Clients – Online
Food & Beverage
Managing a global PR campaign
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
The Challenge:
– Position the 50 Best brand at the heart of global gastronomy.
– Develop a comprehensive PR strategy. Appointed the global lead agency in 2017, CatchOn was assigned to promote the 50 Best brand into new markets.
– Build audience reach and engagement by educating consumers and media on the 50 Best brand and mission.
Strategy:
– Develop a Comprehensive Pre-Awards Campaign: CatchOn maintained media interest through a series of pre-awards announcements, each one translated into six languages, including French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Simplified Chinese.
– Allow media access to chefs: Provide media with interview opportunities to produce in-depth profile stories.
– Customise story angles and press material for key international markets: To broaden content offerings, CatchOn identified relevant food trends and pitched these to international food and travel journalists.
Results:
Compared to 2016, CatchOn achieved:
– A 185% increase in print features with over of 1,100 clippings.
– Coverage tracked in 117 countries, a 46% increase over the previous year.
– A 46% increase in AVE, including social media mentions.
– A 58% increase in media attendees with over 250 journalists in attendance.
Food & Beverage
Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants
Crafting an integrated, Asia-wide communications plan
The Challenge:
– Position Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants as an authoritative voice in the regional food scene.
– Address any negative perceptions of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.
– Build awareness of the awards as well as increase the reach and quality of media coverage.
Strategy:
– Host thought leadership discussions on regional culinary trends with key stakeholders. CatchOn arranged roundtable discussions with chefs, restaurateurs and journalists in Singapore, Bangkok, Shanghai, New Delhi and Hong Kong.
– Target key regional media hubs and online platforms to broaden the reach.
– Create video content for individual markets to gain regional traction.
Results:
– CatchOn earned top honours at Marketing Magazine’s PR Awards. Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants won the 2016 Gold Awards for Best PR Campaign: Media Relations as well as Best Global Campaign.
– In 2017, coverage of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants was counted in over 40 countries.
– Generated feature stories on all regional broadcasters, including BBC, CNN, CNBC and Channel NewsAsia. CatchOn also negotiated a six-episode series profiling Asia’s 50 Best Chefs that aired on National Geographic.
– 104 international media attended the 2017 awards ceremony, a 73% increase over the previous year.
Hospitality & Travel
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
The Challenge:
– Manage the transition of the parent brand from New World Hospitality Group to Rosewood Hotel Group.
– Oversee the launch of the hospitality group and the opening of the new Rosewood properties in London, Abu Dhabi and Beijing.
– Provide strategic counsel on brand development and initiatives.
Strategy:
– Create brand guidelines for consistency of voice
– Develop a global PR campaign to communicate the brand values of ’authentic discoveries’ and a ’personal journey.’
– Differentiate and articulate the three individual hotel brands under the parent company
– Create and execute a PR stunt targeting the world’s leading travel journalists. Each journalist received a “personal journal” that appears to have been sent to them by mistake. Containing keepsakes, sketches, handwritten notes and Polaroids, the leather-bound journal chronicled the romance between a fictional couple over a decade, detailing their individual and shared experiences at Rosewood properties. Hugely effective, one veteran travel writer described it as “one of the most amazing PR products I’ve ever seen.”
Results:
– Within months of opening, Rosewood London and Rosewood Beijing were listed in the Top 20 hotels in their respective cities on TripAdvisor.
– Rosewood Hotel Group’s CEO Sonia Cheng appeared on the cover of Forbes China, Hong Kong Tatler and CEO magazine and was profiled on CNBC’s Managing Asia, Porter Magazine, New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
– CatchOn secured award-winning Hong Kong director Johnnie To to serve as Rosewood’s curator for the Beijing property, providing guests with insider tips on China’s capital city.
Hospitality & Travel
The Murray, Hong Kong
Rebranding a Hong Kong icon
The Challenge:
– Launch The Murray, Hong Kong, the flagship property of Wharf Hotels, into an overcrowded hotel market.
– Drive engagement and build awareness of the opening via traditional and social media as well as consumer-facing events.
– Enhance the premium image of the Wharf Hotels and highlight the hotel’s iconic status.
Strategy:
– Increase awareness of the property in key international publications
– Generate positive on-brand coverage through a series of pre-opening events
– Build momentum for the launch through a comprehensive pre-opening program.
