Tag: Singapore

Singapore – With many Singaporeans following international leagues such as the English Premier League, a majority indicated they could also be encouraged to watch local football, given the right motivation. This was revealed in a recent survey from Yahoo and YouGov, conducted as part of the Season 2 launch of Yahoo’s Footballing Weekly.

While this is a widely held belief amongst Singaporeans (40%) in the study with 40% remaining neutral, there are slight differences amongst generations with older cohorts such as baby boomers (45%) and Gen X (43%) particularly standing tall as advocates of football’s significance, believing that football is important and influential to the culture and identity of Singapore. 

Meanwhile, younger generations such as millennials (35%) and Gen Z (37%) trail slightly behind their older counterparts in this sentiment.

The study also revealed that while only 35% say they currently support local football clubs or the national team, 70% would be encouraged to support a local football club or the national team if at least one of their criteria was fulfilled; the top three criteria identified were talented and skilled players (35%), their hobby or interest (30%); and a strong team spirit (28%).

Moreover, while existing support for local football is equal across generations (Gen Z 36%; Millennials 35%; Gen X 26%; Baby Boomers 34%), younger generations may be key to further fuelling the flames of the country’s passion towards the sport. Gen Z (80%) and Millennials (72%) lead the pack, above the national average (70%), in being potentially interested in local football, citing personal interest as the top criteria.

The survey also showed that Singaporeans who support the national team or local clubs are more optimistic about the country’s aspirations for the Unleash the Roar! project – a bid to develop a national squad that could qualify for the 2034 World Cup. Local football fans (39%) believe that Singapore will be represented at the world’s biggest sporting event within the next 10 years, while only 9% of those who identify as non-supporters agree. 

Fans who indicated their support for the Singapore Premier League (SPL) have a different take: 45% of SPL supporters believe that their partner, spouse, or family should support the same football team, compared to fans of other leagues such as Serie A (35%), UEFA Europa League (34%), Bundesliga (31%), UEFA Champions League (29%), La Liga (29%), and EPL (26%).

Aligning with this sentiment that football, especially local football, is a friends and family affair, respondents indicated that strong community engagements (26%), friend and family support (21%), and a strong team spirit (28%) are amongst the factors that will encourage them to support the local football scene.

Despite their love for the beautiful game, fans are split when it comes to paying to attend live matches. Nearly half (45%) of Singaporeans will not want to attend a live match if they have to pay, whether it involves a top European football club or the Singapore national team at the Singapore National Stadium.

Out of those that were willing to pay to attend a match, respondents were willing to pay more to attend a match involving a top European football club as compared to the Singapore national team: 16% would be willing to pay more than $100 for a top European football club, while only 7% would be willing to pay the same price for the Singapore national team.

The study also revealed that Singaporeans are mixed when it comes to catching the action away from the sidelines: 45% said they tune in to watch live matches online or on TV, with almost a third of respondents (32%) spending up to three hours a week catching up on the game and reliving each important aspect. Meanwhile, 55% said they do not watch live football matches online or on TV.

Chia Han Keong, co-host of Yahoo’s Footballing Weekly and Yahoo editor, said, “Football, after all, is a team sport requiring every player to understand their roles and help his teammates. In Singapore, whether you watch or play football, it builds a community bond that few other sports can manage, and that passion and camaraderie shows up in the findings of this survey.”

He added, “As the first whistle blows on this year’s Yahoo Footballing Weekly, we wanted to take a deeper dive into the perspectives, behaviours, and attitudes of Singaporeans towards football. The insights uncovered are enlightening especially as we ponder on the current state and future fortunes of Singapore football. As a nation, we have always loved the sport, but there is clearly a long way to go before the national team can taste sweet success.”

Singapore – As part of its commitment to promote and support sports in Singapore, telecommunications company Singtel has renewed its partnership with the Singapore National Olympic Council, increasing its sponsorship over the next five years, its biggest sponsorship for sports to date.

Singtel’s new five-year partnership with SNOC aims to support Team Singapore in upcoming major sporting events such as the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand. Singtel will provide S$1.5 million in funding and also sponsor S$200,000 worth of mobile roaming services for Team Singapore contingents.

Being a major corporate partner of Team Singapore, Singtel has supported athletes in achieving their goal of competing for Singapore in major games including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Singtel’s S$2.5 million sponsorship over the last ten years has helped fund various SNOC programmes, offset the contingents’ travelling expenses and enabled them to stay connected while competing overseas. 

