South China Morning Post Archives

Hong Kong – The South China Morning Post (SCMP) published the first issue of its revamped Sunday magazine ‘PostMag’ on September 22. Formerly known as Post Magazine, the iconic weekly was first published in 1989 and now offers a renewed focus on culture, art, travel and lifestyle through people-focused features.

Each week, readers will discover the most exciting cultural happenings in Hong Kong and around the region. Interviews and profiles introduce emerging talent and go deeper with established personalities. Long-form features dive into lifestyle topics across culture, travel, food and drink, wellness and passions such as collecting and entrepreneurship.

Moreover, a new web and print design modernises and breathes new life into the brand while retaining a connection to its legacy.

Integrated into the revamp is a marketing campaign celebrating the significance of culture and lifestyle. The creative features three influential individuals–cultural entrepreneur Kevin Poon, fashion icon Vivienne Tam, and filmmaker Derek (Kwok Cheung) Tsang–who are shaping culture globally, sharing what life, culture, and discovery mean to them today.

Formats include portraits, styled letters to their younger selves, and 30-second videos that are an ode to living well in our city. A high-profile launch event will take place in late October.

Produced by the SCMP’s Morning Studio, the campaign reaches influential audiences through targeted media placements across the SCMP’s online and print, digital, and social platforms, as well as through digital media, direct mail, and out-of-home advertisements, including Hong Kong’s Statue Square.

Lee Williamson, executive director of specialist publications at SCMP, said, “What does it mean to live well? It’s this question that guides the editorial at PostMag. The reimagined magazine inspires readers to curate the best of life, to better appreciate the arts and culture, and to make the most of their limited free time.”

Meanwhile, Catherine So, chief executive officer of SCMP, commented, “Post Magazine has long been known for its trusted, authoritative coverage of life in Hong Kong. This relaunch ushers in a new era with elevated design and content, building on its 35-year legacy of high-quality journalism.”

Lastly, Cat Nelson, the newly appointed editor of PostMag, added, “I’m honoured to be leading the new direction of this iconic magazine that has long been a pillar of Hong Kong life. We’re excited to reach new audiences with PostMag while staying true to the core values that are so important to our loyal readers.”

After multiple delays and continued discussion about third-party deprecation, Google has announced that it is shelving its plans to phase out third-party cookies. However, it is also worth noting that Google is introducing another solution for Google Chrome, focusing more on a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing.

“Early testing from ad tech companies, including Google, has indicated that the Privacy Sandbox APIs have the potential to achieve these outcomes. And we expect that overall performance using Privacy Sandbox APIs will improve over time as industry adoption increases,” Anthony Chavez, VP at Privacy Sandbox at Google said.

He further added, “As this moves forward, it remains important for developers to have privacy-preserving alternatives. We’ll continue to make the Privacy Sandbox APIs available and invest in them to further improve privacy and utility. We also intend to offer additional privacy controls, so we plan to introduce IP Protection into Chrome’s Incognito mode.”

With that in mind, the question is: how prepared the industry is in terms of leaning towards more privacy-centric advertising solutions? Are we really prepared to let go of third-party cookies despite Google still having it? To answer these questions, MARKETECH APAC sought insights from various industry leaders to learn more about their insights from this update, and why should the industry continue to strive away from third-party cookies.

Stephen Rhodes, Head of Emerging Markets, APAC at Quantcast

In the context of the Philippines as an advertising market, it’s important to recognise that Google’s announcement does not change the fact that a significant portion of the online landscape is already “cookieless.” Marketers must not overlook this substantial and evolving audience, as it represents a crucial opportunity in today’s digital ecosystem.

Third-party cookies were never intended for advertising purposes anyway, and they are certainly not a reliable means of measurement in a world where consumer preferences can change rapidly across channels in real-time.

Businesses that no longer see the removal of third-party cookies as an issue are the ones who are actually ahead of the situation. Marketers who continue to rely on third-party cookies will effectively only be able to target 50% of their addressable audience as the rest are already browsing in “cookieless” environments such as Safari.

Genelle Hung, Country Manager (SEA) at PubMatic

At PubMatic, we are dedicated to enhancing user privacy while ensuring the vitality of the digital advertising ecosystem. Publishers must continue adopting diverse signals beyond third-party cookies. Google’s decisions and timelines should not hinder our industry’s progress toward a superior supply chain for digital advertising across the open internet. We have seen that alternative signals can provide better outcomes for advertisers and consumers alike and help provide a more sustainable addressability strategy.

