HubSpot Archives - MARKETECH APAC

Singapore – Lack of quality data hinders 76% of Singapore businesses from using artificial intelligence (AI) effectively, according to a report from customer platform HubSpot. The report unveiled various challenges being faced by businesses in elevating customer satisfaction and generating revenues.

While technology solves most problems faced by businesses, the lack of data has influenced AI use. According to the report, this may be behind 34% of Singapore businesses’ resistance to talk about the integration of generative AI in their operations.

Less than half (43%) of Singapore businesses who participated in the survey reported having data and systems that effectively provides extensive customer information. While the insufficiency delays customer interaction management, it also impacts customer experience.

Businesses are also facing high costs, as cited by 44% of survey participants. Some raised the burden of intense competition (39%), rising costs of reaching prospects and customers (35%), and channel saturation (34%).

“Needing to switch between more than 50 applications to manage customer interactions is not only detrimental to efficiency, but could also lead to inaccuracies as businesses try to align insights across disparate data sources. Having a single source of truth for customer data is essential to build and maintain meaningful customer relationships. Technology can give businesses a helping hand, however our findings show that data connectedness and a unified tech stack are presenting significant opportunities for local businesses looking to improve prospecting and customer retention,” Dan Bognar, vice president and managing director of JAPAC at HubSpot, said.

“Operating in the world’s most competitive economy is no easy feat, requiring a delicate balance between manginging increasing costs, while delivering an impactful customer experience. At HubSpot, we are committed towards equipping businesses with applications that are easy to use, fast to implement, and delivered on a unified platform. This helps to align marketing, sales, and service teams with a unified view of their customer,” Bognar added.

Singapore – As MARKETECH APAC launches its inaugural “Customer Marketing Asia 2024” conference in Singapore, we’re excited to welcome HubSpot as a Gold Sponsor, where they will lead the discussion on moving beyond ‘transactions’ to build & nurture strong customer relationships.

HubSpot’s customer platform helps businesses grow better. It delivers seamless connection for customer-facing teams with a unified platform that includes AI-powered engagement hubs, a Smart CRM, and a connected ecosystem that extends the customer platform with over 1,500 App Marketplace integrations, a community network, and educational content from HubSpot Academy.

At this conference, Vilhelm Rudberg, Manager, Customer Success Asia at HubSpot, will deliver a keynote presentation on creating exceptional customer experiences by understanding and addressing customer needs seamlessly.

The presentation will explore the importance of making “customer first” a reality using the SCOPE framework, which brings customer-centricity to life in practical terms. Additionally, the presentation will delve into strategies for transforming customers into brand advocates, emphasising the journey from merely satisfying customers to turning them into passionate champions for the brand.

Teddy Cambosa, regional editor at MARKETECH APAC, said, “Improving customer relationships is vital in marketing because it transforms connections beyond transactions into trust and loyalty. A strong relationship fosters customer satisfaction, encourages repeat business, and turns customers into advocates for your brand. This leads to long-term success and growth. We’re excited to hear more from HubSpot on how brands can enhance these relationships by providing insights, automating personalised communications, and creating seamless customer experiences.”

MARKETECH APAC’s “Customer Marketing Asia 2024: Singapore” conference is a premier event that unites marketing leaders and innovators in Singapore to explore the latest trends, strategies, and technologies in customer marketing. This event will feature a diverse lineup of industry leaders across multiple local and global brands including Aftershock PC, Doctor Anywhere, FairPrice Group, Grab, Mastercard, Ninja Van, and more.

Head over to the official event site to see the full agenda and roster of speakers of “Customer Marketing Asia 2024: Singapore.”

Singapore – HubSpot has introduced ‘AI Search Grader,’ a free tool designed to analyse brand visibility and sentiment across AI chatbots, helping marketers navigate the evolving landscape of AI-driven search.

HubSpot’s AI Search Grader removes the need for AI expertise and simplifies the process of understanding how a brand appears in AI-driven searches. By handling prompt engineering and providing context for a brand’s performance, it streamlines ‘language model optimisation’ (LMO) for marketers.

The free AI search tool offers four essential components to help marketers evaluate their brand’s presence in AI-driven searches: an overall grade, brand sentiment score, share of voice score, and personalised analysis.

The overall grade provides a quick snapshot of how a brand is performing across various AI search engines, giving marketers and business owners a clear understanding of their visibility in this emerging landscape.

