Category: Agency PR

TANGS gets the year off to a charitable start

Chinese New Year is a time for traditions such as family reunions, the giving of “gold” in the form of oranges and the exchange of Ang Pows.

TANGS, Singapore’s iconic shopping destination, feels it’s time to freshen up everyone’s favourite tradition, the giving of Ang Pows, by giving it a more contemporary and meaningful twist.

Introducing the ‘Get a blessing, Give a blessing’ charity drive. TANGS customers are encouraged to donate a portion of their festive funds through these limited edition Ang Pows which can be cleverly divided into two smaller ones. They can then drop one smaller Ang Pow into the donation boxes at TANGS, with all proceeds going to Singapore Children’s Society.

“Chinese New Year is a time of giving and sharing joy,” says Kevin Dyson, Chief Operating Officer of TANGS. “Following the success of our Shop for Good initiative, we saw an opportunity to extend the goodwill at different times of the year. As we welcome the Year of the Monkey, we hope our customers will extend their wishes for health and prosperity to the less fortunate by giving generously.”

This initiative was developed in conjunction with independent creative agency, Blak Labs. “It’s a tradition to give an Ang Pow as a blessing. Now, you can pass the blessings to those who need it most,” adds Charlie Blower, Managing Partner of Blak Labs.

Limited-edition Ang Pows are available, while stocks last during the festive season, from TANGS at Tang Plaza and TANGS VivoCity.

Poster

Blak Labs has a love affair with Gold

Degussa Happy Valentine_R2-02Love is golden in 2016. This Valentine’s Day, Degussa, Europe’s leading precious metals trading house, celebrates the season with a fine selection of gold coins, bars and jewellery – allowing you to select the most exquisite gifts for your loved ones.

“Just like love, gold stands the test of time,” says Bunnarith Lo, Marketing Director for Degussa Singapore. “With the opening of our flagship store on Orchard Road, Singaporeans have the unique opportunity to present a precious and timeless gift to someone special.”

With the help of boutique agency, Blak Labs, Degussa has launched a witty campaign that puts you in the mood for love – and gold! The campaign runs in key print publications and digital media this month.

Gold Rose

“Nothing says ‘I love you’ more than the gift of gold.” says Charlie Blower, Managing Partner of Blak Labs. “It lasts much longer than traditional Valentine’s gifts and like love, it appreciates over time.”

Degussa Happy Valentine_R2-03
About Degussa

Degussa as a brand is a synonym for quality and reliability in the field of precious metals. Degussa Goldhandel AG, Switzerland, has been active in the market since 2012. The head office of Degussa Goldhandel GmbH is located in Frankfurt. Degussa products and services are available at branch offices in Stuttgart, Munich (2), Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Nuremberg, Hannover and Pforzheim as well as in Madrid and at Degussa Goldhandel AG in Zurich. The comprehensive portfolio of Degussa is completed by an online shop, available to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which offers constantly updated prices, high availability and fast processing. In August 2014, Degussa Group acquired its own precious metals refinery in Pforzheim, Germany. The refinery is active in the reprocessing of scrap precious metals as well as the production of upstream products for the jewellery industry.

Products and Services
Apart from its worldwide renowned precious metal bars made of gold, silver and platinum with the characteristic diamond-shaped Sun / Moon logo, Degussa also offers a wide range of bullion and collector coins. Top-class experts are available to customers in the field of numismatics for the assessment as well as for sale and purchase of historical coins ranging from antiques to those of recent times. Clients have the possibility of storing their precious metals stocks at Degussa’s high-value storage facility and at certain branches Degussa offers safe deposit boxes. Furthermore, Degussa has a “VAT-free” storage facility, which is also available to its customers.

Gardens by the Bay deepens roots with Blak Labs

Cloud Forest Gardens by the Bay recently re-appointed independent Singapore agency, Blak Labs, following a tender.

The appointment is for 2 years with the option for the client to extend for 12 months.

Blak Labs continues to create all local and international branding efforts for the People’s Garden and works hand in hand with the client’s media, digital and PR agencies.

