Tag: Partnership

Singapore – Cross-border payments network TerraPay has announced its global partnership with online payments account Maya to empower seamless money transfer services for Filipinos across the globe.

In this partnership, the Maya app will leverage TerraPay’s extensive global network and secure adaptable payments technology to provide its users with a seamless money transfer experience from Korea, the USA, Singapore, and the Middle East.

Maya will now also have the ability to expand its thriving network of customers, promoting global financial interoperability and inclusivity while opening new channels for customers to access convenient and safe payment solutions across borders.

The partnership comes as both companies aim to enhance the customer experience while ensuring the utmost safety and security of transactions, offering faster transfer times, competitive exchange rates, and affordable borderless payment options.

With this newly forged collaboration, Filipinos outside of the Philippines can have more accessible, convenient, and secure international remittances.

Commenting on the collaboration, Ani Sane, co-founder and chief business officer at TerraPay, said, “This partnership aligns perfectly with TerraPay’s mission of driving financial inclusion and revolutionising global borderless payments. By teaming up with Maya, we can serve customers in the Philippines with innovative solutions, empowering them with fast and affordable cross-border payment options. We remain committed to making digital transactions more secure and faster for remitters and customers in the Philippines.”

Khurram Malik, chief operating officer at Maya, also said, “We are pleased to work with TerraPay to make international remittances more accessible and convenient for our customers. Cross-border payments are integral to the increasingly global Filipinos with family or virtual work opportunities overseas. By leveraging the seamlessness of the Maya app, we are making it easier for them to receive money, save, and spend smartly.”

Singapore – In an effort to bolster their communications and storytelling engine, Singapore-based cloud data platform for decisions Human Managed has recently announced its current partnership with communications agency Milk & Honey PR. 

The collaboration intends to appoint a leadership role for the communication agency in organising their press office activities, thought leadership initiatives as well as fostering its brand awareness. 

This is in line with their mission to revitalise the enterprise service model tailored to the current trends in digital businesses that operate with complex data, siloed technologies and legacy architecture. 

As a platform for decision, Human Managed serves organisations of all sizes such as essential services sectors like finance, healthcare, education and government. They also offer outcome driven services, end-to-end accountability, speed and a cost-effective pay-as-you-go flexibility with its modular Intelligence Decision Action (I.D.E. A) platform. 

Following this significant milestone, Karen Kim, CEO at Human Managed, shared her thoughts on this affiliated appointment, saying “As we enhance our offerings, expand our product features and grow our portfolio of customers, we have an equally ambitious communications goal. We needed a PR partner that can translate our expansive products and services into media and customer-friendly messaging as well as build our communications and storytelling engine.” 

“The Milk & Honey PR team really took the time to understand our business, developed a strategy that will nurture our brand and bring the Human Managed story to life,” she added.

Meanwhile, Meilin Wong, partner and CEO at Milk & Honey PR Singapore, commented, “We’re very excited and proud to be supporting a company that puts innovation and impact front and centre of everything they do. We love that Human Managed is all about empowering their customers do better business, an ethos that aligns well with Milk & Honey’s own.” 

Headquartered in Singapore, the self-funded five-year-old tech start-up currently has a team of over forty employees and offices in the Philippines, India, and Hong Kong.

Australia – To embark on another transformative journey, ELMO Software has recently announced its strategic collaboration with It’s Friday, an independent creative agency based in Sydney. In this collaboration, the team is set to introduce a fresh chapter of its brand identity to drive ELMO’s distinctive qualities in the market. 

This move will engage in developing the brand’s new purpose, vision and values including the articulation of the brand’s reasons for their business practices, establishing a robust foundation for the company’s forthcoming phase of growth.

Beyond this strategic collaboration, the brand update also extends to embracing a bold and confident new look to reflect the big, bold changes within the HR community the company serves. This move is pivotal in navigating an increasingly competitive landscape, positioning ELMO as a distinguishable entity poised for a more impactful future.

