Top picks for 2009

Our agency philosophy and modus operandi is all about change - how to spot, understand and harness change for our clients and to create fresh ideas on how brands should engage with consumers.

2009 has been our greatest year for delivering this for our clients. We probably have the best book and reel of work for many years now. Yes, it can still and will improve but the range of work we have done in 2009 has truly gone to another level versus 2008, and we have a good feeling about more recognition in 2010.

So, we'd love to share what we think are our top picks for 2009 - Isabelle Horoscope Campaign (Taiwan - we've added two below but there's 12 in all and they are all must sees), Speak Mandarin Campaign (Singapore), Virgin Mobile (India - added only one but you can see them all on our Youtube Page), Buick (China). Enjoy!!

A very cool campaign for Buick in China

(Picture above is taken from Google Satellite Images showing the mountainous road in Kunming, Yunnan, which is literally a series of 68 "s turns" in a space of just 7.5 kilometers. No wonder its dubbed the "devil's turn" in China)

We have just wrapped up a very cool campaign for our Shanghai General Motors client in China - the highly successful Buick “S Curve” campaign.

In a nutshell, the Buick “S Curve Challenge” is a 20-city race in China which took place over three months. Members of the public were invited to take part in a driving challenge that required them to navigate around a race track. The winners (39 in all) from each city were then invited for the final showdown in Yunnan, where they were challenged to race down what is dubbed the “Devil’s Turn” – this is literally a series of 68 “S curves” down a mountain road in Kunming as shown in the Google satellite picture above! The winner completed the race in just over nine minutes.

The Challenge was devised as a way to stand out among the plethora of car showcases and test drive events (which have become commonplace and no longer effective in driving sales), and at the same time strengthen the brand through greater customer interaction. The event has generated immense interest and word of mouth in social media. It was also highly publicized local and national media. And all this has resulted in record high sales and a two-month wait list. Given the success, this will be turned into a bigger and better program for the years to come. Check out the case study here. Watch this space!

Sunrise wins at Oz’s Bondi Short Film Fest

Our Cambodian film project, “Sunrise” was nominated for Best Film at the 9th Bondi Short Film Festival in Sydney and our soundtrack won Best Music! The audience response to the film was just fantastic. It's a coup to get this far. The BSFF is probably the most famous of Australia's short film showcases and competition is massive. Following this, one of the Sunrise boys has decided to go into the industry. The fact that just one young person, with so much hardship in his life, has been inspired to take a creative career path is exactly what we'd hoped for by doing this project. We blogged about this a while back and you can watch the making of here!

The top 20 changes happening in India

We've done "Top 20 Changes" for China, Singapore, Philippines and Indochina, and now we've completed the overview for the changes that are happening with Indian consumers, pop culture, businesses, government, media and so on. 

Here're two of the really interesting changes. 

Change #20 is about the changing face of beauty in India. Beauty in the traditional paradigm was taken at face value, but beauty in India today is an appreciated currency. For example, good looks enhance career prospects considerably. Looks are a certain stepping stone to success. As a result, the Indian beauty market is growing at 13% per annum and valued at $6.3 billion, but what's interesting also is that men’s personal care is a segment that is growing strong. 

Related to this is Change # 8 "From chocolaty to sculpted". "Hairy" is no longer the Bollywood ideal. Masculinity is less hirsute and more sculpted today. The star has hit the gym to redefine the physical male. From Shahrukh Khan in Om Shanti Om to Amir Khan in Ghajni; from six packs to male bottoms, the male body is delivering at the box office. 2008 was the peak of the shirtless, waxed, male star in bronze-tanned-skin. 

We blogged about the "new Indian man" a while ago. 

Here're the 20 changes. 

1. From Desi (local) boys to Global Champs.

2. From Janta (citizen) to Journalist.

3. From Classic Cricket to T20 Spectacle.

4. From News Capsules to Masala Media.

5. From Brazen Confidence to Cautious Optimism.

6. From Sarkar (government) to Partner.

7. From a Filmi Formula to Experimental Cinema.

8. From Chocolaty to Sculpted.

9. From Bazaar (local market) to Big Bazaar (hypermarket brand). 

10. From Mid life to High life.

11. From Samaj (society) Driven to Self Driven.

12. From Share Bazaar to Bank Deposits.

13. From Ashirwaad (Blessing) to Pamper.

14. From Striving to Shinning.

15. From Swayamwar (self selection) to Shaadi.com.

16. From the Exclusive Car to Inclusive Nano.

17. From Bharat Bachao (save) to Bharat Nirman (create).

18. From Computer Illiterate to Mobile Proficient.

19. From Armaan (desire) to Action.

20. From Beauty as Art to Beauty as Currency. 

Will public outcry drive a re-match? Integrity might just win

(Photo from AFP)

Digby Richards writes:

For those lovers of the round ball game - which is probably half of Asia - you would have noticed across most news headlines over the last few days, that the captain of France, Thierry Henry admitted to handball (which is illegal in the game) which helped his team mate convert, resulting in France qualifying for next year's World Cup in South Africa. For Ireland it means they will not be. The public reaction to this act, which was admitted by Henry, has reached both country leaders, Sarkozy and Cowen, and seen the French public turn on its own team. So, it proves even in the world of sport, where passion can sometimes be one-eyed, that integrity is still the greatest universal value. My bet is that there will be a re-match which will make all the TV networks very happy. It proves the power of 'groundswell' and the need for brands, be it people, teams or products to stay true to their values. If they do not, the consequences can be disastrous. Just imagine how Gillette feels as a key sponsor of Henry?

