Tag: Marketing

Singapore – The payment solutions provider Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) has collaborated with the creative firm DDB Group Singapore to promote a faster, simpler, and more convenient method of payment. The agency is using a fortune cat to educate debit cardholders in Singapore’s heartlands about a more convenient payment option at partner retailers around the country: using ATM or debit cards to pay with NETS.

A series of 15-second videos featuring NETS merchant categories—such as local restaurants, hair salons, and grocery stores—are the focal point of the social media-first campaign. The movies depict the exploits of NETS Tappy Cat, who uses an ATM or debit card to tap its way to faster and simpler fulfilment, emulating the famous wave of the fortune cat.

Selected partner merchants will receive over 10,000 NETS Tappy Cats and point-of-sale collateral as part of the campaign activation. The campaign will also feature digital advertisements and out-of-home digital placements starting on July 11. 

According to a recent Global Data report, Singapore’s cards and payments market is expected to be valued US$107.3 billion by 2023, with cards emerging as the preferred electronic payment method. In recent years, contactless card payments have become increasingly popular. 

Despite the rise in contactless payments made through NETS, some customers continue to use the conventional slot and pin method. Taking advantage of the growing acceptance of contactless card payments and the widespread presence of fortune cats, the campaign aims to establish and preserve connections with NETS. 

Speaking about the campaign, Vinod Savio, chief creative officer at DDB Group Singapore, said, “The best ideas tap into cultural observations, transforming familiar stories and experiences into something new and captivating. When the team decided to transform fortune cats into NETS Tappy Cats, we knew we had struck on an idea that had the power to move people.”

Meanwhile, Pamela Tan, group chief marketing officer at NETS, commented, “With this campaign, DDB managed to leverage culture to create a connection with merchants and customers. The campaign offers a refreshing approach to get everyone to sit up and pay attention to how easy it is to pay contactless and securely with NETS. We’ll never look at fortune cats the same way again!”

Generative AI (GenAI) is creating new possibilities in digital marketing. However, to truly benefit from this technology, marketers need a well-crafted strategy and careful execution. This article offers practical advice for marketers looking to leverage GenAI based on insights from industry experts.

In celebration of AI Appreciation Day, we spoke with marketing and AI experts on what this day signifies and the shifts marketers need to be across over the coming year.

Balancing Innovation, Risk, and Feasibility

Jennifer Fleck, Senior Principal at Slalom Consulting, highlights the challenge of scaling GenAI initiatives:

“Experiments are easy, but scale is hard. Most of the GenAI we see happening at enterprise organizations right now is an ambitious idea that stays in POC purgatory. Selecting use cases that balance innovation, risk, and feasibility and an understanding that AI at scale requires people, process, data, and technology foundations is paramount to success.”

Fleck also suggests focusing on three key areas where GenAI can drive value:

“At Slalom, we see GenAI driving value in three key areas: productivity (doing what you already do but better and faster (doing what you already do in a fundamentally different way), and disruption (changing the essence of your business.).

By considering these areas, marketers can identify the most impactful applications of GenAI for their organizations.

Leveraging AI as a Co-Pilot

Natalie Kansteiner, Director of Data Partnerships at The Trade Desk, recommends using AI as a powerful assistant in digital advertising:

“At The Trade Desk, we see AI as a powerful co-pilot in digital advertising, transforming complex tasks into streamlined processes. To start, focus on leveraging AI for data analysis and audience segmentation. Use AI tools, like Koa AI, to extract insights from vast datasets, ensuring precise targeting and higher engagement rates. Employ real-time optimization to refine campaigns as they run, boosting performance and cost efficiency. 

Additionally, leveraging generative AI for creative content generation, while keeping human oversight to ensure brand alignment, can be highly effective. By combining AI’s analytical power with strategic human input, marketers can create more data-driven and impactful advertising campaigns.”

Kansteiner’s advice underscores the importance of using AI to enhance various aspects of digital marketing while maintaining human oversight for strategic decisions and brand consistency.

Being Prepared to Pivot

Jay Pattisall, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester and Lisa Gately, Principal Analyst at Forrester, emphasizes in their report “Advance GenAI Marketing From Pilot Projects To Proficiency” the importance of adaptability in the rapidly changing world of AI:

“Be prepared to pivot given the rate of change in the AI world. GenAI adoption involves managing persistent change and turning setbacks into successes. Promote and reward adaptability within the marketing organization as your pilot projects reveal what’s viable and the best uses. Encourage marketers to share what they’ve learned, including areas that aren’t the best use cases. Your team will thrive as a result.”

