Australia – National radio and TV broadcasting company Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has appointed content executive and creative Jennifer Collins as inaugural Head of Factual & Culture within its Entertainment & Specialist (E&S) division. She will lead the development and production of innovative content across genres such as arts, religion, science, and education, and also health, history, and social affairs.
Collins returns to ABC from her most recent role as director of content at production network Fremantle Australia. She joined ABC in 1990, and held three different leadership roles in the company until 2013.
As ABC head of development for arts, entertainment, and comedy, from 2008-2009, she started initiatives with funding bodies and screen agencies to foster new talent and creative teams. Later on, she was tasked the responsibility of ABC head of factual, from 2009-2012, and then assumed the role of ABC’s head of entertainment from 2012-2013, where she oversaw the development, commissioning, and production of programming such as Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery, The Checkout, Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, Dirty Laundry Live and the Digital Emmy award-winning series #7 Days later.
The new ABC Factual & Culture team was announced in June as part of the company’s five-year plan, bringing together E&S Factual content makers into a single team across television, radio, and digital, including radio network Radio National, podcast creation hub Audio Studios, and flagship programs such as Compass, Catalyst as well as the ABC’s acclaimed arts documentaries.
Michael Carrington, ABC Director Entertainment & Specialist, welcomed Jennifer’s return to the national public broadcaster. “Jen is well known and respected by ABC people and partners alike and her unique skills across multiple platforms will help drive our transition towards digital content and services,” he said.
“Australians love and trust the ABC’s Factual content, from our feature-length arts programs to long-form audio documentaries. In a world of bombast and bluster, the values of creativity, clarity, and intellectual rigor are more important than ever. Jen’s experience and expertise will ensure the ABC remains the trusted home of big ideas and beautiful stories across multiple genres and platforms,” he added.
Jennifer said she was looking forward to delivering the ABC’s distinctive and engaging content across Factual & Culture. “I’ve always been deeply committed to public broadcasting and value the ABC’s unique contribution to Australia’s cultural life,” she said.
“I’m delighted to be back at the ABC to lead the Factual and Culture team, where I’ll be working with Australia’s best creative talent to deliver a rich and diverse slate of programming,” she added.
This month, MARKETECH APAC truly lived up to its name. For the top 5 stories this September, we saw a diverse set of newsmakers hailing from around the APAC region.
The top stories were identified based on Google Analytics from August 17 to September 15. In the list, two great brands from Southeast Asia and East Asia flexed their creative prowess to showcase novel brand marketing moves. Marketing leaders also continue to dominate the list; a marketing executive from South Asia recounted her almost two-decade marketing journey, another one, an APAC business director filled us in on a growing buying trend that no one saw coming amid the pandemic, while a significant appointment from ANZ also grabbed people’s attention this month.
Top 5: Shopee gets fictional character Phua Chu Kang as new face of the brand
Ever since eCommerce platform Shopee was launched, it has only been putting its trust to big, international names to represent its brand – that would be Kpop girl band Blackpink and professional footballer Cristian Ronaldo. During its 9.9 super sale, the brand decided to show what hyper localization really means by getting not just any local personality, but a deeply rooted cultural icon – sitcom character Phua Chu Kang.
Phua Chu Kang, played by actor Gurmit Singh, is the title character of the longest-running sitcom by network Mediacorp, which revolves around the misadventures of the Phu family.
The show ran from 1996-2007, and within that time, Singaporeans grew to love the eccentric, overly confident, and yellow-boots wearing contractor. So what has truly made the Shopee team go for this rather unconventional stint?
Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Head of Marketing Tiger Wang said, “The [appointment] marks another milestone for us as we continue to build on the hyper-localized approach and deepen our engagement with the local audiences. Phua Chu Kang is a household name and a celebrity, [and] local icon. His ability to resonate with and unite local communities aligns with Shopee’s vision, making him the best choice for us.”
