Tag: Partnerships

Manila, Philippines – Consumer finance app, BillEase, and in-app commerce platform ChatGenie have announced their partnership targeted at empowering micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) through integrating its buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution in the platform.

The partnership is expected to bring a new level of convenience to both consumers and merchants, with retailers now being able to offer shoppers three cardless instalment options at checkout with interest rates between 0% and 3.49%.

According to the release, the BNPL service will enable underserved consumers to enjoy a more flexible payment option, while merchants can increase their sales by offering a wider range of payment methods.

“We are excited to partner with BillEase to provide our merchants with a broader payment solution that will help them grow their businesses. ChatGenie is committed to providing our retailers with opportunities by maximizing the world’s biggest apps; this collaboration is a testament to that commitment,” said Ragde Falcis, chief executive officer of ChatGenie.

Georg Steiger, CEO and co-founder of BillEase, added, “This partnership is a significant step towards achieving our mission to provide financial services that are accessible and convenient for both retailers and consumers. By offering our BNPL service through ChatGenie’s innovative platform, we are providing a frictionless payment option that aligns with this shift toward digital transactions.”

Previously, BillEase has also partnered with tech company OpenFabric to launch an integration stack for large enterprise merchants and payment gateways looking for same-day integration of BNPL service.

Sydney, Australia – Media agency Mediahub has announced its partnership with programmatic technology provider Teads to create a global platform first partnership, designed to offer clients a unique Attention Guaranteed Buying model.

The partnership is targeted at streamlining the supply path, focusing on providing better quality impressions with less wastage, which will also assist their clients to reach their sustainability and ESG objectives.

Mediahub’s Head of Digital, Gerry Bowness, said that attention has been a hot topic in the industry, firmly placing itself into the measurement mix, however, he believed it was time to give clients a competitive advantage and provide better buying and trading methodologies that guarantee business results.

He added, “We’ve done extensive work in the Attention space over the past 2 years, culminating in the creation of custom bidding algorithms to give our clients a competitive edge. These algorithms enabled us to optimise campaigns in [real-time], delivering outstanding results – but buying [and] trading methods haven’t evolved at the same pace so we set about to change that.”

Bowness also explained that the unique Attention Guaranteed Buying model will start to move away from buying media on legacy metrics such as CPMs and CPCVs and will provide their clients with a zero-risk buying model that will guarantee results.

Meanwhile, Paul DaBell, head of sales NSW and QLD at Teads said, “Providing creative solutions has always been part of our DNA so partnering with Mediahub and developing a media buying solution that will genuinely benefit clients and grow their business is exactly what we are about.”

Mediahub’s Executive Director for APAC, Andrew Livingston, concluded, “At Mediahub, driving digital innovation reinforces our challenger positioning and with attention metrics emerging as the new beta currency in the digital space, it’s exciting to be at the forefront of the industry with this pioneering partnership with Teads.”

The partnership is effective April 12 this year immediately benefitting all Mediahub clients including recent pitch wins such as BSH (Bosch, Siemens, Gaggenau, and Neff) and Arla (Lurpak and Castello).

Singapore – Performance-driven ad solutions provider Rakuten Advertising has named Sydney-based e-commerce growth partner and digital agency The Thoughtful Agency as its first Platinum Agency Partner in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Thoughtful Agency has been recognised for delivering ‘comprehensive and industry-leading’ solutions for their clients through the Rakuten Affiliate Network.

“We are delighted to welcome The Thoughtful Agency as our first Platinum Agency Partner in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Nicola Murray, director of advertiser and agency development at Rakuten Advertising.

She added, “The team’s dedication to driving success for their clients aligns perfectly with our mission to empower the digital advertising industry to outthink and outperform through performance. We can’t wait to see what the team will achieve—this is just the beginning.”

The Thoughtful Agency’s Chief Growth Officer, Prav De Silva, also expressed his excitement about becoming Rakuten’s Platinum Agency Partner and the opportunities it brings for its clients.

“We are honoured to be recognised as Rakuten Advertising’s first Platinum Agency Partner in the Asia-Pacific region. This partnership will allow us to continue to drive innovation in the affiliate marketing space alongside Rakuten Advertising and leverage its innovative solutions to drive even greater value for our client portfolio,” he added.

Rakuten Advertising’s Platinum Agency Partner program is an exclusive community of the company’s partnered agencies. The program is designed for agencies that have a deep understanding of Rakuten Advertising’s products and services and have demonstrated their ability to leverage these solutions to deliver exceptional results for their clients. 

This follows Rakuten Advertising’s launch of Accelerate, a fully-managed, affiliate marketing program led by experienced analysts leveraging unique data insights, competitive intelligence, custom campaign modelling, and publisher matchmaking.

Singapore – Digital advertising company PubMatic and AI-powered advertising solutions provider Silverpush have announced their strategic partnership that aims to enable brands and advertisers across the Asia Pacific to better connect with their target audiences through data-driven advertising.

The partnership, effective immediately, will allow advertisers to access to important audience data that can be applied on the sell side to bring greater efficiency to their campaigns. Advertisers can also leverage Silverpush’s AI-powered contextual data programmatically through Connect, PubMatic’s audience solution. 

