Tag: Partnership

Singapore –  Building on their marketing collaboration agreement last 2020, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and travel booking platform Klook have partnered anew to drive travel recovery and promote Singapore as a destination, targeting travellers from key SEA markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, as well as Thailand, and Vietnam 

The partnership was launched in June 2022, and since then, Klook has been partnering with over 20 in-market Influencers/KOLs and content partners to create engaging and immersive content that will be customised to each market. To complement this and further drive travel recovery from these markets, Klook will also be giving away more than $60,000 worth of deals, promotions and giveaways for visitors to Singapore till the end of December this year. 

For additional information on in-market campaigns, five unique landing pages on Klook have been created to enable visitors to discover and book their trips seamlessly. These pages will act as a central repository for travel-related information, content, precinct itineraries, experiences, events, accommodation, and promotions – enabling visitors to travel with ease by having all the information they need at the tips of their fingers.

Moreover, visitors will be able to select from more than five Klook-exclusive Multi-Passes that centre around the themes of attractions, wildlife, playgrounds, adventure, and wellness. The campaign will also showcase the lesser-known and unexpected sides of Singapore with specially curated experiences centred around Singapore’s cultural precincts, like Chinatown, Joo Chiat/Katong, and Kampong Gelam, as well as Little India.

Marcus Yong, Klook’s vice president of marketing for APAC, commented they are excited to partner with STB to drive travel interest and invite visitors to experience Singapore’s reimagined offerings. 

“As travel roars back, we want to continue to enable travellers in Southeast Asia to experience a sense of joy and wanderlust when they visit Singapore. As Asia-Pacific’s leading travel and leisure e-commerce platform, we are uniquely placed to help drive demand back to Singapore and lead travel recovery,” said Yong.

Meanwhile, John Gregory Conceicao, STB’s executive director for SEA, shared they have seen strong demand for travel to Singapore from SEA since they opened their borders to fully-vaccinated travellers without testing or quarantine. 

“Visitors from Southeast Asia accounted for nearly half of all international visitor arrivals in Singapore for the first six months of 2022 and continue to drive Singapore’s tourism recovery efforts. STB will continue to work with leading platforms like Klook to tap on new trends as we invite travellers to reimagine what Singapore has to offer,” said Conceicao.

Singapore – Extending their three-year MOU signed in late 2020, Trip.com Group and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will deepen their collaboration across key markets including Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong, while expanding their partnership to include new markets Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

With pent-up demand being one of the main drivers of the travel recovery, Trip.com Group will accelerate its collaboration with STB to promote Singapore to travellers from key markets through a series of initiatives, including marketing campaigns, public relations activities, KOLs’ reviews, and promotions through Trip.com Group’s brands including Trip.com and Ctrip.

Amongst various initiatives, Trip.com Group and STB will also curate and deliver engaging content via Trip.com’s app and website to showcase the Singapore destination story and position the city-state as a safe and compelling destination of choice for travellers.

Going forward, Trip.com Group and STB will also continue to identify and launch targeted programmes to promote and position Singapore as an ideal destination for various activities, including as a sanctuary for sustainability, a haven for urban wellness, a paradise of evolving flavours and a world of possibilities for travellers to experience Singapore in new and unexpected ways.

Sun Bo, Trip.com’s group CMO, shared that the past two years have been challenging for the tourism industry across Asia, but they are deeply encouraged and appreciative of Singapore’s support for local tourism businesses, which includes the launch of the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers campaign which Trip.com was part of, as well as the timely announcements relating to the reopening of borders such as the previous Vaccinated Travel Lane scheme and the current Vaccinated Travel Framework.

“Trip.com Group is excited to deepen our strong relationship and collaboration with STB to further facilitate and promote travel to Singapore. This is a beautiful country which offers different unique experiences for various groups of tourists, and Trip.com Group will launch specific campaigns and initiatives in the coming months across the key markets where there exists a strong demand for travel,” said Bo.

Meanwhile, Juliana Kua, STB’s assistant chief executive of the international group, noted that they have worked closely with Trip.com Group especially over the last two years during the pandemic to maintain Singapore’s mindshare amongst regional travellers. 

