Tag: Advertising

Sydney, Australia – Advertising agency DDB Sydney has just announced the appointment of Rupert Price as its new chief strategy officer.

As the new chief strategy officer at DDB Sydney, Price will lead the planning department in its sharp focus on effectiveness delivered through the power of emotionally charged creativity across clients such as Westpac, Volkswagen Group and McDonald’s.

With a 25-year career background in agencies across London and New Zealand, Price has spent the last 12 years as DDB Group Aotearoa’s chief strategy officer and will now continue his momentum in Sydney.

In his time at DDB Group Aotearoa, Price has been instrumental in the agency’s success, with numerous accolades and achievements ranging from Cannes Gold Lions to a coveted D&AD Black Pencil. In addition, he has steered the agency to four NZ Effies Agency of the Year titles, as well as winning many effectiveness awards at both regional and global shows.

During his career, Price has also worked with Interbrand as director of strategy, head of planning at Ogilvy NZ and Ogilvy London and was board planning director at Saatchi & Saatchi London.

Speaking on his appointment, Price said, “It was a tough decision to leave the agency I’ve called home for the last 12 years but the opportunity to work with the Sydney team to continue their trajectory was too good to pass up.”

Meanwhile, Sheryl Marjoram, CEO at DDB Group Sydney, commented, “I couldn’t be happier to have Rupert joining the team. We’ve long been admirers of his impact and momentum across the Tasman and it’s always a special moment to be able to recruit much loved and respected DDB’ers within the network. His passion, commitment and results speak for themselves and I can’t wait for everyone to see what’s next for DDB Sydney.”

Singapore – The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) has launched an integrated campaign that shows a basic truth: workplace discrimination exists and must not be tolerated. It is up to everyone to eradicate workplace discrimination by changing their mindsets and seeing people for their potential.

A film that explores the applicability of prejudice in the workplace and in society at large is part of the “Update Our Mindset” initiative. The film refutes this idea by showing prejudice in the workplace in a variety of contexts and forms, and it advises viewers to change their perspectives in order to overcome their prejudices.

The mnemonic, which was inspired by the “update” image for software upgrades, stands for the necessity of changing attitudes in order to create inclusive and equitable workplaces. This catchphrase can be seen in a variety of contexts, including social media, lift lobbies, brand films, and out-of-home (OOH) advertisements.

Speaking about the campaign, Lorraine Audrey Paul, assistant director, marketing communications, TAFEP, said, “Workplace discrimination really impacts our morale and productivity, but I believe we can change that. Let’s start by addressing our biases, updating our mindsets, and start seeing each other for our merits. We began with the campaign ‘Know It to End It,’ this follow-up campaign will continue to build on that foundation.”

Meanwhile, Tay Guan Hin, creative chairman, BBDO Singapore, stated, “We wanted to create something memorable that resonates with Singaporeans. Addressing a sensitive topic, we strategically used the “update” icon to encourage employees and employers to read more about workplace discrimination and take action on their part.”

Singapore – MiQ, a programmatic media partner to brands and agencies, has partnered with Hoppr, a connected TV (CTV) platform, to enhance customers’ access to ultra-premium inventory with a first-in-market guaranteed view in Singapore. 

MiQ’s mission is to develop the most comprehensive advanced TV (ATV) solution on the market. Through this partnership, MiQ will leverage Hoppr’s patented platform, which utilises audience behaviour and insights to ensure a guaranteed view of ads on the largest screens in the home.

MiQ is Hoppr’s preferred managed service activation partner in Singapore. Together, they will deliver solutions aimed at addressing one of the TV industry’s most significant challenges: fragmentation, which reduces advertising reach across diverse audience segments.

Through this partnership, MiQ and Hoppr will empower brands to target their desired audiences by enabling advertisers to plan and purchase inventory that guarantees ad viewership. This level of precision ensures that advertising messages reach the most relevant household audiences, maximising the impact and effectiveness of each campaign.

Both parties are also assessing opportunities to expand their partnership to include the future launch of enhanced advanced TV capabilities for Singapore across linear, streaming, and YouTube. 

MiQ and Hoppr share a vision for the future of advanced TV, where data-driven video integrates across linear and digital platforms. This partnership follows MiQ’s recent global TV intelligence expansion to the UK and Australia, reinforcing their commitment to enhancing TV consumption and audience engagement.