Speaking about the brand revamp, Kate Jones, chief marketing officer at ELMO said, “The It’s Friday team have led us to a more distinctive and thought-provoking brand. At its most effective, our brand should encompass the perceptions, reputation, and experience that our clients have with us. Our new brand firmly does that.”

Vince Lagana, chief creative officer, and co-founder at It’s Friday said, “The new design system was inspired by all the amazing things that make ELMO a force in the HR world. It reflects the brand’s data and software capabilities in a bold and contemporary way that brings a breath of fresh air to the category.”

Singapore – With the success of the campaign’s first phase, Grab’s regional advertising platform GrabAds, alongside their collaboration with Japanese digital marketing solution provider Media Bank has recently announced the second phase of their tourism campaign for Japan Tourism Agency (JTA). 

For this phase of the campaign, they plan to engage Grab users across both offline and online touchpoints, from in-app ads to fleet car wraps and hangers.

It will be called ‘Discover the Incredible Gems of Japan,’ which highlights the country’s best-hidden secrets such as the picturesque landscapes of Awaji Island, Nagasaki, Hokkaido, and Aso in Kumamoto. 

Part of this project includes an in-app branded challenge, where a lucky winner can have the chance to receive a ticket to one of these incredible destinations. 

Previously, the two had already started the campaign earlier this year by featuring another side of Japan beyond its traditional tourist hotspot which includes scenic hiking trails and historical samurai districts. 

The said the project garnered a strong user engagement across four SEA markets with rates surpassing GrabAds’ regional marketing benchmarks. 

Talking about the success of the project, Patrick Ngan, director at Media Bank Inc. said, “We are delighted to see that the first phase of our campaign, designed for JTA, has resonated positively with travellers in Southeast Asia.”

“The campaign that leveraged GrabAds’ full-funnel ecosystem and hyperlocal insights has been effective in reaching high-value and ready-to-travel individuals across Southeast Asia. We are excited to further deepen our collaboration with GrabAds as we launch the next phase of the campaign that creates awareness of Japan’s secret gems,” he added.

Meanwhile, Dave Yang, regional head of sales and GTM at GrabAds shared, “We are humbled to receive the recognition and support from JTA and MediaBank to continue with the second phase of our partnership. The success of our campaign with JTA reflects the strength of GrabAds’ ecosystem, powered by Grab’s hyperlocal insights and offline-to-online retail media capabilities. The positive results demonstrate the promise of GrabAds as an advertising solution for travel and hospitality brands looking to tap into the Southeast Asia market when it comes to leisure travel.”

“Insights from our 2023 Southeast Asia Travel Insights report tell us that Grab’s high-value audiences remain eager to travel, including to Japan. It’s not too late for brands in the travel category to capitalise on the opportunity with GrabAds,” he ended. 

Following its success, GrabAds and MediaBank are determined to establish a significant stride in the same four markets: Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Singapore – Following the momentum of a two-year Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) signed in April 2023, as well as their previous partnerships, experience and travel services platform Klook and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have decided to scale up partnership efforts with joint investments of over S$2m to drive inbound tourism to Singapore.

Through this initiative, Klook and STB launched an integrated events marketing campaign to raise awareness of the diverse range of leisure events in Singapore, and will be rolling out a second initiative anchoring on STB’s latest brand campaign ‘Made in Singapore‘.

With a vast array of events to occur in Singapore such as the Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium, Jumptopia, ZoukOut, and Singapore Comic Con, Klook introduces unique product bundles to enhance the overall experience and facilitate further discovery to encourage visitors to explore Singapore in a more holistic way, in turn driving strong returns for the local tourism and economy.

For the second initiative, the marketing and tactical partnership between STB and Klook in Southeast Asia will focus on digital content powered by Klook’s network of ‘Klook Kreators’, which are micro and nano content creators and affiliates that aim  to drive engagement and conversion.