Shanti Pereira, one of Singtel’s 2023 partner athletes, said, “As an athlete, it is very encouraging to receive support to enable me to train and compete while representing Singapore. I would like to thank Singtel for their support and for continuing to help Team Singapore to achieve our sporting aspirations.”

Talking about the renewed partnership, Chris Chan, secretary-general of the Singapore National Olympic Council commented, “Singtel has been an unwavering partner of Singapore’s Olympic Movement, the SNOC and of Singapore sports for more than a decade, at our side through triumph and adversity. We are grateful to Singtel for this steadfast support without which many of our athletes’ dreams would not have been possible, and we look forward to celebrating many more Team Singapore milestones with Singtel.”

Meanwhile, Yuen Kuan Moon, group CEO of Singtel, said, “Singtel is delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with SNOC and Team Singapore to support our local athletes as they pursue their sporting dreams and display their talents on the world stage. They are a great inspiration to Singaporeans and show us that with a passion for excellence, determination and resilience, nothing is impossible.”

Singapore – VCCP Singapore has hired two new members to its leadership team, with the goal of aiding the agency into its next phase of growth. Katya Obolensky has been named managing director, and Mark Teal has been named chief marketing officer. Both hires are effective immediately.

Obolensky and Teal join the agency to help it grow, strengthen its presence in Singapore, and expand across Asian markets. As managing director, Obolensky will uphold the agency’s dedication to producing creative work and providing excellent client service.

Obolensky brings over fifteen years of advertising business experience in both New York City and London to the agency. Her career began at JWT NYC, where she worked on the Microsoft account, and she later moved to M&C Saatchi in London, where she was working for clients such as Hyundai, Currys/PC World, Public Health England, and Havana Club. She recently served as the leader of the Virgin Media O2 account at VCCP’s London headquarters, joined the London arm as a Senior Account Director back in 2015.

Speaking about her appointment, Obolensky expressed, “I’m absolutely thrilled to be bringing the challenger spirit of VCCP London to Singapore, and couldn’t be more pleased to have Mark join us at such an exciting time in our growth story. We’ve had an incredible few years and I’m excited to take our Asia offering to its next stage .”

Teal has two decades of experience in advertising and marketing technology. He arrives from Wunderman Thompson, where he is the head of business development, directing marketing technology alliances and driving creative and technology-related pitches. Previously, as business development director at Digitas, he was responsible for increasing the agency’s expertise in CRM and CMS build projects. 

Meanwhile, Julian Douglas, International CEO at VCCP said, “VCCP Singapore has seen solid momentum, bringing in clients Canon, Cathay Pacific, Toll and Deliveroo and welcoming several new superstar hires. Now with both Katya and Mark on board, we have the right leadership in place to propel the agency and Network even further as we reach the third phase of our global expansion plan which has APAC at the heart of it. I look forward to seeing their impact on our business.”

Singapore – AirAsia launched the “YASSS to Holiday Quickies” project, which aims to revive Singaporeans’ love of travel and adventure. 

Originally launched in 2019 as “Holiday Quickies,” this travel advertisement has sparked the desire to travel and adventurous spirit of many Singaporeans. AirAsia’s network of 130 destinations, including 15 direct routes from Singapore, has been embraced by tourists seeking the beauty of fast travel by enabling them to go on short, stimulating trips.

On Saturday, July 29, 2023, AirAsia launched PlayLive!, a voice-activation game on Clear Channel Singapore’s digital screen, where participants had a chance to win free flights by screaming “YASSS” for 10 seconds, enhancing AirAsia’s brand image as a lifestyle-oriented airline.

Speaking about the launch, Logan Velaitham, CEO of AirAsia Singapore, expressed, “We are excited to relaunch this successful campaign in Singapore with the return of our popular ‘YASSS to Holiday Quickies.’”

He added,  “What better way to reintroduce it than partnering with Clear Channel’s interactive voice-activation digital screen to not only get our guests to scream on top of their lungs for free flights, but also get our brand on top of their minds for future travel opportunities.” 

“As we are back in full swing with frequencies and capacities akin to pre-pandemic levels, with 15 destinations from Singapore, we look forward to flying Singaporeans to their much-needed and well-deserved holiday locations, always at the best-value fares possible,” Velaitham said. 

