Tag: Media

Singapore – In line with the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has called upon its member organisations to reconsider their media and marketing investment in Russia, specifically those investing in media outlets that are close to or effectively part of the Russian administration.

In a statement, they stated that they will continue to work with its members and partners in the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) to ensure that advertising investment does not support or monetise misinformation and will be holding weekly meetings to provide the latest intelligence from members, agencies and platforms.

Stephan Loerke, CEO at WFA, said, “In light of the horrifying events in Ukraine, the global marketing industry must speak out. Every company will have to make its own decision but our recommendation is that media investment and marketing in Russia should end for now.”

The organisation further expressed its horror at the needless human suffering caused by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, adding that the thoughts of the entire organisation and their membership are with the victims.

WFA also conducted a poll amongst its members to understand multinationals’ responses in relation to their media and marketing investment in Russia. Of the 31 global brand owners representing US$43bn in global ad spend who responded, three in four have reallocated, reduced or cut spend altogether.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused massive shifts in the marketing and advertising scene as well. Large companies related to media investment such as WPP and Accenture have pulled out of Russia in solidarity with Ukraine. Other major brands, from retail ones like H&M, Uniqlo, and Ikea; food brands like McDonald’s, Starbucks and Coca-Cola; as well as financial services brands like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express are part of the growing number of companies exiting the country.

Media-wise, tech giant Google also announced that it is halting its ad sales in Russia, including advertising to Russia state-controlled media on YouTube. Meanwhile, Russia has since then blocked popular online services such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and PayPal in the country.

Melbourne, Australia – Independent media agency Match & Wood has been appointed by food company Chobani to handle the media duties of the Chobani and Gippsland Dairy brands in the Australian market.

Through the mandate, Match & Wood will manage media strategy, planning and buying across all channels for Chobani’s yoghurt and oat milk as well as its Gippsland Dairy yoghurt range.

Steven Blakers, head of marketing at Chobani, noted that the agency impressed them with their strategic and data capabilities, integrated planning, and a thorough understanding of the grocery and trade landscape. Blakers also noted that there is a clear synergy in their brand values and a strong cultural fit, and that they look forward to working with the team to realise their strategic objectives

“We have ambitious plans for Chobani and Gippsland Dairy, focussing on the continued growth of the yoghurt portfolio and establishing Chobani in the non-dairy milk segment which is experiencing a significant uplift with Australians who are choosing to incorporate plant-based products into their diet,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Lyndelle O’Keefe, CEO at Match & Wood, commented, “Chobani has an origin story and mission that truly resonates with us, and it’s been wonderful to see it become a loved and powerhouse brand in Australia over a relatively short time. We’re delighted to have been appointed, against competition from global network agencies, to continue the impressive success they have enjoyed over the past decade.”

Manila, Philippines – MARKETECH APAC, the digital media for the marketing and advertising industry in the APAC region, has recently inked a partnership with the Communication and Media program of Centro Escolar University (CEU), one of the highly respectable universities in the Philippines, to officially groom media and communications majors for the professional world through a special internship program. 

Joven Barceñas, the founder of MARKETECH APAC, and who is in fact, a proud alumnus of the university, has officially signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the university on 2 February, to onboard media and communications students into the company and have them foray into their professional experience. 

Present in the virtual signing are Ricky Rosales, program head for Communication and Media at CEU Manila; Marietta Alvarez, the program head for Communication and Media at CEU Malolos; and most especially, Dr. Maria Rita D. Lucas, the dean of the School of Education, Liberal Arts, Music and Social Work at CEU; and Dr. Ma. Cristina D. Padolina, CEU’s university president and chief academic officer.

Lucas said in the virtual event that the university is always glad to witness students come in full circle – from graduating to the university, establishing their own endeavours, and then coming back to their roots to give back the school that moulded them; just like what Barceñas has presently done.

“And then finally helping us with the goal that we have of forming and moulding our students to be quality and ethical communication practitioners,” said Lucas. 

Barceñas, who founded MARKETECH APAC in the middle of the pandemic in 2020, shared, “When I launched MARKETECH APAC in 2020, there were so many aspirations and dreams that I thought of and planned. And one of them is to reach out to my alma mater, Centro Escolar University and offer internship opportunities to Escolarians and be instrumental in their professional development as they prepare to embark on a new and exciting chapter of their lives.” 

“Today is an exciting moment for me as the founder of MARKETECH APAC as this partnership allows me to contribute to the skills development of the new generation of communication and media professionals in the country,” added Barceñas. 

Padolina, CEU’s university president, shared how she has seen the internship experience becoming a substantial credential in undergraduates’ curriculum vitae and therefore expects the new partnership with MARKETECH APAC to be more than just an academic requirement, but a genuine source of professional development for students. 

