"Performance marketing" and what it entails has evolved over the years. To me, it is ABC of things which revolves around analytics, being business-oriented, and customisable.
In its early days, performance marketing started as a subset with lots of affiliate work with committed targets. Analytics was not big, and optimisation and planning were in silos – an issue unfortunately still plaguing some agencies today. This is despite the very-measurable platforms like search and digital, that have become core components of what we do.
In those days of purely looking at campaign numbers, working in silos exacerbates flat results. Limits cannot be pushed further and the cost per acquisition remains low, despite feeling like you could’ve done everything possible. The reality is that as the online advertising industry continues to grow, changes and mindset shifts are needed in performance marketing, and this starts from us.
1) Analytics and actionable insights
We have started looping in other specialist teams such as analytics and e-commerce. Performance marketing is meant to be the smartest online advertising investment – as the brains behind execution, we too need to be smarter and strategic with our time and budget.
There are existing articles on the inevitable demise of the old performance marketing agency, which looks like this: purist, channel-based, and silo-shaped – I cannot agree more. Moving away from the pure numbers game, we add to optimisation by working with the analytics team to look at data and information that can be overlaid, and bring the planning component into the mix itself.
The difference? You can immediately start to see where the pockets of opportunity lie and differentiate the work and strategy delivered for clients.
For instance – if search campaign numbers for an airline or travel client are low, the basic assumption is that no one is searching for them. Working with the analytics team, however, we may instead find a more nuanced explanation: the consumers are not actively ready for purchase at that contact-point. This can be through deep-diving into category behaviour and looking at individual consumer routes – with no active demand, there cannot be high search volume. The opportunity is then time-targeting active booking periods, which is a smarter way of spending ad dollars.
Performance marketers do not stop at hypotheses and assumptions – we test them. The above is just one instance of how data can lead to an actionable insight.
2) Business-orientated
Validate first, differentiate later. Just as it is with optimisation, briefs should not be followed blindly. It is always best practice to go back to basics i.e. the client’s business objectives, to produce the best fit. In the case of a finance client, for instance, we can go back further to look at the marketed product to determine if the right audience segment is being targeted in the brief itself. In astutely tightening or widening the targeted segment, results are more likely future-proofed versus us focusing only on immediate acquisition outlined in the existing brief. Business opportunities become clearer for all parties when we look beyond media strategy, product and category.
3) Customisable
“End-to-end solutions” is the buzz now, but it is important not to fall into the cookie cutter. The above A & B orientations, aided with automation and tech partnerships enable us to be smarter with our time and resources, to produce custom, ROI-focused, and measurable results.
Seamless integration ultimately comes down to our talent, and contemporary performance marketing is driving teams with people of diverse skillsets versus regressing to generalists – enabling us more agility. Looking forward to the impending landscape of innovation and focused diversification, changes which are taking place as I write.
The author is Vivian Yeo, general manager, Performics Singapore.
CPF Board has launched its third annual Big 'R' Chat integrated campaign, as part of its ongoing outreach initiative to create awareness and understanding of the CPF system's holistic role in retirement planning.
The campaign, which will run until 5 November 2017, aims to make it easier for members to become better informed about CPF benefits and enhancements so they can better plan for their future, as well as encourage them to "act now" for a better retirement with their CPF.
Formul8, Formul8's social media arm Type A, GroupM and production house Moving Bits are involved in the campaign. It will run on TV, print, radio, digital and out-of-home channels.
As part of the campaign, CPF launched a mobile game app titled "Ready, Get Set, Grow!" to help players learn about CPF benefits through simple gameplay. Players will go through four levels with the aim of collecting the highest points while avoiding obstacles such as lazy bugs, which slow them down. It is available on both the Apple app store and Google Play store.
The Board also unveiled a film titled "Your Love Can Go a Long Way", which tells the story of how a Singaporean shows his love for the ones who matter to him. The video garnered 575,700 views on YouTube and over 310,000 views on Facebook at the time of writing.
https://youtu.be/nb4cWW7MJb8
CPF has also once again launched its CPF Retirement Planning Roadshow, which will run until November 2017 at various locations across Singapore, including Suntec City, Toa Payoh and Tampines. The roadshow aims to reach 80,000 CPF members, and will see staff across the Board coming forward as volunteers to encourage members to take action for a better retirement with their CPF. Hogarth & Ogilvy is managing the roadshow.
The event also features various interactive exhibits such as the Retirement Estimator, an augmented reality experience booth and a life-sized Jenga game. These will enable visitors to learn about the different ways in which CPF supports them in their retirement, as well as the simple steps to take to better prepare for their golden years.
“CPFB has intensified our outreach efforts over the past few years. We want to connect with our members at a personal level to help make retirement planning less daunting. The large number of CPFB staff volunteers at this year’s roadshows is a testament of our commitment to help members on their retirement planning journey, and the options they have to make it even better. We are also using digital platforms to make information on the CPF system more engaging and accessible to everyone," Ng Chee Peng, CEO of CPF Board, said.
Deliveroo has appointed integrated communications agency AKA Asia as its PR partner for the Singapore market following a competitive pitch. AKA Asia will provide creative campaign support across social and traditional communications as part of the retainer contract, helping drive brand awareness in line with Deliveroo's expansion and development in Singapore.
“This appointment comes at a time when we are aggressively building our presence in this market. We chose AKA Asia for their passion and drive to help take Deliveroo to the next level in our growth phase,” Rachael Anderson, Head of Consumer Communications, Asia Pacific and Middle East, Deliveroo, said.
