Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines – Tier One Entertainment, Philippine-based esports entertainment company for SEA, has partnered with global in-game advertising channel Admazing Co., to launch its in-game advertising service.

Admazing Co.’s proposition is offering retention of the brand to its target audience segments, citing its high games inventory and a strong penetration from the Gen Z’s and millennials as well as from Gen A’s, which is the demographic said to come after the Gen Z’s and those born in the 21st century.

The partnership will enable Tier One Entertainment to access Admazing Co.’s games inventory for its brand partners. It has also earned the right to cater Admazing Co. within the SEA region.

According to global technology research and advisory company Technavio, the in-game advertising market is expected to grow by US$11b in 2024. This growth is driven by the increasing popularity of mobile gaming, the growing adoption of smartphones, and the increasing availability of high-speed internet. 

With this, Tier One Entertainment believes that adding in-game advertising to its core advertising services is essential to strengthen its gaming ecosystem, as well as push further its dominance in the mobile gaming industry with its esports team, Blacklist International.

Tier One Entertainment’s Chief Commercial Officer Joanne Llavore commented that this partnership with Admazing Co. enables Tier One Entertainment to close the loop in terms of serving the advertising needs of brands, and their ultimate goal is to provide clients with solutions to efficiently penetrate the hard to reach Millennials and Gen Z audiences.

“Admazing Co. is a superior platform because it is the only one that has a direct connection to game developers hence, providing premium inventory. We are fortunate and glad to have a truly top-tier partner like Admazing Co.,” said Llavore.

Meanwhile, Edward Castillo, the managing director at Admazing Co., said that they recognized Tier One’s expertise in the gaming industry and they are especially proud of this collaboration because it highlights how they are working together to change the advertising era through mobile game advertising, and help build the next generation audience experience in a brand-safe environment. 

“This partnership also represents a major milestone in the growth of Mobile Gaming as an effective territory in the region,” added Castillo.

Singapore – In a bid to position itself as a peer-to-peer platform where every user ‘wins’ off their purchase, classifieds platform Carousell has released a new campaign made of multiple ads, to be shown across Singapore and the Philippines, and is made by creative agency 72andSunny Singapore, which they recently appointed as creative partner recently.

The new works runs across digital and social touchpoints, featuring separately diverse and incredibly human scenarios where Carousell’s community and its products and services come into play. From plumbing emergencies at three in the morning that require home services to growing families bursting out of their apartments looking for properties, the multi-ad campaign cements Carousell as a true multi-vertical offering. 

The new campaign speaks volumes of the continuation of the work between Carousell and 72andSunny Singapore, showing how Carousell has ‘every kinda thing for every kinda person’ so ‘everyone wins’.

Speaking about the campaign, Cassandra Leong, brand lead at Carousell, commented that the work really brought Carousell user pain points to life in a ‘relatable and human way in such a snappy format’.

“It was great to reunite with 72andSunny as a partner at this important stage of our business growth, where we’re continuing to leverage our strength in general goods such as fashion and electronics, but also want to highlight just how comprehensive our offerings are across the board with home services, autos and property,” said Leong.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ko, creative director at 72andSunny Singapore, commented, “Every brief from Carousell reminds us that the work is always a pleasure when there’s partnership between client, agency, production and media. I hope these short (but sweet) spots are a testament to that.”

Manila, Philippines – Taking bold and creative risks pays off: this is one of the main mantras evident in the first-ever YouTube Works Awards in the Philippines, as it awarded the brand content, campaigns, and channels that stood out in effectiveness and creativity in 2020. 

The YouTube Works Awards are a staple instreaming platform YouTube which celebrates and champions the brilliant minds behind producing the most innovative and effective campaigns on the platform in the past year. This year, the awards finally landed in the Philippines, done in partnership with market research firm Kantar.

Despite being a year fraught with challenges, brands in the Philippines set the bar high on effectively using YouTube to deliver results and tell stories that resonate with local audiences. 

“As the pandemic changed life as we know it, the way we tell brand stories and engage audiences evolved too. YouTube Works Awards saw that despite the restrictions in creative production and reaching consumers, brands in the Philippines rose above the challenge and expanded the possibilities with YouTube to effectively drive results and tell stories that resonate with Filipinos,” said Gabby Roxas, head of marketing at Google Philippines.