Top 4: Hong Kong-based Towngas cooking academy extends its expertise to YouTube
Amid in-person limitations during the ongoing pandemic, many brands and businesses alike have turned to the virtual side of things. Take Hong Kong-based cooking school Towngas Cooking Centre as an example. The culinary academy which has flame cooking at the core of its program, has gotten things rolling this September as it forayed to YouTube this month, and it doesn’t stop at that. It has a bunch of high-caliber celebrity chefs to boot, tapped to showcase the school’s virtual sessions.
Healthy Monday, French Wednesday, Culinary Tips4U, and Star Chef Weekend and Sunday Mom & Dad are just some of the quirky-titled lessons that are slated for its YouTube viewers.
General Manager for Retail Marketing & Sales Catherine Wong said that the occurrence of COVID has definitely pushed Hong Kongers to prefer home-cooked meals to dining out, and this is what ultimately brought the brand to make the most out of the situation.
Jasrita’s marketing expertise expands almost two decades, where she’s worked with a list of well-known brands such as consumer product giant Procter & Gamble, hospitality brand Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, and television media company NDTV before having focused entirely on brand and marketing for healthcare services.
Currently, she is the assistant vice president for healthcare provider Fortis Healthcare in India. When we sat down with Jasrita during her #MARKETECHMondays episode, she shared some very helpful advice that could be very well treated as a guiding light to budding marketers.
“I just have two things to say to [marketers]; the first is, please never forget why you decided to become a marketer. There would be times in your journey when you’re feeling low, but constantly remind yourself [your why], [which is] because you want to be your consumer’s voice inside your organization,” said Jasrita.
‘The second is keep upgrading; it’s nobody else’s responsibility to upgrade your skills. Because your consumer is going to keep changing; there are new avenues, [mediums], [and] new platforms. You have to have their pulse,” added Jasrita.
Top 2: Stella Berry’s take on a new phenomenon in shopping amid the pandemic
Have you heard of revenge shopping? We bet not, but we too are sure that it would be a term soon to ring bells. In a nutshell, revenge shopping goes hand in hand with luxury shopping. It is a phenomenon that sees luxury stores opening their doors to shopping-starved consumers looking to avenge their months spent holed up at home during the lockdown.
This month, Regional Business Director of mobile advertising solutions Adludio, Stella Berry dedicated a full thought leadership article on the buying trend.
Stella said that it is a testament to the unique relationship consumers have with luxury.
“No one could have predicted that after months of lockdown, the need for luxury goods has resulted in long queues outside of boutiques. This phenomenon is the result of brands, really making the effort in continuing to engage with people even during the lockdown,’ shared Stella.
All looking positive for brands and consumers, but Stella also puts out a caution.
“Returning to business as usual at this [rapidly] accelerated pace could bring about a negative impact [on] the environment, and consequences on sustainability. So luxury marketers need to find their balance to ensure the brand continues to remain sustainable, but also well-loved,” said Stella.
Top 1: Cognizant ANZ ropes in former PwC executive Jane Livesey
Livesey breathes and lives IT. At PwC, she led over 800 IT professionals for the company’s technology consulting practice team in Australia; while for 12 years, she served as tech managing director for Accenture. With a seasoned IT experience under her belt, Livesey has also become an active advocate for women in the field of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, or STEAM.
It hasn’t been very long since Jane settled into the role, and as we checked up on her, she shared with us, “It’s been great to join Cognizant and hit the ground running in Australia and New Zealand. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had conversations with both our clients and our teams. At Cognizant, we are focused on how to enable organizations in ANZ to keep on top of era-defining innovations and drive growth in the face of continuous technological and market changes. As CEO of ANZ, my priority is to provide local enterprises and governments with high-quality, market-leading digital transformation capabilities that enhance the lives of people and support digital-first.”
Watch the MARKETECH APAC REPORTS of these top five stories, with exclusive appearance and commentary from the newsmakers themselves.
If you have interesting stories, thought-leadership pieces, and case studies in the area of marketing, technology, media platforms, and SME, please send us an email at [email protected]. Who knows your story could be part of our top 5 next month.