Connect will allow advertisers to engage audiences through privacy-compliant solutions that perform without relying on third-party cookies or outdated strategies and enable advertisers to access PubMatic’s premium inventory and use Silverpush’s hyper-contextual targeting. 

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Silverpush – together, PubMatic and Silverpush will provide advertisers with a powerful suite of data-driven tools to help them optimize their campaigns and achieve their marketing objectives,” said Brandon Lee, director, addressability APAC at PubMatic. 

He also explained that Connect will bring targeting to the sell-side,  which means buyers can gain greater control over how their inventory and data are packaged and transacted to drive the best performance for their campaigns.

Raushida Vasaiwala, vice president for APAC at Silverpush, also commented, “We are excited to partner with PubMatic to provide our AI-powered contextual advertising solutions for a wider reach of audience in the APAC market, starting from Indonesia. This partnership will enable advertisers to create highly targeted campaigns that are based on real-time consumer contexts, delivering better campaign results and ROAS.” 

Recently, PubMatic has also partnered with real-time data services provider Proximic to launch an ID-less targeting solution for marketers and media companies.

Kuala Lumpur – Creative agency FCB Shout has been appointed as the creative agency of record for Offspring Inc Sdn Bhd, a premium babycare brand specialising in sustainable and eco-friendly preventive healthcare products.

The recent win adds to FCB Shout’s portfolio of FMCG clientele, which already features marquee packaged goods brands like Spritzer, Darlie, Pepsi, McCain and Twinings. 

“We have been in hyper-growth mode in recent years, having penetrated approximately 26 new foreign markets in the past two years. We are looking to build an eco-friendly brand that enables sustainability beyond solely Malaysian shores, thereby providing mums all over the world with the safest baby products and allowing them to play a part in saving the environment,” said Roslan Ismail, chief executive officer of Offspring Inc.

On why the agency was chosen, John Teoh, Offspring Inc.’s chief marketing officer, said that FCB Shout has a proven reputation as brand-builders and their solid FMCG experience and storytelling capabilities were evident in their proposal. 

“Coupled with a challenger attitude that we also share and their growing cross-border capabilities, we are confident that they will be the ones to take our brand to the next level,” Teoh added.

Shaun Tay, co-owner and chief executive officer of The Shout Group and FCB Shout, likewise added that the agency wanted to align with brands that are forces for good, hence the partnership with Offspring. 

“The brand has a clear purpose, and for many of us who are parents, it’s one that we appreciate and resonate with. Inspiring consumers who have the means to make sustainable, eco-friendly purchase decisions that are not just good for the planet but also good for us is a little change that cumulatively will go a long way,” Tay added. 

Last year, FCB Shout has also won eight businesses over the course of eight months, which included several high-profile Malaysian, regional and global brands.

Singapore – Customer support tech company Zendesk, Inc. has announced a five-year strategic collaboration agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The partnership aims to help businesses deliver personalised customer experiences at scale, with technology that grows with them.

The strategic collaboration will help businesses provide faster, tailored conversational experiences to customers across all channels while also improving the efficiency of support operations through the use of AI-powered tools, bots and analytics on an open and flexible service. 

Moreover, the collab will make customer experience (CX) more seamless for both customers and agents to help businesses to stay competitive, retain customer loyalty, and adapt to rapidly changing market conditions.

The SCA will also extend Zendesk Suite’s latest innovations in customer service to AWS and AWS Marketplace with the following capabilities:

  • Enterprise-grade, secure customer service programs and chatbots on reliable cloud architecture that scales with the business
  • Conversational experiences across potential customer channels and devices
  • Multi-channel support in Zendesk Sunshine Conversations, Amazon Connect, and AWS Contact Center Intelligence.
  • Personalised interactions and quick problem-solving with embedded chatbots 
  • Boosting customer retention by using AI to analyze customer emotion and take the best action 
  • Driving agent productivity with AI-based tools that help agents respond and resolve issues faster by providing self-service options, time-saving routing, and AI-powered workflows

“Zendesk has been both a member of the AWS Partner Network and a customer for many years, leveraging our cloud services to create innovative customer and employee experience solutions for customers,” said Ruba Borno, vice president, worldwide channels and alliances at AWS. 

She also added that the SCA with Zendesk will allow companies to personalise experiences using data, taking customer experiences to the next level and helping businesses automate and scale their customer service operations on the cloud.

Pascal Pettinicchio, vice president, alliances and corporate development at Zendesk, explained, “Zendesk research found that 61% of customers are excited by the prospect of immersive experiences, and 80% of businesses plan to increase their CX budgets in 2023. By taking advantage of easy-to-use software powered by Zendesk AI and AWS, CX teams can free up time and resources to focus on what they do best — creating powerful customer interactions.” 

He added, “Zendesk’s platform delivers high-level performance to provide enhanced customer experiences — we knew that, by collaborating with AWS, we could meet customers’ demands.”

Meanwhile, Steve Franklin, global head of customer service at Siemens Financial Services also commented that Zendesk brings ‘stability’ to their company’s customer service operations and allows them to provide unrivaled experiences and timely responses to their customers. 

