Tag: Singapore

Singapore – Keepital, the one-stop provider of design, IT, and marketing & advertising services for all industries, has partnered with Alibaba as a global service partner to enhance Keepital’s support for local businesses beyond Singapore. Keepital said its aim is to connect businesses and suppliers in Singapore to the rest of the world.

Alibaba.com is the flagship e-commerce of the Alibaba Group. It owns one of the biggest global marketplaces in the world with its vision ‘Global Buy, Global Sell’, empowering goods to travel globally and for merchants to trade freely. Keepital now as an authorized channel partner will share in the goal of helping small businesses sell their goods around the world. Keepital is one of the only two authorized channel partners of the e-commerce in Singapore, together with e-commerce consultant, Innovative Hub. 

Keepital believes that the partnership will support the next stage for businesses as digitalization becomes a crucial strategy in times of the pandemic. Traditional methods will no longer be enough to sustain and grow the business, most especially for cross-border enterprises. 

Online platforms such as Alibaba.com have become the leading way to easily achieve global reach as well as local and regional. Alibaba.com earlier launched in June an initiative to bring more B2B SMEs in Singapore on board, which is its first such initiative in the Asia-Pacific region outside Greater China.

Aside from Singapore, Keepital also operates in Malaysia and Thailand.

Singapore – Singapore’s telecommunications Singtel has released a new ad that illustrates both heritage and personal triumph as it pays tribute to the realization of the Tokyo Olympics, which had to be postponed for a year in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The film features the country’s national players for the Olympics; swimmer Joseph Schooling, shuttler Loh Kean Yew, fencer Kiria Tikanah, and sprinter Shanti Pereira, and how each dealt with the frustration and disappointment of having to come to terms with the Olympics’ cancelation after expectations had been up and training and preparations have been well placed. 

Adding to this, the ad also portrayed how beyond the Olympics, athletes, whether bound for the global competition or not and even those that have sports as a passion or as a source of living, had to struggle with the lockdown, being forced to give up physical activity to obey social distancing.

“I can’t believe it’s been postponed. I’ve trained so hard,” “I can’t go to the court. I can’t do my training,” the players would mutter with scenes where gloom and loneliness loom in a silenced living room or a shut oval. 

The ad portrays, most of all, the value of hope and resilience, still ending on a positive note, where players’ patience and ongoing training for their sports now finally rewarded as the Tokyo Olympics officially resumes. 

The featured players would be sending across inspirational messages such as how a winner never gives up, how failure only becomes such when one stops trying, and how true triumph is dealing straight on with adversity.

“Our athletes’ journey to the Olympics has been nothing short of inspiring. Making it to the games in any given year would be a coup but making it under the current circumstances takes a lot of grit and determination,” commented Aileen Tan, Singtel’s group chief people and sustainability officer. 

The new ad ‘Leading Through Uncertainty’ is part of Singtel’s ongoing branded content campaign, built around stories that reflect the Singtel Group’s values of community, family, diversity, and inclusivity. Last year’s festive film campaign also paid tribute to the Singapore spirit of tenacity and perseverance against the backdrop of the health crisis.

Alongside its tribute to the Olympics, the film is also in celebration of the country’s National Day, remembered every 9 August.

Tan said, “As we mark our second National Day under the cloud of COVID, the film is a way of celebrating the Singapore spirit of resilience that has brought us this far. Like our athletes, we’ve all been fighting the good fight, keeping our spirits up, and moving forward in spite of COVID. Yes, the journey has been fraught with uncertainty, false starts, and U-turns, but we hope the film will inspire us all to press on and keep trying.”

The film, which was conceptualized by the Singtel Brand team, has now been launched across the telecom’s YouTube and Facebook. It will also be airing on Singtel TV from 21 July 2021.

Singtel has been a long-time supporter of Team Singapore, having donated S$2.5m to the Singapore National Olympic Council to help fund the training of athletes since 2012. 

For this year’s global sports event, Singtel customers will be able to catch a broadcast by tuning in to all 14 Mediacorp channels for free on Singtel TV CH 21-34 and Singtel TV GO. It will also be available on Singtel CAST to all consumers, including non-Singtel customers.

The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be held from 23 July to 8 August 2021, where 23 players are slated to represent Singapore.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – SleekFlow, the Hong Kong start-up that provides an omnichannel social commerce platform to companies, has announced that it will now be expanding its business to SEA markets Malaysia and Singapore. This follows its recent funding that has raised a 7-figure MYR in a Pre-A round investment from Gobi Partners China (Gobi), the investment manager of Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF).

