"StarHub engaged more than 25,000 fans on Facebook in the Great Singapore Treasure Hunt to support its fastest broadband marketing campaign"

- Three-week long campaign has built the biggest ever Facebook fan group inSingapore and garnered the highest level of engagement from fans -
- The ultimate fastest treasure hunter received from StarHub the grand prize of $10,000 cash at the finale event today -

Singapore, 26 September 2009 - StarHub, Singapore's most innovative info-communications provider, went digital with its latest brand engagement activity called the Great Singapore Treasure on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/greatsingaporetreasurehunt).

The Great Singapore Treasure Hunt on Facebook organised by StarHub between 6 September and 26 September 2009, was in support of its new "Anything is possible" fastest broadband campaign created to highlight the value proposition of StarHub's fast broadband offerings that empower users to learn, work, communicate, network, conduct business and be entertained in the buzzing Internet age with speed, whether at home or on-the-go.

“StarHub has always been known as a brand that forges new ways to engage customers. We wanted to have an activity to engage customers in conjunction with our ‘Anything is possible’ fastest broadband campaign theme. Naturally it had to be conducted online and the mechanics designed to relate the ‘fastest’ or 'speed' element, with other ingredients of intrigue, fun, wits and a keen eye for details all thrown into the cauldron,” said Ms Iris Wee, Head of Marketing at StarHub. “With the increased use of social networks online and in mobility, we decided to go on Facebook to build an online community and involve people in a series of daily treasure hunt online and on-ground with gadgets as prizes. They had to look for clues in videos and photos not only on Facebook but also across various social media like Windows Live Messenger, Gmail and Flickr, which demonstrated that StarHub is indeed the fastest broadband in town!”

Great Singapore Treasure Hunt powered by StarHub
The Great Singapore Treasure Hunt was open to anyone based in Singapore and who lives a digitally connected lifestyle. People had to sign up as a fan to participate in the treasure hunt or to interact with the community on the Facebook page.

Every day, a different gadget was given out to the fastest treasure hunter as prize. The treasure hunt instructions as well as the clues were posted on the Facebook page, and the fastest fan to solve the clue and perform the required task wins.

The treasure hunt took the form of an online activity whereby the fastest person to submit the answer online to a question posted on the Facebook page wins, or an on-ground activity whereby the fastest person who guessed the treasure hunt location based on the clue provided on the Facebook page, got there at a specific date and time and performed a certain task wins.

Since the start of the treasure hunt, the identity of StarHub as the organiser was deliberately withheld to create online buzz by encouraging curiosity in the activities through viral interaction online.

Commenting on the intent of anonymity, Ms Wee explained, “We wanted to demonstrate our brand proposition of the fastest broadband network to people without planting a preconception in their mind. Of course we also wanted to give the treasure hunt a sense of mystery and intrigue, to heighten the level of excitement for fans. We are very happy that the campaign through Facebook has been such a great success, having garnered the biggest number of fans and receiving numerous comments left by fans on how much they had enjoyed the activities and networking."

DDB in Singapore is the agency behind The Great Singapore Treasure Hunt.

"Marketing through social media is about getting people excited while you make a point. I think we’ve managed to create not just Singapore’s largest fan page but also the most engaged one. A successful social media campaign is only possible if a really brave client trusts you implicitly and you create the conditions for continuous dialogue with the community you’re building," said Mr Joji Jacob, Executive Creative Director, DDB.

As of now, the fan base has hit more than 25,000 people, making it the biggest ever fan group on Facebook in Singapore. With the high level of engagement from fans, the campaign also created a place for the online community to interact and network.

Great Singapore Treasure Hunt powered by StarHub – The Final Hunt
Today, the ultimately fastest treasure hunter has emerged!

She is Ms Denise Gan, an 18-year-old student at Meridian Junior College, who took part in the treasure hunt with four other friends. They took only 45 minutes to search for seven clue bearers scattered throughout the treasure hunt venue at VivoCity and guessed the correct word based on the picture each clue bearer had on his tee shirt.

For being the fastest team/person to submit the correct answers, Ms Gan, the leader of the team, received the grand prize of $10,000 cash from Ms Wee.

“I've been closely following StarHub's Great Singapore Treasure Hunt since launch and have taken part in some 10 hunt activities myself, but with no luck being the fastest. More heads are better than one, so I am glad I had teamed with my friends and won the grand prize,” said Ms Gan excitedly. “The $10,000 is like an early Christmas gift for us as never have we won such an expensive prize and with so much fun in winning. With my share of the prize money, I will dabble at a tee shirt design business after my A Level Exam. So, a very big thank you to StarHub for your gift and the fun!"

The finale event received an overwhelming response with more than 700 participants who flocked to VivoCity this morning.