Tag: Marketing

Hong Kong – DDB Group Hong Kong has acquired the creative and social media accounts for Tiger Brokers’ Tiger Trade trading platform. The agency will be in charge of all 2024 communications, including strategy and creative for branding, production, promotion, and social media. 

Building brand awareness and client acquisition in an established market of savvy investors is the brand’s main goal. DDB will have to help with increasing appeal, reaching a wider audience, and establishing brand presence. 

Tiger Trade’s low-commission real-time trading software provides investors with technology, knowledge, and inventiveness. The smartphone app is young and only getting started in the Hong Kong market, it already has over 2.2 million account holders worldwide. 

Speaking about the appointment, Lowe Low, Senior brand marketing manager at Tiger Brokers (HK) Global Limited, said, “DDB’s unparallelled creativity and strategic brilliance truly distinguished them in the pitch process and it is with immense excitement that we move forward with them. At Tiger Brokers, we believe in pushing boundaries and redefining possibilities, and with DDB by our side, I am confident that we will create ground-breaking campaigns that not only captivate our audience, but also redefine the landscape of our industry.”

Meanwhile, Koman Ko, managing partner at DDB Group Hong Kong, stated, “We immediately respected Tiger Brokers’ visionary approach and ambition, as well as their collaborative style of working. We can’t wait to get started and help bring Tiger Trade’s superior investment experiences to more Hong Kong people, helping them reach their full potential as investors.” 

Australia – Anytime Fitness Australia and The Hallway have released a new audio campaign for Anytime Fitness using the Find Your Fit creative platform, which the partnership launched late last year. This ad, which runs on Spotify and targets listeners across Australia’s most popular music genres, has a cast of distinct gym visitors whose music selections complement their training methods. 

Produced by Made in Katana and directed by Ralph van Dijk, the series of 30-second advertisements uses soundscapes from each genre to phonetically depict several worlds. These are told by characters brought to life by a combination of local and international talent, and are combined with music tracks. The ad makes the claim that you can find your fit at Anytime Fitness no matter who you are or what kind of music you like. 

Speaking about the campaign, Caitlin Bancroft, chief marketing officer at Anytime Fitness, said, “This is a great opportunity to evolve our Find Your Fit platform in a fun and contextual way, and creatively demonstrate that Anytime Fitness is for ‘Any body, Any time’.” 

Meanwhile, Jessica Thompson, creative director at The Hallway, stated, “What a pleasure it’s been to expand the Find Your Fit universe with the team at Anytime Fitness, and a particular joy to reunite with Ralph to do it. And if you’re as surprised as I was to learn Country is amongst the top 5 workout genres, I say we step into our spurs and see what all the fuss is about.”

Singapore – Global travel services provider Trip.com Group has signed two strategic memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with leading hospitality brands in Southeast Asia, namely Megaworld Hotels & Resorts in the Philippines and Vinpearl in Vietnam, reinforcing its commitment to the region.

These strategic partnerships with Megaworld and Vinpearl are driven forward by Trip.com Group’s ‘Local Focus, Global Vision’ ethos, aimed at enhancing the travel experience for inbound and domestic travellers.

Through these partnerships, MHR and Vinpearl will receive comprehensive marketing support from Trip.com Group through targeted campaigns, new hotel showcases, and enhanced product content. This also includes exclusive package rates & member rates, prioritised access on Trip.com’s platforms, and offering customers competitive rates and exclusive deals, particularly targeting higher-tier members.

By fostering this collaboration, Trip.com Group ensures optimised exposure, making it easier for travellers to discover and book their stays, thereby boosting the appeal of these top-tier accommodations.

Furthermore, Trip.com Group equips hotel partners with tools and data insights to adjust dimensions in real time, ensuring competitive rates that attract bookings. The programme also includes features to help hotels improve their search result rankings based on price competitiveness, customer reviews, and booking conversion rates.

Talking about the partnerships, Boon Sian Chai, managing director and vice president of international markets at Trip.com Group, said, “We have collaborated on several programmes with Vinpearl in recent years, and this MOU is a natural extension of our excellent relationship. We are equally excited to embark on a new journey with MHR. Going forward, we will further enhance the travel experiences for our customers globally while also showcasing the beauty of the destinations in Southeast Asia and their offerings, including accommodation.”

