SM enhances brand presence through ‘100 Days of Christmas Surprises’

It highlights the company’s commitment to social responsibility and its impact on Filipino communities.

In the Philippines, Christmas is a deeply cherished cultural event starting as early as September.

Major shopping mall chain SM Supermalls aimed to leverage this period to cement its brand positioning with the "100 Days of Christmas Surprises" campaign, which ran from 17 September to 25 December 2023. It used a three-pronged strategy to execute the campaign.

The first strategy was community engagement, in which SM identified 100 deserving individuals, such as street vendors, delivery riders, and differently-abled individuals, and provided unexpected, personalised presents tailored to their needs. All the recipients were selected by then-SM’s 85 malls based on their needs and backgrounds.

SM also involved retailers and tenants to contribute products, enhancing the spirit of “bayanihan” (community involvement). Retail partners such as the SM Store, SM Supermarket, Toy Kingdom, Watson's, Ace Hardware, and Pet Express, along with tenant partners like Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, Aristocrat, Vans, and Nike, contributed generously to the cause.

At the same time, it shared heartwarming videos of gift recipients with its 34 million-strong Facebook followers to amplify emotional appeal and reach.

The "100 Days of Christmas Surprises" campaign garnered 91.7% positive sentiment, indicating a warm reception from the market. It also achieved a social media reach of PHP27m, with 20.2 million Facebook views and a 74.9% engagement rate.

SM’s foot traffic also increased by 7.44% compared to the previous year, demonstrating the campaign's effectiveness in attracting more families to SM Supermalls for holiday festivities. This subsequently led to an 8% increase in revenue compared to 2022.

The campaign has created significant awareness with 51 traditional media pickups, amounting to PHP 18.1m in media value.

It also underscored the brand’s commitment to social responsibility and community service, which has been recognised by the highly sought-after Asian Experience Awards 2024. This success earned SM the Philippines Brand Experience of the Year - Retail title in the event.

The prestigious awards programme recognises the ingenious initiatives of creative companies delivering meaningful brand experiences to their stakeholders.

The Asian Experience Awards is presented by Asian Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2025 awards programme and be acclaimed for providing meaningful brand experiences to stakeholders, please contact Jane Patiag at [email protected].