Sunway Berhad, the holding company of Malaysian conglomerate, the Sunway Group, is set to explore new avenues of growth to keep up with the changing business landscape, while expanding its portfolio of core businesses domestically and regionally.

Sunway Group founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO (pictured right) said while its current businesses are doing well, it is fully aware on its need to find new horizons if it is to "continue to thrive in the decades ahead".

This comes as Sunway Berhad reported a net profit of RM233.3 million in second quarter ended 30 June 2017, a jump of 29.7% from the same quarter last year, due to better performance from most segments including its retail, property, hospitality and education. Profits were also boosted by the share of higher fair value gains from the annual revaluation exercise done on Sunway REIT properties of RM56.8 million in the current quarter, compared to RM23.7 million, previously.

Most recently, in a bid to expand its revenue streams, the group formed joint venture (JV) with PopBox Asia called Sunway PopBox, where consumers can drop off and collect their e-commerce purchases. The collection points were created as part of Sunway’s plans to tap into the growing e-commerce industry in Malaysia. With a two-pronged approach in mind, Sunway also created the collection point such that they can double up as OOH media spaces.

Sunway also said it is now focusing on expanding in the healthcare sector to the tune of more than RM1.2 billion by building five new hospitals in the country. It has set up Sunway Ventures as its corporate venture capital arm to seek out and identify new businesses that it can leverage to sustain its competitive edge as a corporation.

In addition, the group is also investing heavily in championing sustainable development in line with its core values and to help differentiate the corporation from its competitors including enhancing Sunway City’s status as the model smart sustainable city in the region. In June 2017, Sunway was reclassified from the properties sector to the trading/services sector on the main market of Bursa Securities to better reflect the group’s long-term strategic ambitions and its diversified business interests. Cheah said that the reclassification signals Sunway group’s expansion plans.

Meanwhile, Cheah added that Sunway needs to transform itself into a digital-age corporation with new mindsets that will help in spotting and seizing opportunities to realise its ambitions. With this transition in mind, Cheah said it has named Dato’ Sri Idris Jala (pictured left) as the co-chairman of Sunway Berhad.

Cheah stressed that he will continue to lead the Sunway Group as its executive chairman. On the other hand, Jala will chair Sunway Berhad’s board meetings in helping to chart the strategic direction and realise Cheah’s vision for the conglomerate.

“He brings with him a wealth of knowledge, practical hands-on experience, a highly valued reputation and international network, which will help me steer Sunway to new heights,” Cheah added.

"I am delighted to join Sunway Group as co-chairman of the Board. Under the excellent leadership of Cheah, Sunway is a great company with proven track record of profitability and growth over the years. I consider this a real privilege to join the board. I look forward to playing my part in helping Jeffrey and the rest of the Board members pursue Sunway's vision, strategic objectives and business objectives," Jala added.

WPP's GroupM has unveiled the new branding for the merged MEC and Maxus entity. Called “Wavemaker”, the brand, along with a new visual identity, will go live locally as the merger completes in each country. This will be finalised by January 2018.

According to the press statement, Wavemaker will have offices in 90 countries and over 8,500 employees. Major global clients include L’Oréal, Vodafone, Marriott, Colgate-Palmolive and Paramount. The new brand mark reflects the agency’s heritage, born from WPP and GroupM, the statement added.

According to Tim Castree, global CEO of MEC and Wavemaker, the new entity’s purpose is to provide advertisers with the power to transform and grow their business. This will be through its “purchase journey obsession”, and will be done through the integration of purchase journey insights and data with [m]PLATFORM, GroupM’s proprietary global audience technology.

“Our Wavemaker brand and positioning is a compelling manifestation of that purpose,” Castree added.

“Wavemaker is an exciting new global agency brand with a powerful proposition for clients. Castree and his team have the full support of GroupM’s scale, resources and expertise,” Kelly Clark, global CEO of GroupM, added.

Most recently, MEC APAC CEO Peter Vogel was appointed to lead the combined MEC and Maxus "NewCo" agency in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to the appointment, Vogel was APAC CEO of MEC since mid-2015 and was the CEO for MEC AUNZ for over six years before that.

Meanwhile, Maxus APAC CEO Ajit Varghese was appointed to head the global market development team, sources close to Marketing confirmed. This came as GroupM unveiled plans to scrap its Asia Pacific management for “NewCo”.

In Singapore, Desh Balakrishnan, managing director of Maxus Singapore, was appointed to the role of managing director for Wavemaker in Singapore in July. 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 Wavemaker by the end of 2017.

In Malaysia, Michelle Achuthan, managing director of MEC Malaysia was appointed to take on the role as MD of Wavemaker Malaysia. Prior to the appointment, Achuthan was MEC's MD since November 2015.

Meanwhile in Indonesia, managing director of MEC Indonesia, Ajay Gupte was appointed MD of Wavemaker, as Maxus Indonesia MD Partha Kabi took on the MD role at MediaCom Indonesia, a role which will be effective 1 October 2017.

News of the merger first emerged in June this year, which saw GroupM having three global media agency networks moving forward. These agencies are Mindshare, MediaCom, and Wavemaker – each with more than one billion dollars in annual revenues, according GroupM in a press statement.

