Advertising + Marketing MY - Jul 2015 by Marketing Magazine Group

advertising + marketing malaysia

JULY

2015

JULY 2015

FIXING THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF PHARMA MARKETING PAGE 22

COURTS’ MARKETING PLAN POST-GST PAGE 12

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EIGHT WAYS FOR COMPANIES TO INNOVATE PAGE 32

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MARKETERS THE SPOTLIGHT IS ON YOU!

The Marketing Excellence Awards is back! Send in your winning entries for a shot to be crowned Malaysia’s ‘Marketer of the Year’.

For more information about the awards, visit: www.marketing-interactive.com/mea-awards/my Entry submissions are open until 17 August. If you have any enquiries regarding entry submissions and table bookings, get in touch with Veronica Rajabose at +65 6423 0329 or veronicar@marketing-interactive.com To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Soren Beaulieu at +65 6423 0329 or sorenb@marketing-interactive.com

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ED’S LETTER ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Elizabeth Low, Deputy Editor elizabethl@marketing-interactive.com Rezwana Manjur, Senior Journalist rezwanam@marketing-interactive.com Noreen Ismail, Journalist noreeni@marketing-interactive.com Editorial – International Matt Eaton, Editor (Hong Kong) matte@marketing-interactive.com Production and Design Shahrom Kamarulzaman, Regional Art Director shahrom@lighthousemedia.com.sg Fauzie Rasid, Senior Designer fauzier@lighthousemedia.com.sg Advertising Sales – Singapore & Malaysia Johnathan Tiang, Senior Account Manager johnathant@marketing-interactive.com Ee Kai Li , Account Manager kailie@marketing-interactive.com Grace Goh, Account Manager graceg@marketing-interactive.com Jocelyn Ma, Account Manager jocelynm@marketing-interactive.com Ong Yi Xuan, Advertising Sales Coordinator yixuano@marketing-interactive.com Advertising Sales – International Josi Yan, Sales Director (Hong Kong) josiy@marketing-interactive.com Events Yeo Wei Qi, Regional Head of Events Services weiqi@marketing-interactive.com Circulation Executive Deborah Quek, Circulations Executive deborahq@marketing-interactive.com Finance Evelyn Wong, Regional Finance Director evelynw@lighthousemedia.com.sg Management Søren Beaulieu, Publisher sorenb@marketing-interactive.com Tony Kelly, Editorial Director tk@marketing-interactive.com

Innovation – either the most annoying buzzword to hit the marketing industry or a great solution to the industry’s pressing need for disruption. Eyes have been on the start-up incubator models of Mondelēz with its Mobile Futures programme, or Unilever with its Foundry initiative. Such huge conglomerates are now systematically integrating the nimble and creative start-up culture into their ranks to solve the pressing need for disruption. The trend has pushed the marketing function, (often bogged down with red tape), and the fragmented world of start-ups together in a fairly uneasy union. While some brands invest in such incubator models easily, for others it is complete confusion. This goes for the agency model, often bogged down by its own P&L concerns, as well. “Any time you ask someone an example of innovation, they would say, ‘Oh Nike Plus’ – the one example of where it has been successfully done. Most of the other stuff I would not call innovation, I would call it gimmicks – just little things here and there,” said Ogilvy & Mather president of K1ND (its innovation unit), and CEO of China, Chris Reitermann. “That was how it was like in Ogilvy before, there was one guy with a card that said ‘innovation director’. Innovation (in a title) sounds good, but mostly what that person does is digital strategy or gimmicks.”

A marketer of a major hotel chain quips ironically on the company’s struggle to ﬁnd innovation – it thought its latest “innovation” was someone deciding to make origami folds in the toilet rolls for guests. “What is innovation? It has to also make a business impact,” she said. Real innovation calls for a major change in processes; sometimes an innovation in the overall division or business model itself. While it’s an exciting landscape, this throws up huge questions for brands and agencies. What are the barriers to innovation in the business? Can the organisation you’re sitting in take such a move? If it can, who’s the right partner and what can you expect? In this issue, we attempt to shed light on the issue, asking major brands what innovation means to them (page 26). Page 34 covers eight essential keys to pushing for innovation within your ﬁrm as well. Enjoy the issue.

Justin Randles, Group Managing Director jr@marketing-interactive.com Advertising + Marketing Malaysia is published 6 times per year by Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd PP 16093/12/2011 (026708). Printed in Malaysia on CTP process by Percetakan Skyline Sdn Bhd No. 35 & 37 Jalan 12/32B, TSI Business Industrial Park, Batu 61/2 Off Jalan Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 03-6257 4846. For subscriptions, contact circulations at +65 6423 0329 or email subscriptions@marketing-interactive. com. COPYRIGHT & REPRINTS: All material printed in Advertising + Marketing Malaysia is protected under the copyright act. All rights reserved. No material may be reproduced in part or in whole without the prior written consent of the publisher and copyright holder. Permission may be requested through the Singapore ofﬁ ce. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in Advertising + Marketing Malaysia are not necessarily the views of the publisher. Singapore: Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd 100C Pasir Panjang Road, #05-01 See Hoy Chan Hub Singapore 118519 Tel: +65 6423 0329 Fax: +65 6423 0117 Hong Kong: Lighthouse Independent Media Ltd Unit A, 7/F, Wah Kit Commercial Building 302 Des Voeux Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2861 1882 Fax: +852 2861 1336 To subscribe to A+M Malaysia magazine, go to: www.marketing-interactive.com ...............................................................................................................

A MEMBER OF

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Elizabeth Low Deputy Editor

Photography: Teck Lim — Lumina Photography (www.animulstudio.com); Makeup & Hair: Michmakeover using Make Up For Ever & hair using Sebastian Professional – www.michmakeover.com

Editorial Rayana Pandey, Editor rayanap@marketing-interactive.com

IS IT MARKETING INNOVATION YOU’VE GOT – OR ARE YOU JUST MARKETING THE IDEA OF INNOVATION?

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6/8/2015 10:53:24 AM

28 October 2015 InterContinental Hotel Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA’S 360˚ FORUM FOR CONTENT MARKETING Does your organisation have a content strategy? What’s your connection game plan? Curious how some of the top brands are innovating marketing practices in order to leverage content and improve the customer experience? Content 360 is your one stop immersive look into the world of best practice content marketing from across the region. Stay connected, learn from our experts, share your ideas and join in the content revolution!

Early-bird Rates (Till 30 September) Client-side: USD699 Solutions Providers: USD999 * Under the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), registered employers can claim rebates for trainings conducted by an overseas trainer/training provider. For more information, contact Joven Barcenas, senior project manager at +65 6423 0329 or jovenb@marketing-interactive.com

To learn more and view the agenda, visit: www.marketing-interactive.com/content360/my Content 360 takes place at InterContinental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, 28 October 2015, 9.00 am – 5.00 pm

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CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

4 A MONTH IN NEWS 10 WHY NIELSEN’S ADEX REPORTS ARE FALLING SHORT IN MALAYSIA Is this holding back Malaysian marketers from truly embracing digital? Elizabeth Low asks.

12 COURTS MALAYSIA ON POST-GST STRATEGIES Courts Malaysia, which has been in the Malaysia market for more than 28 years, realised it wouldn’t be long before the brand would start feeling the pinch with the recent introduction of the GST. Rezwana Manjur writes.

14 MALAYSIA CLAMPS DOWN ON LOCAL FILMS THAT MOCK THE GOVERNMENT Local content showing scenes that mock or are critical of the government and its officials will be banned. Noreen Ismail reports.

22 CAN MARKETING SAVE THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY’S POOR REPUTATION? Over the years, Pfizer Malaysia has taken several steps to connect with consumers. Nonetheless, working in the pharmaceutical field is not a bed of roses for any marketer. Director of corporate affairs, health and value, Azwar Kamarudin, addresses this crucial issue.

Pfizer Malaysia’s director of corporate affairs, health and value, Azwar Kamarudin, answers this crucial question. By Rezwana Manjur.

26 HOW HARD IS IT TO INSTITUTIONALISE INNOVATION? Clients and agencies everywhere are struggling to integrate innovation into their processes. Just what does it take to do this? Elizabeth Low finds out.

32 THE EIGHT ESSENTIALS OF INNOVATION Strategic and organisational factors are what separate successful big-company innovators from the rest of the field. Marc de Jong, Nathan Marston, and Erik Roth of McKinsey write.

38 MARKETING TO WOMEN Read about the fashion and beauty industries’ key trends in marketing to women.

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE!

12 10 What you’ll learn in this issue: >> The issues around Adex and how to measure it. >> How to manage your marketing post-GST. >> What innovation truly means for your business. W W W .MA R KET ING - INT ERAC TIVE . COM

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NEWS

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WANT MORE BREAKING NEWS? SCAN THE CODE TO FIND OUT WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE INDUSTRY.

A thank you message P&G launched a Raya campaign encouraging the public to thank their loved ones through the #KatatakTerkata campaign. #KatatakTerkata, or “words unsaid”, provided a platform for people to say the things they always wanted to with a heartfelt thank you message. Their messages were then turned into beautiful pieces of art in real time by a calligraphy artist. People could write their messages on Twitter using the hashtag #KatatakTerkata.

Voices for safety Navigation app Waze partnered with Malaysian-based telecommunications company Maxis and creative agency Ensemble Worldwide to create an innovative mobile safety reminder for drivers on the road. Sponsored by Maxis, the corporate social responsibility project was an attempt at improving road safety – simply by using the voices of children as a voice pack option on Waze. The campaign was conceptualised by Ensemble Worldwide.

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Tribal boss exits company Tribal Worldwide Malaysia’s CEO Nik Lim exited the company, several sources conﬁrmed to A+M. Sources suggested David Mitchell, CEO of sister company Naga DDB, will take over Lim’s role in the interim. The two companies, both under parent company Foetus International, are making plans to merge and combine their capabilities. Tribal will focus on digital, while Naga DDB will manage ATL and BTL marketing.

Ramadan portal GroupM launched an “occasionbased” content portal called Jom Bazaar – a virtual portal for all things related to Ramadan – custom-built for Malay consumers. GroupM worked with various content partners, Media Prima, iCarAsia and YouTube to provide Ramadan-specific video content for Malay consumers. It also provided clients with virtual kiosks to showcase their own season-specific content, messages and links to their other online assets. AAE’s CEO quits AAE Travel, the joint venture between Expedia and AirAsia, announced its chief executive officer Kathleen Tan had resigned from her position and stepped down from AirAsia Expedia’s board. Tan was appointed CEO of AirAsia Expedia in January 2013. “Tan was an integral part of the leadership team that helped propel AirAsia into success,” said Tony Fernandes, AirAsia group CEO.

C27 appoints MD Independent digital agency Company27 (C27) appointed its creative director Fazil Fuad as managing director. In his new role, he will oversee the day to day operations and bottomline responsibilities of C27. He is tasked to grow and optimise alternative revenue streams such as 27Rabbits, the agency’s game design studio, and Studio Obscura which focuses on digital imaging. He will manage C27’s business development and the strategic alignment of its services and offerings.

Picking a new media agency Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) won AirAsia BIG’s airline loyalty business in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. The incumbent on the account was Carat Media Services and the account was handed to SMG without a pitch. The AirAsia BIG loyalty programme is operated by Think Big Digital, a joint venture between AirAsia and Tune Money International. Under the programme, members earn BIG points from AirAsia, Tune Talk, Tune Hotels and many other partners.

A new lead PropertyGuru Malaysia appointed Sheldon Fernandez as its new country manager. He has had more than 13 years of online and sales leadership experience before joining PropertyGuru, having honed his experience in general management roles at Adecco, Nextel Communications and Marcus Evans. Most recently, he was managing director of jobsDB in Singapore and Malaysia. He reports directly to the CEO.

BMW’s new love The BMW Shorties, a CSR project by the BMW Group promoting film-making, hosted the second edition of its film-maker’s workshop, “For the love of filmmaking”. This was done with the support of the recently created organisation, Next New Wave. The second edition of the workshop saw about 100 participants at the new Content Malaysia Pitching Centre. The workshop was first launched last year SMG and VivaKi CEO exits Ahmad El Hamawi, CEO of SMG and VivaKi Malaysia has left the agency. He took on the role in November last year, relocating from South Africa. “In his seven months with us as CEO, he deployed his business development experience in the Middle East and Africa behind the Malaysia new business drive,” said Jeffrey Seah, CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group, SEA, and country chair of VivaKi.

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NEWS

Educating drivers German car company Volkswagen collaborated with the Association of Registered Childcare Providers Malaysia (PPBM) to raise awareness on child passenger safety. Launched in December last year, the campaign was aimed at educating about 28,000 parents on the importance of using proper child car seats. Volkswagen’s collaboration with PPBM involved the roll out of a child passenger safety training module with the company distributing 200 Volkswagen child seats for educational purposes.

The power of RM10 Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), with the help of Saatchi &Saatchi Malaysia, launched a new campaign for the Sijil Simpanan Premium (SSP) which is a special savings account where savers stand a chance to win prizes. Based on insights about how to get people to start saving, the agency is promoting the idea of people putting in just RM10 to get them started in their SSP accounts. CtrlShift’s new hires Independent digital marketing company CtrlShift has made additions to its leadership team. Serm Teck Choon joined as head of product and Ikmal Heidir as head of client success. With a background in digital, Serm will lead the product innovation team in creating new programmatic solutions for advertisers and publishers. Ikmal brings more than seven years of client management experience from agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, J. Walter Thompson and Lowe and Partners.