Meanwhile, Loleth So, group commercial director, Megaworld Hotels & Resorts, commented, “We are excited to embark on this collaboration with Trip.com Group, a global leader in online travel. This alliance will amplify our reach in the global market and attract more international travellers to our properties. We look forward to working together to deliver an authentic Filipino experience for all our guests through the Sampaguita, our signature brand of service.”

Hana Ngo, deputy CEO, Vinpearl Group, also added, “Our partnership with Trip.com Group over the years has been extremely successful, and we are thrilled to bring our cooperation to the next level. Together, we will elevate Vinpearl’s presence in the global market, delivering unparalleled value and unforgettable experiences to our guests.”

Manila, Philippines – With the rise of short-form content within the marketing industry through Tiktok and other social media platforms, memes have integrated itself as the emerging marketing strategy for brands and companies to garner interest towards their campaigns.

One such company who jumped in on employing this strategy constantly is financial service company Home Credit in the Philippines, as they are also known for their recent viral posts on social media sites through their sales agents and marketing specialists, with their ‘Transition Trend’ garnering mass attention as a recurring trending meme in the country.

With this in mind, MARKETECH APAC spoke exclusively with Chris Martin Alarcon, head of content and community management at Home Credit Philippines, to find out more about the usage and impact of these types of content to both audiences and brands alike. 

@homecreditph

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♬ original sound – Home Credit Philippines – Home Credit Philippines

Memes in motion

According to Alarcon, this type of campaign shows to a brand’s customers and the broader audience that the brand is not afraid to have fun and let their employees be able to show their authentic selves.

“Usually when it comes to financial services, we have this notion that the industry is uptight and serious—it shouldn’t be the case. At Home Credit Philippines, we not only take pride in helping millions of Filipinos with our financial solutions, but we also take pride in showing our entertaining, exciting, and approachable side,” he added.

These types of campaigns also help brands and companies turn the social media algorithm towards their favour. Riding on trends, using popular music, and adding the latest filters not only show your audience that you’re a fun and dynamic company, but also, from what Home Credit PH has noticed, gives a boost in organic numbers as social media platforms show your content to more Filipinos’ news feeds.

Home Credit PH’s Team has understood this and has been riding on trend after trend, and the team has now created a hit viral campaign with the ‘Home Credit Transition Trend’.

Rolling out genuine content

When asked about how sales associates and agents collaborate with the marketing team to release these types of content for Home Credit Philippines, Alarcon mentioned that this collaboration to put out content is built on letting employees simply create and be themselves.

The Home Credit PH Team decided to just let their sales associates be their authentic and fun selves to promote Home Credit’s financial solutions to their circle of followers and encourage their audience to buy the latest gadgets or appliances.

“Of course, we still need to think about brand reputation, so the team made sure to remind the employees to be factual and respectful—they still represent the Home Credit brand. We also remind them to create content that does not encourage violence,” Alarcon commented.

@sherlynbrazil18

MAG HOME CREDIT KANA! #ihomecreditmonayan #homecreditphilippines

♬ original sound – SHEROME POWER TOOLS – SHEROME POWER TOOLS

The impact of memes and trend-jacking

The purpose of memes and trend jacking in marketing content is generally for brand awareness and engagement, as they connect the brand closer to the audience.

With the initial viral ‘transition’ content created by the Home Credit PH Team, followed by the fun posts by their employees, Alarcon stated that the ‘Transitions Trend’ has generated over 40 million organic views.

He also mentioned how it was featured in national news, and influential, usually comedy, KOLs, started riding on the Home Credit conversation, giving them additional organic mileage.

Historically, sales associates have experienced product inquiries and even product purchases when they do content in social media. While we have yet to see the sales effect of the campaign since it’s only been a month, we’re optimistic about the sales the campaign will help generate.

Driving effectivity whilst maintaining brand identity

When asked about how Home Credit Philippines keeps their brand identity intact amidst these trend-reliant campaigns, Alarcon said that there are some trends that their brand can’t ride on for the sake of it, because it wouldn’t look very authentic. 

“We still have to connect our audience to the brand one way or another. That’s why knowing what your brand offers at the core is important because it will be your anchor to whatever content you will do,” he mentioned.

As a company, Alarcon shared that Home Credit Philippines’ philosophy in creating these types of content hinges on having a strong awareness of what’s trending online, their agility to ride on trends, possessing internal content creators such as their own sales associates to help spread the brand’s message effectively, and executing authentic and localised campaigns to maximise relatability and genuineness in delivering the brand message. 