“With the resumption of travel, we are delighted to deepen our partnership with Trip.com Group, which has a growing network of services, users and data. We will tap on these to showcase Singapore’s refreshed destination offerings, and encourage travellers to reimagine travel to Singapore as part of our SingapoReimagine global marketing campaign,” said Kua.

In addition, consumers in various markets can also look forward to attractive travel promotions. These will be rolled out in phases after taking into consideration the respective market’s readiness to travel and prevailing travel policies. For a start, joint campaigns to promote Singapore as an attractive travel destination will be launched in South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines over the next week, including attractive deals and collaborations with travel KOLs such as travel_bellauri and im0gil from South Korea and CHAILAIBACKPACKER from Thailand who will share their insights and recommendations on exciting and unexpected itineraries that visitors can experience in Singapore.

Bo said, “Trip.com Group looks forward to working closely with STB and our local partners to present the beauty of Singapore and its uniquely local experiences to the global community in the coming months.”

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Fintech DreamStart Labs and commercial bank BRAC Bank in Bangladesh have announced a partnership to provide digital financial services to unbanked women in Bangladesh. This partnership will see BRAC Bank using technology from DreamStart Labs to help women in rural communities access affordable small business loans.

Through this partnership, unbanked women in Bangladesh will be using the DreamSave app from DreamStart Labs to create informal community savings groups. As members use DreamSave, the technology will generate data-driven credit scores that make it easy for BRAC Bank and its microfinance institution (MFI) partners to offer digital financial services with greater security, transparency, and efficiency. The use of the DreamSave app will facilitate BRAC Bank’s expansion of its MFI business portfolio in Bangladesh.

Moreover, BRAC Bank and DreamStart Labs will be expanding the use of the DreamSave app with savings groups under the USAID-funded Nobo Jatra project, implemented by World Vision in southwest Bangladesh.

Syed Abdul Momen, deputy managing director and head of SME banking at BRAC Bank, said, “DreamStart Labs offers market-leading innovation from Silicon Valley to help unbanked women break the cycle of poverty. BRAC Bank is pleased to partner with DreamStart Labs for this important initiative.”

Meanwhile, Wes Wasson, CEO of DreamStart Labs, commented, “BRAC Bank is the market leader in banking solutions for underserved entrepreneurs. DreamStart Labs is delighted to work with BRAC Bank to bring our innovative technology to unbanked women in Bangladesh.”

In March 2022, BRAC Bank has also partnered with Singapore’s consumer bank DBS, aimed at allowing Bangladeshi migrants working in Singapore to easily transfer their hard-earned income to their families back home, with minimal fees and in real-time by using DBS Remit, a remittance service integrated within the digital banking platform, DBS digibank.

Singapore – South Korea’s cosmetics and personal care company, LG H&H, and regional e-commerce platform, Shopee, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deepen their partnership in the SEA region, with the aim to scale up LG H&H’s e-commerce business and capture new online buyers.

The MOU is expected to accelerate LG H&H’s growth not only in the premium beauty category but also in the premium personal care category in five key markets, namely Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, as well as Thailand, and Taiwan. It also aims to help LG H&H to be in the Top 10 Brand Principal in the Health & Beauty Category on Shopee. LG H&H brands that already have official stores on Shopee include The Face Shop, belif, and su:m37.

Moreover, under this partnership, both companies will be working together closely to accelerate new user growth by bringing more brands under LG H&H onto Shopee, and identifying new collaboration opportunities in areas such as marketing and exclusive product launches. 

In June 2022, LG H&H officially launched the luxury brand, The History of Whoo, on Shopee Mall and Shopee Premium with their first regional campaign across five markets, which are Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam, as well as Malaysia. Designed to introduce customers to the secret of Korean Royal Beauty, the campaign featured the brand’s signature skincare range, the ‘Bichup’ product series. A campaign launch video was also created by LG H&H and Shopee Premium to build awareness and educate about the brand heritage through richer storytelling.

Sean Lee, the head of the overseas business division at LG H&H, commented that they are glad to start this new partnership with Shopee as their key priority e-commerce partner in SEA, and they believe that LG H&H and Shopee together, will be able to accelerate the company’s growth with the help of Shopee’s deep insights on the local market landscape, and especially their expertise on using data-driven approaches to understand consumer behaviours on e-commerce. 

