Works
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World No. 1 Direct Marketing Campaign by The Won Report.
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2 Best of the Best in Strategy in Direct Mail Asia.
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32 awards from Caples, New York Festival, and The One Show
| World No. 1 Direct Marketing Campaign by The Won Report. | 2 Best of the Best in Strategy in Direct Mail Asia. | 32 awards from Caples, New York Festival, and The One Show
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564.8% CRM built a direct relationship base from zero.
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A 20% referral-driven trial proved that belief is contagious.
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88% of brand equity was silently rebuilt to strengthen the brand.
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9.3% lift in weekly consumption in a high-tax, low-confidence market.
|
+35% ROI with zero traditional media spend.
| 564.8% CRM built a direct relationship base from zero. | A 20% referral-driven trial proved that belief is contagious. | 88% of brand equity was silently rebuilt to strengthen the brand. | 9.3% lift in weekly consumption in a high-tax, low-confidence market. | +35% ROI with zero traditional media spend.
The B‑2 Spirit 1.0:
The One-Upmanship Stealth.
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Role:
Brand Creative LeaderMarket:
MalaysiaObjective:
Rebuild Guinness' brand relevance and loyalty under blackout conditions and extreme taxation, while driving measurable CRM and sales growth without traditional media.Key Actions & Strategy:
Conceptualised and led complete creative execution: stealth CRM system built from cultural insights and first principles.
Designed four precision strikes targeting loyalists and new drinkers:
Advertising Undercover – The Guinness Insider: Quarterly stealth tabloid maintaining brand visibility, stabilising pint sales by 20%, and reinforcing ritual and belief.
Redemption Protocol – The Empty Almanack: Blank almanack gift during Chinese New Year, culturally fluent, 10% sales uplift, quietly celebrating drinkers' legacy.
Operation 365 – The Perfect Match: Birthday rituals paired with peanuts, fostering year-round engagement and a 12% sales uplift.
Very Important Person – The Guinness Heroes: Secret VIP gathering, hand-drawn portraits, turning loyalty into ambassadorial behaviour, 501 new members added via referrals.
Results & P&L Impact:
Secured Guinness as the No. 1 stout in Malaysia, for the second year in a row.
CRM database built from zero to 564.8% growth, driving direct relationships with drinkers.
A 20% referral-driven trial, resulting in 88% of brand equity being silently rebuilt.
A 9.3% increase in weekly consumption in a high-tax, low-confidence market.
ROI +35% with zero traditional media spend.
Strengthened client trust, enabling subsequent B‑2 Spirit campaigns and global recognition.
Awards & Recognition:
World No. 1 Direct Marketing Campaign, Won Report
2 Best of the Best Strategy Awards, DM Asia
32 awards across Caples, NYF, The One Show, DM Asia, DMA Malaysia
Finalist and Gold/Silver/Merit in multiple CRM and brand-building categories
Technical & Creative Innovation:
First-of-its-kind multi-strike CRM activation blending cultural insight, ritual, and precision targeting.
Built a replicable playbook — B‑2 Spirit doctrine — for sustained market impact under blackout conditions.
In 2005, Malaysia’s beer tax detonated. Excise jumped to RM7.40/L. 15% ad valorem tax. Consumption dropped 14%. Contraband surged to 80%.
At the same time, advertising was blacked out. No sight, no voice. If you didn’t already have a die-hard, strong follower, you faded faster.
Guinness large bottle rose from RM11–12 to RM15–16. For working-class regulars, it meant one less ritual in sight. Guinness’s premium quality felt out of reach.
Under pressure, meaning shifted: 'desirable' became a disposable luxury.
Promotional wars ignited. Margins were under siege. Trust thinned. If Guinness joined, it risked being seen as shifting its quality promise to drinkers who have continued to believe in the brand.
Guinness was forced into a corner.
A no-play?
When the market reacted, we didn’t chase noise — we built a channel.
Direct. Controlled. Untraceable.
The B‑2 Spirit.
A CRM war machine, engineered to cut through human radar.
Precision with psychological payloads — strike where it counts.
We targeted the regulars: Chinese men aged 35 and above. Few social advantages.
Low income. Limited education. Proud of their heritage and culture of being the sole providers and protectors.
