Tag: Southeast Asia

Malaysia – In response to the booming interest in holistic health and wellbeing in Malaysia, content marketing agency Green Park Content (GPC) has launched an English language health and wellness content hub in the country for a company that the agency has yet to disclose. GPC said the content hub development aims to establish a powerful online presence for an integrated healthcare company. 

The new hub, which will be called ‘All Things Health’, enables access to easy-to-understand, trustworthy articles written by health editors, physicians, and wellness experts and covers key health and wellness categories such as nutrition, mental health, and balance, as well as parenthood. ‘All Things Health’ content hub addresses Malaysians’ growing demand for health and wellness information, with over five million category searches of health and wellness topics in the country per month.

Martin Niens, Green Park Content’s head of operations for APAC, shared, “We built a strong foundation for the ‘All Things Health’ content hub, using the perfect synergy of a headless CMS and world-class SEO strategy to showcase some truly amazing pieces of content which engage and empower our audiences into action.”

Meanwhile, Fe Husaint, Green Park Content’s creative and global brand head, stated that the new hub aims to meet consumers’ needs at the moment and answer the unique health concerns today, educating and inspiring them to live a healthy and well-balanced life.

“‘All Things Health’ widens the reach of natural, holistic practices, providing research-backed content to help health seekers and their families have the best health at all life stages,” said Husaint.

Ayie Austria, the head of search experience and innovation at Green Park Content APAC, shared that companies realize the importance of investing in brand publishing to build long-term value through deeper engagement and more purposeful relationships with their audiences. 

“‘All Things Health’ achieves this objective by engaging and creating meaningful conversations with young, digitally-savvy consumers and building a loyal audience,” said Austria.

GPC said that it is now planning to expand the content hub to other markets in the future.

Aside from the new ‘All Things Health’ hub, the agency has created several content hubs, including AllThingsHair.com, MasakApaHariIni.com, and BeautyHub.PH. Each content hub allows brands to own their audiences, capture first-party data and save millions in paid media.

Bangkok, Thailand – Thasorn Boonyanate, a creative veteran with over a decade of experience in the advertising and creatives industry, returns to BBDO Bangkok as its new chief creative officer.

The seasoned ad leader, who is also a musician, became part of the agency in his humble beginnings as a copywriter in 2021. In 2016, he moved to Shanghai and became BBDO Shanghai’s creative director. Boonyanate most recently comes from Wunderman Thompson as ECD. 

Boonyanate shared that the most important thing to an agency is when brands give enough playground and creative space in the collaboration. 

“This model also applies to how an agency team works together as well. Whenever you build trust among your teams, giving a “playground space for a brief” to planners, a “playground of negotiation and partnership” to client service teams, and a “playground of creativity” to creatives, then we will create work that all of us can feel proud as one team,” said Boonyanate.

Meanwhile, with the emergence of the metaverse world, Somkiat Larptanunchaiwong, CEO of BBDO Bangkok, believes that Boonyanate can help drive BBDO Bangkok to this up-and-coming world. 

“For BBDO Bangkok, creative is the heart and soul for creating smart and clever solutions for our clients. We need new energy that drives, motivates, and builds momentum for the Thai creative industry and Pete is the one. He is a leader of this new generation, a powerful creative, with a love of fresh work and fresh insight, hungry for the best work not only for awards but for real client solutions. He’s the one who pushes a local client to the global stage case by case… I believe this change will create excitement for the Thai advertising business indeed,” said Larptanunchaiwong.

Manila, Philippines — UnionBank, the seventh-largest publicly-listed bank in the Philippines, has announced that it will now be acquiring Citigroup’s (Citi) consumer banking business in the country. 

In April this year, Citi shut down its consumer business in the country, including 12 other markets such as Australia, China, India, and Indonesia to move the focus to its Institutional Clients Group. For the acquisition, UnionBank said it has entered into a ‘share and business transfer agreement’ with various subsidiaries of Citi.

UnionBank’s transactions will now include Citi’s credit card, personal loans, wealth management, and retail deposit businesses. The acquisition also includes Citi’s real estate interests in relation to Citibank Square in Eastwood, 3 full-service bank branches, 5 wealth centers, and 2 bank branch offices.

Erramon Isidro Aboitiz, UnionBank’s chairman, said that the acquisition further cements its position as a leading bank in the Philippines, and will help fast-track its growth aspirations in the retail banking segment.

Meanwhile, Edwin Bautista, UnionBank’s president and chief executive officer, commented that they look forward to leapfrogging their credit card business and significantly expanding their banking business in the higher-end segment of the consumer market.

