2017 has been monumental for the industry in too many ways to list in a single holiday message, but it has likewise been a big one for us at Marketing Magazine and A+M.
Just to give you a sample of some of the highlights that 2017 has birthed, in Singapore, the Agency of the Year Awards turned 10 – another milestone of which we are incredibly proud. 10 years of celebrating the best in the business has been fantastic, so here’s to another glamorous decade of local marketing. What’s more, we launched the MARKies awards, a bastion of creativity that unearthed and celebrated Singapore’s leading campaigns.
In Hong Kong, for the first time in history, an independent agency won Agency of the Year in Hong Kong – a momentous event that exemplifies how much the industry has changed in the short time since we last signed off around this time last year. Moreover, we’ve seen campaigns with chatbots, with VR, with AR, powered by AI – the list goes on. Gone are the days when Hong Kong could complain about lagging behind.
Over in Malaysia, we launched NEXT Malaysia, which paid homage to marketing innovation and how marketers can embrace emerging technologies. It was a year of excitement around digital, and 2018 will be an even more eventful one given the upcoming elections.
Meanwhile in Indonesia, we had our Digital Marketing Indonesia conference for the third time running, attended by around 300 industry folk. This comes at a time where Indonesia is knee-deep into its 2020 Go Digital Vision campaign, and mobile penetration is at an all time high. In the year ahead, we will go in-depth, featuring the industry’s power players.
Online, we managed to hit record breaking number in terms of audience numbers, and all this is thanks to you – our readers.
And all that’s just about us – and it doesn’t even begin to cover all of our special moments, let alone the industry’s.
Not to worry, though – we know it’s next to impossible to stay on top of everything that happens in marketing. So as we take a short break from the hustle and bustle, we’ve rounded up newsletters containing all the year’s top stories for you to enjoy throughout next week as we head into an exciting new year.
And looking forward, we have a collection of events ready to go after the holidays to properly blast into 2018, starting with Mob-Ex Awards in Singapore on 9 February, and Mob-Ex Awards Hong Kong on 23 March.
We will be back online on 2 January, so in the meantime we wish you an amazing holiday, filled with great food, drinks, friends and family.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of us!
The brands that can successfully evolve with or even lead marketing disruptions are the ones that dare to dare.
At this year’s Marketing Magazine Branding 360 conference, several top marketers and thought leaders shared how they revamp things from the inside out in a bid to future-proof their branding.
Building authentic, relevant brands
Ctrip, for instance, is now in a period of soft-launching a new brand globally. The online travelling agency’s general manager – international business, Hillman Lam, said on the conference it’s a necessary act if the brand wish to further ingratiate itself with international travellers.
For three months, the brand analyse everything from its brand equity to customers’ travelling priorities, which lead them to an on-going transition to a new brand “Trip.com”, a new logo, and a new domain. Lam said they will launch more localised campaign to eliminate any reference to being Chinese-owned. (Read more: Ctrip launches global rebrand to Trip.com)
“Unless Hong Kong people want to come to China, they won’t use Ctrip,” he explained. “In Korea and Japan, people would actually hang up if they find out from the accent of the customer service team that they are not locals.”
“We have to glo-calise ourselves and launch more campaigns relevant to locals.”
Timberland went through a similar “glo-calised” re-branding process, but in a complete reverse direction to that of Ctrip: it aimed to build a brand presence in China.
Its vice president marketing and merchandising, Christy Kilmartin, recalled how things were difficult back then in 2014, when Timberland only earned a brand awareness of 11% in the country, 72% significantly lower than it did in the US, according to data from China Brand Health Tracker.
The company organised seemingly endless meetings with Chinese agencies to communicate their desire to not just create fictional ads to “wow” the audience, but to build a radically different, authentic brand message. Finally, it launched a successful campaign which tripled its yellow boots sales. With the slogan “Tee Boo Lang (踢不爛)”, a sentence similar to Timberland which means ‘unbreakable’. The Tee Boo Lang campaign featured several videos that tie the shoes to values like perseverance and courage – and the videos went viral.
“You need to create an authentic brand story that actually builds trust,” agreed UberEATS’ brand manager Basil Cheung. The food-delivery company engaged restaurant partners in its latest campaign by sharing stories behind the local restaurants, to add a sense of human touch to the brand equity.
Branding and experiences in the age of data and social media
Once you’ve established more relevant branding, the next step is to articulate messages and communicate with your audience – both actively and passively.
Vizz Digital Group’s group brand director, Jordan Sun, advised brands to humanise themselves by actively interacting with other brands on social media, which eventually builds audience trust. One of the examples he quoted was a Oreo’s tweet in 2013, which featured an edible gaming controller, to respond to Xbox One’s tweet about their new game controller. “Can we play?” the tweet asked Xbox.
In a panel discussion, Sony Corporation of Hong Kong’s managing director, Henry Lee, also raised questions about social media, including how marketers should leverage the channel and plan what to spend.
At Sony, the company consolidated its CRM team with the communication team five years ago to enhance its social listening ability. UA Cinema Circuit’s former general manager for Hong Kong and Macau, Rosa Lin said they also have a dedicated team to react to customers online and offline, and solve any misunderstandings they come across.
As for ALDO Group International, marketing director Renee Sin said their team handles everything from product operations marketing, to updates from social media platforms, to improve the transparency of its operations.
“In the short term, we can gather a lot of data from social to e-commerce, which is really useful in customising campaigns and products,” Sin explained.
Flight Centre Asia’s director of marketing, Cecilia Yee, reminded brands to really zero in on their end-goal when it comes to collecting data if they wish to recognise useful metrics. The travelling agency, which focuses on humanising its social media presence, sees data as a tool to customise and personalise communication points, for example to make their email newsletter more engaging.
And it’s way more than just data. Domo’s vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific Japan, Paul Harapin, is an expert on the opportunities that real-time data can offer. He said some businesses had multiple sources of customer data, and got their information stuck in silos.
Harapin said companies should build a single database which conglomerates all the individual data silos to align the different functions of the business, act in real-time and better connect customers in more personalised ways.
Using Sephora as one of his case studies, Harapin said the company greatly improved its results by responding to events in real-time during a sale, for example, by instantly pausing an online ad when a product is out of stock and pushing ads when a product is slow to sell.
Real-time social data can serve as alerting signals too, Simois Ng, head of marketing communications at Sony Corporation added. “There are comments that go really viral, and they might have posed the questions. What to do is to find out the truth, then respond to them.” Ng said in some cases, brands can direct angry customers from social media to offline, for example inviting them to meet or call. “Very often, they will stop complaining.”
