Work
iHerb you wanted some local flavour
With ambitious goals to drive growth, boost brand visibility and connect with Singapore’s health-conscious consumers, iHerb, the American health and wellness e-commerce giant, tasked antics@play to supercharge its Singapore presence and become the go-to local source for all things wellness here. So we put on our flip flops, ditched the BBT and got our ‘omm’ on at Bishan Park to come up with a brand and strategy that truly spoke to the locals.
Challenge
But winning hearts wasn’t going to be easy. iHerb faced stiff headwinds in a market dominated by e-commerce titans and omnipresent brick-and-mortar retail chains armed with powerful loyalty programmes and strong brand recall. With no local office and limited visibility, iHerb was largely perceived as a distant, unfamiliar American brand–an outsider. Many questioned how relevant the platform’s offerings were to tropical Singapore.
Solution
To change the narrative, we started by listening. Our research revealed a clear pattern: Singaporeans crave local relevance, trust word of mouth and love discounts. Armed with insights and some data on what products were popular among Singaporeans–we crafted a locally attuned brand strategy for iHerb.
We kicked things off by first localising the iHerb brand identity for better resonance, partnering influencers to tell stories and leveraging social media to highlight advantages through relatable, educational content focused on local health and wellness concerns. Casting diversely and with content that spoke to people of varying lifestyles, diets and rhythms, we let Singaporeans see themselves mirrored in the brand.
We then launched a TVC to show off iHerb’s advantages by enlisting the help of a local health and wellness icon: The pharmacy auntie. Using local humour, we built relevance and affinity for the brand.
