Singapore Express delivery company J&T Express has been appointed as the delivery partner-of-choice for foodpanda shops, foodpanda’s online marketplace. With its expertise and extensive network, J&T Express will be supporting foodpanda shops’ retailers to provide next-day door-to-door delivery.

In this partnership, over 20 merchants such as Unilever, Philips, ASUS, MAKE UP STORE and TC Acoustics will now have the option to offer next-day delivery fulfilled by J&T Express, with plans to expand this offering to more merchant partners in the coming months.

As part of the launch, foodpanda is offering free deliveries on all J&T Express next-day delivery orders from now till 31 August 2022, terms and conditions apply.

foodpanda shops was first launched in 2019 to provide customers with the convenience of placing orders from a wide variety of product categories including household items, beauty products, electronics and more, and have them delivered on-demand. With over 4,000 merchant partners, customers can now shop from notable brands such as Xiaomi, Guardian, LUSH, and more from the comfort of their own homes.

J&T Express also brings to this strategic collaboration its extensive experience in supporting online marketplaces and e-commerce platforms to provide efficient and seamless logistics solutions. As part of this collaboration, J&T Express has developed an API integration with foodpanda to enable a one-stop ecommerce experience for merchants.

Martin Tan, head of operations at J&T Express, Singapore, said, “We are excited to be onboard with foodpanda through foodpanda shops to drive the one-stop e-commerce experience for both sellers and consumers. This new milestone is in line with our ambition and strategy to expand our customer base by creating tailored e-commerce solutions for our partners, which is also a testament to our growing potential and momentum both in Singapore and globally.”

foodpanda aims to expand its delivery offerings via its shops feature to bring new benefits for both consumers and brands. Consumers can now enjoy a wider variety of products and brands with a frictionless shopping experience, while merchants have access to a new channel to reach new, digital customers, and opportunities to generate new revenues through alternative business models like next-day delivery.

Rizan Rahiman, head of marketplace – Shops, at foodpanda Singapore, commented, “Our partnership with J&T Express allows us to provide even more options for customers to place orders and have them delivered at their preferred timings. With this partnership, participating merchant partners can now offer islandwide delivery in a more efficient manner, resulting in wallet-friendlier delivery fees for our customers. These enhancements will ensure that we are well-placed in being the preferred option for on-demand purchases.”

As part of this partnership and its ongoing growth, J&T Express continues to invest in its operations globally and in the region to ensure it can deliver the highest quality express service. The company recently announced its global expansion to include Brazil. In Singapore, it has equipped its sorting hub with upgraded automation solutions and expanded its strategic warehouse network in both east and west of Singapore, which is supported by a nationwide network of Pick Lockers and J&T Points, the dedicated service points.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Local adtech startup Rodeo has teamed up with buy-now, pay-later player hoolah to launch an advertising campaign for hoolah across Rodeo’s fleet of cars and on foodpanda delivery bags.

Hoolah sees a huge potential in partnering with Rodeo as their out-of-home (OOH) media partner to run their advertising campaign that aims to amplify awareness amongst consumers. In addition to external branding, Rodeo created an in-car experience that utilises QR code for active engagement with passengers bringing the online experience to them, wherever they are.

Valens Subramaniam, CEO at Rodeo, said, “Being our first BNPL advertiser, hoolah, we have executed a campaign with them in Klang Valley as well to turn heads on the streets using Rodeo’s media on e-hailing cars and food delivery bikes to promote its Raya campaign.”

He also added that on average, a rider makes about 30 to 40 deliveries per day at selected zones while E-hailing drivers on the other hand commute about 20 to 30 trips per day within Klang Valley. 

“We want to make use of this ‘missed opportunity’ to our advantage for our advertisers. In Klang Valley alone, there are more than 30,000 food riders and about 100,000 drivers supporting the gig economy and we are looking at 100,000 to 300,000 trips per day based on our findings,” Valens added.

Meanwhile, Jason Wong, general manager at hoolah, commented, “We are excited to be kickstarting our first advertising campaign in Malaysia with Rodeo and foodpanda. This partnership gives us the opportunity to reach out to thousands of commuters daily in Klang Valley and bring the retail experience to them via the QR code, so they can shop at their favourite brands and pay later in a convenient, flexible, and responsible manner.”

