We are rounding off one of the last few client brainstorming workshops for the year. As such, it timely to summarise some key areas that surfaced during these sessions. Off the back of a rough 2020, clients will certainly wonder what to put forth in 2021 marketing plans? Do we stick to tried-and-tested marketing techniques?(more)
Character animation has always been revolving around us. Whether it’s old-school, frame-by-frame drawing animation, to new-school, oddly-satisfying 3D illustration by Dimension. Or simple 2D brand character animations. These magical feats of graphical prowess create long-lasting impact for brands and marketing campaigns. Especially now in our multi-platform, device-addict society. Dumb Ways to Die You are(more)
What comes to mind when you think of “target audience”? A mix of consumer stats or an actual person? With the proliferation of research technology from data trackers to advanced algorithms, it’s easy to get carried away with how accessible data is. Sometimes, researching your customers is just a Google search away. However, we are(more)
I recently attended a course on project management for creative projects. Here are some key takeaways on improving client satisfaction. Practising empathy Creative projects involve some extra stress. You should always make sure that your client knows that you care about their project. It might be just a small job to you, but to(more)
Increasingly, companies like Airbnb and Dropbox are championing a new term: DesOps. AKA Design Ops. And yes, it can get as tactical as that can possibly sound; but no, it doesn’t involve just moving troops from point A to point B. Rather, Design Ops serves a larger strategic intent. It can impact your organisation’s performance(more)
The advertising industry is one of the key industries that had to evolve swiftly and in multiple times over the last decade. And it is continuously doing so as largely led by digital developments. From agency structures, tools, offerings, focus, strategies, and talent – the changes have happened so fast and those who couldn’t adapt(more)
We live in an age where increasingly “woke” consumers are tuning in more and more to brands that resonate with their social beliefs. With the rise of social activism, be it BLM, LGBTQIA+, Gender and/or Race Equality or Climate Change, brands can no longer remain silent. As brand custodians, marketers and creatives, we should realise(more)
Many feel the stress and constraints brought forth by this recession. To this, I argue that COVID creates new marketing paradigms that should stimulate new creative muscles. You may be a strategic planner, a project manager or a creative. There are now new problems to be identified, new customer behaviours and emotions to learn and(more)
If you haven’t watched the ESPN and Netflix documentary, The Last Dance, have you really been in social isolation? No, really – have you? Sure, you’d have whisked your coffee into a Dalgona, grunted your way through your last rep of sit-ups, or even changed the background of your Zoom chats to inject an element(more)
Design thinking, user experience, customer experience, what do all these buzzwords have in common? If you say, human centricity, you’re actually only half right. While it’s true that human / user centric thinking influences these things, the skill we’d need to hone in order to practise, say for example design thinking, is empathy. What(more)
2020 has brought a few unsavoury “c” words into our lexicon: Coronavirus, COVID-19, circuit breaker, to name a few. While everyone and their isolated neighbours brandish these words with whispered sighs and audible frustration, we should be wary about letting that other “c” word go down the proverbial toilet in 2020: Creativity. Just because the(more)
User Experience or UX is defined as any interaction a user makes with a product or service. The UX design takes into consideration every element involved that helps in shaping the experience. The goal of UX design is to build an easy, efficient, relevant and pleasing journey for the user. Many developers or planners have(more)
No one was prepared for what 2020 had to bring. The emergence and spread of COVID-19 disrupted businesses globally, and yes, including many brands. The economy is hit hard, the death toll is rising, customer confidence is shaky, and brands promoting even a whiff of consumerism can be seen as being in poor taste. In(more)
Design thinking is one of the hottest things in the creative industry right now. Its popularity has been stewing away for the past few years, and recently came to a boil. Seemingly on the lips of everyone in the industry itching to get a piece of the integrated marketing pie, love it or hate it,(more)
How many times have you seen that strapline shouting “30% off this Christmas”? Or a warm and fuzzy video? An advertisement filled with Santa Claus and festive decorations? You’re probably tired of seeing these, especially when many Christmas campaigns look so similar. Holiday season is a great way to make an impact. Yet it’s becoming(more)