On a separate note, Danny Levinson, regional director Asia, Isentia, used a viral video of a girl being assaulted at a hotel in China as an example of how data intelligence can play a role in managing risk on social, and how vague responses can actually aggravate a situation.
However, by integrating media intelligence into business operation, Levinson said the brand sourced and tracked online discussion, then leveraged influencers and media to showcase other viewpoints on the issue. He assured that brands can acquire abilities to evaluate the performance of the PR team and communications campaign through media intelligence solutions.
Managing technological disruption, and staying ahead of the curve
To anticipate and lead marketing disruption, UA Cinema Circuit’s former GM Lin said they use a combination of exponentially improving technologies, new product architectures and innovative business models to meet customer needs in new and unexpected ways.
From IMAX, to e-ticketing and e-admission, to on-site activations like photo booths, Lin said they explore any new technology that can enhance customers’ journeys in visiting a cinema.
Similarly, Hong Kong Tourism Board’s Tina Chao constantly looks for technologies to improve its campaigns. Earlier this year, the board launched a new campaign to revive interest in the area known as “Old Town Central” by introducing people to different thematic routes to explore the district, including: tasting Hong Kong; crazy for art; time traveller (heritage); and treasure hunt. The campaign displayed art-inspired QR Codes at various locations within the district to enhance their route.
“Tourists are looking for personalised experiences, so we are exploring technologies such as chatbots to make a difference.”
Uniplan Hong Kong’s managing director, Darren Chuckry, reassured that digital and technology can now be used for bigger scale engagement, for example for personalised events, or learning where visitors are going through GPS tracking.
“Even if there are 1000 people at the event, they may have different requirements,” he said, adding that that’s when data and technology can measure how their needs and emotions are being met, and how brands can improve.
Admitting it’s difficult to combine existing and new data sets in most companies, Chuckry said his usual practise is to create a community for the event through social media, build a profile of them, then analyse the information to engage with them.
“Even for sponsorship, it is changing drastically,” he added, calling on marketers to leave behind traditional strategies like simply setting up a booth and calling it a day, and combine exponentially improving technologies to meet customer needs in unexpected ways.
What a year it has been for the marketing and advertising world! Good or bad news, we all learn and most importantly, we move forward in hope of a much better year ahead.
From ads facing backlash, global rebranding to brands poking fun at competitors, A+M has gathered this year's top reader favourites in Malaysia. Let's take a ride down the memory lane before we end this year with a bang:
Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s Chinese New Year spot did not strike gold in the world of social. Unforgiving netizens described the ad posted on Mercedes Benz Malaysia’s official Facebook as “terrible”, “meaningless”, “low class” and “a waste of money”. However, with regards to the entire campaign idea, Mark Raine, vice president, sales and marketing passenger cars, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia said the social media clips “compliments the overall campaign taking on a different angle with a humorous and light-hearted twist”. He added, especially on social media, the platform lends itself to communicating with a wider audience while using material “with a more real-life touch and feel” as opposed to filming a full-fledged TVC. Read more here.
Watsons Malaysia's Raya ad was facing tremendous backlash from netizens for the use of blackface. The 15-minute long video which was part of its Watson Legenda Cun campaign was removed upon the negative response. The commercial was about a rich merchant played by Kamal Adli, who held a talent audition in hopes of meeting the mysterious girl with the beautiful voice played by Ruhainies, who keeps appearing in his dreams. The ad did not sit well with many people, and was labelled racist, sexist, insensitive and tasteless. It featured a number of Malaysian celebrities including Amber Chia, Uqasha Senrose, Sasha Saidin, Raja Ilya, Thanuja and Luqman Hafidz. Read more here.
Motorola took a leaf out of Samsung’s page when it took a dig at the Galaxy series in its latest spot titled “The up-upgrade with the moto z²”. This followed Samsung’s recent ad, “Growing Up”, which roasted generations of iPhones. The spot begins with the protagonist looking over his shoulder while crossing the road and shaking his head, mirroring the behaviour of the protagonist in Samsung’s “Growing Up” ad. Upon reaching home, the protagonist begins watching a video on his Samsung Galaxy and he is joined by his girlfriend shortly after, who smirks at him while he shows off his new phone. Online reactions were mixed, with some commending Motorola for the “clap back” and the interesting ending, while others said they will still stick to Samsung. Read more here.
Facebook revealed that it would discontinue 17 ad formats which are rarely used and not “closely tied” to advertiser objectives. This is to better help advertisers drive business outcomes while providing consumers with more engaging experiences. All affected ad formats were removed by 15 September 2017. Meanwhile, campaigns that were using retired formats shifted to supported ad types by 29 September 2017 or had its delivery paused. In a post detailing the move, Facebook said the change allows it to improve and expand its most effective advertising products, and help advertisers better identify solutions which reach their goals. Prior to the move, businesses were able to boost any Page post type, including notes, life events, anniversaries and even relationship status updates. Read more here.
The iconic orange that we have gotten so used to will no longer be around as food delivery service provider foodpanda got a fresh new look. The rebrand followed its acquisition by tech giant Delivery Hero in December 2016, changing its brand colour from orange to pink. While the iconic panda will still remain at the forefront of its logo, it has been tweaked into a rounder and more “modern” version. According to the company, the new logo aims to be more memorable. Also, foodpanda’s font has also been updated to be more contemporary, which is in line with the brand’s new direction. Read more here.
While Thanksgiving is not a popular festival in China, a Durex-initiated “Weibo war” managed to stir up interesting attention among brands and netizens, in conjunction with the celebration. From 10am to 11pm on this year’s Thanksgiving Day, Durex China’s Weibo account published “Thank You” posts to 13 brands in seemingly unrelated fields. Even cheekier, the 13 “chosen brands” felt obliged to welcome or thank Durex back for something else, which left netizens no choice but to stay attentive to their Weibo accounts to see what’s next. Read more here.
Having reported steady growth, a report by Brand Finance Titled top 500 Banking Brands 2017, revealed that all Malaysian banks have improved their global rankings. aybank and CIMB remained crowned as the top 10 ASEAN bank brands and the top two Malaysian Bank brands in the global brand ranking. This was followed by Public Bank, RHB Bank, Hong Leong Financial, AmBank and Bank Islam respectively. Read more here.
2017 seems to be a good year for the digital marketing and e-commerce industry. Recruitment firm Robert Walters showed earlier in June that hiring activity was expected to remain strong in this industry, especially with the expansion of new businesses. The report suggested that since there is a shortage of professionals with sufficient digital marketing experience, job seekers with these niche skills are likely to be paid up to 30% more when they move to a new employer. Meanwhile, other professionals switching jobs in these sectors can expect salary rises of 15% to 20%. However, the report indicated that there could be a mismatch between the salary expectations of job seekers, who were hoping for higher salaries in 2017, and hiring budgets, which might not follow suit. Overall, the report highlighted that technology professionals with good programming skills will continue to be in demand. Read more here.