SleekFlow helps companies manage communication channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, as well as Line and Live Chat, among others, through an all-in-one social messaging platform. It helps streamline sales, customer support, and marketing workflows while integrating with over 2000 tools, including e-commerce platforms and payment gateways, to automate the whole customer journey with ease.

According to Henson Tsai, the founder, and CEO of SleekFlow, there are about 8-10 unicorns in Hong Kong but very few selling SaaS products. Tsai said that SleekFlow aims to be a world-renowned Hong Kong SaaS brand which is why it has decided to first expand to Southeast Asia first and “then to the world.”

“SleekFlow is missioned to realize the full potential of social messaging for business all over the world,” said Tsai.

He adds, “First, I would like to express my gratitude towards the Gobi for believing in SleekFlow. Aiming to scale the height in the Southeast Asia Market, we will set up new teams in Malaysia and Singapore, where people rely heavily on WhatsApp.”

According to the platform, it has, within a year helped users across over 20 countries, with annual recurring revenue of 7-digit USD.

Singapore – As the pandemic continues to prolong the lifting of travel restrictions, airlines are doing everything they can to offset the heavy drop in demand, developing various initiatives to engage their customers. With this, Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, has decided to partner with cross-channel marketing platform Insider, to further enhance the experience on its digital channels.

Insider assists enterprise marketers to connect customer data across channels and systems, predict their future behavior with a built-in AI intent engine, and orchestrate individualized customer experiences at scale. Its platform delivers experiences across channels like web, app, web push, and email, as well as SMS, and ads, among others. 

As part of the partnership, Scoot will be utilizing Insider’s AI-powered platform to create personalized, multi-channel experiences for customers on its website. Using The platform, the airline will be releasing travel requirements at different parts of the customer journey, communicating flexibility options on its website quickly, and addressing the fluidity of global travel regulations with agility. 

Furthermore, Insider’s AI-backed segmentation module will be assisting the airline to serve relevant web push messages to users with a high likelihood of booking a flight.

Scoot’s Chief Commercial Officer Calvin Chan commented that the partnership with Insider has been instrumental in how they support the customers in these challenging times, as Scoot’s motto has always been to re-define the customer experience in the low-cost sector, and a large part of the experience is delivered via digital channels.

“Insider has been a valuable partner in improving our overall site engagement and new customer acquisitions with personalized overlays and engagement features. The ease of use of the platform has also enabled us to be operationally agile and so keep our customers abreast of the latest changes in travel regulations,” said Chan.

Meanwhile, Patrick Steinbrenner, Insider’s managing director for APAC, said, “We’re proud to power digital experiences for one of the world’s best low-cost airlines and are happy to have supported them during this pandemic. For the post-COVID recovery phase, we will be stepping up our partnership even further to deliver personalized journeys for Scoot’s customers across the web, mobile web, mobile apps, and ad channels.”

Scoot has also announced that the visitors to its website will benefit from ‘Smart Recommendations’ based on their previous browsing history for a more relevant user experience. The website’s exit surveys will improve its customer experience constantly.

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.”

Singapore – Realizing that more consumers are putting more emphasis to their health care in the mid of a pandemic, dating app Bumble has announced its ‘I Am Vaccinated’ badge across its users in Singapore, which shows the users a badge that affirms the user’s participation to their respective vaccination campaigns locally.

The new badge feature starts to roll out in Singapore next week, where users can add the badge to their profile, which will be shown to their potential partners when they use the app.

This feature was added onto the platform as Bumble has seen a steady increase in the number of people who have included the word ‘vaccine’ or ‘vaccinate’ in their profiles after the first COVID-19 vaccines were administered earlier this year.

According to Lucille McCart, director for APAC at Bumble, COVID-19 has significantly changed the way we have formed and strengthened social connections in light of lockdowns and social distancing measures. She added that they know that single individuals are still actively looking to take control of their dating lives as the situation turns for the better.

“Conversations around COVID-related safety remain a priority for our Bumble community, so it is important for us to make it easier for people to feel comfortable and assured while they forge new connections. With the new ‘I’m Vaccinated’ badge and other safety features, people can easily communicate their dating preferences on the Bumble app,” McCart stated.

Bumble has existing COVID-19 related features in their app, which includes the COVID Preferences Center within the app, which allows its community across the globe to indicate what kind of dates they feel comfortable going on — whether purely virtual, socially distanced, or socially distanced with a mask when local restrictions permit.

