Tag: APAC

Sydney, Australia – Virtue, the creative agency by media company VICE, has appointed Victoria Fernandez, former account director of advertising firm BBH Singapore, to be its new business director for APAC.

In her previous role at BBH APAC, Fernandez has led brands to create award-winning work for big companies like Nike, Google, Netflix, and Disney, as well as Unilever, and Uber, among others. Aside from this, she has also worked as account executive at Ogilvy & Mather.

As the new business director of Virtue, Fernandez will be leading key APAC clients and driving new business. She will also be bringing her mentoring experience, where she led BBH’s internship program during her stint, to help develop Virtue’s young talent and ahead of the launch of a new young creators initiative next year.

Commenting on her new role, Fernandez said, “To join an agency which is able to operate from within VICE to see the cultural forces shaping society even before they become trends, is very exciting, to say the least,” said Fernandez.

Just recently, Virtue has also announced the appointment of Lesley John, former head of client services of creative technology company MediaMonks, to be its new managing director for APAC, where she will be establishing the company’s focus on the region as a key growth market.

John commented on Fernandez’s appointment, “Victoria has significant experience working with global brands that recognize the importance of playing a visible and valued role inside the culture. I’m delighted she is bringing her expertise to Virtue as we continue to grow the agency across the region.”

This November, Virtue has entered MARKETECH APAC’s Top 5 Stories for John’s appointment. 

During the interview, John shared her advice to brands when creating content for APAC audiences.

“Don’t be afraid to tap into emerging themes or subcultures if they’re relevant to the theme [or] story you want to deliver. Be authentic, reward your audience intellectually. I guess there’s always a temptation about going to the lowest common denominator, [and] that results to be very bland, inauthentic, doesn’t feel like it’s coming from a real point of view,” John said.

Singapore – With more consumers in Asia seeking to make a positive impact through their consumption, Ogilvy Consulting, the global growth and innovation arm of advertising agency Ogilvy, has launched its sustainability practice in Asia to help brands shape sustainability priorities and solutions in the region.

Ogilvy’s new practice will focus on Asia’s myriad pressing environmental, social, and inclusion issues. This includes the continued fight against poverty, the balancing of a growing middle-class and urbanization with the environmental impact, the stress for companies to move faster to net-zero emissions, as well as the desire to transform to alternative energy, and the complex and diverse cultural context for equity and inclusion improvements. The agency said that while many of the topics are global in nature, clients will be seeking solutions tailored to Asia’s unique market situations and social issues.

Jerry Smith, Ogilvy Consulting’s CEO for Asia, said that sustainability has become a greater priority for businesses, brands, and people, and the urgency and importance of this topic mean they need to build a more structured solution for their clients. 

“Our work now needs to take the corporate strategy and mandate and create practical ways to activate that at a regional and local level,” said Smith.

The new practice will be headed by Andy Wilson, former head of strategy at advertising firm BBDO Singapore. He brings with him over 25 years of experience in innovation, brand building, and strategic communications planning.

Commenting on his new role as Ogilvy Consulting’s senior partner of sustainability for Asia, Wilson said that he is thrilled to be able to accelerate this positive transition and help the clients across the region grow profitably while solving sustainability issues.

“We are on the brink of a radical paradigm shift in how we manufacture, market, and consume products and services. We have a critical role to play in helping organizations and brands develop environmentally and socially sustainable solutions and practices,” noted Wilson.

Singapore – Between consumers and businesses across APAC, the biggest disconnect is the need for a customer issue to be solved at first response and companies’ current shortcomings by bumping it down in their priorities.

According to a report by the global cloud leader in customer experience orchestration, Genesys, more than half of consumers in APAC place a premium on a company’s ability to respond quickly (58%) and solve their issues at first interaction (52%). Yet, only 41% of businesses in the region prioritized being quick to respond to requests and only 30% for first-contact resolution (FCR).

