Following the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s move to review the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has announced its support to ensure consumer protection laws stay relevant and protects consumers.
According to a press statement by CASE, the proposed amendments will not only help to tighten consumer protection laws but also target unscrupulous retailers who exhibit recalcitrant behavior in unfair practices against consumers.
“Although this is a move in the right direction, more can still be done to enhance consumer protection,” the press statement read.
CASE was previously unable to enforce the Voluntary Compliance Agreement or injunction against shady businesses, as owners of these shops were able to close their shop front and register under a new business identity.
“It is a repetitive cat and mouse game,” the statement added.
With the new amendments, SPRING Singapore will be able to investigate and take enforcement action against errant retailers. This also includes the publicising of injunction orders openly to warn consumers to be wary of these shops.
“Our hands were tied two years ago, when we were unable to take further action against the errant retailers located at Sim Lim Square, who were engaging in rampant unfair practices towards consumers. We are glad that MTI plans to appoint SPRING as the administering agency with investigative and enforcement powers to take errant retailers to task,” Lim Biow Chuan (pictured), president of CASE, said.
International out of home (OOH) media players Kinetic Worldwide, Latcom and Mediakeys have come together to form the Smart Alliance, in what they say is the world’s first global-scale platform to facilitate access to out of home inventory and audiences across 250 markets.
An industry first, the alliance enables clients to buy media around the world in one simple location.
Bringing together the complementary expertise and footprint of all three companies in one easy-to-access platform, it offers agencies and its clients a vital one-stop shop that creates enhanced efficiency and accountability its campaigns.
The platform will be managed via a global hub dedicated to optimising delivery on behalf of the alliance while each company maintains management over strategic planning and client operations in its home regions. The platform aims to increase efficiency and value to a new industry standard for international OOH media budgets.
Kinetic will oversee operations in North America, China, India and Northern Europe; Latcom will be in charge of Latin America, Spain and the Caribbean; while Mediakeys will be responsible for Central & Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea and Australia.
Combined, the Smart Alliance platform provides access for its clients to over 250 markets, 60 offices and 1,000 employees.
“Smart Alliance creates the perfect platform for us to deliver increased efficiency to all our accounts and to continue expanding our international footprint” says Global CEO of Kinetic Worldwide, Mauricio Sabogal.
Rexona together with Mindshare has launched its first LIFE+ campaign using bio wearable devices and ambient motion sensors at the Electric Run 2016.
Rexona partnered up with Electric Run as the official Freshmoves partner to ensure participants stayed fresh while they moved for a good cause.
LIFE+ was founded in June 2014 to help brands navigate ‘the third wave’ of digital marketing-wearables. The Electric Run was being held on 7th May at Selangor Turf Club. Rexona’s brand ambassador, SonaOne performed and encouraged participants to move more for the cause while staying fresh.
The devices worn by Electric Run participants could track the crowd’s energy levels through GPS, heartbeats per minutes and number of steps taken. Together with motion sensors placed at the concert area, Rexona detected the movements made by participants, every Freshmove detected was then converted into cash donations.
The more the participants moved, the more was being donated. This unique movement-led initiative saw over 15,000 Electric Run participants contributing by moving more during the Electric Run, making wearable technology the focus marketing platform of this campaign. The campaign raised over RM100,000 for five disability charities in Malaysia.
“Through partnership with Mindshare LIFE+, we are delighted to encourage people to move more with Rexona," Guan Lee, Head of Skinecare and Deodorant Categories, Unilever Malaysia said.
"The cash donation aims to change the lives of children and young adults with mobility disabilities caused by accident or illness and provide them with mobility aids such as prosthesis, wheelchairs and access to physiotherapy."
Pokka has launched a new campaign to celebrate its recent crowning as the No. 1 selling ready-to-drink coffee in Singapore according to figures by Nielsen.
The “Rule the World with Real Coffee” campaign recognises the increasing pace and competitiveness of life in Singapore and explores what it takes to pursue success and utilises a first-person perspective video featuring the Pokka coffee man.
It was conceptualised by integrated marketing agency B’yond 360 and will be launched in phases.
The full, uncut 2-minute single take, was achieved after over 40 takes. The videos, along with its 60-second and 30-second cuts will also be available for viewing online and broadcasted on local TV and radio.
[embed]https://youtu.be/0iwb3ljFkLU[/embed]
The campaign will be accompanied on the ground with advertisements on MRT station platform screen doors at strategically chosen stations, as well in print magazines. Pokka will also be reaching out to consumers online via a complementary social media engagement campaign.
