Tag: Kumu

Singapore – Within the recent period that digital has seen a surge in adoption, the format of live streaming has proven to be a powerful channel in offering audiences a new and exciting way of engaging with brands. The most prominent being is the emergence of live streaming specifically in e-commerce. This time, we see another brand take on the trend and probably a one-of-its-kind – Wattpad, the global platform for user-generated stories that we’ve come to love, has partnered with kumu, the fast-growing live streaming platform in the Philippines.

Kumu is a live streaming platform that is rising in popularity among Filipino viewers. Aside from presenting creators and performers opportunities to be a live streamer, the platform also runs game shows where users can win cash prizes. Through the partnership with the platform, Wattpad looks to diversify its stories into exciting digital formats such as live streaming, audio streaming, and social commerce. 

Facilitated by marketing agency Culture Group, the partnership will give some of Wattpad’s most popular influencers the opportunity to connect with their fans in the region, developing a slate of interactive social streaming content exclusive to kumu. 

Starting 16 July, exclusive Wattpad live streams will be held at the official @WattpadPH account on kumu. Through this, fans and aspiring writers can come together to discuss their passion and appreciation for all things storytelling. Every Friday at 7pm PHT, viewers can tune in to join the ‘Write With Me’ livestream series, a special live show where fans can meet and interact with Wattpad stars.

According to the two platforms, the tie-up is also their answer to the digitally-savvy Gen Z consumer.

“The Gen Z community on Wattpad is passionate and highly engaged, and we’re excited for this new opportunity to connect readers with their favorite indie writers,” said Chris Stefanyk, head of brand partnerships at Wattpad.

Meanwhile, Angelo Mendez, co-founder and chief of content at kumu, added, “Wattpad is a big part of Gen Z Filipino culture, and this partnership will allow us to broaden our audiences by giving them an opportunity to foster authentic connections with their favorite Wattpad stars and new ways to enjoy their favorite Wattpad content.”

Kumu will also be allowing audiences to send virtual gifts to their favorite Wattpad stars. Furthermore, the partnership will be enabling social commerce, and will see upcoming opportunities for ticketed events, merchandise, and apparel in the near future. Said other initiatives will be unveiled in the coming weeks. 

According to Wattpad, it now records 90 million readers globally where more than 6 million are in the Philippines. A number of original stories from Wattpad have already been turned into films in the country such as She’s Dating the Gangster, Diary ng Panget (Diary of the Ugly), and Just The Way You Are, which featured some of the brightest stars in the country. 

Just recently, kumu announced a new type of event hosting in its platform – the kumu ‘Live Events’. The new platform aims to replicate the real-life live events and concerts complete with being ticketed and gated as well as coming with post-show engagements. This is in contrast to the standard kumu live stream shows that are open to public viewing.

MARKETECH APAC reached out to Michael Patent, founder and president of Culture Group, who shared exclusive bits on the upcoming engagements of Wattpad on kumu, including a fan-centric mega event in the future that would involve kumu’s ticketing, social commerce, and social streaming features.

MARKETECH APAC: What makes this partnership different? Was there a specific rise in demand for stars and fans’ engagement?

Patent: We (Culture Group) recognized that Wattpad and Kumu play a critical role in the creator economy; Wattpad on user-generated content and Kumu in the formation of creator-driven communities. We knew a marriage of the two would lead to greater exposure for creators and greater engagement for the Wattpad fandom. It’s a first of its kind between a live-streaming platform and a creator platform.

The success of the partnership is rooted in the behaviors of Gen Z in Southeast Asia. They are the ‘creation generation’, and this partnership allows both brands to engage deeper with their community. The intersection of content, community, and commerce allows Wattpad’s fandoms to support the creators they love.

MARKETECH APAC: How will this specific engagement go about on kumu? What must users and fans do in order to be part of this? 

Patent: Wattpad’s leading stars will have a presence on Kumu with unique content formats such as ‘Write with Me’, ‘Wattpad Fan Quiz Show’, and ‘Ask me Anything’. This means there is a deeper level of engagement, never previously seen before for kumu fans. The fans will have more control over the narrative. What makes this great is that any member of Wattpad’s fandom can log into Kumu and engage with their favorite writers through social streaming. 

