Ryan Lim, co founder of local digital agency Blugrapes has exited the company to lead his own shop named QED Consulting.
QED Consulting is a consulting firm that aims to bridge the art of business with the science of digital to help businesses grow. It will specialises in digital consulting for clients and will also provide training sessions for companies looking to enable their staff with better digital skills.
Lim, in a conversation with Marketing confirmed the move. He first helped start up the company in 2006. Blugrapes currently operates in Singapore and Malaysia. The agency has worked with clients such as Sephora, Dulux, Dutch Lady, Coca-cola, Cheers, Cerebos, StarHub and many others.
Lim (pictured) has also worked as associate marketing manager in Microsoft and product manager in Nokia.
The Marketing Excellence Awards Malaysia has returned following a highly successful launch last year to celebrate the very best of Malaysia's Marketing Communications industry. Entries are now open until 10 September and with new updated categories that cater to the modern marketer, the Marketing Excellence Awards is fast becoming Malaysia's brand benchmark of marketing excellence.
Entries will be judged by senior marketers, agency elites and industry leaders across 24 categories covering the diverse marketing and communications areas. Categories include everything from highly targeted mobile marketing and direct marketing campaigns to large scale product launches and consumer events and much more.
The search for Malaysia's best marketer will culminate in a prestigious ceremony and gala dinner on 17 October at The Westin Kuala Lumpur where winners will be celebrated with Gold, Silver and Bronze trophies in each category.
The organisation with the most winning entries will be crowned Marketer of the Year for 2014. Last year Maybank was honoured with the esteemed title by winning three Gold and three Silver in categories that included Excellence in Sponsorship Activation, Integrated Marketing and Consumer Insights / Market Research/Data-Driven Marketing. This time round the stakes are even higher so the question is who will take home the prize this year?
Entries are now open until 10 September. All details about entry submission and the awards ceremony can be found here.
DM9 JaymeSyfu made history by bringing home three out of the four major awards at the 17th Agency of the Year awards.
The win was indisputable, with DM9 sweeping the coveted Agency of the Year, Best in Creative and Best in Management of Business. Ogilvy & Mather was awarded the Best in Market Performance Award.
The “lean mean machine” of just 33 people won five metals in total, including the Best in Industry Leadership & Community Service and the Digital Excellence Award given to its digital arm Di9it.
“When I heard our agency’s name announced, it was so surreal. It was like a dream. And, I could attest that every single DM9ner contributed to this. I likened this AOY win to a medical check-up and DM9, thank God, was in a pretty good shape,” chairmom and chief creative officer Merlee Jayme said.
Di9it’s managing partner Carlo Ople admits that the Digital excellence Award was an unexpected win but was ecstatic with achieving the feat considering the agency’s age.
“Winning the AOY Digital Excellence, one of the most prestigious awards in the industry, despite just being a year and a half old is truly an honor for the whole team! You can imagine the shock and joy of people when we found out that we won. We look at this as a validation to our solutions-based and creative approach to digital.”
Starcom Mediavest remains as the Overall Media Agency of the Year but also snatched Media Agency of the Year - Best in Business. Mediacom brought home the Media Agency of the Year -Best in Creativity.
Below is a complete list of the winners at the Agency of the Year Awards organized by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4As).
Agency of the Year: DM9JaymeSyfu
Independent Agency of the Year: IdeasXMachina
Best in Creative: DM9JaymeSyfu
Best in Market Performance: Ogilvy & Mather
Best in Management of Business: DM9JaymeSyfu
Best in Industry Leadership and Community Service: DM9JaymeSyfu
Overall Media Agency of the Year: Starcom Mediavest
Media AOY, Best in Creativity: Mediacom
Media AOY, Best in Business Performance: Starcom Mediavest
Digital Excellence Award: Di9it/DM9
Film Production House of the Year: Straight Shooters
Post Production House of the Year: Post Manila
Audio Production House of the Year: Hit Productions
Activation Excellence Award: Ace Saatchi & Saatchi
The agency will be working across all of Pernod Ricard Malaysia’s portfolios and with brands such as Martell, Chivas Regal, Glenlivet, Aberlour, Absolut Vodka & G.H. Mumm Champagnes. The agency will work on creative and brand strategies, conceptualisation and ideation before implementing go‐to-market strategies.
