DDB China Group has appointed Emen Chong (张怡敏) as general manager of Tribal Worldwide Shanghai.
She will be overseeing the agency’s current digital business practice, while also enabling it to acquire new digital business.
Based in Shanghai, Chong reports to Jit Hoong Ng, vice president of DDB Group North China and managing director of DDB Shanghai.
“Emen will add more magic to the group. She will continue to grow new levels of specialties at Tribal Worldwide Shanghai and build our digital arm as a strong pillar within DDB China Group’s offering," said Ng.
Chong has more than 15 years of experience in consumer communications and marketing from digital brand-building and mainstream advertising, sales and promotions to retail activation and loyalty marketing. She has worked in countries such as Greater China, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam.
"I have been attracted to DDB’s culture and reputation for years and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the digital agency on new adventures," said Chong.
“Tribal Worldwide will continue its trajectory to drive strong digital intelligence to help our clients manage the vast digital eco-system, specifically in the area of content population, strategic e-commerce planning and innovation.”
After noticing numerous tweets from fans asking for ‘Cheesy BBQ Meltz’ to be brought back to KFC, including a fan’s plea that was re-tweeted over 2000 times, KFC Singapore brought back the menu item, after ceasing it for two years.
This was done through the use of Facebook, Twitter and Social Media Listening, by KFC’s social media agency Vocanic.
The agency encouraged conversations amongst KFC fans by asking them which product they would like to see back on the menu. It found that 35% of fan replies were to bring back the Cheesy BBQ Meltz, and the team has since re-launched the menu item as of Wednesday this week.
Through actively listening to their fans on Social Media, KFC hopes to strengthen its relationships and brand loyalty amongst consumers and use their feedback to shape their menu calendar.
KFC organized a re-launch party on 18 August for some fans to enjoy the product ahead of its launch.
Mercedes-Benz is currently reviewing its media agencies across nine markets in Asia.
Spokespersons for both Mercedes-Benz Malaysia and Singapore confirmed that pitches were currently ongoing in both markets. "We are currently carrying out a pitch in nine Mercedes-Benz markets throughout Asia to pool our media activities," said a Mercedes-Benz Malaysia spokesperson.
Both declined to comment on further details.
The incumbent for both these markets is MEC.
In the last year, Mercedes-Benz has beaten out close competitor BMW in Singapore, according to the Land Transport Authority. According to LTA, it sold 3,871 cars in Singapore in 2013. The number for BMW in the same period stands at 3,730.
Heineken has launched its latest campaign ‘The Adventure’ and the Heineken Cities Festival in Singapore.
The Heineken ‘Cities of the World’ is a global campaign aimed at inspiring one to "open your city and perspectives, and live worldly adventures by unlocking the secrets of your city."
The local activation celebrates the launch of the Limited City Edition Heineken Bottles with a social video titled ‘The Adventure’ and the Heineken Cities Festival, a street party at Ann Siang Hill and Club Street, coming up on 30 August 2014.
‘The Adventure’
‘The Adventure’ features a journey brought to life by an interactive billboard that spurs one to embark on a series of adventures from London, New York, Rio de Janeiro to Shanghai, but experienced here in Singapore.
The video embodies the spirit of adventure in making the most of one’s metropolis and uncovering new experiences in your city, which often go unexplored.
Watch ‘The Adventure’ here:
http://youtu.be/_nAe7lpgeQw
Heineken Cities Festival
Calling on city urbanites keen to open up their world with new perspectives – on 30 August 2014, the Heineken Cities Festival brings together some of the world’s top city experiences in this unique urban street festival at Ann Siang Hill and Club Street, which exemplifies the cosmopolitan nature of Singapore as a melting pot of cultures.
The line-up includes roving performances from Brazilian samba dancers, drummers and break-dancers who will bring the vibrant spirit and flavours of New York, London, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro and Shanghai.
