Hakuhodo (Singapore) Pte Ltd
Having made Singapore our home in 1973, Hakuhodo (Singapore) has since grown into a full service communications agency group with in-house media planning and buying capabilities, a full suite of digital and social offerings, coupled with strategic and effective creative teams capable of both local and regional amplifications.
9 Kreta Ayer Road, Singapore 088985
Tel: +65 6734 5451
Fax: +65 6734 4489
Mail: contact@hakuhodo.com.sg
Get to know our talented people.
Get to know our talented people.
Hakuhodo Singapore has partnered with Kao to launch SOFINA in Singapore, making it the first country in South-East Asia to carry the SOFINA brand.
As the first brand in Japan with skin analysis machines, the launch sees SOFINA introduce these machines exclusively at its flagship space at ISETAN Scotts. The skincare analysis machines offer fine-tuned, individualised beauty and skincare advice based on in-depth analysis of one’s skin health.
With a revolutionary range of beauty and skincare products including SOFINA iP, SOFINA beauté and SOFINA Primavista, SOFINA prides itself in infusing its proprietary “Holistic Beauty Science” with innovation. Through DODAI Essence – the key product in SOFINA – skin metabolism rate increases to allow for easy absorption and better skin hydration; enhancing one’s ability to generate beautiful skin from within.
On partnering Hakuhodo Singapore for its inaugural launch into this region, Atsushi Yoneyama, President of Kao Singapore said, “The choice to engage Hakuhodo was based on their expertise in launching new products as well as their intimate knowledge of the market and what works in this region.”
Yoshihiro Fukumoto, Managing Director of Hakuhodo Singapore said, “Leveraging on our Sei-Katsu-Sha philosophy, we were able to better understand our target audience, and reach out to them not as another economic entity, but as people with aspirations. Then it’s a matter of optimising relevant and effective platforms to engage them.”
Through its presence in Singapore, SOFINA aims to use it as a launchpad to further raise its profile in Asia and strengthen its brand presence in the ASEAN region.
Transport-sharing has been picking up speed in Singapore. Arguably, locals are now more receptive to the digital currency world, as seen in the growing popularity of bike-sharing and more recently, e-scooter-sharing. So what’s stopping them from car-sharing?
Car Club is Singapore’s largest car-sharing operator with a fleet of over 260 cars at more than 105 pick-up stations. Yet, not many Singaporeans understand the concept, as they consider the service as yet another form of “car rental”, which can be a hassle.
In an effort to expand their database and change people’s perception of having their own rides, Car Club engaged Hakuhodo Singapore to create an online campaign targeting millennials. By gaining insight from the sei-katsu-sha – a philosophy where target audiences are viewed as real people and not just economic entities – the agency adopted colloquial humour instead of hard-sell messaging to relate to a younger crowd.
“We are at the beginning of a major social transformation as we move towards a car-lite society. This is a common vision both Hakuhodo and Car Club share, which formed the foundation of our communications strategy,” Gary Ong, Managing Director of Car Club Singapore said. “With their in-depth understanding of the mobile and online culture, we hope that the campaign will be well-received by our target audience, as well as generate buzz on social media. What better way to build awareness than with some local humour?”
“While most of what we do should ultimately drive sales, we need to also recognise that this takes time as well as a variety of efforts. It’s testament to a good working relationship when clients like Car Club Singapore are able to understand this and give us free reign to do what we need,” Daphne Boey, Associate Digital Director, Hakuhodo Singapore remarked.
Yale-NUS College – a liberal art and science college in Asia – has selected Hakuhodo Singapore as its collaborative partner for its College Admissions campaign this year in a competitive multi-agency pitch. Hakuhodo was appointed the agency to develop a fresh Admissions and Financial Aid campaign for Yale-NUS, through an open tender called by the College in August 2017.
The agency which had previously collaborated with the College in designing the Yale-NUS College mascot, ‘Halcyon’ the kingfisher, is now tasked with producing the College Admissions Campaign 2018, both for traditional and online platforms.
“Hakuhodo had a clear understanding of our strengths – and the unique challenges we face as a young learning institution,” said the Dean of Yale-NUS College Admissions & Financial Aid Laura Severin on appointing Hakuhodo as the design agency for the College Admissions Campaign 2018. “Strategically and creatively, they addressed our concerns and are working to raise awareness of Yale-NUS College. We are excited to see this project through to fruition”.
“Hakuhodo’s insight is based on our philosophy of Sei-katsu-sha, which sees people as beyond consumers,” said Tanner Nagib, Regional Client Service Director & Digital Director at Hakuhodo Singapore. “This helped differentiate Yale-NUS College, through its understanding of prospective students’ aspirations and reservations. The communication strategy makes implicit the comparison with institutions of varying educational pedagogy while at the same time, expounds Yale-NUS College’s niche and distinctive edge. We are extremely proud to be able to play our part in the College’s creative communication to prospective local and international students.”
The new Yale-NUS Admissions Campaign will be launched in phases within the year.
Following the successful collaboration between Hakuhodo Singapore and the Crowbar Awards – where “Make Your Fairy Tales Come True” was the theme – Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) has invited Hakuhodo Singapore to be its agency partner in a mentorship programme for students.
Hakuhodo Singapore’s recent efforts to nurture future generations at the Crowbar Awards and Ad Stars in Korea has further inspired the agency to lend its expertise in strategy, planning, digital media, copywriting and art direction in this mentorship programme for students. The Hakuhodo Group’s vision of Inventing the Future – through what’s referred to in Japanese as sei-katsu-sha (or people) – manifests itself in their commitment to nurturing the talents of tomorrow.
“With like-minded agencies such as Hakuhodo Singapore, our students acquire agency experience even before they graduate. Agency-based learning comes alive through lectures, client briefs, and mentorship sessions. Our students get a grasp of the what the industry is about early on, and they have first-mover advantage when they start work,” Christina Jimenez (Deputy Course Chair for the Diploma in Advertising & Public Relations, Ngee Ann Polytechnic) adds.
The mentorship programme spans approximately four months starting from October 2017. Representatives from Hakuhodo Singapore will share with students the processes and framework required to create client briefs through research and strategic problem-solving, and finally to execute ideas with copywriting and art direction techniques.
The mentors from Hakuhodo Singapore and the workshops they are conducting are:
- Tanner Nagib (Regional Client Service Director / Digital Director) – An Introduction to the Creative Brief
- Joanne Hoe (Strategic Planner) and Daphne Boey (Associate Digital Director) – Ideation Workshop and Mentorship Session
- Felicia Tay (Copywriter) and Patrick Ng (Creative Group Head) – Copywriting and Art Direction Workshop
The workshops will culminate in a Group Advertising Campaign Pitch Presentation by the students to a panel of judges comprising lecturers and mentors from the agency, where their scores are considered in their final year grades.
A great opportunity for budding communications experts, Hakuhodo Singapore aims to broaden students’ perspectives on creativity through these sessions, and expose them to the real world of client challenges and ideation processes.
