Tag: APAC

Singapore – Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s award-winning travel program and marketplace, has partnered with ONE Esports, an esports media subsidiary of ONE Championship (ONE), to launch ‘Gamer’s Paradise’, a 15-episode variety talk show series. This all-new programme will feature content that celebrates the diversity of gaming and esports culture across Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Singapore, as well as Thailand, and Vietnam.

‘Gamer’s Paradise’ will feature the best esports athletes, gaming and influencer talent, and industry experts. Its episodes will centre on a theme, from deep dives into popular gaming titles to explorations of broad industry trends. Each episode will be broken down into five engaging segments, namely ‘The Pulse’, which features a panel of experts and gaming celebrities discussing the hottest gaming and esports topics, ‘Hero Story’ (Stories of Inspiration), an in-depth interview with Asia’s favourite esports heroes and personalities, and ‘Gamer’s Haven’ (A Day Away From The Game), a day of relaxation using Marriott’s facilities, offering esports personalities and gaming celebrities a much-needed break, as well as ‘Side Quest’, a feature on the best video game worlds in history, and lastly, ‘House Party’, where hosts and guests that appear on the episode will participate in a variety of geek-themed party games.

The programme will be hosted by popular ‘Super Host’ and emcee Eri Neeman and ONE Esports’ MikaFabs. Neeman has hosted several premiere esports events and tournaments such as the ESL One Birmingham 2019, ESL One Manila 2016, Manila Masters, and REV Major, while MikaFabs is a writer, producer, and esports host, who has hosted international tournaments for Valorant and League of Legends: Wild Rift.

Moreover, fans can also expect to catch their favourite gaming and esports talent on the series and stand to win prizes from Marriott Bonvoy by engaging with the show online. Program guests include League of Legends player Teddy from Korean esports team Kwangdong Freecs; Dota 2 personality and host Sheever; Japanese Street Fighter player Kawano; and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players Edward and OHEB from Filipino esports team Blacklist International; amongst others.

Carlos Alimurung, CEO of ONE Esports, shared that the goals for Gamer’s Paradise are to celebrate esports, provide our audience with deep insights into the ecosystem and community, and share the stories of gaming and esports heroes who ignite the world with strength, hope, dreams, and inspiration.

“The series will highlight Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of properties across Asia. Marriott Bonvoy is the perfect travel program for the gaming and esports fan, whose lifestyle consists of frequent travel,” said Alimurung.

Meanwhile, Julie Purser, Marriott International’s vice president of marketing, loyalty & partnerships for APAC, commented that they have teamed up with ONE Esports on Gamer’s Paradise to bring Marriott Bonvoy’s expression of good travel in both virtual and physical settings to gamers across the region. 

“This series is rooted in travel, and we hope to showcase how the digital and gaming worlds draw inspiration, energy, and community from the transformative power of travel. There has been great synergy working alongside ONE Esports to execute this project together and we are confident Gamer’s Paradise will be a thrilling spectacle that inspires audiences,” said Purser.

‘Gamer’s Paradise’ will premiere across ONE Esports’ digital channels, including Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and AfreecaTV, on 4 July 2022 at 8.30 PM SGT. The program will air in English every Monday, with subtitles in Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.

In June 2022, ONE Esports has been appointed as the official media partner for League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK). The League of Legends tournament is organised by League of Legends Champions Korea Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Riot Games Korea Limited.

Singapore – B2B marketplace Proxtera together with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has launched an open financial education and action programme for MSMEs in Asia and Africa, which will be called, the ‘SME Financial Empowerment (SFE)’ programme.

The programme is a digital portal operated by Proxtera that aims to help MSMEs build foundational digital financial literacy skills, and gain a good understanding of cross-border financial services relevant to MSMEs, to help them thrive in the post-pandemic digital economy. It was rolled out last 14 June 2022 with market partners in Asia and Africa, starting with Ghana, India, the Philippines, and Singapore, and will benefit more than 400,000 MSMEs across both regions.

In addition, the SFE programme will be covering three key areas as a focus for 2022, namely Essential Financial Digital Skillset, MSME Financial Services, and Digital Economy Access & Growth. It will also be providing two certification courses that were developed in collaboration with UNDP, IFC, MAS, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and the Global FinTech Institute (GFI), namely Foundational Financial Literacy and Global Financial Literacy.