The future of meme-centric campaigns 

For what’s next to come in the realm of trendy content campaigns around memes, Alarcon expressed that meme campaigns are here to stay to build awareness, engagement, and relatability and to build brand love.

Memes and funny videos are some of the most consumed content in the Philippines today and what can take meme and humorous campaigns to the next level is user-generated content by communities for that sense of groundedness and authenticity that feels natural and relatable.

“Particularly for Home Credit Philippines, we are in a unique position where we have gathered over 10,000 employees who can create content for us. A good lesson marketers can learn is don’t underestimate the ability of your own employees to create great content—because anyone can create viral content these days,” he concluded.

Singapore – GumGum, the contextual-first global digital advertising platform, has appointed Niall Hogan as general manager for JAPAC (Japan, Australia, and Asia Pacific), effective immediately. 

In this new position, Hogan will lead GumGum’s media advertising business in Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and growing JAPAC markets through sales, customer success, and operational delivery. As the team leader of more than one hundred employees, Hogan’s main objective will be to increase income while maintaining GumGum’s standing as a provider of innovative, and contextual advertising solutions. 

Hogan was tasked with positioning GumGum as a reliable partner for agencies and advertisers in the face of growing privacy concerns and governmental laws, all while focusing on managing the constantly changing digital landscape. His objectives include making GumGum the premier media choice in JAPAC and showcasing The Mindset PlatformTM as the company’s offering for contextual, creative, and attention media buys. 

Hogan will work closely with regional leaders in Japan, Australia, and Southeast Asia to strengthen GumGum’s position as a contextual media partner for advertisers and agencies. 

Having founded and grown four different media and digital businesses on two continents, Hogan brings his expertise to GumGum. He was essential to the creation and growth of essential Ad Science (IAS) in the UK and then in Southeast Asia, having been the company’s first non-US hire. Hogan most recently held the position of first APAC employee at Ogury, helping to develop the business as one of the area’s providers of privacy-first solutions. 

Commenting about his appointment, Hogan expressed, “I’m thrilled to join GumGum and lead its JAPAC operations during such a transformative period in the digital advertising landscape. As the industry continues to evolve rapidly, I aim to position GumGum as the ultimate choice for advertisers and agencies navigating this dynamic terrain. By harnessing the power of GumGum’s innovative Mindset Platform, we are committed to delivering unparalleled results and insights. Together with our talented team, we aim to shape the future of contextual-first advertising, where relevance and engagement co-exist with privacy and consumer trust.” 

Meanwhile, Sorrel Osborne, head of media, APAC, at GumGum, said, “We are excited to welcome Niall to the GumGum family. With his wealth of experience and proven track record in spearheading successful ventures across diverse markets, we are confident that Niall will play a pivotal role in driving our expansion efforts in the rapidly evolving Asia-Pacific region. His strategic vision and leadership will undoubtedly strengthen our position as the leading contextual and attention measurement platform, delivering exceptional value to both our clients and partners.” 

Singapore – TikTok has announced new business solutions to help companies chart new territory on TikTok, including a new suite of creative AI tools, performance and measurement solutions, and advancements to high impact branding placements. TikTok has offered companies the ability to be innovative in culture and connect with fully engaged and sound-on audiences.

Through these new solutions, audiences can get the chance to collaborate, learn, and listen to some of the innovative marketers in the business. With the goal of providing the best experience possible to brands, creators, and the whole TikTok community, they are eager to start the next phase of their journey and keep innovating their advertising products. 

Moreover, TikTok will establish the ‘’TikTok Media Buying Certification’ program to assist companies in finding the perfect partner to power their TikTok campaigns. This global accreditation enables digital marketers to demonstrate and validate their expertise in TikTok advertising, as well as strengthen the network of trusted TikTok partners for advertisers.

The social media platform notes that attention is drawn to and encourages interaction with TikTok-first content that speaks to the community. According to research, making TikTok-first advertisements increases brand favorability by 38% and buy intent by 37%. Furthermore, brands that exhibit a thorough understanding of how to produce content, especially for the platform, are preferred by 79% of TikTok users. 

Visitors to TikTok also frequently take tangible action after learning about new subjects, goods, and trends. For instance, 59% of users use TikTok to choose what game to play next, 61% of users have made purchases on the platform either directly or after seeing an advertisement, and 52% of users have done research on vehicles after viewing content on TikTok. 

