Event Marketing Awards 2023: How Magnum evoked the senses and fired on all cylinders

The rapid transition from the go-to marketing models to a digital-only engagement in the pandemic years meant a complete flipping of the known field tactics for event marketers. What this meant was, in order to win, brands had to work extra hard to generate a buzz, engage a little more, in short, redefine the playbook with a clever mix of online integration and offline tools.

Evidently, all the 168 shortlists for this year’s hotly contested 7th annual Event Marketing Awards saw brands switch up their marketing game. The jurors voted on Magnum for winning the coveted Grand Prix for its brilliantly executed ‘The Magnum Pleasure Auction’ campaign.

Launched in Singapore, the creative team worked on the insight that most Singaporeans dream of becoming overnight billionaires and that money is no object when it comes to experiencing true luxury, even for a short moment. So, for unveiling Magnum's new and most decadent flavour to date—the Double Gold Caramel Billionaire—they did this with an elevated, gamified, billionaire-esque experience. A high-end mobile-based live auction experience used Magnum gold coins—the in-game currency—and players bid against each other in real-time for two weeks. At stake were over 2,000 bespoke Magnum-inspired merchandise.

The campaign integrated this virtual experience with an on-ground installation at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. Here a dedicated space was carved for players to redeem their winning points and earn extra gold coins by socialising pictures with the campaign hashtag.

Breaking the clutter in the over-saturated digital space is no mean feat and this campaign's results speak for themselves.

Garnering more than 17.5 million in reach, the game saw more than 121,000 visitors, players clocked an average of 6.5 minutes per play session. The team pulled close to 500,000 brand interactions and 30% of the total player count were referrals. Additionally, Magnum’s social post received more than 9,000 engagements, making it the most engaged Magnum post ever.

The campaign's success pushed the brand’s market share to a high of 20.7%, making Magnum the top ice cream brand in Singapore in that week. Little surprise, it has won in multiple EMA categories—Best Digital Experience, Gamification, Best Integrated Marketing and to top it off, the Grand Prix in Brand Activation.