“In such a competitive market, we are excited to be developing creative, compelling campaigns to help Deliveroo win share of voice and build brand love with consumers. We went into the pitch with some bold ideas, and are looking forward to bringing them to life over the next year,” Amy Wright, co-founder of AKA Asia, said.
Marketing has reached out to AKA Asia for further comment.
AKA Asia was involved in the conceptualisation and production of Deliveroo's latest campaign "Guardians of the Gates", which encourages consumers to nominate their condominium or office guard and surprise them with a free National Day Meal from Deliveroo. This was to show their appreciation for the security guards who are always on the lookout for the residents’ safety. The agency also worked with Deliveroo to unveil its special edition "Feast for a King" menu in the lead up to the latest season premiere of Game of Thrones. Among the list of brands that AKA Asia services includes EDB, Jetstar Asia, Discovery Networks, Fitness First, DIAGEO and Costa Coffee.
Earlier this year, Deliveroo copped flak for failing to deliver on a limited offer which promised up to five bottles of top tier wine at only SG$12.50 between 12pm to 5pm. Customers racing to get their hands on the wine were left disappointed when they experienced difficulty in-app, or found that the promo was not available to them due to overwhelming response. Some went on to accuse the brand of “scamming” them with a “lousy marketing ploy”.
Last year, the company unveiled a new identity as part of a major rebrand to set itself apart from competitors. Deliveroo’s original logo – a kangaroo holding a bag of food against a teal backdrop – was replaced with a more minimal graphic symbol, which is featured on the company’s new app and website, designed in-house using guidelines. The symbol also inspired the design of colourful jackets and jerseys for riders.
Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF) has launched a men's outreach digital campaign titled "#ImOnYourTeam", using a more inclusive approach towards men in its commitment to raising breast cancer awareness. BCF aims to raise 2,000 pledges from men to urge the women in their lives to conduct regular breast self-examination and/or go for mammograms.
"#ImOnYourTeam" will run on BCF's Facebook, Instagram and Youtube platforms until October, which is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Ketchum Singapore, Fuse Creative and 90 Seconds were involved in the campaign.
Breast cancer is often assumed to be a "woman's issue", and men do not have a part to play in the mission to eradicate the disease. The video, however, highlights the fact that different men in a woman's life such as her son, father, friends and colleagues, are affected when she is diagnosed with breast cancer and can play a significant role.
https://youtu.be/P2l9g9JG7sA
Social media influencers such as Benjamin Toh also known as Typical Ben, Eden Ang, Fauzi Aziz and Yap Xin De, as well as media content partner SGAG, have come on board to pledge their support for their family and friends.
Men are encouraged to pledge their support by following these three steps: post a photo or video of an important woman in their lives on Facebook, Instagram or Youtube, explaining what she means to them; take the pledge to encourage her to do self-examination and/or mammograms; and include the hashtags #ImOnYourTeam and #BCFSG, as well as tag three other gentlemen to do the same.
“At Breast Cancer Foundation, our mission is to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. With the #ImOnYourTeam men’s outreach digital campaign, our aim is to engage the men in our community to help advocate for regular screening. We want to raise awareness among men about the importance of their role in women’s fight against breast cancer," Katherine Tan, general manager, Breast Cancer Foundation, said.
"Early detection saves lives and breasts, so men need to take proactive steps to encourage the women in their lives to conduct regular breast checks and go for screening," she added.
“At SGAG, we believe in supporting and playing our part in raising awareness amongst our audience for meaningful causes. The work that Breast Cancer Foundation is doing is extremely meaningful and we will do all we can to support their campaign,” Karl Mak, co-founder, SGAG, said.
The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and Diosdado “Dado” Banatao, Chairman of PhilDev Foundation and IT pioneer, are working together to give startups in the Philippines an incubator program. The goal is to accelerate the development of startups and open up more local opportunities for entrepreneurship.
AIM, in partnership with PhilDev, received a Php 14.8 million grant in initial funding for the AIM-Dado Banatao Incubator under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Incubator Creation Program.
Commenting on the rationale behind the AIM-Dado Banatao Incubator, AIM President and Dean Jikyeong Kang said, “Startups belong to the biggest drivers of the Philippine economy, micro enterprises and small businesses. Of the 99.6% of local companies that make up the backbone of the local economy, a mere fraction of a percent belongs to medium enterprises. The bulk belongs to enterprises with less than 10 employees.”
“We believe that AIM’s being located in the Philippines is not an accident. At AIM, our motto is ‘Lead. Inspire. Transform.’ and the working out of that vision begins here, in the Philippines. One of the fastest ways we can achieve this is to give the country’s biggest economic engine the rare opportunity to benefit from the mentorship of global visionaries, such as Dado Banatao,” Kang said.
Banatao founded several Silicon Valley companies, including Chips & Technologies, S3 Graphics, SiRF, Marvell, and Inphi. He has also made major investments in Cyras Systems, Stream Machine, Wilocity. He is best known for pioneering two technologies that are widely regarded as the cornerstones of today’s PC: chipset and graphics acceleration architecture.
Said AIM’s Kang, “Aside from providing qualified startups rent-free working space, AIM will also gladly make accessible to them a mentoring program and the expertise of our faculty and alumni.”
“We do this in hopes of encouraging more angels and VC funds to invest as well as lowering the assumption-to-knowledge ratio of startups in the Incubator as painlessly as possible. As a management institute, AIM can do no less,” Kang concluded.