Saurav Bhattacharyya, Proxtera’s CEO, commented that they are proud to be the exclusive lead partner of the programme, and running the programme office that ideates, manages, and implements the rollout. 

“The SFE programme stays true to our mission of supporting MSMEs, by upskilling them to understand financial services and how best to tap into the digital marketplace effectively and globally. SFE provides that first step for individuals to embark on a journey of digital transformation, where their understanding and digital competencies mature over time, and they become part of an integrated ecosystem that allows them to truly trade business-sans-borders,” said Bhattacharyya.

Singapore – One of the challenges for online sellers looking to provide service and sustainability is that 23% of everything that global shoppers order online is returned and almost 39% admitted to over-ordering with the intention of returning unwanted items, presenting another dilemma for retailers’ digital supply chain, according to global e-commerce consultancy Wunderman Thompson Commerce. 

The same research found that the worst offenders for returns in the APAC region were consumers in India, sitting at the top of the global chart at 44%. Yet, the least likely to return in the region was Japan at 13%. It also revealed that the increasing influence of retail marketplaces continues to drive consumer spending online, which can be predominately seen in the APAC markets, as China leads the way in online spending sitting at 66%, followed by Indonesia and India at 64%, Thailand at 60%, Australia at 55%, and Japan at 48%.

But winning online means getting the service right – one of the biggest changes post-pandemic is the expectation and demands that consumers have of retailers. About 24% of global consumers now expect delivery in two hours, and the APAC region leads the charge in these demands with 46% of consumers in India expecting delivery in under 2 hours, Indonesia at 27%, and China and Thailand at 25%. These delivery expectations present a conundrum to retailers with 48% of global consumers demanding faster delivery, while 68% said that they wished that brands and retailers offered better environmental practices. 

Meanwhile, when consumers were asked if they ‘actively choose brands that are more environmentally responsible’, the region sits well beyond the global average. Thailand consumers sit at number one globally at 83%, followed by Indonesia at number two with 82%, India at number three with 81%, and China at number five with 71%. Australia and Japan had further to go in making active in sustainable choices, sitting at 46% and 38% respectively.

Aadit Bimbhet, regional commerce director at Wunderman Thompson APAC, shared that the COVID-19 has accelerated digital adoption globally and in Southeast Asia nearly 70 million new shoppers are estimated to have come online for the first time, while marketplaces remain the dominant force online, consumer loyalty and preferences in APAC are evolving in the face of fragmented online journeys. 

“Consumers expect to engage with brands across multiple touch-points and brands have to start enabling connected commerce experiences to efficiently acquire and retain shoppers. Furthermore, as competition for shoppers in APAC increases, delivering brand experiences that are consistent, cohesive and engaging will be crucial to capturing a share of heart, mind and wallet in the long run,” said Bimbhet.

Meanwhile, Hugh Fletcher, global head of consultancy and innovation at Wunderman Thompson Commerce, noted that TikTok, Twitter and Instagram, marketplaces and e-commerce more generally offer shoppers an instant way to engage with, and purchase from, their favourite products and services.

“However, this means demands are higher, expectations are loftier, and consumers have reduced patience; they want products and services at the click of a button and won’t settle for second-best. Couple this with the rising cost of living and retailers face a fight to get consumers’ cash as they choose where they shop, which brands to invest in and what digital services to use,” said Fletcher.

In addition, the research shows that consumers have a healthy appetite for retailers to invest in emerging tech trends, including cashless payments with 58% and checkout-less supermarket services such as Amazon Go with 64%. The online world is also creating enormous value for retailers, with 60% of consumers planning to increase their usage of digital shopping channels. This has been driven by working from home (WFH), with 69% of consumers saying they have shopped more online, and 62% saying they have discovered new brands as a consequence of WFH.

The results have been even better this year for online marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay, Mercado Libre, and Rakuten, amongst others. About 64% of global consumers go as far as to say they are excited by the prospect of buying everything through one retailer and 36% have already started their search on top marketplaces. While Amazon sits at number one across Europe, UK, USA, and UAE, APAC sees more diversity, with more marketplaces vying for consumers and social media platforms featuring heavily.

Singapore – About 80% of consumers in Singapore and Hong Kong want brands to connect with them personally, and 70% say that brands have deepened their relationship in the past year through positive online experiences, according to a survey by digital experience management software Sitecore.

