202​1 ​Finalists

Case Summary

Sharing chocolates in good times is normal, but here is a case that shows the impact of what a chocolate can do during bad times. COVID19 exposed an age-old societal issue - the high-power distance in Indian society which had only widened during the pandemic. To address this, Cadbury gave up its brand logo entirely and replaced it with a Thank You to help people share their heartfelt generosity towards those neglected and vulnerable around them. In a tough year this helped move – the people, the brand, the business.

Case Summary

Social Impact reports serve a distinct social purpose themselves. These reports were originally created to help customers make better informed choices about supporting those companies with the greatest social, economic or environment in their communities. Alas, they’re usually too boring to be read and thus, fail in influencing socially-impactful consumer choices. The Reinvention of Social Impact Reports was long overdue - and this Effie case is about how Grab got 170,000 ordinary people to read a report in 2020 that nobody cared about the previous year.

Case Summary

With the majority of Thailand’s population struggling with the stress crisis, a major initiative was needed for the wellbeing of people. Thus, leading to Cigna designing the first of its kind PSA campaign- See Stress Differently. We worked with leading stress experts and digital artists to build a tool that visually represents the severity of people’s stress, which we then scaled across online and offline channels to help educate people. Successfully strengthening Cigna's position as a partner in wellness, while also significantly increasing our brand’s awareness and consideration.

Case Summary

Singapore’s National Council of Social Service (NCSS) has a noble mission: “compassionate society, impactful sector, dignified lives.” But for Singaporeans with mental health conditions, neighbours are far from compassionate, life’s anything but dignified because the very topic’s a cultural taboo, preventing them from reaching out for help. “Beyond The Label” provided Singaporeans with Belle, a mobile-and-social-first tool to locate help easily, and harnessed proven reframing techniques to overcome self-stigma and provoke help-seeking. The omnichannel campaign has opened up positive conversations and helped to close a 12-year treatment gap.

Case Summary

How do you exponentially increase the price perception and sales volumes of a premium edition of a much-loved, rarely-bought cult 2-door SUV during COVID times? The answer - engineer a highly visible and competitive auction for the first all-new Thar. One that created lots of participation, WOM and PR coverage. And resulted in over 5500 sign-ups for the auction, a winning bid of over 12x the vehicle’s price, and over 31,000 bookings at an average selling price 60% higher than the previous edition.

Case Summary

In spite of an onslaught of extraordinary challenges putting a stop to creative production, dwarfed media budgets and intense limitations around how product benefits could be depicted, this media led campaign rose to the challenge. It may have been our toughest, but boy was the payback worth it - we not only smashed our targets, but delivered unprecedented sales!

Case Summary

On 11.11, Pantene opened the doors to the Breakup Salon, inviting singles to turn their heartfelt breakup stories into powerful new looks. Singles in China, especially women, are seen as ‘incomplete’ and ‘disrespectful’, making breakups particularly hard. And with over 200 million singles each year trying to hide their status, a cultural stigma around ’singledom’ certainly remains. To help with this, Pantene went back to the roots of 11.11, celebrating singles, leading to 37% growth in year-on-years sales; faster than all other hair care brands and the category.

Case Summary

Born and bred in the deep South of New Zealand, Speight’s session ale was founded on a view of masculinity that was quickly becoming obsolete. Until The Dance. Speight’s Dance not only transformed one of our countries most iconic beer brands, it has redefined modern mateship for New Zealanders. It catapulted the brand back into cultural conversations and turned around drinkers turning away from mainstream beer. The impact was immediate and seismic, transforming perceptions and driving unprecedented growth into a brand that many would have said was dead and buried.

Case Summary

'Who Made Beer the Boss of Summer?’ went, in the word of our distributors, “gangbusters” – CC became the number 1 selling RTD for the first time in history, and delivered not only the greatest CC ROI ever at 463%, but also one of the greatest ROIs in the history of the Australian Effies, ultimately being awarded a Gold Effie in the ROI category.

