Tag: Southeast Asia

Singapore – MiQ, a global programmatic media specialist, expanded in Southeast Asia (SEA) through the opening of a new head office in Singapore.

The new office will function as a centre for MiQ’s growing SEA team. Several divisions, like local sales, account management, trade, and solution functions, will be housed there. A dedicated creative studio will also focus on the development of multichannel creative content. 

Together, these divisions provide support for a broad range of omnichannel programmatic activation opportunities, including the most recent CTV/OTT, YouTube, VOD, and HD streaming video solutions.

Following its initial launch into the SEA region in 2018, the expansion signifies a turning point in MiQ’s journey in Asia. The company steadily grew over the years, and the number of employees increased from six to 23. The increased workforce at MiQ has been crucial in assisting important agency partners and offering specialised knowledge of the local media business. The opening of the new office is proof of MiQ’s dedication to offering complete services and solidifying its position as a leading authority in programmatic media in Southeast Asia.

Jason Scott, CEO for APAC at MiQ, who will lead the Singapore office team, said, “We are thrilled to officially mark the opening of this new facility. With this expansion, MiQ aims to further enhance its capacity to deliver impactful advertising campaigns across various channels and optimise media performance for its SEA clients.”

“The new space will also work hand-in-hand with MiQ’s Centre of Excellence, located in Bangalore, which specialises in engineering, analysis and date science. Our goal is to use the new Singapore office to continue to expand our creative offering, particularly our total video solutions, and continue to deliver guaranteed performance campaigns for our clients.” he added.

Singapore – Gorilla, the mobile telecommunications branch of Society Pass (SoPa), a fintech and e-commerce ecosystem in Southeast Asia, has announced the release of its latest mobile telecommunications app, which aims to deliver a broad range of capable digital mobile communication options intended for both SEA travellers and working professionals.

With its e-SIM technology, Gorilla collaborated with more than 500 mobile operators in 190 countries to provide roaming mobile data to business travellers in the SEA region and globally. This product functions as a virtual SIM card integrated into the user’s phone, removing the need for a physical SIM card. It will allow customers to manage numerous cellular providers on a single device, allowing for seamless travel as well as distinct personal and commercial subscriptions. 

The Gorilla telco will launch its ‘Switchback Rewards’ feature in 2023, where users can utilise this tool to convert unused mobile data and credit into SOPA loyalty points, which can be redeemed for incentives and offers across the SOPA platform. Gorilla’s virtual mobile number provides consumers with low-cost data plans for global internet connectivity.

Rokas Sidlauskas, chief marketing officer of SoPa, explainsed that Gorilla’s next-generation technology is targeted at the fast-growing business travel segment here in SEA. 

“Our digital e-SIM product allows customers to buy data credit and stay connected online with their mobile devices while travelling abroad. By 2H 2023, our suite of services will expand into local e-SIM provisions. Gorilla plans to offer a revolutionary Switchback Rewards feature, allowing any unused mobile data and credit to be converted into SOPA Loyalty Points and redeemed for awards across the ecosystem,” he said.

Singapore – Google Cloud has announced the appointment of Mark Micallef as its new head of business for Southeast Asia. In his new role, Micallef will be in charge of establishing regional strategy, team building, and overall revenue performance, as well as working with teams throughout Google and supporting clients in transforming their businesses and industries.

With leadership roles held at Anaplan, Cloudera, Citrix, and Trend Micro, Mark Micallef brings a great deal of expertise to Google Cloud. Mark has led multiple organisations in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Greater China, India, and Korea towards growth and scalability with his over 28 years of technical, sales, and managerial experience.

According to Karan Bajwa, vice president for Asia-Pacific at Google Cloud, Southeast Asia continues to be one of Google Cloud’s major and rapidly developing regions internationally. 

“We are excited to welcome a leader with a growth mindset and deep appreciation for the diverse needs across markets, as we continue to empower organisations to achieve transformative outcomes with best-in-class, AI-infrastructure, Mark joins us at a time when technology advancements are giving this region the opportunity to leapfrog into the AI economy, just as it became a digital and mobile-first economy that’s on track to be worth more than US$300 billion by 2025,” he said.