Highlights of the evening include live music spun by internationally renowned female singer-songwriter-producer-DJ Rae, as well as a live mural painting by local visual artist, illustrator and founder of OIC (Organisation of Illustrators Council), Mindflyer with his colourful flight and escapism-themed artwork.
At the festival, consumers will be able to enjoy the Limited City Edition Heineken bottles while soaking in the vibrant atmosphere and lively entertainment all evening.
The bottles are named after six great metropolises of the world – New York, London, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai and Singapore, which is a special commemorative edition exclusively available here.
“The Heineken Cities Festival celebrates the various worldly experiences in Singapore by bringing to life the different sights and sounds from various top cities across the globe. We hope that it will inspire all to explore their city and venture out of their usual routine to embark on their own legendary adventures,” Rene de Monchy, head of marketing, Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore, said.
Macau casino and resort industry is undergoing a turbulent period as more VIPs are withdrawing from gambling tables in Macau mainly due to anti-corruption measures in China.
MGM Macau marketing and communications vice president Toby Leung, talks to Jennifer Chan on how MGM enhances its diversity with art and culture programmes moving forward.
Today, we have the means to measure a brand’s social vitality, providing an added dimension to insights on brand performance. But when we compare brands top-ranked by the new BrandZ™ Verve Index[1], representing a summary of positive brand experiences mentioned by the engaged audience on Twitter, against the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2014 rankings, they do not correlate perfectly. Google, the most valuable brand in the world, actually plays second fiddle to Twitter in the Verve ranking.
The differences exist because of the unique way people behave on social media. Categories like sports, fashion, tech products and entertainment are well represented on Twitter because people prefer to tweet about them. Certain brands may be very strong relative to their competitors, yet rank low on the Verve Index because that category may just be discussed rarely on social media. Brand strength and marketing can help dial this up (such as with American Express and Visa), but ultimately people are usually less interested in tweeting about their bank than they are about lunch.
Second, the unusual tends to attract the most interest on social media. Consumers with strong views – the activists – tend to shout the loudest, and so are heard at the expense of the less engaged. At the same time, people experiencing positive day-to-day experiences with a brand tend not to mention them, whereas they may feel compelled to speak up for extreme positive or negative events. Any social media savvy consumer knows that tweeting a brand as soon as anything goes wrong often leads to a quick resolution of the problem, leading to a disproportionate number of social media messages on negative experiences.
Third, the biggest determinant of a brand’s social vitality, after allowing for category, is the consumer experience and the presence of third party communications, amplified by brand strength. We have found that three types of marketing impact social vitality most strongly:
Sponsorships of sports fields, event spaces or sports teams, like Adidas’ sponsorship of Manchester United;
Buzzworthy TV commercials, such as the National Council for Problem Gambling advertisement that went viral globally for correctly predicting Germany as the World Cup winner; and
Catchy social campaigns connecting branding to personal experience, like Coke’s Happiness From the Skies campaign, which deployed drones in conjunction with the Singapore Kindness Movement to deliver Cokes and messages of appreciation to foreign workers in Singapore, or Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches campaign, which became one of the most popular YouTube videos for the Asia Pacific region in 2013.
Brands in different categories should leverage social media differently for optimum effect:
Technology
Technology brands are divided by those that have strong consumer facing brands and businesses versus those that do not: Google, Apple, and Samsung all generate a lot of attention, far overshadowing brands like Cisco or Siemens. The successful brands are characterized by a large proportion of third-party communications, primarily driven by new product launches and to a lesser extent, corporate observations (including investments and litigation). A communications campaign could be considered here.
Developing meaningful consumer experiences can also help. For some brands with a variety of popular consumer products, consumer experience plays a role as well: people register their use of Google’s large portfolio of products around the globe, while brands such as Apple and Samsung also attract commentary on desirable mainstream products, as well as on more experimental efforts, like wearables.
Financial Services
Financial services is another category primarily driven by third-party communications — consumer facing experiential commentary is minimal. However, silence does not necessarily mean indifference and comments can hinder as well as help.
