Everyone knows the Singapore postcard shots. Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, the gleaming CBD skyline. Beautiful, iconic, and honestly a little overexposed. When Heartland Enterprise Centre Singapore (HECS) came to us wanting to show regional tourists the Singapore that actually exists beyond the tourist trail, we knew this wasn't a job for polished destination ads. It was a job for storytellers with genuine curiosity and the right following to match.
The challenge was a real one in Singapore's tourism marketing landscape. The heartlands, the kopitiams, the HDB neighbourhoods, the aunties and uncles who define the everyday rhythm of this city, rarely make it into international travel content.
Our brief was to change that and make regional audiences genuinely curious about the Singapore most tourists never see. We brought in three lifestyle and travel KOLs with strong regional reach and a talent for authentic content: @workingwithmonolids for hidden local gems and community stories, @GhibOjisan for his outsider-yet-local perspective as a Japanese creator based in Singapore, and @GeorgiaCaney for her global traveller's eye that could connect Chinatown, Toa Payoh and Tiong Bahru to international audiences.
Instead of scripted tourist itineraries, we handed them insider passes and let them do what they do best. The result was travel content that felt lived-in and real, hawker finds, neighbourhood quirks, cultural nuances that no guidebook covers. The campaign reached 2,094,100 people across the region and sparked genuine conversations about a side of Singapore that rarely gets the spotlight it deserves.
Tourism marketing works best when it makes people feel something before they even book a flight. If you want your destination or hospitality brand to resonate beyond the obvious, Mad Hat Asia knows how to tell those stories. Get in touch at hatters@madhat.asia
Singapore already has some of the world's most passionate foodies. So when Blake Harris Entertainment tasked Mad Hat Asia with making the 32nd edition of Singapore Food Festival the culinary moment of the year, the challenge wasn't awareness —it was standing out in a city where F&B events, activations, and launches are happening on every corner all at once.
The campaign needed to travel beyond Singapore's borders and land internationally. We led a multi-pronged approach across 3 weeks that the event was happening: crafting story-led press releases that went well beyond standard event announcements, curating on-ground food KOL and media hosting that made every touchpoint shareable, and profiling festival spokespeople as genuine thought leaders in Singapore's food culture. Every activation was designed to hit hearts, feeds and headlines at once.
The numbers tell the rest of the story. Against a target of SGD 800K in international media value, we delivered SGD 1.8M — more than double. Total PR value hit SGD 6M against a SGD 5M target, with 373 pieces of coverage across The Straits Times, Travel + Leisure, Lifestyle Asia and more, reaching 272 million people worldwide.
Want PR and food KOL results that actually move the needle for your next F&B event in Singapore? Get in touch at hatters@madhat.asia
Filling a 20,000 sqm event space was only part of the challenge—doing it over a 21-day run, while launching a new event into Singapore’s crowded Christmas calendar with minimal awareness, raised the stakes entirely. When the team behind the inaugural World Christmas Market Singapore needed a PR and KOL partner to put their holiday extravaganza on the map, they came to Mad Hat Asia.
With ambitious KPIs and a tight runway, we deployed a focused three-part strategy: story-driven press release distribution that built anticipation well ahead of opening, end-to-end on-ground KOL and media hosting that generated authentic coverage across social and digital platforms, and strategic spokesperson profiling to give the event a credible, human voice in the press.
The results set a new benchmark for event PR in Singapore. Against a target of 100 pieces of coverage, we delivered 507. PR value hit SGD 4.27M against a SGD 1.5M target. Total reach came in at over 44M on social media alone, with top-tier placements across The Straits Times,CNA, Mothership, Tatler Singapore and more. Most importantly, 148,965 visitors walked through the gates — nearly 50% above the target footfall.
Planning an event launch in Singapore and want PR and KOL coverage that actually drives footfall and media attention? This is what Mad Hat Asia delivers. Get in touch at hatters@madhat.asia
Launching an FMCG product across three markets in three weeks is no small feat. When Häagen-Dazs came to Mad Hat Asia to launch their limited-edition Emily in Paris range across Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, the brief was clear: make it feel like fashion, not just ice cream, and do it simultaneously across three distinct media landscapes.