“In order for the commercial to feel and look different, we filmed the entire commercial in a single take from a first-person point of view. This is an uncommon and challenging perspective that immediately sets it apart from its competitors. This allows viewers to immerse themselves in Pokka Coffee Man’s inner world and experience this commercial from a different angle,” Stell Lim, managing director of B’yond 360 said.
“We constantly endeavor to bond with our consumers on an emotional level by associating the brand with their lives in relatable ways, echoing the challenges and triumphs of their daily experience. At the same time that our brand walks through life with them, we also challenge them to “Rule the World with Real Coffee”—our campaign’s message of confidence and excellence,” Isna Apriani, marketing manager of Pokka, said.
As Singapore’s Advertising Standard’s Authority prepares to finalize ethical guidelines for influencer engagement, it’s the right time to ask – is engaging with influencers worth all the trouble and hassle for brands?
As the now infamous 2015 episode with Singtel and Gushcloud vividly illustrated, if you don’t do it right, it can blow up in your face, leaving you impotent and facing the acute embarrassment of apologizing to consumers, as well as your competitors.
For the risk averse, it may be tempting to throw the baby out with the bath water, but avoiding influencers completely is a mistake and brands would be missing out on an extremely effective and creative way of reaching consumers. Remembering a few key things is all that’s needed to avoid potential pitfalls, when working with influencers.
It’s all about trust. The fundamental thing any content creator and distribution channel offers brands is the ability to leverage on the trust, credibility and loyalty they’ve built up with their audience. Good influencers understand this and are fiercely protective over their integrity. Those influencers that don’t grasp this should be straight off the list. We always think it’s a good sign when influencers push back and don’t agree to everything; after all, they know what works best with their audience
Be completely transparent. These days everybody expects content for free online and are sophisticated enough to understand that content providers need to get paid somehow. The worst thing you can do is to downplay or not mention any paid association, which could easily result in a backlash. Focus on creating great content that users will choose to spend time with and be proud that your brand co-created
Influencers are talent, so treat them like talent. Whilst it may be tempting to treat influencers like media partners, they aren’t. These are creative people, passionate about their subject matter and respected within their chosen field. To benefit from their creativity and passion, treat them with respect and work hard to excite and inspire them to want to work with, and create great content, for your brand
Loosen up, lose control. Brands are no longer what they tell consumers they are; they’re what consumers tell each other they are. Share your brand DNA, your brand stories and objectives along with a framework. Then let them tell your story in their own way, after all that’s why you’re working with them
Aim for marriage, not a one night stand. Tactical engagement can fulfill an immediate need, but to get the most out of a relationship with an influencer, you need to think marriage. A longer-term commitment will allow you to get to know each other better, deepen affection and project greater authenticity
Influencer engagement is extremely powerful when done right, it allows brands to open up new channels of communication with consumers, leverage on a trusted relationship, and permits creative flexibility that may not be possible elsewhere. It also allows brands to appear on multiple social platforms without huge investment and if done well, can create long-term, credible brand advocates.
Nik Vyas is the head of content for Zenith Singapore.
Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has appointed Addiction Advertising as its integrated marketing communications agency.
The agency will be responsible for the conceptualisation and provision of creative counsel for BCA’s Project BUILD Competition 2016 publicity campaign.
It was also in charge of the same project which had its inaugural launch last year.
For this year, the campaign will target youths and aim to promote better understanding on universal design (UD) and its importance shaping a more inclusive and friendly built environment for everyone. As part of the campaign, a competition encourages students from Secondary schools to Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to use recycled materials to create their own miniature models depicting their ideal inclusive built environment.
The island-wide campaign is expected to run in June and across multi-media platforms that include out-of-home, online and social.
“Our city should be designed to meet the needs of all Singaporeans including the young, the old and persons with disabilities. Through Project BUILD, we hope that participants can have a better understanding on how inclusive design features in our built environment can make a big difference to people’s lives,” Tan Jwu Yih, acting director of BCA’s Universal Design department, said.
“Following the success of Project BUILD competition 2015, we are grateful and hyped up to once again, be part of this meaningful social-driven campaign. We share and are driven by BCA’s vision of having a future-ready built environment for Singapore and the synergy has been amazing!” Lionel Lim, managing director of Addiction Advertising said.