What startups get
World-class mentorship from serial entrepreneurs, top executives, industry experts, including individuals with a successful track record in Silicon Valley
Access to the global funding network of Dado Banatao, PhilDev, and AIM
Education and training calibrated to the needs of the startup’s founders
Resources from selected partners
Rent-free, dedicated office space with high-speed Internet connectivity inside the AIM Campus in the heart of the Makati CBD
Demo nights and exclusive networking events for business development and investments
Eligibility
The incubator intends to support early-stage startups with deep technology, science, or engineering solutions to the neglected problems of an emerging world.
Eligible startups will have a proven ability to build quickly, sell to customers, and evolve their idea into a business that can grow.
To be accepted into the AIM-Dado Banatao Incubator Program, the startup must meet the following criteria
Founder
• Team of two to six members with at least one founder with rigorous science / engineering / technical expertise and one founder with market and business development expertise
• Both tech and business co-founders will work on the business full-time
• Open to non-AIM students and graduates
Technology
• Early product demonstrating a strong core science, technology or engineering innovation, or vetted market need, up to a minimum viable product
Stage
• Open to early-stage startups with or without prior external funding, revenues, or customer traction
Industry
• Focus on sectors that need innovative solutions
• S&T-based solutions in communications, agriculture, health, AI, IoT, and so on
• Need not be limited to software; can also include hardware and business model innovations
The AIM-Dado Banatao Incubator has a rolling application with no set deadline. All applicants must fill out the online application form on the AIM website: https://aim.edu/dado-banatao-incubator
Huawei will likely pass Apple to become the second largest smartphone vendor globally in the third quarter of 2017, Digital Times report.
In Q2, Huawei ranked third with shipments reaching 38.5 million units and accounting a 11.3% global share, its shipments in China were up 22.6% to 23.5 million units. Apple's shipment shipped 41 million units for a 12% global share, its shipments in China fell 7.6% to 8 million units.
Outside China, Huawei's shipments in Southeast Asia, Japan and Korea also grow over 45% on year in the first half of 2017.
Furthermore Huawei's smartphone shipments to Europe as a whole rose 18% in the first six months of 2017, its shipments in Germany, Finland and Poland doubled, the report said.
Huawei is estimated to be keeping its momentum and shipping over 40 million units in 2017 Q3, while Apple could dip from last year's 41 million units as customers await the Q3 launch of the new iPhones. This offers a chance for Huawei to outperform Apple in terms of shipment volume in Q3, the report suggests.
Netflix has partnered with Telekom Malaysia (TM) to offer TM customers access to content available on its platform, come October 2017.
TM customers who had subscribed to the service will become Netflix members and will be able to enjoy unlimited viewing of licensed shows and original TV series, films and documentaries such as House of Cards, The Crown and Stranger Things.
“Our latest collaboration with Netflix is testament to our commitment towards becoming Malaysia’s content aggregator champion, where Malaysians will have easier access to Netflix’s content at their convenience,” Jeremy Kung, executive vice president of new media at TM, said.
“Furthermore, with high speed internet access powered by UniFi coupled with unlimited data mobility with TM’s mobility service provider, webe, our customers can fulfill the crave for their favourite movies or shows from Netflix on multiple devices at their own convenience – at home, on the move, anywhere and anytime. This is in line with TM’s convergence aspiration and our vision of ‘Making Life and Business Easier, for a Better Malaysia’,” he added.
Tony Zameczkowski, vice president of business development at Netflix Asia, added that through this collaboration with TM, the company can now engage more Malaysians who want to watch their favourite shows on Netflix “anytime, anywhere” on a mobile device big screen.
The news comes on the same day that Disney announced (on Tuesday) it is pulling all movies from Netflix to start its own streaming services. CEO of The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger told CNBC that Disney had a “good relationship” with Netflix, but decided to move its content off the platform.
On this, Disney said it plans to launch a branded direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019 starting in the US before expanding globally. Movies to be removed include Disney’s as well as Pixar’s titles. The new platform will feature all Disney movies starting 2019 which includes “Toy Story 4,” “Frozen 2,” and the upcoming “The Lion King.”
The company will also launch its own ESPN video streaming service in early 2018, showcasing about 10,000 sporting events annually. In conjunction with its latest strategic shift move in streaming its own content for consumers, Disney is also buying a majority ownership of BAM Tech for US$1.58 billion. It has already acquired a 33% stake in the company in August 2016.
The original deal, which was signed in 2012 between Netflix US and Disney, kicked in only last year and is not expected to affect Netflix in Asia per se. A spokesperson from Netflix Asia told A+M that the latest announcement does not affect Singapore or the rest of the Asian markets for Netflix.
“We don’t have a deal with Disney in Asia in the first place[…].It is important to note that US Netflix members will still have access to Disney films on the service through the end of 2019, including all new films that are shown theatrically through the end of 2018. We continue to do business with the Walt Disney Company on many fronts, including our ongoing deal with Marvel TV,” Netflix added.
HYPERLAB, a Southeast Asian artificial intelligence (AI) firm based out of Kuala Lumpur, has launched Insho Cast, a high volume AI-powered banner format to clients in Asia.
“It’s about changing mindsets. Publishers and marketers can now look at advertising spaces as retail spaces, where real customer interaction and even sales can directly take place on third party websites,” Chris Greenough, chief marketing officer at HYPERLAB said.
The platform was launched in July, serving ads on DoubleClick and partner Ad Networks. The banners comply with IAB standards and require much less bandwidth than standard banner ads, capable of having more than 500 million conversations per day.
