Tag: Partnership

Philippines — Gushcloud in the Philippines, the technology-driven digital talent and media company, has announced the recent signing of known local fashion designer, Rajo Laurel, to help him grow his digital presence. In this collaboration, the digital talent and entertainment agency will be working closely with Laurel to represent him, manage key brands, and provide strategic channel management support.

The fashion icon shared his thoughts on the partnership, saying, “I’m very much looking forward to the new collaborations that Gushcloud and I will be able to make. Transitioning to digital can be daunting, but I am excited about this journey because this would open avenues for me to engage and interact with my followers and fellow designers,” Laurel said.

Laurel holds an extensive understanding of the creative industry and with over 30 years of experience in fashion, he was able to launch his own brands namely RAJO and House of Laurel. Through the partnership, Laurel hopes to connect more with his followers, giving them a glimpse of his passion, sense of purpose, and even giving a peek of his personal life. He is also excited to collaborate with fellow content creators and brands.

Felice Olondriz, head of talents of Gushcloud Philippines, commented that for this year, Gushcloud wants to take up space not just through their influencer marketing capacity, but in the digital entertainment stage as well. Olondriz added that the exciting collaboration with Rajo Laurel is only the beginning of opening up his influence to brands and consumers alike through representation and channel management.

“Ultimately, our vision as partners is to leverage Gushcloud’s more advanced entertainment efforts such as NFTs and new digital channel explorations, so Laurel can create a more positive influence amidst the clutter in digital marketing and advertising. Time and again, Gushcloud proves how our strength on digital strategy is not only for our brand campaigns but also for our exclusive talents who want to finally expand their digital footprint,” Olondriz said.

Jamie Paraso, country director of Gushcloud Philippines, said, “At Gushcloud, we are welcoming 2022, true to our theme of stronger and smarter! It is our pleasure to have the privilege to represent one of the fashion icons in our country, Rajo Laurel. As a digital talent and entertainment agency, our goal is to create a sustainable ecosystem where brands, influencers and content creators can grow together and create a strong positive influence. This collaboration aims to strengthen Rajo Laurel’s digital presence but I also believe that it will create ripples that can inspire the minds of like-minded individuals.”

Aside from Laurel, Gushcloud has also recently signed celebrity wedding videographer, Jason Magbanua, and gaming creator Chin Valdes, among others.

Last January, Gushcloud helped spearhead Sneakertopia’s expansion in Asia.

Manila, Philippines – UnionDigital Bank, the digital bank entity of the Union Bank of the Philippines, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with global play-to-earn guild Yield Guild Games (YGG) during its first-ever Managers’ Summit held last 3 to 6 March 2022 in the Philippines.

The partnership aims to make financial products and services more accessible to the play-to-earn and Web3 communities in the country. It will also further propel the rising Play-to-Earn community in the Philippines, addressing the communities’ emerging needs in the space.

UnionDigital Bank said that it aims to tech up and services the underbanked, enabling Filipino communities, businesses, problem solvers, and regulators to leverage innovative financial technologies in order to achieve nationwide financial inclusion.

Arvie de Vera, UnionDigital Bank’s co-founder and CEO, shared that their partnership with YGG brings to life their ambition to serve the growing Play-to-Earn community here in the Philippines.

“We are very excited to bring in our trailblazing leadership in Fintech, Blockchain, and Open Finance to the YGG community, providing them with services that best suit their needs in the P2E space,” said de Vera.

Meanwhile, Luis Buenaventura, YGG Pilipinas’ country manager, commented that this partnership with UnionDigital will give their play-to-earn community exclusive access to crypto services that are sorely lacking in the local ecosystem.

“We are confident that it will enable all kinds of interesting and new use cases, and continue to push the industry forward,” said Buenaventura.

Perth, Australia – West Australian energy provider Kleenheat has appointed Initiative Perth to be its new media agency partner. This partnership will see Initiative providing services for Kleenheat’s media requirements including strategy and buying across non-digital media, digital, search, social, and programmatic, as well as analytics.

The mandate, which will commence on 1 May 2022, will also see Initiative leveraging its media landscape to deliver positive results for Kleenheat.

David Burger, Initiative’s managing director for Perth, said that the brief was very specific requiring a holistic approach to the integration and use of digital and non-digital media to showcase Initiative’s capabilities.