Speaking on his role, Micallef said, “With the current momentum surrounding AI, especially generative AI, business leaders want to know how they can make the most of this technology to transform their operations, disrupt industries, and realise new growth opportunities.” 

He added, “I’m thrilled to be joining a company that’s been at the forefront of this field for over two decades, and to be leading a highly talented team across Southeast Asia as we enable organisations of all sizes to innovate quickly, securely, and responsibly with enterprise-grade cloud AI models, platforms, and products suites.”

Recently, Google Cloud developed collaborations with the Singaporean government, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO), and the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI). These alliances seek to promote AI research in Singapore and encourage the globalisation of Singapore-developed AI solutions globally.

Singapore – Regional integrated car e-commerce platform Carsome has recently closed its newest funding round, bringing the group’s liquidity position to approximately US$200 million. Said funding will help fuel the company’s goal of establishing an integrated car ownership ecosystem to elevate the customer’s experience in their entire ownership journey.

The car e-commerce platform hit an operational profitability milestone for the first time in 2022 on the back of significant growth in trade margin, which doubled compared to the same period last year. Moreover, a large chunk of its trade margin came from transaction margins, leaving a huge potential upside for ancillary revenue, especially given its increasing focus on ecosystem offerings, including financing, insurance, and aftersales.

Carsome also owns a large auto digital audience footprint of more than 15 million monthly active users through its content and media ecosystem, including the brands under iCar Asia and Wapcar. In addition to achieving over 30% growth in revenue and reaching profitability as independent business units of the group, Carsome’s ecosystem companies have also contributed to a 60% reduction in the group’s customer acquisition cost.

Eric Cheng, co-founder and group CEO at Carsome Group, said, “We have spent the last eight years building a more trusted way for customers to transact within Southeast Asia’s used car industry. Our comfortable liquidity position and strong backing from both existing and new investors place us on solid footing to deliver the world’s first integrated car ownership ecosystem, going beyond just buying and selling cars to include ancillary services across the whole ownership lifecycle. I wish to thank all our investors for their continued confidence in our vision and capabilities as we steer the company toward profitability as a group.”

Said funding round saw broad-based participation from CARSOME’s existing investors, including 65 Equity Partners, Seatown Private Capital Master Fund, Qatar Investment Authority, Gobi Partners, Asia Partners, and more recently growth-stage debt financing platform EvolutionX.

Meanwhile, Juliet Zhu, group president and chief financial officer at Carsome Group, commented, “We are delighted to have our new investor EvolutionX joining us at this stage of our growth. Profitability is just one of the milestones in our long-term capital planning, and we will continue to invite the right partners who can add strategic value at different stages of our growth.”

Singapore – Advertising technology company Amobee has appointed Carol Tay as the new country director for Southeast Asia. In her new role, Tay will be overseeing the business across the Amobee DSP and the Unruly SSP services in the region.

She will also be responsible for accelerating the growth and success of Amobee and Unruly’s advertiser, agency and media company clients across the SEA region, including overseeing all commercial operations, client partnerships and product development and strategy. 

She joins Amobee from Yahoo, where she was most recently the senior director and head of sales in Southeast Asia. She brings over 15 years of extensive strategic, operational and leadership experience in the advertising and media industry, having worked with leading agencies and brands across SEA, including Publicis, dentsu, OMG, Qoo10 and Citigroup, during her time with Yahoo.

Speaking on her new role, Tay said, “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join the rapidly growing team at Amobee and Unruly,” said Tay. “As global leaders in the video space, I look forward to working with advertisers and agencies to enable them to expand their campaign strategies leveraging Amobee and Unruly’s unique product suite to deliver results across all advertising channels, including digital and CTV.”

Meanwhile, Josif Zanich, managing director for APAC at Amobee and Unruly, commented, “Carol’s extensive understanding of the omnichannel advertising space throughout SEA makes her the ideal candidate for this critical role. With OTT and connected TV (CTV) continuing to scale rapidly in Southeast Asia, she is best positioned to partner with clients to explore opportunities for growth and deliver results powered by data and brand insights.”

