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THE BUSINESS OF CONTENT MARKETING Rezwana Manjur, Deputy Editor rezwanam@marketing-interactive.com Vivienne Tay, Journalist viviennet@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 - Malaysia Joven Barceñas, Director, Business Development & Strategy (Malaysia & Indonesia) jovenb@marketing-interactive.com Bernadine Reyla, Project Manager bernadiner@marketing-interactive.com Ong Yi Xuan, Advertising Sales Coordinator yixuano@marketing-interactive.com Advertising Sales - International Johnathan Tiang, Sales Manager (Singapore) johnathant@marketing-interactive.com Sara Wan, Senior Sales Manager (Hong Kong) saraw@marketing-interactive.com Event Production Hairol Salim, Regional Lead - Events and Training hairol@marketing-interactive.com Event Services Yeo Wei Qi, Regional Head of Events Services weiqi@marketing-interactive.com Finance Evelyn Wong, Regional Finance Director evelynw@lighthousemedia.com.sg Management Søren Beaulieu, Publisher sorenb@marketing-interactive.com Justin Randles, Group Managing Director jr@marketing-interactive.com Tony Kelly, Managing Director tk@marketing-interactive.com

Discussions around content marketing are evolving from being a marketing concern to a business concern. While everyone acknowledges it’s nothing new, in the realm of the online world, it requires a new strategy and a fairly serious one. What was initially seen with scepticism, written off as just another jargon the industry is obsessed with, eventually evolved to become a nice-to-have. Now, most of that has been proven wrong – the importance of a proper strategy and resources for content cannot be underestimated. From hiring one content person to setting up a whole team around it, to getting an agency on board for content to establishing newsrooms, we have seen it all in Asia Pacific. Different companies are at different levels of growth when it comes to content, but what’s common is they are all becoming more and more serious about it. We spoke to several ACMA members earlier this year on what they think content marketing will be like in 2016 and all of them emphasised on the growing need for content to play the role of a differentiator for the business and not just marketing. As Edward Bray, head of marketing, APAC, marketing solutions for LinkedIn, said: “Content marketing will no longer be the sole responsibility of the marketing team. The rise of social selling means that content creation needs to be a collaborative effort between marketing and sales. Organisations that embrace this concept will extend the reach of their content through sales channels and are more likely to achieve sales and marketing alignment.”

In another recent interview in Marketing magazine, Andrea Edwards, of The Digital Conversationalist, said: “You cannot be successful at content marketing if you operate in a marketing silo.” And dealing with internal structures is perhaps the biggest challenge confronting content marketing. For most organisations it is no longer a question of “why” content marketing; it’s about when, what, and most importantly, how? Therefore, at this year’s Content 360, we paid extra focus on answering the hows of content marketing through our line-up of excellent brands, and speakers who shared the stories of their brands. Read all about content marketing – right from coming up with the right team, to the formats that work to managing KPIs around content – in this edition. And as marketing becomes more and more business-centric, see what Debbie Goldingham, head of marketing, Southeast Asia, MasterCard, has to say about the new age of marketing, in our profile section. Enjoy reading! Photography: Stefanus Elliot Lee – www.elliotly.com; Makeup & Hair: Michmakeover using Make Up For Ever & hair using Sebastian Professional – www.michmakeover.com

Editorial Rayana Pandey, Editor rayanap@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 office. 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 ...............................................................................................................

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Rayana Pandey Editor

M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 1

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

A MONTH IN NEWS A round up of a month of news from Malaysia and the region.

INFOGRAPHIC: THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE How ads damage the consumer experience.

CNBC LAUNCHES IN-HOUSE CREATIVE AGENCY Another media company is bringing creative capabilities in-house. Rezwana Manjur writes.

12 KL’S NEW BRANDING: EXCITING AND ENTICING … REALLY? What does the industry think about the rebrand, Rezwana Manjur finds out.

13 CEO OF MAS SET TO TAKE OFF Should agencies be worried? Rezwana Manjur writes.

14 PROFILE: DEBORAH GOLDINGHAM, HEAD OF MARKETING FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA AT MASTERCARD What are brands across the region doing with content and what is the future of content marketing? Read to find out more.

There is no such thing as cracking marketing goals without meeting business objectives, says Deborah Goldingham in a conversation with Rayana Pandey.

