Advertising Case Study

HPB Singapore
Company Background
Health Promotion Board Singapore (HPB Singapore) was formed in 2001 and is a statutory board under the Ministry of Health. The organisations mission is to promote health excellence by empowering individuals to take charge of their health.

Facebook Executive Summary

Client:

Objective: Build a sizable, sustainable audience on the Facebook platform and extend brand awareness Solution: Promote a dynamic Facebook page with broad Facebook Advertising, including Video Ads and Reach Block media buys Key Lessons: acebook can provide ways F for government bodies and public agencies to promote and develop their brands and to reach wide, targeted audiences R each Blocks with compelling content can be an especially effective way to start building a fan base quickly

Objective
In late 2010, HPB Singapore was looking to build a fan base for its new Facebook page. It wanted to use the page and its community to increase brand awareness and share HPB Singapores message. We want to inspire people to be healthy and to value health, says Vernon Vasu, Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications at HPB Singapore. We recognize the fact that they are consumers, and we are competing in a marketplace for their attention. In order to better interact with Singaporeans and connect with them on a personal level, HPB Singapore turned to Facebook. There is evidence that social networks and social ties are important in the spread of healthy behaviors, so we are working on a ground-up approach by encouraging the man on the street to work with his family, to commit with his colleagues, to work with us, Vernon says.

Facebook is different from traditional media insofar as knowing the audience youre reaching. I dont have to go look for a media survey; I know who the people are. I know what they are responding to, and they know who we are, and that intimacy is what Facebook offers.
Vernon Vasu, Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications, Health Promotion Board Singapore

Advertising Case Study

Approach
HPB Singapore began promoting its page with Facebook Ads in November 2010, and continues to advertise on the platform. In late 2010, it ran several Premium Ads and purchased Reach Blocks, a media buy on Facebook Home Pages and other premium locations that guarantees a marketer will reach 100 percent of its target audience over a 24-hour period. Our goal at the beginning was to ensure that we had enough of an audience, and the video reach block was a great way to jump start the process, says Vernon. In early 2011, the organisation diversified its approach and began using both Premium and Marketplace Like and Video Like Ads. The ads were targeted to people in Singapore and demographic targeting was used to deliver certain messages to specific age groups, such as ages 13 to 34, or 25 and over. The beauty of the Facebook targeting system we employ is that we dont waste ad spend, says Vernon. HPB Singapore also concentrated on offering unique and interactive content on its Wall. For example, it developed Diet Tracker, a mobile application that lets people record what they eat and get an overview of their diets. News and updates from various groundup community health initiatives (page) launched by HPB Singapore, such as the weight loss program Lose to Win and stop smoking campaign I Quit, are also shared on the Wall on a regular basis, and vice-versa.

0.32 percent engagement rates were achieved by HPB Singapore on its individual ad campaigns. Several HPB Singapore campaigns have built substantial communities. 70,000-plus downloads of the iPhone Diet Tracker application from the HPB Singapore Facebook page.

The Future
HPB Singapore is continuing to use Facebook Ads to build its community and extend its message. Weve found that advertising on Facebook and augmenting it with traditional media advertising is a great combination, says Vernon. The organisation is focused on sustaining an active dialogue with its audience. Engaging content is key to this dialogue and HPB Singapore is working with the Facebook team to identify other opportunities on the platform. Its a journey, Vernon says. We want to connect with the rest of Singapore, and social media is a way for us to do that. Were going to learn lessons, and were going to interact, and were going to grow together in this space.

Results
21,000-plus people have liked the HPB Singapore Facebook page in six months. That means HPB Singapore can reach 3.8 million friends of fans through Friends of Fans Targeting and social impressions. Tens of millions of people have seen each of the nine different Facebook Ads campaigns that HPB Singapore has run on Facebook.