Tag: Partnership

China – ONE Holdings’ esports media company ONE Esports has been appointed by video game company Electronic Arts (EA) as its official tournament organiser and lead agency for the EACC 2022, an inter-Asian esports tournament for EA SPORTS FIFA Online 4.

According to EA, there will be two EACCs held in the second quarter and third quarter of this year, EACC Spring 2022 and EACC Summer 2022, both featuring 12 teams across China, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. EACC Spring will take place from 18 to 24 April 2022, where teams will compete over a week of intense competition.

As part of the agreement, ONE Esports will be providing full event execution and live production with players and talent for both EACCs in English, Korean, Mandarin, Thai, and Vietnamese. ONE Esports will also collaborate with EA to produce exciting content and comprehensive coverage of the tournaments for fans. The content will be available in local languages and published on the ONE Esports website, oneesports.gg, and across its social media channels.

Jason Teo, ONE Esport’s vice president of business development, shared that they know that a significant portion of ONE Esports fans is passionate about the EA SPORTS FIFA franchise. 

“We are excited to execute and bring an action-packed series of tournaments to this passionate and engaged EA SPORTS FIFA Online 4 community across Asia, as well as tell and amplify the stories of their esports heroes,” said Teo.

Meanwhile, Piotr Pilich, the deputy commissioner of EA SPORTS FIFA Online, said that ONE Esports has a proven track record for celebrating esports heroes and enhancing the competitive gaming global experience for players and viewers. 

“We are thrilled to partner with ONE Esports as we enhance the love for football through EA SPORTS FIFA Online 4 competitive gaming entertainment,” said Pilich.

Singapore – Global web recommendation platform Outbrain has expanded its global partnership with tech giant Microsoft, to utilise cloud computing service Microsoft Azure and encompass business, technology, and services.

Outbrain has been a long-standing Microsoft partner, through technology and advertising integrations that span MSN, Microsoft 365, Xbox, gaming, and Microsoft Bing. The expansion of the partnership will entail a multi-year Azure engagement to further enable the fast-paced innovation of Outbrain’s media platform. 

Through this, Outbrain aims to leverage Azure to further its global expansion, accelerate development cycles, and improve connectivity between advertisers and publishers, particularly with Outbrain’s programmatic bidders. This will also continue to drive forward the partnership through continuous innovation, enhancing Outbrain’s extensive data estate with a rich set of tools and services, ultimately helping Outbrain’s customers improve their business outcomes.

David Kostman, Outbrain’s co-CEO, commented that they are excited to further expand their strategic partnership with Microsoft, as they both share the mission of supporting independent journalism and the open web.

“Over the course of the last decade, we have worked together to serve publishers and advertisers with high-quality solutions across the globe. Extending our partnership with Microsoft to include Microsoft Azure technology as part of our hybrid cloud platform will drive innovation and deepen the relationship between our companies,” said Kostman.

Meanwhile, Andrew Burke, Outbrain’s managing director for APAC and growth markets, namely India, China, and Brazil, said, “This partnership represents another significant milestone in our efforts to provide innovative solutions to publishers and advertisers in our local markets”

Tara Brady, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of strategic partnerships, said, “We are pleased to expand our established partnership and look forward to partnering with Outbrain’s technology teams as they leverage Microsoft Azure’s most advanced technologies to service their customers.”

Rob Wilk, Microsoft’s vice president of advertising, commented, “We’ve been impressed by Outbrain’s platform, scale, and technology and are pleased to see Outbrain embrace Microsoft Azure and look forward to how it will improve performance for advertisers in Microsoft’s growing advertising ecosystem and on the open web.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Dentsu Malaysia’s digital-first end-to-end media agency iProspect has won the regional media mandate of hotel and flight booking platform Traveloka.

The remit, which will take effect in April 2022, will see iProspect as a key partner in Traveloka’s plan in becoming a lifestyle superapp. iProspect will also be responsible for all above the line media planning and buying across the platform’s key markets, which are Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. 

Moreover, iProspect will be setting up a regional media strategy hub based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ensuring that the brand delivers a unified strategy with local nuances across the said SEA markets. 

Dheeraj Raina, the CEO of dentsu Media for Malaysia, shared that the travel industry has gone through very challenging times, to say the least, and so have the consumers. 

“As the world begins to open up, we want yearning travellers to pick Traveloka as their first choice, for fulfilling experiences and we believe the media has a strong role to play in building that trust and optimism,” said Raina.

