Tag: Partnership

Japan — Pinterest is launching ads for all businesses in Japan. Businesses of all sizes now have access to multiple types of ad formats and targeting options in Japan to reach new audiences with meaningful, useful content as they discover ideas and plan new projects. Japan is the next country to launch as part of the global expansion of Pinterest’s ad program. Alongside this, Pinterest is also expanding its partnership with e-commerce company Shopify.

On Pinterest, brands are additive to the avid users of Pinterest’s or ‘Pinner’s’ experience. Because of Pinterest’s dynamics for product discoverability, advertisers are keen on the platform’s potential. With Pinterest, ads can inspire the decisions of consumers because commercial content enhances the Pinterest user’s experience. People come to Pinterest looking for products and services to plan their futures and build their lives.

Because 97% of the top searches on Pinterest are unbranded and consist of 2-3 word queries, the majority of consumers are not typing a brand name into their searches, which is why Pinterest is such an effective place to reach people while they’re still considering their next purchase and haven’t decided on a brand. Pinterest is one of the platforms where it is possible for brands to engage with new customers who are intentional, open and making buying decisions.

The platform recently opened ads to a small group of Japanese businesses as early partners. Brands such as BAYCREW’S and Cowcamo have already seen success using Pinterest Ads to tap into an audience on Pinterest that is looking for what to try or buy next.

Kei Narita, country manager for Japan at Pinterest, said, “Pinterest stands out as a positive environment where consumers come to find inspiration for what to do or buy next. We give businesses of all sizes an opportunity to connect with consumers early in their decision-making journey and we’re proud to expand our global advertising program to Japan. Our advertisers play an incredible role in enabling Pinterest users to turn inspiration into action so they can create a life they love, and we’re excited to enable Japanese businesses to now connect with our engaged audience through ads.”

Pinterest is also launching new features for businesses in Japan to reach people who want to go from finding ideas to making purchases.

Via the launch, businesses in Japan can upload their full catalogue to Pinterest and automatically turn their products into shoppable Product Pins. Enriched with metadata and formatted to let people on Pinterest know that they’re shoppable, Product Pins feature the most up-to-date price, availability and product title and description from your website. By uploading their catalogue of products to Pinterest, businesses can link directly to the product page on their site so Pinners can buy one of their products in just a few clicks. Product Pins are more discoverable in places like Home Feed, search, recommendations like Related Pins, and Lens camera search results.

Pinterest is expanding its partnership with Shopify to Japan. Now, Shopify merchants in Japan have an easy way to bring their products to Pinterest and turn them into shoppable Product Pins that are discoverable across the platform.

The Pinterest channel on Shopify provides frictionless access to Pinterest shopping features including tag deployment, catalogue ingestion, and advertising buying interface, without the need to edit code or deploy resources on their own site.

Small-to-medium-sized businesses with shops on Shopify will have easy set-up and access to distribution across Pinterest either organically or through ads, as well as reporting and results to maximize reach. Thanks to this integration, SMBs will save time to set up shop on Pinterest and will be able to showcase their products to a global monthly audience of more than 400 million people, many of whom come with the intent to shop and discover new products.

Makoto Tahara, country director and head of Japan at Shopify, shared, “By expanding our global partnership with Pinterest, Japanese merchants can now access the Pinterest channel to create targeted, audience-building campaigns all without leaving Shopify. This is particularly important for Japan’s small and medium-sized merchants to help them thrive by creating new opportunities for discoverability among Pinterest’s 400M+ users around the world.”

With the launch of ads in Japan, Pinterest is continuing the global momentum of its advertising program.

Singapore — Agoda has partnered with WWF-Singapore (World Wide Fund for Nature) to support marine habitat restoration efforts as part of the launch of its Eco Deals program. Through Eco Deals, Agoda will work in collaboration with its accommodation partners to offer deals that ‘give back and highlight responsible tourism, environmental or community-led charities and organizations.

In this campaign launch involving WWF-Singapore, Agoda and its hotel and accommodation partners will fund efforts to raise awareness about responsible tourism, enabling the restoration of marine habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves in Southeast Asia, and protecting wildlife affected by floods in Australia.

Agoda’s Eco Deals will first launch with accommodation partners in five countries – Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore – to offer travellers between 5% to 15% discounts on their bookings. For each booking, Agoda will contribute to WWF-Singapore’s marine conservation and flood-affected wildlife protection.

Agoda’s Sustainable Travel Trends Survey (2021) found consumers want to travel more sustainably, and that polluted beaches and waterways ranked as the top concern of Filipino tourists; second for Australians, Indonesian, and Malaysians; and third for Singaporeans. Aside from an Eco Deals badge to support and highlight participating properties, Agoda will develop a dedicated landing page which will be launched to consumers on 8 June 2022, to help consumers quickly find properties that support the Eco Deals activity.