The world has had their say on one of the most rapidly growing careers of the millennial generation – influencers. As we know, there has been an ongoing debate on whether posing for photos is deserving of a 5-figure cheque. Having worked with these hardworking souls myself, it’s without a doubt a 24×7 job. Across(more)
Branding your product is as much an art form as it is a marketing tool. It is more than just giving it a name, logo or specific colour palettes. It is about giving your products and services an identity of its own. Done correctly, your brand would intrinsically embody and communicate your company’s values and(more)
Storytelling is innate in all of us. Stories tell us our histories and of the world we live in. From early cave paintings to the oral and written traditions underpinning much of human civilisations and world religions. From Gilgamesh to Gutenberg, Shakespeare to Spielberg, stories are how we understand where we come from and figure(more)
How difficult is it to stay creatively energised after 10 years? For branding, design and advertising agencies…very. It used to be that we defined design by their eras: Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modernism, Futurism, and so on. And each movement lasted a good several decades. But we now live in accelerated times. In the last(more)
One of the hottest design trends predicted for 2019 is 3D design. As 3D design software becomes more accessible and acceptance and demand for augmented reality increases, 3D design looks to be more than yet another trend. What 3D design means for your marketing efforts Adobe Dimension gives creative agencies, marketers and businesses, another(more)
It has been a decade since antics@play started shop. Unbelievable! Am I that old already? antics@play is made up of its people; staff, clients, partners. So to those who were a part of, or who worked with antics@play at any time, a big thank you. As I sit down with my wine to write this(more)
Have you ever argued with your friends while travelling together? Picture this: you’re excited and totally ready for your trip with a fully-packed itinerary for each day – to soak up the most of a new country and explore as many landmarks as possible. However, your friend is a free soul who enjoys wandering off(more)
Are you a full-time designer, part-time baker like me? Do you also spend 10 hours every weekend in the kitchen trying to bake and decorate the perfect cake in the design you envisioned? If yes, you are not alone!
Technology in the workplace is a double-edged sword. On one hand, people can work from anywhere, have immediate email access and easily facilitate calls from across the world. One would assume that with more flexibility, stress levels would have reduced and make achieving work-life balance more attainable. However, a study by advisory company Willis Towers(more)
Whatever happened to the chunky and sturdy mobile phone that flaunted a monochromatic screen and green backlight? I remembered seeing my parents proudly wearing the fashionable gear around their waist with the unmistakable black belt clip, while I use it to play the game of “snake” occasionally. With the eventual acquisition of its mobile phone(more)
Were you able to steer your attention away when you came across Apple’s iPhone X video commercial? I couldn’t. I was completely hooked by the synchronisation of the visual, sound and text elements, bringing the phone to life in a way that a static banner can never match up to. GIF Credit: Magzine With the(more)
The term ‘influencers’ is not something new in a technology-driven world today. Before I start, who or what do influencers mean? To put it simply, influencers are individuals who have a huge number of followers across different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Due to their ability to reach out to an(more)
Zoning out. Flights of fancy. Admit it, you’re guilty of daydreaming at work at one point or another. With tight deadlines always looming, daydreaming implies procrastination, and procrastination means inefficiency. Hence the guilt because inefficiency = bad. But what if I tell you that not all daydreaming is bad? What if you can hack into(more)
Move over millennials, Generation Z are the new influencers. We all know millennials and how they’ve taken over the marketplace, but what about Gen Z? Known to be true digital natives born between 1998 to 2008, this group of consumers make up 26% of our population. With access to $USD 44 billion in purchasing power,(more)
Ask anyone and chances are they have not heard of Dieter Rams. But as one of the most influential designers of the modern age, everyone at some point has owned or, at the very least, used a product he had inspired or designed. In fact, it is quite likely that the device you’re using right(more)
