SCMP Group has announced that CosmoGIRL! will go fully digital in Hong Kong, a move that it says reflects the prevalent media consumption habits of CosmoGIRL!'s young female readers.
The Group will cease publication of CosmoGIRL!'s print edition after the 2014 August issue. CosmoGIRL! will continue operating cosmogirl.com.hk.
"Young adult readers are increasingly moving towards digital media, such as online platforms, smartphones and tablets. Making the magazine fully digital reflects their media consumption habits," said Ms. Amy Cheng, publisher at SCMP Hearst.
"We can now channel our focus on further enriching the title's online content."
Cosmogirl.com.hk's pageviews nearly doubled this June compared to June 2013, reaching over 2.3 million this July.
Group chief executive of BBH Gwyn Jones (pictured) will be leaving the company at the end of the year after 27 years at the agency.
Neil Munn, the current chief operating officer of BBH Group will be replacing Jones. Munn was promoted to chief operating officer of the BBH Group in 2012 and has been with BBH for 10 years. He joined from Unilever where he was global marketing director for Axe. He launched and ran BBH's venturing company ZAG.
His COO role will be split by Niall Hadden, global head of talent and David Pearce, chief financial officer. Hadden has been at BBH since 2006 and Pearce since 2009.
Meanwhile in a press release, Jones stated that he will be pursuing interests outside the field of advertising. He has spent his entire career at BBH, starting as a graduate trainee before moving up through the ranks to UK CEO. Since the sale of BBH to Publicis Groupe, Jones has been focused on ensuring that creativity remains at the heart of the agency agenda. He was also tasked to develop the BBH offering globally including the acquisition of mobile agency Monterosa and the recently announced joint venture with SB Projects in Los Angeles to launch The Creative Studio.
Jones said: "I have been incredibly fortunate to spend my whole career at BBH. It has been a hugely rewarding time and has given me the opportunity to do most jobs in an agency, to live and work oversees, and to do so alongside the best and nicest people in the business. John, Nigel and John built an amazing culture here. Culture is the thing that binds and builds a business more than anything and BBH has the best culture going, it isn't easy to leave. But 27 years is a long time and variety is the spice of life so, when I've taken a break, I have some other investments and opportunities that I want to pursue and maybe spend a little less time on planes."
“The timing is great for Munn. We are a more mature business, owned by a holding company. Munn is perfect casting for what is now needed from the Group CEO, he has proper marketing and comms pedigree, is highly commercial with a deep understanding of client organisations and brands, and has a truly global perspective,” Simon Sherwood, BBH group chairman said.
Founders Sir John Hegarty and Sir Nigel Bogle will continue to work at BBH for the foreseeable future. Hegarty will be working part time and will continue to work on the development of BBH's creative proposition and profile. Bogle will continue to work across a number of key accounts including British Airways, Audi and Weetabix.
The Futures Company has expanded to Shanghai, a move that follows its launch in Singapore office in 2013.
Kunal Sinha (pictured), Ogilvy & Mather’s former chief knowledge officer for China and cultural insights director for Asia Pacific, will lead The Futures Company in China.
Sinha will also take up the role of chairman, Asia Pacific, working closely with Singapore-based Stephane Alpern, managing director for Asia Pacific, as they develop the business in the region.
Will Galgey, global CEO of The Futures Company, said the company has been working with clients in China for a number of years.
"We’ll now be able to better support those clients and develop new client relationships through Kunal and the outstanding team he has assembled.”
Sinha added that the timing for the launch was "absolutely right".
"Growth has slowed, competition has intensified, there is greater scrutiny of corporations from people and the government alike, and power has shifted to the consumer," he said.
Wearables such as smart watches and Google glass seem set to be the next big thing in the mobile world, but it is not yet clear how useful they will be for achieving marketing objectives.
Ricky Chu, CEO at Gravitas, is worried that marketers would only use wearable technology for one-off gimmicks, just like how some mobile technologies like mobile apps have been used in the past.
"It would be a shame to use wearables for just one or two marketing gimmicks. It might only be used by early adopters, and once a competitor has used it as a gimmick, a brand might decide not to use it at all," he said.