Managing director of Pernod Ricard Malaysia, Terence Ong said, “GOVT has been highly recommended by Pernod Ricard Singapore, and although in a different market, has proven itself to be an extremely insightful and creative agency from the brand briefs that PRM has shared with them.”
The Malaysian arm will be led by creative partner Casey Loh, who will be moving from Singapore to lead the office. Meanwhile the agency also hired Syed Nasir, formerly from Spafax Airlines Network as head of business. Syed, who was a specialist in creative media innovation will spearhead the operations, business development, and client servicing duties in the agency.
Group MD, GOVT Singapore & KL Leon Lai said: GOVT is fortunate to have fostered a fantastic relationship with Pernod Ricard because of the similar values that both client and agency share.”
Mighty Corp., the second largest tobacco company in the Philippines, has launched two new premium cigarette brands in a bid to reach into all segments of the market.
Called King and Chelsea, the two brands boast the finest tobacco grades and comes in Full Flavor king size, Lights king size and Menthol 100s, forming a total of six different variants.
“Both brands are premium in terms of smoke character. But from the packaging and cigarette design, King is more traditional while Chelsea radiates unconventionality,” Oscar Barrientos, executive vice president of Mighty, said
He adds that the new brands will be categorized in the highest tax bracket for cigarettes.
“Our decision to expand our product lines is just part of our vision to become a major player in the market and show what a Filipino company can do,” he said.
The company is the oldest Filipino-owned tabacco brand, started in 1945 with a small factory in Manila producing cigarettes known as “Matamis.” It was renamed to Mighty Corp. in 1985 and bought the trademarks of Alhambra Industries in 1993.
Publicis Worldwide has acquired a minority stake in home grown Singaporean agency Arcade.
Headquartered in Singapore with offices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Jakarta, Arcade currently employs more than 100 individuals across the region.
Nick Marrett, founding partner and CEO of Arcade would not confirm the size of the stake, but said he would continue to lead the agency.
Arcade's key clients include CLEAR, Closeup, Pond's, Rexona, IKEA, Coca-Cola, Bango, WeChat and Google.
"The worlds of marketing, entertainment and information are colliding. Arcade's entrepreneurial approach to creativity helps brands find new ways to thrive in this new and challenging environment," Marrett said.
"We are thrilled to be joining forces with Publicis as we accelerate our development across the region into key markets like China, Africa and India for the benefit of our clients, and strengthen our Asian credentials.
"The chemistry and alignment with Publicis was incredibly strong right from the outset."
Loris Nold, CEO of Publicis in Asia added that Arcade had built a unique model that allows them to create global and incredibly innovative work out of Asia.
"Our key clients have made Asia a global hub for some of their brands and we are increasingly working with Asian brands that have global ambitions. To partner Arcade's founders, Nick, Gary, Mark and Matt, across the region is fantastic news for us."
Marrett (pictured) first launched the agency in 2010. Only recently Arcade launched an office in Indonesia which is now led by co founders Gary Caulfield and Alfa Aphrodita.
Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has jumped into the MMA arena but he won’t be trading any punches.
Instead, the eight-division champion could likely be wearing a suit in the boardroom, after Victor Cui, CEO of One Fighting Championship (One FC) confirmed with Yahoo Sports that the champ has bought an undisclosed number of shares in the Singapore-based mixed martial arts promotion.
Cui said that Pacquiao has been looking for opportunities outside of boxing and had his eye on MMA, a venture that “made a lot of sense to him.”