He added, “Along with her strong network within the wider media industry and her ability to lead from the front, I’m confident Carol will take the newly combined Amobee-Unruly business to the next phase of growth for the region.”

Singapore – Creative agency M&C Saatchi has announced the appointment of Anish Daryani as its chief growth officer for Southeast Asia. He will be reporting to Richard Morewood, M&C Saatchi Asia CEO, effective immediately.

In the new role, Daryani will drive growth through regional new business, the development of new capabilities for the region, and the expansion into new markets, whilst continuing to lead M&C Saatchi Indonesia as president director.

On his appointment, Daryani said, “I’m really excited to unlock growth opportunities for our businesses and clients across the region. This is the most exciting time in our industry where innovation, growth, reputation and efficiency are all inter-linked.”

He added, “M&C Saatchi Group is poised to build cross-country and cross-disciplinary teams for its clients, making it possible for us to achieve audacious results for our clients. With the support of amazing leadership and talent across the region, we’re ushering in an era of hypergrowth in South East Asia.”

Meanwhile, Morewood commented, “South East Asia is a key focus for M&C Saatchi both regionally and globally, as demonstrated by the launch of our SEA hub in 2021, and the creation of this new role reflects that.”

He concluded, “Anish has built a fantastic business in Indonesia over the last 5 years with a focus on creativity and innovation for clients. I’m excited to see him bring these skills, as well as his entrepreneurial approach, to deliver growth across South East Asia.”

Previously, M&C Saatchi has also appointed its Australia Group CEO Justin Graham as its global head of advertising network.

Singapore – Independent omnichannel supply side platform (SSP) Lemma has appointed Swaminathan Iyer as its director of connected TV (CTV) for Southeast Asia. Said appointment will further strengthen the company’s position as a critical player in the region’s digital advertising landscape.

Iyer’s appointment comes at a critical time of growth for the company as it expands its ad portfolio to include CTV alongside DOOH, making it available to clients in the region.

He brings with him over 20 years of experience in the digital and CTV space, having held leadership roles at DigiAdapt, Paramount, Yahoo amongst others. 

Speaking on his new role, Iyer said, “With Lemma’s focus on innovation and cutting-edge technology, I am confident that we can deliver impactful and effective advertising solutions to clients in Southeast Asia. I am excited to work with the talented team at Lemma and collaborate with our clients to deliver innovative solutions that meet their advertising needs.”

Meanwhile, Puneet Biyani, president at Lemma commented, “As we continue to make strides in the Southeast Asian market, we are excited to enhance our regional support and further propel our growth. With our expanded presence in SEA, a diverse range of channels, and a continuously evolving product portfolio, Lemma has established itself as a major player in the industry.” 

He added, “Swaminathan Iyer is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in the CTV industry. We are thrilled to have him as our Director of CTV for the region. We look forward to working with him to deliver innovative and effective advertising solutions to clients in Southeast Asia.”

Lemma recently appointed ex-Pantcast’s Charles Less as its regional head for Southeast Asia.

Singapore – Global marketing services company McCann Worldgroup has appointed Valerie Madon as its new chief creative officer for the Southeast Asian region. She will be reporting to Nick Handel, president of McCann Worldgroup SEA.

Madon brings with her over 20 years of experience across brand-building and integrated creative solutions for major brands such as Zespri, Caltex, Hewlett-Packard, Procter & Gamble, Singapore Airlines, and HSBC, amongst others. In the new role, she will be tasked to head the creative teams across Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, as well as assuming the additional responsibility of Chair of McCann Worldgroup’s APAC Creative Leadership Community (CLC).

Prior to joining McCann, Madon was the director of creative shop for SEA and emerging markets at tech giant Meta. She also held senior creative roles at agencies VMLY&R and Havas Group.

She has also made her mark judging at awarding bodies such as Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, London International, Effies, Golden Drum, Spikes Asia, Adfest, and more.

