The Brief

This campaign reinforces Bar-B-Q Plaza’s brand belief to ‘make the most of now’, by putting their employees first. The most hardworking staff, especially those who have left their hometown, were selected to answer a questionnaire about their moms prior to Mother’s Day. This exercise was disguised as a personal development training, before revealing that we are bringing their moms from the upcountry to share a meal at Bar-B-Q Plaza. This stunt was documented and edited into a heartwarming video. At an all-staff event, the video was shown before a special announcement: The company is changing their attitude by shifting their priority from customers to their employees. And because they understand that all 3800 employees will be busy working while everyone else can spend time with their moms on Mother’s Day, they are giving all employees 2 extra days off in order to spend quality time with their moms and family.

Creative Execution

One month prior to Mother’s Day, we selected the most hardworking staff and those who have left their hometown. We gave them a questionnaire about their moms, disguising this exercise as a personal development training to improve our service for Mother’s Day. The questions asked were simple, yet touching and brought most of them to tears. Few days later, we surprised them by bringing their moms from upcountry to have a meal with together. The staff had the chance to personally hand their questionnaires to their moms, thus making the most of that moment. We filmed the unrehearsed stunt and edited the footage into a heartwarming video. The video was then shown at an all-staff event, before the company’s CEO made a special announcement to all 3800 employees. Because they want their staff to spend quality time with their moms too, they gave every employee 2 extra days off.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Bar-B-Q Plaza wanted their staff to live the brand belief – to make the most of now. And in order to help customers make the most of their moment in the restaurants, Bar-B-Q Plaza had to start with the people right in front of them: their employees. In the service industry, service from the heart is what makes all the difference. So the brand shifted their belief from putting customers first to putting their employees first.

Results

The video was ranked #1 most popular video on YouTube Thailand, with over a million views within 24 hours. It was crowned ‘Best Mother’s Day Video’ by popular blogs, and gained free publicity by local and international news. It is still being shared, with over 4.5 million views on YouTube and Facebook within one week. Most importantly, Bar-B-Q Plaza’s 3,800 employees were given 2 extra days off for them to have a long enough holiday to spend time with their moms. It was a game changer for the hospitality industry, as it inspired other businesses to put their employees first.