Tag: Asia Pacific

Singapore – Global home appliance manufacturer Electrolux has announced that it is shutting down its regional office in Singapore and is aiming to relocate its APAC and MEA commercial leadership to Thailand, MARKETECH APAC has learned recently.

In an exclusive statement sent by Samar Refai, communications director, APAC & MEA transformation at Electrolux, she stated that with this office closure, there will be several regional employees who will be laid off. However, they did not specify the number of employees who will be affected. The company has promised that the affected employees will be offered the maximum level of support during the upcoming transition period.

“With a newly established commercial set-up for APAC & MEA, Australia and Thailand are becoming key hubs for Electrolux Group in the region. Having the regional capabilities & competencies within these hubs ensures proximity to our customers, consumers, manufacturing sites, R&D and Innovation centers,” Refai told MARKETECH APAC.

Refai also assured that despite the imminent fate of its Singapore office, Electrolux will continue to drive its important business in the APAC&MEA region focusing on growth.

“This decision has no impact, whatsoever, on the operational business & trade relations, in any of Electrolux Group’s markets in APAC & MEA, including Singapore Sales office in Braddell,” she also added.

Electrolux has recently recorded a dip in its global sales, according to its recent year-end report for the fourth quarter of 2023. In it, the company noted that organic sales decreased by 0.8% mainly driven by negative prices but also lower volumes.

“In three out of four business areas we managed to navigate this challenging market environment in a fairly good way, even if the weak market demand resulted in an earnings decline for 2023 in our European and Asia-Pacific operations,” Jonas Samuelson, president and CEO of Electrolux stated.

Electrolux’s layoffs also join other major companies who have made significant cut-offs to its Singapore offices, including Unilever and Lazada.

Singapore – The impact of martech on the marketing scene is profound, as these companies enable businesses to navigate the complexities of the digital age. By leveraging advanced technologies, marketers can better understand consumer behaviour, tailor their messages to specific segments, and measure the success of their campaigns with unprecedented precision. This not only enhances the overall efficiency of marketing efforts but also contributes to a more personalised and engaging experience for consumers. 

As the marketing ecosystem continues to evolve, martech companies play a pivotal role in shaping its trajectory. The recognition of martech products and services is crucial in today’s competitive landscape, as businesses that embrace these technologies gain a strategic advantage in reaching and resonating with their target audience, ultimately driving growth and maximising return on investment.

With this, MARKETECH APAC is proud to announce the launch of its inaugural “Marketing Technology Awards” aiming to recognise the groundbreaking achievements in marketing technology, uniting the brands and tech organisations within the region’s marketing community. Moreover, the awards aim to celebrate the impact of various technologies in the marketing industry across Asia-Pacific.

Whether you’re a leading tech powerhouse pushing the limits or a brand redefining strategies through tech, the awards programme is crafted to spotlight and applaud your distinctive contributions to the industry. With its 48 enterable categories–comprised of brand collaboration, martech, industry leader, and team categories–the awards guarantee comprehensive coverage, highlighting specific specialisations within the realm of marketing technology. 

The judging criteria for the awards are as follows:

  • Brand Collaboration: Results (50%), Tech Implementation (30%), Tech Selection Process (10%), Objective (10%)
  • Martech: Case Studies (45%), Innovation (30%), Tech Capabilities (25%)
  • Industry Leaders: Business Contributions (40%), Leadership (40%), Case Studies (20%)
  • Teams: Team Performance (40%), Team Culture (30%), Business Innovation (30%)

The awards night is happening in September in Singapore this year. Entry for the awards will commence in June this year, with the judging process happening in July. Finalists will be announced in August this year.

The categories where entities can submit include:

