Tag: Singapore

Singapore – Dentsu International has launched Dentsu Commerce in Singapore to deliver to brands an integrated end-to-end commerce solutions, which is said to be specially crafted to bring unique consumer experiences.

The launch comes as the communications network recently bagged a number of commerce wins such as for Singapore-based fintech startup Hoolah, and Dentsu’s interactive agency Isobar’s extended partnership with electric brand Panasonic. 

Dentsu Commerce brings together its best-in-class commerce capabilities from across the network in Singapore, as well as globally through its cross-functional ‘Teaming Platforms,’ and will be amplified by Dentsu’s strong global partnerships in technology, media, and e-commerce. 

Through its ‘Total Commerce’ framework, Dentsu Commerce will make available to brands Dentsu’s years of experience in delivering customer data and intelligence, commerce strategy and consulting, last-mile optimized creative and content, and world-class technology development and integration.

Dentsu Singapore CEO Prakash Kamdar believes the move from an offline to an online economy has accelerated much faster than anyone expected, where brands will need to rapidly transform to adapt to changes. 

“Dentsu’s commerce capabilities run deep as we harvest from our years of investments in commerce capabilities, and experience in helping brands of all sizes enhance commerce experiences for its customers from the top of the funnel to the last mile. What we are bringing to the table with Dentsu Commerce is the best of our people and the breadth of our commerce capabilities into one joined-up team in Singapore,” said Kantar.

Dentsu shared the focus areas of its ‘Total Commerce’ approach:

  • Commerce Intelligence: Discover and define commerce strategy with market intelligence
  • Commerce Transformation: Developing solutions to optimize commerce experiences
  • Commerce Excellence: Deploying superior commerce performance and measurable ROI Transformation and Excellence

Meanwhile, Dentsu also laid out the different areas that Dentsu Commerce’s end-to-end offering aims to boost for brands:

  • Desirability (Brand equity)
  • Availability (Distribution strategy)
  • Findability (Position Optimisation)
  • Buyability (Content Effectiveness)
  • Repeatability (Purchase Experience)

Brands in Singapore can also tap on a number of the firm’s proprietary products and solutions:

  • Total Commerce Analytics
  • B2B Commerce Transformation
  • Commerce Intelligence
  • 020 Commerce Framework
  • eCommerce Enablement
  • Loyalty & Customer Lifetime Value Optimisation
  • Dentsu Tracking
  • Fast Track Commerce
  • Symphony Product Merchandising
  • Marketplace Consulting
  • eRetail & Performance Activation
  • Marketplace Optimisation

The Singaporean arm will be led by Guillaume Legond, client director & commerce lead for media group; Vivekanand Salunke, regional strategy partner; and Anil Dabhi, project director of Isobar Commerce.

In a joint statement, they said, “Having celebrated many successful commerce journeys for our partners, commerce is not new to us. What does set us apart with Dentsu Commerce is our ability to deliver fully-integrated solutions for true end-to-end management of the commerce roadmap. Our promise is for a frictionless commerce journey that will support product excellence and ultimately, real business performances.”

Singapore – Since the inception of the SingapoRediscovers campaign by Singapore tourism agencies in July, the Singapore Tourism Board has been amplifying its efforts to introduce programs to encourage locals to explore the country. The latest on its lineup? A holiday bundle promo among ten precincts.

Included in the precinct roster are Civic District, Joo Chiat/Katong, Kampong Gelam, and Sentosa. Dubbed as taking a “Singapoholiday,” each precinct is chosen for its rich history and culture, and its suite of experiences that locals can enjoy. 

Hotels, attractions, tour operators as well as retail and dining establishments have come together to offer bundled promotions for each precinct.

STB Chief Executive Keith Tan said the board is heartened by the response from industry partners who have come up with innovative products and partnerships to appeal to locals.

“We would like to thank locals for supporting our local businesses and rediscovering our city over the past few months. As the holiday season draws near, we hope they can take a Singapoliday too. There is so much to explore and do in our vibrant precincts. Each has a unique story to tell and homegrown businesses that need our support,” he said.

There are around 50 bundled promotions housed on the SingapoRediscovers microsite and the VisitSingapore app. Bundled promotions for each precinct will feature a combination of various products, including staycations, attractions, tours, as well as retail and dining offers.

For example, in Marina Bay, travel agent The Traveller DMC curated a staycation-attraction package with Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, and Gardens by the Bay. Meanwhile, in Kampong Gelam, boutique hotel The Sultan and local tours coordinator Tribe Tours paired up to offer a promotion for a staycation and an Instagram photography tour, taking guests to explore different areas of the precinct, including Bugis and Waterloo Street. STB said more bundled promotions will be introduced in the coming months.

