Singapore’s Invisible Financial Safeguard – SDIC
Singapore is a safe haven.
But it’s safe only because we have built safeguards behind it.
Like the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC), which secures Singaporeans’ deposits in our financial institutions in case of a bank or financial institution collapse.
But really, did you know? Should you even care?
SDIC was invisible. Only 47% of Singaporeans knew of its existence and its role.
We had a difficult job to get people, especially younger Singaporeans, to know – let alone care about it.
The Challenge
The SDIC was set-up to insure Singaporeans’ bank deposits for up to S$50,000, as well as protect and
insurance policies to various limits.
It was made for the ‘everyman’ Singaporean to secure their hard-earned assets.
But awareness was stagnating and younger Singaporeans between 20-39 years were the least informed.
So without breaking the bank, SDIC had to find a clever and engaging way to go under-the-radar and
engage these younger mass of Singaporeans.
The Idea
To engage a younger generation, SDIC has to get more social, street-cred and talkability.
The tone of voice was absolutely critical: Colourful colloquial humour displaces ‘officious’ corporate speak.
As a social-first campaign, we developed and produced a series of social content videos to show the most unlikely people talking up SDIC:
Brand Acronym Awareness
Kids who guessed what ‘SDIC’ stood for; their funny, unpredictable replies brought to life SDIC in an entertaining, surprising way;
SDIC’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
These came alive via Singaporean characters such as The Taxi Driver, The Coffee-shop Uncle, The Security Guard, The Durian Seller and The Construction Safety Supervisor, as they entertained and explained policies in unofficial Singlish dialogue and with visual-aids (legal disclaimers and text appeared as “translations” in the accompanying supers.)
The FAQ filmlets alone amassed over 5 million views.
Taxi Driver –
Security Guard –
Safety Supervisor –
Coffee Shop Uncle –
Durian Seller –
SDIC Financial Lifestyle Tips
Released as monthly videos and GIFs year-long; timed for key occasions such as Chinese New Year, pay day, wedding planning, starting a family; share rates rose by over 10 times than previous campaign.
‘Serious’ Brand Charter Told With Humour
Once we had brand affinity and love, our final campaign thrust told the public of SDIC’s charter to protect people’s funds. Popular local acapella group MICapella to rescored and sang alternative lyrics using nursery songs – which proved to be another huge hit.
The Results
From low brand awareness and affinity, SDIC’s 2017 campaign outperformed all of its targets;
catapulting brand awareness, equity and product comprehension to new highs.
Brand Recognition which was stagnant for the last 3 years, increased by 11%
Consumer connectedness to the brand showed in high engagement rates reaching 600% from previous years.
Policy Understanding after exposure to SDIC’s content increased by 15%!
It’s amazing what social content can do for brand awareness and understanding when we adjust our frequency to reach.