With TikTok’s vibrant worldwide community, marketers have a chance to provide their viewers with engaging and enjoyable experiences. The platform also enables marketers to interact with their communities and completely utilise this entertainment potential. 

TikTok is constantly working to give partners simple solutions for mutual success and growth. TikTok, which has 7 million businesses relying on it to grow and engage with communities, looks forward to continuing to support businesses of all sizes in generating impactful entertainment. 

Speaking about the launch, Sofia Hernandez, global head of business marketing at TikTok, said, “TikTok is entertainment that drives impact. With an audience of over 1 billion users, TikTok offers brands an opportunity to be innovative storytellers and connect with their communities in unique and creative ways. We are thrilled to welcome advertisers to our 4th annual TikTok World to showcase our commitment to building innovative, industry-leading solutions that allow them to participate in the magic of TikTok.”

Sydney, Australia – The Australian Department of Social Services has launched a national campaign, ‘Consent Can’t Wait’, encouraging young people to take the first step in educating young Australians on sexual consent, by checking their understanding and speaking to their peers about it.

Created by BMF, the campaign highlights the importance of updating our understanding of sexual consent by showing how the questions we have need to be talked about, and answered, before moments of intimacy.

The national behaviour change campaign aims to remove the fear and judgement surrounding conversations about sexual consent, and bring Australians into the conversation by turning the perceived complexity and inexperience surrounding the topic into an opportunity to learn about consent.

‘Consent Can’t Wait’ features a diverse range of real Australian couples, as they highlight the various internal thoughts and questions many Australians silently hold about consent – questions the next generation need to know the answers to.

Talking about the campaign, Christina Aventi, chief strategy officer at BMF, said, “We know consent is hard to define, but kids are learning more than we think, and we can’t leave it to chance and hope for the best. So, the first step is to educate ourselves and get to a shared understanding. Because before we can teach young people what’s right and wrong about consent, we need to get clearer ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Kiah Nicholas, associate creative director at BMF, commented, “From casting real couples to an intimacy coordinator on set, to wardrobe autonomy, to consent over how the scenes were set; consent was integrated into every facet of the campaign process. It was critical to us that our campaign didn’t just talk the consensual talk but walked the consensual walk. After all, if we can’t act with consent, how can we expect the Australian public to?”

The campaign is rolled out on May 26 across the country and includes TV, cinema, online video, social, and OOH. Additionally, the Department of Social Services and BMF have launched a website where Australians can check their understanding of sexual consent and challenge what they think they know about the topic.

Mumbai, India – The branded content division of Network18, News18 Studio, has announced the appointment of Bobby Pawar as creative consultant. Pawar will oversee creative projects and integrate cutting-edge solutions into brand strategies in close collaboration with the network’s branded content team in this capacity. 

Having worked in the advertising industry for more than 30 years, Pawar is known for his effective work for many different businesses. Over the course of his career, he has won over 400 honours. 

Pawar was chairman & chief creative officer of Havas Group before coming to News18 Studio. Additionally, he had positions as CCO at Publicis and JWT India, where he is credited with rebuilding the agencies’ creative reputations and financial success. 

Speaking about the appointment, S Shivakumar, president, News18 Studio, said, “At News18 Studios, we integrate newsworthy content with a story-first approach to drive conversations and achieve brand objectives. Having someone of Bobby’s stature with us will energise our creative endeavours and also inspire our young team. We look forward to Bobby helping us deliver more impactful solutions that resonate with our brand partners.” 

Meanwhile, Pawar expressed,“It’s an exciting step for me to help create powerful brand stories through engaging content after having done my bit in conventional advertising. I am thrilled to join the talented team at Network 18 and use my experience to push creative boundaries for effective solutions. I look forward to helping create compelling content that not only entertains but also inspires and engages audiences, and equally creates impact for brands.”

Singapore – Singaporeans spent more than 30 million hours on hold to address a customer service complaint or issue, according to new research, by digital workflow company ServiceNow. 

Data from the research suggests that the average person in Singapore spent approximately two full working days (equivalent to 16.1 hours) on hold last year equivalent to a staggering loss of S$1.24 billion in wages nationwide.

According to the study, 34% of Singaporeans are having to resolve issues by themselves because of poor service, with their top frustrations including having to repeat their issues to multiple people/departments (60%), being transferred to multiple people or departments (53%), and the relentless wait on hold (42%).

