Tag: Southeast Asia

Manila, Philippines – The Philippine-based go-to platform for franchising, Easy Franchise, which was founded by Jose Magsaysay, former CEO and co-founder of Potato Corner, is bringing back its annual franchise sale in the Philippines, which will happen on 28 August 2022. 

Dubbed ‘Franchise Day 8.28’, Easy Franchise makes franchising more accessible to Filipinos by offering exclusive promos, discounts, deals, and services, as well as ₱5,000 off on any Franchise Day partner for the first 10 to invest during the one-day online franchise sale.

Through the event, interested entrepreneurs can get their own food and beverage franchise with ₱40,000 up to ₱100,000 franchise fee discount from local partner brands like Chops To Go, Estings Bellychon, Persia Grill, 0402 Cafe, and Tapsulit. Franchisees can also enjoy promos and discounts as early as now on Easy Franchise’s website. 

Meanwhile, specialty drink shop Cha Tuk Chak currently offers a ₱276,000 franchise fee discount and will provide ₱100,000 worth of free milk tea bar and equipment exclusive on Franchise Day, while international brand JoyBean Global now has a ₱100,000 franchise fee discount with ₱40,000 worth of free supplies and will offer an additional ₱100,000 off their franchising fee on Franchise Day. H2O MineralPlus is also offering water refilling franchises at up to ₱250,000 off and will provide free auto refilling dispensers worth ₱72,000 on Franchise Day 8.28.

Jose Magsaysay, co-founder of Easy Franchise, said, “Technology has a major impact on closing gaps in a variety of industries, including franchising. We are creating a digital bridge through Easy Franchise that will enable Filipino migrants and OFWs to join in the franchise sector.”

Meanwhile, RJ Ledesma, co-founder of Easy Franchise, noted, “We wanted to create something that could bridge the gap between the franchisor and the franchisee’s needs. A platform for all things franchising, Easy Franchise enables every aspiring Filipino to become an entrepreneur.”

Bubbles Lim, general manager and co-founder of Easy Franchise, commented that ‘Franchise Day’ is not only about the promos and deals but also a learning-filled event packed with success stories and expert insights. 

She further shared that they have put together educational content and activities that will set the attendees up for success even prior to the actual event. Easy Franchise provides an innovative and customer-centric solution for both stakeholders, from assisting with the application process, franchise management and development, all the way to organising franchise events.

“Owning a franchise is beneficial because it is not only self-sufficient but also time-conservative. With Easy Franchise’s next launch, entrepreneurs can now invest their money in good faith,” Lim said.

In addition, Easy Franchise will launch its ‘Easy Franchise Funding’ service, which provides non-collateral franchising loans. Franchisees can invest in a partially financed franchise that would already come with franchise management. Aside from this, it also plans to set its ‘Micro Franchising Service’ in motion soon, a more convenient and conservative version of starting a business. This service targets what they call ‘The Starter Investor’, or passion-centric, investment-aware, financially-savvy, and techie entrepreneurs.

Easy Franchice’s Micro Franchising structures deals from a list of concepts already curated by their team. The management team focuses on operating every branch through its own micro franchising model. The platform will be giving free consultations until 28 August 2022.

Singapore – Department store company, The Shilla Duty Free, has partnered with skincare brand Dr.Jart+ to bring the world of travelling into the digital realm with the debut of the first Singapore Changi Airport-inspired travel-themed Non-Fungible Token (NFTs). 

Featuring iconic Singapore landmarks, the collaboration includes an exclusive set of two Non-Fungible Token (NFTs) and 9,000 Proof of Attendance Protocols (POAPs) while highlighting Singapore as a top travel destination, just as international travel continues to grow at Changi Airport in Singapore.

Featuring the work of graphic illustrator and 3D Art designer, Matssssal, the POAP and NFT artwork depicts Dr.Jart+’s white tiger mascot wearing an outfit inspired by the brand’s top-selling Cicapair franchise and its key ingredient, tiger grass.

In addition to the POAP, two one-of-a-kinds NFTs showcase the animated Dr.Jart+ white tiger mascot travelling through iconic landmarks in Changi Airport, a nod to the first-of-its-kind collaboration with The Shilla Duty Free at Singapore Changi Airport.

Bart Dubbeld, vice president and general manager at Dr.Jart+, Travel Retail Worldwide, said, “In partnership with The Shilla Duty Free, we are proud to bring this ethos to life in the form of NFTs inspired by Singapore’s Changi Airport. We look forward to taking travellers on a digital journey where they can discover not just an iconic destination, but also art and skincare.”

Meanwhile, Jeff Lee, managing director at Shilla Travel Retail in Singapore, noted, “As one of the world’s leading travel retailers, we will continue to create immersive brand activations with our partners to offer the best retail experience to travellers. We are thrilled to partner with Dr.Jart+ to enrich our offerings with innovative digital experiences and travel-exclusive products to delight our customers.”