"There are a lot of common fans and common ties with MMA and boxing [in the Philippines] and MMA awareness is much stronger than it is in other parts of Asia."
"There are a ton of reasons why I'm pretty excited about this. Obviously, Manny Pacquiao is a global sports icon and having him as a part of our organization as a shareholder and promoting One FC and promoting the sport is huge for the sport in the region. It promotes awareness and growth," he said.
One FC is Pacquiao’s latest foray outside of boxing. Last June, the “Pacman” became the head coach of the Kia Motors team in the Philippine Basketball Association and will drafted as one of if its players.
He also conquered the local polls in 2010, becoming the congressman of Sarangani province. Capping it off are a couple of music albums he produced and a number of appearance in TV and local films.
ONE FC has held four events so far in the country, the first held in August 2012 - ONE FC: Pride of a Nation - at the Smart Araneta Colliseum.
The last three bouts took place at the MOA Arena, which was named as its “valued venue partner” last February. Cui promised Filipino fans at least two One FC fights per year in the indoor arena.
Hoping to get your audience’s attention?
Learn to grab it and hold it effortlessly
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Choose your words carefully
Managing likes and shares on social media?
Create content that’s sticky and strikes the right chord
Dealing with crisis?
Have a solid crisis communications plan ready so you don’t break into a sweat
Struggling justifying PR investments?
Come up with common language to talk about measurement
Marketing invites you to join a two-day conference, on 26 and 27 November at the Four Seasons Hotel, Singaporeto learn from PR heavyweights on these and many other issues. Experts from brands such as Unilever, Sony Electronics, Visa, Wärtsilä and many more will share their experiences in creating, deploying and refining best practices in public relations at this must-attend event.
Set to be the largest and most senior gathering dedicated to PR professionals in Southeast Asia, PR Asia 2014 will dig deep into the challenges and opportunities faced by brands and corporations and will deliver insights aimed at giving attendees the much needed competitive advantage.
The inaugural edition was a great success with more than 120 senior marketing communications professionals attending the conference. Over 20 thought-leaders from major brands like Marina Bay Sands, Cargill, Microsoft Asia, Yahoo! Asia Pacific, Procter & Gamble and morepresented keynotes and case studies of successful campaigns debating contemporary PR trends and issues.
To find out more about PR Asia 2014, please click here.
Real time bidding platform Smaato has raised US$ 25 Million in a Series E funding, with Singapore Press Holdings as one of its investors. Other investors were Aeris CAPITAL, Singapore's EDB Investments(EDBI) as well as Smaato’s other existing shareholders.
In a statement Smaato has said that the funds will be used to fuel growth, operations and development of its platform, focused on self-serve automation.
Smaato owns and operates a global mobile RTB ad exchange and Supply Side Platform. Its last funding period was in January 2011 where EDBI led the funding round and the company raised US$7 million.
“Approximately 65 % of our publishers want to monetize mobile apps and the rest is mobile web sites,” said Ragnar Kruse, CEO and co-founder of Smaato. Smaato currently has 117 employees and has offices in San Francisco, New York, Hamburg, Singapore and Jakarta.
“With roughly 466% year-to-year growth in programmatic in-app advertising spend, mobile app developers want to have full control of their inventory and data in a self-serve model. As such, we will use this new funding to build out our next-generation SPP platform that will allow for these controls and automation of monetization on scale across more than 270+demand sources.”
SPH has been pushing heavily for a move to digital, introducing several initiatives including launching a content marketing studio for advertisers to market content across its assets.
Hong Kong Disneyland has launched the "It's Summer Playtime - Game On!" campaign with four TVCs, out-of-home and print ads to promote its 20 retro games featured at the theme park for the summer.
The campaign, which targets mothers and will run until 31 August, plays on retro games familiar among the older generation.
"Hong Kong parents are often said to be "monster parents" and parenting relations can tense. Kids can hardly enjoy playtime with their parents," Jenkin Ho, director of marketing at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort said.
