Why is this work relevant for Creative Strategy?

Silver Swan, the leading soy sauce brand had already lined up its campaign for the new year of 2020. But by the end of the first quarter of the year 2020, the world would already be deep into the pandemic bringing out cultural and social shifts never been faced by the brand. With massive job losses, households looked towards saving money, which was a big disadvantage with Silver Swan’s premium price. Quarantine also meant that traditional marketing channels would be unavailable. Strategy should be creative in identifying the pivot in communications and marketing channels for these unique times.

Background

The Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 hit globally. In the Philippines, everyone was ordered to stay indoors and be in quarantine to avoid the spread of the Corona virus. Consumer behavior shifts towards fighting the pandemic. Mothers are becoming overwhelmed with concern. From the dish they will serve, to the safety of the whole family, they try their best to stay on top of things in the “New Normal”.​ Consumer spending was also immediately affected due to economic and financial losses in the country. Silver Swan is the Philippines' leading soy sauce brand. However, it's also the most expensive brand among it's competitors. The brand also highly hinges its campaigns on traditional channels, including on-ground activities, where Filipino mothers, our target audience, are found. With the Silver Swan's price disadvantage, and its traditional brand engagement channels closed, how can the brand create brand affinity and brand value through these unique challenges.

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

Even though Silver Swan is the leading brand, it also meant a couple of negatives for it. It was an old brand, being around since the 1940s, it was losing grip on its target, younger mothers who were more open to challenger brands. Premium quality also meant premium price. As the pandemic began, consumer spending was immediately affected due to economic and financial losses in the country, putting Silver Swan at a great disadvantage in terms of price. To put it simply, Silver Swan’s challenge was stay relevant to the younger target audience, and to not go to a price war during pandemic compounded. All this, compounded by limited marketing channels.

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

Emotional brand-building is a powerful growth strategy, even in a recession. While the rest of the Soy Sauce category focused on short-term sales activations like discounts, promos, and drive-to-ecommerce, Silver Swan focused its efforts on long-term brand building that creates deeper, emotional, personal connections with Filipino Mothers- who are stuck at home, and now more than ever, in need of comfort and assurance that their efforts are well appreciated. It wasn't through an emotional video. We simply listened to what they need. Social scans revealed that the target market had a collective pain point- the feeling of being overwhelmed, and that there was a common longing for activities that were lost during quarantine, like Zumba classes with other mothers which greatly helped in their physical and emotional well being. Although Tiktok was an untested channel, it had the ability to bring those out of home activities back home.

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

With the pandemic, Filipino mothers are becoming overwhelmed with concern. However, mothers still try their best to stay on top of things in the “New Normal”. Their household attention was focused on three things. Protection, health and entertainment. With traditional marketing channels unavailable, on-ground events were recalibrated to digital experiences, communicating the message of emotional support for mothers to strengthen Silver Swan’s association with comfort, relief, and togetherness during the worlds trying times. Show mothers that they are on top of the situation even through these tough times. During "normal times", Filipino mothers were regularly doing free Zumba classes every morning in community parks to keep healthy. Silver Swan took that activity, and brought it home. Silver Swan Swanderful Moves is a online digital dance challenge, inspiring moms to fight worry and encourage the practice of healthy habits.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

#SwanderfulMoves successfully created mass reach and awareness across all digital platforms. With high performing YouTube ads, engagement results show high interest in joining the Mother’s Day Live Event, with total interest garnered at 299,309 on Facebook. #SwanderfulMoves earned an average daily reach of 18,310, or a total reach of 274,649. During the total duration of the campaign on Facebook, #SwanderfulMoves reached 10,242,505 people, and collected 1,169,028 engagements. Collectively, the Facebook posts outperformed benchmarks by +2340.81%. On YouTube, #SwanderfulMoves moved very well! The campaign gathered 132,965 actual views. On Instagram, #SwanderfulMoves performed just as good, reaching 2,778,325 individuals, and earning 502,691 engagements. TikTok is where #SwanderfulMoves shined, earning Engagement: 749,237 total Views: +47M UGC Engagement: 1,490,478 Through the campaign, Silver Swans business, grew 22% compared to the previous year, despite the challenges of the pandemic.