Tag: initiative

India – Boro Plus, the antiseptic cream brand under India’s skincare company Emami, has launched a new social initiative aimed at promoting self-love through the use of the newly-rolled out feature on Instagram – Instagram Reels.

The campaign, which was developed in collaboration with media agency Mad Influence, targets to promote the importance of appreciating the numerous small moments in people’s everyday lives, drawing attention to a very relevant problem faced by today’s generation – ‘self-appreciation’.

Titled ‘#EkJhappiForMe’, the campaign was kickstarted by well-known dancer and choreographer Shakti Mohan on Instagram Reels. Mohan has shared a short video about the importance of ‘self-care’ and ‘self-love’, encouraging her fans to participate in this social initiative by sharing their self-love moments on the app with the hashtag ‘#EkJhappiforme’ and the Boro Plus Social Initiative audio.

Moreover, several well-known content creators, including Roshni Walia, Vaishnavi Rao, Ishpreet Dang, and Kanika Mann, have taken part in the socially beneficial initiative.

MARKETECH APAC has reached out to Emami for a comment.

Bangkok, Thailand – International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations agency that promotes social justice and internationally recognized human and labor rights, has partnered with Google, as well as its International Training Center (ITCILO) to further expand its program for upskilling women entrepreneurs called ‘ILO’s Rebuilding Better: Fostering Business Resilience Post-COVID-19 Project’. The pilot initiative was hosted last November 2021.

The initiative aims to support women in Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and adopt more sustainable and resilient business models, and also works to strengthen women entrepreneurs’ access to vital support services.

Through the expansion of the initiative, ILO has launched three new training programs, which are now available to women entrepreneurs who are seeking new skills for their business and personal growth. It can be accessed in the Google Primer learning app as free, quick, and easy-to-understand lessons on how to manage a business, strengthen its online presence, and create a more supportive workplace which are available in both English and Thai language. 

Dragan Radic, ILO’s head of SME Unit of Enterprises Department, shared that the organization has worked for over 30 years to support SMEs to start, grow, and sustain their businesses, as well as strive to seek new and innovative methods and partnerships to deliver impactful solutions.

“The partnership with Google is a prime example of a collaboration that is enabling us to leverage our own strengths while also benefiting from our partner’s extensive online learning and technology capacity,” said Radic.

Ryan Rahardjo, Google’s head of public affairs for SEA, said, “Through this collaboration and our free Google Primer app, we hope more entrepreneurs in the region will be able to learn new skills, grow and expand their businesses both locally and internationally.”

ILO shared that at least 2,000 women entrepreneurs have been the first beneficiaries of the innovative new pilot to deliver digital training via Google Primer.

Interested learners may access the courses at the ILO Peer Learning Hub for APAC.

Bangkok, Thailand – Mediabrands’ culturally-driven media agency, Initiative in Thailand, has just announced a new leadership appointment, promoting former chief strategy officer of Mediabrands Thailand, Sora Kaitkanarat, to the position of chief executive officer.

The appointment comes after the promotion of Kaitkanarat’s predecessor, Malee Kittipongpisal, who will assume the role of executive business consultant at Mediabrands Thailand through 2021.

Kaitkanarat brings with him more than 23 years of specialized experience in advertising, brand consultancy, and media. Prior to joining Mediabrands, he has previously worked as the managing director of communications firm HAVAS, the lead strategy and business development of advertising and marketing company Lowe Lintas Thailand, and the strategist at Dentsu Young & Rubicam.

In his new role, Kaitkanarat will be spearheading the rapid expansion of the organization’s core competencies, to cement its position as the brand business growth partner. He will be using the agency’s approach to rapidly interpreting and activating on cultural data signals – Cultural Velocity™ – to help clients cut through and resonate in a dynamic and disruptive era.

“I look forward to driving progressive solutions for our clients and working even more closely with our business partners. Great work starts with a happy workforce and my overriding ambition is to lead Initiative Thailand to be the best place to work in the market for our talent,” said Kaitkanarat, regarding his appointment.

Meanwhile, Leigh Terry, the CEO of Mediabrands APAC and the CEO of Initiative APAC, commented that Kaitkanarat is both a passionate strategist and a true entrepreneurial leader who has a track record of driving business development and innovative solutions in the Thailand market.

“It gives me great pleasure to witness the development of our own brilliant talent and to be able to appoint this key leadership role from within our ranks. Sora has been a strategic driving force behind the strong track record of the Mediabrands Thailand network and will continue this strong forward momentum for the Initiative brand,” said Terry.

Dr. Tharaputh Charuvatana, Mediabrands Thailand’s group CEO, said, “I am confident that he will help build the third decade of Initiative Thailand’s success, following his notable predecessors Khun Wannee and Khun Malee.”