"The beauty of retro games is their simplicity and creativity. Parents were once children too and good at playing games."
He points out that retro games help parents recall happy childhood memories, which they will want to share with their kids.
Through retro games, parents can compete with their kids and impress them through games they are familiar with.
"Mothers come to Hong Kong Disneyland no longer just to accompany their kids, but they can also have their share of playtime with their kids," Ho said.
For example, this "What time is it Mama Bear?" video gives a new twist to the "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" game popular in the playground.
The two videos below feature the Flights of Fantasy Trivia and Rhythm Ruler games:
The TVCs were aired on TV, YouTube and the theme park's official website and Facebook page.
"The videos serve as an easy way of connecting to parents through their childhood memories. By building on this relevancy, we hope the videos will drive parents to visit the Park with their families," Ho said.
"Having several short-duration videos allows us to feature more of our offerings and better engage our target audience, while multiple and unexpected endings enrich the content."
For instance, in the Action Figure Statues video, a child competes with his mother to see who can post as an action figure and remain still for the longest.
The video has two possible endings, which means that even if you think you are watching the same TVC you watched last time, you might be in for a surprise.
Also part of the campaign are out-of-home ads placed at Kowloon Tong MTR station and advertorials in weekly magazines.
Below are out-of-home ads that serve as puzzles in themselves:
Ho believes static ads and print advertorials are essential touch points in an integrated campaign.
"While video is a good medium for grabbing people's attention through striking visuals and sounds, static channels like print advertorials with key opinion leaders can help us reach our target audience at relevant touch points in their lives," he said.
"No matter through which touch points audiences are being reached, they will be linked to other channels. For example, if an audience comes across our billboard in the MTR station, he or she is encouraged to find out more on our official website by scanning a QR code on the billboard."
TVC Credits:
Executive Creative Directors: Simon Handford and Sandy Chan
Agnes b's latest campaign leverages young people's love of Polaroids.
Until 17 August, the brand is running an exhibition and social media photography contests to promote a limited edition camera created in collaboration with American electronics company Polaroid.
The exhibition showcases over 40 archive Polaroid cameras showing the evolution of the cameras from instant to digital photography.
One photo booth at the exhibition venue and a photo booth at another location is available for visitors to snap photos with their mobile phones and upload them to enter the Facebook and Instagram contests.
"The exhibition and the photo contests are strategies to promote our collaborative camera with Polaroid. If someone loves something, they would be happy to know more about it," Mavis Leung, agnes b. senior marketing manager, said.
The photography contests have received over 150 photo submissions since the campaign began last week.
"The photo contests act as platforms for people to share their passion for photography," Leung said.
"This resonates with the mission behind the campaign and is a way to attract the right target audience for us and Polaroid."
"The viral effect of Facebook news feeds is also a very fast and effective marketing tool."
In-store displays double as out-of-home adverts for the campaign, such as the 3D Polaroid camera display at Festival Walk and large Polaroid branding on the windows of the brand's store in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Basil Chua, head of StarHub’s Media Network, will be leaving the role after two years in the company. StarHub has confirmed the move to Marketing.
"During his two-year tenure, Chua has built a resilient team and helped to forge stronger ties with channel partners, media agencies and key clients. He will be leaving StarHub on 31 August 2014 and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavours," a spokesperson from StarHub added. No replacement has been made for Chua's role at this point.
In his role, Chua was tasked to grow the partnerships with leading PayTV networks, advertisers and agencies. StarHub Media Network provides marketing communication solutions targeting diverse Singapore audiences across its PayTV viewers, mobile and digital users. He reported to Teh Chong Mien, vice president, Enterprise Sales, StarHub.
Prior to his time at StarHub, Chua was director and territory head of Fox International Channels in Malaysia where he worked for over three years. He also worked over four years as marketing director for National Geographic Channel Asia / Fox International Channels Asia.
