Tag: commerce

Netherlands – Heineken has appointed WPP as its global shopper marketing and commerce partner, entrusting the agency with enhancing retail and e-commerce experiences for its flagship brands, including Heineken, Heineken 0.0, and Heineken Silver.

Based at WPP’s Amsterdam Campus, the dedicated team—led by VML Amsterdam—will drive Heineken’s global below-the-line (BTL) marketing initiatives, focusing on developing distinctive and impactful brand experiences across key consumer touchpoints.

Harnessing WPP Open, the company’s AI-powered marketing transformation platform, the team will deliver cutting-edge, end-to-end brand experience and commerce solutions. This includes collaborating with Heineken’s global team to elevate in-store and in-bar brand presence, enhance retail activations, and refine e-commerce strategies to drive sales and optimise the consumer journey.

Furthermore, the team will craft integrated shopper experiences around major sponsorships, including Formula 1, the UEFA Champions League, and live music events—strengthening brand affinity and creating unforgettable moments for fans.

Rutger van der Stegen, global head of BTL Heineken Brand, said, “We were impressed by WPP’s deep capabilities in shopper marketing, including their ability to drive higher efficiencies through WPP Open, underpinned by advanced AI. In addition, WPP’s creativity and deep understanding of the Heineken® brand make them the right partner to increase the impact of shopper touchpoints in our marketing mix, strengthening connections with consumers and driving sustainable growth.”

This partnership extends WPP’s existing collaboration with HEINEKEN, adding to its work across the company’s brand portfolio. Ogilvy currently supports HEINEKEN brands globally and in key markets such as Brazil, Spain, and Mexico, while Design Bridge and Partners has contributed to branding and design efforts, including HEINEKEN’s recent 150-year anniversary campaign.

Rogier Leliveld, chief client officer for WPP in the Netherlands and WPP global client lead for HEINEKEN, said, “We could not be prouder to expand our partnership with Heineken® and leverage WPP Open’s AI capabilities to create world-class experiences for its brands.”

“Commerce and shopper experience are such important drivers of brand power and sales in this category, which makes this opportunity even more exciting. It also allows us to build on our longstanding brand strategy and design partnership with Heineken®. With the added excitement of UEFA Champions League and F1, the potential of this partnership is tremendous,” he added.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Paint company Asian Paints has tapped Moonfolks for an end-to-end integrated campaign for its ‘Infinito System’ product lineup–a comprehensive five-product range designed to fix an array of wall problems, ensuring long-lasting beauty.

Moonfolks developed the name, branding, packaging, shopper and communication materials and managed the media planning and buying. The PR campaign is also led by Moonfolks. 

In addition, the entire ‘content to commerce’ framework will ensure achieving upper and lower funnel metrics for the brand, meeting objectives of leads and conversion. This will ensure that the campaign reaches the right audience through the most effective channels, including social media for which there’s a robust content strategy. 

Regular updates and interactive content will keep the campaign vibrant and engaging on social media. Besides, the campaign involves an influencer strategy, using credible sources to drive authenticity for the value proposition of the ‘Infinito System.’

Through this collaboration, the aim is to ensure that Indonesian homes achieve long-lasting beauty, extending beyond the campaign and enduring for infinity.

The branding ‘Infinito’ itself is derived from the Italian word for infinite, with the logo incorporating the infinity symbol within the letter ‘N,’ emphasising the concept of endless beauty and durability while positioning Infinito as the central solution for maintaining beautiful walls in Indonesia.

Moreover, Moonfolks also created the packaging, digital videos, and visuals for the product lineup. Its 30-second and two 15-second videos aims to bring the brand’s belief to life in a story about the never-ending saga of repaints throughout the years, illustrating the need for a proper solution—hence the ‘Infinito System’.

Abhilasha Kannan, managing director at Asian Paints Indonesia, said, “Asian Paints understands the pain points of the consumer, around which we base all our innovations. The creation of Infinito System is no different from that perspective. The Indonesian homeowner needs to be rescued from painting woes they need to go through every year. And so we created a long-lasting solution to have perfect walls that gives homeowners peace of mind for at least 5 years. Communicating a complex system was a difficult business challenge, and Moonfolks was able to simplify every aspect of the brand for us to be able to communicate the benefits of the Infinito System effectively.”

Meanwhile, Anish Daryani, founder and CEO at Moonfolks, commented, “At Moonfolks, we believe every brand deserves a “Moonshot” – our proprietary approach to brand building. We drive commerce for brands combining brand purpose (brand identity and advertising), brand content (digital), brand experience (shopper and activation), brand reputation (PR and influencer marketing) and brand reach (media solutions and content distribution). Birthing the Infinito System, and co-parenting it with the Asian Paints team has been a deeply transformative experience for both the teams. The coatings category in Indonesia has seen little innovation, which makes it disruptive for Asian Paints, while offering genuine value to consumers.”