By using its Kreator channel to create authentic content, Klook is planning to leverage the power of social media to connect travellers to the best of what Singapore has to offer. From beauty and fashion to food, this digital-led campaign aims to engage and inspire social media-savvy travellers in Southeast Asia to experience the unique local Singapore flavour for themselves.

Talking about the partnership, Sarah Wan, general manager of Klook Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, said, “Singapore has been a key destination leading travel recovery within Southeast Asia, and we’re excited to once again partner STB. We aim to inspire travellers by highlighting how Singapore makes unexpected, diverse and unique experiences possible.”

Meanwhile, Terrence Voon, executive director, Southeast Asia of STB, said, “We are delighted to team up with Klook to strengthen Singapore’s position as a compelling travel destination and leading events hub in Southeast Asia. Our new initiatives aim to drive tourism recovery and highlight distinctive experiences that make each journey to Singapore memorable. They will also complement STB’s new Made in Singapore campaign, which showcases how our city transforms ordinary moments into extraordinary experiences.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – In an effort to create a revolutionary platform for outdoor advertising, pioneering car cleaning products company Armor All has recently partnered with global communications network Havas Malaysia.

This combined effort is set to leverage the use of abandoned cars as a medium to showcase the effectiveness of Armor All’s cleaning products. With Malaysia’s cars being neglected on several roadsides in the country, this particular campaign allows the restoration and renovation of the appearance of the abandoned vehicles.

Results of the project then observed that revival of the products was effective, with each of the vehicles displaying a vibrant orange sticker that says, ‘Ride Revived by Armour All.’ These stickers were positioned deliberately in the window showing the view of the car’s original condition. This created a compelling visual and drew attention to the transformation.

Following this campaign, Aaron Abner Ang, head of marketing for Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia at Energizer Holdings Inc., said, “Armor All has always been committed to delivering innovative and effective cleaning solutions to car owners. While our products enjoy broad visibility through our retail partners, we sought a medium that would unequivocally prove the efficacy of our products. The use of tangible evidence proved to be an effective way to achieve this goal. Additionally, these revived cars offer us a unique opportunity to raise awareness and bolster our brand’s credibility.”

“We are grateful for Havas’s dedication to the campaign. The creativity and proactive approach from the Havas team have made this collaboration a truly inspiring journey,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Donevan Chew, chief creative officer at Havas Malaysia shared, “Armor All equips car owners with all the tools needed to achieve a professionally cleaned look. We believe that there’s no better way to convince car owners of the efficacy of their products than by showcasing the results right before their eyes. The use of old, abandoned cars helps to amplify and dramatise the efficacy of Armor All’s products.”

Singapore – In pursuit of bringing a hyper-personalised digital experience in the market, the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) has announced its recent affiliation with Personetics, a global leader in financial data-driven personalisation and customer engagement. With this joint effort, the two are set to improve the customer’s financial well-being including financial literacy using the latest introduction of BPI’s AI-powered track and plan app. 

This new app utilises self-services options for depositing funds, paying bills and other transactions. It also generates personalised recommendations for active digital users based on their unique financial transactional data. 

Furthermore, the collaboration with Personetics plays an essential role in enriching personal savings and debit card data for BPI customers. It categorises them and offers value-added advisory services and 20 out-of-the-box hyper-personalised insights, aiding customers in managing cash flows, making informed financial decisions, and saving.

Following this endeavour, Fitzgerald Chee, head of consumer platforms at BPI said, “As the first bank in the Philippines, BPI has a long history of industry leadership, and today, it provides the most advanced digital capabilities of any bank in the country. We are proud to be the first to empower our customers with rich, personalised recommendations and insights.” 

“Personetics is an ideal partner in providing our customers with the tools and direction they need to become more involved and active in shaping their own financial future,” he added.

Meanwhile, David Sosna, CEO and co-founder at Personetics remarked “We are delighted that BPI, the pioneer in providing advanced PFM for banking customers in the Philippine market, has chosen Personetics as its partner in this exciting endeavour. As a bank with a long and illustrious history of providing innovative services for both consumers and businesses, BPI is an ideal partner in ensuring that Personetics is spot on in addressing consumers’ unique banking issues and financial concerns. 