18 READY FOR THE NEXT LEVEL? Why are marketers still scared of embracing e-sports? Rezwana Manjur finds out.

24 IS THE SILVER GENERATION A RETAIL GOLDMINE? Are marketers missing the mark when it comes to the elderly? Rezwana Manjur explores.

28 CONTENT 360 Read all that was discussed about content marketing and what the future holds.

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE!

13 12 What you’ll learn in this issue: >> The hows of content marketing. >> Marketing to the young and the elderly. >> E-sports and its promise to marketing. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

14 18 M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 3

NEWS ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

MITA and Weibo join hands Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) partnered with Chinese social media network Weibo for the first time to promote Malaysia as a tourist destination. To lure Chinese tourists, MITA is planning to launch the “Malaysia Day Sale” campaign on 31 August on the social platform. This tourism push is in line with the government’s target of attracting more than eight million Chinese tourist over five years.

Common goals Triple, the exclusive distributor for sports label Under Armour in Southeast Asia, is working with ONE Championship (ONE) as an official partner in SEA for One’s events in 2016. The strategic partnership leverages the two leading companies’ respective strengths and is expected to elevate the presence of both brands in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Game on for Horlicks GSK Consumer Healthcare and Grey Group Singapore launched “Horlicks NutriQuest”, designed to help educate children on the importance of nutrition. It looks to target both children and their mothers. The game, game trailer, in-store retail engagement, digital and social media were created by a team of experts from around the world, including Grey, Ground Control (animated trailer), Possible Games (game development) and Yessian Music. 4 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

Halal make-up next in line Halal make-up is next in line to join the wave of products catering specifically to the Muslim market, especially in Southeast Asia as cosmetic producers help to weed out products which contain alcohol and lard-based lipsticks. This is a big change following what seemed to be a niche market a few years ago and also joins a trend where more and more international brands are capitalising on the growing Muslim market to launch products specific to the Islamic demographic.

Beacon of hope Voice of the Children, a non-government children’s organisation, and Geometry Global, launched the “Bring the Light” programme to raise awareness on the issue of stateless children in Malaysia. To communicate this message and symbolise the cause, Voice of the Children worked with Geometry Global to design a pledge in the form of an electronic canvas where attendees were invited to sign their name on a succession of black canvases in solidarity of the cause.

Dedicated to teachers INTI International University & Colleges released a special video to kick-off its fifth annual #Dedicated2Cikgu campaign. Called “Role Reversal”, the two-and-a-half-minute video took on report card day in an unconventional way when a student is seen grading his teachers instead. This year, INTI’s #Dedicated2Cikgu campaign centres around the “Report Card of Happiness” contest.

Fighting mosquitoes Grey Group Malaysia and Telekom Malaysia turned the everyday simple umbrella into an active warrior against dengue through the use of a RainSprout fixed on top of an umbrella which uses rainfall to distribute larvicide into the very puddles where mosquitoes can breed. RainSprouts were distributed for free in April into areas across central Malaysia where a dengue outbreak had recently occurred. A booming partnership Suntory Beverage & Food Malaysia renewed its partnership with LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort for another three years to make Ribena the official fruit juice drink. The partnership began in 2012, and since then, both brands have grown and will continue to be an engaging force to consumers with their individual brand identities. Both brands have continued to receive positive feedback from visitors.

Off and running Lucozade Sport’s “Fuel Your Performance” campaign created its first running clinic with Pacesetters Athletic Club, SMART Athletics Club and Tadonamo Triathletes. Participants had the opportunity to learn from seasoned runner Edan Syah and exercise and sports nutritionist Dr Mahenderan Appukutty, faculty of sports science and recreation from the Universiti Teknologi MARA, who shared their experience on training and nutrition for sports enthusiasts. Media Prima diversifies Media Prima Television Networks is looking to grow its non-traditional revenue, while consolidating its market share in core advertising revenue. The group’s theme this year is “More Than Just TV” and MPTN aims to leverage on the divergence of media to offer offerings and solutions that are both interactive and immersive. One of the primary targets for MPTN for 2016 is to build on its achievements and to continue dominating the mass Malay market. MINI launches new campaign Following the appointment of Saatchi & Saatchi Malaysia as its creative agency earlier this year, MINI launched a new campaign with the agency for the new MINI Clubman. The agency developed two web films: Hit Chaser and Things Maker as part of the launch. It hopes to create a new chapter in the story of MINI with the brand growing steadily. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

