Tag: APAC

Singapore – Media intelligence agency CARMA has announced the new leadership appointment of Khali Sakkas as its new head of insights for APAC. 

Sakkas brings with her 16 years of experience in communications measurement, leading teams across APAC to deliver award-winning work to MNCs and government clients. She has also contributed to the advancement of global best practices in communications measurement having served on the board of the industry’s international trade body, AMEC, and as Chair of AMEC’s Asia Pacific Chapter.

As the new head of insights, Sakkas will be leading CARMA Asia’s research and evaluation team, delivering vital insights to companies and policymakers across the region. She will also be responsible for driving best practices and innovation. 

Commenting on her appointment, Sakkas said she is looking forward to joining a strong global team to provide strategic and tactical advantages for clients.

“CARMA operates in some of the world’s most dynamic and innovative markets. For me, it strikes the right balance between global scale and deep local expertise. It is a business with the energy of a start-up, yet it has the benefit of a long history of quality and best practices,” said Sakkas.

Meanwhile, Andrew Nicholls, CARMA Asia’s co-founder and managing director, noted that CARMA’s approach is to combine cutting-edge technology with the most knowledgeable and experienced consultants in the industry. 

“Hiring Khali as Head of Insights for the region is a testament to that. Her expertise will be key to supporting our clients and the growing demand for actionable insights in Asia,” said Nicholls.

Australia – Martech landscape is getting complex, and the demise of the cookie is causing more confusion for marketers than ever before, and with this, Cheetah Digital, the cross-channel customer engagement solution provider for the modern marketer, has launched a new campaign, aimed at approaching conversations around the post-cookie world.

Ahead of the company’s flagship Signals21 event, Cheetah Digital engaged Wayne Knight, best known for his role as the snoopy ‘Newman’ from Seinfeld to play the hilarious, snoopy ‘Dennis’ whose hand gets ‘caught in the cookie jar.’ In the in-house created campaign, Knight appears in a series of YouTube clips as ‘Dennis’ being sneaky and snooping on customers, as well as the human embodiment of cookies.

The new campaign follows on from a 2020 campaign Cheetah Digital ran for their Signals event, where the martech company partnered with rockstar Tommy Lee from Mötley Crüe and his wife Brittany Furlan-Lee. The husband and wife duo emceed the event and were also featured in a series of comedic promotional videos in the lead-up to the event.

Tim Glomb, Cheetah Digital’s vice president of content and data, shared that the campaign creatively “humanises the technical process behind the scenes of cookie tracking.”

Billy Loizou, Cheetah Digital’s vice president of go-to-market for APAC, noted the importance of being ahead of the curve when it comes to making martech accessible and relatable is critical in today’s complex and content saturated B2B environment. 

“That’s why ahead of Signals, Cheetah Digital decided to go a more ‘Super Bowl Sunday’ route and have a bit of fun with our messaging. It’s great to be able to do something different and ‘think outside the cookie jar’ to enliven conversations and debate around the future of marketing beyond the cookie,” said Loizou.

Cheetah Digital created the campaign after it ran a survey polling over 5,000 global respondents that found 70% of consumers don’t trust social media with their data due to privacy issues, with 37% deleting cookies from their web browser.

Singapore – Dentsu has announced the launch of its new ‘dentsu gaming’, an integrated solution which brings together the extensive gaming heritage and expertise of the dentsu Japan network, with the global scale and specialist capabilities within dentsu international.

The dentsu gaming solution will be accessible in APAC through dentsu production, creative, CXM, and media agencies, as well as globally via Carat, dentsu X, iProspect, Isobar, dentsumcgarrybowen, Merkle, and the Content Business Design Centre (CBDC) within dentsu Inc. It will also provide access to specialist strategy, activation, and original intellectual property (IP) development for brands seeking to connect with and navigate the gaming ecosystem.

Moreover, dentsu gaming is led by its guiding principle of authentic and ‘respectful’ engagement within the gaming community.

Keiichi Yoshizaki, dentsu Inc’s executive officer, shared that their philosophy is that gaming is more than just advertising, as it is about creating, amplifying, and adding momentum to culture and the industry at large, and with dentsu gaming they  are able to do this through their own in-house gaming studios, innovative business ventures, investing in gaming start-ups and through strategic partnerships at global scale and, which sets us apart from all others.