“We are fully committed to supporting the bank in its effort to advance financial literacy and well-being and welcome the opportunity to work closely with BPI to create even more value for the customers it serves,” he added. 

Future plans including integration of credit card data will also allow BPI to provide clients with more tools to improve personal financial management and wellbeing. By incorporating ACT auto-savings and sustainability analytics, the company looks forward to assisting more clients in creating and reaching savings goals, as well as connecting the back-office to Salesforce.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Cloud services provider Tencent Cloud has launched its recent affiliation with data centre platform Digital Edge, revitalising the connectivity landscape in Indonesia. 

In this partnership, Tencent Cloud is expected to have direct access to ‘Edge Peering Internet Exchange’ (EPIX), operated by Gemilang. Through this platform, the facilitation and exchange of data among cloud users will be more efficient and systematic. 

EPIX also provides ultra-high-speed access as a carrier-neutral internet exchange platform. This tool is essential for connecting with the global network as it allows rapid and cost-effective interchange of IP traffic between carriers, ISPs, content providers, and enterprises. 

Consistent with their commitment to foster connectivity, the said collaboration also brings together a strengthened digital infrastructure in Indonesia’s growing markets.

Jimmy Chen, vice president of Tencent Cloud International and managing director of Southeast Asia, said, “We are pleased to further establish ourselves as a major international cloud services provider, hand-in-hand with EPIX in Jakarta. This achievement is a testament to our 20+ years of experience in technological innovation and our robust infrastructure foundation. 

“By establishing this connection, we are taking a significant step towards promoting connectivity in emerging markets and driving the advancement of digital infrastructure. We are genuinely excited about the vast opportunities this collaboration presents and remain fully committed to accelerating the digital transformation across diverse industries in Indonesia,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Jonathan Chou, chief product officer at Digital Edge, also shared his esteemed support for the partnership, stating, “Digital Edge is committed to offering diverse connectivity options to our colocation customers, including providing internet exchanges to enable peering and foster a thriving digital ecosystem within our data centres. 

“Through working with leading cloud services providers such as Tencent Cloud, we are able to further our mission to bridge the digital divide and bolster digital infrastructure across Asia’s fast-growing markets, including Indonesia,” Chou ended. 

Presently, Tencent Cloud has already established a global infrastructure network that extends to 26 geographic areas and 70 availability zones, including two data centres in Jakarta, Indonesia. It has also provided 400 technologies and connectivity solutions to support enterprise-grade digital transformation. 

Bangkok, Thailand – Home improvement retailer Boonthavorn has partnered with Wunderman Thompson Thailand to launch its newest campaign that shows the complicated differences between generations living together in one house.

In this new campaign, Boonthavorn brought the spotlight to their ‘Live Our Way’ brand message with a captivating five-minute suspense film that features a grandfather and grandson living together, both having a hard time meeting each other’s requests as they make decisions for their generational home improvement.

The short films reflect the current societal context in Thailand, where move-out rates for families are starting to decline, with some homes now housing up to four generations of families. With this, the film highlights the fact that home renovations can become a tense subject, as all generations have their own personal preferences and needs that they would like to see in their home.

Boonthavorn’s campaign aims to remind families that home is a space of joy and safety, and, therefore, everyone living there must learn to converse and meet halfway about their expectations, needs, and preferences in order for a more peaceful coexistence.

Alongside the film, the campaign also includes the launch of an AI design conversation tool that allows consumers to input their dream interior vision to create a life-size ‘door poster’. Made by joining the capabilities of AI and Boonthavorn’s EVERYROOM team of room stylists, the free-of-charge design will be given to homeowners as a key visual based on their own ideas.