"Wearables have more potential than that. You have to think about what it can be used in the long run to create more business."
He believes that creativity in mobile marketing lies in its execution and is driven by the ultimate aim of campaigns, rather than the simple addition of new kinds of technologies.
"The technology for creative mobile marketing has existed for many years. Agencies have to be more brave and pitch things that they might expect the client to ban. Doing business is important but do you have to give the client everything they want?" Chu said.
"As for the client's responsibility, they have to think more from the consumer's point of view - if I was the customer, would I take part in that? Because some mobile campaigns, no matter how sophisticated they are, very few people want to participate in them."
CEO of Green Tomato Sunny Kok begs to differ.
"It's no doubt that wearable technology will change businesses as we know it and their impact goes beyond gimmicky folly," he said.
"Wearable technology will benefit brands not on a campaign basis but as a new window and touch point to engage customers and empower brands to create new product lines or diversify their business offerings."
He cautions against marketers trapping themselves by the wearable technology hype, because the effort and investment required to educate and acquire customers using wearable technology will be too expensive for just one campaign.
Compared to wearable devices, the smartphone may seem to be getting old. Not for Koyi Wu, associate director at Airwave, who sees enormous potential for the increasingly big role that the smartphone plays in our lives by connecting with every day objects through apps.
"A mobile device hooked up to a lighter through an app can keep track of how many cigarettes you are allowed to smoke per day, if you are trying to quit smoking. Or it could be connected to boxing gloves to tell you how hard and fast you are throwing punches," she said.
"The smartphone will exceed its capacity as just a device and that's the future we are looking at."
Another one gets naughtier. Headlined with the copy “Anticipatory Walk of Shame", shows a woman carrying a Nine West handbag with a pair of its flip-flops poking out, suggesting a night out where a woman might need more comfortable shoes.
According to the New York Times, the campaign targets women aged 25 to 49 and runs in magazines, in-store ads and across its site.
Courtney Vincent, associate creative director at Peterson Milla Hooks, Nine West’s agency said: ““Where the word ‘anticipatory’ comes in is that she’s planning to do it, so you’ll see in her bag that she brought along flip-flops because you never want to maneuver the next morning wearing whatever you were wearing the night before,” Vincent told NYT.
“We want to create brands that we want to hang out with, and that’s been sort of the personality we’re trying to build with Nine West,” she added.
Globally, the ad has been decried as offensive, 1950s and sexist. Here are some of the comments running on social media:
In its latest campaign for its incontinence underwear Depend, Kimberly-Clark is asking folks to "drop their pants."
Through the campaign “Underwareness, the brand hopes to reduce the social stigma of bladder leakage. The campaign which launched late last month was created by Ogilvy & Mather. It aims to reach out to people under the age of 50. On its site, it says currently 65 million Americans experience bladder leakage, and nearly half of them are under age 50.
To up the cool factor for the campaign, the brand is also teaming up with the band Capital Cities for its Drop Your Pants & Dance for "Underwareness" launch party which is happening today.
Check out the videos for the campaign:
http://youtu.be/rlQRy5lSbXU
http://youtu.be/rxML8iusaqo
According to an article on the NY Times, the campaign will also run on print and billboard which resemble fashion ads. The ads will run on magazines read by the younger demographics while the billboard will appear in trendy locations in New York.
Victoria Azarian, a group creative director at O&M who worked on the campaign said that through these ads, the brand really wanted to showcase the product.
“We really wanted to bring it out in the open with big outdoor billboards in places where you would typically see fashion and underwear advertising to have people say, ‘Holy mackerel, that is not what I thought it was,’ ” Azarian told the publication.
Meanwhile, Depend will also be donating a dollar to a charitable causes with every photos or videos shared by the public tagged #Underwareness or #DropYourPants. Depend will donate up to US$3 million over three years.
UEFA has announced an exclusive agreement with MP & Silva for the media rights in Japan for the European Qualifiers to UEFA EURO 2016™ and the 2018 FIFA World Cup™.