He further shared that they are thrilled Kleenheat chose Initiative from a strong media agency pitch roster, and it’s a great privilege to work with a brand that is synonymous with providing local support and ongoing value for WA households and businesses.

“We felt we were a perfect match to fulfil Kleenheat’s brief and we’re excited to be part of the team to drive success by integrating the use of digital and non-digital media and build a powerful, long-term partnership with Deb and her team. We can’t wait to get started; it’s an exciting time to help deliver Kleenheat’s vision and be part of the brand’s growth journey,” added Burger.

Meanwhile, Debra Packer, Kleenheat’s marketing manager, said, “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Initiative to further strengthen our brand position and bring awareness to our goal of making life easier for our customers.”

Earlier this month, Initiative has launched a new national program called ‘Maternity Masterclass’, to help parents return to work with more experience than when they left for parental leave.

Singapore — Advertising and analytics multinational telecommunications company Xandr, and Scibids, a company that specialises in artificial intelligence for digital marketing, has announced they have struck a strategic alliance that will seamlessly and automatically deploy Scibids AI within Xandr’s Invest DSP using Xandr’s Data Science Toolkit.

By utilizing Xandr’s Data Science Toolkit, which offers one of the most comprehensive custom bidding and log-level-data solutions in-market, Scibids AI can power more granular optimization and ad decisioning that does not require user tracking and profiling to generate greater efficiency and scale for Xandr’s advertiser customers and their campaigns.

The combined result is a frictionless experience for buyers who are able to activate Scibids’ customizable, privacy-centric, and highly performant ad decisioning.

Eric Schwartz, managing director of Scibids North America, said, “Xandr has a long history in enabling its customers to deploy powerful, custom buying strategies to help gain an edge. Thanks to advances in technology and our deep integration with Scibids, tailored bidding strategies no longer require a team of data scientists and engineers to bring them to life. We’re thrilled that our partnership with Scibids will help democratise access to this advanced technology.”

Rahul Vasudev, managing director of Scibids Asia-Pacific, commented that artificial Intelligence is raising expectations in marketing and none more so than in programmatic advertising.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the Xandr team to bring our custom algorithm solutions to Xandr’s Invest DSP, enabling advertisers to achieve their multiple business objectives across the open web. As Scibids is additive rather than disruptive our partnership will help trading talent to thrive by operating transparently and easily alongside their usual tech and processes,” Vasudev said.

The relationship can benefit all premium cross-channel supply, including Connected TV and digital video, among others. Scibids and Xandr provide a clear marketing path for consumers who are ramping up their use of first-party data — even if the customer does not have deep engineering, data science, or media optimization resources. Conversely, sophisticated buyers are able to enjoy rich customization options that can put their proprietary insights to work with the unified benefits of the Xandr and Scibids platforms.

Last December, Xandr was bought out by tech giant Microsoft, which have recently gone into a buying spree to consolidate its market position.

Montreal, Canada – Global independent programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) adtech company, Hivestack, has partnered with New York-based adtech MediaMath to launch multiple programmatic DOOH, and other cross-channel media campaigns on a global scale.

Through the partnership, MediaMath’s Demand Side Platform (DSP) will be integrated into Hivestack’s Supply Side Platform (SSP), following OpenRTB standards, which will allow for MediaMath and its advertisers to access Hivestack’s premium global DOOH inventory through RTB transactions via open exchange.

Hivestack said that its Hivestack SSP is integrated with more than 195 media owners from across the globe, providing unlimited opportunities for brands, agencies and omnichannel DSPs to activate across premium DOOH screens from anywhere in the world. 

Bruno Guerrero, Hivestack’s chief operating officer, commented that they are thrilled to announce this key partnership with MediaMath which will open up additional ways to activate programmatic digital out of home (DOOH) via their global SSP inventory.

“This alliance represents our commitment to providing buyers with a more diverse suite of solutions to connect with their audiences via contextually relevant messages and drive business growth,” said Guerrero.

Meanwhile, Laurent Cordier, MediaMath’s chief partnerships officer, shared that DOOH is an exciting opportunity for clients looking to reach users through high-impact real-world placements. 

