Tag: Partnership

Japan – Eddie Bauer, US-based leisure and outdoor clothing brand under Authentic Brands Group (ABG), has partnered with Japanese retail group Itochu, to further expand its presence in Japan. 

The partnership will see Eddie Bauer roll out across the country, launching new stores, wholesale accounts, and an official branded e-commerce site in Spring 2023. Moreover, Itochu will be partnering with Mizujin, a fashion wholesale and retail company, to design, manufacture, and distribute Eddie Bauer products.

ABG said that for nearly three decades, Eddie Bauer has offered a curated selection of outdoor and lifestyle products in Japan, where it has captured a loyal following. The brand will now broaden its offerings with a full assortment of performance and lifestyle apparel and accessories for men, women, and children.

Jarrod Weber, group president of lifestyle and chief brand officer at ABG, commented that they are pleased to grow the Eddie Bauer brand in this important market and to expand on ABG’s relationship with Itochu.

“Through the agreement, Itochu becomes a marquee partner for Eddie Bauer as we further the global strategy across strategic markets and engage with outdoor enthusiasts around the world,” said Weber.

Meanwhile, Yoshinari Nakamura, president at Mizujin, noted, “Eddie Bauer is a pioneering American heritage brand known for quality products, performance technology and style. Our aim is to build on Eddie Bauer’s strong foundation and rich heritage to enhance its presence in the Japanese outdoor and fashion markets.”

Singapore – Culture marketing agency Culture Group has announced a partnership with Spotify Studios and Wattpad in order to equip leading Southeast Asian writers with the resources necessary to extend their content through podcasting.

Culture Group is the agency of record for Wattpad and agency partner of Spotify.

Developed by Culture Group to amplify the voice of leading literary creators from across the region, the program will see 20 Wattpad creators from Indonesia and the Philippines use the medium to offer new perspectives to fans, creating an immersive storytelling experience that allows original characters, worlds, and narratives to leap off the page through the power of voice. 

In addition, a 2-day virtual ‘Spotify x Wattpad Podcasting Workshop’ will teach the basics of podcasting, podcast marketing, and digital audio storytelling. The sessions will also delve into the future of podcasting, analysing trends and predicting what’s next for the medium.

Overseeing the programme, Culture Group will be responsible for the final production of all podcast episodes. The partnership between Wattpad and Spotify builds on Culture Group’s creator economy credentials, including the creative and content-led partnership between Wattpad and livestreaming platform, kumu. 

Michael Patent, founder and president at Culture Group, said, “Leveraging the power of storytelling for commercial and creative purposes is the mission of Culture Group. Following previous initiatives with Spotify, and having led Wattpad’s collaboration with kumu in the Philippines, it is exciting to expand our remit with both partners. Benefitting from their combined expertise, we are confident that the incubator program will educate and empower our aspiring creators, elevating their content and expanding their reach through Spotify.”

Jakarta, Indonesia – In conjunction with Indonesia’s Independence Day celebration, Kopi Kenangan, a local-based retail F&B chain known for its coffee products, has partnered with NFT creator Karafuru and digital service provider ADA Asia to launch a new campaign to honour the Modern Day Heroes.

Through the campaign, Kopi Kenangan Hanya Untukmu introduces eight modern heroes who are highly relevant for Gen Z. The eight characters are chosen to represent the everyday heroes of Indonesia from different walks of life, from courier drivers to corporate workers, and from medical frontliners to content creators. All of which are contributing to the country in their own unique way. 

Moreover, Karafuru NFT used its magic hands to bring to life the eight modern heroes of Gen Z. Each character is given its own character and attributes, making it unique and relatable to each of the modern-day heroes’ daily struggles.

The collaboration can be found in the limited edition of Kopi Kenangan Hanya Untukmu x Karafuru coffee bottles in Indonesia.

Faradi Bachri, country director at ADA Asia, shared that their findings show that Gen Z has a peculiar spirit in celebrating Independence Day, and they want to instil the true meaning of Gen Z spirit by inviting them to appreciate the battles and challenges of modern-day heroes from all walks of life.

“Through the modern heroes concept that ADA prepared, we want to remind Gen Z to not forget the spirit of perseverance, which is the essence of Independence Day,” said Bachri.

