Tag: Singapore

Singapore – Marketing data and analytics company Kantar has appointed Jane Ng and Paromeeta Mathur Banerjee as general managers of insights. Ng will be leading the team in Singapore, while Banerjee will be steering the Malaysia team.

In the new role, Ng will be bringing her 18 years of experience in the insights industry in Kantar Singapore and the Philippines, as well as with brandssuch as the Coca-Cola Company. She will also be developing brand and communication plans and strategic business plans for the company. 

Speaking on her appointment, Ng said, “I am delighted to lead the team and partner with world leading brands in Singapore and the region to develop data-driven marketing strategies and find growth opportunities.”

Meanwhile, Banerjee is expected to leverage her 20 years of experience in the insights industry across India and Malaysia. Prior to the new role, she was chief client officer for Kantar’s Insights division in Malaysia. 

She is also a well-known industry leader and is currently president of the Marketing Research Society of Malaysia (MRSM).

“I’m very excited to lead our team in Malaysia to help clients find new opportunities among changing consumer behaviours in the region. Whether it’s through current workflows or mining the wealth of data they already have through a different lens, this is a significant turning point for our region,” Banerjee commented. 

Katie McClintock, managing director for Southeast Asia at Kantar also shared her excitement over the new appointments.

“Jane’s and Paro’s leadership and experience will be crucial in fulfilling the ambition that we have for Kantar in the region as we set ourselves up for growth. I am so pleased to add two outstanding leaders to the SEA team in a dynamic region with enormous potential,” said McClintock.

Both Ng and Banerjee’s appointments are effective immediately.

Last February, Kantar Australia also appointed Straford Rodrigues as its head of media and marketing effectiveness and Lee Catlin as its senior director of customer experience.

Singapore – Wootag, a Singapore-based interactive visual marketing platform, takes a new step in expanding its global presence by launching its operations in India. Simultaneously, the company appointed Aditya Singh Chauhan as its first country manager.

With this expansion, Wootag still aims to further develop its growth strategy for India despite being one of its fastest-growing regions in the Asia-Pacific market. The company sets its eyes on strengthening regional partnerships for its visual marketing growth. 

As the inaugural country manager for India, Chauhan will lead the company’s go-to-market functions, and be responsible for driving client satisfaction and the adoption of the ‘Wootag for Ads’ in India. In his last stint, Chauhan worked as associate director of brand partnership & monetization for Myntra and led business development for Affle.

Recently, Wootag has introduced Wootag for Ads across Asian markets which aims to provide marketers with expanding offerings in interactive and intent-based audience engagement across various forms of advertising. 

Raj Sunder, CEO & founder of Wootag, said, “Not only does India boast the second-fastest growing economy in the G20, its marketing industry has evolved rapidly to keep up with [the] emergence of the video consumption and ecommerce ecosystem and ever-changing demands of consumers. This makes India such an important market for us in the region, contributing significantly to our business across Asia Pacific.”

Meanwhile, Chauhan commented, “I am thrilled to be joining Wootag and I would like to thank the company for trusting me to lead the team into the next chapter. I am excited to contribute to the company’s growth journey and empower our clients to succeed in a distributed and rapidly changing world.”

Wootag is currently operating in 13 countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and now India

Singapore – Women-first dating app Bumble has released a new campaign that is quite a mash-up celebration of the back-to-back festivity of Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day. The brand released a short film that features a heartfelt conversation between a mother and daughter inquiring about each other’s opinions on different musings on dating. 

Called ‘Breaking Barriers: Getting Real About Dating During CNY With Mum’, the short shows content creator Chow Jiahui and her mother open up about their thoughts on different reflections such as the convenience of meeting someone in each of their generations as well as their feelings about ringing in the Chinese New Year as a single.

As part of the campaign, from 23 January, Bumble users will be able to claim a complimentary tin of Bumble Love Letters by Kele Confectionery via an in-app link and have it delivered to them personally.

Lucille McCart, APAC communications director of bumble, said “The love letter is synonymous with both Chinese New Year festivities and Valentines’ Day. Much like the modern love letter, the love letter snack was originally used to relay messages of affection. Bumble Love Letters is our contemporary spin on this age-old practice. We want to revive the tradition of initiating a date with treats but also encourage singles to show love to the ultimate date – themselves.”

In addition, a nationwide survey by Bumble revealed that more than 1 in 5 singles (21%) feel pressured to be coupled up during CNY and/or Valentine’s Day, where top reasons include, “I don’t want to deal with family and friends asking why I am still single” (57%), “I feel self-conscious about being single” (47%),” and “I feel pressured by friends and family” (46%). 

McCart added, “Our findings in Singapore indicate that cuffing season occurs around Chinese New Year to Valentine’s Day, owing to social pressures around being coupled up during this period.”