This year’s top award went to local soft drink brand RC Cola, whose ‘Basta’ campaign made by independent creative agency GIGIL, was lauded for being brave enough to take creative risks and in making effective use of Gen Z’s surrealist humor. To date, the video has more than seven million views on YouTube.

For Roxas, RC Cola’s bizarre story of a family who served up the message of the value of embracing and enjoying one’s differences is consistent with the campaign’s approach: the pursuit to unapologetically stand out in a sea of formulaic content to achieve marketing and business objectives.

Meanwhile, Leigh Reyes, chair emeritus and product officer at MullenLowe TREYNA, and jury head at YouTube Works, commented, “At a tumultuous time when it would normally be considered unconventional to experiment, bravery in exploring the bold and the new pays off. advertising approach, tapping into absurdism to cut through repetitive and mundane lockdown content.”

Meanwhile, local telco Talk N’ Text or TNT won the ‘Best Multi-Video Storytelling’ award for their ‘Free Games for All’ series, which capitalized on Filipinos’ love for gaming mixed with hugot lines or heart-pulling one-liners to tell the story of four friends bonding over online games via a triad of spots. Driving a 165% increase in revenue versus the previous year, the campaign proved that YouTube viewers keep coming back for episodic content especially if it offers a compelling narrative.

For the ‘Best Brand Channel’ category, local beer brand Red Horse won the award, whose YouTube channel looked beyond product marketing to create content that its target market would watch and engage with especially over a bottle of beer: online concerts, variety show sketches, and entertainment-led videos. This then led the channel to see a growth in subscribers, from 26,000 in October 2019 to 54,000 in 2020, garnering 3.4 million views last year in total. The channel continues to grow, with a subscriber base that now stands at more than 87,000. 

Meanwhile, instant noodle brand Lucky Me! Pancit Canton won a ‘Best Collaboration’ award for its work alongside social media influencer Mimiyuuuh for the campaign ‘Pinakahihintay NaThin’, which puts a light-hearted spin for the brand’s comeback to its original thin noodles in production. With this, Lucky Me! saw a lift in purchase intent and brand favor, achieving a view-through rate (VTR) of 18%, higher than campaigns without creator collaborations. 

YouTube Works Awards also featured two heartfelt campaigns that show how brands with purpose can drive impact in times of uncertainty.

First on the list is consumer goods conglomerate Procter & Gamble, whose heart-warming campaign on the real, raw sacrifices of our frontliners while being away from their families to care for the sick won the brand a ‘Force For Good’ award.

Meanwhile, Globe Telecom’s ‘A Star Wars Experience For All’ campaign won the ‘Best Long Form Storytelling’ award for its heartwarming story about two young boys who created a special viewing experience for their deaf friend. The campaign shows the importance of inclusivity by representing and uplifting persons with accessibility challenges.

Gary de Ocampo, chief executive officer for insights division at Kantar Philippines, congratulated all the winners of YouTube Works, adding that their campaigns are truly inspiring and speak volumes about the future of advertising in the Philippines. He also noted that from taking bold, creative risks to playing meaningful roles amid the pandemic, the brands listed in the awards have effectively harnessed insights and stories to use YouTube in driving desired results.

“While there were many great campaigns this year, the Best Personalization award went unclaimed, nonetheless. This brings an opportunity for brands and agencies to challenge themselves further about contextual targeting and fully unlock this potential. I’m excited to see how they will take this challenge to bag the award next year,” de Ocampo concluded.

Manila, Philippines – Coming fresh from its recently-concluded pre-series A funding, local mom-centric e-commerce platform edamama has reached US$5m in total, which will be used in the company’s new endeavors in automation, product development, and innovations, as well as the company’s warehouse and logistics operations. 

Said investment round was led by venture capital Gentree Fund, together with Foxmont Capital Partners, Robinsons Retail, and Kickstart Ventures, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of local telco Globe Telecom. 

