Tag: Asia Pacific

Singapore – Sprite, a beverage under the Coca-Cola beverage company, has rolled out a new brand platform for the ASEAN and South Pacific regions for its newest brand lineup ‘Sprite LEMON+’. The brand platform first opens in Australia and Thailand, and is part of a much larger global campaign.

Known for its cut-through refreshment, the SPRITE new global brand platform ‘Heat Happens’ takes a humorous but insightful approach to highlighting the importance of staying cool when faced with unavoidable ‘heated’ moments, by taking a step back and drinking a refreshing ice-cold Sprite.

The launch of Sprite LEMON+ under the ‘Heat Happens’ platform this year, brings to life a new age marketing experience for consumers with engagement and trial at its heart, through sampling, social, digital, films, and OOH that will be placed strategically in contexts where people could be experiencing mental heat. 

In addition, Sprite is partnering with local content creators and influential personalities to create humorous, zesty ‘pep talks’ and encourage people to try their first sip of the newest zesty product.

Pamela Wyatt, sparkling flavours category director at CocaCola ASEAN & South Pacific, said, “We’re looking forward to rolling-out ‘Heat Happens’ here in ASEAN and South Pacific region. The witty approach of the ‘Heat Happens’ global platform on many ‘heated’ challenges that people experience every day is a lighthearted reminder to keep our cool whatever the circumstance is, whether that be mental heat in the shape of unwanted interruptions or the physical heat of a sweaty commute.”

Meanwhile, Josh Gonski, Sprite marketing manager at Coca-Cola ASEAN & South Pacific, commented, “Sprite is a brand that refreshes people physically and mentally. With the introduction of Sprite LEMON+, our latest innovation, we are taking refreshment to the next level. Sprite LEMON+ aims to aid people to ‘think zesty’ by awakening.”

Singapore – Online travel agency and reservations company Booking.com has launched the second edition of its ‘Booking Explorers’ campaign, where it features more inspiring travel stories from leading personalities across Asia-Pacific.

This year’s campaign features five new personalities from Australia, India, South Korea, Vietnam and Japan. They include Former MasterChef Australia grand finalist Simon Toohey, upcoming Bollywood actor and Mumbai native Shanaya Kapoor, multidisciplinary artist MY Q, nature-loving lifestyle personality Tran Quang Dai, and Japanese supermodel Ai Tominaga.

Through this year’s Explorers, Booking.com aims to continue to celebrate the relentless spirit of travel, and their desire to keep experiencing and exploring all things new and familiar, whether it’s in their own backyards or around their home countries. 

“However, as much of the world seeks to travel again, we also recognise the need for sustainability: from avoiding single-use plastic and making smart, responsible choices when choosing stays, to transforming how and where we travel to so that we minimise our impact on the destinations we visit; and hopefully leave our destinations better than when we first arrived,” the company said.

Laura Houldsworth, managing director for Asia-Pacific at Booking.com, said, “As the world returns to travel with great enthusiasm, we want to inspire travellers in Asia Pacific through the rich stories of our explorers. They are truly inspirational with their desire to keep exploring despite the challenges faced — and now they invite us to dig deeper into the sights and cultures of the countries they call home and the destinations we likely have yet to discover. I hope these stories stir travellers everywhere to open their hearts and minds to new experiences and put sustainability at the forefront of all they do.”

The first ‘Booking Explorers’ campaign was first launched in August 2021.

Singapore – Food and grocery delivery platform foodpanda has launched its advertising technology and marketing solutions suite ‘panda ads’. As part of the suite launch, the company has partnered with GroupM to accelerate panda ads growth across Asia.

With this strategic partnership, GroupM clients can tap into the fast-growing AdTech space by activating foodpanda’s in-app advertising and other media assets, and collaborate with foodpanda on brand partnerships and campaigns. 

The partnership spans seven markets – Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Pakistan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. 

With the launch, foodpanda unveils a fresh suite of integrated advertising features that encompass the foodpanda app, digital marketing assets and new partnership programmes. Through panda ads, foodpanda aims to help brands increase their visibility and reach, improve sales conversion and build brand awareness to drive sales.

