Tag: Singapore

Singapore – The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced the launch of the second season of SG Stories Content Fund (SGSCF) with a funding pool of SG$2.5M, following the success of last year’s first-ever SGSCF.

The first season of SGSCF was launched in April 2020 with an initial funding pool of S$2 million. Its aim was to spur tourism enterprises, content creators, and individuals to craft authentic stories around the themes of ‘Strength, Resilience, Solidarity, and Unity’. It has attracted a total of 559 proposals, spanning a variety of formats such as mini-documentaries, narratives, profile features, and animation. Due to the overwhelming response, the funding pool was raised to S$2.5M, and 20 applicants were awarded.

Meanwhile, for this year, the theme for the second season of SGSCF is ‘Singapore: The Unique and The Unknown’. It aims to showcase Singapore’s unique aspects. Local and international content creators are encouraged to create compelling stories about interesting and lesser-known facets of Singapore while building on STB’s ‘SingapoReimagine’ initiative. The projects should highlight extraordinary and authentic ‘Singapore-only’ experiences by going beneath the surface to uncover the spirit of what makes Singapore truly special.

Singapore or overseas-based individuals and registered businesses in areas such as production, media, tourism, digital marketing, and influencer marketing can apply for the fund. Each application may take the form of a single video or a series of videos.

Applications for the second season of SGSCF will open on 10 May 2021 and close on 24 May 2021. The fund will support 90 percent of qualifying costs in categories such as creative development and conceptualization, production and execution, and marketing and distribution, capped at S$150K per project, or whichever is lower. Successful applicants filming in Singapore are required to adhere to the Singapore Government’s prevailing Safe Management Measures, and any additional guidelines as advised by STB.

Georgina Koh, the director of digital and content at STB, said, “During the first season, we were humbled by the wealth of passionate content creators within and outside of Singapore, and their unique perspectives of what our city has to offer. With the second season, we hope to uncover more stories and fresh perspectives, that will encourage travelers and locals alike to experience Singapore in new ways.”

Singapore – ECOVACS ROBOTICS, a home service robotics maker, has tapped K-drama actor Hyun Bin to be its newest ambassador for its five market countries: Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The partnership with Hyun Bin is a perfect representation of the new theme for the ECOVACS’ full range of home service robotics, “The Best Just Got Better”. As an influential artist in Asia, Hyun Bin imbues a sense of courage, constantly challenging himself to try multi-faceted characters. Together, ECOVACS and Hyun Bin aim to show a mutual belief of always challenging ourselves to pursue a better tomorrow, regardless of our current achievements.

Highly popular in South Korea, Japan, China, and countries in Southeast Asia. Hyun Bin is a household name known for his starring roles in many Korean films and television dramas such as ‘Memories of the Alhambra’ rising to popularity through the recently produced ‘Crash Landing on You’. 

ECOVACS believes appointing Hyun Bin as ambassador will further enhance brand image and strengthen brand reputation in Asia-Pacific region.

“Hyun Bin is popular across Asia. If you’ve seen his films and TV shows, he exudes an air of confidence, warmth, elegance and comfort. ECOVACS also believes in elegant design, of being in trend and confident in our ability to give customers the warmth and comfort they expect from our products,” said David Qian, chief executive officer at ECOVACS ROBOTICS.

He added, “We’re proud to have Hyun Bin on board as our brand ambassador, and play a part in our strategy to strengthen the emotional connection between our brand and users.”

The upcoming collaboration campaign with Hyun Bin will be part of the upcoming grand launches of their home cleaning robot products namely DEEBOT T9 and DEEBOT N8 PRO. The collaboration will include a series of TVC ads and digital campaigns as well.

Singapore – Advertising agencyTBWA\ Singapore has announced that it is welcoming a new lineup of creative talents in the company to boost their creative discipline.

Loo Yong Ping joins the company as creative director, where he brings over 10 years of experience across multi-platform and integrated work and has won almost every creative award in the industry. Ping has worked with global agencies Ogilvy and Tribal DDB, media companies BBC and Fox International, and for brands which include HSBC, McDonald’s, Twitter, and SingTel.

Angie Featherstone, a copywriter, and Eirma Webster, an art director, join the company as creative directors. Featherstone and Webster bring diverse skills from global agencies BBH, Leo Burnett, and McCann Erickson, with work spanning across brands like IKEA, Mastercard, Axe, Levi’s, SK-II, and Vaseline.