Distinct from the rest of the category, credit card brands American Express and Visa both had success with consumer campaigns that reiterated the “rewarding” promise of the cards that other brands could emulate. In particular, American Express led the way here, with #AmexSync and #PassionProject. These campaigns succeeded because they had not only a clear consumer incentive but also demonstrated the brand’s forward looking approach to changing media and technology habits. These brands also have some of the highest brand contribution scores in their category, suggesting that their performance in social media and their overall brand strength may have a symbiotic relationship.
Retail & Apparel
These categories are already highly experiential, and are often driven by in-store experiences or a coveted item. This familiarity can augment the brands’ profile with other items of interest: mentioning Ikea in a joke about Miley Cyrus gives it extra comic zing; or one might feel closer to a celebrity through her H&M endorsements. However, first-hand familiarity is two-edged as it can quickly turn negative when the news is bad.
Oil & Gas
From a social media perspective, oil and gas companies are an example of where brands have to work extra hard to make social into a beneficial influence on their brands. Consumer interest in “pumping petrol” tends to be relatively low, whilst criticism can be swift when there are environmental concerns. Nevertheless, because energy is a potentially emotive topic, social media can be used to enhance brands in this sector where there is a positive story to be told.
Social media instruments such as Verve can signal where consumer interest and engagement lies, showing us the texture of the consumer relationship to a brand, such as how celebrities can impact lifestyle brands, or where activism can shape perceptions of commodities. Such instruments go a long way towards offering a new dimension and level of accuracy to the science of brand measurement, and will offer the most in-depth insights when viewed in the larger context of other rankings in the long term.
[1] The BrandZ™ Verve Index, based on Millward Brown’s proprietary Verve Score methodology, represents a summary of positive brand experiences mentioned by the engaged audience on Twitter. The core data is taken from the tens of millions of global Twitter conversations about these brands. In essence, the Verve score is a measure of the number of mentions for a brand combined with the favorability of those mentions.
The writer is Priti Mehra, managing director, Millward Brown Singapore
Gartner’s prediction that the CMO would spend more on IT than the CIO by 2017 is a much-debated one. A more widely accepted prediction is that we are currently in the age of the customer. Social media and other digital channels are driving the increasing marketing expenditure on IT. According to Gartner, digital marketing budgets are projected to increase from 28.5% in 2013 to 58% in 2014.
In this age, CMOs are expected to take the lead role in deploying and leveraging technologies to deliver greater customer insights, improve marketing effectiveness and offer new competitive advantage. However, there are many challenges the CMO has to face, which includes striking a balance with the CIO – traditionally the last word on all things IT-related – embracing big data and the issues that come along with it such as compliance and security. Most crucial of all is knowing how to leverage big data and analytics to achieve business outcomes.
Big Data – The Next Competitive Advantage
The past decade has seen an explosion of data generation, with online/mobile sources being a significant contributor. These sources comprise data such as e-commerce transactions, search logs and social networks. By 2015, the average user is expected to have five connected devices and their purchase experiences are expanding well beyond retail stores.
An example of utilizing big data for marketing purposes can be see in Heineken and Walmart’s project with Shopperception, a startup service that analyses the shopper’s behaviour in front of the shelf, generating metrics and real time-events to drive more conversions.
The objective of the project was to learn where each bottle, six-pack or can of Heineken beer was exactly purchased in the store. Along with the vast amount of data that Heineken already uses to forecast sales in different regions around the world, this helped the company better understand its customers and as a result offer exactly the product that they are looking for at a certain moment in time and place.
According to a survey of over 500 executives across Asia-Pacific conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit, almost half of respondents believe that data analytics can improve revenue by 25% or more; while more than 70% believe that data analytics can deliver gains in productivity, profitability and innovation.
Despite this belief, more than half of respondents (58%) indicated that their companies have little to no progress in the use of big data. The worst offender is surprisingly Singapore with 74.5% of respondents, who hailed from one of Asia’s most advanced economy, indicating so.