Bernard Chong, marketing director at foodpanda, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with Rodeo and hoolah on this campaign. When we launched our rider bag ads, our goal was to work with brands to achieve a wider and more effective reach since road users have started to progressively increase over the past few months. To add to that, we also wanted to be able to provide our delivery partners with an additional source of income while delivering their orders.”

Singapore – As part of foodpanda’s efforts in supporting the fight against global hunger, the delivery platform has launched its new meal donation initiative in Asia. With a new micro-donation feature built into the foodpanda app, customers can now easily donate to those in need by selecting the ‘Donate’ button after checking out orders.

The feature will go live in Malaysia and Singapore this week, ahead of World Hunger Day on 28 May 2022. Beneficiaries of foodpanda’s meal donation initiative will vary by market. In Malaysia, foodpanda and ShareTheMeal have been working closely together to make it easy for customers to give back to their communities. ShareTheMeal is a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) initiative and app through which people are encouraged to make meal donations to help feed hungry families around the world. 

The donation function integrated into the foodpanda app allows for a seamless donation process for customers. All donations via the foodpanda app will be channelled to WFP’s food assistance projects and emergency programmes across SEA. Malaysians now have the option to donate between RM2.50 to RM17.50 to feed a child for up to seven days.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, foodpanda will collaborate with The Food Bank Singapore (FBSG). Customers in Singapore can choose to donate one, two, or three meals – at a rate of SG$2 per meal – that will go towards funding meals for FBSG beneficiaries. 

For interested users, The ‘Donate a Meal/ Share the Meal’ tab will be displayed on the order tracking page, and upon clicking it, they will be shown the donation options available. Once a user selects their donation, they will be directed to the payment page, and when the donation is confirmed, the user will be returned to the order tracking page.

foodpanda said that this meal donation initiative is an extension of the global partnership launched by parent company Delivery Hero SE with the WFP in September 2020, with the goal for Delivery Hero to donate 10 million meals globally by the end of 2022. 

Jakob Sebastian Angele, foodpanda’s CEO, said, “Food and groceries are at the core of our business, so we need to make food accessible to as many people as possible. By integrating meal donations onto our platform, we are encouraging our riders, merchants and customers to give back to society through using everyday technologies.” 

Elsewhere in Asia, foodpanda is also an active participant in programmes that address hunger and tackle food insecurity and wastage. In Singapore, foodpanda partners with OLIO to redistribute surplus food from pandamarts, while in Bangladesh, foodpanda partners with the Bidyanodo Foundation, donating unsold fresh produce from pandamarts and food from cancelled orders to vulnerable communities. Moreover, in Hong Kong, foodpanda has introduced a ‘Less Rice/Noodles’ option to decrease food waste.

Singapore – Regional delivery platform foodpanda has recently published its latest social impact report, focusing on the initiatives for supporting communities, helping MSMEs digitise, train and upskill delivery riders across the region during the continued pandemic in 2021.

The company has dedicated US$29m to support MSMEs across the region, like wet market vendors in Thailand and Taiwan, local mom-and pop shops in Malaysia and the Philippines and hawkers in Singapore. This comprises new digital tools to help merchants expand revenue streams and connect with new customers online, as well as fee waivers and other relief initiatives. 

In addition, an additional US$6m was invested in providing riders’ welfare and benefits, such as safety training, insurance and financial support for the purchase of bicycles or motorbikes. Foodpanda also spent more than half a million US dollars to support local governments and communities in the fight against COVID-19, with the distribution of food, essentials and medical supplies to healthcare workers and people in need. 

Jakob Sebastian Angele, chief executive officer at foodpanda, said, “Since foodpanda was founded in 2012, we have been driven by our value to ‘get 1% better every day’, rolling out technical features that make millions of lives better. Technology has been an especially powerful tool to help sustain livelihoods, preserve business legacies, tackle environmental challenges, and build an inclusive platform for our community of merchants, riders, and customers to thrive.”

Foodpanda has also dedicated an additional US$91,000, invested to upskill riders in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, in language, personal growth and marketing programmes for future career readiness. In Singapore, foodpanda dedicated 19,500 hours mentoring mid-career professionals as they transition to data and software engineers through the GoSchool and #GetReadySG programmes. Foodpanda also invested US$70,000 on mental wellness, including providing subscriptions to mental wellness apps for employees and riders.

Hong Kong – Q-commerce platform foodpanda in Hong Kong has announced a partnership with buy now pay later platform Atome, to introduce Atome’s buy now pay later acceptance and payment flexibility to the Hong Kong market. 