Following the recent uproar over the removal of controversial children’s books titles And Tango Makes Three and The White Swan Express, NLB has said that it will be re evaluating its communication process. (Read also: NLB in PR storm after “pro-family” move)
According to Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim, the NLB will now have clearer processes on how books will be withdrawn. Yaacob was cited on several media outlets saying that NLB will have an advisory panel to help better reiterate the communication rationale behind the review decisions.
The panel would also be tasked to balance the diverse views of the various groups in the country. He added that this would not be the last time “public institutions like NLB would face such controversy” and Singaporeans not forget the positive reinforcements made by NLB over the years.
NLB has not yet responded to Marketing's queries as to whether or not it will be enlisting the help of PR agencies to better its communication strategies.
Meanwhile in an earlier statement, NLB said that its decision to remove the books from the children’s section was intended to make sure that books in the section are “age-appropriate.” However, netizens were further angered when NLB stated that the books would be pulped.
To clarify, NLB in a statement on its website added:
“NLB is not deciding what books children can or cannot read. That decision remains with parents, as it always has been. Many objected to the idea that books which are withdrawn from circulation will be pulped [...] We had used the term without any intention at all of denigrating books. As book lovers ourselves, we understand the reactions. [...]We do not want to be viewed as destroying books that are in good condition, as it was never our intention to denigrate books.”
It also recognised the need for improvement when it came to reviewing feedback about books adding that it will look at other organisations that have tapped on external panels and develop a process that will work best for NLB.
In an earlier article, Lars Voedisch, principal consultant and managing director of PRecious Communications said that creating policies on the selection of books and sharing those guidelines publicly will help to avoid the impression of random, externally initiated or closed door decisions on the definition of what is appropriate.
Independent creative firm SALT Hong Kong has added three regional briefs to its roster, signing on with New Balance, Nikon and Wrangler.
All three clients are expected to maintain partnerships with their existing creative agencies, while SALT will be responsible for content creation, mainly in the digital space.
For New Balance, the partnership covers several regions including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Korea.
As for Wrangler and Nikon, the deal spans three regional clients in markets across Asia Pacific.
Tim Ho, partner and creative director at SALT Hong Kong, said there's been a lot of focus on quick social media content over the last years, but "we see that customers are starting to demand more."
"We believe it is important to develop content that takes the full brand ecosystem into account, not just the social channels. That's why we also focus on longer form content which might work better on the brand website or across other digital channels."
"For these regional accounts, we work with their local teams on adaptation projects for the whole region, it's a lot of fun," he added.
Established in 2012, SALT is a local creative agency that specialises in brand design, content development and cultural engineering.
It has been a tough time for McDonald’s in the wake of its China food-safety scare, amongst other woes that throws it in the midst of a PR crisis. (Read also: Will McDonald’s rebranding plan be good enough?)
To add to its woes, it looks like its attempts to engage the public on Instagram have tanked. Its Instagram account for the US market, which has 3299 followers, is chock full of angry comments and even verbal abuse from Instagram users. While comments vary, it looks like most of the angry comments are centered around health concerns about McDonald's products.
For example, users commented on one of its posts below when McDonald's snapped a pic of its fries, calling it "fake potatoes".
Other food posts also had users on a rant about how harmful the food is (see second post shown below).
Here's a look at its Instagram account:
This situation went on as the company invested in sponsored ads on Instagram for its Bacon Clubhouse burger. Reported on Adweek, the ads appeared yesterday and although it had over 45,000 likes, many of its comments were rather negative.
According to the article, David Martinelli, digital marketing manager at McDonald’s said:
"While we are unable to provide specific details about our media strategies, we are always looking to engage with our guests and fans in fun and relevant ways in social media. Instagram allows us to share compelling and entertaining photos about our brand, food and more in unexpected and innovative ways.”
Interestingly, McDonald's also has Instagram accounts in markets such as Malaysia and Australia. It also earlier ran a smaller campaign in Singapore for charity. A quick scan of both accounts showed little of the same backlash that its US account received.
