Manila, Philippines – A year-end surprise for Filipino K-pop fans – the telco giant in the country, Globe, has announced that it has signed on Korean girl group and global superstars BLACKPINK as its newest endorser.
According to Rappler, the announcement was made by Globe’s president and CEO Ernest Cu in a live stream media event Tuesday, December 1.
In a press statement released by the brand following the event, Cu said, “This year has brought unprecedented challenges for everyone, locally and globally. Despite this, we strive to provide customers better everyday experiences that they will enjoy.”
Globe is the latest in the country’s telco brands to partner Korean stars as ambassadors. In October, another Philippine telco, Smart, unveiled Korean actor Park Seo-Jon as an endorser for its new data bundle service, following the launch of Korean drama Crash Landing On You stars Hyun Bin and Son Ye-Jin as brand models earlier in the year.
Of the new partnership with BLACKPINK, Cu commented, “Having BLACKPINK join the Globe family is proof that we won’t stop bringing the world into our customers’ homes. BLACKPINK being one of the world’s biggest groups has a huge following in the country. We want to bring our customers nothing less than the best in entertainment.”
BLACKPINK, which debuted in 2016, is one of the most popular K-pop groups, comprising of four members in its all-girls ensemble: Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. The group has a strong social media following and consistently broke records on YouTube. The group currently has 53.8M subscribers, with its latest music video on YouTube Lovesick Girls garnering 270M views.
Globe said more surprises featuring the girl group are to come soon.
Malaysia – Continuing to help businesses accelerate digital transformation in the country, Maxis has officially launched the Digital Readiness Index (DRI), which is a first-of-its-kind online and interactive self-assessment tool that helps companies of all sizes across industries assess their level of digital readiness.
At the virtual launch, Maxis’ Chief Enterprise Business Officer Paul McManus said the telco’s studies and continuous engagement with SMEs over the years have made clear the segment needs strong support to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape and to accelerate digitalization.
The DRI has the potential to generate actionable insights on the state of digital transformation of businesses and industries in the nation, including for government, particularly as a consideration for policy implementation and best practices for digital adoption
Paul McManus, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at Maxis
YB Dato Sri Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC) commented, “For SMEs and entrepreneurs to grow in the domestic market and even expand into international markets, digital readiness will be imperative. Going digital is not an option but a necessity for survival. We, therefore, welcome the DRI initiative, which is in line with the Ministry’s vision to foster a holistic and conducive ecosystem of entrepreneurship in the country.”
Maxis’ collaboration with MEDAC
In conjunction with the launch, Maxis and MEDAC will be collaborating on several initiatives through the Ministry’s agencies – National Entrepreneurship Institute (INSKEN), TEKUN Nasional, and Co-operative Institute of Malaysia (IKKM).
These include incorporating the DRI into INSKEN’s ongoing targeted modules and trainings, exploring collaboration on Maxis’ Digital Entrepreneurship Workshop, and digital solutions for the Micro and SME segments. In addition, Maxis will also be sharing yearly updates of digital readiness in the country with the agencies through insights generated from the DRI to help them measure digital adoption rates in the country.
The DRI, which can be accessed through Maxis’ business website, analyzes three key pillars in business: customer satisfaction, employee productivity, and operational efficiency. A formula then determines the score for each pillar that tabulates a total score to gauge digital readiness – ranging from “Ready”, “Nearly Ready”to “Not Ready” and “At Risk”.
Alongside the general rating, the final report also provides competitor analysis, industry benchmarking as well as recommendations on the most suitable digital solutions for their needs. Companies can also opt to follow up with guidance from dedicated Maxis consultants.
The tool had been piloted among 2,000 SMEs across industries retail, manufacturing, and transportation among others, where early insights showed that 58% of Malaysian SMEs are categorized as “Not Ready” in reaching its full potential in embracing digital technologies.
It also found that most SMEs are at the basic level when it comes to their customer engagement, where 61% are using email, while 40% use the holy grail social media as main communication channels. Meanwhile, only 26% of SMEs in the transportation, manufacturing, trade, and oil and gas sector track their company’s vehicles digitally.
Maxis earlier launched its “Retransformation” campaign in September, which calls on organizations in Malaysia to rethink and reevaluate their digital transformation strategies.
On the DRI, Maxis collaborated with multinational telecom company Vodafone which launched a similar Index in Europe.
Singapore – In a bid to help stem the rising tide of scams, Singapore telecom giant Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) has released a campaign series to educate Singaporeans on identifying scams.
Titled “Jaga your data!” where “jaga” is a Malay verb and a Singaporean slang for “to guard,” the campaign uses elements of situational comedy such as a comic storyline, theatrical portrayal, and bright settings to pique interest in a rather technical and serious matter.
It comprises a series of short films, each playing out a telco-related ruse that has snared many an unsuspecting victim, driving home the message that everyone needs to do their part and stay watchful to avoid falling prey to scams.
Scammers are casting their net wider than before, where in Singtel, customers have flagged double the number of instances of telco-related scam calls in the year to date compared to the same period last year.
In a common variant known as “tech support” scams, featured in one of the films called “This is tech support calling,” a fraudster masquerades as Singtel’s technical support, convincing the victim that her IP address has been hacked.