“They help us quickly get control when volumes spike, both in terms of understanding what is happening, so we can take steps to proactively reduce the volumes and also in the handling of the queries, to reduce the backlog back down again,” he added.

Last year, Zendesk has also launched its Intelligent Triage and Smart Assist, its artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that empowers businesses to triage customer support requests automatically.

Australia – Following a successful four-year relationship, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has announced the extension of their partnership with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment as its official creative agency for three more years.

The resumed partnership follows the success of AOC’s ‘Have A Go’ campaign for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, led by M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment. The campaign aimed to inspire Australians of all ages to ‘Have A Go’, which acknowledges that not everyone’s journey to the Olympics is a path to athletic glory. 

With this, the agency will continue the development and evolution of the campaign as the AOC gears up for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The agency will also provide support on a range of activities for the Australian Olympic Movement.

“Since the first modern Games in 1896, Australia’s Olympians have been inspiring generations of Australians with their dedication, commitment, and courage. ‘Have A Go’ has proven to be a highly engaging and effective program so we are really excited to extend our partnership with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment to build on this momentum in the lead up to Paris 2024,” said Matt Carroll, CEO of AOC.

Krystyna Frassetto, managing director of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment Australia, also said, “Every four years the Olympic Games galvanises our country in a way few events can match. It’s a privilege to be continuing our partnership with the Australian Olympic Committee and play a role in a sponsor community with other leading domestic and international brands.”

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment is part of the global Sport & Entertainment network within M&C Saatchi Group, specialising in sponsorship, public relations, experiential, and influencer engagement.

Sydney, Australia – Independent agency This is Flow has added AirAsia to its client portfolio following a competitive pitch and the airline’s return to the market following COVID.

Under the partnership, This is Flow will work with AirAsia across a full suite of marketing services, including media planning and buying in Australia and New Zealand. The agency will also run key market activations and manage social content, influencers, and creatives through Flow’s partners, L&A Social.

“We are thrilled to work with This is Flow as our chosen strategic partner to take our brand to the next level in Australia and New Zealand in two key markets we are returning to first, post pandemic,” said Karen Chan, AirAsia Group’s chief commercial officer.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Hyett, founder and CEO of This is Flow said that the agency is seeing renewed excitement about international travel and commented about what Flow can bring to AirAsia.

“With a vibrant brand and a passionate team, Flow can add to the mix lots of fun activations, great media, and engaging content – when combined, makes AirAsia a dream client to work with, and we’re so excited to be a part of their growth story in a rebounding travel industry,” he added.

This is Flow has also previously won the media account of cruise operator Carnival Australia and its four brands in ANZ.

Perth, Australia – Perth Airport has extended its partnership with out-of-home media company JCDecaux. The extended contract will see new and upgraded digital assets installed and programmatic trading enabled across all of Perth Airport’s digital inventory.

Under the partnership, new small- and large-format digital signage will be introduced and existing assets will be refreshed across various sites located within Perth Airport’s terminals, retail centres, and road network.

“Perth Airport and JCDecaux have been in partnership for many years. This tender win comes at a time when air travel is enjoying a strong resurgence and brands are rediscovering the benefits of reaching this valuable and highly engaged travel audience,” said Andrew Hines, chief operating officer at JCDecaux.

He also added that JCDecaux is well-placed to deliver great outcomes for Perth Airport including trading programmatically across all digital assets.

Perth Airport’s Acting CEO Kate Holsgrove also said, “Our core International and Domestic markets are recovering quickly, and we are working closely with government, tourism, and industry so we are well-positioned to continue attracting new airlines and routes. With more than 95% of visitors to Western Australia arriving by air, Perth Airport is uniquely placed to connect brands with multiple high-value segments.”

The renewed contract will be effective in August this year.

Previously, JCDecaux has also partnered with foodpanda in Hong Kong for its pandamart campaign.

Hong Kong – After a regional review involving eight network agencies, it’s Havas Media that ultimately snared the account of international financial services firm, Sun Life. Havas Media will now be officially the company’s agency of record (AOR) for its markets in Asia namely, Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. 

The agency’s remit includes providing regional strategic leadership, coordination and reporting, with full-funnel local advertising and SEO services. 

The partnership with Sun Life will be led by the Havas Regional Hub in Hong Kong and be supported by its local Havas offices. The media agency will also be partnering with advertising agency Invictus Blue and digital marketing agency First Page SEO in fulfilling its AOR role.

David Broom, chief client experience and marketing officer of Sun Life, commented that through its long-time provision of services to clients in Asia, it has become a trusted brand in the region.

He added, “As we continue to grow and as digitalisation and media consumption trends rapidly evolve, we required a partner that could help us both now and into the future. We are very pleased to partner with Havas Media and look forward to working together.”

Meanwhile, Andrew Cawte, managing director of Havas Media in Hong Kong, said that with the aim of winning the confidence of the Sun Life team, they have taken the time to understand its integrity and community values.

Cawte added, “Having such a long history in Asia, their credibility and customer understanding are unparalleled. We are really looking forward to helping them unlock their enormous potential, over the coming years.”