Enric Casals, regional VP of Agoda Southeast Asia and Oceania, said, “In a post-COVID world, people are more aware of their impact on the places and communities they visit when travelling and are actively looking for ways and means to make their ecological footprint smaller. Through Agoda’s Eco Deals initiative we provide consumers opportunities to ‘give back’ as part of our partners’ and Agoda’s social responsibility commitment.”

Casals continued, “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with WWF-Singapore to allow the Agoda community of travellers, partners and employees to work together to help revitalise marine habitats and protect wildlife across this region.”

Meanwhile, R. Raghunathan, CEO of WWF-Singapore, shared, “WWF-Singapore is well positioned to drive positive change in the Coral Triangle and wider region, home to the world’s epicentre of marine biodiversity. We look forward to working with Agoda in this partnership to support the conservation of marine ecosystems in this region.”

California, USA – Consumer Acquisition, the technology-enabled marketing services company by Brainlabs, joins the TikTok Marketing Partner Program as its official creative partner. Through the partnership, advertisers can work with Consumer Acquisition as a creative partner for in-class TikTok videos for ad campaigns.

Through Consumer Acquisition, their creative development process ensures that creative concepts align with target audience motivations and proven creative trends. Eliminating unfocused ideation and reducing creative waste improves efficiencies and ensures clients can maintain profitable ad spend. 

In addition to its creative studio, the company provides media buying services powered by their proprietary full-stack marketing platform AdRules. Through Brainlabs, clients have access to a full suite of digital marketing services including programmatic, paid search, SEO, CRO, GMP, and data strategy.

Brian Bowman, founder at Consumer Acquisition, said: “Advertisers looking to reach TikTok audiences often recycle ad creative from other channels, but TikTok requires a unique people-first approach to advertising. Our ‘Creative Studio’ offers a global network of experienced storytellers, designers and video editors to help companies scale the volume and quality of their TikTok advertising. Our team are masters of influencer-style UGC creative, live action, post production, 3D animation, motion graphics, and illustration tailored for TikTok.”

Meanwhile, Jyri Kidwell, director of creative partnerships at TikTok, said, “We’re thrilled to welcome Consumer Acquisition by Brainlabs to the TikTok Marketing Partner Program. Their strategic approach to developing creative research and testing is a value to marketers and we look forward to adding their Creative Studio team as a Creative Partner for our advertisers.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Microsoft and the government of Malaysia have announced the MyDIGITAL GovTech Innovation partnership. Building on continued efforts to bolster Malaysia’s economic resilience, Microsoft and key government agencies such as MyDIGITAL Corporation and the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) will equip civil servants with digital skills and training, to support the nation’s aspiration for inclusive, responsible, and sustainable development.

The announcement represents the next milestone of the government of Malaysia’s partnership with Microsoft, progressing towards achieving the targets outlined in the 12th Malaysia Plan and Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint. The targets include 80% adoption of cloud storage across the government in 2022 and 100% digital literacy among civil servants as well as 80% end-to-end online Government services by 2025.

The partnership builds on the Letter of Intent (LoI) signed between Microsoft and MyDIGITAL Corporation during the Prime Minister, Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Bin Yaakob’s visit to the United States in May 2022. The LoI identified areas of collaboration including developing cybersecurity capabilities, driving the adoption of digital technologies by the public sector, and nurturing skilled talent to grow the digital economy.

Yang Berhormat Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, minister for economy in Malaysia’s prime minister’s department, shared, “Our long-standing partnership with Microsoft enables the civil service to be more innovative, data-driven, and rakyat-centric in finding solutions as well as formulating effective policies. We welcome Microsoft’s continued contribution as a knowledge and technology partner to Malaysia, including their commitment to training 300,000 people by 2024 with the Human Resource Development Corporation.”

Simultaneously, Jean-Philippe Courtois, EVP and president for national transformation partnerships at Microsoft, said, “This year marks Microsoft’s 30 years in Malaysia, and we are happy to commemorate the occasion with our partners from the Government of Malaysia. Microsoft will remain steadfast in our partnership to enable Malaysia to leverage its expertise and capabilities in technology to power inclusive economic growth and resilience in the digital era.”

The announcement is in addition to the Cloud Framework Agreement (CFA) signed between Microsoft and MAMPU, to create a trusted cloud network and empower the public sector of Malaysia in its digital transformation journey.

K Raman, MD of Microsoft in Malaysia, said, “This partnership was further cemented during the launch of Microsoft’s Bersama Malaysia commitment last year, where we pledged to establish our first data center region in the country and skill an additional 1 million Malaysians by the end of 2023 while forming the MyDigital Alliance Leadership Council to collaborate on cloud-first and digital-native policies.”

