DBS partners with The Secret Little Agency to show their support for Singapore’s hawkers

Like many business owners in Singapore, food hawkers are in a tough spot. Most of them would rather not raise prices or reduce their portions, but the realities of rising inflation, rental costs and an increasingly volatile market, leave them with little choice, with them being sandwiched between higher cost and unhappy customers.

In light of this, this year’s DBS PayLah! Hawker Awards hopes to get Singaporeans to support their hawkers in this challenging time, by reminding them of all the love that hawkers show us—from verbal affirmations (hello sayang) to actual physical gifts (of extra rice and curry). Done in partnership with The Secret Little Agency, the focus of the awards will not be on the food but instead the people behind the delicious hawker fare we enjoy.

Lim Bee Bee, Executive Director and Head of Marketing, Consumer Banking Group in DBS Singapore, said: “The hawker culture has been an intrinsic part of the way of life for Singaporeans and Singapore residents, whether in good and tough times. The dedication that our hawkers put in their food have brought people together. We thought there is no better way for everyone to bond and share our love for food than through this public voting in the Hawker Awards, which is already in its third-year running. At the same time, we can also spotlight the many hidden gems and interesting hawkers of all ages and backgrounds in our community to show how the hawker trade has evolved with the times to cater to the tastes of different generations of Singaporeans.

At DBS, we have been championing and celebrating our hawker culture. Through our 5 Million Hawker Meals subsidy programme and Adopt-a-Hawker Centre initiative, we really hope to get everyone to go to our hawker centres and keep our hawker centres bustling.”

In order to get this message across and reach the hearts of Singaporeans, the campaign Hawker Nation hijacks the media landscape of August 2023, giving hawkers the ‘Presidential’ treatment they deserve.

“We decided on this unorthodox strategy in order to really capture the attention of the public. Our hawkers serve us – quite literally – and they’ve represented Singapore on the world stage. They may not qualify to run for office, but they are every bit as important as the people who do. Because let’s be real – our nation would fall apart in no time without their hawker fare. Our hawkers rally Singaporeans from all walks of life, so we created a very different kind of election to ensure DBS’s place at the forefront of this cultural conversation,” said a spokesperson from The Secret Little Agency.

The campaign is helmed by a film which celebrates Singapore’s hawkers as our unofficial leaders. It is 50% rally, 50% anthem and 100% tongue-in-cheek, inspired by the tropes of National Day and the Presidential elections – including but not limited to: Press conferences, walk-abouts and the classic opener ‘my fellow Singaporeans’.

This is followed by out-of-home buys, which feature past winners paired with statements reflective of relatable everyday experiences and interactions with our hawkers.

Entertaining reactive posts were also created in response to real-time events.

To drive the concept home (literally), a campaign truck inspired by the classic campaign trucks of general elections was brought to life. Parked alongside hawker centres and roving around heartland neighbourhoods, they served as a cheeky reminder for Singaporeans to get out and vote.

No campaign drive is complete without its campaign merch – even if said campaign is totally fake. So to round it off, a limited quantity of goodie bags, and badges emblazoned with cries of support and calls to vote were created.

The response to the campaign so far has been warm and enthusiastic, with more than 2027 nominations pouring in over the course of August. At its peak, there were 307 daily nominations—for stalls both famous and low-key. Voting is currently underway on the DBS PayLah! App and Singaporeans can exercise their both democratic and gastronomic rights up till 24 September when the polls finally close.

“Marketing metrics aside, the real intangible measure of success would be for Singaporeans to recognise and sayang (show love in Malay) their hawkers. It’s no easy task being a hawker in this climate, and they deserve to be celebrated just as much as we need that warming fish soup on a cold rainy day,” added The Secret Little Agency.