Australia – To celebrate its 10th year anniversary this year, independent creative agency Paper Moose in Australia has launched its first-ever initiative for its clients called ‘Buy One, Give One’, which aims to drive a positive and lasting change in the economy.

Through the ‘Buy One, Give One’ program, the agency will be donating time and creative resources to selected organizations that are on the mission to decarbonize the planet. This will help them tell their story, have a greater impact, and raise public consciousness. 

All beneficiaries are hand-picked by the agency. An example of an organization Paper Moose is hoping to help is deep tech company Vow Food, which is working to create cultured meats that do not harm the environment. 

Paper Moose’s CEO and Co-founder Nick Hunter shared to MARKETECH APAC that the name and idea of the initiative are not new ones but have been repurposed from other categories and sectors and hopes it’s a simple name that explains what it does on the tin.

“The world has changed and consumers in 2021 expect more from brands. Our impact on communities and the planet is being felt everywhere and people are looking to brands to fix the problem. As part of our new direction, we want to also help facilitate and accelerate that change,” said Hunter. 

Meanwhile, James Sykes, the head of strategy at Paper Moose, commented that the creative industry has helped businesses sell stuff for a long time, but today that same creativity needs to help new technologies flourish, and inventive Australian companies showcase what they’re doing. 

“Our client’s success remains our number one job but it’s time for our agency magic to accelerate deployment of the technologies that will save us,” said Sykes.

Earlier this month, Paper Moose announced the appointment of Sykes as its new head of strategy who is tasked to boost the creative agency’s overall strategy.

Manila, Philippines – To reduce the economic impact brought by the pandemic, nonprofit organization The Asia Foundation has brought ‘Go Digital ASEAN’ in the Philippines, a regional initiative that provides digital literacy training.

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization that addresses five overarching goals, such as strengthening governance, empowering women, and expanding economic opportunity, as well as increasing environmental resilience, and promoting international cooperation.

The initiative aims to equip job seekers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with the necessary online tools and technological skills to participate in the digital economy, with various partners such as Pailig Development Foundation, Clevergrit Web Services, and Yoveo Digital, with support from Google’s philanthropic arm Google.org.

‘Go Digital ASEAN’ is a free digital skills training conducted through online classrooms of two half-day sessions with a certification issued upon course completion. It delivers employment opportunities and business growth through three-course offerings, including Digital Tools for Jobseekers, Harnessing Social Media to Expand Your Business, and Getting Your Business Online.

According to the organization, as of 30 April 2021, ‘Go Digital ASEAN’ in the Philippines has already trained 3,385 job seekers and entrepreneurs, and training participants who are ‘very confident’ in the use of digital tools rose from 18.62% prior to training to 52.55% post-training.

The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in the Philippines Sam Chittick said that they are scaling the ‘Go Digital ASEAN’ training to bring fundamental digital skills training to 25,000 Filipinos with support from Google.org.

“Initially working with a team of 25 partners skilled in training, Human Resource Management, Business Process Outsourcing, Information Technology, micro, and small-enterprise development, and digital freelancing backgrounds, we will expand partnerships with government agencies and units, private sector, civil society organizations, and the academe to strengthen digitalization programs and ensure economic and business continuity across the country,” said Chittick.

Jerry Clavesillas, the director at DTI Bureau of SME Development, shared that the recent partnership with The Asia Foundation complements the Department’s effort on digitalization of MSMEs envisioned in the Philippine MSME Development Plan 2017-2022. 

“The project intends to reach more enterprises particularly those in the countryside including businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and equip them with digital skills and tools to recover and grow their businesses and livelihoods and to participate in the digital economy. This ASEAN-wide commitment which was approved and officially endorsed for implementation in 2020 by the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on MSMEs (ACCMSME), where the Philippines is an active member, supports the objectives of the ASEAN Digital Integration Framework, contributing to its vision set out in the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for SME Development 2016-2025,” said Clavesillas.

Meanwhile, Bernadette Nacario, the country director at Google Philippines, said, “Small businesses are at the heart of the Philippines’ economy and community. We have seen how the current pandemic has impacted so many entrepreneurs and business owners across the country, and there is an urgent need to support their digitalization so they can continue to keep their businesses going. We are extremely proud to support the work that The Asia Foundation is driving through the ‘Go Digital ASEAN’ program. This grant builds on our ongoing commitment to equip more individuals with skills training so they can participate in the country’s growing digital economy.”

Interested learners can register at godigitalasean.ph, while interested partners keen to collaborate and bring free ‘Go Digital ASEAN’ training opportunities to their communities can contact the program through the website or email.