When asked if redundancies will be made to the APAC operations, a spokesperson from the company said “We do anticipate some efficiencies and the efficiencies we realise will allow us to focus resources and reinvestment in three billion dollar (revenues) media agencies.”

Karen Chan, former chief digital officer of Yum! Brands has taken on a new role at Clarks Shoes. She will be the head of digital transformation for Asia Pacific, and is tasked with forming a team to lead the digital transformation of the 170-year-old British shoe brand.

Marketing understands that the company is currently in the midst of building up its Asia Pacific regional division based out of Singapore, and looking to make a push in retail and omni-channel marketing. In her new role, Chan will be tasked to develop a strategic road map for Clarks across owned online retail platforms as well as partnerships with marketplace.

She will be reporting to Jack Quinlan, president of Clarks APAC. He was last senior VP at Fossil Asia Pacific.

“I’m very honoured to be part of Clarks’ new Asia Pacific regional team," Chan told Marketing.

“Clarks is such an iconic brand with over 170 years of history. We’re on an exciting journey to bring Clarks’ heritage, expertise and quality to Asia Pacific.  Digital will be the enabler to drive relevance and engagement with our Asian consumers,” she said.

Prior to the role with Clarks, Chan was with Yum! Pizza Hut Asia Pacific for over two years where she oversaw digital transformation for the region, and drive growth through launching regional e-commerce platforms across web and app, optimised CRM solutions and unlocking digital value from online to in-store with the introduction of AI. She oversaw 15 markets and worked closely with master franchisees to build digital capability in-market.

She was also with Dominos and Coca-Cola in a regional capacity.

Dentsu has launched MamaLab, Asia Pacific's first specialist marketing solutions network that focuses solely on mothers. According to the press statement, the concept of family and motherhood has evolved "significantly" in recent years, and the rise of digital and Millennial mothers has further expanded an already diverse market. As such, MamaLab was created to understand and respond to the change.

MamaLab will be headquartered in Singapore and helmed by chief creative officer Merlee Jayme (pictured left). According to Jayme, MamaLab chose Singapore as its headquarters because it is the regional hub for Dentsu and many of its clients. This enables Dentsu to serve clients in Asia Pacific as well as in each local market. MamaLab was first conceived in Tokyo as a strategic support unit in 2009 and will now fully operate in Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, in addition to Singapore and Japan.

MamaLab will provide a full spectrum of marketing solutions services including strategy, creative and digital capabilities to help multinational and local businesses engage with mothers. It will also draw on the expertise of its teams around Asia Pacific to provide strategic insights and creative input on mothers and motherhood, enabling brands to create relevant and genuine campaigns which better connect with mothers and meet their evolving needs. MamaLab's strategic planning tool MamaNavi, will be powered by SenseAsia, Dentsu's proprietary brand health intelligence platform.

Among the list of clients working with MamaLab include Merries, Breeze, Citreon and BabyLove Nappies. Dentsu is planning to roll out more MamaLabs in other global markets such as Thailand, as well as relaunch in China and India as full service marketing solutions centres, before the end of the year.

“Mothers are a tough target market. As mothers are often the main decision maker for families, marketers need to truly understand what motivates and inspires moms of different ages, cultures and personalities. MamaLab will partner with multinational and local brands, help them uncover the power of mothers and engage with moms through genuinely insightful, thoughtful and innovative campaigns that are also cool and fun!” Jayme said.

“MamaLab puts into action our commitment to meaningfully engage specific communities, especially in Asia Pacific where rising household consumption continues to grow. Modern mothers are a powerful market and play an important role in the global economy. MamaLab’s unique marketing solutions model is an innovative business solution consistent with our efforts to build an inclusive digital economy for all," Takaki Hibino, CEO of Dentsu Brand Agencies APAC, said.

Becoming a social media influencer was not always the plan for Rebecca Tan, most known for her global work as a model. Kicking off her modelling career at 16-years-old, Tan’s modelling career has taken her from countries all over Asia, to assignments based in New York, Miami, South Africa and Milan.

Currently, her portfolio boasts over 100 television commercials and 100 magazine covers globally. According to her bio on FLY Entertainment, Tan has also been requested by top Hong Kong celebrities such as Aaron Kwok, Leon Lai and also Thai singer Dom to star in music videos.

Today, she is known for her work as a host for Clicknetwork’s “Hack It” series, which sees her trying out different kinds of hacks from household organisation to functional clothing hacks. She was also the face for VISA’s ads in Thailand, and has also appeared in a full ad campaign for Canon cameras. Other brands she has also worked with include milk brand HL and Triumph, where she represented Singapore for a fashion show in Beijing.

She has in the past, hosted Fashion Forward, an infotainment-based program on Mediacorp’s Channel 5, and Beauty Files on Channel 5. In addition, Tan was also the guest judge of SUPERMODELME.tv, a video-on-demand reality programme.

In this edition of Now Following, Tan shares her journey with brands, transitioning from modelling, hosting to maintaining an online presence to connect with her followers.

(Gallery available on web)

Marketing: When and how did you start out as an influencer?

I’ve never really seen myself as an influencer actually. I started my career as a model when I was 16 years old, and travelled the world working on countless photo shoots and TVCs. This allowed me to work with all kinds of people including megastars. I was also recognised in quite a few different countries before social media became a big thing.