MP & Silva adds UEFA to their portfolio of media clients and partners globally, which includes FIFA, NBA, MLS, Italian Serie A, English Premier League, the Olympic Council of Asia, French Football League, English Football Association, Formula 1, French Tennis Federation and other 60 sports Leagues and Federations worldwide.
The media company will distribute all matches in Japan. The European Qualifiers will consist of 546 live Matches, of which, 526 will be qualification matches and 20 friendly matches.
Andrea Radrizzani, founding partner of MP & Silva, said: “We're delighted to work with the world's leading football organisations to make available this huge volume of quality games in a market where we continue to lead the way.”
The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices' (TAFEP) fair employment practices creative account has been handed to Y&R Singapore. The appointment is for a year and the agency was appointed following an open pitch.
Y&R Singapore will be responsible for the development and management of the Fair Employment practices campaign. The campaign will be themed “Create a Fair and Inclusive Workplace” and is said to run across multiple touch-points including TV, print, outdoor, digital engagement, and related collaterals.
Melvin Kuek (pictured), managing director Y&R Singapore, “It’s not an easy category for a communications agency to create positive cut-through due to the sensitive subject matter which makes this a special win for us. It really demonstrates the trust and faith placed by the client in the agency’s ability to deliver”.
TAFEP promotes fair, responsible and merit-based employment practices so that employees can realise their full potential and employers can achieve organisational excellence.
Local mall Plaza Singapura has appointed Allison+Partners as its PR agency.
The agency will be tasked to drive positive awareness of the mall’s fashion, lifestyle and dining offering and will also be handling its family-focused events. The contract will see Allison+Partners manage all media and blogger outreach activities, together with community engagement initiatives to support Plaza Singapura’s marketing strategy.
The appointment comes following a pitch and is for a period of one year.
“Allison+Partners delivered a creative, engaging and targeted solution to our brief, and its strategic insights, understanding of the media and enthusiasm for our business shone through”, June Ang, assistant vice president, marketing communications, Plaza Singapura said. She added that through the partnership the mall hopes to fortify its efforts to make Plaza Singapura the
"destination mall for families and friends.”
“Our objective is to maximise the profile of the mall through a series of initiatives to meaningfully engage shoppers and the community,” Allison+Partners’ Singapore VP Serina Tan (pictured) said.
The deal between Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and Time Warner is off the table. 21st Century Fox announced yesterday that it was pulling the plug on the US$80 billion bid on Time Warner.
Chairman and CEO of 21st Century Fox, Murdoch said that despite the proposal having “significant strategic merit and compelling financial rationale” the Time Warner management and its board “refused to engage” with his company and explore the offer. Murdoch added that additionally, the reaction in 21st Century Fox’s share price since the proposal was made undervalued its stock making the transaction unattractive to Fox shareholders.
“These factors, coupled with its commitment to be both disciplined in our approach to the combination and focused on delivering value for the Fox shareholders, has led us to withdraw our offer,” he said in a statement. Meanwhile, 21st Century Fox will also be buying back its US$6 billion share from Time Warner and the deal is expected to be completed in the next 12 months.
“ The strength of our leading franchises, combined with the power of our emerging growth businesses and the leadership positions of our international enterprises put us on a path for even greater success,” Murdoch added.
The offer to Time Warner was made last month and according to global media,Time Warner has been resistant to the move.
Time Warner also issued a statement on its site saying that Time Warner’s Board and management team are committed to enhancing long-term value and the company look forward to continuing to deliver substantial and sustainable returns for all stockholders.
“Time Warner is well positioned for success with our iconic assets, including the world’s leading premium television brand, the world’s strongest ad-supported cable network group, and the world’s largest film and television studio. We thank our stockholders for their continued support,”the statement read.
The announcement comes a day before both companies are set to report their financial results.
Newcast, the specialist branded content and experience division of ZenithOptimedia, has pitted seven FIFA World Cup official partners and sponsors on a “social media challenge”. Using a proprietary social media analysis app called Socialtools, Newcast analysed the brands’ Official Facebook pages before and during the World Cup season to see who came out on top.