Brand Collaboration Categories
1. Best Use of AdTech Platform

2. Best Use of Content Marketing Platform

3. Best Use of Customer Data Platform

4. Best Use of Customer Engagement Platform

5. Best Use of Customer Experience Platform

6. Best Use of CRM Platform

7. Best Use of Data Analytics and Insights Platform

8. Best Use of Email Marketing Software

9. Best Use of Event Marketing Platform

10. Best Use of Influencer Marketing Platform

11. Best Use of Marketing Analytics Platform

12. Best Use of Marketing AI Solution

13. Best Use of Marketing Automation Platform

14. Best Use of Marketing Project Management Tool

15. Best Use of Mobile Marketing Platform

16. Best Use of Retail Media

17. Best Use of Search Engine Optimisation Software

18. Best Use of Social Listening and Monitoring Tool

19. Best Use of Social Media Management Tool

MarTech Categories

1. Best AdTech Platform

2. Best Content Marketing Platform

3. Best Customer Data Platform

4. Best Customer Engagement Platform

5. Best Customer Experience Platform

6. Best CRM Platform

7. Best Data Analytics and Insights Platform

8. Best Email Marketing Software

9. Best Event Marketing Platform

10. Best Influencer Marketing Platform

11. Best Marketing Analytics Platform

12. Best Marketing AI Solution

13. Best Marketing Automation Platform

14. Best Marketing Project Management Tool

15. Best Mobile Marketing Platform

16. Best Retail Media

17. Best Search Engine Optimisation Software

18. Best Social Listening and Monitoring Tool

19. Best Social Media Management Tool

Industry Leaders Categories
1. Chief Marketing Officer of the Year (Brand)

2. Chief Technology Officer of the Year (Brand)

3. Solutions Tech Leader of the Year

4. Sales Leader for Tech of the Year

5. Marketing Leader for Tech of the Year

Team Categories

1. Marketing Team of the Year (Brand)

2. Tech Team of the Year (Brand)

3. Tech Commercial Team of the Year

4. Tech Customer Success of the Year

5. MarTech Product Innovation Team of the Year

Grand Prix (Not for Entry) 

1. Brand of the Year

2. MarTech of the Year

Teddy Cambosa, regional editor at MARKETECH APAC, said, “In the grand theatre of marketing, the stage is set for brilliance as the spotlight shines on martech innovation. At this awards show, we aim to celebrate the visionaries and trailblazers who, with their groundbreaking technologies, turn data into symphonies of success. It’s not just about winning accolades; it’s about orchestrating the future of marketing with the transformative power of martech, where every innovation is a note that resonates in the melody of industry excellence.”

Meanwhile, Joven Barceñas, founder and CEO at MARKETECH APAC, commented, “MARKETECH APAC stands at the intersection of marketing and technology, as reflected in our name – where marketing meets technology, giving rise to MARKETECH.

The inauguration of the Marketing Technology Awards underscores our unwavering dedication to fostering a unified marketing community in the Asia Pacific region. Through this initiative, we aim to recognise and applaud brands across the region for their adept utilisation of marketing technology, while also shining a spotlight on martech companies that have played a transformative and innovative role in shaping the marketing landscape.

We take pride in being pioneers, having established the inaugural awards platform exclusively dedicated to celebrating the pivotal role of technology in the marketing industry.”

To learn how to be a part of this inaugural award series, click HERE to learn more about the Marketing Technology Awards.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Joven Barceñas at [email protected]; for judging opportunities, please contact Zyra Kate Capilastique at [email protected]; and for nominations, please contact Ivy Diane Alamo at [email protected]. 

The APAC landscape is experiencing a creativity crunch. While customers increasingly demand hyper-personalised experiences across a growing range of digital channels, brands find themselves falling short. Only a quarter (25%) rate themselves as “good” at creating and delivering content, a recent report by Adobe finds.

Marketing is one of the most creative professions in the business landscape. So this disconnect is not attributable to any deficiency in talent. Instead, creativity – the very life force of innovation – is constrained by the relentless demands placed on their schedules. As Harvard Business Review research demonstrates, when creativity is under the gun, it usually fizzles.

Is time up on creativity?

Marketers are juggling several campaigns at any given moment. They’re crunching numbers, forecasting, managing stakeholders and preparing presentations — all of which leave very little wiggle room for creativity to blossom. No wonder two in five (41%) APAC marketers cite lack of time to be creative as a barrier to delivering excellent customer experiences.

It’s not the only barrier though. The fear of the unknown also hinders marketers from taking creative risks. It’s safer to stick with the tried-and-true standard route to success. While this aversion to the unknown may provide a sense of security, it can also stifle innovation and limit the ability to captivate audiences with fresh and imaginative campaigns.

Even more, it opens brands up to being leapfrogged by their competitors. In an era where trends evolve swiftly and consumer preferences constantly shift, staying ahead requires a dynamic and flexible approach. Brands must quickly adapt their campaigns to ensure their messaging speaks directly and compassionately to the customers they’re targeting. 

Overcoming creative roadblocks with data-driven insights

We’re seeing a landscape where consumers increasingly embrace customised ads and anticipate tailored experiences. That means, there’s a transformative opportunity for marketers to capitalise on data-driven insights. While Gartner suggests a potential reassessment of personalisation efforts by 2025, we see this as a pivotal moment to reshape strategies and amplify creative impact.

Considerable effort is invested in leveraging data to define and reach target audiences. However, the true potential lies in applying this data-driven approach to creative endeavours. Research underscores that robust creative elements can contribute up to 89 per cent to the success of an ad.

