where China was the dominant footballing nation across all their key verticals. The goal: dominate our audience’s world for one weekend, and inspire them to DARE TO BECOME the best footballers they could be.

The agency launched the brand message at the Quarter Final weekend, dominating SOV on social, football and youth lifestyle apps, short video platforms. The power of the moment, media, and message working together inspired its target with a dream. But it also wanted to allow them to start realising their potential. The idea was to enable young footballers to capture and share their goals using every-day mobile tech, specially installed cameras, and a partnership with UGC platform Weishi, where players could retrieve, share, and download their finest moments. Nike’s tech-powered content capture design was the first of its kind in China, providing a unique experience for young footballers for a whole month.

uniqlo

Uniqlo: Top Gifting Choice | Uniqlo | Mindshare | China

Shortlisted for: The Effective Use of e-Commerce Award (GOLD WINNER), Best Use of Mobile (SILVER WINNER), Best Engagement Strategy (BRONZE WINNER)

Chinese New Year is China’s Christmas. Unfortunately for Uniqlo, clothing isn’t a typical CNY gift. The biggest challenge for people returning home during this season was finding the best gift for their parents and in-laws. Rather than the usual food, drinks and luxury items people typically gift to each other, when it comes to their parents, 58% are seeking ‘healthy and practical’ gifts during Chinese New Year. If Uniqlo could target these younger customers who were returning home, and make it easy for them to pick clothing as a gift for their family members and show the unique and practical nature of Uniqlo, it just might be able to convert them over.

The strategy had three pillars: First, it targeted China’s countless “migrant workers” – people who were traveling back home for their holiday family reunion. Second, the agency designed a mobile interactive H5 programme inviting people to take a family photo and share this on social media. Then, using AI technology, it created unique recommendations for UNIQLO products for people in the photo with a link to order online. Finally, it also promoted its “order online, pick-up offline” service, so people away from home could order online and pick up their gifts in stores.

The campaign targeted the right people at the most relevant moments. It used location-based services and mobile payment data on plane and train ticket purchase – then sent relevant ads and coupons as a reminder on buying fashion wear for their family back home. It also launched a mobile AI feature on WeChat, China’s largest social media, inviting people to take family photos and share them online. This AI function identified the age, gender and personality (according to smiles) of family members, and then based on this analysis Uniqlo product recommendations were given with a one-click order button.

rexona

Rexona Movement for Movement | Rexona | Mindshare | Indonesia

Shortlisted for: Best Engagement Strategy, Best Use of Mobile (GOLD WINNER), Best Use of Digital Media (SILVER WINNER), Impact Awards (BRONZE WINNER), Best Launch Campaign

Rexona’s brand DNA focuses on helping people move. To extend this idea beyond physical exercise, the team examined “movement” with a different lens. Only 7% of Jakarta’s 4,500 miles of road have sidewalks. This creates such a poor environment for people to move around, Indonesians rank last globally in average daily steps. Going a step further, if people who have full physical capacity are having trouble walking around Jakarta, how much more difficult would it be for people with disabilities? To help Rexona bring to life its brand purpose, it looked to build a technology solution to help the underserved population of people with disabilities move more freely.

While globally voice search and chatbots are a growing trend, in Indonesia they are still not as popular. However, these digital tools are incredibly useful when people need a hands-free option to communicate. So despite not being widely adopted yet, Rexona developed a native mobile app using voice powered search with chabot capabilities. Rexona determined it could help solve the mobility problems for Indonesians with disabilities by building a custom app with voice technology to better help people find handicap accessible places.

The entire campaign communication was meant to celebrate movement by empowering Indonesians with disabilities to move through the use of technology. With such a daunting undertaking, the best strategy was to strike strategic partnerships to leverage different areas of expertise. To launch the Gerak app, Rexona partnered with Grab and used an integrated approach of traditional PR and TV, mobile video, influencers, online display, and mobile search to spread the word.

Also see here: Festival Intelligence: Ready for Launch

View the full list of Festival of Media Asia-Pacific Awards 2019 winners here.

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