Leveraging audience and community engagement through ever-evolving communication strategies and innovations to meet and transcend business outcomes.
Through effective brand communications and marketing, Geneco has been able to drive meaningful changes and successfully engage audiences on broader societal issues that transcend mere business objectives, sparking a positive change within the community.
MartechAsia finds out from Alex Chan, Head of Brand, Communications, and Marketing, Geneco, why and how he and his team achieved that.
What are some key challenges and opportunities in crafting impactful marketing campaigns that employ the transformative power of communications?
In the face of technological advancements, increasingly diverse audiences, and ever-changing social trends, a new era of consumerism has emerged.
This has created a complex marketing landscape, where keeping up with rapidly evolving technology and differentiating the brand in a crowded and competitive market are key challenges.
However, these challenges also present opportunities for marketers to focus on their brand purpose, leverage data and insights to develop a strategic approach, harness the power of creativity to express their campaigns meaningfully, and embrace relevant and new technologies to create immersive brand experiences.
Ultimately, the key to success lies in finding the right balance between strategy and creativity, while continuously adapting to the changing needs and preferences of consumers.
What is Geneco’s strategic approach to integrating societal issues into its brand communications?
At Geneco, we believe that defining the brand purpose clearly, being authentic in what we do, and engaging our customers/the public meaningfully are the key prongs towards building a brand that matters.
Since Geneco’s inception 6 years ago, our brand purpose #PowerTheChange has been a guiding light in championing on two fronts, societal and environmental.
As Singapore’s leading residential electricity retailer with over 165,000 households, we will definitely continue to do so, and build on what we have done over the years.
Being a young brand also means we need to do more to convince consumers of what we stand for. Through collaborating with key like-minded partners on brand campaigns, we have been constantly reinforcing our authenticity among communities.
For instance, for our year-end festive campaign, ‘The Magic of Hope’, we worked with Yellow Ribbon SG to reach out to the public through our initiative to give ex-inmates a second chance by helping them integrate back into society.
Creatively engaging the public for them to be part of the brand campaigns is also critical in educating them on the topics that Geneco stands for.
Besides partnering with National Parks Board for our National Day campaign, #MySecretGarden, we sparked conversation surrounding the evasive topic of mental wellness by appointing specifically Daryl Aiden, photographer-influencer, who had to overcome his mental health challenges when he faced public backlash back in 2018, to take photos of the therapeutic gardens across our nation. We then invited the public to vote for their favourite ones, and by doing so not only educate them about the thoughtfully designed parks, but also amplifying the topic of mental wellness, which has remained a constant stigma over the years.
How has Geneco leveraged technology innovations to launch notable campaigns that have successfully raised awareness and inspired action on societal issues?
As a Digital-First brand, the Geneco team has always been at the forefront of new technology not only to service our customers, but also empower the team to enhance our brand and tactical campaigns.
For ‘The Magic of Hope’ campaign, we set the tonality by creating the brand manifesto with a Generative Voice AI, guiding our celebrities for their voice recordings at the studio, inspiring our social media influencers for their stories, and emotionally engaging the public through this initiative.
As a result, the integration of Gen AI has played a significant role in assisting the campaign to achieve over 40,200 votes across the nation, evident from the public support for our Yellow Ribbon SG cause.
We will continue to leverage Gen AI, and other new technologies to elevate our brand campaigns, and ultimately inspire more people to be part of the social and environmental causes that Geneco is advocating.
Where and how do you see the shift in brand communications, especially around technology innovations and sustainability concerns, impacting the future of marketing and retail?
To navigate towards the future of marketing, we should embrace, practise, and leverage the new technologies available to us in order for us to be more prepared to achieve the campaign objectives in the coming disruptive years.
Gen AI is here to stay, as observed from how leading technology companies such as Google and Meta have been integrating Gen AI into their products and services progressively.
Though technological innovations such as Gen AI is still new and in its learning phase, we as marketers must explore, implement, and adapt to its evolving capabilities in order to stay at the forefront of creating impactful marketing campaigns.
Like technology innovations, sustainability is also a growing area of concern in today’s consumer landscape. Despite increasing concerns of climate change over the years, it remains uncertain which key innovations will make a significant impact.
Despite these uncertainties, organisations and marketers alike should continue striving forward, embracing upcoming industry changes, and staying true to their brand purpose. By doing so, they will be better positioned to navigate the future strategically, much like how we at Geneco are committed to championing societal and environmental issues by staying true to our brand purpose of #PowerTheChange.