“We are proud to have launched our representative luxury brand, The History of Whoo, on Shopee Premium with our first regional campaign. We are glad to receive a warm response from Shopee users, and hope to further our reach to more customers on e-commerce,” said Lee.

Meanwhile, Terence Pang, chief operating officer at Shopee, shared that as the demand for premium health, beauty and personal care products continue to grow on Shopee, they are delighted to deepen their partnership with LG H&H to bring greater variety and value to their shoppers. 

“We aim to support them in expanding their omnichannel presence in Southeast Asia, especially in reaching the emerging generation of digital luxury shoppers through Shopee Premium. Together with LG H&H and many of our brand partners, we look forward to co-creating more exciting, unique and rewarding experiences for our customers in future,” said Pang.

Australia – Australia’s department store chain, Myer, has reappointed Essence, a global data and measurement-driven media agency, to handle its media business, cementing and extending its 12-year partnership.

The Melbourne-based account includes media strategy, and its full online and offline planning and investment duties. Essence and Myer will continue to work together to drive positive business outcomes for the Australian retail brand.

Myer said that over the past three years, it has been delivering against its ‘Customer First Plan’, ensuring it remains Australia’s favourite and most trusted department store through leading service, improving its range and offer, and enhancing and scaling its online business. Essence has assisted Myer to deliver bespoke solutions and innovations to help deliver on these aims. 

Jeremy McNamara, Essence’s managing director for Melbourne, said, “The word ‘partnership’ gets thrown around so much these days, but we feel privileged to have grown a true partnership with the team at Myer over the past 12 years – one built on trust, excellence and accountability. We’re thrilled to be continuing our partnership with Australia’s most trusted department store and helping with the delivery of its Customer First Plan.”

Meanwhile, Aaron Achurch, Myer’s head of media, noted, “Essence has been a critical partner to us in developing and rolling out our media buying strategy to ensure that we are communicating in the best way, across all channels, on our range and offer to our customers – and we look forward to continuing to work with them on the delivery of our future plans in this important area.”

Just recently, Essence has also been appointed by beauty brand Plum to handle its integrated media duties in India. Through the mandate, Essence will manage strategy, media planning and media activation for Plum’s brand marketing activities.

Singapore – Research institute Earth Observatory Singapore (EOS) has partnered with creative and technology digital marketing agency Bray Leino Splash (BLS) to launch its revamped website, which used essential sustainability principles. This move aims to push forward the commitment of the two companies to promoting decarbonisation. 

Dedicated to conducting research on natural hazards and climate change in and around SEA to help create safer and more sustainable societies, EOS at Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore) has engaged BLS to redevelop its website, enhance the user experience, and make it more sustainable and in-line with the organisation’s ethos.

After an in-depth analysis of the existing website, BLS has re-engineered the site from the ground up, using default dark mode, efficient typography, and streamlining dynamic content and media optimisation of video files to lower data consumption. This revamped website allows visitors to access content smoothly without compromising user experience.

Joshua Lee, managing director at BLS, commented, “We are tremendously proud and extremely excited at the possibilities of using our expertise and know-how to help reduce the carbon footprint of our clients’ websites and promote a greener way to do business”.

Meanwhile, Andrew Krupa, CPO and director of advancement at EOS, said, “We’re very proud of the new website and feel it is a fantastic representation of the work we undertake here at the Earth Observatory of Singapore. I would like to thank the team at Bray Leino Splash for their dedication in partnering with us for this project.”

Singapore – E-commerce enabler in SEA, Synagie, has unveiled its regional TikTok Shop Incubation Programme, which has been established with the aim of helping brands to accelerate their digitalisation and to jump-start their social commerce journey by onboarding onto TikTok’s latest commerce solution.

The programme will be immediately available to the 600 brands Synagie manages and to incoming brands looking to expand onto TikTok’s dynamic content channel. As part of the programme, the company will be waiving platform management fees for brands and sellers for up to six months or until a predetermined level of sales is achieved, whichever comes first. Other initiatives such as training sessions and workshops organised in collaboration with TikTok will also be part of the programme and Synagie’s offerings to brands.

Since 2021, TikTok Shop, which enables merchants to integrate their e-commerce infrastructure with Open API and sell their products across the TikTok ecosystem, has been progressively rolled out across SEA and is now available in six countries, namely Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam, as well as Thailand.