AI Search Grader analyses brand sentiment by examining the language used in AI responses, helping marketers grasp how their brand is being discussed and perceived. The share of voice score compares a brand’s visibility against competitors within the same category, while personalised analysis highlights areas of success and points out opportunities for improvement, enabling marketers to boost brand awareness and sentiment effectively.

In an official blog post, Hubspot wrote, “At HubSpot, we’ve always given marketers the tools they need to connect with their customers and drive growth. We did it with our website grader, which helped millions of marketers optimise for search engines. And we’re doing it today with the launch of AI Search Grader, the first free tool that helps brands understand how they show up in Large Language Models (LLM) and AI search.”

Nicholas Holland, VP of product and GM of marketing hub at HubSpot, said, “What marketers have been doing for years to attract customers won’t be as effective in the future. People just aren’t using traditional search like they used to. As the tides are turning towards AI search, we want to help marketers stand out and get discovered in this new environment. That’s exactly what AI Search Grader will give marketers—a new, free way to connect with their customers in the AI era.”

HubSpot’s AI Search Grader is free and globally available in English for any marketer to use.

Singapore – A survey by HubSpot and LinkedIn, conducted by Milieu Insight, reveals that more than eight in ten (84%) Singaporean companies are leveraging digital marketing for their advertising needs, yet 50% struggle with accurately measuring their return on investment.

The survey found that more than seven in ten (78%) companies using digital marketing have a strategy in place, while more than half (57%) of those without a digital marketing strategy plan to implement one in the near future.

However, the survey indicates that inadequate tracking capabilities may be limiting digital marketing’s effectiveness. Despite widespread adoption of local companies, only 17% of Singaporean respondents strongly believe that a strong digital marketing strategy leads to increased revenue, well below the regional average of 41%.

The report suggests that low adoption of essential tools like customer relationship management (CRM) platforms may be hindering effective tracking of marketing outcomes. Only 41% of Singaporean companies using digital marketing utilise CRM tools, the lowest rate among the surveyed countries.

Furthermore, beyond the low tool adoption, the survey found that 24% of Singaporean companies using digital marketing lack confidence in their team’s ability to effectively use these tools. Additionally, 49% believe their strategies failed to meet organisational goals in 2023, the highest rates among surveyed countries, indicating a potential skills gap in Singapore’s marketing sector.

Matt Tindale, head of LinkedIn Marketing Solutions for APAC, stated, “In Singapore, with the pace at which technology is advancing, there is an opportunity for marketers to enhance their skills. Upskilling and reskilling will not only help professionals adapt to changes but leverage new technology for increased productivity and enhanced outcomes. Findings from the survey indicate that while the majority of local companies are focusing on brand awareness, the real challenge is converting that awareness into actionable growth.”

“With the integration of AI into digital marketing strategies, as indicated by 60% of companies in our survey, Singapore is on the brink of a transformative era in digital marketing. Success requires the use of effective measurement frameworks and tools to support data-driven decisions, which are essential for maximising ROI. One example is LinkedIn’s Revenue Attribution Report, which connects CRM data to information from marketing touchpoints across the customer journey. These can help marketers better demonstrate the impact of their LinkedIn campaigns on key metrics such as pipeline generated, deal cycles, and revenue, ultimately helping them to make better business decisions,” Tindale added.

Meanwhile, when assessing digital marketing impact, over half (52%) of Singaporean respondents prioritise brand awareness, in contrast to the regional preference for sales or revenue as the key success metric.

This trend towards digital marketing is on track to continue in 2024. According to the survey, digital marketing investments are set to continue in 2024, with over a third (35%) of Singaporean companies spending S$10,000 or more monthly. Most allocate 21% to 40% of their marketing budgets to digital channels. Notably, more than a third plan to maintain their current investment levels in 2024, the highest proportion among surveyed countries.

The survey also found that among Singaporean companies with digital marketing strategies, 62% consider social media the most crucial channel, followed by content marketing (50%) and search engine marketing (49%). Nearly half (42%) also rank social media among their top three critical channels for digital marketing activities.

The dominance of social media in digital marketing is evident in budget allocation and tool usage. In Singapore, the survey found that social media marketing commands 23% of marketing budgets, and social media management platforms are the most widely used tools, employed by over 51% of respondents.