Singapore – Over nine in ten Singaporean business leaders say they are currently facing challenges or have experienced challenges in the last 12 months, with 47% of those saying it say they are challenged regarding their strategies in establishing connections with their customers. This was according to the latest study from global software company HubSpot.

According to the data, only around 41% feel that their sales and marketing teams and 38% of customer service teams can effectively connect with prospects. On top of that, close to half (43%) say that growth is slowing and the strategies that have worked in the past are becoming less effective. 

In addition, 28% of Singapore business leaders say that they are experiencing challenges related to data and systems. Some reasons cited are cobbled systems and data that doesn’t flow, too much data that are of poor quality and is inaccessible and finally, not having enough data.

Meanwhile, around 85% of Singaporean consumers have had a negative experience with brands they engaged with or purchased from since the start of 2023. From the research, the biggest pain points for consumer buyers are being inundated with irrelevant marketing materials (40%) and feeling like brands lack interest in improving their service (34%). 

B2B buyers are no different, with 30% also citing issues that brands show a lack of interest in improving services. Another issue B2B buyers are feeling is the fact that brands have poor expertise or low competency among staff (31%).

Kat Warboys, director for APAC at HubSpot, said, “Getting ghosted is never a good sign — it’s a symptom of a deeper misalignment between your GTM strategy and your current and prospective audience. And if it isn’t addressed, companies end up wasting time and money on campaigns that are falling on deaf ears.”

She also added that disconnection shows up in a brand’s ability to reach their audience — both prospective and existing customers alike in a meaningful and valuable way. For her Companies will not win by focusing on customer management, but by focusing on customer connection, and that businesses need a connected customer growth strategy to succeed.

“Consumers in Singapore have some of the highest expectations in the world. Superior customer service, communication channels that meet you where you are, and brands with seamless digital experiences are becoming the new differentiator. This is a business problem because the future, as determined by your customers, is connected experiences. The pendulum is swinging back. And like those societal shifts that came before, businesses must adapt and respond”, she concluded.

Singapore – Singaporean media company Stellar Ace has unveiled the ‘Green Package’, a first-of-its-kind initiative to support all companies that need to promote their environment friendly efforts. 

Being a part of Stellar Ace’s ‘Green Journey’ workflow, the new offering will be focusing on sustainability,  considering the entire life cycle of each client’s advertising campaign, from the supplies and processes used, to end-of-life recycling.

In this light, Green Package will be committed to the use of eco-friendly FSC certified paper and environmentally friendly inks for printed materials. Large format displays will also be using PET backlit materials and the most recyclable plastic available, ensuring high vividness and contrast for client advertisements while remaining environmentally friendly.

Stellar Ace’s Green Package offers two features with the first one being that every asset purchased by a client to promote their ESG initiatives will be matched by Stellar Ace, effectively doubling the client’s ESG efforts at no additional cost.

The second feature is that clients can choose from three network solution bundles namely Planet Save, Happy Forest and Eco-view which combine OOH, DOOH and Online assets, and are available at half the cost for ESG driven content. Each package will save an estimated 0.022 tons of CO2e in carbon footprint and 199.73 tons of CO2e in light savings per unit. Additionally, the production cost of the free assets will be absorbed by Stellar Ace.

Speaking on this, Jeslyn Tan, managing director of Stellar Ace, said, “We have a responsibility to our planet, and the time to act is now. The Green Package represents our commitment to sustainability and offers our clients a tangible way to enhance their own green initiatives.”

Singapore – To strengthen payments and digital marketing throughout DFS’ broad network of brick-and-mortar and online retailers, DFS Group and Ant Group have partnered together in a global partnership. Because of Alipay+ it would enable DFS to provide its clients with an inclusive digital experience as it recognizes the trend of consumers adopting digital lives.

In this partnership, DFS and Ant will collaborate to deploy marketing cooperation, thereby increasing DFS’s visibility directly within Alipay and Alipay+ partner wallets’ apps. This collaboration aims to offer more targeted, personalised, and relevant rewards to shoppers, including exclusive offers, to enhance their shopping experience.

By integrating Alipay+ as a payment option, DFS enables cross-border payment acceptance from mobile wallets, making it convenient for travellers from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand to use their home mobile wallets for payments. 

Speaking about the partnership, Long Chiu, executive vice president, global marketing and digital ventures of DFS Group, said, “This alliance with Ant Group is not just about numbers and statistics, it’s about creating a seamless and exceptional experience for travellers and shoppers. Our commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction will be elevated to new heights through this collaboration.”

