Singaporeans can't get enough of men in uniform (video)

Data mining can yield invaluable results for companies that are looking for insights into consumer behaviour, but YouTube Singapore’s recent analysis of what resonates the most with local viewers only confirms what most Singaporeans knew already – patriotism and nationalism are closest to most Singaporeans hearts.

Categorising video advertising published on YouTube Singapore according to broad-based topics, YouTube Singapore found most interest revolved around National Service, Chinese New Year, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, shopping deals.

According to the ‘YouTube Singapore Ads Leaderboard’ for the first half of 2017 men in uniforms — particularly National Service (NS) men — doing their duty to help protect the city-state is what Singaporeans love to look at the most.

Three out of the top watched video advertisements focused on NS soldiers, sailors, and airmen in action, including the stirring video at the top of the page, Gillette Salutes the NSman in You, with the 30-second long made-for-tv (MTV) version racking up more than 478,000 views at the time of writing. Demonstrating that Singaporeans can not get too much of men in uniform, a 1.47 minute-long longplay version has garnered more than 542,000 additional views.

Also joining the leaderboard with a nationalistic ‘men in uniform’ theme was Together Apart: Beijing: Mumbai, Tampines in fifth position, while the Ministry of Defence’s recruitment video highlighting the ‘exciting and adventurous life of Singapore navy divers’ floated in at seventh place.

Taking second position on the YouTube Singapore Ads Leaderboard for the first half of 2017 was the online series DBS Sparks. Produced on behalf of the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), the Sparks mini-series ‘follows a group of dynamic bankers navigating work and personal lives’, with each episode said to be based on a true story. Filling the third position was McDonald’s introduction of its Seoul Spicy Burger.

YouTube also picked out several key phrases that were repeatedly used in the majority of the videos, including ‘reigning supreme’, ‘seize the moment’, ‘drumbeat of success’, and last but not least – ‘shopping deals’.

According to the company, the list demonstrates the “significant use of online videos in engaging with audiences locally and of YouTube as a crucial platform in brands’ marketing strategies”.

“With YouTube reaching more than four million people in Singapore every month , brands like Gillette, Singtel, and DBS continue to use online video as a powerful medium to engage their audiences,” said Google Singapore’s country director, Stephanie Davies.

What this really means is that streaming sites such as YouTube enable companies to better exploit seasonal demands, or even tap into existing market sentiment, with data mining pointing them in the direction of what resonates the most with Singaporean consumers. So, anyone up for a team of sweaty, NS men in uniform going on a shopping trip, while eating the latest fast food creation?

According to YouTube the top ten viewed videos in Singapore in the first half of 2017 were:

Gillette Salutes the NSman (Feature video)
SPARKS mini-series – Episode 6: New Beginnings
McDonald’s Seoul Spicy Burger (30s)
Deja Cashback Comparison
Together Apart: Beijing, Mumbai, Tampines
Celebrate Togetherness
Our Everyday is Defending Yours (The Naval Diver)
BTS: Happy Can Already! with Chee Hong Ta
Singaporeans Try: Reacting To Their Resumes | EP 98
Shop as you are with RedMart

Related:

YouTube ranks the top 10 Singaporean ads for 2017 (Mumbrella)
Top 10 Singapore YouTube ads for the first half of 2017 (Marketing-Interactive)
Check out the Top 10 Ads in Singapore for the First Half of 2017 (Branding in Asia)

Singaporeans can’t get enough of men in uniform (video) added by Leakhena Khat on October 9, 2017
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Leakhena Khat

Leakhena is a junior journalist at AEC News Today who is also currently studying International Relations, which she finds adds perspective to her work reporting on the Asean Community.

“I love what I am doing so much as it gives me a lot of great experience and provides challenges to my mind.