We value the collaborative efforts across the industry, including Google’s responsiveness to feedback, and are eager to help shape a more effective, privacy-focused digital advertising landscape. We understand that APIs must evolve in light of Google’s announcement, and we will continue partnering with our peers to inform the specifics and timing. Throughout this transition, PubMatic’s goal remains supporting publishers in maximising revenue while respecting user privacy.

Niall Hogan, General Manager for JAPAC at GumGum

The industry shouldn’t interpret Google’s delay as a reason to abandon privacy-centric advertising. Consumer expectations are clear: they want control over their data and transparency in its usage. This situation presents a golden opportunity for contextual advertising, which should be the primary focus.

Unlike third-party cookies, contextual advertising employs a privacy-first approach by analysing the content of a webpage rather than user behaviour to deliver relevant ads. This method respects user privacy and aligns with their preference for a non-intrusive experience. As consumer awareness of data privacy continues to grow, it is crucial for brands to enhance transparency and build user trust by clearly communicating their data practices and providing users with control over their data.

[Moreover] Google’s new solution remains a question mark. Their focus on “user experience” and “informed choice” sounds promising, but it’s unclear how it will balance privacy with ad effectiveness. The industry should approach these solutions with caution, as any approach that does not prioritise user privacy could face backlash from increasingly privacy-conscious consumers.

Kat Warboys, Senior Marketing Director of APAC, HubSpot

The latest news on third-party cookies is ultimately a win-win for advertisers and consumers. But the multi-year journey on cookie deprecation has been tough on marketers who have been trying to prepare. After all of this, one thing is clear: relying on third parties is no longer enough. Businesses need to take control of their first-party data to get a complete understanding of their customer, especially given the level of personalisation expected by today’s consumers.

Chris Hogg, Chief Revenue Officer, Lotame

Google may no longer be ending third-party cookies by its own hand, but the slow march of progress will still see them rendered obsolete sooner or later. Users and regulators are increasingly privacy-focused and, given cookies will be “opt-in” across the board, there will still be a need for other signals to fill the gaps — especially across channels where cookies are long gone or were never present to begin with.

The fate of third-party cookies will be as a small part of an ever-expanding array of data points, becoming less relevant over time as more privacy-first, platform-agnostic solutions evolve. No one that wishes to remain competitive should think they can take their foot off the pedal of first-party data collection and strategic data collaboration.

Xiaofeng Wang, Analyst at Forrester

It’s no surprise that Google eventually scrapped its cookie deprecation plans after three delays in four years. Most marketers in APAC have seen this coming. According to Forrester’s Marketing Survey 2024, 53% of B2C marketing decision-makers in APAC do not believe that Google will deprecate the third-party cookie, increased from 49% in 2023. This would further dampen advertisers’ urgency to adopt Privacy Sandbox, Google’s initiative to replace third-party cookies with privacy-preserving technologies.

Marketers who strive to use personalisation to improve customer experiences must also adopt a privacy-first approach to earn consumer trust and ultimately win a competitive advantage. Marketers should be transparent and granular about data collection and usage and learn to communicate to consumers that the value is not just in free content or free samples but better personalisation, more customised services, and products that ultimately yield better customer experiences.

Giovanni Gardelli, Vice President of Ads Data Products at Yahoo

We remain committed to supporting efforts that align with our focus on transparency and providing user choice, which includes continuing to invest in our own proprietary Yahoo Identity Solutions. Additionally, we will continue partnering with industry leaders to integrate and develop privacy-friendly solutions enabled by emerging web browser technologies that balance advertiser and publisher goals, while respecting user privacy.

Harshana Ariyaratne, Chief Marketing Officer at Affinidi

At Affinidi, we prioritise consumer rights to data control and privacy. We were encouraged by Google’s initial plan to deprecate third-party cookies, recognising it as a significant step towards honouring consumer data rights and rebuilding trust between consumers and businesses.

While the decision to abandon third-party cookie deprecation may appear to be a setback for user privacy, Google’s commitment to developing solutions that enhance user experience and informed choice is promising. This approach presents an opportunity for businesses to adopt privacy-by-design, user-centric solutions, even in the presence of third-party cookies.

