Chinese New Year remains one of the most significant moments in Singapore's consumer calendar. For brands, it's an opportunity not just to be seen, but to become part of the stories, rituals, and everyday moments that define the festive season.
This year, SPH Media partnered with brands across industries to do exactly that. Through a series of integrated activations combining cultural storytelling, high-impact placements, and platform-wide amplification, brands showed up where it mattered most, in ways audiences actually remembered.
Here's how three of those campaigns came to life.
Creating a Cultural Moment That People Actually Shared
Chinese New Year is ultimately about connection, and the most resonant campaigns are those that feel genuinely local.
For DoDo's 50th anniversary, the brand partnered with UFM100.3 on a campaign that wove together social, radio, live events, and retail activations into one seamless festive experience.
The centrepiece of the campaign was an original festive track — "Oh Money My Honey" — presented by DoDo. Blending trap beats with a DJ-style rap interlude, the song wove in familiar Singaporean locations and everyday experiences, turning them into heartfelt New Year blessings. It felt entertaining, local, and deeply relatable all at once.
And the numbers backed it up: the track amassed over 1.2 million video views on YouTube, proving that culturally grounded storytelling cuts through the noise in ways that traditional advertising simply can't.
But the campaign didn’t stop there. It extended seamlessly into the real world, with roadshows at FairPrice Xtra AMK Hub and NEX featuring meet-and-greet sessions with UFM100.3 DJs. Customers purchasing DoDo products were also entered into lucky draws for a chance to have their shopping bills fully covered.
Together, it created a seamless journey from content to commerce, where engagement translated into real-world participation across every touchpoint of the festive routine.
Turning Commuter Spaces into a Citywide Cultural Experience
Through its Out-of-Home (OOH) media solutions, SPH Media helped brands embed themselves naturally into the daily rhythms of Singaporeans.
A standout example was the Stellar Ace Chinese New Year activation, developed in collaboration with Lianhe Zaobao and Way Fengshui, which transformed bus shelters across Singapore into a citywide Zodiac Gallery.
Across 12 key heartland and lifestyle districts including Orchard, Yishun, Esplanade, Bukit Batok, and Bedok, each bus shelter featured a distinct Chinese Zodiac character, brought to life through 2D die-cut illustrated panels.
By weaving festive storytelling into familiar commuter environments, the campaign created a distributed yet cohesive experience across the island. It went beyond visibility, turning everyday spaces into culturally resonant moments that felt both unmissable and meaningful.
Building Anticipation Through Omnichannel Storytelling
For Disney Cruise Line's Disney Adventure launch, its first ship homeported in Singapore, the campaign was built around generating excitement and deepening audience connection ahead of the debut.
Anchored by a content marketing approach, the campaign combined editorial storytelling, user-generated content contests, and an interactive landing hub within The Straits Times digital ecosystem, giving audiences a rich, immersive way to explore the cruise experience.
This was further amplified across print, digital, radio, and out-of-home channels.
For the festive season, Disney Adventure-branded couplets were gifted to The Straits Times readers on Chinese New Year's Eve, designed to be cut out and displayed on front doors as auspicious wishes. It was a small gesture with genuine cultural resonance, turning a brand moment into a household ritual.
The result was a campaign that didn't just inform — it invited participation, built affinity, and showed up in the most trusted media environment in Singapore.
What This Means for Brands
Across all three campaigns, a clear pattern emerged. The activations that resonated most shared a few things in common:
- They integrated naturally into everyday environments;
- Sustained engagement across multiple platforms;
- Told stories rooted in local culture;
- Turned audiences into active participants rather than passive viewers.
In short, they were omnichannel in spirit with each touchpoint reinforcing the next, building a narrative that felt cohesive whether audiences encountered it on the street, on their screens, or in-store.
This is what SPH Media enables: the scale, the platforms, and the audience understanding to help brands move beyond presence and into genuine cultural participation.
Looking Ahead: Chinese New Year 2027 and Beyond
Chinese New Year is not just a seasonal campaign window. It's a cultural moment where brands can build real relevance, trust, and lasting connection — and the same opportunity exists across every major festive season on the calendar.
At SPH Media, we continue to work closely with partners to co-create campaigns that blend impactful storytelling, omnichannel media solutions, and true audience reach and engagement.
As brands begin planning ahead, early collaboration will be key to unlocking more integrated, creative, and impactful executions. Start your conversation with us now and let’s explore how we can build something worth remembering, together.
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