Kat Warboys, senior marketing director for APAC at HubSpot, said, “Social selling and commerce are becoming increasingly popular in Singapore, offering a highly effective platform for brands to reach, target, and engage on a personal level with their audience. Despite the growing popularity of social media platforms, brands should avoid being over-reliant on a single channel.”

Warboys continued, “More than half of global customers today leverage anywhere between three and five different channels throughout their buying journey. Success will increasingly be contingent on the ability of brands to establish a presence on the channels their customers and prospects reside on and to leverage CRM platforms to accurately measure the impact of their marketing efforts. This will be essential to actively engage and deliver frictionless experiences to audiences regardless of channel.”

In addition to social media management platforms, Singaporean companies widely use CRM platforms (41%) and email marketing solutions (37%). Integrating these tools with a solid marketing strategy helps brands engage customers across various channels and consolidate data for better measurement and improved customer experiences.

Warboys added, “As the popularity of digital channels explode, the key to success will lie in ensuring customer data doesn’t reside in siloes across multiple platforms. Solutions could include the use of Conversion APIs that enables brands to accurately track and measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts on social media platforms. As a server-side tracking option, Conversion APIs can still deliver observable data that would otherwise have been restricted by privacy controls, something marketers need to consider as third-party cookies are phased out.”

“By adopting CRM solutions that can seamlessly integrate with such tools, marketers will be better positioned to make the most of information gathered throughout the customer journey. This unfettered information flow can empower marketers with the necessary insights to drive more targeted campaigns, automatically follow up on leads generated from social media, and clearly track ROI of every ad campaign,” she concluded.

After multiple delays and continued discussion about third-party deprecation, Google has announced that it is shelving its plans to phase out third-party cookies. However, it is also worth noting that Google is introducing another solution for Google Chrome, focusing more on a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing.

“Early testing from ad tech companies, including Google, has indicated that the Privacy Sandbox APIs have the potential to achieve these outcomes. And we expect that overall performance using Privacy Sandbox APIs will improve over time as industry adoption increases,” Anthony Chavez, VP at Privacy Sandbox at Google said.

He further added, “As this moves forward, it remains important for developers to have privacy-preserving alternatives. We’ll continue to make the Privacy Sandbox APIs available and invest in them to further improve privacy and utility. We also intend to offer additional privacy controls, so we plan to introduce IP Protection into Chrome’s Incognito mode.”

With that in mind, the question is: how prepared the industry is in terms of leaning towards more privacy-centric advertising solutions? Are we really prepared to let go of third-party cookies despite Google still having it? To answer these questions, MARKETECH APAC sought insights from various industry leaders to learn more about their insights from this update, and why should the industry continue to strive away from third-party cookies.

Stephen Rhodes, Head of Emerging Markets, APAC at Quantcast

In the context of the Philippines as an advertising market, it’s important to recognise that Google’s announcement does not change the fact that a significant portion of the online landscape is already “cookieless.” Marketers must not overlook this substantial and evolving audience, as it represents a crucial opportunity in today’s digital ecosystem.

Third-party cookies were never intended for advertising purposes anyway, and they are certainly not a reliable means of measurement in a world where consumer preferences can change rapidly across channels in real-time.

Businesses that no longer see the removal of third-party cookies as an issue are the ones who are actually ahead of the situation. Marketers who continue to rely on third-party cookies will effectively only be able to target 50% of their addressable audience as the rest are already browsing in “cookieless” environments such as Safari.

Genelle Hung, Country Manager (SEA) at PubMatic

At PubMatic, we are dedicated to enhancing user privacy while ensuring the vitality of the digital advertising ecosystem. Publishers must continue adopting diverse signals beyond third-party cookies. Google’s decisions and timelines should not hinder our industry’s progress toward a superior supply chain for digital advertising across the open internet. We have seen that alternative signals can provide better outcomes for advertisers and consumers alike and help provide a more sustainable addressability strategy.

We value the collaborative efforts across the industry, including Google’s responsiveness to feedback, and are eager to help shape a more effective, privacy-focused digital advertising landscape. We understand that APIs must evolve in light of Google’s announcement, and we will continue partnering with our peers to inform the specifics and timing. Throughout this transition, PubMatic’s goal remains supporting publishers in maximising revenue while respecting user privacy.

Niall Hogan, General Manager for JAPAC at GumGum

The industry shouldn’t interpret Google’s delay as a reason to abandon privacy-centric advertising. Consumer expectations are clear: they want control over their data and transparency in its usage. This situation presents a golden opportunity for contextual advertising, which should be the primary focus.