Starting 14 March, foodpanda customers in Hong Kong can split purchases into three zero-interest deferred payments upon checkout. To pay, users must first download the Atome app and register before selecting Atome as a payment option at the checkout.

Ryan Lai, managing director at foodpanda Hong Kong, shared,  that both oth foodpanda and Atome are aligned in our mission of better serving the people of Hong Kong. 

“By adding the buy now pay later payment flexibility on our all-in-one quick commerce platform, it makes food and grocery shopping even more instant, affordable and convenient for foodpanda customers. The launch of this partnership is very timely, given COVID-19 restrictions and the economic impacts it brings, allowing Hong Kong residents to enjoy better financial flexibility while making food or grocery purchases safely from home.” 

Eric Yu, general manager at Atome Hong Kong, commented, “We are pleased to partner with foodpanda, Hong Kong’s leading on-demand delivery platform. foodpanda customers can now enjoy a flexible, transparent and seamless shopping and payment experience by checking out with Atome. This will make it even more convenient and affordable to Hong Kong residents to eat and shop for food and groceries safely, and from the comfort of their own home.”

To commemorate the launch of the partnership and to encourage Hong Kong residents to eat and shop safely from home during the COVID-19 crisis, all foodpanda customers can redeem a one-time HK$50 foodpanda voucher when they check out with Atome’s minimum spend of HK$350 for existing customers and HK$250 for new customers.

Singapore — Global media and tech company Yahoo has unveiled its latest ad solution, Video Lite, in Asia-Pacific (APAC) that will elevate the video assets of brands for a stronger storytelling experience. Among those who had already utilised the new feature are transport company Grab, and delivery platform foodpanda.

Video Lite is available for private marketplace (PMP) campaigns via Yahoo Exchange, which allows advertisers to raise existing video creatives for digital media placements through the addition of end cards or branded frames, (Call To Action) CTA buttons and messages.

Yahoo cites the inspiration for the new feature as the massive digitisation wave continues across Southeast Asia, which recorded 60 million new internet users in 2021 alone. Notably, in SEA, e-commerce has experienced an unstoppable growth, valued at approximately US$120b in 2021 and forecasted to increase significantly by 2025 to be worth US$234b.

Although Yahoo recognises the strengths of videos as a medium and channel for brands to captivate audiences, the company says it is not known for causing actionable responses compared to other ad formats. But with Video Lite, brands will unlock stronger storytelling by helping brands bridge video’s convenience gap for consumers and close the loop, taking them from experience to action through a clearer path to purchase while also emphasising brand visuals and messaging.

The new video component has two new features: Branded Frames, and End Cards. Brand frames, fit for videos up to 30 seconds, give access to complementary graphics, text ad copies and CTA buttons to be added seamlessly alongside a minimised video to reinforce key brand visuals and messaging and provide a direct path to purchase. Meanwhile End Cards, suitable for shorter videos up to 15 seconds, create a one-click checkout point, when attention is at its peak, by maximising graphics and text ad copies with CTA buttons, emphasising key brand visuals and messaging with a direct path to purchase, at the end of existing video assets.

Shrivardhan Sarda, head of buyer development of Yahoo APAC, commented, “For many APAC advertisers, especially e-commerce brands, conversions remain the primary focus in their advertising campaigns. Our new Video Lite feature seeks to enhance brand storytelling through videos – optimising creatives for digital media placements by giving greater emphasis to important messages and forging a clearer path for consumers to complete their conversion journey with clear, actionable CTAs.”

Hadi Surya Koe, head of marketing Grabfood – Grab Indonesia, said,“We’re delighted to become one of the first users of Video Lite in the region. Makanthon is our marquee campaign of the year and we’re glad we got to explore new ways of reaching new audiences. We look forward to utilising more innovative ways to connect with our customers through collaboration with platforms and solutions, like Yahoo.”

Grab Indonesia utilised Video Lite by adding a branded frame to their existing video asset for their GrabFood and GrabMart prominent campaign, Makanthon 2021. The branded frame emphasised time urgency and highlighted the chance for customers to win prizes, namely gold, smartphones, and a luxury car, with a clear CTA button for users to make a purchase or order immediately. The campaign ran between Nov 16 and Dec 26 December on Yahoo’s owned and operated properties in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, foodpanda in Singapore also utilised Video Lite, with a branded frame over their “We’ve got you Santa!” video to drive awareness for its holiday Christmas campaign. The branded frame sought to up the ante on the Christmas spirit and emphasise foodpanda’s “we’ve got you” commitment to its customers to help with their gifting, feasting and festive needs that is conveniently just a tap away with the “Order Now” CTA button. The campaign ran from Dec 6 to 26 on Yahoo’s owned and operated properties in Singapore, alongside other premium lifestyle publishers in the country. 