On the appointment, Charlie Blower, co-founder and Managing Partner of Blak Labs said:
“From day one, we’ve grown our relationship with Gardens by the Bay by delivering great creative with our proprietary Creative Care®. So to be reappointed yet again, especially when we were up against some of Singapore’s top agencies is particularly rewarding.”

This is the third time that Blak Labs has successfully tendered for Gardens by the Bay. The Singapore boutique pitched for the launch in 2011, followed by another tender for a further 2 year appointment.

For more information about Blak Labs, please contact Charlie Blower at charlie.blower@blaklabs.com

Blak Labs helps Phillip Capital Management define its Investment Phillipsophy

Blak Labs latest campaign.

Phillipsophies_Prudence

Local fund management company, Phillip Capital Management, has launched a new advertising and marketing campaign via boutique creative agency, Blak Labs, after an intensive 3-way pitch in July.

The campaign introduces key ‘Investment Phillipsophies’ that underscore Phillip Capital Management’s success over the last two decades in providing financial guidance and relevant strategies to navigate changing markets.

“When it comes to fund management, every firm has its own house rules. We apply a good dose of prudence, due diligence and strong local knowledge in selecting companies we feel will deliver results over the long term,” says Vivien Lim, Manager, Investment Solutions. “Blak Labs has distilled our unique approach into a memorable mantra that demonstrates the way we operate.”

Phillipsophies_Contrarian

“To bring each Phillipsophy to life, our writers spent hours with fund managers, understanding how they evaluate opportunities against risk or reward,” explains Charlie Blower, Managing Partner of Blak Labs. “The result is an insightful campaign that demonstrates the rigor behind every investment decision.”

The campaign breaks this month in The Edge magazine in Singapore, specifically targeting the investment community. Product ads for popular funds, such as the Phillip Real Estate Income Fund and Phillip Income Fund, will follow in conjunction with roadshows, seminars and a refreshed corporate website.

 

Phillipsophies_Due Dilligence

Client: Phillip Capital Management

Marketing Manager: Bhuiyan Avimanyu Kishwar

Agency: Blak Labs

Writers: Elon Law, Justin Lim

Art Directors: Regina Lee, Nick Tan

Project Manager: Ken Tam

 

Blak Labs likes Myanmar…

If you haven’t already heard, Blak Labs is now open in Myanmar. The folks at Marketing Interactive asked a few people for their thoughts…we were happy to contribute.
Screen Shot 2015-07-13 at 9.55.10 pm

http://www.marketing-interactive.com/myanmar-good-match-singapore-brands/

Blak Labs opens for business in Yangon, Myanmar

Our latest experiment is building a business in a new market. And here’s our new office at Hotel Yangon, complete with wifi, table, chairs and our team. Our first work is now in the market and making the competition nervous – our clients’ competition, that is.

If you have a project you’d like to discuss, please contact Charlie.blower@blaklabs.com.mm Ruth.goh@blaklabs.com.mm 

Or if you prefer to connect in the local language, please connect with 

Sett.kaung@blaklabs.com.mm

And cc us all. Thanks!

   

  Early days but exciting times. Watch this space…!

Blak Labs grabs new talent off the street

Pictured left to right: Alicia Tan, Fin Guo, Steven Koswara
Pictured left to right: Alicia Tan, Fin Guo, Steven Koswara

Starting 2015 on a strong note, our little shop beefs up its creative-focused model with three new hires. Here’s an extract from the press release:

“Joining Blak Labs are Steve Koswara (Designer), Fin Guo (Art Director) and Alicia Tan (Copy).

Steven recently graduated from NAFA and his design excellence is already making an impact for clients such as Gardens by the Bay.

Fin joins from a local independent agency and has already delivered on several key accounts.

Alicia, an Ogilvy Fellow, joins us from Geometry Global. A self-published author whose work has been showcased in Japan, Alicia has quickly demonstrated her capabilities on new business pitches and existing clients.