Edamama was established amid the pandemic by its founder Bela Gupta D’Souza, alongside her husband Nishant, to address the issue of quality, as well as the other challenges common among today’s e-commerce platforms, such as channel fragmentation, non-established brand trust, the lack of a discovery-led buying experience, and poor customer service. 

Furthermore, D’Souza also found pain points of mothers as consumers when purchasing online. She said that it is common for mothers to spend many hours in search of the best products for their children only to end up with mediocre items that have the inferior quality from untrusted sources.

“E-commerce is a scale game and we’re very excited about scaling up. Our goal is to continue being vertically focused, so we could gain and build the trust of more mothers in the country,” she said.

Edamama services mothers nationwide, although it acknowledges the need for further upgrades on its logistics operations to cope with the increase in orders coming from all over the country. It hopes to use part of the funds raised to expand its warehouse capabilities and further improve its delivery services for customers to receive their goods more quickly.

Apart from this, the company is also working on omnichannel expansion and providing new mediums of direct-to-consumer communication, such as selling through a live stream.

In addition, there are many features within the platform including ‘Gift Registry’ for creating gift wish lists for special occasions, ‘Subscribe and Save’ which is an online diaper subscription service, and ‘Explore’ which is a one-stop destination to book online events and activities for children.

“The edamama team constantly works towards creating innovative features for moms to use, staying true to their mission of simplifying decision-making and reimagining online shopping for mothers,” the company said in a press statement.

Singapore – Within the recent period that digital has seen a surge in adoption, the format of live streaming has proven to be a powerful channel in offering audiences a new and exciting way of engaging with brands. The most prominent being is the emergence of live streaming specifically in e-commerce. This time, we see another brand take on the trend and probably a one-of-its-kind – Wattpad, the global platform for user-generated stories that we’ve come to love, has partnered with kumu, the fast-growing live streaming platform in the Philippines.

Kumu is a live streaming platform that is rising in popularity among Filipino viewers. Aside from presenting creators and performers opportunities to be a live streamer, the platform also runs game shows where users can win cash prizes. Through the partnership with the platform, Wattpad looks to diversify its stories into exciting digital formats such as live streaming, audio streaming, and social commerce. 

Facilitated by marketing agency Culture Group, the partnership will give some of Wattpad’s most popular influencers the opportunity to connect with their fans in the region, developing a slate of interactive social streaming content exclusive to kumu. 

Starting 16 July, exclusive Wattpad live streams will be held at the official @WattpadPH account on kumu. Through this, fans and aspiring writers can come together to discuss their passion and appreciation for all things storytelling. Every Friday at 7pm PHT, viewers can tune in to join the ‘Write With Me’ livestream series, a special live show where fans can meet and interact with Wattpad stars.

According to the two platforms, the tie-up is also their answer to the digitally-savvy Gen Z consumer.

“The Gen Z community on Wattpad is passionate and highly engaged, and we’re excited for this new opportunity to connect readers with their favorite indie writers,” said Chris Stefanyk, head of brand partnerships at Wattpad.

Meanwhile, Angelo Mendez, co-founder and chief of content at kumu, added, “Wattpad is a big part of Gen Z Filipino culture, and this partnership will allow us to broaden our audiences by giving them an opportunity to foster authentic connections with their favorite Wattpad stars and new ways to enjoy their favorite Wattpad content.”

Kumu will also be allowing audiences to send virtual gifts to their favorite Wattpad stars. Furthermore, the partnership will be enabling social commerce, and will see upcoming opportunities for ticketed events, merchandise, and apparel in the near future. Said other initiatives will be unveiled in the coming weeks. 

According to Wattpad, it now records 90 million readers globally where more than 6 million are in the Philippines. A number of original stories from Wattpad have already been turned into films in the country such as She’s Dating the Gangster, Diary ng Panget (Diary of the Ugly), and Just The Way You Are, which featured some of the brightest stars in the country. 

Just recently, kumu announced a new type of event hosting in its platform – the kumu ‘Live Events’. The new platform aims to replicate the real-life live events and concerts complete with being ticketed and gated as well as coming with post-show engagements. This is in contrast to the standard kumu live stream shows that are open to public viewing.