– Highlight the property’s iconic status and heritage value.
– Manage the social media campaign to communicate the key messages.
– Reinforce The Murray, Hong Kong’s position as one of the city’s premium properties.
Results:
– The Murray, Hong Kong became one of the most widely anticipated launches in recent years.
– Exceeded client’s annual KPIs before the official launch in late 2017.
– Secured multi-page features in international design, travel and lifestyle titles.
Hospitality & Travel
Marriott International
Assist Individual Hotel Brands in their Positioning Strategies
The Challenge:
– Conduct various branding workshops and execute PR projects for Marriott International
– Schedule the events during a critical period for the group — the lead up to the completion of Marriott International’s acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
Strategy:
– Guide hotel teams in articulating their positioning manifestos and ideating on the guest journey experience.
– Ensure individual properties have a distinct point of difference.
– Create brand communication guidelines for the property PR teams to ensure consistent messaging throughout the region.
– Align new properties with the branding guidelines within respective brands within Marriott International.
Results:
– CatchOn conducted brand communication workshops for various regional properties (Bali, Singapore, Shanghai, Vietnam and Bangkok), guiding its hotel teams in articulating their positioning manifestos and ideating on the guest journey experience.
– CatchOn’s PR team also worked on a number of brand PR campaigns including the Asia rollout for two key brands within the Marriott portfolio – Autograph Collection and Edition Hotels.
Hospitality
PTT Family
Preparing an Indonesia Hospitality Brand for Global Expansion
The Challenge:
– Leverage the success of Potato Head Beach Club Bali to create a strategic framework for the Indonesian company’s expansion into new markets.
– Devise a brand architecture strategy to align the various F&B and hospitality concepts
– Develop brand communication guidelines
– Launch the various brands and F&B concepts under Potato Head, Hong Kong as well PTT Family’s first hotel, Katamama, in Bali.
Strategy:
– Frame the story as a testament to the founder’s efforts in pushing Indonesia’s creative ethos worldwide.
– Position the founder, Ronald Akili, as the new generation of Indonesians shaping the world’s hospitality, design and food and beverage industries.
Results:
– Katamama was included in Conde Nast Traveller’s Hot List 2016 and earned top honours at Sleeper Magazine’s Awards for Hospitality Experience and Design
– Within months of opening, Katamama was named as one of the top 10 hotels in Seminyak by Trip Advisor.
– PTT Family founder Ronald Akili was invited to be a panelist at New York Times’ Luxury Travel Forum.
– Potato Head, Hong Kong was booked out for its first six months and was featured in such international design titles as wallpaper* and Monocle.
Design & Architecture
David Collins Studio
Driving growth in new markets
The Challenge:
– Educate regional media on the legacy of David Collins Studio
– Raise the profile of the London-based studio throughout the region
– Promote the Studio’s expanding presence in the region
– Position David Collins Studio as the premium European interior architecture studio across residential, hospitality, retail and hospitality sectors.
Strategy:
– Illustrate the Studio’s regional footprint and influence by profiling projects in Hong Kong, Thailand and Seoul.
– Provide opportunities for regional media to speak to the Studio’s spokespersons to understand the company’s design philosophy.
Results:
– Secured multi-page profiles and interviews in regional design titles and international publications.
– Arranged a series of media events and regional press trips with design writers and publications to showcase new and upcoming projects.
– Met and exceeded KPIs within four months of the 12-month project
Design & Architecture
Design Trust
Fostering a Creative Community in Hong Kong
The Challenge:
– Raise awareness of Design Trust, a grant-funding platform established by Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design in 2014.
– Promote Design Trust’s mission to accelerate creative research and develop meaningful projects that advocate for the positive role of design.
– Launch the flagship programme, the Design Trust Futures Studio, a mentorship initiative to support up-and-coming artists and designers and its inaugural exhibition.
Strategy:
– Devise a multi-phase campaign to target specific media segments.
– Secure ongoing exposure for the Design Trust Futures programme and related events.
– Target influential design, architecture and culture writers in Hong Kong and throughout the region.
– Position Design Trust founders as thought leaders
Results:
– Generated positive pre-exhibition coverage across multiple media segments, from online platforms to traditional media.