Case Summary

How does a fizzy drink that’s fizzling out, with no positive sentiment among drinkers in a shrinking softdrinks category, go to bat against goliath Coca-Cola during a global pandemic? By throwing the rulebook out the window, and embodying the zeitgeist of its Gen. Z drinker: “Whatever.” Results? RC Cola reversed the sales decline caused by government’s sugar tax, increased sales of flagship RC Cola Mega by 67%, and raised positive sentiment about the brand by 25% during a pandemic--when Filipinos had no reason to be drinking a celebratory soda.

Case Summary

This is the story of how the most rational of businesses took a leap of logic and got magical results. AA Insurance didn’t have anything new or different to win people over. So how do you win against the Goliaths in your category? You punch above your weight on making people feel, not think. By inspiring New Zealanders to ‘live a little freer’, AAI overtook the giants of its category to become NZ’s most preferred general insurer, outgrew the industry and broke the company’s sales records along the way.

Case Summary

$150 billion worth of insurance policy investments lie unclaimed in India. Despite paying hefty premiums families remained vulnerable, and the category penetration remained at a meager 3.7% of the GDP. With this campaign, we helped India overcome its cultural inhibitions around death and insurance with a simple solve-The Promise Box. We got families talking and made sure that no promise is kept hidden from the people it is meant for and unlocked one of the most successful months for the brand in terms of new policies sold.

Case Summary

Dove, China’s biggest chocolate brand that has been loved for over three decades, is facing a problem. As consumers becoming more sophisticated, Dove is increasingly seen as old and irrelevant, leading to penetration and sales decline. With an all-female crew film under the theme “put pleasure first”, Dove took a stance against gender inequality in the film industry, not only with its voice, but also action. The campaign started a social discussion, successfully gave Dove a modern and progressive brand image, and delivered exciting business growth.

Case Summary

According to a national study, 1-in-7 Singaporeans will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime, and yet 3-in-4 don't seek help, with a treatment gap as alarmingly long as 12 years. Instead of conventionally telling everyone what to do, we had to break the topic’s cultural taboo and connect the nation to help comfortably and safely. “Beyond The Label” provided Singaporeans with Belle, a mobile-and-social-first tool to locate help easily, and harnessed reframing techniques to overcome their self-stigma. The omnichannel campaign has opened up positive conversations and support nationally.

Case Summary

80% Moms have no idea about a baby’s bowel movements.In China, there is only 1 pediatrician for every 1587 Moms and children,it becomes very difficult for Moms to see a pediatrician.Friso together with Baidu AI Labs have collaborated to use medical big data.To classify baby poop into 6 types by its color,Volume and shape in three dimensions. And developed the world’s first AI identification poop tool for moms.With just a quick scan, Moms can easily determine the health of their baby’s stool.

Case Summary

This paper details how Huggies used its position as an authority in parenting to take aim at the horrendous issue of ‘mum-shaming’ within culture and social media. By taking a stance against the atrocious behaviour and reminding people that there’s no shame in being a parent, Huggies positive approach to marketing delivered three consecutive quarters of sales growth, putting an end to their long-term sales decline.

Case Summary

After years of being perceived last amongst the Big 3 Malaysian telcos in terms of network quality, Digi overtakes the No.2 telco Celcom by going against existing category cliches for network communications (think: widest network, uninterrupted streaming, on-the-go entertainment and gaming). Digi made Malaysians reconsider the strength of its network by showing how its network could power more than just your smartphone - it could power a game-changing IoT device that enabled blind football fans to “watch” the sport they love.

Case Summary

‘Judgement culture’ in Australia means that just by what you eat - and where you buy it from - you’re opening yourself up to people’s prejudice about who you are, how well off you are (or not), where you belong, even your character and values. This was hitting KFC’s ‘permissibility’ scores, and its continued growth. To combat this, KFC developed its most successful Earned PR campaign ever, encouraging Aussies to say “Stuff judgement!”, and have the most public event of their life - their wedding - catered by KFC.