Australia — Mars Food Australia, the manufacturer of MasterFoods, is making its first foray into the D2C space, with ‘MasterFoods Flavour Club’. Clemenger BBDO worked with the MasterFoods team to craft the ecomm product proposition through consumer interviews, prototype development, testing and optimisation, packaging design, and working closely with Mars Food R&D and logistics teams.

The launch campaign features a partnership with multi-hyphenate Flex Mami. The work is built off the insight that social conversation has dwindled post-Covid lockdown, and as Australians begin to entertain again, there is a desire to spice up dinner party conversations.

Each MasterFoods Flavour Club Kit pairs spicy conversation starters with MasterFoods’ recipes and iconic herbs and spices range with four occasions in mind, each kit bringing a new set of flavours and recipes to explore.

Examples of Flavour Club Kits Masterfoods has come up with include ‘Curry night with mates kit’, a selection of ‘essential’ herbs and spices to make the ultimate curry to share with friends coupled with ‘essential’ questions curated by Flex Mami; another one is ‘Your dating essentials kit’, a hot ensemble of MasterFoods’ herbs and spices paired with Flex Mami’s spiciest questions – guaranteed to break the ice on a first date; and  ‘Epic high tea kit’, a sweet curation of MasterFoods’ baking essentials range with sweet and sour question cards to dial up a wholesome tea party, among others.

The questions don’t beat around the bush, with each kit delving into the themes of love, life, death, career and psychology, meaning there’ll be no room for small talk at the dinner table.

Each kit comes with a selection of MasterFoods recipe cards tailored to the included herbs and spices, ‘flavour hacks’ cooking tips and tricks.

Rachel Humphrey, portfolio marketing manager at Mars Food Australia, said, “We’re all about flavouring up dinner times, helping Aussies to create easy, flavoursome dishes they will be happy to share with others.”

Humphrey adds, “For us, a meal is so much more than the food on the table – it’s where you gather with friends and family to talk, laugh and reminisce. Working with Flex Mami has meant we can take this one step further, really getting to know one another over a delicious meal.”

Clemenger BBDO Sydney has been working with MasterFoods for over 25 years.

Brent Kerby, CEO of Clemenger BBDO Sydney, shared, “The MasterFoods team has been ambitious with their push into the direct to customer space, and to leverage the opportunity it presents to create meaningful connections with their consumers. This campaign is the embodiment of the MasterFoods belief that when flavours connect in the kitchen, people connect around the table. We see this project as the first iteration of many DTC future innovations.” 

Beijing, China – Integrated communications agency WE Red Bridge has been appointed by automotive brand McLaren in China as its communications agency of record. This appointment will see WE Red Bridge supporting the automaker’s growth in China by increasing brand equity and exposure in the country.

McLaren Automotive is a luxury automotive manufacturer. The company’s product portfolio of GT, supercar, Motorsport, and Ultimate models are retailed through over 100 retailers in over 40 markets around the world.

Nicky Wang, CEO of WE Red Bridge, highlighted how the agency’s strong sector knowledge and a passion for the industry were crucial factors in its appointment.

“Our extensive experience in the luxury, lifestyle and automotive industries was a point of differentiation for WE Red Bridge. This new partnership with McLaren will see us combine our sector experience and leading engagement toolkit of integrated communications, creative planning, consumer insights and analytics to fuel the automotive brand’s growth in China,” said Wang.

Mumbai, India – Digital music company Believe has appointed strategy consultancy Pitchfork Partners to be its communication counsel that will manage its brand strategies in India.

As part of the mandate, Pitchfork Partners will be working closely with Believe India to strengthen its brand awareness and engagement for its services across Artist Services, Label and Artist Solutions, and TuneCore, as well as Ishtar with relevant stakeholders across the country. It will also drive and support Believe’s mission to develop independent artists and labels with their unique offerings and solutions, at each stage of their career and development.

Vivek Raina, Believe’s managing director for India, commented that they are excited with their association with Pitchfork Partners, as the agency’s experience and understanding of the industry align with Believe’s objectives and will help them reach emerging independent artists and labels in the digital world. 

“We are focused on building a community in which independent artists and labels will get a platform and partnership to build their fanbase and enhance their revenues in the digital world,” said Raina.

Meanwhile, Jaideep Shergill, Pitchfork Partners’ co-founder, said, “We are delighted to work with Believe India, given its leadership position in this competitive industry. It’s a great opportunity for us to drive their messaging across audiences in the country. We look forward to reaching new heights with Believe.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Akademi GA, the exclusive partner of General Assembly (GA) in Malaysia (GA Malaysia), and MARQETR, an on-demand platform that links marketing experts to startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), have collaborated to equip Malaysian marketers with future ready digital skills and to empower them to work the way they want.