Pei Gy Wong, Synagie’s vice president for channel development and store management, shared that they have worked closely with TikTok Shop teams across the region since the pilot to integrate their backend systems, and they now offer brands and sellers a seamless and secure way to onboard and manage this channel with their existing digital commerce touchpoints. 

“With the extended platform management fee waiver, we aim to nurture the spirit of partnership as we explore this new digital frontier together. Further, with the rise of social commerce in the region, we felt it would be important to help our brand partners explore this avenue to enhance their digital commerce strategies,” said Wong.

As a TikTok Shop Partner (TSP) and content agency partner within its multi-channel network, Synagie offerings are able to address TikTok commerce’s challenges of fulfilment and logistics. The integration of Synagie backend with TikTok Shop will provide end-to-end ecosystem support for brands and sellers, similar to its services across other digital commerce platforms.

Moreover, with video content being a requisite for TikTok Shop, Synagie’s curated content packages are available to brands looking for additional support. Synagie maintains a database of close to 6,000 nano and micro-content creators across SEA who will be able to help brands curate content. It is currently retained by brands such as Nike, Kiehl’s, Shiseido Group, KOSE and Philosophy to create video content and produce live stream shows regularly.

Sydney, Australia – Programmatic digital advertising company PubMatic has partnered with audience intelligence platform AlikeAudience to enable advertisers in Indonesia to access quality audience data on the supply side.

Aside from Indonesia, the partnership is also for key markets Australia and Japan. It aims to expand the reach of Connect, PubMatic’s differentiated audience solution that leverages addressable signals from across the internet to help data owners drive monetisation and help media buyers drive performance. Connect allows media buyers to leverage a portfolio approach to addressability.

AlikeAudience offers bespoke demographic, interest, and transactional data and has more than 7,000 audience segments in the US, Australia, Japan, and SEA, across a wide range of industries, including FMCG, automotive, and financial. The company has substantial operations in APAC and the U.S. and assembles its audience data from exclusively consumer-consented CRM data, billions of unique mobile signals, and transaction data from multinational credit card companies.

Moreover, AlikeAudience has been operating in the APAC market for the past five years, working primarily with demand-side platforms (DSPs) across the region, and this partnership makes the company’s high-value audience data available on the supply side for the first time.

Brandon Lee, PubMatic’s director of data and audience for APAC, commented, “We believe that working directly with PubMatic gives media buyers greater control over data, along with higher match rates and better campaign performance. Our proximity to publishers and consumers means fewer hops around the ecosystem, making SSPs uniquely positioned to help brands reach audiences at the right place and time.”

Meanwhile, Bosco Lam, AlikeAudience’s founder and CEO, believes that advertisers will benefit from access to PubMatic’s quality mobile app media inventory, coupled with unique audiences created through packaged deals from the supply side.

“Advertisers are seeking to ensure their digital advertising campaigns are privacy-compliant and do not utilise personally identifiable information, and that has been our competitive advantage. We believe brands can reach the right audiences with all of the right data privacy practices in place,” said Lam.

In June 2022, PubMatic has announced that all of its global data centres are now powered by fully renewable energy. The company achieved this significant milestone as it embarks on a comprehensive, multi-pronged sustainability plan by the end of 2022.

Singapore – Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s award-winning travel program and marketplace, has partnered with ONE Esports, an esports media subsidiary of ONE Championship (ONE), to launch ‘Gamer’s Paradise’, a 15-episode variety talk show series. This all-new programme will feature content that celebrates the diversity of gaming and esports culture across Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Singapore, as well as Thailand, and Vietnam.

‘Gamer’s Paradise’ will feature the best esports athletes, gaming and influencer talent, and industry experts. Its episodes will centre on a theme, from deep dives into popular gaming titles to explorations of broad industry trends. Each episode will be broken down into five engaging segments, namely ‘The Pulse’, which features a panel of experts and gaming celebrities discussing the hottest gaming and esports topics, ‘Hero Story’ (Stories of Inspiration), an in-depth interview with Asia’s favourite esports heroes and personalities, and ‘Gamer’s Haven’ (A Day Away From The Game), a day of relaxation using Marriott’s facilities, offering esports personalities and gaming celebrities a much-needed break, as well as ‘Side Quest’, a feature on the best video game worlds in history, and lastly, ‘House Party’, where hosts and guests that appear on the episode will participate in a variety of geek-themed party games.