Laura Kantor, marketing and sustainability director for foodpanda Singapore, shared, “Time is increasingly becoming a scarce resource for all of us. Being in the business of convenience, we know how much our customers appreciate having things delivered to them in a timely manner – and this goes for the content that they consume as well. With Video Lite, we can now enhance the way we engage with our customers by providing them with bite-sized videos that are visually engaging and easily digestible, therefore ensuring maximum recall.”

On the success of the two partnerships, Sarda said that better ads are better for everyone. According to him, as a consumer, better ads improve the browsing experience and clearer CTAs deliver convenience, shortening the path to purchase for immediate action.

“For brands, this will mean meaningful engagements at every touchpoint that will help realise their campaign goals and deliver maximum ROI. We’re excited to have piloted Video Lite with Grab and foodpanda in SEA, and we look forward to empowering more brands and helping them forge a path to engage with their target audiences at scale,” Sarda said.

The Video Lite feature can now be availed by agencies and advertisers across APAC, and enhanced video ads can be executed on their preferred DSP with PMP deals using Yahoo Exchange.

Singapore – Omnicom Media Group’s media agency OMD in Singapore has nabbed the media agency mandate of online food and grocery delivery platform foodpanda. OMD Singapore replaces incumbent agency Zenith, while other agencies who joined the pitch are Carat and UM.

The mandate was won by OMD Singapore’s presentation of out-of-the-box client-driven ideas and strategic media planning approaches which taps into OMD’s data capabilities and network.

Laura Kantor, marketing and sustainability director at foodpanda Singapore, said that OMD Singapore impressed them with the ability to effectively combine creativity with feasibility, and that they look forward to continuing delivering great food, groceries, and also amazing content.

“Operating in an increasingly competitive landscape means we need to constantly serve up new and creative ways of engaging with our audience, and it is crucial that we partner with an agency that can run at the same pace that we do,” Kantor said.

The agency win comes after foodpanda had recently announced the launch of its brand mascot, Pau-pau, as part of the company’s 10th anniversary celebration.

Meanwhile, Sadhan Mishra, managing director at OMD Singapore, commented, “We are thrilled to learn that our strategic media planning approach resonated with foodpanda. Through the pitch process, it was gratifying to see that foodpanda valued a long-term brand building process along with short-term goals that align with the values of our agency. 

He added, “With OMD’s understanding of the market and experience in the field, we are confident that we will be able to help foodpanda establish their place as a valuable brand in Singapore in addition to fuelling their upcoming offerings.”

OMD Singapore had also recently won the integrated media account of Singapore-based insurance company Income.

We are so excited to kick off our Top Stories for the year. We have made a few changes to our monthly review, and this time, you’ll have a more in-depth look at the stories that have made it to the list. 

We have an amazing rundown inaugurating our Top Stories for 2022. First, we have a thought leadership series under MARKETECH APAC’s first-ever What’s NEXT series bagging a spot. 

A content marketing agency, who has recently developed a content hub for a Malaysian brand, also comes out on top. Meanwhile, a food delivery platform that is taking its branding to the next level is also named as one of our top stories. 

Top 3: Magnolia’s Don Lee shares his insights on DXP adoption for What’s NEXT

What’s NEXT: Why marketers need DXP more than ever in 2022

For the first time in MARKETECH, we have launched our content series dedicated to sharing insights for future trends, called What’s NEXT. 

What’s NEXT was launched in order to help the marketing community prepare for 2022 and one of the insights, authored by Don Lee, the managing director of CMS provider Magnolia for APAC, tops our stories for this month. In the article, he shared how a digital experience platform (DXP) can help brands deliver an excellent digital experience. 

In an exclusive interview with Lee, he further shares what he believes are the important factors that make up a good digital brand experience. He says three things: customer-centricity, omnichannel experience, and personalization. 

He said that there’s no such thing as solid brand loyalty anymore and it is continually a challenge – an “uphill challenge” – to retain your customers. 