As an integrated advertising solution, panda ads offers a full suite of advertising options, from static or carousel images, to videos and lead-generating ads. Brands can also leverage foodpanda’s social media channels and enter collaborative partnerships across foodpanda’s verticals. These build brand visibility, and allow for performance tracking and monitoring. panda ads support brands with their digital marketing campaigns.

Kiranjeet Singh Purba, senior director of advertising and partnerships at foodpanda, said, “foodpanda has worked extensively to improve our ads solutions over the past year, and we are excited to offer advertisers a new, full suite of ad solutions with panda ads. We are especially thrilled to kick off our panda ads launch with a partnership with leading agency GroupM, and believe this will help their clients tap into new areas of digital marketing in Asia.”

Meanwhile, Toni Ruotanen, head of commerce for APAC at GroupM Nexus, commented, “Our partnership with panda ads covers an extensive region – across seven markets – opening up expansive possibilities for our clients in the digital and mobile space to enhance their brand visibility and increase business impact. panda ads’ innovative tech will see a great degree of personalisation and targeted advertisements, which charts the way forward in retail media.”

Singapore – Global adtech data solutions company Lotame has announced key elevations to its current leadership team in Asia-Pacific. They include Nishanth Raju, former VP for commercial and strategy, promoted to managing director for Southeast Asia; and Fred Marthoz, former SEA managing director, promoted to VP of global partnerships.

In his new role, Nishant will oversee business operations, forge strategic partnerships, growth and overall performance in the region in addition to increasing Panorama ID (the first global cookieless identity solution for a privacy-first open web) adoption across APAC.

He has over 17 years of experience in SaaS sales, client success, technology and data-driven solutions and consulting. Prior to Lotame, he was at Omnicom Media Group for over six years, where he was part of the founding team of Annalect Singapore. Annalect worked in close collaboration with OMD and PHD to offer technology, data and analytics solutions for regional and global clients across APAC.

Meanwhile, Marthoz is relocating to London, where he will be responsible for managing global deals and work in close collaboration with different regions to execute such opportunities. An industry veteran with over 20 years, Marthoz has been a product and sales leader.

Prior to Lotame, he launched Mocean Mobile in EMEA and served as the company’s Managing Director, EMEA. Earlier in his career, Marthoz held global leadership roles working for a number of big brands as well as emerging startups, including Microsoft, Google, and Playphone, among others.

Marthoz said, “Having worked with him closely in this region, his exposure to different roles and industry verticals has given him a unique perspective on our ecosystem and a better grasp of the bigger industry picture. I wish him all the success for his new role and excited to see him continue to accelerate our business in APAC.”

He added, “Our growth across regions has been substantial and as I take on a new role, I’m very excited to continue Lotame’s journey of developing high-impact solutions for marketers and publishers, together with a dynamic and dedicated team.”

Meanwhile, Chris Hogg, chief revenue officer at Lotame, commented, “With such important global initiatives in the pipeline, having both Nish and Fred at the wheel on our global teams is very exciting. Both leaders have delivered tremendous results in their various roles at Lotame and I look forward to their stewardship and contributions in our next phase of growth.”

Amsterdam, Netherlands – Global digital agency DEPT is continuing its Asia-Pacific expansion with the acquisition of Australian digital product studio Two Bulls. The Melbourne-based agency marks DEPT’s expansion in Australia and the wider APAC region, and will bolster its global digital product services offerings.

Founded in 2009, Two Bulls works across multiple industries, with particular experience in health, family and public sector. Its team of over 120 creative engineers have pioneered the Australian digital products market on a mission to solve complex and meaningful problems in simple ways. Some of their clients include Verizon, Hasbro and MailChimp.

Through the acquisition, Two Bulls will continue to operate under the leadership of James Kane, founder and CEO; and Evan Davey, founding partner.