Fooled by the urgency of the scammer, the victim downloads software that enables remote control of the desktop to solve the problem, and unwittingly hands over internet banking one-time passwords (OTP) when asked. The scammers then make off with the victim’s money.
It’s unfortunate that on-going scams using the Singtel name or that of other companies have been so pervasive and that many people have become the targets of tricksters impersonating our technicians and customer service officers
Lian Pek, vice president of Group Strategic Communications and Brand at Singtel.
Pek added, “By serving up anti-scam advice and lessons with a dash of humor with the aim of making the messages stick, we hope to foil some of these scammers’ efforts by encouraging Singaporeans to stay vigilant to protect themselves and their families.”
Featuring local actors Pamela Oei and Shane Mardjuki who take on different personalities of varying ages in each scam scenario, the films are designed to engage viewers of all generations and demonstrate how anyone, regardless of age or gender, is vulnerable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xu6bY_qfaw
Pek said the current campaign builds on the company’s ongoing efforts to mitigate scams such as issuing regular scam advisories and implementing a proprietary fraud management system that uses analytics to block scam calls.
Since April this year, the company has also worked with the government to add a “+” prefix to international incoming calls spoofed to look like local numbers, making scam calls easier to identify.
Gerald Singham, the chairman of National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), commented, “To prevent these crimes, public awareness is the first line of defense, and I’m heartened that Singtel has taken the initiative to support NCPC in our fight against scams by educating people with these light-hearted but effective videos.”
Conceptualized by Singtel’s brand team and produced in collaboration with Akanga Films, the campaign will run from 20 November to 17 December 2020.
The first two films in the series have already been released on the telco’s pay television service Singtel TV and its various social media channels, while the third one is slated for 25 November.
Manila, Philippines – Local-based telecommunications company PLDT has recently partnered up with e-commerce Shopee’s payment platform ShopeePay to bring convenience to payment gateways for services provided by the local telco.
The recent partnership aims at providing more payment service options for PLDT customers in settling their payments for postpaid plans, WiFi, and other bills.
Users can pay through ShopeePay in the Shopee app, under the “Load, Bills & eServices” option.
Accompanying the recent partnership is a chance for PLDT Home subscribers to receive rewards just by paying through the ShopeePay platform. Users may enjoy Shopee coin cashbacks for the following promos:
300 Shopee coins cashback when users pay every Monday, Thursday, and on November 11 by using the voucher code PLDTBILL300.
250 Shopee coins cashback every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with the voucher code PLDTBILL250
200 and 150 Shopee coins cashback respectively when they pay their bills with PLDTBILL200 and PLDTBILL150 voucher codes
“As more consumers are turning to our platform to stay connected and fulfill their daily needs, we are committed to providing them easy access to digital payment services such as ShopeePay for seamless payment,” said Martin Yu, associate director at Shopee Philippines.
Manila, Philippines – Telecom Globe in the Philippines has struck a deal with indoor cycling boutique gym Electric Studio to offer its platinum line subscribers exclusive promos to the studio’s fitness classes.
One of the main perks is an extra week of classes for when platinum customers purchase any 7-day class package from the studio from October 23 to November 6. Classes include indoor cycling, rhythm boxing, and all of its other classes.
In addition, customers will be able to access video-on-demand (VOD) classes and early class bookings to the studio. The pre-recorded workout can be watched through virtual experiences platform Shoor, where the link can be requested from Globe’s digital assistant “Thea.” Sessions are regularly produced, with a fresh batch released every month.
Through “Thea,” platinum customers can also arrange their workouts, where Thea can bookmark for an entire month all their preferred classes, ahead of the weekly class schedule updates on the Electric Studio’s website.
This isn’t the first time the telecom has partnered with the studio. Last September, both parties hosted an “Electric” weekend, a fitness event for spinning fans, which is also an initiative to raise World Vision school kits for children of Baseco compound in Manila.
The company said, “Globe Platinum is proud to partner with Electric Studio and empower its customers to stay healthy and fit at home. As the country’s first indoor cycling boutique and one of the first to pivot to virtual classes, Electric Studio is a proven innovator in the fitness industry. They have nurtured a growing community with new ways to keep workouts challenging and exciting.”
Manila, Philippines – Philippine telecommunications company Smart Communications has released on Wednesday a new advertisement for its product Giga K-video, revealing its newest endorser, Korean star Park Seo-Jon.
This is the third Korean actor that the company has recently inked a partnership with, starting with Netflix-produced Crash landing on youstars Hyun Bin in May, then Son Ye-Jin in August.
Park Seo-Jon gained a wide fanbase for his K-dramas Fight for my way and What’s wrong with secretary Kim, most recently starring in the webtoon-adapted series Itaewon class this year.
The actor’s endorsement is a bundled service that includes open access data, 1 GB daily data for YouTube and streaming service Viu, plus a premium subscription with the latter.
In the ad, Park Seo-Jon is seen comforting a sad woman reeling from a breakup, showing her how subscribing to Giga K-video can uplift her. Smart leverages on the country’s positive reception to K-dramas, branding the service as K-video.
The ad has already been rolled out on TV and YouTube and on the telco’s social media channels.
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