It's hard to pin point which job made me, because I think it's a collection of all the work that I've done throughout the years. In the later part of my modelling career I decided to try out hosting. I hosted a few TV shows before joining Clicknetwork. Once I started with Clicknetwork, it was like a new wave of fame! Working with Clicknetwork really has been a blessing. They are like family to me, and are such a joy to work with.

Marketing: How would you describe your followers?

My followers are such a sweet bunch of people ranging from ages 10 to 70, and come from all around the world! They have made me feel really special and given thoughtful gifts that I'm so incredibly touched by. Some of them have sent gifts to the Clicknetwork office, while others have even mailed me gifts from overseas. I'm so grateful to have such a kind and sweet following.

Marketing: What do you do to strike a connection with your followers?

I guess to just be myself. Be real. Naturally I'm quite a goofy person. I don't try to be someone I'm not, nor try to impress people.

Marketing: Which social media platform is your favourite?

I would have to say Instagram is my favourite. I like it because I love looking at photos and the special moments people are sharing about their lives. For my personal posts, Instagram gives me the highest engagement, because it's public. Facebook is more for my friends and family, although the public can still see my posts.

For work, my videos are on YouTube, so there is also really high engagement there from viewers. However, there are just way too many comments on the videos so I don’t usually get a chance to read them.

Marketing: What are some of the challenges of being an influencer in Singapore?

I guess I haven't really faced many challenges here! I've also always kept it real. I don't expect everyone to like me or my work, because in whatever industry you are in, there will always be haters. I'm not going to go out of my way to impress those people, nor let them effect me! Take it like water off a duck’s back!

Marketing: Any outrageous demands from clients?

I've had a few demands that were pretty crazy. One of them being I had to shoot a TVC and dive 15-metres below the ocean, without goggles or a scuba tank. All I had was a costume that wrapped around my legs as I swam, and weights under the costumes to keep me down!

Marketing: Favourite brand assignment?

I really love travelling, so I love working with travel brands. I also enjoy working with beauty brands because every girl needs beauty products in their life!

Marketing: What should clients take note of when working with influencers?

Don't just take numbers at face value because it’s so easy to fake them these days.

Dig deeper before investing in anyone - learn about their reputation, their values and their brand.

Also, trust influencers to deliver your message in their voices. Their followers like them for their authenticity, so if they’re not speaking in their voice, your message is not going to get through effectively.

Marketing: What are some of your views on the influencer landscape locally and globally?

It’s great that social media had allowed so many people to create their own fan base without the traditional channels, giving everyone more control over how they want the public to see them.

Marketing: What’s next for you?

Gillian (Clicknetwork’s founder) and I have started our own online merchandise store called TANDEM, which is a spin-off from my Clicknetwork show Hack It. You can check it out at tandemmerch.com. I design all kinds of lifestyle products like tees, bags, pouches and the list goes on. I am currently working on a bunch of new designs for different things!

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Jessie Lin, McCann Worldgroup Greater China's current CEO, will leave the network after five years at the helm, the company announced.

Lin joined McCann Worldgroup in 2012 with 17 years experience in the communications industry. He was Wieden & Kennedy’s first managing director China and had also served as president, DDB Group Shanghai.

Harris Diamond, Chairman and CEO of McCann Worldgroup, said Lin indicated his intention to leave McCann at the end of 2017 several months ago, in order to spend more time with his family.

"It’s been a difficult decision to step away from McCann, but I know I’ll be leaving the network in safe hands and have every confidence in the team, who will continue to do amazing work for our great clients," commented Jesse Lin.

On the other hand, the company has promoted two executives to the position of joint CEOs.

The two executives are Ronald Sun, current vise president, McCann China, and Mike Zeng, current managing director of MRM//McCann China and vice president of McCann China.

Sun and Zeng, both now on the position of joint CEOs, are expected to lead McCann Worldgroup China, which has more than 800 people in its Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou offices, through united creative, strategy and digital leadership.

Lin will depart at the end of the year to ensure smooth transitions.

"I would like to personally thank Jesse and his team in China for the phenomenal job they have done in building our creative and multi-discipline capabilities that have attracted both leading clients and top talent to our agency," said Harris Diamond.

"I am confident that Ronald and Mike will continue Jesse’s initiatives in ensuring that we continue​ to deliver multi-platform strategic creativity to help drive our clients' growth."

Prior to joining McCann, Ronald Sun held senior positions both on the client and agency side. In addition to having worked at creative agencies such as Bates, DDB, FCB & Ogilvy, he also served as national marketing director of Heineken in China for three years.

He joined McCann Worldgroup to lead the general motors business in China, and was promoted to VP of McCann China this year.

Mike Zeng has a long history within McCann Worldgroup, having previously been head of digital at UM China, McCann Worldgroup’s media capability, before joining MRM//McCann in 2012. He has been previously worked at the digital agency Tribal DDB in Shanghai.

"Jesse has led the network in China from strength to strength, and we thank him for his contributions and wish him all the best," added Charles Cadell, president, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific.