This advice highlights the need for flexibility and a culture of continuous learning when implementing GenAI in marketing strategies.

Starting Small and Measure

Joyce Gordon, Head of Generative AI at Amperity, emphasizes the importance of starting with small, measurable use cases. She advises:

“My advice to brands and organizations when rolling out AI: start small. I recommend starting with a small use case that’s highly measurable and one that doesn’t require major change. One place where marketers have seen a lot of success is just with subject line optimization or optimizing the body of emails or paid media ads. Since you can have a human in the loop here, it’s a great opportunity to experiment with creating different segmentation strategies and different messages. And it’s also really easy to measure and determine if those approaches are working or not.”

This approach allows for experimentation without major disruptions and provides clear metrics to evaluate success. Marketers can gain valuable insights and experience with GenAI by starting small before scaling up to more complex applications.

Reverse Engineering for Success

Mike Edmonds, Sr. Director of AI Strategy, Global Retail and Consumer Goods, Microsoft advises: “Work backwards from the unmet needs and opportunities that your customers and employees face. The features and capabilities of generative AI are incredible – and with the exponential pace of change and advancements, the capabilities to come will be even more impressive. Brands and businesses that harness these powerful capabilities to unlock productivity, unleash creativity, and augment human potential will have the biggest impact. The Copilot metaphor at Microsoft not only references our technology stack, but also inspires brands and businesses to explore how every person and organization on the planet can achieve more in the era of AI transformation.”

Integrating Human Input with AI Capabilities

While AI offers powerful analytical capabilities, strategic human input remains crucial. Marketers should strive to find the right balance between AI-driven insights and human creativity and judgment. This integration allows for the best of both worlds: the data-processing power and pattern recognition of AI combined with the nuanced understanding and creative thinking of humans.

By maintaining this balance, marketers can ensure that AI-generated content and strategies align with brand values and resonate with target audiences. Human oversight also helps to catch and correct any potential biases or errors in AI-generated outputs, ensuring the highest quality of marketing materials and strategies.

As GenAI continues to change the marketing landscape, those who implement it thoughtfully and strategically will have the greatest success. Start small with measurable outcomes, balance innovation with feasibility, and use AI as a co-pilot while staying adaptable. By viewing AI as a tool to enhance, not replace, human marketers, you can drive more efficient, effective, and impactful campaigns. This approach leads to new levels of creativity and performance in marketing efforts.

Formed from the unification of two prominent creative agencies within the industry – Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R, VML has established itself as an agency equipped to support clients on creative brand strategies and transformation initiatives, all powered by deep data, marketing technology, and platform expertise. With this in mind, it takes a special type of leadership to ensure that all these capabilities are met and delivered proficiently.

For Samir Gupte, CEO of VML Indonesia, leading this agency is built on an approach that focuses on a culture of transparency, respect, an environment that motivates everyone to do better, and a leader that leads by doing and supporting at the same time. 

Making internal improvements

Elaborating more on his leadership philosophy, Samir says that the biggest barriers to growth are mostly ‘internal’, citing that the pain points are not so much about the work itself, but about the peripheral issues.

Whether it is interpersonal dynamics, clarity on what every individual or team needs to achieve, or making hard processes easier, Samir explains that his focus is ensuring that all those internal hurdles are reshaped to help people to do their best.

“We cannot possibly control or manage what happens in people’s lives outside the office. But what we can do is create a culture where people love to come to work to create the work they love. They need to be happy with what they are creating or contributing to,” he added.

Visualising and organising goals

One of the unique initiatives implemented by Samir to keep the team engaged is a ‘Vision’ workshop with their leadership team, which breaks down their goals and ambitions into a concrete, tangible and measurable road map which could be tracked every month.

Samir also shares that VML Indonesia has a ‘Rising’ Leadership Team initiative that prepares team members to become future leaders of VML Indonesia, bi-monthly town halls for progress updates where they discuss key issues, celebrate wins, and welcome new joiners.

Furthermore, Samir mentions that VML Indonesia focuses greatly on training by creating a ‘Business 101’ session to strengthen the business orientation for the team, open dialogues in the office with a special channel for people to ask questions and address concerns, and a ‘regional leadership development programme to provide larger exposure, and to learn from the other leaders within the region, which can be shared with the wider teams.

Prioritising quality execution

Talking about the challenges faced by VML Indonesia, Samir mentioned the rise of smaller agencies which positioned themselves as the ‘cheaper & faster’ alternative. “A lot of execution work did shift to these smaller local agencies, but we did not want to compete against these,” he explained.

However, Samir said that sticking to their quality of offering allowed for them to thrive within the current landscape where clients are now looking for business solutions that go beyond basic communication and execution.