Google’s efforts to create a privacy-conscious and user-centric framework have the potential to rebuild trust and meet evolving privacy expectations. However, the success of these initiatives will hinge on their ability to address the needs of all stakeholders and provide genuine privacy improvements.

Our privacy-by-design suite of solutions within the Affinidi Trust Network, and the Affinidi Iota Framework (the world’s first consent-based data-sharing framework built on open standards) adheres to latest privacy regulations while giving consumers true data sovereignty. By prioritising consent-first principles in digital transactions, we ensure that the data collected is accurate and relevant, enabling brands to create personalised solutions that enhance user experience and satisfaction based on trust and transparency.

Focusing on users’ needs and rights [also] fosters a trustworthy and enjoyable online environment. By embracing this direction, we protect privacy while fostering innovation, creating a digital world that is transparent, responsive, and built on trust.

Timmy Bankole, Director, Advertising Business Operations at South China Morning Post

At SCMP, we are continuing to invest in advertising strategies that put users first, including first-party data, zero-party data, and contextual approaches. We’ve been moving towards an ecosystem that respects user privacy and builds real trust with our audiences.

As an industry, we’ve actually been given more time to get ahead of this and work towards a more user-centric, data-driven ecosystem. Whether that is identity IDs, Topics API, or contextual strategies, the smart play is to reduce dependency on third-party cookies It’s not a revolutionary concept, but it is an important one for us to start addressing head-on. The sooner we can adapt and move in this direction, the better off we’ll all be in the long run.

Benjamin Combe, Senior Director, Data Optimization and Personalization, APAC at Monks

Google’s data shows that 80% of APAC consumers feel that transparency on their data is a must-have, so the move toward giving users greater control over their preferences in Chrome is broadly in line with consumers’ growing expectations for data/privacy controls. It remains to be seen how far these features go. Still, if anything like Apple’s rollout of ATT, it appears likely that these new Chrome controls will essentially see a ‘user-driven’ deprecation of 3rd Party Cookies via opt-outs rather than a Google-enforced one as a tech vendor. Whether it’s best to give users a choice vs deprecating them entirely is a different debate. But, if executed properly, the move toward transparency and controls for end users does align with how consumer sentiments and regulations have evolved over the years.

Tyler Stewart, Media Solutions Architect Lead, APAC at Monks

Google’s change of step on 3PCD doesn’t change the imperative for privacy-centric advertising strategies—between regulatory changes and 3PCD across other browsers and devices, the need for privacy-preserving alternatives is still as pressing as ever.

At the end of the day, consumers globally have significant concerns about their data privacy and want the businesses they transact with to address these and treat the information they share with respect – rather than as a commodity. It was never really Google’s place to be the arbiter of the private web (in many ways, it never wanted to be) and its decision here will hopefully better enable the industry at large to act more openly and collaboratively to develop solutions that meet both the needs of the industry and the rights and expectations of consumers.

Brands that have already started exploring initiatives like the judicious use of first-party data, consent management, modeled measurement solutions, and conversion recovery mechanisms will continue to see benefits from these investments and should continue down this road. Those who haven’t shouldn’t see this announcement as an excuse to “kick the can down the road” like the many 3PCD postponements that have come before. To avoid being left behind – both in terms of advertising capability and trust with their customers – they, too, need to take the path towards privacy.

Despite the shelving of third-party cookie deprecation, industry leaders continue to advocate for the exploration of alternative measures. This encouragement underscores the necessity of evolving towards a privacy-by-design advertising ecosystem. Such a shift is crucial not only for maintaining consumer trust but also for fostering a more sustainable and ethical digital landscape. By prioritising privacy in the foundational design of advertising practices, we can ensure that the future of digital marketing aligns with the growing demands for user data protection and transparency.

Hong Kong – The South China Morning Post (SCMP) has announced it has rebranded its SCMP Events to SCMP Live as it initiates a new phase of business transformation in its events division.

SCMP Live is set to deliver fewer but larger-scale events that are more impactful and more aligned with the organisation’s top-of-mind news events. However, the China Conference, Family Business Summit, and Redefining Hong Kong series will remain its flagship events in 2024.