“In our last few campaigns, we were able to achieve 10-15X times better performance versus standard banner ads. Most recently, we were able to reduce cost per acquisition for an e-commerce brand by 17%. Why we can be so effective is because we can create a very dynamic and human experience. Lead forms and product discovery become a conversation and take place in that first moment of truth,” Greenough added.
Already, marketers fight low click through rates (CTR) and high bounce rates, normally delivered from standard banner ads. The industry CTR for standard banners is 0.1% and bounce rates for traffic driven by display advertising is often higher than 70%, said HYPERLAB.
“Because we track conversational history, we can adapt and optimise the chatbot during the campaign period, improving performance and the experience without any disruption in impressions. In another campaign for a prominent property client, the chatbot helped close more than RM4.5 million in sales, this time in partnership with a human sales agent," the company said.
HYPERLAB has built the platform to work hand-in-hand with programmatic display advertising. The technology to display the right ad to the right audience exists, but now that audience can engage in a conversation with a brand without needing to leave. “We feel that we can show an immediate lift on campaign performance with these use cases that are focused on improving an advertisers bottom line,” Greenough added.
With 86% of CMO’s reportedly planning to invest in AI and machine learning in the near term (according to Retail Dive), HYPERLAB said is developing products and services beyond Insho Cast that sit on top of its industry leading conversational AI platform. Specialising in Southeast Asian languages, its client list include regional banks, telcos and retailers.
Online marketplace 11street Malaysia has partnered with air-conditioner manufacturer Fujiaire to launch the Fujiaire Shibui Skin Series – its first Wifi-enabled air conditioner with six wallpaper sticker designs, exclusively on 11street.
The air-conditioner comes to life through the AC Freedom control app, to allow users to interact with the unit through Wifi on one’s smartphone to monitor, schedule and control the temperature of the room with one touch from a distance. Essentially, the smartphone becomes one’s personalised remote control.
“We are now standing at the frontline of e-retailing industry, whereby the lines between online and in-store shopping are blurred. In fact, modern consumers have shown a preference for shopping online, citing ‘convenience’ and ‘time saving’ as two most important factors," Chuljin Yoon, chief operating officer of 11street said.
“As Malaysia continues to lead the way in e-commerce in Southeast Asia, we at 11street are rising to the challenge by boosting our smart home and electrical offerings under our home and living category. Through this collaboration with Fujiaire, we hope to meet our consumers’ demands for smarter, more innovative and modern appliances,” he added.
Driven by the rapid evolution of Wifi technology globally, the smart home concept is slowly but surely infiltrating the Malaysian market.
“Research has shown that 65% of baby boomers are willing to pay an additional 20% for a home fitted with smart automated features such as Wifi-enabled devices. Millennials meanwhile are easily captivated by new technology, especially those that offer convenience right to their fingertips. This is why 11street is the perfect gateway for us to reach out to the younger audiences in Malaysia, and more importantly, to be a part of our strategy to break into the world of e-commerce. The retail industry is becoming increasingly competitive, and at Fujiaire, we realise the need to leverage on the strength of this collaboration with 11street to establish an online presence,” said Tan Poh Ai, chief executive officer of Fujiaire Sales and Services.
‘Shibui’ in Japanese refers to the aesthetic theory of simplicity, subtlety and unobtrusive beauty. Riding on the overarching theme, the company said its Fujiaire Shibui Skin Series "epitomises the fine blend of classicism and contemporary innovation, with an aim to provide a modern living experience for today’s home owners looking for clean lines to add on to the aesthetics of their living spaces, with full technological prowess."
Established in 1994, Fujiaire Sales & Services was formed by a team of Malaysian technical and marketing experts. To date, it has a global clientele from more than 20 countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Maxus APAC CEO Ajit Varghese (pictured) will head the global market development team at GroupM's merged MEC-Maxus entity "NewCo", sources close to Marketing confirmed. He will report to MEC's global CEO Tim Castree, who will be leading the new agency. CEO of MEC Asia Pacific Peter Vogel is also tipped to helm a new role which will be announced at a later date.
This comes as GroupM plans to scrap its Asia Pacific management for "NewCo". Varghese will be in charge of most markets including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Most recently, Desh Balakrishnan, managing director of Maxus Singapore, was appointed to the role of managing director for "NewCo" in Singapore last month. Meanwhile, Allison Coley, managing director of MEC, will remain in the agency to ensure a smooth merger with Maxus before transitioning into a new regional role in "NewCo" by the end of 2017.
Prior to the new role, Balakrishnan joined Maxus Singapore as the managing director in August 2014, taking over from Lena Goh. He reported to Ajit Varghese Maxus CEO APAC and Jon Thurlow, then-CEO of GroupM Singapore. Coley was appointed to her current role in January this year, and was tasked with driving new business growth as well as managing talent in the agency.
Ajay Gupte, managing director of MEC Indonesia, was also appointed the managing director of “NewCo” last month. Maxus Indonesia's managing director Partha Kabi will take on a similar role role at MediaCom Indonesia, effective 1 October 2017.
Prior to the appointment Gupte was MD of MEC Indonesia since 2011. Kabi joined Maxus Indonesia as its MD in 2011. Under his leadership, Maxus Indonesia saw multiple new business wins, developed a wide portfolio of new and innovative products and services, according the press statement.
In June, Michelle Achuthan, managing director of MEC Malaysia, was appointed the managing director of "NewCo" in Malaysia. She was previously the MD of BBDO Malaysia for four and a half years and is a 27-year veteran of the advertising industry, having also worked with other leading agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi and J. Walter Thompson.