StarHub TV and MyChinaChannel have just launched MaxToon “满满通” (StarHub TV Channel 322), a joint Mandarin edutainment channel for kids aged three to 12. The first of its kind to be launched in Singapore and in high definition the channel compromises a healthy mix of cartoons and live action, aiming to entertain and educate curious young minds through its engaging storytelling.
Additionally, MaxToon will develop locally-produced content to cater to the needs of Singaporean audiences to further emphasise the importance of character development and values such as kindness and care for others.
Kids’ Talk （“童言无际”）will be the first locally produced program to debut on Maxtoon this June. The host will engage its young guests on various topics of the day.
They will also offer programmes such as Panda’s Paradise (“霹霹乐翻天”）and Xiao Kang Kang（“小康康”）. The former tells the story of four friends who overcome all odds to remain best friends despite having their own unique personalities. Xiao Kang Kang explores different types of everyday problems encountered by children and show them ways to solve these problems.
MCC will also be partnering with Marshall Cavendish Education to co-create a kids’ reality program in the last quarter of 2016. Called Young Runners （“3，2，1前进！”）, the series will see kids race against one another in a game where the pedagogy and content advice will be mapped to the MOE curriculum, testing kids on their Mandarin proficiency.
According to a recent report by Nielsen Malaysian consumer confidence has remained stable at the start of the first quarter of 2016 at 79%. This retains Malaysia’s position as 36th most confident country globally.
The report was taken from the Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, which measures consumer confidence, perceptions of local job prospects, major concerns and spending intentions amongst more than 30,000 respondents with Internet access in 63 countries.
Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism respectively. The average global consumer confidence for Malaysia is 98 pp.
Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index – Malaysia vs. Global (2010 – Q1 2016) [%]
Confidence levels in Southeast Asia continue to remain resilient with four out of six countries in the region scoring above the 100 pp mark. The Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand are the bright spots in the region’s growing and emerging market as they retain their titles as the top 10 most confident countries globally while Singapore scored below the baseline at 88 pp.
Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index, Southeast Asia vs. Global (Q2 2015 – Q1 2016) [%]
Economic uncertainty tops the list of major concerns among Malaysians with job security coming in second. Seven in 10 Malaysians feel that local job prospects are bleak over the next 12 months.
Recessionary sentiments among Malaysians continue to remain high with only one in five respondents feeling positive that the country will be out of an economic recession in the coming year.
For the first time since starting the global online survey on consumer confidence and spending intentions back in 2005, terrorism made it to the nation’s top 10 of major concerns. Other key concerns that also made the list include increasing food prices, political stability and work/life balance.
Top 10 major concerns among Malaysian consumers (Q1 2016 vs. Q4 2015) [%]
“With no real changes in the economic outlook, Malaysians’ confidence remains low and we see that this trend will continue to be the case until the pressure on the Ringgit ease. Only when the pressure of the Ringgit improves, can consumers start to feel the burden of their day-to-day spending lessen,” said Richard Hall, country manager of Nielsen Malaysia.
The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, measures consumer confidence, perceptions of local job prospects, major concerns and spending intentions amongst more than 30,000 respondents with Internet accessin 63 countries.
Mediacorp OOH Media has launched its first-of-a-kind 2D illuminated lightboxes, increasing nighttime visibility of its existing 2D Flagships while maintaining the panels’ even lighting and vibrancy.
Featuring the Marina Bay skyline, the lightboxes promoted the event to incoming traffic and passersby from the roof of the bus shelter in front of United Square.
Additionally, the lightboxes feature attractive motion LEDs, opening up possibilities on the use of animated lights to attract commuters’ attention. The brightly lit 2D lightbox helps increase campaign awareness by attracting passersby with its animated lights, leaving a distinct impact amongst the public.
The lightboxes made their first appearance during Urban Redevelopment Authority’s i-Light Marina Bay 2016 promotions in March 2016, which suit the event theme, being a sustainable light art festival.
Motion LEDs were utilised at the back of the illuminated lightbox to light up each of the four sections at different intervals, bringing a sense of festivity to everyone living, shopping and working in the area.
“With our newly improved 2D lightboxes, advertisers can be assured of an equally outstanding campaign, be it day or night, engaging audiences at any time of the day. We commit to challenging the status quo, continually seeking innovations and being technological forefront in providing value and solutions to our advertisers,” said Mr Henry Goh, Head of OOH Media.