Commenting on her appointment, Madon said, “This opportunity represents the perfect storm of my creative ambitions – to reunite with Nick Handel again, as a leader who believes in the value of a creative partner, and to join the network that created ‘Fearless Girl’, one of the most inspiring pieces of work that went beyond advertising to become a meaningful part of people’s lives. I’ve always felt blessed in my career but this invitation to work and learn from so many of the creative greats within McCann Worldgroup is extra special.”

Prasoon Joshi, chairman of McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific also commented, “The addition of Valerie to our organisation marks a significant development. Her extensive experience and innovative creative approach will add a fresh dimension. She is a keen observer of the evolving media landscape and latest technologies, which will further drive our creative excellence and strengthen our creative leadership in the region.”

Meanwhile, Nick Handel, president, McCann Worldgroup Southeast Asia, remarked, “I am thrilled that Valerie has joined our McCann Worldgroup Southeast Asia family. With her vision and expertise, she will make a significant contribution to our ambition of being the irrefutable leader in the business of creativity. And what’s more, I believe that she will be an excellent team leader and mentor to our people.”

Madon joins in mid-May and will be based in the network’s regional headquarters in Singapore.

Singapore – One of Southeast Asia’s leading super app, Grab, has announced new in-app travel innovations and partnerships to provide travellers a safe, seamless, and hyperlocal experience as the region embraces a travel comeback. 

According to Grab, the enhanced travel experience was designed to give all travellers the assurance and confidence to explore their destination by empowering them to plan ahead, get a smooth ride the moment they touch down, and experience their destination like a local.

The new app enhancements include the new Traveller homepage, which allows overseas travellers to explore a city within the Grab app as if they were at the destination. Available for 33 of the top cities tourists visit in Southeast Asia, users can check out the Grab services present in the city, search and save places of interest, and explore the food options near their destination.

The app was also made available in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese languages to deliver a more intuitive experience for travellers from China, Korea, and Japan.

In the second half of the year, Grab will also release translated merchant menus in key cities across Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand into English, as well as a currency converter feature that will automatically display fares in travellers’ preferred local currency so that they don’t have to do manual conversions.

For travellers who prefer not to download another app, Grab has also teamed up with some of the world’s most popular apps such as WeChat, AliPay, Ctrip, Kakao T, Booking.com, and Uber to provide travellers visiting the region access to Grab’s ride-hailing services through these platforms.

“We want to be at the forefront of Southeast Asia’s travel revival, welcoming travellers back to the region with an enhanced Grab experience that is designed to help them travel with ease and peace of mind,” said Russell Cohen, group managing director of operations at Grab. 

He added, “No one knows Southeast Asia like we do, and our goal is not only to deliver the safest and most seamless mobility experience, but also encourage travellers to explore the richness of Southeast Asia like a local through our superapp offerings.”

In support of the revival of travel, Grab also announced new upgrades to its GrabUnlimited subscription package, giving its subscribers access to discounted airport rides at 89 airports across Southeast Asia.

Singapore – Popular beauty retail brand Sephora has appointed Jenny Cheah to be its managing director for Southeast Asia, Oceania, and South Korea. In her new role, she will be reporting directly to Alia Gogi, president of Sephora Asia.

Cheah recently came from popular luxury fashion brand Bulgari, where she spent seven years building the brand and leading the growth and expansion of South Asia as its regional managing director and subsequently, as president of Greater China.

Previously, she was also with LVMH, where she spent 25 years with. It started off when she joined as a management trainee at DFS, where she honed her leadership skills and business acumen to oversee different aspects of the business, from merchandising and retail operations to business development and management.

Speaking on her appointment, Cheah said, “I’m beyond excited to join Sephora at a time when we continue to reimagine, redefine and challenge the perception of beauty. Our corporate purpose that is deeply anchored in empowering the extraordinary in each and all of us, is something that I profoundly believe in, and I can’t wait to work with my amazing teams across Southeast Asia, Oceania and South Korea to bring this to life.”