Singapore – Streaming and video hosting platform YouTube has announced the launch of its ‘Creators for Impact’ in the Asia-Pacific region, launching first in Singapore. Said initiative is aimed at sharing tips and learnings for local creators to tackle issues of misinformation and mental health on their channels while delivering a compelling message to their audience.
YouTube also hopes that through this programme, it will be helpful in the creator ecosystem by being a tool that can help define and shape public discussion on important issues prevalent in today’s society.
Over the next five months from July to November 2022, 14 creators have been shortlisted based on their channel’s credibility, social impact and potential. Participants can look forward to roundtable discussions with experts, key opinion leaders, and their fellow creators as they work towards using their platform to raise awareness on topics such as misinformation and mental health.
Some of the participating channels include Denise Soong Ee Lyn, TheSmartLocal, Our Grandfather Story, UNfiltered, and Sarah X. Miracle.
Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Siddharth Srinivasan, head of YouTube content partnerships for Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines, said that they recognise the great contribution of local content creators, to which they have leveraged the open nature of the platform to educate, inspire and entertain viewers in creative ways, with their content gaining recognition both locally and globally.
“It’s important for us to ensure we are helping our creators to reach their audiences with the right content on such topics – in terms of connecting them with subject matter experts to share safe, credible content, and creating an environment where they are able to tap on the local creator community to pick up new tips on content creation like collaborating with a licensed expert to engaging audiences in a live Q&A,” Srinivasan said.
He also noted that YouTube has been active in creating partnerships to address mental health discussion on the platform, including with social media creative studio Bloomr.sg, and Ministry of Funny through Tribe Talkin’ to discuss topics such as personal experiences with issues such as anxiety and depression, mental pressures exerted by COVID-19-induced disruptions, and content addressing topics of violent extremism.
When asked about the state of the platform in terms of misinformation, he said that problematic content represents a fraction of one percent of the content on YouTube and they are constantly working to reduce this even further. He also noted that their work on reducing misinformation has been focused on four pillars: removing violative content, raising up authoritative content, reducing the spread of borderline content and rewarding trusted creators – the 4Rs of responsibility.
“When it comes to misinformation, speedy removals will always be important but we know they’re not nearly enough. Instead, it’s how we also treat all the content we’re leaving up on YouTube by raising up information from trusted sources and reducing the spread of videos with harmful misinformation,” he added.
Srinivasan also added that in Singapore, they have taken proactive steps to raise authoritative voices on the platform and ensure people get access to the right information. These include Top News and Breaking News shelves in Singapore to highlight videos from authoritative news sources.
“Since the beginning of this pandemic, we’ve focused on connecting people with useful, high-quality information and each other while removing violative content that violates our COVID-19 medical misinformation policy and Vaccine Misinformation policy. In Q1 2022, globally, we have removed more than 50,000 videos for violating the vaccine provisions of our COVID-19 misinformation policy. These provisions took effect in October 2020,” he concluded.
Manila, Philippines — A new digital campaign entitled ‘Future Farms’ has been recently launched by the Department of Tourism (DOT). The campaign intends to promote farm tourism, one of the sector’s promising gems, and to offer pandemic-weary travellers a refreshing environment and new experiences. The Future Farms video series can be viewed on the ‘Tourism Philippines’ YouTube channel.
The Farm Tourism video series has featured must-see farms possessing unique characteristics of the touted ‘’future farm” — innovative, scenic, product-centric, and machine-oriented.
‘Future Farms’ is the fruit of the government agency’s efforts to redevelop tourism products and seek out new types of destinations and activities for travellers in the new normal. This innovation allows farm owners to maximise the potential of their property, employ more people, and give tourists more destinations to discover and agri-tourism products to enjoy.
The farms to be featured are located all over the Philippines and include sites such as Diaspora Farm and Resort in Bacolor, Pampanga, Amancio Nicolas Agri-Tourism Academy in Cordon, Isabela, Yamang Bukid in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Orchard Valley Farm in Pavia, Iloilo, among others.
Since 2018, the DOT has been strengthening the development and promotion of farm tourism as a major tourism product. It supports stakeholders in innovating and diversifying farm sites around the country to include recreational and leisure activities for tourists in addition to food and wellness.