“Our unique gaming heritage in the Japanese market, coupled with the global scale of our international business ensures dentsu gaming is the ideal way in which we’re able to make authentic and meaningful progress for the betterment of the gaming community, our clients, our partners and of course our people and their passion for gaming,” said Yoshizaki.

Peter Huijboom, dentsu international’s global CEO, media and global client, and one of the primary executive sponsors of dentsu gaming, commented that they have a truly integrated and borderless business model at dentsu which ensures a seamless sharing of insights, deep-knowledge and specialisms to benefit their clients, regardless of their geography – dentsu gaming is a perfect example of this.

“Bringing together the exceptional talent and deep gaming expertise from across the group, this new global solution makes it easier for clients and partners to leverage the potential of gaming for business growth through local market dentsu agency brands they already know and trust,” said Huijboom.

Through its network of agencies and teams worldwide, dentsu now provides bespoke game/IP development, in-game advertising, commerce, consumer promotions, native game integrations, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), talent activation, esports and experiential as its core capabilities through dentsu gaming.

Singapore – Programmatic digital advertising company PubMatic has appointed Vijay Anand Kunduri, former managing director of video advertising platform Unruly for Asia, to assume the role of regional vice president of OTT business for APAC.

Kunduri brings more than two decades of experience working with leading broadcast, video-on-demand, and digital companies across APAC. In the last decade, he has helped to establish American and European ad tech companies in the region, including setting up video ad network Adotube in SEA, and spearheading Switzerland-based Viewster’s move into the VOD and OTT markets in the region. 

As part of his new role, Kunduri will be accelerating the growth of the PubMatic’s OTT and video business across the region. He will also be consulting with existing publishers, creating new relationships, and further establishing PubMatic as a preferred platform for media buyers and publishers.

The newly appointed VP noted that there has been explosive growth in the adoption of connected screens and consumption of streaming content in the region.

“Brands and OTT publishers have a tremendous opportunity to engage consumers and find new revenue with programmatic partners like PubMatic that offer the optimal combination of technology and premium advertiser and content partnerships,” said Kunduri.

Jason Barnes, PubMatic’s chief revenue officer for APAC, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Vijay to the PubMatic team. We’ve been building an innovative OTT business in the APAC region, which we plan to further accelerate under his leadership.”

PubMatic and market measurement firm Nielsen in Australia has also recently announced a new data collaboration, which now makes Nielsen’s audience data available in PubMatic’s Audience Encore™ product, allowing advertisers to buy premium omnichannel inventory layered with quality data for precision targeting and better performance.

Hanoi, Vietnam – The data-driven loyalty platform in Vietnam, Society Pass (SoPa), has announced that it has closed a Series C funding round, which will help in accelerating its growth and acquisition strategy in the SEA and SA region.

Society Pass is a loyalty and data marketing ecosystem that operates multiple e-commerce and lifestyle platforms across its key markets. Its business model focuses on collecting user data through the expected circulation of its universal loyalty points.

Society Pass plans to expand its market presence by harnessing the untapped potential of SEA and SA, regions which according to the Digital 2021 Global Overview Report by HootSuite and We Are Social stand to see tremendous growth. SoPa believes that developing countries are only now experiencing a surge in digital adoption, with large potentials for future growth.

Moreover, the said funding aims to acquire companies with existing user and merchant bases that can be quickly plugged into the Society Pass ecosystem.

Dennis Nguyen, the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer at Society Pass, shared that the platform’s success up to this point has been built through offering unique value for both consumers and merchants, along with the infrastructure supporting that exchange.

“This new funding will allow us to replicate our success in our target markets and our ongoing aggressive M&A initiatives in the pipeline. We are very grateful to have found strong demand from quality investors that share our vision,” said Nguyen.

USA – Global travel has been on its toes ever since countries have been slowly opening up on the back of aggressive vaccination drives. In line with this, travel brands are gearing up to once again touch base with travelers and remind them of what they have to offer for consumers’ repressed wanderlust. 

The Ritz-Carlton, the global luxury hotel chain headquartered in the US, is one of them and in partnership with long-time agency partner Team One, the hotel chain is bringing to Asia-Pacific a campaign highlighting travel as a ‘gift’. 

Truly in these times, the capability to travel can only be seen as a boon. Titled ‘A Gift Like No Other’, the campaign presents visually appealing sceneries and iconic recreational activities spotlighting how travel presents as a gift of ‘escape’, ‘discovery’ as well as ‘tranquility’ and the like.

