Manila, Philippines – The country’s Department of Trade and Industry has rolled out its new Christmas-themed web series on YouTube titled “PASA-LOVE” to highlight various local and regional products in the country.
The web series, which translates to “Share The Love,”is the department’s answer to promote the “Buy Local” campaign, especially as Filipino entrepreneurs are hugely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Buy Local” campaign aims to help these entrepreneurs stay afloat by patronizing their products.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xg0dF_4RRo&t=90s
“A lot of our countrymen have lost their jobs and their businesses due to the pandemic. Thus, this is the perfect time to let them feel the real spirit of Christmas. Through simple patronization of locally-made products, we can share our love for the country, and show the real definition of unity. Buy local, give local this Christmas,” said Blesila A. Lantayona, DTI’s regional operations group undersecretary.
The “PASA-LOVE” web series premiered last November 3 and has currently released its fourth episode, where the department has already promoted food products from the Cordillera region, locally-made shoes, and sandals from Marikina City, and heritage crafts from the Western Visayas region. More episodes are set to be released on its YouTube channel.
United Kingdom – In celebration of the company’s 40th partnership anniversary with children charity foundation Make A Wish, Disney EMEA launches its “From Our Family To Yours” campaign, and features an animated video advertisement centered on the spirit of Filipino Christmas.
Featuring two characters, a grandmother (Lola) and her granddaughter, the video shows notable Filipino Christmas traditions, specifically parol making, or making of Christmas lanterns.
The video starts off in a Philippine location in the 1940s where the grandmother in his childhood days strolls around in a plaza or a public quadrangle and meets up with her father. He then gestures a mano, a Filipino honorific way of showing respect to the elders (0:15 video timestamp). She is then given by her father a Mickey Mouse doll as a Christmas gift.
Fast forward to 2005, and the grandmother and her granddaughter live under the same roof, and bond over making parols, a Christmas version of Filipino lanterns made from bamboo stilts and colored paper (0:50 video timestamp). However, as time passed by, the granddaughter lost interest in lantern making, evident in the granddaughter’s shift to other teenage things.
One particular scene provokes Lola’s sadness, as her granddaughter leaves the house, leaving her alone and the old Mickey Mouse doll she has been holding on for decades, an ear ripped off.
However, the video concludes with the daughter realizing that the Mickey Mouse was a memento of her Lola and decides to surprise her grandmother with a plethora of Christmas lanterns around the house and gifting her a fixed Mickey Mouse doll. Both are brought back to their cherished memories, and hug each other at the end.
The video’s official soundtrack is titled “Love Is A Compass” performed by UK artist Griff. Digital download purchases of the track and a limited edition vintage Mickey Mouse soft doll are eligible to support the Make a Wish Foundation, as 100% and 25% of the item sales respectively are donated to the said foundation.
Philippines – International chips brand Lay’s Chips, which has established a market in the country, has released a Christmas-themed video advertisement and puts a modern twist to the beloved Filipino Christmas lullaby “Christmas in our Hearts.”
Titled “Remix In Our Hearts,” the advertisement features the song’s original performerJose Mari Chan, and Nico Bolzico, the husband of actress Solenn Heusaff and a well-known online celebrity.
The video starts with Bolzico sitting down on a couch and eating chips. As he is listening to a Christmas melody, he comes across a ‘meme’ of Jose Mari Chan saying “Do Jose What I See?”, a play on Jose Mari Chan’s name.
As Bolzico dreams of a ‘wish duet’, Chan appears in the scene, and both perform the jingle ‘Remix in our Hearts’. The scene changes from the house setting, to a suit-and-tie performance and finally to a hip hop vibe.
The recent campaign promotes a “Double the Holiday Flavor” message, which is shown in the advertisement featuring Lay’s Chips Classic Flavor and Lay’s Chips Sour Cream & Onion.