They didn’t drink to escape. They drank to affirm they were making the right calls and that the matters under their care were in order.
Guinness will give them something more profound.
We formulated four precision strikes to reassure them of their honour, belief, and pride in their choice.
Each strike is engineered to hit a specific market fracture at the right time.
Strike One
Codename: Advertising Undercover
Payload: The Guinness Insider
A stealth newspaper kept Guinness visible when all ads were banned.
It bypassed the blackout, slowed drop-off by 20%, stabilised pint sales, and gave retailers a reason to hold the line — all without paid media.
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The Guinness Insider was a quarterly printed tabloid designed as cultural camouflage — speaking the drinker’s language, reinforcing rituals, and keeping the brand present in hands and homes.
Each edition blended world and local news, finance, life, and health topics that resonated deeply with drinkers’ psychological needs. It made them feel seen, supported, and assured in the choices they made.
This was belief delivery, not brand noise.
It carried reasons to believe in Guinness, along with seasonal promos to reward loyalty.A living, passing, year-round channel — circulated through uncles, fathers, and friends — building CRM from zero, and keeping Guinness alive without ever being seen.
Strike Two
Codename: Redemption Protocol
Payload: The Empty Almanack
At Chinese New Year, every brand shouted. Guinness whispered — with a gift of pride: a blank almanack, inviting drinkers to write their future, just like Arthur Guinness did with his 9,000-year lease. Result: 10% sales uplift during the festival season.
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The Empty Almanack became our most restrained move, yet the most culturally fluent.
We stripped the traditional Chinese almanack bare.
No predictions. No noise. Just blank pages — a quiet space for legacy.The gesture echoed their identity: men who look after others.
Not loud. Not flashy. But steady, proud, and quietly confident.Tucked inside was a discreet voucher — a nudge to stock up not for indulgence, but for giving.
A bold declaration of belief in the Guinness tribe.
An affirmation to family providers:
You lead with honour. You show up with conviction. -
Best DM Campaign in Asia by Campaign Brief, and Gold in strategy and craft in DM Asia.
Strike Three
Codename: Operation 365
Payload: The Perfect Match
To sustain sales beyond festive spikes, we needed new foot traffic throughout the year. Our drinkers' birthdays were often overlooked or uncelebrated. We honoured theirs and delivered a 12% uplift in year-round sales.
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A ritual was born:
Guinness and Birthday Man. Guinness and Peanut. The perfect match.A surprise birthday greeting — with a bag of peanuts, the snack they said made Guinness taste better. In Chinese tradition, peanuts symbolise longevity. In their hands, this simple gesture carried weight.
This wasn’t just a feel-good moment.
It was a precision strike — CRM-timed and matched to specific retailers, kopitiams, and bars.It drove consistent foot traffic, refreshed stock, and built momentum through slower days, delivering commercial activity throughout the year.
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Silver Direct Marketing Campaign, DM Asia 2006
Bronze Brand Building Direct Marketing Campaign, DMA Malaysia 2006
Merit B2C Direct Marketing Campaign, DMA Malaysia 2006
Strike Four
Codename: Very Important Person
Payload: The Guinness Heroes
Our top-value drinkers never broke rhythm, not even under price hikes or shrinking income. It was time to honour them not as customers, but as legends. A tribute to 150 became a movement, with 501 new members joining through their referrals.
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This strike was unlike any other.
The highest honour was for those who never left.We summoned them like masters to the Wulin Da Hui — the grand assembly of kung fu legends. A secret badge arrived like an imperial edict, calling them to The Guinness Tavern — a hidden venue, never open to the public.
That night, 386 VVIP drinkers stepped in, badge in hand, sharing their mastery of the pint and forming new bonds with fellow loyalists. After the gathering, each guest received a personalised hand-drawn portrait — a lasting seal of respect, declaring them Guinness Heroes.
It was status, encoded. Loyalty turned ambassador with honour.
