GrabAds Archives - MARKETECH APAC

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Grab has unveiled its latest collaboration with Jaya Grocer, Malaysia’s leading mass-premium supermarket chain. Now, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands retailing under Jaya Grocer can leverage GrabAds, Grab’s advertising arm, for a unified omnichannel advertising solution.

This marks the seamless integration of GrabMart’s online retail presence with Jaya Grocer’s offline presence comprising 50 physical stores across Malaysia. Whether it is about helping brands increase visibility, boost sales or simply build brand, Grab and Jaya Grocer are elevating their commitment through this online-to-offline (O2O) integration to deliver unparalleled value to FMCG players retailing under the supermarket chain.

Amongst the notable brands under Jaya Grocer who have leveraged this omnichannel advertising solution via a GrabAds campaign is leading healthy cheese brand, The Laughing Cow. The brand successfully attributed majority of its offline sales at Jaya Grocer to its online awareness campaign on GrabAds during the campaign period.

Grab and Jaya Grocer in 2021, have been working together to bring the convenience of on-demand grocery delivery to more consumers in Malaysia. In 2022, Grab and Jaya Grocer announced the rollout of GrabPay and GrabRewards across all Jaya Grocer physical retail stores, and the subsequent folding of Jaya Grocer’s loyalty programme with any Grab user in 2023. This integration, which now includes GrabAds, will allow FMCG brands to reap even more benefits from the Grab ecosystem.

Dave Yang, regional head of sales and GTM at GrabAds, said, “As consumers make purchases in stores while maintaining online shopping habits, it is imperative for brands to consider the entire omnichannel consumer journey when closing the loop from awareness to purchase.”

He added, “Retail media networks like GrabAds enable brands to build such O2O advertising campaigns seamlessly, thanks to our comprehensive ad ecosystem – from online search ads to offline fleet wraps. We are only strengthening our O2O capabilities with the integration of Jaya Grocer. GrabAds looks forward to working with more FMCG brands on innovative O2O campaigns.”

Meanwhile, Daniel Teng, deputy chief executive officer at Jaya Grocer, commented, “We are thrilled to see the continued impact of our integration with Grab, particularly for the FMCG brands retailing under Jaya Grocer. The promising landscape of on-demand grocery services in Malaysia, where many consumers prefer a seamless blend of online and offline shopping, makes this partnership more significant than ever. Our collaboration with Grab will allow Jaya Grocer to tap into an active consumer base shopping online and offline, contributing to the growth trajectory of our (Jaya Grocer’s) business in Malaysia.”

Singapore – GrabAds’ “Marketing Manager”, its web-based marketing platform dedicated to SMEs, is now available on mobile in a bid to help SMEs in the Southeast Asia region to boost their sales. The platform was previously launched in June 2023.

‘Marketing Manager; has also introduced the all-new “spotlight campaigns” feature, exclusively for mobile, where Grab curates specially designed campaigns – often only for a limited time- to assist merchants in maximising visibility and enhancing sales conversions.

Through this feature, merchants can strategically reserve high-visibility spaces for their stores, exclusively within Grab-hosted campaigns, increasing exposure and driving sales with a single, impactful campaign.

Moreover, MSME merchants on Grab can also use Marketing Manager’s newly enhanced features to drive more sales, including ease of creating ads based on their target audience requirements and sales goals; real-time reports help merchants readily gain insights into how successful their campaigns are; and ability for merchants to only pay for successful orders on a cost-per-order (CPO) basis.

Ken Mandel, regional head of GrabAds and Brand Insights, said, “GrabAds is committed to providing self-serve solutions to help our MSME merchant partners promote their products and drive more sales for their business through Grab. MSME merchants juggle various roles–from chef to bookkeeper, accountant and marketer– which necessitates their need for an easy-to-use, flexible yet effective marketing tool.”

He added, “When we conducted our own survey among our merchants, nearly half the merchants said that they prioritise conversion and cost when selecting an ad platform, which is why the latest features on Marketing Manager on mobile address the everyday challenges that our MSME merchants face.”

‘Marketing Manager’ on mobile is designed for merchants looking for straightforward and swift campaigns on mobile, providing a user-friendly option and is now available in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, for businesses in need of more advanced tools, the web-based Marketing Manager Pro offers more comprehensive features suited for digitally savvy merchants seeking greater customisation for their ad campaigns.