There’s also a significant ‘gamification’ of the program. This means fans who engage with Wattpad Stars can now win unique prizes and access. This is a key feature and is available via Kumu.

Highlights of the features include: 

Write with me Livestream: While writing, the Wattpad Star will ask viewers to vote on specific choices to determine what happens in the story. Imagine being able to decide what the character is wearing, where the scene will occur, or even the time of the day for a critical location. 

Fan Quiz Show: Fans will play a quiz with their favorite stars on their stories. The host will have the ability to ask fans to send as many virtual gifts (VG/diamonds) as they can while they play music. When the music stops, one of the hosts will take a screenshot of the stream to reveal a winner. They will be gifted signed books and other Wattpad merchandise.

MARKETECH APAC: What other upcoming projects can we expect in line with this new initiative? 

Patent: There’s a fan-centric mega event planned that involves Kumu’s ticketing, social commerce, and social streaming features. There’s also the possibility for capsule collections of merchandise and apparel from Wattpad IP to be sold on Kumu. 

Recognizing the power of fandoms and communities, I think we’re likely to see much more from Wattpad and Kumu, two of the hottest engagement platforms for Gen Z consumers in the Philippines.

Manila, Philippines – Live-streaming platform kumu in the Philippines has welcomed a new chief product officer, Crystal Widjaja, the former chief of staff and senior vice president of growth at Indonesia’s Gojek.

Currently, Widjaja is the entrepreneur-in-residence at e-learning company Reforge. Prior to joining Reforge, she led a team of engineers, analysts, and product managers in Gojek, and was responsible for growing orders from 30,000 to over 5 million per day. 

In her new role, Widjaja will be leveraging her extensive experience in helping startups with growth, data, and strategy, alongside bolstering the platform’s overall product strategy. 

Commenting on her appointment, Widjaja said that she is honored to join kumu and take on its mission of building the largest participatory social network in the world. 

“For us, the ultimate goal is to be there and provide authentic connections when you’re bored, lonely, or feel disconnected. I’m thrilled and inspired to see how we become a larger part of the world’s everyday life, and the friendships we make along the way,” said Widjaja. 

Meanwhile, kumu’s Founder and CEO Roland Ros commented that they are absolutely delighted to have Widjaja as part of the kumu family. 

“With our commitment to building kumu as the best place for content creators to engage and scale authentic communities, we believe she is the transformational partner that we need to get to the next level,” said Ros. 

Rexy Dorado, the president and co-founder at kumu, said, “Our people are the most important part of kumu. With this new wave of world-class leaders, we believe we can build a product and company that raises the bar not just in the Philippines, not just in the region, but the entire global community.”

Just recently, the platform has just also announced the appointment of Alex Tshering, the new chief growth officer.

This month of May, the region of Southeast Asia took the reigns, with four out of five stories coming from the region, with one global brand entering the list. This month is all about the area of producing fresh content and platforms. 

One live streaming platform launched a new feature that would see the replication of physical ‘live events’, while another brand, top e-commerce in fashion and lifestyle, is jumping on the trend of podcasts but with a novel take. 

The end of Ramadan or the celebration of Hari Raya was commemorated by Muslims throughout the world this month, with one brand coming out on the top with its sentimental and touching Hari Raya short film. 

Meanwhile, in the area of content regulation, we also saw a new leadership being announced that marks a new era of regulating content in one SEA country. Last but not the least, readers were hooked on the story of the pilot episode of MARKETECH Spotlight where we gave the seat to global CMS provider Magnolia. 

The top stories were sourced from Google Analytics from the period of 16 April to 15 May. Take a look. 

Top 5: Zalora launches ‘Zalora Talks’

Entering in our Top 5 stories for May is fashion and lifestyle e-commerce Zalora in Southeast Asia. While fashion is a realm that’s highly visual and not often ‘talked’ about through conversations alone, Zalora aims to break the norm through the launch of its podcast, ’Zalora Talks’ on Spotify, the first-ever fashion and lifestyle podcast in Asia. 

While Chris Daguimol, Zalora’s group director and head of corporate communications, agrees to this, he said that in today’s time, Fashion has evolved into becoming a platform to raise pertinent social issues such as sustainability. 