Australia – XPO: The Mars Agency, the connected commerce company, has officially rebranded as Mars United Commerce to reflect its transformation into an enterprise-wide solutions partner for the commerce marketing industry. 

The company’s new name is now adopted by all of The Mars Agency’s operations around the world, a name that depicts its transformational growth into a full-service commerce marketing partner for brands and retailers.

Mars United Commerce’s rebranding reflects not only the company’s global reach but also the company’s past, present, and future commitment to operating as an enterprise commerce partner that delivers all the solutions brand and retailer clients need to grow their businesses. 

Mars United Commerce fully embodies the ongoing evolution of the commerce marketing industry, which has become a vast, complex array of shopping channels and engagement opportunities that must be mastered individually to deliver programme-level success but also managed collectively to drive company-wide growth. 

Significant investments in technology and infrastructure have positioned Mars United Commerce as global leaders in four key disciplines: strategy and analytics, retail media and eCommerce, content and experiences, and retail consultancy. These areas form a ‘United Commerce Ecosystem’, providing clients with essential expertise to navigate the complex commerce marketing landscape. 

The company’s proprietary ‘Marilyn Commerce Marketing Technology Platform’ enhances core strengths like shopper insights, deep retailer intelligence, and creative excellence, helping clients make better decisions, create connected experiences, and drive stronger business results.

Moreover, strategic acquisitions, including XPO Brands in 2022, have expanded the company’s reach and capabilities, bringing comprehensive commerce marketing solutions to new regions. Since aligning with The Mars Agency, XPO Brands has rapidly extended its passion and expertise across retail media, ecommerce, measurement, and analytics.

Mars United Commerce now encompasses a workforce of 800 professionals across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, all experts in specific functions but also trained and certified in every aspect of commerce marketing. 

Sally Tobin, managing director for Mars United Commerce ANZ, said, “We’re so very proud of the equity we’ve built around the XPO name and the reputation we established for excellence in shopper and experiential marketing. Since joining The Mars Agency, we’ve moved beyond those roots to grow capabilities and gain equity in other key areas of commerce marketing. It’s only natural, then, for us to now join the rest of Mars in adopting a new name that better represents everything we can do for clients in the region.”

She added, “With The Mars Agency’s support, we’ve become a more complete commerce partner for our clients. As part of Mars United Commerce, we’ll be bringing even more opportunities to the region.” 

Also speaking on the rebrand, Rob Rivenburgh, global CEO, shared, “The Mars Agency has long been known for relentless reinvention, for staying ahead of industry trends to build expertise in the emerging skill sets our clients need to drive sustainable business growth. We have best-in-class capabilities across the full spectrum of commerce marketing and an unmatched ability to unite them to drive even greater success for our clients. That’s what Mars United Commerce says to the marketplace.” 

Singapore – ADA, a provider of digital and data-driven business transformation services across Asia, has launched a suite of AI CoPilots engineered to redefine enterprise marketing and commerce functions, driving efficiency and effectiveness, fostering a new era of strategic and operational agility through data and AI democratisation.

Seamlessly integrated with ADA’s suite of digital services, the AI CoPilots tap into diverse datasets and proprietary AI models. Each CoPilot unites disparate information streams, dismantling the silos between different platforms and business units. By doing so, it provides transformative insights with real-time predictive analytics and delivers strategic guidance customised for the unique dynamics of each enterprise. 

ADA’s inaugural lineup of AI CoPilots encompasses four strategically devised tools, each tailored to optimise distinct facets of digital enterprise. They include tools for full-funnel marketing, e-commerce, conversational AI, customer segmentation.

Srinivas Gattamneni, CEO at ADA, said, “Our new AI CoPilots will set a benchmark in the industry by enabling enterprises to execute unprecedented marketing and commerce strategies. This initiative is not just an investment in technology, it’s an investment in our customers’ future, providing them with the tools they need to thrive in a competitive market.”

He added, “This move not only amplifies the reach of ADA’s advanced machine learning models and AI technologies but also reinforces the company’s dedication to fostering a synergistic ecosystem where our client’s strategies are seamlessly executed from insight to action.”

ADA’s commitment to innovation and its expansive presence in 12 countries underscore its role as a transformative force in the industry. As ADA continues to expand its capabilities and reach, it remains dedicated to delivering cutting-edge solutions that drive business success. 