As part of the collaboration, consumers and NFT enthusiasts worldwide can collect the complimentary POAP and stand to win one of the two limited edition NFTs through a contest from 10 until 31 August 2022. To enter, participants have to submit a Singapore or travel-inspired name, which should be in English with up to five words, for the set of limited edition NFTs on The Shilla Duty Free website. 

The top two creative submissions will each win one of the two NFTs and one year’s supply of skincare products from Dr.Jart+, which is worth S$1,000, with winners announced on 6 September 2022 via The Shilla Duty Free’s website, Facebook, and Instagram. The NFTs will be minted and released to each winner’s digital wallet address provided in the entry form.

Moreover, travellers to Changi Airport can also take home a set of the brand’s most popular masks – Dr.Jart+’s Dermask Water Jet Vital Hydra Solution 2+1 set (3 boxes x 5 sheets) at S$50. This travel-exclusive set is available at The Shilla Duty Free in Singapore Changi Airport Terminals 1 and 3.

Teo Chew Hoon, managing director of airside concessions at Changi Airport Group, commented, “We are excited to inspire the first travel-themed NFTs launched in collaboration between Shilla Duty Free and Dr.Jart+. The expansion into the digital realm enables travellers to discover a trove of exciting experiences and products available even before they embark on their journey at the airport.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Southeast Asian automotive group Cycle & Carriage (C&C) has selected Antsomi CDP 365 to aid its omnichannel customer experience endeavours. Antsomi CDP 365 is built by Antsomi, a regional marketing technology company with regional presence in SEA.

The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution aims to help brands to unify customer data and subsequently activate the data across multiple channels with hyper-personalised messages and customer experiences.

Under this partnership, C&C uses Antsomi CDP 365 to drive data-driven marketing activities with its customers. Firstly, Antsomi CDP 365 helps C&C to unify customer data coming in from multiple data sources, which include its websites, e-commerce facility, digital ad campaigns, customer relationship management (CRM) system, roadshows and physical stores. 

In addition, the software then created the 360-degree customer view for C&C and allows the company to understand its customers in a better way, including how customers interact and engage with C&C via various touch-points. By knowing more about its customers, C&C could deliver hyper personalised messages and customer experiences to its customers, such as popup banners and electronic direct mail (EDM), for better customer engagements and higher sales conversion. 

Stephen Tan, C&C’s Head of Marketing, said, “We always aim to provide exceptional customer experience to our customers. Using marketing technology like Antsomi CDP 365 helps us know more about our customers and engage with them with tailor-made messages across multiple channels. Apart from that, we also use CDP 365 to provide an online-to-offline/offline-to-online (O2O) customer journey to our customers in our newly launched Mercedes-Benz concept store at 1 Utama Shopping Centre.”

Meanwhile, Serm Teck Choon, co-founder and CEO at Antsomi, commented, “Cycle & Carriage is an innovative partner that cares a lot about providing an exceptional customer experience for their customers, along the way when its customers make a decision to purchase a car. Antsomi is proud to help C&C in understanding more about its customers in pre- and post-sales activities, and improving customer engagements and sales efficiency.”

Manila, Philippines – Top e-wallet in the Philippines GCash has launched its new digital wallet designed for youth ages seven to 17 years old. Called ‘GCash Jr’, the new e-wallet aims to provide a safe and reliable digital transaction experience that is fit for the ‘next generation’ of Filipinos.

With the new e-wallet, minors can now buy their favourite things online, level up their gaming experiences, and explore a world of finances with their own GCash Jr. accounts.

GCash shared that there is a separate verification process for minors because there is a need to collect parents’ consent. This will be collected in the form of the requirements, and the parent will also be the one who needs to agree to the terms and conditions.

To verify the GCash Jr. account, app users must have a valid ID (passport, student ID, or national ID), and a parent that is fully verified on GCash with details, such as the parent’s full name, a fully verified GCash number, a picture of the parent holding the minor’s ID used in verification, and an original copy of the applicant’s birth certificate.

“This is just the first of many steps as we innovate for the youth,“ said GCash CEO Martha Sazon on her LinkedIn. 

Manila, Philippines – Global streetwear and footwear retailer Foot Locker is opening its first official store in the Philippines, slated to be the largest Foot Locker store in Southeast Asia. The store will be established in Glorietta by Ayala Malls in December 2022.

According to Preview.ph, the Philippine Foot Locker store will be managed by MAP Active Philippines, a local subsidiary of Indonesian lifestyle retail group Mitra Adiperkasa (MAP). 

MAP Active Philippines were actively posting job vacancies for Foot Locker on LinkedIn weeks before the announcement. Some of the work positions they were offering include store manager, assistant merchandise manager, account manager, and sales associate.