Padolina comments, “It’s very good to partner with somebody who is from CEU because we know that you know the philosophy of CEU, [and] you know the values that we want to cultivate. So we’re very confident that you would be able to give a very good experience to our students so that it’s not [just] something [that is] a line in their CV, but it really is a strong contribution to their entire experience and to what they bring to their profession.” 

Rosales, meanwhile, shared how timely the partnership is, especially since during this period, classes are still implemented virtually in the Philippines, which makes it much more challenging to deploy students for their internship program. 

“[We were asking] where will we partner during this time that we will have a virtual OJT (on-the-job training). We don’t want to you know, compromise our students with other companies that [don’t] have [a] purely online [setting] during this time,” said Rosales.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – As the COVID-19 pandemic pushed people into lockdown restrictions, making way for prolonged work-from-home setups and social distancing protocols, media consumption in Malaysians have seen some significant change, statistics from a recent study from marketing consultancy Entropia shows.

The report stated that radio, streaming media which includes audio and video, reading online news, watching television and checking social media are the ‘gainers’ from this newly-found media consumption, while out-of-home (OOH) media, cinemas, newspapers and physical events have downplayed to become the ‘losers’.

Spending more time on Facebook and Instagram ranked first in media activities to which respondents engaged in during the country’s movement control order (MCO) with 58.6% followed by listening to radio while at home and working (34.6%), watching YouTube while exercising (34.2%), and spending more time streaming on Netflix and watching with friends and family (26.7%). 

In terms of age profiles and media behavior, the study noted that there has been an overall marked increase across age segments for Facebook and Instagram, with over 25% of all segments between 21 to 55 years indicating increased time spent on these platforms. A higher increase in radio consumption has been also among those over 45 years, while young adults under 24 years showed higher consumption of YouTube and Netflix. Meanwhile, those over 55 years showed the greatest increase in time spent on news channels.

The report said that increase of media consumption across all age groups can be attributed to increased need for news where viewers turn to channels they perceive as credible. 

“As people around the world sought to remain updated on the rapidly changing crisis, consumers’ reliance on media also increased, resulting in a more captive audience. Here’s where media companies and advertisers can benefit most – the opportunity to leverage this enhanced engagement, grow their subscriber base, and expand their reach,” said Syahar Khalid, partner for integrated media at Entropia.

“Our clients’ universal objective is to make an impression on audiences and break through the clutter. Going forward, media strategy will require retaining consumers’ attention where they’re most likely to spend their time – be it for leisure, career, education or wellness,” added Khalid.

“The Malaysian government has just announced MCO 2.0 and with it, brands in some categories will again face challenges owing to adverse market forces. Some have already made significant moves towards continued investment in advertising, and we hope this study will provide some clarity on the media channels appealing to their specific target audiences,” Syahar concluded.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – As global media and digital marketing communications network dentsu evolves its organization into three lines of business, namely Creative, Media, and CRM, the company has been moving and nabbing executives to officially set its leadership lineup. 

Just very recently, dentsu announced Prerna Mehrotra as its new CEO for Media, and this time, dentsu in Malaysia has also done its share of reorganization, unveiling its new CEO for Media, Dheeraj Raina. 

Prior to joining dentsu, Raina is global media agency network Mindshare’s managing director in Malaysia. 

Nicky Lim, CEO of dentsu Malaysia, said, “It’s fantastic to welcome Dheeraj as our new Media CEO and drive our ambitious business growth plans forward. With his impressive track record of growth, I have no doubt he will accelerate dentsu international onto an exciting path and ultimately, help us deliver on our business objectives.” 

Raina is recognized for his proprietary IP’s for retail, telecom, and travel industries in marketing planning and for his contributions as a mentor to SMEs and start-ups in Malaysia.

He brings with him more than 16 years of experience in marketing and business strategy, having worked with leading brands such as telecom Celcom, dairy brand Friesland-Campina, and telecom Digi, as well as hypermarket Tesco, Malaysia conglomerate Sunway, and personal care Kimberly-Clark. Prior to his directorial position at GroupM’s Mindshare, he was also managing director at digital, analytics, and marketing solutions ADA, running the country business for Malaysia and other emerging markets. 

Commenting on his appointment, Raina said, “I’m thrilled to have this exciting opportunity to lead all the media brands at dentsu malaysia –  Consider iProspect, Vizeum, Carat, dentsu X, Amplifi, Posterscope, and Amnet – towards being more solutions-oriented, integrated and leading the industry. Today, media agencies sit at the center of unlocking growth for clients, and with such power brands at dentsu, I am looking forward to building cutting-edge solutions and teams.” 