So rather than adhering to a one-size-fits-all approach, brands can harness the power of data to craft compelling and relevant stories for every individual within their target audience. By seamlessly aligning creative content with data-driven insights, they can ensure a personalised and engaging experience for each user, steering clear of potential roadblocks and charting a course toward unprecedented success.

Data-driven, in-stream video ads, for example, offer brands a powerful way to monetise their content while providing viewers with more personalised and engaging experiences. By leveraging data analytics and segmentation, publishers can optimise ad targeting and create a win-win situation for both publishers and advertisers.

5 Benefits of data-driven, in-stream video ads for publishers and advertisers

  • Higher Engagement: Personalised ads are more likely to capture viewers’ attention and lead to higher interaction rates.
  • Improved Ad Relevance: Viewers are more likely to find the ad content relevant to their interests, which can result in higher conversion rates.
  • Enhanced User Experience: Data-driven ads can create a seamless and less intrusive ad experience, leading to increased viewer satisfaction.
  • Increased Revenue: More engaging and relevant ads can both command higher advertising rates and potentially boost publishers’ revenue.
  • Better Insights: The data collected from user interactions and behaviour can provide valuable insights for future ad campaigns and content creation.
  • Improved Brand Metrics: Personalised ads have been shown to positively impact brand metrics, such as ‘Brand Recall, Brand Favorability, Active Attention, Purchase Intent and Intent to Find Out More’, offering a comprehensive enhancement to overall brand performance.

Nexxen Creative Studio offers full services for testing and optimising creative ad campaigns before they’re even launched thanks to its unique four-step method: test, learn, optimise, launch. Let’s take a closer look:

  • TEST your asset against your identified audiences with Nexxen’s proprietary tools
  • LEARN how audiences respond to your creative and receive actionable recommendations across all metrics
  • OPTIMISE your asset to be most engaging to audiences and add functionality to drive media goals
  • LAUNCH the optimised assets to match your media plan and increase ROI

Setting the bar higher with data-driven insights

With Nexxen Creative Studio, creative decisions are no longer guided solely by intuition but are empowered by data-driven insights. Our clients, spanning diverse industries, are witnessing remarkable outcomes:

  • A prominent image-sharing and social media service has experienced a staggering 244% increase in Click-Through Rate (CTR) and a notable 59% improvement in consideration. This transformation is attributed to the application of creative insights, customised optimisations and audience-driven strategies.
  • An app-based gaming company has achieved a remarkable 53% reduction in the cost per install by leveraging Nexxen’s creative services to fine-tune creatives specifically for CTV screens.
  • An iconic outdoor apparel company has realised a significant 38% enhancement in attention compared to its standard assets. This accomplishment is a result of employing Nexxen’s creative insights to inform and guide the optimisation process.

Delivering next-gen creative capabilities

Data-driven, in-stream video ads not only offer publishers a robust tool for monetisation but also pave the way for viewers to experience advertising that is both engaging and tailored to their preferences. This convergence of creativity and data signifies a new era in advertising – one where insights drive narratives and personalisation is the key to resonating with audiences in an ever-evolving landscape.

This article is written by Killian Menigot, Senior Production Manager, Tokyo, Nexxen Studios.

The insight is published as part of MARKETECH APAC’s thought leadership series under What’s NEXT 2024. What’s NEXT 2024 is a multi-platform industry initiative which features marketing and industry leaders in APAC sharing their marketing insights and predictions for the upcoming year.

The leadership journey is often marked by resilience, determination, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. It takes unwavering dedication and profound commitment for someone to rise and achieve success, not only for themselves but also for the organisation they serve.

For MARKETECH APAC’s third Milestone Series article, we spoke with Peggy Koh, vice president of growth partnerships for SEA and Greater China at Adzymic, to share one of her greatest milestones — rising to her current position today to sharpen the company’s focus on SEA as its key region driving growth.

In this narrative, Koh shares her journey and experiences throughout her career, her leadership work, and her insights on driving growth for a small tech company.

Climbing higher and pushing forward

Before joining Adzymic, Koh handled several marketing and sales roles in other companies. Most notably, she served most of her career in the banking industry, having worked both in local and regional management roles at DBS Bank, Citi, and UOB.

Bringing with her everything she’s learned in her previous roles, she joined the creative dynamic management platform Adzymic in 2021, where she took on the role of head of growth and client success. Her responsibilities then include managing the company’s key global accounts, ensuring that they deliver successful campaigns, and driving further growth for its clients and the company.

It didn’t take long for Koh to earn herself a promotion, welcoming 2024 as the VP of partnerships for SEA and Greater China.