“Hivestack brings global scale to MediaMath’s DOOH capabilities, and enables brands to reach targeted audiences and consolidate their digital advertising into one platform,” said Cordier.

The first programmatic DOOH campaign between Hivestack and MediaMath has been initiated in Japan as part of the continued global rollout of this partnership, this integration will be effective across Hivestack’s global inventory moving forward.

Just recently, Hivestack has also announced a strategic partnership with Chinese media agency BlueFocus Media. This will enable Chinese brands to plan, activate and measure DOOH campaigns programmatically via the Hivestack DSP from within China to outside China and all over the world.

Philippines — Just in time for International Women’s Day, Grab Philippines is opening a fresh offering in its super app – where users can now make bookings for salon and wellness home services. This is specifically in partnership with PH-based beauty and wellness service platform Parlon.

Staying true to the theme of IWD, the said partnership in fact aims to encourage women to celebrate and get pampered safely and conveniently at the comfort of their homes. This campaign marks the first salon home service partnership in the region and features popular salon favourites Marqed Salon, The Secret Lounge, Benibana Beauty Hub, Vine Aesthetics, Lay Bare, and Passionails. Home service appointments on haircuts, beauty treatments, and grooming services from these salons are now available via the Grab app with more Parlon partner salons expected to be onboarded after launch.

Claire Ongcangco, CEO of Parlon, said that this is a very important milestone for Parlon because it has always been their mission to digitalize the salon and wellness industry.

“We’re not just here to create a marketplace or software. We aim to build an ecosystem and we strongly believe that home service will play a part in the industry’s future as we continue to navigate a post-pandemic life. We’re very happy to be sharing this breakthrough with Grab and we’re hoping that this partnership is just the beginning of many revolutionary firsts for both of us,” Ongcango said.

Anton Bautista, head of deliveries for Grab Philippines, commented, “We are delighted to have Parlon and their partner salons available in the Grab app through GrabMart. As a leading everyday super app in Southeast Asia, Grab is constantly looking for ways to make lives better for each and every Filipino. This International Women’s Month, our partnership with Parlon will bring the most-trusted salon brands closer to every Filipina and even bring excellent beauty services right to their homes through a tap of a button. This partnership strengthens our mission of creating an ecosystem of different everyday essentials easily available to our consumers.”

The promotion values at a minimum of PHP 3,000 excluding the transportation fee, customers may book home service via the GrabMart option, selecting their chosen salon and service, picking a time slot, and checking out their appointments—just like how food is ordered. Multiple services from one salon also can be booked for a total pampering experience.

“We’ve entered this partnership with both the consumers and the salon industry in mind. At Parlon, we want to give consumers easily accessible options to book their home service appointments while keeping the comfort of salon owners and staff as well. We’re confident that with Grab’s strong reputation of delivering safe and convenient rides, our beauty providers won’t have to worry about the hassle of travelling with all their tools and equipment,” Ongcangco said.

Through this collaboration, stylists and beauty technicians will enjoy hassle-free car transport services to and from their client’s houses for every appointment.

Singapore — Una Brands, Singapore-based e-commerce aggregator, has struck its first strategic alliance with South Korean domestic counterpart, KlickBrands. Together they will invest KRW₩120b, or US$100m, in the countries’ e-commerce market over two years.

The alliance will link Una Brands’ global cross-border network with KlickBrands’ understanding of the South Korean market. Together, they will help grow the local e-commerce brands domestically and into Southeast Asian markets namely Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Una Brands and KlickBrands will scale at least 25 or more profitable e-commerce brands, across categories such as health, K-beauty, baby, pets, and home and living brands. South Korea was identified as a key market for Una Brands, being the fifth-largest e-commerce market globally with an annual growth rate of around 14% and an expected market value of US$250b by 2025.

Kiren Tanna, co-founder and CEO of Una Brands, said, “Of all the local e-commerce aggregators, we chose KlickBrands as our strategic partner because of our shared vision, mission, and values. Their hands-on approach to working with the brands they acquire mirrors our own work ethic. This will make KlickBrands an instrumental partner in strengthening Una Brands’ presence in, and understanding of, the South Korean e-commerce landscape. In return, KlickBrands will benefit from our robust operational, technological, and acquisition capabilities.”

