Singapore – Category pages gain the most engagement out of any page on a site with an activity rate of 32.7%, according to digital analytics firm Contentsquare. With increased activity linked to better outcomes for engagement and conversion, ensuring that these pages are optimised and friction-free should be a priority for retail brands preparing for the busiest season of the year.
That being said, data from Contentsquare suggests actions for brands to take in order to prepare their sites for increased traffic and drive additional revenue.
Firstly, brands should be able to prioritise customer experience to engage consumers in order to maximise conversions, followed by integrating tools such as digital experience and web analytics, as well as campaign tracking, to make the connection between campaigns and on-site activity.
Brands are also advised to embrace real-time analysis to fix issues quickly before conversions are impacted. Lastly, brands should always check the loading speed of their pages as slow loading times can present a negative effect on content consumption.
Despite a challenging macroeconomic climate this year, investing in a holistic digital strategy has never been more important. And with high web and app traffic and on the horizon, making a great first impression is the first step to winning over customers and boosting retention.
Albert Nel, SVP for Asia-Pacific & Japan at Contentsquare, said, “Designing a customer-first experience that drives conversion is a critical step for APAC brands ahead of the peak shopping season. The failure to find and fix customer frustrations on their journey will lead to massive volumes in lost revenue, not to mention customers who opt for a better experience at a competitor’s site.”
Tag: Marketing
Singapore – Deliveroo Singapore has partnered with the Singapore Cycling Federation (SCF) to raise awareness about rider safety. On Children’s Day, they hosted an event called “Deliveroo Rides Smart with Heart.” Deliveroo’s program aims to educate both riders and their children about safe cycling practices on the road.
The initiative is part of Deliveroo’s ongoing commitment to enhancing rider safety and aligns with their third annual Rider Safety Month.
More than 40 people, including Deliveroo riders and their children, gathered at the 100Plus track in the Singapore Sports Hub to participate in a hands-on, interactive workshop focused on safe riding. The Singapore Cycling Federation (SCF) started the day as part of Deliveroo’s “Rides Smart with Heart” initiative, by providing Deliveroo riders and their children with practical, actionable guidance to ensure road safety through a hands-on session.
The tips and interactive activities cover practical, real-world scenarios as well as road etiquette advice for riders. This includes manoeuvring through crowded sidewalks and dealing with difficult traffic situations while carrying food deliveries. These insights are useful as they navigate their daily food delivery routes.
Speaking about the Deliveroo Rides Smart with Heart, Shahfudin Mohamed Sahim, Deliveroo rider said, “Even though I ride for work regularly, Deliveroo Rides Smart with Heart was a good refresher for me and the practical tips that were shared during the session further emphasised the importance of road safety. My sons also had an extremely fun and enriching time learning about safe cycling habits, and it was heartening to see him take an interest in understanding what I do at work while reminding me to stay safe.”
He added, “We’ll definitely exercise these tips more as we cycle together as a family moving forward.”
Speaking about the partnership, Dr. Hing Siong Chen, president of the Singapore Cycling Federation, said, “We are so excited to team up with Deliveroo again for this year’s Rider Safety Month initiative. Following last year’s campaign where we held safety programmes for riders, we are delighted to now extend our workshop to the young as well. It is indeed important to cultivate the importance of road safety among the younger generation as they are the road users of tomorrow, and we hope to instil such mindsets through Deliveroo Rides Smart with Heart – encouraging and reminding both riders and their children of safe riding habits.”
Meanwhile, Jason Parke, general manager of Deliveroo Singapore, said, “At Deliveroo, the safety of our riders is of our utmost priority, and we are continuously ensuring a safe working environment for them and the wider community. This inspired us to develop this initiative alongside Singapore Cycling Federation this Rider Safety Month and in conjunction with Children’s Day.”
He added, “We hope this workshop was not only helpful for the children in navigating roads safely, but also served as a refresher for our riders to continue practising safe riding habits.”
“Since Deliveroo’s marking of October as Rider Safety Month in 2021, our initiatives have seen increased participation year-on-year from our riders and like-minded partners. We will continuously play our part in further educating our riders to practice good road safety habits – so we can together achieve safer roads,” Parke said.
Singapore – In today’s dynamic business landscape, the ability to deliver exceptional customer experience (CX) has become a critical differentiator. Customers, now more than ever, demand exceptional service and are even willing to pay a premium for it. And so, with growing customer needs and demands, businesses must learn how to leverage technology to deliver a truly seamless customer experience that will set them apart from the rest.