Singapore – Global financial services company Mastercard has announced the revamp of its ‘Mastercard Experience Center’ in Singapore which offers visitors a chance to experience what the future of commerce looks like. The experience centre is just one of six centres globally, with others located in London, Stockholm, Dubai, Mexico City and New York City.

The revitalization of the Singapore innovation space coincides with the release of Mastercard’s Future of Payments report which highlights three broad trends that have the potential to collectively expand prosperity and inclusion in the digital economy. 

Correspondingly, many of the innovation space’s new exhibits and technology demos bring these trends to life by blending the digital and physical across screens, tactile tables and lab spaces, creating an immersive, interactive experience for visitors.

The MEC in Singapore acts as a regional Asia Pacific hub for Mastercard to conduct customer workshops, executive roundtables and employee events. It also serves as an innovation space and R&D lab where consumer insights, needs and trends are identified, helping to inform white space, blue sky innovation and actionable product development roadmaps for the next 12 to 24 months.

Sandeep Malhotra, executive vice president, products and innovation for Asia-Pacific at Mastercard, said, “In the coming years, a convergence of forces will redefine and reshape commerce, transforming how people pay and get paid. The Mastercard Experience Center is designed as a portal to that future, a place where customers and partners can virtually experience that future today, and where we’re only limited by the power of our collective imaginations.”

He added, “By guiding visitors through the future economy, Mastercard aims to bring abstract concepts to life, to inspire purposeful innovation and co-creation of the technologies of tomorrow.”

California – Global adtech company PubMatic has announced the launch of ‘Convert’, a unified self-service advertising platform for commerce media which allows commerce media networks to have a unified single self-service platform for transactions. 

Built on PubMatic’s global cloud infrastructure, Convert empowers commerce media networks with a single, self-service platform that streamlines the complex and fragmented commerce media marketplace by bringing together essential monetization and optimization capabilities across sponsored listings, CTV, video, and display ad formats.  

Convert also aims to ensure transparency in fee and pricing structures along with automation and scalability for commerce media networks and advertisers.

Industry brands, retailers, and advertisers such as IPG Mediabrands, dentsu, Lyft Media, MiQ, and Wallapop have joined PubMatic as initial partners in the development and announcement of Convert.

The new platform complements PubMatic’s existing commerce media capabilities offered via Connect, the omnichannel addressability solution launched in 2022 that enables data access and control on the sell-side, closer to the consumer.

Peter Barry, VP of addressability & commerce media at PubMatic, said, “Data access, monetization, and control are critical for commerce media networks and their advertisers, and PubMatic has a strong history of leadership and innovation in these areas. By making substantial investments in developing customised technology with Convert, we are confident in our ability to continue to drive increased value for our customers.”

Singapore – Global marketing agency VMLY&R Singapore has launched the global commerce accelerator programme in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). 

The commerce accelerator programme will be based in Singapore and is aimed at developing commerce and commercial advisory services for the agency’s clients around the world. 

It will bring to life three new commerce innovation projects, including IMPACT™, an in-store touchpoint planning platform, OhMyCart™, a disruptive path to e-commerce for small retailers and social sellers, and the agency’s own Commercial Growth Advisory, a Data Driven Commercial Growth Consultancy for Incremental Growth.

VMLY&R will also ramp up its team in Singapore by appointing over 20 new hires across a variety of roles in commerce research and innovation, including commercial consultants, commerce planners, data analysts and engineers, CRM specialists, cloud solution architects among others.

Hari Ramanathan, chief executive officer at VMLY&R South and Southeast Asia and Japan said, “Commerce is an integral part of our key service offerings. We believe that accelerating growth across not only the more traditional commerce channels that agencies have worked on, but expanding through Commercial Growth Advisory and Commercial Marketing, are key to converting an entire consumer journey at the point of sale, ensuring we not only have influence to get people there, but to complete the transaction as well.” 

He added, “Anchoring the program in Singapore will allow us to enhance our capabilities quicker and at scale, and help Singapore remain at the forefront of the Commerce evolution.”

Meanwhile, Junie Fo, vice president and head of commercial and professional services at EDB, commented, “We are delighted to have VMLY&R launch their global commerce accelerator Programme in Singapore, which will unlock new value for brands and create new opportunities for advertising and marketing talent. VMLY&R’s new offering will further strengthen Singapore’s position as an innovative global marketing hub.”

Shenzhen, China – End-to-end commerce enablement company AnyMind Group has announced the opening of a branch office and commencement of operations in Shenzhen, China. As part of the new office opening, Ben Chien, managing director of Greater China, will oversee the Shenzhen office and lead the team there.

