Bentley Kuala Lumpur has appointed LAB Group (LAB) as its official PR and media communications agency covering the Malaysian market, after concluding a recent pitch which was called late last year.
In a statement, LAB's spokesperson added it will be handling all media activations for Bentley Kuala Lumpur. The contract will run for a year.
Jerry Lee, managing director of Bentley Kuala Lumpur said, the company was looking for a partner in Malaysia who could showcase in-depth understanding, "not only about the brand, but what it truly meant to be a Bentley owner, as well as to engage with the emerging modern luxury segment."
Bentley Kuala Lumpur's marketing and communications manager, Andrew Wong (pictured right) said, "With LAB Group’s expertise in localisation and identifying detailed communication and experience touch points, we are confident that they are able to shape extraordinary experiences for our current and future Bentley owners, and ultimately drive the brand to the next level.”
"Bentley and its owners are extremely well traveled and discerning individuals with class and character. We look forward to working with Bentley Kuala Lumpur’s progressive management on bringing the brand experience to the next level for Bentley owners, as well as craft extraordinary experiences for the modern luxury segment in Malaysia”, said Imelda Yong (pictured left), group marketing director of LAB.
LAB is a boutique consulting group which provides a range of management consulting services with other clients in Malaysia such as Heineken, St Regis Hotel, AirAsia, Mont Blanc, Public Bank, U Mobile, Sony, Berjaya Group and Huggies.
It is not easy to define brand authenticity. Yet consumers have little difficulty spotting it (or lack thereof) in a company. This is because consumers, particularly those in Asia, are placing increasing importance to the authenticity of a brand when determining their purchasing intent. Consumers today want to buy from businesses that engage with them in a genuine way.
We have a tendency in marketing to think of authenticity as being strongly driven by heritage, but today’s consumers are just as interested in what they perceive to be a brand’s commitment to innovating in a way that is relevant to and can improve their lives.
The marketing communications agency I work with in Asia, Cohn & Wolfe, identifies three main drivers of brand authenticity: 1) Reliable – delivering on promises and of high quality; 2) Respectful – treating customers well and protecting their data and privacy; and 3) Real – communicating honestly and acting with integrity. Much like what we would expect in an authentic human relationship.
Brand authenticity correlates with greater purchase intent
Cohn & Wolfe recently unveiled the 2017 Authentic 100 Brands Index as part of an annual global consumer survey of more than 15,000 consumers in 15 markets across the world on the role of authenticity in business. Our research shows a strong link between brands that behave and communicate authentically and their ability to attract and keep customers.
Globally, 62% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand perceived as authentic while 91% say they are willing to reward a brand for its authenticity via purchase, investment, endorsement or similar action. In Asian markets, the proportion is even higher than the global average.
Brand authenticity is the key to wooing the tech-savvy Asian consumer
The results also showed how brand authenticity is more important to Asian consumers than those in other regions. In China, 68% of consumers indicated higher purchase intent with brands they perceive to be authentic, with India and Indonesia at 67%, higher than the global average of 62%.
Consumers in Asian countries also displayed the most positive sentiments towards brand authenticity, with 43% of consumers in China and 37% in India perceiving brands to be open and honest compared to a global average of 22%. Similarly, 49% of consumers surveyed in China agreed that brands take full responsibility for their actions, compared with 39% in Indonesia and 38% in India. This compares to the global average of 25 percent. The higher positive perceptions in Asian markets juxtapose with consumer cynicism in Europe, where belief that brands are “open and honest” is in the single digits (Sweden: 5%, France: 7%, Germany: 8%, Italy: 9%).
The results underscore the opportunity for brands operating in Asia, as consumers in key regional markets demonstrate a greater wiliness to do business with companies that put more effort on building strong customer relationships and experiences.
Consumers giving more credit to tech firms
It is also striking that technology companies rate so highly on authenticity. Globally, the five most authentic brands all belonged to the technology sector: 1) Amazon, 2) Apple, 3) Microsoft, 4) Google and 5) PayPal.
In China, Huawei and Hewlett Packard topped the list, while Google, Apple and Microsoft were among technology brands featuring high in the rankings for India, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Indeed, technology brands comprise 70% of the Top 10 most authentic global brands.
So with digital transformation delivering greater choice and lower costs, consumers are giving more credit to tech companies. Technology has become a ubiquitous and integral part of how people manage their lives, and there are now countless opportunities for these brands to make a positive connection. Our study shows that people view the top-ranked technology brands as genuinely wanting to deliver new ways to make people’s lives easier to manage.
Opportunity to address the ‘Authenticity Deficit’ in Asia
The rules of communication have irrevocably changed, and we’re seeing consumers reward brands that understand how to engage with them openly and honestly, particularly here in Asia. Consumers will forgive the occasional corporate misstep if a company is upfront, and addresses the issue head-on. The brands topping the Authentic 100 understand this, and have demonstrated consistently that they value more than just their bottom lines by fostering a genuine dialogue with their customers.