James Parker, SEA managing director at MiQ, said, “This partnership is an exciting step forward in bringing powerful advanced TV advertising solutions to the APAC market. MiQ and Hoppr have a shared vision of advanced TV—one of data-driven video convergence across linear and streaming that brings together the reach of TV with the targeting and performance of programmatic.” 

Joe Prusz, CEO of Hoppr, added, “The combination of MiQ’s managed service CTV and programmatic trading expertise and Hoppr’s unique platform will bring Advanced TV to life. We can deliver a guaranteed view of an ad that will be consumed by an audience in its entirety. We help advertisers reach the hard-to-reach audience that isn’t watching linear TV. We share MiQ’s view of the future of advanced TV advertising and know that advertisers need a new way for their message to cut through to the consumer. This is only possible with Hoppr’s guaranteed view.” 

Singapore – Cannes Lions, the globally-recognised festival celebrating the best creative communications, advertising, and marketing campaigns around the world; has recently concluded following a four-day run from June 18 to 21. It is worth noting that during this year’s event, Ogilvy Singapore has been named the Agency of the Year for the “Good” category, with Revolver from Australia receiving a Palme d’Or special award. Globally, Cannes Lions named WPP, Omnicom, and Interpublic Group as creative companies of the year. Meanwhile, Ogilvy, Publicis Worldwide, and DDB Worldwide are named Network of The Year. Lastly, Coca-Cola, Heineken, and Apple are named as Creative Brands of the Year.

Without furtherado, these are the winning campaigns from brands and agencies within Asia-Pacific:

CLASSIC

Audio & Radio

  • “Dew Battle” (Mountain Dew, BBDO Guerrero): Bronze > Sound Design
  • “No Smiles” (McDonald’s, TBWA\HAKUHODO): Bronze > Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight
  • “Touch” (Mastercard, Howatson+Company): Bronze > Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility

Film

  • “Play It Safe” (Sydney Opera House, The Monkeys | Accenture Song): Grand Prix > Local Brand
  • “What The Fast” (Krungsri First Choice, Leo Burnett): Gold > Microfilm
  • “Sammakorn Not Sanpakorn” (Sammakorn, Choojai & Friends): Gold > Use of Humour
  • “Summer” (Grab Philippines, GIGIL): Silver > Viral Film
  • “As Close You Can Get – Concert” (PRISM+, MullenLowe Singapore): Bronze > Consumer Goods
  • “The Boxer (Colgate, Soho Square Bangkok): Bronze > Consumer Goods
  • “Play It Safe” (Sydney Opera House, The Monkeys | Accenture Song): Bronze > Travel, Leisure, Retail, Restaurants & Fast Food Chains
  • “Shot on iPhone: Little Garlic” (Apple, TBWA\Media Arts Lab Shanghai): Bronze > Viral Film
  • “Go For Launch” (CP Chicken, Wolf BKK): Bronze > Challenger Brand
  • “Under My Skin” (Thai Life Insurance, Ogilvy): Bronze > Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight
  • “Not Very Sweet” (Delight, Ogilvy): Bronze > Use of Humour
  • “Sabina Braless” (Sabina, Sour Bangkok): Bronze > Use of Humour

Outdoor

  • “Adoptable. By Pedigree” (Pedigree, Colenso BBDO): Grand Prix > Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility
  • “Taj Mahal Megh Santoor” (Unilever, Ogilvy): Silver > Special Build
  • “Heineken Heidden in Plain Sight” (Heineken Malaysia, Leo Burnett): Bronze > Transit
  • “Lost in Time” (Jian Ai Elderly Charity Center, Dentsu Creative): Bronze > Transit
  • “Ad-Ons” (McDonald’s, DDB New Zealand): Bronze > Standard Sites
  • “Laundromatch” (Heineken, LePub): Bronze > Ambient Outdoor
  • “Penguin Soap Opera” (Orix Aquarium, Dentsu Inc.): Bronze > Local Brand
  • “Different.” (Samsung, DDB New Zealand): Bronze > Challenger Brand

Print & Publishing

  • “10 VS 10” (Dove, Ogilvy Sydney): Bronze > Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility

CRAFT

Design

  • “Paper Organs” (Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry and Patient Autonomy Promotion Center, Leo Burnett): Silver > Promotional Item Design
  • “The Cardboard Cake” (Wholegreen Bakery, The Hallway): Bronze > Special Editions & Bespoke Items
  • “Edible Literature” (Kameya Yoshinaga, VML Ogilvy Japan): Bronze > Special Editions & Promotional Packaging
  • “Video Vinyl” (Coca-Cola, Ogilvy): Bronze > Special Editions & Promotional Packaging

Digital Craft

  • “Kiki, Virtual Human Interpreter” (NHK Enterprises & NHK Global Media Services, Media.Monks): Silver > Real-Time Contextual Content
  • “Days of Hirayama Perfect Days – Website” (Perfecy Days, Dentsu Inc.): Bronze > UX & Journey Design

Film Craft

  • “Play It Safe” (Sydney Opera House, The Monkeys | Accenture Song): Silver > Use of Original Music
  • “Jindal Steel – The Steel of India (Jindal Steel and Power, Early Man Film Pvt Ltd): Silver > Editing
  • “The Boxer (Colgate, Soho Square Bangkok): Silver > Editing
  • “Jindal Steel – The Steel of India (Jindal Steel and Power, Early Man Film Pvt Ltd): Bronze > Direction

Industry Craft

  • “Reach for the Summit – A” (Kanazawa High School Sumo Tournament, Dentsu Inc.): Silver > Art Direction: Print & Publishing
  • “Reach for the Summit – B” (Kanazawa High School Sumo Tournament, Dentsu Inc.): Silver > Art Direction: Print & Publishing
  • “Reach for the Summit – C” (Kanazawa High School Sumo Tournament, Dentsu Inc.): Silver > Art Direction: Print & Publishing
  • “Departures to Countless Futures” (The Hoshi Awards, Dentsu Inc.): Bronze > Illustration: Brand & Communications Design
  • “It Works.” (Ad Museum Tokyo, Dentsu Inc.): Bronze > Illustration: Brand & Communications Design
  • “Magnificent” (Yotkan Ancient City in Xinjiang, China; The Nine): Bronze > Photography: Brand & Communications Design

ENGAGEMENT

Creative Data

  • “Turf Finder” (Gatorade, Leo Burnett): Gold > Data-Enhanced Creativity

Direct

  • “Adoptable. By Pedigree” (Pedigree, Colenso BBDO): Gold > Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility
  • “The Greenprint” (Volkswagen NZ, DDB New Zealand): Silver > Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility
  • “Hear My Last Watch” (Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry and Patient Autonomy Promotion Center, Leo Burnett): Bronze > Not-for-Profit / Charity / Government
  • “Climate Doctor’s Certificate” (School Strike 4 Climate, CHEP Network): Bronze > Small-Scale Media
  • “Adoptable. By Pedigree” (Pedigree, Colenso BBDO): Bronze > Use of Print/Outdoor
  • “Meowzer” (Whiskas, Colenso BBDO): Bronze > Use of Digital Platforms

Media

  • “This Is An IKEA Store” (IKEA, Ogilvy Philippines): Silver > Single-Market Campaign
  • “Ad-Ons” (McDonald’s, DDB New Zealand): Bronze > Use of Outdoor
  • “Shot on iPhone: Little Garlic” (Apple, OMD): Bronze > Media Execution

PR

  • “Lulumelon Eoss” (HDFC Bank, FCB Kinnect): Silver > Use of Events & Stunts
  • “Transition Body Lotion” (Unilever, Ogilvy): Bronze > Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight

Social & Influencer

  • “No Smiles” (McDonald’s, TBWA\HAKUHODO): Gold > Single-Market Campaign

ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment

  • “Shot on iPhone: Little Garlic” (Apple, TBWA\Media Arts Lab Shanghai): Silver > Fiction Film: 5-30 minutes
  • “Play It Safe” (Sydney Opera House, The Monkeys | Accenture Song): Silver > Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight
  • “Erase Valentine’s Day” (Mondelez International, Ogilvy): Bronze > 360 Integrated Brand Experience
  • “Shot on iPhone: Midnight” (Apple, TBWA\Media Arts Lab Tokyo): Bronze > Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight

Entertainment Lions for Gaming

  • “Play Has No Limits ft. KING GNU” (Playstation, Six Inc.): Bronze > Audio-Visual Content

Entertainment Lions for Music

  • “Video Vinyl” (Coca-Cola, Ogilvy): Bronze > Brand Partnerships, Sponsorships & Collaborations
  • “No Smiles” (McDonald’s, TBWA\HAKUHODO): Bronze > Partnerships with Music Talent

Entertainment Lions for Sports

  • “‘Til It’s Done” (Football Australia, Ogilvy Australia): Bronze > Brand Storytelling
  • “Turf Finder” (Gatorade, Leo Burnett): Bronze > Sports Live Experience

EXPERIENCE

Brand Experience & Activation

  • “The Greenprint” (Volkswagen NZ, DDB New Zealand): Silver > Automotive
  • “The Original Mouthful” (McDonald’s, DDB Sydney): Silver > Travel, Leisure, Retail, Restaurants & Fast Food Chains
  • “Paper Organs” (Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry and Patient Autonomy Promotion Center, Leo Burnett): Silver > Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight
  • “Correct The Internet” (Team Heroine, DDB New Zealand): Silver > Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility
  • “Fitchix” (Honest Eggs Co., VML): Bronze > Customer Acquisition & Retention
  • “Climate Doctor’s Certificate” (School Strike 4 Climate, CHEP Network): Bronze > Guerrilla Marketing & Stunts

Creative Business Transformation

  • “Adoptable. By Pedigree” (Pedigree, Colenso BBDO): Silver > Brand Purpose & Impact

Creative Commerce

  • “Your 2nd Favorite Beer” (Matilda Bay, Howatson+Company): Bronze > Brand Strategy

Innovation

  • “Voice 2 Diabetes” (KVI Brand Fund Inc., Klick Health): Grand Prix > Early-Stage Technology

GOOD

Glass: The Lion for Change

  • “Transition Body Lotion” (Unilever, Ogilvy): Grand Prix
  • “Project Farm Equal” (Lay’s, Leo Burnett): Silver

Sustainable Development Goals

  • “Kiki, Virtual Human Interpreter” (NHK Enterprises & NHK Global Media Services, Media.Monks): Bronze > Good Health and Well-being
  • “Dabba Savings Account” (Esaf Small Finance Bank, McCann): Bronze > Gender Equality
  • “Drops of Joy” (Lay’s, Leo Burnett): Bronze > Responsible Consumption and Production

HEALTH

Health & Wellness

  • “Fit My Feet” (Buckaroo Footwear, McCann): Gold > OTC Products
  • “Paper Organs” (Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry and Patient Autonomy Promotion Center, Leo Burnett): Gold > Fundraising & Advocacy
  • “The Impossible Choice” (St. Jude India Childcare Centres, Ogilvy): Bronze > Fundraising & Advocacy
  • “Fitchix” (Honest Eggs Co., VML): Bronze > Animal Health
  • “Fit My Feet” (Buckaroo Footwear, McCann): Bronze > OTC Products

Pharma

  • “Voice 2 Diabetes” (KVI Brand Fund Inc., Klick Health): Gold > Innovative Use of Technology: Patient or Healthcare Professional

STRATEGY

Creative Effectiveness

  • “Oreo #BringBack2011” (Oreo, Leo Burnett): Silver > Single Market
  • “The Last Performance” (Partners Life, Special New Zealand): Bronze > Collaboration
  • “Fitchix” (Honest Eggs Co., VML): Bronze > Challenger Brand

Creative Strategy

  • “Let Her Grow” (Dove, Edelman): Silver > Consumer Goods
  • “Fitchix” (Honest Eggs Co., VML): Silver > Challenger Brand Strategy
  • “Fitchix” (Honest Eggs Co., VML): Bronze > Market Disruption
  • “Vi Human Network Testing Network” (Vodafone India, Ogilvy): Bronze > Market Disruption

Cannes Lions has also announced the 2024 Young Lions winners, where young professionals have the opportunity to showcase their talent and achievements. The APAC winners are as follows:

  • “Who is the successful man?” (Gold, Media)
    • Jiayu Cao, Business Development Manager, Havas Creative China, Mainland China
    • Linghui Dai, Senior Copywriter, Havas Creative China, Mainland China
  • #SpreadSpoiledGuys (Silver, Media)
    • Seri Morikawa, Copywriter, Hakuhodo Inc, Japan
    • Hinako Kawai, Designer, Hakuhodo Inc, Japan
  • #Sidekick: New Face of Success (Bronze, Media)
    • Sujin Lim, Art Director, Cheil Worldwide, South Korea
    • Tae-yul Ko, Art Director, Cheil Worldwide, South Korea
  • I Do Give A F*** (Gold, Marketers)
    • Praptee Sharma, Manager – Product Marketing, Jio Platforms Limited, India
    • Roshni Govind Iyengar, Manager – Strategic Initiatives, Jio Platforms Limited, India
  • Lunch (Tax) Break (Gold, PR)
    • Ginola Tan, Copywriter, GOVT Singapore, Singapore
    • Tan Yuan Ling, Art Director, GOVT Singapore, Singapore

Singapore – Global multinational computer technology company Oracle has announced that it is exiting the advertising business by the fourth quarter of this year, as announced by the company during its latest earnings announcement.

According to Safra Catz, CEO at Oracle, its advertising business had declined to about US$300m in revenue in fiscal year 2024.

It is worth noting that Oracle aimed at building up its advertising business by acquiring multiple firms like Vitrue, Eloqua, BlueKai, DataLogix, and Moat to build out its advertising capabilities. However, a mixture of industry changes like halting third-party partners for ad targeting as well as lawsuits has resulted in Oracle slowly shutting down its advertising initiatives in recent years.

Nonetheless, Oracle notes in its latest earnings report that its cloud and data center business is seeing significant growth, with executives noting that fiscal year 2025 will see cloud infrastructure services to grow faster than the 50% they reported this year.

“We believe our momentum, our current momentum will continue as our pipeline is growing even faster than bookings and our win rates are going higher as well,” Catz stated.

Singapore – The APAC ad market will see growth by 8.5% this year to US$289b with traditional media owners (TMO) ad sales will grow by 0.8% to US$68b while digital pure players (DPP) ad revenues will expand by 11.1% to US$220b. This is according to the latest forecast from IPG Mediabrands’ resource arm MAGNA.

According to the report, television budgets are stabilising in 2024 and are expected to be up by 0.2% following 2023’s – 2.3% performance. This increase in growth is primarily driven by the tailwinds of sporting events – primarily the Paris Olympics. The UEFA Euro 2024 tournament and other sporting events typically have only a minor impact in APAC markets.

Meanwhile, digital advertising revenues are the driver of growth. Search remains the largest portion of digital advertising revenues and will represent US$103b in 2024. This is 47% of total digital advertising budgets. Search advertising in APAC is substantially driven by retail media platforms, especially in China where Alibaba, JD.com, Pinduoduo, and Meituan all drive search advertising revenues. Core search is also spiking around the world as traditional search platforms like Google and Baidu also see strong performance relative to recent results. 

In addition, social media advertising revenues also remain strong in 2024. While social media was already surging ahead in 2023 in APAC (+19% growth to reach US$65b), growth will again be robust in 2024 (+15% to reach US$74b). This means social media budgets will represent 34% of total digital advertising budgets. Both search and social media revenues are driven by mobile devices. Smartphones are not just the dominant way that most consumers access the internet; in many APAC markets they are the only way consumers access the internet. 

“Many consumers skipped the desktop hardware generation and conduct their digital lives solely on their smartphones. Furthermore, in China consumers don’t just do shopping and communication on smartphones, but also banking, insurance, and many work functions. Because of this, 76% of total digital advertising revenues in APAC are on mobile devices,” the report noted.

The digital strength driving APAC advertising revenues will translate to continued share gains for digital advertising revenues in APAC. Digital revenues will represent 81% of total budgets in 2028, up from 76% of total advertising revenues in 2024. In 2024, the strongest growth in APAC is expected to come from Sri Lanka (+12%), India (+11.8%), and Japan (+11.8%). This represents a significant jump in growth for Japan, following 2023’s +5.6% growth rate. Growth in many traditionally mature markets is rebounding in 2024. APAC as a region is still dominated by China, which represents approximately half of total ad revenues. When combined with Japan, Australia, India, and South Korea, those five large markets represent 87% of total APAC revenues. 