Unlike third-party cookies, contextual advertising employs a privacy-first approach by analysing the content of a webpage rather than user behaviour to deliver relevant ads. This method respects user privacy and aligns with their preference for a non-intrusive experience. As consumer awareness of data privacy continues to grow, it is crucial for brands to enhance transparency and build user trust by clearly communicating their data practices and providing users with control over their data.

[Moreover] Google’s new solution remains a question mark. Their focus on “user experience” and “informed choice” sounds promising, but it’s unclear how it will balance privacy with ad effectiveness. The industry should approach these solutions with caution, as any approach that does not prioritise user privacy could face backlash from increasingly privacy-conscious consumers.

Kat Warboys, Senior Marketing Director of APAC, HubSpot

The latest news on third-party cookies is ultimately a win-win for advertisers and consumers. But the multi-year journey on cookie deprecation has been tough on marketers who have been trying to prepare. After all of this, one thing is clear: relying on third parties is no longer enough. Businesses need to take control of their first-party data to get a complete understanding of their customer, especially given the level of personalisation expected by today’s consumers.

Chris Hogg, Chief Revenue Officer, Lotame

Google may no longer be ending third-party cookies by its own hand, but the slow march of progress will still see them rendered obsolete sooner or later. Users and regulators are increasingly privacy-focused and, given cookies will be “opt-in” across the board, there will still be a need for other signals to fill the gaps — especially across channels where cookies are long gone or were never present to begin with.

The fate of third-party cookies will be as a small part of an ever-expanding array of data points, becoming less relevant over time as more privacy-first, platform-agnostic solutions evolve. No one that wishes to remain competitive should think they can take their foot off the pedal of first-party data collection and strategic data collaboration.

Xiaofeng Wang, Analyst at Forrester

It’s no surprise that Google eventually scrapped its cookie deprecation plans after three delays in four years. Most marketers in APAC have seen this coming. According to Forrester’s Marketing Survey 2024, 53% of B2C marketing decision-makers in APAC do not believe that Google will deprecate the third-party cookie, increased from 49% in 2023. This would further dampen advertisers’ urgency to adopt Privacy Sandbox, Google’s initiative to replace third-party cookies with privacy-preserving technologies.

Marketers who strive to use personalisation to improve customer experiences must also adopt a privacy-first approach to earn consumer trust and ultimately win a competitive advantage. Marketers should be transparent and granular about data collection and usage and learn to communicate to consumers that the value is not just in free content or free samples but better personalisation, more customised services, and products that ultimately yield better customer experiences.

Giovanni Gardelli, Vice President of Ads Data Products at Yahoo

We remain committed to supporting efforts that align with our focus on transparency and providing user choice, which includes continuing to invest in our own proprietary Yahoo Identity Solutions. Additionally, we will continue partnering with industry leaders to integrate and develop privacy-friendly solutions enabled by emerging web browser technologies that balance advertiser and publisher goals, while respecting user privacy.

Harshana Ariyaratne, Chief Marketing Officer at Affinidi

At Affinidi, we prioritise consumer rights to data control and privacy. We were encouraged by Google’s initial plan to deprecate third-party cookies, recognising it as a significant step towards honouring consumer data rights and rebuilding trust between consumers and businesses.

While the decision to abandon third-party cookie deprecation may appear to be a setback for user privacy, Google’s commitment to developing solutions that enhance user experience and informed choice is promising. This approach presents an opportunity for businesses to adopt privacy-by-design, user-centric solutions, even in the presence of third-party cookies.

Google’s efforts to create a privacy-conscious and user-centric framework have the potential to rebuild trust and meet evolving privacy expectations. However, the success of these initiatives will hinge on their ability to address the needs of all stakeholders and provide genuine privacy improvements.

Our privacy-by-design suite of solutions within the Affinidi Trust Network, and the Affinidi Iota Framework (the world’s first consent-based data-sharing framework built on open standards) adheres to latest privacy regulations while giving consumers true data sovereignty. By prioritising consent-first principles in digital transactions, we ensure that the data collected is accurate and relevant, enabling brands to create personalised solutions that enhance user experience and satisfaction based on trust and transparency.