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New hire for Omnicom Omnicom Media Group appointed Anil Jayachandran as head of communications planning in Malaysia. In his new role, he will be working on key client accounts across OMD and PHD to drive thought leadership and best strategy practices. He has joined the Omnicom Media Group team from his role as strategy planning director at Leo Burnett. He brings with him more than two decades of experience working across marketing, advertising and research functions in strategy related roles.

Another win for Havas Following its massive win of the Singtel media buying business, Havas Media bagged another major local account with the Changi Airport Group business. CAG appointed Havas Media for its media buying duties which is reported to be for SG$16 million. The new contract with Havas is slated to run for two years with an option to extend for another two. The new contract will run from 1 July 2015 onwards.

MyTeksi helps drivers MyTeksi launched its all-new Elite Drivers Programme. This initiative sees the home-grown start-up investing RM4.5 million into a fund to improve drivers’ welfare. The programme, which is ongoing until the end of December, will promote and reward MyTeksi’s most active drivers and those who meet the highest service standards with up to RM10,000 in beneﬁts each month, including insurance coverage, ﬁnancial incentives, MyTeksi collaterals and more.

Hiring slump for ad and PR jobs Online hiring activity in Malaysia has stagnated, with the Monster Employment Index (MEI) Malaysia reporting a 23% decrease yearon-year for May 2015.The MEI, a gauge of online job posting activity, was ﬁrst released in Malaysia in May 2015. For the third consecutive month, the advertising, market research, public relations, media and entertainment industry sector has experienced the steepest decline at -23%.

Feeling the love TBWA\Kuala Lumpur launched the latest campaign “Rasa Sayang” for McDonald’s Malaysia in conjunction with its Happy Meal promotion. “Rasa Sayang”, which loosely translates to “feel the love”, celebrates family togetherness in Malaysia and resonates with both rural and urban families. The traditional Malaysian folk song, also named Rasa Sayang provides the soundtrack for the 60-second online film and a 40-second TV commercial. The complete education EPSOM College reinvented its traditional school prospectus film and created a film to promote its school in Bandar Enstek. Using multiple Go-Pro cameras, flying drones and ground cameras, the film was shot over three days on campus using students and teachers. Called “The complete education”, the film tells the story of one full day at EPSOM College in Malaysia seen through the eyes of three students and the headmaster.

ABC Malaysia appoints new leaders The Audit Bureau of Circulations Malaysia (ABC) appointed Dentsu’s Fan Chen Yip and Maxis’ Foong Ai Peng as chairman and vice-chairman at its 40th annual general meeting. As the trading director of Dentsu Aegis Network Malaysia, Fan has more than 20 years of experience in the media agency business. Foong is the head of media and budget management at Maxis and has served more than 14 years in the telecommunications industry.

Jack Wills engages AKA Jack Wills engaged AKA Asia on a retainer basis with immediate effect. The new retainer includes media relations, influencer relations and partnership management. Jack Wills launched its flagship store in Singapore at Raffles City in November 2014, with plans to open a second store within the next 12 months. The retailer was established in 1999 by founders Peter Williams and Robert Shaw in Salcombe, Devon, England.

4As gets new leadership The Association of Accredited Advertising Agents of Malaysia (4As) appointed the ex-chairman of Lowe Malaysia, Khairudin Rahim, as CEO in a newly created position, effective 1 July. Khairudin retired from his post as chairman of Lowe Malaysia in 2013. He is tasked with developing the strategy and long-term plan for the 4As to remain relevant in the changing advertising industry landscape.

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NEWS

New show for A+E Networks A+E Networks Asia acquired viral video show Right This Minute which premiered 8 June on its female-focused channel Lifetime in Asia (StarHub TV Channel 514), coinciding with the US launch. Right This Minute brings viewers the hottest videos from the internet with exclusive interviews and information. The series features ﬁve hosts who will watch and comment on the videos, including multi awardwinning host and Singapore native, Oli Pettigrew.

Everyday heroes Sentosa unveiled a campaign called “The Fun Movement”. The campaign was aimed at rewarding the “everyday heroes who bring joy to the lives of others”, said the company in a press statement. Conceptualised by Grey Group Singapore, the campaign invited residents of Singapore to nominate people who most deserve to take a break from everyday hassles. “The Fun Movement” was launched with the release of two videos celebrating everyday heroes.

The apprenticeship GroupM Singapore launched its ﬁrst apprenticeship programme, aimed at helping undergraduates understand the local and regional media landscape. GroupM Singapore’s talent acquisition team worked closely with local tertiary institutions including NUS, NTU and SMU, to match students with GroupM’s subsidiaries. Out of a pool of 550 applications, 27 students were selected for tenure between one to six months.

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Global experience Singapore Economic Development board (EDB) partnered up with The Secret Little Agency (TSLA) to help accelerate the agency’s growth in global user experience and experience design capabilities. This will take the form of a global UX Lab that focuses on three key pillars — user experience, technology, and product design. According to a statement from the agency, with EDB’s support, it aimed to deliver innovative experiences that go beyond the realm of advertising.

Promoting NETS NETS (Network for Electronic Transfers) appointed M&C Saatchi as its agency of record. M&C Saatchi’s remit covers all NETS’ communications from corporate and product, to promotions, activation and B2B. Earlier this year, NETS appointed social and mobile agency KRDS Singapore as its social media agency for the year following a multi-agency pitch. KRDS Singapore will handle NETS’ Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Prime expansion MediaCorp’s OOH Media rolled out an additional 20 Opti-Prime locations on the city fringe and in suburban areas, bringing it to a total of 40 Opti-Prime locations, including the Orchard and city areas. According to Nielsen, OOH Media’s networks are able to reach out to more than 90% of PMEBs, youths, women, men and parents. Advertisers will now have more choices in extending their brand presence and engagement with different groups of people.

National support SIA launched a campaign to celebrate the SEA Games. Nicholas Ionides, vice-president of public affairs for SIA, said this was a way for the airline to demonstrate its commitment to local sports, in particular Team Singapore, at this year’s SEA Games. Aside from print and digital executions, the airline rolled out several videos that ran on social media featuring six of the athletes from various sporting arenas.

Far East story SG Story was appointed by Far East Hospitality Management to handle their social media activities for two of their Singapore-based brands: Village Hotels and Residences, and The Quincy Hotel. SG Story manages Stay Far East, the company’s main Facebook page. Through this partnership, SG Story was tasked to build and execute campaigns to boost the brands’ local and global awareness, while expanding the brand’s digital presence. Soup’s up Local restaurant chain The Soup Spoon underwent a re-branding with the help of design agency JKR. JKR was ﬁrst appointed mid last year without a pitch. According to co-founder and owner Benedict Leow, the move came in as the restaurant outlet was looking to expand within the region. The agency was tasked to redeﬁne the brand idea and establish a fresh visual brand language that extends across all brand touch-points.

Boosting tourism The Singapore Tourism Board launched an aggressive marketing campaign aimed at boosting tourism in Singapore this year. The campaign has been launched in conjunction with Singapore’s SG50 celebrations. The global Golden Jubilee campaign will run in two phases until the end of the year. While the global campaign launched on 9 June, STB had already launched the ads earlier in several key markets, namely Indonesia, China, India, the Philippines, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

Four new wins The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Pringles International, and the Singapore Navy Information Centre appointed Dentsu Singapore for various creative and media duties. Following a pitch in April, Dentsu Singapore was appointed the agency of record for the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, the governing organisation that oversees and promotes safety in the aviation industry. The agency will handle its integrated media and creative campaigns. CORRECTION In A+M’s Agency of the Year edition’s Social Media Agency of the Year & Search Marketing Agency of the Year categories, Miles-Lambert is quoted as vice president, founding member of Lion&Lion. This was Lambert’s former role and he is currently not associated with the agency. A+M regrets the error.

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NEWS

Marriott expands services The Marriott International expanded its digital travel services through its mobile app partnership with Apple Watch. Members of the Marriott Rewards programme, who purchased the Apple Watch, are able to access Marriott’s mobile app for check-in and checkout. They will also receive an automatic receipt of roomready alerts, booking and review reservations as well as detailed directions to the hotel. Scoot ﬁnds its spirit Scoot continued its jabs at Spirit Airlines and named its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner “Inspiring Spirit” after the airline. This comes after Scoot pointed out the similarities between Spirit’s logo and marketing collaterals and its own. When Scoot ﬁrst found out about Spirit’s marketing tactics, the airline posted a video on its Facebook page highlighting the similarities between the two. The video was narrated by CEO Campbell Wilson.

Helping out in Nepal Following the Nepal earthquake, brands quickly stepped in to offer their services and to raise funds for those affected by the quake. As part of a disaster relief effort, Google and Facebook quickly activated apps for people to ﬁnd their loved ones. Google launched a person ﬁnder tool to help people locate visitors and residents, while Facebook’s safety check helped to track those displaced from their homes.

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MediaCorp looks to Indonesia To push its digital revolution further, Singaporean media company MediaCorp has invested in a 52% equity stake in the KLN Group which owns several of Indonesia’s successful web portals. The partnership is aimed at delivering fresh experiences for consumers across the region, and creating innovative solutions for advertisers to embark on new approaches to reach customers and prospects.

FOX goes OTT FOX International Channels (FIC) has launched over-the-top (OTT) services in partnership with leading platforms in Asia. FOX, FOX Sports and National Geographic Channel have been made available for OTT in partnership with leading platforms, including Avex in Japan, Tencent and its OTT partners in China, Astro in Malaysia and Cignal in the Philippines. These services range from SVOD, linear streaming to catch-up, and will offer FIC’s content across all genres. Trendy jeans To strengthen its brand positioning, “Live your life”, American Eagle Outﬁtters launched #AEOLive Express, a campaign to encourage customers to be original and express themselves. Created by TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong, the campaign launched alongside the Destroyed Denim line – a collection of ripped jeans – for the spring/summer season. With the use of voice and word recognition technology, the campaign allows users to turn their mottos into temporary sticker tattoos.

Switching sides OMD Sydney appointed Gideon Hornung head of strategy for McDonald’s. He joins OMD from his role as strategic lead at Mindshare. With more than 10 years of experience in the industry, he has led the strategic product for a number of clients in Australia, including NAB, GE, Carlton & United Brewery and Danone. He has expertise in consumers and retail, having worked five years on the client side. Audi goes along for the ride Audi and Marvel Studios teamed up for the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron. The film will feature the next-generation Audi vehicles alongside the next generation of Avengers characters. For the promotions, Audi released exclusive pieces of digital content available on the Audi brand’s Avengers: Age of Ultron website. The brand also collaborated with Marvel’s comic book creator Stan Lee to create a digital short closer to the film’s release.

Porsche accelerates Porsche APAC appointed incumbent Accelerate Advertising as the regional lead agency for marketing communications. The markets which the agency will handle include Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Brunei, French Polynesia and New Caledonia. Flying high British Airways appointed SapientNitro its global digital agency for its creative technology and social media activities. The account was last handled by OgilvyOne. Following a handover, SapientNitro will begin working for British Airways in July. SapientNitro will work with other British Airways agencies such as BBH and Carat/iProspect.

HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS EXPOSED

Strip’s campaign captured the attention of its target audience through a bold showcase of shavers on Clear Channel’s out-of-home medium. The objective of the campaign was to expose the other salons’ dirty little secrets of unhygienic hair removal practices. At a bus stop shelter along Orchard Road, Clear Channel’s six-sheet

panel was removed and half-filled with 2,500 disposable razors, while the other half displayed an electric shaver with hair remnants. The campaign ran on Clear Channel Singapore for four consecutive weeks from 9 April to 6 May 2015. Clear Channel was the creative agency behind the campaign that cost an estimated SG$10,000.

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NEWS

Colloquial marketing The J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) and Group SJR, a unit of Hill+Knowlton Strategies, have launched a content marketing unit called Colloquial. Through this joint venture, Colloquial will build publishing environments for brands, specialising in content that builds loyalty and audiences over time. It will publish short articles, infographics and visual stories for brands. Colloquial will share locations and draw on JWT’s presence in key global markets.

On the move? HSBC bank is rumoured to be mulling over plans to relocate its HQ to Asia, with Hong Kong in its sights. HSBC will cut its global workforce by up to 50,000 in a US$5 billion cost-cutting initiative, said an AFP article. The bank will use a set of 11 criteria in deciding whether it will move its headquarters out of London. The bank will also rebrand its UK retail banking unit.

In pursuit of luxury Bloomberg Media has introduced a redesigned Bloomberg Pursuits magazine, a quarterly guide to intelligent luxury. Bloomberg Pursuits, which is closely aligned with its digital home on Bloomberg Business, is a key pillar of the company’s consumer media strategy. Editorial content will go live across the web, mobile, television, digital video, print, radio and live events. The magazine’s design was conceived by creative director Robert Vargas.

