AirAsia launched its world's first Freedom Flyer Programme, which aims to allow loyal consumers to earn AirAsia BIG Points easily and quickly. The revamped loyalty programme is based on a unique membership status system determined by how often guests fly.
Consumers will earn BIG Points at a quicker rate if they fly with AirAsia more often, regardless of how much they spend on fares. The four-status system starts with Red status for guests who fly 13 or fewer one-way short-haul flights in the preceding 12 months, through to Gold and Platinum, and all the way up to Black for those who fly 50 or more times with AirAsia.
For every RM10 spent, Red Members can earn up to 20 BIG Points, Gold up to 40, Platinum up to 70 and Black up to 120. Long-haul and Fly-Thru flights count as two one-way short-haul flights for status calculation purposes, making it doubly rewarding to travel with AirAsia X.
“When my partner Datuk Kamarudin and I started AirAsia, we dreamed of democratising air travel so flying would no longer be a luxury only a few could enjoy. We wanted to give everyone the freedom to fly. This new and improved loyalty programme is the latest in our continuing quest to give our guests the freedom to live the rewarding life they’ve always dreamed of," AirAsia co-founder and AirAsia group CEO, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, said.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our loyal guests for flying with us. By making AirAsia X the airline of choice for longhaul travel, our guests can achieve top status in the Freedom Flyer Programme twice as fast and enjoy abundant rewards and privileges while exploring our network, which stretches from Japan to Australia and the Middle East, all the way to Hawaii," AirAsia co-founder and AirAsia X group CEO, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, said.
Besides placing its loyal consumers in mind, AirAsia has also targeted business travellers with MyCorporate, a suite of products made exclusively for them. Companies that sign up to MyCorporate will have access to a convenient, easy-to-use online booking system and comprehensive reporting to keep track of corporate travelling expenses. It recently also announced plans to establish a new holding company in Indonesia, as it looks to further capitalise on the growth of the Indonesia market.
YouTube has launched an ad campaign which targets the advertising industry. A quick check by Marketing found several videos on YouTube’s “YouTuber Advertiser” channel addressing different types of interests and topics, while featuring different YouTube content creators. These topics include makeup, DIY, gaming, sports, family and cooking, to name a few.
It also features prominent YouTubers such as beauty vlogger Jackie Ana, renowned transgender YouTube Gigi Gorgeous and family channel Eh Bee Family.
Each video quotes statistics and insights from a joint study done by Google and Ipsos in 2016, and also link to a page which implores advertisers to learn more about the audiences they “care about, on YouTube”. This is through their behaviour on the video platform. Marketing has reached out to YouTube for comment.
Watch the videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bUF7Lt-PVI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKafft-EWWg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNwvVRy-hHY
The move is hot on the heels YouTube unveiling its new logo, along with some changes to its mobile and desktop formats. The new logo rolled out on its mobile and desktop platforms, and will soon be implemented across YouTube’s other applications and services.
According to a YouTube blog post, the new layout was designed for users on multiple screens, with the new YouTube logo combines a cleaned up version of the YouTube wordmark and Icon. This was to create a “more flexible design” which works better across a variety of devices, especially on smaller screens.
It also follows a recent push made by Facebook into video content, which saw the social media platform rolling 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.
What happens when strangers bond over a bucket of KFC? Well KFC is aiming to depict just that.
While the nation ushers in the upcoming National Day and Malaysia Day, KFC Malaysia is seizing this opportunity to launch a campaign based on the spirit of unity, over its bucket of fried chicken. The main idea is to cheekily illustrate budding relationships between strangers of polar opposites over a bucket of KFC. Besides that, the thought behind KFC’s “The Bucket Sessions” is also to show that Malaysians have a lot more in common than they think - their love for food is one of it.
In a statement, KFC said it recognises that mealtimes are more than just heartwarming quality time spent with loved ones. It added, "Food can be the best ice-breaker that captures life’s precious moments especially as we share stories, listen and connect to one another while having a meal together."
With the this catchy caption "How many pieces of chicken does it take to turn strangers into friends?", the five minutes film has received many positive comments among netizens, and over 251,000k views on Facebook at the time of writing. Check out the full video below:
Conceptualised by Naga DDB Tribal, the agency said the concept behind this social experiment is to further strengthen the idea of camaraderie among Malaysians.
“We believe that Malaysians are generally a friendly bunch and all it takes for friendship to happen is a simple conversation. What more a better way to ignite one over a bucket of KFC?” Naga DDB Tribal’s executive creative director, Alvin Teoh said.
