Why Mentos' "National Night" was anti-climactic

By Rob Stanley

The Mentos “National Night” campaign was no doubt creative, and viral, but did it drive any real outcomes? How will we “ahem” measure this? 9 Months later? Brand visibility is up but is anything else? Did you feel compelled to buy a roll of Mentos? (because you were happy to see me). Love the creativity, but the mechanism to translate this into sustained engagement was the anti-climax.

If the campaign had added the mechanics so that social media could extend into lasting engagement and loyalty it could and would have been a truly legendary campaign.

So what’s holding marketers, brand owners and businesses from doing this?

The ability to take creative content and build in long-term engagement has never been more opportune, and measurable. For example, the vast majority of our consumer audience now carries a mobile phone which is more powerful than the PC was on our desk ten years ago, and which can be used in a variety of ways to engage, reward, and build sustainable relationships.

Look at what Pacific Beverages and the Stella Artois brand they manage is doing with their “How Does Yours Measure Up?” campaign (and yes, pun intended). As they execute this creative and fun campaign, in search of the best draught beer and bar in Singapore, it also engages the consumer with a mobile platform to reward them for their purchases, and in turn gain their feedback. This builds on the creative concept but also incents consumers to purchase Stella Artois in comparison to other brands as well as drive other key business and ROI outcomes. It’s a two-way engagement that has lasting, and real impact.

And honestly - isn't that better than a one-night stand?

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Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

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