The programme will be hosted by popular ‘Super Host’ and emcee Eri Neeman and ONE Esports’ MikaFabs. Neeman has hosted several premiere esports events and tournaments such as the ESL One Birmingham 2019, ESL One Manila 2016, Manila Masters, and REV Major, while MikaFabs is a writer, producer, and esports host, who has hosted international tournaments for Valorant and League of Legends: Wild Rift.

Moreover, fans can also expect to catch their favourite gaming and esports talent on the series and stand to win prizes from Marriott Bonvoy by engaging with the show online. Program guests include League of Legends player Teddy from Korean esports team Kwangdong Freecs; Dota 2 personality and host Sheever; Japanese Street Fighter player Kawano; and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players Edward and OHEB from Filipino esports team Blacklist International; amongst others.

Carlos Alimurung, CEO of ONE Esports, shared that the goals for Gamer’s Paradise are to celebrate esports, provide our audience with deep insights into the ecosystem and community, and share the stories of gaming and esports heroes who ignite the world with strength, hope, dreams, and inspiration.

“The series will highlight Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of properties across Asia. Marriott Bonvoy is the perfect travel program for the gaming and esports fan, whose lifestyle consists of frequent travel,” said Alimurung.

Meanwhile, Julie Purser, Marriott International’s vice president of marketing, loyalty & partnerships for APAC, commented that they have teamed up with ONE Esports on Gamer’s Paradise to bring Marriott Bonvoy’s expression of good travel in both virtual and physical settings to gamers across the region. 

“This series is rooted in travel, and we hope to showcase how the digital and gaming worlds draw inspiration, energy, and community from the transformative power of travel. There has been great synergy working alongside ONE Esports to execute this project together and we are confident Gamer’s Paradise will be a thrilling spectacle that inspires audiences,” said Purser.

‘Gamer’s Paradise’ will premiere across ONE Esports’ digital channels, including Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and AfreecaTV, on 4 July 2022 at 8.30 PM SGT. The program will air in English every Monday, with subtitles in Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.

In June 2022, ONE Esports has been appointed as the official media partner for League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK). The League of Legends tournament is organised by League of Legends Champions Korea Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Riot Games Korea Limited.

Taipei, Taiwan – Local digital marketing agency cacaFly and Google Cloud have partnered up to launch Cloud AI+ Solution Center in Taiwan. This will help enterprises accelerate their digital transformation by offering Google Cloud Platform services for AI applications, data analysis, and cloud technology. 

Since 2011, cacaFly has partnered with Google to offer digital advertising solutions for industries such as retail, e-commerce, finance, technology, games, and media. This partnership has been taken to another level in 2022 with the establishment of the new Cloud AI+ Solution Center, which will integrate data analytics, market-leading cloud technology, and Google Cloud Platform AI services and consulting.

The agency envisions this expansion into cloud services through the Google Cloud AI+ Solution Center will help give customers reduce costs, accelerate business decision-making, and anticipate market demands and unforeseen opportunities.

In addition, the partnership with Google Cloud will be the foundation of a marketing and enterprise ecosystem that incorporates marketing, data analytics, and cloud technology. In order to realise this vision, the company is actively recruiting related talents, including cloud architects, cloud engineers, cloud data consultants, and cloud project managers.

Nathan Chiu, CEO of cacaFly, said, “cacaFly has the utmost confidence to lead Taiwan’s talent and forge a complete marketing and enterprise ecosystem, which together with our partners, can go beyond Taiwan’s borders and be competitive on the global stage.”

Meanwhile, Tony Hsieh, country director for Google Cloud in Taiwan, commented, “Companies on their digital transformation journey need to strive for competitive advantages in digital marketing. The Google Cloud platform’s data analysis, AI, and machine learning solutions are necessary tools to help corporations realise their digital transformation, accelerate business decision-making and become more agile and adaptable.”

He added, “I am overjoyed cacaFly is partnering with Google Cloud in the establishment of the Cloud AI+ Solution Center. We are looking forward to providing cacaFly customers with complete solutions that will aid their 360-degree digital transformation.”