Singapore – Netcore Cloud, Eyden Indonesia, and Danone have won the Grand Prix for MarTech, Agency, and Brand of the Year respectively during the Marketing Technology Awards (MTA) 2024.

Celebrating the brilliance of the marketing community, the Marketing Technology Awards gathered top talents in the industry at the Aloft Singapore Novena Hotel on November 28. 

Among the companies seeking to take home plums, Netcore Cloud led the scoreboard as MarTech of the Year, bagging a total of 12 awards. Meanwhile, Quantcast, Rewardz, and SleekFlow emerged as runner ups.

Along with landing the top prize for martech companies, Netcore Cloud received the gold awards for the Best Email Marketing Software, Best Mobile Marketing Platform, Best Use of Customer Engagement, Best Use of Marketing Automation Platform, and Best Use of Email Marketing Software categories.

Among agencies, Eyden Indonesia emerged on top, followed by runner ups Assembly, Leverate Group, and Mindshare Indonesia. Eyden Indonesia also bagged three other awards, including the gold prize for Best Use of Search Engine Optimisation Software.

Meanwhile, Danone has been recognised as Brand of the Year, with the company’s Planius Simanullang being recognised as the Chief Marketing Officer of the Year gold awardee. FedEx, Globe Telecom Inc., and Union Bank of the Philippines were recognised as runner ups for the Brand of the Year award.

The most contested martech category, the Best AdTech Platform, has been won by Yahoo, bagging gold.

Among team categories, Union Bank of the Philippines emerged as the gold recipient of the Marketing Team of the Year Award.

The full list of winners can be found here.

Assembling a distinguished panel, the MTA 2024 jury comprises company executives to ensure high standards. Jason Huan, chief marketing officer at Endowus, is the head of jury for martech categories. For brand collaboration categories, Neha Bhasin, ZALORA Group’s regional director of marketing and communication leads the panel of judges. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered Bank’s Jyane Quek, global head, marketing strategy for consumers, private and business banking, is the head of jury for industry leaders and teams. See the full jury here.

Almost 150 people attended the MTA , with 49 unique organisations coming from markets such as the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, India, China, and Hong Kong.

“This Grand Prix proves one thing, data-driven creativity is unstoppable” said David Reinhart, director of Eyden Indonesia

“At Eyden, we don’t just target audiences, we decode their needs, desires, and pain points to craft campaigns that hit where it matters. Winning Agency of the Year isn’t just a title, it’s a reminder that innovation, insight, great planning, a touch of bold thinking, and creative execution can transform brands and drive real results.”

Adding his thoughts, David said, “As a regional player in the APAC digital creative landscape, Eyden continues to raise the bar, shaping not just local, but regional benchmarks for what impactful campaigns should be. Shoutout to the team! Eyden is a playground for forward-thinkers, and creativity is in our DNA.”

“This Grand Prix win for Brand of the Year is a testament to the power of bold strategies and meaningful connections. It reflects our deep understanding of consumer needs and pain points, and our ability to deliver the right engagement and content to the right consumer in near real-time by leveraging the power of technology.” said Planius Simanullang, director of digital transformation at Danone.

“At Danone, we’ve embraced innovation and consumer-centric approaches to create campaigns that don’t just resonate, but they do inspire. Collaborating with Eyden Indonesia has elevated our presence, proving that data-driven creativity combined with purpose can deliver outstanding results. This win belongs to every Danone team member who believes in pushing boundaries and transforming ideas into impact,” Simanullang added.

Sonal Patel, vice president of APAC at Quantcast and receiver of the gold Tech Solution Leader of the Year award, said in her speech, “Ad tech is a space that is constantly evolving, and staying ahead requires innovation, collaboration and a deep commitment to making the right technologies accessible, impactful, and inclusive. I’m proud of the work we’ve done to navigate change, helping clients adapt to said changes, and empowering brands to create real results that genuinely move the needle.”