Meanwhile, Shirley Lesmana, Traveloka’s CMO, noted that they have marked their presence in six countries across SEA, helping millions of people enrich their lives on a daily basis, as they are on an accelerated mission to fulfil the end-to-end lifestyle needs of consumers in the region. 

“In addition, we found synergy in the strategy crafted by iProspect in these markets, to deliver our brand promise,” said Lesmana.

New Zealand – State, the insurance company based in New Zealand, has launched a new campaign that collated a range of mistake-prone trends, aimed at helping Kiwis make fewer mistakes in 2022.

The campaign, which was developed in partnership with creative agency Colenso BBDO, has reviewed over four million data streams, including more than 210,000 car, home and contents insurance claims, as well as publicly available NZ Police, NZ Transport, Statistics NZ, and weather data.

Titled ‘The State Insurance Mistake Report’, the campaign has ventured beyond the most mistake-prone days of the week, such as garages are the most mistake-prone space in the house, people called ‘John’ make the most mistakes, and there is zero truth to the superstition that more things go wrong when there’s a full moon.

Moreover, State and Colenso BBDO have also produced ‘The Personalised Mistake Report’, an online tool that people can use to be more mindful about what types of common mistakes could be in their future, with the aim to offer a unique experience for Kiwis.

Gabrielle Markwick-Brown, State’s marketing manager, believes that highlighting Kiwis’ most mistake-prone moments in an engaging and relatable way will hopefully help people avoid making as many of them.

“We wanted to use this data to help better protect New Zealanders. While State will always be here to help Kiwis get back on their feet if they make a mistake, our customers tell us time and again that preventing mistakes from happening in the first place is always preferable to dealing with the aftermath,” she said 

Meanwhile, Maria Devereux, Colenso BBDO’s CIO, said, “What the ‘Mistake Report’ shows is that there is a huge amount of risk we actually can foresee. By predicting mistakes, State is in the unique position to show up for customers before they lodge a claim, and actually, help them avoid doing so in the first place.”

The ‘Mistake Report’ campaign was launched last 14 February with a 30“film, supported by digital and print campaigns directing New Zealand to the website.

New Zealand – Auckland-based DOOH provider LUMO Digital Outdoor has partnered with DOOH adtech startup Doohly to launch a new, independent solution that will help streamline the entire direct and programmatic DOOH buying experience, as innovation continues across the channel.

The partnership will be deploying a purpose-built content management system (CMS) that will manage the roadside DOOH network. It is a live, independent solution accessible to all CRM, ad servers, supply-side platforms, audience measurement, and DOOH verification technologies open to integration.

Moreover, LUMO will have greater control over how it manages its networks for the benefit of buyers, from ad scheduling and reporting through to programmatic delivery. Doohly’s CMS solution will also be built in tandem with LUMO’s custom CRM system to reduce the requirement for manual involvement once campaigns are approved.

Jack Plowright, LUMO’s general manager of programmatic, shared that this new system and partnership with Dooh.ly is allowing them to embrace innovations in the programmatic without the integration siloes that exist amongst players. 

“We’re taking more control and some of the key projects we are aiming to push forward will provide equal access to our inventory. Doohly is a key part of that with its ability to drill down to the integrations across the different platforms that we use,” said Plowright.

Lumo, having seen the potential in programmatic buying for the channel, has sorted a platform that could integrate directly with supply-side platforms without the need to reserve a spot in the loop for programmatic access. Ensuring that inventory remains fluid between direct and programmatic buy types, the integration will push all available inventory to SSPs but allow direct campaigns to be allocated to the ad play opportunity if not fulfilled by programmatic buyers.

The integration with SSP partners such as Hivestack and Vistar will allow clients to have open access to the LUMO network programmatically, regardless of what demand-side platform they wish to buy through. Soon, live programmatic inventory on the network will be available to help manage impression capacity and campaign delivery.

Meanwhile, the Doohly CMS solution is set up to ingest real-time audience measurement data via the LENS platform, as well third-party display verification platform, Seedooh, providing a fully integrated campaign delivery system built for the demands of advertisers using DOOH.

Sean Law, Doohly’s co-founder, commented, “We’re committed to helping build and support the DOOH industry globally, and this partnership with LUMO was a natural step forward for that goal. We’re incredibly excited to be working alongside LUMO for this new industry initiative.”