– Secured multi-page profile pieces on Design Trust founders
Property
H Queen’s
Establishing a new arts hub in Hong Kong
The Challenge:
– Draw media attention to H Queen’s (HQ), a landmark property under construction that is dedicated to high-end galleries, restaurants and lifestyle ventures
– Position H Queen’s as Hong Kong’s premium arts building.
Strategy:
– Generate media attention on H Queen’s during Art Basel. CatchOn reached out to international media visiting Hong Kong to secure global interest in the project.
– Reinforce H Queen’s as an arts hub. CatchOn commissioned up-and-coming artists to use the hoarding around the building as a public arts space.
Results:
– Over the four-month engagement, CatchOn generated over 160 clippings.
– International media titles accounted for over half the clippings. Coverage included such prominent titles as Wall Street Journal, Business Times Singapore and Shanghai Daily. TV opportunities included TVB Pearl (La Dolce Vita/明珠生活), CNBC and RTHK.
Property
Wheelock
Distinguishing a luxury development in a crowded property market
The Challenge:
– Ensure Mount Nicholson, a luxurious residential development on the Peak, Hong Kong’s most prestigious address, gains prominence in the media market.
– Profile the internationally respected design studios involved, from Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Yabu Pushelberg to David Collins Studio and Champalimaud Design.
– In a highly competitive property market, create a strategy to promote the premium development.
Strategy:
– Position the development as one of Hong Kong’s most coveted addresses
– Communicate the development’s distinguishing features and educate media on the creative talents involved.
Results:
– Mount Nicholson apartments attracted record prices in Hong Kong.
– A pair of Mount Nicholson units sold in November 2016 became the most expensive apartments in Asia, breaking previous sales records in Hong Kong.
Design & Architecture
Via Architects
Showcasing the portfolio of a Hong Kong design studio
The Challenge:
– Showcase via architects’ portfolio of residential and commercial projects
– Convey the studio’s unique design philosophy
– Raise the profile of Frank Leung, the company’s founder.
Strategy:
– Position Frank Leung as a thought leader in Hong Kong’s design scene
– Illustrate how the studio’s design philosophy is reflected in the individual projects
Results:
– Generated multi-page features in regional design and lifestyle publications
– Secured speaking engagements for via architecture’s founder at regional design conferences.
– Entered client’s projects into influential regional design competitions where they were earned award recognition.
– Announced the competition wins through proactive media outreach, securing profile features in premium regional publications and online titles.
Serge et le Phoque
The Challenge:
– Raise the profile of Serge et le Phoque, a restaurant that had been open for two years.
Strategy:
– Capitalise on the personality and charisma of the restaurant owner.
– Challenge the idea that a chef’s personality impacts the
– Provide a platform for culinary discussions and debate.
– Raise awareness of the restaurant through a unique storytelling hook supported by traditional PR efforts. To determine whether a chef’s personality impacted a diners’ experience, CatchOn invited 40 diners to sample two dishes. The experiment was filmed and the results shared via traditional and digital platforms.
Results:
– Coverage included international, print and online such as CNN and Eater
– Serge et le Phoque earned its first Michelin star and earned a place in The Diners Club® 50 Best Discovery Series
– The campaign earned top honours at Marketing Magazine’s PR Awards, earning a Gold Award for Best F&B Campaign.
Hospitality & Travel
Hotel ICON
The Challenge:
– Launch a boutique Hong Kong hotel brand.
– Profile the local designers involved in the project.
– Promote Hotel ICON, a teaching and research hotel built for the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Strategy:
– Position the property as a stylish testament to Hong Kong’s creative energy and vibrant arts scene
– Showcase the work from the city’s celebrated designers and visionaries.
– Target multiple audiences, from hospitality, trade and travel titles to students, consumers and design media.
Results:
– CatchOn hosted a design conference titled, ‘Boutique and Lifestyle Hotels: Creating a Brand Icon Through Design’. Featuring six of the acclaimed designers behind Hotel ICON, CatchOn posted a live feed on the key topics and insights.
– Within months of launching, Hotel ICON was named in wallpaper* magazine’s World’s Best Business Hotels. It was also included in DestinAsian’s Luxe List and TripAdvisor’s Best Hotels list.
– Hotel ICON was a recipient at the prestigious United Nation’s World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Awards, earning honours for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism.
– Hotel ICON ranked No.1 on TripAdvisor within four months of opening.