Category Archives: Blog

KRDS Singapore Expands Its Senior Team In Mainland China & Singapore

KRDS Singapore recently welcomed 5 senior hires to the China and Singapore offices to lead and grow different departments in their respective markets.

Joining the Senior Account Management team, we have Ken Tham (pictured first from right) who has over 6 years of experience working with both B2C and B2B brands such as P&G, Porsche, Spotify, Airbnb, Boeing, Montblanc, and HPE. Before this, Ken was an Account Manager at Ketchum where he managed up to 7 to 9 team members for both social, digital and PR work.

Shu Qi Lee (pictured second from right) from Hashmeta has joined as a Senior Account Manager in the Singapore office. She served as Account Manager and subsequently, Senior Account Manager, in Hashmeta. She has managed a few regional brands and has helped grow their digital presence. Some of them were Bosch Home Appliances Asia Pacific, TÜV Rheinland Asia & Africa, DaVinci Gourmet Asia, Tramontina South Asia and NTUC LearningHub. Shu led and won the pitch for the DaVinci Gourmet Asia social media account and spearheaded lead generation campaigns for her ex- clients, DaVinci Gourmet and NTUC LearningHub, through an effective mix of content and visual strategy, media planning & buying and gamification solutions, and results achieved exceeded the clients’ expectations. She also successfully streamlined and improved workflow and processes within the agency for better team performance and client satisfaction.

Yoganand Raju (pictured third from right) will lead the KRDS Design Team to grow their creative capabilities.

As a Creative Director at Rubecon Communications more than 6 years, he led creatives for the key accounts of the agency and worked closely with the client and the internal teams to deliver the best creative solutions for the brand. Yoga was managing teams across the department from copywriters to brand managers and other stakeholders to ensure a seamless flow of creative deliverables that are maintained at industry standards. He ensured the studio personnel are brought up to speed with the latest updates of Adobe CC and worked on design and strategy for new client pitches. He also collaborated with an array of talents such as photographers, illustrators, retouching artist etc from the country and overseas to produce the best creative solutions for the brand.

Some of the key brands that he handled were Amazon.in, Nippon Paint India, Hatsun dairy products, Arun Icecreams, Ibaco, Oyalo Pizza, The Times of India, Beverly Hills Polo Club, SPI Cinemas, Dalmia Bharath Cements, Schwarzkopf Professional, Star Health Insurance, TVS, Sundram Fasteners.

Mia Kuang (pictured fourth from right) will head the Community Management Team in Shanghai. Previously from MSLGROUP China, she worked with global brands like IKEA, P&G Pampers, Melco Resorts & Entertainment. Her expertise includes social media (WeChat) management and digital strategy planning. Mia led a team to maintain WeChat accounts for IKEA (3 million+ followers) and successfully attracted about 1 million+ followers in a year. She supported ‘Make Room for Life’ Campaign for IKEA, which won the Work of Excellence of MSL Global Awards; and also successfully helped her team to win new businesses including Philips, Lexington Home Brands and Rothy’s.

Miriam Dabrowa (pictured fifth from right) joined as a Senior Digital Strategist for Shanghai. Miriam was employed at We Are Social as a Global Team Project Manager and has helped Chinese brands create a global impact in the digital world. In particular, she worked on a successful campaign for Vivo Mobile during the FIFA World Cup, she helped win for her agency the award for Mumbrella Best Localisation of Global Strategy for the campaign “Inspiring Bonding Moments” for TCL. She also was largely responsible for the growth of the JAC Motors global accounts for more than 2 years.

Commenting on the rapid expansion Preetham Venkky, Director at KRDS Asia said:

“We are excited about growing the KRDS family across the various countries we are in. With these new strategic senior hires, we’re confident of delivering more exciting and innovative campaigns to existing clients and partnering with new brands. We’re confident that 2019 will prove to be another fruitful year for KRDS

Omron Places its Social Media Duties With KRDS Singapore Fourth Year In a Row

Omron is a trusted name in Healthcare. It has been providing technologically advanced medical monitoring equipment over the past 40 years. Over the past years, they have been recognized for their smart healthcare devices. The trusted brand has renewed its contract with KRDS Singapore for the fourth year in a row since its initial signing in 2015. The renewal arose after KRDS has enabled the brand to amplify their overall reach and engagement in 2018.