MARKETECH APAC reached out to Michael Patent, founder and president of Culture Group, who shared exclusive bits on the upcoming engagements of Wattpad on kumu, including a fan-centric mega event in the future that would involve kumu’s ticketing, social commerce, and social streaming features.

MARKETECH APAC: What makes this partnership different? Was there a specific rise in demand for stars and fans’ engagement?

Patent: We (Culture Group) recognized that Wattpad and Kumu play a critical role in the creator economy; Wattpad on user-generated content and Kumu in the formation of creator-driven communities. We knew a marriage of the two would lead to greater exposure for creators and greater engagement for the Wattpad fandom. It’s a first of its kind between a live-streaming platform and a creator platform.

The success of the partnership is rooted in the behaviors of Gen Z in Southeast Asia. They are the ‘creation generation’, and this partnership allows both brands to engage deeper with their community. The intersection of content, community, and commerce allows Wattpad’s fandoms to support the creators they love.

MARKETECH APAC: How will this specific engagement go about on kumu? What must users and fans do in order to be part of this? 

Patent: Wattpad’s leading stars will have a presence on Kumu with unique content formats such as ‘Write with Me’, ‘Wattpad Fan Quiz Show’, and ‘Ask me Anything’. This means there is a deeper level of engagement, never previously seen before for kumu fans. The fans will have more control over the narrative. What makes this great is that any member of Wattpad’s fandom can log into Kumu and engage with their favorite writers through social streaming. 

There’s also a significant ‘gamification’ of the program. This means fans who engage with Wattpad Stars can now win unique prizes and access. This is a key feature and is available via Kumu.

Highlights of the features include: 

Write with me Livestream: While writing, the Wattpad Star will ask viewers to vote on specific choices to determine what happens in the story. Imagine being able to decide what the character is wearing, where the scene will occur, or even the time of the day for a critical location. 

Fan Quiz Show: Fans will play a quiz with their favorite stars on their stories. The host will have the ability to ask fans to send as many virtual gifts (VG/diamonds) as they can while they play music. When the music stops, one of the hosts will take a screenshot of the stream to reveal a winner. They will be gifted signed books and other Wattpad merchandise.

MARKETECH APAC: What other upcoming projects can we expect in line with this new initiative? 

Patent: There’s a fan-centric mega event planned that involves Kumu’s ticketing, social commerce, and social streaming features. There’s also the possibility for capsule collections of merchandise and apparel from Wattpad IP to be sold on Kumu. 

Recognizing the power of fandoms and communities, I think we’re likely to see much more from Wattpad and Kumu, two of the hottest engagement platforms for Gen Z consumers in the Philippines.

Manila, Philippines – In another case of ‘weird ads you enjoy’, local-based finance app DiskarTech recently launched a new spot alongside agency Katok, the new agency affiliated with well-known independent creative agency GIGIL, to promote its loan services–in the most tongue-in-cheek way possible.

Titled ‘Utang Ni Tatang’ or translates to ‘The Old Man’s Debt’, the comedy-themed ad features two farmers, where one of them asks the other if he can loan him some money. When he refuses, a sudden turn of events takes place as a DiskarTech agent emerges from—we kid you not—a carabao or a water buffalo. As both farmers stare in awe and confusion as to what they just witnessed, the agent begins his pitch of the various loans users can avail on their app.

The ad, which as of this writing, has now been viewed over 4 million on Facebook alone, speaks to the company’s aim to be more inclusive to Filipinos, including their intended launch of the app in the Cebuano language, and sooner other Filipino languages.

“We needed to create a product that is easy, simple and relatable to Filipinos. The Diskartech app is in Taglish in order to break the comprehension barrier, and allow banking newbies to navigate it with ease. It’s a financial inclusion super app that allows every Filipino to save, borrow, pay, and even purchase microinsurance and telemedicine services complete with livelihood opportunities,” said Lito Villanueva, executive vice president and chief innovation and inclusion officer at RCBC.

DiskarTech is one of the latest initiatives from Filipino banking institution RCBC, launched last year.

“With DiskarTech users spanning across all the 81 provinces, and over 70 percent of which are from rural areas, we are committed to continue to bring the unbanked or underserved Filipino into the banking fold,” Villanueva added.

