3 Singapore Government Bodies That Leveraged TikTok’s Potential to Reach Out to People

TikTok’s user base in Singapore was estimated to be around 2.09 million in 2021. Singapore, along with other APAC countries, makes up almost 40% of TikTok’s 1 billion global user base. The app has become increasingly popular among GenZ users in the country over the years.

Considering its wide popularity amongst Singaporeans, especially the youth, government bodies in Singapore have also begun leveraging its massive potential.

Here are three successful case studies of Singapore government bodies using TikTok to drive awareness among its target audience.

1. MCI Singapore

Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) wanted to spread awareness among the people about COVID-19.

Their Objective

MCI Singapore sought to educate and remind its citizens about COVID-19 prevention measures, including encouraging them to mask up and get vaccinated, while fighting misinformation.

Approach & Solution

MCI Singapore understood how popular TikTok was among the younger population. So, it teamed up with TikTok to engage young adults and youths on the topic of vaccination.

MCI kickstarted the #IGotMyShotSG Hashtag Challenge to engage youth and young adults to draw their attention towards the benefits of vaccination. MCI also used a Gamified Branded Effect to add a fun game-like twist to the Hashtag Challenge. The game was named COV-Slayer and required participants to slash incoming COVD-19 viruses and fake news to score the highest points.

MCI onboarded social local influencers to share their unique take as the COVD-Slayer to promote and publicize the Hashtag Challenge. TikTok’s ad products, including Topview and Brand Premium In-Feed Ads were also used to drive awareness. Moreover, MCI featured its #IGotMyShotSG Hashtag Challenge within TikTok’s Discover Page as both a top challenge in the #In List and a banner ad.

MCI also leveraged TikTok to combat misinformation on the COVID-19 vaccination. TikTok users in Singapore could view COVID-19 vaccination-related videos and tips on a dedicated informational page and access the #IGotMyShotSG Livestream series on the platform.

The Result

The TikTok campaign was a massive success for MCI. #IGotMyShotSG was successful both as a Branded Hashtag Challenge and as a Livestream event. The campaign reached 942,000 people in Singapore which led to the creation of 1,400 videos that garnered 4 million views.

The campaign also achieved a relevance rate of 82.9%, which indicates the high traction that it gained amongst the target audience with high message absorption. About 70,800 people tuned into the Livestream series generating 715,000 impressions through the two-week program.

2. Gov.sg

Gov.sg is the Singapore Government’s public communications channel managed by the Ministry of Communications and Information.

Their Objective

Gov.sg sought to remind Singaporeans of the safe management measures in place to curb the transmission of COVID-19 in the lead-up to the Chinese New Year.

Approach & Solution

Gov.sg launched its #SteadyCNY2021 Branded Hashtag Challenge in February 2021 encouraging users to engage with fun and interesting CNY-themed filters that incorporated reminders on key safe management measures. Branded Effects were used to emphasize these points.

Gov.sg also partnered with five popular TikTok creators in Singapore to further drive reach and awareness. Creators were encouraged to participate in the challenge with their family members. Also, Brand Premium and One Day Max In-Feed Ads were used to ensure High Visibility. Moreover, the campaign was promoted on the Discovery Page as a feature Banner and #In List.

The Result

Gov.sg’s TikTok campaign performed much better than they had expected. Their Branded Hashtag Challenge exceeded expectations and saw video participation by more than 15,600 users that collectively resulted in 23.3 million video views.

Branded Effect resulted in 1.97 engagements and almost 20% of the users also submitted more than one video, which showed that they enjoyed playing around with the good variety of Branded Effects.

3. National Environment Agency (NEA)

National Environment Agency (NEA) is responsible for improving and sustaining a clean and green environment in Singapore.

Their Objective

Singapore’s National Environment Agency wanted to engage youths on the topic of public cleanliness as part of their Public Toilet Cleanliness (PTC) initiative.

Approach & Solution

NEA’s TikTok campaign leveraged one of TikTok’s most popular trends i.e. viral dance challenges. NEA teamed up with Siti Khalijah to deliver the key message of toilet hygiene for the #LooJamChallenge. The message was delivered as a mix of singing and rapping where Siti urged the public to flush, clean the seat, throw the litter in the bin, and dry surfaces that have been made wet.

This was accompanied by four simple yet catchy dance moves, encouraging users to submit their personalized dance routines. By using simple, easy-to-remember lyrics and dance moves, the challenge turned out to be a major hit.

NEA also ran a TopView ad to capture users’ undivided attention by being the first thing that they saw when they logged onto the app.

The Result

The campaign turned out to be a major success for NEA with more than nine million impressions across different ad formats, 390 unique videos, and 4.5 million video views for the Branded Hashtag Challenge.

The success of the campaign can also be seen in the average watch time of each video ad per person, which stood at an impressive 12.6 seconds.

Bottom Line

While certain countries have banned TikTok, the Singapore government has successfully demonstrated what can be achieved if you have the right intent. From an app that was seen as merely a source of entertainment, TikTok has transcended to establish itself as the perfect medium to spread awareness.

Like we always say, all you need is a plan. Use the medium, don’t attack it!