With KFC being the catalyst in this experiment, Teoh added it enables the participants to open up to a budding friendship of sharing common grounds, different cultures and mutual acceptance. For this ad, the agency placed complete strangers in a room, "served them some fried chicken, gave them something talk about and then gave the experiment a free reign to go wherever it needs to go, demonstrating that among Malaysians, there are really no strangers, just friends waiting to happen. "
Campaign credits:
Executive creative director: Alvin Teoh
Deputy executive creative director: Paul Lim
Associate creative director: Jeremy Yeoh
Copywriters: Cindy Chong, Mohamed Firdaus, Idzwan Johar, Stephanie Leong
Art director: Lai Wai Yeap
General manager: Clarence Koh
Account director: RZ Chew
Account manager: Sheldon Sequerah
Account executive: Eugene Ong
Senior project management: Victoria Lim
Head of AV: Sharon de Silva
AV producer: Lee Boon Hsin
AV intern: Jared
Film director: Lobak
Assistant director: Wong Sen Kiat
Director of photography: Patrick Chua
Producer: Jamie Chua
Audio production: Real Time Studios
Social media in-feed ads, online video and other digital formats such as paid content and native advertising are leading the growth in global advertising. Not only that, these will drive a 13% annual growth in total display advertising - a category that includes these formats as well as traditional banners, between 2017 and 2019, saidZenith’s latest Advertising Expenditure Forecasts.
The report also estimates that the total display expenditure will rise from US$96 billion in 2017 to US$126 billion in 2019, accounting for 64% of all the growth in global ad expenditure.
By 2019, total display will account for 50.4% of internet advertising expenditure, exceeding 50% for the first time.
When it comes to internet advertising channel, paid search represented the largest pie until 2015, before it was overtaken by display. Expenditure on paid search totalled US$78 billion in 2016, and Zenith's latest report now forecasts a 10% annual growth to 2019, when it will reach US$103 billion.
Most of this growth is coming from social media (which will grow at 20% a year) and online video (which will grow at 21% a year). It's not surprising, as social media is central to many of its users’ digital lives - it’s where they plan their social life, read their news and document their activities, and this allows brands to use it as a platform to communicate with them very effectively.
Meanwhile, online video is much better at conveying brand values than traditional display formats like banners. The two are no longer mutually exclusive categories, with video advertising is now central to the growth strategies for most social media platforms.
Interestingly, the report also cites that advertisers are finding it makes less and less sense to plan television and online video separately as "they work best as complements rather than substitutes." This is also mainly due to the fact that many consumers nowadays do not differentiate much between their smart TVs and other owned devices (that deliver internet content to households’ main TV sets).
The study added that television supplies reach, while online video offers targeting and personalisation. Together they are becoming more important than ever to advertisers seeking to build brands. Stripping out classified and search, which are essentially direct-response channels - television and online video accounted for 48.5% of expenditure on brand advertising in 2016, up from 43.7% in 2010, and its market share is forecast to rise to 49.3% in 2019.
“Internet display is coming into its own as a brand-building media, powered by social media and online video,” said Jonathan Barnard, head of forecasting and director of global intelligence at Zenith. “But the distinctions between online video and traditional television are being eroded, and the two work together much better than they do separately.”
Global ad spend to grow 4% this year
The report also forecast that global advertising expenditure will grow 4% to US$558 billion by the end of 2017.This is down fractionally from the forecast of 4.2% that it made in June.
"The stronger eurozone economy has yet to feed through to advertising, and we have downgraded our forecasts for seven eurozone markets since then. Mexico’s television market has been disappointingly weak; the extended period of mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej has led to a second year of decline for Thailand; and Malaysia’s recovery from the downturn of 2016 has been less rapid than we hoped," Zenith said in a statement.
These disappointments have been partially offset by the boost provided by Canada’s healthy economy to its ad market, and Russia’s return to full growth after the oil-price crash and imposition of trading sanctions," the agency added. It also forecast,
For next year, there'll be a 4.2% growth in global adspend, boosted by the Winter Olympics in Korea, the football World Cup in Russia, and the mid-term elections in the US.
Paid search and classified see slower growth
The growth in paid search is expected to be slower than the growth in total internet advertising, which is at 12% a year. Much of the recent growth in paid search has come from innovations in mobile and location-based search, and future growth is expected to come from adapting search ads to voice-activated personal assistants like Siri and Alexa.
Meanwhile, there's also slowdown on spend with classified advertising, which are ads on dedicated web pages without editorial content, often for cars, house and jobs. Its share of total internet expenditure has been shrinking for many years as users have turned to free listings, auction sites and other substitutes. In 2016, advertisers spent US$17 billion on internet classifieds. This figure is expected to rise by just 7% a year to US$21 billion in 2019.
“Internet platforms are continually innovating to provide advertisers with new ways of communicating with consumers,” said Vittorio Bonori, Zenith’s global brand president. “But newer doesn’t always mean better, and agencies must use all the data and technology available to them to determine how to combine new and old media to tell brand stories most effectively.”
Do you still remember your dreams from five or ten years ago, and are you any closer to reaching them now?
In KFC Hong Kong's latest online campaign, the fast-food chain secretly took pictures of its customers while they were ordering, edited them for younger hairstyles, and printed the pictures on a food wrap that was then delivered to the customers.