Additionally, SCMP Live’s custom events, which are produced on behalf of its partners, will leverage SCMP’s brand to convene the right target audiences and curate the most relevant programmes and speakers to drive meaningful connection, high engagement, and consideration.

Catherine So, chief executive officer of SCMP, said, “For 120 years, our readers have placed their trust in SCMP to help them make sense of the news events across Hong Kong, Greater China, and Asia. Through SCMP Live premium event experiences, we ignite our readers’ journey from informed to empowered, enabling them to dive deeper, connect with opinion leaders, and shape industry conversations—all LIVE.”

She continued, “The way our audience engages with our events is constantly evolving. As such, our events division has transformed to anticipate and adapt to our audience’s needs and expectations. The rebrand to ‘SCMP Live’ marks this transformation.”

Kevin Huang, chief operating officer of SCMP, also commented, “There has been tremendous growth in our Events division this past year. In the current fiscal year, we’ve already seen high double-digit revenue growth YOY. With the rebrand and transformation to SCMP Live, we hope to turbocharge our events capability to further build out the depth and breadth of our events portfolio and to help many more of our partners bring their event vision to life in the most impactful way that supports their business priorities.”

Hong Kong – The South China Morning Post (SCMP) has appointed Lucy Chen as the new head of data and strategy. In her role, Chen will oversee the company’s business strategies and data analytics function, with the mandate of driving business transformations in alignment with evolving strategic focus, institutionalising data-led decision making practices across the organisation.

Chen brings with her over 20 years of experience in strategy, change management, organisational transformation and business development across multiple industries. She joins SCMP from SmarTone, where she held senior positions from 2020 to 2023 in corporate strategy, business planning and data analytics, and brought about substantial revenue and operational improvements.

Prior to, Chen spent almost 15 years in private equity. She entered the industry by starting in GE Equity in 2006 and co-founded Cobalt Equity Partners in 2015 with a focus on making mid-market, growth investments within Greater China, and generating significant value creation in portfolio companies.

Speaking on her appointment, she said, “I’m incredibly honoured and thrilled to join SCMP, a global news leader with a definitive voice on Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia affairs. The unique culture here is a blend of 120 years of legacy and a tech-forward mindset, built by a team of highly passionate and talented colleagues who are invested and committed to the mission and vision of the organisation. I’m excited about the new frontiers and the continual milestones ahead for the Post as a media pioneer.”

Meanwhile, Catherine So, chief executive officer at South China Morning Post, commented, “Lucy’s appointment reflects the central role that data analytics plays in SCMP’s strategic capabilities and organisation model. I am confident that Lucy’s expertise will lend a solid data-driven foundation across our commercial, corporate and editorial pillars as we entrench the practice of intelligent use of data in our business and newsroom decisions as an industry leader. Under her leadership we will see optimised strategic and operational execution in business planning and transformation.”

This follows a slew of corporate appointments which include Lou Wee as director of global strategic business; Sophia Yu as managing director of SCMP Hearst; and Kevin Huang appointed as chief operating officer.

Hong Kong – The South China Morning Post, the Hong Kong-headquartered global news company, unveils its all-new Style by SCMP, a rebrand of its flagship Style publication known for curated and insightful global luxury and lifestyle content through an Asian lens.

Style by SCMP hails the advent of an inclusive luxury experience that values knowledge, access and connectivity, a dynamic perspective that moves away from purely symbolic representations of exclusivity and wealth, marking a new era of South China Morning Post’s role in the conversation on discerning and intelligent luxury.

The revamped Style by SCMP also weaves responsible luxury, entrepreneurship, innovation, women leadership, wellness, and philanthropy topics into its coverage of the latest trends in fashion, watches and jewellery.

“The slanted letter ‘l’ is evocative of the slash (/), which is prevalent across the creative community. This places the brand’s stake in a multi-hyphenate-driven milieu, and highlights the versatility of roles and viewpoints which make up today’s luxury market,” says Vincenzo La Torre, chief editor of Style by SCMP.

Kevin Huang, chief operating officer of South China Morning Post, also commented, “The South China Morning Post is dedicated to nurturing communities that bring together brands and influencers who are united by their pursuit of knowledge, wellbeing, betterment and fulfilment, where the affluent and influential can be the heroes and heroines of their own stories.”