Meanwhile, Karafuru said, “It was fun to design the artworks that are highly relatable to the audience in Indonesia. Despite the fact that we merely portray eight modern heroes, I believe that hundreds of heroes were mentioned and celebrated by Indonesians aside from these eight individuals.”

Singapore – YoloFoods, a healthy food delivery service in Singapore and Malaysia, has partnered with impact.com, a partnership management platform, to accelerate its affiliate and influencer marketing initiative – ‘YoloFoods Health & Wellness Programme’. 

Targeting healthy food junkies, the programme aims to incentivise and equip community ambassadors with information and resources on leading a healthy lifestyle.

In order to inspire and motivate more consumers to make healthy lifestyle changes across Singapore and Malaysia, the YoloFoods Health & Wellness Programme onboards affiliates and content creators on a commission-based reward system, to share reliable Health & Wellness information and offers with their respective audiences. To roll this out at scale, YoloFoods is leveraging the vast network of affiliates and influencers which impact.com provides.

Yolofoods said that as managing influencers and affiliates at scale requires many manual steps and reconciliation, having a robust platform like impact.com that automates contracting, tracking, payouts to affiliates, and data consolidation will help the platform to make more informed business decisions.

Alex Bauduin, CEO of YoloFoods, noted nutrition and wellness have always been a point of passion for them, and they’re excited to kickstart this strategic partnership with impact.com.

“This launch will not only allow us to make a positive mark on our local community, but is also an opportunity for YoloFoods to further scale our brand growth and customer acquisition in the region and increase our ROAS by tapping into the wider network of consumers while expanding beyond our existing channels,” said Bauduin.

Meanwhile, Antoine Gross, impact.com’s general manager for SEA, commented, “We are thrilled to be partnering with YoloFoods on this initiative. Great collaborations are a result of a common goal and shared values, and we look forward to helping YoloFoods grow their e-commerce business in Singapore and Malaysia and helping improve the wellness of local communities. 

“Joining a growing group of brands in the region who are finding success through affiliate partnerships, YoloFoods will be able to reach their target audience in an effective way while rewarding the affiliates who help make it happen,” Gross said.

Singapore – Tiqets, an online platform for cultural and leisure experiences in Europe and North America, has partnered with Klook, a travel and leisure e-commerce platform in the Asia Pacific, to connect both their supply channels to offer consumers a world-class supply of cultural and leisure experiences.

Through the new partnership, customers can now use both platforms to seamlessly book an expanded range of experiences available through either Klook or Tiqets. With this integration in place, museums, attractions, and tour operators working with Tiqets and Klook can significantly increase their reach, and consumers will be able to easily book thousands of unforgettable experiences wherever they travel.

As the travel industry enters its rebound phase after a gruelling, two-year global pandemic, both companies have made a remarkable comeback. Over the summer months, Tiqets saw a 220% surge in bookings in Europe and the UK alone. Similarly for Klook, the company has seen outbound bookings grow eleven times in the same period compared to earlier in the year, signalling that the travel bug is stronger than ever. With the end-of-year holiday season on the horizon and the partnership underway, another impressive increase in bookings is expected.

Luuc Elzinga, Tiqets’ president and founder, commented, “We are thrilled to be partnering up with Klook, one of the most impressive OTAs in the industry. Through this partnership, our network of more than 4,000 of the best museums, attractions and tour operators that provide guided tours at these museums will benefit from greater visibility in the APAC market, and Tiqets will benefit from the new supply that Klook already has connected.”

Meanwhile, Wilfred Fan, chief commercial officer at Klook, said that this partnership with Tiqets opens new doors for both groups of customers to enjoy instant and seamless access to the widest selection of attractions and experiences across the Asia Pacific and Europe.

“Klook has gone from strength to strength during the pandemic, and we’ve quadrupled the number of activities on our platform over the last two years in anticipation of travel recovery. We will continue to work closely with our merchants to accelerate their recovery and reach even more customers around the world,” added Fan.

Indonesia – Akulaku, a digital banking and finance platform in Southeast Asia, has partnered with Alipay+, a suite of global cross-border mobile payments and marketing solutions operated by Ant Group, to launch ‘Akulaku PayLater’, a BNPL solution that will allow Indonesian consumers to use at Alipay+’s global merchants.