The partnership would be an avenue for both parties to achieve their goals; GA Malaysia can have placement referrals for marketing students or graduates for project opportunities on MARQETR. Meanwhile, MARQETR can refer new and existing marketers to upskill and reskill themselves at GA Malaysia, in order to maintain a high level of quality and performance in the marketing and digital discipline.

Upon analyzing and concluding that there is a demand for digitally skilled workers, MARQETR and GA Malaysia aim to close the digital skills gap among marketers in Malaysia and help with matching talents to on-demand work opportunities through this partnership.

Andrew Pereira, CEO of GA Malaysia, said, “GA Malaysia’s partnership with MARQETR will enable us to upskill and reskill even more marketers and provide another avenue for GA Malaysia graduates to access on-demand work opportunities with MARQETR. I look forward to seeing the impact of this partnership on the ultimate beneficiaries – marketing professionals and the organisations that benefit from their expertise.”

Meanwhile, Mawarni Adam, founder and CEO of MARQETR, shared, “Partnering with General Assembly Malaysia will not only boost the digital skillsets of the marketing talents on MARQETR but will also provide access for SMEs to hire the right marketers according to their business needs without the hassles of the traditional way of search and procurement.”

Adam adds, “Providing a supported and secure platform for marketers to offer their skills and services, and work the way they want is part of our mission too, and we are excited to be welcoming graduates from GA Malaysia and supporting them in their careers, as part of their on-demand marketing experts path on MARQETR.”

The partnership is already live and is available for SMEs to tap into GA Malaysia marketing talents via MARQETR, and for new signups and existing marketers on MARQETR to get access to GA Malaysia digital-driven marketing courses at exclusively-discounted rates to upskill themselves.

Vancouver, Canada – Global social media management platform Hootsuite has joined the content marketing speciality within TikTok’s Marketing Partner Program. As an official badged partner, Hootsuite has launched an integration that enables its customers to effectively manage, execute and optimise their TikTok content alongside their other platforms, from one integrated tool.

To empower businesses to explore the vast potential of this immersive platform and ease the transition for marketers looking to scale content creation, Hootsuite will be guiding its customers through this integration, one step at a time. Hootsuite will be helping its customers become creatively courageous on TikTok by launching a full suite of educational resources.

Maggie Lower, chief marketing officer at Hootsuite, said, “It’s safe to say that this partnership with TikTok has been much anticipated—as much for Hootsuite as for our customers. We’ve watched as video content has grown into a powerful tool that successful brands use to socialise with the world, and have identified the pain points our customers face in creating this type of content.I am beyond thrilled that Hootsuite can now play a more direct role in helping businesses become fearless on this unique, rapidly evolving digital platform.”

By way of the new integration capabilities, customers will now have the ability to elevate their content sharing experience on TikTok, and feel empowered to take the leap with Hootsuite as a trusted partner.

Meanwhile, Melissa Yang, head of ecosystem partnerships at TikTok, commented, “At TikTok, we are always looking for ways to make it easier for brands to develop great content that resonates with their communities. We are excited to welcome our new content marketing partners into the TikTok Marketing Partner Program, and to be collaborating with some of the most trusted partners in the industry.”

She added, “These partners will provide marketers with simple, effective tools to help them to regularly publish content, gain valuable performance insight, and meaningfully engage with their communities.”

Singapore – Global media platform Teads has announced a strategic partnership with the Singapore Media Exchange (SMX). Said deal gives Teads access to one of Singapore’s biggest media houses that comprises two of Singapore’s media giants- Mediacorp and Singapore Press Holdings.

As a part of this partnership, SMX brings leading news titles such as Channel News Asia and The Straits Times, as well luxury and lifestyle sites including Her World, ICON and HardwareZone catering to technology fans amongst their 25 sites for Teads to deliver ad formats in video and display inread, Teads flagship ad format, including ‘inRead Smart’ and ‘Smart6’ – a viewable video format for high engagement in brand safe, premium environments.

In addition, this strategic partnership will enable SMX to leverage Teads’ array of monetisation solutions across devices and formats, with a reach to digital consumers across Singapore with quality content and impactful ad solutions for greater audience engagement.

Julian Fernando, VP publisher solutions for Teads in APAC, said, “The advantage of Teads being a preferred partner with a powerhouse media company like SMX who represent leading brands like CNA, SPH, Business Times and premium SPH magazines is it gives us access to audience scale (reach) in brand safe environments. Team SMX are knowledgeable, collaborative and always eager to go beyond the brief, we are proud and excited to grow our partnership with them.”

Meanwhile, Michael Chng, general manager at SMX, commented, “Teads has been a partner of SMX since the very beginning when we started operations in 2018. Through various market challenges we’ve faced over the last 4 years, Teads has remained consistent in their commitment to our partnership. SMX is proud to have a steadfast partner in Teads, and I’m confident our collaboration will strengthen further in the years ahead.”