Singapore – The Singaporean government has announced a S$1b investment plan on AI in five years, a move that was announced as part of the nation’s Singapore Budget 2024 presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong

“Part of the investment will be used to ensure that Singapore can secure access to the advanced chips that are so crucial to AI development and deployment. We will also work with leading companies in Singapore and around the world to set up their AI Centres of Excellence here. We want these Centres to spur industry collaboration and innovation, and drive greater value creation across the whole economy,” he explained.

In the budget, Wong stressed how Singapore is already recognised as a serious player in AI development. Furthermore, he noted that they aim to go further–to build new peaks of excellence, and crowd in private sector investments.

Following this, MARKETECH APAC sought insights from various marketing industry leaders to learn more about their perspectives on this recent government move, and how the industry can use this to move forward.

Dan Bognar, Vice President & Managing Director, JAPAC, HubSpot

It is encouraging to see Budget 2024 committing more than S$1 billion over the next five years to accelerate Singapore’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption and innovation. We have arrived at a fascinating intersection where technologies like AI have the potential to play a pivotal role in nation-building and in helping to catalyse economic resilience. 

The reality is that AI provides an opportunity to enhance the future-readiness of Singapore’s growing digital economy. With its ability to improve productivity, AI represents a long-term, sustainable solution for firms to deal with ongoing economic challenges such as rising costs and increased complexities as the business grows. This will be especially relevant for SMEs, where technology can empower them with the means to compete with larger industry counterparts.

As the adoption of AI tools grows, organisations will also require targeted guidance to streamline their technology platforms and data sources. As many business leaders can attest to, a fragmented set of technology platforms, often a result of adopting multiple point solutions alongside legacy platforms, leads to disconnected systems that impede data, productivity and workflows. These shortcomings will likely increase overall operating costs, compromise the customer experience, and negatively impact business outcomes.

Continuous learning has become essential in ensuring that Singapore’s workforce remains in step with technological changes. As the digital economy grows, enterprises who are well-equipped to understand AI’s potential, and able to move quickly to lay a robust foundation for its adoption, will stand to reap the most benefits. These programmes will enhance businesses ability to reinvest in their employees as they capitalise on this change.

Mao Gen Foo, Head of Southeast Asia, Qualtrics

It’s pleasing to see Singapore’s continued commitment to upskilling initiatives, as highlighted in this year’s Budget, along with a significant investment in local AI capabilities and skills.

The newly announced SkillsFuture Level-Up initiative, aimed at supporting mid-career workers in acquiring new skills and competencies, is particularly encouraging. Programmes like this recognise the crucial role this demographic plays in our economy and the need for support in helping our nation’s workers adapt to evolving demands and technological advancements.

The increased focus and investment in AI capabilities, talent, and industry development is also exciting and important for Singapore to strengthen its position as a business and innovation hub. Singapore boasts one of the highest global acceptance rates for AI in the workplace, which supported by the government’s ambitions to set up new AI centres of excellence and investments in upskilling programmes, will empower a new cohort of talent and create high demand for skilled professionals.

Moreover, to ensure Singapore can attract and retain the talent needed in the future, this investment and focus on skills must be complemented by ensuring workers are provided with employee experiences that enable them to do their best work and create high-performing, highly productive teams.

Organisations that embrace this people-centric approach and empower their teams to excel in a period of technological and societal change will be the true standouts, propelling the nation towards a prosperous and competitive future.

Smith Leong, Havas Play Lead at Havas Singapore

Like any other industries, there are 3 things that matter to clients in advertising – Speed, cost, and quality. Based on the trends and what we have observed over the last few months, we can safely say that AI tools have shown us the possibilities of answering all 3 factors when used right. We have already started using some of these tools and they have definitely improved our quality of work at Havas.

We welcome the investment by the government in training as we can foresee the potential increase in productivity and quality of jobs. Talents will be able to do more, and better within a shorter time. That also means the potential increase of profit in relation. The challenge for such transition has always been due to the initiation cost and resources involved for both businesses and individuals.