Case Summary

The McDonald’s experience was never just about the food. The sounds and smells that surround you, the crew’s smiles that welcome you, the table you claim with every visit. They all form part of the McDonald’s experience. This experience was shattered by covid-19. Almost overnight, McDonald’s was relegated to a brown bag delivered by a masked rider. Contactless service made people feel safe, but in return, there were zero smiles, little warmth. McDonald’s needed to redefine its brand experience, in a way that was relevant in the new normal.

Case Summary

Covid accelerated eCommerce adoption but not every business can pivot quick enough. GrabMart helped the smallest and most traditional of businesses (farmers, fishermen and wet markets) embrace digitization and not get left behind. Not only do these businesses get a new lifeline, but they are also now able to take on online grocery giants. In the first two weeks of our campaign, these businesses see an increase of +49% in GMV.

Case Summary

Tourism New Zealand used the Rugby World Cup in Japan to generate their highest brand appeal score amongst the Japanese market in over three years. The campaign achieved a ROI of over $9.25. In a grand gesture we thanked our hospitable hosts and expressed our gratitude for looking after our players, coaching staff and fans. We turned our gratitude to Japan into a warm welcome to New Zealand by creating a six week cultural showcase called “NZ Says 39” (In Japan, ‘3-9’, the numbers mean “thank you”).

Case Summary

Tourism New Zealand has been selling brand-NZ to the world since 1906. However, with Covid-19, NZ quickly closed borders to keep the country safe. With borders closed, and no tourists entering, Tourism New Zealand needed to ensure that NZ’s 480,000 tourism workforce weren’t put out of business. So they pivoted, and for the first time in 30 years advertised to New Zealanders. We successfully convinced Kiwis to stop holidaying like locals (constantly returning to the same place), instead acting like international tourists who constantly trying to do something new.

Case Summary

Tourism New Zealand used the Rugby World Cup in Japan to generate their highest brand appeal score amongst the Japanese market in over three years. The campaign achieved a ROI of over $9.25. In a grand gesture we thanked our hospitable hosts and expressed our gratitude for looking after our players, coaching staff and fans. We turned our gratitude to Japan into a warm welcome to New Zealand by creating a six week cultural showcase called “NZ Says 39” (In Japan, ‘3-9’, the numbers mean “thank you”).

Case Summary

The world of music is a master at this - collaborations between artists across genres, creating innovative new sounds, opening up exposure and ‘trial’ amongst respective fan bases. When Pizza Hut HK cooked up IKEA meatballs topping as their next novelty pizza, we pushed the collaboration further - creating SÄVA, the world’s first flat-packed home pizza experience, stirring up a limited edition frenzy across both brands’ followers. SÄVA surpassed sales forecasts by 86%, and gave Pizza Hut a vital boost in the Covid-critical home delivery market. A salivating collaboration indeed!

Case Summary

"Born and bred in the deep South of New Zealand, Speight’s session ale was founded on a view of masculinity that was quickly becoming obsolete. Until The Dance. Speight’s Dance not only transformed one of our countries most iconic beer brands, it has redefined modern mateship for New Zealanders. It catapulted the brand back into cultural conversations and turned around drinkers turning away from mainstream beer. The impact was immediate and seismic, transforming perceptions and driving unprecedented growth into a brand that many would have said was dead and buried."

Case Summary

The market for fake partners continues to boom, with over 200 million singles each year trying to hide their status. A cultural stigma in China around ‘singledom’ certainly remains, which makes breaking up particularly hard to do. For Single’s Day, China’s biggest shopping festival, Pantene opened the doors to the Breakup Salon and helped China embrace breakups as breakthroughs by documenting how heartfelt stories could be the inspiration for powerful new looks. This helped Pantene grow year-on-year sales at 37%, faster than all other hair care brands and the category.

Case Summary

Apple customers are loyal. But despite “Mac-heads” making up 80% of the Premium PC segment, the tide was turning. Apple had stopped listening to what its audience wanted. HP had a way in. But with Apple perceived as ‘cool’ and HP as ‘corporate’, we had a job to do to revitalise brand perception. To show HP in a new light, we created an owned content series, counselling our “Mac-wobblers” to move to HP. For extra disruption, Susan Bennett, the real voice of Apple’s Siri, played a starring role. It worked.

