Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

This work helped an everyday personal care store, which sells trivial shampoos and vitamins, to create a Christmas experience for competing against the latest fashions and newest gadgets from almighty shopping malls during Christmas.

Background

Christmas is the biggest battle on the Hong Kong retail calendar. Brands and shops alike spend a fortune to advertise their holiday offerings and vie for the gift-giving dollar in a retail environment that is as festive as it is competitive. For Mannings, the challenge is especially formidable. How does a retailer of everyday personal care products stay relevant during the time of year when shoppers’ heads are invariably turned by all that is costlier and shinier?

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Christmas presents are often bought on the basis of how much, how new and how “postable”. Indeed, the number of “likes” a gift collects on social media seems to have become more important than how much it is liked and needed by the person receiving it. We reversed the “spend more, think less” mentality with the original ethos of Christmas: “Care More, Care Deeper”, making Mannings the place to go for better gift ideas for deeper human connection. Most importantly, for the recipient, nothing is worth more than knowing how much you care.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The insight that the best gift comes from the heart, not the wallet helped us to pin down the target audience by turning the everyday personal care shopper into a Christmas gift shopper. We designed a special Christmas gift zone and developed some “Christmas gifts” that no one has ever expected before.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

We encoded the benefits of selected products in caring messages and expressed each one in the form of a Christmas card. Yes, a Christmas card that people could use to express their care and love during Christmas. For example, the card carrying the headline “With every new day, I’ll pamper you in a new way” was linked to the Mannings’ Aloe & Mint Hand Rub for a moisturizing Christmas for the recipient. A QR code let the recipient redeem the gift at one of the more than 300 Mannings stores in Hong Kong. And we replaced some shelves with a Christmas card booth for shoppers to choose their unique, caring holiday messages.

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign created a buzz on social media. Many celebrities joined the movement and shared their care and love around. This made Mannings the ONLY personal care brand in Hong Kong to record positive year-on-year growth during the holiday season of 2018.