Australia – Special Group Australia has debuted Uber Eats’ “Tonight I’ll be eating” (TIBE) campaign in the United States and Canada, starting with an ad featuring Hollywood superstars Mark Hamill and Patrick Stewart.
The TIBE campaign is the brain child of the agency, and after gaining traction in Australia, Taiwan, and Japan, Uber Eats has decided to add the two countries in the campaign’s audience reach.
In the 45-second spot, Hamill and Stewart who are both in full black suits with a bat in hand are seen approaching each other in a dark warehouse as if on a showdown. Hamill starts delivering a line of “Tonight I’ll be eating,” saying the food he wants to get delivered, then Stewart thereafter. Before they go on a brief verbal showdown, their fierce exteriors momentarily break off as each of their Uber Eats delivery arrives, to say a casual ‘Thank you” and ‘Bravo” to the deliverer.
The reference is made on the perpetual cultural argument of which sci-fi franchise is better between “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” in which both actors have starred in.
The latest spot follows the same format of past TIBE campaigns. The TIBE ads date back to its early spots in 2017. The campaign has been featuring prominent stars both in Australia and abroad such as British singer Boy George, actress Naomi Watts, and professional rugby league footballer Beau Ryan. The most recent TIBE iteration has global superstar Kim Kardashian-West and renowned Australian character Sharon Strezlecki from the sitcom Kath & Kim gracing the ad, where they are shown having a sarcastic argument on the right pronunciation of the word “nice.”
Hamill and Stewart’s ad follows a series of two other 15-second spots where the two actors compete against each other for the better Uber Eats meal, while simultaneously trying to beat each other at Air Hockey and Connect Four.
Cade Heyde, founding partner of Special Group Australia said, “The ‘Tonight I’ll be eating’ brand platform has had immense success in this market as well as across Asia Pacific. Expanding the platform to the other side of the world is a real honor and an incredibly proud moment for our agency. We couldn’t be more thrilled to share this loved campaign with the US.”
Meanwhile, Head of Marketing at Uber Eats for US and Canada Georgie Jeffreys believes that the launch of the Australia-grown campaign to the US and Canada is a natural progression as TIBE has proven to be a highly effective advertising campaign for the brand.
“It has helped drive record levels of customer penetration and brand affinity in the five markets in which it’s now live, and we’re excited to continue to expand the franchise with this latest launch,” said Jeffreys.
Joint CCO and partners at Special Group Tom Martin and Julian Schreiber share that for them, the extension of the campaign is no common feat.
“We’re very proud ‘Tonight I’ll be eating’ has become such a cultural phenomenon in Australia and is being taken to the US and Canada. Bringing together two iconic space legends who’s appeal crosses generations feels like the right way to introduce ‘Tonight I’ll be eating’ to the US. It is not often Australian creative work travels to the other side of the world, and we are extremely excited to watch this platform grow,” they said.
Uber Eats is an America-headquartered food delivery platform first launched in 2014. It is the extension of the ride-hailing app Uber.
Australia – Australian-based digital-out-of-home (DOOH) solutions Val Morgan Outdoor (VMO) has now extended its programmatic outdoor services to include New Zealand in its office buildings-targeted ad placement offering, VMO Work.
VMO’s VMO Work is a full-on digital office building network consisting of 135 screens across 75 locations reaching working professionals as they enter and exit work.
The network integrates full-motion digital advertising with localized content such as news and sport, financial information, and weather and building directory information with an aim to engage workers.
To ensure the complete VMO Work network, VMO has partnered with leading out-of-home exchanges: Hivestack, Vistar Media, and Broadsign Reach.
“The ability to deliver these audiences via programmatic exchanges offers clear benefits to advertisers seeking access to premium inventory. Advertisers [will] have the flexibility to up-weight, down-weight, pause or stop campaign activity in real-time with the option to adjust campaign targeting or update their creative,” said the company in a press statement.
VMO Managing Director Paul Butler said, “VMO has made programmatic a business priority and we are excited to bring this capability to New Zealand where there has been so much interest shown by the market.”