Despite this, companies are expressing confidence. About 66% of APAC businesses believe in their ability to respond quickly to customers, while 36% were confident that they excelled at FCR. On a more positive note as well, increasingly, CX is currently a board-level priority for more than half with 63% of regional companies in the study.

Moreover, the report revealed that 92% of repeat customers in APAC scored a business’ ability to listen as their most important attribute. Voice also remains the most-used channel with 76% among APAC consumers, but digital channels are surging. 

Assaf Tarnopolsky, Genesys’ senior vice president and general manager for APAC, believes that long-term brand loyalty will rely on the ability to orchestrate and deliver impactful CX that make the customer feel understood and valued throughout that exchange.

“Consumers today expect a company to know what they want or need, and to engage with the best course of action at speed. Moving beyond mere efficiency, and focusing on delivering the right data, and orchestrating the next-best action in the ideal moment and channel, are paths to success,” said Tarnopolsky.

The report surveyed 2,629 consumers and 690 CX executives from global markets inclusive of APAC, including Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, as well as China, and India.

Australia – Global in-game audio adtech company AudioMob has announced a new exclusive partnership deal with global gametech firm Livewire, aimed at launching APAC’s first in-game audio ad formats.

The partnership aims to leverage the power of in-game ads as an opportunity to reach players in a non-intrusive way within the game’s environment. Through the new platform, AudioMob will be serving in-game audio ads with an unobtrusive click-through banner. When users stream music or a podcast while playing a game, the in-game audio fades the stream before playing the ad.

According to research from AudioMob, about 61% of 18- to 24-year-olds listen to music when playing video games, while followed by 24- to 34-year-olds (49%), and 35- to 44-year-olds (44%).

Christian Facey, AudioMob’s CEO and co-founder, commented, “It’s amazing to see that we’re getting the same reception from the world’s largest advertising brands too.”

Indy Khabra, Livewire’s co-founder, believes that audio, in general, seems to be enjoying a renaissance with new formats, platforms, and reach.

“Brands in APAC are shifting budgets to target gaming audiences and including In-Game Audio ads delivers the non-intrusive experience players support,” said Khabra. 

Brad Manuel, Livewire’s co-founder, said, “More people in APAC play mobile games than any other digital medium, covering casual players in transit to deeply engaged daily players who experience integrated audio ads as a natural fit within gameplay.”

The in-game audio ad is live and available for all brands across the entire APAC region.

Sydney, Australia – Global web recommendation platform, Outbrain, has acquired video intelligence AG (vi), the Swiss-based contextual video technology platform, to strengthen its video offering for media owners and advertisers.

vi’s contextual and machine learning technology enables media owners to enhance user engagement and monetization by adding relevant video content to articles. It also provides advertisers with video ad inventory that drives awareness and user engagement.

Yaron Galai, Outbrain’s co-Founder and co-CEO, said the combination will allow Outbrain to deepen its partnership with media owners, providing mid- and top-of-article video solutions. 

“It will also expand our addressable market, introducing high-quality in-stream video inventory to support our brand advertisers. We see significant synergies between our companies and we are very excited to welcome the incredibly talented and experienced vi team to Outbrain,” said Galai.

Kai Henniges, the co-Founder and CEO of vi, believes that their years of video expertise and unique offering for publishers and CTV providers are a perfect addition to Outbrain’s market position and premium global media owner partnerships. 

“Together we will accelerate our mission to inspire, inform and entertain users by putting video in context. We believe we have found a great match between our companies’ cultures and we share the same vision of the future of media,” said Henniges.

According to Outbrain, the acquisition of vi is worth the purchase price of approximately US$55m, funded by US$46.75 million of balance sheet cash and 412,500 Outbrain shares. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022 and is expected to be accretive in the first year.

Singapore – Stagwell, the global digital-first marketing and communications network based in the United States, has opened its new regional headquarters in Singapore to further drive its growth across APAC. 

The new Singapore office comes as Stagwell scales its blend of transformative creative and connected solutions to brands in key growth markets worldwide. It will serve as a key geographic hub to anchor the network’s international client engagements and connect local teams with Stagwell’s platform of digital marketing services. 

