Tag: Blak Labs

Who listens when you’re gone?

Writing a will, and figuring out who gets what, is one of those things that we all struggle with. Which is why we’re pleased to announce that Etiqa Insurance Singapore has introduced a new campaign for its Premier suite of legacy planning solutions for high-net-worth individuals, courtesy of you know who. (Not that we’re in that category ; )

Using Harry Potter-style living portraits, this omnichannel launch takes an amusing look at the grave topic of bequeathing one’s wealth upon passing on.

“Legacy Planning is an important consideration when developing a sound financial strategy. However, most people don’t think about what they’d like to leave behind, or how they can do it effectively” explains Simon Ashton, Executive Vice President and Head, Partnerships Distribution at Etiqa Singapore. “Our ad campaign highlights the unfortunate outcomes of not having appropriate succession plans in place using a more light-hearted approach than is normally seen for this important subject.”

The integrated campaign breaks mid-April across print, digital, out-of-home and free-to-air TV. A new website offers detailed illustrations of the various legacy planning solutions available. This will be followed by personalised marketing initiatives and events targeted at high-net-worth individuals.

Great work from Liang and Prav (art and copy), lead by Justin and Elsa. Hats off to Caleb for bringing the idea to life. Thank you to our wonderful clients at eTiQA for giving us the opportunity!

Finally, a big shout out to Ad Nut at Campaign Asia for picking the story up. #CampaignAsia #AdNut

Client: Etiqa Singapore

Brand: Premier by Etiqa

Agency: Blak Labs

Director: Caleb Huang

Film Production: Smallshop Communications

About Etiqa

Protecting customers since 1961, Etiqa is a licensed life and general insurance company registered in the Republic of Singapore. We are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and governed by the Insurance Act.

With a comprehensive suite of protection, savings, retirement and legacy planning solutions, we are committed to helping our customers plan for a better future. Rated “A” by Fitch in April 2019 for our financial strength and stable outlook, we humanise insurance by placing people over policies.

Etiqa is owned by Maybank Ageas Holdings Berhad, a joint venture company that combines local market knowledge with international insurance expertise. The company is 69% owned by Maybank, the fourth largest banking group in Southeast Asia, and 31% by Ageas, an international insurance group with footprints across 16 countries and a heritage that spans over 190 years.

Conversations turn to Gold!

Last Friday at the Gong Show, Singapore’s Creative awards, our Chinese New Year film for Maybank scored well in the craft categories.

Two Bronzes, a Silver and Gold in Film and Branded content. Congrats to all involved especially Director Caleb Huang and his team at SmallShop Communications for bringing this story to life. And to our clients at Maybank for having something to say about the meaning of relationships. Thank you for the opportunity. 

ICYMI, here’s the film again. Give it some love!

Client: Maybank Singapore

Agency: Blak Labs

Director: Caleb Huang

Production House: Smallshop Communications

Don’t turn a blind eye to abuse. Do your part. Part 2.

Outdoor and Blak Labs’ second film for Big Love. 

Credits

Agency: Blak Labs

Creative Director: Justin Lim

Creatives: Praveen A, Lo Liang Han

Production House: Cut Scene

Photographer: Tangography

Two billboards outside Yangon, Myanmar

Now that we’re over the Chinese New Year feasting and drinking, it’s time for the year of the Dog to get started properly.

And here to get things moving are two billboards for one of Myanmar’s leading insurance companies, AMI.

Created jointly by Blak Labs Myanmar and Singapore as a public service message, the first billboard is a reminder to buckle up for a safe trip on the country’s highways.

WhatsApp Image 2018-03-01 at 12.19.09 PM

The second message is pretty unmistakable too. Speeding has terrible consequences for pedestrians, passengers and drivers.

SpeedobillboardGreat to see these messages finally up. Big thanks to the team in Yangon and Singapore. And thank you to our client for sharing the pics from their road trip. Nothing like two billboards outside Yangon, Myanmar to get your attention.

 

Spot the difference

Here’s a print idea created way back in the early 90’s at DMB&B for client Burger King.

As you can see, it’s a tongue-in-cheek topical piece we created on the day of the fire at Burger King Robinson Road to apologize for the restaurant closure. The premise was simple. While we know our loyal fans love our flame grilled flavours, occasionally we burn the food…

The client loved it. Too bad they didn’t have the money to run it. Nor did the agency.

Fast forward to today and here’s the same tongue in cheek approach using a series of fires at Burger King restaurants around the world to celebrate the chain’s heritage and point of difference.

BS_ItalyIt’s just picked up the Cannes Gold Lion in Print.

BK_BS_Oregon_Creativity01

What separates them?

BKburnout

Not the theme or the sentiment. Both use humour to celebrate Burger King’s flame grilled flavours. To create an opportunity. To tell their story.

The answer is 26 years.

Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer, Grey, South Africa and Print & Publishing Lions judge said DAVID’s Grand Prix-winning campaign was “playful, authentic, and (had) a sense of being a little more edgy. Embrace your imperfection. It was brave and young, created in a social media age.”

Which just goes to show that there’s no such thing as a new idea.