He added, “With Ant’s expertise and our passion for innovation and providing unforgettable services, there is no doubt that we will achieve remarkable success together.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Cherry Huang, general manager of Alipay+ offline merchant services, Ant Group, expressed, “We are excited to strengthen our partnership with DFS, evolving to now incorporating more mobile wallets, marketing capabilities and D-Store online-offline integration via Alipay+.” 

She added, “DFS is a favourite retail destination amongst tourist right at the beginning and end of their trip, and we believe this partnership will sweeten travellers’ experience. As travel resumes, we aim to help more brands cater to these new digital-first habits and drive continued visibility and growth for them.”

Singapore – DoubleVerify, a software platform for digital media measurement, data, and analytics, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Scibids Technology SAS, a global AI-powered digital campaign optimization.

With the help of Scibids’ AI technology and media quality and performance data, along with DV’s product real-time campaign optimizations, advertisers will be able to accomplish real-time campaign optimization without the use of third-party cookies because of the acquisition. The transition from a performance proxy to observable business results is in line with advertiser goals.

Scibids creates AI technology that improves programmatic digital ad campaign buying for advertisers. Scibids AI develops personalised bidding algorithms that are in line with the advertiser’s particular KPIs and intended results by using DSP impression level data, first-party data, and measurement data from brands or agencies.

Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify, said, “The acquisition of Scibids is a decisive step in our journey to power superior campaign outcomes that started with developing and delivering the industry standard in media quality insights and has evolved into putting that data to work for advertisers.” 

He added, “The combination marries DV’s proprietary data with Scibids’ AI-powered optimization technology, letting us empower brands with unparalleled insights and control over their advertising performance.”

Speaking about the partnership, Remi Lemonnier,CEO and co-founder of Scibids, remarked, “DoubleVerify is a company that shares our commitment to independence, innovation and maximizing media performance, and we’re thrilled to take our partnership to the next level.” 

“This partnership will amplify the capabilities of our customizable AI technology and expand its impact across the digital advertising ecosystem to strengthen the open web. We look forward to working with the entire DV team to deliver new opportunities and maximize campaign outcomes for our global advertisers and partners,” Lemonnier added. 

Singapore – Singaporean mobile network operator M1 has announced an exclusive partnership with regional content-streaming startup Eazie TV to launch a new live TV streaming service optimised for a variety of platforms.

In the partnership, M1 will be adapting Eazie TV’s features in an app subscription, offering an efficient means of access where customers only need to download the app and sign up to immediately enjoy the available content offerings.

The app will offer over 75 live TV channels, including networks like History, CNN, TLC, AXN, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Hunan TV International, and more. Customers can watch their preferred live and on-demand programming from top international and Asian networks in popular categories like news, entertainment, sports, movies, documentaries, lifestyle, kids, and Asian.

Customers can watch content on as many as four streaming devices at home or on the go with a single membership account. Users of M1 pay S$19.98 per month for subscriptions, whereas non-M1 users pay S$24.98.

Existing M1 customers on M1 mobile, fibre and Maxx plans will also be receiving a free 30-days of access on their first subscription.

Singapore – Singtel has launched a short film titled “From Mudflats to Smart Nation” to celebrate Singapore’s 58th National Day.

The 23-minute documentary celebrates the nation’s growth and success as a global economic hub and pays tribute to the 100th birth anniversary of Singapore’s founding prime minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.

The film delves into Mr. Lee’s visionary ideas for the nation and commemorates his famous quote from 1965, where he envisioned transforming Singapore from humble mudflats into a thriving metropolis.

Mr. Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel Group CEO, expressed his delight in supporting Singapore’s development over the decades, from pioneering satellite services and laying the first submarine cable to providing fiber and internet access to every household.

Further, Moon emphasized the critical role of telecoms and technology in ensuring better lives and livelihoods, especially evident during the recent global pandemic.

In a statement from Ms. Lian Pek, Singtel’s vice president of strategic communications and brand, she highlighted how Singapore’s economic success is intertwined with its clever use of telecoms and technology, allowing the city-state to leapfrog ahead of competitors and give its citizens a head start in nation-building.

Meanwhile, the film’s release is a crucial moment for Singapore, reflecting its growth and the pivotal role of technology in shaping its identity as a Smart Nation.