In this journey towards revolutionising CX, the capabilities brought about by artificial intelligence (AI) serve as a powerful ally. With AI technology’s ability to process huge volumes of data and predict customer behaviour, it can address customer needs and resolve issues more efficiently for businesses.
For Admir Mašin, head of platforms in Asia-Pacific at Infobip, businesses must develop strong omnichannel CX strategies to drive growth while providing a favourable customer journey across all channels. He further highlighted the power of conversations in elevating businesses, advising brands and platform businesses to engage with customers in real-time in their preferred channels and to be present when and where their customers expect them to be.
Mašin also talked about CPaaS X, a set of modular and flexible APIs that is made to eliminate the complexities brought about by CPaaS integration for platform businesses. He highlighted how Infobip’s CPaaS X speeds up onboarding and time to market, reduces operational load, and streamlines engineering efforts, thus simplifying a customer’s workload and giving them more space to focus on scaling their business.
Meanwhile, industry leaders Lisa Collins, director of experience platforms at Accenture; James McIntyre, customer experience lead at Cashrewards; Prerna Pant, co-founder of Radarr; as well as Mašin, also provided their industry insights on how brands can revolutionise their current customer experiences to become more future-proof and efficient.
The industry experts in Asia-Pacific shared their advice on what are the best practices in establishing the best CX strategy for brands and businesses aiming to revolutionise their customer experience strategies by utilising cutting-edge technologies.
Collins shared how important it is for brands to employ a life-centric approach when assessing and dealing with customers. She emphasised how brands that are thriving are those that focus more on how they can help people with their needs, personalising what they can offer, and improving the customer’s journey with the brand.
In addition, Pant also discussed the relevance of understanding customers at each stage of their journey. By using advanced technologies like social media listening tools, brands can track and understand what’s driving customers in each stage of their journey, helping them solve problems and anticipate trends in the future.
Meanwhile, McIntyre pointed out the importance of having the right measurement in a brand’s CX programme. Businesses must learn how to choose the right metrics and visualise data so that it measures what matters for the customer and business.
Mašin also suggested investing in conversational technologies, leveraging AI capabilities to increase efficiency while also fostering interactions with audiences to create satisfaction and drive success.
The webinar, titled CX Revolution: Leveraging AI Tech for Seamless Customer Experience, is made in partnership with omnichannel communications platform Infobip. It was attended by industry experts and marketing representatives from countries inside and outside of APAC.
If you missed going to the event, you may register HERE to obtain your on-demand access.
Sydney, Australia – Following a competitive pitch, global sports footwear and apparel brand, New Balance, has appointed Mediahub as its strategic media partner in Australia and New Zealand.
The appointment will see Mediahub undertake full funnel strategy, planning and activation across all channels for New Balance.
The collaboration was immediately put into effect with New Balance’s first running campaign ‘Run Your Way’ which was recently launched globally. Utilising Mediahub’s unique SCOUT Insights tool, the campaign is managed out of Australia and executed across Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and the UAE.
Talking about the partnership, Sue Squillace, CEO of Mediahub, said the appointment further reinforced the strength of Mediahub’s offer and its ability to strategically partner with iconic global brands.
“At the heart of our capability is data-driven strategy informed by our unique SCOUT Insights tool, which was a central part of our offer to New Balance across multiple markets,” Squillace explained.
Joel Hanlon, head of marketing for New Balance Australia and New Zealand, added, “We are thrilled to extend our already successful partnership in North America and EMEA into Australia and New Zealand enabling New Balance to drive a consistent brand message and effectiveness across the globe in what will be a big year for us in these key markets.”
Meanwhile, Darren Tucker, regional director of New Balance, mentioned, “We were impressed by Mediahub’s ability to pinpoint core elements of our audiences across so many different markets. In particular, they were able to identify New Balance ‘Global Independents’; an audience profile that we can localise to ensure we are reaching the right people, the right way, at all points on the customer journey.”
Sydney, Australia – Ogilvy Sydney has announced three key senior appointments, which include Jane Jacob, who will serve as head of strategy, Clare Lambert, who takes on the role of Sydney client head, and Emily Shum, who joins as its customer experience director.
All three of these appointments take effect immediately and require these team members to relocate to Australia to begin their respective roles.
Jacob has 18 years of experience, most of which she gained at Ogilvy in South Africa, and has worked with a variety of global brands. Her most recent position was that of senior manager for consumer and shopper connections at Coca-Cola Africa. She will be in charge of overseeing the Sydney Strategy team and working closely with Ogilvy Sydney’s chief strategy officer, Ryan O’Connell, to strengthen Ogilvy’s emphasis on performance.