AirAsia removed a Facebook post which came under fire from netizens who called it sexist. The caption on the Facebook post read “OMG! (tap to see)” over an animated picture of a woman who was holding two semi circles over her chest. With a tap, the image would reveal her holding the figure “99” to indicate the airline’s cheap fare with a caption “You are not seeing things! 10,000 seats from RM99.” In response to the incident, an AirAsia’s spokesperson told A+M that the team was aware of the “feedback received towards an advertisement posted on its Facebook page” and apologised for “the inconvenience caused by the advertisement”. Read more here.
Lastly, Malaysian burger joint myBurgerLab's launch of its Nasi Lemak Ayam Rendang burger ahead of Merdeka Day, sparked debate between Malaysians and Singaporeans on social media. Some netizens expressed their excitement and delight for the new burger, which was launched following the release of the Nasi Lemak burger by McDonald’s in Singapore. However, others who were not very impressed called myBurgerLab “copycats”. Read more here.
As the year comes to a close in 2017, the discussion on issues such as brand safety and problematic programmatic continue to maintain its foothold on the minds of marketers. This year also saw the rampant adoption of chatbots into not only a marketer's customer facing strategy, but also that of employee engagement. Digital has also continued to sweep the hearts of marketers and publishers alike, with rapid transformation plans on the rise as print declines.
From controversial ads on LGBT issues, key people movements to throwing shade at your brand competitors, let's rewind on the top reader favourites from 2017 this year.
After deliberating over a controversial Pink Dot 2017 banner ad being placed inside Cathay Cineleisure, the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) deemed it did not breach the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (SCAP). However, it asked for the statement "Supporting the freedom to love" to be removed. It had since written to Cathay to inform it to amend the advertisement, stating it would follow up on its compliance. Read more here.
Pink Dot 2017 ad placement found in Cathay Cineleisure sparked police reports from netizens against the controversial LGBTQ event in Singapore. When contacted by Marketing, a Cathay spokesperson said that as an entertainment company, Cathay has always believed in an all-inclusive society where there is a place for everyone to call home. Read more here.
Following ASAS’ recent decision on Pink Dot’s Cathay Cineleisure ad, Cathay maintained that while it was the owner of the advertising platform provided to Pink Dot, it was not the owner of the ad and hence not in a position to decide on the removal of the statement “Supporting the freedom to love”. Meanwhile, organisers of Pink Dot 2017 said they were confident that Singaporeans will able to discern its message of inclusion, diversity and love from one that seeks to divide them because of differences. As such, the organisers said they were open to speaking to ASAS and inviting them to a ‘frank discussion’. Read more here.
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) made a stand for the country after the airing of a controversial episode of CBS’ Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. During the episode, the show makes several misrepresentations about the island, causing a negative reaction online. Following the faux pas, STB published a series of photographs on its Facebook page. Each one was accompanied with captions which took a jab and debunked most of the geographical and factual inaccuracies of Singapore portrayed in the Criminal Minds episode. Read more here.
Following Samsung’s recent dig at Apple’s iPhone, Motorola was swift in serving up shade, taking aim at Samsung’s Galaxy series in its latest spot. Motorola’s new video garnered over 98k views at the time of writing. Online reactions were mixed, with some commending Motorola for the “clap back” and the interesting ending, while others said they will still stick to Samsung. Read more here.
This year was a good year for technology specialists and digital marketers, as more multinationals and startups look to establish operations in Singapore, according to report by Robert Walters. Salary increments for sales and marketing job movers were said to range from 10% to 15% increase on base salaries in 2016. In 2016, marketing hiring was said to be dominated by a need for professionals with digital skills. This was with a rising demand for quality sales people as well as digital marketing candidates across all sectors. Read more here.
Facebook discontinued 17 ad formats which are rarely used and not “closely tied” to advertiser objectives. This was to better help advertisers drive business outcomes while providing consumers with more engaging experiences. All affected ad formats was removed by 15 September 2017. Facebook said the change allowed it to improve and expand its most effective advertising products, and help advertisers better identify solutions which reach their goals. Read more here.
Netccentric CEO Cheo Ming Shen stepped down from his current position as CEO. According to an ASX listing, he will remain on the board of the company as a non-executive director. Following the move, regional director Yang Huiwen was appointed interim CEO while the company’s board of directors continued to work closely with Netccentric’s executive team. This was while the company commenced its search for a new CEO immediately. Read more here.
The role for digital marketers was found to be in demand, according to the 2017 Kelly Services and Capita Salary Guide which compiles job placements and trend data annually. The guide found those with skills around CRM, applied analytics, customer journey mapping to have higher bargaining power when it comes to pay. Read more here.
Following the collision of two MRT trains at Joo Koon station due to a signaling system fault, SMRT and the Land Transport Authority of Singapore (LTA) issued joint statements. The first statement however, drew flak for the use the word “came into contact” to describe the collision. Netizens called out the statement an attempt to “sugarcoat” the train collision and inappropriate due to the number of injuries reported. In the subsequent posts, SMRT was quick to change the words “came into contact” to “collision”. Read more here.
Monika Rudijono, former president director at Grey Group Indonesia, has joined Uber Indonesia as president, a role effective in January 2018. Prior to the move, Rudijono was with Grey since 2014.
Her departure was revealed just last week, with her replacement being Grey Group Singapore CEO Subbaraju Alluri - who took on the newly created role of area director - Indonesia and Thailand. Rudijono also held roles such as COO and later president director. During her time in the company, she led the creative, account, digital, shopper, and activation divisions with strategies and integrated thinking.
Rudijono boasts nearly two decades of advertising experience, starting her at MACS 909 and later FCB, where she helped kick-start the interactive arm of FCB Indonesia. She later moved on to Leo Burnett in 2004, and was credited for new business acquisitions for the agency such as local telco Telkomsel. She also helped start Isobar Indonesia, working with clients such as Telkomsel, Axis, Sampoerna and Nestle to name a few.
“With two decades of experience building brands and leading businesses in the country, we are excited to see Rudijono step into this critical role to lead the next stage of Uber’s growth in one of the largest ridesharing markets in the world,” Brooks Entwistle, chief business officer, Uber Asia Pacific, said.
“Ridesharing is changing the way Indonesian cities move, and bringing economic opportunities to millions. I’m thrilled to be part of this movement, and lead the next transformative chapter of Uber’s growth story in a country I am proud to call home,” Rudijono said.