Milo drops by Kuantan Milo Malaysia Breakfast Day hit the residents of Kuantan this year as families and children took part in numerous education activities while being served breakfast. The brand aims to reach out to more Malaysians and spread the message of a healthy hearty breakfast. The event was first hosted in Malacca this year and will also hit places such as Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Penang, Sarawak and Johor this year. PPFIM celebrates milestone Persatuan Penerbit Filem Iklan Malaysia (PPFIM), also known as the Malaysian Association of Advertising Filmmakers, celebrated its 26th annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur recently. The association comprises of companies renowned for expertise in commercials production. At the meeting, objectives for the year were laid out, such as promoting an understanding that producers and production companies bring much value in the area of nurturing and managing talent.

TM launches new retail outlet Global retail and brand consultancy Fitch worked with Telekom Malaysia (TM) to create a new customer retail outlet called TMPoint – an interactive store destination that helps consumers to navigate, be inspired, get advice and experience TM’s full suite of solutions in a friendly and engaging environment. The pilot outlet, which features the new concept, was recently launched in Quill City Mall. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

Going au naturel To launch its latest Baby Naturals series, Watsons Malaysia partnered with Asia’s first Nickelodeon Lost Lagoon at Sunway Lagoon theme park. At the launch, media and bloggers were also treated to a live baby massage demonstration from Hippopo Baby Spa & Wellness’ baby therapist by using calendula massage oil. Also present to give her testimonial was Chui Ling, TV and radio personality and Watsons’ celebrity friend.

New launch by Guinness Guinness launched its Guinness Foreign Extra Stout limited edition series, featuring artwork on its bottles and cans based on Singaporean cultural icons such as the Keong Saik Building and Marina Bay Sands to local foods such as Kueh Tutu. In line with the launch, it partnered with the founders of Humans of Singapore to produce an exclusive coffee-table book called, Men of Singapore.

Carbon wins Beko over again European home appliances brand Beko reappointed Carbon as its social media agency in Singapore and Malaysia. Carbon will assist Beko with localising content, community management and engagement, social media buying and digital strategic counsel. Beko is also the official sponsor of FC Barcelona along with Qatar airways. It has 14 production facilities in five countries and a presence in more than 100 countries.

MINI Asia appoints GOVT MINI Asia appointed GOVT Singapore as its creative agency following a multi-stage pitch process. The local agency will manage MINI Asia’s advertising and digital communication needs. It will handle the Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam markets and the appointment is for three years. The incumbent for MINI Asia was Kinetic which has been its creative agency for the past six years.

Invest or save? AIA Singapore partnered with SPHMBO to unveil a giant lenticular installation at the Ocean Financial Centre, in what they claim to be Singapore’s first largescale installation. Depending on the direction a viewer is walking, they will see either the word “invest” or “save”. The lenticular approach was taken to highlight the dual-element effect of saving and investing which Savest™ brings to its customers by promising long-term savings and growth potential of investments. SportCares appoints agency SportCares Foundation appointed Asia PR Werkz as its PR agency on retainer for one year. The agency is tasked to provide strategic counsel and media relations services for SportCares, which works to improve the lives of underprivileged children and youth-at-risk in our community through sport. SportCares has reached out to more than 8,000 children and youth – linking needy beneficiaries, passionate volunteers and community spirited donors.

Kinetic’s gracious statement Following MINI Asia’s appointment of GOVT as its new creative agency, Kinetic Singapore posted a statement on its Facebook page congratulating the latter in what seemed like an incredibly gracious move. The incumbent also thanked MINI Asia for its six-year collaboration, drawing positive responses online and from GOVT who in turn praised it as well.

StarHub to move in-house StarHub is tipped to be moving its social media duties in-house. The telco was last working with GroupM social media agency Vocanic. The move comes months after the telco hired social media expert Rod Strother from Lenovo as StarHub’s VP of digital transformation. The role is a newly created one within StarHub and covers all areas of digital, including social, e-commerce, dot. com and others.