Meanwhile, Fernanda Machado joins TBWA\ Singapore as senior creative. With 15 years of experience across South and North America in agencies Africa Brazil, David The Agency, and Leo Burnett Detroit, Fernanda brings copywriting, craft, and motion graphics across work that has been recognized at well-known award shows.

The expansion of the team will also see new art directors namely Chris Leow and Zachary Desker joining the company. Leow has a hybrid background in video editing and motion graphics, which has led to his work on a broad spectrum of integrated campaigns which include ‘JollieEverAfter’, ‘Virtual Sentosa’, and ‘Absolut It’s In Our Spirit’.

Lastly, Amanda Devarajan and Yashanti Yap are welcomed as new copywriters. Devarajan has built a portfolio of conceptual writing and highly impactful work across PR, integrated, and film spanning agencies, and has worked recently with Ogilvy Singapore. Meanwhile, Yap, who recently worked with BBH Singapore, brings into the company her copywriting and motion graphic skills which are evident across her work.

Speaking about the new hires, Andy Grant, ECD at TBWA\ Singapore said, “In true TBWA\ style we’ve found the most unique ‘Pirates’ out there. I’m thrilled to have this diverse and skilled talent on board who are all disrupting creativity in their own way. I’m looking forward to them helping us achieve our goal of creating world-class work for our incredible roster of clients.” 

In February, the agency also announced the elevation of its former managing partner Mandy Wong to take the helm as the new managing director. 

Singapore – Wootag, a visual interactive and insights platform, has launched today Wootag Signals, a real-time event-driven video interactive solution to tap into the patterns of demand and consumer behaviors, to drive impactful brand experiences on videos.

Leveraging on real-time data and technology, Wootag Signals enables marketers to deliver product placements, promotions, and creatives focused on real-time conditions, including weather conditions and football matches. Through this, Wootag Signals aims to eliminate marketers’ time and budget constraints to customize its engagement with target audiences and impact purchase behavior.

The solution provides marketers with the ability from customizing viewers’ experience by weather to customizing videos or interactive based on weather conditions. They can simply select the location, trigger type from weather factors to temperature, and then assign the interactivity. Marketers can now run multiple patterns in one single campaign and make changes continuously to optimize the marketing efforts.

Furthermore, marketers can also reach target audiences with a trigger focus on sports events. By selecting the League or Cup, they can set up a customized viewers sports experience. In response to the growing marketing demand ahead of the Olympics Games Tokyo 2021, the function will subsequently be expanded to Cricket, NBA matches, and worldwide sports events. 

Raj Sunder, the founder and chief executive officer of Wootag, said that marketers have been struggling with creating impactful actions for any video and display marketing campaigns. He believes that Wootag Signals can provide an easier way to address the power of visual interactive engagements and help them to navigate through the increasing complexity of video interactive journeys. 

Sunder further said that Wootag is committed to strengthening the platform in supporting brands and marketers to effectively engage with the right audience through efficient visual interactive solutions.

“With no doubt that weather plays a key role in impacting the specific target audience’s purchase behavior. From Wootag’s engagement with several clients in the region, we see a significant improvement of conversion rate rise with nearly 3 times uplift and 130% of a boost in lead generation after implementing Wootag Signals. In the future, we look forward to expanding the event-driven patterns further to other conditions which could play a key role in audience emotions,” added Sunder.

Singapore – Despite current travel restriction implementations brought by national governments to combat COVID-19, a large majority of Singaporeans are optimistic that travel restrictions will be lifted soon, and that travel will resume, new statistics from a report by booking platform Booking.com shows.

According to the research, seven in ten Singaporean travelers (71%) feel more hopeful about traveling in 2021 due to the unwavering commitment of the scientific and medical communities and the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, and potential air travel bubble developments. The same amount (70%) states that not being able to travel extensively in 2020 has made them yearn for travel even more in 2021. 

Part of the growing optimism among Singaporeans can be attributed to the current rollout of vaccines in the country, as the research shows that slightly over half (63%) of Singaporean travelers state that they won’t travel internationally until they have been vaccinated, which rises to 69% among those 55 years old and above, while a greater amount (67%) of Singaporean travelers showing willingness to travel only to countries that have implemented vaccination programs. But there still is some hesitation, with almost half (52%) remaining skeptical as to whether a vaccine will truly help make travel safer. 