The poster will be hung on the homeowners’ room door to get a conversation started with other occupants. Upon concluding the conversation, consumers can simply scan the QR code next to the doorknob to access the shopping list quickly and conveniently on Boonthavorn’s website.

Chanat Choochart, deputy managing director for digital business and branding at Boonthavorn Retail Corporation Public Company Limited, said, “The move-out rate of family members has declined in Thai families during the past three years amid changing attitudes and social context that alter people’s behaviours in favour of continued living with family.”

He added, “More than ever, the home has become the space of family joy and the safe zone for many people, being the place of residence, entertainment centre, workstation, and leisure. A happy life therefore starts at home. At Boonthavorn, we are encouraging families to talk about expectations as the starting point of a co-created home space, which is the idea behind Boonthavorn’s ‘LIVE OUR WAY’ concept.”

Also speaking on the campaign, Park Wannasiri, chief creative officer at Wunderman Thompson Thailand, shared that data from the past few years indicates an uptrend in home renovation. 

Park said, “We want to connect Boonthavorn with this opportunity to capture business growth and build brand love among new audiences. To come up with the door poster idea, we began with insights into home renovation behaviours of Thai people. And with family conversation emerging as the master key, our challenge is to figure out what the brand can do to help people start it and enable everyone in the family to exchange renovation ideas in the most visual way.”

“Door poster itself, as a creative idea, is not easy to realise. It involves cross-departmental collaboration on the client’s side, including stock management and the EVERYROOM team of designers who have to work with AI to create door poster illustrations that match the needs of each customer the most. All these come true with multi-departmental collaboration within Boonthavorn and the fun we had while working hard together,” he added. 

Singapore – Sprinklr, the unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform, has announced its expanded strategic partnership with multinational advertising company WPP to bring AI-powered customer experience management solutions to global brands. 

In this partnership, WPP will become Sprinklr’s first global agency partner and both will collaborate to launch a new offering, CX Live AI, that connects both companies’ AI tech resources and capabilities.  

The joint offering will leverage Sprinklr’s AI+ platform, including its customised AI models and generative AI capabilities, and WPP’s own AI resources to offer help to WPP teams in creating optimised content that reaches the right audiences. 

Together, WPP and Sprinklr plan to create AI solutions that will help global clients deliver more personalised and consistent experiences to their respective customers using Sprinklr’s unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform. 

The partnership comes as both companies understand the challenge of creating a seamless customer experience across a variety of channels. With this, Sprinklr can now offer a platform that can provide WPP’s largest client companies with a comprehensive view of data to inform insights and analytics, helping them reach, engage, and listen to customers at scale.

Both companies are expected to work together on shared data, analytics, and solution development for joint clients. Furthermore, WPP teams will receive priority support from Sprinklr, including bespoke enablement programmes and early access to new Sprinklr products and platform features. Meanwhile, WPP will participate in Sprinklr’s Partner Advisory Board to help shape the roadmap for products.

As of now, WPP and Sprinklr are collaborating on solutions with only select clients, such as The Coca-Cola Company, where teams leverage AI insights around customer engagement to inform creative development and channel selection.

Stephan Pretorius, CTO at WPP, said, “Through the seamless integration of WPP’s AI toolset with Sprinklr’s AI+ platform, we are reshaping how brands can connect with their audiences. This partnership enhances our existing AI offerings and enables our clients to create customer experiences across all touch points on a scale like never before, further solidifying our position as a leader amidst the technology revolution that is transforming our industry.”

Ragy Thomas, founder and CEO at Sprinklr, also commented, “Sprinklr and WPP serve many of the world’s most iconic brands. Together, this partnership will enable customers to effectively deploy AI that will result in measurable productivity, cost savings, and the seamless experiences customers have come to expect today. Integrating Sprinklr’s AI-powered Unified-CXM platform with WPP’s AI toolset will help our shared customers quickly adopt the latest AI technologies while ensuring the enterprise-grade privacy, security, and governance that Sprinklr and WPP have built our businesses on.”