The survey showed that seven out of 10 consumers have deeper relationships with brands, while the key to securing better experiences for consumers was to deliver quality customer service support and interactions, good customer experience when making a big-ticket item, positive initial interaction with a new brand, and through providing a relevant, helpful experience. The elements that trumped price were the high quality of products with 66%, reliability with 55%, and transparency and believability with 46%.

The same survey also found that consumers still greatly value the excitement of the in-store shopping experiences, with 36% saying they want to buy everything online, and 53% saying they ‘live for the experience’ and love to shop in person. Meanwhile, consumers place top priority on the ability to shop on mobile devices where apps or websites work well with 54%, and sites that remember their shopping preferences with 42%.

Joey Lim, Sitecore’s president for APJ, noted that consumers expect outstanding digital commerce experiences and they also expect online platforms and apps to work seamlessly, and their desire to shop in-store is very strong, however, the shift to digital is putting more pressure on brands to deliver quality customer service online. 

Lim also shared the survey showed that one in three consumers believe brands that show empathy and understanding will build stronger relationships with customers.

“Brands can pursue actions that build a stronger relationship with customers, such as illustrating empathy and understanding what they need at the moment. They can do this by providing insightful recommendations and deploying imagery and language that makes them feel represented by the brand,” she added. 

Moreover, the report revealed that loyalty changes frequently, as less than 25% of consumers are very loyal to their favourite brand store but consumer technology, banking services, and consumer goods deliver the strongest brand loyalty. It also found that consumers say that they have confidence in their favourite brand because it meets their expectations, gains trust, and guarantees satisfaction.

Meanwhile, discounts, loyalty programmes, and clear communications are highly valued when brands have to change prices, and more than 90% agree that brands need to prove that they treat their customers and their employees fairly. The survey also showed that while more consumers under the age of 44 are digital converts, most consumers love to shop in person for most of their purchases, and 40% say they chose to shop at brands with values that align with their own, as well as a third of consumers say that they have chosen to shop at brands with ‘real life’ vs. ‘perfect life’ experiences.

China – Global luxury e-commerce platform Mytheresa has appointed Steven Xu, former head of digital and omnichannel for APAC and the Middle East at British American Tobacco (BAT), to be its new president for China and APAC. 

In his new role as president, Xu will now be responsible for all Mytheresa consumer-facing activities in China and APAC.

Xu brings a wealth of consumer-centred digital experience to the APAC region. Aside from his BAT, Xu has also held the role of regional head of digital activation at Philip Morris, and vice president of digital marketing and e-commerce for APAC at Ralph Lauren.

Commenting on his appointment, Xu said, “I am thrilled to join Mytheresa to further drive the business in China and APAC. There is huge growth potential in the region as luxury consumers continue to shift online. Mytheresa’s unique multi-brand digital shopping experience will attract many more customers in the future.”

Meanwhile, Michael Kliger, CEO of Mytheresa, commented, “We’re excited to have Steven on board to further continue our successful global expansion and become the number one destination in luxury e-commerce. Having Steven joining shows our clear commitment to the sophisticated Chinese luxury shopper and their demands.”

Gareth Locke, chief growth officer and managing director of Mytheresa, shared that APAC, particularly China, is an important growth market for Mytheresa, and building a local team there is crucial for them to make consumers even more aware of their unique value proposition.

“Steven brings a wealth of digital experience. We are extremely delighted to welcome him as the new President of China and Asia Pacific,” said Locke.

Singapore – Programmatic media partner MiQ has elevated its current CEO for ANZ, Jason Scott, to the new role of CEO for APAC, adding SEA to his leadership remit. 

In his upgraded role, Scott will be responsible for driving business growth and expansion throughout SEA. His remit includes APAC countries excluding India and China, and he will continue to serve as CEO for Australia and New Zealand.

Scott joined MiQ in 2019, following a successful career in advertising and media. He has been the general manager for Microsoft Advertising Asia, responsible for growing revenue and market share in the Asia region including greater China, India, and Japan. Scott has also held senior executive roles at Allure Media (Fairfax) and ninemsn, using his digital media and sales background to service some of the world’s largest technology clients.

Commenting on his elevation, Scott said that he is thrilled to be adding the fast-growing SEA region to his current remit, as the region’s market is dynamic and fast-paced and he is looking forward to accelerating growth by adding additional regional support. 