Focusing on users’ needs and rights [also] fosters a trustworthy and enjoyable online environment. By embracing this direction, we protect privacy while fostering innovation, creating a digital world that is transparent, responsive, and built on trust.

Timmy Bankole, Director, Advertising Business Operations at South China Morning Post

At SCMP, we are continuing to invest in advertising strategies that put users first, including first-party data, zero-party data, and contextual approaches. We’ve been moving towards an ecosystem that respects user privacy and builds real trust with our audiences.

As an industry, we’ve actually been given more time to get ahead of this and work towards a more user-centric, data-driven ecosystem. Whether that is identity IDs, Topics API, or contextual strategies, the smart play is to reduce dependency on third-party cookies It’s not a revolutionary concept, but it is an important one for us to start addressing head-on. The sooner we can adapt and move in this direction, the better off we’ll all be in the long run.

Benjamin Combe, Senior Director, Data Optimization and Personalization, APAC at Monks

Google’s data shows that 80% of APAC consumers feel that transparency on their data is a must-have, so the move toward giving users greater control over their preferences in Chrome is broadly in line with consumers’ growing expectations for data/privacy controls. It remains to be seen how far these features go. Still, if anything like Apple’s rollout of ATT, it appears likely that these new Chrome controls will essentially see a ‘user-driven’ deprecation of 3rd Party Cookies via opt-outs rather than a Google-enforced one as a tech vendor. Whether it’s best to give users a choice vs deprecating them entirely is a different debate. But, if executed properly, the move toward transparency and controls for end users does align with how consumer sentiments and regulations have evolved over the years.

Tyler Stewart, Media Solutions Architect Lead, APAC at Monks

Google’s change of step on 3PCD doesn’t change the imperative for privacy-centric advertising strategies—between regulatory changes and 3PCD across other browsers and devices, the need for privacy-preserving alternatives is still as pressing as ever.

At the end of the day, consumers globally have significant concerns about their data privacy and want the businesses they transact with to address these and treat the information they share with respect – rather than as a commodity. It was never really Google’s place to be the arbiter of the private web (in many ways, it never wanted to be) and its decision here will hopefully better enable the industry at large to act more openly and collaboratively to develop solutions that meet both the needs of the industry and the rights and expectations of consumers.

Brands that have already started exploring initiatives like the judicious use of first-party data, consent management, modeled measurement solutions, and conversion recovery mechanisms will continue to see benefits from these investments and should continue down this road. Those who haven’t shouldn’t see this announcement as an excuse to “kick the can down the road” like the many 3PCD postponements that have come before. To avoid being left behind – both in terms of advertising capability and trust with their customers – they, too, need to take the path towards privacy.

Despite the shelving of third-party cookie deprecation, industry leaders continue to advocate for the exploration of alternative measures. This encouragement underscores the necessity of evolving towards a privacy-by-design advertising ecosystem. Such a shift is crucial not only for maintaining consumer trust but also for fostering a more sustainable and ethical digital landscape. By prioritising privacy in the foundational design of advertising practices, we can ensure that the future of digital marketing aligns with the growing demands for user data protection and transparency.

Singapore – 8 in 10 companies in Singapore are transforming their business models in response to global megatrends such as generative AI and changing customer expectations, according to a report by customer platform HubSpot.

With this in mind, HubSpot’s research stated that a significant majority (81%) of Singaporean businesses said that they’ve evolved more in the past four years than the previous two decades due to these emerging trends – giving the highest level of disruption across all countries surveyed.

The report also said that Singaporean companies are the most likely globally to feel that their current growth tactics are becoming less effective (71%) and are also the most likely across all countries surveyed to agree that the introduction of AI has required them to reinvent (82%) their business.

The study also found out that Singaporean companies were struggling to meet demands for multi-channel content, with 82% sharing a need for tools to help remix content from one format or channel to another. Singapore is also the most likely across all countries surveyed by HubSpot to cite an increasing number of channels as a pain point (40%).

Furthermore, a separate HubSpot study revealed that 92% of Singapore companies agree that consumers find customer service interactions frustrating, and that 81% of Singapore companies consider customer service and customer success separate functions with distinct goals and responsibilities.

This hinders visibility and the flow of information across customer facing teams, impacting the ability to deliver impactful, personalised customer service. Common challenges faced by customer service teams in Singapore include extracting meaningful insights from customer data (49%), tracking KPIs (46%), ensuring alignment of customer service goals with overall business objectives (38%), as well as ensuring agents have access to accurate and relevant information (34%).

