The Campaign

Singapore is a first-world country with 1.3 million migrant workers who make up about one third of the entire workforce.* Unfortunately, their efforts go unappreciated and unrecognised sometimes, because they haven’t been considered a part of Singaporean society. They are Singapore’s invisible people. Coca-Cola and Singapore Kindness Movement took the first step in building a bridge between Singaporeans and migrant workers to share in a moment of happiness. This was done by positioning Singaporeans as the genuine source of happiness, while Coca-Cola and SKM took on the back-seat role of deliverers. Over several days, we collected thousands of messages of appreciation from Singaporeans, tied them to Coke cans, and then delivered them to over 2,000 migrant workers at construction sites, using a fleet of custom-built drones. Each one brought with it a little happiness. Our impetus behind using drones was to change the negative connotation of the word – from a vehicle of death to a vehicle of happiness. Thus, we managed to touch the hearts of migrant workers, with some even pasting messages on their dormitory walls. ‘Happiness from the Skies’ wasn't set out to solve a problem – it was simply a way of bringing happiness to two isolated groups of the community, which would hopefully then create a positive ripple effect. Overall, the campaign was a huge success – the video went viral, and multiple conversations were started on both social and traditional media. *1.3 million migrant workers who make up about 1/3 of the entire workforce: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/10/us-singapore-riots-workers-idUSBRE9B908G20131210 http://population.sg/vision/economy/#.U8ierPmSySo

The Brief

We set out to encourage Singaporeans to take a moment to show their appreciation towards migrant workers, as the current sentiment is that Singaporeans do not care nor appreciate the hard work they do for a country that’s not even their home. We also wanted to use technology in a creative way, and we did that by changing the perception on how drones are generally used – from delivering death to delivering happiness. Drones were also a practical choice for this project as construction workers operate in areas which are inaccessible to ordinary people from entering.

Results

The campaign was covered extensively on local and international news, and the video was widely shared on social media garnering over 400,000 views. The conversations generated on social media were overwhelmingly positive, with 78% being complimentary and only 8% negative. The total PR value was worth SGD $1,766,492. There were 31 total media pieces, and 8,696 influencer pieces on blogs and social media. The video created so much buzz that we made it accessible for the China market by translating and uploading it onto YouKu. We were also able to begin conversations, on serious platforms in Singapore to drive discussion and thought-sharing on the issue of migrant workers in the community. A week after the video was launched, Singapore’s most watched current affairs talk show discussed the issue on migrant workers in Singapore. Overall, this campaign touched the hearts of migrant workers, and inspired the whole nation and its people.

Execution

Earlier this year, we reached out to Singapore Kindness Movement to partner with Coca-Cola Singapore because their mission is in line with what this project is about. By working together, we collected a total of 2,734 messages from the local community. We then used custom-built drones to deliver these messages together with Coke to migrant construction workers, surprising them since these sites are inaccessible to the public. Each delivery brought happiness from the skies, and every message a sense of recognition and belonging. We amplified this campaign using social media since the video was uploaded on YouTube and Singaporeans are already one of the most active social media consumers in the world, spending 2.2 hours on it per day. We also engaged local influencers to help share the video with their followers. We also approached both traditional media and trade media to share our story and write about their thoughts.

The Situation

Coca-Cola’s brand philosophy is rooted in sharing happiness and bringing people together, which is what this campaign achieved. In addition, a few months prior to the campaign, a riot broke out in Singapore which brought to light many issues that migrant workers face. This campaign was not a way to solve any of these issues. Instead, it was just a way to show migrant workers that Singaporeans do care about them and recognize all the hard work they do. This was demonstrated by connecting both segments of the community together to share in a special moment of happiness.

The Strategy

Our strategy was to: • Use cutting-edge technology to demonstrate civic pride and a force for good in Singapore. • Continue using technology in a creative way because Coca-Cola has always done that (past examples: Hug Machine, Happiness Creator Machine, etc.) • Bring happiness to an under-appreciated group of people. • Connect two segments of the community together by opening up a new channel of communication which allows Singaporeans to express their gratitude. • Take the first step in bridging two communities together which would hopefully in turn inspire Singaporeans to do other acts of kindness.