By 2028, the share of total revenues that are represented by linear advertising formats will have fallen to just 19%, representing about the same number of dollars (US$65b) as they do today (US$68b). Digital pure players, on the other hand, will represent 81% of total budgets and US$286b, significantly higher than their 2024 total (US$220b). The largest absolute increases in advertising revenues will come from search advertising (+US$28b) and social media (+US$27b) by 2028 compared to this year in 2024.

Leigh Terry, CEO at IPG Mediabrands APAC, said, “The advertising industry in APAC is poised for continued growth in 2024, with an 8.5% projected increase, reaching US$289b. This follows a 9.5% growth in 2023. Despite economic fluctuations, digital advertising remains the driving force, with search and social media leading the way. The digital dominance in APAC is expected to persist, with digital revenues forecast to account for 81% of total budgets by 2028, up from 76% in 2024.”

He added, “This shift underscores the growing importance of digital channels in reaching and engaging consumers in the region. Sri Lanka, India, and Japan are poised for significant growth in 2024, with mature markets in the region also showing signs of recovery, and contributing to the overall positive outlook for APAC.”

Meanwhile, Paul Waller, chief investment officer at MAGNA APAC, commented, “Despite economic uncertainties, the global and APAC advertising market continues to expand. With digital ad spend leading the charge and projected to reach unprecedented heights in the coming years. Now that inflation in commodity costs and consumer prices are under control, marketers are returning to previous levels of advertising budgets and taking advantage of the investment opportunities offered. With a heightened focus towards more targeted and data-driven marketing strategies.”

Singapore – Global marketing and communications group Stagwell has announced the additions of four independent agencies in the Asia Pacific region to its expanding global affiliate network.

These four new affiliate partnerships strengthen Stagwell’s reach in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region, adding additional full-service advertising and design, digital experience, and affiliate marketing capabilities to the network’s suite of client solutions.

Going into detail, the affiliates include Singapore-based design firm Agency, Bangladesh-based dynamic advertising agency Arena Media, Thailand-based digital marketing agency Lodestar Marketing, and China-based digital marketing agency R&D Online Marketing.

Through its global affiliate program, Stagwell aims to provide full-service capabilities worldwide, while ensuring clients receive best-in-class service and solutions tailored to their priority markets.

It is also worth noting that these affiliate additions within APAC come shortly after Stagwell’s affiliate partnerships with Leverate Group from Indonesia, and Octopus&Whale from the Philippines.

Talking about the affiliate partnerships, Lishan Soh, co-founder of Agency, said, “Joining the Stagwell Global Affiliate Network is a thrilling milestone for us. We are eager to collaborate within this family of dynamic companies by adding strategic design as a critical tool for creativity, to generate greater value for our clients and their customers alike.”

Mazharul Chowdhury, group managing director at Arena Media Bangladesh, also mentioned, “We are delighted to join Stagwell’s global network and we are poised to leverage our local expertise and contribute our unique insights to enhance data-driven, culturally-relevant marketing solutions that drive business growth worldwide.”

Jesper Kauth, managing partner at Lodestar Marketing, also added, “This is an extremely exciting partnership for us, giving Lodestar Marketing direct access to companies within Stagwell and vice versa to offer channel support and growth. We look forward to the opportunities to help drive additional revenue for clients within the group.”

Lastly, among the new affiliates, Tony Tang, managing partner at R&D Online Marketing Services, shared, “I am thrilled about our affiliate partnership with Stagwell. This collaboration allows us to leverage Stagwell’s extensive global network and innovative marketing solutions, extending our services within China and beyond. Together with Stagwell, we are committed to driving growth and success for our clients in the international arena.”

Meanwhile, Randy Duax, managing director, Asia-Pacific for Stagwell, commented, “We look forward to adding Agency, Arena Media, Lodestar Marketing and R&D Online Marketing Services’ proven track record and deep local expertise to our Global Affiliate Program. These four affiliates reinforce Stagwell’s commitment to elevating our clients’ businesses with agile, data-driven, and culturally relevant marketing solutions.”

