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Marketing Featured APAC

Ex-Manulife Laura Vallis to now lead global communications at JLL

Singapore – One of the leading professional services firms, JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle), has announced the appointment of its new head of communications. Laura Vallis will be responsible for leading the globally integrated strategy, implementation, and delivery of the firm’s communications to employees, partners and external audiences. 

With the role to be effective this April, Vallis will be based in New York and reporting to CMO Siddharth Taparia

Vallis brings with her a broad global perspective across diverse industries and areas of expertise. She was most recently the first chief communications officer at Manulife, where she established an integrated global communications function for the company. Previously, she was managing director and global head of corporate communications for Barclays’ Corporate & Investment Bank. 

Furthermore, goes under her belt is serving as chief of staff to the president of Dow Jones and an extensive experience in the CPG industry, having spent much of her early career in corporate affairs leadership roles with AB InBev. 

Taparia said that as JLL tells the story of its renewed brand promise, which is to the message of ‘See a Brighter Way’, Vallis’ two-decade of communications experience will be integral in guiding how the firm shapes its narrative. 

“Her proven forward-looking thinking will support us in differentiating the JLL story in the market, from our technology ambition and sustainability efforts to our industry expertise,” commented Taparia.

Meanwhile, Vallis herself shared that the time is an exciting one to be joining JLL when commercial real estate can have far-reaching impact on some of the most pertinent issues of the present period. 

“I can’t wait to tell the story of JLL’s purpose of shaping the future of real estate for a better world supported by its more than 100,000 employees globally in 80 countries,” she concluded.

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Technology Featured Global

Market research firm Ipsos unveils new range of solutions for QSR brands

Paris, France – Market research company Ipsos has launched an end to-end innovation solution for Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) to support their development and optimisation of the product life cycle. 

This new solution serves as a comprehensive response to empower QSR innovation in the midst of evolving QSR industry, from cost management and pricing, evolving health trends, home delivery, packaging options, and digitised experiences to premiumisation.

This will also focus on screening and validation, optimising menu and price, developing products and packs, right through to demand forecasting, turning datapoints into compelling, in-context, actionable insights, and strategies to ignite brand growth. 

Moreover, this solution serves as an integral part of the company’s larger suite of innovation products to help clients in taking opportunities and boost their confidence in bringing products and services to the market.

Virginia Weil, global leader of innovation at Ipsos, said that these new QSR solutions by Ipsos will offer clients an agile and flexible way to optimise and forecast their innovations.

“Working globally with many of the leading QSR chains, we partner with clients at any stage of their QSR life cycle to unlock the recipe for predictable success,” she added.

Ipsos draws from multiple science disciplines providing a QSR tailored approach through a business lens. It has offices in more than 90 markets worldwide.

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Marketing Featured Global

Pepsi takes cues from old branding in latest visual identity, logo revamp

New York, USA – Popular soft drinks brand Pepsi has announced a new logo and visual identity for the brand, taking cues from its old branding encompassing its 125-year history. The new changes are part of the brand’s 125th anniversary, and will take effect first in North America later this year, and globally in 2024.

The new visual identity will also introduce an updated colour palette that uses electric blue and black to bring contrast, vibrancy, and a contemporary edge to the classic Pepsi colour scheme. Given the brand’s continued focus on Pepsi Zero Sugar, the design brings in the colour black, further showing the brand’s commitment to Pepsi Zero Sugar in the future.

Moreover, a modern, custom typeface will be used as well that reflects the brand’s confidence and unapologetic mindset; as well as a revamped signature Pepsi pulse evokes the ‘ripple, pop and fizz’ of Pepsi-Cola with movement.

The new design evolves the Pepsi brand to represent its most unapologetic and enjoyable qualities, and will span across all physical and digital touchpoints, including packaging, fountain and cooler equipment, fleet, fashion and dining.

Mauro Porcini, SVP and chief design officer of PepsiCo, said that their direction for designing brands is around telling a compelling and holistic story, adding that Pepsi is a shining example of a brand that has consistently reinvented itself over 125 years to remain a part of pop culture and a part of people’s lives.

“We designed the new brand identity to connect future generations with our brand’s heritage, marrying distinction from our history with contemporary elements to signal our bold vision for what’s to come,” Porcini said.

Meanwhile, Todd Kaplan, chief marketing officer at Pepsi, commented that the new visual system brings out the best of the Pepsi brand’s rich heritage, while taking a giant leap forward to set it up for success in an increasingly digital world.

“Pepsi is an iconic brand that is constantly evolving with the times, as it has been a staple in pop culture and disrupted the category for the past 125 years. We couldn’t be more excited to begin a new era for Pepsi, as this exciting new and modern look will drive brand distinction to show up bigger and bolder and help people find new ways to unapologetically enjoy the things they love,” Kaplan said.

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Technology Featured Global

Around 60% of brands struggle with ineffective AI for customer service

Singapore – A new global study from customer experience management platform Sprinklr notes that around 60% of brands struggle with ineffective AI for their customer service, with only 22% of the respondents reporting having a complete unified customer data to be leveraged for their customer service efforts.