The rankings were based on a combination of two factors- increase in fan growth and activation rate (calculated by the number of fans and non-fans who liked/commented/shared a page post and expressed as a % of fans) as a likely result of the FIFA World Cup.
Adidas came out tops in the kick-off with a 2.80% fan growth, 0.32% activation rate and over 24,000 likes, comments and shares. This was followed by Kia, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s.
On the average, the seven brands recorded 2.22% Fan Growth, 0.17% Activation Rate and 211,793 total likes, comments and shares. Most of the top posts from these brands were all World Cup-related with activation rates ranging from 1-4%.
Lastly, Newcast also looked at the top World-Cup related posts across the whole of Singapore.
Singaporeans greatly took notice on the South Korean newscaster Jang Ye Won who was sent to Brazil to cover the Chile versus Spain match. That particular post from The Straits Times’ Facebook Page received 18,601 likes, 1,322 shares and a 6.09% Activation rate.
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be making its entry into the Japanese market by the end of this year.
The brand has signed an exclusive area development agreement with developer, L.A. Style, to introduce its beverages in the market. L.A. Style is a joint-venture partnership between HOTLAND, an actively growing operator in the Japanese fast-casual restaurant segment and AEON MALL, a Japanese shopping mall developer.
Launching its first store by year’s end, L.A. Style Inc. intends to grow the brand’s presence nationally with an expected 200 stores across Japan. With the expansion into Japan, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf company hopes to solidify its presence in Asia further.
This deal marks the company’s presence in 25 countries as it fast approaches 1,000 company-owned and franchise stores worldwide.
“We’re eager to bring our brand with its signature beverages and unique store experience to Japan and confident L.A. Style with its vast experience and resources will guarantee continued growth in Japan for years to come. This is an important milestone demonstrating our commitment to continued growth in Asia,” president and CEO John Dawson said.
“We look forward to growing this iconic American brand into one that is loved by customers throughout our country, and will work tirelessly to contribute to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf brand equity and continued growth,” president of L.A. Style, Morio Sase added.
The expansion into Japan is the latest major announcement in the brand’s growth and expansion initiatives enacted since the appointment of John Dawson in January 2014.
Meanwhile the brand is also investing in its home market of Southern California, opening new stores and bolstering executive ranks with seasoned talent. The brand is currently in the midst of a s ‘Keep Cool and Summer On’ advertising campaign in the US which it claims to be the largest campaign to date for the company.
Local clothing brand Penshoppe has partnered with online shopping portal Lazada.com.ph to enter the e-commerce arena.
Lazada has opened a dedicated homepage for Penshoppe featuring the brand’s newest collections for men and women. To boost its first run, Penshoppe is currently running the #markdownmadness sale which cuts up to 30% off from select items.
“Our partnership with Lazada stems from the company-wide commitment to serve our customers. While we continue to build and expand our brick-and-mortar stores here and abroad, Lazada will help us reach out to more consumers so they can enjoy the hassle-free Penshoppe shopping experience wherever and whenever they want,” Golden ABC president and CEO Bernie Liu said.
Penshoppe is the newest addition to Lazada’s growing portfolio ranging from electronics to consumer products. Among its partner brands are Sony, Samsung, Apple, Canon, Ray-Ban, Pampers and Olay.
Lazada also became the exclusive partner for Xiaomi’s debut in the Philippines last month. True to its online retail business model, the Chinese mobile brand introduced the Mi 3 smartphone via its popular flash sales.
“Lazada has expanded its categories, from mobile and laptops, to include lifestyle in our fold and we are strengthening our lifestyle categories, and working with a lifestyle mega brand such as Penshoppe is truly motivating,” Lazada Philippines co-founder and CEO Inanc Balci said.
Globe Telecom posted a net profit of P6.84 billion in the first half of 2014, a huge 385% hike compared with the same period last year.
The company’s revenues are pegged at P47.7 billion in the January to June period, up 7% from P44.5 billion a year ago. On a quarterly basis, Globe recorded a new all-time high with P24.5 billion, up 5% from the first quarter of 2014 and 6% from the same quarter last year.