The 90-minute long-form ad of the campaign, ‘A Gift Like No Other’.

Through the years-long partnership of Team One and the global hotel company, both have been capturing The Ritz-Carlton’s ‘Let Us Stay With You’ ethos for their US-based campaigns. The campaign, which is the first work the agency spearheaded for the brand for the APAC region, is an extension of the said expression. 

According to Team One, the campaign was informed by insights from The Global Affluent Tribe™, its pioneering research program which examines the lives of affluent people across the globe. The study found that these types of travelers are passionate about exploring, observing, and challenging the different facets of life, fully understanding that personal interests and new experiences are essential to an authentic life. 

Team One’s CEO Julie Michael said, “In creating this campaign, our team leaned into these important insights by showing how travel today is about much more than the destination, and staying at a Ritz-Carlton hotel or resort uniquely enables the gift of creating enduring memories.” 

Meanwhile, Jennie Toh, vice president for brand marketing and management for Marriott International in APAC, the hotel chain’s parent company, commented, “It is the shared human experience of giving and receiving that sustains some of life’s most meaningful connections. This campaign brings this concept to life, connecting with a desire from our guests for immersive and enriching experiences.” 

Toh adds, “This is a wonderful opportunity to rediscover the incomparable gifts that come with travel, exploration, and learning, combined with the legendary service and personal connections delivered by the Ladies & Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton.”

The campaign aims to create awareness for the luxury brand and its newest hotel in the Maldives, and hotels in China, Japan, and Bali, helping the hotel group stand out as a unique player in a market that’s become crowded with other luxury properties. 

The integrated campaign includes a variety of elements spanning digital, OOH, print, and social. Aside from the main 90-minute spot, additional 30- and 15-second spots have also started to roll out across various international markets including Japan, China, and the Maldives.

Singapore – Customer experience platform Emplifi has announced the acquisition of the live streaming video platform, Go Instore. This move aims to give B2C brands faster connection-to-conversion experiences in-store and online.

Go Instore enables video-powered retail by connecting online customers with in-store product experts using immersive HD live video. With this, Go Instore and Emplifi’s leading-edge video technology will be providing brands with a new channel, which they can engage with and serve their customers, strengthening Emplifi’s omnichannel approach. 

Moreover, with the addition of Go Instore, Emplifi Social Commerce Cloud, which offers a multitude of marketers’ social commerce capabilities, will now have enhanced capabilities to be the brand’s partner in offering customer experience-focused services.

Mark Zablan, Emplifi’s CEO, commented that this acquisition marks another important milestone on the journey towards being the CX platform of choice for brands who want to give their customers great experiences at every touchpoint on their journey.

“We’re excited to start helping brands connect and convert consumers more quickly and directly through the power of live stream video and social media,” said Zablan.

Meanwhile, André Hordagoda, the co-founder of Go Instore, said that they are incredibly excited to join forces with Emplifi to deliver even more powerful shopping experiences across their client’s websites and social channels. 

Aman Khurana, Go Instore’s co-founder, believes that Emplifi’s vision, innovation, and speed-to-market align perfectly with Go Instore. 

“Together we will accelerate retail transformation with social commerce,” said Khurana.

Coming off the recent rebranding and fusion of Astute Solutions and Socialbakers companies which announced the brand launch of Emplifi, the CX platform’s acquisition of Go Instore will help in strengthening its position as a CX leader and provides brands with an end-to-end platform for social marketing, social commerce, and omnichannel service and care.

Singapore – The software application provider for customer, employee, and business experiences, InMoment, has just announced the appointment of Eric Weight, former head of presales and consulting at CX software company NICE Satmetrix, to assume the role of vice president of solutions consulting for APAC.

Weight has over 25 years of experience designing and deploying CX solutions at various B2B growth technology companies in the world. He also has considerable experience leading consulting, services, product management, and pre-sales teams worldwide.

Aside from his recent role at NICE Satmetrix, Weight has also worked as the vice president of professional services and customer success at technology expense management solutions provider MobiChord, the vice president of solutions consulting at customer experience and market research company MaritzCX, and the vice president of implementation services at cloud-based software firm Allegiance.