"Two days ago, our black pepper chicken returned. We think it's about time to reignite your passion as well," the caption reads.
Surprised to find their "old looks" on the paper wrap, the customers remembered who they were back five or ten years ago. A woman admitted she had given up on her dream as a designer, a father said he now works for a living instead of being a basketball player, while an office worker was still pursuing his dream by joining musicals regularly.
In a week it has amassed about 847k views, 6.2k reactions, 1.6k shares and 350 comments.
William Tsing, marketing director at KFC, told Marketing the metrics of the video are 40% to 50% higher than his expectation.
Adding that the campaign is launched with Ogilvy Hong Kong, Tsing said the teams had spent effort in ensuing a high video production quality.
"The idea is to associate our fried chicken with values and positive meanings. In this campaign, we associate it with the passion you've once had in life. Family with kids or young couples may echoed most with the video, but we target mass audience," he explained.
Tsing said they will publish another video with Hong Kong artist Andrew Yuen (袁文傑), who also showed up in the first video, to spur a second wave today.
MullenLowe Malaysia has appointed former Saatchi & Saatchi Malaysia CEO Adrian Sng as its new managing director. Sng replaces former managing director Mazuin Zin who has decided to step down from her role to pursue other opportunities within the industry.
Sng has over 20 years of industry experience, and brings with him rich leadership experience having worked at leading international agency brands such as Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, BBDO and most recently Saatchi & Saatchi Malaysia. He has been selected for the new role under the guidance of Vincent Digonnet, APAC CEO, MullenLowe Group.
He is responsible for building on the reputation MullenLowe has established as a challenger agency brand in the Malaysia market. Through its hyperbundling of operations globally, MullenLowe Group provides channel agnostic communication solutions to marketers, in addition to facilitating strategy and execution of technology and customer journey solutions.
“I am very pleased and privileged to have this opportunity to build on Mazuin’s achievements. She has a great team and built an expanded capability and client base which puts us in a strong position for further growth. I am excited by the vision of MullenLowe Group working within Malaysia and the wider region to deliver exceptional client outcomes," Sng said.
“I am both proud and sad at the same time to leave this business and my team. The great work the team has done ensures that MullenLowe Malaysia is in a rock solid position to continue its trajectory in the very capable hands of Adrian. I feel confident that MullenLowe Group will continue to be an important partner for their clients in Malaysia," Zin said.
Zin first joined the agency in 2012 as managing director. She took on the role from Leo Burnett, where she spent over a decade in various roles based in Malaysia and Singapore. Through her career, she managed numerous global brands and large local clients including Samsung, P&G, Dutch Lady, Petronas, Proton, Malaysia Airports, McDonald’s, Philip Morris, ING, Pepsi, Unilever and Nestle. Prior to her role with MullenLowe, she was the general manager for Leo Burnett and Arc Worldwide in Malaysia.
CEO Digonnet said: “Understandably we are sad that Zin can’t complete the journey with us to build MullenLowe Malaysia into a modern channel-neutral solutions provider, using our hyperbundling approach. Thankfully in Adrian we have acquired a seasoned leader who relishes the challenges this market provides, and we wish them both well in their new roles.”
In January 2016, the group also unveiled plans for its new global corporate identity. This follows the formation of the network from the merger of IPG agencies Mullen in the US with global creative network Lowe and Partners. The new brand identity aimed to position MullenLowe Group as a global creative boutique, with a challenger approach delivered through a “hyperbundled operating model”.
The MullenLowe Group network will now consist of four main brands: MullenLowe, delivering integrated marketing communications solutions, MullenLowe Profero, the digital pure-play network, MullenLowe Mediahub, providing media planning and buying solutions, and MullenLowe Open offering behavior driven activation and shopper marketing.
As of January 2016, all Lowe agencies were renamed as MullenLowe, across the 90 offices in over 65 markets globally.
Recent events for Bell Pottinger UK have led to its Asia counterpart Bell Pottinger Asia ]distancing itself from the scandal – by renaming itself to Klareco Communications. The name change last Friday took effect in markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Myanmar.
The move was to emphasise that its Asia team operates as a separate legal entity from Bell Pottinger in the UK. In a press statement announcing the move, Ang Shih Huei, CEO of Bell Pottinger Asia, explained that a new ownership structure is also currently underway.
The separation was due to the agency being involved in a recent scandal in South Africa which which saw Bell Pottinger being expelled from UK public relations trade body for its work on a controversial contract in South Africa for Oakbay Capital. The duties with Oakbay saw the agency being part of a secret campaign to stir up racial tensions. The scandal also saw current chief executive of Bell Pottinger, James Henderson, resigning in response to the breach of industry code of conduct in a bid to take responsibility, despite not being involved.
Founder Lord Bell - who resigned last year - admitted to the BBC that it is probably "near the end" with numerous clients, including HSBC, also cut ties with Bell Pottinger.
But will the move to dissociate itself via a name change help Klareco Communication wash away the stain of Bell Pottinger UK?