“As we embark on this journey, we are committed to retaining all of Citi’s key talents and upholding the superior customer experience that Citi has delivered to its customers over the years,” said Bautista.

UnionBank said that Citi will continue to operate its consumer banking business in the Philippines until the completion of the acquisition, which is expected to close in the second half of 2022. Moreover, approximately 1,750 Citi employees, including senior management, are expected to join UnionBank next year.

Singapore – As part of the National Library Board’s (NLB) ongoing ‘National Reading Movement’, the statutory board under the Ministry of Communications and Information of the Government of Singapore, has launched a new campaign to encourage Singaporeans to “read more, read widely, and read together.”

The campaign, which was created in partnership with advertising agency Ogilvy Singapore, aims to inspire people to read more books, both fiction and non-fiction, through the NLB mobile app. 

Titled ‘Read More. Be More’, the campaign includes activity across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as OOH in MRT stations, and digital display banners, reminding people how reading can turn day-to-day mundane situations into unexpected adventures. 

Moreover, the campaign includes two films – ‘The Unmasked Superhero’, where audiences discover how an unassuming supermarket employee mysteriously knows everything about superheroes, and ‘The Space Explorer’, which reveals how a humble tennis coach is also a budding astronomer. The two stories show how through reading books, people can expand their worlds and be so much more.

Chris Koh, the program director for National Reading Movement, noted that this year’s campaign continues to bring a fresh take in asking people to read more and widely.

“Our intent with this year’s campaign is to connect with audiences in specific everyday moments and demonstrate how reading can unexpectedly help you to be interesting, and this is true no matter what genre, language, or format reading can take,” said Koh.

Nicolas Courant, Ogilvy’s chief creative officer for Singapore and Malaysia, shared that the approach was to introduce reading as the source of how someone becomes interesting.

“By reading, you gain knowledge and knowledge leads to stronger connections with those around you,” added Courant.

Elrid Carvalho, Ogilvy Singapore’s creative director, further shared that the campaign used physical books to create their protagonists, in an aim to pull audiences into the world of books. 

“If we’ve inspired those who may have given up their reading habits, to pick up a book again, then we’ve succeeded in this campaign,” said Carvalho.

The campaign will be running until March 2022.

Manila, Philippines – Amid these very unpredictable times, Filipino rum brand Tanduay Light has launched a new campaign that aims to spread ‘good vibes’.

The campaign was created in collaboration with full-service consumer brand experience company Ace Saatchi & Saatchi. Titled ‘#AllLightLang’, a witty wordplay for ‘alright lang’ which means ‘that’s alright’, the ad highlights the everyday struggles of Bert who goes through one frustrating incident after another. Fortunately, Bert’s housemates serve as a support group, uplifting his spirits.

According to Tanduay Light, the ad reflects how the brand’s drinks are able to help ease consumers’ worries, such as dealing with work woes, drowning in chores, and stressing about bills. 

“Just like your trusted friends, it gives you that light and easy feeling after a long, stress-filled day,” said Tanduay.

Manila, Philippines – American footwear brand Skechers has transitioned its operations in the Philippines from a third-party distributor, Trendworks International, to Skechers USA Philippines Inc, aimed at maximizing the brand’s growth prospects in the region.

The move will see Skechers offering its full range of lifestyle and performance footwear and apparel in Skechers retail stores, including the recently opened location in Alabang Town Center and another in Ayala Malls Manila Bay, which will be open this week. Another 10 to 12 additional concept stores are planned for the first half of 2022. Moreover, the brand will also be available in key departments and specialty stores including Planet Sports and The SM Store.

David Weinberg, SKECHERS USA’s chief operating officer, believes that the Philippines has immense potential for the brand, and with its dedicated team focused on growth and delivering the integrated capabilities of Skechers, the move is expected to further accelerate the brand’s potential.

“With Skechers’ appealing lifestyle collections, groundbreaking comfort innovations, and our corporate support, we believe the Philippines can become a key market for us in Southeast Asia,” said Weinberg.

Suzette Pasustento, the country manager of Skechers USA Philippines, shared that they are presently in the first phase of re-establishing the brand in the market, setting up new offices in Manila, and implementing a distribution center, as well as the opening of their first new store this month. 

“In 2022, we will introduce new product categories, open more retail locations and expand our door count with new retailers, as well as launch a comprehensive marketing campaign,” said Pasustento.

Skechers said that Trendworks International will continue to sell Skechers products through the end of 2021.

Thailand – Swisse, an Australian-made skincare brand, has announced that its recent campaign on social media platform TikTok has charged the skincare market in Thailand.