With this in mind, respondents believe the nation is ‘stuck on hold’ due to staff not having any power to make decisions/resolve issue (52%), lack of ownership and responsibility between different departments (48%), inefficient communications within the organisations (48%), customer service departments being understaffed or overwhelmed (47%), and customer service staff not listening to the customer (40%).

72% of Singaporeans have even less patience with bad service because of inflated costs; with a similar number of locals (70%) thinking that customer service is getting worse because companies are cutting costs. 70% of Singaporeans also reported encountering service disruptions from key providers. On average, each Singaporean experienced two disruptions each year.

Furthermore, 1 in 3 respondents believe that the time they spent on hold in 2023 is an increase from the previous year; almost 1 in 2 respondents (43%) believe the time it takes to resolve an issue has also increased. 43% of Singaporeans say their expectations of an organisation’s customer service department has increased in 2023.

Notably, the research also compared generational service experiences, revealing signs of a digital divide in customer service quality. Baby Boomers were left waiting the longest for service in Singapore, in 2023, spending an average of 5.7 days for their issue to be resolved. For younger generations, it takes around 2 days less on average to have their issues resolved.

When asked about the quality of customer service that they want to be provided with, the respondents cited that exemplary customer service for them is having the issue resolved quickly (67%), getting through to someone quickly by phone, chat or in person (52%), having an empathetic customer service agent who cares (47%), being able to track progress (46%), and a customer service agent knowing all your service details/interaction history (42%).

Talking about these results, Wee Luen Chia, managing director at ServiceNow Asia, said, “A better customer experience starts with clearer visibility of where and why processes are currently letting customers down. Only then can organisations invest in improving operations, to consolidate, augment, or replace the service gaps. Instead of betting on quick-fix solutions, customer experience requires a long-term commitment to building service roadmaps to progressively meet and even exceed Singaporeans’ evolving expectations.”

“To break this downward spiral and earn back trust, customer service needs to enable the service teams to do their best work. Routing the right people to the right process, at the right time will solve the customer’s issue fast – this is where automation and AI technologies can deliver their best work in the service of employees and also for customers,” he added.

Singapore – L’Oréal has launched the Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program in the South Asia Pacific, Middle East, and North Africa (SAPMENA) area, which includes Singapore. This open innovation challenge, a key initiative for the beauty industry, allows businesses to develop their discoveries in a commercial pilot and gain exposure to 35 SAPMENA regions. 

The competition highlights how crucial it is to collaborate on co-creation and co-development when it comes to beauty technology and marketing strategies. One or more of the following five challenge themes must be addressed by startups: tech for good, consumer experience, content, media, and new commerce. 

Since its 2020 premiere in China, the competition has spread throughout Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa (MENA) to take advantage of the thriving startup scene and substantial untapped consumer market in these regions. Just over ten years ago, this small space with only a few investors and firms had grown into a thriving hub that was experiencing a spike in transaction flow within the larger global startup ecosystem.

The Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program’s regional open innovation competition seeks to identify, foster, and support innovative startups from South Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and North Africa, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Startups that take part will have the opportunity to work on their beauty tech innovation pilot projects under one of five challenge themes: tech for good, consumer experience, content, media, and new commerce. The top three SAPMENA Grand Finale winners will receive a year-long mentorship program led by senior executives from L’Oréal and partner companies including Accenture, Google, and Meta, as well as a commercial pilot opportunity supported by L’Oréal.

The three regional online semi-finals in the GCC, India, and Southeast Asia will culminate in an in-person SAPMENA Grand Final. Up to 10 startup finalists from SAPMENA will compete for the top prizes on October 23, 2024, in Singapore. The judging panel will include senior executives from L’Oréal and its program partners. 

Speaking about the program, Vismay Sharma, president of L’Oréal SAPMENA Zone, said, “Asia and the Middle East are young, vibrant markets with a strong and dynamic startup ecosystem and opportunities for growth. Leveraging Beauty Tech, L’Oréal wants to uncover better and more novel ways of connecting with consumers and answering unmet needs through beauty innovations. We are on the lookout for unique solutions that leverage data and tech – we believe augmented tech, online platforms and digital services have great potential to elevate the consumer experience.”

Meanwhile, Chan Ih-Ming, executive vice president of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), stated, “L’Oréal’s decision to orchestrate the Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program here reinforces the robust innovation ecosystem and digital capabilities that Singapore offers to corporates and start-ups in the consumer sector. We look forward to seeing promising entrepreneurs with innovative breakthroughs benefit from L’Oréal’s deep expertise and extensive networks.”