With the initial investment by the government on AI, we can see the potential of Singapore being at the forefront of things which will help us attract both overseas talents and businesses trusting us with their investment, and that will continue to fuel the industry which higher interest and demand.

Kamal Brar, Senior Vice President, APAC, Confluent

I am glad to see the increasing local investments and upskilling support for Singaporeans and businesses to train and make the best of AI innovations. We live in an incredible time for innovation today where AI is driving significant productivity improvements for businesses in Singapore. While AI can’t replace the intentionality, creativity, or awareness of a human, it can automate the menial day-to-day, allowing employees and companies to focus on the most valuable tasks.

As consumers, we have already tasted the convenience of mobile apps that can process requests immediately, reducing waiting time from days to seconds. With AI, we can also expect businesses to operate closer to the speed of life, that is, in real time. Minister Wong aptly reflected that emerging technologies will change the way expertise is defined and how value is created. One good example is in customer engagements. The ability to access data in real time, supported by AI to analyse previous interactions, individual preferences and behaviours, will help to make the business feel more human. Other possibilities can also include preventing fraud for a fintech app or handling an online retail order and marking out the most efficient delivery route.

Such value of AI is deeply dependent on having clean, trustworthy, up-to-date data. Organisations can tap on real-time streams of accurate data to keep up with AI-driven change. For this, companies in Singapore (small or big) should actively help employees to retrain and upskill in data management with the SkillsFuture Level-Up programme and new grants, especially as we see more AI centres of excellence open up here. 

Eileen Chua, Managing Director of SAP Singapore

The increasing need for employees’ training in AI, reflects on Singapore’s Budget 2024 focus and anticipates an ever-evolving business landscape. With the rising demand for AI expertise in this digital economy, building skills-centric organizations where expertise and know-how take precedence over roles and titles will improve business agility and employee experience. In order to achieve this, companies must have a holistic view of their workforce and ignite potential by providing opportunities for growth and development. 

In line with the Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0, SAP has also named SAP Labs Singapore as a global AI hub, with the aim of developing reliable, relevant and responsible business AI applications for customers and partners globally, while fostering innovation through a private, public partnership approach.

Sanchit Mendiratta, Managing Director, Merkle, CXM Group, dentsu Singapore

Over the past six decades, Singapore has consistently positioned itself at the forefront of global innovation and economic growth. From capitalising on its strategic geographic location to foster trade to diversifying its economy from manufacturing to cutting-edge fintech, Singapore’s journey is a testament to foresight, adaptability, and relentless pursuit of excellence.

In the last 14 months alone, the world has witnessed unparalleled advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), signalling a pivot that promises to redefine our way of life, work, and interaction with technology. This era of rapid technological evolution underscores the power of individual creativity and potential to generate significant impact. In light of emerging narratives about the possibility of ‘one-person unicorns’, it is clear that the ability to drive change is increasingly democratised, residing not only within VC-funded start-ups, big tech, or established multinational corporations but also within the reach of every individual connected to the internet.

The Singapore government recognizes the transformative potential of AI and is committed to ensuring its benefits are accessible to all. By empowering Singaporeans with SkillsFuture credits and monthly training allowances, alongside initiatives designed to encourage companies to adopt AI, the government is fostering a dual approach to innovation. This strategy ensures a comprehensive understanding and application of AI across all levels of society and the workforce, from the ground up by the people and from the top down by companies.

We are on the cusp of a new era where AI is not just a tool for operational efficiency but a catalyst for societal advancement and the empowerment of every individual. The government’s efforts to evangelize AI capabilities reflect our dedication to preparing Singaporeans for the future, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to navigate and shape the emerging new world order.

Thus, the future Singapore envisions is not merely a forecast, but a reality Singaporeans will actively create.

Rebecca Nadilo, Managing Director – Iris Singapore

There’s still so much to learn about the applications of AI – and most importantly – there’s much to teach about it. Singapore’s investment in tech, training and infrastructure means we’re in the best position to beta test its application and understand where, how and who is best to use it.

Tin Sanchez, Executive Creative Director – Iris Singapore

Change is scary – and AI marks a change in the way we do and make things. The budget can allow mastery of AI and overcoming our unease around it. My hope is that it boosts human creativity even more.

