“We find new ways to save the world from boring advertising”

Singapore, February 22nd

With offices in New York, Singapore and Amsterdam, SuperHeroes is a digitally born and raised global creative agency that is saving the world from boring advertising. The agency groups specialists in attracting attention in today’s multi-everything world, helping modern day brands grab attention through a mix of pop culture, creativity, social media and tech.

Beatrice Miu is an Account Hero at SuperHeroes. In an interview with TIA, she described a typical day at the agency and the elements that set SuperHeroes apart in the world of advertising. She also went through some of the recent projects she has been involved and explained how she makes sure to always meet customers’ expectations.

To kick things off, as a local, what would you recommend doing there when visiting Singapore? Additionally, what aspects of the city do you find most inspiring?

I would definitely say the Chinatown area – Telok Ayer Street, Amoy Street, Ann Siang Hill, Keong Saik Road, quite a big (for Singapore) stretch beyond just the Chinatown Food Street. Take the time to look at all the beautiful architecture of the old shophouses, learn about the history of immigration in Singapore and look at temples and monuments. But I mean, really spend the whole day walking around – looking at the murals, hopping between cafes to take refuge from the humid heat, and in the night – watch it transform into buzzing restaurants, bars, and other lively haunts at every corner. And of course, the food: there are plenty of great hawker centers around that area – Maxwell is the most famous, but close to my heart: Amoy Food Center!

The juxtaposition of Singapore’s architecture has always been really interesting to me, and I constantly find something that is new and/or changed – whether that be a new building going up that has incredibly futuristic and/or sustainable architectural features, or a old building I remember being there for as long as I have been a live being torn down, or the revival of an old shophouse in the form of a cool new cafe or pop up shop. It is inspiring that the city never stops finding ways to grow and change, whilst preserving and constantly reviving older, heritage elements, and marrying the two in a way that is not awkward or jarring. Standing next to an old shophouse whilst looking up at an awe-inspiring towering skyscraper always puts that into perspective for me.

Can you share the pivotal moments that led you to choose a career in the digital space? What aspects of the industry captivate you the most?

I have been heavily involved in running events since quite a young age and I have always felt immensely rewarded from seeing the building blocks from months of planning culminating and coming to life. Naturally, though it did not feel that way at the time, that led me into launching my career in PR. Here, I discovered that I enjoyed many aspects of working with brands, as well as working in a space that was constantly evolving with technology – the growth of social media and new platforms, and how it can and has enhanced the way communications are possible. Now, in more of a creative / advertising space, I find consistent aspects that continue to captivate me – the fast-pace of the industry, a people-oriented approach in both output and process, and the endless possibilities that can be achieved with a creative approach and laying the groundwork well.

Walk us through a typical day in your life as an Account Manager. Where do you allocate most of your time, and how do you navigate the dynamic challenges that come your way?

There isn’t really a typical day, but that’s always what I like about it. I am mostly working in-between clients, my team and also third party suppliers to ensure that the wheel keeps turning, from updating and following up with clients, to writing briefings, checking in on progress and managing expectations and deadlines from both sides. I like to think of myself as the oil in the engine – working in the background to ensure that everything is smooth. There are challenges, of course, but not ones that can be solved with a cookie-cutter approach so understanding the nuances of people, their personalities and how to motivate and inspire them is really key.

What, in your opinion, sets SuperHeroes apart in the competitive world of advertising?

SuperHeroes’ attitude towards innovation and the boldness to accept, create and grow with, change. In such a competitive and fast evolving space, a strong vision combined with a willingness to embrace and pivot around change is crucial in order to keep up with not only competitors but more importantly, consumers and brands. From championing the adoption of AI within internal processes and also client work, and working with GenZ themselves to better understand the thoughts of, and trends pertinent to, this growing target segment, and taking CGI / mixed reality technologies one step further to create thumb-stopping content for brands that also extends across the entire consumer journey in a connected funnel, SuperHeroes never stops innovating and finding new ways to save the world from boring advertising.

As an Account Manager, what are some common challenges you face, and how do you effectively address and overcome them?

The most common challenge comes with working with people, as they are versatile and nuanced as compared to budgets and timelines for example. The challenges are of course, also, always different depending on the person. Clear communication is definitely important which lays the foundation for a smoother process, but also constantly adapting on the way, learning and adjusting how to best navigate different relationships.

Among the recent projects, which one do you think best showcases Superheroes’ values and strengths?

It’s difficult to choose one because our identity, vision and mission are so central in all the projects we work on. I would have to say, choosing from the projects that I have worked on recently, it would be the campaign for Stimorol that took place Q3/Q4 2023. This was the first creative output for the Stimorol brand, and in a true Superheroes fashion, we set out to disrupt the feed through a fresh approach and create a deeper connection between Stimorol and its discerning Gen Z audience.

The insight we based our campaign on came from The Robins, our Gen Z collective of young adults, who help brands get fresh peeks into their generation and culture, which we used to position Stimorol Infinity / Max as the chewing gum to help you Zone In with a humorous rebellious activation that played with the juxtaposition of being in vs. out of the zone – powered by AI and creator content co-creation.

The places that we zone out to are strange and distorted, similar to the AI generated video content that we created. Not only do Gen Z love this, it also offered a solution to increase relevancy by creating a tailormade zone out moment that includes specific traits of each influencer / creator.