But a large authenticity deficit between brands and their consumers remains, with 75% of consumers indicating that brands and companies have a credibility problem. In the era of digital everything, business leaders have a new way to harness the power of authenticity. More companies should embrace the ‘Age of Authenticity’ to woo the increasingly tech-savvy consumers in Asia. Brands that don’t, risk being left behind.
Matt Stafford is president of Asia Pacific at Cohn & Wolfe, a member of the Council of PR Firms of Hong Kong (www.CPRFHK.org)
Pure Group announced a new investment partnership with FountainVest Partners and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.
FountainVest is a Hong Kong-based private equity firm which has invested in companies including Chinese mobile app Codoon, Chinese lifestyle service app Meituan/Dianping, the China Joint Venture of the sports talent agency WME/IMG, and China's digital billboard network operator Focus Media.
As for Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, it is Canada's single-profession pension plan with offices in Toronto, Hong Kong and London. It has experience in the fitness sector, including health club chain 24 Hour Fitness and GNC, a specialty retailer of health and wellness products.
The undisclosed sum of investment from the two companies will fuel Pure Group's growth in Asia. At the moment, the 15-year-old Hong Kong-based fitness business group has yoga studios (Pure Yoga), online yoga video platform (MyPureYoga.com), fitness centres (Pure Fitness), raw organic healthy eating (nood food) and performance activewear (Pure Apparel).
"We are convinced that the market for health and wellness in Asia will continue to grow in the years ahead especially in emerging markets such as China," said Frank Tang, CEO and managing partner of FountainVest. "With our broad networks in the region, we will support Pure to unlock its full potential and continue developing its professional team of experts."
Jo Taylor, senior managing director international at Ontario Teachers' added, "There are strong growth opportunities in Asia's premium fitness market and we look forward to using our sector expertise to support Pure in taking the next step."
Colin Grant, CEO & co-founder of the Pure Group, said there will be no change in his role and those of the entire senior team, and that he and Bruce Rockowitz will remain as shareholders.
"Our new partners have a very successful investment track record and some fantastic complementary businesses in their portfolio," he said. "They understand and share our vision as the leading premium wellness brand in Asia, and contribute a valuable mix of international outlook and vast knowledge of the global market."
He added that following the opening of three yoga studios in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, as well as two fitness centres in Hong Kong and Singapore, 2018 will see more new openings of Pure Yoga and Pure Fitness across Asia, with a strengthened foothold in Hong Kong and steady growth across other cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore.
B2B marketplace startup InsightzClub has appointed Sudipta Sarkar as its chief technology officer (CTO), effective 2 January 2018.
Sarkar (pictured) will be responsible for the company's technology and product management globally. InsightzClub's platform is currently available in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
Prior to this, Sarkar who has more than 20 years of experience in product and technology leadership, was the client solutions and business analytics partner for Bureau Veritas, based in Hong Kong. At Bureau Veritas, he was responsible for its consumer products group globally as well as, leading its digital transformation. He also served as the global head of product management at TechMahindra.
Speaking exclusively to A+M , Padmanabhan Ramaswamy, co-founder and CEO of InsightzClub said the company is currently growing at a rate of 25% on-month since it officially started operations in March last year. It is still on track to achieve its first year's target sales of US$1 million.
"InsightzClub is at a very interesting point in the market. With Sarkar’s expertise in product and technology, we are excited and look forward to take the InsightzClub platform to the next phase and implementing cutting edge technology," Ramaswamy said.
InsightzClub is an automated platform for market research based on programmatic technology and machine learning. The company, which now works with several blue chip consumer brands and agencies in Malaysia and Singapore was co-founded by Ramaswamy and Mritunjay Kumar. It is also backed by Australia’a largest telco Telstra through accelerator Muru-D in Singapore.
Tiger Beer has launched its Lunar New Year campaign, which will run until mid-February, to reward its loyal consumers.
As part of the campaign, consumers who purchase three big bottles of Tiger Beer, Heineken, Guinness, Anchor Smooth or Anchor Smooth Draught in participating coffee shops, food courts and Chinese restaurants, can immediately redeem a pack of limited-edition Tiger Beer playing cards. Additionally, cash red packets worth RM99 and cans of Apple Fox Cider are also up for grabs.
The brewer is offering consumers exclusive Tiger Beer mahjong sets when they purchase a 24-can pack of Apple Fox Cider and two 24-can packs of any other Heineken Malaysia products at selected stores within this month.
The campaign also features the "Tiger Shopper Sweep" game, which is a 10-minute dash around the store, with the winner keeping everything they can fit into their designated boxes at selected Tesco outlets in Peninsular Malaysia. Consumers who purchase RM200 and above for Heineken Malaysia products will be able to play the game and win prizes including cans of Apple Fox, Guinness Bright and Tiger White, as well as the Tiger Beer Mahjong set.