You are standing in a muddy street, and a young girl suddenly appears before you. She describes her family, and takes you on a journey through the Syria refugee camp in which she lives. This immersive movie filmed and published by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in 2015 was a collaboration between Samsung and Oculus. The empathy that this movie inspired made it one of the most frequently named successes in the technology industry.
And UNHCR has once again adopted a technological approach to support its empathy-focused marketing strategy.
Launched in November, the NGO transformed Lee Tung Street in Wan Chai into a deeply personal experiential space. As Hongkongers put on headphones and shut out the world, they were transported to South Sudan through a powerful and visceral audio journey, escaping with Nadima.
Bianca Lam, head of fundraising (Hong Kong & Macao) at UNHCR, said the idea for the event originated from the thinking that most people can visualise the plight of refugees from media photos, but otherwise could not relate. Playing up a more emotional story through the sound experience and the personification of a refugee, the experience was designed to help people relate.
The NGO chose to launch the event in Wanchai, a neighbourhood where old meets new, to reach different audiences including families, office goings, teenagers and elderly, Lam explained.
She added that the result was very positive, with over 790 people participating in the two-day event. In comparison, UNHCR's regular film festival saw around 700 participants across two weeks of nine screenings.
"It is increasingly difficult for us to raise public interests on the issue, either because most people already know the refugee problem and intended to be rational or insensitive," Lam said. "But in this event, we blindfolded them, let them fully immerse into the audio experience, and it turns out to be very effective. One audience even wrote us an email to thank us for raising the issue."
Lam said they will consider rolling out similar events to other neibourhoods, as well as invest in more experience-focused campaign which leverage technology.
She added that given the attention it has raised, the NGO is under discussion with several brands and businesses, finding a way to encourage and persuade citizens to take actions and care about worldwide refugee crisis.
American Express' Platinum Card has undergone a revamp, and here's how it looks like now.
The card itself has been totally redesigned and manufactured out of stainless steel giving the card an updated and sleek look.
Susanna Lee, country manager of Hong Kong and Taiwan, and general manager of Insurance Asia of American Express International Incorporation, told Marketing she has seen an evolution in customer needs and preferences, and that the brand aims to offer world travelers and lifestyle enthusiasts more unique experiences.
The renewed design thus signifies "more privilege benefits and rewards" that it can offer.
Facebook-owned Instagram will be used by nearly one in four smartphone users worldwide this year, according to eMarketer’s global forecast of the photo- and video-sharing social platform.
In Hong Kong, Instagram is ranked number 8 globally by the share of social network users, representing 47.6% of social network users. eMarketer predicts that by the end of 2017, Instagram’s global audience will total 593.7 million users.
In the coming years, eMarketer expects Instagram’s growth to cool down from the explosive rates seen between 2015 and 2017.
The primarily mobile-based platform does have some boundaries, especially when compared with Facebook—which attracts considerably more desktop-oriented users and older individuals.
By 2021, Instagram will reach 927.9 million users worldwide, representing 30% of social network users, eMarketer projects. Instagram’s audience in 2017 will be a little more than 38% the size of Facebook’s and more than double that of Twitter, which it overtook in early 2015.
“Instagram’s exponential growth in popularity over the past two years is a direct result of new product updates and features, including Instagram Stories, live video, geostickers and face filters, which have kept its user base active and engaged,” said eMarketer forecasting analyst Cindy Liu. “We see no signs it will slow down in the near future, and Instagram’s push toward international markets will continue to fuel growth.”
Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur (Four Seasons) has appointed Milk PR as its public relations agency for Malaysia.
The appointment is effective December 2017, for a period of one year.
Drawing on its luxury expertise and insights, Milk PR will be responsible for managing all of Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur’s media relations, whilst also "leveraging on its close-knit relationships with Kuala Lumpur's social and corporate elites to build the Four Seasons brand in Malaysia," according to Tom Roelens (pictured), general manager of Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, who spoke exclusively to A+M.
Other brands that Milk PR, which is an independent, Kuala Lumpur-based public relations consultancy handles include Sephora Malaysia, Nobu Kuala Lumpur, COS, Moet Hennessy Malaysia, Coach and Swarovski.
On another note, the hotel has also appointed Tengku Badariah as its pre-opening director of sales last month. Prior to this, she was the pre-opening director of sales and marketing for New World Petaling Jaya Hotel (New World PJ Hotel). She was tasked to be in charge of the branding and marketing of the hotel, including to “spread the word across the globe about its brand essence and character, as well as relationship hospitality”.
Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, which is now in advanced stages of construction, is slated to launch in mid 2018.
Located adjacent to the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, the hotel is part of a 65-storey mixed-use tower, including residential and retail. With 209 guest rooms and suites, and 27 serviced residences, the hotel also offers an executive lounge, a serene spa, a wellness-focused fitness centre and a rooftop infinity pool.
With the year swiftly coming to a close, it is time to rewind the highlights of the year in the region. According to Google’s annual “Year in Search” findings, Singaporeans and Malaysians alike have a shared interest in mobile devices such as the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X, as well as the SEA Games which took place in Kuala Lumpur this year.
In Singapore, taking the top spot in trending brands is Lazada Singapore. This is followed by ezbuy and Cathay Cineplexes which took the second and third place respectively. According to Google, apart from shopping sites, Singaporeans also embraced new brands and disrupters in the market such as bike-sharing service oBike and digital telco Circles.Life.
Events which drew the most interest on Google search this year included ArtBox Singapore, which took the top place. This followed by annual highlights such as Formula One which came in second place, the Singapore Night Festival (seventh) and the Chingay (eighth).
Meanwhile in trending searches, Pokemon Go continued to make an appearance this year, with Singaporeans turning to local realtime Pokemon tracker Sgpokemap for help in game. The introduction of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X also helped the two devices climb to the top of the charts at second and third place respectively.
Here’s a look at the different trends in search this year in Singapore.
Trending brands:
1. Lazada Singapore
2. ezbuy
3. Cathay Cineplexes
4. OCBC Singapore
5. Circles.Life
6. oBike
7. Golden Village
8. StarHub
9. Zalora
10. LiHo Trending events
1. Artbox Singapore
2. Formula One
3. IT Show
4. Ed Sheeran Singapore
5. Star Awards
6. Miss Singapore
7. Singapore Night Festival
8. Chingay
9. Coldplay Singapore
10. PC Show Trending searches
1. Sgpokemap
2. iPhone 8
3. iPhone X
4. Wonder Woman
5. Beauty and the Beast
6. Wimbledon
7. SEA Games
8. Justice League
9. Lazada Singapore
10. ezbuy
This year in Malaysia, the iPhone 8 topped the list of trending devices in Malaysia in 2017. This was according to Google’s annual “Year in Search” findings. Coming in second was iPhone X, followed by Oppo F5, Huawei Nova 2i and Huawei P10. The top 10 list of trending devices on Google search was also dominated by Asian brands, including terms such as Huawei P10, Oppo R9s, Vivo V5, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Huawei Mate 10.