According to the research, 62% of brands acknowledge the inconsistencies in their digital customer communication. This includes not being able to communicate the same information and unable to stay true to their brand voice. The majority of companies are also struggling with ineffective AI solutions (60%) and insufficient resourcing (54%).

Meanwhile, 11% of the respondents admitted that they make no effort whatsoever to personalise interactions. Another 36%, meanwhile, limit personalisation efforts to referencing ‘basic profile details’ in some or all communication. 

The remaining 53% of the respondents are making strides toward personalisation, but only 12% of them are predicting customer needs and proactively tailoring interactions based on specific needs, intentions, or sentiments.

The data also notes that many global brands also suffer from insufficient insights, with 51% of them finding it hard to even capture meaningful data about customers. Furthermore, 67% of companies face difficulty analysing customer data, 64% struggle to unify data, and 63% report challenges in using data to improve customer experience operations.

Lastly, the global research also stated that several leading companies are taking a number of actions to tackle these challenges, with 53% see AI being able to power chatbots and improve customer data as a paramount focus for 2023, and more than 69% planning to invest in technology that reduces agent effort.

For Ragy Thomas, founder and CEO at Sprinklr, providing digital, personalised service is essential for companies to meet consumer expectations, adding that making these interactions more cost efficient and easier for agents is equally as important.

“The challenges uncovered go beyond customer experience and contact centre teams. Insufficient intelligence hurts the entire business. Unified insight about what customers need and how they behave, can dramatically improve how every customer-facing function– from service, to sales and marketing, to product development operates. We’d like to help brands deliver the kind of customer experiences we all deserve,” Thomas said.

He added, “While challenges persist, it’s encouraging to see how many organisations are prioritising investing in the right technology to unify customer service operations and help make their customers and agents happier.” 

The research’s respondents were composed of more than 300 global leaders in the customer contact and customer experience spaces.

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Marketing Featured Global

WiredCo. bags creative remit of FMCG Edgewell, to launch its new brand

Global – After a three-way pitch process, Australia-based advertising agency WiredCo. has been appointed by global FMCG giant Edgewell to craft a campaign for its new brand launch. The remit extends across media, creative, social, earned media, digital and influencer marketing.

The creative campaign, which is set to launch in April, aims to raise the mass awareness and consideration towards the parent brand, which is home to some leading personal care brands, such as Wilkinson Sword, Banana Boat, Bulldog, Schick and WetOnes.

In line with this, the new brand launch will also see the group moving up to the leading category in supermarkets.

David Kennedy-Cosgrove, managing partner at WiredCo., said that the new brand aims to break norms in the FMCG category that has never had a competitor successfully challenge its mundanity.

Another managing partner at WiredCo. Michelle Hampton, added that they came up with an idea that is very ‘campaignable’ and they’re now capable of executing it across all leading channels including earned media.

Meanwhile, Ivan Nuich, managing director of Edgewell at Oceania, said, “What really stood out about the team at WiredCo. was their demonstrated ability to come up with a bigger overarching campaign idea that was clearly backed up by data and marketing science, and the technical specialism to show where it needs to live in market for maximum impact.” 

Works from the campaign will be executed for six months with a social media focus across TikTok and Pinterest.

WiredCo.’s portfolio of brands include Pizza Hut, R.M.Williams, Red Bull, Assembly Label, Indeed, Maurie & Eve, and Georg Jensen.

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Marketing Featured Global

PubMatic’s Emily Yri promoted to vice president of international marketing

Singapore – Adtech company PubMatic has promoted Emily Yri, currently the marketing director for APAC, to the role of vice president of international marketing. Her new remit includes the management of marketing for PubMatic in Europe and the Middle East, as well as running the APAC regional marketing operations. 

Yri remains to be based in Singapore, where she joined PubMatic in 2019 to help expand the company’s operations in Southeast Asia, India, Korea, China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Speaking of her new position, Yri said, “I’m excited to take on this new role as we look to drive more coordination and innovation across our international markets. By aligning multiple markets with our global goals we can achieve outsized results.” 

She added, “I am looking forward to amplifying the amazing work being done by our APAC and EMEA marketing team and working closely with regional commercial teams as we continue to strengthen relationships with some of the industry’s leading global brands.”

Meanwhile, Johanna Bauman, chief marketing officer at PubMatic, has expressed how Yri has been vital to PubMatic’s global marketing team.

“The entire PubMatic global organization has benefited from her successful campaigns and initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region, especially her work in key areas such as CTV and mobile advertising. I’m looking forward to seeing Emily expand her impact and put her expertise to play on a global scale,” Bauman said.

In December last year, PubMatic appointed Jona Oboza as its new country manager for Southeast Asia and Korea. This comes months after the company launched a playbook on how mobile app publishers can capture increased brand spend.

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Platforms Featured Global

Facebook integrates anew with Messenger app after nine years

Global – Social media giant Facebook has announced that its Messenger feature will now be reunited with the main social media application after nine years of being a standalone messaging app.