The biggest hindrances to the adoption of big data include: lack of suitable software (42 %), lack of skills (40%) and lack of communication between departments (36%).
What is immediately evident from the hindrances stated above is that in order to address them, the necessary software and skills need to be acquired. These are areas that traditionally fall within the CIO’s domain, and this is where the CMO and CIO need to achieve an understanding in order to successfully leverage big data to achieve competitive advantage and business outcomes.
Balancing the CMO-CIO dynamic
According to an Accenture study, there is still a deep disconnect between CMOs and CIOs. While both generally agree they need to be closely aligned, CMOs and CIOs often have completely different priorities.
The study found CMOs tend to be more aligned with the chief sales officer, while CIOs are typically more aligned with the CFO. CMOs rank access to customer insight and intelligence as their number one priority, while CIOs rank it number 10 on their list. CIOs rank advancing platforms to aid in marketing measurement and campaign optimization as number one, while CMOs rank it number eight.
Nevertheless, there are two things CMOs and CIOs agree on: the need to implement solutions that improve marketing effectiveness, while overcoming solution complexity and integration obstacles. This can be used as the base for the CMO and CIO to further build understanding and cooperation.
In today's digital age, neither can afford to work independently. A company's digital marketing capabilities represent a platform for customer engagement, market differentiation, business growth, and profitability; bridging the gap between these two roles is critical for success.
Furthermore, as the need to engage with customers across multiple devices, online and digital mediums allows companies greater reach, CMOs need to be even more aware of potential threats to their brand. A security breach can significantly damage a company’s reputation with potential repercussions on consumer confidence. Also, CMOs need to expand their thinking to comply with local privacy and personal data protection laws. These are areas where CMOs have to work closely with CIOs to ensure increased vigilance and responsiveness to security issues.
Meet the new chief marketing officer
In summary, to leverage big data and analytics for better business outcomes, the new CMO has to be willing to step out of their comfort zone, experiment, and implement something different. This is the time for CMOs to step up to embrace and tap on technologies to add value to the company’s offerings.
Additionally, as more marketing-related technology and services emerge, bringing along a set of opportunities and risks, the new CMO has to become more collaborative than ever before with the CIO to ensure consumer confidence is not adversely affected.
The writer is Ashley Tollitt, vice president, marketing, Verizon Asia-Pacific
If you think sewing machines are old school, Cherry Chan, senior marketing manager at Brother, would ask you to think again.
"We treat it as a growing business but we need to develop the do-it-yourself market to expand the market," Chan said.
"Customers often have the wrong concept that a sewing machine is an old-fashioned product used to mend clothing. However, through workshops that we run, customers learn how sewing can do much more and allow them to be creative and personal items."
The main target audience for Brother sewing machines is women aged 25 years and over.
With more and more of the brand's audience using Facebook and mobile phones, Brother also conducts content marketing campaigns on its LoveDIY Facebook page, a page separate from its regular Facebook page which features printers, scanners and other office equipment.
On the LoveDIV Facebook page, the brand shares information about workshops and events, tutorials, tips and chances to win gifts to attract and retain DIY hobbyists who are fans of the page and its sewing machines.
For example, in a recent ad campaign that involved printed ads and Facebook posts, the brand offered a free sewing kit along with the purchase of a particular sewing machine model.
The trend towards hand-made, vintage and retro products is also a wave that Chan says the brand is riding.
"We share news of what's hot in terms of these types of products and also run workshops teaching people how to make them. It is a key area that we touch upon," she said.
Do you clock in and clock out into work every day?
Fidelity has built its latest Mandatory Provident Fund-Whiz Challenge around the system you would use to clock in and out of work.
It is an online Q&A which users can log into and participate to enter three lucky draws running until 7 September.
Barbara Wong, head of marketing of Fidelity Worldwide Investment in Hong Kong, said that while MPF was introduced to Hong Kong more than a decade ago, many people still think it is difficult to understand and manage.