The DOT said its farm tourism campaign ‘will definitely awaken the farmer in you as you explore the unique and fascinating farms in the country.’
Those interested in the project can visit DOT’s dedicated website for more information on DOT’s Farm Tourism partner destinations.
‘Future Farms’ is one of DOT’s original initiatives for tourism in the past month. Other notable projects include the inclusion and consideration of women and PWDs in the tourism industry, and a new ‘podumentary’ on the different rich cultures and traditions the Philippines offers, entitled ‘Escape: Stories from the Road’.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The celebration of Hari Raya in Malaysia has concluded, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. And with such festivities, there is always a rise of ad films centred around the values and teachings of the Raya festivities.
In line with this, YouTube in Malaysia has round up the top 10 Raya ads released by local and international brands in the country. Presented in alphabetical order, the list is based on a mix of relatable festive situations that touched the hearts and funny bones of viewers, collaborations with well-loved local personalities, and nostalgia for the good ol’ days, while continuing to explore the creative formats of past campaigns.
Astro Malaysia – Senandung Hari Raya Untukmu – Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza & Aliff Aziz
Through an original track sung by Malaysian singer Siti Nurhaliza and local-based Singaporean artist Aliff Aziz, this campaign from the Malaysian satellite TV provider aims to communicate the values of the Raya season, from keeping in touch with loved ones or supporting local businesses for any Raya needs.
Celcom Malaysia – Iklan Hari Raya Celcom 2022 – Syukur 1 Syawal
Duit raya or tokens of money given during Raya are great and all: but have we actually thought about where we ought to spend them? In this heart-warming campaign by this local telco provider, we see a kid named Danish going around houses with his friends to collect duit raya. Among those kids is Aishah, who later on we learn that she gives all of her duit raya to his ailing father. Touched by this scene, Danish thinks of an act of kindness to Aishah’s father.
HongLeong Bank Malaysia – HLB RAYA 2022 – Lebaran Penuh Kesyukuran
This fun and quirky campaign by banking institution HongLeong Bank in Malaysia centres around the festive days despite instances being not the most ‘perfect’ celebration. In spite of obstacles along the way, like the camera falling over a swamp while taking a family picture or meals getting delayed, there is still a glimmer of hope and genuine happiness around family members to be together as always.
Julie’s Biscuits – Raya 2022 | Ini Iklan Raya baru, tau? [Full] | Julie’s Biscuits
Conceptualised by independent agency GOVT Singapore, this hilarious yet eye-opening campaign by the local biscuit brand invites Malaysians to explore traditional definitions of stereotypical roles and see how antiquated expectations no longer hold in today’s day and age.
PETRONAS – PETRONAS Raya 2022 ‘366’: Hari Ke-123 | Full Film
“Find peace within that disappointment”: It is within one of these lines within the ad that sum up the message of the campaign. This Raya-centric campaign is part of Petronas’ ongoing original series called ‘366’, aimed at tackling stories of fortitude, resilience and togetherness among Malaysians during these difficult times. Said campaign is conceptualised under Ensemble Worldwide of IPG Mediabrands.
Saji Malaysia Official – Iklan Raya SAJI 2022 | Raya Dulu – Dulu
This fun campaign by local cooking oil brand Saji focuses on cherishing the Raya festivities, even if it feels like it will never be the same as last year. In this film, we follow a male character cherishing past Raya celebrations, while being mindful to always remember such important moments from past Raya festivities into the future.
Samsung Malaysia – Raya 2022 | Rezeki Memori
Centred around the theme of fun and nostalgic memories, this film by tech company Samsung focuses on a story of Adik and his father cherishing some great memories–which is actually an emotional representation of missing sharing those moments a long time ago. The film, shot on a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra phone, invites viewers to cherish time with their parents, one of the values being focused during the Raya festivities.
Spritzer Group – Raya 2022 | Iklan Raya Paling Berseri
On a more hilarious route, this Raya ad by Spritzer focuses on doing the festivities, alongside with your full-out relatives, in this ad signifying Auntie Vivi. Despite the stereotypical nature of the ad, it teaches viewers to just remain calm and enjoy the festivities.