“Right now, we actually have people who are big in sustainability. It’s a healthy kind of conversation, and I think this is the right time to start being part of that conversation, and Zalora’s very proud to be part of that initiative and conversation and to have all this put out there as a Southeast Asian point of view, and with [matters] that resonate with consumers in Southeast Asia,” said Daguimol in a MARKETECH APAC interview.

Daguimol said that the United States remains the main fashion hub and that conversations on fashion often revolve around the western point of view. With ‘Zalora Talks’, the e-commerce aims to make the Southeast Asian voice be heard, which boasts a fashion and lifestyle culture that’s rich and vibrant as any other. 

The series was launched on 4 May and currently has five episodes. The series, which is made to comprise two seasons, is hosted by Amy Yasmine, the former editor of Harper’s Bazaar Malaysia, and will have six episodes for each season. The series brings together industry experts, brand partners, and fashion and lifestyle key opinion leaders from countries all over Southeast Asia.

Top 4: CMS Magnolia on the pilot episode of MARKETECH Spotlight

For the pilot episode of MARKETECH Spotlight, our deep dive into organizations and companies that have recently achieved an industry milestone, we featured global tech company and CMS provider Magnolia. 

Magnolia which has presence in Europe and APAC, and headquartered in Switzerland, has recently entered the leading list of top tech providers in the world: Global advisory Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. The report method uses a quadrant to identify the top-performing tech systems in the world, and Magnolia was recently identified as a ‘niche player’ for its digital experience platform (DXP) Magnolia DX Core. 

In the episode, we conversed with Magnolia’s General Manager for APAC Don Lee, who aside from sharing the company’s response to Gartner’s report, also gave informative insights to companies that are looking to adopt a digital experience platform themselves. 

Among the tips he shared are: focusing on the facet of digital experience that one wants to succeed in and building a modular and organic DXP for faster DX development. Learn more about his insights here. 

Top 3: kumu launches ‘Live Events’ platform

Even over a year of the pandemic, most nations in the world are still grappling with lockdowns, with countries even dealing with new waves of the virus. With this, in-person interactions are still far from reality. 

Local and emerging top live streaming platform in the Philippines, kumu, has recently responded to this call, coming up with a new feature for Filipinos that aims to replicate real-life ‘live events’. 

With the new kumu ‘live events’, kumu aims to provide the biggest virtual stage in the country to offer its viewers live concert experiences, festivals, and parties from the comfort of their own homes. To give that full ‘live show’ experience, kumu will be enabling features that model the physical version that we all have come to enjoy such as post-show engagement with the artists. in contrast to the standard Kumu live stream shows that are open to public viewing, live events will be ticketed and gated. 

Speaking with MARKETECH APAC, Mariel Bitanga, head of kumu Live Events, shared that aside from the benefit of the users and viewers, the new feature is very much for its performers and top streamers in the platform, making possible the opportunity to have a special type of production for their fans. 

“Kumu is a fast-growing app and platform, and we wanted as a company to have an offering other than the usual app features that we wanted to have a platform on the web. Kumu Live is actually not just events, it actually has gaming, and you could actually live streams there,” said Bitanga

Top 2: Kärcher Malaysia’s Hari Raya short film 

As a Muslim-wide country, Malaysia has been all spirits for the month of May as it approached the celebration of the end of Ramadan, Hari Raya Aidilfitri. 

Different brands and companies came in solidarity with Muslims in the country, showcasing each of their creative campaigns that all echoed the importance of making time for family even amid one of the most difficult times for social connections. 

One particular campaign stood out and entered the top 5 stories this month – the Hari Raya short film of professional cleaning tools and equipment supplier, Kärcher Malaysia. 

The brand took quite a different turn on its theme on family, using ‘memories’ as the element to bring the message that when members come together to bond, old memories are sometimes sidelined. The narrative revolves around a son who wishes to sell the family house but is contested by his parents as it holds lots of precious memories. As they clean and prepare the house for sale, Zack, the son, realizes his parents are right all along.

The campaign was spearheaded by social agency Kingdom Digital together with Untitled Films. 

In a conversation with Kingdom Digital’s head for account servicing Lui Xiao Yee, she shared that through the film, they wanted to show that not everything old is bad and that not everything old should be thrown away. 