Simon Kemp, regional managing partner at We Are Social said that the issue is not with the platform. "Brands such as McDonald's generally evoke strong emotions and comments from consumers. If you are to advertise on these very much visual platforms, it has to be of value to the consumer."
"If you are going to interrupt consumers, as in this case, you have to justify it with a reason. You need to add value to the consumer if not it would result in backlash."
Advertising + Marketing talks to Margaret Lim, who was formerly in charge of the Aegis brands in Malaysia on her leadership style and how she is evolving as a leader following her recently expanded role.
Describe your management style My management style is wrapped around a simple mantra of ‘treating every individual with respect’. I work closely with all the network brand leaders in Malaysia,providing them support and counsel, and ensuring that we are all aligned to the same goals and strategy. Team collaboration is important to me. I’m also a firm believer in training and developing my talents in the areas of media, social, economic and political – all of which have an impact to our business and our area of expertise.
What was your first job?
I started my career in advertising as an account service trainee in O&M. After a few months, I moved to be the media planner for the Nestle account – the learning curve in this role was significant. I learned a lot, understood the market and media better, and by the end of the first year, I was promoted to media manager.
I went on from there to later head the media departments in Lintas, Bates and Leo Burnett with a stint in JWT (then PTM Thompson) as the account director for the Tourism Malaysia and MAS.
In 1992, I started Media Base which eventually was bought over by the Aegis Group in 1998 and rebranded Carat.
Who was the mentor who most influenced you and why?
As I was one of the pioneers in the area of media planning in Malaysia, I did not have a media mentor. The people who inspired and influenced me were my bosses and clients that I worked with. Today, Ashish Bhasin (my previous Aegis Media regional boss) probably would stand out as the one that helped me become a more “holistic” manager in the area of identifying triggers, making tougher decisions and managing expectations.
When you’re not working, what will you be doing, aside from spending time with the family?
I love basking in the company of my friends. I have several circles that I connect with regularly. Old agency friends for a good food session or my church friends for cell and bible studies. Then there’s the occasional mahjong sessions with my mahjong buddies.
There are days, when I prefer some alone time, I enjoy playing the piano, or gardening. I’ve also been working on my book, which I plan to complete writing soon. On a more personal note, I’ve recently become involved with the National Stroke Association of Malaysia (NASAM) and look to contribute more of my personal time with them.
When you were a newbie in the industry, did you dream you would be lead the agency one day? What kind of leader did you want to be and how closely have you stuck to it?
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I didn’t have ambitious dreams. I enjoyed working in advertising, and found my niche in media in my early days. Things just developed from there.
What kind of leader do I want to be? Visionary,forward thinking,able to win the hearts of my team while inspiring, motivating them and to bring out the best in them.
How closely have I stuck to it? I am still trying. Maybe 50-60%.
One thing you would say to a newbie in the industry?
Have a curious mind. Ask questions. Investigate. Learn. Be prepared to work hard. Be passionate.
What’s the toughest thing about your job?
Amongst our group of companies, to build a community that is client centric and collaborative and working towards a one country P&L instead of each CEO being very polarized on his deliveries.
One thing you hate most about advertising?
In our bid to win businesses, sometimes we give away the kitchen sink and a bit of our dignity….especially when we hear the client say, “or else we will never use you again.”
Tesco Malaysia has posted on its Facebook page a statement that it does not channel its sales revenue or profit to support Israel.
The statement comes following accusations that the international supermarket was funding Israel in the on going conflict with largely Muslim region Gaza. Tesco Malaysia stressed that it does not support or sponsor any cause that might be political,violent or oppressive in nature. The statement was written by Tesco Malaysia's government relations and corporate affairs director, Azlam Shah Alias. He added that the statement was crafted to address the recent consumer concerns on social media on the matter.