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Journalism rejoices Audi’s communications team launched a central research platform for journalists and bloggers. Media representatives will be able to use press releases, photos, videos and other content related to Audi for their editorial work without registration. The online portal at www.audi-mediacenter.com can be easily used on all modern end devices. Toni Melﬁ, head of Audi communications, said it was a “modern research platform for journalists, bloggers and online multipliers”.

Lenovo renews its vision Lenovo unveiled its new logo as a response to the company’s renewed vision for its brand. To express the brand’s diversity, multiple colours and visuals are interchangeable behind the logo, which according to Lenovo, was intended to connect its company with key social trends and local preferences. The new logo will be rolled out in phases throughout the year.

Parting ways Heineken ended its global ad contract with Wieden+Kennedy, its creative agency of ﬁve years. Heineken announced both it and the agency had reached an agreement to terminate its global ad contract for the Heineken and Desperados brands. Both have worked together since 2010, and last year saw Heineken push to the top as Cannes’ Marketer of the Year with the partnership.

Zespri’s golden mornings Fruit brand Zespri branded itself with a series of early morning activities, including a pre-work party in the CBD. The idea was to create seven days of positivity and experiences, culminating in Asia’s ﬁrst-ever pre-work party with Morning Gloryville from the UK. The Zespri Golden Mornings kick-started on 8 June with a SunGold kiwi-themed “ride with the pack” spinning class by CruCycle.

Finding the right Formul8 Tertiary arts education institution Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) appointed independent agency Formul8 as its creative agency of record for a period of two years. The agency is tasked to provide creative, advertising and marketing services for NAFA. The agency will also help out in media planning and buying to achieve NAFA’s marketing campaign objectives. It will also manage digital marketing and social media community management.

New news portal Independent news portal six-six. com went live in June delivering talking points on news ranging from business to politics to lifestyle trends. The site aims to “challenge readers to think beyond what they glean from mainstream media to reach a balanced considered opinion.” The site will bring together various views by offering a different and balanced analysis. The site was founded by Kannan Chandran, a former journalist at Singapore daily, The Straits Times.

Hello Kitty rides EVA Air launched an SBS Transit Hello Kitty concept double deck bus as part of its Hello Kitty Jet Launch advertising campaign with Moove Media. While the fully wrapped double deck bus is all white on the outside featuring Sanrio’s characters – Hello Kitty, My Melody as well as Kiki and Lala – the inside of the concept bus is decked in pink, blue and yellow from the interior walls, the seats to the stairs as well as the upper deck of the bus.

Closing down Singapore-based independent agency The Local ceased operations in June. Co-founder Shaun Quek conﬁrmed the closure to Marketing. “We have aided our clients with the transition process to alternative options.” The agency was established in July 2011. Its short description read: “No one understands Singapore better than The Local.” The agency was founded by Quek, Ho Peck Kheng and Kirsten Ackland.

Centre of attention Starcom MediaVest Group set up a social command centre at the SEA Games. The command centre was made up of members from the SEA Games’ organising committee, a creative director, content designers and producers, and a team of community managers from Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. In addition, SMG reported and provided communication strategy recommendations based on its monitoring.

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NEWS ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

WHY NIELSENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ADEX REPORTS ARE FALLING SHORT IN MALAYSIA

Is this holding back Malaysian marketers from truly embracing digital? Elizabeth Low asks

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Nielsen’s Adex reports are widely used across the world, and in Malaysia, this is no different. These are used to assess competitor ad spend, as well as by agencies to assess the size of a pitch before going for new business, particularly where media agencies are concerned. But with the advent of digital, Nielsen’s offerings have increasingly come under fire by agencies - particularly for falling short in the digital and OOH measurement segments. “Nielsen was under tremendous pressure from our industry as it is not able to set up measurement of digital adex which is growing importance in Malaysia,” said Wong Piyee, managing director of VivaKi Malaysia. Last year, it managed to collaborate with Sizmek through logs and released Online Display adex. While Sizmek purportedly measures up to 80% of Malaysia’s display advertising (as told to A+M by Nielsen) - it is restricted to two formats only: Standard banner and rich media with or without video.

based on media owners in market, versus the 1% actually reported by Nielsen. Eileen Ooi, general manager of Maxus was of a similar opinion. “We forecast that online media spend is at 13% - 15% of the market today, and in three years will most likely surpass total TV spends. With the rapid speed of change, most digital media would be biddable tomorrow and served across multiple platforms; yet today’s digital adex tracked only reflects approximately 55% of the market. This number will only decline, if research methodologies and technologies do not lean into change quicker,” she said. However, digital still takes a small share of the pie, therefore she believes that total media adex still reflects a good 70% - 80% view of the market, dependent on the category. Kristian Lee, business development director at Naga DDB said: “Adex by Nielsen and others should not be used in isolation to measure the overall health of the industry.” “Agencies have adapted to the challenge of catering their communications where

“Adex by Nielsen and others should not be used in isolation to measure the overall health of the industry. Agencies have adapted to the challenge of catering their communications where audiences are most present and a large bulk of these campaigns as I mentioned are not captured by these reports.” Kristian Lee‑ business development director, Naga DDB

“They cannot provide industry data by advertisers and categories, which make it meaningless for us to strategise and benchmark our digital plan,” pointed out Wong. She added that for the agency’s current digital investment across clients as well as the consumer digital behaviour landscape, a majority of digital dollars were missing. This is especially when it comes to Google and Facebook direct buys, mobile, programmatic buying, search, social, email and skippable video and more. As for the Out of Home mediums, Nielsen Outdoor only monitors five players - Big Tree Outdoor, Ganad Media, Kurnia Outdoor, Spectrum Outdoor and UPD Sdn Bhd - “Which only comprises of 1% of overall adex,” said Wong. Nielsen is yet to comment on its OOH offerings. How far off the mark is it? Wong estimates that for digital, current reports only reflect up to 10% of the actual digital pie. For OOH: “Our internal estimation for OOH forecast is that it is about 5% of overall adex, WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

audiences are most present and a large bulk of these campaigns as I mentioned are not captured by these reports,” said Lee. Jordan Chua, managing director of JWT’s digital agency Mirum also pointed out that digital spend was poorly measured, and said that his team used it more to analyse which channels are used to reach a broad base of audiences. “It still gives an indication of the market potential for digital growth,” said Chua, but added that his team had to review other sources of research, data and consumer studies as well to assess and verify the indicators. Chua is also vice president of the Malaysian Digital Association (MDA). MDA is actively engaging and collaborating with Nielsen, ComScore, key media agencies and publishers to determine all plausible methods to track ad spends, said Chua. This includes display advertising, online videos, social media, paid search and mobile. A+M is reaching the MDA for further comments on future developments in the sector.

How this affects the market Despite complaints from agencies, many still rely on Nielsen’s ad spend reports to gauge the size of an account before pitching. “That’s for the quantitative bit, however we also rely on some qualitative measures to also gauge the potential of the clients,” said Maxus’ Ooi. VivaKi’s Wong believes this lack of credible measurement affects the progress of Malaysia’s ad industry to truly embracing digital. “Without the credible Adex data, for our current digital and OOH planning, we are not able to benchmark to devise strategies such as scheduling and weight level setting. We are relying on digital behavior reports and trends to push investment digital which hinders the speed of growth of digital investment because clients are not able to justify digital budgets and allocation without credible data support.” However, Ooi also added that agencies did have various sources of information including proprietary tools to bridge the gap internally. “However, it (the gap) may impact the less mature clients whom today still rely on adex data to benchmark their communication strategies.” Nielsen’s response Benjamin Ting, executive director for Media Industry Group in Nielsen Malaysia said that Nielsen currently monitors advertising spend on television and print mediums in-house, while other mediums such as cinema, radio, and in-store are monitored through schedules supplied by media representatives and owners in Malaysia. As for Sizmek, it provides Nielsen with logs for all online display advertisement impressions that were served monthly, since January 2014. He also admitted that with ongoing fragmentation and increasing competition within the digital advertising sector, Sizmek’s share of the market has declined over the past year which has served to reduce Nielsen’s coverage of online advertising. “As a result, we are currently underreporting digital ad spend. We have identified this issue and are now working closely with industry stakeholders to develop an alternative approach which meets the needs of the industry,” said Ting. “Personally I do not think the industry has it figured out yet. Even in the more mature markets like US, there are no seamless tracking in place, and they work on multiple platforms and resources for adex. What’s definitely evident is more and more of the adex data will sit with media giants eg. Google & Facebook and technology platform owners in near future,” said Ooi. J U LY 201 5 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 1 1

COURTS MALAYSIA RESTRATEGISES MARKETING PLANS AS GST RULES KICK IN Courts Malaysia, which has been in the Malaysia market for over 28 years, realised it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be long before the brand would start feeling the pinch. Rezwana Manjur writes.

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With the GST implementation kicking in earlier this year in Malaysia and consumers openly sharing their disdain on the move, brands with a presence in the country had to scramble to re-strategise their marketing plans. Mondelēz Malaysia declared it would not increase the prices of products. The company implemented a 5.7% cut on its price list to maintain the price that it gives to retail partners and distributors. Meanwhile Fraser and Neave decided to pass on all savings from the GST implementation to its distributors and trade customers in adherence of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act. Courts Malaysia, which has been in the Malaysia market for more than 28 years, also

“That’s the nature of the retail business. If the desired result is not achieved, the strategy and execution have to be reviewed. This happens on a weekly basis and, at times, even every other day during crucial business periods.”

realised it wouldn’t be long before it would start to feel the pinch. Bee Yin Low, marketing director of Courts Malaysia, told A+M that in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore affordability is a vital factor when making the last step to purchase. The need to drive home the message that it was still an affordable brand was particularly necessary this year in Malaysia because of the implementation of the GST. “When it comes to retail, especially in a time of muted consumer sentiment, pricing will always be a differentiator,” Low said. She added that already, the brand saw customers starting to tighten their purse strings and become more careful with their Courts knew its relationship with the Malaysian home makers had to be revisited. Courts Malaysia decided to launch a nationwide brand campaign called “Senang Sahaja, Courts Ada” where it invested in excess of RM20 million for a new look and a range of marketing initiatives. Through the campaign, Courts wanted to push the ideals of affordability and value while once again emotionally connecting back with consumers. “We wanted to push forward that it is more than just a price point that makes us special and connect with our customers in a down-toearth way,” said Low, who has been in the role for two years. Coming from an advertising background of more than 18 years, and having worked in companies such as M&C Saatchi Malaysia and Lowe & Partners, Low was adamant that when creating a good campaign, especially in retail, every piece of communication needed to achieve results almost instantaneously. “That’s the nature of the retail business. If the desired result is not achieved, the strategy and execution have to be reviewed. This happens on a weekly basis and, at times, even every other day during crucial business periods,” Low said. With this goal in mind, Low and her team embarked on a market survey where it discovered the local sentiment was always about “Hidup Senang”, which means living an easy, stress free life. Courts Malaysia decided to leverage this and come up with the brand proposition “Senang Sahaja, Courts Ada” – one the company felt would humanise the Courts brand. It wanted to assure Malaysians that after 28 years of turning their houses into homes, Courts was still very much in touch with what is now most important to them. Choosing the right brand ambassadors

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Some may think being a brand that is relatable to many customer demographics from multigenerational families to graduates, newlyweds and new families may lead to a variety of options for any brand looking to appoint a brand ambassador. Low, however, explained this led to the brand nit-picking and choosing a brand ambassador that could resonate positively and connect with all Malaysians. For the ambassador role, Courts finally decided on Malaysian stand-up comedian Harith Iskander. “He is known as the godfather of Malaysian comedy and imbues our brand promise and shopping experience with his appealing humour. As a family man himself, he shops at Courts for his home and lifestyle needs. He even shared with us that he spent his first pay cheque in Courts, buying an iron for his mother. You can’t get more authentic than that,” Low said. She added that as a marketer, it was essential to be sensitive to the ever-evolving consumer trends and behaviour. That’s why Low makes it her duty to always listen and engage with customers, as well as the people on the ground – the front liners. They are, after all, the folks that know the brand best, she added. What’s next? Currently the brand is also making a bigger push on its digital side. Quoting PayPal, Low said that 73% of Malaysians now shop online at least once a month. Nearly 56% of them have spent over RM200 online in the past three months. She added the size of Malaysia’s e-commerce to be worth nearly RM6 billion by 2015 – largely fuelled by the increased usage of smartphones. Keeping this in mind, the brand is relaunching its Courts website to deliver a multi-channel shopping experience for customers. The site is set to be up and running by the end of the year. A comprehensive online store will also be rolled out, together with e-kiosks and click and collect counters in-store, for a full multi-channel experience in phase two of the launch. So what is her philosophy as a marketer? “Perseverance is necessary. And at the end of the day a brand must be relevant in a customer’s life. Marketing is the key to creating that relevance – ensuring the delivery of a consistent brand message that continuously builds on the brand proposition. This cycle is repeated to adapt to our customers’ everevolving lifestyles,” Low said. She added that at the end of the day marketing plays a big role in ensuring that a brand is seen as credible and that is exactly what makes the role exciting and challenging. J U LY 201 5 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 1 3

NEWS ANALYSIS

MALAYSIA CLAMPS DOWN ON LOCAL FILMS THAT MOCK GOVT Local content showing scenes that mock or are critical of the government and its officials will be banned. Noreen Ismail writes.