“MiQ has grown significantly over the past few years, with regional expansion across Australia, increased channel diversity, growth in our product portfolio and senior staff appointments. My priority now is to ensure MiQ is adequately servicing the Southeast Asian market and securing its position within the global MiQ network,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Richard Dunmall, MiQ’s global president, shared that since Scott joined them in late 2019, his performance leading their ANZ business has been nothing short of exceptional. 

“As momentum continues to build, I’m excited to see how Jason’s leadership can now be applied to our fastest-growing region. Jason is no stranger to this dynamic part of the world, holding multiple leadership positions across the region, throughout his career. I have no doubt he will continue to drive business across APAC,” he said.

India – Global adtech Criteo has announced plans for its first regional Technology Operations and Analytics Centre in Hyderabad City in Telangana, India, with the aim to strengthen its support for clients and partners. This centre is part of the adtech’s strategic plans to expand and scale its operational capabilities across APAC and beyond. 

Hyderabad was selected as the headquarters of Criteo’s regional technology centre given the location’s strategic connection to the information technology (IT) industry and its concentration of talent, robust IT infrastructure, and long-term growth potential. This centre seeks to support Criteo’s operations in India, Southeast Asia, Australia-Pacific, Greater China, South Korea, and Japan. Its digital advertising services (AdOps) function will also support Criteo globally, including EMEA and Americas.

Moreover, Criteo is also planning to hire around 150 engineers, data analysts, and solution architects over the next two years. By expanding its talent pool to scale operations and accelerate co-innovation of AdOps solutions with regional customers and partners, the adtech progresses on its commitment to power the world’s marketers and media owners with trusted and impactful advertising.

Kenneth Pao, Criteo’s executive managing director for APAC, said, “Over the past few years, Hyderabad has transformed into a global tech hub, with its immense growth potential and vast talent pool. With the development of this centre in a strategic location, Criteo remains committed to supporting our regional customers and partners by scaling our operational capabilities and ensuring that they can innovate with leading AdTech solutions created for the fair and open internet.”

Apart from the development of this centre, Criteo has also been ramping up its investments and product expansion in APAC, including the expansion of its Retail Media offerings and efforts to help marketers and media owners activate first-party, privacy-safe data through its Commerce Media Platform strategy.

Pao added, “Looking ahead to the rest of 2022, Criteo will continue to prioritise integration, scale, and with our APAC infrastructure investments, product innovation, and partnerships. Ultimately, strengthening our leading position in commerce media.”

Singapore – Global adtech company The Trade Desk has announced the appointment of Gregory Fournier as general manager for client development. The appointment will see Fournier build meaningful relationships with key advertisers and agencies to help them understand, navigate and leverage the power of the open internet to solve their unique advertising challenges. 

In addition, through collaborating with global and regional product and engineering teams, he will propose customised solutions to meet the specific needs of the clients across Asia Pacific. 

Prior to joining The Trade Desk as GM of client development, Fournier served as Global SVP of strategy for Unruly, a CTV and video advertising platform. In his previous role at Unruly, Fournier worked closely with blue-chip global brands and major global agency holding groups to devise and execute effective strategies that delivered tangible business results through strong digital storytelling, client-focused leadership, research, analysis, and marketing communications.

In an exclusive interview with MARKETECH APAC, Fournier shared that while working in Unruly, he learned a lot about how to engage with brand owners and educate them about the importance of testing ads to predict their emotional and cultural resonance with the audience.

Fournier continued, “When it comes to choosing what platforms, what formats and what data you can use to advertise your brands, it is essential to educate the clients on all aspect of their choices. This includes looking beyond the walled gardens to seize the full potential of the Open Internet which allows brands to reach more customers, in more places with more transparency and choice at every stage.”

Meanwhile, we also asked his insights about how consumers’ media consumption has changed over time and what platforms must brands focus on to effectively resonate with consumers. 

He explained, “The average consumer in APAC spends almost 8 hours online each day and less than 30 per cent of that is spent on search and social media, which we refer to as ‘walled gardens’.” 

“Today’s consumers are increasingly spending more of their time on the open internet – listening to music and podcasts, browsing their favourite content and news online and streaming TV shows, movies, and live sports on OTT platforms. The thriving open internet offers fast-growing ad opportunities on platforms like CTV and OTT and this is why brands should focus on unleashing the full advertising potential of the open internet,” Fournier added.

