Tag: Marketing

Singapore – AIA Singapore has appointed Socialyse as its social media agency of record. Through the mandate, Socialyse will be responsible for content production, social media strategy, and administration focused on boosting consumer engagement for AIA Singapore. The appointment will take effect in April 2024. 

The appointment follows the premiere of the five-minute thematic film “Confessions Of A Liar.” This film is a part of the launch of AIA Ultimate Critical Cover, the newest critical illness plan from AIA Singapore (AIA UCC). The film explores the intricacies of familial ties over a range of life stages, including a serious illness. This is presented through the protagonist’s lighthearted exchanges with his mother, who is middle-aged. 

Kenny Yap, managing director of Socialyse, Havas Play and Havas Red, expressed, “We are thrilled to provide AIA Singapore with our integrated services together via Socialyse, Havas Play and Arena Media. We know the power of integration and continue to see this unique offering help clients achieve their brand, communication and commercial objectives. With our shared commitment to delivering meaningful impact, we look forward to supporting AIA Singapore to deepen their engagement with customers and the community through more purposeful storytelling.” 

Meanwhile, Allison Chew, head of PR, brand, and marketing at AIA Singapore, said, “We look forward to working alongside Socialyse, tapping into their robust social media offering and seamless integrated services to further engage our customers and the community with more compelling content that resonates with their evolving needs. Together with Arena Media, we are confident in the network’s ability to drive synergies and effectiveness.”

Singapore – The Land Transportation Authority (LTA), alongside The Secret Little Agency (TSLA) is marking the end of its film series focusing on EV readiness in Singapore by releasing its third and final instalment of the film series, directed by renowned local filmmaker Jack Neo.

The third and final installment, starring iconic Singaporean actor Henry Thia, is aimed at sharing the electrification of public transportation driving environmental benefits. The heart wrenching drama follows Ah Hui on his journey to keep his promise to his departed love, to live more sustainably, culminating in his realisation that sustainable transportation is readily available through our buses.

The decision to collaborate with Jack Neo, one of Singapore’s most celebrated filmmakers, was a strategic one. Leveraging Neo’s unparalleled ability to connect with Singaporeans through his unique brand of humor and storytelling, the final film lands the message that all generations are already experiencing Singapore in it’s EV readiness with the electrification of bus fleets; all Singaporeans, not just vehicle drivers, have a part to play in driving our switch to electric initiatives forward.

The campaign–launched December last year–sought to educate Singaporeans around the ready infrastructure supporting the adoption of electric vehicles that exists today and into the near future through the use of cinematic films. 

The three films utilises storytelling in surprising ways, playing on typical genre tropes familiar to all movie-lovers to land tactical messaging on the nation’s electric future. The first film touched on the longevity of a full charge of an average electric vehicle through an action-packed film; and the second used a Romeo/Juliet-esque romance musical to bring to life the ease and convenience of switching to an EV through comprehensive charging infrastructure networks across the country. 

Nicholas Ye and Mavis Neo, co-chief creative officers at The Secret Little Agency, said, “We wanted this final iteration to speak to the hearts of Singaporeans, young and old. Neo’s brand of storytelling, brings a fun, familiar, deeply resonant twist to our series. We saw the opportunity to bridge the knowledge gaps between generations, through highlighting the diverse ways in which Singaporeans of all ages contribute, shape, and experience Singapore’s EV-future, as past of the collective action towards a sustainable future.”

Tokyo, Japan – Second-hand clothing store SAFARI and McCann Japan has announced the launch of ‘SECOND LIFE’, a social commerce platform created to help pass on pre-loved treasured clothing to the next fashion generation in a meaningful way.

With this initiative, McCann and SAFARI have created a new business model – adding the stories of older people’s lives to their personal possessions and selling them to the younger generation, to create a brand-new shopping experience.

Launched in March, SAFARI’s new e-commerce site SECOND LIFE, is a place where people can purchase second-hand clothes along with their unique histories. The online store positions the clothing items as cinematic masterpieces, bringing the apparel to life by telling the special stories of each item of clothing – first dates, treasured moments with friends.

Additionally, the purchaser receives their chosen item together with the “story” and a postcard with a picture inspired by the story. The item is also accompanied by a clothing label, indicating the emotional elements that constitute the story.

A sample of the postcard highlighting the woman’s clothes when she was on a trip.

Talking about the initiative, Kazz Ishihara, ECD of McCann Worldgroup, said, “When we interviewed elderly people about their memories related to the clothing, their faces lit up with joy. So, we decided to use their words as prompts for an AI-generated image. The art direction is composed of soft, pastel colours to create a nostalgic, gentle and warm atmosphere.”