As the questions in the online Q&A are all about MPF, the campaign seeks to educate customers about the scheme through the branded site.
“The creative concept is based on the clock-in and clock-out system at the office. Many of us in Hong Kong work hard every day towards achieving a fruitful retirement," Wong said.
"The principle of the game is to encourage participants to clock-in daily from Mondays to Fridays. The more questions they answer correctly, the greater their chance of winning prizes."
This concept is similar to the idea of being rewarded for the more hours you accumulate at work, a concept that also structures the three lucky draws.
To enter the MPF Weekly Award, participants can clock in for a maximum of five times per week for a chance to enter the lucky draw for every correct answer.
For the Grand Master Award, participants are given one token for every correct answer throughout the campaign period. 12 tokens qualify them to enter this lucky draw.
Finally, the MPF Incentive Bonus lucky draw is not for the faint-hearted - participants must log into the website every workday for three consecutive weeks.
Ads promoting the website and contests have been placed in newspapers, online news portals and forums, YouTube and Facebook.
A month ago, McDonald’s Singapore launched a Satay Burger, the Shiok Shiok Satay Burger. Unfortunately it seems the public has plenty of complaints about it. A quick look at McDonald’s Singapore Facebook page shows many unhappy patrons lamenting an unsatisfactory experience with the burger.
It seems the main complaint is of puny portions with not enough sauce. (See post comments below)
While McDonald’s has been valiantly trying to stave off customer anger on its Facebook page (replying each angry comment with a polite note that it would improve), it looks like its competitor has moved quickly to take advantage of the situation.
In the meanwhile, Burger King created its own Satay Burger, using what seems to be user feedback on what McD’s was lacking, and making a better burger. It then snarkily launched ads for a “Real Satay Burger”, touting “real chicken”, “real beef” and “real Satay sauce”.
Burger King put up a post on its ad last Friday. While it’s still early days, it seems there aren’t many angry comments, with several users commenting that Burger King’s is better than McDonald’s.
Is it one point to BK and zero for Mcdonald’s in this case?
Yvonne Low, senior director of marketing, McDonald's Restaurants responded to Marketing with this statement: “We are always looking to introduce new and different tastes to provide more variety for our customers. As a market leader you expect a response from other establishments whenever you launch a new product, and at the end of the day the ultimate winner is the consumer.”
Dole Asia Company, a producer and marketer of fruits and vegetables, has partnered with Mobext Asia Pacific, through its Philippine office, to launch DOLEivery—a mobile app that lets users shop for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Currently, DOLEivery is only available for download in Thailand while deliveries are limited within Bangkok. However, the brand is looking to launch the app in other countries across Asia.
DOLEivery marks the brand’s first push into mCommerce. Veronica Supetran, regional marketing executive of Dole Asia Company said the app’s main objective is to provide convenience to fruit shoppers:
“Instead of visiting the grocery to purchase fresh produce and go through the process of picking, packing, and weighing, we’re allowing our consumers to let us do it for them. Now they can simply order pre-packed, high quality fruits through their mobile devices and have it delivered straight to their doorstep! In other words, we’re bringing the fruit shopping experience to their homes,” she added.
Beyond convenience, the app also has a social thrust. Users can use DOLEivery to send customised fruit baskets, personalised with a greeting card for free and for any occasion.
Apart from fruits, the app also offers other Dole products such as organic brown rice, boiled peanuts, sweet tamarind, and even Yonanas—a machine which turns frozen fruit into a dessert that looks and tastes just like ice cream. App users can opt to pay right when the delivery is made, or via bank deposit.
Arthur Policarpio, managing director of Mobext Asia Pacific, said: “We’re happy that a brand such as Dole Asia is now exploring how mCommerce can benefit their business. The app puts Dole products straight into the hands of their customers, and it makes fruit shopping not only convenient but fun, too. They’re creating a buying experience that customers would want to repeat over and over again.”