Singapore – Brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R has appointed Rhys Taylor as its new managing director for Singapore. He will be reporting to Hari Ramanathan, CEO of VMLY&R South and Southeast Asia and Japan.

In his new role, Taylor will be overseeing VMLY&R’s SG’s sales, account management, and revenue generation. 

Prior to joining VMLY&R, Taylor was managing director for Asia Pacific at marketing and advertising agency dentsu international. He also has 14 years of industry experience working in senior leadership roles at Wunderman and financial services company Saasu, amongst others.

Speaking on his appointment, Taylor said, “VMLY&R stood out because its culture is built around an attitude of innovation and connectedness; and I’m incredibly excited to get to know and work closely with everyone who has been a part of its success so far and look forward to building more with our clients in 2023.”

Meanwhile, Ramanathan also commented, “Rhys’ background in strategy and CX makes him the ideal leader to take Singapore to the next level, complementing our full suite of capability leaders, and helping us to build connected brands for our growing portfolio of clients via our cutting-edge Commerce, Experience, Technology and Creative offering,”

Taylor’s appointment is part of VMLY&R’s strategy to strengthen its regional flagship operation and emphasise its focus on commerce as the intersection point between business experience and customer experience. 

VMLY&R Singapore also launched its global commerce accelerator programme last September in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board.

Singapore – On-demand food company Deliveroo has entered a partnership with independent PR and social agency W Communications to manage its corporate and consumer communications.

The partnership is targeted at building a positive brand reputation for the delivery service through hyperlocal stories and emphasising Deliveroo’s passion for connecting Singaporeans to the best restaurants and merchants in various areas.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen Deliveroo become an essential part of consumers’ lives, as well as open up new revenue streams and earning opportunities for restaurants and delivery riders,” said Jolin Ng, general manager at W Singapore.

She also added that W will be bringing its expertise in ‘corpsumer’ communications and instinct for news to elevate the Deliveroo brand and share impactful stories with local audiences.

Warren Johnson, founder of W Communications also added, “Having launched Deliveroo to the world out of London in 2014, we are excited for this reunion and to be expanding our partnership to Asia, a key market for both entities. We aim to continue delivering business-changing results for them as how we’ve done previously.”

Meanwhile, Jason Parke, general manager at Deliveroo Singapore mentioned that W’s bid stood out because of their creativity, excellent media relations, and passion for food.

“We’re confident that their experience will complement our growth ambitions and look forward to a successful partnership,” he added.

W Singapore is a partner of notable brands such as Häagen-Dazs, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Impossible Foods, and Marks & Spencer, amongst others.

Deliveroo has also previously formed the Digital Platforms Industry Association (DPIA) with food delivery platforms Grab and foodpanda to fortify the guidelines and policies to support their partners and merchants in Singapore.

Singapore – Havas Media has announced that it has won the media mandate of sporting goods retailer Decathlon in Singapore. Through the mandate, the agency will be handling a slew of works, including integrated media planning and buying duties across traditional and digital channels. 

The mandate took effect immediately as of this writing.

Speaking on winning the mandate, Russell Lai, chief commercial officer at Havas Media Group Singapore, said, “Sports has become such an integral part of our lives, especially since the pandemic. As an agency who believes in the benefits of physical wellness, we are truly excited to help Decathlon in its mission to provide Singaporeans with more affordable sporting goods options. Increasing brand awareness and a focus on driving physical and e-store traffic will be key priorities.”

Meanwhile, Kieran O’Shea, marketing director at Decathlon Singapore, commented, “End of 2022 saw us going through a pitch process for the new media agency for Decathlon here in Singapore. Havas Media demonstrated innovative thinking in strategically breaking through this highly competitive landscape and proved strong performance for Decathlon already around the world. Therefore, we are looking forward to this new partnership together in 2023.”

Singapore – Elliot & Co., the public relations consultancy with offices in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, has announced today that Vividthree Holdings, a diversified and Catalist-listed entertainment company, will be acquiring up to 51% stake in the former. Vividthree is a company that specialises in the production of immersive experiences with mixed technologies. 

Elliot & Co. is focused on the Southeast Asia region and mainly serves start-ups and SMEs. Since its inception in 2017, the PR consultancy firm has grown to establish offices in three markets, serving more than 1,000 clients. 

Its founder, Jeremy Foo, said, “It is an exciting time for Elliot & Co. as this announcement heralds a new level of opportunity and breakthrough that we foresee will come. Vividthree’s expertise will be invaluable to us as we seek to establish ourselves as a leader in our industry, and despite the uncertain economic situation as we enter 2023, the best is yet to come.” 

Elliot & Co. was previously called Prospr Communications before rebranding in 2020. 