Taylor’s University – Sadaqah | Hari Raya 2022
If there is one saying to embody this ad from Malaysia’s Taylor’s University, it’s the adage of “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” The ad follows the story of a beggar named Amin, who asks one day for free food from a food stall owned by Kak Zaiton. Despite the ad’s initial impression of Zaiton being angry always, we see a different side of her story, as being compassionate towards the poor. In all, Zaiton’s character teaches viewers of not just getting something but rather having the opportunity to learn and grow as a person.
Tenaga Nasional Berhad – TNB Raya 2022 – Raya Macam Cara
The perfect ad to close this entry, this ad from Malaysia’s multinational electricity company focuses on the diversity of emotions–and antics–during the Raya festivities. After a long time where Raya meetups have been hampered during the pandemic, said ad communicates the long-yearning of families to meet up during these festive times.
Said ad list showcases the most engaging ads that people watched during this period, and are determined in no particular order by an algorithm that factors in watch time, organic views, paid views, and audience retention. This list was pulled on 5 May, 2022 and captures data from 3 April to 3 May 2022 inclusive.
Australia – Full-service creator company Jellysmack has announced the launch of its new catalogue licensing venture for the video sharing platform giant YouTube. Through that venture, Jellysmack invites YouTube content creators to some upfront capital in exchange for licensing videos in the creator’s YouTube library.
As part of that venture, the company is offering lump sum payments ranging from US$50k to US$50m or more to qualifying creators. This catalogue licensing venture brings the Jellysmack Creator Program’s total plan for creator investments to US$750m.
Jellysmack’s new catalogue licensing model gives creators an upfront cash infusion to take the next steps for business growth without giving up any equity in their intellectual property, brand, or new ventures. While many creators are expected to use the funds for common needs like scaling content creation, hiring additional team members, launching new business ventures, or securing studio space, creators can use the capital for anything they choose.
Additionally, the company does not participate financially in any newly uploaded YouTube video content. This non-dilutive design allows creators to remain fully independent and at the helm of their burgeoning enterprises.
Laurent Hulin, general manager for APAC at Jellysmack, said, “Whether a creator is looking for upfront capital to invest in production or to focus on long term multi-platform growth, we’re ready to back creators with over US$750m committed to catalogue licensing. Between the Jellysmack Creator Program and the introduction of Catalog Licensing, Jellysmack is committed to empowering creators as solopreneurs. It’s all part of our creator-driven mission to empower creators behind-the-scenes to go bigger.”
The catalogue licensing venture established yet another pathway for Jellysmack to support creators as business owners. Creators can either opt for a deal to receive immediate capital in exchange for licensing some of their YouTube catalogue, take part in the Creator Program for multi-platform monetisation over time, or participate in both.
In addition, Jellysmack got its start by building and scaling dozens of its own video channels like Beauty Studio, Oh My Goal, and Gamology into the world’s leading social communities. This first-hand knowledge plus the company’s unmatched technology, puts Jellysmack in a unique position to support individual creators not just financially, but also strategically.
Ezechiel Ritchie, country manager for SEA and ANZ at Jellysmack, commented, “Jellysmack is creator at heart. We have grown some of the largest communities on social media. Unlike pure financial partners, we think like creators and understand how to support creators’ big dreams. Our Catalog Licensing offer enables creators to access the value of their back-catalogue today, instead of waiting to collect the revenue over the next three to five years.”
He added, “By receiving the revenue upfront for their old videos, creators no longer have to wait years for YouTube to pay out back catalogue earnings and can invest that revenue to grow their business. It’s not a loan and their past content can fund their future success.”
Jellysmack has partnered with some of YouTube’s largest content creators such as MrBeast, PewDiePie, and Nas Daily.
Manila, Philippines – YouTube retains its leadership among Filipino viewers, where in the country,the watch base now stands at 45 million viewers. With this, local brands are in a better position to tap the platform in attaining desired business and brand results.
In their latest ‘YouTube Brandcast’ press event, the platform noted that there has been more than 25% rise in watchtime from April 2020 to April 2021, while total hours of content uploaded to YouTube by channels in the Philippines grew more than four times between 2020 and 2019.