Meanwhile, Lambert has two years of experience as a business director at Wunderman Thompson in London. Her background includes various aspects such as experience design and digital transformation. She has held several business direction roles at companies such as ORM and the specialised UX/CX agency Bunnyfoot over her 20-year career.
Lastly, Shum brings global experience from her previous role as global program director at Ogilvy Paris. Throughout her 14-year career, she has led digital transformation and loyalty programs for clients in EMEA, the UK, the US, and China, and has held senior positions at companies such as Virgin Australia/Velocity Frequent Flyer, Next Hotel Melbourne, NA-KD, and Lendlease in various international markets. Notably, she has served on UN Women committees in both Australia and France since 2017, lending her digital marketing expertise.
Speaking about the appointments, Michelle Holland, managing director of Ogilvy Sydney, said, “Given our ongoing focus on delivering the best outcomes for our clients, many of which operate in multiple markets, we scoured the globe to ensure we had the best possible talent to join the team. While Jane, Clare and Emily each bring different skills and experience to the roles, they all have the ability to apply their craft to solving a range of business issues regardless of the platform, fitting perfectly with our concept of borderless creativity. We’re excited to have them on board.”
Holland added, “Diversity of experience and thought is a valuable asset in any business, but particularly at Ogilvy where innovative, digitally led approaches are driving such strong outcomes for our clients, and opportunities for our team. Whether they come from Sydney, APAC or across the globe, this kind of broad experience is both sought-after, and welcome.”
Australia – Digital marketing and automation platform Constant Contact has announced its appointment of Renee Chaplin as its new vice president of Asia-Pacific.
In her new role, Chaplin will be responsible for leading Constant Contact’s growth in the APAC region and will be scaling its operations.
Based in the company’s APAC headquarters in Brisbane, Chaplin brings over 20 years of experience growing B2B brands. Prior to joining Constant Contact, Chaplin also worked for a variety of technology companies, from Australian start-ups to multinational SaaS organisations specialising in AI, automation, customer experience and billing technology.
This strategic hire represents Constant Contact’s continued investment into growing its presence in Australia following the acquisition of Vision6 in 2022, as Chaplin will help drive broader awareness and adoption of Constant Contact’s digital marketing platform in APAC and deliver value to customers in that region.
Speaking on her appointment, Chaplin said, “Constant Contact is well known globally for being a pioneer of digital marketing innovation in the small business space, and the company’s recent advancements in AI and marketing automation make this an exciting time to join the organisation.”
“Our Vision6 product is already Australia’s most reliable email marketing and SMS platform with sovereign onshore data storage and local customer support. I look forward to growing Constant Contact’s APAC business and helping our customers and agency partners develop stronger relationships with their customers”, she added.
Meanwhile, Frank Vella, CEO at Constant Contact, commented, “We’ve invested in APAC through our acquisition of Vision6, and we see an opportunity to build on that momentum to deliver even more value to our global customers and partners. I am confident that Renée’s experience and local presence will help accelerate our efforts in APAC and make an immediate impact on our business and our customers’ businesses within the region.”
APAC – Global health and beauty retailer AS Watson announces its brand refresh featuring a modernised visual identity that injects more energy into the brand, as well as a new brand circle that focuses on the brand’s values.
The refreshed brand direction aims to bring its 180 years of heritage to the forefront of the business with added vitality to propel the company towards achieving sustainable growth in decades to come.
Within the newly refreshed logo, a red-colour background has been introduced alongside the existing dragon and unicorn, symbolising a combination of east and west, as well as a nine-level pagoda, which represents ethics, values and respect.
The brand name has also taken a simplified approach by renaming ‘A.S. Watson’ as ‘AS Watson’, symbolising the past, present and future achievements of the brand.
Furthermore, the AS Watson Brand Circle is introduced to symbolise unity and wholeness in the organisation, bringing together its clear purpose, vision, mission and DNA.
AS Watson’s rebrand aims to embrace new opportunities, with the goal to be a first-choice shopping destination for quality health, beauty and lifestyle products and services on its O+O platforms.
Expressing her excitement on the refresh, Malina Ngai, CEO of AS Watson (Asia & Europe), said, “This marks a significant milestone in our company’s history. We are AS Watson! Together with our 130,000 colleagues, business partners and stakeholders in the communities where we operate, we are dedicated to love our customers and deliver our simple yet powerful purpose – to put a smile on our customers’ faces today and tomorrow.”
Singapore – YouTube has announced its collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Singapore and local YouTube creator, Naomi Neo, to create a video to raise awareness around scams.
This was revealed at the second edition of the YouTube Creators for Impact programme with the MHA, showcasing a series of anti-scam videos developed by local YouTube creators to raise consumer awareness around scam prevention.