Meanwhile, Yusuke Tajima of SAFARI also commented, “In the course of running our vintage store, we have had many elderly people use our service. The experience has taught us that each piece of clothing contains a story, be it the owner’s memory or unique style. We felt that these stories themselves give the items value. And that is how we came to start the project. We hope that the vintage items will serve as a bridge that connects the elderly to younger generations.”

Last Women’s Month, global skincare brand SK-II has launched a thought-provoking film, “More Youthful With Age #越大越不ZHUANG”, featuring a docuseries chronicling the transformation journey of five women as they learn to embrace their bare skin and true selves as they age.

This has catapulted into one of the most viral and talked about brand topics on Chinese social platform Little Red Book, sparking passionate discussions on how women are expected to look as they grow older, and courageously sharing the choices they’ve made to stand apart and find their truest selves.

To shed more light on how SK-II made this campaign to effectively reach the Chinese market, MARKETECH APAC spoke exclusively to Sue Kyung Lee, global CEO of SK-II, to learn more about how beauty brands can create authentic campaigns that resonate towards Chinese consumers, and what outlook can the beauty industry in Asia-Pacific expect for this year.

For Lee, consumers are at the heart of all that they do at SK-II. In order to serve their consumers better than anyone else, they seek to have the deepest understanding of the consumer, encompassing her lifestyle and values.

To achieve this, Lee shared, “We talked to our consumers in-store, held focus groups and did a deep dive into social conversations to find out the pressures and expectations that Chinese women were facing. And what we uncovered was a growing cultural shift towards independence and self-aspiration; to ‘unmask’ yourself and redefine society’s expectations of what it means to be a woman.”

She also added that their Chinese campaign is very much aligned with their brand values of authenticity and being true to yourself over many decades. Additionally, this coincides with their latest brand refresh, with a new brand identity with an increased emphasis on natural visuals and the authentic narratives of ‘PITERA’, their exclusive skincare ingredient.

When asked about how SK-II aims to differentiate itself in this landscape, amidst other international and domestic brands, Lee said that the key is to always keep consumers at the heart of everything that they do, being present and raising the bar in serving their consumers wherever they choose to look or shop, across all omnichannel touchpoints.

Furthermore, Lee attributes the strength of the brand to be unique through the narratives of their brand identity. “At SK-II, we have a powerful and authentic story with our brand and our iconic and exclusive PITERA. We are constantly looking to find meaningful ways to connect with our consumers through genuine stories of how and why SK-II with PITERA continues to transform the skin of millions of women around the world,” she remarked.

Talking about the potential challenges and opportunities that the beauty industry in China will face for this year, Lee shared that there is great potential for reinforcing omnichannel marketing in China, especially with the ever-increasing number of platforms, experiences and channels within the market.

Stressing the importance of this, Lee stated, “As we talked to consumers in our research, it was fascinating. We asked them about how much time they spent online vs offline, and no one could respond properly as consumers do not even think about or differentiate online vs offline consciously, showing how the digital and physical world are seamlessly integrated with each other in their lives.”

“We need to ensure that as a brand, we are present and raise the bar in serving her seamlessly across all omnichannel touchpoints she is on in China. This is a challenge as well as an opportunity for all of us in the beauty industry,” she added. 

Lastly, talking about what’s next for the beauty industry in the Asia-Pacific this 2024, Lee said that Southeast Asia has been emerging as the next frontier of luxury beauty opportunities in Asia Pacific.

“Markets like Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia hold a great deal of promise for prestige brands like us as consumers shift from mass to luxury and become very savvy with the brands that they choose to support,” she concluded.

Singapore – M1, a telecommunications operator in Singapore, has introduced its new sonic branding with an unusual musical arrangement, designed to capture the soul of the brand. The warmth, genuineness, and individualised experiences that the firm values is being embodied in M1’s new sound identity. 

Its fundamental components, which include guitars and an acoustic ukulele, provide a relaxing setting that emphasises M1’s commitment to fostering meaningful relationships with its customers.

Moreover, smooth vocals and light percussion are added to create a more upbeat and sounding experience. The telco has also included ethnic instruments from China, Malay, and India into a custom version of the composition, which reflects the multicultural scene of Singapore. 

The musical arrangement is M1’s commitment to creating a “Made-to-Measure” brand experience. It is offered in both conventional and cultural versions. It displays the brand’s respect for the varied cultural mosaic that sets Singapore apart, in addition to reflecting its core principles of positivism, authenticity, and teamwork. M1 celebrates individuality and togetherness while attempting to build a personal connection with its listeners through this aural identity. 

The new musical identity of M1 will be incorporated into advertising campaigns, customer support correspondence, and digital channels. The goal of this integration is to give customers a consistent and memorable brand experience.