GrabAds’ recent Southeast Asia Travel Insights 2023 report revealed that 72% of its in-app survey respondents are eager to travel abroad over the next 12 months. This number marks a substantial 84% increase since the reopening of borders – in just one year. This is a promising sign for brands in the travel and hospitality sector: it’s clear Southeast Asia’s travel resurgence remains underway – and primed to grow as Southeast Asia approaches the year-end festive period.

With most Southeast Asian travellers now part of a growing middle-class, and are more digitally savvy, this new breed of travellers is not only shifting their spending online but gathering information via offline and online channels to explore options for their travel destinations. There are many opportunities for brands who understand the region’s hyperlocal insights to effectively target today’s Southeast Asian travellers. Here’s how brands can better prepare themselves to capture the year-end travel wave, based on GrabAds’ latest Travel Insights report:

Offering families a no-frills, no fuss and ‘stress-free’ travel experience

Families represent one of the most significant audience segments for 2023 travel, with 86% of those who plan to travel looking to go on at least one trip with others. With most schools across Southeast Asia closing for the year-end holidays, this is a high-value segment brands should look to prioritise.

Based on GrabAds data, those travelling with families emphasised safety and convenience as top priorities. For example, when booking rooms, these travellers prefer having a family suite (65%), child-friendly amenities (58%) and child-proofing (43%). Group travelling can be tough in itself, what more with children along for the ride. Brands looking to win the wallets of family travellers need to convey a sense of comfort and assurance through their services – some ways of doing so include offering packages or services catered to 2 or 5 pax for greater planning convenience, and playing up family-friendly offerings in advertising campaigns. Through such efforts, brands can position themselves as trusted partners for such family travellers, setting the foundation for repeat business down the line.

Present offers early as most travellers are planning ahead

Travellers are planning ahead more than usual. In fact, 86% of domestic travellers and 78% of international travellers mentioned that they’d prefer to book their own flights and rooms and are likely to use local operators for activities. This opens up upselling opportunities to travel industry players across the spectrum of travel activities. This includes airline companies and hotel chains that could influence travellers’ decision-making at the beginning stages of itinerary planning by featuring activity packages on their pages or apps. Hotels and travel agencies can also consider providing curated tours as an additional perk to guests, from downloadable recommended travel itineraries to help travellers plan their trips better, to even having the concierge assist them with on-demand ground arrangements.

With 47% of Southeast Asian travellers preferring to stick to their budgets, the trick to effective upselling is to engage travellers early. Brands can consider providing helpful tips and travel hacks early into the planning phase while incorporating how their products and services can help travellers have fun yet safe experiences in their marketing messages. This will ensure travellers factor these potential purchases into their budgets well before it’s fixed.

More travellers are now investing in essentials for worry-free wanderlust

Travel insurance is becoming an absolute must-have – no doubt due to the Southeast Asian traveller’s preference for no surprises and the post-pandemic need for peace of mind. According to GrabAds data, the percentage of people likely to purchase travel insurance has almost doubled, rising from 36% in 2021 to 62% in 2023.

It will be important for travel insurance brands to address concerns about personal accidents, medical costs or lost baggage in order to resonate with potential travellers – and most importantly, help travellers gain a sense of security and peace of mind during their holidays.

Repeat travel means more chances to build on loyalty

A 2023 customer intelligence report revealed that 9 out of 10 consumers in the Asia Pacific prefer to shop when a brand offers a loyalty programme. Yet, GrabAds data revealed that over two-thirds of Southeast Asians are unaware that such programmes exist when booking travel accommodations.

This presents an opportunity to educate potential travellers about hotel loyalty programmes and their advantages. To achieve broader reach, for instance, brands could work with non-travel partners in the region, such as superapps or other retail media platforms, to create gamified or incentivised campaigns with user-friendly redemption mechanisms.

With leisure travellers looking at around three trips in the next 12 months, the current landscape indicates a promising prospect for travel and hospitality brands to embark on these educational campaigns to encourage traveller loyalty. The upcoming festive travel peak is as good a time as any to start. In the long term, such efforts to reach and engage with travellers with a high propensity for repeat business are likely to yield a higher return on investment.

Hyperlocal insights to stay on top of the year-end battleground

In the modern travel landscape, travellers are in pursuit of more than just a transactional interaction with brands, beyond mere transportation or bed and breakfast – the latest GrabAds data from its users reveal that the travel experience today’s Southeast Asian consumers are now looking for encompasses everything from pre-trip discovery, extending through to post-care and loyalty schemes for travellers.

To cover the entire spectrum of experience, brands should turn to data and insights to transform their offerings and reinvent the ways in which they reach out to travellers, anticipate their needs and address their concerns. As a matter of fact, these insights are now more readily available than ever with travellers discovering brands and making purchases online.