A+M has reached out to Tiger Beer for comment.
“With so many opportunities to win, it’s easy to see that when you fill your glass with Tiger Beer, your new year will overflow with prosperity and togetherness. So this Chinese New Year, be sure to think of Tiger Beer and the rest of Heineken Malaysia’s award-winning range of iconic brews as you come together to celebrate with friends and family," Andrew Woon, sales director of Heineken Malaysia, said.
Ad tech firm Knorex has appointed Stan Chew (pictured) as the country manager of its Malaysian office to spearhead business growth in the country. His new role is effective, 2 January 2018.
Speaking to A+M exclusively, Knorex's spokesperson said Chew will be focusing on building new and existing client relationships, hiring key talents and driving long term business strategy. Chew reports to Justin Choo, CEO of Knorex.
His key tasks ahead will be to enable marketers and agencies access to performance focused technologies that is proprietary to Knorex. In addition, he is part of the company's executive team, tasked to grow the unit in Malaysia.
Chew who has more than a decade of media experience, joined from Performics Malaysia, the performance marketing division of the PublicisOne media agency group. As the general manager of Performics, he was instrumental in launching the group and tripling the size of the team over the past two years, according to Knorex.
"His wealth of knowledge and experience will provide critical insights into the latest trends and industry best practices. Chew's earnest focus on introducing innovation to customers aligns well with Knorex's relentless focus on developing cutting-edge advertising technologies and solutions," Choo said.
"Knorex is riding at the crest of ad tech innovation and developing uniquely owned solutions that challenge the way marketers and agencies think and operate. I’m excited to join a team that will unlock the constraints of today’s digital marketing landscape. To grow and move with the agility that is often lacking in many partnerships, we have to be selective and work with partners that want to speak our language of performance and precision,” Chew added.
Founded in 2010, Knorex provides performance marketing technologies and solutions to the leading brands, agencies and media companies. Apart from Malaysia, the company has operations in countries such as Australia, Thailand, India, Vietnam and Singapore. Brands the company has worked with include Airbnb, BMW, Emirates, Mediacorp, Montblanc amongst others.
McDonald’s is a household name, and the Golden Arches is one of the most recognisable logos in the world. In fact, more people recognise the iconic Yellow “M” than the cross. This just goes to show how well McDonald’s has done branding itself and staying relevant with people across the globe.
So how does a brand that serves 68 million customers a day around the world (more than the population of Great Britain) still manage to remain relevant in the countries that it operates in? Localisation.
In all countries that McDonald’s operates, it serves the iconic Big Mac, French Fries and Coke. However, local teams are given full liberty to adjust and customise their menus to meet the local customer’s demand. Especially when it comes to marketing promotions and communications, the “one size fits all” approach (that many companies still deploy today) is non-existent. Local teams are given free hand to create their own marketing calendars and deploy their own media strategies to best reach their local customers.
A good example of this would be the Prosperity Burger. The Prosperity Burger was created in Malaysia and is an extremely successful year-on-year recurring promotion linked to Chinese New Year. Since its creation more than 20 years ago, it has been picked up successfully by other markets such as Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
So you would think, “Hey, if we centralise the shoot of the commercial, get one director to film the TV spot for all four markets, record local voice-overs, and activate it in all the countries, we could drive efficiencies in the marketing budget right?”
This might be true to a certain extent. However, the way that each of these countries celebrates Chinese New Year, and the values each country’s customers embrace are different. Leaving each market to develop its own commercial spots based on relevant local insights ultimately leads to communications that are genuine and touch the hearts of their local consumers, resulting in better performance of the campaign.
Therefore, we can see how a “one size fits all” approach is quickly becoming a thing of the past, and localized, customized messaging that’s relevant to customers is the way forward.
The example above was on a country to country scale. But taking the same concept further, embracing a micro mind-set, and getting down to granularity even within your local market is changing the way marketers have to think about communications.
Using Malaysia as an example and focusing on the Malay language, even though Bahasa Malaysia is the National language that everyone understands, the slangs used across the different states vary. Speaking Malay in Selangor, you would use the word “Manis” to describe something sweet. But in Kelantan, the locals would actually pronounce and spell it differently as “Manih” in what is known as Kelantanese.
So as a McDonald’s marketer in Malaysia working to promote the Oreo McFlurry, you could create a blanket advertisement with the headline “Sedap dan Manis” (Delicious and Sweet) and plaster it on billboards across the country. That would be the easy way of doing things; it would reduce production costs; and cut down on complexities. However, applying the micro mind-set, and getting down to granularity, the billboard in Kelantan would read “Sedat dan Manih” which would show that McDonald’s embraces Kelantanese, and have much greater impact and resonate tenfold with a local there.