Her extensive background, having been both a media owner and a client, and her holistic understanding of the Southeast Asian market, where she had worked for so long, paved the way for her to develop strategies that were instrumental in positioning Adzymic in the key region.

Koh shared, “Every step in my career has led me to today. I cut my teeth doing online media sales for a small firm back in the early 2000s, when digital media was the complete underdog, and picked up the basics. Thereafter, a 12-year marketing career in the banking industry, managing both local and regional roles, was instrumental in letting me gain experience in the corporate world, understanding how decisions are made on the client side and also observing how corporate culture is built in global organisations.”

Leading Adzymic towards success

As the vice president of partnerships for SEA and Greater China, Koh oversees both sales and marketing roles. For her, both roles ‘naturally feed off one another’, which is why it’s important to ensure synergy between these two functions.

“In sales, whenever we clinch projects with notable brands, the marketing kicks in to craft case studies that tell our DCO (Dynamic Creative Optimisation) stories to foster more learning in the industry of our adtech application. We make it a point to be present at major martech events in all markets we are active in, to stamp our presence, and to showcase our client brand portfolio. This in turn increases our visibility to become a well-established DCO brand that’s born and bred in Asia, with keen Asian insights and understanding of how local business is done,” she stated.

Koh believes that her exposure to new markets has propelled the growth and development of her business acumen, negotiation skills, and understanding of different cultures. After only working in the Singapore market, she is now managing networks in six markets for Adzymic.

With this, from having two team members, she now handles a team of ten across SEA and Hong Kong for both sales and key account servicing. Her understanding of the role and the market is relevant in leading her teams to work towards achieving their objectives.

However, as they are still a relatively small tech company, Koh also knew that one of the challenges of being a leader is attracting and retaining talent. In a competitive market such as Southeast Asia, many talents would flock to bigger companies with more established names in the industry.

This is why Koh shared that she also felt grateful and fortunate to have found goal-driven and talented young people who are rendering their time and skills to support Adzymic’s goals across all of its key markets.

“I see it as my job to build up the Adzymic culture, one that is nurturing of our people’s talent and career skill sets, and I’d like our people to have a strong sense of belonging here as we truly value everyone’s hard work and contributions,” she added.

Staying ahead of the curve

Navigating the dynamic and competitive tech landscape is no easy feat for many who have tried to penetrate its intricate web of opportunities and challenges.

The global adtech market, in particular, is showing promising numbers, with an estimated growth of USD 1.4 billion by 2030. And the Asia-Pacific region is among the fastest-growing in this area, according to a report by MarketsandMarkets.

And Koh is confident that Adzymic is already well-positioned to capitalise on this projected growth rate.

She shared that the company is always looking for ways to stay at the forefront of the curve, making sure to offer solutions that answer the evolving needs of their clients, such as new ways to apply DCO techniques by harnessing data and focusing on mobile advertising formats. The company also recently launched its APX to bring high-impact skinners and mobile scrollers to Asian advertisers.

Furthermore, the company’s campaigns were able to successfully showcase Adzymic’s well-differentiated propositions for their Asian clients. Among their works, two that stood out the most are their campaigns for Income Insurance Singapore and Standard Chartered Hong Kong.

For Income Insurance Singapore, a client with advanced martech stacks, Adzymic DCO developed as many ad variants as their data insights could generate to consistently support higher performance with relevant messaging.

Meanwhile, for a client that embraces innovation and fresh approaches to advertising, such as Standard Chartered Hong Kong, Adzymic activated new and innovative rich media formats to meet their campaign objectives.

Furthermore, Adzymic currently boasts a strong brand portfolio and a client base. And so, one of Koh’s main jobs is to maintain and strengthen these relationships to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.

She noted how Adzymic places great importance on their customer service, making it the centre of their organisation and their very DNA. For them, it’s important to employ a customer-oriented mindset, making sure they are doing their best for every client.

“Our adtech solution is dynamic, our tech team is innovative and imaginative, and our account managers are trained up to be conscientious and strong at managing projects and timelines. When you do something well, the results and the experience speak for themselves; trust is built, and then clients will naturally stay with you over the long run,” she continued.

Reflections approaching her third anniversary 

When asked what moment in her career is the most rewarding, Koh says it’s her time now in Adzymic as she was able to make the most impact in her workplace.

“It will be 3 years in a few weeks’ time. With Adzymic, it’s always felt intuitive, with a sense of constant growth and positive learning, and I’m really coming into my own at this juncture. It’s not a glamorous large corporate organisation, but it’s a place where I feel safe to learn, grow, and be empowered to contribute,” she said.