“Our transformation initiatives are starting to bear fruit, given the solid revenue momentum we sustained this quarter. We approach the second semester of 2014 with confidence that, with our modernized network and our commitment to innovation and customer service excellence, we can maintain the growth momentum for the balance of the year,” Globe president & CEO Ernest Cu said.
Globe’s mobile telephony segment accounted for the bulk of its revenues at P37.8 billion, a 5% improvement from the P35.8 billion during the same period last year, on the back of strong contributions from the Globe Postpaid and TM segments.
Postpaid revenues reached P14.6 billion in the first half of the year, up 11% from the same period last year and reflected a year-on-year subscriber growth of 10%.
TM, Globe’s mass-market brand, improved its revenue by 9% year-on-year to P9.1 billion from P8.4 billion. From the January-June period, the company’s mobile subscriber base reached 42.7 million, up a solid 18% from 36.1 million a year ago and 5% higher from the end of the first quarter of 2014.
According to The New Straits Times, locals in Malaysia have dubbed this upcoming Friday as “No McDonald’s Day” as part of a campaign against corporations who allegedly help fund to Israel.
The report stated that a campaign image circulating online is calling for the boycott to carry on beyond Friday and netizens online are rallying up support through social media to boycott the fast food giant for 24-hours.
The brand has been struggling with the issue in Malaysia for nearly a month and has been fending off allegations that is funding Israel against the Gaza conflict. Last month it issued a statement on Facebook saying:
"We wish to reiterate that McDonald’s does NOT channel any sales, profits or franchise fees from our restaurants to support ANY political causes or conflicts in any part of the world. There is absolutely no truth in any online allegations suggesting otherwise. Our core values dictate that we operate our business ethically and to the highest standards. This is a value that we uphold with utmost conviction. In Malaysia, we are proud to be part of the local community - providing opportunities for local franchisees and careers for 12,000 Malaysians, serving our customers with passion and respect, and actively supporting meaningful causes to enhance the lives of the needy."
Advertising + Marketing has reached out to McDonald's Malaysia for a statement.
Tesco Malaysia also faced a similar issue where it had to clarify that it does not channel its sales revenue or profit to support Israel.
ABS-CBN sustained its nationwide leadership last July with an average audience share of 44% despite widespread blackouts caused by Typhoon Glenda.
Based on data from Kantar Media, ABS-CBN topped rival network GMA’s 34% audience share by nine points while TV5 only registered 10%. This also includes dominating the primetime block (6PM-12MN) with an average audience share of 50%, or an 18-point lead over GMA’s 32% and TV5's 8%.
ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida recorded a notable following in areas outside of Manila like Balance Luzon (areas in Luzon outside Mega Manila) with an audience share of 53%, 63% in the Visayas, and 61% in Mindanao. In comparison, GMA garnered only 31%, 23%, and 24% respectively for the said time blocks.
The recently concluded "The Voice Kids” ranked first in the top 10 most watched shows in the Philippines last July with an average nationwide viewership of 33.6%.
ABS-CBN also swept all the spots on the top ten list, which includes programs Dyesebel” (27.2%), “Maalaala Mo Kaya” (26.4%), “Hawak Kamay” (25.9%), “Ikaw Lamang” (25.4%), “TV Patrol” (25.3%), “Mirabella” (24.4%), “Wansapanataym” (23%), “Rated K” (21.3%), and “Home Sweetie Home” (20.2%).
Kantar Media uses a nationwide panel size of 2,609 urban and rural homes. The WPP-owned company claims this represents 100% of the total Philippine TV viewing population, contending that AGB Nielsen reportedly has only 1,980 homes based solely in urban areas that represent only 57% of the Philippine TV viewing population.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cautioned Filipinos against buying processed food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices sold or advertised through e-commerce sites and social media,
The agency explained that these products were obtained from unknown sources or may have been illegally imported, posing doubts on their safety and quality. Some of these products, although registered, can also be misbranded if it carries therapeutic or clinical claims that are not approved by the FDA.
“Considering that the above-mentioned social media platforms are not licensed by the FDA to sell health products, specially drug products, the public is hereby warned not to purchase health products through the above-mentioned social media platform,” the FDA adds.