There has been a huge influx of new creators on the platform as well, with over 3,000 local channels hitting more than 100,000 subscribers, over 250 channels having more than one million subscribers, and 12 channels having more than 10 million subscribers, as of June 2021.
“In the second year of the pandemic, more Filipinos turned to YouTube to use content that can help them with their everyday life. YouTube’s reach, creators, content uploads, and watchtime increased phenomenally and this ecosystem growth unlocked great possibilities for brands to drive results at scale, and deliver a fulfilling experience for viewers,” said Gabby Roxas, marketing head at Google Philippines.
In terms of the genres or categories most watched on the platform locally, recipe videos grew by more than 50% in watchtime during the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same time last year. Skincare video watch time had also jumped by more than 80% in the same period and interestingly, that for shampoo videos more than doubled.
Furthermore, in continuing to seek entertainment to cope with the prolonged isolation periods, watchtime for role-playing game (RPG) videos grew by more than 80% while that for drama television series grew by more than 70% in the same period.
With these genres rising to popularity, brands locally can tap into these categories through their respective content creators to create meaningful brand-infused content, such as the platform’s sponsorable activities like Super Stream, Music Night, and FanFest among others allow brands like Unilever to engage consumers effectively.
“Marketing in a connected world opens new opportunities for brands to connect deeper with people, and YouTube is an effective platform to do that. Through YouTube, we were able to tell our brand stories in an unmissable way, standing up in the frontline of culture to engage today’s attention-restricted audience,” said Dennis Perez, media director at Unilever Philippines.
The platform’s success on brand integrated campaigns has been evident when they launched their first-ever YouTube Works locally, where they recognized the brands that have created campaigns that take the support from the platform’s diverse audience and capabilities.
“YouTube empowers brands to push the boundaries of creative storytelling that delivers results and I’ve seen this with the finalists of the inaugural YouTube Works awards. They used YouTube and its content creators in a powerful way, resulting in key achievements in awareness, engagement and action. I’m excited to see what brands and agencies will come up with and submit in the next run of YouTube Works,” said Leigh Reyes, jury head at YouTube Works and chair 3meritus and product officer at MullenLowe TREYNA.
California, USA – In response to the growing trend online of users resorting to online resources for verified answers to health questions and educating themselves more about health and medicine, video streaming platform YouTube has announced that it will be introducing new in-app features that would raise more awareness about verified health information.
YouTube will be adding new health source information panels on videos to help viewers identify videos from authoritative sources, and health content shelves that more effectively highlight videos from these sources when you search for specific health topics. These context cues are aimed at helping people more easily navigate and evaluate credible health information.
In order to cross-check information these YouTube videos present, the platform has applied the principles developed by an expert panel convened by the National Academy of Medicine, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that brings together the top experts in health, medicine, and biomedical science to provide unbiased, evidence-based guidance about health and science.
The National Academy of Medicine regularly examines complicated questions related to health, medicine, and biomedical science and over the years they have given guidance on everything from countering the opioid epidemic to gene editing.
According to Dr. Garth Graham, director and global head of healthcare and public health partnerships at YouTube, the new in-app health information is the result of the platform’s constant work to make it easier for people to find authoritative information to help answer their questions, as well as putting health professionals at the core of our efforts to connect people with helpful content.
In addition, he also believes that in our increasingly digital world, the next phase in health communication is video, where we can connect with people and answer their questions in a way that is both visual and personal. He also believes that this platform, with 2 billion monthly active users, has the potential to be a transformative tool for public health and can positively impact communities at scale.
“This is our first step towards identifying and designating authoritative health sources on YouTube. While only accredited health organizations and government entities are currently included in our health context features, we’re exploring ways to broaden eligibility and evaluate the inclusion of other health sources, as well as ways to expand these features globally,” Graham said.
He added, “Throughout my years of working in public health and practicing medicine, I have seen the benefits of getting the right information to patients when they need it. These new features are an important step to improve our platform’s role in connecting people with high-quality information. We know that there is more work to be done and our investment will continue for the long-term.”
Manila, Philippines – Taking bold and creative risks pays off: this is one of the main mantras evident in the first-ever YouTube Works Awards in the Philippines, as it awarded the brand content, campaigns, and channels that stood out in effectiveness and creativity in 2020.