With an excited outlook on what lies ahead in her future, Koh simply ends with, “I’m excited to see where this path will take me! ”

This piece is published under MARKETECH APAC’s content series ‘Milestones’, which celebrates the different milestones and achievements of industry leaders across the Asia-Pacific region. Please reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Melbourne, Australia – Generative AI spending across businesses in Asia-Pacific is set to triple to US$3.4b this year, according to recent data from Infosys Knowledge Institute (IKI), the research arm of Infosys, a digital services and consulting company.

According to the data, enterprises across APAC are investing heavily in GenAI. China leads the region, with investment expected to grow by more than 160% to US$2.1b, with Australia and New Zealand growth close behind.

Meanwhile, ANZ investment is expected to grow by more than 150%, from US$60m to US$151m in 2024.

It is worth noting that APAC is more cautious about GenAI’s business impact than North America and Europe; almost 10% expect a negative impact on reputation versus less than 5% for North America and Europe.

Across the region, ANZ has the lowest level of employee readiness for generative AI, at 56%, compared to nearly 70% in other companies in the region. Firms in Australia and New Zealand are mostly looking to upskill their existing workforce to fill that gap.

Lastly, more companies in APAC (30%) than North America (20%) and Europe (25%) expect GenAI to be effective for streamlining product development and design – China drives this view, with nearly 35% emphasising this area for maximum GenAI impact.

In addition, APAC companies are also more likely to believe GenAI will transform content generation and creativity. Around 22% of APAC firms held this sentiment, led by 30% Japanese companies holding this view.

Andrew Groth, executive vice president for Asia-Pacific at Infosys, said, “Generative AI is clearly a transformative technology. Although company leaders across APAC have been more cautious than companies in the rest of the world, they are set to outpace firms in other regions.”

He added, “Additionally, they are already delivering more value from their spending on generative AI. To continue to make the most of this technology and to become AI-first organisations, they should focus on talent development and making AI more accessible through a platform ecosystem.”

Singapore – 80% of APAC customers are likely to take their business elsewhere as a result of poor experiences, and 61% of consumers will not tolerate bad experiences and will walk away after just one or two bad encounters, according to the data cloud communications agency Vonage in their ‘Global Customer Engagement Report’ for 2024.

In connection to this, the report stated that APAC consumers claim that their poor experiences are mostly consisted of long wait times when speaking with an agent (63%), no way to speak to customer service via voice/phone (59%), lack of 24/7 support availability (48%) and lack of self-service support (46%).

These findings are especially important, given that the global data revealed that APAC consumers continue to prefer a range of channel options when communicating with businesses, with mobile phone calls (36%), messaging/non-SMS apps (31%) and phone calls via apps (29%) ranking high in preference. However, less than half (42%) indicated they are “very satisfied” when communicating with businesses.

As such, these findings underscore opportunities to leverage AI. With tools like AI-based virtual assistants, businesses are equipped to provide quick resolution, reduce frustrations and ultimately provide a more targeted and personalised experience for the user. 

With AI, businesses can specifically address urgent customer inquiries, provide smarter self-service at scale, and deliver smart interactive voice responses and skills-based routing to connect customers with an agent best suited to handle their query, preventing and mitigating a bad customer experience. 

Lastly, report findings demonstrate that consumers are embracing AI to make their experiences better. In fact, responses show a likelihood that chatbot and video chat usage will more than double within the next year, with 10% using chatbots today and 23% expected usage in the next six to 12 months. Additionally, 13% indicate they’re using video chat today, with 26% expected usage in the next six to 12 months.

Talking about the findings, Joy Corso, chief marketing officer at Vonage, said, “This data underscores that, to differentiate on customer engagement, businesses need an omnichannel communications strategy that allows customers to contact them seamlessly across their preferred channels.”

“Those that do will also benefit from the ability to leverage the powerful capabilities of AI across communication channels, such as voice, video, messaging, and chat, enabling them to augment live customer support. This goes a long way to ensuring personal and real-time customer engagement at every touchpoint,” she added.

Singapore – Experience innovation company Valtech has announced two new senior hires to growth and consulting practice in Asia-Pacific. They include Florian Pihs as vice president of growth and Prem Varatharajan as vice president of strategy and consulting.

With Pihs and Varatharajan at the helm, Valtech is poised to enable leading brands to leap ahead of the competition and drive business value in the region through experience innovation.

Pihs, an industry leader with over 20 years of experience, joins Valtech to spearhead business growth across China and Southeast Asia. Based in Beijing for more than two decades, he specialises in business transformation for global companies looking to expand into China, as well as Chinese companies looking to scale globally.