AdAge lists us in "top 20 blogs Chinese Advertisers should read"!!

AdAge and AdAge China have listed our blog in a special report written by their Asia editor  Normandy Madden. Thanks Normandy for the listing. It's a great honor to be listed among other esteemed bloggers and a validation of all our contributors. We look forward to sharing more insights, observations and hypotheses about the most pertinent changes that are going on in China, with our readers!


And I'd also like to bring attention to another list that AdAge China has compiled - "25 China Experts You Should Follow on Twitter" for real time updates on what's happening on the streets of China. 


Click to read the full article. 

Coming together for an inspiring fundraiser for typhoon victims

Iking Uy from Bates Manila writes:

Calamities can devastate cities but not its people.

This is what the local ad community demonstrated in Manila on October 20. Our agency partnered with Tulakabataan (a local NGO in Philippines whose mission is to "push to change through education), to lead the ad industry’s first fundraising event to help the victims of the recent typhoons that had left thousands of Filipinos in peril.

The benefit concert, Patak-Patak Kabataan held at Mag:net Bonifacio High Street, aimed to raise funds in the efforts of helping the typhoon victims and to share the organization’s main thrust – education for the less-fortunate– to the rest of the industry.

Inspiration would be the word that best describes the event, beginning with an introduction by TV personality and journalist TJ Manotoc, recounting how he himself was inspired by Tulakabataan’s founder, Efren Peñaflorida, in his efforts to instill importance of education to the out-of-school youth. Efren is now recognized around the world for his work with Tulakabataan and the Dynamic Youth Company because of the work they do. He is a finalist in the CNN Heroes for this year and he show his inspiring prowess as he also addressed the crowd with his humble words. (We blogged about him a few months back. Click on the link.)

Donations in kind were received from clothes, canned goods and school supplies, along with products generously shared by clients such as Unilever and Abbot. Artists and musicians within the advertising community also gave time to share their music for free. Performances by The Beltrans, Moonstar 88, Drip, Astrojuan, Overtone, Khuattro, Taken by Cars, Shoulder State and Pasok Mga Bwitre kept the night rocking to almost 250 attendees. Even the hosts, local musical channel VJs, Janine Ramirez and Anthony Santos participated in the event with their talent fees waived. There were even Artists who gave free face painting and henna tattooing.

Overall, the night was hope-filled. It’s seldom that we see the people in the industry in one event with common goal. The event was truly a unified effort of the advertising community as one for our fellowmen. And we from Bates 141 Manila are proud to be in the forefront of these efforts such as these which not only helps those who are in need, but also changes their lives for the better. And we know, that’s what we stand for.

BatesApex wins Gold Effie in China!

We won Gold for our branding campaign for Chengdu city! Congrats to Matthew Fan and his team! This is the first time that the category (public image/government) won Gold since the Effie Awards entered China in 2003.

Chengdu, the capital city of China’s Sichuan province sits in a strategic spot. It is a hot bed for Foreign Direct Investment and a key business hub. However, all this was to change when the fatal Sichuan earthquake of 2008 struck. Although the city itself was unscathed, the quake had a huge impact, leaving Chengdu with a confidence crisis and massive economic losses.

What makes a city great is its people. The quake revealed the caring, selfless and resilient spirit of Chengdu residents. And because of this spirit, the city will bounce back. This was the core idea behind our integrated campaign, targeted at local and national residents, and the investment community.

The results are spectacular. The city has rebuild its reputation, and this has led to investments, and growth in key sectors such as real estate and tourism. Its GDP saw healthy growth this year, despite the global economic recession. Check out our Effie winner and case study here!

Are we seeing a new style of leadership in China business?

[Picture: Wang ChuanFu - founder of BYD - PRC's wealthiest]

Digby Richards writes:

A recent article from the FT titled 'The Billionaires of China's Technology Boom' identified that the two wealthiest people in the PRC are also key members of the green element. This echoes a shift we detected in some recent research we did as part of a BMW project which uncovered a new 'sensibility' trend among China's wealthiest. This new sensibility seemed to rise after the devastating Sichuan earthquake in May 2008, with wide ranging impact on China's youth (see our past post on the rising social conscience in China youth) right up to the Premier Wen JiaBao. Is this 'giveback' mentality driving a key change in China with more people seeking personal and/or family fulfilment than just status and wealth? Or both?

The People's Republic of China: 60 years young - what's your reaction?

Digby, on China's 60th birthday:

Yesterday, in Hong Kong, I watched on TV with fascination the celebrations of China's 60 years as the People's Republic. It was once again a powerful display of scale and confidence following on from the impressive Olympic games in Beijing and ahead of the much anticipated Shanghai World Expo in 2010. My question to my Bates 141 colleagues - which totals well over 650 across Greater China alone, plus family and friends - what's your reaction? For many Hong Kong Chinese I know there is a greater sense of collective pride with the PRC and its achievements. And with my Taiwanese colleagues, it is a mixed bag depending on whether you are pro-independence or not? Thoughts?