Singapore – Dentsu International APAC welcomes the new year with a bang by unveiling its new CEO for its media relations, Prerna Mehrotra.

Mehrotra is currently the managing director of the network’s Media Group at Singapore and will be taking on the new role alongside her existing position.

Prerna will be responsible for driving Dentsu’s global media strategy and delivery in APAC, ensuring its alignment and relevance in the market with “client-centricity at the core,” to develop an integrated portfolio of tools and capabilities aimed at maximizing the effectiveness, relevance, and performance of clients’ media.

For the new role, she will be reporting to Ashish Bhasin, CEO of Dentsu APAC, and Peter Huijboom, global CEO of Media & Global Clients.

Bhasin shared in a press release that Mehrotra was a clear candidate for the role, having joined the business in 2016.

“She has gone from strength to strength excelling in roles across investment and media. This integrated view across our media portfolio and her acumen of over 20 years set her apart from the rest,” he said.

Meanwhile, Huijboom commented, “I am delighted to have Prerna join my leadership team and drive Dentsu’s media strategy in this critical region. Her experience in key markets including India and China and her long-standing client relationships will ensure we continue to drive value, and excellence in everything we do.”

On her appointment, Mehrotra said, “The media landscape in this region has never been more complex. Over the past eight months, consumers’ expectations of what brands produce and how they behave have changed rapidly, and it will only continue. I am excited to be working with top talents from across our markets to create growth opportunities and long-term value for our clients.”

Singapore – The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has announced two new key partnerships: audiobook platform Audible and global multimedia company KC Global Media (Singapore), in upbringing the local talent of the country by digital transformation strategies.

The recent partnership is in part with IMDA’s larger plans of expanding the country’s media ecosystem that envisions a rise of innovative content and new opportunities for international collaboration.

Audible will be responsible for providing audio development and production training through its program “Audible Accelerator”. Furthermore, they will be responsible for finding and identifying local original stories that will be tested on Audible’s services globally.

“We are thrilled to work with IMDA and to tap into Singapore’s rich talent pool. We want nothing less than to find unique individuals to tell groundbreaking stories that could only be expressed through the power of human voice and create the next great audio series,” said Karen Appathurai Wiggins, vice president for content at Audible Inc. APAC.

She added, “It is a nation ripe with artistic talent but the audio and spoken-word category is still emerging. We hope to develop the capabilities of the artistic talent who have faced challenges as a result of the pandemic, and lay a foundation to new creative pathways and opportunities in the audio content field.”

On the other hand, KC Global Media Singapore will be responsible for collaborating with local media companies to conceptualize original scripts that have a regional appeal to countries such as Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan. 

“Technology advancement evolves the way consumers digest content and sets new market trends. Despite the challenging times amidst the recent climate, our brand thrives on pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation. We are thrilled to partner with IMDA in rolling out initiatives targeting local talents to develop new formats, produce original content and make it available on all platforms,” said George Chien, president & CEO of KC Global Media Asia.

The new partnerships are launched under the umbrella of Capability Partnership Programme (CPP), which is expected to benefit 90 local media companies and over 700 media professionals in 2021 through job creation and opportunities for upskilling.

Singapore – As chief executives of their respective firms, CEOs are sure mentioned and displayed a lot on online media, and this year, DBS Bank’s Piyush Gupta emerged as the most visible CEO in local digital media in Singapore, according to a report by market intelligence firm CARMA ASIA. 

Gupta had the largest volume of online articles that mentioned him, amounting to 90 articles from the period of May to October this year. CEOs’ visibility, or frequency of mentions, was studied on both mainstream media – which are local online publications such as The Straits Times, The Business Times, and The New Paper – as well as on social media, particularly Twitter mentions.

Gupta retains the crown, being hailed in the same rank last year. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines’ Goh Choon Phong received the highest social media engagement with 999 mentions. 

According to the report, Gupta outperformed other CEOs due to his frequent communication around DBS’ efforts to navigate the COVID-19 crisis. 

The report also looked into how ‘favorable’ the visibility of CEOs are on media, and for this strand, Wilmar International’s CEO Kuok Khoon Hong took the reigns.

Favorability was measured via an article’s disposition, such as whether a company appears in the headline, the tone of the sources inside the article, and the sentiment of the journalist and the media outlet. Meanwhile, the mood of Twitter mentions was determined via the tone of the messages as well as the type of emojis and GIFs placed.  

The report said Hong’s favorability in the media emanated from the depiction of Hong as resilient, financially sound, and supportive towards the community by giving away the company’s largest-ever S$7m donation as well as the firm’s acknowledgment that the business had continued to record positive performance in 2020.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines’ CEO Goh Choon Phong was commended for being the first to publicly address the news surrounding SIA including staff layoffs and pay cuts, as well as their rapid response to the backlash following new initiatives such as the ‘Flight To Nowhere.’ 