Australia – Australia-based independent creative agency Town Square has announced Wednesday that leading airline company Qatar Airways and its destination management subsidiary, Discover Qatar have procured its services to launch a global marketing campaign, specifically two of them.
The campaigns will target people traveling through Doha’s Hamad International Airport encouraging them to stopover on their journey and discover what Qatar has to offer, which is slated to be the host country for the world cup in 2022.
Town Square has recently achieved a distinction in travel marketing, having bagged the awards Advertising Agency of the Year at media outlet Mumbrella’s 2020 Travel Marketing Awards. It has also been awarded Ad Campaign of the Year for the campaign “Made of Balarat,” which implores locals to explore the city of Balarat in Victoria, Australia.
Town Square Founder and Director Danielle Moeller said, “We’re honored and delighted to be partnering with two world-leading organizations, Qatar Airways and Discover Qatar. Qatar is one of the most exciting and innovative countries right now, and with the 2022 World Cup on the horizon, the world is soon going to turn its attention to Qatar and discover what we already know, that it is a truly special place.”
“This is a major win for Town Square and reaffirms our strength in tourism and destination marketing. It provides us with amazing opportunities to showcase the depth of our creative and strategic capabilities as we drive to be recognized as one of Australia’s leading independent agencies,” added Moeller.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways’ Senior Vice President Steve Reynolds said, “I know first-hand the strength that the whole team at Town Square has at using robust consumer insights and category-defying creativity to help drive businesses success. We’re excited about our partnership and how it can drive growth in visitation to Qatar.”
Town Square shared that it has already started working on projects for the company which will be launched later this year.
Qatar Airways is the ‘World’s Best Business Class’ in 2019. Currently, it operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft connecting travelers to more than 160 destinations around the world.
Sydney, Australia – DHL eCommerce Solutions in Australia, a division of the multinational logistics company, Deutsche Post DHL (DPDHL) has announced that it has relocated its Sydney headquarters to a 19,000 sq. m facility at the industrial property Millennium Court located at the suburb Matraville. The eCommerce unit will now be co-located with another DPDHL unit DHL Global Forwarding.
The relocation will see the e-commerce logistics specialist more than double its square footage from its current Rosebery HQ.
The expansion comes in the middle of the significant growth in e-commerce shipping demands from overseas consumers as a result of lifestyle changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said that its export volume of children’s toys since the start of the year has been 60 times over. Other product categories such as kitchen & home cooking, health & beauty, and pet products are also said to have recorded triple digit growth in volume.
“Now more so than ever, Australian businesses are seizing cross border opportunities to expand their business globally, despite the current economic headwinds. As e-commerce becomes the new normal, this investment will enhance our speed and service capabilities,” said Denise McGrouther, managing director for DHL eCommerce Solutions Oceania.
The new facility will provide for better organization with space for planned investments into innovative warehousing technologies. When fully operational, the company expects advancements to enhance overall efficiency and enable faster processing times for the growing number of e-commerce parcels coming in and out of Australia.
Sydney, Australia – International-wide video advertising platform Unruly has announced that it has appointed former CEO of media agency IPG Mediabrands David Haddad as its newest CEO for the APAC division.
Unruly connects advertisers and publishers through its omnichannel marketplace UnrulyX to distribute video ads across a range of screen formats including CTV, mobile and desktop.
Haddad will be responsible for accelerating the company’s growth in the key Australian and New Zealand markets, working closely with the company’s key strategic partner News Corp Australia with which Unruly boasts its video distribution access to 50 publishing titles.
Haddad brings with him over 17 years’ experience of working in the advertising industry having serviced in functions of trading, planning, and client management as well as strategy and agency management.
Aside from his leadership in IPG Mediabrands which he ran in Singapore, he oversaw media agencies UM Australia as general manager and also assumed a directorial position for agency Bellamy Hayden.
Haddad will be based in Unruly’s Sydney office and will report to Alex Khan, the company’s managing director for international affairs.