The year-end festive period will be the next key battleground for travel and hospitality brands looking to capture travellers’ hearts. Looking ahead, the real challenge for brands is not merely tapping into this demand, but building long-term connections with consumers that come back time and again for their travel needs.

It is through understanding local trends, cultural nuances and hyperlocal dynamics, that brands can more effectively serve as the ideal companion travellers need in their pursuit of an authentic, superior travel experience – both right now and in the future.

This article is written by Jennie Johnson, Head of Marketing, GrabAds

The insight is published as part of MARKETECH APAC’s thought leadership series under What’s NEXT 2023-2024. What’s NEXT 2023-2024 is a multi-platform industry initiative which features marketing and industry leaders in APAC sharing their marketing insights and predictions for the upcoming year.

Singapore – GrabAds, Grab’s advertising division, announced a new strategic partnership with Tomato Interactive, a subsidiary of BlueMedia and component of the BlueFocus Group, today. Tomato Interactive, a global influencer and integrated marketing agency based in China, specialises in travel, lifestyle, gaming, and technology.

This collaboration will enable Tomato Interactive’s clients to use GrabAds’ comprehensive retail media tools, allowing them to connect with valuable users across Southeast Asia through the Grab super app ecosystem. It also marks GrabAds’ first collaboration with a global marketing agency in the Greater China region.

Brands working with Tomato Interactive are given access to hyperlocal first-party data from the actual spending patterns of valuable consumers in Southeast Asia by working with GrabAds. Through the entire marketing funnel, the strength of Grab’s retail media network will help Tomato Interactive’s clients’ clients increase brand awareness and consumer engagement.

Speaking about the partnership, Jiao Li, general manager of Tomato Interactive and vice president of BlueMedia, said, “As a leading superapp in the region, Grab knows Southeast Asia best. Our partnership comes very timely, as we see keen interest from our clients across travel, lifestyle and technology looking to expand and grow their brand within Southeast Asia’s growing and digitally-savvy consumers.”

He added, “We believe that GrabAds’ retail media network capabilities – whether access to first-party insights or Grab’s end-to-end ecosystem, will allow us to support our clients better across their marketing needs.”

Meanwhile, Dave Yang, regional head of sales and GTM at GrabAds, expressed, “We’re thrilled to embark on this journey with Tomato Interactive. We’re confident that our tie-up will support their clients in gaining better awareness and brand building in Southeast Asia. This is also a milestone for GrabAds, as we expand our reach to brands in the Greater China region through Tomato Interactive’s strong network of clients.”

Singapore – GrabAds, the advertising arm of Southeast Asian superapp, Grab, has released its latest travel-centric report, showing that around 72% of respondents plan to travel abroad in the next 12 months, jumping from just 39% when borders reopened in 2022, indicating the travel intent has climbed by 84% in just a year.

According to the data provided by GrabAds, brands should take this as an opportunity to switch gears from short-term “revenge travel” campaigns to planning long-term repeat-customer strategies.

The report reveals main factors that justify why this is the case with Southeast Asians, such as families prioritizing ‘stress-free’ options in accommodation, business travelers seeking booking convenience, and travelers wanting certainty upon reaching their destination.

Moreover, the survey states that 78% of respondents are not subscribed to any hotel loyalty programme. Considering that 73% of them plan an average of three leisure trips in the next 12 months, there’s undoubtedly room for repeat business, which the report acknowledges as an opportunity to educate would-be travelers on hotel loyalty programs and associated benefits.

Talking about the report, Jennie Johnson, head of marketing at GrabAds, said, “GrabAds data revealed a massive increase of 84% in international travel intent compared to just one year ago. Last year, brands may have focused on short-term impulse campaigns based on pent-up lockdown FOMO (fear of missing out) – but they now need to shift towards developing long-term relationships with savvy Southeast Asian travelers as they dream, plan, book and experience travel.”

“It could be as simple as maintaining year-round communication with consumers or utilizing online to offline channels to promote the latest offers. For example, the campaign we’ve built with Media Bank Inc. for the Japan Tourism Agency utilizes our Grab fleet and app to creatively target users of our platform. At GrabAds, we look forward to working closely with travel and tourism brands to innovate and provide an exciting, dynamic travel experience for Southeast Asian jetsetters,” she added.

Singapore – GrabAds, the advertising arm of regional super-app Grab, has teamed up with Japanese digital marketing solution provider Media Bank to bring its tourism campaign into Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Designed for the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), the campaign aims to create awareness for travellers in Southeast Asia to ‘Discover Another Side of Japan’, going beyond the traditional tourist spots.