With the dawn of digital advertising, Marketers can take the localisation and micro mind-set a step further. Using the same promotion for Oreo McFlurry and merging it with real-time data such as location (which today can be as granular as 500 metres) and weather, you could have a Google banner ad that reads “Sweating? It’s 36°C in Kuala Lumpur. How about a delicious Oreo McFlurry to cool down”. The localisation possibilities are endless.
There’s a certain magic to localisation that can’t be explained. People react and respond very differently to advertising that’s tailor-made for their country, for their state, for their city, for THEM. Localisation shows that a brand cares about its customers and genuinely pays attention to their unique needs.
Advertising has and always been about stirring up emotions and making your customers feel good about your brand, ultimately leading to a sale. And that is how McDonald’s, a global brand, touches the hearts of 68 million people daily, through the localisation of marketing.
The writer is Eugene Lee, marketing director of McDonald’s Malaysia.
The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) has called for a social media pitch and the appointment is for a year with the option to extend for another.
The appointed agency will be responsible for account management, content ideation and development, as well as community management for EDB. According to Gebiz, the tender closes on 10 January 2018 and the contract commences on 1 February 2018.
This tender follows the appointment of local content creation agencies The Nutgraf and Think Tank Studio by EDB last year, to undertake its editorial, copywriting, copyediting, research and infographic design services. The appointment is for a year, with the option to extend for another.
In 2016, EDB also selected agency partners to cover four markets - Singapore, Japan, North America and Germany - to help EDB promote Singapore as an attractive business location and advance its domestic marketing efforts. TSLA was the selected lead agency for Singapore, with Zenith Singapore and Allison + Partners Singapore as part of the consortia. During the same year, it appointed Dane Lim as director of marketing and communications, taking over from former executive director Myrna Poon who joined DBS as senior vice president, head of brand and digital in May.
Last year, EDB collaborated with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to launch a new unified brand logo and tagline, "Passion Made Possible", to market Singapore internationally for both tourism and business purposes. The new tagline was created to communicate Singapore’s value proposition in addressing the needs of travellers and companies, as well as help the country stand out on the international stage.
Email is a mature channel, though it is constantly evolving. As an industry we have been talking about getting the right message, to the right person, at the right time – but we haven’t yet mastered it. However, today’s consumer demands a level of relevance and understanding from the brands they interact with in a much more sophisticated way than ever before.
It is this reality that is forcing email marketers to find new and innovative approaches to delivering on that expectation. But just looking at how a segment performed last week or last month isn’t enough to predict what is most relevant today. Marketers need to understand what’s happening in moments, in real-time, to truly deliver what the customer wants and needs, at that point in time.
Tapping into micro-moments, the hundreds or thousands of touchpoints that consumers have with digital channels throughout the day, is particularly important for email marketers. However, many are not activating these moments effectively – either because it is too complex or they don’t have the right tools, content or data. Having the right partner is critical for success in today’s landscape in order to drive innovation and keep customers engaged by creating value with each and every campaign.
Here are some considerations for getting the most out of your program and the tools at your disposal:
Stop segmenting and start dialoging:
Leveraging segmentation as a means for predicting future performance used to be effective. Today’s consumers, however, are transacting in moments. Being able to identify when those moments occur, leveraging digital signals and footprints, and integrating real-time data processing and messaging allows brands to contribute to the conversation. It isn’t about what a brand wants to say anymore. It’s about the conversation the consumer wants to have with the brand.
Evolve your definition of personalisation:
Personalisation is a frequent topic of conversation within marketing in general, but especially amongst email marketers since email can be easily personalised. But personalisation means something different to everyone. If you immediately jump to the subject line and first name use within email content— as many do— it is time to open your mind to other elements such as: creative, discounts and offers, copy sentiment, timing of message deployment, cadence of communication and so much more. It’s not just about what you say. It’s about delivering an experience that resonates and creates an emotional connection at the right moment in time.
Deliver an engaging experience within the inbox:
With the ability to deliver more engaging experiences within the inbox, creating an interactive and engaging experience is simplified and sometimes even fun! From progressive profiling, real-time polling and video and games, we can now deliver a consumer-friendly experience without having to force them out of their inbox. This keeps them engaged and interested.
To learn more and see examples of how brands are making the most of digital innovations, download our e-book.
The writer is Kara Trivunovic, vice president of digital solutions at Epsilon.
In his role, Rach will be responsible for promoting Monaco’s brand and building the company’s credibility with key stakeholders to establish the company as a thought leader and innovator in the industry.
Prior to Prudential, he led the regional American Express account at Ogilvy & Mather, where his team launched the Cathay Pacific American Express card. He also served as managing director of OgilvyOne Hong Kong with clients including American Express, Western Union, BlackRock, SmarTone, and IBM.