France gets Créative The Créative France campaign was launched in Singapore by Singapore’s French Embassy and Business France to support the international development of the French economy. Three focused industry fields, particularly high technology, aeronautics and gastronomy, have been chosen to showcase French ingenuity. As the sixth largest economy in the world, the campaign reinforces France as a leading destination for global businesses. M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 5

Live Your Legend Harley-Davidson rolled out a global campaign which inspires passionate customers to “Live Your Legend”. It focuses on lifeenriching moments as well as the unforgettable bonds of family and friends formed by riding HarleyDavidson motorcycles. Adding to the campaign, Harley Davidson will curate conversations in social media using #LiveYourLegend and showcase real-life stories from Harley-Davidson riders. Twitter turns 10 Twitter turned 10 on 21 March with #loveTwitter trending globally on none other than Twitter. The social networking service also put out a blog post stating 10 ways the platform has changed marketing such as authentic brand voice, real-time marketing, creating cultural movements, new digital creators and personalised content. It also talks about the hashtag and how it created new forms of visual expression.

FIFA’s first Chinese sponsor Wanda Group partnered with FIFA for a time period of 15 years. This follows the group’s acquisitions of Infront Sports & Media in Switzerland, the World Triathlon Corporation in the US and the endurance sports sector of Lagardère Sports & Entertainment in France since 2015. The partnership allows the global marketing rights to all of FIFA’s competitions, including the FIFA World Cup. 6 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

Iris SPORT launched Iris launched Iris SPORT, a new sports marketing division with a collective of specialists from sport, lifestyle and entertainment backgrounds. It will work closely with the micro-network’s consulting, CRM, data and insight team, iris Concise, to add commercial rigour across all activity – from identifying the right partnership or influencer, to evaluating the activity and proving its worth. It will provide performance metrics from sponsored assets, real-time analysis of the activity and better integration of campaign metrics from the start.

Jabra appoints Lewis Jabra appointed Lewis as its global lead PR agency for APAC, UK, US and France. The appointment was made after an initial project Lewis worked on. Now, the agency will deliver PR support across APAC and other regions and a global campaign will be managed by its international division. The global campaign will cover a wide array of activities that will target both business and consumer audiences. Walmart penetrates China Walmart aunched a cross-border e-commerce service, “Walmart Global Shop”, available in China on its mobile app to serve customers with more quality and authentic products from overseas. By downloading the Walmart app, customers gain access to imports and home delivery service from bonded areas. App users can also enjoy the same quality after-sale services as store customers such as a worry free return and refund policy.

#MoreThan just a campaign Telenor Group, the Norwegian telecommunication giant, launched a new campaign titled #MoreThan across Asia. The campaign broke across Malaysia, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh and was created by creative agency The Secret Little Agency. It runs across print, TV, digital, and social channels and spotlights consumers’ personal stories.

Weber adopts FB platform Weber Shandwick became the first PR firm to adopt the Facebook at Work collaboration platform. This has been made available to all its 3,500 employees worldwide, of which 900 are in Asia. The PR firm said this was part of its efforts to explore and understand new innovative communications platforms for employees and clients.

Boss hires Huo Hugo Boss China appointed Taiwanese actor Wallace Huo as the “Man of Today” – the Hugo Boss ambassador in the country, following a doubledigit sales decrease in China. The brand released a series of photos featuring the actor in windbreakers to promote its Spring/Summer 2016 men’s suits. To align its sales strategy, it closed around 20 stores in the market earlier this year.

HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

UNDER THE SNOW DOME E v i a nr e c e n t l yi n t r o d u c e di t s n e w l y d e s i g n e dP E T b o t t l e i nA s i a ,w h i c h i s s l e e ke r a n dw i t hc l e a n e r l i n e s . T h e b o ttle s p o r ts a “ la b e l-le s s ” l o o k ,o f w h i c ht h e f r o n t f e a t u r e s a simplified, elegant reduction of the p r e v i o u s l o g od e s i g n–a p a n o ra m a o f m o u n t a i n s w h i c hc e l e b r a t e s t h e w a t e r ’ s s o u r c e i na c o r n e r o f t h e F r e n c hA l p s .B e i n ga ni c o no f t h e p r e m i u m c a t e g o r yg l o b a l l y ,E v i a n w a n t e dt or e n o v a t e t h e b r a n ds o c o n s u m e r s w o u l db e r e m i n d e do f t h e w a t e r ’ s p u r i t ya n df r e s h n e s s . B y b rin g in g th e g ia n t s n o w d o m e to S in g a p o re , w h e re c o n s u m e rs c o u ld e n te r it fo r a b it o f f u n a n d a w in te r y e x p e r ie n c e , th e b ra n d w a n te d to re m in d th e m o f th e s o u rc e o f p u r ity . A l o n g s i d e t h e E v i a ns n o w d o m e ,t h e b r a n da l s or a na c o n s u m e r p r o m o t i o na c r o s s S i n g a p o r e .W h i l e t h e s n o w d o m e w a s i nt h e c e n t r e o f S i n g a p o r e o n l yf r o m 3 1M a rc h