Joven Barceñas, founder and chief executive officer of MARKETECH APAC, commented during his closing remarks, “It’s truly a joy to witness your excitement, cheers, and pride in all that you’ve achieved. We are honored that the Marketing Technology Awards has served as the platform for you to showcase your brilliance in adapting to and innovating with marketing technologies.”

“We’re excited to announce new categories for next year’s awards, inspired by some of your unique tech capabilities! These will include Loyalty Tech, Ecommerce Tech, Contextual Advertising Tech, Digital Out-of-Home (dOOH) Tech, and Generative AI. We can’t wait to see how these innovations shape the future of marketing!” Barceñas added.

Brands, agencies, and martech companies who want to join the MTA next year may reach out to [email protected].

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Media agency Wavemaker has won the mandate for Danone’s specialised nutrition business in Malaysia. This follows after the agency also scoped the global media account from the global food company last year.

Yee Pek Kuan, marketing director for Malaysia and Singapore at Danone, said, “Overall, Wavemaker Malaysia stood out in every aspect of our ask, from their strategic approach to understanding our business to their robust media pricing. We’re excited to partner with Wavemaker.”

Meanwhile, Sheley Lim, general manager at Wavemaker Malaysia, commented, “This was special for us, our approach was to provocatively think of the needs of the client and business and build tailored solutions to those needs. We will continue to push the boundaries and evolve the business together.”

Lastly, Gordon Domlija, CEO at Wavemaker Asia-Pacific said, “What a fantastic way to start the year! We pride ourselves on being a genuine partner to our clients, supporting their current and future business ambition. Through this pitch process we were inspired by the strong collaboration and openness to our passion and ideas, we are now excited to bring this to life through tangible business results for Danone across South East Asia.”

Most recently, Wavemaker Asia-Pacific welcomed Jenny Pham as its new APAC media lead for Colgate-Palmolive.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Local mineral water brand AQUA has teamed up with media technology group Moving Walls to launch a digital out-of-home (DOOH) campaign, which maximises programmatic capabilities and changes in weather patterns.

Launched in two phases across four weeks, AQUA using the tagline #AQUADULU, a hydration reminder campaign deployed a DOOH campaign that was triggered by multiple weather conditions ranging from hot climes to unstable conditions. 

The first phase saw commuters being reminded of the need to drink up and stay hydrated as temperatures soared in the metropolis. This was the first time that the brand harnessed the powers of API Weather targeting from a moving truck.

During the last week of the campaign, a truck powered with LED screens exclusively showcased multiple AQUA creatives that changed as temperatures fluctuated. Three different creatives were used for the working weekdays while a different set of creatives caught the attention of onlookers during the weekend. This contextually relevant content ensured that creatives were impactful and relevant, meeting consumers where they were.

AQUA also made use of the Citayam Fashion Week, an impromptu street fashion event that coincided with the campaign. The Citayam Fashion Week is a phenomenon where teenagers throng to public places in Jakarta to make a fashion statement. The LED screened truck was strategically placed at the Sudirman train station which became an instant hip and fashionable backdrop for the posers.

Jonathan Andre Widjaja, supply lead at Moving Walls Indonesia, said, “The future of OOH is data-driven campaigns. Campaigns that are creative and deliver highly relevant content directly to the target audience. Digital transformation and technological advancements in out-door advertising has made it possible to leverage robust, granular-level data to plan and execute high-performing campaigns such as these.”

Meanwhile, Intan Andini, senior digital manager for AQUA at Danone, commented, “In all #AQUADULU campaign that we’ve done in digital, this LED programmatic innovation allows us to create highly personalised creatives and bring us closer to our consumers in any relevant occasions. To always adapt our way in reaching our consumers has always been the key to get the result beyond measure.” 

She added, “Leveraging this approach gives us the best result possible with +2Mio views in high traffic areas in Jakarta in less than a month. This enable us to keep reminding people to drink #AQUADULU especially during this constant change of weather season and recently being seamlessly present at one of the most phenomenal cultural events, Citayam Fashion Week.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Food and beverage company Danone, in its objective to build health-focused food categories, has recently launched its new regional campaign on the e-commerce platform Shopee, kicking off first in Malaysia for the upcoming ‘Super Brand Day’ in the country by Shopee.