Asia-Pacific media intelligence company Isentia has announced a new information-sharing partnership with human data intelligence company DataSift to provide access to Facebook topic data, which contains rich metadata for analytics and insight.
It has over 60 attributes to filter and analyse content, topics, hashtags and links. Every piece of data comes with attached anonymous demographic data including gender, age and location.
DataSift enables companies to valuable insight from the information now easily accessible to them and make justified and informed business decisions. It provides businesses with a more in-depth understanding of what their key audiences are sharing and engaging on Facebook while not compromising users’ privacy.
Being able to utilise Facebook topic data together with Isentia’s expertise in consumer and media insights means that it will be able to effectively deliver in-depth audience insights around events, brands and issues, serving as valuable business intelligence for marketing and communication strategies.
“This partnership with Datasift is an exciting development for our integrated Insight services. With 1.59 billion people using Facebook around the world, this latest addition to our data will enable us to deliver richer consumer insights and help our clients make more informed strategic business decisions” said Isentia’s executive director of Insights, Khali Sakkas.
MAS has appointed Mirum Singapore for digital duties, A+M understands from its sources.
It is known from sources close to the development that Mirum is helping with consulting duties with regards to MAS’ website.
MAS previously worked with Mirum during the years it was known as XM Asia, carrying out redesign work for the national flight carrier's website to simplify ease of use and link customers to promotional deals and flight bookings.
The national flight carrier recently launched a global media pitch early this year in March. It covers duties such as media planning and buying, social media and search engine marketing. A+M understands that the contract runs for two years with periodical reviews in between.
Global network Mirum was launched in 2015 as part of JWT’s initiatives to consolidate its digital agencies. A total of 11 digital agencies including XM Asia was consolidated, giving the Mirum network access to 17 countries and 40 offices worldwide. Mirum operates as a sister agency to JWT, but with separate management teams and P&Ls.
As part of the agency’s regional digital transformation consulting practice, Mirum recently launched new capabilities to help clients assess their overall digital readiness.
Performance marketing technology company Criteo has extended its reach beyond Southeast Asia with a new office in New Delhi. It has also appointed Ajeet Kandachar as managing director of India, to lead the business.
This will enable Criteo to expand operations in the country and further grow its portfolio of local customers. The company entered the India market in late 2014 and has been working with eCommerce companies such as AskmeBazaar, MakeMyTrip, Yatra, nearbuy and Urban Ladder.
Since 2013, Criteo has undergone significant global expansion. In the same year, the company launched its office in Singapore to expand its operations to Southeast Asia. Criteo now has 31 offices around the world, seven of which are in the Asia Pacific region.
Kandachar joins Criteo from Vizury, an international internet marketing company, where he was responsible for growing the business throughout the Asia Pacific region. Kandachar’s experience also includes various sales and business development positions in India.
Criteo’s performance marketing solution leverages machine learning technology, which enables it to serve AskmeBazaar visitors with personalised ads or product recommendations in real-time, whether they are on a smartphone, tablet, desktop or laptop. Criteo’s dynamic ad template also automatically selects the ad format and layout that is designed to drive higher engagement.
One of Criteo’s clients which utilised this is AskmeBaazer enlisted the company’s help to help convert its high volume of visitors and views into online transactions.
“Criteo’s performance marketing solution has outperformed other retargeting tools we’ve used by at least 40 per cent. Every channel plays a different role within the marketing funnel. We use some channels to acquire new customers and others to increase traffic. However, 60 per cent of these customers do not make purchases on first visit and Criteo has helped us successfully re-engage and convert a significant number. In this sense, retargeting is the new ‘sales’ and Criteo’s solution is a key sales acquisition tool for the AskmeBazaar platform,” Manav Sethi, head of marketing and communications at AskmeBazaar, said.
“We are beginning to see strong growth in India and are happy to welcome Ajeet to the Criteo team. His breadth of experience across the technology industry will help us develop and execute a long-term plan for growth acceleration in India,” said Yuko Saito, Managing Director, Criteo Southeast Asia. “We’re also very excited for our new office opening in New Delhi, which further signifies our strong commitment to and investment in the country’s eCommerce potential.”
MAS has appointed Mirum Singapore for digital duties, A+M understands from its sources.
It is known from sources close to the development that Mirum is helping with consulting duties with regards to MAS’ website.
Mirum Singapore will be providing expertise for Malaysia Airlines' global digital transformation initiatives to improve the airline's consumer user experience through technology, data and a robust creative and content strategy over the website and all digital applications.