The Malaysian film censorship board defended the ban saying such scenes could potentially tarnish Malaysia’s image.

Malaysia has issued a written guideline restricting local content from showing scenes that mock or are critical of the government and its officials. This new round of censorship means that television stations and broadcasters will be barred from airing content that involves scenes and dialogues which “mock, belittle, criticise the government and the country’s national sensitivities” and “tarnish the government’s image”, The Malaysian Insider reported. Malaysia’s film censorship board Lembaga Penapis Filem’s (LPF) chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid defended the banning saying that such scenes could potentially tarnish Malaysia’s image. In a statement to The Malaysian Insider,

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Abdul Halim said: “We really can’t allow that because it involves our image. It can bring a bad image for the government, so we avoid this. “Such scenes will definitely be censored, there is no avoiding it because we have our people in the television stations doing the censorship.” The LPF also bans scenes of “women wearing form-fitting clothes – clothes that reveal the shape of the breasts, privates, thighs, buttocks, and underwear (except for Indian women in saris)” – from locally made films on television. Scenes of characters breaking the country’s laws will also be cut out “unless it is an evil character and he gets his comeuppance”, The Malaysian Insider reported.

The new guidelines enforced on 15 June apply only to local films aired on television stations in Malaysia. Meanwhile, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has also issued an official notice on its Facebook page, warning that those responsible for disseminating false news could be fined RM50, 000. The notice forbids the sharing of false or modified news on social media as well as on platforms such as WhatsApp. The warning came on the back of the recent 1MDB scandal currently making international headlines. Posted by Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia on Wednesday, July 8, 2015

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NEWS ANALYSIS

MALAYSIAN AUTHORITIES BLOCK NEWS SITE SARAWAK REPORT However, Sarawak Report’s Facebook page has put up instructions on how users can still access the site. Noreen Ismail writes.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has blocked online news site Sarawak Report in Malaysia. According to The Malaysian Insider, the commission said the decision was made because of “complaints from the public”. The site was blocked under Section 211 and Section 233 of the MCMC Act. “The site has displayed information that is yet to be verified, and information that is still under investigation,” MCMC said in the article. However, the site remains accessible via servers across the world. Sarawak Report’s Facebook page has put up instructions on how users can still access the site:

“You can continue to access Sarawak Report by downloading TOR (torproject.org) or by changing your DNS. Posted by Sarawak Report on Sunday, July 19, 2015” The news site has also released a statement

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in response to the government’s blocking of its content:

“Sarawak Report has learnt that the so-called Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has taken action ... Posted by Sarawak Report on Sunday, July 19, 2015” The whistle-blower site is based in London and was founded by investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown to initially write about the practices of the Sarawak state government and its former chief minister, Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud. The site has since grown to cover political news in Malaysia. In the latest development, Malaysia’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has issued a warrant for arrest against Sarawak Report editor and founder Clare RewcastleBrown, a UK citizen, The Malaysian Insider reported. CID said it was seeking Interpol’s assistance to detain Rewcastle-Brown as she

is currently based in the UK. In an interview with Channel NewsAsia (CNA), RewcastleBrown said that it was counterproductive to issue such warrants given her current domicile. She said, “There is maybe an illusion that there is a free media in Malaysia. There is not a free media in Malaysia.” “The rest of the international community is going to ask what is it that I’ve done that is detrimental to democracy, that’s the charge I’m facing,” she told CNA. In a statement posted on Sarawak Report‘s site, Rewcastle-Brown said: “I am merely an investigative journalist who has been doing my job, by unravelling one hell of an international scandal involving people in high places and the grand larceny of public monies.” The warrant of arrest issued today comes just over a week after Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the government might seek her extradition from the UK, The Malaysian Insider reported. According to the article, Rewcastle-Brown is to be investigated under Section 124B of the Penal Code for activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy, a law that has been widely used in recent crackdown and arrests of activists.

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6/8/2015 3:28:23 PM

NEWS ANALYSIS

HIRING SLUMP FOR AD AND PR JOBS IN MALAYSIA It looks like advertising and PR jobs are seeing the steepest decline when it comes to recruitment activity. Elizabeth Low reports.

Source: Monster Employment Index

Online hiring activity in Malaysia has stagnated, with the Maonster Employment Index (MEI) Malaysia reporting a 23% decrease year-on-year for May 2015. This decline is the same as April 2015, indicating a rather inactive local job market. The MEI, a gauge of online job posting activity, was first released in Malaysia in May 2015. It records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity locally. The Monster Employment Index Malaysia is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity, aggregated by

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measuring the change in job listings across the industry. For the third consecutive month, the advertising, market research, public relations, media and entertainment industry sector has experienced the steepest decline at -23%. However, finance and accounts roles saw the least decline at -3%. “Although Malaysian businesses are positive about future economic growth, they are continuing to experience a mismatch in their demand for talent and the market supply,” said Sanjay Modi, managing director of Monster.

com (India, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Hong Kong). “This inability to find the right talent is a big challenge. However, if companies are willing to provide the required training and development opportunities, they will find themselves in a positive position. “As per the latest news in Malaysia, companies are planning to lay off employees due to declining performances and high operational costs in some sectors. However, approximately 1.5 million jobs are projected to be created under the 11th Malaysia Plan.”

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6/8/2015 1:07:38 PM

NEWS ANALYSIS

MALAYSIA BASED BRANDS GET CREATIVE THIS FESTIVE SEASON WITH MEDIA PRIMA The co-creation series saw these brands leveraging Media Prima’s creative resources and production capabilities to deliver branded capsules. Rezwana Manjur writes. Gearing up towards this year’s Hari Raya celebrations, some of Malaysians’ favourite brands such as Nescafé, Coca-Cola, Watsons, Senheng and TOP collaborated with Media Prima to develop creative content to connect with the Malay audience. The co-creation series saw these brands leveraging Media Prima’s creative resources and production capabilities to deliver branded capsules, advertisements, music videos, contests and customised content. This content spread across the network’s multi-platform channels and allowed brands to reach more than five million daily viewers on TV3 and TV9, 4.7 million online subscribers on Tonton, 3.5 million followers on social media channels, 4.4 million readers on Harian Metro and Berita Harian, 2.7 million radio listeners on Hot FM and 500,000 fans at an on-ground event at Karnival Jom Heboh. Together with Media Prima, household coffee brand Nescafé created branded content based on TV3’s super hit drama Rindu Awak 200% . Featuring the popular Zul Ariffin, the drama made a comeback as a spin-off telemovie this Raya. The content was amplified on social media and the online channels of TV3 and Nescafé. Approaching the celebration with a powerful message on expressing gratitude, Nescafé also released a Raya brand advertisement starring actor Nicholas Saputra. In an effort to tighten family bonds, Coca-Cola presented a heart-warming commercial featuring Fizo Omar and Elfira Loy. Conceptualised and co-produced by the creative minds at Media Prima TV Networks, the commercial is also part of a broader integrated campaign that CocaCola runs together with Media Prima. Watsons Malaysia, together with TV3, jointly created a drama series entitled Raya Ni Dah Kahwin, a sequel to the popular Raya Ni Mesti Kahwin that drew more than 1.5 million viewers last year. Leveraging TV3’s massive following and position as the No.1 drama channel in Malaysia, Watsons also took the opportunity to deepen engagement on mobile through WeChat, offering viewers a chance to win prizes.

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The collaboration with renowned electrical chain store Senheng took the form of a romantic webisode titled Cinta Karan, exclusively produced for the brand and presented on Malaysia’s No.1 video portal, Tonton. The eight-minute short story featured the cast from the popular hit series Rindu Awak 200% , Zul Ariffin and Ayda Jebat. To optimise the fan engagement and experience, Senheng also launched a microsite to house Cinta Karan and all associated content on Tonton’s video portal. The dedicated site was accessible throughout the month for viewers to catch up on the latest episodes, bloopers, scoops and trending posts, including a virtual set by Senheng where fans could relive the characters in an immersive digital experience. Malaysia’s leading detergent brand TOP invested in a full brand activation campaign with Media Prima, which included the Gaya Raya Yang Paling Top contest that was promoted across TV3 and TV9’s social media, as well as the entertaining morning talk show, Nasi Lemak Kopi O. TOP also sponsored a wide range of customised Raya greetings featuring Media Prima celebrities and TV personalities to welcome Ramadan and Raya with great enthusiasm. “Engaging content often comes from the ability to tell a compelling story to your audience. We have spent years listening

and responding to the Malay audience and producing entertaining programmes that inspire and evoke their emotions. Therefore, when it comes to content, Media Prima knows exactly what works, and what doesn’t,” said Ahmad Izham Omar, chief executive officer, television networks, Media Prima Berhad. He added that today brands rely on the knowledge and expertise of Media Prima not only to get their content done right, but to also provide them with insights that shape their strategy to touch the evolving Malay audiences, while maximising reach across every screen. These campaigns were aligned with the diverse mass Malay demographic and psychographic profiles to enable brands to target and connect with the right audience. These collaborations also represented a key part of Media Prima’s annual Ramadan and Raya campaign. Entitled “Syukur Selalu”, it encourages Malaysians to discover the pursuit of real happiness through gratitude. “Content is a powerful way to differentiate your brand, but it is undeniably a crowded space out there. We want to make it easy for brands by bringing our resources together and giving them end-to-end content solutions – from conceptualisation, talents, production, activation, and all the way to distribution. It’s a smarter marketing spend for higher business impact,” Izham said.

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6/8/2015 1:05:49 PM

NEWS ANALYSIS

APAC CEOS NEED TO UP THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA GAME, HERE’S WHY Asia’s CEOs are still way behind in the social media game, compared to counterparts in other regions. Rezwana Manjur writes.

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6/8/2015 1:04:31 PM

NEWS ANALYSIS

Research released from global public relations firm Weber Shandwick found 80% of the chief executive officers from the world’s top companies are now engaged online and via social media. Yet, APAC CEOs are way behind their US and Europe counterparts. In fact, APAC CEOs have not experienced any growth in their online sociability at all since 2012. In the report, “Socialising Your CEO III: From Marginal to Mainstream”, US-based CEOs are surpassing their peers with 94% of them being socially active online. Meanwhile, European CEOs have made great leaps in sociability over the past few years and are catching up with US-based CEOs.

“The proliferation of sources, the unpredictability of news cycles and the explosion of new, highly visual media formats can be a challenge to any company, but it’s also a massive opportunity to engage and connect.” Chris Perry - global president of digital, Weber Shandwick.

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So why are APAC CEOs not taking to social media? It could be due to the Asian culture, explained Tyler Kim, Weber Shandwick’s head of corporate and crisis in Asia Pacific. Despite there being several social mediasavvy CEOs in Asia Pacific, it appears they are not prevalent enough. Kim added that CEOs within Asia Pacific were likely to be conservative in line with their tradition and culture. The fragmented social media landscape and multitude of social platforms in Asia may be contributing to the confusion. “Nonetheless, there is great opportunity, as is being witnessed in the US and Europe, for the CEO to be more open and accessible and carefully align their persona with the brand they represent,” Kim said. Chris Perry, global president of digital at Weber Shandwick, added that CEOs can help enhance and strengthen the reputation of their companies by taking an active and visible role in creating and sharing branded content through their company sites and social media. “The proliferation of sources, the unpredictability of news cycles and the explosion of new, highly visual media formats can be a challenge to any company, but it’s also a massive opportunity to engage and connect,” Perry said. The rise in usage of multiple channels drives CEO sociability Weber Shandwick’s report also found that today CEOs from the world’s top companies are visible on their company website (68%), company YouTube channel (38%) and social networks (28%). Meanwhile, globally, the rate of CEOs using LinkedIn has nearly quadrupled since 2012, making LinkedIn the most popular social network for top executives in 2014. Twitter has also contributed to the growth in social network use. It now appears that CEOs are more confident about how to use Twitter without causing alarm and reputational harm. While being social was once considered risky, explained Leslie Gaines-Ross, Weber Shandwick’s chief reputation strategist, it is now clear that having an online engagement strategy that extends through multiple channels is a “reputational imperative for business leaders today”. In fact, CEOs who embrace online communications have an opportunity to tell their company story and connect with broader networks of stakeholders more than ever before. Communicating online is the norm for today’s CEOs rather than the practice of a select few.

Additionally, CEOs are realising they need to use various channels of engagement to communicate with a diverse stakeholder set. One form of communication no longer suffices under today’s demand for transparency and engagement. So, how do you get your CEO to become socially active? Weber Shandwick has outlined five key ways to help companies optimise their online storytelling to help bolster their reputations. Socialise the executive bench: Sociability starts below the CEO level. As we see from assessing the sociability of the most powerful women in business, sociability begins before taking the top job. Those executives who have the social know-how when they step up to CEO will have an advantage over the competition and may even have brighter career prospects. Choose platforms wisely: Find the right social vehicle for CEOs, especially those who are hesitant to be social. CEO sociability is inevitable, so they need to embrace it in some form. Listen closely: For those CEOs still hesitant to embrace social media, listening and watching should be the first step. Monitoring the online conversation is a way to gather data on stakeholders and gauge what is being said about their companies. Embrace a media company mindset: Take hold of the trend in narrating the company story and use the company website as a media platform to publish content. Feature the CEO regularly, even if it is footage from a speaking engagement or a snippet from a town hall meeting. Socialise the CEO’s biography: The CEO’s biography or profile on the company website is a central place to show off a CEO’s assets. If the CEO has social networks, link to these profiles from the CEO’s biography. In “Socialising Your CEO III: From Marginal to Mainstream”, Weber Shandwick researched the online activities of CEOs from the top 50 companies in the 2014 Fortune Global 500 rankings, including 17 CEOs from the US, 19 from Europe, 11 from Asia Pacific (APAC) and three from Latin America (LatAm). The firm audited a range of sites and platforms to see how those CEOs are engaging socially and compared these results to its 2010 and 2012 findings.