A strike built not for scale, but to show how believers show up. -
World No. 1 Direct Marketing Campaign, Won Report 2005
OgilvyOne – World Top 10 Agencies, Won Report 2005
Best Direct Marketing of Asia, Campaign Brief The Work 2006,
Best of Show Strategy, DM Asia 2005
Best of the Best Shane Weaver Award, DM Asia 2005
Best Retention & Loyalty Direct Mail, Silver, DMA Malaysia 2005
Best Dimensional Mail, Silver, DMA Malaysia 2005
Best RM Program, Diageo Asia Pacific Award 2005
Gold Dimensional Direct Marketing Campaign, DM Asia 2005
Gold Dimensional Low Volume Direct Marketing Campaign, DM Asia 2005
Silver Low Volume Direct Mail, DMA Malaysia 2005
Bronze Direct Marketing Campaign, John Caples, 2005
Finalist Retention & Loyalty Direct Marketing Campaign, John Caples 2005
Finalist Brand Building Direct Marketing Campaign, John Caples 2005
Finalist Direct Marketing Campaign, New York Festival 2005
Finalist Art Direction, DM Asia 2005
At Ground Zero, Guinness faced a no-play.
The B‑2 Spirit struck with precision, not to shout, but to be felt. Each move is engineered to bypass bans, ignite belief, and rebuild from the ground up.
Belief and business turnaround delivered.
564.8% CRM built a direct relationship base from zero.
A 20% referral-driven trial proved that belief is contagious.
88% of brand equity was silently rebuilt to strengthen the brand.
9.3% lift in weekly consumption in a high-tax, low-confidence market
+35% ROI with zero traditional media spend
And it didn’t just earn results. It gained recognition from all industries and their juries.
32 awards across local, regional, and global shows.
World No. 1 Direct Marketing Campaign by The Won Report.
2 Best of the Best in Strategy in Direct Mail Asia, and others from Caples, New York Festival, and The One Show
Legacy secured. Belief restored. Doctrine proven.
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GUINNESS INSIDER
Finalist Direct Marketing Campaign, Cannes 2006
Silver B2C Direct Marketing Campaign, DMA Malaysia 2006
Bronze Brand Building Direct Marketing Campaign, DMA Malaysia 2006
Bronze Retention and Loyalty Direct Marketing Campaign, DM Asia 2006
Merit Direct Marketing Campaign, LongXi 2006EMPTY ALMANACK
Best Direct Marketing Campaign Asia, Campaign Brief The Work 2007
Gold Direct Mail, DM Asia 2006
Silver Brand Building Direct Marketing Campaign, DMA Malaysia 2006
Silver Direct Mail, New York Festival 2006
Bronze Art Direction, DMA Awards 2006
Bronze B2C Direct Marketing Campaign, DMA Malaysia 2006
Finalist Art Direction, DM Asia 2006
Merit Flat Direct Marketing Campaign, LongXi 2007PERFECT MATCH
Silver Direct Marketing Campaign, DM Asia 2006
Bronze Brand Building Direct Marketing Campaign, DMA Malaysia 2006
Merit B2C Direct Marketing Campaign, DMA Malaysia 2006GUINNESS HEROES
World No. 1 Direct Marketing Campaign, Won Report 2005
OgilvyOne – World Top 10 Agencies, Won Report 2005
Best Direct Marketing of Asia, Campaign Brief The Work 2006,
Best of Show Strategy, DM Asia 2005
Best of the Best Shane Weaver Award, DM Asia 2005
Best Retention & Loyalty Direct Mail, Silver, DMA Malaysia 2005
Best Dimensional Mail, Silver, DMA Malaysia 2005
Best RM Program, Diageo Asia Pacific Award 2005
Gold Dimensional Direct Marketing Campaign, DM Asia 2005
Gold Dimensional Low Volume Direct Marketing Campaign, DM Asia 2005
Silver Low Volume Direct Mail, DMA Malaysia 2005
Bronze Direct Marketing Campaign, John Caples, 2005
Finalist Retention & Loyalty Direct Marketing Campaign, John Caples 2005
Finalist Brand Building Direct Marketing Campaign, John Caples 2005
Finalist Direct Marketing Campaign, New York Festival 2005
Finalist Art Direction, DM Asia 2005
The B‑2 Spirit was built for one mission.
Then I was asked to evolve it into a long-range system.
Now, it enters new terrain.
Fresh fractures.
New belief gaps.
And a need for stealth infrastructure built to adapt.
The B‑2 Spirit 2.0: The Cyber Bunker Stealth.
Same silence.
Sharper payloads.
Still flying under the radar — but never off course.