Following the opening of the new office, Stagwell has tapped Randy Duax, the senior vice president for executive talent, to lead APAC operations as the managing director. Duax will directly report to Mark Penn, the CEO and chairman, and will be leading the marketing talent and digital services in Singapore and APAC, serving as a direct line to global leadership. 

Furthermore, Duax will be collaborating closely with Stagwell’s multiple agencies in the region, to expand the roster of Global Affiliates, including Beyond Media Group and Metric Design Studio. 

Commenting on the expansion, Duax said that he is proud to contribute to the efforts in bringing the creativity, strategic, and digital expertise of Stagwell to APAC.

“I have made some of my greatest business partners – and even greater friends – in Singapore, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build out Stagwell’s anchor in this high-growth region,” added Duax.

Meanwhile, Penn said, “Singapore is the right location for Stagwell’s regional headquarters and I’m excited for the growth of our network throughout Asia-Pacific. Randy’s experience and long-term engagements in Singapore will serve our network well.”

Singapore – foodpanda, which has been one of the leading platforms in food delivery in Asia, especially this pandemic, has unveiled a partnership that will see it innovating the core of its value proposition. 

Partnering with Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, the food delivery platform will now move to offer a wide range of consumer electronics and appliances for on-demand deliveries on foodpanda shops in Singapore and Thailand.

The partnership is Xiaomi’s first q-commerce in Asia outside of China. Foodpanda will be offering Xiaomi’s products ranging from smart devices, audio, and mobile accessories, to household appliances, and will be delivered to homes within 30 minutes.

Abhishek Sahay, foodpanda’s senior director of New Verticals, noted that beyond traditional e-commerce, brands are now already looking for the next phase of growth, and with q-commerce, foodpanda shops provide a new way for retailers to deliver their products to customers almost instantly. 

“We’re proud to be Xiaomi’s first quick commerce partner in Asia, helping them connect more instantaneously with their customers in the region,” said Sahay.

In July this year, foodpanda has entered MARKETECH APAC’s Top 5 Stories for its tie-up with Unilever. 

During the interview, Sahay shared how the platform has always been eyeing to be more than what it is through foraying to new verticals. 

“We are no longer just a food delivery company. We are expanding into new verticals. In terms of future plans, we definitely have a long way to go, specifically on quick commerce. And as we think of expansion, we have three different ways. One is we want more and more stores. Secondly, we think of new country expansion, launching in Japan, Cambodia, and Myanmar. And the third is category expansion.”

In addition to currently listing Xiaomi products on foodpanda shops in Singapore and Thailand, the foodpanda app is also pre-loaded in new Xiaomi mobile phones in 10 markets across Asia, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Taiwan, Philippines, and Bangladesh, Laos, as well as Cambodia, and Myanmar.

Singapore – Sleek, the smart corporate services platform that provides accounting services for SMEs and entrepreneurs, has bagged US$14m in Series A funding, valuing the company now at US$24m.

The fresh funds will be used to bolster Sleek’s tech and product development, hiring, and expand presence in existing markets and enter new ones.

Sleek, which has a presence in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia, as well as the UK, and the Philippines, streamlines, automates, and integrates company set-up, financial and regulatory reporting, and book-keeping, as well as banking services.

Commenting on the new funding, Julien Labruyere, Sleek’s co-founder, said, “This will allow us to grow faster and improve our product further in order to become the go-to digital platform for all entrepreneurs.”

The company has recently launched ‘Sleek Business Account’ that simplifies opening bank accounts for SMEs. It enables entrepreneurs and small business owners to open a deposit account in just a day through the Sleek app, and start transacting.

Adrien Barthel, Sleek’s co-founder, said that with the launch of Sleek Business Account, they have added a major brick in the company’s product vision of building the operating system for entrepreneurs. 

“Gone are the days where you needed to navigate between your corporate secretary, accountant, and banker – often sending documents hard copies via courier. Now everyone can start a Singapore company and collect the first payments in a day, and from anywhere,” said Barthel.