Singapore – Chinese B2B e-commerce group, ZALL Smart Commerce Group (ZALL), is eyeing to become the world’s leading global digital trade platform with its new strategic rebrand. The group aims to bring an open and interconnected B2B trading ecosystem between China and ASEAN.

ZALL currently serves around 30 B2B platforms in China, the United States, and Singapore, as well as millions of SMEs worldwide. It has also been investing in the development of next-generation intelligent trading platforms to help empower seamless data exchange across platforms integrating information, logistics, and capital flows across wholesale and commodities, retail trade, and logistics industries in China and Singapore.

The strategic rebranding aims to drive the rapid growth and development of industries and businesses through the use of its new trading methods and advanced technologies across B2B transactions, supply chain services, and digital cloud services. It also seeks to transform industrial value chains across Asia and enable businesses to improve overall efficiency.

Peter Yu, ZALL Smart Commerce’s executive vice president for Singapore, shared that as the world continues to adapt and rise up to the challenges posed by the pandemic, they wanted to focus their efforts on digital innovation, creating an even more resilient and sustainable global trade and supply chain ecosystem.

“This can be done by incorporating data and digital technologies into every part of the industrial value chain, from both the demand to the supply side. With our expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Blockchain, we believe we are well-positioned to help businesses worldwide adopt innovative technologies to succeed in the new digital world order,” said Yu.

Just recently, ZALL announced the launch of ‘Z-Block Gateway’, a blockchain Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution that is both low-code and easy to operate and deploy across various industries and mainstream cloud servers.

The group has also recently partnered with one-stop global trading platform, Commodities Intelligence Centre, to offer ‘Know-Your-Counterparty’ and ‘Credit Info’ services to help SMEs manage their business risks by being able to verify and conduct due diligence on prospective business partners and counterparties before engaging in official dealings.

Singapore – Despite a huge percentage among nations getting their Covid jabs, some countries are still on the journey of counteracting vaccine hesitancy from citizens. Brands and enterprises are leveraging their platforms to spread vaccine education, and joining the move is TikTok, which has announced a collaboration with Gov.sg under the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) to bring the national vaccine education campaign, #IGotMyShotSG, encouraging young adult users in the country to get vaccinated.

The partnership is part of the platform’s ‘TikTok for Good’ efforts in support of Singapore’s nationwide vaccination drive, and to provide a safe online space for users to gather trusted information about the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program.

The #IGotMyShotSG campaign includes Gov.sg’s first-ever ‘Gamified Branded Effect’, a game where users can have fun challenging other users to determine the best ‘COVID SLAYER’. The game also creatively weaved in bite-sized vaccine-related facts to encourage users to get vaccinated. Available on the TikTok trending effects panel, the app users can find a range of effects to inspire their creativity as they share their personal vaccination experiences.

Users can also participate using the hashtag #IGotMyShotSG and view vaccine-related videos from the broader TikTok community on the app’s Discover page. This not only fosters a sense of community through shared COVID-19 vaccination experiences but also addresses users’ questions around COVID-19 vaccines.

Soffy Hariyanti, the director of campaigns and production department at MCI’s Public Communications Division, shared that they have been reaching out to different segments of the population via targeted communications, and TikTok allows them to reach more youths using a platform that is popular with them.

“Through formats that engage and appeal to youths like gamification and live streams on TikTok, we aim to address key concerns that youths may have about COVID-19 vaccinations and dispel myths,” said Hariyanti.

Meanwhile, TikTok SEA’s Head of Public Policy Teresa Tan commented that in support of the country’s nationwide vaccination drive, they are doing their part to provide access to reliable information about the COVID-19 vaccination program.

“Through working with the government, public health organizations, and experts, we are committed to contributing to important public health goals,” said Tan.

In addition, TikTok has worked with public health experts from Singapore’s COVID-19 Vaccination Expert Committee, healthcare professionals, frontliners, and content creators, to launch a seven-part #IGotMyShotSG live series, which will start from 12 July until 22 July 2021. It aims to increase the national vaccination rate so the country can look forward to re-opening safely.

According to TikTok, the finale of the live series will be even more special. Titled, ‘Vaccinate Without Fear’, the live show will be hosted by TikTok creator Fauzi Aziz, and graced by the Minister for Health, Ong Ye Kung. Its panel will feature Professor Vernon Lee, the senior director of Communicable Diseases Division, Quek Shu Hui, a spin instructor and COVID-19 survivor, and Shahrizal Salleh, a chef and TikTok creator.