Singapore – AI-powered adtech company Smartly has recently announced the appointment of Bertilla Teo as CEO for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Her appointment underscores Smartly’s goal of helping advertisers succeed in a complex digital ecosystem with increasing fragmentation of channels, changing privacy regulations, and the need for efficient budget allocation across diverse markets.

Bringing over 20 years of experience in advertising, Teo boasts a proven track record of success in APAC. Prior to this role, she served as CEO of Publicis Groupe, China, where she focused on client acquisition and implementing the “Power of One” model, gaining numerous accolades for her performance within the industry.

Speaking on her appointment, Teo said, “I’m thrilled to lead Smartly’s APAC growth journey at this pivotal time. The region presents a unique landscape with varying levels of tech adoption and active digital users in highly fragmented environments.”

“Smartly’s AI-powered solutions are perfectly positioned to empower brands to navigate these complexities and achieve brand performance and growth. Together with our partners, we will unlock the full potential of growth for our customers,” she added.
 
Meanwhile, Laura Desmond, CEO at Smartly, commented, “Over the past year Bertilla has played a key role in establishing Smartly as a formidable adtech company and partner in the region. Having a robust business in APAC truly distinguishes global adtech companies, and given our recent momentum, Bertilla is the right leader to take Smartly, our partners and our clients to the next level.”

Manila, Philippines – The Manila Times (TMT), in partnership with Cedara, the carbon intelligence platform, has launched a project to completely measure advertising carbon emissions. TMT will use Cedara, the provider of emissions mapping across the media supply chain, to measure and minimise its carbon footprint in accordance with industry standards. 

TMT intends to measure its digital media first, then move on to measure its print business and, in the long run, look into organisational emissions as a whole. 

Speaking about the partnership, Dante Ang II, chairman and chief executive officer of The Manila Times, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Cedara in our mission to lead the way as the first publisher in our geographic region to measure advertising carbon emissions. By harnessing Cedara’s expertise and leading technology, we are taking proactive steps towards environmental sustainability and reinforcing our commitment to corporate social responsibility.”

Meanwhile, Eric Shih, chief operating officer of Cedara, expressed, “We are delighted to collaborate with The Manila Times in their pioneering initiative to measure advertising carbon emissions. At Cedara, we are committed to partnering with media organisations that prioritise sustainability and environmental impact. Together with The Manila Times, we are proud to drive positive change in the APAC market and contribute to a greener, more sustainable future.”

Australia – Global adtech Quantcast has introduced a self-service platform (SSP) to make open internet advertising more accessible to independent agencies and advertisers. This project enables businesses of all sizes to reach new audiences by providing tools and data previously only available to large ad spenders. 

The new offering from Quantcast offers a remedy for the changing environment of digital marketing, as old cookie-based advertising techniques are being phased out due to privacy concerns. With the support of the new platform, independent agencies and advertisers may transition to cookieless advertising and maintain their competitiveness and efficacy in marketing campaigns. 

The key aspects of Quantcast’s new self-serve platform include AI-driven insights, which offers users access to AI and machine learning capabilities that enable high-performance advertising. The technology also provides simplified campaign management via an easy interface, making programmatic advertising accessible to everybody and facilitating campaign setup, management, and analysis. Additionally, the platform provides comprehensive cookieless solutions, which include new and proven measurement and targeting solutions that do not rely on third-party cookies. 

The open web is where most consumers spend their time, and while many small and midsize businesses are skilled at using social media marketing platforms to reach potential customers, this launch offers the same access to it. 

Speaking about the launch, Konrad Feldman, CEO of Quantcast, said, “Today’s legacy DSPs are too complex, too time-consuming, and too dependent on third- party cookies. Our goal is to empower businesses of all sizes to effectively reach their audiences, bringing the simplicity and efficiency of the walled gardens to the expansive and diverse open internet. There is a huge opportunity for marketers to improve their advertising performance and drive meaningful results.” 

Meanwhile, Clare Rogers, business director at This is Flow, stated, “Thanks to Quantcast, we’ve been able to efficiently target our key audience segments, resulting in higher engagement and conversion rates. Their innovative approach to advertising without third-party cookies has given us a competitive edge. We’re extremely satisfied with the performance and results, and so are our clients.”