Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

The Sir Stamford Raffles statue is the most iconic landmark in Singapore and our work brings the statue to life in the most surprising way. We created a series of interactive on-ground and social experiences for the Asian Civilisation Museum’s exhibition Raffles in Southeast Asia to bring to light different narratives that surround Sir Stamford Raffles, and get Singaporeans talking about this iconic, and sometimes divisive historical figure. Our campaign helped audiences rediscover Raffles – the man, not the icon – by bringing together opposing and potentially controversial views of who he was.

Background

Since independence, Singaporeans have primarily been exposed to one narrative of Sir Stamford Raffles – as the country’s glorious founding figure. Prestigious country clubs, schools, hospitals, districts and buildings are named in his honour. An iconic statue has been erected in front of the Singapore River. But in recent years, alternative versions of Raffles’ narrative have started surfacing. While some view him as just a scholar who was interested in the region, not an admirable statesman, others now see him as a plagiariser and thief. To mark Singapore’s bicentennial year, the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) curated a special exhibition of Raffles to bring to light these different narratives. Our job was to get Singaporeans to come to this exhibition and make up their own minds about the man. We had set ourselves a target of 100,000 visitors (SGD265,000 in admission revenue) and we wanted each of them to

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Beyond a statesman, Raffles was also known to be other things – a trader, a collector, a scholar, even a plagiariser and thief. We wanted Singaporeans to go beyond superficial depictions of Raffles, and think about who the man really was. So we literally brought him to life. Through a series of on-ground takeovers, we placed a living statue of Raffles in some of Singapore’s busiest locations and asked people to weigh in on different perspectives. Was Raffles a scholar or a scoundrel? Was he ruthless or righteous? A leader or liar? On social and digital channels, we asked the same provocative questions and got people to choose in a poll. Our ambition was to get everyone who interacted with our communication pieces to question the Raffles that they know. Our living statue defamiliarised people with the iconic figure and got people to interact with him in

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

In the past, the demographic of people who visited the ACM tended to be older and more academically-inclined: educators, scholars, and history enthusiasts. But in order to achieve our visitorship targets, we needed to reach out to wider sets of audiences. We were looking to engage students, young adults and families too. These groups of audiences are digital natives, already in the habit of sharing their lives online. Living in tiny Singapore also meant they were constantly looking for things to do on the weekends. While other museums tend to position themselves as the authoritative perspective on a particular subject, we wanted this activation to be a conversation starter. We aimed to present different views in a dynamic, engaging way that could turn a very academic topic into something accessible and interactive, so that every person could leave with their own point of view about Raffles.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

On-ground Takeover and Activation We launched by bringing our living statue all across the island. Across 2 weekends, the Raffles living statue visited locations in the central business district, libraries, in neighbourhood heartlands and busy shopping streets. Everyone was encouraged to interact and engage with Raffles in order to make up their own minds about him. Social and Digital We leveraged online digital banners and Facebook to ask the same provocative questions across the exhibition’s 3-month period. On Instagram, we used the “poll” sticker function to get Singaporeans voting. Out-of-Home Train Stations & Bus Shelters We took over the busiest train station in the central business district in Singapore (aptly called Raffles Place station) for a month and got Singaporeans to weigh in. Each piece of communication ended with a provocative question and drove people to visit the exhibition to make up their own minds about Raffles.

List the results (30% of vote)

The exhibition had set out to get Singaporeans to see Raffles differently. On social platforms, our campaign had over 3.3 million impressions. Our target was 100,000 visitors by the end of the 12-week exhibition. But we hit that target by the 8th week. We had reached out to a younger and more diverse group of audience too – most of them were between the ages 20 and 39 and came with their children and friends. By the end of the exhibition, 142,577 people had come to see Raffles – surpassing our targets by over 42%. Admission revenues hit SGD342K, surpassing our goal by 29%. More importantly, people who visited the exhibition left with a different impression of Raffles. Through the experience’s multi-faceted portrayal of the man, 93% of visitors left the exhibition with a different view of his life and career, and gained new insight into his colonial legacy after.