OCBC’s Samuel Tsien, Singtel’s Chua Sock Koong, UOB’s Wee Ee Cheong were also among the most visible CEOs with a total of 60, 40, and 22 articles respectively. These were due to their prompt responses to the COVID-19 crisis, assurance of the companies’ financial positions, and introduction of digital transformation initiatives to ensure their companies are able to weather the COVID storm.

CARMA ASIA’s Managing Director Andrew Nicholls spoke about the importance of CEOs being vocal in a time of crisis.

“In a period that has shaken confidence, the pressure on CEOs to provide guidance and reassurance to shareholders, employees, and customers has intensified.” 

Sydney, Australia – Tech giant Microsoft recently signed an exclusive deal with Australia-based immersive media company Imagine Room to launch the first Mixed Reality Capture studio in the country.

With features that include 106 cameras to capture holographic and 3D-video performance, the studio establishes immersive experiences for virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and spatial computing. Furthermore, the studio’s capabilities also host applications that are suitable for modern capture of human performance, which can be used for brand marketing applications.

For Paul Wiley, chief operating officer at Imagine Room Group, the recent collaboration means solving the issue of providing more authentic human experiences in terms of storytelling and virtual engagements.

“Our Microsoft-powered stage will move the needle in terms of how Australian producers think about shooting content and storytelling. COVID-19 made virtual engagements and platforms ubiquitous and Volumetric Capture solves many long-standing problems associated with adding authentic human performance into these environments. We are currently collaborating with cross-sector businesses and taking pre-bookings ahead of the studio’s launch at the end of year,” Wiley said.

David Whitaker, executive chair of Imagine Room Group added, “This agreement with Microsoft opens up significant opportunities for partnerships from enterprise training to film production and content marketing. We see massive growth potential across mixed and virtual reality headsets, mobile-first activations, 5G-powered browser AR, and immersive media production. Our unique studio will be a massive boon for the Australian content sector.”

First launched in 2018, Imagine Room aims to provide interactive media partnerships across Australia by means of their AR/VR immersive content and platforms.

https://youtu.be/ykwL0RoZM_8

“We are delighted to partner with Imagine Room to bring this technology to the Australian market. Paul and his team really impressed us with their vision for the future of content production. We share their passion for volumetric content and immersive experiences as a means to engage and connect people more deeply,” Steve Sullivan, general manager of Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studios stated.

Manila, Philippines – In a new study about the online content viewing behavior of Filipinos, it was found that 49% of Filipinos online admit to using streaming piracy websites or torrent sites. The results also showed that the numbers spike to about 53% within the 25-34 age demographic.

Commissioned by the Asia Video Industry Association’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) and conducted by YouGov, the survey found that out of the 49% who do use streaming piracy websites or torrent sites, 47% of consumers who accessed them have cancelled their subscriptions to both local and international content services.

In comparison to neighboring countries Malaysia and Indonesia, who have seen a decline in online piracy over the past year, online piracy in the Philippines is rising. Indonesia’s YouGov survey showed a 55% reduction in Indonesians accessing piracy services while Malaysia’s found a 64% decline. 

This decline in both Malaysia and Indonesia is due to the government’s proactive piracy site blocking initiatives which has helped in the reduction of online piracy. 

Currently, the Philippine government is looking into doing the same. A bill before the Philippine Senate (Bill #497) entitled the ‘Online Infringement Act’ proposes a regulatory site blocking mechanism which would empower the authorities to ensure that ISPs take “reasonable steps to disable access to sites whenever these sites are reported to be infringing copyright or facilitating copyright infringement.”

The survey results showed that the majority of Filipinos think that these initiatives will deter the rise in online piracy with 53% of them agreeing that a “government order or law for ISPs to block piracy websites” would be the most effective.

According to Atty Teodoro Pascua, Deputy Director General, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), Filipino consumers should not patronize pirated content because of its risks and consequences. 

“The wide variety of legal services in the Philippines which provide premium entertainment content are reliable and importantly are legal. The piracy alternatives fund crime groups, put consumers at risk of malware infection and are unreliable. Piracy only benefits the criminal organizations who are behind these illegal websites.”

Neil Gane, the General Manager of AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) also commented, encouraging the legal consumption of content.

“We are confident that Indonesia and Malaysia will rise to become market leaders in video IP protection in the region, as a result of their site-blocking strategies. We are also confident that other countries in Asia, such as the Philippines, will take note and follow suit, boosting the growth of legal consumption of Filipino and international content.”