The campaign will be featured in the Grab app and across the Grab fleet, using various online and offline touchpoints, including in-app ads, branded challenges, and fleet activation. The campaign will showcase another side of Japan, from scenic hiking trails to historical samurai districts.

GrabAds enables advertisers to leverage Grab’s localised insights to reach potential Southeast Asian travellers through the Grab app. This allows brands to connect with consumers at every stage of their travel journey, making it an ideal platform for inspiring interest in popular destinations such as Japan. By tapping into Grab’s deep understanding of local culture and preferences, advertisers can deliver targeted and effective campaigns that resonate with their audience.

Ken Mandel, regional managing director and head of GrabAds and brand insights at Grab, said, “We are honoured that Mediabank chose to partner with GrabAds to connect with a new generation of Southeast Asian travellers in discovering new places and experiences beyond the typical tourist spots. Our latest GrabAds travel data indicates a 1.84x increase in international travel plans this year, with 72% of Grab users planning to travel abroad. Grab users love to travel, and Japan has consistently been named their top international destination.”

He added, “There’s tremendous potential for travel and tourism brands to tap on Grab’s hyperlocal insights in Southeast Asia and create targeted campaigns for a ready-to-travel audience using the Grab app as they eat, commute, and pay. The combination of insights and a strong ecosystem on Grab provides brands with a platform for meaningful reach to build awareness and consideration.”

Meanwhile, Patrick Ngan, director of Media Bank, Inc., said, “Southeast Asia represents a vital market for Japan. We are truly inspired by the robust demand from travellers in this region, which is further reinforced by GrabAds’ insights proving that Japan is the region’s top travel destination. We are confident that leveraging Grab’s hyperlocal insights and their profound grasp of the Southeast Asian market will provide us with the most effective way to encourage potential travellers to discover another side of Japan in creative yet meaningful ways throughout the year.”

Singapore – GrabAds, the advertising arm of regional superapp Grab, has launched ‘Marketing Manager’ a web-based marketing platform which aims to aid micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Southeast Asia create marketing campaigns that drive sales.

With the newly launched ‘Marketing Manager’, merchants can access new features on any browser to get a full view of their campaigns, tailor how their budgets will get used, and get real-time detailed reports. This also includes the capability for merchants with multiple outlets to now concurrently run campaigns for all their stores and also schedule when their ads will run.

In addition to merchants being able to state how much budget should be allocated to each campaign and over what duration, now they can also set a cap on the number of times their ads can be shown to a user in a day.

Moreover, merchants can precisely configure which audience segments are targeted with their ads, whether by demographic, food choices, visits to places of interest, types of Grab services used such as GrabFood or Grab Unlimited subscribers. With the platform, merchants can leverage additional formats, such as video, to showcase their ads.

Lastly, merchants can leverage the reporting dashboard to gather insights on real-time sales and performance, allowing them to accurately track returns on investment and find ways to improve and optimise campaigns.

Margaret Y.C. Chang, regional head of SMB at GrabAds, said, “Guided by Grab’s mission to drive Southeast Asia forward by creating economic empowerment for everyone, we hope to provide our MSME merchants with effective digital tools on GrabAds so that they can easily reach millions of customers who eat, shop and commute using the Grab app. We have added Marketing Manager to our existing suite of digital tools to empower merchants with new ways to promote their products and grow their business with Grab’.”

Manila, Philippines – Having close family ties is one of the hallmarks of Filipino culture, so it comes as no surprise that family celebrations are much beloved in the Philippines.

Amongst the most anticipated is Mother’s Day – and insights from GrabAds, the advertising arm of the leading superapp, show that Pinoys do get busy creating special moments for their nanays every second Sunday of May.

GrabAds’ report, the ‘GrabAds SEA Mother’s Day Insights Report 2023’, gives brands and consumers a clear picture of how Grab – with its portfolio of services like GrabFood, GrabMart and GrabExpress – enables and empowers users to create extra-special Mother’s Day celebrations for their moms.

According to the report, 88% of Grab users in the Philippines have already come up with plans specific to Mother’s Day 2023. The respondents look forward most to gathering their families, ordering food online, and going out for a meal together with their loved ones and, of course, their moms.

GrabAds insights also show that Filipinos are happy to create special dining experiences at home as they tend to order more on the said date. In 2022, GrabFood orders rose by 25% on Mother’s Day versus the average number of food orders across all Sundays of April.