Manila, Philippines – Netizens on Tuesday Morning complained about the inaccessibility of the Philippine broadcasting giant’s two YouTube news channels – ABS-CBN News and ANC 24/7.
In a screenshot by Rappler, a message is displayed on previously posted videos of both channels which read, “The video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated”.
The network has already released a statement, saying that they are “aware of the problem.”
“We are currently investigating this and working closely with YouTube to resolve the problem,” said the network.
The network also urged its audiences to turn to its radio channel TeleRadyo’s YouTube channel for the meantime in order to receive news live streams and reports.
According to parent firm Google, termination of a YouTube account could result from several reasons such as repeated violations of its community guidelines and terms of service, a single case of severe abuse such as predatory behavior, spam, or pornography, and when an account delivers any content that violates YouTube’s policies such as hate speech, harassment, or impersonation. It is also possible for accounts to be mistakenly flagged, with Google allowing accounts to submit an appeal.
Google also explained on its guidelines, “If your channel or account is terminated, you may be unable to use, own, or create any other YouTube channels/accounts.”
This isn’t the first time the network has encountered a problem in its digital news avenue following its franchise denial in July. In September, its news website news.abs-cbn.com has also been temporarily inaccessible.
In the latest development, the network has announced Tuesday evening that its news channels on YouTube are now up and running.
“After working closely with YouTube, the ABS-CBN News and ANC 24/7 channels have been restored at 3:58 p.m. today,” it said in a statement.
It revealed that the temporary suspension was due to a hacking incident. The network said it will continue its investigation to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.
Mumbai, India – As the country nears its annual festival of lights, Indian consumer brand Godrej HIT recently uploaded a Diwali-themed advertisement, with focus on the brand’s LAL HIT insecticide product.
The video is centered on the aspect of Diwali Safai or the general cleaning of the house before the actual Diwali festival. In the video, a lady’s perspective narrates how family members have high hopes and anticipation for this year’s festivities. Starting from her father-in-law changing into a more festive attire, the video then shifts to the lady’s brother-in-law, using the featured insecticide brand to spray into the kitchen sink and other house corners as a sign of focus on hygiene and cleanliness. Lastly, the video pans to the mother-in-law laying down with a treat of face mask. With the subtle brand hit within the last minutes of the advertisement, the ad concludes that this year’s Diwali is going to be a #SuperHITdiwali.
With the upcoming festival hampered by the country’s restrictions on festivities and large gatherings, Sunil Kataria, CEO of Godrej Consumer Products for India & SAARC (GCPL) comments that the said advertisement is a way of showing that despite hindrances, this year’s Diwali will capture the same anticipation and festive fervor like past festivities.
“2020 will witness an inherently ‘indoor’ festive season, but that will in no way dampen the festive spirits. We want to remind everyone how even though this year’s festivities will be on a smaller-scale with our immediate family, we will enjoy it in our own unique yet endearing way,” Kataria stated.
Meanwhile, Amar Singh, regional creative officer for Lowe Lintas, the Indian wing of marketing communications company MullenLowe commented, “”Diwali 2020 is unlike any that we have experienced or are likely to experience in our lifetimes. And after everything we have been through in this trying period, each one of us deserves to celebrate it. Conceived by Rajat Dawar and Vishal Bagade, this film aims to capture this sentiment. And is a wish for all of us to have a Super HIT Diwali from a brand that ensures we are always safe and protected in our homes.”
This month, MARKETECH APAC truly lived up to its name. For the top 5 stories this September, we saw a diverse set of newsmakers hailing from around the APAC region.
The top stories were identified based on Google Analytics from August 17 to September 15. In the list, two great brands from Southeast Asia and East Asia flexed their creative prowess to showcase novel brand marketing moves. Marketing leaders also continue to dominate the list; a marketing executive from South Asia recounted her almost two-decade marketing journey, another one, an APAC business director filled us in on a growing buying trend that no one saw coming amid the pandemic, while a significant appointment from ANZ also grabbed people’s attention this month.