Through the partnership, Alipay+ will now include Akulaku PayLater amongst its supported digital payment methods, and merchants will be able to access the BNPL solution as a payment method. 

Akulaku’s BNPL functionality provides individuals who have a limited credit history with access to a convenient line of credit as well as manageable instalment plans. By meeting the increased demand for flexible payment plans and instalment purchasing, Akulaku PayLater promotes consumer purchasing power and ensures previously underserved markets can participate in a convenient digital financial service.

According to market research firm eCommerceDB, the Indonesian online commerce market grew 32% in 2021 and is currently the ninth largest in the world. Over the next five years, the Indonesian e-commerce market is projected to grow at a yearly rate of 10%, making this partnership a timely solution to meet the increased demand from Indonesian consumers for online shopping.

Fan Zhang, CFO of Akulaku, believes that this partnership will lead to a more advanced and convenient financial landscape for customers in Indonesia and throughout Southeast Asia.

“Through Alipay+, we will quickly scale the pool of merchants accepting Akulaku PayLater, giving our consumers an enhanced user experience and improving the market competitiveness of BNPL products. The combined resources will reach underserved markets with immediate financial services, fostering growth within these regions across industries,” said Zhang.

Meanwhile, Cheng Guoming, general manager of global partnerships at Alipay+, noted, “We see BNPL as an important part of the digital payment ecosystem and are excited to reach this partnership with Akulaku PayLater to enable the communities in Indonesia and other potential markets to enjoy seamless and convenient cross-border payment services and enrich their daily lives through the global shopping experience.”

Both companies are also exploring opportunities to further extend their partnership to other markets in Southeast Asia.

Singapore – Technology company Yahoo and StarHub, Singapore’s official broadcaster of the Premier League, have teamed up to launch a dedicated Premier League topic hub on Yahoo Singapore. This will serve as a one-stop destination for avid Premier League fans, comprising all the latest news, results, analyses, and player transfers during the 2022/23 season.

As part of the campaign, which will run till 31 December 2022, readers will be able to access all Premier League-related content within the topic hub – featuring a mix of Yahoo’s editorial and aggregated content and StarHub’s branded content that includes pre-match predictions, post-match reviews, and team and player analyses. 

Moreover, connecting users to their passions and as part of efforts to continually reinvigorate content, the topic hub will see the launch of an all-new ‘Footballing Weekly’ talk show that discusses the latest news and issues surrounding the exhilarating football action, co-hosted by Yahoo Editor, Chia Han Keong, and author and Yahoo columnist, Neil Humphreys.

The campaign will also serve as the twelfth man to StarHub’s exclusive Premier League offerings – combining the best of contextual advertising and branded content into a relevant, useful and seamless branded experience for StarHub and its target audience.

The takeover will see the StarHub Premier League banner replacing the regular Yahoo banner with a prominent feature on the hub, alongside other StarHub ads that take readers to StarHub’s online store to explore the Premier League offerings and packages.

Carol Tay, Yahoo’s senior director of sales for Southeast Asia, shared that at Yahoo, they constantly explore new and interesting ways to help brands and advertisers connect audiences to their passions, and this campaign is a great example of employing creative and simple solutions, backed by their unified ad tech stack and ad solutions, to meet audacious ambitions and unlock the full value of marketing at scale.

“As a key destination for news, finance, sports, and lifestyle content, we look forward to giving consumers more of what they want and helping brands drive meaningful connections,” said Tay.

Meanwhile, Maneesh Varma, VP of marketing at StarHub, commented that they are eager for as many football fans to enjoy this enriched viewing experience, at a fraction of the price the Premier League was offered in prior seasons. 

“To that end, we struck up a partnership with Yahoo, tapping on their strong editorial lineup of Premier League-related content alongside branded content pieces that will reach our ideal target audience through their engaged sports readership,” said Varma.

The campaign will also be promoted through Yahoo Native ads and across Yahoo’s owned social media channels.