“Monaco has an unrivaled value proposition for cardholders. Joining the leadership team of Monaco at this stage of development is very exciting and I look forward to applying my experiences to expand the brand globally,” said Rach.
Meanwhile, Monaco has announced a series of new appointments to its senior management team, with Erald Ghoos as chief operating officer, Ken Baylor as chief cybersecurity officer, and Weiyi Zhang as platform architect.
Monaco was founded in 2016 by Kris Marszalek, founder of Hong Kong e-commerce platform BEECRAZY, then sold for US$21 million to iBuy Group in 2013, where he took on the position of COO and subsequently CEO.
The cryptocurrency platform is headquartered in Switzerland with offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.
After adding Cheil Hong Kong to its latest ad agency roster, MTR teamed up with the creative firm to roll out an outdoor campaign in a bid to some festive cheer and atmosphere at one of the busiest MTR stations in Hong Kong – Kowloon station during Christmas season.
Cheil Hong Kong was asked to come up with a branding campaign to add some festive cheer for MTR and to bring MTR’s message - “Festive delights to passengers” to life.
The project featured the Japanese cartoon anime Kumamon with a real-life train compartment showcasing the cartoon characters as part of the design.
The train compartment booth was done in real-life scale and was brought to life with two of the colourful mascots which looked to attract passengers coming in or out from the Kowloon station or going to and from the Elements Mall.
Leveraging on the cartoon character which has been part of the MTR’s souvenir ticket promotion campaign, the idea has captured the attention of passengers on their way to catch their train and have stopped people of all ages wanting to take a photo opportunity or selfie - especially when with family and friends during this festive period.
“The beauty of this campaign was being able to turn a simple idea into something interesting and fun, while also having the client’s full support in executing the project smoothly,” says Eric Park, managing director, Cheil Hong Kong.
“We are pleased with the outcome of this train compartment showcase, we hope our passengers can share the joy of Christmas while riding on MTR.” says Karen Woo, general manager - branding and mainland China and international business marketing of MTR Corporation.
The campaign ran from 10 December through 2 January 2018.
With the 14th general election around the corner, Barisan Nasional (BN) has rolled out a new portal called “theRakyat” in its effort to fight against fake news on social media.
According to The Star, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who launched the portal on 3 January 2018, said social media has become the primary source of information among the citizens. He added there is a need for a “platform that can be used to connect, and to spread accurate and quick information to the people” and that “every information in the portal must be authoritative.”
“In the 13th general election, we became the victim of fake news, although the term was not popular back then,” Najib Tun Razak said to the media, adding it believes that the same situation may happen during the upcoming election.
The new portal is an extension of the “e-rakyat” bulletin, which is now in its 20th edition since it was launched by the prime minister in March 2017. It is also an interactive platform for the public to voice their views and feedback.
Other information that are featured on the site includes Barisan’s candidates in the upcoming polls and one-on-one interviews with Barisan leaders in a programme called Bicara 4 Mata. Bicara 4 Mata will be aired on RTM and TV3 on alternate Wednesdays.
TheRakyat was also set up to serve as BN's official portal for its election slated to be in the near future, The New Straits Times said. In addition, it will be the official platform for BN for 14th general election, "in accepting the challenge of new media as main player in this election."
VICE Media has placed president Andrew Creighton and chief digital officer Mike Germano on leave, following a New York Timesreport last year on sexual misconduct within the company.
The report stated that there were four settlements involving allegations of sexual harassment or defamation against VICE employees, with Creighton being one of them. More than two dozen women said they experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct, including forced kisses and groping.
According to a company memo seen by Marketing, which was sent to employees from COO and CFO Sarah Broderick, the company is investigating the allegations against Creighton and Germano. In the meantime, both Creighton and the company have agreed that he remain out of the office on leave. The memo added that both men were the only two employees accused in the New York Times story who were still with VICE.
Broderick also wrote that all VICE employees - full-time and freelance - are required to participate in "mandatory sexual harassment training". "These trainings are to ensure awareness and understanding of VICE’s commitment to a workplace that promotes equal employment opportunities and is free of discrimination and inappropriate conduct," Broderick wrote.
She added that "[VICE needs] more women and diversity throughout the organisation". As such, the company is making "visible changes to its leadership" and will continue to add women and individuals of diverse backgrounds to its ranks. This will cover the entire organisation including content, marketing and sales.
"Changing an organization takes time and doesn’t happen over night. VICE has committed to 50/50 male/female at every level across the organization by 2020 and pay parity by the end of 2018," Broderick stated.
Creighton also apologised for the situation in an earlier statement to the New York Times, adding that he holds himself and others accountable in creating a "respectful" workplace environment. Germano also issued an earlier statement saying that he does not believe the allegations are reflective of the company's culture.