Singapore – NCS, a provider of technology firm services, has appointed Dentsu Singapore as its brand agency of record. The appointment expands dentsu’s remit as NCS’s incumbent lead agency partner since 2021.

As the official brand agency of record for NCS in the Asia-Pacific region, Dentsu Singapore will make use of its B2B solutions and integrated marketing knowledge to innovate for NCS. Dentsu is charged with providing strategic advice and recommendations across all brand touchpoints, and this assistance will be essential in elevating NCS during its upcoming stage.

Speaking about the appointment, Prakash Kamdar, CEO of clients and solutions, SEA, and CEO of Dentsu Singapore and Indonesia, commented, “As a network that takes a people-centered approach to business transformation, we are delighted to be able to support NCS’s vision to harness technology to advance communities and shape society.” 

He added, “This is an enduring relationship that has sparked remarkable brand outcomes in the region, and we are confident of scaling the NCS brand to new heights as we embark on our expanded partnership with this appointment.”

Meanwhile, Abigail Crosby, managing director, Merkle B2B, CXM Group, dentsu Singapore, expressed, “We are deeply appreciative for the opportunity to continue our work with NCS, helping to evolve the brand in the region. The best brand experience can only be delivered when it is thought through every touchpoint of the client journey, agnostic of the platform and content format.” 

“Our dentsu team is able to provide and demonstrate this holistic expertise and consultancy and we are thrilled that this shone through and enabled us to renew the partnership with NCS,” Crosby said. 

Singapore – Dentsu Singapore and SaaS suite Grasp have announced a partnership to offer media excellence in Asia-Pacific. Said partnership will leverage dentsu Singapore’s media expertise and Grasp’s proprietary preventive media and data excellence technology to deliver a comprehensive suite of media excellence solutions including campaign configuration verification, golden rule monitoring, and audience measurement. 

Moreover, the joint offering will serve to meet the evolving needs of brands in the region by optimising ad spend and ensuring that the important aspects of digital advertising strategies are followed meticulously.

Hemant Menon, client partner and performance marketing lead for media group at dentsu Singapore, said, “Dentsu Singapore has been at the forefront of providing real and tangible solutions to help our clients in delivering successful media strategies across the region. As media channels continue to evolve, it is more important than ever to ensure that digital campaigns are delivered with precision, accuracy, and efficiency. With Grasp’s unique proposition of advocating conscious and responsible solutions and dentsu’s experience in media execution, we will now be able to offer unparalleled media excellence solutions for brands across APAC.”

Meanwhile, Stephanie Phua, performance director for media group at dentsu Singapore, commented, “Given the complex and fragmented set up of the APAC digital landscape, our clients will appreciate the efficiency and flawless platform navigation that our partnership with Grasp offers. With Grasp’s pioneering media excellence technology, we will be able to deliver media excellence by mitigating overspend in digital campaigns, ensuring accurate implementation of brand naming conventions in campaigns, and by embedding central governance of campaign set-up standards for seamless campaign execution to extract more value from media.”

Lastly, Jessica Michen, chief operating officer at Grasp, said, “We are thrilled to partner with dentsu Singapore to deliver media excellence in the APAC region. Dentsu Singapore’s reputation as a leading agency in the region and our unique preventive technology in media excellence make this a powerful partnership that will deliver value to brands across the region.”

Singapore – Toyota Motor Asia-Pacific has renewed its partnership with dentsu Singapore and ONE Esports as part of its upcoming TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) GT Cup ASIA 2022. This marks the third instalment of said event, and will take place on October 9 this year.

The upcoming GT Cup spans across seven markets in Asia, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and South Korea, and will feature enhanced race formats before the Global Finals of the TGR GT Cup in November 2022.

Under the continued partnership, dentsu Singapore and ONE Esports will work with TMAP to run the regional sim racing competition in “Gran Turismo 7” for Playstation. This includes video content production, such as competition highlights, player interviews, among others. 

In addition, a series of articles covering the competition in localised languages will be published on ONE Esports’ website, oneesports.gg, while the competition will be broadcasted across its digital channels, including Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube.

