Company: HKRI Taikoo Hui, Shanghai, China
Nomination Submitted by: ShapeD
Company Description: HKRI Taikoo Hui mall houses approximately 250 brands, from fashion, accessories, beauty and supermarkets, to a yoga centre and over 45 F&B outlets offering international dining options. The shopping mall comprises a central spine with two underground and four above-ground levels, as well as two open piazzas.
Nomination Category: Marketing Campaign Categories - Industry
Nomination Sub Category: Marketing Campaign of the Year - Real Estate
 Nomination Title: Play Me, I’m Yours: a musical journey through Shanghai
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated campaign or program, OR written answers to the questions for this category? CHOOSE ONE:
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
June 12 – August 13, 2023
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 247 words used.
HKRI Taikoo Hui launched in 2017 and soon became one of Shanghai’s most popular shopping destinations with world-class brand mix, creativity, and commitment to placemaking. As China reopened after Covid, it needed an impactful campaign to reinforce its unique positioning and attract customers back in store.
Opportunity
‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ (PMIY) was a UK-born global movement with 2000+ street pianos played & listened to by 20m+ people in 70 cities; HKRI Taikoo Hui exclusively introduced it to China from 2018 and developed local relevance from this global movement through co-creating and donating 57 pianos – the mix of global impact and local appeal would reinforce its positioning, attract customers, and engage a wider audience.
Challenges
Competition: Shanghai is China’s most commercially developed city with 117 new malls planned to open in 2023–24 and ranked 2nd in the world for 55.3% presence of international retailers (China Daily, CBRE, 2023). Creativity is key to attract customers against competition.
Performance: despite its location in one of China’s busiest commercial districts, business was affected by overall slowdown – Shanghai saw a drop of 9.1% in total retail sales in 2022 (Shanghai Statistics Bureau, 2023); HKRI Taikoo Hui was in dire need of improving performance by increasing footfall & sales. This was addressed by attention-grabbing installation (to encourage visits) and tenant collaboration (to support sales).
Relevance: previous PMIY activations centered around piano-playing with a considerable entry barrier; in 2023, HKRI Taikoo Hui added more touchpoints to remove such barrier.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 240 words used.
Planning
Building on previous success, PMIY 2023 focused on extending reach, increasing exposure, and encouraging engagements. The key was to use multiple online/offline channels and touchpoints and transform tangible & immobile instruments (pianos) into an immersive & engaging experience.
Goals
- Business: to double traffic & achieve sales growth
- Branding: to double media buzz & PR value from PMIY 2022, and achieve social media growth
Creative development
- Appointed Victor Ma, Chinese-American singer/songwriter with a fanbase of 16.5m, as ambassador to expand reach
- Endorsed by Luke Jerram, British artist, father of PMIY – highlighted HKRI Taikoo Hui’s accelerated influence as a globally recognized brand & creative partner
- Co-created 5 decorated street pianos with international/local artists and tenant brands, keeping PMIY’s legacy alive
- Collaborated with Cyril Lancelin, French artist/architect, and created CUBE PIANO, a visually striking 10m installation and a maze for immersive experiences, at ultra-busy West Nanjing Road crossing to maximize exposure
- Worked with SimpliCity, local venture for thematic tours, and co-designed ‘A musical journey through the city’ along previously donated PMIY pianos, to lead traffic back in-store and showcase long-term commitment to local communities
Media
- A holistic media strategy was in place to cover paid/owned/earned channels and promote conversion from paid/earned exposure to the growth of its own social fanbase;
- A mini program embedded in WeChat (China’s No. 1 social app) with easy piano-playing & podcasts – to enable remote access and encourage store visits, integrating online and offline experiences
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2019. Even if your initiative started before 2022, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2022 only (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Performance
- ROI: 9190%
- Sales: up by 16.3% YoY, with 27% of total sales from members
- Traffic: 2.3x of previous year, 30% above target
Activities
- Donated all 5 pianos to 4 cities, reaching very diverse TA (from HNWIs to underprivileged children) and reflecting the brand’s devotion to communities – demonstrated long-term commitment to placemaking and supporting communities, and extended brand impact outside Shanghai
- The centrepiece installation CUBE PIANO removed entry barrier for mass audience and fulfilled the brand’s ESG promise after serving its attention-grabbing purpose, as materials were repurposed and made into handbags.
- Tenant collaboration:
- Harrods x RULA (graffiti artist): co-created ‘London Calling’, a unique art piece featuring iconic Harrods bear to target high-income customers, complemented by PMIY-themed afternoon tea for more touchpoints
- drivepro lab (hi-tech lifestyle brand): worked with 2 local artists & launched a candle collection to support sales
Communications
- Social: published 46 posts on WeChat/Weibo/RED/Douyin, covering all major Chinese social media - 2.5 million total impression & 255,951 engagements, up by 75.8% and 59.6% YoY respectively, acquiring 40,452 new followers
- Advertising: WeChat Moments ad + paid promotions with 6 influencers on WeChat/RED/Douyin; 82 posts/ads in total – achieved 25.6 million impressions, up by 352.7% from PMIY 2022, with 83,237 engagements
- PR: press release sent to 50 media - 839 stories published & valued at USD3m – media buzz and PR value were 2.31x and 2.54x of PMIY 2022 respectively, 31.1% and 54.2% above target
- You have the option to reference here any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 117 words used.
- Link to case film: this video showcased various aspects of PMIY 2023, especially offline elements such as CUBE PIANO (the centrepiece installation), co-creation of 5 decorated street pianos, interactive elements, customer participation & engagements, and an outreach program to visit schools in less developed regions of China where some of the pianos were donated to
- Presentation: a presentation was put together to provide more information and evidence of the actions & results listed above and beyond – including genesis of this project, co-creation of the pianos, online & offline activities, details of more that has been done a part of the campaign, media clippings, and key stats
- Photos: photos taken during campaign period corresponding to other description
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