Just new ways to say it with more reach. Chapeau to Burger King and the David team for making it happen.

Update: Blak Labs matches Patients and Donors for Bone Marrow Donor Programme

The original post was first published 10 months ago following World Marrow Day in 2015.

On 14th May this year I met the lovely Jane Prior, CEO of Singapore’s Bone Marrow Donor Programme, at the BMDP Gala. She made my night when she told me that the exhibition Blak Labs created has resulted in 12,000 new sign-ups as potential Bone Marrow Donors. Now if just one of those potential donors can follow through when they’re called on and save a life…well, that would be something. 

For the best part of a year, the Bone Marrow Donor Programme (BMDP) has been working with Blak Labs to build an integrated recruitment campaign to sign up new donors.

The campaign called “#Match4Life” launches across digital, outdoor and social channels just in time for the inaugural World Marrow Donor Day on September 19th. At the heart of the campaign is an exhibition at 313@Orchard as well supplementary street team activities to drive awareness and donor recruitment.

Event Poster 1-06

Featuring past recipients of bone marrow donations, as well as young donors from the Malay, Indian and Chinese community, the exhibition content shows how the act of becoming a donor matches two complete strangers in a life-saving bond.

“When we receive a request to find a match for a patient, all other treatment options have failed and at that stage it’s transplant or die. Our challenge is that there is a 1 in 20,000 chance of finding a matching donor,” said Jane Prior, CEO of Singapore’s Bone Marrow Donor Programme.

“It’s a huge issue as 6 people in Singapore are diagnosed with a blood cancer such as lymphoma or leukaemia every single day. For many of these patients a transplant is their only chance of survival which is why we urgently need more people to sign up and join the register,” Prior adds.

The campaign is the first phase in the BMDP’s drive to grow the registry by 50,000 new donors over the next three years, but it faces a number of challenges. Amongst these, Prior cites misconceptions around donation methods, loss of virility and faith as being the hardest to overcome.

Event Poster 2-01

To create the content, Blak Labs taped a series of interviews with survivors and donors to get their experiences straight from the heart. For video content, please refer to the Youtube playlist: https://youtu.be/iUTRbnLArDc

The team also completely redesigned http://bmdp.org/ to ensure ease of recruitment.

“We’re delighted to be able to support BMDP in their drive to reach 50,000 new donors. This isn’t just another campaign. If it works, it actually means that lives will be saved,” said Charlie Blower, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Blak Labs.

“The campaign is deliberately lo-fi and unfiltered because we want the real emotions and experiences of these remarkable survivors and the amazing donors to come through,” adds Blower.

In addition to support from Blak Labs, the BMDP campaign has been helped off the ground with media sponsorship raised through UM, backend digital support from Crimson Works, photography by Ric Tang of Tangography and video production by The Reel Thing.

“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank the team at UM. They’ve done a fantastic job of securing media sponsorship worth S$120,000 across multiple channels and media owners. The guys at Crimson Works have also worked hard to help us simplify the registration process. Now it’s easier for potential donors to sign up. And with Salesforce support, it’s faster for BMDP to get their swab kits out to potential donors. The support from the guys at The Reel Thing and Tangography has been amazing.”

Team

Creative Directors: Charlie Blower, Elsa Peck

Art Directors: Royston Ang, Regina Lee

Digital Designers: Regina Lee, PeiWen Low

Copywriters: Charlie Blower, Elon Law, Alicia Tan

Producer: Ken Tam

Photography: Ric Tang, Tangography

Retouching: Evan Lim, The Rabbit Hole

Production: Chee Kin, Joe, The Reel Thing

Digital developers: Alex, Leo, Crimson Works

Printing: HP, digione

Media: UM, YiLiang, , Ray Pak,

 

About The Bone Marrow Donor Programme

The BMDP is a charity and IPC responsible for building and managing Singapore’s only register of volunteer donors who are willing to donate their bone marrow to save the lives of patients with leukaemia and other blood diseases and who need a transplant to survive. The BMDP also provides a service to the hospitals to find a matching donor for their patients. So far almost 500 patients have been given a chance of survival through the work of the BMDP and the need grows every year as transplants become a routine treatment for these most common forms of cancer. More details are at http://bmdp.org/

About Blak Labs Pte Ltd

Established in 2010, Blak Labs is one of Singapore’s fastest-growing integrated creative independents. With its focus on Creative Care®, the micro-agency has successfully attracted projects from Maybank (Singapore), Gardens by the Bay, CDL and has recently set up a new venture in Myanmar.

For more information about Blak Labs, please contact Charlie Blower at charlie.blower@blaklabs.com or call +65 9007 8195.

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!

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!”

Blak Labs wins at the Clear Channel OOHPIA Awards. Check out the nice article from @mumbrellaasia

Interactive outdoor for our lovely clients at #RiverSafari. One of the winning pieces in Clear Channel's OOHPIA show.
Interactive outdoor for our lovely clients at #RiverSafari. One of the winning pieces in Clear Channel’s OOHPIA show.

http://mumbrella.asia/2014/08/river-safari-claims-outdoor-campaign-year-clear-channel-singapore-awards/