Disney has Disneyland, Willy Wonka has his chocolate factory and Starbucks has its Reserve Roastery. Over the Christmas period, I had the opportunity to visit the newly opened Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai for a much needed coffee break. Coffee wonderland Proclaimed as a “coffee wonderland”, the Shanghai Roastery is the world’s largest Starbucks(more)
What is viral marketing? Viral marketing is a a technique that uses social networks to increase brand awareness and engagement. Ever since Hotmail achieved success with viral marketing in 1996, many others have jumped on the bandwagon. However, is viral marketing working right now? Maybe not. Viral marketing can sabotage your company in the upcoming(more)
Your organisation has a personality. It’s present in your culture, values, and processes. A brand archetype can consolidate your organisation’s personality into a character that is recognisable in collective imagination. When Apple launched the iPhone 4 in 2010, the ads read, “This changes everything. Again.” This bold and memorable slogan channelled the Innovator archetype. Think Thomas(more)
Four years on and the movie Frozen still remains a firm favourite in the hearts of many. Apart from its catchy songs, heartwarming tales and vibrant display of colours, Frozen can teach us many important lessons such as the importance of family, staying true to yourself and dreaming big. Little did you know that there’s(more)
Log on to Facebook, or try to watch an innocent video on YouTube. Chances are—if you haven’t installed some sort of ad blocker—that you’ll happen upon an online advertisement. Ads are flooding the online space, vying for a prime piece of real estate where people’s attentions are focused now: their screens. With such online ads(more)
The power of co-branding is clear – it expands your customer base, helps build reputation and boosts visibility. However, this depends on whether the partnership is an effective one. When is co-branding suitable and how do you know whether to jump in or back off? Before deciding on a partnership, here are 3 questions you(more)
In today’s workplace, we faced many challenges and one of it is the struggle to keep up with the many tasks we have to do within a day. But surely we can do something to prevent chaos and squeeze the most out of the 9 hours we have in the office. Below are some techniques(more)
CDG, MRA, PIC, Go Digital, and the list goes on. When it comes to branding and digitisation, the Singapore government offers many grants to SMEs like yours to finance strategic projects that you may lack the resources to carry out. Before you pen that proposal, read this guide to know what to expect and ascertain(more)
Behind every innovative packaging, arresting book cover, memorable logo or even that cool mobile phone you’re holding is a designer who has worked his or her ass off to let these see the light of day. Where every little design detail has been considered, analysed and filtered through countless cups of coffee – preferably black,(more)
Every June, I receive countless birthday emails from brands of all sorts, from Innisfree to Airbnb, Starbucks to Zalora. Despite growing accustomed to receiving them yearly and knowing that these wishes are part of their marketing ploys, I still fall for them. Admit it, everyone gets excited about their birthdays, no matter their age. Birthdays(more)
No longer just a buzzword that marketers use to pitch to their boss, it has become a marketing must-have that many B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) brands employ to increase leads, heighten brand affinity, and so on. A well thought-out content marketing strategy is needed for you to rise above the noise, resonate with your(more)
There are a lot of Instagram influencers nowadays. If you pick up a stone right now, and chucked it with your eyes closed you’ll probably hit one of them. That aside, I have received questions on how exactly do people become ‘Instagram famous’ in order to earn some kah-ching and freebies. You can stop scratching(more)
With swipes of your thumb (swipe left for no, right for yes), Left, Left, Right. Left, Left, Left, Right. Match! Voila! You might have found the Prince Charming or Tinderella of your dreams! Finding your other half on the dating platform, Tinder, can be that effortless. In the world of marketing, however, it calls for(more)
It’s no surprise that 2017 pitches us marketers and designers further deeper into the digital conundrum, or as I like to call it, the digital black hole. Cuz you never know how far it goes. And just when you think you’ve got it pinned, a new wormhole opens to make you feel like Alice. But this much(more)
Most of us like to think of ourselves as rational people. We go about our daily lives making reasonable decisions, based on good sound judgment. Right? Well, we’re certainly capable of such clear-headed reasoning. But over the years, psychological research has cast doubt on how often we actually think so rationally. Psychologists have uncovered many human(more)