In addition, STB has designed Singapoliday itineraries across the 10 precincts, which can be customized to help locals plan mini-holidays of up to three days within each precinct. Each itinerary will feature recommended hotels, attractions, tours, as well as retail and dining establishments. 

To further encourage locals to take a Singapoholiday, STB will be releasing a 10-episode video series called S.P.I.E.S, highlighting each of the precincts included in the program.

An acronym which stands for Secret Places in Exciting Singapore, episodes will spotlight lesser-known fun facts and discoveries of each precinct, where each episode will be hosted by a Singapore celebrity and shown on STB’s YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram platforms.

To be launched in November, the pilot will feature actor Tosh Zhang visiting Little India to explore its hidden interesting spots such as a vintage garment shop and a hotel filled with artworks and sculptures. In tandem with the continuous rollout of holiday bundles, STB will be releasing more content in the coming months including a video series titled “How to not waste your annual leave,” hosted by actors Chua Enlai and Michelle Chia.

Singapore – Following the company’s expansion to the Philippine market, Singapore-based proptech company Ohmyhome is extending its cross-border transaction solution to the country. 

The recent company ensures property buyers and investors from Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines to conduct property deals, while ensuring local agents will work on their parts in these deals. Such cross-border transaction solutions enable foreign investors to rely on trusted local agents to transact on the deal, unlike on the traditional way of hiring third-party agents which may pose trust issues on transacting a property deal.

“The problems in cross-border real estate transactions have been around for a long time. We saw an opportunity to bring value to our customers in this overlooked area of the market by leveraging on our unique strengths as a regional proptech company. Having knowledgeable agents on both sides present at the same time and working together in the customer’s best interest provides a reliable and hassle-free experience for our cross-border customers’ real estate journey,” Rhonda Wong, CEO of Ohmyhome stated.

She also added that Singaporeans have always inquired about Philippine property investments, and since then the company has dealt regularly with Singaporean customers in regards to property deals.

“With Ohmyhome’s unique agency model where every agent works as a full-time professional and not as a freelancer, customers can be assured that no effort is spared in getting the best investment for their cross-border property deals,” Wong said.

Singapore – Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced a new arm that will offer external businesses and organizations training programs in broad areas of service excellence, operational excellence, organizational innovation, and digital transformation.

The Singapore Airlines Academy will leverage the wide range of globally recognized skills and competencies that exists within SIA, which have enabled the Airline to establish a pre-eminent position in a highly competitive industry. It will also tap on the decades of experience that has been accumulated by SIA staff.

Training packages will be customized to meet the requirements of individual companies and organizations. Courses that will be offered include Service Excellence and Leadership, Handling Challenging Customers, and Innovation Programme and Playbook. They will be conducted by SIA trainers, who are certified instructors and facilitators with practical front-line experience.

SIA began offering external courses in September 2020, when it collaborated on a customized training program with Singapore-based Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) for its patient care officers. The three-day course included topics such as effective interpersonal communication, customer handling, and learning how to exemplify values such as empathy, warmth, and care.

Vanessa Ng, SIA’s vice president for human resources shared that the airline receives many requests from organizations wanting to know how it has attained its leadership in the industry in terms of operational excellence and successful digital transformation.

“Our focus on people development and investment in training has been key to achieving these world-class standards. We are happy to share our competencies by offering specialized training programs to external organizations. This would also allow us to contribute to Singapore’s national goal of reskilling and upskilling the country’s workforce,” said Ng.

Ng also noted that the new academy is also a strategic move for the SIA Group, having a potential to add a new source of revenue in the coming years.

Singapore – Gigworks, a local-based platform which allows buyer-seller integration facets of freelance services, has been recently launched in Singapore. 

Gigwork’s freelance mobile application platform caters to the growing demand for local and global freelance service engagement opportunities, especially as COVID-19 restrictions have seen a rise in remote work demand. Services offered include content writing, graphic and web designing, coding, translation, photo and video editing, and online marketing.

Gigwork’s freelance mobile application features a search integration to find freelance services easily using keywords, chat function for buyer-seller communication, review system to rate service efficiency and professionalism, and a dashboard to check balances and income based on previous projects. 

Catered primarily for freelancers and small businesses, Gigworks hopes that this new mobile application will help bridge the gap between job opportunities and create a network for other innovation systems locally and globally.

“The mission of Gigworks is to bring stellar work opportunities that are a match to people’s talents and capabilities with ease. We want to help people improve their lives as well as financial situations by having easy access to a myriad of good work projects via our platform,” Glenn Tay, CEO and founder of Gigworks stated.

Tay, who founded IT consultancy firm Plexure in 2011, is using his experience in founding the aforementioned consultancy firm and programming skills to develop Gigworks into a more online professional service engagement.

The mobile application is available on Google Play and on the app store, and users can register to offer their own services or seek one.

