WATER EYE PERFORMANCE CAMPAIGN

TitleWATER EYE PERFORMANCE CAMPAIGN
BrandGLAXOSMITHKLINE SINGAPORE
Product / ServiceEYE MO
CategoryA02. OTC Applications
EntrantGREY GROUP Singapore, SINGAPORE
Entrant Company GREY GROUP Singapore, SINGAPORE
Advertising Agency GREY GROUP Singapore, SINGAPORE
Media Agency MINDSHARE ASIA PACIFIC Singapore, SINGAPORE
Production Company AMOK TV Singapore, SINGAPORE

Credits

Name Company Position
Till Hohmann Grey Group Asia Pacific Executive Creative Director
Antonio Bonifacio Grey Group Singapore Creative Director
Andrew Siebert/Darren Leong/Luis Fabra Grey Group Singapore Creative Team
Brendan Cravitz Grey Group Singapore Executive Producer
Isabel Gonzalez Grey Group Singapore Senior Pr Manager
Tom Evans Grey Group Singapore Client Services Director Apac
Serene Loo/Madeline Woon Grey Group Singapore Regional Account Manager
Gijs Sanders Glaxosmithkline Pte Ltd General Manager
Oliver Parkes Glaxosmithkline Pte Ltd Marketing Director
Syed Saad Kamran Glaxosmithkline Pte Ltd Senior Brand Manager
Alew Liew Freelance Calligraphy Artist
Sean Ng Amok TV Singapore Dop/Editor
Chun Yi Frame By Frame Singapore Assistant Producer
Safina Samian Cohn/Wolfe XPR Singapore Associate Account Director
Arif Rajab Cohn/Wolfe XPR Singapore Consultant
Brian Yessian Yessian Music NYC/Detroit/LA/Hamburg Chief Operating Officer
Jeff Dittenber/Dan Zank Yessian NYC/Detroit/LA/Hamburg Sound Design/Composition
James Teh Freelance Director/Dop
Ryan Mcguire Cutters Inc. Tokyo Editor
Steve Rodriguez Cutter Inc. Tokyo Colorist

The Campaign

Singapore was suffering a dry spell and 1,000 forest fires were sending harmful haze to the city. On the back of this Eye Mo wanted to engage the general public - since these moisturizing and anti-irritant drops protect eyes. The slim budget (S$7,500) did not allow mass media, so we opted for ambient. Singapore regulations on OOH being strict (graffiti/street paintings forbidden, littering with stickers/flyers a crime) we found an approach that worked within the laws and also created cultural relevance. The branded message was disguised as street art performance. At 8 sites a local calligraphy artist used only water to draw eyes on the pavement. As they dried away, speakers delivered the payoff: 'Do not let your eyes go dry. Use Eye Mo.' Obviously a captivating demonstration for keeping eyes moisturized in heat and haze - 100% on product/brand. And: delivery as musical art performance and the local artist made it a news topic. Opinion leaders we had invited (mailing/online-video) picked it up. Beyond active engagement on site (+/-1,000), PR and online elements helped aggregate a non-paid reach of 32,402,878 people across APAC (2,315,000 in Singapore = 45% population). Advertising value: S$70,465. PR value: S$211,390. ROI of over 3000%!

The Brief

We identified a huge opportunity for the brand to become part of the conversation - after all: eyes were suffering in the heat and haze. Considering that Eye Mo is an OTC product readily on sale and accessible for everyone, and the fact that the entire population was affected, we were talking to the general public. The core message had public service quality: do not forget to protect your eyes. It would have to reach a large part of the city state and ideally even spread to adjacent markets (Malaysia, Indonesia). The S$7,500 budget discounted usage of traditional bought media.

Creative Execution

We collaborated with a Singaporean calligraphy artist and developed his first water calligraphy performance. At 8 iconic locations around town he used water to draw beautiful eyes on the pavement - underpinned by music. As the eyes dried away fast in the heat and haze, the advertising message was delivered - multilingual for multinational Singapore via speakers: 'Don't let your eyes go dry - use Eye MO.' Surprising, relevant, but also unobtrusive. And most importantly the performance allowed for great footage. Pre-empting this performance, 20 opinion leaders and journalists received an invite as direct mail. It contained a piece of Singapore pavement, a brush, and a link to the home story of the local artist and his view on calligraphy – this created interest and gave the promotion cultural relevance. On site the artist answered questions. Post the event, an online video of the stunt was made available.

The cultural and localized story cleverly enveloped the branded message across multiple channels. This paid off: 11 non-paid media coverage in key local print and online; coverage in 4 of the nation's news channels, cutting across various demographic segments and racial profiles (Channel News Asia, English; Channel 5, English; Channel 8, Chinese; Suria, Malay). This in turn generated broad awareness for the originating brand and its core message - gaining strong visibility right on the peak of the drought and haze. The goals of engaging the general public were achieved: not only 1,000 people on location - the whole campaign garnered an estimated non-paid reach of 32,402,878 people across 24 territories (including 2,315,000 public, non-paid reach based in Singapore). The campaign delivered an advertising value of S$70,465 and total PR Value of S$211,390 on a budget of only S$7,500 - an unbelievable ROI of over 3000%.

The pressing problem was affecting people on the streets - a street promotion felt like the right approach. Knowing the hunger of local and regional media for stories with a strong cultural aspect and with impactful images, we developed a branded street stunt that worked more like a street art performance. This also took into account the strict limitations on out of home advertising in Singapore (no billboards; graffiti and littering are crimes). The performance was intended to create impact on the ground and allow audience participation, but its main drive was to generate wide media coverage. Hence opinion leaders and journalists were involved early and directly, receiving background information on the performance and the participating local artist, as well as invitations to the locations. The product played a role in the background, allowing media to pick up a current cultural event without being seen to overtly promote a brand.