“Customers learn to expect ever more service and value through unique and personalized experiences that match their preferences and needs; so for brands to keep up with those demands, they have to turn to experience-driven commerce,” shared Lee.

He said then that a DXP is tech that will enable brands to develop effective personalization. 

“You don’t want a one-size-fits-all sort of experience. You want it to be all about the [consumer]. They know [them], they understand [them], they know their preferences, and know exactly what they’re looking for…that’s what consumers want,” said Lee. 

Top 2: Green Park Content launches new health and wellness content hub in Malaysia

Green-Park-Content-health-hub

Content marketing agency Green Park Content (GPC) has launched an English language health and wellness content hub in Malaysia for a company that the agency has yet to disclose. This new content hub development aims to establish a powerful online presence for an integrated healthcare company. 

Called ‘All Things Health’, the new hub enables access to easy-to-understand, trustworthy articles written by health editors, physicians, and wellness experts and covers key health and wellness categories such as nutrition, mental health, and balance, as well as parenthood. It also addresses Malaysians’ growing demand for health and wellness information, with over five million category searches of health and wellness topics in the country per month.

MARKETECH APAC spoke with Ayie Austria, Green Park Content’s head of search experience and innovation, to know how GPC conceptualise a content platform.

Austria shared that they have a lot of data gathering and a great team of data analysts in GPC, and that’s where the market analysis comes in, in order to cement the opportunity to enter a particular market.

“There are a lot of intricacies in building a content hub but I would start by finding out what is the main goal of the website, what are challenges or problems we would like to provide solutions for our users, and why are we building this content hub,” said Austria.

Moreover, Austria also shared her opinions on what makes a good content hub. She noted that the content hub’s users experience needs to stand out, and content needs to be relatable and answers the questions users are searching for.

“More importantly, we need to be clear in communicating to users why they should choose our site over other competitors. Creating purpose-led content goes a long way in communicating to our users for loyalty and retention,” she added.

Top 1: foodpanda unveils new brand mascot Pau-Pau

foodpanda celebrates decade anniversary with new brand mascot

For the first month of this year, foodpanda got the #1 spot for MARKETECH APAC Top Stories. The leading delivery and grocery platforms unveiled their new charming mascot as they culminated 10 years of service within the Asian region.

The new brand ambassador is in line with foodpanda’s earlier brand refresh. The mascot, aptly named Pau-Pau for its likeness to a panda, is a meticulous step into new brand representation and maximization of the digital marketing space.

In an exclusive interview with MARKETECH APAC, Idan Haim, foodpanda’s vice president for growth and marketing, shared the inspiration behind launching a brand mascot, saying that going back to reasons for existence, foodpanda, like humans was born, given a name, discovered their purpose in life, and finally, the company wanted to soul-search.

Regarding the inspiration for the brand mascot’s design, Haim said, “Throughout this process, we watched many pandas in the zoo and through zoo footage. We were all so charmed by how they lived the life they want. They are so much fun with themselves and their environment that we felt so inspired and we wanted to bring this to our customers.”

“We wanted to bring this [feeling] to our customers, [inspite] of the fact that life is not perfect, we want them to enjoy these moments and create happiness and smiles. We believe we created this meaningful interaction with customers. Sometimes, I walk down the streets and see people at the bus stops and they smile when they stare at our videos and we feel that we have done something good because we created a small moment of happiness,” Haim said.

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Watch our exclusive interviews with the brands themselves on the latest episode of MARKETECH APAC Top Stories, now live on our YouTube channel.

Singapore foodpanda, leading delivery and grocery platform in Asia, celebrates its 10th anniversary with the unveiling of its first-of-its-kind brand ambassador — Pau-pau. The mascot will be given its own unique characteristics and will be featured on foodpanda’s different marketing platforms.

The introduction of Pau-Pau builds on foodpanda’s earlier brand refresh. The pink panda is the platform’s venture towards new brand representation, where, aside from the traditional marketing environments, the new brand ambassador will also be utilized to maximize digital marketing touchpoints.

Idan Haim, foodpanda’s vice president for growth and marketing, commented, “Pau-Pau is a first-of-its-kind among food delivery platforms in Asia! More than anything else, we wanted to create a personality that evokes love among customers. We want Pau-Pau to be an inspiration for people to live life on their own terms and to its fullest. We are excited for our customers to meet Pau-Pau, as we mark the start of a new decade for foodpanda in Asia,” Haim said.