They will come together to discuss Singapore’s plan to accelerate testing, tracing, and vaccination in the next phase of the fight against COVID-19 and address how everyone can carry on with their lives in this new normal.

TikTok also announced its collaboration with non-profit organization Temasek Foundation. From 30 July 2021, through the organization’s first-ever hashtag challenge on TikTok, #FlexYourVax, users can share their vaccination journeys with specially curated interactive filters that help open up new, unique and meaningful possibilities for storytelling.

Singapore – Two financial services platforms dedicated to SMEs in Asia – Opal and Funding Societies – have partnered to offer Opal’s ecosystem of clients and partners in Singapore a range of financing solutions. Funding Societies specializes in providing short-term financing to SMEs, and needless to say that this will be one of the main offerings of the partnership. 

Opal is currently operating solely in Singapore and it aims to be the unified account for all of SMEs’ payments and loans in the country. It eyes to help businesses accelerate growth by simplifying cross-border payments, maximizing cost savings, and providing easier and cheaper access to trade financing & credit facilities.

Under the partnership with Funding Societies, Opal will offer Funding Societies’ range of solutions such as micro loans, term loans, and invoice financing, at a relatively lower rate and a quicker processing time. Further, to reduce the financial burden on SMEs in Singapore, Opal and Funding Societies will reduce processing fees on all disbursals up to 50% of the loan amount and offer a full waiver of the facility fee on all line products. This is alongside Opal’s main solutions of cross-border money transfer and multi-currency accounts.

Lim Ming Wang, co-founder of Opal, refers to a study by Singapore’s MAS where growth of businesses in the Lion City is forecast to be robust but uneven in 2021. 

“As a company that is focused on SMEs in Singapore, we want to be able to assist businesses at their time of growth who are looking for solutions to strengthen their cash flow,” said Lim. 

Lim adds, “We are excited about this partnership as businesses can now have access to multi-currency management, payments, and financing solutions from a single platform on Opal. As our technology is driven by the interconnectivity of these different financial-business solutions, companies will get even better rates and faster turnaround times.”

Meanwhile, Shrawan Saraogi, head of partnerships and products at Funding Societies, commented, “As a FinTech founded with the mission to uplift economies, we believe in helping SMEs obtain access to financing solutions that are easy and fair. We want to help them by providing the impetus for growth. I believe this partnership is ideal, as we would be able to support Opal’s ecosystem of clients and partners with our wide range of growth financing solutions.”

Opal is licensed in Singapore, but has clients and client counterparties in Europe, the US, Israel, and the rest of SEA.

Singapore – Impact, the global partnership automation technology platform for brands and publishers, has announced that it has raised US$150m in funding, bringing the company’s valuation to US$1.5b.

Through the newly secured funding, Impact will be accelerating its investment in partnership automation innovation, increasing channel partnerships, and scaling its go-to-market efforts for brands, agencies, and publishers globally. In turn, this will accelerate growth for all participants in the ‘partnership economy’.

“As consumers’ digital behavior and habits accelerate, brands turn to partnerships to reach consumers in a more meaningful way. With this, Impact can aid publishers, brands, and agencies to aggregate, orchestrate and optimize partnerships – affiliate, influencer, commerce content publishers, B2B, and more – in a single, unified platform,” said Impact in a press statement.

Furthermore, the funding will help boost Impact’s growing business in SEA, and will eventually enable the platform to double the size of its APAC team by early 2022.

Antoine Gross, Impact’s general manager for SEA, commented that the new funding will help drive Impact’s expansion plans in SEA and APAC across all business functions to support the surge in demand for the partnership automation technology.

“Southeast Asian and global brands like Razer, Circles Life, Allianz, Charles & Keith, HSBC, Decathlon, Love Bonito, Zilingo, Sephora and Lenovo are already harnessing the power of our technology to create a dynamic new customer acquisition channel with partnerships – and we look forward to helping many other brands drive incremental revenue and brand value,” said Gross.

Meanwhile, Impact’s CEO David Yovanno shared that brands are searching for new and authentic ways to reach consumers, more so now than ever before as traditionally relied-upon methods of advertising have become increasingly more disrupted and expensive.

“Partnerships create a path to the modern consumer by establishing a natural connection in the form of trusted information, reviews, and recommendations, and done with the consumer’s experience in mind. Impact has seen impressive growth in productive partnerships by driving this new wave of connection between brands, publishers, and consumers,” said Yovanno.

Impact has also announced that it has surpassed US$100m in annual recurring revenue, solidifying its leadership position in the partnerships category. The said funding was led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar Investments, and was joined by Providence Public.