"Both Ronald and Mike are very talented Chinese leaders, with many years' experience in the industry. With the strong digital credentials of Mike, combined with the creative and strategic experience of Ronald, they will be able to drive an agency that is at once creatively and strategically led, but has digital at its core."

Former CEO of Synovate Greater China, Eliza Wong, and former chairman of Ogilvy HK, Royce Yuen, have joined forces to form MaLogic – a consulting firm that offers business solutions by integrating research insights, brand strategy and big data analytics.

MaLogic was actually founded two years ago, but it's not officially announced until recently. Yuen explained he wanted to build the team and develop its own products first and "after laying down a reasonably solid foundation, our effort for the next phase will be to build our brand externally".

He explained the company's name, MaLogic, is made of two words – magic and logic.

So far, the company has built a regional network with more than eight offices including Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan. Its client list includes Mercedes, Prudential, Longines, Ping An Bank, AS Watsons, Tencent, Chow Tai Fook and more.

Yuen and Wong also brought some industry heavyweights on board, including former Audi Hong Kong general manager Chong Got, head of Ferrero Asia Philip Chan, executive director of Swire Beverages Simon Yip, and MD of Carat South China Kitty Leung.

Yuen, co-CEO of MaLogic, thinks the marketing industry is going through a process of on-going reinvention. "Both brand-owners and their agency partners are constantly refining not only their communication model but the entire business model. Those who see this as an opportunity rather than a threat will be the ones leading us to the future."

He said he has a team of like-minded people with various expertise including researchers, strategists, data scientists, creative designers and industry experts.

"This has allowed us to revamp the traditional agency model which is primarily engaging in the communication work only."

The group has also formed three JVs in China to deploy its own DMP and IoT. It is also the exclusive partner of #Tagboard in Hong Kong, a Seattle based tech firm that offers aggregation and curation of real time UGC across all leading social media platforms and then redisplay them on designated online and offline destinations.

"Technology has completely transformed the marketplace and also enabled us to offer timely and impactful solutions by leveraging the explosive power of big data and machine learning," said Eliza Wong, co-CEO of MaLogic. "We are working with corporations to unleash their potentials by accurately anticipating what is needed by their target customers and hence allowing them to become more relevant in the daily lives of their users."

South China Morning Post's online education portal, Education Post, will cease operation starting from 1 October, 2017, Marketing has confirmed.

In a letter to its subscribers, Razlan Manjaji, business director of education at South China Morning Post Publishers, said the decision is the result of a recent strategic review to "bring more valuable content to readers and to improve business performance".

The English content currently hosted on the Education Post website will be integrated into the SCMP website as a new education section, while the Chinese content will no longer be published in October.

The new arrangement will better optimise the company's resources, including editorial, marketing and sales, to tap into touchpoints with educators, parents and students through the wider-reaching SCMP platforms, Manjaji explained.

A South China Morning Post spokesperson told Marketing the majority of its colleagues on the education businesses will be redeployed internally, with a few staff members leaving the company at the end of September.

"Our education businesses (including publications, events and educationpost.com.hk) are important to the South China Morning Post. These businesses will continue but they will be redeployed to other departments. We believe realigning resources will create better leverage for clients and users," the spokesperson commented.

Toys "R" Us has engaged law firm Kirkland & Ellis to assist in restructuring its debt due in 2018 worth US$400 million, with options including bankruptcy filing and raising financing, according to multiple media reports.

In a statement to Reuters, a spokesperson from Toys "R" Us said the company is "evaluating a range of alternatives" to deal with its 2018 debt maturities, which may include the possibility of getting additional financing. The company also said in a statement to CNBC that it expects to provide an update on the activities and the several ongoing initiatives to offer an "outstanding" customer experience during the holiday season, during its Q2 2017 conference call.

Consolidated net sales for Toys "R" Us in the first quarter of 2017 were US$2,206 million, a US$113 million decrease compared to the same period in 2016. There was a 6.2% decline in domestic business, while international sales dipped by 0.6% due to weaker sales in Europe, and was partially offset by growth in Asia Pacific.

During its first quarter earnings announcement, Dave Brandon, chairman and CEO, Toys“R” Us, said the challenges Toys "R" Us faced during the 2016 holiday season continued into the first quarter.

“Overall weakness in the baby business, as well as slower growth in the toy category and very aggressive price discounting by our competitors were significant contributors to our disappointing results. However, we have several key initiatives which we expect to drive growth during the second half of the year,” Brandon said.

“Among the more noteworthy projects are our new webstore and baby registry, which will be implemented this summer; new capabilities in CRM; an enhanced loyalty program and additional shop-in-shops to drive traffic. We expect this work will have a meaningful difference on the customer experience in both our webstore and bricks and mortar locations," he added.

Earlier this year, Toys "R" Us attempted to get back into the e-commerce game by revamping its website. The revamp was part of a US$100 million investment by the company over the last three years, made to boost its e-commerce experience. Toys "R" Us was trying to make its website standout from the clutter, as it faces stiff competition from Amazon, Target and Walmart.

It also combined its businesses in Southeast Asia, Greater China and Japan, in a bid to make the company "advantageously positioned" to maximise the synergies arising from the integration. In May, Toys "R" Us named Andre Javes as president, Toys“R”Us, Asia Pacific, overseeing all operations and business activities for the company’s growing number of stores in Southeast Asia, Greater China, Japan and Australia.