Meanwhile, delivered items also tend to be on the road more during Mother’s Day. For instance, last 8 May 2022, there were 37% more GrabExpress Deliveries versus the average Express Orders on the Sundays of the month prior.

Moreover, eight out of 10 Grab users in the Philippines also plan on buying their moms a gift, and 82% of these are keen on buying a gift from Grab. Among the most popular choices on GrabFood and GrabMart during Mother’s Day last year were cakes and pastries, flower bouquets, and home and kitchen appliances.

“Mother’s Day remains to be one of the most important gifting occasions in Southeast Asia. Our GrabAds report shows a surge in user activity one week before the day itself, across the region, as people start looking for ways to make this day extra special for their loved ones,” said Jennie Johnson, head of regional marketing at GrabAds.

Johnson added, “This Mother’s Day, merchants and brands across the region have the opportunity to connect with consumers looking for the perfect gift for their mom via superapps like Grab.”

To celebrate the occasion, Grab will also be rolling out promos on GrabMart and GrabFood on May 14.

Singapore – Southeast Asia’s superapp, Grab, has announced five industry leaders who will join the team to further its advertising capabilities and strengthen the technology, product, marketing, partnership and operational capabilities of its GrabAds offerings. The executives will play a key role in growing and developing GrabAds, which connects advertisers large and small with millions of consumers across the region.

The appointees include Jennie Johnson as the new head of marketing for GrabAds, Kaia Lai as the new head of product for search and personalisation technology, and Christina Lin as the new product marketing lead for ads and personalisation technology, as well as Kareen Mendoza as the new regional financial services partnership lead at GrabAds, and Yi Ling Wong as the new head of sales operations at GrabAds.

As the new head of marketing for GrabAds, Johnson, who brings 15 years of experience in marketing and communications, will be leading brand building and demand generation to accelerate growth, while Lai, the new head of product for search and personalisation technology of Grab, will be leading company-wide efforts to build a unified search strategy and platform for Grab, deepening the superapp’s personalisation capabilities to delight end users.

Meanwhile, Lin will be responsible for driving the adoption of GrabAds’ full-funnel advertising solutions as product marketing lead for ads and personalisation technology, and will be working closely with product development to build solutions to help businesses of all sizes to harness the Grab ecosystem.

Mendoza, the new regional financial services partnership lead, will also be driving efforts to support financial services advertisers in harnessing the power of GrabAds to create meaningful engagements with high-value audiences. And lastly, Wong, the new head of sales operations at Grab, will be responsible for driving sales operational efficiencies for the team and advertisers.

In May, Grab has announced its commitment to increasing the percentage of women in leadership roles as part of its annual Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) report. This is to ensure that the company has diverse voices in management positions and considers a variety of views in crafting and implementing policies and decisions.

“We continue to build technology that connects advertisers with the millions of consumers who use Grab to commute, eat and shop every day. I’m thrilled to welcome these leaders, who will be instrumental in furthering the GrabAds mission: helping merchants and advertisers build their brand while driving real-world sales impact using Southeast Asia’s leading superapp,” said Ken Mandel, Grab’s regional managing director and head of GrabAds and Brand Insights.

Manila, Philippines – As Mother’s Day celebration draws near, GrabAds, the advertising unit of superapp Grab, has revealed that in 2021, the celebration emerged as the day with the highest user traffic on the app in the Philippines.

The report found that more consumers use the Grab app on Mother’s Day than on Christmas Day, the second-highest day in terms of user traffic for the entire 2021. It also showed that an overwhelming majority of 89% intend to purchase their gifts via apps like Grab this time round.

Moreover, the report showed that consumers in the country are more willing to spend more on Mother’s Day, forking out an average of more than 40% more money per order on GrabFood and making over 30% more GrabFood orders than the average day for the celebration.

The same report also found that while it is expected that flowers will continue to be a perennial favourite for Mother’s Day, Grab saw an increase by four times in deliveries for cakes during the celebration last year. Meanwhile, international cuisine and pizza also saw a surge in orders on GrabFood twice, while pork-based dishes experienced an increase in the volume of orders on Mother’s Day last year.

Ken Mandel, Grab’s regional managing director and head of GrabAds and Brand Insights, shared that since the pandemic has trained consumers in the Philippines to shop on their phones, they anticipate that online-to-offline superapps will play a much bigger role in shaping the shopper behaviours for the coming Mother’s Day.

“This is where a superapp like Grab is positioned to capture some of these shifts in behaviours, to help brands and consumers meet their needs for a great Mother’s Day celebration,” said Mandel.