Aligning with Singapore’s strong national focus on AI, the study uncovered that nearly all (96%) local companies are using AI as part of the customer service process. To transform customer service into a more proactive function, about two thirds of (66%) CX teams in Singapore are implementing predictive analytics and AI-driven tools to better anticipate customer needs.

With all this in mind, HubSpot has announced the launch of the new Service Hub and Content Hub. These tools are designed to help local businesses deliver streamlined, personalised customer experiences, which 80% of local companies view as key to business growth. These solutions are part of HubSpot’s Spotlight, a bi-annual initiative where the company highlights its latest innovations to help SMEs win.

Talking about this, Kat Warboys, senior marketing director of APAC, HubSpot, said, “A combination of rising business costs, new technology and evolving customer expectations have impacted the effectiveness of conventional growth tactics among Singapore’s businesses, accelerating a need for reinvention. Our research shows that a majority of local businesses agree that personalised, impactful customer experiences, powered by AI and automation, will be vital to their growth in 2024.”

“Long term success will be determined by the ability of businesses to effectively engage with their audiences across multiple channels throughout the customer journey, and demonstrate value to customers to maximise retention,” she added.

Singapore – Around nine in 10 marketers in Singapore have noted that they foresee social media channels being the preferred retail channel for its local customers this 2024, according to the latest data from HubSpot.

According to the data, nearly all respondents (93%) predicted that local brands will adopt social commerce strategies in response to this shift as opposed to third-party websites (92%), or from the brand’s website (90%).

Moreover,social media marketers in Singapore are selling on several social media platforms, which each register varying levels of effectiveness. Among marketers already engaging in social commerce, more than 7 in 10 (73%) perceive Instagram’s social shopping features to offer the highest Return on Investment (ROI), followed by Facebook (71%) and YouTube (71%).

The data also stated that nearly 9 in 10 (89%) social media marketers in Singapore believe that an active online community is a vital component to the success of their social media strategy.

Respondents also shared that the top benefits of building a social media community include incentivising user-generated content (31%), improving customer experience (26%), attracting more followers or subscribers (22%), in addition to strengthening brand awareness, customer retention, connections among their customers, as well as trust between the brand and customers (19%).

More than half (58%) of respondents said that their organisations were investing in building communities, laying the foundations to capitalise on social commerce growth opportunities. Of this number, nearly three quarters (72%) are planning to increase their investment into building social media communities in 2024. 1 in 3 (36%) social media marketers who have not begun building social media communities planned to do so this year.

Content-wise, social media marketers in Singapore are currently leveraging an average of three content formats, with the most common being short-form videos (44%), live videos or streaming (41%), and user-generated content (31%). Nearly 8 in 10 (77%) respondents believed that short-form video offered the highest ROI of any format. The focus on short-form video is set to continue growing in 2024, with three quarters (75%) of respondents set to increase their investment into the content format from the previous year.

In terms of AI utilisation, Nearly all (91%) social media marketers in Singapore view Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a crucial component of any successful social media strategy. More than half (59%) of respondents are already using generative AI tools to create social media content. Among social media marketers in Singapore using generative AI to create content, nearly two-thirds (61%) say content made with AI performs better. While Singapore’s social media marketers are leveraging AI for various purposes, the top 3 use cases for generative AI tools include repurposing content to meet the needs of different audiences (35%), writing copy for social media content (31%), and getting ideas or inspiration (30%). AI is most often used to create short-form videos (39%), captions (32%), and images (31%).

Kat Warboys, marketing director for Asia-Pacific at HubSpot, said, “85% of Singapore’s population is estimated to be social media users making it home to some of Southeast Asia’s most avid users. They also have a propensity to use these platforms for brand discovery and research, making social media a key retail channel that marketers cannot ignore. B2B brands in particular need to adapt their approach to match the B2C experience that customers today have come to expect. Moving ahead, we are likely to see B2B brands moving away from factually accurate but often over engineered or very generic material in favour of relatable, authentic and engaging content on social media to win audience attention and influence purchasing decisions.”