It can be noted that in 2014, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the messaging feature will be separated from Facebook, requiring users to separately download the messaging application for a ‘better experience’.

In a blog post, Facebook Head Tom Alison said that they are testing the ability of the users to access Messenger inbox within the Facebook application, and this will be expanded soon.

“Over the coming year, we’ll build more ways to integrate messaging features in Facebook. Ultimately, we want it to be easy and convenient for people to connect and share, whether in the Messenger app or directly within Facebook,” Alison added.

Alison also reassures that Facebook is not dead nor dying, whilst implying that it remains to have 2 billion daily active users.

Aside from the reintegration, Facebook has also announced that it will also invest in artificial intelligence for better delivery of content, whilst supporting the creators to get a wider audience and monetisation opportunities.

Earlier this year, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta has announced new features for both platforms which are a broadcast channel for Instagram and Meta Verified, a paid verification service for both platforms.

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Platforms Featured Global

Parent company Meta launches new features including subscription service for Facebook, Instagram

California, USA  Parent company for Instagram and Facebook Meta has recently unveiled a couple of features for both platforms. This includes a new broadcast channel for instagram and Meta Verified, a paid verification service for both facebook and instagram users.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a facebook post that through the new broadcast channel on Instagram, Instagram channels will now be allowing creators to share public messages directly to their followers. Users must follow the creator first to join the broadcast channel to react and participate in polls and receive notifications about the channel updates.

Furthermore, the feature is supported by various content forms including text, images, and polls, amongst others. In the following months, the feature will also be made available in messenger and facebook.

Zuckerberg himself started his own broadcast channel and specified that it will be used for sharing news and updates about Meta’s new products and technology. 

Meanwhile, Meta will also start to roll out ‘Meta Verified’, a paid subscription service that will allow users to verify their accounts using a government ID and get the blue badge. The subscription starts at $11.99 per month on the web and $14.99 per month for iOS users.

For security and authenticity purposes, Zuckerberg added that the feature will also serve to be a protection for users against impersonators or ‘posers’ online. The subscribers will also have the privilege to directly access the customer support service.

The subscription service will be inaugurated in Australia and New Zealand this week and in more countries soon.

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Marketing Featured Global

YouTube’s Susan Wojcicki steps down from CEO role after nine years

United States – After her longtime service for the video platform YouTube, Susan Wojcicki announces that she will step down from her role as its chief executive officer. Assuming the role in 2014, Wojcicki helped the platform to play its role for creators and video consumers worldwide.

Wojcicki has been working with Google for 25 years, being one of the first employees who took marketing roles, co-created Google Image Search, and led Google’s first Video and Book search, amongst others. She also served as senior vice president of Adwords and AdSense.

In a personal note posted on YouTube’s official blog, Wojcicki said that she’s stepping down from her position to prioritise her family, health, and personal projects. However, upon leaving YouTube, she will take advisory roles for Google and its corporate parent, Alphabet Inc.

Wojcicki will be replaced by Neal Mohan, who was appointed as YouTube’s chief product officer in 2015. Mohan has worked with Wojcicki for 15 years, and helped in launching some of their biggest products, including YouTube TV, YouTube Music and Premium and Shorts.

Wojcicki said that she will support Mohan in the transition period by working with some YouTube teams, coaching team members and meeting with creators.

“I’ll still be around, so I’ll have a chance to thank the thousands of people from all across the company and the world who I’ve worked with and learned from,” she added.

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Marketing Featured Global

LinkedIn, top career platform, sees itself joining the lay-off spree

United States Earlier this year, multinational technology corporation Microsoft has announced that it will reduce its overall workforce by 10,000 jobs due to its restructuring plan, which represents less than 5 per cent of its total employee base. With this, it appears that the Microsoft-owned and leading online professional network LinkedIn is currently affected by the said cutoff as it lays off employees from its recruitment department, with an unconfirmed number of staff.

The global job and career portal directly confirmed the news to media website The Information on Monday. 

One of the LinkedIn employees from the recruitment team confirmed their departure from the company, including Nicole Zawacki who worked as lead of diversity, inclusion and belonging sourcing, on a personal note right on the LinkedIn platform.

“It’s with the heaviest heart that I say that I have been affected by the LinkedIn layoff this morning. I absolutely adored my role at LinkedIn as well as the brilliant people I had the privilege of working with, many who were also let go today,” said Zawacki.

In a statement posted on Microsoft’s official blog, Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft, said that the reduction of the parent org is due to their plan to align the cost structure with revenue and customer demands.

Nadella added, “It’s important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we will continue to hire in key strategic areas. We know this is a challenging time for each person impacted. The senior leadership team and I are committed that as we go through this process, we will do so in the most thoughtful and transparent way possible.”

Earlier this month, another Microsoft-owned company GitHub also reportedly let go of 300 employees to go for a fully remote working set-up. 

As of this writing, LinkedIn is not yet releasing an official statement about the said layoff.