fig. 1.The 135Academy Campaign's introduction, showing the various ways the people of Hong Kong cares.
CLIENT
Mentholatum HK
TEAM
Grace Moon - Creative Direction Gauri Sharma - Strategy, Copywriting (EN) Victoria Sze - Event Design Ray Chan - Copywriting (CH)
deliverables
A detailed pitch for a marketing campaign celebrating Mentholatum's 135th anniversary through active community engagement.
Table of Contents
1_Introducing the 5 care languages 2_135Academy Campaign Structure 3_Proposed Implementation Approach
Mentholatum’s Care, Spoken in Every Language
Mentholatum HK, in collaboration with PolyU's honours design course, Direct Response Advertising, opened up an RFP for their 135th anniversary marketing campaign, wherein which our team pitched "135Academy," a year-long social initiative designed to address the growing disconnect among Hong Kong residents. The campaign, which emerged as the strongest pitch from the course's entries, aims to tackle the unique challenges faced by one of Asia's fastest-developing regions.
By leveraging the power of a consumer goods company like Mentholatum, this campaign aimed to decrease the emotional and social gap among Hong Kong residents, fostering a renewed sense of connection and care.
fig. 2. Logotype of the year-long campaign.
1. Get
People who so often wish they could care more but not sure how
2. To
Learn the methods behind genuine care that happens in everyday life
3. By
Teaching 5 Distinct Languages of Care via 135Academy, with redeemable rewards
THE 5 CARE LANGUAGES
The 5 Care Languages
CHANGE THIS TO DESCRIBE THE CARE LANGUAGES In a CTA WAY
fig. 3. The 5 Care Languages introduced via recognizable everyday actions and "inner thoughts" that increase recognition, alongside the wildposting's anatomy breakdown.
Addressing Hong Kong's Social Disconnection through Play
Hong Kong's fast-paced lifestyle and intense cultural developments have contributed to a decreased sense of care among its residents. According to recent research by Nord VPN on their APAC market, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan rank among the top five regions globally for lifetime hours spent online. With the awareness of the dangers arising from chronic online activity, individuals are seeking new ways to live with technology, including reverting to "lo-tech and nostalgic games" that provide similar opportunities for play and socialization, even when away from personal devices.
To address this issue, Mentholatum's "135Academy" campaign is a three-part initiative centered around the introduction of "5 Care Languages." These languages are designed to spark various acts of care throughout Hong Kong's diverse society. It utilizes traditional storytelling-based advertising to introduce the Care Languages, which then lead to interactive challenges for Mentholatum's customers, addressing the need for a sense of play, as previously mentioned by the findings above. Participants can earn points to redeem at the end-of-year event hosted at one of Hong Kong's cultural hotspots, the West Kowloon Art Park.
fig. 4. Mentholatum's 5 Care Languages, in English and Traditional Chinese.
Love vs. Care
Inspired by Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages, we aimed to categorize various "action items" that campaign participants could engage with to foster better togetherness among Hong Kong residents. However, as we explored the nature of love, we realized it is defined by deep emotional connections with individuals that doesn’t cocer than general concern or short-term interest of others. We believe that voluntary acts of kindness can extend beyond these boundaries, which is why we introduced the concept of "Care Language" to create five distinct challenge categories for residents to undertake during our marketing campaign.
135Academy Campaign Structure
135Academy's Campaign Structure
Hong Kong's fast-paced lifestyle and intense cultural developments have contributed to a decreased sense of care among its residents. According to recent research by Nord VPN on their APAC market, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan rank among the top five regions globally for lifetime hours spent online. With the awareness of the dangers arising from chronic online activity, individuals are seeking new ways to live with technology, including reverting to "lo-tech and nostalgic games" that provide similar opportunities for play and socialization, even when away from personal devices.
fig. 5. The 5 Care Languages introduced via recognizable everyday actions and "inner thoughts" that increase recognition, alongside the wildposting's anatomy breakdown.
135Academy Launch Roadmap
Inspired by Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages, we aimed to categorize various "action items" that campaign participants could engage with to foster better togetherness among Hong Kong residents. However, as we explored the nature of love, we realized it is defined by deep emotional connections with individuals that doesn’t cocer than general concern or short-term interest of others. We believe that voluntary acts of kindness can extend beyond these boundaries, which is why we introduced the concept of "Care Language" to create five distinct challenge categories for residents to undertake during our marketing campaign.
fig. 6. The Timeline that the campaign will follow, coinciding with the New Years season where individuals are actively seeking out resolutions.
Mentholatum's Graduation Ceremony
135Academy Graduation: Mentholatum's Care Challenge Close-Out
Join all participants in the close-out event and redeem Mentholatum products in exchange for points collected from completing the Care Language Challenge.
fig. 7-10. Snapshots of the 135Academy Graduation Ceremony.
Event Rundown
The Graduation Ceremony has a three-pronged objective: redeem, award, and celebrate. First, it provides an opportunity for all participants to exchange their care coins (points earned from challenge completion) for branded merchandise, ranging from mini samples to full-sized products. Secondly, it aims to recognize and award certificates to those who successfully completed all five care challenges (fig. 11). Finally, the ceremony seeks to spread care by celebrating with healthy refreshments suitable for people of all ages, from children to the elderly.
fig. 11. Graduation certificate to be given upon completion of Mentholatum's Care Challenge.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Envisioning a More Caring Hong Kong
The "135Academy" campaign presents a hypothetical solution to Hong Kong's need for improved ways of caring among its residents. As the city grapples with the effects of individualism and urban stress, the campaign emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and validating each other's feelings, actively listening without judgment, and providing both practical and emotional support.
While this campaign remains as a concept, it highlights the potential impact of promoting these values and fostering a culture of care in the city. By engaging with the campaign's initiatives, we believe the city's residents could collectively work towards greater empathy and connection, the experience actively serving as a reminder that will carry over to their daily lives long after.