Top 5: Shopee gets fictional character Phua Chu Kang as new face of the brand
Ever since eCommerce platform Shopee was launched, it has only been putting its trust to big, international names to represent its brand – that would be Kpop girl band Blackpink and professional footballer Cristian Ronaldo. During its 9.9 super sale, the brand decided to show what hyper localization really means by getting not just any local personality, but a deeply rooted cultural icon – sitcom character Phua Chu Kang.
Phua Chu Kang, played by actor Gurmit Singh, is the title character of the longest-running sitcom by network Mediacorp, which revolves around the misadventures of the Phu family.
The show ran from 1996-2007, and within that time, Singaporeans grew to love the eccentric, overly confident, and yellow-boots wearing contractor. So what has truly made the Shopee team go for this rather unconventional stint?
Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Head of Marketing Tiger Wang said, “The [appointment] marks another milestone for us as we continue to build on the hyper-localized approach and deepen our engagement with the local audiences. Phua Chu Kang is a household name and a celebrity, [and] local icon. His ability to resonate with and unite local communities aligns with Shopee’s vision, making him the best choice for us.”
Top 4: Hong Kong-based Towngas cooking academy extends its expertise to YouTube
Amid in-person limitations during the ongoing pandemic, many brands and businesses alike have turned to the virtual side of things. Take Hong Kong-based cooking school Towngas Cooking Centre as an example. The culinary academy which has flame cooking at the core of its program, has gotten things rolling this September as it forayed to YouTube this month, and it doesn’t stop at that. It has a bunch of high-caliber celebrity chefs to boot, tapped to showcase the school’s virtual sessions.
Healthy Monday, French Wednesday, Culinary Tips4U, and Star Chef Weekend and Sunday Mom & Dad are just some of the quirky-titled lessons that are slated for its YouTube viewers.
General Manager for Retail Marketing & Sales Catherine Wong said that the occurrence of COVID has definitely pushed Hong Kongers to prefer home-cooked meals to dining out, and this is what ultimately brought the brand to make the most out of the situation.
Jasrita’s marketing expertise expands almost two decades, where she’s worked with a list of well-known brands such as consumer product giant Procter & Gamble, hospitality brand Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, and television media company NDTV before having focused entirely on brand and marketing for healthcare services.
Currently, she is the assistant vice president for healthcare provider Fortis Healthcare in India. When we sat down with Jasrita during her #MARKETECHMondays episode, she shared some very helpful advice that could be very well treated as a guiding light to budding marketers.
“I just have two things to say to [marketers]; the first is, please never forget why you decided to become a marketer. There would be times in your journey when you’re feeling low, but constantly remind yourself [your why], [which is] because you want to be your consumer’s voice inside your organization,” said Jasrita.
‘The second is keep upgrading; it’s nobody else’s responsibility to upgrade your skills. Because your consumer is going to keep changing; there are new avenues, [mediums], [and] new platforms. You have to have their pulse,” added Jasrita.
Top 2: Stella Berry’s take on a new phenomenon in shopping amid the pandemic
Have you heard of revenge shopping? We bet not, but we too are sure that it would be a term soon to ring bells. In a nutshell, revenge shopping goes hand in hand with luxury shopping. It is a phenomenon that sees luxury stores opening their doors to shopping-starved consumers looking to avenge their months spent holed up at home during the lockdown.
This month, Regional Business Director of mobile advertising solutions Adludio, Stella Berry dedicated a full thought leadership article on the buying trend.
Stella said that it is a testament to the unique relationship consumers have with luxury.
“No one could have predicted that after months of lockdown, the need for luxury goods has resulted in long queues outside of boutiques. This phenomenon is the result of brands, really making the effort in continuing to engage with people even during the lockdown,’ shared Stella.
All looking positive for brands and consumers, but Stella also puts out a caution.