Called the ‘Our Health, My Choice’, said campaign, which will be featured on the Shopee Mall, will provide consumers with access to Danone’s full Specialized Nutrition (SN) portfolio for the whole family. The SN portfolio in Malaysia focuses on growing milk products for children. With more people going online to shop for health products, the collaboration aims to support more families to make informed nutrition choices and discover products that support their health and nutrition needs.

Danone ensures that its product portfolio provides the right nutrition across age groups with scientifically researched nutrients.

According to Deborah Chong, head of e-commerce at Danone Specialized Nutrition Global, they have witnessed an ‘incredible growth’ of their business online, including a 20 times growth across Southeast Asia during the Shopee 12.12 Birthday Sale last year. She added that this is due to the fact that more people are turning to e-commerce platforms to seek convenient and reliable product options.

“We believe this collaboration will further scale our presence in the region. Prioritizing consumers’ health is crucial for us and we believe this Super Brand Day, which focuses on our ‘Our Health, My Choice’ theme, lets us show our care and appreciation for our customers by providing convenient access to products that support their health and nutrition needs,” Chong stated.

As part of the online campaign, Danone will be introducing its Shopper’s Choice Shopping Guide to help consumers choose the right nutrition products for their needs while leveraging Shopee’s engagement tools. This guide will showcase their best-selling products and user reviews through engaging content on how specialized nutrition can address the different health concerns and needs.

For Benoit Delater, commercial development director at Danone, they are proud of their partnership with Shopee, stating that the partnership speaks volumes of their aim to fulfill the mission of making good nutritional choices accessible for more health-conscious consumers.

“We believe that our portfolio can cater to the specific nutrition needs of all consumers and encourage the consumption of essential macro and micronutrients for a well-balanced, healthy diet. That’s why we are very excited to leverage Shopee’s wide reach and customer engagement tools such as Brand Membership to better connect with customers and provide them greater value all year round,” Delater stated.

Meanwhile, Ian Ho, regional managing director at Shopee, notes that their recent partnership with Danone reflects the rise of live streaming, as it is becoming a key part of the online shopping experience in the region. Furthermore, it has also grown to become an effective way for brands to acquire and connect with shoppers, showcase their products and prompt users to make purchases on the spot.

“We are also working closely with brands through our double digit campaigns like the upcoming 8.8 Brands Festival where brands could leverage this interactive engagement tool to reach out to Malaysians. We’re excited to see more brands such as Danone enrich the shopping experience by integrating entertainment and educational content into their campaigns,” Ho concluded.

Starting 15 July, Danone shoppers can enjoy several perks, including gifts when they buy specific Danone products, discount vouchers for up to RM40, and earning online loyalty points from purchasing within the Danone Shopee Mall.

Singapore – Following a multi-agency pitch, Omnicom Media Group-owned agency OMD has successfully won F&B company Danone’s account, officially becoming its media agency for the Malaysia and Thailand business. 

The appointment is inked to span a three-year partnership. OMD will be charged with overseeing the media planning and buying duties for the company across traditional and digital channels. 

Both OMD’s Thailand and Malaysia leg will be handling the company’s Growing up milk brands such as Dumex and Hi-Q. Anca Everts, marketing director of Danone Malaysia said, “When we partner with a media agency, we look out for that one team who can work as an extension of our own to naturally co-build winning campaigns for our Growing up milk brands in Malaysia.”

OMD believes that their display of a strategic approach via digital and data-led expertise is what ultimately led them to clinching the account. Marketing Director of Danone Thailand Korakot Vuthihirunthamrong said that they were impressed by the agency’s level of commitment and enthusiasm which the Thailand team had demonstrated throughout the pitch process.

OMD APAC CEO Stephen Li commented, “When coupled with our demonstrated commitment to Danone, strategic and data-driven solutions forge a cutting-edge partnership that make every media dollar work harder, resulting in better business outcomes.”