We Are Social Asia Tuesday Tune-Up #202

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Star Wars at Changi Airport: Chatter of the Jedis
Walt Disney has partnered with Changi Airport, fuelling anticipation for the 7th film installment. The campaign consists of a life-sized everything (X-wing fighter, Stormtrooper figurines, R2-D2), sale of exclusive merchandise and photo opportunities with key characters. Visitors can also navigate through a playhouse, inspired by the Hardangerjokulen Glacier.

Holy sith, that is tremendous effort – but where does social fit in the marketing mix and has this translated into online buzz?

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(Source: Sysomos Map)

Not bad, there were a total of 11.8K mentions in the period of October and November. Many geo-tagged their visits, made special trips for the exhibit, and were excited when Changi received international recognition. We like this – organic conversations, shareability and an extension of positive sentiment into a sense of pride for the country.

 

Looks like the force has awakened in good ol’ Changi.

Brands Amongst Top 3 Interests of HK Instagrammers

Nielsen Audience Research recently conducted an “Instagrammers in Hong Kong” study, which revealed some key findings:

The majority of Hong Kong Instagrammers are between ages 18-34, have high spending power, and listed brands as their top 3 areas of interest. In fact, 1 out of 2 Hong Kong users follow brands on Instagram. Female users resonate with fashion and beauty, while male users are generally trend-conscious.

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Facebook Drives Social Growth in Southeast Asia
When I hear Southeast Asia, I automatically think of hot climates and even hotter food. And now, in the social world, Southeast Asia is now regarded as a pretty hot commodity too, as it has some of the highest penetration of social network usage among internet users of anywhere in the world and “presents significant opportunities for social network usage growth in the next few years”. According to eMarketer’s forecast for the region, Indonesia has the highest social network penetration rate in Southeast Asia, with 77.4% of internet users visiting a social network at least once a month.

eMarketer southeast Asia

Facebook adoption is the main growth determinant, with at least two-thirds of users in the region regularly logging on to share their status updates. eMarketer’s VP of forecasting Haixia Wang commented on the region’s potential for growth:

With internet penetration still relatively low and mobile continuing to drive internet adoption in the key markets there, it (Southeast Asia) will continue to be a hot spot for various digital activity growths in the next few years.

Snapchat Introduces Audience Bundles
Boasting over 100 million users, Snapchat is fast becoming an important platform for many brands. And it’s now making its ad offering even more appealing by introducing a new concept which packages audiences by themes for advertisers. But how does it work we hear you cry? The bundles aim to ensure your content is matched to the most appropriate audience using the Discover channel. For example, should you choose the ‘world news package’, you will featured in CNN and Vice’s content channels. Although, a much-welcomed improvement to targeting, it still lacks a click-through measurability which, when priced at $100,000 a day (a reduction from $700,000!) for an ad, perhaps seems a bit steep.

Snapchat Launches Holiday Themed Discover Channel
DIY publisher Brit & Co. has made its Snapchat debut with a Google-sponsored, holiday-themed Discover channel around baking, crafts and various DIY activities. It’s not a long-term campaign, instead running for two week-long periods to ensure Snapchat users don’t become fatigued with holiday content. With over 300 pieces of custom designs, the channel will feature videos, gifs and trivia questions, whilst topics will include decoration ideas, recipes and DIY gift suggestions. Everything you’ll need in the palm of your hand; a Christmas miracle.

Line Launches Shop to Send Real-world Gifts to Friends
If you haven’t heard of Line, Japan’s answer to instant messaging, prepare to have your mind blown. Last February saw Line tackling commerce when they launched an in-app grocery service. Now, Line is testing a new gift shop allowing users to send real-word goods like coffee, breakfast and even cinema tickets to friends. Line has seen success selling these low-value goods – the question now is whether an effort like this can scale.

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Target increases social budget, launches multi-platform campaign
Retailer Target has boosted its investment in social by 30% on last year for its 2015 holiday campaign. The social media extravaganza includes holiday-themed geofilters on Snapchat, released every day from December 1st all the way through Christmas, using Facebook’s Canvas e-commerce ads to push sales of Target’s craft-focused ‘Wonderpacks’ and Instagram takeover ads using Marquee targeting options. If that all sounds like a lot to take in, that’s because it is. “Holiday this year represents Target’s most ambitious social spend for a single campaign,” said Colleen McDuffe, senior director of social media at Target.

US Retailers Invest in Social this Holiday Season
Yes, you guessed it, more US retailers splashing the big bucks on their digital and social holiday campaigns. Macy’s, which views holidays as the “equivalent to the Super Bowl” when it comes to its marketing efforts, is syncing its Facebook and Instagram ads to offer customers an integrated experience. On Instagram, Macy’s is using the (apparently very popular!) Marquee feature, and fans who have been reached by the Instagram posts will be presented with follow-up ads on Facebook. Macy’s is hoping the shorter Instagram clips will draw users into watching its full-length ad on Facebook.

Other brands looking to social for their holiday investment include clothing store J.Crew and toy marketer, American Girl. J. Crew is loving Instagram, investing in “Shop Now” buttons to turn its feed into a digital gift catalogue, as well as equipping its Facebook landing page with a Shop Now feature. American Girl promoted its “Give a Friend” campaign, which involves a doll being donated to a girl in need with each purchase from the company, using Facebook and Instagram ads. Julie Parks, spokeswoman for American Girl, justified their choice of channels:

We are using Facebook and Instagram more aggressively this year mainly because our fans are increasingly interested in engaging with our content on our social channels—and this continues to be a strong growth area for the brand.

YouTube Pressures World Leaders to Tackle Climate Change
Climate change affects the things we love from coffee to chocolate – changes in the environment stand to impact our day-to-day lives. This is the message behind YouTube’s #OursToLose campaign, which asks people to sign Avaaz.org’s clean world petitionahead of COP21, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. YouTube enlisted content creators from across the world to drive the campaign, including Finn Harries (UK), Casey Neistat (USA) and Flavia Calina (Brazil). Already surpassing their target of 3.5 million petition signatures, the stakes have now been raised to 4 million! All in a day’s work for Gen Z.

‘Christmas Shopping Simulator’ is Resurrected for Black Friday
Last Friday, shopping centres everywhere were preparing to be infested by a stampede of bargain-hunting shoppers. But thanks to Game, instead internet users could now enjoy all the Black Friday ‘fun’ from the comfort of their sofas! Game resurrected its social media hit ‘Christmas Shopping Simulator’, which revolves around the Black Friday shopping event in the US and now, the UK too. Players can revel in all the chaos of the shopping phenomenon through a free online download. Sounds absolutely terrifying.