True to the brand promise – “Infinite Renewal. Timeless Radiance”, Mantra was involved in the development of the brand identity to the packaging design for the range of products. The inspiration for the design of the packaging was inspired by the natural ingredients that the products themselves.

A spin-off from their successful Lose Big program, Fitness First recently launched the Lose It! weight loss exercise program, targeted to their members whose goal is to shed small amounts of weight.

What was meant to be a straightforward design for a set of 2 books turned out to be a piece of work that was a ‘First’ of its kind in the local fitness industry. Drawing inspiration from the popularity of health/low fat cereals, we decided to translate this approach to selling the fitness program.

The result was a packaging design that looked like a cereal box. The packaging is being used in Fitness First chains

across the South East Asia region.

When the Jobstreet team engaged us to undertake its integrated campaign for 2011, we understood the magnitude of the task ahead. The client was undisputed number one in recruitment not just in its category as an job classified portal, but across all platforms, including print. Our task would be to design a campaign befitting Jobstreet’s stature as the industry leader, something that would set it apart from its competitors.

Jobstreet’s marketing team developed the theme, “I Found Mine” while Mantra was tasked to develop the design and creatives for the campaign. The communication would target white collar and professional jobseekers, as well as reach out to employers. Having a successful run with its “Most Jobs” campaign the year before, we would develop a series of deliverables that retained what worked and yet give the new theme a fresh new look.

The end result was a “word bubble” icon to encapsulate the campaign theme. Coupled with dynamic shots of working professionals and Jobstreet’s iconic corporate colours the final outcome was a distinguishing look for Jobstreet’s 2011 campaign. The campaign was deployed across various outdoor platforms including taxis and city buses, LRT stations and billboards, and various other collaterals.

When the client gave us a brief to promote all these services in a 1-minute TV commercial, it presented us with a dilemma. We asked ourselves some difficult questions: How would we tell this very complicated message in a short TVC and still generate enough interest and recall? How would our ad cut through the clutter of TV commercials on the tube? How do we ensure adequate mention of MyEG’s services without convoluting the takeout?

The result was “Internet Ah Moi”. The story would depict a typical Malaysian scene – an enterprising young lady who runs MyEG services from her family’s coffee shop, and an over-eager customer more smitten by the lady than her services, under humourous circumstances.

Director Stephen Tan’s treatment for the commercial would be heavily influenced by P. Ramlee comedies in the 60s, from the set, to the styling and the music. But the film worked due to the cast. The client’s decision in signing Sarah Lian gave us the ideal lead for Ah Moi, while Bob, who plays the amorous customer, resonated the comedy stars of the 60s.

The TVC was well received, judging by a majority of positive sentiments on Twitter, with many Twitterers heaping praises for the two leads. The commercial also warranted a write-up in The Star, Malaysia’s leading daily, reporting it as an internet hit, and referring to Sarah Lian as Ah Moi.

Towards the end of the year months after the ad premiered on TV, the public faced technical difficulty in paying for summonses due to the Royal Malaysian Police’s server downtime. In response to the situation an editorial cartoon appeared depicting the scene from “Internet Ah Moi”.

Ah Moi had made an impact.

JCPenny has introduced a new Facebook application that will allow users to shop right within the social network. Products can be ‘liked,’ shared and a review function is built in to the product pages. The entire shopping process is contained within the app as well, from product selection to checkout.

We’ve seen other companies such as Groupon and Delta move into this space, and it seems like a highly logical move for the retailer to reach the 500 million active users of the all-pervasive network.

JCPenny on Facebook

The Marion Building in Yurakucho, central Tokyo, currently has its Christmas lights up to encourage the festive spirit among shoppers.

However, it’s not just the usual bunch of beaming bulbs. The organizers have decorated the pillars of the main hallway and collaborated with Panasonic to offer passers-by a sampling experience.

Read more

Joining a long list now of concept bars in Tokyo, graffiti is a new dining bar that opened last month in Roppongi. This time the theme is “hi-tech art”, for which the owners installed several interactive hi-tech LCD screen units.

