Page 55 - HKMA/TVB Awards for Marketing Excellence 2019-Dinner Souvenir Programme

Merit Award

“The Power of the Inner Smile”
Mannings - The Dairy Farm Company, Limited

This is a brand awakening story of Mannings winning back the heart of its staff and rebuilding its brand from within.

In recent years, Mannings benefited from Hong Kong’s tourism boom, but the company’s performance-driven character also put
pressure on the staff. In early 2018, an incident triggered Mannings to recognise the sentiments among its people, and the com-
pany saw it as an opportunity to look inwards and invest in its people.

Inspired by the Service-Profit Chain, Mannings knew that unhappy staff brings unhappy customers, and in turn unhappy business
results. To put smiles back on everyone’s faces and to reinvigorate its brand and business, Mannings introduced The Power of the
Inner Smile campaign comprised of four internal initiatives:
• Cat Parade: Offer emotional support to staff and introduce an atmosphere of care and optimism through our lovable Meow.
• Open Door Programme: Foster open dialogue linking the storeroom with the boardroom, to build a culture of communication

and transparency.
• Own Brand Programme: Cultivate a sense of belonging among the staff via fun quizzes and prizes such as a 1 minute shopping

spree of Mannings’s private brand products.
• Extra Smile Programme: Empower staff at Pilot Stores with autonomy and resources to trial new measures to improve custom-

ers’ experience.

This campaign greatly strengthened the brand’s caring personality, and a majority of its staff now feel that Mannings care about
them. The Extra Smile Programme even led to significant sales growth at Pilot Stores, creating examples that benefit the whole
organisation.

The success of this campaign has changed how Mannings operate, and initiatives such as the Open Door Programme have become
regularised, so that this is no longer a one-off campaign, but an ongoing journey towards sustainable governance, reinventing
Mannings through The Power of the Inner Smile.

Comments from the Judges:
It was commended as a passionate and engaging re-branding campaign which has successfully restored Mannings’ warm and
caring brand image by bridging the gap between brand personality and internal reality through a well-orchestrated inside-out
strategy.

Determination is the key. The company was decisive to inject positive energy and spirit into the internal team members, who were
the key differentiators to provide excellent customer experience and make the brand stand out from other competitors. The series
of internal programmes successfully won the staff’s buy-in and was crucial to the success of the campaign. The strong support
from internal staff demonstrated a truly team effort.

All in all, it was a very successful programme and the results were encouraging in terms of increased internal brand loyalty, job
satisfaction and staff motivation. It was a rebuild-and-rebrand project executed with the involvement of all the members of senior
management. Re-gaining the smiling faces on the team enhance Mannings’ brand equity and laid the cornerstone for future
success.

Parties to be Recognized for Contributing to the Success of the Programme:
1. DDB Group Hong Kong
2. MySTory Communications Limited

53HKMA/TVB AWARDS FOR MARKETING EXCELLENCE 2019