Tag: Marketing

As the post-pandemic shapes the way where brands should go, MARKETECH APAC features a leader in the advertising industry to share with us what companies should do and improve upon after these unprecedented changes.

Originally from Asturias in the North of Spain and currently based in Dubai, MARKETECH APAC features Alberto Canteli, the chief executive officer for Havas Group in the Nordics, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the CommonWealth of Independent States, Turkey, the Middle East, as well as Southeast Asia, Korea & Japan. 

A truly-frequent flyer, Alberto joined the group in 2000, and he has been a key pillar on the international expansion of Havas Group during the first decade of the new millennium. 

In our conversation, Alberto mentioned that the pandemic has obliged us to be fully digital, to become fully technological, and to become much more flexible and ready for the next changes that are coming in the next decades.

“I think the pandemic has strengthened several values. I think what we all want is to build a future that is a bit more balanced, and a future that takes care of nature a bit more, a future that is focused more on health and well-being,” said Alberto on what brands should be aware of after the pandemic. 

On sustainability, Alberto commented, “The backbone of our core positioning is sustainability. We are a meaningful brand agency. This is how we position ourselves. We want to build a better world through the construction of brands as well as the construction of meaningful connections between brands and society.” 

In the interview, Alberto further discussed his insights on sustainability and purpose and how it goes hand in hand in running a business. 

Head on to Spotify to listen to the full conversation. 

If you are a marketing or tech leader who wants to share your industry journey and insights, email us at [email protected].

Singapore – DoubleVerify (DV), a software platform for digital media measurement, data, and analytics, today announced an exclusive partnership with Scope3, the preeminent source of truth for supply chain emissions data for organizations seeking to make carbon-aware business decisions. 

The DV/Scope3 partnership will provide advertiser and agency customers with a comprehensive campaign-based carbon footprint metric via DV’s flagship service and analytics platform, DV Pinnacle. 

Scope3 has designed and developed the system of record for mapping the end-to-end emissions of the digital advertising lifecycle, accounting for the complete ad tech graph behind every impression they measure. This model is built from a mix of open data, customer collaboration, partnerships with third-party data providers, and independent research and analysis. 

With this new metric currently in development, advertisers and agency customers will receive in DV Pinnacle detailed campaign-based reporting outlining the digital supply chain entities that contributed to their campaigns’ emissions, as well as providing the ability to customize data and reporting to cover specific partners, platforms, channels, inventory, formats, and regions. 

As a result of the electricity used by the millions of servers that power real-time bidding, machine learning, identity management, and beyond, digital advertising has been shown to have a meaningful carbon footprint. Scope3 provides an accurate, comprehensive and independent model of the emissions across the digital advertising supply chain. 

DoubleVerify’s CEO Mark Zagorski, said, “We can’t expect carbon-aware decisions about ad spend to be made without a comprehensive and accurate view of how supply-side partners are contributing to emissions.” 

“With Scope3, we are able to provide advertisers and agencies with the information they need to take action and drive real change. For the first time, they will be able to use this new offering to measure and reduce the impact of their properties and ad spend, all via DV’s massive verification backbone,” added Zagorski.

“As an industry, we can thrive and provide massive value to brands without a cost to the climate by measuring all the sources of carbon associated with every ad transaction online and making those transactions more carbon efficient,” said Brian O’Kelley, CEO of Scope3.

“We applaud DV’s efforts in seamlessly integrating the tools we need to join the fight against climate change. We look forward to taking collaborative action to decarbonize media and advertising together,” added O’Kelley.

Cannes, France – Leading companies committed to improving fairness in marketing campaigns. The initiative announced at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2022, brought together agencies, brands, and other leaders to generate awareness and take action towards mitigating bias in advertising technology. Committing organisations include IBM, Delta Air Lines, WPP, Mindshare, 4A’s, IAB and the Ad Council.

In 2021, IBM launched a research initiative to explore the hypothesis that bias can exist in ad technology, which initial findings confirmed. The research also showed that mitigating bias in ad technology was possible by using AI tools and resources in marketing processes. More industry participation and data collection are needed to better understand the potential impact of bias on these campaigns, but several industry leaders are demonstrating early activism by raising awareness and taking action via IBM’s Advertising Fairness Pledge.

“While the risk of bias in advertising is well known, by making this commitment, these organisations are among the first in the industry to take action,” said Bob Lord, IBM senior vice president of The Weather Company and Alliances. 