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6/8/2015 1:04:34 PM

NEWS ANALYSIS

MAYWEATHER VS PACQUIAO: A CASE OF GREAT MARKETING? Was this a perfect example of story telling going brilliantly right? Rezwana Manjur writes. In early May, Facebook and Twitter seemed to be blowing up with comments over the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao match. On my personal feed, friends who I knew had no interest in boxing, were enthralled with the match and kept up a stream of constant updates. In fact, local pay-TV operator StarHub faced the wrath of consumers who were trying to purchase the channel just for the match, but were unable to do so, all at the eleventh hour. This problem was not one isolated to StarHub. The enthusiasm to catch the match through payper-view orders globally resulted in technical difficulties that led to a delay of the fight. While I understand the overwhelming love for sport in Singapore and the growing enthusiasm for sports such as rugby, cricket and MMA, the sudden rush of enthusiasm for this match truly surprised me. Was it just me living in a cave and not understanding the enthusiasm? Or was this a perfect example of marketing gone brilliantly right? The rise of FOMO Don Anderson, managing director of We Are Social, was of the view that this consumer enthusiasm was clearly another case of FOMO (fear of missing out). He explained the proliferation of social media and conversational channels made it virtually impossible for anyone to be able to escape the sheer magnitude of hype that an event like this was capable of producing. “Even if you’re not a boxing fan, or have never heard of Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao, simply not being part of the conversation can leave you with a sense of dread or feeling isolated. Few really want that anymore,” he said. He added the fact that so many people rushing at the last minute to secure pay-perview packages was a testament to the “FOMO behaviour”. Meanwhile, the fact the show was aired

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Mayweather won, it looks like the fight’s marketers threw the biggest punch.

during a long weekend where many consumers were in a relaxed state of mind also contributed to the hype, he added. Preetham Venkky, head of digital strategy and business for KRDS Singapore, agreed with the notion, adding that ultimately both the digital and traditional marketing culminated perfectly into word of mouth, generating conversations between die-hard boxing fans and non boxing fans. The winning ingredient: Art of storytelling He also added this was a classic case of storytelling at its very best. The title of the match – “Fight of the Century” – also helped in the narrative as more than five million people worldwide were invested in the characters themselves, he said. Following any good classical storytelling narrative, the story had all the elements of opposing characters holding the “good versus evil” spectrum and a great back story with the

perfect tease of possible bouts in the past five years. The icing on the top was HBO-Showtime being the exclusive partners who invested heavily in the fight. Venkky added that as reported in several media outlets, the “purse of over US$300 million helped propel the story further”. This is usually a budget set aside for blockbuster movies and is not usually a budget forked out for one-day events. He also added that besides traditional marketing, social media and digital were used effectively by both the boxers to drive anticipation and build the characters to near perfection. “This fight wasn’t just ‘money versus Pacman’ but was crafted to be an ‘evil versus good’ story. And just as with any great story (remember David versus Goliath), people took to social media and were happy to share every element of it – adding to its popularity,” he said.

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6/8/2015 1:00:13 PM

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6/8/2015 3:55:16 PM

PROFILE

PFIZER MALAYSIA’S DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS, HEALTH & VALUES AZWAR KAMARUDIN ANSWERS THIS CRUCIAL QUESTION BY REZWANA MANJUR.

CAN MARKETING SAVE THE PHARMACEUT INDUSTRY’S P REPUTATION? 22 advertising + m arketing | J U LY 201 5

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6/8/2015 3:51:52 PM

PROFILE

As a global company with half a century of presence in Malaysia, Pfizer is one of the country’s leading innovative biopharmaceutical companies. Committed to improving the healthcare access of Malaysians, Pfizer’s marketing has often said it “has been saving generations of lives”. Over the years, the company has taken several steps to connect with consumers. Nonetheless, working in the pharmaceutical field is not a bed of roses for any marketer. Pharmaceutical companies across the globe have been scrutinised and heavily criticised for their lack of ethics and transparency. Recently, a report by MSLGROUP called The Reputation Impact Indicator stated that across the world, people have set much higher expectations in regard to the corporate behaviour of pharmaceutical companies than they do for companies such as FMCG or consumer electronics. This means that for a pharmaceutical company to act in a non-ethical way will be more damaging than to a company in the other verticals.

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PROFILE A+M sat down in an exclusive interview with Pfizer Malaysia’s director of corporate affairs, health and value, Azwar Kamarudin, a “Pfizerian” with more than a decade of experience with the brand, to find out what has caused the spiral downwards for pharmaceutical companies and if marketing can help remedy the situation. “The biggest challenge the pharmaceutical industry is facing today is probably the reputation crisis. The pharmaceutical industry has been suffering from the trust deficit caused by unethical marketing practices,” she says. She says that in Malaysia, coupled with the fact the nation is one of the most digitally connected countries in the region, the healthcare environment is facing a huge challenge in curbing incorrect information reaching the hands of consumers. With a variety of information always available at a patient’s fingertips, marketers and pharmaceutical companies need to up their game to ensure the right messages get through to their target audiences. “This influx of online health information empowers patients, but also confuses them,” she says, adding that the need to disseminate the right information in a quick manner is more pertinent now. Ultimately, if the wrong information falls in the hands of consumers, it is the image of the brand that suffers. Passionate about her field, she says what keeps her going at Pfizer Malaysia is the belief the company is truly working towards creating a healthier world. An ongoing priority for her and her team is getting the right information placed in the right channels. She adds the marketing

MODA was engaged to create exclusive designs for the capes and a fashion show was also launched. A “Design a cape, protect a kid” initiative involving healthcare providers and child care centres was also launched. This engaged the public to pledge by submitting their designs and Pfizer donated RM5 to the under privileged with every submitted design to a charitable cause for children. The campaign, which featured a superhero theme, was aimed at increasing awareness that children can be protected from pneumococcal. The use of a superhero cape was to symbolise protection and convey the message that every child has the right to be protected. To take the engagement one step further, in conjunction with WHO’s World Immunisation Week, Pfizer Malaysia together with MODA and the Asian Strategic Alliance for the Prevention of Pneumococcal Disease, revealed the KidStrong designers’ edition of capes at a fashion show to raise awareness on the importance of vaccination against pneumococcal. A grant of RM20,000 was also donated to the Orphan Care Foundation, a non-profit non-governmental organisation established in 2008, which aims to give every orphan and abandoned baby a chance to be loved and cared for by a family. “Marketing activities should not just be for the company’s bottom line in the pharmaceutical industry. It is our responsibility to ensure that the right medications reach the right patients to help make lives better,” Kamarudin says.

“MARKETING ACTIVITIES SHOULD NOT JUST BE FOR THE COMPANY’S BOTTOM LINE IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY. IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT THE RIGHT MEDICATIONS REACH THE RIGHT PATIENTS TO HELP MAKE LIVES BETTER.” team has been “devoting tremendous efforts to ingrain integrity in all its interactions and introduce many ongoing compliance programmes”. No stranger to giving back to society, Pfizer Malaysia has often launched various campaigns that not only urge its consumers to come together to help the greater society, but also ensures the brand has an active role to play in the community – leading change. One successful campaign launched by Pfizer that effectively communicated both these stances was its “Ball of Life” campaign. In 2013, Pfizer Malaysia collaborated with the Lung Foundation of Malaysia to highlight the importance of protecting society against pneumococcal disease. The campaign encouraged the public to contribute towards ensuring children and the elderly were protected against pneumococcal by signing a pledge. For every signature, Pfizer Malaysia contributed a sum towards the Lung Foundation of Malaysia for research into the prevention of the disease. The “Ball of Life” initiative met and exceeded its initial target of 3000 signatures, with a donation of RM5 per pledge. The overwhelming support resulted in 11,476 pledges which demonstrated the public support against the disease. More recently, the company also launched the KidStrong campaign to reach out to the public about pneumococcal. For the six-month campaign, Pfizer Malaysia creatively collaborated with the Malaysian Official Designer’s Association (MODA), a non-profit association of Malaysia’s foremost fashion designers, for a special initiative which was the cape designing pledge.

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Pfizer Malaysia works with more than 6600 general practitioners, 2000 retail pharmacists, 6200 doctors from government hospitals and 3500 doctors from private hospitals across the nation. It also has 91 products of varying portfolios. With so much going on for the company, A+M asks how she manages to always keep her head in the game. Coming on board the Pfizer brand in 2003 as associate manager for corporate affairs, she shares that her past experience in the public sector with roles at the Ministry of International Trade and then at the Prime Minister’s Department has taught her to handle the complexities of the pharmaceutical world. Most recently, she was also given the health and value portfolio, where she is directly responsible for commercial and ensuring buyers and patients get access to the company’s innovative medicines. Meanwhile, this year being Pfizer Malaysia’s 50th anniversary sees it trying to create more activities and buzz around the brand. As part of its celebrations, Pfizer is producing a 50th anniversary coffee table book on its legacy in Malaysia. At the launch, it is also honouring 50 individuals in Malaysia who have contributed to Malaysian society. “Pfizer’s 50th anniversary is more than just a celebration. It is a commemoration of its contribution towards Malaysia’s healthcare for 50 years and a brand that has been saving generations of patients. “I am happy to not be confined in my roles and the dynamics of the company allows me to evolve and contribute my ideas in the overall development and growth of the company.”

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6/8/2015 3:51:53 PM

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5/8/2015 9:58:18 AM

MARKETING FEATURE: INNOVATION

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6/8/2015 3:37:25 PM

CLIENTS AND AGENCIES EVERYWHERE ARE STRUGGLING TO INTEGRATE INNOVATION INTO THEIR PROCESSES. JUST WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO DO THIS? ELIZABETH LOW WRITES.

Innovation has been the biggest buzzword of the year, with many major firms and agencies starting units to foster it. Innovation units have been started and innovation executives have been appointed. It’s early stages, and while some are genuinely cutting-edge, others are just buzzwords. The trend has larger firms turning to look at smaller setups for inspiration. The trouble is, few are able to erect the kind of processes needed for true innovation. This affects both agencies and clients. SoDA, the voice of the digital agency and production community, has released the annual Digital Outlook Study as part of The SoDA Report Volume 1 2015. The report which interviewed 680 global senior executives from advertisers and agencies showed that organisational structures on the client side continue to be seen as a barrier to innovation by more than four out of 10 agency respondents. As for agencies, moving from a servicebased model to product development involves a steep learning curve. “After two to three years that learning curve begins to flatten and more financial benefits such as significant funding, revenue growth and new business wins begin to take root,” said Chris Buettner, editor of the SoDa report. “It could also be that after two to three years, agencies who do not see clear financial ROI on their innovation labs or product incubators choose to disband efforts and focus on their service-based offerings. That has also been the case with a handful of SoDA member agencies.” But for many agencies is innovation genuine or just skin-deep? “Any time you ask someone an example of innovation, they would say, ‘Oh Nike Plus’. The one example of where it has been successfully done. Most of the other stuff I would not call innovation, I would call it gimmicks – just little things here and there,” said Ogilvy & Mather president of K1ND (its innovation unit), and CEO of China, Chris Reitermann. “That was how it was like in Ogilvy before, there was one guy with a card that said ‘innovation director’. Innovation (in a title) sounds good, but mostly what that person does is digital strategy or gimmicks. “To really institutionalise innovation and make it work like a start-up, you have to create a totally different set up.” Setting up for agency innovation He talks about the confines of a traditional

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6/8/2015 3:37:28 PM

MARKETING FEATURE: INNOVATION

agency structure in inhibiting a real start-up culture. “There are many things you can’t do ﬁnancially, structurally, in terms of how you work. Nothing wrong with it, but it’s hard to drive real innovation. “Existing agencies and many large organisations will tell you the same thing. You see companies like Unilever and P&G, they have a very hard time with driving innovation in their existing structures as this is not how these companies are built. “The same thing applies for agencies. You would think agencies are innovative thinkers (which we are), but the structures are very traditional – there are P&Ls to live by. Compare this to a start-up which has funding, doesn’t have to care about money and with some crazy people who can do what they want – well this doesn’t work in a larger organisation.” Reitermann talks about the thinking behind Ogilvy K1ND, O&M’s innovation unit, and how it wanted to be different.

