Summary

CapitaStar is a lifestyle and shopping program that rewards consumers for their everyday spending across CapitaLand shopping malls, eCapitaMall (digital mall) and Capita3Eats (food ordering platform).

The majority of CapitaStar users comprised of early Millennials and Gen Xs, but CapitaStar saw an opportunity in Gen Z shoppers, who are starting to enter the workforce, have increasing purchasing power, and are revelling in the independence of spending their own money.

However, CapitaStar faced challenges recruiting Gen Zs as consumers due to several reasons:  

1. CapitaLand malls are typically associated with physical shopping experiences, but Gen Zs gravitate towards e-commerce platforms as they are tech-savvy and familiar with app usage. eCapitaMall and Capita3Eats are digital platforms that were launched to address this, but another challenge emerged:  
2. Gen Zs have little loyalty to one brand or store, and shop at wherever is more affordable. So, how can CapitaStar retain the loyalty of this group of consumers?

Solution

To address this challenge, CapitaStar partnered with Merkle Singapore for content creation and social media engagement with these objectives in mind:

1. Generate brand awareness among Gen Zs
2. Tailor content and messaging for Gen Zs
3. Increase engagement with Gen Zs

CapitaStar Live 247, the biggest CapitaStar online shopping event on 24 July 2021, was formulated.

1. Claim to 24:7 day

247 was coined to signify how eCapitaMall and Capita3Eats are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for online purchases. Like the 11:11 Singles’ Day, CapitaStar Live 247 aimed to cultivate a group of loyal Gen Zs who would look forward to this annual online shopping festival.

2.Fresh and entertaining content

The shoppertainment live show, CapitaStar Live 247, was an interactive offline to online shopping event that was formulated to push the boundaries of retail with innovative offerings and extend the social experience of shopping in CapitaLand malls to the living rooms and mobile phones of Gen Zs, while utilizing the twin digital platforms of eCapitaMall and Capita3Eats to offer deals by merchants to drive conversions.

3. Authentic experiences to promote brand stickiness through #HelloIAm contest

The online shopping festival integrated the finale of #HelloIAm, a contest to find CapitaStar’s next social media ambassador. Gen Zs are found mainly in the social media space, so the idea of a social media ambassador was envisioned to best appeal to them. To leverage consumers’ desire to co-create experiences with CapitaStar, Gen Zs could participate in the #HelloIAm contest and win an opportunity to be the next superstar content creator for CapitaStar.

As Gen Zs particularly value authenticity and transparency, the #HelloIAm contest would utilise the power of emotional branding to send viewers on a journey. While Gen Zs watched finalists Iike themselves compete in challenges and cheered them on, it generated feelings of involvement with the final selection of the social media ambassador. 

4. Leveraging social media influencers to attract Gen Zs

Singaporean social media influencers Christabel Chua, Aiken Chia, and Tyen Rasif helmed different sessions of the live stream by playing host and mentor, while harnessing their strong social media followings to attract viewership for CapitaStar Live 247.

5. Leverage the use of social media to amplify the reach of CapitaStar Live 247

To amplify the views of the live streams, the power of social media was harnessed to engage with the target audience to communicate unique offerings and promotions.

There were a total of 24 social media posts across two weeks to build up hype for the big event on 24th July 2021. Merkle Singapore placed targeted ads on specific channels such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Facebook Audience Network, Facebook Messenger and programmatic, which drove link clicks to the #HelloIAm campaign landing page. These channels were selected as they have been identified as the most popular social media platforms among Gen Zs.

Results

The CapitaStar Live 247 campaign was well-received by Gen Zs and delivered strong results on all fronts. It helped to acquire new customers to eCapitaMall and Capita3Eats, and reactivated customers who stopped buying from the platforms, and also rebranded CapitaStar to appeal to Gen Zs and successfully acquired, engaged and retained Gen Zs as loyal customers.

Awards

Bronze for Excellence in Loyalty Marketing at Marketing Interactive’s Marketing Excellence Awards 2021