Speaking about the new brand identity, Mustafa Kapasi, chief operating Officer for M1, said, “Our new sonic identity is more than just a sound – it’s a reflection of our brand’s values and our deep connection to the people of Singapore. By celebrating diversity and authenticity through music, we aim to forge stronger emotional bonds with M1 customers and provide them a truly ‘Made-to-Measure’ brand experience.”

Singapore – The media and marketing solutions subsidiary of Interpublic Group , IPG Mediabrands, has announced that Kristine Biti has been appointed as the head of KINESSO in Asia-Pacific. Biti will be based in Singapore at the KINESSO Regional Headquarters, reporting to Leigh Terry, the CEO of IPG Mediabrands Asia-Pacific. On Thursday, April 11th, her appointment will become effective.

The announcement comes after Matt Ware was promoted to CEO for Japan at IPG Mediabrands. 

Biti takes over as APAC Head of KINESSO, IPG Mediabrands’ tech-driven performance agency, and leads a team of over 1000 digital experts across 11 markets. They work in digital media, marketing automation, advanced analytics, commerce, and AI. 

Biti has 15 years of expertise in advertising, marketing, and technology in Asia Pacific, and she specialises in driving regional expansion, strategic collaborations, and organisational transformation within the industry. Her previous work includes as APAC head of operations, client, and growth at Media.Monks.

Commenting about Biti’s appointment, Leigh Terry, CEO IPG Mediabrands APAC, said, “Kris has a great reputation for driving operational excellence and commercial transformation. Her deep-seated knowledge of marketing technology paired with an unrivalled passion and tenacity for the forward progress of this industry, make her the perfect hire to lead our digital performance specialists across the Asia-Pacific region. We are very excited to have her on board.” 

Meanwhile, Biti stated, “I am joining KINESSO at a time of exponential technological advancements, ever shifting consumer behaviour and heightened privacy scrutiny. More than ever, brands are seeking expertise and agility as they navigate the complexities of data, analytics, and their technology stack. The combination of KINESSO’s innovative solutions, top-tier services, and exceptional talent is the winning combination to propel our clients forward.”

She added, “It is an honour to have the opportunity to work with Leigh, his seasoned leadership team and legendary KINESSO crew across the world. I am looking forward to taking the APAC business to new heights.”

Malaysia – Lion & Lion has been appointed by Malaysian mobile and digital services provider U Mobile to manage the telco’s social media presence for its brand and marketing services portfolios. The agreement, which began in October 2023, will see Lion & Lion apply its complete social media strategy and content development plan to improve U Mobile’s position as Malaysia’s 5G network.

Across U Mobile’s social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, Lion & Lion’s digital campaigns are developing with an emphasis on improving network and 5G perception, building brand affinity, and supporting channel expansion.

Speaking about the mandate, Bernard Lee, head of brand & marketing services at U Mobile, expressed, “We are delighted to welcome Lion & Lion as our social partner. With ambitious plans for 2024 to expand our brand presence to a wider audience, we sought fresh insights, dynamic ideas, and a partner capable of navigating this rapidly evolving market. Lion & Lion stood out with their enthusiasm and media-agnostic creativity, presenting digital and vernacular concepts for both product and brand campaigns. We’re looking forward to a collaborative journey that showcases U Mobile’s unbeatable ethos and commitment to customer enjoyment, as well as one that strengthens our position as Malaysia’s No. 1 5G network.” 

Meanwhile, Ham Maghazeh, group director of social media at Lion & Lion, shares the sentiment: “We’re proud to partner with U Mobile, an iconic brand that is locally grown, widely recognized, and loved by Malaysians. Our team is beyond excited to help shape the next social play for U Mobile, especially now with 5G, a game-changer that opens up many possibilities for both the brand and consumers.”

Furthermore, Claudia Low, creative director at Lion & Lion, stated, “Creativity drives our partnership with U Mobile. It guides how we position and showcase our 5G capabilities, how we choose our partners and sponsorship opportunities, and how we craft our content to unlock unbeatable moments for our audience with our unbeatable product. Our mission is simple: In everything we do, we aim to foster meaningful engagement and create a lasting impact.”

Singapore – TikTok has announced the debut of its leadership development programme, ‘TikTok Academy: Elevate’ across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

This program marks the first edition of TikTok Academy’s strategic initiatives in Southeast Asia for agency partners, emphasising their commitment to the media industry and nurturing future leaders within the industry.

Themed ‘Nature Meets Nurture: Through the Lens of the Future’, the programme will see TikTok working in close collaboration with a cohort of 350 emerging agency leaders with 5 to 8 years of experience.