Love it or hate it, digital marketing landscape is ever evolving. For some of us, the constant change presents new ways of reaching out to the mass. For others, it means an endless chase. Whichever case it is, at the speed marketing trends are unfolding, it will come as no surprise that a great deal(more)
Riding the tide of social media, influencers now offer a new avenue for brands to connect with their consumer bases. You’ve probably encountered influencers waxing lyrical about a certain restaurant on their blog, or posing with a specific brand’s lipstick or clothes on their social media pages. Whatever the platform, these influencers have carved a(more)
So you’ve decided to rebrand. Terrific! Where do you begin? Let us give you an insider’s guide to help you along. There are enough articles out there that tell you what you must do. We thought we’d take a different track by pointing out pitfalls that can potentially derail your project. Ready? Great, let’s go!(more)
In a world inundated with so many products and services, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish one brand from another. This is where a good logo comes in handy. The most basic graphic representation of a company is a logo. It can come in many forms such as a logo mark, logo type or(more)
It is important to nail that message when you are sending out a media release, but sending it out to the right people is equally important. Knowing which media publications and the right recipient for your story is paramount to getting your story published. Make sure that your release lands in the right inboxes by(more)
“Hi, my name is Christina.” That’s how I typically introduce myself. If I were to tell you I’m “Smiling-Woman-Christina”, you’d probably look at me strangely (at best) or think I’m insulting you (duh, you mean I can’t tell with my own eyes that you are a woman smiling at me?). Which is why I struggle(more)
Whether you manage creativity in-house or through an agency, or if you manage any form of creativity at all – from product design to branding to PR to events or marketing – you simply need to be more creative. We are living in a creative economy and people are paying for game-changing ideas that disrupt, disprove and(more)
Introducing your brand to a new market, a new audience, is always daunting. How will they receive it? While geographic boundaries seem diminished with internet, cultural nuances are still significant. This is especially true for Asia, viewed as the next frontier with limitless potential, made up of different cultures, history and people. The success of Taobao(more)
I attended a sobering session several weeks ago by futurist Amy Webb about the future of design. In no uncertain terms, she said that I will be out of a job soon. In a few years, there will be no need for Creative Directors, or Art Directors and Designers. With increasing feats of automation and data intelligence(more)
In my line of work, I meet creative talents from all walks of life and disciplines of choice. From fresh grads to seasoned vets, spanning print and digital to experience and product… Meet enough of them and patterns start to emerge. You can intuit who’s in it for the money, and who’s in it for(more)
Singapore is well known for its unwavering dedication to mall culture. There’s a constant sprouting of new shopping malls and the revamping of old ones. Just a week ago, I was shopping, yes I admit I am shopaholic, at Plaza Singapura and realised that the interior landscape has changed quite a bit. They had a(more)
The retail environment has evolved into a complex marketplace. With digital technology, the retail space has over the past decade transcended beyond a brick-and-mortar store into an online shop or even (a store within) a mobile app. And this digital shift has brought along numerous customer marketing touchpoints: Websites, mobile apps, social media and emails are all(more)
How much online shopping do I do? Let’s just say everyone in my family, down to my 2-year old daughter, knows how to sign off a delivery on my behalf. As a busy working mother, my most frequent online purchases are for fashion, technology and household items. What makes us return to the same site(more)
So we’ve heard it, a downturn is coming. People lose their jobs and are more wary about spending. Traffic to retail stores are dropping and businesses stress about ways to increase retail sales. While we may not technically be in a recession right now, we hear of layoffs and restructuring and there is plenty of uncertainty in(more)
Singapore’s retail sector has been slowing down in the past two years. We hear of brands like British fashion store New Look and French menswear chain Celio exiting Singapore amid a weak retail scene. As a small business retail owner, it can be easy to hit a slump and feel demoralized following these high-profile closures(more)
There is a recent posting about marrying social media and fashion and how to make things work between those two fickle entities (I wrote it, go read it). Going back to that marriage, I want to bring to attention how a number of fashion brands have wielded the social media platforms that have been made available(more)