All their roles will come into effect in January 2018.
The appointments follow WPP’s GroupM’s plans to merge the global operations of media agencies MEC and Maxus into “a new billion dollar revenue, media, content and technology agency” under the leadership of Castree. This will result in GroupM now having three global media agency networks – Mindshare, MediaCom, and the new company – each with more than one billion dollars in annual revenues, said GroupM in a press statement. A spokesperson from GroupM told Marketing that there is a six month transition period where Maxus and MEC “will be combined into a powerful new media, content and technology agency proposition”.
Singapore Airlines Group-owned budget carrier, Scoot, is revving up for its new ‘Scootitude’ branding with the latest launch of its new destinations, Kuching and Kuantan.
Scoot CEO Lee Lik Hsin said, “Malaysia has been a very important market for Scoot. Our new destinations such as Kuching and Kuantan will complement our robust Southeast Asian network. As part of our expansion plans, we will continuously identify opportunities to bring the unique Scoot travel experience called “Scootitude” to more guests in the region.”
The low cast airline had officially kickstarts ticket sales for Kuching and Kuantan. The latest additions to the network bring the total number of Scoot’s destinations in Malaysia to six cities including Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi and Penang.
The inaugural flights are scheduled to commence on 29 October 2017 for Kuching and 2 February 2018 for Kuantan. Scoot will be operating daily flights from Singapore to Kuching while flying three times weekly to Kuantan.
These two destinations are among the five new destinations announced on 25 July in conjunction with the completion of the Scoot-Tigerair integration under the single Scoot brand. The other three are Honolulu, Scoot’s maiden USA destination, Harbin in Northeast China, and Palembang in Indonesia.
Escape the Ordinary
In conjunction with the brand enhancement, Scoot has also changed its Get Outta Here! tagline and adopted a new slogan, Escape the Ordinary.
“Scoot’s new tagline, Escape the Ordinary, is reflective of our growth as an airline brand,” said Lee. “It is more relevant to the global market now that our network has grown as it is aspirational to our inner wanderlust, and inspires us to travel and explore the world.”
Scoot also rolled out its first A320 aircraft, previously operated by Tigerair and repainted with the Scoot livery, named “Conscious Coupling” in commemoration of the integration between Scoot and Tigerair. The current Tigerair fleet will be progressively repainted and the complete livery change is targeted to be by mid-2018.
New Uniform
Apart from above, Scoot’s crew members, affectionately named “Scootees”, have already begun donning new uniform bearing a refreshing, yet distinctively Scoot look. The new uniform for female crew members cuts a flattering silhouette with its asymmetric hemline and higher waistline, while that for male crew members features sharper angles for the yellow highlights on the polo shirts.
Both male and female crew uniforms also feature fun details, such as black buttons sewn on with yellow thread to provide a subtle feature for the male crew, and thicker fabric for the Scootees to stay warm during cabin service. The new uniforms represent a fresh start for crew of both airlines, while Scoot’s signature black and yellow colour combination has been retained, carrying on the spirit of fun and spontaneity of the Scoot brand.
Cashless payment is on the rise and Malaysia is already gearing up towards that direction with Alipay penetrating the retail market further with numerous partnerships. This coupled with the fact that its biggest rival, WeChat Pay, may soon be coming into the market as well, with its licence application underway.
It is not surprising that WeChat is eyeing the Malaysian market. Back in 2015, WeChat announced that Malaysia is a key market for the app as it targets to transform social interaction into a platform for brands to interact with consumers. About a year later in July 2016, GlobalWebIndex (GWI) which studies digital consumer behaviours and trends also reported that the usage of WeChat rose 60% in Malaysia since 2015.
In July, director of WeChat Pay’s global operation Grace Yin told Reuters that if the green light is obtained, Malaysia will be one of the first markets to embrace the platform outside mainland China and Hong Kong. Users in Malaysia will also be able to link their local bank accounts to WeChat Pay and pay for goods and services in local currency, the ringgit. The existing popularity of WeChat app is expected to pave the way for the Chinese internet giant to enter the market.
While still in its early stages, many in the marketing industry seem to be excited about the future of cashless payment brought by Alipay and possibly WeChat Pay. While many industry players A+M spoke to welcomed the new change, some pointed out several issues that need to be ironed out for a smoother transition into a full-fledged cashless payment society.
Sean Sim, CEO of McCann Erickson Malaysia, said while it is important that brands or retailers have to be prepared for a cashless payment in the future, businesses that conduct heavy cash transactions will be the ones affected more. Sim who was based in China for nearly a decade as the executive creative director of Ogilvy and Mather Shanghai, is an avid user of the WeChat app and Alipay.
However, smaller retailers or street vendors are bound to face bigger challenges in embracing the new cashless payment ecosystem. These are the companies that need quick access to daily cash at hand, especially if they have to pay their suppliers who only want cash.
“For the bigger brands, there would not be much of a problem to set up and provide the service. However, it is not just the big shops in the malls that will have to embrace it. The street vendors selling their wares need to as well. When this payment system becomes prevalent, they would have to provide the service for their consumers,” Sim said.
On the other hand, Sim said, he does not foresee brands or retailers which are slow in adopting cashless payments, regardless of size, to suffer much of a business decline.
The other issue that might crop up is areas with poor internet connection. “You need good coverage and a stable line for it to work. It would be interesting to see how this would affect the subscription rates of telco brands - especially the smaller players with lower network coverage,” Sim added.
