9 FEBRUARY 2024
Welcome to this week’s edition of Culture Wire, a newsletter brought to you by Singapore-based pop culture and lifestyle marketing agency Culture Group.
It’s been quite a week for Taylor Swift. Swifties were speculating about the singer’s appearance at the Super Bowl this weekend, but a new album announcement—which came during the singer’s historic 13th Grammy win—sent the fandom into a frenzy. This is all good news for Singapore, which is gearing up to welcome the star on her Eras Tour in 23 days (and counting!)
In this week’s edition:
- Innovation of the Week: Messi brings to the fore Hong Kong’s lack of large-scale events strategy
- Fax, No Printer: Who did the internet trauma dump on this week?
- Regional Round-up: Lunar New Year campaigns, culture hubs, female empowerment, and more!
Innovation of the Week
⚽️ IT’S GETTING MESSI
Soccer fans in Hong Kong were left disappointed after Lionel Messi failed to play in a much-anticipated friendly match between Inter Miami and Hong Kong XI last weekend. The Argentine star has since said that he was kept off the field due to an injury but wanted to play. The sold-out crowd—who paid up to HK$5,000 (US$640) for a ticket—booed and chanted ‘We want Messi’ during the second half.
💡 OUR TAKE
The fallout continues: although match organizer Tatler Asia withdrew an application for HK$16M in public money for the event, Hong Kong leadership has promised that authorities would continue to follow up on the incident (according to the government, Messi was contracted to play for at least 45 minutes). For the fans who didn’t get to see the star in action, it’s little consolation.
If we’re brutally honest, this shows the shortcomings of Hong Kong’s large-scale event strategy. Messi’s appearance was meant to kickstart high-profile events in the country, which was slow to reopen after the pandemic and is seen to lack world-class venues (aka, cultural hardware). Tour organizers for Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and others recently snubbed Hong Kong in favor of Singapore and Japan. Hardware is on the way—in the form of a new 50,000-seat stadium. But even before the venue has opened, alarm bells are ringing about the long-term prospects of Kai Tak Sports Park.
As we’ve previously observed, cultural hardware enables cultural software (content and experiences) to flourish. Hong Kong is trying to build buzz, but a Dior fashion show and a high-profile pop-art festival might not be enough to wrestle attention back from Singapore, Tokyo, and other cities that are successfully leveraging the hardware they already have to establish themselves as cultural destinations. These cities have shown more vision and ambition than Hong Kong, and it’s paying dividends in the form of global crowds and… well, Taylor Swift.
There’s plenty for Hong Kong authorities to learn from the Singapore Tourism Board, SportsHub, AEG, and locally celebrated brands (and Culture Group clients) UOB, Marina Bay Sands, and Klook. We’re happy to give you an inside look at how we helped these brands make waves, drop us a message!
Fax, No Printer*
For those of you born before 1997, ‘fax, no printer‘ is Gen Z speak for ‘undeniable facts I agree with’
Who did the internet trauma dump on this week?
A. Agony Aunt
B. Elmo
C. Dr. Phil
Scroll down to the end of the newsletter for the correct answer!
Regional Round-up
❤️ To celebrate Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day, Bumble took inspiration from Lo Hei and invited daters to Toss Love into the New Year. The dating app is encouraging Singaporean singles to cast out their dating fatigue and manifest a more prosperous love life. This campaign reimagines a Lunar New Year tradition and makes it more culturally relevant for young consumers. Something to be inspired by when planning your next Lunar New Year activation?
🤘 Maybank took a different approach to Lunar New Year, with a campaign that shines a spotlight on Malaysia’s deaf community. Unspoken Connections was developed with hearing-impaired individuals, which is crucial for authentic representation. With Coldplay also putting inclusivity front and center during their recent Singapore shows, is it time for your brand to rethink your diversity efforts?
👩🍳 Yes, chef! Get ready to meet the region’s top culinary masters with CreatorsLab’s Chefs Uncut, a new series that will air on Netflix. Featuring chefs from Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, it could help bring the region’s culinary stories to a global audience. With Netflix scaling up SEA originals and branching out to new arrivals, the screen is set for local stories!
🎨 Bangkok’s Spacebar Zine gives local creatives a place to sell handmade magazines and unique art books. There’s a big emphasis on community—the store also hosts workshops and artist discussions. This, combined with the recent success of Singapore’s Peace Centre, reveals that demand for spaces where culture can thrive is on the rise. How might your brand participate?
🎮 According to data from Niko Partners, in 2023, 53% of gamers in SEA were female—that’s significantly higher than the Asian average (37%). Despite this, female gamers are less inclined to play online with strangers and—due to concern about abuse—are nearly twice as likely as men to refrain from using voice gaming. If you’re running gaming-related campaigns, are you doing enough to protect female gamers from harassment and intimidation?
⚠️ ICYMI: Inequality persists in the music industry—just 2.8% of songs in the top 100 are produced by women. Aiming to tackle that, Bose and Porsche teamed up with Laufey and Indonesian music composer Eunike Tanzil to produce a new song in just three hours. In 2024, can you do more to bring female creators into the spotlight?
This Week's Trivia Answer
B. Elmo
When the lovable Sesame Street character casually told X users he was ‘just checking in!’ and proceeded to ask ‘how is everybody doing?’, both he (and his social media manager) didn’t expect the trauma dump that followed. “Elmo, life is hard,” one person replied. “Not good, Elmo. Not good.” said another. A host of celebrities even chimed in. The tweet went viral—at the time of writing it has 209.3M views—with the main Sesame Street account responding by sharing a link to mental health resources.
Of course, brands were quick to jump into the fray, although most took a more optimistic approach to Elmo’s wellness check-in. It’s somewhat telling that Elmo’s well-intended post resulted in such engagement. Clearly, many brands’ efforts to connect with people on social media aren’t hitting the mark… but a question posed by a lovable furry monster does. While it’s hardly headline news to say that brands need to rethink their social media strategy, it’s never been more evident that taking a more simple route could pay dividends.
We know that Gen Z in particular struggles with poor mental health. Last year the US Surgeon General issued an advisory on the nation’s “epidemic of loneliness and isolation”. Who better to offload all that stress onto than a 3.5-year-old Muppet? At the heart of this viral story is about the human need for connection, and the ways a more playful approach can help people open up about their struggles.
🚀 Over and Out!
Pop culture insights are better when shared. Subscribe, forward this on, or share the love on social media. Thanks for reading!
And to all our readers celebrating Lunar New Year—龙年兴旺，恭喜发财! 🐉
Your Culture Mavens,
Angela, Kiko, Ross, Teri, & Vicki