On his appointment, Fournier shared, “The Trade Desk is focused on preserving a free and open internet. I believe this is what the industry needs right now. An open, competitive internet is the best way to drive growth, creativity, amazing content. I am super excited to be part of this team to shape the future of advertising on the open internet.” 

Simon Morgan, VP, client development, APAC at The Trade Desk, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Gregory to The Trade Desk. To have someone of Gregory’s pedigree and calibre is testament to our ongoing investment in the Client Development team in Asia Pacific. Gregory’s invaluable experience will help us to further unlock the full potential of the open internet for brands across Asia Pacific.” 

Singapore – Manulife Singapore, a provider of insurance and financial planning solutions has partnered with Vonage a global cloud communications helping businesses accelerate their digital transformation, to enhance customer engagement in the Asia Pacific region.

As part of the partnership, Manulife Singapore will use Vonage’s SMS API to deliver automated and timely notifications for one-time passwords (OTPs), policy notifications and promotional messages to its customers in the region, including Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and China. 

In addition, Vonage APIs enable businesses to easily build intelligent, intuitive customer experiences directly into their existing applications, systems and workflows, enabling communications across any channel and on any device for better customer engagement.

Sunny Rao, Senior Vice President, API Global Sales of Vonage, said adopting digital solutions and personalised customer experiences has become critical to meeting changing customer expectations and strengthening brand loyalty. In fact, 71% of Singaporean consumers were more likely to buy again from a brand that treated them like an individual. 66% only buy from brands that understand their preferences, such as communicating through their favourite channels1.

“SMS remains a vital communication format in the Asia Pacific region, where mobile penetration continues to rise, with 1.8 billion subscribers expected by 20252. Vonage’s solutions can help businesses create seamless customer journeys through automated communications solutions. This ensures that businesses are engaging with customers on their preferred channel in a continuous and timely manner,” Rao said.

Both the number of application-to-person (A2P) messages and their value are growing as brands add mobile and digital channels to interact with their existing customers and recruit new ones. 1.3 trillion A2P SMS messages were sent in 2020, in emerging Asia Pacific, accounting for 70% of all A2P messages worldwide. It is expected that the number of A2P SMS messages will reach 1.9 trillion by 2025.

As a Vonage API Services customer, Manulife Singapore’s developers also benefit from priority support via a designated support team contactable through all channels and access to an Enterprise Service Manager who can assist with on-boarding and ongoing project success.

Tokyo, Japan – Global advertising agency TBWA\Worldwide has appointed Kazoo Sato, former executive creative director at TBWA\Hakuhodo, to be its new chief creative sustainability officer at TBWA\Hakuhodo and TBWA\Asia.

In his new role, Sato will be the key creator of solutions to sustainable problems through the creation of innovative and unconventional design thinking, creative campaigns, products, experiences, and communications for TBWA\Hakuhodo and TBWA\Asia collective. He will also be responsible for engaging in activities, which elevate the agency in Japan and the entire Asia collective’s learning and engender a pervasive culture around sustainable solutions. 

Moreover, Sato will be helping identify and define the clients’ long-term value, brand goals, and business objectives, advising on insight and approaches to drive change and make a positive impact across society, business, and the environment. 

Sean Donovan, TBWA\Asia’s president, shared that creativity is the most potent skill they can bring to address the issues of sustainability and Sato’s elevation to lead both TBWA\Hakuhodo and TBWA\Asia’s creative approach to sustainability is a natural one.

“His passion and curiosity about sustainability are evident across the work he has consistently delivered in his capacity as a chief creative officer of TBWA\Hakuhodo. In his new role, Kazoo will strive to make sustainability actionable and relevant across all clients and agencies by leveraging his outstanding and distinctive approach to creativity,” said Donovan.

TBWA said that in addition to this role, Sato was accepted and has commenced studying at the highly regarded Graduate College of Global Environmental Studies in Tokyo towards an MA in Global Environmental Studies.

Meanwhile, Chris Iki, TBWA\Hakuhodo’s chief operating officer, said, “This is an exciting career opportunity for Kazoo, who has consistently leveraged the power of creativity to make a difference in people’s lives and a positive impact on the planet, which is evidenced in his extensive portfolio of work. We congratulate Kazoo on his role and wish him well with his studies.”