With a cashless system, retailers which have not jumped on board might risk lose out on the “casual sale”, during which purchasing decisions that happen in-store at the spur of the moment. “When paying for stuff becomes as easy and convenient as scanning a QR code, we do not need to bring so much cash anymore. I would not be surprised if we saw an increase in incidental sales (buying more than expected), and that’s also one of the reasons retailers need be on board this new system,” Sim added.
CEO of Sunway Malls and Theme Parks, HC Chan agreed with Sim, adding that another challenge will be the confidence towards the system, which is something that needs to be addressed. He said:
Already well served by banks' debit and credit cards, there is little impetus to accept this new form of payment. Like anything new, there will be a gestation before it tips.
Consumers have to be convinced of the security of the system before embracing this new form of payment channel, he added. CAPEX investment is also another area of consideration. “If the cost-benefit analysis points towards better ROI, then yes money will be invested," Chan said.
Meanwhile, Chan said merchants acquisition is also an expensive affair, as costs can balloon to reach a critical mass for cashless payments to be widely accepted.
Hence, brands probably need a lot of promotions and incentives being rolled out to entice consumers, which of course means a big marketing budget.
On embracing this new cashless phenomenon, Chan said the latest Alipay-Touch ‘n Go deal brings an added advantage as its shopping malls are already accepting cashless payment via Touch 'n Go as payment.
“For Sunway Malls, we do see cashless payment as a growing potential and in time to come, more retailers will be adopting this as another channel of receiving payments. Retailers will definitely be in the forefront to face this impact,” he said.
From a retailer’s point of view, the benefits of a cashless payment are obvious, as it will offer a more secured system with lower transaction cost. That means less cases of theft among employees or cashiers in the stores and lower risk in losing cash while handling it.
Tapping on data
Jason Wong, group managing director of Geometry Global Malaysia, foresees plenty of opportunities among brands and retailers even on the data side, if WeChat really comes into the market.
“There will be a lot of groundwork for WeChat to build its critical mass of users and exist in its full ecosystem. But once that’s done, brands will definitely need to jump in the WeChat wagon to survive and succeed. In short, it is the only platform that brands can track from - interest to engagement to conversion and online to offline,” he said.
Currently in China, WeChat offers data to marketers which tell the marketer what their consumers like, follow or purchase. This data could help marketers target specific demographics most likely to buy a certain product, Wong said.
“With that, brands can consider partnerships in a meaningful way to obtain information no other e-commerce companies can offer to brands at present in Malaysia,” he added.
The WeChat app is unique as it acts like a one-stop platform that incorporates nearly all elements such as messaging, social media, news updates and payment services with various linkages to other service and products platforms including entertainment, transportation and investment programs. Therefore, Wong said WeChat is able to offer data from all the above aspects which marketers could tap on.
Alipay's getting aggressive in Malaysia
Meanwhile, Alipay also recently entered Malaysia via various tie-ups with banks and retailers. It first collaborated with Maybank and CIMB in March this year via its operator Ant Financial Services Group. The tie up enables Alipay mobile wallet in Malaysia, and also allows Chinese visitors to pay for their transactions in yuan without concern about exchange rates.
Brands that were pioneering this partnership with CIMB to accept Alipay mobile wallet payments in Malaysia include Genting Malaysia, DiGi Telecommunications, YTL Corp Bhd and FamilyMart convenience store chain.
In May, 7-Eleven Malaysia also became the first retailer in the country to accept the Alipay mobile wallet payment, with 94% of its 2,100 stores nationwide using new payment system. The convenience store chain is owned by tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan, founder of Berjaya Corp.
Payment solutions provider GHL Systems also said in June that it is enabling more than 100 merchants in Malaysia to accept Alipay as a payment option. This will allow the 500 outlets owned by these merchants such as KK Super Mart, myNEWS.com.
Alipay has gone another step forward in July with its latest partnership with CIMB Bank-owned Touch 'n Go. This latest deal serves to further push a cashless payment in a big way for the near future, especially with an estimated tens of millions Touch 'n Go cards issued to users.
Jack Ma, who founded Alibaba and owns Alipay, has been Malaysia's digital economy adviser since late last year. Local local digital experts and tech entrepreneurs welcomed the news, citing the appointment will likely spur the growth of our digital economy.
New Media Group and its division NMGplus blitzed the competition at the annual Spark Awards for Media Excellence in Hong Kong and earned accolades as the overall winners of the Media Owner of the Year and the Media Brand of the Year for 2017.
In Hong Kong’s highly competitive media industry, New Media Group has been crowned the Media Owner of the Year For the fourth consecutive year.
The media giant walked away with the prize after securing 25 trophies - 8 golds, 8 silvers and 9 bronzes, taking home the title - the Media Owner of the Year.
Standing out from the crowd and impressing the jury with creative solutions, strategies and campaigns, the categories which struck gold awards for New Media Group included Best Media Campaign - Integrated Media, Best Custom Event, Best Outdoor Innovation, Best Use of Technology, Best Social Media Event, Best Media Campaign - Online Video, Best Use of Branded Content and Best Partnership Strategy.
Meanwhile, with 5 golds, 6 silvers and 5 bronzes, NMGplus claimed the Media Brand of the Year.
New Media Group’s Oriental Sunday, Weekend Weekly and New Monday – have combined to form a powerful team called “NMGplus”, with over 100 sales and marketing, as well as creative professionals.
The team provides content production, creative services, data analysis, digital marketing, event management, merchant liaison, multimedia production, O2O services, social media marketing and video production.
It also possesses 100 multi-media advertising platforms, including 4 magazines, 6 branded websites, 6 branded mobile applications, 9 branded Facebook pages, and over 80 unbranded digital and social media platforms.