“Together, we are agreeing to educate ourselves and our companies and ask other industry leaders to join us in helping to mitigate bias in advertising,” added Lord.

Bias is often unintentional, a result of human assumptions and judgments encoded into algorithms that can result in unfair targeting, exclusion of certain groups, and marketing campaign failures. Organisations taking the pledge can contribute data to ongoing studies that seek to better explain the impact of bias. According to Salesforce’s 2022 State of the Connected Customer survey, nearly 62 per cent of consumers surveyed reported they are concerned about bias in AI, up from just 54 per cent two years prior, emphasising the imperative for brands and agencies to better understand its impacts.

“As technology and data prevalence accelerates, the risk for bias in advertising compounds. It is our duty to address this head-on,” said Adam Gerhart, global CEO of Mindshare. “We believe the industry needs to take clear and intentional action, which is why we are committing to leverage the Advertising Toolkit for AI Fairness 360,” added Gerhart.

As the advertising industry continues to face issues related to privacy and transparency, many organisations believe that tackling bias in ad tech could be the next key area of focus for marketers. With increasing consumer demand for transparency in how their data is used, marketers must look for new ways to remain effective. Tapping into alternative privacy-forward data sources, such as weather data, can be effective predictors of behaviour that could also help rebuild trust with consumers.

“As a global brand, we know that every decision we make, whether it’s about a supplier, an employee or an ad campaign, is a reflection of our values and the change we want to see in the world,” said Emmakate Young, Delta’s managing director of Brand Marketing.

Singapore – Globally recognised convenience store 7-Eleven and Singapore-born Tiger Beer, have joined forces to unveil the very first beachfront convenience store right on the sands of Palawan Beach Walk, Sentosa in Singapore. 

The opening celebration will kick off with a variety of promotions and special treats for families enjoying the last weekend of the school holidays and for young adults and tourists who have made hanging out on the beaches of Sentosa their highlight of the week.

Perched right on the sands of the popular Palawan beach, this picturesque 7-Eleven store can be spotted from afar with its vibrant murals and unique graffiti artwork on its facade. Guests can enjoy their refreshing drinks, hot snacks and even ready-to-eat meals at the special 7-Eleven x Tiger Beer chillout area on the sands or at their favourite beach spot.

7-Eleven Palawan Sentosa back view

To help people get their drinks fast, 7-Eleven and Tiger Beer will be bringing a special reverse tap bar, which will automatically dispense the right pour of beer in each cup consistently – without needing a bartender. The reverse tap dispenser is fast, convenient and easy, giving you more time to spend soaking up the sun.

Savour the last weekend of the June school holidays with an unforgettable carnival-inspired blast on the beach with family and friends at the 7-Eleven’s Sentosa Palawan Beach store on 25 and 26 June 2022.

Customers can enjoy free popcorn, 7-Eleven balloons, face painting activities, Häagen-Dazs or Walls ice cream, Mr. Softee, chances to walk away with exciting Spin and Win rewards, and last but not least, live music performed by local singer-busker Jeff Ng, who recently made headlines for his popular weekly busking at The Cathay.

7-Eleven Singapore’s Managing Director, Steven Lye, said, “7-Eleven is reimagining convenience at the beach with our first beachfront store at Sentosa, in collaboration with Singapore’s iconic brand Tiger Beer. From the Arctic Coke machine to the exclusive Nitro Tea, and Reverse Tap beer and the Tiger Beer chill out zone, our new store offers a lot of exciting things for beach loving families, young adults and tourists, and we look forward to welcoming them! We hope that customers will be able to enjoy our new concept store with its unique design and special murals.” 

Meanwhile, on the collaboration, Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore’s Marketing Manager, Yogender Sharma, commented, “This is a great collaboration with 7-Eleven where we pushed the boundaries and found innovative ways to uncage the ultimate refreshment for our consumers. Tiger has a special bond with beer-lovers, and we believe that the beachfront store at Sentosa Palawan Beach would energise the experience by bringing consumers the smoothest beer and greatest vibes.”

“We are delighted to be home to Singapore’s first-ever 7-Eleven store by the beach. This new store concept is an example of the novel and imaginative experience that we are curating for our guests on our beach. Apart from providing the convenience of getting beach essentials, the store is also a unique beachfront bistro where guests can pick up a quick and affordable meal. We welcome this partnership with 7-Eleven in enhancing our guests’ experience as they enjoy their day on Sentosa, ” said Chew Tiong Heng, divisional director, Business and Experience Development, Sentosa Development Corporation.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Regional e-commerce platform Shopee has announced that it is launching more collaborative seller marketing tools to help local sellers attract more new and returning customers on the platform.