Case Summary

This paper details how Huggies used its position as an authority in parenting to take aim at the horrendous issue of ‘mum-shaming’ within culture and social media. By taking a stance against the atrocious behaviour and reminding people that there’s no shame in being a parent, Huggies positive approach to marketing delivered three consecutive quarters of sales growth, putting an end to their long-term sales decline.

Case Summary

In a matter of weeks, COVID-19 restrictions stripped the tertiary education sector of its most profitable market: overseas students. This intensified the need to bolster domestic enrolments, a stagnant market that didn’t hold university degrees to the same esteem. To revitalise this relationship, we tapped into their love of online entertainment, a procrastination tool used to abate the pressures of their impending futures. We developed a 21-episode docuseries that unpacked the biggest challenges facing society; transforming their escapism into a vehicle that empowered them to actively engage with their future.

Case Summary

According to a national study, 1-in-7 Singaporeans will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime, and yet 3-in-4 don't seek help, with a treatment gap as alarmingly long as 12 years. In conservative Singapore where the topic and finding help is a cultural taboo, “Beyond The Label” provided Singaporeans with Belle, a mobile-and-social-first tool to locate help easily, and harnessed proven reframing techniques to provoke help-seeking, resulting in unprecedented shifts in topical perception and helping to closing the 12-year treatment gap even after the campaign ended.

Case Summary

‘Judgement culture’ in Australia means that just by what you eat - and where you buy it from - you’re opening yourself up to people’s prejudice about who you are, how well off you are (or not), where you belong, even your character and values. This was hitting KFC’s ‘permissibility’ scores, and its continued growth. To combat this, KFC developed its most successful Earned PR campaign ever, encouraging Aussies to say “Stuff judgement!”, and have the most public event of their life - their wedding - catered by KFC.

Case Summary

Telenor capitalized on Pakistan’s transformative Tele-density to not only sustain its dominance in the un-tapped rural markets but also gain acceptance at community levels. It successfully wiped the stereotype of being a ‘foreign’ Telco with a ‘Western’ agenda, by leapfrogging outdated, paper-based birth registration process and registering over 1.2 million precious lives! Today you can register a precious life within minutes, for absolutely free! No more office trips! No paperwork! All it takes is just a tap from the palm of your hands with a simple Android based application.

Case Summary

Toshiba Memory, the inventor of flash memory, relaunched as KIOXIA in 2019. To rebuild their B2B brand awareness, brand power (favorability and consideration), and brand image as an industry leader, we leveraged KIOXIA’s new mission of “uplifting the world with memory” and created the world’s first AI manga. In just one year, we were able to lift brand awareness 20% among semiconductor industry-related professionals and 15% among job-seeking university students, increase brand power, and surpass their largest competitor and market leader, Samsung, in “high-tech” and “reliable” brand image elements.

Case Summary

This is how passion beats promotion when 2020’s restrictions could have called for tactics - how KFC engaged a passion point, trailblazing its way into conversations and sales. KFC has 1/3 the stores vs. McDonald’s & Jollibee. With half these stores shut down due to COVID, KFC needed to keep up. As people stayed home, they looked for ways to entertain themselves. This was KFC’s way in: diving into the thriving gaming world, simulating in-store experiences in a place quarantined people flocked to - Animal Crossing. Introducing: Kentucky Fried Crossing..

Case Summary

“Tell me, and I forget, Show me, and I remember, Involve me, and I understand”. In 2020, Grab reinvented social impact reporting by turning a stuffy, static 26-page document created after 5 months of data collection that nobody reads, into millions of hyper-personalised reports. Each Personal Social Impact (SI) report surfaced personalised user data, highlighting the unique social and economic impact a single customer can have on his/her community via ordinary transactions in the Grab app.