The campaign, which was developed in collaboration with advertising firm Ogilvy Singapore, is a hashtag challenge on TikTok that allows the brand to target young women aged 20 to 35 to create strong brand awareness, engagement, and establish its presence in social media and e-commerce.

Titled ‘#MaskingforbeautywithSwisse’, the campaign centers on the idea that no matter how unique or outrageous one’s current facial regimen is, Swisse’s clay masks are simple to use and give better results that can be felt and seen while using all-natural ingredients.

According to Swisse, the challenge encouraged Thai TikTok users to showcase their most unique home facial treatments. Swisse has offered them beauty products valued at THB100,000 as a prize for the most unique do-it-yourself (DIY) facial treatment submissions. 

“The conversion goal was to drive consumers directly from the link on Swisse HTC page to the Swisse Official Brand stores on Watsons, Shopee, and Lazada,” said Swisse.

Manila, Philippines – Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has launched a new campaign that aims to inform new and existing customers of the ‘promise’ of turning their dreams into reality. 

Developed in partnership with creative agency BBDO Guerrero, the new campaign showcases BPI’s commitment to customers, be they new or existing, in making their goals a reality with one simple step – opening an account online in as quick as five minutes.

Titled ‘Kween Tomatita’, the new ad highlights a customer’s five-minute to five-year plans, achieving all of her goals with the help of the bank’s mobile app.

Cathy Santamaria, BPI’s chief customer and marketing officer, believes that with their vast network and innovative products and services, they can support Filipino’s everyday needs and ambitions. 

“BPI is a partner to help achieve the goals of new and existing customers. We are very excited to be working with BBDO Guerrero on this campaign,” said Santamaria.

Meanwhile, David Guerrero, BBDO’s creative chairman, said, “Our idea is to communicate the ease of starting a long-term relationship with the country’s most trusted financial institution to everyday consumers. We hope that this project is the first of many for this newfound partnership.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – MyMy, a proudly Malaysia-made fintech, has announced its new card and app features as it gears up for targeted beta testing in 2022.

The fintech offers a numberless prepaid card that enhances the security of physical payment transactions. As for online transactions, MyMy introduces a seamless biometric feature to authenticate transactions – an element of security that replaces risks associated with other cumbersome authentication methods. 

Furthermore, MyMy users can enjoy additional quick control abilities on its app such as lock card, pin reset, on and off control for overseas, and online and contactless transactions, as well as allowance and limit setting for ATM withdrawals.

Joe McGuire, MyMy’s co-founder, noted that they take the rise of digital payment fraud and online scams very seriously. 

“That’s why we’ve identified the necessity to implement biometric features as part of our security measures, and very soon, facial recognition capabilities as well. Our numberless card also provides enhanced security to reduce fraudsters from committing unauthorized purchases,” said McGuire.

Kishore Samuel, MyMy’s co-founder and CEO, shared that the team is currently working diligently on perfecting MyMy’s app and product offerings.

“We are also well in progress to kick-off the new year with our Beta Testing phase which will involve our very supportive and enthusiastic pre-registered users. We are organized for growth, and there is going to be much innovation and opportunity from MyMy moving forward,” said Samuel.

MyMy has also announced that from 15 to 25 December 2021, it will be giving away RM100 credit with MyMy’s 10-Day Christmas Countdown Challenge this Christmas season. This is a special 10-day seasonal campaign limited to participating contestants who successfully collect winning points by referring a minimum of 10 friends to register at MyMy’s website, as well as by following MyMy’s social media platforms on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Singapore – Apparel brand UNIQLO in Singapore has appointed dentsu’s media agency arm Carat to be its integrated marketing solutions agency partner.

As part of the mandate, Carat will be responsible for UNIQLO’s omnichannel planning and performance marketing to drive full-funnel outcomes.

Joyce Tan, UNIQLO’s marketing director for Singapore, shared that Carat Singapore presented a very balanced and holistic view that addressed their business needs for online transformation, while respecting their roots in brick-and-mortar stores.

“This approach speaks to our focus to be relevant to today’s omnichannel consumer. More importantly, the Carat team demonstrated passion and a drive for results, and the ability to see through a local lens to address the needs of our customers – values that UNIQLO holds close to heart. We look forward to working closely with them to take the UNIQLO brand to the next level in the years ahead,” said Tan.

Meanwhile, Jean Lee, dentsu’s client partner of media group for Singapore, hopes to achieve the shared vision of seamless O2O experiences for UNIQLO Singapore to become a truly omnichannel retail company.

“There is much potential for omnichannel media planning and hybrid models, and we are certain that our one dentsu service model and capabilities in O2O marketing will bring UNIQLO to the next level of digitalization,” said Lee.