Topping the list of 2017’s overall trending search terms is government financial aid programme for low income earners, BR1M. Local hit drama Hero Seorang Cinderella claimed the second spot while SEA Games 2017 came in third in trending search terms. Also in the top 10 list are local drama series Titian Cinta and SAPS NKRA, the public school exam analysis system for teachers and parents.
Meanwhile, money game operator JJ Poor to Rich topped the list of trending news topics in Malaysia, followed by petrol price Malaysia, Budget 2018, MRT Malaysia and Lembaga Getah Malaysia. Global search terms such as Hurricane Irma and Catalonia were the sixth and seventh trending news topics in the country.
Here’s a look at the different trends in search this year in Malaysia.
Trending devices
1. iPhone 8
2. iPhone X
3. Oppo F5
4. Huawei Nova 2i
5. Huawei P10
6. Oppo R9s
7. Vivo V5
8. Samsung Galaxy S8
9. Huawei Mate 10
10. Huawei P9 Trending searches
1. BR1M
2. Hero Seorang Cinderella
3. SEA Games 2017
4. Titian Cinta
5. SAPS NKRA
6. Fast and Furious 8
7. Suamiku Paling Sweet
8. Despacito
9. Bigg Boss Vote
10. Myvi 2018 Trending News Topics
1. JJPTR (JJ Poor to Rich)
2. Petrol Price Malaysia
3. Budget 2018
4. MRT Malaysia
5. Lembaga Getah Malaysia
6. Hurricane Irma
7. Catalonia
8. Tahfiz terbakar
9. Fattah Amin-Fazura
10. Banjir di Pulau Pinang
As the year comes to a close, reflections on how far along an organisation is in its digital transformation journey are plenty, with many marketers looking toward providing better customer journies.
This year, KPMG conducted a study which found that new or disruptor brands entering a market (e.g. Amazon) were often perceived by customers to offer better service. This was also true of traditional businesses which had reinvented themselves with a greater focus on customer experience.
For the case of Singapore and the region however, more traditional brands may be under threat. This is not just because they weren’t going digital fast enough, but rather it was because they were not even being perceived by consumers to be present in the digital age – therefore not offering the best customer experience. As such, this is the space that start-ups are leading in as opposed to traditional brands.
Speaking to Marketing about the issue was Julio Hernandez, KPMG global customer center of excellence lead at KPMG International. He said that while there is no doubt that digital technology can transform business and economic models across industries, that doesn’t mean everything needs to be digital. Digital is simply an enabler to engage and service customers.
“Employing digital and technology solutions power new ways to engage customers, help optimise operations and transform products. This can help organisations better understand their customers as they scale their businesses and predict how they may behave or anticipate what they may want in the future,” Hernandez said.
As such, digital tools can also allow companies to break down the front, middle and back office barriers that often exist so they can execute their customer strategy more effectively and empower employees who are customer facing. But applying digital tools should not eliminate the human touch.
“Human interaction is what drives emotionally meaningful customer experiences. The relationship between people and technology must be symbiotic and should not be a replacement of one for the other as they are most beneficial when working together,” Hernandez said.
Organisations that are developing digital to solve real life problems are the ones resonating most with customers.
As such, traditional brands need to understand what their brand represents and what they want their brand to represent along with what their customers value and need. According to Hernandez, once brands do that, they can determine the right techniques to engage customers. This will be through their marketing sales and service functions, harnessing digital technologies as appropriate and bringing their teams along with them in their customer-first vision.
Due to the rise in “business rigour” in today’s marketing function, marketing has also become more strategic to driving growth. For Hernandez, marketers have “risen in stature” and the ones seeing success are increasingly and more operationally focused. These marketers are also aligned with customers' agendas and firmly take advantage of appropriate technologies.
“By blending their creativity with data management and financial management skills, marketers can integrate and interpret this data to enable more prescriptive and predictive marketing tactics. This provides the agility required to meet customers' changing needs and ultimately translates into a return on investment,” Hernandez added.
With the evolution of the CMO role, agencies are also being held to the same standards as in-house marketers. This extends to measuring results, effectiveness of recommendations and withstanding the scrutiny of measurement and transparency.
Agencies are also judged on whether they are able to execute through all the necessary channels and how well they bring the right creative acumen, to name a few, Hernandez explained. He added that more and more, marketers need their agencies to work alongside all parts of their organisation.
They [agencies] must serve as the mirror image of the organisation and align themselves with the customer agenda.
But finding the right talent also comes with its challenges given how much marketing talent has evolved over the past two decades. According to Hernandez, what was required then is not what is needed to be a successful marketer today. Back then, it was the power of the creative and positioning.
However, two forces are reshaping today's marketing landscape – namely customer expectations and the availability of customer and market data.
This means the role of today’s CMO – and their teams – is an increasingly complex and powerful one. This is with significant involvement in everything from lead generation to customer service, and an increasing reliance on technology. As such, marketers need to work across functions and disciplines and master new technologies to track a complex web of customer interactions.
“The challenge today is not only to identify your customers' agendas and align your strategy to their needs but also deliver ROI and higher standards of measurement that supports delivery of topline growth,” Hernandez said.
The Singapore Cancer Society and independent advertising agency Up & Up collaborated to launch the 2017 edition of Give Up For Good, which encouraged smokers to willingly donate any number of fresh cigarettes.
The value of every fresh cigarette collected during the campaign was matched or multiplied by sponsors, including Gardenia, Lotte, Pokka and TSK Foods, in terms of food items and household necessities for cancer patients and their families. The campaign collected 2,774 sticks of cigarettes with a street value of SG$1,664.40, which is almost 40% more than its original target of 2,000 cigarettes.
In a statement to Marketing, a spokesperson for Up & Up said it plans to make Give Up For Good an annual event and hopefully a movement. On why the campaign worked with Gardenia, Lotte, Pokka and TSK Foods, the agency stated that it approached companies that were able to provide food items and household necessities to cancer patients and their families in need.
“Each stick they donate is matched or multiplied in food items and household necessities for cancer-stricken families by sponsors like Gardenia, Lotte, Pokka, TSK Food. Every 10 sticks we collect represent a bag of rice. This year, our target was to collect 2,000 cigarette sticks, with a street value of $1,200. We are very heartened that we exceeded our expectations by nearly 40% and smokers who were moved by our initiative gave up 2,774 cigarette sticks worth $1,664.40 for good," Grace Tan, assistant manager, Singapore Cancer Society.