Case Summary

Stealing share from a giant. The UAE is China’s 9th most visited country, but 75% of those trips are to Dubai. Abu Dhabi was left with a 25% share-of-visit and a 1.5 average length of stay, and we knew we wouldn’t become a long-stay destination overnight. So, instead of convincing Chinese travelers to stay longer, we focussed on those who would make a quick day trip from Dubai - eventually increasing same day and overnight visits by 582% compared to the same period the year before.

Case Summary

Despite McDonald’s Hong Kong serving more than 1 million customers each day, not everyone was truly “lovin’ it”. A very social media-savvy minority of Vegans was actively hatin’ on the Golden Arches. Knowing that it would take more than a plant-based product line-up and a standard communication campaign to turn these haters into lovers, we asked Vegan lifestyle influencers to convince their own – one social post at a time. The campaign not only drastically changed social sentiment, but also brought brand rejectors into our restaurants.

Case Summary

Ariel – one of India’s leading premium detergent brands decided to change the conversation from stain removal to gender inequality with ‘#ShareTheLoad’ – a provocative social movement that challenged patriarchy. It made an impact on both culture and market, but competition has been quick to up their game. Ariel faced the challenge of exceeding the success of its previous campaign by delivering results on gender equality and brand growth. Bringing an influencer to drive home the point that sharing the load at home can lead to equal sleep made.

Case Summary

Lay’s potato chips is a market leader in the snacking category. Unlike previous years, there was no thematic campaign nor flavour launch. All that the brand could bank on was special edition packaging, which in research was seen as polarizing as it broke food packaging codes. Additionally, the brand’s distinctiveness scores were stagnant. We had to enthuse the youth who form our core consumer base. This case outlines the impact of a unique influencer strategy that drove excitement for the new packaging and ultimately went on to create pop culture.

Case Summary

This case shows what modern marketing looks like. It shows how India’s most trusted brand Cadbury used the power of its purpose to inspire inclusive growth under lockdown when Diwali seemed dull for most businesses. How? It made empathy go viral by creating a first of its kind AI powered gifting ad that marketed local retailers, their products and not just Cadbury gifts thereby helping business for all. This refreshing representation of purpose moved everything – people, brand and business.

Case Summary

How does a brand compete in the biggest selling period for chocolate, Easter, when other brands are nipping at your heels, with lots of exciting new products, and increased media spends, in a shrinking category? By doubling down on what your brand stands for and finding the one thing parents really want for their kids this Easter, achieving a net growth of 4% compared to the category.

Case Summary

He has to pee very often. At times, it happens involuntarily. Even accepting that he has a problem implies a loss of manhood. It’s so bad that he has stopped going out. He has trapped himself at home — a prisoner of his own will. This is the plight of millions of Indian men who suffer from urinary incontinence. Here’s how Friends leveraged the spirit of freedom around Independence-Day to enable men to step out of their trapped lives, bringing in 34% new-users and a 38% increase in sales.

Case Summary

Apple customers are loyal. But despite “Mac-heads” making up 80% of the Premium PC segment, the tide was turning. Apple had stopped listening to what its audience wanted. HP had a way in. But with Apple perceived as ‘cool’ and HP as ‘corporate’, we had a job to do to revitalise brand perception. To show HP in a new light, we created a short-form content series, counselling our “Mac-wobblers” to move to HP. For extra disruption, Susan Bennett, the real voice of Apple’s Siri, played a starring role. It worked.

Case Summary

This case shows what modern marketing looks like. It shows how India’s most trusted brand Cadbury used the power of its purpose to inspire inclusive growth under lockdown when Diwali seemed dull for most businesses. How? It made empathy go viral by creating a first of its kind AI powered gifting ad that marketed local retailers, their products and not just Cadbury gifts thereby helping business for all. This refreshing representation of purpose moved everything – people, brand and business.

Case Summary

What if you could magically turn your 6-year-old’s crayon drawings of roti canai or satay magically into GrabFood orders that support struggling local restaurants during lockdowns? GrabFood Delivery Doodles integrated AI image recognition technology into the customer ordering experience for the first time and helped generate more orders for restaurants at lower media cost, absolutely zero promo cost and 36% lower cost per sales.