“My hope is that it will eventually become successful, but also accelerate changes and transformation,” he said. It works by a partnership model “so those who work there have some skin in the game”. They also don’t report to any other division of O&M. “We don’t get paid by fees. We want joint partnerships on the IP we create (for example, patents may be created). We invest in product developments, we work with start-ups, etc. We work with clients on a partnership model – the client puts in money, we put in money and if that takes off, we both beneﬁt.” It also works by picking out projects for clients, developing them to a prototype level and proposing them back to clients. “Clients would offer a small fee to cover the cost – or do a joint partnership like I mentioned,” he said. Buettner, of the SoDa report, gives 10 tips learnt from setting up innovation labs or units:

“The same thing applies for agencies. You would think agencies are innovative thinkers (which we are), but the structures are very traditional – there are P&Ls to live by. Compare this to a start-up which has funding, doesn’t have to care about money and with some crazy people who can do what they want – well this doesn’t work in a larger organisation.” Chris Reitermann - Ogilvy & Mather president of K1ND (its innovation unit), and CEO of China.

The unit was launched a year ago, funded both by Ogilvy and Singapore’s Economic Development Board for the Singapore unit. K1ND is also based in Beijing. The unit also began with Mondelēz as its first partner. “When we set up K1nd, we wanted to do it properly, use it as an experiment and to not do everything that agencies do,” he said. K1ND was taken out of the existing structure of Ogilvy and sits in a different office. Innovation has to be taken out of the day to day business to work, he says. “This is why Unilever had to set up Foundry to take innovation out of the daily business.” Just like a start-up, it was not expected that the unit would be profitable in the first six months. That, or expansion of the business, would not be its focus.

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2. 3.

Separate the product business from your agency services business (a separate P&L and KPIs). Fully understand the supply chain and particularly the cost structure. Get expert legal advice around intellectual property, employees and freelancers, trademarks and copyright as well as patents. When developing IP or products on behalf of clients: Having service contracts that retain IP ownership (when you can negotiate it) will put you at a logical advantage. Consider using Kickstarter not only to raise some funding, but more importantly to gauge interest in an idea and to start marketing the product.

6. Dedicate teams, but in reasonably small chunks (monthly, quarterly) to avoid too much disruption to the agency side of the business. 7. The success of a product is unpredictable and often just a matter of luck (e.g. the Pinterest CEO stumbled upon Stickygram, pinned it, and it took off). 8. Having an outside partner or investor can make sense, but it’s a bigger commitment. If a product shows promise, consider hiring a CEO to run it full-time. 9. Working on products that are relevant to the client’s work is a good hedge – there’s still value even if they never go big. 10. Innovation labs and product incubators build a culture of experimentation within an agency and will help you recruit and retain the best talent. Companies’ struggle: Too large to move quickly? The issue applies to large MNCs as well, and with many at the maturation stages of the business cycle, it is hard to think like a start-up again. Many, like agencies, look to harness startups, with the likes of Unilever, Mondelēz, Tune Group, Diageo, Coca-Cola and DBS all working with these to introduce innovation into their behemoth organisational ranks. Change comes slowly, with many factors such as culture, organisational structure and process being barriers to innovation. A company wide move with multiple layers and processes to ensure it, and justifying returns, is also difficult when it comes to innovation. According to the SoDa study, innovation labs and product incubators take about three years to pay off. The learning curve means there is little clear ROI in the early years, although benefits do flow from talent retention and new business development. After three years, however, one in four of those tracked had benefited from a company spin-off, VC investment or significant funding, reported the study. A marketer of a major hotel chain quips ironically on the innovation struggle – the company’s latest “innovation” was someone deciding to make origami folds in the toilet rolls for guests. “What is innovation? It has to also make a business impact,” she said. In the next part of this article, we’ve spoken to five major brands and companies on how they are pulling innovation into their ranks.

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6/8/2015 3:37:28 PM

MARKETING FEATURE: INNOVATION

COCA-COLA – “DIGITISED THINKING”

Long an icon of marketing success, CocaCola has managed to upkeep its strong brand equity over the years. BrandZ’s study ranks brands according to the strength of the brand alone, without the inﬂuence of ﬁnancials or external factors, terming it “brand contribution”, and ranked it as the fourth brand globally for this. It also tracks its brand value at US$70,042 million.

Recent years have also seen Coca-Cola taking steps to change the way it thinks about digital, according to Richard Kiger, innovation solutions director for ASEAN. “One example I like to cite is around our progress in how we think about and use ‘digital’. From being an isolated (and relatively small) element of our marketing mix just a few years back to drive our brand messaging, we’ve

come to realise that digital must be integrated to the way that we think about our brands more holistically and how we engage consumers on an ongoing basis,” he said. The move had Coke launching campaigns such as its “Make It Happy” campaign during the Super Bowl, asking people to reply to negative tweets with the hashtag “#MakeItHappy”, and Coke’s automatic algorithm would then convert the tweets using an encoding system called ASCII into pictures of happy things – such as a mouse or a palm tree wearing sunglasses. In Asia, the past two years has also seen Coke launch its own social media hub for Singapore and Malaysia, with one of the goals to the new centre being large-scale social media listening. He added the company actively integrates innovation into its business model by taking business problems and working on them through incubators. “Through concepts like incubation and pilots we’ve reduced the hurdles and risks associated with some innovation, allowing us to prove concepts in markets which facilitates a faster scale up.” While not revealing further on Coke’s current procedures on innovation, he hinted the FMCG ﬁrm was also looking at embracing a “start-up mindset”.

DIAGEO – “FOSTER A HEALTHY PIPELINE OF IDEAS” Along the lines of Mondelēz and Unilever, alcohol conglomerate Diageo was the latest to push hard for innovation, with dedicated funding and mentoring for start-ups. Launching its technology ventures programme in September 2014, the programme is run out of its London headquarters, but the team works closely with local teams in various markets throughout the world to run trials of the chosen technologies. Teams answer briefs from the ofﬁce, for example, and the briefs are explored with Diageo India, and teams there will manage trials locally. “There are no limits from where the technology trials originate – we are simply looking for the ones that most successfully answer the call for solutions to our business challenges,” said Helen Michels, global innovations director. Throughout the year, the company will develop and publish speciﬁc briefs that focus on different business challenges, and review proposals from emerging companies in response. The chosen winners will receive a fund of up to £100,000.00 to trial their technology, with additional funding coming from pilot markets and a Diageo team ready to work with the successful applicant. From this Diageo has already launched a “smart bottle” for Johnnie Walker at the Mobile World Congress this year. The connected “smart bottle” uses printed

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sensor tags which can detect both the sealed and opened state of each bottle. The tags and the sensor information will allow Diageo to send personalised communications to consumers who read the tags with their smartphones. The innovation was created by Thinﬁlm in collaboration with Diageo Technology Ventures. The technology also allows Diageo to track bottle movements across the supply chain, instore and to the point of consumption, as tags can detect if a bottle is sealed or opened with the simple tap of an NFC smartphone, which leads to an added level of security. Pedro Mendonça, general manager of innovation for APAC at Diageo, said: “Within Diageo we have an approach to marketing innovation which we call next-generation marketing, focusing on the ‘mental availability’ of our brands, meaning they are constantly in the minds of our consumers, as well as ‘physical availability’ of our brands, so that they are visible at a point of purchase.” He said another area of the business where it was pushing marketing innovation was in Reserve, the luxury portfolio of Diageo, where it invests in branded entertainment platforms. “A great example is our Johnnie Walker House properties that allow us to reach consumers directly through new immersive

luxury whisky experiences, building the Johnnie Walker brand into a lifestyle concept as well as a luxury retail store,” he said. One challenge is that each market keeps evolving so a global innovation team working seamlessly is very important. “Furthermore, all innovation contains an element of risk, so we believe it is important to ensure a healthy pipeline of ideas – a spread between sure wins and big bets. Our innovation teams continuously pursue several avenues of development, such as ﬂavour innovation, packaging methods and innovative routes to the consumer,” he said. As for real innovation, it needs to be integrated within all aspects of a company for it to succeed, he said. “We apply this approach at Diageo where innovation forms a crucial part of our growth strategy across the business and across the globe.”

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6/8/2015 3:22:23 PM

MARKETING FEATURE: INNOVATION

INTEL – “BUILD A DIGITAL COMMAND CENTRE”

Founded in 1968, Intel has built its name in the PC business. However, the past few years have seen Intel take huge steps away from its reliance on the quickly dwindling PC market. Most recently, this saw the firm make a costly US $16.7 billion deal to buy programmable chip maker Altera Corp, which is expected to expand Intel’s profitable chips for corporate data centres, and allow it to step into the Internet of Things market. According to BrandZ’s index, Intel has been doing well with its brand, tracking a 58% rise in brand value from last year. The survey lists it as being worth US$18,385 million in brand value, being third in the study’s top 20 risers for techs this year in brand value, trailing only Facebook and Apple. In the context of this, how is Intel innovating in the marketing arena? For its Asia Pacific marketing team, it means building a state-of-the-art digital command centre. Intel launched its first digital hub, based in Singapore and functioning for the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, in May this year. The APJ digital hub will operate in real time, combining insights and creativity and integrating the power of paid, earned and owned media in order to amplify conversations and inspire search around the Intel brand and its products.

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The hub is aimed at giving the ﬁrm the capacity to measure all its digital activations, optimise content and media for reach, drive higher engagement and cost efﬁciency, all in real time. This will also allow the company to produce content at a higher capacity. The digital hub will pull in conversational insights and behavioural measures that will be combined with Intel’s research data to bring in valuable longer term insights for product marketing and strategy. The hub will function in these four areas: overall web monitoring, predictive conversational analysis, owned metrics and advocacy tracking. Overall web monitoring: The hub will serve to measure Intel’s share of voice, popular content themes and sentiment analysis across Intel as brand and business segments like PCs, 2in1, smartphones, tablets and new businesses like IOT and wearables. This will also include measuring Intel-led campaigns, industry events and Intel-owned events. Predictive conversational analysis: “Web monitoring in general gives us real time info on what has happened and predictive web monitoring is an additional layer of analysis that is based on historical trends and algorithms that can provide predictive emerging conversations in the next 48 to 72 hours. This will give Intel

a window of opportunity to figure out a conversation or content strategy around that theme,” said Jamshed Wadia, head of digital marketing and media for Asia Pacific and Japan at Intel. Owned metrics: This will also offer real time analysis on the impact of its owned web and social assets. The impact will be measured in terms of reach, engagement, leads generated, cost of media, content effectiveness and community strength. Advocacy tracking: The centre can identify in real time online influencers that are influencing the conversations that matter to allow Intel to engage with them via a formal engagement programme that builds long-term relationships, said Wadia. “One of the biggest challenges about doing things differently is getting the employees and agency partners to think and do things differently as well,” he said. “You may have the best tools and data at your disposal, but if the organisation is not geared up for the change then not much can be achieved. At Intel we are constantly evolving our organisation to keep pace with the changes. “Marketing is a constantly evolving discipline. If you are not looking for new ways to reach your key audiences, you risk losing them.”

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6/8/2015 3:22:28 PM

MARKETING FEATURE: INNOVATION

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION – “INNOVATION IS FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS OF A COMPANY”

“Marketing innovation is an extremely important piece of the overall innovation programme for Kimberly-Clark,” said marketing director Rahul Asthana. “As we develop our plans, there is a mix of product and commercial innovation that can help drive the business without needing to invest in product innovation every year. This is especially true as we have worked hard to develop winning consumer preferred products, and at times, the key barrier is no longer around product. “We approach our innovation more broadly now, looking at innovating the product,

innovating the promise and innovating the channel. The last two build into marketing innovation. For us, the key is to understand the key insight, that if unlocked, can help drive higher brand sales. “And often the answer is not just a product innovation, but also a commercial programme, a new way of connecting with the consumer, a new touch-point or a new sales channel that we have not previously maximised.” He gave three examples of this. First with the launch of the Kleenex moist ﬂushable perineal wipes across the region. The key barrier to overcome was to get consumers to start using “wet” bath tissues instead of dry. The insight was to highlight the uncertainty that something is left behind when using dry tissues and that wet tissues elevate the standard of clean. This has driven strong business results in Taiwan, Korea and China. For adult care, it ran a participatory commercial programme in Korea where consumers were asked to wear its Depend adult diaper underwear, together with their loved ones with incontinence, to normalise the condition and address the stigma associated with it. The plan is delivering strong results, he said. As for its Huggies brand, through its data analytics, it unearthed an insight that most

mothers were tangled in negative emotions at all stages of raising a baby, such as feeling “depressed”, “frustrated”, “sorry” and “tired”. It created a Huggies happy Momentcam in collaboration with various agencies – a small camera that attaches on to clothes like a brooch and works in pairs. It has an automatic sensor that starts recording when the pairs are within two metres of each other. Hence, when a mother and baby wear the devices, they capture scenes from each other’s viewpoints. According to Asthana, this helped boost sales. “The biggest challenge is to make sure that we are uncovering true consumer insights that can help unlock the category beneﬁt. Once we have this, we work with our agencies to develop content that can truly engage consumers and drive behaviour change. We are also trying to move away from excessive pre-testing and moving to more real-time optimisation. “The single biggest piece of advice is to not look at marketing innovation as a separate bucket from product innovation. Companies should look at innovation as broadly as possible to overcome consumer barriers and identify true insights that unlock category growth. Secondly, organisations, especially leadership, need to truly believe that marketing innovation can make a difference on the business.”