“As we all know Karcher sells professional cleaning products, basically cleaning equipment and tools. We thought that it’s really relevant for the brand as well as the end consumer to tap into this spring cleaning kind of tradition,’ she said. 

Top 1: Malaysia’s The Content Forum names Astro Radio’s Kenny Ong as new chairman

For our top 1 story for the month of May, we have another news from Malaysia. The country’s independent self-regulatory body, The Content Forum, has recently elected Astro Radio’s CEO Kenny Ong to be its new chairman. 

The Communications and Multimedia Content Forum, or simply The Content Forum, is made up of various organizations representing the communications and multimedia industry. It governs content by self-regulation in line with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Content Code – a set of rules that are applied to all content in the networked medium such as radio, television, audio text, and internet content from the country, as well as electronic boards, and public transport, among others.

The appointment will see Ong assuming the position for a two-year term, succeeding outgoing chairman Y.Bhg. Dato’ Khairul Anwar Salleh, the CEO of Media Prima Television Networks. In his new role, Ong will be bringing over 25 years of knowledge and experience across different industries to lead the council that sets the agenda on building a strong and agile self-regulatory framework for the communications and multimedia content industry. Together with members of the council, he is charged with executing strategies to achieve the vision of the Content Forum, which includes facilitating self-regulation and establishing best practices necessary for the growth of the content industry and the protection of its consumers.

When we caught up with Kenny to tell us more about the role, he said that the change in leadership will give The Content Forum a fresh start with new ideas and a new agenda. He further shared that one of the priorities of the forum would be the revamp of the content code. 

“Getting a revamp will be important because of the new changes that are in the market when we talk about content. When it was first set up many years ago, the definition of content is different from what we have now, when we talk about broadcasters, when we talk about media and a lot of things coming [out] online. We need to revamp the content code to make sure that it takes care of the current situation and what we foresee for the next couple of years,” he said. 

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

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

Manila, Philippines – To keep Filipinos entertained amid the pandemic lockdown, local live streaming app Kumu has officially launched its ‘Live Events’ platform, which aims to be the biggest virtual stage in the Philippines to offer its viewers live concert experiences, festivals, and parties from the comfort of their own homes.

The new ‘Live Events’ will primarily be hosted on kumu.live website, and just like any public concert or exclusive event, it will be ticketed and gated, which is in contrast to the standard Kumu live stream shows that are open to public viewing.

Mariel Bitanga, the head of Kumu ‘Live Events’, said that they hope to bring the party experience to the live stream community, and provide them access to their favorite artists in fully produced events through the new platform.

She further shared that the Kumu ‘Live Events’ would still have Kumu’s usual engagement features, and in addition, will have special features lined up, such as private post-show engagement features, replicating the ‘after-party’ experience in live in-person shows.

“As a company, Kumu always strives to elevate our users’ experience within our Kumunity. And Kumu ‘Live Events’ is definitely an exciting addition to offer our users another avenue to enjoy, engage, and connect within our space,” added Bitanga. 

More details on Live Events’ ticket selling, sign-ups, and musical performance line-up to be announced available within the month of April.

Philippines – To keep the Filipinos’ spirits up during the global pandemic, local live streaming platform Kumu has launched the ‘Kumedy Week’ series, a lineup of comedic shows that aims to give Filipinos some consoling joy as people continue to ride the wave of lockdowns.

The ‘Kumedy Week’ is a special Kumu-wide effort to promote Filipino comic talents, while also keeping the viewers’ sanity in these trying times.

The series started rolling on 5 April, with the first two shows putting ‘Vavaeng Valvon’ and ‘Amazing Betong’ at the forefront. Today, 7 April, Kumu app users will be able to catch Rufa Mae Quinto, followed by ‘Cromczik’ on 8 April, and ‘I am PJ Pascual’ on 9 April, as well as Zaragine on 10 April. All these upcoming shows will start at 9 pm PST on Kumu’s @SpotlightChannel.

Meanwhile, on Kumu’s @fyechannel’s, viewers will be able to catch shows, still under the series, such as ‘For Your Improvment’ with improv theater group Spit, which will be every Tuesdays at 9:30 pm, as well as ‘Kwentong Macoy’ with popular comedic content creator Macoy Dubs every Wednesdays at the same time, and ‘Lakas Tawa’ with stand up comedian Alex Calleja, which will stream every Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 pm. ‘Lakas Tawa’ will also be on @seenzone every Tuesdays at 10 pm.