Virendra Prakash Sharma, CEO at MAP Group, said that the brand’s expansion to the Philippines will bring the culture of youth active lifestyle and sneaker enthusiasts in the country to the highest standard.

“We look forward to bringing together new standards that have never been achieved in retail in the Philippines,” he said.

Foot Locker is the latest global company to establish its largest SEA store in the Philippines. Recently, Nike opened its largest SEA store in Taguig in June this year. Same goes for brands such as Uniqlo and IKEA establishing their largest stores in the Philippines in the past few months.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Global professional services Accenture has agreed to acquire Romp, a brand and experience agency in Indonesia renowned for its creative talent and innovative services across branding, creative and, performance marketing. This move will strengthen Accenture Song’s (formerly Accenture Interactive) ability to deliver creative and tech-driven brand experiences for clients across SEA. 

According to Accenture, the terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, and the completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.

The acquisition of Romp will enhance Accenture Song’s brand and marketing expertise, reinforcing its ability to help clients embrace new frontiers such as the metaverse and become relevant experience-led organisations. It also strategically aligns with Accenture’s business strategy to help businesses in Indonesia capture opportunities in a post-pandemic economy that’s poised for substantial growth.

Thomas Mouritzen, Accenture Song’s head of Southeast Asia, shared that their deep understanding of consumers and businesses, combined with Romp’s outstanding brand capabilities, will broaden their ability to harness the ongoing technology revolution for consumers and brands. 

“This is a powerful proposition for our clients seeking to win with innovative thinking and connected capabilities in Southeast Asia,” said Mouritzen.

Meanwhile, Divyesh Vithlani, senior managing director and Southeast Asia market unit lead at Accenture, noted that the growth of the digital economy in SEA is pushing brands to create meaningful experiences to meet customers’ needs. 

“Companies are increasingly looking to tap artificial intelligence, data and technology to drive creative content. Romp’s expertise with Accenture’s scale will enable us to deliver this excellence in a way that’s unique to the region,” said Vithlani.

Joseph Tan, Romp’s CEO, commented they have always believed in harnessing the power of creativity and helping clients build strong and long-lasting relationships with their customers. 

“We also constantly elevate ourselves through new thinking methods and approaches. Joining Accenture Song will fully converge the brand storytelling that we love with Accenture’s tech innovation, enabling us to help our clients truly deliver against limitless opportunities with global impact,” said Tan.

Accenture said it continues to invest in capabilities to help its clients drive growth through relevance. In 2021, Accenture Song also acquired Kuala Lumpur-based creative agency, Entropia, to deepen its capabilities in customer experience, design, and creative communications.

Singapore – Public relations firm Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) has appointed Adeline Lee, former head of PR and comms and business director at ADK Connect, to step into the newly created role of general manager for Singapore.

In her new role, Lee will be focusing on driving growth and overseeing all aspects of the business operations and talent development. Her appointment will accelerate H+K Asia’s growth trajectory and complement the agency’s regional expansion plans. Lee will be reporting to Justin Then, CEO of H+K Singapore and Lumos H+K Malaysia.

Lee brings over 20 years of consultancy and in-house experience in communications management. Prior to her previous role at ADK Connect, she was the founder and owner of SG Story, a local boutique agency that specialised in audience engagement, content development and path-to-purchase marketing.

Lee shared that as content and storytelling continue to evolve, there is an increasing need for effective, compelling, and authentic communications that build relationships in today’s complex and ever-changing situations. 

“This is truly an exciting time for marketers, and I am looking forward to partnering with our clients to drive marketing outcomes that are aligned to their business goals,” she added.

Meanwhile, Then commented, “Adeline is a passionate leader with a proven track record of building successful teams and businesses. Her entrepreneurial spirit and deep experience in omnichannel campaigns make her a valuable addition as we continue to expand service solutions and offerings in Singapore.”

HS Chung, president of H+K Asia, said, “I am very pleased with Adeline’s decision to join H+K and her clear vision of how we can continue to build on an already exceptional team. Singapore continues to be an integral hub for our network and clients in the Asia market and this appointment bodes well for H+K Singapore’s growth.”

Philippines – InMobi, a provider of content, marketing, and monetisation technologies, has partnered with iNQUiRO, a technology company under AdSpark and 917Ventures. This partnership aims to provide access to iNQUiRO‘s significant and in-depth insights on consumer’s purchase behaviour and interest, and the end-to-end marketing solutions of InMobi to help brands deliver contextual communications at scale. 

In a recent study conducted by Forrester, 1 in 2 brands are increasingly concerned about the ability to drive efficient and effective marketing in the wake of identity deprecation, while at the same time ensuring consumer privacy compliance. This is where the strategic partnership comes in, as InMobi and iNQUiRO could solve the modern marketer’s need for data-driven decision-making with a privacy-by-design approach.