Creator Collective has revealed that it would be bring back its second content marketing bootcamp in January 2018, following its first run in 2016. The programme is organised by Brand New Media (BNM), and is supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and the Asia Content Marketing Association (ACMA).
This time, the course will involve real content briefs provided by brands in Singapore such as Singapore Tourism Board, OCBC Bank and Chan Brothers. This will culminate in 10 half-day workshops, which aim to equip participants with the skills to tell compelling stories, create great content and build an online audience through content marketing.
Participants will also pitch their content marketing solution to each brand and a panel of judges, with the winning group will receiving a trophy and prize money to create a pilot project. It will also get featured in a leading publication owned by Singapore Press Holdings, the press statement said.
Besides ACMA, additional speakers participating in the programme include YouTube creator Dee Kosh, Simon Yin of Mustard Hong Kong, Michael McKay of ActiveTV and Fotini Paraskakis of the Endemol‐Shine Group. The course will also see the participation of industry faces such as Tony Chow of Marriott International, Rajiv Jayaraj of Wavemaker and David Fallarme from Hubspot.
“Our objective is to get a new breed of creators and companies in Singapore excited about brand storytelling. We also want to inspire existing creators to continue making engaging content and facilitate a new generation of commercial online content creators in Singapore.” Joanne de Rozario, managing director of BNM, said.
“Content creation is a core pillar of our marketing strategy to engage the right audience with the right message, in the right format and at the right moment. This partnership with Brand New Media to launch the Creator Collective will help grow the marketing community and inspire a generation of up and coming content experts,” Goh Theng Kiat, CMO, Global Consumer Financial Services, OCBC Bank said.
More than half (53%) of the 1,000 Singaporean shoppers surveyed are enlisting the help of chatbots for holiday shopping, with 74% of shoppers acting on the recommendations given by chatbots, according to the new SAP Hybris Singapore Christmas Shopper Survey 2017.
The survey, which also stated that bot-powered commerce is on a tipping point in Singapore, noted that businesses and brands, however, should not neglect incorporating the human touch. This is because Singaporeans expect assistance from chatbots to be rudimentary, with 58% viewing chatbots as useful only for basic information search. Complex enquiries are expected to be handled by a human being.
Meanwhile, 21% of those surveyed indicated that talking to chatbots have been a frustrating experience for them so far and they would rather speak to a human being, while 17% expressed an outright dislike for chatbots. Also, 61% are concerned that their requests might not be understood by the chatbot, while 35% are worried that their personal information might be leaked by chatbots. Also, 13% stated that chatbots are "creepy" if they know too much information about consumers.
SAP Hybris' survey stated that to win Singaporeans over, chatbots have to become more understanding and intuitive. Nearly half of Singaporeans (48%) indicated they will engage with chatbots more often if they are able to produce more personalised recommendations on what to buy. Other factors that will encourage shoppers to use chatbots more often is to provide comparison prices and products from other brands (47%); assure consumers that personal information will be kept private (38%); offer recommendations on similar and complimentary products (35); or become more human-like (18%).
According to Nicholas Kontopoulos, global VP of Fast Growth Markets for SAP Hybris, the customer experience can make or break a brand. In view of this, businesses need to stay attuned to these concerns and optimise the use of chatbots as one component in a wider omnichannel strategy.
He added that while chatbots can proactively offer answers for initial queries on pricing, product features, or book and make reservations, they cannot fully replace the value of human interaction when it comes to building customer relationships. Any hint of customer dissatisfaction needs to be solved immediately, by a human services officer, Kontopoulos said.
“Singaporean shoppers have an appetite for deeper engagement with chatbots, but what the results really tell us is that they want a more personalised e-commerce experience. Today’s consumer have higher expectations and businesses need to keep a close pulse on the ever-evolving customer journey in order to react to not just changing consumer preferences but context at point of purchase or even consideration," Kontopoulos added.
"To this end, businesses should view chatbots as more than just an answering machine – they are also a valuable mine of data that offer fresh perspectives into the underlying reasons for sales trends and help brands better understand what their customers are looking for. Armed with these insights, they can then take action to cultivate sales and entrench customer loyalty," he said.
Astro and Huomao, China’s leading eSports live streaming platform have officially launched Tamago, a new live streaming platform targeted at Millennials. Tamago focuses on localised user generated content (UGC) in Southeast Asia namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.
Since its soft launch two months ago, Tamago has garnered over 150,000 users from across Southeast Asia (SEA). Tamago allows viewers to explore interactive features like live streaming, gifting including virtual spending, real time interactions and creation of content. Viewers can engage real time via live chats, as well as rewarding content creators with virtual gifts, that can be purchased through in app purchases through microtransactions on Tamago.
Banking on eSports, the app allows users the access to exclusive live gaming and video content such as Office War, eGG Clan and many other DotA 2 majors and minors from eGG Network and new reality show, Symphony of Love.
In addition, Tamago users are also able to watch live streams by over 190 content creators and social influencers including Malaysian superstars Zizan Razak and Lisa Surihani; Astro celebrities and personalities like, Hafiz Suip and YouTube sensation, Chaleeda Gilbert.
Henry Tan, chief content and consumer officer of Astro Group said it believes there is a strong interest in the live streaming space in SEA especially amongst Millennials. "In partnership with Huomao, our technology partner who has been successful with streaming live UGC content in China, we are pleased to launch Tamago with interactive live chats and streaming experience. Live streaming is an amazing way for people to connect and interact in real time and Tamago is well served by content creators, entertainers, musicians, gamers, social influencers and Astro celebrities," Tan said.
“This (partnership) also presents new creative possibilities for sponsored content and native advertising as we have seen in China, which is of great interest to advertisers seeking branded content. We are glad to have an opportunity to be a part of Tamago and to lend support in the areas of technology and operations,” said Naomi Wu, chief operating officer of Huomao.
YuBin Ng, head of Tamago said Tamago app will live stream the Hatsune Miku Expo 2017, with partners including Crypton Future Media, INC and Digi. "As there are millions of Hatsune Miku fans across the globe, those unable to attend the concert will get to experience this concert via Tamago. The concert live stream will be available to its users on 16 December.
Tamago app is available free on App Store and Google Play Store.
Christmas is not only a season of giving but also a season of reconnecting with loved ones. As such, these two aspects are, without a doubt, present in campaigns and ads that are running this festive season.
Here is a look at some Christmas campaigns that warmed the hearts of consumers and tugged at their heartstrings.
1. Singtel
Singtel's Christmas video titled "Ah Ma's Christmas", is a reminder to consumers to not let their digital devices get in the way of enjoying the company of their family and friends this holiday season.
Produced by BBH and directed by filmmaker K. Rajagopal, "Ah Ma's Christmas" will be aired on Singtel TV and various social media channels until 30 December 2017.
