Tag: Partnership

Malaysia – Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) has announced their partnership with Visa to kick-start a collaboration focusing on enabling e-commerce for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Through this strategic partnership, BSN and Visa have committed to nurturing micro-SMEs in a digital commerce training program called ‘Accelerate My Business’ (AMB). The training intends to drive the adoption of digital disbursement solutions, which will provide micro-SMEs with better financial literacy to explore more significant financing to boost their businesses.

According to BSN, the AMB training program will be divided into two module workshops aimed at digitizing the knowledge of 750 selected BSN micro-SMEs and empowering them for the next phase of their business journey.

This comprehensive initiative will run from August 2023 until March 2024, incorporating a total of 27 sessions conducted across 13 different locations nationwide, encompassing both the Sabah and Sarawak regions.

During these workshops, micro-SMEs will be equipped with essential entrepreneurial skills, covering diverse areas such as business management, financial literacy, operational efficiency, and digitalization strategies. Additionally, the AMB learning platform will play a crucial role in providing practical guidance to the participants by offering various resources. This includes interactive activities, worksheets, self-assessment tools, glossaries, and supplementary materials to support them throughout their entrepreneurial journey.

The program will also be categorised based on the entrepreneurial expertise of the participants—beginner and seasoned stages—to ensure that their diverse needs will be catered to.

Jay Khairil, chief executive of BSN, stated that by staying true to their vision of ‘No Malaysian Left Behind,’ BSN remains mindful of the community’s needs by diversifying our product and service offerings tailored to various segments.

“We have also integrated financial education resources and programs within our services to ensure our customers can access vital financial insights and practical advice. Hence, the strategic partnership with Visa is timely and coincides with our aim to drive digital transformation among micro-SMEs for enhanced operational efficiency and competitive advantage in today’s dynamic business landscape,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ng Kong Boon, country manager for Malaysia at Visa, shared that Visa sees micro and small businesses as the backbone of the Malaysian economy.

He further emphasised the importance of the partnership, saying that “we are pleased to partner with BSN as we share a common goal in empowering these enterprises with resources and tools to uplift their businesses and livelihoods, ultimately creating a ripple effect throughout their communities. By continuing to build on this foundation with greater financial and business knowledge, we can help them find new growth and thrive.”

Malaysia –Trip.com Group and Penang Global Tourism (PGT) have signed an agreement to expand their current relationship to a global scale. Trip.com Group’s platforms, such as Trip.com and Ctrip, will actively stimulate inbound tourism to Penang through this new MOU for the next three years. 

Penang will now be promoted to travellers from several worldwide markets, including mainland China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Australia, as a result of this new development.

Trip.com Group and PGT have been collaborating since 2016, with Trip.com Group becoming PGT’s first global partner and PGT becoming Trip.com Group’s first global partner within Malaysia, as well as the first post-pandemic MOU between the two organisations.

Speaking about the renewal of partnership, Bo Sun, Chief marketing officer of Trip.com Group, said, “Trip.com Group and Penang Global Tourism have been longstanding partners. Together, we have weathered the challenges posed by the pandemic and our cooperation has become even closer. We remain committed to developing a diverse range of products and expanding the market for Penang.” 

He added, “With new travel consumption behaviours and trends that have emerged after the pandemic, we hope to leverage our strengthened collaboration to guide the destination’s tourism industry towards a rapid recovery, as well as achieve sustainable growth through innovation.”

Meanwhile, Yab Chow Kon Yeow, chief minister of caretaker Penang, said, “In the heart of Penang’s prosperity, tourism beats as a vital lifeline, invigorating our economy and nurturing our ambitions. As we forge this historic bond with Trip.com Group, the first global partnership after pandemic and first in Malaysia, spanning up to 10 markets, we fortify our commitment to embracing the world with open arms.”

“Tourism remains the driving force that propels Penang forward, fuelling economic growth and enriching lives across the state,” Yeow said.

Singapore – To strengthen payments and digital marketing throughout DFS’ broad network of brick-and-mortar and online retailers, DFS Group and Ant Group have partnered together in a global partnership. Because of Alipay+ it would enable DFS to provide its clients with an inclusive digital experience as it recognizes the trend of consumers adopting digital lives.