“Finding new talent is never easy. So it is a pleasure to welcome Steven, Fin and Alicia. We’ve been through a long process of candidate screening, using our proprietary Blak Labs interview technique and each fits with our desire to provide clients with an exceptional degree of Creative Care,” said Charlie Blower, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Blak Labs.”

And guess what? Living in this world that operates at the speed of e, one publication picked this up and published it less than an hour after we sent out the news. Congrats to @cbasia for being first with the news. And thank you!

The power of email and good social content

I get a ton of emails every day, most which I just delete after a cursory glance.  But newsletters from the chaps at Bluewire Media always get read. The reason? I often learn something new. Plus they believe in the power of sharing and the “thank you economy”. They freely share their own social media planning tools and templates, which I find useful and they also do a bunch of podcasts, webinars and monthly giveaways. Which are also filled with good usable stuff. My advice? Check them out!
Yesterday Bluewire Media turned 10. So congrats to Adam (@Franklin_Adam) and Toby (@Toby_Jenkins) on achieving that milestone, from an independent agency owner here in Singapore! Your reach extends way beyond the shores of Oz, and your monthly competition does too!
Which is why I’d like to say thanks to Adam and Toby for letting me win their December competition.
The prize? Their top 25 marketing books, including their own publication.
Here’s my reading list for the next few months
  1. The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott
  2. Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah
  3. Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
  4. Trust Agents by Chris Brogan
  5. Platform by Michael Hyatt
  6. Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
  7. The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
  8. Purple Cow by Seth Godin
  9. Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi
  10. Youtility by Jay Baer
  11. Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk
  12. Content Rules by Ann Handley and CC Chapman
  13. The New Experts by Robert Bloom
  14. Content Chemistry by Andy Crestodina
  15. Reality Marketing Revolution by Mike Lieberman and Eric Keiles
  16. Spin Sucks by Gini Dietrich
  17. What’s the Future of Business by Brian Solis
  18. Power Stories by Valerie Khoo
  19. Unknown to Expert by Catriona Pollard
  20. Love At First Site by Jon Hollenberg
  21. microDOMINATION by Trevor Young
  22. Become a Key Person of Influence by Daniel Priestley
  23. The 7-Day Startup by Dan Norris
  24. Engagement from Scratch by Danny Iny
And of course their own book…
25. Web Marketing That Works by Adam Franklin and Toby Jenkins
I’ve no idea how much this competition set them back in terms of book purchases etc. But I do know that Adam and Toby have created something of real value with Bluewire News. If you’re interested to learn from a couple of chaps who’ve done it for themselves, then you can sign up for the newsletter here. I hope you enjoy their content as much as I do. 
And here’s a couple of little flipagram thingies I made over lunch using nothing but an iPhone, a pair of scissors and some sticky back plastic. 
Here’s to learning more and being open to trying new experiments in 2015 at Blak Labs. Thanks again guys.

Happy new year and in the news!

ChairmanHappy new year everybody!

Hope you’ve made your new years resolutions.

We have and one of them happens to be about celebrating our successes.

To start 2015, we’re celebrating on a couple of fronts.

The first: a new project we’re working on in a new market. Can’t say where just yet. But all will be revealed once the work is out. It’s a big step for Blak Labs and we’re really looking forward to the launch. And seeing how the market reacts. But judging by the client’s response to our rough edits for two spots shot between Christmas and New Year, we think the work will work.

Her words exactly? “I’m very happy, thank you very much!”

The second: well, you can see it for yourself. A little bit of PR in the Business Times publication “Chairman 2015”.

We’ve received numerous comments and likes for this little piece. And while features a pic of me, it’s all down to the hard work of my partners, team and clients as well.

To paraphrase our client – “We’re happy, thank you very much!”

Our little shop made the news yesterday!

Here at Blak Labs, we love a bit of press. And yesterday’s article in the Sunday Times, Singapore’s sunday newspaper, didn’t disappoint. We are proud to be featured amongst the more established independent agencies in Singapore. Great company to be in. I hope you enjoy reading it!

Small Ad Agencies Make A Big Splash

Small Agencies Make A Big Splash

 

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