MCCY: Hungry Ghost Chatbot
Meet Mr. Woo, the otherworldly chatbot giving age-old traditions a modern-day spin. Selected by Facebook as a Facebook for Business Case Study. Featured in CNA and The Straits Times.
The Brief:
To create a chatbot which could help MCCY improve Singaporeans’ understanding of the Hungry Ghost Festival, a Chinese tradition often enshrouded in confusion and taboo.
Our Objectives:
- Identify and address main gaps in Singaporeans’ understanding of the Hungry Ghost Festival
- Drive engagement among 18-24s under the MCCY banner
- Position MCCY as an agency which is unafraid to speak on taboo subjects for the sake of greater understanding among Singaporeans.
Step 1: Research
Interviews with experts
We consulted experts in the spiritual and cultural space: a Taoist priest, a Buddhist monk, and a sociologist specialising in Chinese folklore.
Through this, we found the main gaps in Singaporeans’ understanding of the festival, and distilled them into 2 main branches: (1) origins, and (2) practices.
Interview notes: [link]
Ethnographic research
To gain more insight into the festival and enhance our content, we attended cultural events which took place during the 7th month of the lunar calendar, which coincides with the festival.
Step 2: Establishing a Personality and Voice
To position MCCY as an agency which is unafraid of addressing taboo subjects, we went with an unorthodox approach that was sure to challenge assumptions: let’s make the persona of our chatbot a ghost!
Introducing Mr. Woo
Say hello to Mr. Woo, your friendly, ghostly guide to the Hungry Ghost Festival!
Adventurous & Extroverted
Loves attending events (everything from live music performances to spiritual rituals), making new friends, listening to different perspectives and telling stories!
Tongue-in-Cheek & Youthful
Uses humour and social media savvy to bust the taboo surrounding the festival. He keeps up with the times, and enjoys using emoji and uploading pictures to social media (even selfies, although he is not visible to the human eye).
Optimistic & Compassionate
Acknowledges that while some aspects of the festival may appear dark, its overall message is one of respect for ancestors, redemption, and self-improvement.
Step 3: Creating a Conversation Flow
Armed with a wealth of information and our one-of-a-kind chatbot persona, the UX Architects in our team set out to create a user journey.
The aim of the user journey was to communicate our 2 main branches of information (origins and practices), while adding elements of fun and interactivity to delight our users (daily quizzes, randomised content, and location-based content).
Content Organisation
Flow
Click to view full image
Step 4: Writing the Content
Once the user journey was established, it was time to craft the messages that our users would receive. Using the insights and information from our research sessions, we created conversational, social media-friendly messages that would resonate with our target audience of 18 to 24-year-olds and get their tongues wagging.
The content was enhanced by footage and photographs shot during our ethnographic research sessions, as well as images from MCCY’s database, stock image galleries, and trending GIFs.
Writing Samples:
With that, the chatbot was ready to go live, in time for the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival! (Live dates: 11 August – 9 September 2018.)
Supporting Creative Deliverables
To further bring Mr. Woo’s voice to life, we also created an introductory video and social posts from his perspective. These pieces of content allowed users to feel like they were getting to know a new friend, and showcased Mr. Woo’s personality in all its supernatural glory.
Introductory Film:
Social Posts for Facebook and Instagram:
Outcomes
Stats
304 hours of conversation
Over 188,000 messages exchanged with Mr Woo
24,754 interactions with Mr Woo’s Facebook Page
Awards
Marketing Excellence Awards 2018: Social Media Marketing – Gold
MARKies 2019: Government Sector Marketing – Gold
MARKies 2019: Digital – Bronze
Conceptualised and created with Art Director, Videographer and Photographer at Tribal Worldwide. User flow designed by UX Architects at Tribal Worldwide. Developed by TAIGER.