Shake, Spin, Snatch, Scratch, Surprise - all in the name of Saving
Singaporeans enjoy a good bargain, more so than our global counterparts (they don't call us kiasu for nothing). We love to stretch our dollars and get an adrenaline high after a fruitful and budget-conscious shopping spree.
Gone are the days where we physically tussle over a heavily discounted TV - in this lazy era of convenience, it's all about fastest fingers first as battles are fought online, which can literally #breaktheinternet. 11.11 is arguably the most important online shopping date in Asia, where servers work overtime to cater to record numbers of online visitors.
With so many online retailers competing for your loose change, each of them seeks to hype up their 11.11 event by having attention-grabbing campaigns. Let's break down some Singapore-based online retailers' marketing for 11.11 this year.
Shopee
Just when you thought 11.11 wasn't enough, Shopee took extra to another level with 10.10, 9.9 - you get the point.
Shopee's tone has always been informal, as one can see from scrolling through its social media feeds.
When Shopee released its 11.11 video ad, it went viral for all the wrong reasons. But then again, it's 11.11 - I'd dance like this if my company is going to see a crazy jump in sales too.
No amount of cringe will beat the current record holder, but this is still high up on the list. And to think that they poked fun at the inspiration behind this pi-pi-pi madness!
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| Teasing the song and dissing the inspiration |
You might also have heard of Shopee's 11.11 campaign via invitation codes from your acquaintances. The game is simple enough: shake your mobile device to earn Shopee coins which can be used to purchase vouchers.
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| You can only shake once per hour. Time to start blocking contacts? |
Shopee's competitions are questionable but keeps those interested hooked - who would want to spend 11.11 in front of their electronic device just to win a standing fan? 3 thousand people...
Like almost all other online retailers, Shopee's vouchers promote the purchase-with-purchase mindset. Shopee even has a dedicated day to collect them.
Design-wise, I'd say that looking at orange for a long period of time can cause eye fatigue. The bubbles remind me of Apple's iOS marketing colour palettes.
Qoo10
Qoo10's discounts aims to make its customers feel over the moon with their Double Wonders Sale.Their dark colour scheme is appreciated by bargain hunters on early 11.11 morning - the campaign webpage would not blind a user waking up at 12 midnight sharp.
Although I get the "shop double, save double" tagline, this isn't as catchy as Qoo10 thinks. I'm thinking more of "double your shopping, double your savings".
This is the first time I've seen product listings being cropped to circles, probably to fit with the space theme (astronaut helmets, perhaps).
The small things count - these rocks help to set the mood of the site, but with so much info already squeezed into 1 page section, one can also argue that it creates extra clutter.
Do you sometimes get the feeling that the promotions you get on a particular site are all the same? You aren't dreaming, these things exist.
The boxes which you can unlock are actually just vouchers in disguise. Clever, but otherwise disappointing for fans who expect something different.
While other online sites were releasing videos, promotional codes and images like clockwork, Qoo10's social media feeds were gathering dust. Sure, they had 'mini-quests' but none of them really energised the Facebook crowd.
In terms of marketing, I wouldn't be surprised to hear if they had budget issues. Qoo10 did the bare minimum to promote 11.11 but their it had a solid concept with logical intentions (if my assumptions are correct). It's a shame that we didn't get to see more of it.
Lazada
When I saw Lazada's 11.11 logo, my heart skipped a beat. It's gorgeous. It's marketing didn't disappoint either, and is the best this year.
Lazada started its campaign by reminding us how 11.11 first began - as a 'party' targeted at singles.
To promote the Lazada Wonderland mini-site, cute maps and mini-games were created to encourage them to check out the site of discounted branded goods come 11.11.
While the concept of audio marketing is not new, an online marketplace having a Spotify playlist is. It is a good example of the partnership Lazada has with successful lifestyle brands.
On 11.11, Lazada continued with the social media updates to keep users engaged.