Marketing has reached out to Toys "R" Us for comment.

Most recently, another traditional toymaker LEGO also found itself in a difficult situation, announcing that it will cut 1,400 jobs globally before the end of 2017. This was in a bid to simplify its business model.

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has launched a four-part video series titled "Baby Talk", in a bid to engage and educate parents on the importance of early childhood nutrition. It hopes to help parents make informed choices when it comes to breastfeeding, formula feeding and weaning, by providing them with objective and useful nutritional information.

The campaign, which will run until December 2017, will be executed on social media and online channels, as well as on ground education efforts in hospitals and within the community. Creative agency DDB and media agency MEC were involved in the execution of "Baby Talk".

The campaign's tagline "A bright future starts with the right nutrition" also aims to drive forth the message that early nutrition will give children the right foundations to be healthy and excel as they grow. HPB understands that one of the biggest struggles mothers face is the inability to communicate with their babies and find out what is their cause of discomfort or unhappiness. This leaves them trying out a myriad of solutions or deferring to other’s judgment, and feeling frustrated.

The video series is HPB's cheeky take on the matter, showing mothers being able to understand their child's gibberish and save on the second guessing.

Check out one of the adorable videos below:

Philips has appointed Alicia Cheng (pictured) as its employer brand marketing manager, ASEAN Pacific, to support its candidate brand perception and preference. This is part of a larger employer brand strategy as Philips transitions into health technology.

She replaces Alan Chua, who is now a recruitment marketing, ASEAN lead with Accenture, according to his LinkedIn. Moving forward, Cheng is responsible for developing globally aligned employer brand marketing strategies and tactics for the local markets, as well as supporting the regional talent acquisition strategic direction. Based in Singapore, she oversees ASEAN Pacific and South Korea. This will see her reporting to Ray Zheng, head of recruitment marketing, Asia Pacific, who is based in Shanghai.

Before joining Philips, Cheng was the senior marketing manager at Adecco for more than two years, during which oversaw functions of brand management, digital, strategic marketing and communications within the Singapore team.

Prior to that, Cheng was the senior manager at Brand Alliance for a year, where she worked on project-based assignments to develop a new product named "Influential Brands". She also conceptualised the approaches for product development and marketing, while driving business development goals. Cheng also fostered and negotiated partnerships for both upstream and downstream partners such as Clear Channel, Digimind and The Smart Local. She also worked at Edelman, Financial PR and OCBC.

In a bid to further its push into video content, Facebook recently rolled out its new Watch function in the United States. Watch looks to serve as a new platform for shows on Facebook, available on mobile, computers and on its TB apps.

According to Facebook, Watch aims to be personalised to users, allowing them to discover new shows organised around what their friends and communities are viewing.. For example, sections such as “Most Talked About” and “What’s Making People Laugh” will be made available. This will be based on interactions such as comments and reactions in the community. Some other features the new offering boasts includes shows in episode-format, to a “Watchlist” which allows users to keep track of the shows they are following.

“We’ve learned from Facebook Live that people’s comments and reactions to a video are often as much a part of the experience as the video itself,” the blog post read.

In a conversation with Marketing, Justin Peyton, chief strategy officer, APAC, at DigitasLBi, said that Facebook’s move with the launch of Watch is expected. This is because video has been a battle ground for Facebook and Alphabet (which comprises of Google and YouTube) for a long time.

“Facebook’s daily traffic is so huge that it would be naïve to think that the platform would not steal some viewership and ad revenue from YouTube, but their success with the platform is also far from assured,” Peyton explained.

Agreeing with Peyton was Abhishek Bhattacharjee, chief digital officer, IPG Mediabrands Malaysia, who added that it is a “great, imperative move” from Facebook to establish itself deeper into the screen time of audiences. Video has seen a surge on all platforms in terms of creation, curation and consumption alike. He added that the rise of high-speed data mobility has had a lot to contribute to this shift in audience consumption pattern.

"Whilst YouTube has had an advantage thus far, it is to be seen how Facebook leverages this space,” Bhattacharjee added.

For Jean-Marc Thomas, head of digital at Carat Asia Pacific, Facebook’s move with Watch was a logical decision, especially after the launch of its Facebook Live feature. This coupled with the growth and adoption of Instagram and its Stories feature, which is essentially short user-generated video content, has also allowed the company to make a sound push into video.

“From day one, Facebook has been always looking at keeping the users within their own platform, focusing primarily on mobile users since a couple of years ago,” Thomas said. This includes developing features for users to spend more time on Facebook, from creating events for a user and his or her friends to join, to selling private goods.

Where will the ad dollars flow?

Needless to say, the battle for ad dollars is on, and may see a shift in ad dollars from YouTube, according to both Carat’s Thomas and IPG’s Bhattacharjee.

“Beyond the fact that Facebook will try to prove that users stay longer and do watch the videos, it will also claim a safer brand environment and hence the dollars will shift away from YouTube. I don’t see why Facebook will not leverage on the YouTube case about brand safety, which is a big issue right now for all brands advertising on YouTube,” Thomas explained.