Vishnu Mohan, partner and chief growth officer at DEPT, said, “Asia-Pacific is an important part of our vision of being the best global digital agency in the world. We are working hard to bring the full DEPT® value proposition to life in the region, and joining forces with such a talented, pioneering team like Two Bulls will be hugely beneficial to our clients.”

Meanwhile, Dimi Albers, CEO and DEPT, commented, “We’ve admired Two Bulls from afar for a while now; they really are Australia’s go-to studio for digital product strategy and design. They know how to effectively combine technology and marketing, have long standing relations with their clients and, most importantly, don’t forget to have a lot of fun along the way. I’m sure that their entrepreneurial spirit will help drive DEPT® forward in Australia, the wider APAC region and beyond.”

Singapore – Annalect, the data and analytics division of Omnicom Media Group, has announced three key APAC appointments, namely Ravikumar Shankar as chief data solutions officer, Nina Fedorczuk as chief enablement officer, and Kothandaram Venkatakrishnan as chief client officer.

Shankar was previously Annalect’s data and technology lead for APAC and has led the network’s data innovation capabilities by combining deep industry knowledge with cutting-edge marketing technology solutions. In his new role, Shankar will continue to play a vital role in shaping clients’ and agencies’ data and marketing technology vision in a continuously evolving privacy landscape.

Meanwhile, Fedorczuk has been a part of the OMG network for 15 years. Throughout her career with OMG, Nina has led the innovation enablement team across EMEA and APAC and played a key role in developing and fortifying OMG Insights and Innovation community in APAC. In the new role, she will be steering the operations and adoption of Omni, the group’s proprietary marketing operating system, to empower teams across the agency network to build first-class marketing solutions for clients.

Lastly, Venkatakrishnan brings nearly two decades of multinational experience in his new role, and was recently the managing director at Annalect in New York, responsible for transforming data and analytics operations for Nissan. Prior to joining OMG, he held global data and analytics leadership roles in Wunderman Thompson across the US and UK.

All three appointees will report directly to Paul Shepherd, chief investment officer and president of Annalect at OMG APAC.

Shepherd said, “As we help our clients navigate a challenging business landscape, data and analytics will be a key differentiator in driving growth, value and transformation for organisations across all industries. The appointments of Ravi, Nina and Kothand underscore our commitment to help our clients leverage data and analytics to make more informed and customer-centric business decisions. The trio’s extensive experiences, skillsets and comprehension of the field is an indispensable advantage for the agency, which translates to invaluable benefits for our clients.”

Singapore – Flash Coffee, the tech-enabled coffee chain based in Singapore, has appointed Bjoern Seeber as its director of operations in Asia-Pacific, where he will be overlooking directives from demand planning and procurement to retail operations across all markets at Flash Coffee.

He was recently the vice president for logistics and fulfilment at instant grocery and retail delivery JOKR. Prior to that, he also served many roles in SoftBank Group, Delivery Hero, and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “The challenges for any operations team are immense in this post-pandemic world, which makes me even more motivated to create something strong and long-lasting. I want to help build an operations team within Flash Coffee that’s proud of its outstanding performance and is fun to work in.”

The appointment comes after Flash Coffee’s recent developments in the past few months, with opening new branches in Japan and South Korea, as well as securing a US$15m funding for its Asia-Pacific expansion.

Seattle, USA – Amperity, the leading customer data platform (CDP) for enterprise consumer brands, today announces its expansion in the Asia Pacific (APAC) market.

Amperity also appoints Billy Loizou as area vice president to lead the company’s sales and marketing efforts and build a team of dedicated experts to help brands in the APAC market make better use of customer data to scale their business.

According to a report by the global industry body IAB, there’s been much talk but little action, which has led to a false perception of preparedness for the demise of third-party cookies in the industry.

With the opening of a new office in Australia, Amperity continues to experience tremendous demand from brands around the globe eager to leverage first-party data to connect more effectively with customers as the deprecation of third-party cookies draws near. 

The new office will offer local engagement to the growing number of brands recognising that — while inaccurate or incomplete profiles alienate customers and waste resources — a holistic customer view reduces expenses, grows revenue, and improves the customer and employee experience.