Lars Voedisch, founder of PRecious Communications, said the move by Klareco Communication was surely a "radical one", but changing the name alone won’t do the trick. The PR firm needs to show visible efforts to get things back on the right track. He added:
I believe it’s the right move - as the original brand name is toxic and associated with unethical behaviour.
Echoing the sentiment was Nick Foley, president for Southeast Asia Pacific and Japan for Landor, who likened the move to what happened with Arthur Andersen – now known as Accenture. He explained that sometimes the brand is so badly damaged, that it needs a different name and structure to move forward.
Foley added that the reasons for separation seem completely plausible due to a prevention of negative brand misattribution from its UK counterpart.
After all, the brand does not want to be sharing the same name as an organisation it can’t control.
“But the reaction to the incident feels like, and is most probably, a knee-jerk reaction to the events which unfolded. The agency can expect some short term pain, but in the long haul it is its relationships with its clients which will see them coming through this,” Foley explained. He added that there is no one size fits all approach in such situations and brands ultimately need to do what is best to ensure it still is able to maintain its integrity and trust from its clients.
Also weighing in on the topic was Joseph Baladi, brand consultant and former CEO of BrandAsian, who added that the whole point about belonging to a group is building reputation.
“Agencies spend time, effort and other resources touting the strength and core values of the collective. It seems self-serving that when things go south for the group the theory should not apply,” Baladi explained. In such cases, crisis management becomes a multi-faceted, multi-level program which provides entities the opportunity to redefine themselves.
How can Klareco Communications bounce back?
When asked how companies plagued in a similar situation as Klareco Communication can bounce back, Baladi said Klareco needs to accept that it is now starting with a cloud over its head . He said:
Renaming exercises are always first and foremost cosmetic efforts.
"If this is the extent that Klareco is only willing to go to, then I think the folks there will find that existing and prospective clients will be – rightfully – skeptical. Klareco will need to carefully go through an internal identity development process,” Baladi explained. However, the challenge with moves such as this is that they take time to work out and to suggest credibility – not only to external audiences but importantly internal stakeholders as well. Hence, Baladi said that Klareco’s senior management will also need to make its case publicly.
A collection of nice words expressed on a new website or communicated through trade articles will be breathtakingly not enough.
Meanwhile, Voedisch is of the view that the agency needs to play down any association with the heritage brand at the moment and lay low for a while. Only then can it start getting involved in discussions about how to implement and adhere to ethical guidelines in the region.
Changi Airport Group has shortlisted six agencies for the next round of its creative and digital pitch. Marketing understands the chemistry meeting is set to be happening this week and the shortlisted agencies are incumbent J. Walter Thompson Singapore, Blk J, BBDO Singapore, Ogilvy & Mather Singapore, TBWA Singapore and TSLA.
This follows a tender briefing which was held on 16 August. The pitch is managed by R3, and the appointed agency will be responsible for strategic planning and creative services, as well as offer digital marketing and maintenance services for CAG’s digital assets.
Marketing has reached out to Changi for a statement.
JWT Singapore was re-appointed early last year as CAG’s creative agency for another three years, following a pitch that involved three other agencies. The appointment saw JWT continuing its role in advancing CAG’s communication vision across all parts of the business, including operations, commercial and air hub services.
In May 2015, CAG appointed Havas Media Singapore to handle its media buying duties for a period of two years, with an option to extend for another two. The account is reported to be valued at SG$16 million. The pitch for the account was held in March 2015 and the process was internally managed. The incumbent agency on the account was ZenithOptimedia, which did not pitch for the account.
CapitaLand has invested around SG$300 million into several developments in Indonesia. This was through its first integrated development, The Stature Jakarta, with a development cost of approximately SG$220 million. This is coupled with an investment of SG$74.3 million in a serviced residence, Ascott Sudirman Jakarta, through its wholly owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott).
According to Ronald Tay, CEO of CapitaLand Singapore, who also oversees the Indonesia market, the company has identified Indonesia as one of its key growth markets. He added that Indonesia’s real estate market is underpinned by “sound fundamentals” such as the country’s steady economic growth, rapid urbanisation and increasing domestic consumption. This is coupled with a rising affluent middle class and a young population.
Meanwhile, Lee Chee Koon, Ascott’s CEO, said that the company sees huge potential for growth in Indonesia through its Ascott, Citadines and Somerset brands. It also aims to bring its Millennial brand, lyf, to the country. Currently, Ascott has a portfolio of 16 properties with close to 3,000 units across six cities.
“The supply of international-class serviced residences is lagging the rising demand from expatriates and travellers, as more multinational companies set up offices in Indonesia,” Lee explained.
He added that the Indonesia government’s move to finalise plans for a national rail network will also help drive more economic and tourism growth. This will in turn generate demand for accommodation from business and leisure travellers.