VICE declined to comment further on Marketing's queries. Last November, the company expanded into Asia Pacific by making Singapore its regional headquarters. The team is led by CEO of VICE Asia Pacific Hosi Simon, and will serve as a content hub offering the full scale of VICE services. This includes complete production capabilities, locally staffed editorial content, and creative services through Virtue Worldwide, VICE’s creative arm.
The issue of sexual harassment is not new to the ad world. Last October, IPG chairman and CEO Michael Roth came out against workplace harassment by issuing an internal memo titled “A Workplace Free from Harassment”. The memo stated that IPG has a “zero-tolerance policy for all types of harassment”. Roth encouraged employees who have been victims of sexual harassment to make a report “without fear of reprisal”.
In a study done in the USA last year, 4A’s found that majority of women who participated in the study had experienced sexual harassment at some point during their careers. From overly sexualised depiction of women in ads to sexual harassment in the workplace, women have been voicing out their experiences from across the ad industry globally.
Ad industry veteran Cindy Gallop also called for an “end the Harvey Weinsteins of our industry once and for all” in a Facebook post. According to an article on CNBC, she says she has received emails from all over the world regarding the matter.
Diageo has suspended all its advertising on Snapchat. This follows a ruling by a UK advertising watchdog that said Diageo did not take enough care to ensure its ads were not seen by users under the legal drinking age of 18 for its Captain Morgan Snapchat lens ad campaign.
Following the ruling, a statement issued to Marketing by Diageo said that it has a “strict marketing code” and that the company took its role as a responsible marketer seriously and acknowledged the ruling. This included taking all reasonable steps to ensure the content was not directed at users under the drinking age of 18. This was done using the data provided by Snapchat and applying age filters. Meanwhile, it has stopped all advertising on Snapchat globally while it assesses the “incremental age verification safeguards” that Snapchat is implementing.
Just yesterday, the Advertising Standards of Authority UK ruled that the campaign had violated two rules of its code. It explained that the ad campaign was likely to appeal to users under 18 years old due to several interactive and augmented elements of the lens. In addition, because the Snapchat platform was popular with users under 18, it was “not sufficient to ensure that marketing communications were not targeted at people under 18”.
“We therefore concluded that through the selection of media, Captain Morgan had not taken sufficient care to ensure that the ad was not directed at people under 18 and therefore the ad breached the Code,” the ASA report added.
The ad campaign, which was running around June last year, included a cartoon icon of a pirate. The Snapchat lens involved also made a user’s face look like Captain Morgan and featured two glasses of alcoholic drinks clinking on screen. This is followed by a seagull which flew a scroll to the screen which said “Live like the Captain”, with a voice over that said “Captain” that had the sound of people cheering.
“We are disappointed with the ASA’s decision. While more options for age targeting on Snapchat have been added since July, we disagree that Diageo intentionally directed its Lens to an underage audience when it applied the accurate 18+ targeting available at the time," a Snapchat spokesperson said in a statement to Marketing.
It added that the ASA acknowledges the evidence it had provided showing that ages supplied by Snapchat users are a robust way to age-restrict ads.
"Snapchat now offers amongst the most sophisticated targeting in the industry and by introducing new tools such as Audience Lenses and incorporating additional signals into our targeting, advertisers have a reliable and flexible way to ensure their ads reach the right audience," the Snapchat spokesperson said.
South Korean car-sharing startup SoCar is gearing up to launch its operation in Malaysia this month in its first overseas expansion.
This is according to the South Korea's Yonhap news agency. The report on NST also said the company pointed out that Malaysia has a "high growth potential for the new industry as it is densely populated in the city centers." This the company said, will help in pushing the expansion of its presence in the Southeast Asian market. The report also said SoCar is also planning to establish 120 zones with 240 automobiles in the Southeast Asia.
SoCar was launched in 2012, and it now has 8,200 cars in 3,200 SoCar zones throughout South Korea, with over 3.4 million members.
Other similar car-sharing companies operating in Malaysia include GoCar and moovby.
Shiseido Asia Pacific has launched a targeted macro influencer campaign to promote Issey Miyake's new L’Eau d’Issey Pure eau de parfum. Executed by social media marketing agency One9ninety, the campaign engaged influencers from Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
It aimed to recruit Millennials aligned with Issey Miyake's approach of design and made use of big data to ensure that only influencers with the right active target audience were engaged. There were two parts to the campaign, with the first being influencers sharing images that portray their #suspendedmoment. The photos were inspired by Issey Miyake’s key themes of nature, minimalism and architecture.
The second part comprised of the influencers driving their followers to Issey Miyake stores to sample the fragrance. According to the press statement, the campaign reached 4.1 million across the three markets, and had an engagement rate of 1.85%, which was above the macro influencer benchmark of 1.7%.