The latest appointment aims to support InMoment’s rapid expansion across Southeast Asia and Japan. Through this, Weight will be leading the expansion and advising companies in transforming the experiences of their customers.

Commenting on his appointment, Weight said that he has been waiting for the right time and the right company to deliver real customer experience transformation to SEA companies, and InMoment quickly emerged as a true leader in this space and has now invested in this market to make his hopes a reality.

“Having lived in the region previously, I’m thrilled to return and join the Singapore-based InMoment team and help our clients realize the ROI from Experience Improvement and become their trusted partner in delighting customers and stakeholders alike,” said Weight.

Meanwhile, David Blakers, InMoment’s managing director for APAC, said, “We welcome Eric’s talent and leadership to InMoment, and look forward to his expertise helping build high impact customer experience programs across the region.” 

In August this year, InMoment also announced the launch of its new Singapore data center, which aims to strengthen the company’s presence in the APAC region.

Australia – APAC digital transformation and supply chain consultancy, TMX, has appointed the independent creative agency Now We Collide, to manage its brand strategy, as the firm expands rapidly across the region.

TMX offers end-to-end digital and supply chain solutions, and works with major consumer brands including UNIQLO, Australia Post, BMW, L’Oreal, and Kmart, as well as Asahi, and Coles.

Through the partnership, Now We Collide has developed a universal visual identity campaign that translates across multiple languages and markets to support TMX’s growth, encompassing digital and social media strategy, as well as a full suite of creative for both organic and paid media.

The new integrated brand campaign is driven by high-end 3D animation and its aesthetic has been made dynamic, fast-paced, visually informative, and warm to echo TMX’s brand purpose – ‘Invent Tomorrow’.

Travis Erridge, TMX’s CEO, said that the new brand strategy firmly establishes the company’s credentials.

“Navigating through the nuances of each APAC market is no small feat however Now We Collide were experts in providing consistency of message. We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with Now We Collide as we continue our growth across key markets,” said Erridge. 

Now We Collide’s managing partner and CEO, Keir Maher, said that it is a privilege to support a successful Aussie business that’s making such big waves on the international stage. 

“The visual identity, language, and style guide of the campaign is very unique in the category and goes to the heart of TMX as an innovator. We’re proud of this campaign that translates TMX’s unique story onto a global platform and best of all, we’re already seeing the strategy provide positive business outcomes for the team at TMX,” said Maher.

Singapore – The global customer experience orchestration company, Genesys, has just announced two new senior appointments, to reaffirm the importance of APAC as a growth market for the company. 

The key senior hires are Assaf Tarnopolsky, the new senior vice president and general manager for APAC, and Stephen Hamill, the new vice president for ASEAN and South Asia.

Tarnopolsky will be driving cloud business momentum in APAC, which experienced strong growth in the fiscal year 2021. He brings with him more than 25 years of leadership experience to the role, including most recently as director of marketing solutions for SEA, North Asia, and Japan at LinkedIn, where he drove significant growth for the platform’s advertising business in Asia. Tarnopolsky’s past media and technology career highlights also include serving as the CEO of tech-news start-up Tecca.com, the vice president at Sony Pictures, and director of international business development at mobile-media pioneer MobiTV.

Meanwhile, Hamill will be responsible for business strategy and sales with a focus on accelerating the growth of Genesys in ASEAN and South Asia. He possesses more than two decades of expertise, having held senior leadership roles in APAC with technology firms such as Oracle and Adobe.

Commenting on his appointment, Tarnopolsky said that he looks forwards to being a part of Genesys at a pivotal point in its journey to assist businesses in their digital transformation journey.

Meanwhile, Hamill commented, “I am thrilled to be driving the next chapter of growth for Genesys and look forward to deepening our presence across the region.”

ML Maco, Genesys’ executive vice president for global sales and field operations, shared that customer experience has become a strategic differentiator as companies adopt cloud and digital technologies to meet customers’ evolving expectations, especially post-pandemic. 

“I am confident with Genesys, they have the platform to transform customer interaction into an empathetic customer experience. The leadership of Assaf and Stephen will help APAC businesses realize the value of the vision we call ‘Experience as a Service’,” said Maco.

The appointments come after Gwilym Funnell’s elevation from Genesys’ head of Asia Pacific to global head of strategic growth, which is a newly created global role responsible for identifying new opportunities for the company to expand across new market segments and establish strategic partnerships.