“In the increased competitive scenario, clients want to know how to make their brands meaningful, differentiated and relevant to their audiences. Through VML’s offering connecting Brand Experience, Customer Experience and Commerce, we have been able to drive sustainable growth for their brands and in turn our business,” Samir mentioned.

Driving creative success

Reflecting on their approach, Samir shares that VML Indonesia has seen some great changes internally. There is now a stronger sense of ownership with everyone seeing a clear vision for the company and their roles as well as a positive and collaborative atmosphere in the workplace that promotes transparency, more meaningful conversations, and initiatives that really resonate with the team.

Through these improvements, VML Indonesia has acquired significant achievements during the last six months, being the first Indonesian agency to secure a Grand Prix award and the only agency from Indonesia to win a Cannes Lion for 2024. The Indonesian team also led and won an ASEAN-level pitch which was spread across eight markets, and their six month attrition rate has significantly decreased this year and well below the average of the industry in Indonesia.

Talking about how he approaches his way of leading, Samir shared, “First, if a person feels more confident and better about themself after interacting with you, and is inspired to do better, you have done your job. Second, not all conversations or meetings start well- but make sure to end all conversations on a positive note. Whether it is a difficult conversation or a critical feedback, focus on the positive impact that you want to achieve. Lastly, focus on the problem that you want to solve, not on the person or the situation.”

Bangkok, Thailand – KFC Thailand added a unique twist to International Fried Chicken Day with the “KFC Crow Order” campaign, which allows fried chicken consumers to receive a free chicken meal topping-up by crowing aloud and using their voices. 

On July 6, 2024, KFC outlets heightened the excitement as customers came to take part in the entertaining “Crow-for-your-supper” event. 

Customers had to make chicken noises at the counter, like “Ek Ek Ek Ek” or “Cock-a-doodle-doo,” and flap their arms like chicken wings to be eligible to participate. Additionally, when placing their orders, they had to use names that were inspired by chickens, such as “On-Ai-Et” for the Donjai Set, “Or-Ai-Uck-Et” for the Porjai Bucket, or “Uer-Auk-Ek-Ae-Uer” for The Box Signature. This funny procedure raised the event’s level of enjoyment. 

This was more popular than anyone could have predicted, with many people clucking away from the store as soon as it opened. Some even dressed up as chickens to join the fun. Fans demonstrated a range of inventive approaches, from melodious chicken songs to rhythmic crowing. 

With thousands of interactions and shares, over 2 million potential social media views, and over 2.2 million views in a single day on TikTok, the event went viral on social media. 

For fried chicken fans who were unable to attend, this was event held on July 6 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM in three specific locations: KFC Future Park Rangsit, KFC Central Plaza Phitsanulok, and KFC Soi 8 (KFC Meet & Eat) in Nakhon Pathom. It was a one-day event only. KFC invites people to follow the excitement online to keep informed about one-day-only activations like this one, so they never miss an opportunity to crow for their dinner. 

Speaking about the campaign, Suhayl Limbada, market lead and chief marketing officer at KFC Thailand, said, “As a fried chicken brand, our heart and soul is light hearted and injecting that fun into the lives of our customers and our teams is a daily mission for us. We decided to go big this International Fried Chicken Day with Our ‘Crow to Get Fried Chicken’ stunt. The more people brought out their inner chicken, the more they were rewarded with our Finger Lickin’ Good chicken! Our fans absolutely loved it and suffice to say, our restaurants were buzzing with Thailand’s best cluckers!” 

Limbada added, “To all those who participated, our hats (and bowties) off to you for being the best KFC fans in the world.” 

Singapore – Food and grocery delivery platform foodpanda has launched its latest ‘Meal For One’ initiative, offering curated set menus designed for solo diners at lower prices.

With Meal For One, customers can now order single-person meals on the foodpanda app without a minimum order value and enjoy lower delivery fees, making it easier and more affordable to order food for one.

The feature is currently available in seven markets in Asia, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Myanmar.

With close to 20,000 restaurants offering Meal For One menu options, this initiative will be reinforced and rolled out across the region in the coming months.

Additionally, the order process has been streamlined for minimum fuss and maximum convenience. Customers can access the Meal For One menu through a dedicated category on the app homepage, ensuring they can quickly find their desired items.

Furthermore, they can easily customise their drinks and sides with simple add-ons, reducing choice paralysis and simplifying meal decisions.

Talking about this initiative, Luc Andreani, chief operating officer at foodpanda, said, “More people in Asia are moving to urban areas and living alone for work. Meal For One is perfect for these solo diners, allowing them to order exactly what they need, without a minimum delivery order value.”