Prema Techinamurthi, managing director at dentsu Creative Singapore said, “It’s been three incredible years of delivering such an exhilarating e-Motorsport tournament with TMAP and ONE Esports. As lead incumbent agency for TGR GT Cup ASIA, we are grateful for the opportunity to bring our gaming and esports capabilities to this expanding franchise, now known for its immersive brand experience that makes motorsports more accessible and enjoyable for its growing and passionate community of younger, digital audience.”

Meanwhile, Carlos Alimurung, CEO at ONE Esports, commented, “ONE Esports is honoured to host this iconic event for the third year, and we appreciate the partnership with TMAP over the years. We look forward to putting together yet another spectacular TGR GT Cup ASIA to grow its racing franchise. This partnership underscores our commitment to deliver a thrilling and unique esports racing experience to the growing community of passionate car enthusiasts and sim racing fans around the world.”

Singapore – Dentsu Singapore has elevated Pankaj Nayak to now helm the Media group as its new managing director. Effective immediately, the role reports to Prakash Kamdar, CEO of dentsu Singapore and Indonesia, and Prerna Mehrotra, CEO of Media for APAC. Mehrotra, who was the most recent one to hold the MD position for Media in Singapore will now shift her focus fully towards driving dentsu’s global media strategy and delivery in APAC.

Nayak joined dentsu Singapore in 2021 as president of product strategy &
delivery of the Media Group, where he has led the enhancement of product offerings in the space of insights, commerce, experience and analytics, as well as the delivery of bespoke commercial solutions for clients. He brings with him over 20 years’ experience in marketing and media across multiple markets in Asia.

In his new role, Pankaj is responsible for dentsu Singapore’s overall media strategy in driving business growth and excellence for clients. He will also work closely alongside dentsu Singapore’s Creative and CXM service lines in driving further integration across the business to deliver its one dentsu proposition to the market. 

Kamdar commented, “I am delighted to see our media leadership further strengthened with Pankaj now helming our Singapore business as Prerna shifts full gear into steering our regional media strategy. Pankaj has contributed significantly to our media business in Singapore since joining dentsu last year, successfully boosting our product and capabilities to ensure quality delivery of services for clients, all while focusing on growing the talents at the heart of our business.”

On Mehrotra’s exit, Kamdar also said, “As one of our most client-centric leaders in APAC and a strong advocate for the wellbeing of our people, it has been an honour to have had Prerna in our Singapore Media leadership seat. With Singapore as regional hub, I am confident that Pankaj will continue to work with Prerna in reinforcing a cohesive product strategy and talent development for our Media business in Singapore and the region going forward.” 

At the beginning of 2021, Mehrotra took on the dual position of being the CEO of Media for APAC and MD of Media for Singapore.

Mehrotra commented, “Pankaj has been a critical leader of the Singapore media leadership team since he joined in 2021, having delivered excellence in product and solutions in a short period of time, aligned with dentsu’s global transformation.” 

She adds, “As a people-focus organisation, Pankaj’s eye and heart on our people makes him a stand out. He has been closely involved in talent training, development, mobility plans to grow the right talents to truly drive growth for our clients. As the media landscape in the region transforms as a constant, Pankaj is the leader we need in Singapore to take our media business to new heights and will continue to be a critical partner for me in the region.”

Meanwhile, new MD Nayak remarked, “In Singapore, we have built a strong team to deliver just that – remarkable future-proof solutions, products and capabilities that can support brand growth and business transformation journeys. I look forward to continue scaling new heights with our media team in Singapore and in synergy with our Creative and CXM teams to optimise our one dentsu solution to market.”

Singapore – Digital marketing communications agency dentsu in Singapore has fully acquired digital marketing agency, Happy Marketer, which will now be rebranded as Merkle Singapore. 

This acquisition is part of dentsu’s continued realignment of its customer experience management (CXM) capabilities under Merkle, and will see an acceleration of its data-driven transformation offerings into fast-growth strategic industries across APAC.