Not sure which is the best deal to get? Look at what the majority of customers are buying and tag along. Digging the brand application on the top left.
Surprise Boxes were also on sale which were snapped up quickly, as they each contained items from reputable brands - another feature which can only be reality if they see Lazada as a reliable, trustworthy business partner.
Perhaps the most enticing part of their strategy is deliberately keeping their 11.11 prices a mystery until the day itself.
Prior to 11.11, the banner would display a price with the first or second digit missing, leaving shoppers to speculate and check back as soon as possible, least the heavily discounted items get snapped up quickly.
I was initially skeptical about the price drop, but when I saw that ?9.90 was 19.90 instead of 29.90 for my keyboard (original price was 32), I was impressed. Bravo Lazada - I guess we'll be seeing other sites using the same method for 11.11 2019.
Identity-wise, Lazada knows its colours well. Neon colours contrast nicely with eye-catching gradients which serve as backgrounds.
The brand applications are also simple but symbolic - the geometric heart logo is easy to configure to fit different product categories. Geometric design never left!
From games to fictional worlds to brilliant branding, Lazada pushed hard to make 11.11 a success, and from a design standpoint, the company already won.
Shopee and EzBuy's 11.11 identity makes their icons messy and Qoo10 has too many things going on (11.11's gradient, mascot). Lazada and ShopBack's icons are more straightforward, with Lazada making an effort to differentiate its design from the rest of the pack - just look at that curve.
Lazada started its campaign by reminding us how 11.11 first began - as a 'party' targeted at singles.
To promote the Lazada Wonderland mini-site, cute maps and mini-games were created to encourage them to check out the site of discounted branded goods come 11.11.
While the concept of audio marketing is not new, an online marketplace having a Spotify playlist is. It is a good example of the partnership Lazada has with successful lifestyle brands.
On 11.11, Lazada continued with the social media updates to keep users engaged.
Not sure which is the best deal to get? Look at what the majority of customers are buying and tag along. Digging the brand application on the top left.
Surprise Boxes were also on sale which were snapped up quickly, as they each contained items from reputable brands - another feature which can only be reality if they see Lazada as a reliable, trustworthy business partner.
Perhaps the most enticing part of their strategy is deliberately keeping their 11.11 prices a mystery until the day itself.
Prior to 11.11, the banner would display a price with the first or second digit missing, leaving shoppers to speculate and check back as soon as possible, least the heavily discounted items get snapped up quickly.
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| A cute sticker helps to differentiate products participating in the 11.11 campaign from those not |
I was initially skeptical about the price drop, but when I saw that ?9.90 was 19.90 instead of 29.90 for my keyboard (original price was 32), I was impressed. Bravo Lazada - I guess we'll be seeing other sites using the same method for 11.11 2019.
Identity-wise, Lazada knows its colours well. Neon colours contrast nicely with eye-catching gradients which serve as backgrounds.
The brand applications are also simple but symbolic - the geometric heart logo is easy to configure to fit different product categories. Geometric design never left!
From games to fictional worlds to brilliant branding, Lazada pushed hard to make 11.11 a success, and from a design standpoint, the company already won.
1-Sentence Reviews
Ez-Buy: Inspired by illegal online gambling sites.
ShopBack: The most relatable 11.11 video ever
Game Meets Game
Here are all the current app icons of the sites reviewed:
Shopee and EzBuy's 11.11 identity makes their icons messy and Qoo10 has too many things going on (11.11's gradient, mascot). Lazada and ShopBack's icons are more straightforward, with Lazada making an effort to differentiate its design from the rest of the pack - just look at that curve.
11.11 and Beyond
Who could have predicted the transformation of a Chinese invented shopping holiday into one which became the most important day in the online shopping calendar? With each passing year, online marketplaces are experimenting and finding new ways to market effectively to us; to cut through the noise that is the rest of the Internet. Let the race to 11.11 2019 begin.
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