The Republic Act 9711 or the FDA Act of 2009 states that “the manufacture, importation, exportation, sale, offering for sale, distribution, transfer, non-consumer use, promotion, advertising or sponsorship of any health product that is adulterated, unregistered or misbranded is strictly prohibited.”
Y&R has appointed Shelley Diamond to the role of chief client officer. In this new role, Diamond will help identify, develop and migrate Y&R’s best practices and best talent practices across the entire network. She will also focus on the agency’s organic growth.
Diamond (pictured) was previously worldwide managing partner of Y&R and is a member of Y&R’s global CEO David Sable’s global executive committee. She also led Y&R New York from 2007 to 2010, during which she presided over strong organic growth with Y&R’s clients and helped bring in new business.
In Diamond’s 23 years at Y&R, she has helped build the Xerox, Dell and Campbell’s teams and other key accounts. Her relationship with Xerox spans 25 years and she has worked with Campbell’s for over 16 years. Most recently, as the WPP team leader of Y&R’s Dell assignment, she put a team in place to lead the account.
“At a time when we have an unrivaled set of proprietary tools and resources, - from BAV to Exploring - as well as a highly differentiated offering - our unique configuration of Y&R and VML capabilities, our digital product innovation agency iconmobile, our Sparkplug innovation incubator, and our shopper and retail marketing LabStore network - we can truly help our clients engage their customers with great, innovative work that creates opportunities for them and, as a result, for us,” said Sable.
Since announcing the 2014 Marketing Excellence Awards last week, our phones have been running hot with marketers asking for advice and tips to winning a coveted MEA Gold trophy.
Given that competition for the title of Marketer of the Year is increasingly fierce, we have come up with 5 tips to help you on your path to awards glory.
1 Read the entry guideline in detail
There is some basic information you need to have in mind before preparing the entry. Stick to the guideline to what is required and relevant, in particular eligibility of campaigns, category descriptions and the four judging criteria.
2 Use our MEA submission PowerPoint template
In fact, it is compulsory. There is a specific format for this year’s entry submissions. Upload the completed PowerPoint entry to the online form.
3 Use the font size 18 or above for all entry submissions
Again, it is compulsory. We do not set a word limit but there are restrictions to the number of slides for each of the four judging criteria and the font size.
4 Less is more
Be concise and submit information relevant to the judging criteria. It will be a shame to submit us a sales deck and company overviews as they be disqualified.
5 Submit an entry video - it is optional but highly recommended
Use video footage to present the marketing campaign, it helps to elaborate the case study and give the core written submission a boost.
The deadline for this year’s Marketing Excellence Awards is 29 August so there is still plenty of time to tailor an impressive entry submission.
If you have any doubt in MEA entry submission, drop us an email or give us a call, our events team are ready to help.
Entries are open until 29 August 2014. Details about entry submission and the awards gala can be found here.
M&C Saatchi Worldwide has partnered up with Delhi-based independent creative agency February to see the launch of a new Indian agency: M&C Saatchi February.
The partners of February, Gopal Krishnan (pictured left) and Nirmal Pulickal (pictured right), will initially have a majority stake in the venture, with M&C Saatchi Worldwide becoming the majority shareholder over an agreed timescale.
February's founders Krishnan and Pulickal will be taking over leadership of the combined operation. They will be supported by Anjali Nayar(pictured centre), the current CEO of M&C Saatchi Delhi, who is appointed president of the new venture.
Through the joint venture between M&C Saatchi Delhi and February, the new company will offer advertising, design, digital, social, mobile, events and activation capabilities. M&C Saatchi February will be headquartered in February’s offices in Delhi.
M&C Saatchi’s Worldwide CEO, Moray MacLennan said that currently India is a fundamental part of the agency’s global strategy.
“Krishnan and Pulickal share our obsession with 'Brutal Simplicity of Thought', and our laser-like focus on building business results for our clients,” MacLennan added.
M&C Saatchi February’s founding portfolio of clients will include Nando's, Typhoo, Avis, Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic, DLF retail, Ananda in the Himalayas, SBI Cards and Panasonic Mobility.