Phil Clemas, LUMO’s CEO and co-founder, noted that they are seeing a changing shift in attitudes towards programmatic buying, and the growing demand has created an opportunity for them to provide a better pDOOH solution, and the new software platform is innovative, purpose-built and unique to their market, giving them another way to meet growing expectations around the demand for flexibility of DOOH campaigns. 

“Ultimately we’re helping the market see the adaptability needed for the digital channel as we anticipate the future needs of our clients,” said Clemas.

Just recently, LUMO has also partnered with visual communications platform Canva to launch ‘Billboards For Good’, an initiative that supplies New Zealand-based charities with free outdoor campaign activation.

Singapore – Asia’s sports media property ONE Championship has announced a multi-year partnership with luxury travel and lifestyle brand TUMI. This move will see TUMI as the official premium luggage partner of ONE Championship. 

The partnership includes live broadcast integrations and the development of a bespoke travel case and sling exclusively designed for the prestigious ONE World Championship belt. They will also work together on various exclusive marketing and branding activations throughout the duration of the partnership.

The ONE World Championship belt case combines a tough exterior with contoured angles as a nod to the martial arts legacy contained within. Utilising TUMI’s signature FXT Ballistic Nylon, a custom form-fitted EVA interior with suede lining, and an integrated stand, this innovative travel solution provides full 360-degree protection while in transit. An illuminated TUMI logo is the final touch to this modern design.

Meanwhile, the ONE World Championship sling will allow them to carry and store the coveted ONE World Championship belt wherever they go. Featuring TUMI’s FXT Ballistic Nylon, elevated leather detailing and a quilted interior for total protection, the sling reflects the signature design language of the TUMI Alpha 3 collection.

Chatri Sityodtong, ONE Championship’s chairman and CEO, stated that the ONE World Championship belt represents the journey of the greatest martial artists who reach the pinnacle of their sports through an unparalleled passion and dedication to excellence. 

“Our partnership with TUMI celebrates this achievement by honouring and protecting their most prized possession. I am thrilled to team up with a brand of TUMI’s calibre to elevate this experience for our athletes and fans watching around the globe,” said Sityodtong.

Victor Sanz, TUMI’s creative director, said that the ONE World Championship belt is a symbol of the relentless drive and dedication that ONE Championship athletes display in the pursuit of their craft. 

“As a world leader in luxury travel accessories with a particular focus on performance, TUMI is honoured to support and elevate the journeys of these amazing athletes and partner with a like-minded organisation that defines excellence in martial arts,” added Sanz.

Singapore — Full-suite payments platform 2C2P has announced its regional collaboration with hoolah, Asian Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) provider. The partnership enables 2C2P to offer hoolah’s service to merchants in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, and extend to new markets through 2022.

Through 2C2P’s comprehensive payments platform, merchants can seamlessly provide hoolah’s BNPL payment option at checkout for consumers to split purchases into three monthly interest-free repayments. Jointly, 2C2P and hoolah will help merchants boost their order size and reach more millennial and Generation Z customers who favour BNPL payment methods.

Aung Kyaw Moe, CEO and founder of 2C2P, said, “This partnership with hoolah bolsters our continuous effort to build an integrated payment solution that will help businesses securely accept payments across all channels to reach different customer segments and capitalise on the e-commerce boom. Our goal at 2C2P is to ensure that we constantly innovate to meet evolving business and consumer needs.”

Simultaneously, Arvin Singh, CEO and co-founder of hoolah, commented, “With more consumers looking for a flexible, transparent, and highly personalised way of paying online, our partnership with 2C2P will empower merchants and enhance BNPL adoption in the region. 2C2P’s expertise in payments acceptance in Asia is a great complement to the hoolah ecosystem, and we’re excited to embark on this journey to support merchants and take their businesses to greater heights.”

hoolah was recently added as a BNPL payment option by Malaysia Airlines and parent Malaysia Aviation Group’s travel and lifestyle platform, Journify.

Lau Yin May, group chief marketing and customer experience officer of Malaysia Airlines, shared that they are committed to offering safe and seamless end-to-end travel experiences for their customers and paying for their trip is part of the experience.

“We are delighted to work with hoolah and 2C2P to offer flexible payment choices to our customers so they can continue to Fly Confidently and shop seamlessly at Journify while enjoying interest-free BNPL convenience,” May said.