By now the Tattoine dust has settled and in case you’ve been living under a rock in Dagobah but somehow reading this, yes, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is a mammoth success. Defying all conventions that you can’t wait too long for a sequel to work (sorry, Zoolander 2), Star Wars is a(more)
Some time ago I met a client requesting our help to brand his decade old business, let’s call him Spock. After understanding Spock’s objectives and expectations, we recommended a desk research and customer survey as part of the branding exercise. As with many clients, “But I already know my industry well” are among the common(more)
With the rise of the millennials, everything is about the experience. Why do they (or you, if you’re a millennial) go on a jaunt overseas at the drop of a hat? To learn something and take in new sights. What would be the reason to go to a Gudetama themed restaurant? To be grossed out by seeing(more)
The fashion world is a fickle place. Things go in and out of style with split-second notice. Hairstyles that were mandatory for Nazis soldiers in the 40s are back in style for the time being. ‘Emo’ might make a comeback in the next five years. I would like to interject here that I hope mullets(more)
Circuses are the tofu of branding and advertising. It takes on the personality of whatever you marinate it in. So iconic, yet so flexible. It is little surprise that everyone from Britney Spears to Rob Zombie have co-opted the circus theme to hawk their own brand of showmanship, from wholesome pop to fearsome goth rock.(more)
Christmas is drawing near and as it does, our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kinship. The excitement of Christmas is not exclusive to those who still believe in Santa Claus and perhaps, we all eagerly anticipate the holidays because once a year, we all get to become children again. Along with(more)
A day to Halloween, we are staring at shopping malls decorated with screeching skeletons, howling werewolves and vampire blood. That thrill of accidentally touching a fake spider seems to heighten retail experiences during Halloween. Beyond festivities, we wonder, can brands inject fear and thrill into their brand experiences to better connect with customers? Logically, the scare(more)
Last month I ran what’s called the Boy Scout Tree Trail. Located in Northern California’s Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, this is a magnificent sprawl of ancient redwood forests sprouting out of plush carpets offerns, which a few miles in, give way to huckleberry bushes. This undulating trail is a breathtaking showcase of the world’s best redwood scenery.(more)
I recently watched the documentary Altman, which chronicles the works of maverick American filmmaker Robert Altman. From a hired director of industrial films in the 50s to recipient of an Academy Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2006, the film cycles through his oft-celebrated filmography, pausing to reflect on watershed masterpieces like McCabe & Mrs(more)
I recently visited with my friend Renee who stays in Moorpark, California. But who works in Thousand Oaks. Geographically, the city is about an hour’s drive north of Los Angeles. Moorpark and Thousand Oaks are connected by either Freeway 23, a leisurely 8-mile cruise down those wide-open California highwaysyou see in a Katy Perry music(more)
I love LEGO. And I love movies. Which is why when they announced they were going to make a feature film out of LEGOs, I was in geek nirvana. And then when The LEGO Movie actually rolled into the cinemas, I was at the front of the line. Delightfully, the film did not disappoint. Everything(more)
Over-thinking is trademark of a brand strategist. A recent campaign had me thinking ‘What went wrong?’. It advises mothers to give their domestic helpers their days off and spend more time knowing their own children instead. This recent Mums vs. Maids campaign, commissioned by The Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) set tongues wagging. Some mothers(more)
In our line of work, we trade in creativity and innovation every day. Any agency worth its salt will have its own streams of nurturing and discovering creativity and innovation to enrich a client’s work. Ours is founded on play. In theory, play fosters exploration and expression. It’s nature’s tool for developing neural networks, creating(more)
Why do companies place so much importance on teamwork? To some, it’s the best excuse for social loafing. But to others, teamwork ensures synergy, where the sum can be greater than its parts. Good teamwork is often touted as a success multiplier. To foster teamwork, companies invest in team building activities. In most cases, employees(more)
One of my favourite things to do when I was a young whippersnapper was to climb to the top of a jungle gym and leap from it. I absolutely loved it. I thought that’s just what kids do: You eat McDonald’s, you stay up way past your bedtime, and find places to jump off of.(more)