Despite feeling mostly optimistic, travelers all around the world acknowledge that not being able to travel in 2020 as they used to in previous years has had a significant effect on their well-being, with over half (52%) of Singaporean travelers reporting a negative impact on their mental health and 47% stating they have felt imprisoned in their own home due to travel restrictions.

Around 65% of Singaporean travelers also say travel is more important to them now than it was before the pandemic. So much so that almost two thirds (65%) of Singaporean travelers would even go so far as stating that they would rather go on a vacation in 2021 than find true love. Meanwhile, 59% would prioritize traveling over success at work, preferring to go on vacation than getting promoted.

Meanwhile, six in ten (62%) Singaporean travelers have used the increased time at home to plan future travel while slightly over half (54%) banking more vacation days, feeling excited about the potential of taking longer vacations in 2021. When dreaming about their next vacation, 51% of Singaporean travelers feel confident that they’ll be able to hit the beach by summer 2021, and 18% say a relaxing beach or spa trip will be the first type of trip when it’s safe to do so. After an exhausting year, only 9% will book a city break and just 5% say an active break is a priority.

Following the impact that COVID-19 has had on the travel industry, 96% of Singaporean travelers think the industry needs to be supported to get back on its feet. Nearly three quarters (74%) believe that government financial stimuli are now needed to help travel’s recovery and over two thirds (69%) worry that the industry won’t survive unless it is supported with government grants. 

In terms of more practical regulations, 75% state that wider access to pre-travel COVID-19 testing is needed, and 73% say that governments should collaborate with travel associations and providers to set more consistent standards.

According to Nuno Guerreiro, regional director for South Asia, Oceania, and Chains at Booking.com, the company remains firmly committed to supporting everyone on their journey to getting back to travel, as soon as it’s safe to do so.

“We have grown over the past year navigating the pandemic, as our consumers have too, and we’re optimistic that we’ll be able to experience the world together again soon as we work together with all those in the travel industry to ensure its recovery,” Guerreiro stated.

He added, “With our mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, when the time is right to discover the places, cultures and experiences we’ve all been dreaming of, we will make sure you can find them on Booking.com.”

Singapore – Instarem, a cross-border payments platform, has launched a new brand identity, as well as a new mobile application catered to users in Singapore.

The rebrand involves a new logo, redesigned website, as well as the launching of a consumer debit card called ‘Amaze’ for users within the year.

With the new rebrand, Instarem seeks to go beyond just enhancing consumer remittances globally, to move towards being the change-driver for the complexities around global payments – empowering its customers to do more with their money in an intuitive, transparent, and cost-effective manner.

According to Yogesh Sangle, global head of Instarem, Instarem’s rebrand aligns with the new consumer initiatives to be rolled out in Singapore in coming months, as the company moves beyond digital remittances to becoming an all-in-one app for consumers.

“We see the future of Instarem as becoming an essential part of our customers’ everyday lives, offering them the most convenient option for money transfers. Our new identity reflects our belief that money should not be disconnected – it should be simple – and our enhanced offerings bring this belief to life. Our new look better represents who we are today – current, innovative, and global,” Sangle stated.

He added, “Our new mobile app provides increased usability for Singapore users that makes it easier for them to navigate and manage their transfers from anywhere in the world. Singapore customers can also expect a new and improved Instarem experience through the launch of a consumer debit card, which allows them to consolidate all their spendings in one.”

Instarem currently operates in six continents and over 100 markets, including markets in APAC such as Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and India.

Singapore – Singapore’s National Heritage Board (NHB) has unveiled a revitalized brand and digital experience for its platform Roots, and independent creative agency The Secret Little Agency or TSLA is the creative brains behind the fresh highly aesthetic visual identity.

NHB is Singapore’s dedicated organization for the preservation of its cultural heritage and in 2016, it launched Roots.gov.sg to provide added avenue and to digitize its heritage to make easier and closer the access for nationals on cultural assets.

The brand and user experience (UX) revamp was done in celebration of Roots’ 5th anniversary. TSLA pored over the site’s original web pages, conducting multiple focus groups across different user profiles to organize over 120,000 pieces of content into intuitive categories with the objective to improve delivery of content and facilitate a better user journey on the portal.

According to Norfaiz Noeryamin, manager for NHB’s Strategic Communications & Digital division, the revamped Roots.gov.sg is designed to be a one-stop digital concierge that brings together content from across its line of heritage programs – its ‘National Collection’, ‘Heritage Trails’ and ‘National Monuments’ and other intangible cultural heritage from its inventory. The portal will also be integrating resources from other platforms like the National Library Board’s Infopedia and the Esplanade’s Offstage websites to facilitate information gathering. 