Pau-pau will be featured on the LINE and Instagram apps as an available sticker to bolster use in consumer expression and communication. It will progressively be rolled out into all of foodpanda channels and interfaces, namely the app, website, digital and social media platforms, as well as live-environment activations and more.

The mascot has been developed with a unique set of characteristics that will further help it relate with a wider range of audiences across the Asian market; foodpanda said Pau-pau believes in caring for the environment, empowerment, and living freely.

Eunha Bhang, chief creative officer of delivery hero Asia, gave her thoughts on the uniqueness of the character.

“In creating Pau-Pau, we wanted him to also have a dimension of purpose — that he stands for something more than just being an adorable mascot. Pau-Pau embodies and brings to life the foodpanda spirit by helping our communities reimagine how they use delivery and thereby adding vibrancy and fun in their lives,” she shared.

With the announcement of Pau-pau, one of the character’s key projects will be spearheading the campaign for plastic-free and environmentally-friendly consumerism with foodpanda’s Global Sustainable Packaging Programme to encourage merchant and consumer responsibility.

The one-of-its-kind ambassador was first rolled out in Japan, Taiwan, and Cambodia in December 2021, which was subsequently followed by its appearance in other foodpanda networks namely Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Laos. The next phase will introduce the ambassador in the Philippines, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Last November, foodpanda also announced its partnership with Chinese tech giant Xiaomi to venture into q-commerce allowing the option of purchasing consumer electronic products and appliances through its apps. 

We can’t believe we are now down to the last roundup of top stories for 2021! It has been a great year recognizing the most well-loved brands and stories in marketing and tech for the year.

Our monthly deep dive and conversation with the top brands resulted in the much-awaited regular MARKETECH APAC Reports, and this month of December is no less an exciting list of one-of-a-kind campaigns, inspiring new leadership appointments, and fresh product launches. 

This month, we saw a food delivery platform moving into an entirely new vertical of consumer electronics. This period, a philippine arm of a global communications agency also announced a new business director, while, a content marketing agency with a presence in APAC unveiled an expansive roster of new hires in the region within its client servicing, creative production, and editorial teams. 

For the month, a very interesting campaign from a BNPL service in Singapore has also entered the list for bringing back audiences to the golden age of advertising in the 80s. Meanwhile, our MARKETECH Spotlight episode on a digital agency in Malaysia also came out on top for walking us through behind the scenes of incorporating AR and VR in marketing campaigns. 

Learn more about the top stories that will be closing off our 2021 with a bang:

Top 5: MY digital agency Unicom Interactive Digital on MARKETECH Spotlight

MARKETECH Spotlight_AR_UID

For our Top 5 story, we have the MARKETECH Spotlight episode of Unicom Interactive Digital, a fast-leading digital agency in Malaysia. 

In an interview with its COO Jareth Eng, we learn more about how brands are incorporating the tech of AR and VR in their marketing campaigns, and the best ways to deliver such that would effectively engage audiences at the same time push brands be top-of-mind. 

Having helped numerous brands develop immersive campaigns since the start of the pandemic, Eng shared the agency observed that content remains to be the top determinant of a success of a campaign. 

He says content must above all be personalized and authentic. 

“More and more, let’s be honest, we start to get bored of the same stuff, and we start to look for authenticity in content, because there are so much paid advertisements today [and] so much paid endorsements, and we reach a point where we do not know what is being said is real or not,” said Eng in the interview. 

Eng also shared his thoughts on the role of digital moving forward in the pandemic, “The perks of adding digital elements to campaigns have proven themselves during the past year. Even as we head back to a norm that we were used to, digital elements will still play a part.”

Top 4: Mel Panabi joins Red Havas PH as new business director

Havas Ortega Mel Panabi

Havas Group’s media and communications agency in the Philippines, Havas Ortega, has appointed Mel Panabi, former vice president of marketing communications at energy tech business WeGen Distributed Energy Philippines, as the new business director of its global public relations, social and experiential agency micro-network.

Through his new role, Panabi will be developing new products and services that will further strengthen Red Havas’ position in the country’s public relations and brands landscape.

MARKETECH APAC spoke with Panabi to know more about the area he is looking to prioritize in the role.

“I will be prioritizing promoting the ‘meaningful brands’ concepts of the agency. The global Red Havas Media Group actually made a study called ‘Meaningful Brands’, and it showed that people are now looking at the collective benefits provided by a brand, and its role in society,” said Panabi in the interview.