According to an IDC report commissioned by 2C2P, BNPL will rise from 1 per cent to 5 per cent of the total e-commerce payments in Southeast Asia by 2025 and become a key payment method shaping the region’s digital commerce landscape.

Thailand – Asia’s esports organisation Ampverse has partnered with gaming brand Razer, aimed at enabling its Thai Arena of Valor team, Bacon Time, to continue its growth under the Team Razer Banner – an assembly of world-class esports teams and athletes that empowers the best players in the world and giving them the edge in competition. 

As part of the partnership, Team Razer will be equipping Bacon Time’s pro players and brand ambassadors with the gaming products in order to boost their overall gaming and streaming experience. It will also allow Team Razer to access Bacon Time’s pool of pro players, brand ambassadors, and content creators, and an always-on branding presence throughout the team’s official social channels. 

Moreover, the two organisations will work on the co-creation and co-branding of Bacon Time-branded Razer products including the launch of gaming chairs, mousepads, earbuds, mobile cases, and keyboards, amongst others. 

Ferdinand Gutierrez, Ampverse’s CEO, commented that they are thrilled to partner with Team Razer, a global brand not only known for its distinct product quality, but also one which resonates with the gaming and esports community.

“What I’m most excited about is being able to use our creativity and co-create products that will elevate and bring the best out of both brands, connecting real-life consumers with highly relevant products to suit their lifestyle,” said Gutierrez.

Meanwhile, Flo Gutierrez, Razer’s director of global esports, shared that Bacon Time has impressed them with not just their skills in-game, but also their rapport with their fans and the overall gaming community. 

“With an increased focus placed on Razer’s mobile esports in the region, this partnership with Bacon Time comes at an opportune time as we deepen our connection with our Thai community,” he said.

Philippines — Union Bank of the Philippines, whose digital banking division services micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and major e-commerce platform Lazada, have collaborated to enable online sellers to have more options when it comes to bringing their products closer to customers.

With the memorandum of agreement signed last 10 March 2022, UnionBank, through its digital MSME online platform UnionBank GlobalLinker (UBGL), will be creating a special site for all Lazada sellers, while the latter will be doing the same for UBGL sellers. All existing Lazada sellers prior to the partnership will be automatically included.

According to UBGL and Lazada, the joint initiative aims to encourage more sign-ups in both of their respective marketplaces. It will help entrepreneurs expand their online presence much easier, as enlisting with either platform automatically opens up another virtual storefront for them, resulting in more opportunities in doing business with customers.

Signing up offers numerous benefits to sellers. First, they will have access to a dedicated Lazada Onboarding Team. This crew can provide guidance on a number of ideas ranging from selling to strategies; help those who have questions or concerns, and notify sellers about the latest initiatives within the Lazada platform.

In addition, sellers can utilize the following campaign features for free: Members Exclusive Campaign in the home page banner, landing page, and Lazada live, New Seller Campaign Access, and Mega Campaign Access. The first 150 signups will also enjoy service marketplace packages amounting to more than PHP1m in support. These include product photography, product upload, and store builder design, among others.

Lazada will likewise be promoting the UnionBank GlobalLinker platform to its own Lazada Seller Community, so that they too, can reap the benefits of the UBGL Platform.

Jaypee Soliman, vice president and head of SME and Micropreneurs Segment for UnionBank, said that right now, we are, without a doubt, in the golden age of e-commerce in the country.

“We want more enterprising Filipinos to thrive in this period of exponential growth for online shopping, which is why our enhanced partnership with Lazada is very timely. This is all part of our efforts to support the country’s MSME sector, bolster our “Tech-Up Pilipinas” advocacy, and promote inclusive prosperity for Filipinos,” Soliman said.

Carlos Barrera, chief operating officer of Lazada Philippines, commented, “With more MSMEs going online, the partnership with UnionBank is definitely a great step forward in enabling Filipino businesses to grow and scale their e-commerce presence. As we go into our 10th year of empowering MSMEs to go digital, we share an equal mission with UnionBank to continue to uplift Filipino entrepreneurs and further fuel the local digital economy.”

Lazada has been a consistent partner of UnionBank in backing the country’s MSME sector and making online shopping easier for customers since 2020. During the peak of the health crisis, the two companies provided an emergency credit lifeline to Lazada sellers who were heavily affected by the pandemic. In August of the same year, they launched the UnionBank Lazada Credit Card, providing numerous perks to Lazada shoppers.