Singapore: make a familiar place feel surprising
Singapore Tourism Board launched Made in Singapore on 27 September 2023. Its announcement described a campaign built around unexpected interpretations of recognisable local experiences, with film, social content, creator collaborations and other activities supporting the idea.
Source: Singapore Tourism Board’s campaign announcement.
Our reading of the creative mechanism
The useful move is the relationship between a concrete experience and a surprising description. The place provides substance; the framing creates curiosity. A smaller hospitality business could try a related principle with its own assets: find one real detail guests remember, then explore several ways to introduce it.
For example, a hotel might build a short series around the changing light in one real courtyard. The transferable lesson is the method of reframing a detail, not the campaign slogan, film, visual identity or destination assets.
Vietnam: connect content to an ongoing programme
In 2023, Unilever Vietnam described Lifebuoy’s cooperation with the Vietnam Paediatric Association. The programme included public education, work with healthcare professionals and practical support for children. Its communications connected recurring hygiene education with activities beyond advertising.
Source: Unilever Vietnam’s partnership announcement (Vietnamese).
Our reading of the content mechanism
A recurring subject becomes more credible when there is real work behind it. For a service business, the useful adaptation is to answer a customer need consistently and show the process that supports the answer. An educational series should draw on qualified people and substantiated information where the topic requires them.
The principle can apply outside health: a repair service could explain maintenance through actual workshop examples. A retailer could document how an item is selected or cared for. The content needs its own evidence and permission to feature the people involved.
What these sources do—and do not—establish
The announcements document the campaign ideas and planned activity. They do not establish the sales lift or audience growth that a different business would achieve. We do not use their reach, budgets or outcomes as a forecast for an UBICOMB project.
A useful case record has five parts: the objective, audience, creative choice, distribution and measured outcome. If the outcome is not published or independently checked, say so.
Apply the principle with your own material
Write down the mechanism in one sentence, create a new brief around your business and choose a measurable question for a small test. Keep source links with the research. Commission original visuals rather than treating a reference deck as a library of reusable advertisements.
UBICOMB did not produce the campaigns discussed here. Brand names identify the subjects of editorial analysis; they do not imply a client relationship or endorsement. Campaign images and logos are not reproduced.