Neo Catering “Go offline, Stay Connected” Campaign

The irony of technology is that it makes communication tougher. Walk into any cafe or neighborhood coffee shop, and one find couples slumped over the mobile handphones, immersed into another world. Eye to eye communication is rarely practiced, with some couples even messaging their loved ones from across the table. Neo Catering has started a social initiative, to shorten the distance between families, by encouraging them to go offline.

(Media Invite)

Recently, we were invited to say Good-bye to our mobile handphones and focus on building stronger ties with our family members. The “Go Offline, Stay Connected” campaign, is a 60 minute challenge, to encourage tech-savvy individuals, to reconnect with their loves ones, over a meal and through real time conversation.

Taking inspiration from the campaign video, we wanted to put our family through a similar challenge. In case you have not watched it, the Neo catering campaign video depicts a lady who surprised her family with a challenge – to leave their devices untouched for 50 minutes during a meal. The video, shot at the home of Mrs Leong, one of Neo Garden Catering’s customers, documented the dinner process as well as the family’s realisation of how it affected them.

Check out the video here:

As we started to put our mobile phones into the transparent box, we felt a bit awkward at first. With every single adult being active on Social Media and on a Messaging platforms, we felt a bit naked, as we were tasked to disconnect from the online world. But gradually as the night wore on, we got into the momentum of the offline world, and started focusing on the food from Neo Catering Instead.

With all our favorite goodies like prawn and satay from Neo Catering, the whole family was caught up in the Chinese New Year mood and the array of food from our favorite Caterer. All that was missing was Neo Catering’s Chicken Curry, which we took a break from, during this festive season.

Naturally, the food for the night was…Burp..Good! 

Here is what the Brand Manager, Miss Jessie Ong from Neo Garden Catering had to say about the campaign. “It is a common sight today: meals start with a social media post, conversations are interrupted by notifications from digital devices, and gatherings where conversations happen on online platforms instead of with those physically present. In line with Neo Garden Catering’s 2016 tagline “Bringing People Together”, we want people to spend quality time with each other over quality food. With the upcoming Chinese New Year, we hope to encourage all to put your devices aside during this reunion, and cherish and connect with people around you in person.”

At the end of the day, we had great fun, and although we could not wait to get our mobile phones back, we had a fruitful time getting offline. Maybe we will need to seriously get these healthy habits drummed into our lifestyle, so that we can live more balanced lives.

Join the Neo Garden Facebook Page, to keep up with their promotions, and get involved in their next social initiative.