Singapore – As Singapore’s multi-currency mobile wallet YouTrip reaches its four-month mark in the short video platform TikTok, it shared how it maxes out the platform’s massive userbase to stay present in consumers’ minds. 

YouTrip established its TikTok account in June of this year, and as of current, it has a total of 32.5k followers and has garnered 691.3k likes across its videos.

YouTrip’s service comes with a prepaid Mastercard and enables users to pay in over 150 currencies with no fees. Branded as a “travel” wallet, its TikTok videos circle lifestyle content, such as tips on how to enjoy international destinations such as Spain, a list of the “coolest” Apple shops, and how one can get a taste of travel through whipping up different versions of super grain bowls. 

The brand revealed that it uses a two-pronged approach to leverage its presence in TikTok: making informative content and staying relevant to trends.

For valuable content, it adopted a strategy of adapting original blog articles that had performed well to the TikTok format. During the firm’s content planning process, it identified e-commerce shopping guides and hotel reviews as such. One of its most successful TikTok videos featured a guide to get the “Cheapest Nintendo Switch,” garnering over 119k views to date.

@youtripsg

If you know someone looking to buy a Nintendo Switch, share this with them! 💜👆🏼👀 #nintendoswitch #gaming #videogames #youtripsg #foryoupage #fyp

♬ original sound – YouTrip SG – YouTrip SG

In terms of staying within the wave of trends, YouTrip identified that it is vital to be the first-mover in driving reactive content on trending topics, audios, or hashtags.

Hopping onto the challenges bandwagon, YouTrip took an informative spin on the challenge featuring the trending song Kings and Queens by American singer Ava Max. In such challenge, users showcased culture and traditional costumes. YouTrip took the opportunity to emphasize its branding on travel and culture, and published a version featuring real queens from around the world. The rendition garnered over two million views and 12.8k followers in two weeks.

@youtripsg

We stan a true queen 👸. Like for part 2! #learnontiktok #youtripsg #kingsandqueens #queen

♬ original sound – YouTrip SG – YouTrip SG

The brand shared that by driving travel content, it also aims to strengthen its brand positioning to remain top-of-mind for when travel rebounds.

Head of Marketing Jeremy Lim said that curating meaningful content that resonates with users has been the core of YouTrip’s marketing strategies.

“Our venture into TikTok allows us to tap into our creativity to find new ways to connect with our users. We encourage brands to consider including TikTok in their marketing mix as well if they aim to establish themselves as relatable and reliable,” he said.

Chew Wee Ng, head of SEA business marketing at TikTok also commented, “TikTok is about embracing the creative, positive, and real moments that make our community so special, with solutions for businesses to connect and grow with our wonderfully expressive community.”

Ng also emphasized that with the right content strategy and a touch of authenticity, any brand can find success on the global stage with TikTok.

“YouTrip’s rapid growth on the platform is a prime example. As one of the first movers, they’ve incorporated TikTok early into their marketing mix and are now reaping its successes through a customized content strategy, collaboration with the TikTok community, and growing with a global audience,” said Ng.

Singapore – Super app Grab and Marriott International, Inc. has today announced a wide-ranging strategic partnership that will see both companies integrating their offerings to bring premium hospitality experience into the hands of consumers in Southeast Asia. This will the global hotel brand’s first extensive integration with a super app platform in Southeast Asia, as well as Grab’s most comprehensive agreement with a hospitality group to date.

Under the terms of the parties Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Marriott International will integrate into Grab’s platform in phases across food delivery, payment, transport, loyalty, and rewards, as well as advertising. Marriott International will also have access to Grab’s sizable customer base via GrabFood, GrabPay, and GrabAds, enabling them to serve a growing pool of customers who are increasingly transacting online. 

Meanwhile on Grab’s side, GrabFood will feature approximately 600 restaurants and bars from Marriott International’s portfolio in six different Southeast Asian markets. In addition, customers will be able to conveniently pay for their dining experiences through GrabPay at selected Marriott International hotels. Customers will earn GrabRewards points for all transactions on the Grab platform, which can be converted to Marriott Bonvoy points and vice versa.

Marriott Bonvoy is the travel program of Marriott International that encompasses the company’s global portfolio of 30 hotel brands and premium home rental offerings, Homes and Villas by Marriott International. Once in place, Grab customers will be able to redeem their converted points for exclusive member benefits at over 7,400 hotels and resorts in 135 countries and territories.

APAC President of Marriott International Rajeev Menon said the collaboration is one way we the company is designing a more seamless travel experience by leveraging the expertise of a super app in the region 

“Marriott International is constantly looking for ways to innovate and bring value to travelers and Marriott Bonvoy members as part of our partnership strategy,” said Menon.