The series will also include ‘The Fumiyam Show’ with former finalists of Pinoy Big Brother 8, Fumiya Sankai and Yamyam Gucong, every Wednesdays at 12 pm PST on @StarHuntABSCBN.

Kumu encourages the app users to follow their hashtags #KumedyWeek and #KaSummerAll for more announcements this April.

Manila, Philippines – Kumu, Filipino video-sharing and e-commerce social networking platform, has launched an entertainment show called ‘Sana OL’ under the official @wetviflix account on its platform.

The new show is a collaboration between two video streaming providers – WeTV and iflix. Its title ‘Sana OL’ is a Filipino expression that means ‘to want what others have’, and is often jovially expressed to someone that has shown an amazing feat or is in possession of a trait or material thing that is a crowd favorite. 

The show aims to provide viewers a deep-dive into Asia’s passion for entertainment, premiering today from 8:00 pm PHT to 9:00 pm PHT. 

Every Wednesday night, viewers can expect guest hosts and streamers to talk about the latest contents of WeTV and iflix, the hottest trends in entertainment, and an occasional show review.

To kick-off the first stream of ‘Sana OL’, the pilot theme is ‘K-Drama or C-Drama?’. The hosts will talk about the unique cultures, the influences, and how these dramas shaped the pop culture today.

Georgette Tengco, country manager of WeTV and iflix in the Philippines, said that the show’s ultimate goal is to be relatable to all fans of Asian entertainment, saying that it will allow people of all ages and backgrounds to engage, sharing their thoughts on the shows they love to stream and binge-watch.

“We believe that Kumu is the best platform to use, to connect with our users and partners. It allows us to better engage consumers, to dig around and find out what it is they want to see, what they’re interested in, and how WeTV iflix can help materialize those ‘content cravings’,” added Tengco.

Manila, Philippines – Filipino-born live streaming platform Kumu sees a new wave of streamers on the platform, particularly artists and groups handled by ABS-CBN, one of the country’s largest media conglomerates.

The newly birthed partnership between the two parties entails greater visibility for ABS-CBN’s artists and talents outside of mainstream media, with Kumu providing an alternative channel for said artists to connect with their large fan bases locally.

With more than 100 artists and groups set to stream, some of the personalities include the top and former contestants of the reality show ‘Pinoy Big Brother’, Philippine pop groups MNL48, BINI, BGYO, and several artists from ABS-CBN’s noontime show ‘It’s Showtime’ and from talent houses Star Magic, Star Hunt, Polaris (It’s Showtime talents), Star Music, and RISE Artists Studio.

“Just like the other partnerships between ABS-CBN and Kumu, we are confident that we will be able to achieve our united goal of providing good content and meaningful experiences to our audiences,” said Jamie Lopez, head of digital at ABS-CBN.

In a statement, Kumu said that their partnership with the media conglomerate aligns with the company’s vision of “commitment to highlight Pinoy creativity and to uplift the voices of Filipino talent all around the world.”

“We are proud to be signing more talents to our platform with ABS-CBN and support the creation of positive online content — content that we need now more than ever. We foresee future opportunities to develop these talents’ careers via live streaming — opening doors for new, innovative projects in the streaming space and beyond,” Kumu said. 

The partnership was announced during the conclusion of ABS-CBN’s reality show ‘Pinoy Big Brother’, which was also co-produced by Kumu. Both companies have earlier maintained co-production partnerships, including the 2020 version of the game show ‘Game KNB’.

For Laurenti Dyogi, head of entertainment production at ABS-CBN and head at Star Magic, the parties believe that fans are the winners in this partnership as “they get more opportunity to see their favorite stars in a more casual and informal setting, and even bond with them whenever the artists stream on their official accounts on Kumu.”

“We believe in the unique experience offered by Kumu. It’s a great platform to nurture the connection between the artists and their fans. Many of our stars are actually streaming already on the platform but with this partnership, there will be even more artists coming in to bring light and joy to ‘Kumunizens’,” Dyogi stated.