Manila, Philippines – Professional services and investment management firm Colliers has recently appointed Rodel Ambas as the new head of marketing and communications for Colliers Philippines, effective immediately. 

Ambas will continue to implement Colliers’ brand guidelines to ensure that all of the firm’s marketing and communications efforts are consistent and well aligned with their core values and vision, collaborating with stakeholders to drive exceptional results.

Prior to his new role, he was with consulting firm Pinnacle Consulting as the head of marketing, where he was responsible for the property listings and customer service teams to ensure that the company’s branding, communications and performance marketing initiatives are well aligned and executed.

Before joining Colliers, he also had experience with companies like real estate marketplaces ZipMatch and Lamudi, and has provided consulting for various companies to help boost their content and public relations strategies to earn PR mileage through events and regular seeding of press releases.

Speaking about the recent appointment, Richard Raymundo, managing director for Philippines at Colliers, said, “I am confident that Rodel will contribute to leading our industry into the future given his enterprising and collaborative spirit. This will further strengthen Colliers’ branding and positioning in Philippine real estate.”

Meanwhile, Michelle Doyle-Jones, director of marketing and communications for Asia at Colliers, commented, “We are excited to have Rodel join our team to lead and further strengthen the Colliers brand in the Philippines. His relevant experience in real estate will certainly help us to drive exceptional results to accelerate the success of our clients and our people.”

Manila, Philippines – Following the global rollout of the much-awaited fast-food collaboration of McDonald’s and K-pop group BTS for their limited-time meal combo, the PH social media saw a trend surgeon the collab, with a mix of both the positive and the negative side of trends, new insights from media intelligence and insights business Isentia shows.

Trend-wise, the social buzz on the collaboration, or the number of times a particular term is used online, totaled 33,330 from 11 June to 25 June where 32% of those buzz words, approximately 10,563, were seen during the launch day.

“BTS’s influence and popularity is undeniable. They have cultivated more than a loyal fanbase – they have created advocates who are more than willing to defend them and all-out express their admiration and support for them. For companies and brands, it is important to understand at what level your customers are,” said Victoria Lazo, insights manager at Isentia Philippines.

Part of the popularity of the ‘BTS x McDo’ meal collaboration can be attributed to the creative upcycle featuring the BTS x McDo meal coming from ‘ARMYs’ or BTS fans online. For instance, many fans are collecting the meal combo’s packaging and are posting it online, while some get creative and repurpose them such as tumbler wrapping or a bag.

https://twitter.com/98tigerMac/status/1406891218768842752

One social media buzz that also contributed to the hype was a fan tweet that showed the Iloilo Business Park lighting up in violet colors, the attributed color of BTS, in celebration of the much-awaited McDonald’s meal collaboration.

There is no shortage as well of creative ‘spin-offs’ from the online community regarding custom meal collaborations, featuring artists such as Taylor Swift, Sarah Geronimo, and Regine Velasquez.

Lastly, stories of inspiration from the community also further augmented the hype, as for the instance of one foodpanda driver in the country, who expressed gratitude on social media because of the constant influx of BTS x McDo meal delivery orders. In response, ARMYs raised in total PHP45,230 to donate to the said delivery rider, thanking him for his hard work.

“Over the years, brands have taken advantage of the positive impact of celebrity endorsements on consumers’ purchase behavior. Tapping prominent personalities, as well as social media influencers, has been a staple marketing strategy used by companies to create waves to promote brand awareness, shape perception, or push for brand loyalty,” said Kate Dudang, insights manager at Isentia Philippines.

Despite the positive outlook of said campaign, there has been a relative fall-out within the local sphere, including customers who purposely crumpled the packaging of the meal and posted it on social media.

Infamously, the term ‘biot’, or the Cebuano term for gay, was used by a lot of ‘haters’ and ‘trolls’ in a negative way to equate them with BTS. Caught within the issue as well are several Grab delivery riders, who posted on social media the homophobic remarks.

It should be recalled that Grab Philippines recently published a statement, stating that they have suspended the drivers in question and are working towards enforcing their culture of inclusivity within the company.