AnyMind Group’s Shenzhen office will also provide additional means for the company to hire engineering and product development talent from Mainland China. They can decide to be situated across the company’s four engineering hubs including Tokyo, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangalore, joining the company’s multinational development team of 20 nationalities from Asia, MENA, Europe and Latin America. 

This is AnyMind Group’s 19th office across 13 markets including Southeast Asia, East Asia, India and the Middle East. The company, which started operations in Singapore in April 2016, is now headquartered in Japan.

Chien joined AnyMind Group in 2018 through the acquisition of Hong Kong-based Acqua Media, a company he founded, and has been leading the company’s Greater China business including remotely working with businesses in Mainland China. 

He said, “We’re well-positioned to meet the unique needs of app publishers in Mainland China, where monetization is not just focused around advertising but also e-commerce and other channels. In time, we will expand our offerings in Mainland China that have already received great traction across Asia, providing our customers with core business infrastructure to advance the next generation of commerce.” 

Chien added, “In addition, we can already support businesses in Mainland China for cross-border expansion, and will be able to support our customers outside of Mainland China to tap into this growing and unique market.”

Meanwhile, Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder at AnyMind Group, commented, “Under Ben’s entrepreneurial leadership, we have steadily grown the Greater China region over the years and I’m entrusting him to now scale our distinctive mix of technology and offerings into Mainland China, furthering our move to advance next-generation commerce across Asia. As a company, we’re always creating new value for our customers, not just through our technology, but also in opening up new possibilities for them, such as tapping into new markets to grow.”

Singapore – Global marketing agency VMLY&R has appointed Nick Pan as chief commerce & strategy officer at VMLY&R Asia, continuing the firm’s focus on commerce capabilities across Asia. In his new role, Pan will lead VMLY&R Asia’s strategic thrust in combining commerce & strategy, leveraging Brand Experience (BX) and Customer Experience (CX) to drive business growth and commercial outcomes for brands, in a customer-centric world that is challenged by fragmented channels and touchpoints. Pan will directly to Yi-Chung Tay, chief executive officer of VMLY&R Asia. 

Pan has worked for VMLY&R Asia for 13 years, beginning in strategy, planning, and intelligence and now leading the region’s Commerce capacity. He has also driven digital marketing in the region, specializing in social media and digital discoverability. Since joining the network in 2009, he has handled varied portfolios across Project Delivery, Digital Strategy, Business Consulting and Commerce.

Commenting on his appointment, Pan said, “Creating connected brands is the essence of VMLY&R’s ethos and has always been what motivates me to deliver the right strategy and solutions for clients. Advancements in Commerce offer so many exciting opportunities for clients and ramping up our capabilities means we can meet our clients’ evolving and varied needs to drive growth.”

The evolution of VMLY&R Commerce and the expansion of CX and Commerce capabilities have been a major part of the network’s considerable growth trajectory over the past two years, which saw revenues double and headcount triple. Nick Pan’s new role is a commitment to commerce as a continued catalyst for growth and is strategically aligned with Camellia Tan’s recent elevation to chief network growth officer of VMLY&R Asia.

Meanwhile, Yi-Chung Tay, CEO of VMLY&R Asia, commented, “The expansion of CX and Commerce capabilities have played a major part in VMLY&R Asia’s exponential growth over the past two years, reaping benefits most importantly for our clients and in turn for our network. It’s the ultimate proof of effectiveness, closing the ‘infinity loop’ of BX, CX & Commerce to deliver sales that are a direct result of communications.”

Singapore – Live commerce enabler Upmesh has announced the launch of ‘Upmesh Live’, a cross-platform live selling mobile application which is a first in Southeast Asia.

Upmesh Live allows sellers to create personalised overlays in their live streams without the need for any prior technical knowledge, allowing them to integrate customisable branded content such as customizable graphics, brand imagery and professional content tools within minutes. 

Through the app, sellers are now able to further achieve virality and engage with their communities on top of real-time order management provided by Upmesh.

The Upmesh Live application is only compatible with Android 8.0 and above as well as ios 11.0 and above

Sellers go live on social media platforms such as Facebook Live or Instagram Live, and Upmesh captures orders through a merchant’s live stream comments and incentivises the buyers to share through discovery, giveaways and drip messaging.

“Upmesh is committed to constantly launching new engaging and interactive features that aim to enable live commerce merchants to reach their full sales and creative potential through multi-channel discovery and sharing to unlock value and virality,” the company said in a press statement.

Wong Zi Yang, CEO and co-founder at Upmesh, said, “While there is much more work to be done, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of the ever-changing retail landscape that we are in, and we’re thrilled to be expanding further to help live sellers across SEA grow their businesses and create a new future for e-commerce through innovative products such as Upmesh Live.”