The YouTube Works Awards are a staple instreaming platform YouTube which celebrates and champions the brilliant minds behind producing the most innovative and effective campaigns on the platform in the past year. This year, the awards finally landed in the Philippines, done in partnership with market research firm Kantar.
Despite being a year fraught with challenges, brands in the Philippines set the bar high on effectively using YouTube to deliver results and tell stories that resonate with local audiences.
“As the pandemic changed life as we know it, the way we tell brand stories and engage audiences evolved too. YouTube Works Awards saw that despite the restrictions in creative production and reaching consumers, brands in the Philippines rose above the challenge and expanded the possibilities with YouTube to effectively drive results and tell stories that resonate with Filipinos,” said Gabby Roxas, head of marketing at Google Philippines.
This year’s top award went to local soft drink brand RC Cola, whose ‘Basta’ campaign made by independent creative agency GIGIL, was lauded for being brave enough to take creative risks and in making effective use of Gen Z’s surrealist humor. To date, the video has more than seven million views on YouTube.
For Roxas, RC Cola’s bizarre story of a family who served up the message of the value of embracing and enjoying one’s differences is consistent with the campaign’s approach: the pursuit to unapologetically stand out in a sea of formulaic content to achieve marketing and business objectives.
Meanwhile, Leigh Reyes, chair emeritus and product officer at MullenLowe TREYNA, and jury head at YouTube Works, commented, “At a tumultuous time when it would normally be considered unconventional to experiment, bravery in exploring the bold and the new pays off. advertising approach, tapping into absurdism to cut through repetitive and mundane lockdown content.”
Meanwhile, local telco Talk N’ Text or TNT won the ‘Best Multi-Video Storytelling’ award for their ‘Free Games for All’ series, which capitalized on Filipinos’ love for gaming mixed with hugot lines or heart-pulling one-liners to tell the story of four friends bonding over online games via a triad of spots. Driving a 165% increase in revenue versus the previous year, the campaign proved that YouTube viewers keep coming back for episodic content especially if it offers a compelling narrative.
For the ‘Best Brand Channel’ category, local beer brand Red Horse won the award, whose YouTube channel looked beyond product marketing to create content that its target market would watch and engage with especially over a bottle of beer: online concerts, variety show sketches, and entertainment-led videos. This then led the channel to see a growth in subscribers, from 26,000 in October 2019 to 54,000 in 2020, garnering 3.4 million views last year in total. The channel continues to grow, with a subscriber base that now stands at more than 87,000.
Meanwhile, instant noodle brand Lucky Me! Pancit Canton won a ‘Best Collaboration’ award for its work alongside social media influencer Mimiyuuuh for the campaign ‘Pinakahihintay NaThin’, which puts a light-hearted spin for the brand’s comeback to its original thin noodles in production. With this, Lucky Me! saw a lift in purchase intent and brand favor, achieving a view-through rate (VTR) of 18%, higher than campaigns without creator collaborations.
YouTube Works Awards also featured two heartfelt campaigns that show how brands with purpose can drive impact in times of uncertainty.
First on the list is consumer goods conglomerate Procter & Gamble, whose heart-warming campaign on the real, raw sacrifices of our frontliners while being away from their families to care for the sick won the brand a ‘Force For Good’ award.
Meanwhile, Globe Telecom’s ‘A Star Wars Experience For All’ campaign won the ‘Best Long Form Storytelling’ award for its heartwarming story about two young boys who created a special viewing experience for their deaf friend. The campaign shows the importance of inclusivity by representing and uplifting persons with accessibility challenges.
Gary de Ocampo, chief executive officer for insights division at Kantar Philippines, congratulated all the winners of YouTube Works, adding that their campaigns are truly inspiring and speak volumes about the future of advertising in the Philippines. He also noted that from taking bold, creative risks to playing meaningful roles amid the pandemic, the brands listed in the awards have effectively harnessed insights and stories to use YouTube in driving desired results.
“While there were many great campaigns this year, the Best Personalization award went unclaimed, nonetheless. This brings an opportunity for brands and agencies to challenge themselves further about contextual targeting and fully unlock this potential. I’m excited to see how they will take this challenge to bag the award next year,” de Ocampo concluded.