It showcases SuperHeroes’ values and strengths perfectly as we are all about saving the world from boring advertising – and no ordinary product placement will do. Integrating product and brand seamlessly in the content, co-creating content together with our creators in order to ensure maximum authenticity and relevance, as well as embracing the newest technology (we used Runway Gen 2 – text to video, which launched to the public in the week of presenting the idea to our client) to deliver results that would otherwise would have been very challenging, if not impossible, within the budget or timeline.

When working with a new brand, how do you go about unraveling its underlying values and beliefs that set it apart from competitors?

I find the best way to get to the core of a brand is to understand their biggest challenges. It is often very telling when brands explain what their difficulties are and why they think that is, beyond the standard industry fluff and performance metrics.

How do you ensure that you and your team consistently deliver or exceed customers’ expectations?

I am a bit of a perfectionist, so I hold myself and my work to very high standards. I am also very lucky to work with a team that also takes great pride in their work and within the organisation, we are also all aligned with and actively working towards SuperHeroes’ vision and mission in everything that we do. In terms of my role, I make sure that expectations and deadlines are clear from the get go, and we constantly communicate any changes or thoughts openly that might affect these.

Share insights into how you foster effective communication and collaboration within your project team at SuperHeroes. What practices contribute to successful teamwork?

Clear and regular communication. For me, I like putting everything down in writing – whether that be a briefing, feedback or project planning – it gives work that usually has a lot of moving parts and uncertainties a sense of structure and provides a point of reference that remains constant. Besides this, having constant conversations and check-ins is also important so making sure project teams can regularly sit around the table (literally and figuratively) to brainstorm, discuss and exchange ideas.

What techniques or tools do you utilize to measure the success of a project?

There are of course, the standard marketing performance indicators and metrics – views, impressions, share of voice, ROI, etc. Although arguably the least exciting part of any campaign, these measures do give a good overview into the success of a project and allows for effective benchmarking. Besides this, the success of a project can (and should) also be viewed in a more qualitative lens – and at SuperHeroes, we often also evaluate whether the work we create is ‘non-boring’, whether we successfully utilised new groundbreaking technologies; whether (client aside) we, ourselves, are proud of it. Even though a campaign might have achieved its goals on paper, or based on the KPIs we (agency + client) set out to achieve together, we still constantly re-evaluate and finetune our craft.

For those unfamiliar with Singapore’s creative industry, could you provide an overview?

In more ways than one, Singapore and Amsterdam’s creative industries draw interesting parallels. Singapore is the regional (and increasingly global) hotspot for global brands, creative players and talent. MNCs like LVMH group, Lucasfilm and Ubisoft have all made Singapore home, and even more brands have Singapore as their regional headquarters or launchpads. It is made easy, thanks to strong government initiatives to bolster the industry, but also, the abundance of talent as well as the general political and financial stability – especially when compared to the rest of the region. All these elements come together to make Singapore a sweet spot for creative canvases, not unlike Amsterdam.

The key difference I find between the two is the pace of transformation and consumer adoption. Singapore (and largely speaking, most of Asia) is truly home to digital natives. The consumer experience has been altered by the digital revolution in a way that Europe doesn’t even come close to. Technological advancements are transforming every aspect of the industry, from artist and concept development to how audiences consume content, media and marketing initiatives. It would be unfair to say that this isn’t also the case in Amsterdam, but European markets tend to face more consumer resistance in terms of both technology adoption and commercialisation.

The other noticeable feature is that Singapore is incredibly small. Anyone working in the creative industry in Singapore will probably tell you that there is about two degrees of separation. It is great, on occasion, where you have an impossible task to pull off in a short period and you would probably be able to pull in a favour easily. For me, I started my career in PR in Singapore and having a rather limited industry pool meant that I was able to work out who was who and get exposure to a lot of the key players in the industry very quickly. Familiarity came in a relatively short period of time, which felt like a nice cushion for someone who was still quite new to the industry but for the same reason, it started to feel (too) comfortable and it was easy to become complacent. The diversity of creativity, per se, in Amsterdam / Europe is still something I struggle to find in Singapore, but perhaps I am not looking in the right places.

In today’s technological landscape, what recent developments or trends make you say, “wow”?

DOOH seems to be making a comeback, and I haven’t really managed to wrap my head around it yet. From new technologies that make it DOOH more interactive, to 3D LED billboards and even F(aux)OOH. I’m not entirely sure how it will influence the future of advertising, but it definitely changes how spaces are used, how we think of them and how even more elements of our lives (can) interact with art and creativity. The possibilities excite me, and I think it is definitely a space to keep an eye on!

Outside of your professional life, what are your favorite ways to decompress and recharge?

Despite the people-oriented nature of my professional life, I am actually a huge introvert, so time to decompress and recharge is crucial for me to keep doing what I do (well). I carve time out for myself to do my favourite things – reading, finding new restaurants or eating my favourite foods, having a drink with my partner or a close circle of friends, or even just pottering around the house doing menial tasks. Except on the rare occasion, I try my best never to work on weekends (including checking emails) so that I can disconnect entirely and recharge.

Which artist(s) do you find inspiring and why?

Derrick Lin. I first discovered him at the Small is Beautiful exhibition in Brussels, dedicated entirely to miniature art. Derrick describes himself as “An observer of the tiny moments of ad agency life, figuratively speaking” and through miniature figures and environments, he captures and showcases little moments of life that are incredibly realistic with immense detail but also inspires moments of reflection and in some works, literally demands a shift in perspective.

What’s the next skill you plan on learning?

It’s not really a skill, but I would like to learn Dutch properly.

Can you name a fun-fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

I roughly weigh the same as an adult male sea otter 🙂

Thanks Beatrice!

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