A familiar face in the entertainment industry, Denise Keller carved a niche for herself, kick starting her career as a model, and then venturing into the music space by becoming a female face for MTV as a VJ. Her hard work has allowed her to take on more opportunities in sectors such as fashion, travel and lifestyle. One of her recent pursuits include conducting interviews at the Oscars.
Some clients Keller has worked with include Mastercard, Audi, BMW, Canon, Breitling, Sisley, Rimowa, Bosch and many more.
"I have a strong affection for German brands being half German," Keller said in a conversation with Marketing. In this edition of Now following, Keller chats with Marketing on how she adapted to keep up in the social media revolution.
Marketing: What is your “claim to fame”?
I was 20 years old and based in Hong Kong as a model. A friend insisted I audition at MTV for the female VJ position in Singapore. Travel wasn’t easy at the time because of the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, but I managed to audition after a couple rounds of quarantine.
The rest, they say, is history as I secured the highly coveted VJ job.
Becoming the female face of MTV Asia is my “claim to fame” but I wasn’t popular overnight. It took years of constant filming, live hosting and many late night shows to have my own audience and build my following. I liked a lot of rock and I liked a lot of 80’s music. Girl and boy bands were dying and a new wave of alternative rock started trending: Kasabian, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, Gorillaz etc were becoming big and I rode that wave.
Marketing: How has your transition been like for someone who has gone from being a model, to a host and now a celebrity influencer?
Transitions are like grey zones for me. Sometimes they are smooth and sometimes they really are grey.
One thing I can say though is that I’ve been blessed with very significant moments in each career milestone.
My early stepping stones being a model taught me how to work with a camera and in a team. My humble beginnings as a host opened doors for me to travel and now as an influencer I get a chance to finally get to talk my fans and do more interactive things. We didn't social media during my MTV days. We had snail mail. Connecting with fans was a choice i.e. sending out autographed postcards and posters etc.
I started my Facebook Page a while back for fun and only discovered Instagram very late. I was really busy traveling the world making travel shows for Discovery TLC.
I’m very new as an influencer but I love that I can engage with my audience now, and everything is instantaneous.
It feels wonderful to get reactions from the public about my shows and events and sometimes, helpful suggestions and feedback are very welcome too.
Marketing: How has your experience with marketers changed?
Nowadays it’s important to connect with marketers personally and try to understand where they are coming from and the objectives behind each campaign. Collaborating closely to help get the messaging right and achieving the right objectives are crucial.
My recent gig with HBO Asia for the Oscars was interesting because it was a live event.
We had a very short lead-time to get the interviews uploaded in time so that people back home could watch the Oscars at breakfast. We also had an exciting prelude to the Oscars where we engaged the public to build hype and I worked with several designers to select the final dress to be worn at the Oscars.
Marketing: How different are client demands now?
Nowadays it’s important to meet clients directly, which I love because I can hear from them directly. It cuts out a lot of talk and confusion and going back and forth. For me personally it’s easier to understand what clients wish to accomplish.
I also prefer to propose integrated campaigns (on-ground/online/on-air/social) and not just ‘star’ in something or simply hold a product to my face. I think clients are more open to these ideas because it creates a better sense of reality to my audience.
Marketing: How do you deal with difficult clients?
What difficult clients? I’ve been pretty lucky I have to admit. But if I had difficult clients I would deal with them with patience and communication. I’m a strong believer in mindfulness. I don’t think clients are difficult for the sake of it. Once you understand what they are looking for, you would get along just fine.
Marketing: Favourite brand assignment?
Starring in a Priceless campaign for Mastercard in Asia.
Marketing: What are some of the challenges of being an influencer?
It can be challenging at times when clients ask you to do a lot more work for less. It’s not as straight forward as doing an above the line advertising campaign.
The best way to do this kind of work is to agree in advance what you are required to do and how. Some clients are vague and others very specific.
Marketing: Any outrageous demands you have gotten from clients?
Most of my clients are very good at what they do and treat me with a lot of respect and integrity. I get into more trouble when I work for a ‘friends rate’ with people who aren’t used to working like professionals. There are some who even offer me “exposure” as payment, in other words: work for free and you will be exposed.
Marketing: Any silly/funny boo-boos you have made in your career as an influencer?
Thankfully none yet. If there are any, I’m sure Marketing would be the first to hear about it!
Marketing: What should clients take note of when it comes to working with celebrity influencers?
Brands and influencers must be a good fit together. People want to relate to a story or a narrative. Taking a photo and plugging a brand sometimes doesn’t necessarily do the trick or convert the exposure to sales. Tying up with the wrong influencer for your brand just to capitalise on the influencer’s following is not the right way to promote your brand too. It becomes predictable, false and sometimes “fake”.
Creating internal workshops to collect more ideas together with marketers will always make it better. You get to know each other and you both get to a better understanding of what you can achieve together in a campaign. Win-win.
Marketing: How important is a social media following today in the eyes of client marketers?
It really depends on the marketer’s objectives, of course. Some have a benchmark of numbers that they want to see before they engage with an influencer. But we’ve also learnt that these numbers are not necessarily accurate. I believe that being an opinion leader or influencer is more than just numbers. If you have very low interaction or conversion rates despite having a ton of followers, what’s the point?
Marketing: Which social media platform garners you the most engagement?
I have the most engagement on Facebook without a doubt.
Marketing: What do you do to strike a connection with your followers and fans?