Singapore – Short-form video has become a medium on its own right now that people are looking for more ways to get that rush of entertainment in a snap. In September 2020, YouTube announced its own version of the medium, YouTube Shorts, and finally, the beta version has been launched in Singapore.
Singapore adds to the 26 countries that already have it on their YouTube and will eventually be available across more than 100 countries around the world.
While short-form videos were already viewable in the platform, users around the world will be able to access for the first time Shorts’ creation tools which include a multi-segment camera to string multiple video clips together, the ability to record with music, and control speed settings, among others.
In addition, and in line with the product’s international expansion, the platform is also bringing a new set of features such as:
Adding text to specific points in one’s video
Automatically adding captions to one’s Short
Recording up to 60 seconds with the Shorts camera
Adding clips from one’s phone’s gallery to add to recordings made with the Shorts camera
Adding basic filters to color correct one’s Shorts, with more effects to come in the future
The new features also include the ability to sample audio not only from other Shorts but also from videos all across YouTube, unlocking a new way for creators and users to channel their creativity. This means that users can give their own creative spin on the content they love to watch on YouTube and help find it a new audience — whether it’s reacting to their favorite jokes, trying their hand at a creator’s latest recipe, or re-enacting comedic skits. Creators will be in control and will be able to opt out if they don’t want their long-form video remixed.
“We want to make it easy and fun to create Shorts,” said Todd Sherman, global product manager for YouTube Shorts. “As we continue to build Shorts alongside our creators and artists, we’ll be adding more features for users to try,” he added.
YouTube has already introduced a row on the YouTube homepage especially for Shorts, where users are able to easily swipe vertically from one video to the next. The platform said a Shorts tab will soon be added on mobile to make it easier for users to watch Shorts with a single tap.
The global platform is continuously finding ways to enable the current generation of creators. Aside from the new YouTube Shorts itself, the platform has announced the YouTube Shorts Fund which boasts a total of US$100m fund to be distributed over the course of 2021-2022.
Anyone is eligible to participate in the fund simply by creating unique Shorts that delight the YouTube community. Each month, YouTube will reach out to thousands of creators whose Shorts received the most engagement and views to reward them for their contributions. At the same time, the initiative will also be used to get feedback from creators in order to better improve the product experience.
The Shorts Fund is not limited to just creators in the YouTube Partner Program, which is its dedicated community for creators. Creators will be eligible to participate if they create original content for Shorts and adhere to YouTube’s community guidelines.
“We know that it will take us time to get this right, and we’re just getting started. We can’t wait for you to try Shorts and help us build a first-class short-form video experience right on YouTube,” Sherman said.
This month’s top stories which were sourced from Google Analytics from the 16th of May to the 15th of June were a combination of local and global stories.
First off, Malaysia is taking the spotlight where two come from the market – a leading agency unveiling new leadership appointments, and also a platform’s rundown of top Hari Raya ads in the country.
Southeast Asia country Philippines also made it to the top with an esports company and a media giant partnering in the country to change the game in advertising in esports.
Two global ad tech companies have also joined forces to provide marketers a new way to measure their campaigns, while a global communications agency has also announced new managing directors.
Together with our exclusive interviews with the brand spokespeople, read on to find out which stories made noise this month.
Tier One Entertainment, the Philippines-born esports talent agency for Southeast Asia, has partnered with media and communications giant GroupM to achieve a common goal: to bring in more mainstream brands in the advertising landscape in esports.
Advertising in esports remains to be an exclusive arena for endemic brands, and Tier One, which has been in operations for four years now, has always eyed to be an agent in bridging the gap between gaming and mainstream.
In an exclusive conversation with Joanne Llavore, the CCO of Tier One, she shared that as the audience penetration in esports continues to grow, the company has always been cognizant that the time will come when the standardization of media advertising metrics will become a requisite among clients.
GroupM being the leader in the industry, it is but inherent to seek out and forge this partnership as we work together with them to bring esports and gaming in the forefront of media advertising.
Joanne Llavore, CCO, Tier One Entertainment
Llavore adds, “It’s a blue ocean of non-endemic brands out there. And we know the potential is really huge to be able to scale the business.”