Merkle Singapore, which was acquired by dentsu in 2019, is an over 80-strong team today, serving clients across industries and markets. Its key clients are ING Bank, Standard Chartered, and NTUC Income, as well as Grab, and SPH. It also holds strong alliances with partners such as Google, Salesforce, Adobe, Tealium, and Insider.

The next phase post-brand will see Merkle Singapore expand into strategic sectors of financial services, fintech, telecommunications, and travel, as well as e-commerce. It will be delivering a complete suite of solutions for transformative customer experiences at scale, and will continue in complementing dentsu Singapore’s creative and media capabilities in bringing more integrated solutions to the market. 

Prakash Kamdar, Dentsu Singapore’s CEO, shared that the integration of Happy Marketer and its rebrand as Merkle Singapore cannot come at a better time as marketers seek for more relevant, compelling and joined-up experiences to win consumer attention and love in the face of an increasingly connected world. 

“Merkle Singapore has transformed our data-driven CXM offerings since its acquisition in 2019 and will undoubtedly continue to reimagine and reshape the future of digital marketing for our clients in Singapore and the region. The team has been a natural fit to dentsu’s culture and integrated approach,” said Kamdar.

Meanwhile, Sanchit Mendiratta, Merkle Singapore’s managing director, said that the acquisition journey with dentsu has been incredible, having grown from strength to strength in the past three years, and this has been made possible because of the unbridled access they have had to the richness and diversity of dentsu’s and Merkle’s heritage in expert knowledge, innovation, and creativity. 

“Our clients continue to appreciate the full suite of offerings that we are able to deliver due to the synergies from our global dentsu network, while our people have been able to grow through more opportunities for cross-collaborations and learning. We are optimistic for where Merkle Singapore will go from here and look forward to bringing our footprint further across the APAC region in the coming years,” said Mendiratta.

Prantik Mazumdar, dentsu Singapore’s managing director of CXM Group, stated that the integration of their acquired brands under Merkle in Singapore has been part of the planned road map to build a more cohesive CXM proposition to the market. 

“We are now geared to extend better support to markets beyond Singapore shores, especially across South East Asia, where we see immense potential for growth,” added Mazumdar.

Most recently, Merkle has also completed the realignment of its portfolio of B2B agencies into Merkle B2B.

Singapore – Dentsu International in Singapore have teamed up with partnership management platform impact.com to enable and accelerate partnership opportunities for clients globally, and as a way to boost commercial offering of the agency.

Said alliance will enable dentsu to leverage impact.com’s purpose-built performance platform to manage its client partnership activity at considerable scale. Impact.com seeks to transform the way businesses create, manage, scale and optimise an ecosystem of partnerships.

These include traditional rewards affiliates, influencers, commerce content publishers, and B2B brands, and has been successfully activated for some of dentsu’s clients in the region.

In addition, dentsu is now fully certified by impact.com’s Partnerships Experience Academy (PXA).

Guillaume Legond, client partner and commerce lead for media group of dentsu Singapore, said that through the alliance, it puts them in an even better position to support their clients in expanding their performance marketing activities and generate significant incremental revenue.

“We are passionate about delivering a total commerce experience to help brands optimise their business performance. Our partnership with impact.com will now bring our commerce capabilities up a notch as we tap on its seamless partnership management platform at scale,” Legond said.

Meanwhile, Antoine Gross, general manager for SEA at impact.com, commented, “Partnerships are becoming an important customer acquisition channel for more and more brands and we’re thrilled that dentsu has selected impact.com as their preferred partnership management platform. We are looking forward to helping dentsu’s clients unlock the value that a performance partnership program can produce through a wide range of innovative partnership types.”

Singapore – Continuing in its quest towards expanding its gaming & e-sports offerings, media and digital marketing communications company dentsu in Singapore remains the lead agency of the virtual motorsport competition TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) GT Cup Asia, now on its second consecutive year.

In partnership with automotive brand Toyota Motor Asia-Pacific and e-sports company ONE Esports, the TGR GT Cup Asia 2021 is the first recurring annual e-motorsports tournament that dentsu is launching from Singapore connecting racing and esport fans and gamers across seven Asian markets through a virtual studio, and hosted through the Japanese racing simulation game Gran Turismo.