In his new role, Pihs will focus on creating a unified and impactful go-to-market strategy for APAC, aligning Valtech’s offerings with the value delivered to clients. He will leverage marketing, demand generation, and partner alliances as key growth drivers, ensuring Valtech unlocks maximum business value for existing and new clients in the region.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “The opportunity to lead Valtech’s growth journey in APAC is truly exciting. This market has a huge potential for business transformation given its rapid digitalisation, making it fertile yet competitive for experience innovation. With Valtech’s ability to help businesses leap ahead through experiences that keep pace with shifts in customer expectations, it’s well-positioned to make a real difference in how businesses operate in APAC and how APAC customers experience the world.”

Meanwhile, Varatharajan, a strategy and consulting veteran, brings over 15 years of experience spearheading multi-market transformation programs for Fortune 500 clients. His expertise spans technology, experience, and capabilities-led programs, demonstrated through his successful track record at Wunderman Thompson, Deloitte Digital, and Publicis Sapient.

He will be aiding in shaping Valtech’s ‘Value Led Consulting’ offering in the region. With his deep understanding of Asian markets and the intricacies of marketing transformation, he will build and lead a robust consulting practice to drive strong business outcomes for clients.

“I am excited to join Valtech during a period of dynamic growth in APAC. The company’s focus on value and experience-led transformation aligns perfectly with my own,” he said.

Speaking on the appointments, Shannon Dix, regional managing director for APAC at Valtech, said, “I couldn’t be more excited to reunite with and welcome Florian and Prem to Valtech here in the region. They complement with our growth ambitions and reinforce our commitment of bringing best-in-class talents to help our clients transform their businesses.”

Meanwhile, Patrick de Moustier, managing director for APMENA at Valtech, commented, “Combining Prem’s strategic firepower with Florian’s growth expertise creates a formidable force in the APAC landscape. Their leadership will be instrumental in setting new standards for experience innovation and redefining best practices within APMENA.”

Singapore – Global media measurement and optimization platform Integral Ad Science has just recently announced its business expansions in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, accompanied with senior leadership appointments for the newly launched markets, aiming to accelerate AI-driven measurement and optimisation solutions for both local and global advertisers and publishers.

Appointments include Sowarose Charuwatpaiboon as the country head of Thailand, Thanh Nguyen as the country head of Vietnam, Melvin Wong as the region head of Hong Kong & Taiwan, and Arfitrianto Zulnaini, sales director of Indonesia, who will be stepping up as the country head of Indonesia and Malaysia.

In her new role as country head of Thailand, Charuwatpaiboon will carry over a decade of experience in the digital advertising industry with a record of success in sales, account management, and business development at companies including Adcolony, Taboola and Innity. She joined IAS in 2023 to expand operations in Thailand, and now, will be leading the team to drive continued growth.

Commenting on her new role, Charuwatpaiboon said, “I am excited to bring IAS’s world-class media measurement and optimisation solutions to advertisers and publishers in Thailand. IAS’s commitment to providing effective and transparent advertising environments for brands and media owners alike will resonate with brands seeking to navigate the complexities of the digital advertising ecosystem and driving efficiencies.”

As country head for Vietnam, Nguyen brings over 25 years of experience in the Vietnamese media and advertising landscape, with a portfolio comprising companies like JOYY Inc, Vietcetera Media and TikTok Vietnam. Her understanding of the local market dynamics and her relationships with prominent advertisers, publishers, and industry stakeholders will help drive IAS’s growth in Vietnam’s flourishing digital advertising ecosystem.

Speaking on her appointment, Nguyen said, “I am thrilled to join IAS and help expand its presence in Vietnam. Brands in Vietnam are investing significant budgets across digital media, and there’s a growing adoption of measurement and optimisation solutions among advertisers and publishers. With its superior solutions and dedicated teams, IAS empowers Vietnamese brands and media owners to navigate the evolving digital landscape and unlock their full potential.”

Aiming to propel IAS’s presence in Hong Kong & Taiwan, Wong joins IAS with global experience across Hong Kong, New York and Toronto, where he spent over a decade in sales and business development roles at companies including Teads and TripleLift. He will be leveraging his extensive global experience and strategic acumen to establish IAS as a trusted partner for brands and agencies within this vibrant digital landscape.

Commenting on his appointment, Wong said, “Joining IAS amidst their remarkable growth in programmatic is an absolute privilege. Having witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by top brands and agencies, I deeply understand the crucial role efficiency and ROI play in our partnerships. I’m committed to working with brands and agencies to drive widespread adoption of IAS’s industry-leading measurement and optimisation solutions to drive superior business results for advertisers and publishers.”