Commenting on the appointment, Khan said, “The Australian and New Zealand markets are key growth territories for us, so having David’s incredible leadership skills, vast knowledge, and industry know-how will be crucial as we continue to roll out our exciting all-screen capabilities to our clients.”
Meanwhile, Haddad said, “I’m delighted to be joining Unruly, one of the most well-known, innovative companies in the global video advertising ecosystem. Bolstered by Tremor’s enhanced capabilities, I’m excited to unleash Unruly’s multi-screen, market-leading proposition across Australia and New Zealand.”
Unruly one of the business divisions of global advertising technology firm Tremor International, alongside Tremor Video and Rythmone.
Australia – National news brand The Australian has launched a new lifestyle section on its website, Luxury & Lifestyle, which will also be delivering a weekly newsletter.
The section is designed for the premium, hard-to-reach prestige consumer. Apart from original content creation, it will be drawing content from The Australian, WISH, and The Weekend Australian Magazine as well as from titles Vogue Australia, GQ Australia and Vogue Living.
David Meagher who is the incumbent editor of The Australian’s monthly luxury lifestyle magazine WISH, will be charged with managing the new section and newsletter.
Meagher said, “The new cross-platform offering will provide our subscribers, readers and clients with a home for the best in lifestyle and luxury news and create impact and resonance among an engaged high-income audience.
He added, “Through the newsletter each week, I’m looking forward to sharing with our audience the latest information, business updates, analysis, product news and events coverage on luxury, fashion, design, architecture, and much more from here and around the world.”
The Luxury & Lifestyle newsletter will also allow readers to shop a selection of luxury items, curated by Meagher each week, directly from the newsletter.
For August and September, Hermes will be Luxury & Lifestyle vertical and newsletter partner.
Sydney, Australia – International professional services Cognizant has announced that it has appointed former managing partner of PwC, Jane Livesey as its newest CEO for Cognizant Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). She starts assuming the role on Aug. 31, 2020.
At PwC, Livesey led over 800 IT professionals for the company’s technology consulting practice team in Australia.
Livesey’s professional credentials also trail back to being a tech managing director for Accenture ANZ with a lengthy service of 12 years.
“We are delighted to welcome Jane to Cognizant. We are confident that her extensive technology consulting experience, client centricity, [and] leadership qualities and personal brand will help us grow our business exponentially in Australia-New Zealand,” Cognizant CEO Brian Humphries said.
As a recognized advocate for women in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics), Livesay said that in line with Cognizant’s commitment to society, one of her priorities is to leverage the company’s collective passion, experience, and skills to support community programs as everyone continues to navigate the impacts of the pandemic.”
“I am delighted to be a part of Cognizant and look forward to enabling businesses and institutions in ANZ to keep on top of era-defining innovations and drive growth in the face of continuous technological and market changes,” saidLivesey.
“My priority is to provide ANZ enterprises and governments with high-quality, market-leading digital transformation capabilities that enhance the lives of people,” she added.
Australia – Australian-based independent creative agency, Special Group has appointed Abigail Dawson to the newly created role of brand director.
In her new role, Abigail will be responsible for steering the Special Group narrative, overseeing the agency’s business development and PR strategy and management.
Prior to joining the agency, Dawson spent the last four years as a journalist at the marketing publication Mumbrella, where she held positions including senior content journalist, senior reporter, and advertising and comms reporter.
Abigail will report to CEO Lindsey Evans. Evans said, “Despite the rollercoaster challenges of COVID -19, we are incredibly fortunate to be in a position to invest in our own brand’s development. We are thrilled to welcome Abigail to the Special Group family. She brings deep industry knowledge and fierce passion and we can’t wait to see that manifest at Special Group.”
Meanwhile, Dawson shared that the move was part of her plan to fully live out her passion.
“I am incredibly grateful to the team at Mumbrella. The growth and development I have made over the last four years will stay with me forever, but now feels like the right time to follow my passion for advertising and explore new opportunities,” said Dawson.
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