The funding has been led by investors White Star Capital and Jungle Ventures.

Sydney, Australia – Camera and social media company Snap has recently announced the launch of their new multi-format delivery advertising product, which enables a renewed buying experience for marketers to purchase all of Snap’s video formats in one advertising set.

Said product launch will include all of Snap’s video ad formats including Snap Ads, Story Ads, Collection Ads and Commercials and will feature Snap’s camera offerings, including augmented reality, by the second quarter of 2022.

In addition, the product will be inherently different from single product ad sets, in that delivery and ranking will be able to determine the best inventory to fill in for the selected formats, goal, target audience, and bid.

Kathryn Carter, general manager for APAC at Snap, said, “Snap ads have been successfully leveraged by businesses who seek to directly connect with audiences through immersive and engaging content. At Snap, we pioneered AR advertising at scale and have been innovating ever since.”

Multi-format delivery ad sets reporting will be broken out by ad format, so that buyers can evaluate the efficiency of each format and how it contributes to overall brand performance. While the core experience will remain relatively consistent, Snap has reconstructed how formats, and various campaign criteria are selected within the purchasing experience to allow for more flexibility for buyers.

“The launch of Multi-Format delivery, an industry first product, really solidifies augmented reality as an always-on buying opportunity for our clients. This launch is a game-changing opportunity for brands and advertisers, providing them with a simplified, all-encompassing buying process for their next campaign with Snap,” Carter added.

The new product announcement follows after Snap recently launched Arcadia, a global creative studio for branded augmented reality (AR), powered by a team of world-class experts that pioneered mobile AR advertising at Snap.

Speaking about how the new Snap product can aid Australian and Singaporean brands, Carter said, “Now, Australian and Singaporean brands across categories can easily discover innovative ad opportunities that optimize AR and video together to drive strong results. We are excited for advertisers to use Snap to reimagine their next campaign, using AR which we know is a growing sector and valuable tool.”

Hong Kong – As Shangri-La Hotel marks its 50th anniversary, it launches ‘#WithHeart’ campaign to celebrate its ties with the Asia region, honoring the passion and values that have driven the brand’s evolution and the rise of the region through the stories of those who have lived this transformation.

The ‘#WithHeart’ campaign aims to bring to life the significance of ‘wholeheartedness’ in all endeavors. It includes a short film series, which will be premiering on 19 November 2021, will tell the stories of young and passionate Asian culture makers.

Titled ‘From Asia with Heart’, the short film series features a culinary pioneer who rose to become Asia’s Best Female Chef, an architecture graduate who followed her heart to become an internationally renowned installation artist, a respected fashion designer who embarked on a journey of advocacy to open peoples’ minds to the idea of luxury goods made in China, and an iconic furniture designer inspired by the profound beauty of nature, as well as an illustrator reimagining Chinese culture and folklore for children, and a pianist infusing his riveting performances with Asian influences.

The teaser trailer is now available at www.shangri-la.com/50years. At the website, visitors will also find inspiring stories, perspectives, and foresight into different industry trends from even more Asian innovators, entrepreneurs, and visionaries who put their heart into everything they do. Full versions of the short films will be released in the coming weeks.

Hui Kuok, Shangri-La Group’s chairman, shared that Shangri-La is proud to have supported Asia’s growth over the years.

“As we mark our anniversary, we want to bring to life the stories that have made Asia what it is today. We are not just celebrating our past but looking towards the future as we embark on our next chapter,” said Kuok. 

In celebration of these stories from around the world, Shangri-La is also rewarding those who share their #WithHeart stories on social media. Beginning on 22 November on Instagram, the brand is inviting people to share what they do “with heart” for a chance to take their passions further and win exclusive Shangri-La prizes. 

To enter the contest, people should follow @shangrilahotels and post their stories, tagging Shangri-La and using the signoff “From _____ #withheart”, filling in the blanks with their name or handle.