Meanwhile, Bhattacharjee hopes the move will help increase the video and hence digital pie, rather than eating into YouTube’s current share. While YouTube has performed well over the years and delivered results for advertisers, Facebook video has shown a lot of promise.

He added Facebook’s next step should be to look into the measurement and transparency parameters that need to be addressed as concerns surrounding these issues become a source of recurrent dissatisfaction amongst advertisers, in varying degrees for both YouTube and Facebook.

“If Facebook does manage to offer a plausible solution to these issues, it might be able to command the lion’s share of video advertising dollars,” Bhattacharjee added.

When asked if the move would take off given YouTube’s established position in the space, Bhattacharjee said that its success will depend on a few things Facebook needs to pay critical attention to – primarily content.

“While the initial content test partnerships which Facebook has initiated are a good step, it is still to be seen how it leverages user generated video content,” Bhattacharjee added.

Revenue sharing options for content creators will also be pivotal in determining the depth and quality of user generated content that Facebook can attract. Bhattacharjee explained:

Currently Facebook tends to be more of a discovery platform with a ‘lean back’ viewing habit, rather than YouTube’s dominant ‘lean forward’ active viewing prominence.

Hence, defining the positioning of the platform will be instrumental in gauging which part of the digital advertising pie Facebook can attract. It will also determine the kind of user engagement it can deliver for brands, purely from a video advertising perspective.

Meanwhile, Carat’s Thomas is of the view that the new Watch platform will allow Facebook to maintain users within its platform.

“That is likely an end goal for Facebook which is looking at keeping users longer on the platform, hence driving more brands to want to advertise on it,” Thomas said. He added that currently, Facebook has plenty of data and information about its users, which allows the social media giant to offer content which is more relevant to the end user.

“YouTube does lack this part of the game, and in my personal opinion, we sometimes struggle to get the right audiences on this platform. Facebook does have more information on their users, and it will now offer another feature for the brands to expose their ads and probably video content,” Thomas explained.

In the battle for attention and relevance, brands should not wait for a winner, DigitasLBi’s Peyton said. Instead brands should consider how they test and compare the performance of Watch, to what they are already doing with YouTube.

“From there, they should optimise spend behind performance. But it will have to start with dipping their toes in the water,” Peyton added.

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Marketing services consultancy Entropia has launched a new study called “Moment is the new Marketplace”. Done in collaboration with Nielsen, the quantitative study takes a deep view of people’s lives as a collection of moments based on seven different parameters - time, place, company, activity, mood, content, channel and need states.

The study also maps people’s propensity towards 28 new tech-enhanced experiences (such as mixed reality, AI, 360 video, drones and facial recognition) that are re-inventing brand experiences in the right moments.

“As people try to pack a lot more life per life, more and more people live in moments, rather than broad generic segments. It is imperative for marketers to understand the moments that matter for their brand and commerce and plug into them with the right form of content and channels. This study provides a base on which their behavioral data could be grafted on," Ramakrishnan CN, partner at Entropia, said.

Hanim Mazam (pictured), the head of insights at Entropia agreed with Ramakrishnan, adding that “Moment is the new message” now.

“People want brands to be in the moment, when they want, where they want. People expect commerce to come to their lives, belong in the moment, rather than having to seek it out all the time. It is at the cusp of moment and content, that brand connections are made, and the real sale happens,” Mazam said.

The study takes a sample size of 1,000 urban Malaysia aged 18 to 49. It aims to form an important link between offline and online communication planning by enabling moment targeting across platforms.

It has thrown some interesting findings, such as the rise of friends at work as a major influencer in many categories, or the rise of weekday lunchtime shopping driven by e-commerce. The survey maps the mood graph throughout the day and discovers the importance of 3pm blues, among many other things.

Stan Chew, the general manager (GM) of VivaKi Malaysia and Performics Malaysia will soon exit the network, A+M understands. He currently reports to Piyee Wong, managing director of Performics Malaysia.

Chew's responsibility at Publicis Groupe's consolidated media agency offering VivaKi was to manage ongoing as well as fostering new client relationships, meeting financial targets, driving growth, delivering HR initiatives and defining long term agency strategy.

Meanwhile, the launch of Performics, a global performance marketing agency in November last year by Publicis One Malaysia, also saw Chew (pictured) taking on an additional role as its GM. Performics was launched to give local market clients access to its digital service offerings and performance marketing expertise. Chew joined Publicis Groupe's Starcom MediaVest group (now known as VivaKi Malaysia) as its media group head in 2005, in which he also held various roles within the company. He brought with him 12 years of media experience from across Malaysia and China.

Performics’ offerings include planning and insights, performance content and performance consulting to clients, particularly those demanding more sophisticated and integrated solutions. Some of its key clients include Samsung, AirAsia, Coway, Mead Johnson and AIA.

Fernleaf has launched a new campaign to inspire consumers to achieve greatness and tell themselves "I can", when the world throws them curve balls and tries to discourage them by saying "You can't".

The campaign showcases two videos, each featuring the stories of Bharatanatyam dancer Mavin Khoo and 23-year-old mountain climber Siti Hanisah Sharuddin. Despite getting teased for his interest in Bharatanatyam at a young age, Khoo was not discouraged and continued pursuing his passion. Meanwhile, Sharuddin did not let her age stop her from achieving her dream of scaling Mount Everest.