Currently, The Stature Jakarta is jointly developed by CapitaLand and local developer Credo Group, through a 50:50 joint venture formed in 2014, a press statement read. Meanwhile, Ascott has expanded its portfolio in Indonesia by close to 600 units this year. This was with the addition of Ascott Sudirman Jakarta, Citadines Canggu Bali, as well as Somerset Sudirman Jakarta in July.
Indonesian market research firm Roy Morgan Research and Eyeota have partnered to launch Helix Personas Indonesia in the digital and programmatic trading marketplace. This is to enable Indonesian advertisers to reach their target audiences in the digital landscape in real time, via programmatic media activation.
According to a press statement, the tool looks to allow media agencies to unlock insights into their clients’ target audience. This is by translating contact databases into easily understandable and actionable personas. Brand owners can use Helix Personas to understand exactly who and where their customers are, including key values, purchasing behaviours, demographics and media habits.
The statement added that this can enable brand owners to reduce marketing spend by knowing exactly where to advertise, and grow their businesses with strategically placed store locations, stocked with the most relevant products for their customers.
“Having worked with Eyeota to allow advertisers in Australia and New Zealand to reach their target personas through the Eyeota marketplace, we’ve seen firsthand the success achieved when local audience data is leveraged within marketing strategies,” Howard Seccombe, chief digital officer at Roy Morgan Research, said.
“The new availability of Helix Personas Indonesia will create a much more efficient way for brands to engage with local consumers with relevant ads and content. We are thrilled to be their first activation partner in the local Indonesian market,” Kevin Tan, CEO, Eyeota, said.
Great Eastern Life Indonesia has partnered with Bank OCBC NISP to launch a new product called Legacy Protector. According to a press statement, this comes as Great Eastern Indonesia looks to reposition itself as a bancassurance specialist. This was according to Clement Lien, president director and chief executive of Great Eastern Life Indonesia.
In addition, the move will allow Great Eastern Indonesia to concentrate on creating new products and improve its processes to better meet the bancassurance needs of its customers. Marketing has reached out to Great Eastern Life Indonesia for comment.
The report added that the new product would be issued across Bank OCBC NISP’s branches nationwide, which includes 340 branches over 61 cities in Indonesia. It aims to offer better financial security and protect to users. Great Eastern Life itself commenced its operations in Indonesia in 1996. Great Eastern Life has decided to make Indonesia its third pillar of growth, after Singapore and Malaysia. This means more resources and focus will be given to Indonesia to support its growth, the brand said in a statement.
Most recently in Singapore, Great Eastern Holdings rebranded its general insurance arm, Overseas Assurance Corporation (OAC) to Great Eastern General Insurance (GEG) in Singapore. Operations in Malaysia followed suit in August 2017.
Hot on the heels of its digibank launch in Indonesia, DBS has partnered with Kasisto’s KAI banking, a conversational AI platform for finance to power its digibank virtual assistant. The virtual assistant converses in Bahasa Indonesia.
Through the KAI-powered assistant, digibank aims to provide a seamless banking experience for users without having to speak to a call centre agency. It also aims to have conversations which are accurate and contextual to financial banking to help customers manage money and track expenses. In addition, the assistant looks to help improve overall financial literacy and financial well being.
"DBS is changing the face and economics of banking to make lifestyle banking a reality – giving customers the ability to bank anytime, anywhere. For the last three years, DBS has been deeply immersed in a digital agenda and put conversational AI at the forefront," Zor Gorelov, CEO and co-founder at Kasisto, said.
"With the advent of technology, banking as we know it is being completely transformed. Digibank places an entire bank in our customers' hands, freeing up their valuable time, and allowing them to 'Live More, Bank Less.' For DBS, digibank is a game changer, enabling us to go beyond the confines of brick and mortar to extend our reach into huge Asian markets," Piyush Gupta, DBS CEO, said.
Earlier this month, DBS Bank launched digibank by DBS (digibank) in Indonesia. The move follows a roll out of digibank in India last year, which allowed DBS to penetrate India’s retail banking market with about 1.5 million new customers acquired to date, a statement read
MINI Asia has re-appointed Kinetic Singapore to handle its creative duties for a period of two years, with the option to extend for another year. A closed pitch for the account was held in June, after the incumbent, GOVT Singapore, resigned citing “creative differences”.
In a statement to Marketing, a spokesperson for MINI said Kinetic Singapore was chosen because of its strong understanding of the MINI brand, team chemistry and their unique ideas on how the company can truly connect with its customers in the market. The agency began working with MINI Asia in September 2017.
“We are excited to be working with Kinetic Singapore once again. MINI Asia evaluated both large and boutique agencies for this pitch and the Kinetic team came up on top across all categories. We look forward to building on our existing relationship with the team to take our customer engagement to a new level," Nancy Hoffmann, MINI marketing manager, MINI Asia, said.
"We have been working on the account for six years, one of the longest retainers. We are very happy to have gotten them back officially, and the win was even sweeter as it was done by the team while I was away on sabbatical. I am very proud of them," Carolyn Teo, co-founder of Kinetic Singapore, told Marketing.