“With these enhancements, it is now easier than ever for everyone to discover the depth and breadth of Singapore’s heritage,” said Noeryamin.

Roots’ old logo vs. new logo

Aside from the general UX and UI (user interface), TSLA also improved the platform’s ontology functions where the remit also extended to integrated marketing. 

“You’re going through every artifact, article, photograph, and piece of content thinking there is so much here, and yet, Singapore is still in its infancy compared to older civilizations. To be able to build our Roots right and redesign how all generations access this treasure trove of heritage was an incredible experience for us,” said a spokesperson from TSLA Design.

 

Singapore – Mediabrands, the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group (IPG), has announced a new chief marketing and communications officer for APAC, Naomi Michael. Michael comes from her previous title as head of marketing and communications for the agency in the region. 

The newly created role will be based in Mediabrands’ APAC RHQ in Singapore and will report directly to Leigh Terry, the CEO of Mediabrands APAC.

In her new position, Michael will now be responsible for providing strategic consulting and communications planning across the key network business pillars of media responsibility, DE&I, and sustainability and purpose. Michael will also continue to promote the differentiated positioning of the Mediabrands agencies reinforced by a centralized network value structure.

Michael commented, “I look forward to taking a more strategic operations focus, working closely with our executive team on integrated communications strategies that promote awareness and understanding of the Mediabrands network purpose, values, and approach to supporting its people, its clients, and the communities in which it operates.”

In bolstering its APAC senior leadership team, the agency has also announced the elevation of HR Director Zarka Khan-Iltaf to become the new chief talent officer for the APAC region.

“These two leadership positions will continue to work in close partnership with myself to build out our CSR and DEI pillars with clear and measurable regional goals, as we work towards achieving defined sustainable business practices for our people, and our organization,” commented Terry.

Singapore – TikTok in Singapore has launched its first-ever #JobTok educational live stream series, a lineup of shows that aims to equip youth aspiring for tech careers with knowledge of the jobs and skillsets of the future in the industry and to help them to make more informed career decisions in life.

The educational series will run from 31 March until 6 April 2021 and will be a hybrid broadcast, where one will be streamed on TikTok Live itself and on Facebook, and the other on Zoom.

TikTok invited home-grown tech talents from TikTok itself and Government Technology Agency (GovTech) to lead the live stream and talk about inspiring experiences working in the tech sector, and debunk commonly-held myths about the profession. Invited hosts will also be sharing actionable steps that undergraduates can take to transition smoothly into a technology-first workforce.

The first in the educational series is ‘Women Leadership in Tech’, which is a virtual grassroots dialogue session, to be hosted by Member of Parliament (MP) Tin Pei Ling, alongside female leaders from ByteDance Singapore, who will discuss how women can be empowered to thrive in the tech and innovation sectors, as well as the exciting job opportunities and career prospects that Singaporeans can capture in the rapidly-growing post-COVID-19 digital economy.

The educational series also includes ‘Adulting Advice From Young GovTechies’, which will be on 31 March at 8:00 pm SGT, and ‘The Faces Behind TikTok LIVE’, which will be on 6 April at 8:00 pm SGT.

The virtual dialogue with MP Tin will be streamed on Zoom and MP Tin’s Facebook Page on 31 March 2021, at 7:30 pm SGT. The rest of the #JobTok educational series will be broadcasted live on the TikTok app beginning on 31 March to 6 April 2021.

In addition to the series itself, TikTok will also be launching an #Adulting contest, which invites users to share their personal tips for youth entering the workforce, including interview tips, internship experiences, and how to ink their first job. The contest will run from 31 March until 4 April where participants will get a chance to win prizes collectively worth around S$1,200.

According to Joana Mikaela Liew, the head of talent development for ByteDance APAC and META, as the country emerged stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to dispel uncertainty among today’s job-seekers and equip them with the relevant skills to be future-ready. 

“Our Jobs and Skills series aims to provide an insider’s look into the tech industry and spark greater interest among more young Singaporeans towards the new opportunities brought about by the digital economy. Additionally, through our meaningful dialogue with MP Tin Pei Ling, we hope to bring this conversation closer to the grassroots and address on-the-ground concerns of those who are either looking for job opportunities in the tech space or planning to upskill,” added Liew.