“Our intention is to communicate Issey Miyake aesthetic values and minimalism approach to the present-day community. The success of this campaign has allowed us to connect with a wider audience in an artistic manner and gaining market share at the same time," Nicolas Baudonnet, regional director, Fragrance Division, Shiseido Asia Pacific, said.
“This was a unique campaign that didn’t just target typical beauty influencers and selfie takers, but influencers that exudes the personality of the global brand itself. We strongly believe in the power of influencer marketing, and we are proud to deliver such excellent results for this campaign," Laurent Verrier, CEO and founder of One9ninety, said.
Consider iProspect, Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) Malaysia’s flagship digital marketing agency, has made four senior hires in the last four months.
It appointed Siti Raflise (pictured third from left) as chief data officer; Jeetinder Kahlon (pictured far left) as head of media; Filip Adamski (pictured far right) as head of e-commerce and Bee-Lee See (pictured second from right) as head of content.
DAN Malaysia's spokesperson said Siti Raflise, who was appointed in early December 2017, will be responsible for the agency’s data strategy, and spearhead its data-led consultancy projects. This also includes creating portfolio of products and solutions for its clients. She reports to Kasper Wandi (pictured second from left), CEO of Consider iProspect.
Siti Raflise brings 19 years of experience in project management, business intelligence and customer insights. Previously, her roles included head of insights for Taylor’s education group, sales and operations director of Arte 38, and global market research manager for Microsoft EMEA.
Meanwhile, head of media Kahlon, is tasked to manage client’s media strategy and paid media performance.
Kahlon brings in-depth experience in both online and offline channels from five agencies across London over the last 10 years. He has implemented media systems and processes to improve the efficiencies of agencies and clients alike. Prior to joining Consider iProspect, he was the group head of media and analytics at Lion & Lion, where he managed a team of more than 20 professionals and oversaw all digital media strategies and business development.
Adamski rejoined Consider iProspect to accelerate digital transformation for companies through e-commerce opportunities. Adamski was part of the original Consider Digital (before the agency was acquired in 2015 by DAN) when it was only a 10-staff agency. He was the senior account manager for P1 and Estee Lauder. Then he returned to Poland, a country where 50% of sales takes place online, where he took on the head of marketing role for one of the largest e-commerce players in Europe.
Lastly, See who is head of content, is responsible for working closely with brands to craft and implement holistic content strategies across all channels. See joined Consider iProspect from Malaysia Airlines, where she was the senior marketing manager and head of content. She brings in 18 years of experience, from varied functions including corporate communications, marketing and publishing, business development and budget and control.
All three of them report to Andrew Turner, chief business officer at Consider iProspect.
“The industry is moving in breakneck speed that if you snooze you lose, and one key component in ensuring we stay ahead is the talent we have,” Wandi said, adding talent is its most important asset.
“Apart from the head of content role, the rest are newly created positions, a strong indication of where we see the potentials and growth opportunities are to take our business to the next level,” he added.
Music-streaming company Spotify has confidentially filed for a public listing that lets companies list shares without raising money through a traditional stock offering.
According to news outlet Axios, which first broke the news, the company is most probably seeking a listing in Q1 of 2018, as the papers revealed it filed for IPO in late December.
According to Bloomberg, with steady cash from more than 60 million paying subscribers, the world’s largest paid music-streaming service doesn’t need more funding.
Instead of an initial public offering, it’s trying a direct listing, which essentially lets private stakeholders start trading their shares on a public exchange. That avoids underwriting fees and restrictions on stock sales by current owners, and doesn’t dilute the holdings of executives and investors.
Spotify, which has been valued at about $15 billion, would be the most prominent company by far to attempt a direct listing, a method that until now has been used by small issuers and real estate investment trusts. It would also be a first for the New York Stock Exchange, which has sought permission from the Securities & Exchange Commission to change its rules for the occasion.
Despite confidentially filing for an initial public offering, the music-streaming service is facing some legal troubles that could block its efforts to launch an IPO.
Spotify is being sued by Wixen Music Publishing, claiming the company has been using thousands of songs from artists it represents, without a license. The lawsuit is claiming damages of US$1.6 billion.
As 2018 rolls around, knowing which skills to upgrade and improve on would definitely be on the minds of many. According to a recent report by LinkedIn, hard skills in marketing and data will be needed most by companies in 2018. Meanwhile, soft skills such as communication will also be needed.
Jobs related to marketing made several appearances, with SEO/SEM marketing taking the eighth spot, followed by marketing campaign management taking 11th spot which put roles such as online marketing manager, digital marketing specialist, digital marketing manager in the spotlight. Mobile development also took the ninth spot, featuring jobs such as mobile engineer, mobile application developer being in demand.
The report also highlighted the demand of some hard skills relating to data management and analysis making several appearances in the ranking, with roles such as data scientists and data analyst being in demand.