Last but not least in IAS’s appointments, Zulnaini joined IAS in 2020 as the sales director of Indonesia, where he brought over 24 years of sales and leadership experience in digital media at companies including Yahoo, Carat, and Mindshare, driving programmatic adoption and incremental revenue growth for IAS in Indonesia. Now he is stepping up as a country head for two markets, focusing on growing IAS’s measurement and optimisation adoption in both Indonesia and Malaysia.

Talking about his appointment, Zulnaini mentioned, “I am honoured to take on the additional responsibility of leading IAS’s Malaysia business and keen to build further on the solid foundation developed over the years in the market. Malaysia, much like Indonesia, is an evolving digital media market with high growth potential, so it’s no surprise that it has become a strategic focus. I look forward to advancing the company’s superior media quality solutions in these markets.”

Speaking on the APAC expansion and the appointments, Yannis Dosios, chief commercial officer of IAS, remarked, “APAC presents a prime opportunity for IAS to expand its global footprint and connect with a dynamic customer base for long-term growth and market leadership. We’re doubling down on agility and local relevance by building strong, regional teams that understand the nuances of each market, which is key to tailoring our solutions and creating lasting relationships with international and local brands in the region.”

With this recent expansion, IAS’s APAC in-market operations now include Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Singapore – A new report from PubMatic has revealed that around 70% of APAC marketers are spending on in-app advertising, with 8 in 10 marketers seeing improved brand awareness and are paying off for brands.

At 88%, Singaporean buyers are most likely to buy in-app, while Japanese buyers are doing far less in-app buying, at just 47%. Across countries, performance-focused buyers are more likely to advertise in-app than brand buyers, at 77% and 60% respectively. 

Despite this discrepancy, marketers across regions say that brand awareness is the leading benefit of in-app advertising, regardless of their primary advertising objectives.

In terms of mobile game advertising, the study shows slightly over half of marketers that currently incorporate in-app ads in their marketing strategies also invest in mobile gaming ads. Of the APAC marketers surveyed, 52% have an in-game marketing strategy, with a wide variance of adoption across countries: only 15% of Japanese marketers are spending on in-game ads, versus 77% of marketers in Singapore. 

Moreover, most advertisers who are reluctant to invest in mobile gaming ads cited their primary reason as misalignment with company or brand values, or misalignment with target audiences.

Meanwhile, programmatic was the preferred in-app buying option for 62% of advertisers – reflecting the need for agility through data-driven precision, adaptability, and cost-efficiency – while the remainder transacts directly with publishers. Direct buyers cited “audience targeting precision” as the top reason for how they purchase, followed by “more control over ad placement” and “customisable solutions tailored to specific goals of our brand”.

Lastly, around 86% of in-game advertisers in Singapore and 80% in South Korea plan to increase, or maintain, the same budget for in-game advertising – meaning brand buyers are the biggest revenue opportunities for gaming publishers. Only Japanese marketers are hesitant to go all-in on in-game advertising right now, due to the aforementioned concerns around audience alignment. Marketers also reported the biggest appeal of in-game advertising to be the ability to create positive associations of their brand with mobile gamers.

Lashanne Phang, vice president for mobile at PubMatic, said, “The findings show there are more chances than ever for in-app publishers to attract ad spend from brand buyers looking to invest in mobile gaming. But, in today’s increasingly complex and dynamic landscape, it will be vital to work with a tech partner that can provide transparency, control, flexibility and guidance if they are to unlock the full potential of in-app and in-game advertising and capture incremental dollars from diverse channels and geographies in 2024.”

She added, “When choosing a tech partner, app publishers should look for a company that provides unique demand and effective measurement tools, while offering customised, curated packaging to ensure control over audiences, inventory and data.”

Generative AI has become the fastest-adopted technology to date in any history of technology adoption. From creative processes to efficiently creating seamless workflows for enterprises, GenAI is a technology that is showcasing its positive impact across various businesses and industries.

The complexity of adopting GenAI extends to the technical realm, where integrating these advanced algorithms into existing workflows demands a level of expertise that not all businesses possess. The learning curve, coupled with concerns about data privacy and security, poses certain barriers for organisations aiming to leverage generative AI to its fullest potential.

The question is not about what would the scenario be in a GenAI-powered workspace; but rather asking what and how impactful this technology be across a diversity of businesses.

These questions posed are the ones being tackled at the keynote presentation of enterprise technology company Adobe during the recent What’s NEXT 2023: Marketing in Malaysia hybrid conference held at the Sheraton Kuala Lumpur on December 5, 2023.

Gaurav Kumar, principal solution consultant for Southeast Asia at Adobe, dives into the various implications of how GenAI can be a helpful tool for businesses in terms of creativity and workflow optimisation.