Aside from its headquarters, Tier One currently has offices in Myanmar, Japan, and Vietnam and had just opened an office in Malaysia.
Media and communications network dentsu in Malaysia has announced new leaders within its Media division. Asha Nair will become the new managing director of media investment and platforms, Jing-Wen Foo has been appointed as the new e-commerce director, while Hemanth Jayaraman has been unveiled as the new partner and agency brand lead of DentsuX.
Dheeraj Raina, CEO of Media at dentsu malaysia, said that the new hires go under dentsu’s continuous transformation journey which started last year when it was announced that dentsu will now be organized into three main business lines including Media.
Raina, who himself, has also been recently appointed as the inaugural CEO of Media in January, said that it has been an “intense 6 months”, looking at simplifying internal structures and how they create solutions for clients. It has also been, Raina bared, quite a year of subsequent pitches.
The new lineup that you’re seeing of the leaders [is] primarily [for] creating capability centers of excellence within the organization so that as the agency partners with our clients, we are in the best position of solving their marketing challenges.
Raina said in a MARKETECH APAC interview
Raina also shared that the division will be more product-focused as an agency, such as into its e-commerce practice, where the vision is to provide clients beyond the performance marketing aspect of it but to be an end-to-end e-commerce service that touches on strategic consulting as well as on-site and off-site optimization, among others.
“Obviously, it’s been a very, very challenging one and a half year for everybody in terms of forecasting and looking at how the future will be, and therefore, [being] an agency partner for us [means] to be able to then deliver really integrated growth solutions for our clients [which] is going to be very, very critical; and for that, I think, we need to have a very strong product focus, and that’s where I think is we are going to be spending a lot of our time as an organization in the next coming few quarters,” said Raina.
Raina also remarks, “And obviously, e-commerce is one of the key products that is no more [treated as a] luxury [for brands].”
Singapore-headquartered global communications agency Redhill has unveiled two new managing directors, Marienelle Castelino and Tavy Cussinel.
Both Castelino and Cussinel have been homegrown executives of Redhill, being part of the company for a long time, even during the time it was operating out of its headquarters in Singapore, in an attic-like office with no windows, as CEO and founder Jacob Puthenparambil describes it.
Puthenparambil, in a MARKETECH APAC interview,sharedwhy it’s important to build and stick with its people for a long time.
It’s extremely vital for our growth that we have people who stay with us for a very long time because it’s a people-based industry, especially PR. A lot of the company culture is based on the long-term people that we have. You can’t write those things down or learn from a textbook.
Jacob Puthenparambil, CEO and Founder, Redhill
Through their new roles, Marienelle will deepen her focus on brand leadership and corporate mandates in markets across Asia Pacific, specifically Singapore, Indonesia, India, and Cambodia, while Tavy will focus on growing the agency’s education, healthcare, luxury, and lifestyle portfolios.
The communications firm started in 2014 as a boutique agency and in the interview, Puthenparambil shared how at the beginning, they had always been firm in their goal that they wanted to grow into being more than that.
“We knew from day one that we didn’t want to be a boutique agency. We’re going to fight the big boys,” he said.
He shared that along the way, they found that a boutique agency’s lifeline is mostly dependent and stuck to how long its founder is active or relevant to the market and that in the end, said agencies aren’t able to hold on to the talent or to the clients.
“So that’s what pushed us to establish this presence in all these countries, even if it’s one [to three] people; [we] just go plant the flag there and start doing work,” he said.
Redhill currently has a global presence in 17 markets.
Global marketing cloud InMobi has announced a new partnership with global technology company The Trade Desk to integrate InMobi’s mobile-first consumer intelligence platform – InMobi Pulse – into the latter’s demand-side platform (DSP).
As more and more brands seek to find additional and effective ways to measure their brand campaigns across all digital media, the two ad tech platforms come together to offer in-app brand lift surveys to be delivered programmatically, enabling brands to measure metrics such as brand awareness, favorability, intent to purchase and other metrics that determine campaign effectiveness.
Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Vasuta Agarwal, managing director of InMobi for the Asia Pacific, said, “This partnership is a first of its kind between InMobi and The Trade Desk, and it provides brands and marketers the ability to deterministically measure the incremental brand impact of their campaigns across digital media by web, desktop, and in-app.”