Singapore – While Singaporean consumers are likely to be more pragmatic and price-conscious this holiday season in light of current global conditions, online spend on essential and personal care items like groceries and apparel this holiday season will still increase. This was according to the latest survey from Amazon Singapore, in collaboration with YouGov.

According to the survey, three in four Singaporeans make at least one online purchase a month, with pricing and sales discounts (50%) emerging as the top consideration factor among online shoppers looking to purchase items this holiday season, followed by product quality (15%) and trustworthiness of a website (11%).

The survey also found that more than half of online shoppers are likely to be more conservative with their spending this holiday season in light of current global economic conditions, with 57% of shoppers saying they will spend less or wait until there is more stability before making large purchases. This highlights the need for retailers to look at helping to mitigate consumers’ fear of inflation and offer budget-friendly options for customers.

On the other hand, almost three in 10 (27%) are optimistic that there will be no impact on their spending this holiday season. Online shoppers also say that the top categories they plan to spend more on during this period are apparel and accessories (38%), groceries (35%), and health and personal care (31%).

Around 53% also said they are keen to see more items from local brands on e-commerce stores, however 78% said that they will only shop from local brands if there are good deals and promotions. Meanwhile, 66% of online shoppers surveyed said that they will buy from brands that offer the lowest prices.

Lastly, while 68% of shoppers say they plan to purchase items online for themselves during the holiday, the survey found that around 37% of shoppers aged 25-34 years also plan to purchase items for their parents or partner’s parents, while around 48% of shoppers aged 35-54 years plan to purchase items for their children. This indicates that there is an opportunity for retailers with a target audience aged 25 and above to appeal to online shoppers looking to purchase items or gifts for their family and children.

Singapore – Market research company YouGov releases the 2022 Best Brand Rankings, unveiling Singapore Airlines as the leading brand for the fifth year running.

SIA topped the list with a score of 53.5, remaining the dominant brand among Singaporeans even as businesses evolved amid the pandemic.

Coming in second place is e-commerce platform Shopee with a score of 47.4, followed by clothing brand Uniqlo at 46.5, and tech giant Google at 43.9.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp and Changi Airport took the fifth and sixth spot, both garnering a score of 43.8. Supermarket chain FairPrice ranked seventh with a score of 42.8, while horticultural destination Gardens by the Bay snags the eighth spot with a score of 41.5.

Wrapping up the top 10 is news platform Channel News Asia at rank 9 with a 38.8 score and video sharing website YouTube at rank 10 with a score of 38.5.

Moreover, YouGov also shared the ten most improved brands in 2022. Multi-service platform Go-Jek tops this list with an improved score of +5.7 points. Streaming service Disney+ came in second, as it continued to gain its footing locally following its launch in February 2021.

Instant ramen company Samyang followed with +4.3 points, while social media platform TikTok and local airline Scoot rounded off the top five with improved scores of +2.4 points. Ranked sixth to tenth are Singapore Post with +2.2 points, discount store chain DON DON DONKI with and Apple’s iPhone with +2.1 points each, followed by snack brand Pocky telco SIMBA, both with +2.0 points.

The rankings are based on YouGov BrandIndex’s index score, which measures overall brand health calculated by taking the average of impression, quality, value, satisfaction, recommendations, and reputation.

YouGov has also previously revealed the rankings for the best travel brands in Singapore, which was led by online travel agency Booking.com.

Sydney, Australia – As part of its continued expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, data-driven marketing and regulatory solutions platform Fyllo announced that they will be joined by Daniel Cravero as the new VP for ANZ and Chrysa Soon as the VP for customer success & operations in APAC.

The two new senior hires will be reporting to Robert Woolfrey, managing director for APAC. Soon will be based in Singapore while Cravero will be based in Sydney.

Cravero will be bringing his broad digital advertising experience and industry-recognized leadership in data for the development of Fyllo’s marketing and data solutions in Australia and New Zealand. He will also be collaborating with leaders across the region on the development of Fyllo’s data offerings.

On the other hand, Soon will be bringing her decade of agency and platform experience from companies such as Amobee and Havas to her new role. She is also expected to handle regional client management, amongst other responsibilities.

“The debate around data is a pressing concern for brands and consumers alike. Daniel’s leadership on data will help Fyllo navigate this rapidly changing environment, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, while Chrysa will ensure our client management is industry-leading from the outset,” Woolfrey commented.

“Identity as we know it is undergoing significant changes around the world and Fyllo is at the forefront of this movement,” said Cravero.

He added, “Fyllo bridges the gap between ID-based audiences and contextual targeting which allows us to bring scalable solutions to the ANZ market. I am delighted to join Robert and the Asia Pacific team to bring this to life.”

This follows Woolfrey’s appointment last August, which is also a part of Fyllo’s expansion efforts.