When I’m on a social media project, I ask my audience if they’re game to be part of the journey. I like writing to my fans. When I worked at MTV we used to get bucket loads of written fan mail. It was near impossible to write every single fan. Now, my fans are connected with me through Facebook and I get some really funny ones. I like engaging with them on FB and now on IG.
Marketing: How were the Oscars?
Awesome and nerve wrecking at the same time! Ha. I was very worried I wouldn’t get anyone big time. You know, the A-list. You really got to hustle and make yourself heard and get down to the grind to get those interviews. Luckily I did and managed to pull Jackie Chan, Octavia Spencer, Andrew Garfield, Dev Patel, Denzel Washington and even Nicole Kidman winked at me.
What was great about the whole experience is that you are surrounded by pros (people who have been reporting the Oscars for 17 years) and newbies (people who have never been, like me!) and they’re all happy to share their tricks of the trade. I had a wickedly funny radio reporter next to me. Everything that came out of her mouth was so politically incorrect and wrong, and I loved every minute being by her side. It was so much fun! She diffused a lot of the stress!
Oh and I wasn’t the only one doing FB live: Every network was reporting live on FB in between their camera takes. I thought that was super cool and such an exciting atmosphere to be in!
Marketing: What is next for you?
I’m working on an exclusive helicopter concierge service at Wings Over Asia. I’ve always been an avid fan of helicopters (first helicopter flight was with WWF Msia for my Passage to Malaysia show, always tried to factor a helicopter for production etc) and now partnering with a pilot that I’ve been working with for quite some time now. It’s an exciting new venture and I can’t wait to share more about it once we launch the service.
Yoga has also consistently been a big part of my life and I have been working hard on my training and teaching classes so it brings me great pleasure to announce that I will be launching my very own yoga studio in June! Yoga is awesome in so many ways and I’m delighted to be able to share this major piece of my life with everyone.
Chinese regulators are investigating three internet giants Tencent, Baidu and Sina Weibo for potential violations, the mainland's office for cyberspace administration said.
The probe into social media platforms including WeChat, Sina’s Weibo and Baidu’s Tieba was announced on Friday morning by the Cyberspace Administration of China, which said the companies had violated the cyber security law by failing to control users who it said had reportedly posted false, pornographic or terrorist content to their platforms.
The state-owned media People's Daily noted on Twitter "WeChat, Sina Weibo, & Baidu BBS over spread of info that violates cybersecurity law".
China launches probe into social media platforms incl. WeChat, Sina Weibo, & Baidu BBS over spread of info that violates cybersecurity law pic.twitter.com/AtzozI0Tdm
China launches probe into social media platforms incl. WeChat, Sina Weibo, & Baidu BBS over spread of info that violates cybersecurity law pic.twitter.com/AtzozI0Tdm
Netflix has tied up with Primeworks Studios, Malaysia’s leading content production house to allow its Malaysian customers to now enjoy their "favourite" local films and series on its platform.
This latest deal came right after Netflix announced another collaboration in Malaysia, with Telekom Malaysia (TM), this week to offer TM customers access to content available on its platform come October 2017. It also came at the same time, that Disney said it will be pulling all movies from Netflix to start its own streaming services.
Meanwhile, with its latest tie-up with Primeworks Studios, Netflix members in Malaysia will be able to start streaming the first roll out, a feature film Sejoli: Misi Mencantas Cinta (Mission: Destroy Love) starring Maya Karin and Bront Palarae. This will be followed by Chinese drama series Persona (14 August), while Malay feature films KL Zombi and Rembat plus popular drama series Hati Perempuan will be available starting 21 August onward.
Through this new partnership, Malaysians are able to discover the "best" of local storytelling through TV series and feature movies alongside Netflix global members. With the KL 2017 Sea Games and 60th Independence Day coming up, Netflix said it is a great time to celebrate Malaysia’s success on an international platform.
The leading streaming service provider added it is excited to showcase quality content by some of Malaysia’s finest directors and filmmakers, bringing the country a little closer to the rest world. With these five titles from Primeworks Studios, Netflix said its proud to bring together the best talents in filmmaking and storytelling from Asia in one place.
XCO has partnered with Nielsen exclusively to offer marketers an easy and cost effective way to engage consumers through surveys. WINK+ is XCO's CRM programme which rewards consumers for travelling on SMRT.
WINK+ consolidates consumers’ opinions and using Nielsen’s measurement and analytics capabilities, ensures that advertisers and clients can measure return on investment of their campaigns with speed and accuracy. With WINK+, companies can create short on-the-go surveys in which users can participate to get points.
Marketers are also able to carry out research and select their target audience from WINK+'s database of 55,000 users by age and gender, within a short period of time. According to the press statement, this is unlike traditional research projects where a larger population has to be polled to achieve the desired size and demographic breakdown. East Asia Institute of Management is the first client to use the WINK+ platform for research purposes earlier this year.
“By working directly with Nielsen, our alliance will give our clients a more robust survey solution that they can use to measure campaign effectiveness, allowing marketers to make faster and more informed decisions. In the long term, we envision that this offering will allow brands to effectively engage with consumers in real time, providing advertisers with an omni-channel media solution," Jeslyn Tan, senior general manager of The X Collective’s media business, said.
“Nielsen is delighted to collaborate with The X Collective in offering this first-of-its-kind mobile survey solution. Coupled with Nielsen’s expertise in campaign effectiveness studies, we are confident that this breakthrough solution will raise the bar for future campaign effectiveness surveys," Yee Chong Moon, executive director, media, Nielsen Singapore, said.