The MTR Corporation has become embroiled in a PR crisis after running over a stray dog last Wednesday on an East Rail line track, following a failed rescue attempt, a move that has stirred community outrage.
The stray dog, which wandered on to the track, died immediately after being struck by the train. The railway company released an announcement a day after saying MTR was “saddened by the event”, and tried to clarify the incident:
“In yesterday’s incident, MTR staff noticed a dog in the track area of Sheung Shui Station at around 9:50am. The Operations Control Centre immediately stopped trains from entering the station while station staff tried to coax the dog to safety. However, they were not successful and the dog hid under the platform.
Staff went on to the track to try and lift the dog up to the platform, but the dog struggled and a staff member was injured in the process.
As the area under the platform was considered safe, at 9:58 am, the Operations Control Centre allowed trains to move in and out of the station, but drivers were instructed to operate trains manually and at a reduced speed so that they could look out for the dog and stop the train if they saw it.
At 10:09am, the dog was spotted at Fanling Station by station staff. The staff immediately signaled an incoming train to stop to facilitate a search, but the dog could not be located.”
While the company emphasises its efforts to try to rescue the stray, a video going viral on social media criticises the attempts.
A protest staged by hundreds of dog lovers against the MTR’s measures to rescue the stray dog and mourning the dog’s death was launched a day after the tragedy.
It wasn’t until Friday the MTR Corporation expressed a “sincere apology” via an official announcement.
Lynn Grebstad, founding partner and chairman of GHC Asia, believes the MTR’s apology is “just paying lip service to the public’s outcry”.
“I find it amazing that there was no one on site at Fanling Station – either from the MTR staff or public - that could handle the removal of a dog from the track,” she said.
“Usually all it takes to coax a dog to move is to offer it a bit of food. I can’t believe that they just let it stay there and the trains continue running.”
“It’s cruel, and could easily have been avoided.”
But the MTR is planning to introduce training to handle stray animals.
“Which is a good thing and should have been done before now, as part of emergency training for their key staff in dealing with human and animal situations on the network.
Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad launched its new campaign, likening insurance to a marriage.
“For Those Who Truly Love” shows celebrity couple, Harith Iskander and wife, Jezamine Lim renewing marital vows after four years of matrimony. The campaign aimed to represent the company’s commitment in creating awareness on the importance of love and protecting loved ones.
Phil Smith, chief executive officer of Zurich Insurance Malaysia said the campaign is intended at telling a simple “love story” in a light-hearted way.
“Zurich’s new global communication platform, 'For Those Who Truly Love' brings our brand to life and is based on a simple insight that when you truly love something – or someone – you want to protect it in the best possible way. Instead of focusing on prices and products, it appeals to the emotions,” said Smith.
The campaign runs globally and was first launched in September 2013 in Switzerland, Germany, the UK and North America and will roll out in Malaysia on 1 September 2014 through television, print, billboard and digital advertising.
“This campaign serves to create an emotional link between Zurich and the community around us, creating a tangible, live presence of our brand that upholds what we stand for. Through these mediums, we want to convey the message that insurance is for all and that everybody needs protection,” said Christine Cheu, chief marketing officer of Zurich Insurance Malaysia.
Cheu added that apart from the creative aspects of the campaign, Zurich will be executing a series of activities in support of the campaign, such as having local celebrities such as Faiq Shazwan, Harith Iskander, Gan Mei Yan and Diana Danielle run social media contests. Nationwide roadshows will also run for three months from September to December 2014 at 50 locations nationwide.
ASOS has appointed global marketing and tech agency DigitasLBi to steer its social media content management and digital campaigns across Chinese social channels Weibo and WeChat.
DigitasLBi will look for new ways to help ASOS enhance its brand, converse with customers and promote its range of products, by tapping into Sina Weibo’s 143.8 million active users (as of March 2014) and WeChat’s 396 million users (as of May 2014).
Fashion clothing label ASOS was established in the UK in 2000 where it began selling over 65,000 branded and own-label products on asos.com to young adults.