MAS previously worked with Mirum during the years it was known as XM Asia, carrying out redesign work for the national flight carrier's website to simplify ease of use and link customers to promotional deals and flight bookings.
The national flight carrier recently launched a global media pitch early this year in March. It covers duties such as media planning and buying, social media and search engine marketing. A+M understands that the contract runs for two years with periodical reviews in between.
Global network Mirum was launched in 2015 as part of JWT’s initiatives to consolidate its digital agencies. A total of 11 digital agencies including XM Asia was consolidated, giving the Mirum network access to 17 countries and 40 offices worldwide. Mirum operates as a sister agency to JWT, but with separate management teams and P&Ls.
As part of the agency’s regional digital transformation consulting practice, Mirum recently launched new capabilities to help clients assess their overall digital readiness.
Recent findings from by Epsilon and Econsultancy show that the majority of client-side marketers and their suppliers in Asia view their approach to customer experience as ‘not very advanced’. Marketers feel the biggest barrier to offering better service was the growing complexity of the customer experience and digital touch points.
The challenge remains for companies of all sizes to harness both technology and the human touch to forge deeper connections with every customer.
Speaking at the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas earlier this year, John Mellor, VP of strategy and business development at Adobe, said getting to know customers in an intimate manner changes awareness to experience and leads to an emotional connection.
This is the level of relationship all brands should be aspiring to. Creating the ultimate end-to-end experience for your customers comes down to personalisation and integration.
This is far easier said than done. From structuring a customer-centric organisational culture to strategising for mobile-first user experiences and breaking down barriers to securing the most relevant data, everything must work together like clockwork.
At this year’s Customer Experience conference, we focus on how marketers can bring together loyalty programs, CRM systems and engagement channels to build a more holistic customer experience and understand what it is their customers want.
Here's a look at the conversations happening at the two day conference:
Day one saw speakers from Canon Singapore, IBM, Mediacorp OOH Media, MasterCard, SSI, Carat, Carlsberg, ORC International sharing their insights on customer experience 2016. We also saw a panel discussion on "The age of the customer" with inputs from NTUC FairPrice, AXA and others.
The two-day conference, held at Suntec Convention Centre, is supported by Aimia, IBM and SSI, CPR Vision, DigitasLBI, ORC International and Mediacorp OOH Media. Event partners include Lightspeed GMI and exhibitor partners Vision Critical.
//
The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS), an advisory council to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), is now seeking public inputs for the amended interactive marketing communication and social media guidelines.
This is to clarify some of the issues to the Digital and Social Media Advertising Guidelines that was conceptualised late last year to address new issues in advertising that are not covered by the Code. The current consultation period runs until 17 June 2016.
Based on the comments that were received, ASAS has made amendments to the guidelines including renaming the guideline to "Interactive Marketing Communication and Social Media Guidelines" to better reflect the scope. Some other changes include ASAS merging the definition of 'sponsored blog posts’ and ‘sponsored social media updates’ into ‘sponsored content’ to encompass the variety of social media content that could be sponsored.It has also redefined what commercial relationships mean and earned and owned media.
ASAS has merged the definitions of ‘social advertisement’, ‘social media advertising’, ‘social network advertisements’ and ‘socially enabled display advertisements’ into ‘social media marketing’. This reduces the number of terms used throughout the guidelines as suggested by commentators.
The changes can be reflected on the ASAS website. ASAS is also inviting interested parties to submit written comments on the draft guidelines. All submissions should be clearly and concisely written, and should provide a reasonable explanation for any proposed revisions.
Malaysia Airlines Berhad will be strengthening its brand presence as it appoints Group M and Rally Worldwide, to work cohesively to assist the airline in driving business revenue.
The duties cover channel planning, global media buy, search engine marketing and remarketing, social media, community management as well as influencer engagement. The agencies will be supporting the airline for two years, effective 1 May 2016 with an option to renew for one year.
Malaysia Airlines chief commercial officer, Paul Simmons said, “[The agencies] fulfilled our requirements and have a firm grasp of the challenging environment of the aviation industry. The agencies believe in our brand values and they have a pool of diverse and young talent, to support Malaysia Airlines to compete across the globe."
A+M understands at least five agencies are vying for the account. This includes the likes of Havas Media, Starcom, GroupM, Zenith and incumbents IPG. The pitch was called in March. IPG first won the account in 2012 following a global pitch which covered four continents and more than 22 countries
JCDecaux Transport has promoted Shirley Chan to managing director to succeed Amy Chan who has left the company for personal reason in April.