These leaders will be nominated by their agencies and will fall under the categories of a “Changemaker” who takes creative action to solve a problem and spark transformative change, a “Storyteller” who is devoted to producing a compelling narrative using words, art, and science to share experiences and ideas, and a “Playmaker” who raises the standard of play within the team and puts others in a position to score.

Going into more detail, TikTok Academy: Elevate will comprise three bi-weekly virtual workshop sessions from 21 March until 18 April 2024. Each workshop session will present challenges for participants to take part in, which aims to either encapsulate the session’s theme or leverage the strengths of participants, enhancing their understanding of the evolving marketing landscape, emerging platforms like TikTok for advertising and marketing, and giving them space to self-reflect on their career growth.

Talking about this initiative, Matty Lin, general manager, global business solutions, TikTok Southeast Asia, said, “We are always on the lookout for how we can support our agency partners with the right resources to guide them in their endeavours. As we strive to be their trusted destination for creative marketing solutions, we hope that our leadership programme will significantly enhance the capabilities of next-generation talent to be self-aware future leaders of the industry. Together, we are committed to cultivating a partnership that propels their industry prominence to new heights.”

Sydney, Australia – StackAdapt, a multi-channel programmatic advertising platform, has announced the availability of Chinese language contextual advertising.

This program is aimed at marketers looking to engage with global audiences by browsing Chinese content.

Advertisers looking to target Chinese-language audiences in the US, UK, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and New Zealand will be able to take advantage of StackAdapt’s offering.

Three essential aspects for which the company has created Chinese-language advertising solutions are page context AI, keyword rule targeting, and browsing audiences. Advertisers will be able to tailor their messages to consumers who interact with material in Mandarin and Cantonese, as well as traditional and simplified Chinese. 

The Page Context AI technology enables advertisers to show native, display, and video adverts to people browsing websites that are related to a brand’s products. This patented technology works independently of cookies or other identifiers, providing an efficient targeting technique to engage relevant customers without requiring the processing of user data. 

Advertisers can target certain keywords and phrases that are relevant to their campaigns with the company’s keyword rule targeting service. With the help of this feature, advertisers may establish guidelines that guarantee their ads are paired with relevant content. Furthermore, marketers may focus their efforts on the audiences that are engaged with the help of the browsing audiences tool. 

Speaking about the launch, Liam McCarten, VP of sales APAC at StackAdapt, said, “We have widened the scope for audience targeting across the global web by creating a Chinese language contextual advertising offering. Our patented algorithm will automatically detect if you’ve input Traditional or Simplified Chinese, and will use the appropriate option for targeting. There is a major advantage for advertisers looking to target audiences consuming content in another language. Placing ads in the right context can drive a big boost in performance.” 

He added, “Our contextual products have reached a very high level of maturity, and we are pushing them even further to make our machine learning models even more powerful and predictive. The ability to offer Chinese language contextual advertising solutions will dramatically increase the consumer base for brands around the world. Contextual targeting is important as part of a toolkit of future-proofed marketing strategies.”

Jakarta, Indonesia – Dentsu Indonesia has announced the appointment of Anwesh Bose as chief growth officer, effective immediately.

In his new role, Bose will spearhead growth initiatives and foster collaboration across units to identify market opportunities that will propel dentsu Indonesia and its clients to achieve the next phase of growth.

Bose brings over a wealth of experience as an advertising veteran, with a proven track record of growing brands in Indonesia and India. His extensive background includes serving as president director at Havas Group Indonesia, senior vice president at DDB India, and chief growth officer – media at dentsu media India.

He has also held leadership positions at ad-tech companies, such as Supermom Business and Whisper Media. Prior to rejoining dentsu, Bose also served as president director at The Academy Consulting.

Talking about his own appointment, Bose said, “It is an honor for me to return to dentsu, where we are committed to driving growth and innovation for marketers in Indonesia. I’m in awe of the talents and capabilities across Creative, Media, CXM that dentsu has, as well as the impressive achievements that the dentsu team have brought. I eagerly anticipate unlocking new possibilities with our expertise in data, commerce, content, and influencer marketing.”

Meanwhile, Elvira Jakub, CEO of dentsu Indonesia, commented, “We have made steady progress thus far, and by strategically appointing a senior leader with extensive experience like Anwesh, we are charting our path forward to continue helping marketers unlock new opportunities and navigate the evolving marketing landscape. Anwesh will also be instrumental in leading dentsu Indonesia’s growth through transformation and integration of our emerging service lines. I’m brimming with excitement and optimism for the incredible phase that lies ahead.”

Notably, this appointment comes after Elvira Jakub’s appointment as dentsu Indonesia’s new CEO.