Using MultiTouch’s iBar system that has previously been seen in London, graffiti has two 2.3 meter hi-tech walls that feature animations that trace your finger movements. Pretty good for occupying couples on a date that is going badly, no doubt.

Read more

At a time when smartphones seem poised to supplant laptops, John’s Phone looks like a risky proposal: It’s a cell phone that makes and accepts calls. That’s it.

Adding to the appeal for older users, the phone includes a paper pad and pen for jotting down numbers and addresses

As the designers, John Doe Amsterdam, tell it, the idea here is to restore a modicum of simplicity to modern communication. Your average cell phone has more special features — cameras, GPS, ringtones galore — than most users know what to do with. Paring it down to the most basic service and doing it up in an ultra-basic, almost toy-like interface with an oversized number pad and graphic call and hangup keys makes cell technology accessible to everyone, whether an 8-year-old kid or an 84-year-old granny. And the price is right: John’s Phone costs 70 to 80 Euros ($90 to $105), which is cheaper than most smartphones (especially when you factor in elaborate monthly plans).

The question is whether John’s Phone can find a market beyond kids and grannies. We reckon so, but it’s limited. John Doe have smartly designed the phone to work anywhere in the world, giving them an in among tech-savvy users frustrated at all the rigmarole they have to go through to get their smart phone to work abroad. John’s Phone could be a temporary fix in the same vein as the pay-as-you-go phones you buy at airports. In other words, it wouldn’t replace smart phones — people are too attached to features John’s Phone happily eschews, like text messaging and email — but it’d be a handy second line for travelers.

The catch: John’s Phone doesn’t fill orders in the United States, owing to “custom and insurance formalities” — whatever that means. Of course, you can always have it shipped to your great-aunt in Canada. But watch out: She might wanna poach it for herself.

Some of the things that motivate people to share content with their social networks:

• Laughter (or, according to Godin, ‘because it’s funny and laughing alone is no fun’)
• Inspiration (comparable to Godin’s ‘I spread your idea because I’m in awe of your art and the only way I can repay you is to share that art with others)
• Cuteness (not sure Godin said anything related to ‘cute’)
• Originality (’because your idea says something that I have trouble saying directly’)
• Shock (’because it’s fun to make another teen snicker about prurient stuff we’re not supposed to see’)
• Surprise (’because I feel smart alerting others to what I discovered)
• Nostalgia (Godin doesn’t pose a reason that directly speaks to nostalgia for a shared experience, so we’ll take the liberty of saying ‘I spread your idea because it reminds me that we’re connected – we shared an experience in the past)

We’re all in the business of garnering support for our ideas – whether they’re shared via social media, or shared within our diverse tribes (the office, school, our industry, etc.). A sense for the reasons for why we as humans get behind an idea and encourage others to do the same helps us understand what is likelier to get us recognized and extended – as both brand builders and individuals.

On Twitter, we tracked mentions of “roadtax”, “saman”, “JPJ” or “Polis” and offered assistance whenever possible. Meanwhile on Facebook, we announced the client’s activities, ran contests and giveaways supported by on-ground activities including MyEG’s involvement in Formula Drift and their sponsorship of concerts, creating a lot of awareness and goodwill. All at the same time gaining a better understanding of the consumer.

However, during MyEG’s foray into Social Media we discovered strong reactions to the client’s advertisements on TV. In a calculated move, MyEG had partnered with a production house to create a series of song-and-dance ads. While these ads were not particularly well received, they generated a lot of buzz.

To ride on the momentum of conversations online, we proposed “Twitter Guy”, a risque 30-sec spot that poked fun at Twitterers. MyEG saw the humour in engaging with his critics and took a bold step run with the idea. The ad premiered during the semi-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup broadcast and a flurry of Tweets followed in response to the ad.

In the final tally, Malaysian Twitterers were divided in their opinion of the ad. Some hated it, others loved it, but they all talked about it and on 5th July 2010, MyEG trended as the 4th most talked about topic on Twitter. Malaysians got the message, traffic spiked and MyEG recorded a jump in transactions.

Click here to see an extended version of the ad with a surprise ending.