According to Kavan Sito, director of Shopee Malaysia, starting by the third quarter this year, all sellers can expect to expand their reach through over 13,000 Shopee affiliate partners to gain a wider audience and boost sales via Shopee’s Affiliate Marketing Solution (AMS).

The affiliate partners include social media influencers, coupon and cashback platforms, price comparison platforms and content publishers. Apart from that, the platform will also be enhancing its voucher features that will enable sellers to incentivise new buyers as well as reward repeat buyers for their loyalty.

The new tools were announced during the Shopee Seller Summit on 16 June, where Sito said that reviews are essential to help create trust and appeal for a product online. As such, Shopee will also be enabling sellers to reward users for leaving useful product reviews.

“These are among many innovative seller marketing features that Shopee will be launching in the coming months to help sellers drive long-term business growth,” he said.

Sito added, “Shopee remains committed to upskilling and empowering local businesses. Apart from free training modules provided through Shopee University, Shopee is glad to be the trusted partner of government agencies to support local communities and drive training initiatives that help to upskill local businesses.”

Singapore – Adobe today announced major updates to Adobe Substance 3D, a suite of tools and services that support 3D content creation from the beginning to the end of a project, expanding on the tools’ extensibility and performance. 

Adobe announced multiple updates across the Substance 3D Collection, including:

Native Apple M-series chips support, Substance 3D Materials SDK, Substance 3D Automation Toolkit, Substance Materials Plugin in Photoshop, and its later release of the Substance 3D Modeler.

Adobe Research, an organisation with research scientists, engineers, artists, and designers who shape experimental ideas into innovative technologies, today previewed research projects designed to power future Metaverse experiences. 

The growing importance of 3D and immersive content has contributed to strong demand for Substance 3D tools across gaming, entertainment, and e-commerce industries. 3D content creation also continues to grow into a core skill for creative professionals as more brands prepare for the metaverse and other immersive experiences. Substance tools have seen a strong 100 percent year-over-year growth, with now hundreds of thousands of monthly active users.

“Smart brands are getting “metaverse-ready” by growing their 3D and immersive content creation capabilities. That means that creative artists with expertise in 3D have a wealth of opportunities,” said Scott Belsky, chief product officer and executive vice president of Adobe Creative Cloud speaking at a customer event in Paris. “These innovations provide new superpowers to the rapidly growing number of creative people using Substance 3D.”

Adobe previewed a new intelligent method for optimising load time while maintaining visual fidelity for optimal AR customer experiences. The new AI-powered approach allows brands to deliver a high-quality AR experience in a fraction of the time it would normally require by prioritising AR content that is most likely to be relevant to the viewer first based on their movements within the physical space. This will help brands alleviate the common challenges stemming from slow load times on large AR scenes. This technology will be integrated into Adobe Aero later this year.

Starting this summer, Adobe will expand free access to Substance 3D applications to teachers and students worldwide. Universities subscribing to the Creative Cloud All Apps plan already have free access to Adobe Substance 3D applications.

Additionally, Adobe is partnering with schools on 3D and immersive curricula including RUBIKA DESIGN Valenciennes Design School in France and the ArtCenter in Pasadena, California.

Sydney, Australia – Blis, the audience-first platform that doesn’t rely on personal data, has announced the launch of its new e-guide, entitled ‘Missing something? Finding the audiences no one is talking about…yet’. The new interactive e-guide was launched to assist marketers to understand the real impact of ID-reliant solutions on addressable audiences and the virtues of privacy-first solutions that don’t rely on IDs to achieve accuracy at scale.

Changes to IDFAs and cookies have fundamentally impacted the ad ecosystem, from planning to targeting and measuring campaigns. The new e-guide looks at data from the UK, Europe, United States, Australia and New Zealand to demonstrate that almost half of the digital addressable audiences on mobile – and nearly half on desktop – are being missed due to IDs.

To enable marketers to uncover the people behind these percentages, Blis also launched its new interactive calculator showing which lifestyle audiences are being impacted the most by this drastic audience deprecation, covering 10 lifestyle audiences from travellers to fashionistas.