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The goal for 2019 is to position Omron as the go-to-brand for Healthcare at home. The brand has exciting products in the pipeline which will be a great addition to their current roster of smart devices. The agency will be customizing content to suit the brand’s new positioning. The focus for this year is on video content as they’ve proven to perform better on Facebook. KRDS will be creating more innovative and immersive content for Singapore and Malaysia on Facebook by making use of all the features the platform has to offer.

Commenting on the renewal Preetham Venkky, Director at KRDS Asia said:
“We are humbled and stoked to be working with Omron for another exciting year. 2018 has been a wonderful year where we’ve learnt and grown from each other’s expertise. We’re excited to explore new content formats and visual styles to tell the brand’s story on Facebook. We’re hopeful that we’ll continue to build our relationship with Omron and reach new heights together.

Tang Pei Yi, Assistant Marketing Manager at OMRON HEALTHCARE SINGAPORE PTE LTD, said:
“We value the long-term relationship with KRDS as our Facebook agency for the past four years. KRDS has demonstrated strong capabilities in producing quality and relevant content to engage our target audience. What is more important is that KRDS provided much professionalism to ensure the work is produced in a timely manner and input for effective audience targeting and reach out. We look forward to another great year of collaboration with KRDS!”

KRDS Middle East Revamps UI/UX Website For Nayomi

Founded in 1992 in Saudi Arabia, Nayomi is one of the leading lingerie brands in the Middle East, acknowledged as Most admired Nightwear and Lingerie Brand in the Middle East for 3 years in a row. The brand is known for its soft and delicate pieces of lingerie and nightwear. Over the span of 26 years, the brand has made its mark in Saudi Arabia,UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Morocco and has expanded to 210 stores

The brand approached KRDS Middle East with a brief of revamping their website and to create a smooth UI for their customers for both Mobile and Desktop. The agency created an elegant and immersive website design that aligned with the brand’s personality. The main objective was to provide a seamless shopping experience for the users. The agency has also customized a Style guide and designed more pages for Categories and Offers that’ll boost the SEO ranking of the website.

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The website can be viewed here.

Barbara Colarusso, Marketing and E-commerce director at Nayomi said:
“ When we contacted KRDS, one of the main challenge we had, was to come up with a new look and feel for the website and an improved UI in basically 3 weeks time. KRDS revealed to be a great partner for the project: they understood the urgency of the request and they aligned the necessary resources to deliver the project on time. KRDS customer-centric approach ensured a smooth and successful project implementation. We are now thrilled to see the results of the new website launch. ‘’
Leonard Guillermin, General Manager of KRDS Middle East said:
“We’re pleased to have the opportunity to work with a renowned brand like Nayomi and to help create a brand new look and feel for their website. We believe our expertise in mobile first design will greatly benefit the brand in providing a smooth shopping experience for the customers.”

GramLab Creates a Chinese New Year Themed AR Filter for Prudential

Prudential has partnered with KRDS Singapore from 2018 to help bolster their social media presence. GramLab is the brainchild of KRDS started with a focus on mobile-first marketing & customized Instagram strategies.

Every year, the global insurance company hosts a grand Carnival with plenty of fun games, rides and activities. And this year, they wanted to effectively leverage the social platforms to create an interactive campaign to build buzz around the Carnival.

Keeping this brief in mind, GramLab proposed an idea of a fun AR Filter on Facebook. The filter, on load, detects the user’s face and prompts them to ‘Open their mouth’, and when they do a roller coaster rolls out of their mouth with screams in the background. The filter also features a design inspired by the popular festival, Chinese New Year.

 

The agency believes that this filter is an ideal way to create brand awareness, drive engagement and motivate the users to visit the PMBC Carnival.

Check out the AR Filter here.

Besides the filter, the agency also helped develop an engaging microsite where the users can learn more about the carnival, play games and even win bonus credits!

Preetham Venkky, Director at GramLab, said:

“We’re happy to be exploring new things on Digital for Prudential every day. We wanted to create an immersive Carnival like experience on Digital and Social for the users. The combined attributes of the microsite and the AR filter will help build the buzz the PMBC Carnival and encourage more visitors. We’re excited to work on more innovative campaigns and achieve success together”

NEX Renews Social Media Contract With KRDS Singapore

NEX is one of the largest malls in the North-East region of Singapore. This 7-storey mall is positioned to be the vibrant, social and recreational hub for the North-East community. NEX has placed the responsibility of handling its social media presence to KRDS Singapore for the second year in a row.