In this partnership, DFS and Ant will collaborate to deploy marketing cooperation, thereby increasing DFS’s visibility directly within Alipay and Alipay+ partner wallets’ apps. This collaboration aims to offer more targeted, personalised, and relevant rewards to shoppers, including exclusive offers, to enhance their shopping experience.

By integrating Alipay+ as a payment option, DFS enables cross-border payment acceptance from mobile wallets, making it convenient for travellers from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand to use their home mobile wallets for payments. 

Speaking about the partnership, Long Chiu, executive vice president, global marketing and digital ventures of DFS Group, said, “This alliance with Ant Group is not just about numbers and statistics, it’s about creating a seamless and exceptional experience for travellers and shoppers. Our commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction will be elevated to new heights through this collaboration.”

He added, “With Ant’s expertise and our passion for innovation and providing unforgettable services, there is no doubt that we will achieve remarkable success together.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Cherry Huang, general manager of Alipay+ offline merchant services, Ant Group, expressed, “We are excited to strengthen our partnership with DFS, evolving to now incorporating more mobile wallets, marketing capabilities and D-Store online-offline integration via Alipay+.” 

She added, “DFS is a favourite retail destination amongst tourist right at the beginning and end of their trip, and we believe this partnership will sweeten travellers’ experience. As travel resumes, we aim to help more brands cater to these new digital-first habits and drive continued visibility and growth for them.”

Australia – Creative communications agency one green bean (OGB), has now been added to Taco Bell Australia’s roster of collaborating partners. 

Starting this July 2023, OGB will now be working across influencer, social media and PR projects to support product launches and brand building for Taco Bell Australia. 

As of now, Taco Bell Australia currently has 39 restaurants across the country. The company plans to set up shop in several more locations nationally.

Amber Abbott, managing director at one green bean, said that they are thrilled to provide marketing and advertising support to Taco Bell in Australia. 

“The brand has a cult following around the world and we’re looking forward to earning attention among an Aussie audience for an adventurous brand,not afraid to do things differently,” she said. 

Speaking about the partnership with ogb, Andrew Howie, chief marketing officer at Taco Bell South Pacific, mentioned, “Since launching in Australia in 2017, we’ve seen steady growth of the Taco Bell brand locally with restaurants opening across QLD, NSW, VIC, and WA. We’re excited to appoint One Green Bean to support us as we enter a new stage of growth in Australia.”

“We know how important it is as a challenger brand in the market to build brand love and an agency like one green bean is perfectly placed to help us do that – whether it’s through Influencer, Social or Earned media,” he added. 

Australia – Global content management system (CMS) company Storyblok has announced a partnership with online visibility management SaaS platform Semrush to enable enterprises to tailor their content by topic and market and create effective marketing campaigns.

The partnership between Storyblok and Semrush is designed to help marketers save time by taking control of SEO in marketing campaigns during the content creation process. 

Storyblok’s technology partnership with Semrush offers a beneficial, straightforward, and user-friendly SEO solution directly embedded in Storyblok. It is a custom application that helps users search for popular keywords, taking into account the location where the marketing campaign will be carried out.

Barry D’Arcy, VP of partners at Storyblok, said, “Partnering with Semrush allows us to co-innovate and deliver better digital outcomes. With this integration, Storyblok’s customers can access Semrush’s powerful SEO and content marketing tools, which help businesses plan and execute effective digital marketing strategies.” 

He added, “The Storyblok and Semrush integration is a valuable, easy-to-activate solution for marketers who want to take complete control of their marketing campaigns and optimize their online presence to drive more website traffic.”

Meanwhile, James Rineer, partnership development manager at Semrush, commented, “Through our technology partnership, we have developed a solution to help Storyblok users better optimize content with Semrush’s global keyword database. We are excited to partner with Storyblok and provide its users with even greater value by enabling them to tailor their content by topic and market to improve overall content performance.”

Semrush is part of Storyblok’s Technology Ecosystem, which includes innovative solutions from partners such as BigCommerce, Netlify, and Cloudinary.