How GenAI positively impacts business endeavours

Citing a study from IDC, Kumar notes that by 2026, AI-driven features will be embedded across business technology categories, and 60% of organisations will actively use such features to drive better outcomes without relying on technical AI talent. 

During the presentation, he notes how GenAI is a key business need nowadays to optimise customer experience strategies across businesses, as well as sales forecasting, threat and fraud detection, amongst others. It is also worth noting how GenAI is now being used in improving the sales and marketing endeavours of the company, focusing on its use of strategies such as lead identification, personalized outreach, dynamic output, and dynamic customer journey mapping, just to name a few.

In the realm of sales and marketing, he also noted that GenAI can enhance sales and marketing strategies through sophisticated language processing, data analysis, and targeted content generation, optimising customer engagement and driving business growth.

Whether it’s crafting targeted ad copies, generating product descriptions, or curating social media content, generative AI streamlines content creation, allowing marketing teams to focus on strategy and creativity. This not only maximises efficiency but also ensures that messages are not only relevant but resonate with individual consumers, fostering stronger brand-consumer relationships and driving conversions.

Moreover, by purchasing technology with embedded AI capabilities, Kumar notes that businesses will be able to accelerate time to value. Added strategies that businesses may also apply to accelerate their AI strategy include building in-house AI capabilities and leveraging pre-trained AI models through services and/or platforms from third parties, amongst others.

This agility is particularly valuable in rapidly changing markets, allowing businesses to swiftly adapt to new trends and consumer demands. By automating routine processes, generative AI frees up human resources to focus on strategic initiatives, innovation, and value-added activities, contributing to a more agile and competitive business environment.

Lastly, by leveraging advanced algorithms to analyse vast datasets, businesses can gain deep insights into consumer behaviour, preferences, and trends. This enables the delivery of highly personalised and contextually relevant experiences, creating a sense of connection and understanding. 

From personalised product recommendations to tailored communication, generative AI empowers businesses to elevate customer satisfaction and loyalty. As customer expectations continue to evolve, the ability to provide a seamless and personalized experience becomes a key differentiator for brands.

How Adobe is establishing the foundation for AI tech across enterprises

For Kumar, Adobe has long been a pioneer in establishing the foundations of AI across its services, categorized under four core pillars: natively integrated AI, AI-as-a-servce (AaaS), reimagined experience management through co-pilot services, and generative visual content services.

Its lead offering, ‘Adobe Sensei’, is a comprehensive AI and machine learning framework that powers various Adobe applications. It is designed to enhance the capabilities of Adobe’s creative and marketing tools by automating repetitive tasks, understanding context, and providing intelligent insights.

He explains further that the company’s approach to GenAI focuses on making sure its services serve best its clients on-brand, a co-pilot for marketers for digital experience design and delivery, and one that is enterprise-ready while making sure all of the outputs are commercially safe.

This is evident in one of their offerings ‘Adobe Firefly’, a generative machine learning model used to create various visual designs. For the company, the datasets used in their service are designed to be safe for commercial use and are trained on Adobe Stock imagery, openly licensed work, and public domain content where the copyright has expired.

Such alignment is important for brands and marketers, as maintaining a positive brand image is essential. Generative AI tools, if not commercially safe, may produce content that is offensive, inappropriate, or inconsistent with the brand’s values. Ensuring safety in the generated content protects the reputation and integrity of the brands that use such tools.

Moreover, he also explains that their offerings revolve around the principles of pushing brands to execute more customer-centric strategies. These include identifying the right customers to target based on their needs and intent, engaging the customers through the right channel at the right time, delivering the right experience for each customer, and measuring how much that experience is driving the right business outcomes.

Kumar’s presentation is part of a series of presentations and discussions under the What’s NEXT 2023: Marketing in Malaysia hybrid conference, where Adobe is a proud platinum sponsor. In it, Adobe had led the discussion not just on the positive impact of GenAI across businesses but also discussed the various insights and advice on the future of customer experience (CX) strategies.

The company’s vast product portfolio across Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Document Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud gives millions of customers—from individual creators to global brands—everything they need to design and deliver exceptional digital experiences.

What’s NEXT 2023: Marketing in Malaysia is part of the trilogy of conferences from MARKETECH APAC’s “What’s NEXT 2023-2024” series. The conference featured a diverse lineup of marketing leaders across Malaysia, representing local and international brands including AEON, Atome, Astro, Boost, CelcomDigi, IHH Healthcare, InterContinental, Gentari, MR. D.I.Y., PropertyGuru, Secret Recipe Cakes & Cafe, Sunway Malls, and Touch ‘n Go Group.