From questioning the sustainability of the solutions to understanding different technologies’ limitations, the guide highlights three top tips for marketers to consider when choosing their advertising partners. Blis hopes the e-guide will help brands and agencies better understand how to embrace the privacy-first reality and adjust expectations and methods of targeting, to find and reach their missing audiences.

Aaron McKee, CTO of Blis, said, “There’s still this belief that brands are achieving the right audience at scale – and that that will only change once the Chrome deprecation comes into force. But the current reality is much more troubling, as advertisers that still rely on IDs are already missing out on almost half of their audiences.”

Mckee adds, “This is happening right now, in front of our eyes and marketers need to have the right questions in mind when choosing their advertising partners. Today, not tomorrow. If your partners tell you they’re still reaching your precise audiences at scale with ID-only or cookie-led solutions, you’ll see that the numbers in our ‘missing audience calculator’ tell a different story”.

The e-guide is available for download and reinforces Blis’ commitment to audience-first targeting at a scale that doesn’t rely on personal data. Blis’ approach is based on accurate, consented location data, combined with a range of rich online datasets giving clients the deepest audience understanding available.

Sydney, Australia – Song Zu, the longest-running and most-awarded music and sound company in the APAC region is set to become MassiveMusic, after both companies were acquired by Songtradr in 2021. Opening its eight and ninth offices in Sydney and Singapore, respectively, MassiveMusic will take on the Song Zu team to further extend its offer for brands and agencies in the region.

The newly incorporated Song Zu team will also add sound design to MassiveMusic’s full-service offer, thanks to their work with renowned brands and media businesses, such as Netflix, Samsung, Coca-Cola, Google, Amazon and Canva. 

MassiveMusic Sydney and Singapore will be led by Ian Lew, managing director, and Ramesh Sathiah, executive creative director with all of the previous Song Zu partners as part of the leadership team. Both offices are committed to the same goal: helping the world’s most renowned brands become more strategic and effective with the emotional power of music and sound. All previous services offered by Song Zu, including audio post production, will continue to be offered by MassiveMusic Sydney and Singapore.

MassiveMusic’s Founder and CEO, Hans Brouwer, said, “Joining with the award-winning team at Song Zu, who have built an incredible reputation for excellent creative work over the years really boosts the MassiveMusic offer on what we can provide for clients in the region. Together, we have the ability to support any brand who’s willing to invest in their music strategy and make the world sound better. Music knows no geographical boundaries and I’m happy we can now say the same.”

Meanwhile, Ramesh Sathiah, executive creative director, MassiveMusic, commented, “I have always admired MassiveMusic as original thinkers pushing the boundaries of the brand/music connection. Their work creating the sound of Kathmandu, Colgate-Palmolive and Philips, and as global sound partners with TikTok, shows what can be done by partnering so closely with agencies and brands. It’s really a full-service music agency, in a way that hasn’t been done here before and we can’t wait to unleash this braintrust on the next creative challenge.”

Founded in 1990, Song Zu has been helping to define the sound of the region’s biggest companies with decades-long relationships with Woolworths, Telstra, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Tiger Beer. Winning the Australian Creative Hotshop, LIA International Music Company of the year, as well as Gold Spikes, Gold Clios and Gold Lions, among others, has been a testament to their creative credentials.

Part of Songtradr Group, MassiveMusic was acquired by the largest B2B music licensing platform in the world in June of 2021. The deal, which has had MassiveMusic leading Songtradr’s B2B Music Services division, brought together state-of-the-art music licensing technologies with best-in-class creation of bespoke music and strategy for brands and agencies.

Singapore – Singapore-based payroll and human resources (HR) management software company Payboy launches Paybeyond, an integrated payroll and remittance system to help SMEs seamlessly pay out local and overseas-based employees.

With a short and single workflow, Paybeyond provides direct and immediate cross border payouts with a secure transaction technology powered by Rapyd, a watchlist for remittance in various currencies to a dedicated wallet allowing storage of SGD and USD as well as supporting several payment modes, including GIRO, FAST, and SWIFT.

These simplified remittance processes can be applied to any employment arrangement, whether working with freelancers, full-timers, and contract employees, while enabling regulatory compliant cross border payments that are transparent and precise.

Nigel Lim, CEO at Payboy, said, “At Payboy, we are always looking for ways to improve and simplify our system so that entrepreneurs and businesses can eliminate any operational hassles they may experience. And now, by rolling out Paybeyond, we aim to help more Singaporean SMEs streamline their payroll and HR processes so they can focus on growing their business. At the same time, they can maintain their most valuable asset, the people.” 