Singapore – Dentsu, a media and communications powerhouse with over 11,000 employees in 17 markets in its APAC division, has launched a new initiative called ‘Common Ground’ in the goal to unite its internal expansive network.

The launch is in line with this year’s Diversity Month. The ‘Common Ground’ is a way for employees at dentsu to make connections in other markets and regions based on their common interests, such as food, sports, music, and travel, as well as books, and film. The fellowship is simple: any dentsu employee is able to participate through a matching form, and will then be matched with a ‘dentsu twin’ for a surprise 30-minute phone call. 

“By using common interests as a way to reflect diversity, the company believes its people will shine through,” said dentsu. 

The company said that the team for the initiative, which was led by Dentsu’s DEI lead in APAC, Merlee Jayme, and Gautam Reghunath, CEO of dentsu webchutney, was finding a way to make out something better off the over year-long virtual set up of the workforce, and thought that maybe virtual meetings were an opportunity to bring its people together across APAC, and that the virtual environment can actually become the most unfiltered way to strike a conversation beyond work. 

To find out, the team piloted the program with eight volunteers and had incredible outcomes, deciding then to scale it to the rest of the region.

“We’re thrilled with ‘Common Ground’ volunteers in Japan, Thailand, India, the Philippines, and Australia exchanging Instagram handles and making travel plans to countries already. ‘Common Ground’ has something for everyone at dentsu, and we’re proud to launch during diversity month. I can’t wait to see how it brings people together in new ways across our network,” commented Jayme. 

Meanwhile, Ashish Bhasin, the CEO of dentsu APAC, said that its talents are as ingenious as they are diverse, and that the company has always bet on the serendipitous connections across regions, believing that it’s the kind of organic engagement that’s gonna take it to places.

“In a data-rich world, I’m proud all the pairings will happen based on actual interests and actual people. The team has asked me to be patient before I get to meet my dentsu twin,” commented Bhasin.

Australia – In celebration of International Cannabis Culture Day, or more commonly known as ‘4-20’, Mediabrands’ culturally-driven media agency Initiative in Australia has launched a deep-dive study called ‘Cannabusiness’, which aims to analyze the emergence of a massive industry in legal cannabis across the country and its opportunities for marketers.

‘Cannabusiness’ is part of the media agency’s ‘Culture Shock’ series of investigative research into how developments in culture impact marketing and media investment decisions. In line with this, Initiative has launched a ‘Cannabusiness’ website and will be holding a public, live-panel discussion in May, to be hosted by Sam Geer, the managing director of Initiative Australia. The panel will examine the rising cultural re-acceptance of cannabis and what marketers can learn from this shift and apply it to their own brands to help power business growth.

According to Initiative, about 42% of Australians support the legalization of recreational cannabis, and between 20 to 40 companies are already listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to help manage investment in the industry.

Geer shared that they are approaching a rare phenomenon in Australian marketing – the birth of a new category. As Australia is one of the fastest-growing medical cannabis markets in the world and the 5th largest in size, he believes that it’s time to start paying attention.

“Positive interest in legislation to legalize cannabis demands a massive shift in culture in this country after decades of negative personal and political connotations. But the industry is an approaching powerhouse, with global estimates that Cannabis will be a $104 billion market by 2024,” said Geer.

Manila, Philippines – Shopee in the Philippines has run Shopee Bayanihan, an initiative within the platform that enables shoppers to donate safely and conveniently to charity institutions to extend help to the underprivileged.

Shopee has a wide network of 49 partner charity organizations which includes World Vision, Caritas Manila, Habitat for Humanity, and Kaya Natin Movement, as well as Philippine Red Cross, and Virlanie Foundation; and Shopee offers two ways for users to donate to them.

First, by purchasing donation vouchers. Users will only need to search for the partner foundation they want to donate to, select the donation voucher they wish to purchase, and add it to their cart. After paying through card payment, online banking, or ShopeePay, users will receive the confirmation through a push notification.

Another option for the donation is via ShopeePay. Users will only need to go to their ShopeePay wallet action bar and tap ‘Scan’. After scanning the QR code displayed on the partner’s social media account, they will need to input the amount they wish to donate and confirm with their 6-digit ShopeePay PIN. 

“Shopee is fully committed to utilizing our platform for the greater good. As the nation continues to adapt to the current situation, it is essential for us to step up and support the communities struggling to stay afloat. Every one of us has a role to play during this period, and we will do what we can to help different sectors and local communities tide through this challenge by allowing in-app donations,” said Martin Yu, the director at Shopee Philippines.

Under Shopee Bayanihan, Shopee has also offered a digital package for frontliners, and has provided funds for online sellers through the Seller Support Package, and donated transistor radios to students in rural areas to help them continue with their studies.