Singapore – Singapore Airlines and Indonesian airline Garuda Airlines have bared plans to enter into a joint venture arrangement that would deepen the cooperation between the two carriers, increase passenger capacity between Singapore and Indonesia, and offer customers more travel options between the two countries.

Said joint venture expands on the previous memorandum of understanding between the two airlines on November 2021.

Through the expanded joint venture, Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines are allowed to potentially coordinate schedules between Singapore and Indonesia, offering customers more seamless flight connectivity between the two countries and beyond. 

Moreover, the carriers will also explore the implementation of new initiatives, including joint fare products and an alignment of corporate programmes to enhance the value proposition to customers.

Irfan Setiaputra, president and chief executive officer at Garuda Indonesia, said, “With the existence of more than a decade of collaboration between these two national flag carriers, this joint venture agreement, as a further milestone of the partnership expansion initiative, will certainly strengthen the commitment between the two carriers simultaneously, delivering a seamless and valuable flying experience to both our customers across the globe.”

He added, “The joint venture agreement is also a part of our effort to improve our company’s performance through our network strategy by optimising our network through partnership with our strategic airline partners, especially Singapore Airlines. With this initiative, both airlines agreed to further explore more advantages for both our customers, allowing them to enjoy various flight schedules with enhanced value services within the networks of Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines.”

Meanwhile, Goh Choon Phong, chief executive officer at Singapore Airlines, said: “This joint venture will be a win-win arrangement that elevates the long-standing partnership between Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines. It reflects our firm commitment to grow the aviation markets in Indonesia and Singapore, facilitating a greater level of business and people connections and promoting both countries as regional tourism destinations. Our customers will also enjoy even more benefits, including an improved level of network connectivity, enhanced travel convenience, and additional fare options.”

San Jose, California – Aimed at reinventing the creation and delivery of creative content, Adobe has partnered with marketing communications company Omnicom Group Inc. The partnership will be carried out through an enterprise licensing deal of Adobe’s new Content Supply Chain solution.

Through the solution, Omnicom agencies across the globe will now have a unified view of every step of the content process, from planning and production to activation and optimisation. The end-to-end solution will enable Omnicom’s agencies to efficiently produce creative content that delivers the most effective customer experiences for the benefit of its client roster of the world’s top marketers and brands.

The newly launched Adobe Content Supply Chain solution brings together an array of Adobe’s industry-leading creative and experience applications, such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Workfront and Adobe Experience Manager. Omnicom will connect features of Adobe’s solution with Omni, Omnicom’s end-to-end marketing operating system, providing streamlined workflows, enhanced automation, and increased operational efficiency.

The comprehensive solution by Adobe will also help Omnicom agencies meet growing content demands as clients look to provide a larger quantity and variety of personalized content to customers. Assisting in the rapid development of content will be Adobe Firefly and Adobe Sensei GenAI – the company’s new generative AI capabilities. 

“This partnership brings together the most creatively awarded holding company and the leader in creative and marketing tools,” said Paolo Yuvienco, EVP, chief technology officer at Omnicom Group. 

He added, “The two of us share a goal of providing integrated solutions to brands, and our collaboration brings it to life. Through this offering, our agencies from different disciplines and geographies will remain connected throughout the entirety of the content supply chain, helping to transform our clients’ businesses in a faster, more effective way.”

Anil Chakravarthy, president, digital experience business at Adobe, also commented on the partnership, “Omnicom is a valued Adobe partner and customer and we’re excited to work together to transform the process of producing and delivering content across their business — and for our shared customers.”

Chakravarthy also added that by combining Omnicom’s creative expertise and audience-driven capabilities with Adobe’s content supply chain solution and generative AI capabilities, they will be able to empower creative teams to work more efficiently and effectively.

Recently, Adobe has also unveiled new innovations across its family of video applications, including AI-powered text-based video editing capabilities in Premiere Pro.

Singapore – Changi Airport Group has made its debut to the metaverse by showcasing ‘ChangiVerse’, a metaverse experience created to help audiences connect with Singapore Changi Airport and explore its notable sights through the digital space.