MCDONALD’S – “TEST, LEARN AND FAIL” McDonald’s has been having a tough period. While still listed as the top fast-food brand with the most brand value at US$81,162 million (according to Millward Brown’s BrandZ 2015 study), it is having a hard time at reinvention. “Some businesses have reinvention forced on them,” said BrandZ researchers. “McDonald’s is on a difficult journey towards being a business that delivers healthy menus, contemporary restaurants and sustainable sourcing. But it doesn’t really have a choice, against a background of changing tastes and declining sales, notably in the US. “A decade ago, McDonald’s was positioned to compete against Burger King. Now it is businesses such as Chipotle, once owned by McDonald’s, that is taking share from it.” However, the firm has taken drastic steps to change, recently appointing its CMO Steve Easterbrook as its CEO. Following this, he has detailed a major restructure to “reset and turn around” the business. The first step will be to strengthen its effectiveness and efficiency to drive faster and more customer-led decisions, with the business re-categorised according to regional markets. McDonald’s describes what innovation means to the firm. Andrew Hipsley, chief brand officer for

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McDonald’s in Asia Paciﬁc, the Middle East and Africa, talks about its new customised burger platform called “create your taste”. “This is one of the biggest ever changes at McDonald’s – from ‘making for you’ to ‘creating your own’,” he said. “First tested in the US, ‘create your taste’ gives customers the freedom to create their own unique burgers using fresh, quality ingredients in an uplifting restaurant environment absolutely focused on personalised service. “We make it easy for our customers to customise their burgers using the self-ordering kiosks, and deploying the wireless table locator, our hosts deliver the food to the customer’s table. “All this probably seems rather unMcDonald’s – and that’s exactly what makes the brand experience innovative, refreshing and exciting.” The move is being rolled out across in parts of Australia, Singapore and more markets in Asia Paciﬁc, as well as the Middle East. “The biggest challenge we have is speed at which innovation has to happen to keep pace with changing consumer needs. “As a brand with a massive restaurant scale, it is not uncommon to subject some of our ideas to ruthless consumer testing and

perfecting of executional details before bringing them to market. “However, in today’s world where speed is everything, we have had to move more quickly to deliver innovative solutions to our customers. “We test more things to learn faster and fail them, or scale them, quicker than ever before. And where we may not have ﬁrst-mover advantage, we make sure we come up with a better or more unique customer experience.” His advice to other ﬁrms on innovation: “Create a culture that celebrates ideation, facilitate tests to learn and promote progress.”

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MARKETING FEATURE: INNOVATION

STRATEGIC AND ORGANISATIONAL FACTORS ARE WHAT SEPARATE SUCCESSFUL BIG-COMPANY INNOVATORS FROM THE REST OF THE FIELD. MARC DE JONG, NATHAN MARSTON, AND ERIK ROTH OF MCKINSEY WRITE. It’s no secret: innovation is difficult for well-established companies. By and large, they are better executors than innovators, and most succeed less through game-changing creativity than by optimising their existing businesses. Yet as hard as it’s for such organisations to innovate, large ones as diverse as Alcoa, the Discovery Group, and NASA’s Ames Research Centre are doing so. What can other companies learn from their approaches and attributes? That question formed the core of a multi-year study comprising in-depth interviews, workshops and surveys of more than 2,500 executives in more than 300 companies, including both performance leaders and laggards in a broad set of industries and countries (exhibit 1). What we found were a set of eight essential attributes that are present, either in part or in full, at every big company that’s a high performer in product, process or business-model innovation. Since innovation is a complex company wide endeavour, it requires a set of crosscutting practices and processes to structure, organise and encourage it. Taken together, the essentials described in this article constitute just such an operating system, as seen in exhibit 2. These often overlapping, iterative and nonsequential practices resist systematic categorisation, but can nonetheless be thought of in two groups. The ﬁrst four, which are strategic and creative in nature, help set and prioritise the terms and conditions under which innovation is more likely to thrive. The next four essentials deal with how to deliver and organise for innovation repeatedly over time and with enough value to contribute meaningfully to overall performance.

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MARKETING FEATURE: INNOVATION

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MARKETING FEATURE: INNOVATION

To be sure, there’s no proven formula for success, particularly when it comes to innovation. While our years of client-service experience provide strong indicators for the existence of a causal relationship between the attributes that survey respondents reported and the innovations of the companies we studied, the statistics described here can only prove correlation. Yet we firmly believe if companies assimilate and apply these essentials – in their own way, in accordance with their particular context, capabilities, organisational culture and appetite for risk – they will improve the likelihood they can also rekindle the lost spark of innovation. In the digital age, the pace of change has gone into hyper-speed, so companies must get these strategic, creative, executional and organisational factors right to innovate successfully. 1.Aspire It helps to combine high-level aspirations with estimates of the value that innovation should generate to meet financial growth objectives. Quantifying an “innovation target for growth”, and making it an explicit part of future strategic plans helps solidify the importance of and accountability for innovation. The target itself must be large enough to force managers to include innovation investments in their business plans. If they can make their numbers using other, less risky tactics, our experience suggests they (quite rationally) will. Establishing a quantitative innovation aspiration is not enough, however. The target value needs to be apportioned to relevant business “owners” and cascaded down to their organisations in the form of performance targets and timelines. Anything less risks encouraging inaction or the belief innovation is someone else’s job. For example, Lantmännen, a big Nordic agricultural co-operative, was challenged by flat organic growth and directionless innovation. Top executives created an aspirational vision and strategic plan linked to financial targets: 6% growth in the core business and 2% growth in new organic ventures. To encourage innovation projects, these quantitative targets were cascaded down to business units and, ultimately, to product groups. During the development of each innovation project, it had to show how it was helping to achieve the growth targets for its category and markets. As a result, Lantmännen went from 4% to 13% annual growth, underpinned by the successful launch of several new brands. It became the market leader in pre-made food only four years after entry and created a new premium segment in this market. 2. Choose Fresh and creative insights are invaluable, but

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in our experience many companies run into difficulty less from a scarcity of new ideas than from the struggle to determine which ideas to support and scale. At bigger companies, this can be particularly problematic during market discontinuities, when supporting the next wave of growth may seem too risky, at least until competitive dynamics force painful changes. Innovation is inherently risky, to be sure, and getting the most from a portfolio of innovation initiatives is more about managing risk than eliminating it. Since no one knows exactly where valuable innovations will emerge, and searching everywhere is impractical, executives must create some boundary conditions for the opportunity spaces they want to explore. The process of identifying and bounding these spaces can run the gamut from intuitive visions of the future to carefully scrutinised strategic analyses. Thoughtfully prioritising these spaces also allows companies to assess whether they have enough investment behind their most valuable opportunities. During this process, companies should set in motion more projects than they will ultimately be able to finance, which makes it easier to kill those that prove less promising. RELX Group, for example, runs 10 to 15 experiments per major customer segment, each funded with a preliminary budget of about $200,000, through its innovation pipeline every year, choosing subsequently to invest more significant funds in one or two of them, and dropping the rest. “One of the hardest things to figure out is when to kill something,” said Kumsal Bayazit, RELX Group’s chief strategy

ofﬁcer. “It’s a heck of a lot easier if you have a portfolio of ideas.” Once the opportunities are deﬁned, companies need transparency into what people are working on and a governance process that constantly assesses not only the expected value, timing and risk of the initiatives in the portfolio, but also its overall composition. There’s no single mix that’s universally right. Most established companies err on the side of overloading their innovation pipelines with relatively safe, short-term and incremental projects that have little chance of realising their growth targets or staying within their risk parameters. Some spread themselves thinly across too many projects instead of focusing on those with the highest potential for success and resourcing them to win. 3. Discover Innovation also requires actionable and differentiated insights – the kind that excite customers and bring new categories and markets into being. How do companies develop them? Genius is always an appealing approach, if you have or can get it. Fortunately, innovation yields to other approaches besides exceptional creativity. The rest of us can look for insights by methodically and systematically scrutinising three areas: a valuable problem to solve, a technology that enables a solution, and a business model that generates money from it. You could argue that nearly every successful innovation occurs at the intersection of these three elements.

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MARKETING FEATURE: INNOVATION

Companies that effectively collect, synthesise, and “collide” them stand the highest probability of success. “If you get the sweet spot of what the customer is struggling with, and at the same time get a deeper knowledge of the new technologies coming along and find a mechanism for how these two things can come together, then you are going to get good returns,” said Alcoa chairman and chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld. The insight-discovery process, which extends beyond a company’s boundaries to include insight-generating partnerships, is the lifeblood of innovation. We won’t belabour the matter here, though, because it’s already the subject of countless articles and books.2 One thing we can add is that discovery is iterative, and the active use of prototypes can help companies continue to learn as they develop, test, validate and refine their innovations. Moreover, we firmly believe that without a fully developed innovation system encompassing the other elements described in this article, large organisations probably won’t innovate successfully, no matter how effective their insight-generation process is. 4. Evolve Business-model innovations – which change the economics of the value chain, diversify profit streams and/or modify delivery models – have always been a vital part of a strong innovation portfolio. As smartphones and mobile apps threaten to upend old-line industries, businessmodel innovation has become all the more

urgent: established companies must reinvent their businesses before technology driven upstarts do. Why then do most innovation systems so squarely emphasise new products? The reason, of course, is that most big companies are reluctant to risk tampering with their core business model until it’s visibly under threat. At that point, they can only hope it’s not too late. Leading companies combat this troubling tendency in a number of ways. They up their game in market intelligence, the better, to separate signal from noise. They establish funding vehicles for new businesses that don’t ﬁt into the current structure. They constantly re-evaluate their position in the value chain, carefully considering business models that might deliver value to priority groups of new customers. They sponsor pilot projects and experiments away from the core business to help combat narrow conceptions of what they are and do. And they stress-test newly emerging value propositions and operating models against countermoves by competitors. Amazon does a particularly strong job extending itself into new business models by addressing the emerging needs of its customers and suppliers. In fact, it has included many of its suppliers in its customer base by offering them an increasingly wide range of services – from hosted computing to warehouse management. 5. Accelerate Virulent antibodies undermine innovation at many large companies. Cautious governance

processes make it easy for stifling bureaucracies in marketing, legal, IT and other functions to find reasons to halt or slow approvals. Too often, companies simply get in the way of their own attempts to innovate. A surprising number of impressive innovations from companies were actually the fruit of their mavericks, who succeeded in bypassing their early approval processes. Clearly, there’s a balance to be maintained: bureaucracy must be held in check, yet the rush to market should not undermine the crossfunctional collaboration, continuous learning cycles, and clear decision pathways that help enable innovation. Are managers with the right knowledge, skills and experience making the crucial decisions in a timely manner, so that innovation continually moves through an organisation in a way that creates and maintains competitive advantage, without exposing a company to unnecessary risk? Companies also thrive by testing their promising ideas with customers early in the process before internal forces impose modifications that blur the original value proposition. To end up with the innovation initially envisioned, it’s necessary to knock down the barriers that stand between a great idea and the end user. Companies need a well-connected manager to take charge of a project and be responsible for the budget, time to market, and key specifications – a person who can say yes rather than no. In addition, the project team needs to be cross-functional in reality, not just on paper. This means locating its members in a single place and ensuring they give the project a significant amount of their time (at least half) to support a culture that puts the innovation project’s success above the success of each function. Cross-functional collaboration can help ensure end-user involvement throughout the development process. At many companies, marketing’s role is to champion the interests of end users as development teams evolve products and to help ensure the final result is what everyone first envisioned. But this responsibility is honoured more often in the breach than in the observance. Other companies, meanwhile, rationalise that consumers don’t necessarily know what they want until it becomes available. This may be true, but customers can certainly say what they don’t like. And the more quickly and frequently a project team gets – and uses – feedback, the more quickly it gets a great end result. 6. Scale Some ideas such as luxury goods and many

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MARKETING FEATURE: INNOVATION ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

smartphone apps are destined for niche markets. Others, such as social networks, work at a global scale. Explicitly considering the appropriate magnitude and reach of a given idea is important to ensuring the right resources and risks are involved in pursuing it. The seemingly safer option of scaling up over time can be a death sentence. Resources and capabilities must be marshalled to make sure a new product or service can be delivered quickly at the desired volume and quality. Manufacturing facilities, suppliers, distributors and others must be prepared to execute a rapid and full rollout. For example, when TomTom launched its first touch-screen navigational device in 2004, the product flew off the shelves. By 2006, TomTom’s line of portable navigation devices reached sales of about five million units a year, and by 2008, yearly volume had jumped to more than 12 million. “That’s faster market penetration than mobile phones had,” said Harold Goddijn, TomTom’s CEO and co-founder. While TomTom’s initial accomplishment lay in combining a

not just with international partners – launching joint satellites with nations as diverse as Lithuania, Saudi Arabia and Sweden – but also with emerging companies such as SpaceX. High-performing innovators work hard to develop the ecosystems that help deliver these benefits. Indeed, they strive to become partners of choice, increasing the likelihood the best ideas and people will come their way. That requires a systematic approach. First, these companies find out which partners they are already working with; surprisingly few companies know this. Then they decide which networks – say, four or five of them – they ideally need to support their innovation strategies. This step helps them to narrow and focus their collaboration efforts and to manage the flow of possibilities from outside the company. Strong innovators also regularly review their networks, extending and pruning them as appropriate and using sophisticated incentives and contractual structures to motivate highperforming business partners. Becoming a true partner of choice is, among other things, about