She also commented, “Marketers that are constantly challenged by the density of social media content needs can leverage generative AI to alleviate resourcing constraints. Generative AI tools can provide teams with data-driven suggestions for better content ideation, and also help to develop or repurpose content for different audience groups. This approach enables marketers to effectively engage a wide range of customer segments at speed and scale. Automating these time intensive tasks ultimately empowers human teams to dedicate their attention towards augmenting AI-developed content with a level of creative input that is difficult for machines to replicate. Singapore’s continued commitment towards AI in its latest budget will also prove timely, creating a foundation to spur local AI adoption that marketers can also tap on to enhance their competitiveness.”

Singapore – Customer platform HubSpot has announced the appointment of Carol Fong as its new head of sales for the Asia region.

Fong will lead the sales organisation and operations for HubSpot across the Asia region, collaborating with the marketing and customer success teams to drive business growth for the company.

Together with her team, she will also work to ensure that HubSpot enables thousands more organisations across Asia to grow better.

Fong brings with her more than two decades of sales and leadership experience across the technology industry in the USA and Asia. She has held a number of regional sales leadership roles. Prior to joining HubSpot, she served as the regional vice president of sales at Anaplan and held the same position when she previously worked at Salesforce.

Dan Bognar, managing director and VP of sales for JAPAC at HubSpot, said, “The global CRM market is projected to reach SG$194B by 2029, and within this market, HubSpot continues to prove itself to be the customer platform of choice for scaling businesses, with over 15,000 paying customers in the APAC region alone. I am absolutely delighted to have Carol join HubSpot to lead our Asia sales organisation. Carol’s expertise in the CRM industry, her deep understanding of the Asian market, and her experience with both direct and partner sales motions will uniquely enable her to solve for the customer.”

He added, “Singapore, where Carol is based, and the wider Asia region represent a vital growth opportunity for HubSpot. I look forward to partnering with Carol and having her lead the team to grow and support our customers across the region. Carol’s experience in helping organisations transform their technology to drive growth and enhance customer experience brings enormous value to our existing customers, including the likes of NTUC, Agoda, and Aspire, and to businesses across the region who are currently exploring technology solutions to fuel their growth.”

Meanwhile, speaking on her new role, Fong shared, “I’m incredibly excited to be joining the HubSpot Asia team here in Singapore. I’ve spent many years in the industry, and HubSpot’s product, values, and hybrid culture, as well as its talented employees and strong leadership, deeply impress me.”

“Having spent most of my career working in business technology, specifically in the CRM industry, I believe HubSpot is incredibly well placed to help businesses in the region unlock their full potential. I’m particularly excited about HubSpot’s AI investments and how deeply this technology is embedded across the HubSpot platform to help teams harness its benefits. We know education and practical application are a core focus for business leaders to see value from AI, and I look forward to helping Asian businesses unlock this. I feel privileged to join the team and lead the fast-growing Asia region, and I am looking very forward to connecting with our customers, partners, and employees over the coming months,” Fong further added.

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.

Sydney, Australia – HubSpot and TikTok have launched a partnership to improve community-based client acquisition for B2B brands. A newly connected tool allows B2B firms to easily gather leads from TikTok right within the HubSpot platform, utilising the benefits of both platforms to improve client engagement.

Through this partnership, scaling firms can now take advantage of these connections to produce growth in Australia.

While SMBs are looking into creative ways to generate leads in the face of customer acquisition issues, the partnership is taking place at a time when customers are increasingly turning to local communities for brand and product discovery. TikTok emerges as a tool for businesses to nurture and maintain an actively engaged audience, especially with 8.5 million Australian users, a demographic 1.5 times more likely to make quick purchases based on platform discoveries.

Speaking about the partnership, Kat Warboys, marketing director, APAC, HubSpot, said, “TikTok’s growing influence in the region is undeniable. As its audience base grows, it’s reshaping how consumers discover and interact with their favourite brands. For savvy businesses, TikTok provides a powerful channel to nurture and engage audiences — if done right. That’s why our partnership is so important. The new integration makes it easier for brands to capture, nurture and acquire leads because they can truly understand their customers.”

She added, “Today’s consumers expect personalisation and by having a complete picture, brands can better engage with their audiences. And, with better engagement comes more loyal customers, which is vital in the current market.”

Meanwhile, Ng Chew Wee, head of business marketing APAC, TikTok, stated, “Asia Pacific is home to a thriving ecosystem of TikTok users, with 90% of the region’s TikTok users consuming content on a daily basis. This presents an opportunity for Asia Pacific’s brands to reach and turn a highly engaged audience into leads, and accelerate business growth.”