“Returning to business as usual at this [rapidly] accelerated pace could bring about a negative impact [on] the environment, and consequences on sustainability. So luxury marketers need to find their balance to ensure the brand continues to remain sustainable, but also well-loved,” said Stella.
Top 1: Cognizant ANZ ropes in former PwC executive Jane Livesey
Livesey breathes and lives IT. At PwC, she led over 800 IT professionals for the company’s technology consulting practice team in Australia; while for 12 years, she served as tech managing director for Accenture. With a seasoned IT experience under her belt, Livesey has also become an active advocate for women in the field of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, or STEAM.
It hasn’t been very long since Jane settled into the role, and as we checked up on her, she shared with us, “It’s been great to join Cognizant and hit the ground running in Australia and New Zealand. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had conversations with both our clients and our teams. At Cognizant, we are focused on how to enable organizations in ANZ to keep on top of era-defining innovations and drive growth in the face of continuous technological and market changes. As CEO of ANZ, my priority is to provide local enterprises and governments with high-quality, market-leading digital transformation capabilities that enhance the lives of people and support digital-first.”
Watch the MARKETECH APAC REPORTS of these top five stories, with exclusive appearance and commentary from the newsmakers themselves.
If you have interesting stories, thought-leadership pieces, and case studies in the area of marketing, technology, media platforms, and SME, please send us an email at [email protected]. Who knows your story could be part of our top 5 next month.
Hong Kong, China – A Hong Kong-based culinary arts school Towngas Cooking Centre which promotes flame cooking, has launched its official YouTube channel, where it will be featuring cooking lessons and recipe ideas demonstrated by an ensemble of celebrity chefs.
Towngas Cooking Centre is an extension of utility company and gas supplier The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited which was put up in 1977. Its courses stretches a wide age group offering programs like Excellent Wife Certificate program for beginners, and a crash course for students abroad, where at the center of its curriculum is the training for flame cooking.
Episodes of the new YouTube channel will feature both local and international celebrity chefs such as Master Chow Chung, Swiss chef Jacques Kagi, YouTuber Portugal Story-Telling Chef John Rocha, and celebrity mom Skye Chan who will take turns to present professional cookery advice and demos on a daily basis.
Lessons will range from casual cooking to gourmet preparations with recipes from Asian cuisine as well as ideas on French baking. Essential facts about foods and pointers on handling ingredients and condiments will also be featured in addition.
From September to October, special segments are slated to go live for each day of the week: Healthy Monday, French Wednesday, Culinary Tips4U on Thursdays, KOL Friday, Star Chef Weekend, and Sunday Mom & Dad.
The channel will also release a one-of-a-kind segment called Intensive Course for Domestic Helpers, a Chinese cooking boot camp tailored for domestic helpers to be shown every Tuesday.
Retail Marketing and Sales Catherine Wong remarks, “Since the number of COVID-19 cases has fluctuated lately, many people prefer cooking at home over dining out.”
Wong added, “According to market research, there’s an exponential growth in searches for recipes. In response to the demand, Towngas launches our very own flame cooking platform Towngas Cooking YouTube Channel, where star chefs specializing in different cuisines convene.”
Singapore – Southeast Asia media service Hepmil Creators’ Network (HCN) is now the first in the region to offer an inventory of reserved media on Youtube, including that of Esports and gaming channels to brands.
This comes about from a partnership with US-based digital media company Bent Pixels, which owns the sales rights through its long-term partnership with YouTube.
The company also owns an independent influencer network in the US with a portion of its content creators emanating from major Esports organizations.
The new offering currently expands HCN’s services, which was launched in April 2020 as a subsidiary of Hepmil Media Group, mainly to help brands connect with comic creators in the region.
Hepmil Media Group CEO Karl Mak explains that with reserved media, SEA brands can now purchase advertising spaces on specific channels by their favorite creators across multiple countries from one single point of contact.
He added, “they will fully own the advertising spaces on select channels during the engagement period without interference from competing advertisements, thus improving targeting efforts and optimizing media budget.”
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