Created with global professional services Accenture, ChangiVerse is the first virtual experience created by an airport that has debuted in Roblox, a global shared experience platform with millions of daily users.

Changi Airport’s debut in the metaverse is also an effort to reach a wider group of digital users and fans who are interested to explore more travel destinations differently.

Moreover, the said platform digitally represents Changi’s physical airport where visitors can access fun activities, social experiences, and interactable spaces such as bustling café or festive glamping tent and minigames whilst earning unique collectibles to give their digital avatar some extra flair.

Hung Jean, group senior vice president of Changi Airport Group’s enterprise digital ecosystem & business division, said that the creation of ChangiVerse aims to strengthen the idea that the airport is more than just a transport node, but it’s also a fun and magical destination to create memories.

“ChangiVerse is also about engaging our customers and serving them better through innovation and experimentation, in line with our belief of customers being at the heart of everything we do,” Jean added.

Wee Wei Ng, Southeast Asia market unit lead for Accenture, added, “We are privileged to collaborate with CAG to drive digital-physical convergence through ChangiVerse. By combining digital and physical worlds, ChangiVerse can simulate the airport environment, creating immersive experiences that elevate human interactivity to new dimensions, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation.”

In 2022, Changi Airport Group has dealt with Accenture to extend its partnership for the enhancement of travellers’ experience when visiting Changi Airport in Singapore.

Singapore – Mandai Wildlife Group, an organisation that advocates for wildlife conservation, and travel and experiences platform Klook has sealed a three-year strategic partnership to attract more international visitors to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, the integrated wildlife and nature precinct home to Singapore’s wildlife parks.

With Klook’s digital marketing and social content capabilities and strength in Asia-Pacific, this deal will target the growing millennial and gen Z from the markets of Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and South Korea. 

Mandai and Klook will co-develop regional marketing campaigns and curate bundles and activities for discerning international visitors. These efforts will help in making Mandai Wildlife Reserve as a top-of-mind destination in Singapore.

Moreover, the collaboration will focus on raising awareness of wildlife conservation efforts and take actions for sustainable living to benefit the people, wildlife, nature and the entire planet.

Jean Choi, chief sales and marketing officer at Mandai Wildlife Group, said that the group is looking for new ways to engage travellers in the region especially from their top markets. Choi added that they aim to be culturally relevant to working adults and youth who seeks for new experiences.

Meanwhile, Eric Gnock Fah, chief operating officer & co-founder at Klook, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Mandai Wildlife Group, furthering their ambitions of establishing the Mandai Wildlife Reserve as the region’s go-to destination. Our collaboration reflects our shared values and commitment to responsible tourism and protecting the planet and its wildlife.”

The first marquee campaign for the partnership will kick off with the soft opening of Singapore’s new bird park at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, Bird Paradise on 8 May, Singapore Zoo’s 50th anniversary or Golden ZOObilee, and a series of mini-events to encourage young couples to go on memorable dates at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve.

Australia – Tourism Tasmania, the tourism marketing firm of the Tasmanian Government in Australia, has unveiled ‘Discover Tasmania’ mobile application to let tourists customise and make their own travel experience unique when visiting Tasmania.

In collaboration with creative agencies Clemenger BBDO and Orchard, the application was made with features including real-time, location-specific notifications on insider tips and recommendations, itinerary builder, interactive maps, and other offline features which make it more convenient to use.

Clemenger BBDO led the app’s experience design, whilst Orchard helped in delivering a more connected and efficient digital experience for visitors.

Sarah Clark, CEO at Tourism Tasmania, said that they want the application to become the ultimate travel companion to help visitors explore the tourism offerings available throughout Tasmania.

Dani Bassil, CEO at Clemenger BBDO, added that this has been a truly collaborative project with the tourism marketing firm, and it’s rewarding to see that they made Discover Tasmania app possible.

Moreover, Wai Kwok, CEO at Orchard, added, “The Discover Tasmania App will help bridge the gap between digital connection and Tasmania’s products and experiences, delivering a seamless connected experience that Tasmanian travellers will remember.” 

Discover Tasmania mobile application is now available to download on the App Store.