KlickBrands, founded in 2021 by entrepreneurs and venture capitalists Brian Hyun and Jung Ho Joo, is focused on creating opportunities for brand owners to accelerate their growth across eCommerce platforms and markets.

Brian Hyun, co-founder and CEO of KlickBrands, commented that the partnership with Una Brands bears testament to the growing possibilities for e-commerce brands in South Korea.

“When Una Brands approached us, we immediately recognised that their capabilities were a great match for our own, particularly with the strong team that they have built, their expertise in e-commerce in the Asia Pacific (APAC), and their global distribution network. We bring to the partnership local e-commerce expertise, as well as the understanding and empathy of local brand owners’ mindsets. We are very excited to have the backing of Una Brands as we continue to reach out to more brand owners in South Korea to support their next phase in expansion,” Hyun said.

Una Brands, an e-commerce aggregator in APAC that comprises a team with a wealth of experience behind it, has established its presence in key markets namely Singapore, Australia, India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Taiwan in under a year, with South Korea being the next strategic market for the business’ expansion and development. Since its launch in 2021, Una Brands has to date acquired over 20 firms, with the earliest brands seeing over a 50 per cent increase in sales and profits.

Singapore — Founded by Thomas Reemer and Deborah Sass and led by former News Corp Europe chief, Marty Pompadur, TDGA Holdings Ltd., the United Kingdom-based media company has announced its exclusive collaboration with industry veterans and Asian digital media conglomerate, One Digital Entertainment today to create the future-facing experiential reality show ‘Space Hero’.

Through the partnership, One Digital Entertainment is responsible for the strategy on building the brand Space Hero through product strategy, regional development, media alliances and brand marketing for the world’s first-ever global casting show, where contestants compete for a trip into space exclusively for the territories of India, South East Asia and MENA.

Space Hero will be the World’s first global casting show to transport a civilian into space as part of a USD$155m 6-day mission orbiting Earth and synching with the International Space Station. It is a first-of-its-kind, global media company that unites citizens around the world and inspires community, collaboration and innovation here on Earth; through a biennial competition where people from all walks of life have the chance to compete and select one of their peers for a mission to space. Through interactive, immersive, produced and user-generated content, the Space Hero platform encourages participants and fans to be inspired by the wonder of space, to create change at home.

The reality show will select 24 contestants from around the world, twelve men and twelve women, twelve from emerging countries and twelve from developed countries. They will be housed in the Space Village, a state-of-the-art futuristic sustainable experience, but with space-age technologies and the experiential feel of space. The show will document their lives as they prepare to compete for the venture into space on the free-flyer mission. On the show, the contestants will have their emotional, mental and physical strength tested, similar to how astronauts train before a flight. In a sort of elimination challenge, the show’s house activities, challenges and voting will narrow down the list of candidates until only one person remains.

Thomas Reemer, creator and founding partner of Space Hero, said that TDGA is glad to have partnered with One Digital Entertainment and that they shall bring in their robust expertise for the territories of South East Asia, India and MENA regions. Reemer continued by saying these territories have very high online participation for some of the biggest global events and they are excited to further expand our operations, in order to build various business and marketing synergies via our partners One Digital Entertainment.

Shabir Momin, managing director and co-founder of One Digital Entertainment, commented, “Space travel has been a dream for millions for many decades and Space Hero is making that dream a reality; giving the common man an opportunity to engage with space. We are thrilled to join hands with Space Hero to forefront its’ trajectory within the Asian communities.”

Deborah Sass, founding partner and co-CEO of Space Hero, shared, “The opportunity of space exploration is not limited to specific citizens, countries or for defined income groups anymore. Space is one of the most inaccessible industries in the world. Space Hero is giving you that access! With our mission to make Space Hero a truly global platform that is united by people from different countries and of different colour, creed and races, the partnership with One Digital Entertainment solidifies our commitments towards the same.”

Meanwhile, Gurpreet Singh, COO and co-Founder of One Digital Entertainment, disclosed, “It is indeed a proud moment as this partnership marks Space Hero’s maiden partnership in Asian region. We aspire to strengthen Space Hero’s long-term vision with strategic and unique partnerships within the media gamut. Space Hero is setting benchmarks in the space media business, and we are excited to use our experience in the various verticals to bring these projects to a global audience.”