Case Summary

As the aging of the society is progressing, self-improvement for mind and body is a natural desire many people have regardless of age. ‘TRAIN’ing is a smartphone app turning the value of trains from a place for travel into a place that enables passengers to become healthier. By utilizing the iBeacon geo-fencing technology, the app provides each passenger optimal coaching instructions each of which is compiled from hundreds of mindfulness/workout exercises all of which have been developed by professional trainers. East Japan Railway, making travel time more meaningful for health.

Case Summary

What happens when a hamburger chain realizes a certain competitor’s chicken isn’t exactly finger lickin’ good? Having identified a huge gap in KFC’s taste experience, McDonald’s Hong Kong decided to not only make a better product, but also to rebrand as chicken restaurant. Relishing its role as challenger and eschewing big media in favor of made-for-social acts and provocations, McDonald’s took the hen house by storm. In the end, KFCs market share flew the coop, and, in less than 3 months, McDonald’s took 20% of Hong Kong’s Bone-In-Chicken (BIC) market.

Case Summary

A PARTNERSHIP THAT LED TO A STORY OF INCLUSIVITY THAT TOUCHED MILLIONS OF HEARTS. Globe Telecom wanted to establish relevance beyond functionality. For their Star Wars collaboration, Globe leveraged on the franchise’s core truth -- anyone can be a hero, whether a swamp creature or an orphan, to deliver a meaningful campaign about inclusivity and representation. The campaign generated an overwhelming response, touching millions across the Philippines and the world. Furthermore, it significantly lifted brand scores, successfully repositioning Globe as a brand of meaningful experiences, and a brand to love.

Case Summary

This is a comforting example of how ground-breaking creativity can and should be deployed to achieve any business objective. Even something as dry and transactional as data acquisition. KFC Australia grew their database via a branded experiential approach, injecting an extra dose of branded excitement into a unique moment within Australia’s favourite sport, and making it summer’s most irresistible data acquisition magnet. Cricket and data acquisition would appear unlikely bedfellows, yet the KFC Bucket Ball campaign proves that great creativity can hit every objective out of the park. Literally!.

Case Summary

Tourism New Zealand used the Rugby World Cup in Japan to generate their highest brand appeal score amongst the Japanese market in over three years. The campaign achieved a ROI of over $9.25. In a grand gesture we thanked our hospitable hosts and expressed our gratitude for looking after our players, coaching staff and fans. We turned our gratitude to Japan into a warm welcome to New Zealand by creating a six week cultural showcase called “NZ Says 39” (In Japan, ‘3-9’, the numbers mean “thank you”).

Case Summary

In a category defined by product performance and stain removal, Ariel set out to change the conversation with a provocative question – “Is laundry only a woman’s job?” Ariel has been championing #ShareTheLoad – a provocative social movement challenging patriarchy for the last 5 years. But competition has been quick to up their game. Years of patriarchy requires a consistent movement but now Ariel faced the challenge of exceeding the success of its previous campaign by delivering results on gender equality and ultimately leading the growth of the brand.

Case Summary

In Singapore, 1 in every 7 will experience a mental health condition. And yet 1-in-3 youths in their 20s refuse to locate help, with an alarming treatment gap of 12 years. For youths, the very topic’s a cultural taboo, preventing them from reaching out for mental health support. Beyond The Label provided Singaporean youths with Belle, a mobile-and-social-first tool to locate help easily, and harnessed reframing techniques to overcome self-stigma. The omnichannel campaign has opened up positive conversations at a national level and helped to close a 12-year treatment gap.

Case Summary

To recruit new readers from Taiwan’s Gen-Z, Vogue turned their everyday wear, school uniforms, into a powerful statement, by launching the first-ever gender-neutral school “UNI-FORM” collection to encourage them to be their unique self. With $0 media spending, Project UNI-FORM made a hit for 27M impressions, equivalent to $251K earned media. Students from more than 81 schools requested for their school’s own designs, which was also an evidence of success of Project UNI-FORM and proved that Vogue won Gen-Z’s favor.