In a bid to get consumers to share their inspiring stories of achieving greatness, Fernleaf also launched a contest urging consumers to recount their proudest achievement, share how they overcame the challenges faced, as well as a few words of encouragement to others.

A+M has reached out to Fernleaf for further comment.

View the videos here:

Ogilvy & Mather Malaysia has appointed James Gaubert (pictured) as its new head of digital and social.

As part of his new role, Gaubert will head the agency’s Social@Ogilvy division, reporting to Ogilvy & Mather CEO David Mayo. He will also work alongside Ogilvy Malaysia chief creative officer, Gavin Simpson and Ogilvy Malaysia chief operations officer, Jacey Lee, on delivering creative client solutions that maximise digital reach and customer engagement.

A digital marketer with close to 20 years’ experience in various markets, Gaubert was most recently CEO of SEO agency Bruce Clay’s Middle East office for over two years. At the company, he handled its key clients, as well as laid the foundation for a team of sound professionals. Gaubert has also worked with clients across multiple industries including Unilever, Porsche, Cartier, Calvin Klein, IKEA, Yamaha, and General Motors.

Prior to joining Bruce Clay, Gaubert was the general manager at MRM//McCann and the marketing director at LBi US for two years respectively. He also worked at ICLP, Potion Public Relations and Slipstream Global. According to the press statement, his experience spans SEO, PPC, RTB, paid media, UX/UI, website development and design, social media management, CRM and loyalty, mobile advertising, AR, and digital transformation.

“Digital is central to our agency business in Malaysia and Gaubert is a powerful addition to our team. He brings to us a strong set of skills in digital and social media that will support our clients, and help them change the way their stories are told,” Mayo said.

Media and entertainment brand Time Out Group has revealed plans to take over the direct management of Time Out Singapore from licensing partner Mongoose Publishing.

Meanwhile, the company will extend its licensing agreement with Mongoose Publishing in Malaysia for another five years. This will be for Time Out Kuala Lumpur and Time Out Penang. In a statement to Marketing, a Time Out Group spokesperson said the move is effective immediately.

According to a press statement, the move is part of Time Out’s strategy to grow its global footprint and its network of owned and operated businesses. The move follows the company’s recent move in adding Hong Kong and Seoul to its network of owned and operated business, all in a bid to strengthen its Asia presence.

Together with Time Out Singapore, both cities will be part of Time Out Digital, Time Out Group’s business division. Tim Webb, MD Commercial Asia of Time Out Digital, will be tasked with heading up the business in the region, now based in Singapore.

Webb has been with Time Out since 2014, and previously managed relationships with licensing partners in the region. According to the company, he has been instrumental in developing Time Out’s Asian strategy since he joined the company and brings a deep understanding of the market with him.

According to Christine Petersen, CEO of Time Out Digital, the move will provide the group with “further growth and monetisation opportunities” across areas such as e-commerce, advertising and premium profiles.

Currently, Time Out Group is present in 108 cities in 39 countries, with a global monthly audience reach of 156 million, the statement read. On top of its owned and operated businesses, the group also has international licensing agreements with partners which allow it to retain the ownership of brand, copyright and content.

“We are very proud to welcome the teams to Time Out and to continue to help locals and visitors to make the very best of these amazing cities with our curated content and local expertise,” Peterson said.

“We are really excited about our recent news in Asia and to offer our advertising partners fantastic new opportunities locally as well as globally. We have a great partnership with Mongoose and we look forward to continuing working with them as our licensing partner in Malaysia as they manage Time Out Kuala Lumpur and Time Out Penang,” Webb added.

“We are thrilled to continue to be Time Out’s licensing partner in Kuala Lumpur and Penang for another five years and that together we have opened a new chapter for Time Out Singapore as it becomes part of Time Out’s network of owned and operated businesses,” Graham Paling, executive chairman at Mongoose Publishing, said.

Most recently in August this year, Moongoose Publishing saw the departure of its group CEO Patrick Brennan, with executive chairman Paling taking the helm after. Brennan commenced his tenure at Mongoose in October 2015 and was elevated to group CEO in July 2016, leading the team through exponential digital growth, read a statement confirming the exit.

The news came shortly after Mongoose Publishing Malaysia decided cease publication of Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines in Malaysia. Mongoose Publishing acquired Men’s Health Malaysia from Blu Inc. in August 2013, and published its first issue in January 2014.

Meanwhile, in January this year, Time Out Singapore revamped its look. The magazine debut the redesign with its January 2017 issue, boasting a bigger and bolder masthead and layout.

Coconuts Media and iflix have launched Coconuts TV on iflix, a six-episode documentary series exploring weird and wondrous stories of Asia. iflix has commissioned Coconuts, an alternative media company, to produce the magazine-style show, which will primarily focus on Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Filming on Coconuts TV on iflix has commenced, with the show scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2017 and released exclusively on iflix in early 2018. In 22-minute episodes, the series will expose the underbelly and explore the offbeat, from going behind the scenes at a transgender beauty pageant in Thailand, to exploring the growing threat of HIV amongst Malaysian fishermen, or meeting the firefighting elephants of Sumatra in Coconuts’ signature “snarky but compassionate” style.

