Gaby Kumontoy

Hailing from sunny Singapore, Gaby started out in public relations before realising that she loved digging into the why's of our behaviours and consumption. Stuff like choosing a Big Mac over a Whopper. Why eating a strawberry sundae takes us back to feeling like eight. How an unnerving ad about candy can make us buy more of it.

So she made the switch over to strategy when she moved to Sydney in 2020. Using her social chops to craft strategy for Kmart and J&J for the first year, she progressed to crafting strategy for Macca's, McCafé and for several months, Skittles USA. 

In a nutshell: 2022 and 2023 was all about making McCafé the nation's most beloved coffee destination, relaunching beloved oldies from the menu, as well as making NRL fans love Macca's even more.

McCafé Campaign #1
Challenge: McCafé continues to have a quality perception problem. People like it for its convenience, but continue to think that coffee quality is inconsistent and incomparable to independant cafés.

Insight: Aussie's are relaxed larrikins about everything, except when it comes to coffee.

Strategy: Talk about coffee in a way that Aussie's will appreciate: arguably the most coffee proud, cafe culture embracing country. Because what's more quality than Aussie coffee?

Proposition: Coffee fit for an Aussie means explaining quality in a way only Aussie's would understand.

Roll out: TVC, OOH, Radio, Digital, OLV, Social

McCafé Campaign #2

Challenge: Iced coffee presents a huge growth opportunity for McCafé, being the market leader in iced coffee sales and growing much more than hot coffees year on year.

Insight: Iced coffee isn't just a drink - nowdays, it stands for a rejection of tradition and conventional wisdom.

Strategy: Iced coffee your way, everyday. Focusing on the customisability of the iced bevo, we shout out about this generation's (Z and Y's) tendency to forgo customs and forge their own rules. 

Proposition: Iced coffee your way, everyday.

In a nutshell: Throughout 2022 and 2023, I plotted and successfully made the nation argue over the name of a Macca's potato snack - the Potato Scallop - which is now an Effie-nominated campaign in two categories.

I also made Macca's more endearing to its NRL fans, ran Monopoly at Macca's in 2022, McDonald's biggest annual campaign, and relaunched the McFeast, a beloved Aussie favorite, amongst many other campaigns for it's Value deals.  More details on the Great Potato Debate, which is currently shortlisted for an Effie Award:

Challenge: In summer, it's hard to stand out against a sea of huge media buys from fellow SQR brands. And we had an exciting lineup of summer menu items and big media budgets, but nothing that would gain us any meaningful share of attention.

Insight: Aussies are a relaxed bunch, except when it comes to what we call certain things. A certain bunch of words have the power to divide our nation (sausage sandwich or sausage in bread? etc).

Strategy: Instead of trying to outshout our competitors with pure media buys, we will reignite a national debate by taking a stance on what we call the well known fried potato snack. 

Proposition: It's officially a Potato Scallop (as per what NSW and Queenslanders call it), not Potato Fritters nor Potato Cakes. 

Results: Over 600 media articles, 1,000 social conversations about Macca's calling the potato snack a Scallop, and selling out of the item 2 entire weeks ahead of schedule.

In a nutshell: Along with revamping Skittle's global social approach alongside the head of social and strategy director in 2022, I wrote the strategy for Skittle's Halloween 2022 campaign which was featured on Adweek.

Challenge: Adults love halloween, but are finding it increasingly hard to one-up themselves and their peers.

Insight: It is adulthood that is actually terrifying. So let's riff off of that and let everyone laugh-cry at some of adulthood's oddities.

Strategic Proposition: Show real-life horror that's not far off  - and sell them as costumes

Effect: Touted to be one of Adweek's top Halloween campaigns of 2022.