Through its agency role, dentsu Singapore will deliver the finals of the regional esports tournament taking place on 16 October 2021, which will see 21 racers connecting from India, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Furthermore, the virtual races will be made possible through a server in Tokyo, Japan, working in sync with a virtual broadcast studio in Malaysia. Fans can expect a racing experience just as in any professional motorsports competition. Hosted by race coach and commentator, Alex Yoong, the fan experience will be further enhanced by an exciting pre-show as well as detailed race analysis and commentaries.

Prema Techinamurthi, senior business director for creative group at dentsu Singapore, commented that they are proud to once again partner with Toyota and ONE Esports to achieve never-before experiences in this year’s regional tournament.

“Our team was single-mindedly focused on elevating a brand experience that thoughtfully integrates a virtual racing and viewing platform like no other with inclusive opportunities to engage with and celebrate local communities. We are grateful for the unwavering trust and partnership from Toyota and ONE Esports in bringing this to life,” Techinamurthi stated.

As part of the tournament proper, Asia’s first race car livery design activation led by dentsu has unveiled custom culture-diverse race car designs by renowned local artists from seven participating markets who have taken their own flavor and flair of their local culture based on fan suggestions.

Dentsu said that it remains steadfast in expanding its gaming and esports offering as a key growth pillar, with a portfolio that includes work with Moonton and other international gaming publishers. More recently, dentsu has launched ‘dentsu gaming’, an integrated solution which brings together the extensive gaming heritage and expertise of the dentsu Japan network, with the global scale and specialist capabilities within dentsu international.

Singapore – Float Foods, the local home-grown foodtech startup, has tapped the services of dentsu Singapore to be its brand and digital strategy partner to aid the startup in the commercial launch of Asia’s first plant-based whole egg product, OnlyEg.

Through the appointment, dentsu Singapore will be responsible for developing the product’s go-to-market brand strategy, identity, design and launch campaign in Singapore in 2022.

Speaking about the startup launch in Singapore, Vinita Choolani, founder and CEO at Float Foods, said that the prime reason they aim with the launch is due to the fact that COVID-19 has highlighted a burgeoning food security problem, especially in Singapore, adding that they have identified a critical need for Singapore to plug that gap to ensure the long-term safety of our food ecosystem. 

“Equally important, we recognized that it needed to be done in a clean and sustainable way that allowed people to eat healthily and economically. That was why Float Foods was born and our breakthrough plant-based whole egg protein product will be able to change the way eggs are consumed in Asian cultures where it is a key diet,” Choolani said.

She added, however, that any game-changing product and technology requires radical collaboration with partners who believe in it, further stating that it has therefore been important for them to work with investors and partners who appreciate the startup’s vision to advance Singapore’s food ecosystem.

“That is why dentsu Singapore is a clear choice for us as a partner for the launch of OnlyEg. Its appreciation of Float Foods’ longer-term value to the food landscape in Singapore, combined with dentsu’s capabilities in brand and digital strategy, was a strong proposition for us. We look forward to bringing this to launch together,” Choolani stated.

Meanwhile, Prakash Kamdar, CEO at dentsu Singapore, commented that their company’s commitment for being a force of good and growth is stemmed from their focus on helping businesses achieve good for growth, yet it is not every day that they get to work with a partner who is positively revolutionizing the landscape in which it operates in.

“As such, we are incredibly delighted to be able to support Float Foods in its go-to-market strategy and execution as it champions change in the way we manage food supply and security in Singapore while taking care of the environment. We are grateful for the confidence placed on our ability to bring our integrated thinking and capabilities to the table. Our team has a deep appreciation for Float Foods’ vision and principles, which will be applied in building a strong brand strategy that will help to successfully launch OnlyEg to the market once it is ready,” Kamdar concluded.

In overview, Float Foods has raised US$2.2m in seed funding and is collaborating with research and development agencies in Singapore to optimize OnlyEg for commercial readiness by 2022. The foodtech startup also plans to roll out more plant-based products in Singapore and the region in the next two years.