Style by SCMP publishes ten issues a year and is distributed with the South China Morning Post, counting luxury hotels, hair salons, wellness spas, and airport lounges amongst its key distribution locations.

Hong Kong – The Hong Kong-headquartered global news company South China Morning Post has announced the appointment of Sophia Yu as the new managing director of its magazine division, SCMP Hearst.

Yu currently serves as senior vice president and publisher of SCMP Hearst, overseeing the brand development, business strategy and editorial direction of all of the division’s lifestyle media brands. She first joined SCMP in 2011 as director of advertising and marketing solutions and moved to SCMP Hearst in 2013 as general manager and publisher.

Prior to SCMP, she previously held both in-house and agency positions at different companies, having acquired more than 15 years of APAC strategy, sales, marketing and advertising experience across Hong Kong, Greater China, and other Asia markets.

“Sophia is one of Hong Kong’s most experienced and knowledgeable leaders in women’s magazines and lifestyle brands today. I am confident that her strong strategic planning, management, and people leadership skills will take our magazine brands to new heights,” said Catherine So, chief executive officer of SCMP Group.

Yu succeeds Josephine Chan, who led SCMP Hearst for the past 35 years. Under Chan’s leadership, SCMP Hearst has grown to operate five renowned lifestyle media brands in Hong Kong, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s BAZAAR, Esquire, and ELLE Men.

“Josephine is a well-respected leader in Hong Kong’s lifestyle media industry. We are grateful for her leadership and commitment to SCMP Hearst over the past 35 years. We appreciate the role she has played in driving our magazine business forward and wish her a well-deserved retirement,” said So.

Previously, SCMP has also appointed Kevin Huang, formerly the managing director for Hong Kong at Carousell, as its chief operating officer.

Hong Kong – Kevin Huang, formerly the managing director for Hong Kong at Carousell, has been appointed by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) as its newest chief operating officer. In his new role, Huang will be leading the media company’s advertising and marketing solutions unit.

He brings with him over 25 years of experience from Hong Kong and the APAC region. Amongst his many career achievements is a persistent track record of spearheading digital, mobile, and advertising businesses through high growth and profitability.

During his stint at Carousell, Huang has driven the development of the overall business strategy whilst overseeing its operations, marketing, branding, and community engagement.

He was also previously the head of Birdie Mobile, a local digital-only mobile operator and was the CEO of co-founded adtech Pixels between 2002 and 2018.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “I am honoured and excited to join the South China Morning Post, a premier English news source on Hong Kong, China and Asia affairs for readers worldwide, and a trusted content and marketing solutions partner for business enterprises across the APAC region. In my new role, I look forward to deepening SCMP’s relationships with prospective and existing partners across industries.”

Huang added, “Building on The Post’s loyal following from a worldwide audience base, I also look forward to scaling the award-winning content studio and advancing the ad tech stack at SCMP as part of the Post’s full suite marketing and branding solutions offering.”

Meanwhile, Catherine So, who was appointed as the chief executive officer for SCMP in 2022, commented, “Kevin brings with him a wealth of strategic, commercial and operational expertise, as well as an extensive local and regional network across industries. His appointment underscores our ambitions to further scale our tech capabilities to offer innovative marketing solutions to our partners. I am confident Kevin’s skill sets will help take us to new heights as we embark on the next phase of our tech-forward strategy.”

Singapore – Brands are now realising the importance of building communities to build greater relationships with their customers outside of the traditional way of customer retention. Communities are a helpful way for brands to get a deeper understanding of their consumer base. The question is: in a commercially-driven event, how do you monetise such a community organically?

This is what Sophie Ahmed, Senior Vice President of Market Strategy at Hubilo, discussed during her fireside chat in the recently-concluded webinar hosted by MARKETECH APAC and Hubilo.

In the conversation, Sophie explains that a 365 community is a meeting place where all of the brand’s community can come together to do business, meet, network, learn and to feel part of something bigger. Using the example of book and school clubs, she says that a community established is to belong to something, and taps into the tribal part of someone.

“Any brand that can use events to build their leads and grow their business can keep their event alive 365 days. By providing a single sign on access to this community of prospects, customers and partners, they will be able to get greater insight into their behaviours and on a deeper, more emotional level,” she explained.