Meanwhile, Group Managing Director for Operations at Grab Russell Cohen commented, “We are excited to partner with a world-renowned hospitality group like Marriott International that is at the forefront of delivering customer-first hospitality experiences. The breadth of our collaboration reflects our value as a platform of choice in supporting global brands on their digitalization journey in the new normal, and in particular, represents a milestone for our fast-growing GrabAds business.”

Other initiatives within the partnership include:

  • GrabPay: Piloting in Q1 2021, first in Singapore, travelers will be able to make cashless payments through GrabPay at participating Marriott International hotels. F&B outlets that accept GrabPay can soon also access Grab’s Merchant Discovery feature to notify guests in the vicinity of participating hotels about ongoing promotions and events. This will help businesses increase sales, grow customer loyalty, and drive more foot traffic to physical outlets. 
  • GrabAds: Grab and Marriott International will jointly create impactful marketing campaigns that are relevant and personalized to customers. With GrabAds’ solutions, Marriott International can connect with customers in a targeted way through audience data, integrated marketing communications across touchpoints, and track campaign performance in real-time. 
  • GrabRewards: Starting in Q1 2021, Grab customers and Marriott Bonvoy members will be able to enjoy two-way points transfer. This will allow consumers to convert GrabRewards points to Marriott Bonvoy points and vice versa, enjoying flexibility and benefits on GrabRewards, Southeast Asia’s largest rewards platform by users, with nearly 800 merchants. 

Both companies will also launch more loyalty initiatives in the coming months, including dining rewards at Marriott’s F&B outlets. 

The strategic partnership will begin in Singapore in November 2020, with Marriott International and Grab to roll out more products and services across Southeast Asia in multiple phases.

 

New York, USA – To officially mark its presence within the Asian market, commerce company VTEX is officially expanding its growth by establishing its first Asian regional office in Singapore, with a greater reach for the APAC region.

For VTEX, its APAC expansion means looking at the various commerce opportunities, especially with the shift to e-commerce in the region. Furthermore, Singapore is one of the region’s growing e-commerce hubs, which VTEX sees as a potential place to seek local and diverse e-commerce talent.

“With our growing number of global clients, we want to ensure each of our customers feel supported in whichever markets they do business in. Opening an office in Singapore is the next step in building our expansive global presence, and we’re thrilled with what this team of local commerce experts will be able to do for our customers,” said Alex Soncini, co-founder and head of global accounts at VTEX.

France Roy, CTO, D2C at AB InBev added, “VTEX’s unique commerce capabilities allow us to operate more efficiently while having the flexibility to scale and meet demand. We’re excited to deliver a streamlined and efficient buying experience, available to our customers now.”

Singapore – GTX TEC, a Singapore-based jewelry distribution company, has announced its new sale partnership agreement between jewelry manufacturer Silverstone G and global superstarsBTS through its new jewelry line “Beautiful Moments: STONEHENgE”.

The latest campaign came from a previous partnership of BTS and Silverstone G last May on a line of jewelry known as “Moment of Light.” The jewelry line features initials, birthstones, and the boy band’s logo and its corresponding members.

“Beautiful Moments: STONEHENgE” will be available on the pre-existing Moment of Light web portal, and are open for pre-order starting October 2020 to January 2021. All items will come with its corresponding certificate of authenticity to discourage patronage of imitation products.

For Scott Mathina, CEO of GXT TEC, the recent collaboration is a way to boost the brand’s jewelry value, and hopes to cater to a much younger consumer base.

San Francisco, USA – Marketers in both the Philippines and Singapore are understanding the importance of data-driven marketing, with unified customer data sources showing to be their top of mind, said a study by American cloud-based software company Salesforce. 

For Singaporean marketers, the merging of siloed customer data from different sources such as sales, survey information, web browsing analytics, emerged to be one of their top priorities, while Filipino marketers considered it as one of their challenges. 

Although Filipinos stated it as such, the study found that the median number of customer data sources used by them is only five in 2020, compared to Singaporeans which use a median number of 10 sources in the same year. Such count is expected to increase even more in 2021, with Filipinos expected to use a median number of six, while Singaporeans projected to increase their number of sources to 12. 

Marketers from both regions have also been shown to incorporate the use of AI in marketing efforts. For Filipinos, the increased focus on customer experience reflected on its intentions with AI, using it for improving customer segmentation, personalizing the overall customer journey, and resolving customer identity as well as for surfacing data insights. Meanwhile, Singapore marketers are almost in tandem with Filipinos, using AI for the same reasons, but with programmatic advertising and media buying as one of its intended purposes.

Finally, with success metrics, Filipino marketers are consistent in prioritizing customer satisfaction, stating it as their top measurement of effectiveness. This was followed by revenue and customer retention rates. For Singaporeans, on the other hand, marketing success meant increased revenue the most, followed by sales effectiveness, and customer retention rates as well as channel ROI.