Last month, Performance Motors Limited appointed Leo Burnett Singapore as its creative agency for a period of one year. Moving forward, the agency will support PML and BMW Asia in creating local campaigns around launches and special events. This follows the appointment of the agency for regional creative duties in July for a period of three years.
During the same period, news broke that Sonja Piontek, director of marketing at BMW Asia, is leaving the company and will be replaced by Brenda Pek as of 1 October 2017. Pek was most recently responsible for network development for BMW Asia.
J. Walter Thompson (JWT) has launched the Asia unit of JWT Innovation, which is part of the JWT Intelligence market research group, and the network’s global trend and insight offering.
This is in a bid to help the network and its clients keep up with cultural and consumer changes in the high-paced and fast-growing Asia Pacific region, the statement read. The Asian unit’s first report on young Muslim women in Southeast Asia, will be out later this month.
Following the move, the network has appointed Chen May Yee (pictured) to the newly-created role of director of JWT Innovation Group in Asia Pacific. Chen will be based in Kuala Lumpur and report to JWT Asia Pacific CEO John Gutteridge, as well as Lucie Greene, worldwide director of the JWT Innovation Group.
Prior to her new role, Chen worked for JWT Asia Pacific as a freelance communications consultant for two years. She has also worked as a journalist in Malaysia, Singapore and the United States for around two decades, working with titles such as The Straits Times, AFP, Wall Street Journal in Asia, Forbes and the international edition of the New York Times.
JWT’s Innovation Group looks to produce thought leadership, consumer insight and sector innovation content. It also aims to offer a range of consultancy services to help clients understand current and future affairs and how this relates to their brand. Currently, JWT Innovation has existing hubs in New York, Middle East and London.
“Getting under the skin of what’s happening in this rich, diverse region is core to both our clients, and our global network. We’re constantly looking at ways to uncover fresh insights that help deliver effective ideas,” John Gutteridge, J. Walter Thompson Asia Pacific CEO, said.
“Chen’s vast experience working for leading media organisations across the world and covering so many different subjects is a huge asset for the JWT Innovation Group, helping us achieve our ambition of providing clients with a truly global outlook,” Greene said.
“I’m thrilled to be working with JWT’s talented Innovation Group to build up our trend research in Asia. The world is getting smaller each year, and these days, trends are just as likely to emerge from Singapore or Shanghai as they are from London or New York,” Chen said.
Hepmil Media Group (Hepmil), owner of SGAG and MGAG, has raised SGD$1.3 million in pre-series A funding through angel investors. The funds raised will go towards international expansion efforts and product development, enabling Hepmil to create more "fun" and localised digital content for various Southeast Asian markets, while creating sponsored content for brands as a business model.
According to the press statement, there will also be a concurrent focus on the augmentation of platforms and audience data applications.
In a statement to Marketing, Mak said Hepmil is currently exploring Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand as the next possible ports of entry. For existing markets such as Singapore and Malaysia, it will focus on going deeper into data analytics to have an extensive understanding on how to create better content for its audience. Mak said this will in turn help Hepmil create more impactful branded content with partners. He added that the company will also be exploring integrations with technology partners to improve engagements and conversion metrics for our client campaigns.
"Our focus will always be digital and social channels. Our core belief has always been to exist significantly on platforms where millennials are already on, instead of forcing them to consume our content on a platform that’s not in their typical digital behaviour," Mak said.
He added that Hepmil is exploring opportunities to create different types of content through new brand offerings that will continue to "better the lives of [its] audience". It is also in the midst of exploring partnerships and integrations for SGAG and MGAG.
Following the announcement, ad veteran Jeffrey Seah (pictured centre) will assume the new role of vice chairman of Hepmil's board, working to enable quick entry into new markets and deepen footprints in existing markets such as Singapore and Malaysia.
Prior to his latest appointment, Seah served as group advisor to Hepmil CEO Karl Mak (pictured right) and CCO Adrian Ang (pictured left), who are also the co-founders and co-chairmen of the board. Seah has been heavily involved in their leadership in the past year, helping them build a deeper understanding of the advertising and communications industry, the press statement added.
Last month, Seah joined the advisory board of Gravity4, a marketing cloud platform specialising in artificial intelligence and big data which is now focused on developing blockchain technologies to eliminate ad fraud. He is currently a partner at Mettle and Salt Partners, and also serves as a venture partner at IncuVest and Quest Ventures. Prior to leaving Starcom, Seah was Southeast Asia CEO, a role he had held for over seven years.
According to Seah, his best contribution to the industry is mentoring young talent. A fervent believer in the societal and commercial benefits of digital revolution, he strongly advocates the re-definition of media companies as data and platform environments, the press statement wrote.
“The company is at an exciting juncture, because digital content platforms are the way forward. I hope to be able to bring Adrian’s and Karl’s vision for Hepmil to fruition,” Seah said.