The brand launched in China in November 2013 and already boasts global sales of around 7.8 billion Yuan (US$1.3 billion).
DigitasLBi will work with ASOS China to enhance customer awareness and engagement through a content and activation launch campaign on Weibo and Wechat.
Considering nearly 40% of official website page views are now generated via social media marketing according to ASOS. ASOS and DigitasLBi will create a product promotion area on Weibo, leading customers to shop on the official ASOS website - ensuring products and communications are seamlessly connected.
Yiqun Wang, general manager, ASOS Greater China said: “Influence across social media has intensified, so it’s important for ASOS China to build its brand attitudes and beliefs from strategy, creativity and execution. We appointed DigitasLBi to help us find a breakthrough using social media, and more importantly to help us communicate with customers and provide platforms for them to converse with us.”
Lamy Zhang (pictured), managing director, China, DigitasLBi added that social media has become one of the most important communication and sales channels for brands in today’s marketing mix.
"As long-term partners of Weibo and WeChat, we look forward to pioneering new ways promote the ASOS brand and its products. To be encouraged to think out-of-the-box for an iconic brand like ASOS in an ever-expanding market like China is truly exciting for DigitasLBi.”
Top shoe manufacturer Stella International has plans to set up a factory at the Freeport Area of Bataan to produce four million shoes and create 5,000 jobs.
The Philippine News Agency reported that Bataan City Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III has met with Stella top executive Jack Chang for the project. Based on the company’s financials, the report could refer to Jack Chiang Jeh-Chung, chairman of the board, president and executive director of Stella.
Based in Taiwan, Stella manufactures shoes for an impressive portfolio of clients like casual footwear brands Clarks, Deckers, ECCO, Rockport, Timberland, and Wolverine, as well as fashion footwear Cole Haan, Kenneth Cole, Guess and Nine West.
The company also designs, develops and manufactures footwear for Celine, Donna Karan New York, Emilio Pucci, Givenchy, Loewe, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Guess, Marciano, Alejandro Ingelmo, Paul Smith, Sigerson Morrison, Alexander Wang and Via Spiga.
Garcia said that parts of the shoes will be prepared in-house by interested residents across 25 barangays in the city and will assembled at the Freeport area, located at Mariveles Bataan.
“This is a huge blessing to our communities that even though in their houses, the residents will have source of income," he said.
Intel has appointed Prakash Mallya as managing director for Southeast Asia. In this role, Mallya oversees all of Intel’s sales, marketing and enabling of Intel products across Southeast Asia.
“With a young population and a rising middle class, Southeast Asia is an important growth market for Intel. Prakash has the vision and experience to lead Intel’s growth across this dynamic region,” Gregory Bryant, vice president and general manager, Intel Asia-Pacific and Japan, said.
Mallya joined Intel in 2000 as a business development manager in India. Most recently, he served as Intel’s country manager for Malaysia and Singapore.
“I am very honoured to have been entrusted with the responsibilities of this position. As the country manager for sales and marketing for both Malaysia and Singapore, I have personally seen how quickly the market has grown and how far we have come in terms of technology and look forward to leading my team and Intel in the region to greater heights of success,” Mallya said.
Media magnate Antonio Cabangon-Chua ventures into television with the acquisition of Solar TV and a majority stake at former state-owned network RPN 9.
Initial local reports last week said that Cabangon-Chua is now the chairman of RPN 9 after securing a 34% stake in the company, replacing Solar Entertainment’s Wilson Tieng who previously held the share.
However, BusinessWorld later confirmed with Benjamin Ramos, president of Business Mirror that Cabangon-Chua actually bought the entirety of Solar TV Network, Inc. (STVN), which led him to gain the 34% interest in RPN 9. Business Mirror is a newspaper owned by Cabangon-Chua.
The deal will see the rebrand of RPN 9 to Aliw Channel, named after Aliw Broadcasting Corp, a radio network that Cabangon-Chua also owns. Founded in 1991, Aliw Broadcasting has Natural! FM (formerly known as Home Radio) and DWIZ as flagship radio stations.