“It also caters to their busy lifestyles via curated and affordable set menus, reducing choice overload often experienced when browsing on food delivery apps,” he added.

Singapore – Singapore Airlines has emerged as the leader in market research firm YouGov’s ‘Recommend Rankings 2024’ in Singapore, achieving a score of 85.0.

On the other hand, YouGov’s data also highlights the ten most improved brands over the past year, with Singtel Broadband ranking first in Singapore.

Despite facing controversy over a turbulent flight this year, Singapore Airlines has upheld its position as the most recommended brand among customers in Singapore.

Alongside Singapore Airlines, Emirates secures second place with a score of 84.5, followed by Japanese fashion retail chain Uniqlo in third with 83.3. Apple and its smartphone brand iPhone are positioned fourth (80.8) and seventh (78.6), respectively. Nike holds the fifth spot (79.7), closely followed by Adidas in sixth (79.1).

The rankings are based on YouGov Brand Index’s positive ‘Recommend’ score, which measures the percentage of a brand’s customers who would recommend it to a friend or colleague.

In terms of brand improvement, Singtel Broadband has shown the most significant improvement, with a score change from 39.5 to 45.3, followed closely by Food Republic with an improvement of +5.8.

Head & Shoulders and Food Junction rank third (change in score of +5.4) and fourth (+5.3) among improvers, with M1 Mobile (5.2), CNN (5.2), Shokubutsu (5.1), Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (5.1), J&T Express (5.0), and Airbnb (4.9) also making significant strides in Singapore.

Vietnam – Huda, a Vietnamese beer brand owned by Carlsberg Vietnam, has collaborated with creative agency MullenLowe Mishra to launch its first-ever youth focused brand extension that invites young people to join an endless ‘Wave of Fun’.

Drawing inspiration from the brand’s logo of a wave, Huda’s Wave of Fun campaign aims to sweep people up towards the next epic party just as one is winding down, leading youths to exciting and memorable experiences.

In a campaign running until the end of this month, the “Wave of Fun” is dramatised via a new video launched across national television, social media channels and LED screens across provinces.

Digital activations have also been launched, leveraging AI to create an immersive experience for consumers, while nationwide on-ground events have reached 114,000 participants. An ‘Under the Cap’ (UTC) promotion aligned to the theme has also successfully triggered trials with 178% volume growth, whilst the campaign video has earned more than 1 million views on YouTube.

Talking about the campaign, Dang Dinh Chinh, brand director, core beer at Carlsberg Vietnam, said, “With our latest offering, Huda Ice Twist, we wanted to uphold and refresh our brand legacy and we believe this will become the choice for young people’s fun times thanks to its youthful vibe, smooth, easy-to-drink taste and highly evocative brand proposition built around keeping the fun going.”

Meanwhile, Saby Mishra, CEO of MullenLowe Mishra, commented, “For us, Huda Ice Twist was more than just a beer campaign. It marks the birth of a new beer brand in Vietnam by carefully leveraging the legacy of an icon, crafting a compelling new proposition based on real insight and building a distinctive brand code that’s caught the attention of younger cohorts in Vietnam.”

“It is great to see ‘Wave of Fun’ roll out after months of meticulous work by our teams in partnership with the Huda brand team at Carlsberg Vietnam. We are proud to be playing a part in expanding this iconic local beer franchise in Vietnam,” he added.

Singapore – Tinder, the dating app, has launched a new phase of its global campaign, “It Starts With a Swipe,” featuring the most beautiful meet-cutes: the first messages of actual couples who met on Tinder and are now in a relationship. 

The campaign reimagines the romance and serendipity of vintage romantic films from the perspective of contemporary dating in a number of new video spots. Because meet-cutes on Tinder occur frequently, the campaign features singles meeting in classic rom-com circumstances. The conversation is based on the actual initial messages of couples who met on the app. 

In the post-pandemic environment, people are looking for deeper, more genuine ties. Younger individuals who grew up in digital environments now have a soft spot for the real-life “meet-cutes” of vintage comedies and films. Though some people long for the romantic moments of the past, contemporary daters may find the antics and silliness of classic rom-com scenarios to be a bit much.

The campaign highlights the modern meet-cute as a digital-first experience, complete with all the excitement, awkwardness, and sparks of any first interaction, by using real couples’ initial texts.

One of the films, titled “Rescue,” is inspired by genuine Tinder chats between Samantha and John and stars Lana Condor and Evan Mock. It imagines Samantha and John’s first interaction if they had met in person. In a library, Samantha falls from a ladder while reaching for a book, and John saves her just in time in a classic meet-cute scene reminiscent of the rom-com genre. Samantha then blunders through a succession of sentences, with floating message bubbles displaying her actual typos from a Tinder conversation with John.

