Challenge:
In Vietnam these days, urban kids prefer screen devices over outdoor activities and communicating with others, while rural kids have limited resources and guidance about experiencing nature. OMO’s brand philosophy revolves around the idea that every child should have a chance to get dirty and explore the world. The challenge for this campaign was to continue reinforcing the brand’s purpose as an inspirer and enabler of Vietnamese children, helping them to play and experience the outdoor world confidently and independently. And, ultimately, to drive brand love.

Strategy:
With the ultimate purpose of making dirt a proud mark of a life fully lived, OMO wanted to bring back the magic of experience via real play. For urban children, it was about the importance of real play: encouraging parents and kids to break away from digital devices and harvest meaningful real-life experiences together. For rural parents, OMO wanted to enable children to experience real play while learning important life skills. We therefore created an edutainment platform highlighting physical real play and educational real play, delivering the key message, “The magic of real play,” to urban and rural families.

Execution:
The campaign rolled out in two phases, urban and rural, during the period from May–October 2019. We kicked off the first, urban, phase on International Children’s Day by sparking concern about “head down” syndrome via an experimental clip in which parents let their child choose between using smart devices or toys as a present for International Children’s Day. We then leveraged the voices of child development experts and KOL moms/experts to kick start an in-depth conversation about the urgent need for children to experience life outside the limits of their homes and digital devices. OMO then rolled out a series of summer activities exclusively for families, working with several always-on partners, including theme parks and creative classes, across four major cities in Vietnam.

Rural kids lack resources and guidance for outdoor activities, something travel blogger Khoai Lang Thang addressed in one of his travel videos. Responding to Khoai’s call, OMO stepped in, accompanying him on his journey around Vietnam. Together, through crowdsourcing on social media, we built a guidebook and playgrounds, with detailed guidance to enable rural kids to play and learn at the same time.

Results:
· The urban phase achieved 29,510 total mentions, and 3,667,664 engagements with a high rate of earned media from PR
· Listed in Buzzmetrics’ Top 10 Social Campaigns in June
· The rural phase, earned 61,796 total mentions and 670,170 engagements
· Listed in Buzzmetrics’ Top 10 Social Campaigns in August
· Achieved 3,059,875,000 VND media value, while PR cost was 960,500,000 VND (advertising value)
· Khoai Lang Thang’s contribution earned him the Best Content Creator award at WeChoice Awards 2019