Rishi Bedi, InMobi’s managing director for APAC, shared that the Philippines stands as amongst the truly mobile-first markets in SEA with more than five hours of daily time on mobile and more than 60% of consumers shopping online.

“Through this partnership, brands will be able to reach iNQUiRO audiences programmatically on InMobi’s mobile Exchange via managed service with InMobi or their preferred DSP platform. Brands will be able to drive better reach, make use of innovative creative formats from our creative gallery, and improve end-to-end attribution using InMobi solutions.”

Meanwhile, Pancho Reyna, chief operating officer at iNQUiRO, commented that they are in a unique position to provide a unique understanding of customers at a deeper level by leveraging on insights from first-party data of millions of Filipino consumers, but more than that, they focus on being champions of data privacy and security for all their solutions and clients

“Enriching your audience’s understanding and sending the right message has never been easier. This is what makes our partnership with InMobi strategic and innovative,” he said.

In June 2022, InMobi also announced a direct integration of its InMobi Exchange supply-side side platform (SSP) into Yahoo’s demand-side platform (DSP), giving advertisers, brands, and media buyers across Yahoo’s extensive global portfolio of clients direct access to premium in-app supply and global user base, at scale.

Singapore – Digital marketing performance and branding solutions platform Entravision MediaDonuts has partnered with in-game ad solution Anzu to bring its in-game advertising platform in Southeast Asia.

Through the partnership, Entravision MediaDonuts will now represent Anzu in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, enabling advertisers in these markets to tap into the power of real-world ads inside gaming platforms. 

The partnership will also provide brands with a sophisticated channel where they could run campaigns in some of the most popular titles by Ubisoft, Saber Interactive, Amanotes, and other leading game developers. These video and banner ads via blended but highly viewable IAB-compliant formats can appear as stadium banners, billboards, buildings, or other 3D renditions.

Pieter-Jan de Kroon, CEO at Entravision MediaDonuts, said, “Gaming in our region has seen incredible growth over the last two years. We’re thrilled to partner with Anzu to bring its groundbreaking, nondisruptive in-game advertising solutions to 8 countries in APAC.”

He added, “Asia will remain a mobile-first gaming region, but we also see growth in console gaming so advertisers can now connect with consumers across all gaming platforms, leveraging Anzu’s full suite of advertising solutions.”

Meanwhile, Stephanie Lublinski, head of partnerships of emerging markets at Anzu, commented, “Southeast Asia has seen phenomenal growth in gaming in recent years, home to over half of all the world’s gamers. Our partnership with MediaDonuts means advertisers in SEA can now reach this massive, rapidly growing audience with in-game advertising that preserves the gameplay experience.” 

She added, “Thanks to our patented, adaptive technology, first-to-market in-game ad viewability measurement with Oracle Moat, and full suite of third party integrations with adtech vendors, advertisers will be able to achieve this huge reach in a measurable, cost-effective way.”

Manila, Philippines – Building on their recent partnership agreements in Indonesia and Malaysia, media investment company GroupM and global outdoor advertising technology provider Moving Walls have partnered anew to bring automation and accountability to Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising across the Philippines.

The latest collaboration enables GroupM Philippines’ agencies to leverage Moving Walls’ Moving Audiences, an end-to-end audience data-driven planning, buying, and verification solution for DOOH media. Moving Walls has developed a comprehensive technology stack including a DOOH planning tool that predicts audiences based on the most recent movement trends. The Moving Audiences platform has already been used to execute campaigns for multiple GroupM clients.

According to Moving Walls, a majority of DOOH inventory in the Philippines is already connected to this ecosystem by Location Media Xchange (LMX), the supply-focused subsidiary of the Moving Walls group. 

Yasmin Mallari, chief investment officer at GroupM Philippines, stated, “There is no doubt that DOOH’s role in the omnichannel mix will continue to grow as the potential reach of this medium is now across locations where consumers commute, work, eat, reside, and more. Brand investments will also grow when there is accountability around where the ads are being served and how campaigns perform. This partnership enables us to enrich our suite of offerings in DOOH planning and extend further measurement capabilities to our clients.”

Meanwhile, Norman Davadilla, CEO of Moving Walls Philippines, highlighted how this partnership will continue to transform DOOH media in the Philippines. 

He said, “Philippines is a regional DOOH leader where both the buy and sell side industry associations have launched initiatives to implement common measurement standards. We have partnered GroupM in other markets and are excited to extend these capabilities to brands in the Philippines.”

The partnership with GroupM comes less than a year after Moving Walls partnered with the Out-of-Home Advertising Association of the Philippines (OHAAP) to scale the data-driven OOH industry in the country for further growth.