Manila, Philippines – As part of realme Philippines’ new strategy, the consumer electronics company has formally announced its partnership with FUSE, the PR agency under Omnicom Media Group – Philippines, to be its new PR agency of record. This partnership aims to further strengthen the brand’s top position in the local market. 

The adjustment to the PR agency will be supporting realme and narzo as two independent brands moving forward. With this, another agency will be reaching out to media partners for all narzo Philippines concerns. 

“We ask for everyone’s full cooperation with the changes so that we may have a smooth transition for all parties involved. For any clarifications and concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to the concerned agencies,” said realme Philippines, in a formal statement.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Global communications company Havas Group has partnered with Invictus Blue, a communications agency based in Malaysia, to provide media and integrated requirements for Havas’ clients.

Having begun as one of Asia’s first global media companies in 1994, Invictus Blue today has a portfolio that includes some of the most established brands in Malaysia, across diverse sectors. The agency has a strong reputation and proven track record of creating work that challenges industry norms. Invictus Blue is also no stranger to partnerships with established global PR and media MNCs.

Gerald Miranda, Invictus Blue’s CEO, commented that they have always believed that collaboration with the right minds can lead to the greatest results. and they are delighted to be affiliated with Havas, which is one of the most dynamic agency groups in the world today. 

“Havas being part of Vivendi, a global leader in culture, entertainment, media and communications, is a major differentiator in the marketplace. This means we think about culture, not just communications. Brands rightly have a role to play in culture as well as how they entertain, inform, and make positive changes to the world,” said Miranda.

Meanwhile, Alberto Canteli, CEO and chairman at Havas Group, Nordics CEE & Middle East, SEA, and North Asia, noted that Havas’ aligned vision of its ‘village’ concept is similar to what Invictus Blue has with their non-media services across social and content and the ethos of delivering meaningful media experiences to build meaningful brands – is what brought them together. 

He further shared that the decision to enter into this affiliation agreement was made after a review of Invictus Blue’s impeccable track record in Malaysia. The company deeply understands local cultures and nuances and has a global outlook on consumer trends and the ability to apply cutting-edge tools. Invictus Blue satisfies critical criteria to leverage its global operations.

“In Invictus Blue, Havas has found a local partner to tap into the immense growth potential in the region, as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes into the background while optimism grows over its short to medium-term economic prospects, especially in Malaysia,” said Canteli.

Singapore – Digital media platform in SEA, RICE Media, has partnered with Falcon Media, an Out-Of-Home (OOH) media company specialising in large format outdoor advertising billboards across Singapore, with the aim to display its impactful storytelling and insightful journalism in a much wider reach across Singapore. 

Through the partnership, RICE Media will be showcasing its video content on multiple digital screens outdoors, including Fortune Centre, Wilkie Edge, and Sim Lim Tower, as well as KINEX. It will be rotating its slate of video content on Falcon Media’s digital billboards for a period of one year. The campaign kicks off with a story about Ammar, a Singaporean dancer, filmmaker, and actor, whose deafness never got in the way of his dreams. 

Moreover, the partnership provides opportunities for the Singaporean publication to establish its commitment to telling stories, perspectives and insights from across SEA. It is also Falcon Media’s first-ever partnership with a publication. 

Khai Asyraf, RICE Media’s managing director, initiated the collaboration to offer RICE’s partners a 360-marketing solution by utilising multiple channels and touchpoints beyond the online realm. He noted that in this ever-changing digital era, strategic partnerships are essential for media companies to attain sustainable growth. 

“With this partnership in place, RICE wants to uphold our brand credibility while maintaining our edge and competitiveness in the media market. Falcon Media has enabled and accelerated this mission as we pursue audience growth and expansion across Southeast Asia,” said Asyraf. 

Meanwhile, Bernice Heng, Falcon Media’s managing director, commented that she is excited to kick off the partnership after finding immense synergy and potential in working with RICE.

“With RICE Media’s content creation offerings and digital media advertising options, they are an excellent fit for us to delve into the online realm. This partnership offers our clients the ability to reach out to their audience outdoors on both a macro and personal level,” said Heng.

In July 2022, RICE Media, has announced two leadership promotions, which include Asyraf, former client services director, being its new managing director, and Ilyas Sholihyn, former branded content strategist, being its new editor-in-chief.