The goals for 2018 was to generate brand awareness and create a unique identity for the mall on Facebook and Instagram. KRDS Singapore was able to achieve that by leveraging trending and topical content and collaborating with influencers like Dee Kosh and Preetipls. Posts created around the Trump-Kim Summit and Ariana Grande’s famous song Thank You, Next became instantly popular amongst the users on social. The Trump-Kim post garnered a reach of 318k. As a result, the mall was able to successfully grow its page fan base by 18% with minimal Ads.

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In 2019, the agency will focus more on customizing content for Instagram and creating more innovative Instagram Stories. The agency will also be exploring fun ways to engage the NEX users and non-users alike with more creative collaborations

Commenting on the renewal Doreen Yeo, Senior Marcom Manager at NEX said:
“NEX is excited to renew our partnership with KRDS, and we look forward to amazing brand and event initiatives to build engagement on our social platforms”
Commenting on the renewal Preetham Venkky, Director at KRDS Asia said:
“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to work with NEX for another fruitful year. We’re looking forward to developing an Instagram-led strategy for the mall. We’re hopeful that our creative efforts will continue to bolster the mall’s presence in the social world.”

Singapore International Foundation Picks KRDS Singapore for Social Duties

Singapore International Foundation is a non-profit organisation that seeks to connect Singaporeans and world communities to build a better world. Through shared ideas, skills and experiences, the organisation has been uplifting lives of people in different sectors like Arts and Culture, Business and Livelihood, Education, Environment & Healthcare. SIF has partnered with KRDS Singapore to strengthen brand awareness in the region and grow its online community.

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The agency will take on the role of a strategic counsel and will help raise awareness and participation in SIF’s programmes. KRDS will also be developing a content strategy on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter to engage effectively with SIF’s online community and to bolster links with stakeholders.

The agency will kick-off its social duties with a series of posts for SIF’s International Volunteers Day 2018 campaign to thank their volunteers during the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre’s Giving Week.

Kavita Ratty, Head of Communications from SIF said:
“We are looking forward to this partnership with KRDS Singapore to further amplify the amazing work our Singaporean volunteers are doing to bring world communities together to do good.”

Commenting on the appointment, Preetham Venkky, Director of KRDS Asia said:
“We’re delighted to partner with Singapore International Foundation that aims to facilitate connections between Singaporeans and global communities to create positive social change. We believe we can help SIF make an impact on digital and grow their network of changemakers.”

Michelin Tyres Appoints KRDS Middle East For Digital Duties

KRDS has won the mandate of creating and maintaining Michelin Middle East and Africa website. Michelin holds forefront positions in every tyre market in the world. The brand is known for leveraging its technological leadership, capacity for innovation to produce high-quality products and services, across the world.

KRDS is building a brand new website for establishing Michelin’s digital footprint in the Middle East and Africa region. The site is being built on a WordPress platform.

This website will harbour expert informations and guidance about tyres, from what type of tyre to use for their vehicles and how to choose the perfect tyre as well. All of the information comes with detailed specifications about each and every type of tyre. There will be a separate section on the site which will provide dealer information and help locate the closest dealer to purchase car tyres.

Apart from this, KRDS is also tasked with building a chatbot which will appear on all the pages of the website. The bot will help the users in picking out the best tyre for their cars. It will play the role of a guide and will also handle requests from the users.

David Suaza, who is responsible for Digital Marketing Operations for Michelin, India, Africa & Middle-East commented on the association with KRDS

“We are truly thrilled to work with KRDS on this project. Since the briefing process, the teams showed proactivity and accelerating ideas to offer the best-in-class solutions. At Michelin, passion, innovation and customer centricity are at the core of our success. In this process, we are always willing to embark on new adventures with a key partner like KRDS who embodies our DNA”

ABOUT KRDS:

KRDS is a full service Digital Agency, with over 160 employees in Asia, KRDS’ focus has been on Social Media and Mobile Marketing.

Since launch, KRDS has registered double digit growth, year on year, and has worked with more than 50 brands to date. Some of the clients include DBS, Changi Airport Group, Singapore Tourism Board, Meiji, BreadTalk, Toast Box, Volkswagen, AIA, Unilever, NETS, ION Orchard, Sentosa, Sony, WWF and MoM.

KRDS has been adjudged Mobile and Specialist Agency of The Year 2017.

KRDS has excelled in developing social media strategies integrating application and microsite development, community building and management, along with social ads management. IN 2018, KRDS has also launched GramLab, a sub-agency dedicated to creating content for Instagram.