Smart collaboration with external partners, though, goes beyond merely sourcing new ideas and insights; it can involve sharing costs and finding faster routes to market. well-defined consumer problem with widely available technology components, rapid scaling was vital to the product’s continuing success. “We doubled down on managing our cash, our operations, maintaining quality, all the parts of the iceberg no one sees. We were hugely well organised.” 7. Extend In the space of only a few years, companies in nearly every sector have conceded that innovation requires external collaborators. Flows of talent and knowledge increasingly transcend company and geographic boundaries. Successful innovators achieve significant multiples for every dollar invested in innovation by accessing the skills and talents of others. In this way, they speed up innovation and uncover new ways to create value for their customers and ecosystem partners. Smart collaboration with external partners, though, goes beyond merely sourcing new ideas and insights; it can involve sharing costs and finding faster routes to market. Famously, the components of Apple’s first iPod were developed almost entirely outside the company; and by efficiently managing these external partnerships, Apple was able to move from initial concept to a marketable product in only nine months. NASA’s Ames Research Centre teams up 3 6 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | J U LY 2015

clarifying what a partnership can offer the junior member: brand, reach or access, perhaps. It is also about behaviour. Partners of choice are fair and transparent in their dealings. Moreover, companies that make the most of external networks have a good idea of what’s most useful at which stages of the innovation process. In general, they cast a relatively wide net in the early going. But as they come closer to commercialising a new product or service, they become narrower and more specific in their sourcing, since by then the new offering’s design is relatively set. 8. Mobilise How do leading companies stimulate, encourage, support and reward innovative behaviour and thinking among the right groups of people? The best companies find ways to embed innovation into the fibres of their culture – from the core to the periphery. They start back where we began: with aspirations that forge tight connections among innovation, strategy and performance. When a company sets financial targets for innovation and defines market spaces, minds become far more focused. As those aspirations come to life through individual projects across the company, innovation leaders clarify responsibilities using the appropriate incentives and rewards. The Discovery Group, for example, is

upending the medical and life insurance industries in its native South Africa and also has operations in the UK, the US and China, among other locations. Innovation is a standard measure in the company’s semi-annual divisional scorecards – a process that helps mobilise the organisation and affects roughly 1,000 of the company’s business leaders. “They are all required to innovate every year,” Discovery founder and CEO Adrian Gore said of the company’s business leaders. “They have no choice.” Organisational changes may be necessary, not because structural silver bullets exist – we’ve looked hard for them and don’t think they do – but rather to promote collaboration, learning and experimentation. Companies must help people to share ideas and knowledge freely, perhaps by locating teams working on different types of innovation in the same place, reviewing the structure of project teams to make sure they always have new blood, ensuring that lessons learned from success and failure are captured and assimilated, and recognising innovation efforts even when they fall short of success. Internal collaboration and experimentation can take years to establish, particularly in large, mature companies with strong cultures and ways of working that, in other respects, may have served them well. Some companies set up “innovation garages” where small groups can work on important projects unconstrained by the normal working environment, while building new ways of working that can be scaled up and absorbed into the larger organisation. NASA, for example, has 10 field centres. But the space agency relies on the Ames Research Centre in Silicon Valley to maintain what its former director, Dr Pete Worden, calls “the character of rebels” to function as “a laboratory that’s part of a much larger organisation”. Big companies do not easily reinvent themselves as leading innovators. Too many fixed routines and cultural factors can get in the way. For those that do make the attempt, innovation excellence is often built in a multiyear effort that touches most, if not all, parts of the organisation. Our experience and research suggest that any company looking to make this journey will maximise its probability of success by closely studying and appropriately assimilating the leading practices of high-performing innovators. Taken together, these form an essential operating system for innovation within a company’s organisational structure and culture. This article was summarised from an article in McKinsey Quarterly WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

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IS THE FACE OF WOMEN’S FASHION AND BEAUTY EVOLVING? The collective earnings of women globally are expected to go up to US$18 trillion in ﬁve years. It’s no secret that marketers have identiﬁed this valuable target group, but are their methods changing? Marketing explores the issue in this report. BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

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THE FASHION AND BEAUTY WORLD’S NEW ‘IT’ GIRLS? Is the fashion and marketing world, generally obsessed with the young, finally evolving? Rezwana Manjur writes.

"Sexy has no expiration date."

The fashion world has found a new look for its “It” girls, and they are not your typical Taylor Swift look-a-likes. In recent years, we are seeing more and more brands bringing on board an older demographic to front their ad campaigns.

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This trend made its mark when American Apparel used the then 62-year-old Jacky O’Shaughnessy as an underwear model to promote its lingerie line. An image of O’Shaughnessy, who began modelling for the clothing giant in 2011, barely clothed in a see-through lace bandeau bra

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and kickers, was posted on the brand’s Facebook page and Instagram account. The caption boldly read: “Sexy has no expiration date.” When launched, the ad resulted in split views from the public. But being American Apparel, it was no surprise the brand would make such a bold move in its marketing campaigns. However, soon after, the fashion and marketing world saw more conservative brands such as Céline, Marc Jacobs, Kate Spade, L’Oréal and others follow suit and embrace the silver generation. Earlier this year, we saw the cosmetic brand YSL Beauté in Hong Kong putting 80-yearold actress Helena Law Lan at the centre of its campaign. This then begs the question: Is the fashion and marketing world, generally obsessed with the young, finally evolving? Or is this another flash in the pan trend? In a conversation with Marketing, Cynthia Erland, SVP of marketing at American Apparel, said that when the team first launched the campaign with O’Shaughnessy fronting it, its thoughts simply revolved around the fact she embodied qualities that resonated with the ideal American Apparel woman. “She is confident, sexy and smart, and age is not a factor. We didn’t even think twice about it when we cast her,” she said. She added that ultimately this trend picked up because consumers were the ones acknowledging this trend and really admiring the strength of these women through the ads. When Marketing initially wrote the article on O’Shaughnessy being the face of the campaign, consumers seemed rather split on the decision. Erland, however, stated that as the campaign progressed the reactions were “very positive” and benefited the brand by breaking down age barriers. As for the younger demographic, she added, rather than alienate them, using O’Shaughnessy as the face of the campaign resulted in also empowering the young generation – showing them that age is just a number. “American Apparel is proud to be one of the first pioneers in hiring women of all ages and beauty. There is an importance and a void to portray a woman’s beauty at any age. We feel that beauty lies more in the spirit of the woman than age,” she said. J. Walter Thompson’s Marie Stafford, European director of The Innovation Group, added the over-50s audience was a force to be reckoned with because they wielded unprecedented financial power and account for 48% of all consumer spending. “The benefits of featuring older women in such campaigns are manifold. They should be a marketer’s dream,” she said. Recently, J. Walter Thompson London also published a report on the “The Elastic Generation” – to describe the potential energy of 50 to 69-year-olds and their knack of stretching preconceived notions of ageing. According to the survey of British consumers aged 50-69, 65% agreed the fashion industry ignored people of their age. “This presents an enormous opportunity for fashion and beauty brands – one to which they are only now slowly waking up to,” Stafford said. Like Erland, Stafford agreed that younger consumers were far from being put off and, in fact, might be attracted to the authenticity that comes with experience. The research also found this age group were at

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American Apparel's bold feature of 62 year-old Jacky O'Shaughnessy.

the peak of self-confidence with 82% less concerned about what others think of them, now that they were older. “They have found their own style; their fashion and beauty choices are at their most individual, unfettered by passing trends and public opinion. Almost 90% believe style is not defined by age, and over twothirds feel more confident than ever about their own style. This makes their endorsement of any brand a stronger statement than at any other age,” Stafford said. A WORD OF CAUTION Owen Dowling, head of planning for Social@Ogilvy Asia Pacific, added that when executed poorly, the marketing world could expect many faux pas from these campaigns. “What we’re seeing now in fashion culture is a generation of new beauty codes that will take time to filter down into mainstream culture and advertising,” he said. “And when they do filter down, there will be hideous mistakes. There’s a big difference between insightful communications intended to make older women feel something, and ones that beam down a symbolic version of them.” Executing a campaign using an older woman should not be done for the sake of it. There needs to be an actual purpose. He added that if brands do make ads in a patronising way where a product is somehow saving a woman’s life, or the ad projects a glib lifestyle way, then the brand can expect not to reap any benefits from using this demographic. He also said that some brands likened using the older demographic to a “torture test” – because if it works for their generation, youths might feel as though it would work for them; much like how fabric conditioners are marketed as being soft using baby’s comfort as a proof point even though a large part of their target base are adults. “However, brands need to remember that people are people and they can evaluate what you are selling without having to see their own mug in the visuals,” he said. “Despite this year’s edgy fashion visuals, despite the fact we are told we live in a world where marketing feedback should be influencing product design, very few brands are going to take the risk to change a flagship product to feel older. Rejuvenation is the normal narrative of a brand. Not happy maturity.”

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CASE STUDY

FINDING OUT WHAT WOMEN REALLY WANT

“When you make women happy, you make everyone happy” – Why She Buys, Bridget Brennan. This was the mantra that inspired NBCUniversal International Networks to embark on a strategically unique four-year study to better understand the motivations, attitudes and aspirations that deﬁned content consumption habits of women across four Southeast Asian territories: Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. The ground-breaking research uncovered how brands could communicate to women with content that engaged and connected with them. This analysis was the key to understanding the complexity of the modern Asian woman who is keeping up with expectations as a wife, a mother or a daughter, while having opportunities in education and her career, but not sacriﬁcing her sense of style … or the latest handbag. This involved a combined total of nearly 10,000 online interviews, 30 focus groups and 20 ethnographic one-on-one interviews among female pay-TV viewers aged 20 to 44.

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“With this research, we now know how the Southeast Asian highheeled warrior engages with content, her preferred formats and the various themes that resonate,” says Christine Fellowes, managing director of Universal Networks International Asia Pacific. “This information means clients can connect more deeply with female consumers and drive even more measurable business outcomes through strategic advertising and sponsorships.” The first phase was in 2011 with the goal of understanding the Asian woman’s deepest psychological motivations in relation to her self-concept, aspirations and her evolving roles and lifestyles. Ipsos’ Censydiam methodology was used to uncover her motivations to help understand what she wanted and why she wanted it. In 2013, the company launched phase two, setting out to provide unique data on Asian women’s usage and attitudes towards key consumer categories such as banking and finance, beauty products, personal care, luxury products, cars, travel and consumer electronics. The findings uncovered five distinct segments of women based

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on their motivations, attitudes and aspirations: ambitious trailblazers, organised peacekeepers, spontaneous passionistas, loyal heartwarmers and optimistic social-siders. The research data identified the benefits of targeting a distinct audience based on factors that were more sophisticated than demographics. The third phase of the study was launched in April 2015 with the aim of uncovering how to reach and communicate with women in Southeast Asia, while determining which communication methods and content themes worked best for each market and for the five segments of women identified in phase two. “Through our research we know what women like to watch and we are able to identify how bespoke content can communicate to women most effectively,” Fellowes says. “With data from high-heeled warriors, NBCUniversal takes a targeted approach to its programming, marketing and creative strategies to speak to female pay-TV consumers in Asia.” The study revealed that DIVA and E! emerged as the top two entertainment channels female pay-TV viewers associated with when it came to major consumer categories – from fashion and fragrance to beauty and luxury products. It also revealed that women in Southeast Asia are queens of the multi-screens, with a high percentage using their smartphones, laptops or tablets while watching TV. One of the most popular multiscreen activities was to source for more information about the TV show they were watching. Video – whether in the form of TV programmes, short-form mobile

vignettes or online clips – emerged as one of the top performers among all marketing strategies to reach women. A majority of women in Southeast Asia prefer to watch videos about brands than read texts or still photos. They also notice when companies speak to them and feel more connected with brands through videos. In terms of non-local content, TV shows from the US still prove to be the most popular, despite the emergence of content from the likes of Taiwan, Korea and Latin America. DIVA, E! and Universal Channel feature many personalities – celebrities or on-screen characters – that women look up to such as Jessica Pearson and Rachel Zane from DIVA’s Suits; Olivia Benson from Universal Channel’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; as well as Angelina Jolie, who has been profiled on numerous E! specials. Other fascinating insights on content consumption habits include how women prefer brands to speak to them, such as focusing on how a brand has improved its products rather than comparing itself to competitors. Self-improvement triumphs over competitiveness, with a preference leaning towards how one can improve themselves than how they can win or do better than others. Self-improvement also extends to their loved ones: women are more likely to inform friends and relatives about products that help or improve their lives in some way or make a difference to the world. When it comes to presentation, simplicity is queen: clean-looking, beautiful and easy to use products are a winner for women, who are generally more interested in knowing what a product does for them than how it works. Through the development of simple, yet sophisticated and highvalue bespoke creative content for clients to connect to audiences, NBCUniversal is the only entertainment network that comprehensively commits and remains relevant to the contemporary Asian woman and savvy marketers. Leading women’s channel DIVA, pop culture powerhouse E! and global flagship brand Universal Channel are the top TV channels for female audiences. To find out more on how your brand can better connect, engage and communicate with women, contact us at info.asia@nbcuni.com

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