He adds that he is eager to start Red Havas’ sustainability and thoughtful corporate responsibility conversation. 

“One other thing is that the United Nations’ sustainable development goal is something that the brands need a lot, which is a space we want to occupy. We want to be associated with that kind of ‘meaningful brands’ and sustainability conversation,” he said.

Top 3: BNPL service Pace launches 80’s themed campaign

Pace campaign I Got This

Buy Now Pay Later service Pace in Singapore enters our top stories for bringing a very refreshing and unique creative campaign that brought people back to the vibrant pop culture of the 80’s. 

Armed with a video and an OOH ad, audiences saw VHS effect shorts complete with authentic 80s fashion, while decals on platform doors at train stations were reminiscent of the classic shopping advertisements from the period.

Speaking with MARKETECH APAC, Daren Goh, Pace’s head of growth, said that while BNPL is an inspiring tool for people to be financially responsible, payments could be something boring and pedestrian, hence, the push for the one-of-a-kind creative. 

“We thought 80’s was great because it’s something that any generation can relate to whether you’re [a baby boomer], even to Gen Z folks who are interested [in] how it is like [in the] 90s and 80s,” said Goh. 

He also shared that stimulating the feeling of Nostalgia was the goal.

“[80’s] seem like simple times and just really great times. So I guess we could tap into so many different feelings and people also see that no matter what age they are from,” said Goh.

Top 2: foodpanda to now offer delivery for consumer electronics via tie-up with Xiaomi

foodpanda x xiaomi

The leading food delivery platform in Asia, foodpanda, will now move to offer a wide range of consumer electronics and appliances for on-demand deliveries in Singapore and Thailand.

Partnering with Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, foodpanda will be offering Xiaomi’s products ranging from smart devices, audio, and mobile accessories, to household appliances, and will be delivered to homes within 30 minutes.

Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Christian Urban, foodpanda’s head of marketplace of new verticals for APAC, shared, “Xiaomi is one of the great new vendors coming on board recently, and of course, a very popular brand and we are super happy about that. They are on board with hundreds of their products from their flagship stores across Singapore and Thailand.”

Regarding the platform’s new partnerships and offerings in 2022, Urban said that they want to enable more and more vendors to join their marketplace, helping them to digitize and get their goods delivered within 30 minutes.

“Our goal is to serve a large portion of essential and non-essential goods, and there is actually a strong demand for it. Hence, strategically, the goal is to go deeper and offer more of those goods to our customers,” he added.

Top 1: Content marketing agency Green Park Content bolsters APAC presence with new hire lineup

Green-Park-Content-APAC-New-Hires

For this month’s #1 story, we take a look at the expansive company hire move by content marketing agency Green Park Content for the Asia-Pacific region. 

The hires, which were made in November, span across three major work categories: the client servicing team, creative production team, and the editorial team. In addition to these new hires, GPC also announced the promotions of some of its senior leaders, including Que Ramli to the role of global social media lead, Martin Niens as head of operations, and Fe Husaint who was recently promoted to the role of creative and global brand head.

Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Marcelo Bittencourt, managing director for APAC at GPC, shared that ever since GPC started out in APAC four and a half years ago with only two hires, they have tested the waters of the business in the region and have since grown to provide various services such as search engine optimization and editorial content.

“The goal for GPC in APAC is [trying] to answer to our global FMCG clients on how we can be more localized, how can we have content that is meaningful for the local countries, because we are seeing a shift from budgets being centralized, and we are seeing how important it is, and how empowered are the local marketers are in the countries. So [we] want to be there with them because we are a part of a global [and] regional work lines and as close to their local operations we can be,” Bittencourt stated.

On his insights on content development, he said, “Content is about connection, content is about building a bond with the audience. You cannot do this if you are not ‘there’, if you’re not using slang, if you’re not understanding what is the environment that you have. This is the biggest goal for us: to be able to grow our local expertise in the countries in APAC, to be able to be that partner to our global clients., and be able to answer their strategies to deliver their brand purpose with quality and with trust.”

Rankings‌ ‌are‌ ‌based‌ ‌on‌ ‌Google‌ ‌Analytics‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌period‌ ‌of‌ ‌16th‌ ‌November to 15th‌ ‌December.

Watch our exclusive interviews with the brands themselves on the latest episode of MARKETECH APAC Reports, now live on our YouTube channel.

This is in collaboration with Malaysia-based media company The Full Frontal.