It allows them to deliver in-app surveys, both to an exposed group and a controlled group of users which are users who have seen the ad and have not seen the ad, and then measure the difference in the brand lift metrics between these two groups.
Agarwal explaining how the integration works
She adds that the metric is deterministic because brands can use mobile ad identifiers to identify the end-user who’s seen the ad or not seen the ad.
Agarwal also shared another benefit, “And any advertiser using the [The Trade Desk’s DSP] while running their campaigns, can do a lot of [other] stuff like in-flight optimization, and change in brand messaging, [among others].”
Finally concluding the Hari Raya, or the celebration of the end of Ramadan in Malaysia, YouTube, through its ads leaderboard, has rounded up the top 10 ads on the platform that came in celebration of the festivity. This is MARKETECH APAC’s top story for June.
The list included a mix of international and local brands in Malaysia. Some of the local names on the list are Tenaga Nasional, Petronas, and RHB Group. Meanwhile, Asia retailer Watsons also made it as a top ad, with leading e-commerce platforms Lazada and Shopee also entering YouTube’s picks.
YouTube’s ads leaderboard is usually based on metrics such as organic and paid views, watch time, and audience retention, but we spoke with Lars Anthonisen, Google’s head of marketing for Malaysia, to give us an insider on what other factors said Malaysian brands were able to hit right to get into audiences’ radar.
Anthonisen said there are three key themes: brands that stood out stayed in tune with the values of Hari Raya, showed empathy, and took a stand on societal norms.
More Malaysians, unfortunately, are unable to celebrate with their loved ones. I think ads that stood out were from brands who leaned heavily to the core Hari Raya values [such as] family, compassion, and hope, providing Malaysians the Hari Raya spirit.
Anthonisen on brands showing the values of Hari Raya
With Empathy meanwhile, he said that brands are starting to recognize the importance of acknowledging the struggles people and communities are facing.
“Brands have realized the need to engage the audience on a deeper level by leveraging real stories and also [to] add [the] human element and build this deeper connection,” he said.
And finally, Anothisen’s insight on brands challenging societal norms: “It can be daunting, I know, for a lot of brands to take a difficult topic on and turn it into something of value, but I think brands who were there to do it really got the support and the engagement from audiences.”
And of course, he himself has a favorite from the list, and this is what he had to say, “The one that stood out for me was the one from Petronas. First of all, they used animation to tell the story a bit differently, but I think also the whole campaign centered around how many Malaysians missed home during Hari Raya, and I think that was a really lovely story.”
Watch our live interviews with the newsmaker themselves on the latest episode of MARKETECH APAC Reports, live on our YouTube channel.
This is in collaboration with Malaysia-based media company The Full Frontal.
Sydney, Australia – In a bid to encourage urbanites to go out and explore the aesthetic aspect of nature, outdoor brand Kathmandu and the Australian arm of youth media group VICE have teamed up in a latest content series called ‘Out There With…’, which is hosted on a new content platform conceptualized by creative agency We Are Social.
The content series focuses on exploring outdoor subcultures like foraging, dog walking, and bathing in extreme cold water, and aims to highlight the benefits of the outdoors on our mood, creativity, and overall wellbeing for younger audiences.
Said series is in line with Kathmandu’s goal to bring its brand purpose ‘We’re Out There’ to life.
They have recently uploaded their first episode on both Kathmandu’s and VICE Australia’s YouTube channels, which featured Australian musician Nick Littlemore and eccentric guide Diego Bonetto, as they explore pine forests in southern New South Wales.
“We’re thrilled to team with VICE and We Are Social on this partnership. At Kathmandu we know that nature changes our brains for the better and we can’t wait to highlight just how many great subcultures there are in the outdoors,” said Eva Barrett, chief customer officer at Kathmandu.
A set of photographs documenting the experience will also be released on Kathmandu’s owned channels through a range of lookbooks, social shopping assets, and educational content.
“Nothing is quite like discovering a place first-hand. And “Out there” is a place,” says Edu Pou, executive creative director at We Are Social.
“Exploring specific outdoor subcultures, we aim to go beyond the expected and inspire our audience to start their own journeys,” Pou added.
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