Sophie noted in the chat that there are two ways to consider when monetising an event: either use it to build growth and indirect revenue, or do it under a subscription model. She notes that in executing these revenue models, brands need to ensure their customers are being offered perks and other advocacy-driven updates in order to retain them in the longer run.

“Within the community, you can have smaller meetups, focus groups, customer workshops, tier it, gate it, host on-demand content [amongst other things] and then have a larger annual event,” she added.

Furthermore, when asked about how these 365 communities allow commercially-driven events to be more personalised, Sophie explained that brands need to use insights from their customer base to decide how an event is oriented to be personalised and deemed effective for a content marketing strategy.

“So you can watch their behaviour, also temperature check their feeling towards your brand and what the market is like. You can now spot industry trends earlier and translate this into how you then personalise their experience at your master event and also pre and post-event messaging, so it resonates,” she said.

Want to learn more about what Sophie has to say in regards to kickstarting your 365 community? Explore how an event tech company can become a partner in your journey. Watch the on-demand webinar here.

The webinar, with the theme ‘What’s NEXT 2023: Events in Asia Pacific’, also gathered industry leaders to deep dive into what it takes for brands to successfully plan their events. Joining the discussion were Amit Wadhwa, chief executive officer at Dentsu Creative India; Milca Javier, head of marketing at Generali Philippines; and Razlan Manjaji, director of global events at South China Morning Post.

Singapore – In the recently concluded webinar, What’s NEXT 2023: Events in Asia Pacific, marketing leaders from different industries came together in a panel discussion to touch base on event marketing as we move forward from pandemic-induced social restrictions. This was joined by Amit Wadhwa, CEO of Dentsu Creative India; Milca Javier, head of marketing of Generali Philippines; and Razlan Manjaji, director of global events at South China Morning Post.

Moderated by Sophie Ahmed, the SVP for market strategy at Hubilo, the panel discussion saw the industry leaders agreeing that while the innovation of digital made it possible for brands to continually serve events in the virtual form amidst the pandemic, nothing can replace the engagement brought by in-person events.

“Events were means of physically interacting with the target audience, actually making the brand [be experienced] As senior vice president of marketing, physically. And I think Covid has taught us that nothing can replace that,” said Wadhwa.

“What’s interesting in the times that we’re living in, events…of course it is about physically interacting with the brand, physically interacting with the philosophy of the brand, [and] physically living the brand, but I think, more importantly, the events actually lived much beyond the physical event, the event now can actually [move] to digital,” he added.

When virtual became the lifeline for events, everyone thought it would now be an either/or situation between virtual and physical. But the sophistication brought by the former just proved that in-person events have just gotten better through it.

“We all keep talking about how digital is booming, and how that is the new medium to be, but it’s not just creating content for digital,” said Wadhwa. “You can actually do something on-ground and then amplify it digitally.”

What events are making possible for brands

Despite the momentum of brand events held back for a period, the ‘show’ must go on for them as it serves many purposes on their engagement, brand message, and consumer retention.

For Manjaji at SCMP, it is through events that they are able to bring together their most loyal readers and subscribers.

“[Events are] a platform for us to engage our most loyal readers and most active readers…for you to be participating in an in-person event, those people are really invested in the story and journalism that you tell,” he said.

When consumers, or readers in SCMP’s case, are brought together in one shared space, it follows that the brand is able to engage and get to know its audiences better.

“If you want to think about First-party data, for example; through events, you’ll get to know readers much, much more. Which event [did] they go [to]…who did they talk to – those data [are] actually gold mine for us, and we start to realise the power of events, virtual and in-person, to collect these data. So for us, we use events for that [purpose],” said Manajaji.

In terms of events becoming a way to acquire relevant consumer data, Wadhwa agrees.

“We are getting more and more richer [with] our insights with each event because of the data we’re getting, because of the understanding that we’re getting, which wasn’t the case earlier,” said Wadhwa.

Meanwhile, for Javier that helms the marketing of insurance brand Generali, what events enable is the communication of the brand’s story and it becoming a platform to help consumers understand the brand purpose beyond the surface level.

“Insurance, per se, is seen as very serious or very stiff, but events enable us, [provide] us an opportunity to tell our story, or to tell our purpose,” said Javier.