Segments will be hosted by young, local talent with a connection to the subject matter. As part of the production deal, Coconuts will conduct a full-suite marketing campaign for the series to its website and social media audience of millions.

“We’re chuffed to be partnering with iflix on this project. We’re excited to find and film the untold stories that matter in our region, and I can’t wait for the iflix audience to get a taste of our aesthetic,” said Coconuts Media founder and CEO Byron Perry.

“Both iflix and Coconuts share a common passion for bringing unconventional, compelling and deeply relevant stories about Asia to our audiences. The series showcases real people and places overlooked or even shunned by traditional news media, taking an unfiltered and youth-oriented approach to news and subculture -  offering a perspective on the region you don’t often get to see,” said iflix Global Director of Original Programming Mark Francis.

Coconuts TV most recently produced HIGHLAND: Thailand’s Marijuana Awakening, a three-part documentary series that was picked up by Netflix.

Forgive me lord, for I have sinned. I am the client I thought I’d never be. Recently, I had to plan for a family event. Fairly large scale in nature, I had to meet several event companies to discuss ideas and costings.

While I am pretty used to saying no to the slew of press releases that come into my work inbox (and don’t fit our publication’s agenda) on a daily basis, I just could not do it for my own event. I was terrible – absolutely horrific – at saying no. After meeting seven event planners and having an hour-long coffee chat exchanging ideas, I realised saying no was noteasy.

I didn’t want to call them and say: “You are not the chosen one.” I delayed and procrastinated the process. Guilty – I know.

So did I finally choose a partner? Yes. Out of the seven planners I met, I liked two equally. And in that instance, I went for the partner whose price tag was within my reach. (Insert guilt here.)

Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t go with the partner who was the cheapest. Nor did I make them dance to the tune of reverse auctioning. In fact, the individual I ultimately chose to work with was sincere and had a great reputation in the industry.

Nonetheless, I still do feel guilty for price being a part of the decision making process. I tell myself when you have two options you like equally, it does end up being about the cost – any smart marketer would say that. Right?

But there was one instance in particular I didn’t feel guilty about being a “bad client”. One organiser I met came to the meeting empty handed and empty headed. I asked if he had some examples of his work to share and the conversation went a little like this:

Me: Could I see some of your prior work and executions? Do you maybe have them on your laptop?

Planner: I didn’t bring my laptop. Why don’t you check out my Facebook page?

Me: I did. That’s why I asked you here. But I assumed you wouldn’t put all your work on Facebook.

Planner: Oh, it’s all there.

Me: But there aren’t too many pictures. And honestly, I was hoping you could help me brainstorm some ideas from the brief I gave you.

Planner: Well, I don’t have anything new to share with you. My work is all on my Facebook.

Me: OK … *silently seething* … let me share a few more of my ideas.

Planner: Oh wait, do you have a pen and paper? Also do you have a Wi-Fi password because I am out of data so I can’t show you my work on Facebook with my mobile phone.

That was when I mentally checked off.

While I carried on the conversation in a relatively polite manner, I decided he wasn’t worth the time or the effort. Also for the record, he was an hour late and didn’t send any of the other basic costings he promised to by the end of the week. Maybe out of spite, I didn’t bother following up further.

Yeah. I don’t feel too guilty about that.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has requested platform provider of the video game "Fights of Gods", to disable downloads for Malaysians within 24 hours, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak, said.

A check by A+M found that the game was produced by Taiwanese gaming studio Digital Crafter and distributed by UK company PQube. According to multiple media reports by outlets such as the The Star, the New Straits Times and Malaysiakini, the minister said that "further action will be taken" if downloads are not disabled.

The game features the likes of Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha as player characters, as well as Zeus, Odin, Moses, Guan Gong and Athena. Keruak said the video game degraded religions and religious leaders, and posed a great threat to racial unity and harmony. He added that "immediate steps" are taken in the interest of the public to ensure that such content "do not continue to harm others".

According to reports, under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, creating and spreading offensive content is an offence, according to Keruak. He added that the MCMC would continue to work with all relevant parties in combating the crime. He also reminded consumers to make "wise choices" when choosing content to access.

Keruak stressed that the sale and distribution of the "religiously insensitive and blasphemous game" must be stopped instantly, and that Malaysians are respectful of all cultural and religious sensitivities. The game features of roster of 10 gods fighting for supremacy.

https://youtu.be/gZcQkbbCw1Q

Religion is known to be a sensitive topic and MCMC is not the only one that has decided to take action on such a blasphemous issue.

In February this year, Disney’s Maker Studios dropped PewDiePie, a Youtube star who shot to fame for releasing videos of him playing video games. According to an article on the Wall Street Journal, the typically provocative Swedish YouTube star Felix Kjellberg posted several videos with anti-Semitic messages which ultimately led to Maker Studios cut in ties.

A spokeswoman for Maker Studios had then told A+M that although Kjellberg has created a following by "being provocative and irreverent", he went too far in this case and the resulting videos were inappropriate. As a result, Maker Studios decided to end its affiliation with him, the spokesperson added.

A+M has reached out to Digital Crafter and PQube for comment.