"Any allegations that claim otherwise will be considered as defamatory [...]One of our core values is to conduct business responsibly and ethically, and we adhere to this principle," he said in a statement posted on the company's Facebook page. Tesco Malaysia currently provides employment to more than 11,000 Malaysians and also works with over 3,000 local suppliers.
"Apart from that, we also support meaningful programmes to assist the less fortunate, especially during Ramadan and Aidilfitri, through our recent 'Kasih Ramadan' programme," Alias said.
Meanwhile Astro Awani reported that social media users were trying to boycott the company for ties to Israel.
Next Fifteen Communications Group has re-organised its operations to bring together Text100 and Bite in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
The newly combined Asia business, operating under the Text100 brand, will form an approximately 300-strong integrated communications agency with an expanded presence in Mainland China, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.
The move will also see Bite's Asia Pacific president and founder of Upstream Asia David Ketchum exit the agency, after a transition period.
Bite will still retain its name in North America and most markets in Europe except Germany and Sweden.
According to the agency it will offer clients a full suite of creative, web, app development, digital marketing, analytics and search services to complement its core media and influencer relations offerings.
Anne Costello, currently Text100 regional director for APAC and Paul Mottram, currently APAC executive vice president at Bite will now co-lead the agency. Both will report to Aedhmar Hynes (pictured), Text100’s global chief executive officer. The integration of Text100 and Bite is intended to take place in the September-December time frame.
Tim Dyson, Next15 CEO said: “With comparatively little overlap in the current businesses, this integration will strengthen our client offering across multiple sectors, provide greater career opportunities for our people and take us a big step closer to achieving our integrated communications goals.”
“Client demand for integrated communications is only going to grow in APAC,” Aedhmar Hynes, CEO of Text100 said. “Bringing Bite and Text100 together enables us to double down on our investments to date. We can offer a more complete set of integrated services to our clients to help them engage today’s always-on, always-connected consumers and business decision-makers.”
The new Text100 will represent a combined client list including Blackberry, Cisco, IBM, Lenovo and VMware in the technology field; Expedia, Rakuten, Tencent, and TripAdvisor in e-commerce; corporate clients such as DHL, Schneider Electric, Standard Chartered and SWIFT; Lupin and the Max Bupa group in healthcare; as well as household names such as Beats by Dr Dre, Cadbury, Haagen-Dazs, Hong Kong Disneyland, Jawbone, Maruti Suzuki, Peroni and Qatar Airlines among many consumer brands.
Text100’s first APAC office was established in India in 1996. Text100 APAC now comprises 15 offices and 14 licensed partners. Bite established its APAC presence through the acquisition of regional independent agency Upstream Asia in 2009.
Social relationship management platform Hootsuite has appointed iProspect as its digital agency.
iProspect will be responsible for driving Hootsuite’s search engine marketing, performance display, and paid social across Asia Pacific. The one year appointment comes after a pitch held in March 2014.
Ken Mandel (pictured) , managing director, Hootsuite APAC said: “We’re thrilled to welcome iProspect as our digital agency for Hootsuite APAC, iProspect's expertise and knowledge of digital is a great fit with our strategy and will serve our clients well.”
Is there a way to massage inspiration? Alcohol (or worse) may have worked in past years, but what drives modern creative thinking? Jennifer Chan finds out.
Ask any professional what the key is to creativity in this multi-billion dollar advertising industry and the answer is most likely to be something quite simple. A flash of inspiration – or what some call the light bulb moment – is really all it takes.
If you look up the definition of inspiration in the Oxford Dictionary, it means: “The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.”
In Hong Kong, a city that has long been criticised as a creative desert, rarely have we seen mind-blowing advertising stake its claim on the world stage.
But perhaps a city such as this is more suited for some rather than others. One of those is SK Lam, the creative director of independent creative outfit, AllRightsReserved.
“Stress fosters creativity,” says Lam, whose agency was behind the widely known Doraemon 100 Birthday Exhibition; adidas’ “We Print Originals”; and 2013 local favourite, Rubber Duck@Harbour city.