During the pandemic, that ‘story’ changed for Generali Philippines – moving from the strong focus on the value proposition of ‘prevention’ to now strengthening the communication on ‘protection’, and Javier shared that events are what made it possible for them to transcend their initial branding.

“Through our events, we are able to transcend that purpose, to transcend that story, and with that, this creates opportunities for us to create the leads,” said Javier.

How to create events that stand out

Now that we’re seeing in-person events getting back on its feet, the more important question is, how can brands make their events stand out and resonate well with the audience?

For Manjaji, the foundation is important and that means continuing to treat content as king.

“[Connecting] the right dots is still fundamental; if you fail to do that, your event will be crap, [doesn’t] matter if you did it in a five-star hotel,” he said.

Wadhwa, meanwhile, said that most of all, the event must sit right on what the essence of the brand is.

Citing an example, he shared, “If I think music is entertaining, but music is not something that’s a pillar of my brand or is not connecting to my audience, I don’t just pick up music because it’s just getting popular.”

“I think it needs to fit the brand philosophy; it might sound fundamental, but [a lot of] times, brands lose track of it. I think we need to bring that back,” he added.

In terms of dealing with specific challenges in event marketing such as a limited budget, Javier also shared her insights.

For her, it’s all about prioritisation.

“You know what is far more important [to] you when you create [a certain] event,” she said.

Using ‘weddings’ as a microcosm for the larger event marketing organisation, she said you would need to think about which comes more important than others, whether that’s having grade A photography or whatnot. She shared that for Generali Philippines for example, they focus on the content they aim to give to the audience, which would mean the lion’s share of the budget goes to acquiring credible speakers.

Lastly, on the importance of curating attention-snaring and impactful events, Wadhwa shares that the event simply has to ‘feel real’ for the intended audience – events becoming a two-way communication.

“[You] can absolutely make it exciting, [if] it’s through a celebrity, or through [a] performance…but [unless] I see myself in it, and I see myself completely engrossed in it, and I start living the brand, it almost becomes a two-way communication,” he said.

“And the moment it becomes a two-way communication, I think we’ve hit the bull’s eye,” Wahwa added.

The webinar, What’s NEXT 2023: Events in Asia Pacific, also conducted a fireside chat with Ahmed, who discussed about the 365 community strategy in events. The conversation talked about how the strategy can be monetised and used for further personalisation of brands.

Singapore – Last November 3, APAC industry leaders gathered in an industry discussion that talked about the future of event marketing as brands and marketers prepare for 2023. Conducted by MARKETECH APAC, in partnership with events platform Hubilo, ‘What’s NEXT 2023: Events in Asia Pacific’ roped in industry leaders from Dentsu Creative India, Generali Philippines, and South China Morning Post.

The events industry was one of the worst hit during the pandemic, and now that things are gradually getting back to normal, it’s crucial to take a look at how events have evolved and the new trends that have emerged as it rises from a prolonged halt.

Kicking off the webinar was a panel discussion graced by Amit Wadhwa, CEO of Dentsu Creative India; Milca Javier, head of marketing at Generali Philippines; and Razlan Manjaji, director of global events at South China Morning Post. Moderated by Sophie Ahmed, SVP for market strategy at Hubilo, the group of leaders talked about the importance and strategy of leveraging event-led communities. Furthermore, the panel touched on the best event engagement strategies that brands can employ.

Meanwhile, Ahmed who’s had 20 years of industry experience in events and marketing, further shared her insights into strategising events through a fireside chat with MARKETECH APAC’s Regional Editor Shaina Teope.

In the conversation, Ahmed shed light on the burgeoning strategy called ‘365 Community’, and discussed how said marketing direction can be monetised and give way for greater personalisation by brands.

The webinar drew marketing professionals hailing from the industries of media, airlines, financial services, retail, and hospitality, amongst others. Attendees come from the markets of Singapore, Australia, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Furthermore, those who took part represented brands such as ByteDance, CIMB, Crimson Hotel, Foodpanda Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines, MetroMart, Netflix, and Tickled media.

Teope commented, “We can’t just expect the growth of events to be a one-way, straightforward path. Just because it was the in-person format that we left behind, does not mean we’re simply going back to how it was. Events have been forever changed and this is what this industry discussion is for – to get us back on track and open our eyes to newer innovations and strategies.”