Hakuhodo picks up Singapore’s largest car-sharing company Car Club and targets millennials

Transport-sharing has been picking up speed in Singapore. Arguably, locals are now more receptive to the digital currency world, as seen in the growing popularity of bike-sharing and more recently, e-scooter-sharing. So what’s stopping them from car-sharing?

Car Club is Singapore’s largest car-sharing operator with a fleet of over 260 cars at more than 105 pick-up stations. Yet, not many Singaporeans understand the concept, as they consider the service as yet another form of “car rental”, which can be a hassle.

In an effort to expand their database and change people’s perception of having their own rides, Car Club engaged Hakuhodo Singapore to create an online campaign targeting millennials. By gaining insight from the sei-katsu-sha­ – a philosophy where target audiences are viewed as real people and not just economic entities – the agency adopted colloquial humour instead of hard-sell messaging to relate to a younger crowd.

“We are at the beginning of a major social transformation as we move towards a car-lite society. This is a common vision both Hakuhodo and Car Club share, which formed the foundation of our communications strategy,” Gary Ong, Managing Director of Car Club Singapore said. “With their in-depth understanding of the mobile and online culture, we hope that the campaign will be well-received by our target audience, as well as generate buzz on social media. What better way to build awareness than with some local humour?”

“While most of what we do should ultimately drive sales, we need to also recognise that this takes time as well as a variety of efforts. It’s testament to a good working relationship when clients like Car Club Singapore are able to understand this and give us free reign to do what we need,” Daphne Boey, Associate Digital Director, Hakuhodo Singapore remarked.