The entire mission will be live-streamed 24/7 and live interactions with the participants are possible. The show is expected to air in 2023, and anyone over the age of 18 with a basic level of English can apply for the competition. Space Hero is planning 15 seasons over the next 30 years, eventually flying beyond the ISS, to the Moon and Mars. The Space Hero project is supported by over 70 space agencies and space institutions globally, plus over 55 private Space companies from around the world. On April 12, 2021, marking the 60th anniversary of the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, Space Hero signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA; becoming the first media company to do so in decades.



Jakarta, Indonesia – Indonesia’s e-commerce company Bukalapak has partnered with hypermarket and supermarket chain operator Trans Retail Indonesia and Singapore-based private equity firm Growtheum Capital Partners to launch an online grocery platform AlloFresh.

The new online grocery platform offers over 150,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) in 144 categories. It also offers three-hour and quick commerce delivery options across Indonesia.

Bukalapak said that its extensive understanding of online user behaviour and digital expertise are pivotal for AlloFresh to redefine the category and be a pioneer in the space. Integrating it with Indonesia’s largest fresh and grocery offline retailer, the collaboration will further hasten Bukalapak’s transformation from a general to a speciality platform.

Willix Halim, Bukalapak’s CEO, shared that AlloFresh’s presence will reinforce Bukalapak’s position as the leading all-commerce technology company, including O2O offerings while expanding their broader range of customers in the retail ecosystem.

“Similar to our Mitra Bukalapak initiative, the combination of the unique model and the thriving partnership will create tremendous opportunities to cater to the growing demand in this segment,” said Halim.

Meanwhile, Chairul Tanjung, the chairman of CT Corp, the parent company of Trans Retail Indonesia, said, “Establishing an omnichannel, offline-and-online experience for the customers is the solution. AlloFresh will be the only place to access Indonesia’s biggest range of branded and own-label products in just a few simple clicks.”

Olivier Legrand, Growtheum Capital Partners’ transaction advisory member, said, “As an incoming Independent Commissioner of AlloFresh, I’m thrilled to bring the convenience of online grocery shopping to millions of Indonesian consumers.”

Bukalapak customers can now order their groceries through the AlloFresh app that is available on the App Store and Google Playstore, as well as the ‘Click & Go’ at TRANSMart stores.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – As part of Malaysia Airlines’ commitment to supporting the development of homegrown talent in sports, the flag carrier airline and the Malaysian Football League (MFL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to mark their partnership in supporting the country’s football sporting field.

With the new partnership, Malaysia Airlines will be the official airline partner for MFL, providing safe and seamless air travel for the delegates competing in domestic professional tournaments under MFL, including Liga Super, Liga Premier, and Piala Malaysia, as well as Piala FA, and Piala Sumbangsih. The airline will also team up with MFL to support its activities, including local and international conferences, and football clinics.

Moreover, the partnership entails leveraging the extensive organisational network of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), the parent company of Malaysia Airlines. It will also see joint campaigns, branding, and events with Firefly, MASwings, MHholidays, and Enrich.

Izham Ismail, MAG’s group chief executive officer, commented that he is certain that this symbiotic relationship between Malaysia Airlines and MFL will be a boon to football enthusiasts across the nation, uniting fans with their favourite teams, especially supporters from East Malaysia, who can now enjoy more matches held in the peninsular, and vice versa, through our seamless connectivity and increased flight frequency.

“As the official airline for MFL and its celebrated professional competitions, Malaysia Airlines commits to providing seamless connectivity and safe travels for members of the MFL and football fans alike,” said Ismail.

Meanwhile, Stuart Ramalingam, MFL’s chief executive officer, believes that the partnership with Malaysia Airlines symbolises two brands – the national carrier and the nation’s biggest football association – coming together to elevate the standard of the Malaysian football scene to greater heights, in line with the national agenda.

“We are delighted to welcome our national carrier to Liga Malaysia. With the new season and fixtures scheduled for the year, members of the Malaysian football fraternity and fans who seek to travel across the country can take advantage of Malaysia Airlines’ increased frequencies, especially from Sabah and Sarawak,” said Ramalingam.

Just recently, Malaysia Airlines has also inked an MoU with Johor Darul Ta’zim Football Club (JDTFC) to mark their partnership which will be committed to elevating the local football scene ‘to the highest level’.