Solar News Channel has followed suit, now known as 9TV, which ends Solar’s airtime agreement as main content provider of RPN 9. Solar News officially dropped its iconic yellow logo from its online and offline assets last 23 August.
STVN will also forego the Solar name and change its corporate name before year end, according to a statement released by the ALC Group, Cabangon-Chua’s umbrella firm.
Ramon clarified that Solar Entertainment Corp, which produces franchised and original local programs including ETC, 2nd Avenue, Jack TV, Jack City, Solar Sports, Basketball TV and NBA Premium TV, will remain with Tieng.
San Miguel Corporation president Ramon Ang had initially expressed interest in acquiring a controlling stake in Solar. However, he has secured a participating minority equity interest GMA Network Inc. last June.
Another 32% in RPN 9 is held by the Benedicto family’s Far Eastern Managers and Investors. The government holds 20% while the remainder is owned by private individuals.
Presidential Communications Operations office secretary Herminio Coloma said in 2011 that the administration is looking to sell the government’s stake in RPN 9, which operates seven TV stations and 11 radio stations.
Earlier this year, it looks like Samsung struck social media gold when it sponsored Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres, who put out a tweet that went insanely viral. (Remember, it beat out President Barack Obama’s re-election victory tweet). (Read also: The brand behind the Oscars’ most tweeted selfie).
A celebrity or brand ambassador led tactic is still one of Samsung’s strategies, but for the Emmys this year, it’s decided to try a new move.
According to Adweek, it will be sending out street teams in New York and Los Angeles during the show and visiting residents to give them Samsung Curved UHD TVs along with other Emmy-relevant merchandise. It will also be looking to engage social media users on Twitter and Facebook, offering branded digital gifts. Its agency, Edelman Digital will work to amplify selected moments as well as release specially made Vine videos for the big night.
Marketing VP for Samsung Peggy Ang also told Adweek that the brand aims to make social the centrepiece."And we will have our [TV] advertising telling people about our wonderful screens. We want to celebrate this night in conversations, while creating surprises in people's homes," said Ang.
While it looks like Samsung's marketing efforts are already generating a bit of buzz on Twitter, it remains to be seen how this will pan out.
Here's a quick glance at Twitter chatter:
Guys, I can't afford more than 12 channels and you think I'm going to buy a #Samsung curved television?#Emmys
The Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) has appointed two of its news paper veterans Abel Ulanday and John Nery to top positions at its online news portal Inquirer.net.
Ulanday (left) will now serve as publisher and Nery (right) as editor in chief of Inquirer.net beginning this Tuesday, 26 August.
Ulanday, associate editor of PDI, has been with the company since its early years in 1980’s and has launched both Inquirer Libre and Inquirer Compact. He served as the first editor of Inquirer.net when it was started in 1997 and became its editor in chief in 2009.
Nery, a columnist and an editor with the Opinion section of the PDU, was the first editor of Inquirer’s i-Team and executive producer of InqTV.
Amazon.com has acquired all of live video game streaming firm Twitch’s shares for approximately US$970 million.
According to a release by Twitch in July, it had more than 55 million unique visitors who viewed more than 15 billion minutes of content on the site.
“Broadcasting and watching gameplay is a global phenomenon and Twitch has built a platform that brings together tens of millions of people who watch billions of minutes of games each month – from The International, to breaking the world record for Mario, to gaming conferences like E3. And, amazingly, Twitch is only three years old,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com.
“Like Twitch, we obsess over customers and like to think differently, and we look forward to learning from them and helping them move even faster to build new services for the gaming community,” he said.
Twitch launched in June 2011 to focus exclusively on live video for gamers. The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2014.
“Being part of Amazon will let us do even more for our community. We will be able to create tools and services faster than we could have independently. This change will mean great things for our community, and will let us bring Twitch to even more people around the world,” said Twitch CEO Emmett Shear.