To determine the hard skills in demand by companies, LinkedIn used data from its over 500 million members and identified the skills companies were “working the hardest to fill”.
View the list of hard skills in demand here:
1. Cloud and distributed computing - related jobs include platform engineer and cloud architect
2. Statistical analysis and data mining - related jobs include business analyst, data analyst, statistician
3. Middleware and integration software - related jobs include IT manager, systems integration engineer.
4. Web architecture and development framework - related jobs include web developer, full stack web developer
5. User interface design - related jobs include UX designer, web developer, UI designer
6. Software revision control systems - related jobs include web developer, software programmer
7. Data presentation - related jobs include graphic designer, data scientist, business consultant
8. SEO/SEM marketing - related jobs include marketing specialist, online marketing manager, advertising manager
9. Mobile development - related jobs include mobile engineer, mobile application developer
10. Network and information security - related jobs include information security specialist and cyber security specialist.
11. Marketing campaign management - related jobs include online marketing manager, digital marketing specialist, digital marketing manager
12. Data engineering and data warehousing - related jobs include software engineer, database developer, data analyst
13. Storage systems and management - related jobs include database administrator, system administrator
14. Electronic and electrical engineering - related jobs include electrical engineer, electronic engineer
15. Algorithm design - related jobs include software engineer, lead software engineer, lead developer
16. Perl/Python/Ruby - related jobs include software engineer, data scientist
17. Shell scripting languages - related jobs include Linux system administrator, system engineer, Java developer
18. Mac, Linux and Unix systems - related jobs include system administrator, Linux system administrator
19. Java development - related jobs include Java developer, web developer
20. Business intelligence - related jobs include business intelligence analyst, forecast analyst
21. Software QA and user testing - related jobs include user experience engineer, software test engineer, quality assurance engineer
22. Virtualisation - related jobs include network engineer, network administrator
23. Automotive services, parts and design - related jobs include vehicle engineer, industrial designer
24. Economics - related jobs include business development manager, auditor, research analyst
25. Database management and software - related jobs include database specialist, database administrator
Among soft skills required by companies this year, leadership came out top. This is followed by communication, collaboration and time management. According to the LinkedIn blog post, 2,000 business leaders were surveyed to determine which soft skills were high in demand. 57% of leaders surveyed said soft skills are more important than hard skills.
Here are the top four soft skills:
1. Leadership
2. Communication
3. Collaboration
4. Time management
To gather the insights, LinkedIn looked at all of the hiring and recruiting activity that happened on the networking platform between January 2017 and September 2017.
This equalled billions of data points, and identified the skill categories that belonged to members who were more likely to start a new role within a company and receive interest from companies. Skill categories that did not meet a specific threshold for membership were excluded from the analysis.
Publicis Nurun creative partner Jonathan Ng (pictured) has left the agency following a three year stint with the company. Ng took on the role in May 2015 following Nurun’s launch in Singapore, where he led creative strategy and innovation.
In a statement to Marketing, the agency confirmed that Nurun will be headed by Grace Tan, creative director at Nurun Singapore, who has been working as Ng's successor and reports to Publicis Communications Singapore CEO Lou Dela Pena.
“Ng is a founding member of Nurun, which is a new breed of digital and technology consultancy. He has been pivotal in transforming our business in Publicis, and for that we would like to thank Ng and wish him well in the next chapter of his life. He will never be a stranger to us," Dela Pena said.
Ng has over 14 years of experience in the advertising and film industries as a multi-disciplinary creative. Before Nurun, Ng was in the consumer goods sector and a creative in the advertising scene, working at agencies such as TBWA\TEQUILA, Ogilvy & Mather. His client portfolio includes brands such as Nokia, Microsoft, HP, Nestle, Mastercard, Volkswagen, Durex, Proctor & Gamble, VISA, Singapore Airlines, Renault, Johnson & Johnson, Levi’s, Castrol, Converse and Nike, according to his profile on the Nurun website.
Nurun was launched globally in November 2014 with Publicis bringing together a network of specialist digital businesses that saw the Nurun brand operating from 14 countries with more than 4,000 professionals. Nurun’s clients include Accor, AXA, Bradesco, Carrefour, Cartier, Citi, Coca Cola, GM, Google, Kingfisher, L’Oréal, LVMH, Nestle, Orange, P&G, Pernod Ricard, Renault, Sanofi, and Tesla Motors.
Most recently, Publicis Singapore appointed Goh Jia Ying and Ho Pei Ling as creative directors. Both Goh and Ho will report to Publicis co-executive creative directors, Jeremy Chia and Fajar Kurnia.
The agency appointed Kurnia and Chia as its executive creative directors in April this year, roles which were previously held by Troy Lim and Jon Loke. Prior to the appointment, Kurnia and Chia were regional creative directors at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore, and have been partners for almost a decade.