“We have established ourselves as a leading content provider in both Singapore and Malaysia. Now with Seah on our board, we hope to capture market opportunities ahead of the curve in the epicentre of millennial marketing in Southeast Asia," Ang said.
Jordan Chua, managing director of Mirum Kuala Lumpur, is set to exit the agency by 30 September 2017, Mirum KL confirmed to A+M.
Chua was appointed to the role in April 2015 to oversee the overall operations of the business, partner with client stakeholders to drive business transformation projects and serve as the bridge between clients and Mirum’s consulting and digital marketing agency teams. He replaced Rueben Anthony, who moved on to the regional role for Mirum Asia’s Digital Transformation & Consulting unit as, regional managing director for Mirum. He reported directly to Anthony.
In an exclusive conversation with A+M, Anthony revealed that Chua will take a short break before embarking on his new chapters. "He has helped me with my digital transformation practice especially for the Malaysia market. That includes building the capabilities, modelling after Mirum Singapore's Digital Transformation consultancy," he said.
"He is a great person. We thank him for his leadership and would like to wish him all the best for the future," he added.
Chua joined Mirum in 2014 from TBWA Group Kuala Lumpur, where was the digital planning director. At Mirum, he was to set the foundation for its Digital Transformation services, responsible for the overall business with focus on business growth, people development, process frameworks definition and key client management duties.
Prior to that, he was vice president, strategic planning & digital with the agency. He has also worked at Tequila-Myalo Malaysia where he held the position of general manager. With over 20 years’ experience in the integrated marketing industry, Chua has worked with wide array of clients across multiple categories, including telecommunications, financial services, tourism, FMCG and retail.
Airbnb has appointed independent agency Wieden+Kennedy as its global creative agency, following a pitch which included DDB. The review for the global creative account was called in May this year where incumbent TBWA\Chiat|Day LA, which held the account since 2014, was not invited to take part in the pitch.
According to Airbnb, part of the remit challenged the winning agency to collaborate in a progressive manner with Airbnb’s in-house creative team. Going forward, Airbnb and Wieden+Kennedy will collaborate on a new product launch due this fall. In the coming months, the agency will also work with Airbnb on campaigns for next year’s travel season campaign.
Marketing has reached out to Airbnb and Wieden+Kennedy for comment on how work will be implemented in the APAC market, following the global appointment.
“I am delighted to confirm Wieden+Kennedy as our global agency of record after what was the most closely contested pitch of my career. Both Wieden+Kennedy and DDB developed outstanding thinking but W+K's creative work has shown us a very compelling community voice that we know will take our creative output on to the next level," Jonathan Mildenhall, global CMO for Airbnb, said.
“From day one, it's been clear to us through every interaction that Airbnb is a values-driven company that cares deeply about its mission and ethos. In this respect, Airbnb and W+K are natural partners. We are a company that lives its values which are centered on people, creativity, and daring to do things that have never been done before. We are inspired because we believe that 21st-century brands are judged by what they do and the value they create for people," global CCO for Wieden+Kennedy, Colleen DeCourcy, said.
In a separate conversation with Marketing, Airbnb's country manager of Southeast Asia, Hong Kong & Taiwan, Robin Kwok, said Asia Pacific is the company's fastest growing region in terms of inbound travel year-over-year, with 14.6 million travellers in 2016 and a 177% growth for Asia alone, compared to last year. As such, the region is no doubt of importance for the brand.
She added that Airbnb has steadily been gaining popularity recently among travelers in the region and Kwok attributes the success of Airbnb to localisation strategies - especially in the areas of marketing campaigns, payment methods and translation.
"Every country is different and we want to help tell that authentic local story," she said. She explained that Airbnb still sees Southeast Asia as an opportunity because of its "unique hospitality" in different markets. In addition to language and payment localisation, the company has also turned its attention to the changing priorities and adapted its offerings to cater to its wide range of users. However, Airbnb declined to comment further on its marketing tactics in the region.
The company's Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia headquarters are located in Singapore. It named Teneo Strategy to manage its PR duties in Southeast Asia and the agency is responsible for building Airbnb's brand across the region, as well as raising awareness about the economic, cultural and social benefits of home-sharing to consumers and policymakers
China’s importance
Meanwhile, on a broader regional level, China is also an important area for Airbnb to conquer. According to its 2016 report, 93% of Millennials surveyed in China said "travel is an important part of who I am as a person", and if given RMB100,000, 44% of Chinese Millennials would prioritise the money for travel over buying a home (13%). To emphasise its commitment to success in China, Airbnb launched a localised brand name in March known as "Aibiying", which translates to "Welcome each other with love".
Kwok also cited the launch of Trips - Airbnb's mobile app that provided users access to personal itineraries, including upcoming Airbnb rentals, events and city guides - as an example of how the company conducted research to provide consumers with ways to improve and personalise their travel experiences.
The app has launched over 1,800 Experiences such as excursions by local hosts in more than 30 cities worldwide, including Singapore, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. Kwok added that Airbnb has seen a recent spike in guests trying out Experiences in Asia Pacific, where the number of booked experiences has grown over 14 times since January 2017.