“By establishing a larger footprint in Australia and across Asia, Amperity will be able to service brands anywhere they are located or doing business,” said Barry Padgett, CEO of Amperity.

“Amperity has seen a huge amount of growth in the region over the past few years as brands grapple with how to put their customer data to better use and leverage it for growth. Our customers and prospects in this region will be able to draw from the expertise of Billy and his team from day one, so they can put the power of customer data to work immediately,” Padgett added.

Amperity has experienced great traction and success in the APAC market, currently working with several leading brands in Australia, including Endeavour Group, the nation’s largest hospitality and drinks retailer, and Servco Pacific Inc., the largest Toyota dealer group in Australia. 

Loizou, a board member at the CDP Institute ANZ and previously the Australian Loyalty Association, has worked with brands, such as ANZ Bank, Bakers Delight, Seek, Medibank, and Marina Bay Sands. He most recently led the go-to-market function as vice president for Cheetah Digital Asia-Pacific.

“Brands have been sold the dream of the [360-degree] view of their customer for years, what attracted me to Amperity is that they can actually deliver on that reality. Five years ago, Amperity set out to solve the massive challenge of unifying messy and complex data sources to help brands use the customer data to better serve their customers and facilitate growth,” says Loizou.

He added, “I’ve seen firsthand how instrumental Amperity is in helping brands make sense of the data chaos by creating pristine customer profiles. Australian brands are early adopters when it comes to technology but now face new challenges, such as privacy regulations and soon to be death of the 3rd party cookie. I look forward to working with Enterprise companies in this region to overcome these obstacles while increasing brand advocacy and loyalty.”

Singapore – Domino’s Pizza Singapore is set to be part of Australian-based Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (DPE) group, the largest international Domino’s group outside of the United States, via a proposed acquisition. DPE operates 3,400 Domino’s stores in ten markets globally.

Through the proposed acquisition, DPE entered into a binding agreement with Impress Foods–which owns full ownership of Domino’s Pizza Singapore and 65% of Domino’s Pizza Cambodia; Mikenwill (M), as well as with minority shareholders in Cambodia for the remaining 35% stake in the market. Mikenwill owns full control of Dommal Food Services Sdn Bhd, the master franchise holder in Malaysia.

DPE will fully acquire Domino’s Pizza businesses in Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, comprising 287 corporate stores across these markets. The binding agreement entails acquisition of the corporate stores and franchise rights held by Mikenwill (M) and Impress Foods. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

Within Southeast Asia, Impress Foods manages the Singapore and Cambodia markets with 38 and 9 stores respectively, while Dommal Food Services manages 240 stores in Malaysia. DPE aims to achieve a store count of 3,000 stores in Asia by 2033.

Ba U Shan-Ting, group chief executive officer at Domino’s Pizza Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, said, “We are excited for the next phase of evolution for Domino’s Pizza in Singapore and the region. In tandem with this, we aim to expand the number of stores to more than 600 over the long term, setting us on the path to becoming the largest pizza chain in the three countries.”

Meanwhile, Michael Chick, Chief Executive Officer for Singapore & Cambodia, will continue to lead his team in serving the Singapore market.

“Our team will become part of the largest Domino’s network outside of the USA, giving us access to new technology and operational innovations that will propel our services to new heights as we deliver customers a more rewarding ordering experience, for hot, freshly prepared meals delivered to their door,” Chick said. 

He added, “Leveraging on our in-depth understanding of our local market segment and driven by our commitment to our customers, we aim to elevate an enhanced end-to-end experience with new global capabilities including marketing and menu innovation, to efficiently serve the most delicious meals to our customers.”

Lastly, DPE Group CEO & Managing Director Don Meij said, “We have seen fantastic growth in the Singapore market and we admire the commitment, agility and drive of the local team, spearheaded by its leadership team. Their love for the brand and equally important, their pledge to their customers, are key contributing factors to their success in growing the business and serving customers, especially during the challenging times of the pandemic.”