The next film, named “Rain,” is based on actual Tinder communications between Kate and Lain. In this scenario, Kate and Lain meet in a field of flowers after a thunderstorm. One continues to explain the specifics of her astrological birth chart to the other, who simply responds, “So hot.” They embrace beneath separating clouds, revealing the message bubbles from their initial Tinder conversation. 

“Taxi,” based on actual Tinder communications between Danielle and Matthew, depicts Danielle and Matthew colliding while hailing the same yellow cab. After starting a discussion with a ridiculous pickup line, Matthew nervously repeats himself, with floating message bubbles exposing how the encounter began with an unintentional “double send” on Tinder. 

Starting on July 8, the new “It Starts With a Swipe” video advertisements will be available everywhere on digital and streaming platforms. 

Along with the new campaign, Tinder will relaunch its popular Single Summer Series for the second year in a row, with events in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, and Nashville. Tinder users in these cities will receive in-app alerts asking them to join the Single Summer Series events throughout the summer. Throughout the summer, the campaign will expand into APAC regions such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Korea. 

Speaking about the campaign, Stephanie Danzi, SVP of marketing at Tinder, said, Daters today are nostalgic for the meet-cutes they’ve seen in old rom-coms. But the reality is that the rom-com meet-cute is the exception, not the rule. Tinder is where modern-day meet-cutes happen — just ask the millions of couples who have met on Tinder. A new relationship starts every three seconds, thanks to Tinder. This campaign celebrates those millions of relationships, and we were honoured to build creative inspired by real first messages from real Tinder couples.” 

Meanwhile, Melissa Hobley, chief marketing officer at Tinder, said, “Only 8% of offline daters say it’s easy for them to find a date IRL, and so many missed out on opportunities to connect in the midst of the pandemic. At Tinder, we want to empower our users to find meaningful connections that carry into IRL.”

Singapore – AI-powered omnichannel conversation suite provider SleekFlow has announced the appointment of Gao Lei as chief technology officer, effective immediately.

With over 20 years of tech leadership at Silicon Valley and tech entrepreneurial experience in AI and Big Data, Lei brings a wealth of expertise in building and scaling engineering teams, developing and operating highly scalable and available infrastructure, and creating innovative products that drive business growth.

Prior to joining SleekFlow, Gao Lei served as the CTO at LinkedIn China, where he was responsible for building and scaling the engineering team to support the company’s rapid growth.

During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in developing several award-winning products that have transformed how businesses engage with their customers.

Gao also holds a PhD in Data Replication/Distributed Systems from The University of Texas at Austin and has been recognized as a thought leader in the technology industry, having been featured in numerous industry publications and conferences.

Speaking on his appointment, Lei said, “I am excited to join the SleekFlow team and contribute to the company’s continued success. SleekFlow has a strong reputation for delivering innovative customer engagement solutions. I look forward to leveraging my experience to enhance the platform further and drive even greater value for our platform users.”

Meanwhile, Henson Tsai, founder and CEO of SleekFlow, commented, “We are looking forward to welcoming Gao Lei to the SleekFlow team. His record of successes in delivering transformative technology solutions makes him the ideal candidate to lead our future plans. We are confident that his leadership and vision will further strengthen SleekFlow’s position as a leading player in the customer engagement space.”

Hong Kong – Toys“R”Us has launched its first ‘Playful Living’ concept store in Asia at K11 Art Mall at Tsim Sha Tsui, aiming to make consumers regain their pure childhood happiness through their favourite characters’ decorations and treasured toys.

Having classic and trendy toys, Toys“R”Us’ new store shares a sense of kindness and warmth providing a new shopping experience in a relaxed, worry-free, comfortable, and fun environment.

To celebrate the grand opening of the Playful Living concept store, Ryan Lee, a local fitness trainer and artist, was invited by Toys“R”Us to have the 1st wave collaboration in the store to convey positive energy.

In addition of Rumbbell and Jacrbell products, there are also exhibits and photo points, creating a homey vibe full of positiveness and joy of life.

Different from the colourful and rich main colours of other stores, a large number of minimalist wood decorations equipped with furniture and household items such as dining tables and bookcases are used to create the dream room for “Kidults”.

The new store is stocked with classic and trendy toys, from Dragon Ball and Disney characters, to the recent popularity of Chiikawa, mofusand, LuLu The Piggy, as well as items with local characteristic can be exhibited in three main zones, “For Him”, “For Her” and “Together”.