The short film follows a grandmother who goes about Christmas preparations alone, as her family members are caught up with their own lives and preoccupied with their mobile devices. While feeling both neglected and excluded, she chances upon an unused phone and resolves to get connected like the rest of her family.
Little does she count on a video recording of herself on Christmas Eve finding its way back to the family, triggering the final scene where the family learns to lay down their devices and reconnect with grandma. The film also celebrates technology’s ability to bridge the generational gap, as is seen when grandma gets the hang of her smartphone.
The Facebook video garnered over 1.8 million views, 33k reactions, 17,223 shares and 895 comments at the time of writing. Netizens' reactions to the video were positive, with some agreeing that individuals should spend more time with their families instead of focusing on their mobile devices.
2. DBS
DBS’s latest Christmas campaign aims to give its customers more reason to spend on its cards this festive season by giving a cheeky twist to gifting.
Conceptualised and produced by Tribal Worldwide, the campaign runs on social media, cinemas, radio, digital, print and out-of-home channels. A 45-second Facebook video dramatises the disdain-happy-disdain emotions and humour that comes along when consumers buy gifts for unlikely friends.
The video garnered over 292k views, 1.3k reactions, 147 shares and 24 comments at the time of writing. Reactions from netizens were mainly positive, with many viewers commenting that the ad was humorous yet relatable.
The agency also conceptualised the idea of Singapore's first social media-powered gift dispenser machine named "Share wefies for pressies", located at Ngee Ann City until 22 December 2017. This is to ensure there is on-ground presence for the campaign.
3. Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee collaborated with Singaporean calligraphy artist Souldeelight for the CostaChristmasMail campaign, to create limited-edition Christmas cards to be given away with every festive beverage purchase. This was in a bid to encourage Singapore to reconnect with the old school charm of mailing cards and letters through its Costa Christmas Mail initiative.
In a time where festive greetings are shared via WhatsApp or social media, and the only mail people seem to be receiving are bills, a handwritten card can be a refreshing way to make someone’s day.
As part of the initiative, customers can pen their holiday wishes to a loved one and drop it into the Costa Christmas Mail sack at any outlet. In a Facebook video, consumers reminisced about the joy experienced when receiving cards and letters in the mail as teenagers. They also confessed that they now have no clue where the nearest post box is and have not bought a stamp in years.
The video received more than 7.8k views, 68 reactions, 18 shares and three comments at the time of writing. The campaign will also be executed via Facebook and Instagram.
Additionally, Costa's Christmas campaign also includes Christmas calligraphy workshops with Souldeelight and a self-service gift wrapping station.
Forgot your Christmas present? Visa has got you covered. The company unveiled a Facebook video, which garnered over 75k views, 444 reactions and 14 shares at the time of writing, depicting a seamless Christmas shopping experience.
In the video, the girlfriend hands the protagonist a Christmas present, who then realises he had forgotten to buy her one. He quickly reaches out to the Christmas tree behind him, which then hands the protagonist a present, signifying the efficiency and seamlessness that Visa and Amazon Prime bring to consumers when it comes to shopping.
View the video here:
What are some of your favourite Christmas campaigns? Share them with us!
Dentsu Aegis Network has appointed Ben Wightman (pictured) to the newly created role of head of data strategy, Asia Pacific, effective immediately, in a bid to drive the network’s growing data proposition.
In his new role, Wightman will work closely with Vikram Bansal, chief data officer of DAN APAC, in honing and evolving the agency's data strategy, offering support to ensure adequate data governance and drive more holistic data-led thinking across all agency brands.
Wightman joins from Dentsu Aegis' B2B marketing specialist agency gyro, where he served in various senior roles, including regional group strategy director and client service director. He was vital in building gyro's data-oriented channel and sales enablement service offering, working with leading IT clients.
“Wightman brings a broad perspective of results-driven marketing to support Dentsu Aegis Network’s strategic growth efforts in data. He is a recognized thought leader in his field and his deep understanding of the potential and opportunities that data provides gives us an added advantage to advance our leadership at the forefront of the digital economy," Vikram said.
As the advertising industry continues to evolve, what are some of the current trends that marketers should be looking out for?
Today, we as consumers are constantly bombarded with messages from every platform available. But is it truly effective? Content marketing in the age of data often focuses on understanding what people are doing rather than how they are feeling. And consumer decisions rely heavily on emotions they experience too. Consumers of today are looking for content that would complement and represent moments that are relevant in their lives. By reaching audiences during moments that matter to them, brands can now leverage their content with personalized messages to their user, based on the user’s state of mind. The unique ability of micro-moments to flex to consumers’ need, makes it an especially powerful marketing tool, as brands reach their audience when they’re most engaged, with personalised content that matches their moment.
What are some of the challenges that marketers face in today’s advertising space?
With rising demand of mobile, online video and social media, the digital ad space has seen massive growth in ad dollars. This should be no surprise considering how deeply integrated we, as consumers ourselves, are involved in the digital world. On the whole, as a region, we can expect that the government's dedication to connectivity and smart nations will spur this growth trajectory in time to come. That itself is an opportunity for advertisers to tap into the growing market of urbanised middle class consumers.
However, not everything in the advertising industry is rosy. A report from the World Federation of Advertisers estimates that approximately US$50 billion worth of ad dollars would be lost to advertising fraud by 2025. Simply put, these advertisements never truly reached human viewers. If left unchecked, advertisers could stand to lose a staggering US$150 billion by that year. Yet, despite the fact that this is a serious threat to the industry, it remains an existential problem that advertisers acknowledge but do little about. This calls to question a fundamental issue of how we measure viewability – what defines it and how then should advertisers measure and pay for it.
Ad viewability is particularly challenging for online video ads and most advertisers do not fully understand how their ad dollars are being translated into results. For instance, many digital players in the market charge by views; video starts, advertisers pay. This is regardless of the multitude of factors that contribute to the user’s ad viewing experience. Do you know if the audio is on? Are the users logged in? At what point can you be sure that your message has been received by the viewer? So many questions, but so little that the current metrics has to offer.
With zero ad fraud in Spotify’s system, which also means more brand safety and transparency, do you think that Spotify is well-placed to make a difference in the industry?
As a brand that is dedicated to providing the best experience not only to artists and users, we want brands that advertise on our platform to have a good experience as well. We strive to ensure there’s zero ad fraud in our system. We have 100% share of voice – there’s no scrolling past advertisements – so there’s very high levels of viewability. As our users progress through the day whether listening to audio ads or watching video we want to make sure that advertisers know that when they have ads out there, they are seen or heard, possibly most importantly, by-a-human. Are You a Human, a company dedicated to identifying fraud, has highlighted that 58% of internet traffic is driven by bots! Meanwhile, Spotify has 100% logged-in users and bring zero fraud to the ecosystem. As sellers we want to be certain about what we are selling; we want it to be relevant and of the best quality. I am excited to go to market with inventory that leads the market.