Despite these fall-offs, the campaign still went on actively, with McDonald’s Philippines offering customers exclusive BTS content on their own app, as well as free drink upgrades to those who ordered the BTS meal via Ride-Thru. The fast-food chain in the country also convinced fans to eat the BTS meal with fellow fans by only charging 7 PHP per address to those who order for others. 

“What BTS did with the BTS meal is beyond product interaction, we analysts saw an amazing display of dedication from the ARMY. This display of brand dedication opens up many avenues for other brands to capitalize on certain trends and personas. From preserving the packaging and turning it into different BTS-themed items to outright uninstalling delivery courier services apps for calling BTS slurs. But with all that said, calling the ARMY ‘just a fandom will forever be an understatement,” said Francis Calucin, insights analyst at Isentia Philippines.

Manila, Philippines – Insurance company Chubb in the Philippines has recently announced the appointment of its new country manager, Mari Rachelle [Cielo] Canta, effective starting 1 July.

Canta replaces incumbent country manager Peter van Ratingen, who has since then been appointed to the role of head of consumer lines for Australia and New Zealand at Chubb.

In her new role, Canta will oversee the operations and business development activities of Chubb’s key business lines in the Philippines namely, property and casualty as well as accident and health insurance. She will be also responsible for the management of regulatory relationships, strategic partnerships and affinity relationships.

Canta joined Chubb in 2017 as Chief Financial Officer for the Philippines. Her well-balanced acumen on all facets of finance, planning and controllership as well as operational risk is complemented by her strong general management skills. Prior to joining Chubb, she worked for a decade with insurance company AON, moving to roles of increasing responsibility in the Philippines as well as Singapore. 

In addition, she has extensive experience in the banking sector, from merger and acquisition integration to board and senior leadership team responsibilities.

She will report to Edward Ler, head of Southeast Asia at Chubb.

Paul McNamee, regional president for Asia Pacific at Chubb, said, “Cielo is a strategic and hands-on leader who has strong market knowledge and relationships. Our business will benefit greatly from her deep local experience to build sustainable partnerships with our distribution partners and customers.”

Manila, Philippines – While the esports scene industry in the Philippines has been thriving, thanks to a combination of local area network (LAN) gaming centers or more known as ‘computer shops’ and mobile gaming accessibility, the industry has seen its fair share of struggles maintaining mainstream focus, a new report from strategic advisory firm YCP Solidiance shows.

According to the report, the local industry has yet to prove that esports titles hold a lifespan long enough to support professional players’ careers, unlike traditional sports that have a long-proven history of consistent returns and established fan support. In contrast, international leagues such as The Overwatch League and League of Legends: League Championship Series have successfully proven their success in other countries, paving ways for a profitable future for the Philippine esports market.

On the other hand, while these esports tournaments have yet to see themselves ‘ripen’ in the local scene, the esports industry in the Philippines currently has over 43 million active gamers, a number growing steadily by 12.9% yearly since 2017. The country’s most played game, Mobile Legends, reached a whopping peak of 2.65 million active users daily (from data by the Google Play store in April 2019), and has shown consistent growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9%.

The report also suggests that in order for the esports industry to thrive in the country, they need to combine three elements: content, packaging, and accessibility. In the case of establishing an esports league tournament in the country, for instance, the Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) in the Philippines, they have one of the highest levels of Mobile Legends competitive play that is accessible today in the country.

“Even better is that it shows a marked improvement, exponentially growing the viewership number from the previous seasons, and a growing loyalty amongst its viewers as seen with the returning support after multiple editions of the tournament. Though more outside investments and direct sponsorship support is not yet prevalent, it stands to reason that future editions of the tournament will very likely catch the eye of many non-endemic sponsors,” the report stated.

They added that at the end of the day, it is a ‘delicate balancing act’ that requires concrete efforts on all ends to make sure all bases are covered. Such efforts require considerable investments, but when these are done right, successes such as the one Mobile Legends has shown is a definite possibility. 

“Especially now that Mobile Legends’ success along the way is converting many nonparticipants of esports into potential audiences of tomorrow, the esports industry in the Philippines has never looked more approachable and primed to succeed in the coming years,” the report concluded.