Shirley Chan has been with JCDecaux Transport for over 18 years. She has been playing an important role in the success of the company and the win of MTR and Hong Kong International Airport advertising concessions over the years.
“I am thrilled to have a chance to steer the whole company which has been in the leading position in the OOH media. Together with the professional and excellent teams we have, I look forward to propelling JCDecaux Transport to greater heights.” Chan said.
Avis Lam, currently sales controller of MTR advertising, is promoted as deputy general manager to lead the sales and marketing team of MTR, Airport Express and Digital Vision.
Linda Lam, presently sales director of Hong Kong International Airport advertising, is promoted as business director to oversee the Airport Advertising business unit.
Avis Lam and Linda Lam have both been working at the company for more than 10 years, they are tasked to drive further MTR and Airport business growth and implement strategic developments reporting to Chan.
Stephen Wong, CEO of Greater China said, "Shirley and the teams will continue to grow the company business further with their expertise and commitment to developing effective yet innovative advertising solutions to the clients. I would also like to thank Amy for her contributions these years.”
Philips Avent, the arm specialising in infant care, has launched a new campaign, whipping up a surprise homemade meal for a family with its Philips 4-in-1 Healthy Baby Food Maker product. It was conceptualised by iris Singapore.
The video of the surprise was launched on the Philips Home Living Facebook (Singapore), showing a husband named Robert surprising his wife with a home-cooked meal to rekindle the romance, all while preparing nutritious food for their baby based on the same ingredients. In addition to social media channels, the campaign will also be rolled out on digital platforms and on-ground activation until mid June.
“As a brand, we always aim to understand the needs and be closely connected to Singaporean parents and their babies. Ultimately, we hope to not only deliver quality products but also our promise of making life better for all parents and their children,” Aw Ee Ling, senior marketing manager for Philips Avent, added.
Check out the video here:
“Parenting is always a team sport, and we recognize that dads play an equally important role in the child’s development. Instead of just talking about the product, we tapped on the insights of married couples and created a content around the love for the family,” Ed Cheong, creative director at iris Singapore, said.
The debate over how robots could affect human life has been going on for more than a century.
Tezuka Productions (手塚製作公司), in partnership with Geometry Global Japan, have created "Robot Town Sagami 2028," an animation depicting a future society where human beings and life supporting robots co-exist in harmony.
Robot Town Sagami is a special district covering 12 municipalities in Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川縣) Japan. The district is so named due to its large concentration of industries, research centres and university laboratories specialising in research and development of personal assistive robotics. The development of robots in the district is focused on the assistance of aging populations and coping with natural disasters, both of which are challenges that Japan faces.
The animation is created for Kanagawa Prefecture by Tezuka Productions, known for their animation Astro Boy series, launched as the first Japanese cartoon in 1963. It portrays the future of Robot Town Sagami in 2028 based on interviews of companies and scholars across this district. As such Robot Town Sagami 2028 is a realistic portrayal of the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxWuJrXNGiI
“I wanted people, especially children who play a crucial role in shaping the world we live in, to picture the future we are heading for,” said Yuji Kuroiwa of governor of Kanagawa Prefecture. “As an iconic, much loved household name, Astro Boy will enable people to feel and see the substantial future of Sagami Robot Town. Screening in elementary schools and department stores across the prefecture, our hope is that this animation allows children to think and dream about the future of society.”
Masato Mitsudera, head of creative of Geometry Global Japan, said: “I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to be involved in this meaningful initiative. The challenges Kanagawa Prefecture face are not only applicable to the local government but also for Japan and the rest of the world. I hope this animation will fly around the world just like Astro Boy does, giving inspiration and hope for the future.”
Credits
Agency: Geometry Global Japan GK
Client: Kanagawa Prefectural Government
Production: Tezuka Productions Company, Limited
Planning/Idea/Copywriter: Masato Mitsudera (Geometry Global Japan)
Director/Character design/Animation director: Shinji Seya
Producer: Yoshiro Shimizu
Animation producer: Mitsuaki Oishi
Producer: Izuru Naito
Assistant producer: Nobue Wakajima
Creative manager: Masato Ishiwata
Scriptwriter: Mayumi Morita
Art director: Masami Saito
Director of photography: Kentaro Kashiwagi
Sound director: Akira Ohkuma
Sound production: AUDIO PLANNING U