PRESS CONTACT:

Leonard Guillermin
Director, KRDS EMEA

KRDS Singapore chosen as the Social Media Agency for Kirin Ichiban and Erdinger

KRDS Singapore has added another feather to its cap by being appointed as the Social Media Agency for reputed beer brands, Kirin Ichiban and Erdinger.

The brands Kirin Ichiban and Erdinger are no strangers to the community of beer lovers. Kirin Ichiban is famously known for being the only brand serving first-press beer. And Erdinger Wiessbrau holds the the world’s largest beer brewery where tradition and taste go hand in hand.

The beer brands wanted to explore innovative content and scale new heights on social media since majority of their target audience are active online. To help increase market penetratwidth: 34%;height: auto;ion, KRDS Singapore will be creating awareness about the brands and its rich heritage through engaging and relevant content.

The agency will be crafting content separately for Facebook and Instagram to deliver the best results for both the brands. The content will play around the core themes of craftsmanship and culture.

Preetham Venkky, Director of Asia at KRDS, said:

“We are delighted to partner with Kirin Ichiban and Erdinger. The two brands have been an embodiment of quality and heritage and we’re pleased to be a part of their journey. With our combined years of expertise on social, mobile and digital, we’re quite excited to bring our creative force and help the brands achieve their fullest potential online.”

Eunice Lok, Brand Manager at Erdinger and Kirin Ichiban, said:

“The reason we chose to work with KRDS is because of the relevance of social media insights and expertise they can bring to the table to help us drive strategic awareness and penetration among our targeted audience”

GramLab: KRDS’ New Venture is here to Change Marketing on Instagram

In a world dominated by social media and selfies, #aesthetic images are in. Instagram, being a visuals-driven medium has established itself as the go-to platform for exploring new perspectives and inspire users to stimulate their imagination.

2017 proved to be a fruitful year for the platform after the massive success of Insta Stories. It has now claimed the throne for the most engaging platform with 68% of Instagrammers frequently interacting with brands.

Enter GramLab, a sub-agency of KRDS that will specialize in crafting brand & communication strategies specifically for Instagram. It is Asia’s first agency that will live, breathe and talk Instagram. The main focus of GramLab is visual storytelling in 6 seconds with a mobile-first approach to gain maximum user engagement. The agency’s strength includes its ability to stay on top of all Instagram trends and produce content that will set the brand apart from its competitors. GramLab will also have its own in-house studio to ensure originality of content which will be #instaworthy.

GramLab has identified that Instagram is a relatively young platform; driven by user generated content and hence it will be a great playground for brands to evolve in a user-centric manner. It also maintains that mirroring content from Facebook onto Instagram is not be a viable strategy, as user engagement on either platforms is different. The agency will support the brands right from the concept to execution and technical support. With this launch,GramLab aims to establish a stronghold in Instagram marketing.

The agency has already produced successful Instagram campaigns for local and global brands like Pandora, Meiji, Shilla Duty Free Singapore, Wildlife Reserve Singapore, Marks & Spencer and ION Orchard.

Commenting on the launch, Preetham Venkky, Director at KRDS Asia said,

Instagram has become one of the widely used social media platforms for showcasing relatable and aspirational content through pleasing visuals. Brands are starting to realise the potential of the platform and are actively joining the Instagram bandwagon. With the introduction of Insta Stories, there is more scope for brands to experiment with their content and reach out to potential consumers. There also arises a need for brands to constantly stay on top of trends to differentiate themselves from their competitors and we are here to help them. We’re excited to work with more brands to help grow their presence on Instagram.

Click here to learn more about GramLab and the world of Instagram marketing.

KRDS ENABLES PRODUCT SAMPLING FOR MARGO THROUGH A ‘NEEMOLOGY’ QUIZ APP

Margo is an Ayurvedic soap brand launched in 1920. Originally seen as a medicinal soap, because of its curing capabilities, the brand wanted to revive itself and establish its presence amongst the younger audiences as an Ayurvedic-Beauty soap.

KRDS decided to map the benefits of Margo against the offerings of its King ingredient, Neem. We gamified the experience on an app called ‘Neemology – by Margo’, wherein Users were prompted to take the quiz, as well as challenge their friends to find out if they are experts at Neemology.

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All that the users were required to do was to answer 5 questions about neem and its benefits for the skin.

At the successful completion of the quiz, users were given an option to leave their details in case they would like to try the new Margo for themselves.

The activity reached out to more than 7 lakh people, resulted in 25500+ users spending an average of 3 mins on the quiz, and 15,000 form fills.

The soap was sent to 12,000 people, hence, catering the samples to a very involved, interested set of audience.

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