With tight timelines and strict global guidelines from Paramount, Netflix and Häagen-Dazs we built a campaign that worked as hard regionally as it did locally. We repositioned Häagen-Dazs within the fashion and lifestyle space through a tri-market watch party for top-tier media and creators, bespoke creative product drops, and a tiered consumer goods KOL strategy designed to drive social buzz and earned coverage across all three markets.
The campaign significantly exceeded targets across the board. Singapore delivered SGD 432,275 in PR value, Malaysia RM 1,444,721.50, and Thailand THB 5,560,632. Three physical events drew 80 attendees with a 98% attendance rate — proof that when FMCG marketing is done right, it doesn't just sell product, it builds brand equity.
Planning a regional FMCG launch and want results that actually move the needle? Let's talk at hatters@madhat.asia
Kotex’s latest collection aimed to spark pride and empower Malaysian women who missed the thrill of adventure and discovery, to embrace the sights and experiences of Malaysia with a unique travel experience, from the comfort and safety of their homes.
Mangosteen is a lifestyle brand with a social aim to alter people's lives by changing the way they live. Mangosteen accomplishes this by devoting 100% of their revenues to empowering the lives of women and children throughout Southeast Asia through carefully selected non-profit organisations.
Virgin Active is always looking to create new experiences that engage existing members and excite potential ones.
One such experience is SkyPark Yoga by Virgin Active at Marina Bay Sands, which will bring your yoga practice to new heights - 57 stories in the sky, to be exact.
The Total Protection Pads were coming in with a new design that has stronger ‘Overnight’ cues and as a new innovation, Kotex also wanted to continue the buzz and talkability around the Kotex Overnight Panties.
Seeing as both variations fall under the Night and Protective Guard category - we created a campaign which will allow us to feature both variants seamlessly.
Designed by award-winning architectural firm WOHA, PARKROYAL on Pickering adopts a hotel-in-a-garden concept and incorporates energy-saving features throughout the property.
To celebrate Global Handwashing Day (GHD) on 15 October 2020, Lifebuoy launched a ‘High 5 for handwashing’ campaign. High 5 for Handwashing unites supporters of health to champion the adoption of good hygiene habits such as handwashing with soap.
#MoveItWithRexona is an initiative that was sparked during MCO in line with the brand’s global direction to #MoveMoreAtHome.
We worked with Malaysia’s most prolific fitness instructors, Nana Al Haleq and Faiz Ariffin who curated a series of 10 minutes workout routines that helped Malaysians to get up on their feet and #MoveMoreAtHome with Rexona.
Nutox, the revolutionary skincare solution, launched their new Youth Restoring range which provides Malaysian women with the combination of powerful anti-aging properties and gentle nurturing ingredients suitable for the most sensitive of skins at an affordable price range.
Shaking up the festival scene in Singapore, The Alex Blake Charlie Sessions created an unique experiences for sonic explorers willing to venture further into pop-rock, R&B, indie-folk and electronica on a more intimate scale – all within an unusual heritage venue: Pasir Panjang Power Station.
In conjunction with the launch of Magnum Macadamia Salted Caramel in Malaysia, Magnum has teamed up with three local M-bassadors – Amelia Henderson, Azira Shafinaz and Kittie Yiyi – to bring true pleasure to life in the form of a majestic Magnum Mansion.
The success of Jom Cadbury in 2018 resulted in the decision to introduce a second limited-edition flavour - Cadbury Dairy Milk Durian in 2019 and the opportunity to launch the campaign was even bigger and better than before.
The Color Run, the world’s first COLOR 5Km™ event, was founded in March 2011 as an event to promote healthiness and happiness by bringing the community together to participate in the “Happiest 5k on the Planet”.
The International Champions Cup (ICC) is the summer’s biggest club competition that hosts 18 of the world’s most renowned clubs spanning across three continents from North America, Europe and Asia.
Parents want the best for their kids simply because of love, making Cadbury a trusted, quality product and the perfect brand for parents to show their affection. With this in mind, we came up with an overarching campaign titled #CadburyWithLove and created various platforms to bring this concept to life, aimed at cultivating the parent to child bond.
Launched in 2014 by Fresh Events Global, The Music Run has been experienced by over 200,000 runners across 25 events in 12 countries. 2017 witnessed the global expansion of The Music Run with events held in Europe, Africa & the Middle East and Asia.