Star Media Group has revamped its English news site The Star Online, with a new logo and layout, along with other enhancements under its hood. In a statement to A+M, the publisher said The Star Online's new logo is designed to match its print edition, The Star newspaper for a more consistent look between the two news platforms under Star Media Group.
Apart from the logo, the website's layout has also been made sleeker, from the fonts to how pictures are displayed in order to make the reading experience "more enjoyable." Star Media Group said the changes, however, are not merely cosmetic. The website was redesigned with a mobile-first philosophy, as it noticed that more people's reading habits have switched to their smartphones.
“We have adopted technological advancements in efforts to revamp The Star Online to be more responsive and intuitive to the needs of our readers. The fresh new look, complemented with better efficiency, will provide our readers with a fresh new reading experience with optimised content curation and placements,” Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, group managing director and chief executive officer of Star Media Group said, at the launch of the newly-revamped The Star Online in conjunction with Star Media Group’s 46th Anniversary celebrations.
Wong added the new site aims to make the reading experience more personalised and customised to readers' preferences, with an improved metadata tagging to ensure readers are presented with stories that are relevant to them.
"Navigation has been improved yet retains a similar site structure that readers have become familiar with over the years so that they feel right at home. We've also made our back end more robust, meaning faster loading times, even as we provide more rich content, including video and interactive infographics," he said.
Hong Leong Assurance (HLA) has partnered with MYE.G. Services, to offer its life insurance products via MyEG website, beginning with the Enhanced Hospital Cash Refund. MYE.G. Services is a concessionaire for the Malaysian Electronic-Government Multimedia Super Corridor Flagship application.
According to Loh Guat Lan, group group managing director and CEO of HLA, the partnership is a "strategic decision" that fits well with its long-term growth and expansion plans, to make life insurance accessible to all Malaysians.
Loh added that by adopting digital strategies and embracing change, HLA is on track to grow its customers’ protection needs, continuously deliver great services, and create valuable experiences for both its customers and agency force.
“The landscape of the insurance industry and consumer behaviour is changing rapidly with transformation led by digital technology. HLA is taking advanced steps in product marketing by moving from conventional platforms to a digital space," Loh said.
“We believe that this mutually beneficial partnership with HLA will provide our Malaysian customers with a convenient option for life insurance through our online platform. At the same time, we are able to enhance our product range in line with our mission of product expansion and continuous innovation," Wong Thean Soon, group managing director of MYE.G. Services, said.
A+M has reached out to HLA for further comment.
In addition to its latest partnership, HLA has also made some hires in the past year. Last month, HLA appointed Loke Kah Meng (pictured) as the new chief operating officer to drive and execute strategies that are instrumental to HLA’s continuous desire to create and accentuate the key factors.
This is in a bid to enhance business value creation to further solidify its position as the nation’s top domestic life insurance company. In addition, Loke will lead the bancassurance, alternative channels, strategic marketing and product development departments.
The company also hired former head of integrated marketing and analytics at OCBC Malaysia Ong Shi Jie took on a new role as general manager of personal loans at Hong Leong Bank. Ong who was also an acting head of finance and planning at OCBC, is starting her new journey at Hong Leong Bank in August 2017, according to her LinkedIn.
Sook Ping Chow and Terence Leong have joined R/GA Shanghai as managing director and executive creative director.
The new managing director has some 20 years of pan-Asian industry experience in agencies including M&C Saatchi, Leo Burnett, TBWA, Wieden + Kennedy and, most recently, Factory Design Labs, whose Shanghai office she launched and built as MD. Chow will report to Jim Moffatt, EVP managing director APAC.
“Sook Ping has a keen strategic mind, and an impressive track record of growing agencies and their clients’ business in China,” said Moffatt. “She’s also equal parts grit and humour, so I can think of no better person to drive us forward here and look forward to working with her.”
“I’m excited to lead the nimble team of talented market experts we have in Shanghai, and looking forward to harnessing the capabilities of our 2,000 global colleagues,” Chow said. “R/GA’s unique structure and systems means we’re connected in a way other agencies talk about, but cannot deliver. It’s a way of working which is fast becoming essential, nowhere more so than in China.”
With a distinguished career including five years of multi-award-winning campaigns for Nike China, and a former Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai CD, Terence Leong has joined as executive creative director. He’ll report to Chow, and work closely with VP ECD APAC, Bob Mackintosh.
“Nothing focuses the mind like jumping out of a plane, and happily for us, Terence used to be a paratrooper,” said Mackintosh. “His ability to dive straight to the heart of any matter produces ideas that are authentic and meaningful. He’s a truly modern thinker and a natural leader who we’re thrilled to have onboard.”
“The Chinese audience is smart, affluent, knows who they are and what they want, so the days of adapting global marketing templates, talking down and trailing behind the rest of the world are long gone,” said Leong.