To complement this stand and ensure that we are competitive and are able to meet the advertising needs of brands, we have a full suite of digital products, including video, display, and audio. Audio and video are certainly where the growth is.
People-based marketing is the industry’s current hot topic, what are your thoughts on this and do you believe brands should be looking into this concept?
According to a 2016 study from Accenture, 75% of consumers are more willing to buy from companies that are able to recognize them as individuals and provide recommendations that meet their particular needs. Consumer decisions rely heavily on emotions they experience too. According to data from various functional magnetic resonance imaging neuro-imagery scans, consumers use emotions rather than information when evaluating a brand or product. This is also why content shared by friends or influencers are often a catalyst for consumer action. Taking into consideration of our highly personal environments, content needs to be perceived as trustworthy, authentic and relevant – all strong human emotions – to inspire consumers to take action.
We believe that people-based marketing is definitely a way forward for many brands to reach their target audiences successfully. As part of our education story, we recently introduced out first Spotify Digital Day in Malaysia, during which we covered the concept of streaming intelligence and people-based marketing. We spoke to over 250 attendees on the benefits of people-based marketing and how as the advertising industry continues to evolve, we as marketers need to be open and flexible to changes.
There is a study conducted by Spotify around understanding people through music, how does this tie back to the concept of people-based marketing and why should brands consider this approach?
Understanding people through music, a Spotify-led research has become a key part of our data mission. The theory behind the work: because music listening is so uniquely emotional, universal and, now, addressable thanks to streaming, it can uncover deeper insights than consumption of other kinds of content like movies and TV. Music as we know it, is weaved into our everyday lives. There is a song (or a playlist) to represent each moment of our lives. These moments can be as simple as having a shower before heading to work or preparing for a night out in town. Music reflects who we are, what we are doing and how we are feeling in any given moment. And thanks to music streaming services, people are listening to music and amplifying these moments more than ever.
What does this mean for brands? Streaming opens up an entirely new set of addressable moments for marketers. The music streaming ad revenue opportunity is worth US$1.5 billion today, and it’s expected to reach at least US$7 billion by 2030. Audio’s unique ability to flex to consumers’ needs makes it an especially powerful marketing tool. The mobile moments “at work” and “working out” alone have opened up US$220 million in ad revenue opportunity. With that in mind, we believe brands should leverage audio to reach out to their audience when they are most engaged, coupled with the right message that matches that moment in time.
D+1 Holding (D+1) has brought to light new insights on what went down behind its franchise relationship with llaollao Spain HQ, citing conflicts and various obstacles faced in the business relationship. This followed claims that llaollao Spain had been making the past few days in a bid to distance itself from Yolé, the new brand D+1 is promoting in Singapore.
In a statement to Marketing, D+1 said it had discovered the business opportunity for frozen yogurt in Asia and after thorough market research, it decided to acquire the rights for llaollao in Asia, which includes Singapore.
“We have put in tremendous effort in expanding llaollao across Asia. We have invested a large amount of financial and personal resources to develop the brand and we have expanded the business rapidly with unprecedented standards in the F&B industry. The facts speak for themselves,” the statement read.
For further context, it explained that llaollao first opened in Singapore at Marina Square “with little success”. Through its efforts and resources in developing the brand, the spokesperson added that D+1 went on to open outlets in 313 Somerset and Plaza Singapura.
“Once llaollao was very successful across Asia, unfortunately, llaollao HQ Spain did not respect the agreement and took advantage of its position as a franchisor, despite our numerous attempts to solve the issues amicably,” the spokesperson added.
The statement added that D+1 strongly believes that customers demand included improvements on the menu, wider variety and more flavours.
“Llaollao HQ vehemently rejected all our suggestions and imposed many other obstacles in Singapore, as they had already done in the past with other master franchisees in different countries before. This includes Chile, Portugal, Russia, Italy, Slovakia, Belgium, Taiwan, Thailand, etc, that had also left the llaollao brand,” the spokesperson said. The statement added:
This unilateral hostile attitude forced D+1 Holding to make the difficult decision to seek for alternatives in order to protect our customers' interest and our position as a corporation.
Speaking about the decision to acquire the master franchise rights for Yolé in Singapore, D+1 statement said that the core values of Yolé “mirror that of the demanding Singapore market”. This was after the company had conducted “very profound research”, coupled with “extensive experience in the F&B industry and understanding of the Singapore market”.
“Yolé has the components to be a distinguishable market leader with innovation centres in Italy and Spain (artisan experts of the ice cream industry, pioneers in technology and research). Thus, Yolé is able to bring an innovative menu and the latest products to the market,” the statement read.
Marketing has reached out to D+1 Holding for additional comment.
In case you were unaware of the events that have been unfolding the past couple of days, we have you covered!
Along with revealing its impending return to Singapore a few days later, llaollao alleged that Yolé was "a totally new brand in the frozen yogurt market that does not exist in Europe, even though it has been advertised as such".
Speaking more about the decision to make those statements in later interviews with Marketing, Pedro Espinosa, founder and CEO of llaollao, explained that over its eight years in business, llaollao has always placed primary importance on product quality. As such the decision to make such a public statement lied in untying "llaollao from any other frozen yogurt brand whose quality standards are unknown". Espinosa also revealed that llaollao was currently searching for agencies and collaborators to help with its re-entry into the Singapore market.
Maybank has launched a pilot version of its cashless mobile payment option using QR codes called “Maybank QRPay", which will be adopted by 33 stalls at the food court in Laman Menara Maybank.
The new service, which will be launched to the public in January 2018, allows customers to instantly pay for products and services by scanning a QR code on their mobile devices. The bank aims to use Maybank QRPay to promote greater use of cashless transactions in the country.
According to Maybank's head of group community financial services Datuk Lim Hong Tat, the new service is expected to revolutionise the way payments are conducted between customers and merchants especially for small ticket items.
He added that the bank is confident its QRPay service has the potential to complement the debit or credit card as a cost-effective alternative to cash due to the lower infrastructure cost and the increasing use of mobile phones in Malaysia. Merchants will enjoy various benefits such as undertaking their own promotion and business profile updates.
“When we go public in January 2018, we anticipate that customers will be able to use QRPay to purchase a wide array of products and services. This will include merchants in the food & beverage business such as cafes, food trucks, hawker centres/food courts and night markets, as well as other industries such as entertainment, beauty and home businesses," Lim said.