Payboy can also integrate with other well-known applications in the ecosystem such as Xero, Quickbooks, and Financio to assist with accounting processes which makes it easier for businesses to hire, pay, manage and support their employees all in a dashboard and app.

In addition, Payboy streamlines HR operations to ensure businesses obtain full visibility on the automated payroll calculation, shift scheduling, attendance, leaves, and submitted claims, within an intuitive experience.

To celebrate the launch of Paybeyond, Payboy is offering a six-month free payroll subscription for Paybeyond users, in addition to its various support processes, such as Online Support Center and Payboy Helpline.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Independent self-regulatory organisation Content Forum has announced its successful registration of the revamped Content Code 2022, which aims to foster a robust content landscape in Malaysia where freedom of expression and responsibility can seamlessly coexist.

First established in 2004, the Content Code is a set of guidelines outlining best practices and ethical standards for the creation and curation of content, drawn up by the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum, which falls under the auspices of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Last year, Content Forum embarked on a mission to revamp the entire Content Code to ensure it remains aligned with global best practices for the benefit of both the local content industry and all Malaysians. This initiative included a massive nationwide Public Consultation Exercise that took place from September through to December 2021, where everyone was given the opportunity to contribute to this revamped version of the Content Code.

Mediha Mahmood, executive director of Content Forum, said, “We are very happy with the fact that this Content Code is a result from the contribution of everyone, and not just our members or industry players. These days, everyone is a content consumer as well as a content creator, so it makes absolute sense for everyone to be involved in the revamping of the Content Code. It enabled us to address various policy gaps, some of which may not have occurred to us if not for the excellent feedback we received. At the Content Forum, we continue to believe that policy-making in the content industry benefits greatly from consultation and contribution from all members of society.” 

According to Mahmood, feedback from members of the public helped the Content Forum to identify several concerns that have been growing recently. This includes the need to improve accessibility of content for Persons with Disabilities (PWD), to curtail abuse of religion in advertising and to require influencer marketing to adhere by the same standards expected from other advertisers.

The revamped Content Code 2022, which has received commendation from industry practitioners and representatives of the media and advertising industry as a whole, primarily includes a review of the best standards and practices relating to electronic content, particularly in relation to advertising, as well as broader implications for various segments of society. It identifies eight key focus areas, including: upholding rights of children in advertising, upholding rights of PWD, ensuring ethical eeporting of suicide cases, addressing abuse of aeligion in advertisements, prohibition against online abuse and gender-based violence, addressing false content and its impact on the community, ensuring influencers and online marketplaces are guided by advertising guidelines, and requiring disclosure of advertisements from influencers and paid-for space in news.

Content Forum’s Chairman, Kenny Ong said that the new updated Content Code could not have come at a better time as the growing number of content creators would benefit greatly from self-regulating their own content, using the updated Content Code as their guideline.

“Besides providing a greater, more comprehensive resource for everyone in the content ecosystem to practice self-regulation, these eight key focus areas in the Content Code 2022 are reflective of the changing and evolving times, while highlighting the crucial need to uphold the rights, security and welfare of various segments of the community and stakeholders including women, children, consumers and people with disabilities,” said Ong.

According to Ong, the content industry in Malaysia continues to evolve rapidly, from a one-way direction of information and content to what is now an exceptionally intricate web of content creators and consumers. “We are truly grateful to everyone for taking part in revamping the Content Code. This has proven that with everyone’s involvement, we can indeed produce a Content Code that balances creativity, innovation and healthy industry growth whilst aligning it with Malaysian culture, harmony and values,” he added.

Meanwhile, MCMC lauded the effort and initiative taken by the Content Forum in exercising its role as a self-regulatory organisation and industry forum designated under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA98)

“We recognize the Content Forum’s commitment to engage in continuous and meaningful dialogue with all relevant stakeholders – which is evident in the formation of this revised Content Code. We trust that this ensures the Content Code remains not only relevant, but also progressive. This is also in line with the greater vision of the MCMC to establish an industry that is competitive, efficient and increasingly self-regulating to stay ahead of changing times. We hope there is greater awareness of self-regulation via the Content Code as it is also used as a reference for the interpretation of offences under Section 211 and Section 233 of the CMA98,” said MCMC. 

While the role of content continues to expand, the need for self-regulation, transparency and accountability in content creation by all parties is highly crucial to ensure that the content landscape in Malaysia is a truly dynamic, progressive and a safe one for all.