“Hong Kong is an overly crowded city under land constraints, and pressure is a by-product when you don’t enjoy your surroundings.
“That may hamper creativity because inspiration comes from our surroundings and things happen in it. But if you know how to convert negative energies into stimulations, it opens up the pathways to creative thinking.
He emphasises the importance of transforming stress into stimulation for creativity, ironically, with more practice.
“Inspiration may originally come from gut feelings but self-criticism is also important, especially when most creatives believe they are the only ones in the world who can come up with such ideas.”
“But creativity doesn’t work this way in advertising. Creativity is used to provide solutions to existing problems for clients and to communicate. It should be logic.”
This theory is supported by Andrew Lee and Snowman Tsang, the founders of another local digital firm Rice 5.
“Creativity is all about the skill set of problem solving, and a process of analysing problems. It’s something that is inspired from daily life that is waiting to be translated into creative ideas and content,” Tsang says.
Says Lee: “It’s from daily happenings being converted into something with empathy. “Everything you come across is an input or a resource for creativity.”
So are we born with creativity or is it fostered? Lee considers them equal.
“You may be born with higher curiosity and sensitivity, but further development is required before evolving into creative ideas.”
But both Lee and Tsang are concerned evolving technology may quell creativity.
“Technology helps realise an idea. But the increase of creative ideas on the internet makes audiences more savvy and more difficult to satisfy then ever. Technology is making creativity harder in this sense,” Tsang says.
Adds Lee: “Entering information is almost too easy on the internet nowadays.
“At the same time technology facilitates the collection of creative ideas, it also dilutes the potential of cognitive and creative stimulation.”
This statement would not have TBWA\Hong Kong’s group creative director Sami Thessman’s vote. By collaborating with technology start-ups, the creative agency is now using what it calls data-driven creativity as a method to get ideas down in digits and mathematics.
This programmatic system is for making creative decisions based on data, Thessman explains.
“It kicks off with social listening to data from the internet before creative planning. That allows us to dive into consumers’ psyche and to learn how information is perceived. It hands agencies the power to influence clients’ briefs, where business problems are addressed.”
Data-collecting may help big companies such as TBWA\ generate big ideas to cater for the rapidly growing digital trend.
But KC Tsang, assistant professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design, brings the conversation onto a theological level by suggesting creativity is spurred by a theme that will never age – self-cultivation.
“In advertising, there’s no textbook to teach you how to think or no rule to follow to be creative.
“Creative people need to be indomitable, which is defined by experiential growth and personal development in your life.”
He stresses unique insights are developed from observation and contemplation.
“You won’t stay long in the creative business when you overvalue superficial layers, such as packaging, while overlooking the meaning within. You need to go deeper to reach into behavioural insights in order to add value to your works.”
After more than 20 years of juggling leading creative roles at Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong and BBDO Hong Kong, to setting up his own business, Chan Tsang Wong Chu & Mee Advertising, the brain behind the most well-known ad classics in the past decade for brands such as Optical 88, HGC, Sunday, ING and Kowloon Motor Bus, persists that inspiration is a godsend.
“In most cases, good advertising always comes from a flash of inspiration out of thin air,” the Christian believes.
To KC Tsang, creativity lies in how people respond to ideas.
“The key is to well-equip ourselves to get ready when an idea hits. This is the reason why an enriching life experience is essential as it provides the ability to recognise and to translate ideas into something creative.
“They say opportunity comes to those who are prepared. This is an old cliché, but nothing could be truer.”
KC Tsang cut his teeth in the industry with great help of the famous local philosopher Tin-Ming Lee, who is known for his “impeccable way of logical thinking and precise semantic analysis”.
Taking advertising back to the basics, it keeps a tight grip on philosophy, he believes.
“Creativity is basically taking philosophical thinking backwards. The evolution from idea to creativity encouraged by critical thinking, and the ability to apply a philosophical and a logical mode of thinking.”