Launched in July 2023 in partnership with MHA, this year’s Creators for Impact is dedicated to tackling the pertinent topic of scams in Singapore, working with 12 local creator channels over two months to develop videos to help people enhance their awareness and vigilance around scams.
As part of Creators for Impact, YouTube and MHA also launched an open call to the wider local YouTube creator community to invite more video ideas that further educate and engage Singaporeans on online scam awareness.
The total submissions showcased the creativity of our local creators in using their voices to tackle the issue of scams – such as a role play that displays different scam scenarios, an anti-scam jingle, debunking scam myths, and interviews with everyday Singaporeans on their thoughts around the issue.
Regarding the video to be produced, creator Naomi Neo’s idea of using comedy to highlight every individual’s vulnerability to scams was selected for its ability to convey educational messages in an entertaining way. Production will begin immediately and viewers can look forward to the video release by the end of the year on her channel.
Ajay Vidyasagar, managing director for YouTube Southeast Asia and Emerging Markets said, “Our creators know best that knowledge is key to combating online scams, and through their strong responses to the program, we continue to be inspired by their creativity and commitment to impart important know-hows in engaging ways.”
“This is testament to the resolve of our local creator community to use their voice for good through storytelling, and we hope more will join this effort to build a more secure digital world for all Singaporeans,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sun Xueling, minister of state, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development, said, “I am heartened to see our content creators stepping up to this important task of engaging different segments of the population to amplify anti-scam messages within their communities. This partnership underscores our unwavering commitment to combat scams, through cultivating a vigilant and discerning public capable of ACT-ing against it.”
Bangkok, Thailand – Hivestack, a global programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising technology, has expanded its presence in Thailand through a strategic DOOH partnership with Up Media, a local media owner specialising in elevator screens.
This partnership will involve the integration of 2,000 Up Media DOOH screens located in upscale shopping malls, office buildings, hotels, and residential complexes into the Hivestack supply side platform (SSP). Through private marketplace (PMP) and open exchange agreements, these screens will be made available to local DOOH buyers in Southeast Asia as well as global advertisers.
Hivestack incorporates Up Media’s most recent elevator screens, providing DOOH buyers in Thailand with a new form of audience engagement while also providing Up Media with an additional revenue stream through global “outside-in” purchases.
Speaking about the partnership, Joey Zhou, founder and CEO of Up Media, expressed, “We are excited to collaborate with Hivestack and we are going to scale up our inventory – aiming to triple it in the next 12 months. Exciting times ahead as we are offering advertisers impactful media for high end audiences in the best locations across Thailand.”
Also speaking about the partnership, Jan Harling, CEO of Virtus Asia Consulting, remarked, “I am confident that many marketers with a focus on premium audiences will view the availability of this inventory, now accessible programmatically, as a game-changer in Thailand. This opportunity aligns perfectly with Thailand’s recovery, marked by bustling shopping malls and offices returning to their full-capacity state. It promises a significant shift in the landscape of impactful media opportunities.”
Meanwhile, Matt Bushby, managing director ANZSEA, Hivestack, said, “It’s been an incredible journey for us in Thailand with the amount of growth we’ve achieved with our partners. We’re so proud to be building the largest DOOH inventory network with the addition of Up Media’s elevator screens, and are proud of the large number of successful brand campaigns we have under our belt already in the region.”
He added, “Our partnership with Up Media comes at an exciting time for our business as we onboard more screens in different formats across Thailand, located in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Phuket.”
Australia – CHEP Network has recently announced its appointment of Robert Stone as the agency’s director of people and culture.
In his new role, Stone will be leading the agency’s people and culture initiatives, in addition to joining the businesses executive leadership team.
Stone joins from Wunderman Thompson where he held the role of chief people officer across Australia and New Zealand. In addition to his time at Wunderman Thompson, Stone has held senior leadership positions at McCann in the UK, Asia and in Australia, and Adidas in Germany, where he oversaw the brand’s talent initiative.
Speaking on his appointment, Stone said, “It might sound weird coming from a People & Culture guy, however, I really care about ‘the work’ and I believe that we have one of the most exciting and interesting agency offerings, that is producing world class creative due to our deep Tech, Data, Media, PR and Experience capabilities.”
Meanwhile, Lee Leggett, CEO at CHEP Network, commented, “I couldn’t be happier to have Rob joining the team. Not only is he a brilliant people and culture leader, but he cares deeply about our industry and the work, and that comes through in his approach. I’m looking forward to seeing the positive impact he has on our people and our business.”