Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

This piece of work is doing more than one way communication. It is interacting with the consumers and making them part of the execution. It allows them to get closer to the brand and understand what the brand stands for.

Background

Open Electricity Market is an initiative by the Energy Market Authority Singapore. The platform aims to inform and educate Singaporeans about the latest changes in the electricity market. Staring from 2018 Singaporeans can choose their electricity retailer and benefit from competitive price plans. The brief was to create and educational online video, where we can explain Singaporeans the different types of price plans and the steps to switching to a different retailer. The objective was to deliver the information as clear and simple as possible, while making the film interesting and engaging.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

The `Talking Appliances` campaign for the Open Electricity Market has started in 2018, with TVCs, where we had different electronic appliances talking about the platform and the new retailers. These characters were created to reflect all kinds of consumers. Each appliance became the voice of consumers’ concerns, questions and answers. The educational video was the last big piece of this campaign. We continued using our talking appliances as the main heroes. But instead of listing down all the information and making a very formal educational film, we decided to go beyond the conventions. The idea was to use animatronics and surprise real customers in a technology store, while educating them in a very conversational manner. To achieve that we brought two appliances to life and worked with two famous Singaporean stand-up comedians to give voice to them.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The target audience was, to put it simply, anyone who pays monthly electricity bills. So, it covers a very wide audience of 30 to 70 years old. After 53 years, this is the first-time Singaporeans get to choose their electricity retailer. They have zero background about how to switch or why to switch. That’s why, from day one, we knew the approach must be straight forward, simple and engaging. Especially the educational video must be the most direct piece in the entire campaign. No layers, no complicated stories was our motto when started working on the campaign.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

Together with engineers, we identified the right appliances to bring to life. After carefully eliminating many candidates, we decided to use a kettle and a lamp. The engineers gave the appliances the ability to move through a remote control. They placed a mic onto them so that we can hear what the customers were saying. And a speaker for customers to hear our hosts who were giving voices to the appliances from a control room. We partnered with a film director to place these appliances in an actual technology store and film them while interacting with the customers. The activation was done in one store but the film was aired on all social media channels, across Singapore.

List the results (30% of vote)

The results had exceeded the expectations. 1.2 million views on YouTube. 639 thousand unique visits to the website The film significantly contributed to the success of the whole campaign, as the campaign has raised 92% of awareness nationwide and 34% of the country had switched to a new retailer in less than a year.