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p r i l ,t h e r e a r e a c t i v a t i o n s a t s t o r e l e v e l w h i c hr a nu n t i l t h e e n d of April. This was amplified with t h e h e l po f d i g i t a l p l a t f o r m s s u c ha s t a r g e t e dw e b s i t e s a n dF a c e b o o k . T h e E v ia n s n o w d o m e id e a first emerged from Dubai, where M in d s h a re U A E d e v e lo p e d th e c o n c e p t.I t w a s b r o u g h t to S i n g a p o r e a n d th e b ra n d e n g a g e d w ith K in g s m e n E x h ib its to b u ild it in A s ia , a n d a ls o p a r tn e re d w ith C a ra t m e d ia . T h e c o s t w a s a b o u t S G $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 .

WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

I Am Cait with H&M Former Olympic gold medalwinning decathlete Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlyn Jenner, signed a deal with H&M for one of its sports campaigns. According to the Telegraph, this was part of the brand’s attempt to show diversity. This was confirmed on Jenner’s Twitter feed as well as H&M’s. Jenner is part of the famed reality stars Kardashian’s stronghold and one of the world’s most celebrated athletes.

Get ready to be dropped off To convey the airline’s marketing slogan “unexpected delight”, Jin Air released three funny videos showing the company dropping passengers off at destinations by skydiving or even fighter aircraft to push its brand awareness. One of the videos saw the Korean low-cost carrier introducing a “direct drop service” in which passengers are transported in large cargo planes and dropped off at destinations by skydiving.

NZTA’s new driving campaign The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) released a video titled “Hello” to get drivers to put their passengers first and drive phonefree. Deviating from anti-texting campaigns, which bank on fear appeal to highlight the dangers, NZTA took a humorous and refreshing approach by focusing on the perspective of the passenger. The video had over 1.7 million views on YouTube and nine million views on other social media platforms. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

New launch by Omnicom Omnicom Health Group has launched TBWA\WorldHealth, combining two of its healthcare agencies LLNS and Corbett. Sharon Callahan has been named the CEO. In addition to her new role, she will also continue to serve as chief client officer of the Omnicom Health Group. Robin Shapiro, former president of Corbett, will serve as group president of North America. Additional management will be drawn from Corbett, LLNS and TBWA\ WorldHealth.

Islamic move draws criticism With more global brands tailoring their approach to reach the growing market of Muslim consumers, who make up a fourth of the world’s population, it is no surprise several brands such as Uniqlo, D&G, Mango and H&M have made a move into Islamic fashion. However, Pierre Bergé, former partner of Yves Saint Laurent, criticised the movement saying “creators should have nothing to do with Islamic fashion”.

‘Don’t love me, hate me’ Nike China joined hands with Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai to craft a provocative spot embodying the spirit of Kobe Bryant as he bid farewell to Chinese fans. Dubbed “Don’t love me, hate me”, Bryant shares his secret weapon on the court in this 60-second video transforming fear of failure and hatred from those around him into fuel to be better.

AUDIT WATCH

DRIVING ADVERTISER CONFIDENCE F r o m t h i s y e a r o n w a r d s ,G l o b a l B u s i n e s s P r e s s h a s c h a n g e dt h e t i t l e o f Asian Airlines & Airports (AA&A) t o Asian Airlines & Aerospace (AA&A). T h e m a g a z in e h a sa l o n g history, first being launched 24 years ago in 1992. Currently, the magazine i s b i m o n t h l ya n dt h e c i r c u l a t i o nf o r t h e m a g a z i n e m o s t l yf o c u s e s o nt h e Asia Pacific region. T h e m a g a z in e i s A B C a u d ite d and it first began the process in early 2014. S i v a S a c h i ,c h i e f o p e r a t i n g officer of publishing, explained t h e d e c i s i o nw a s m a d e t op r o v i d e a d v e r t i s e r s w i t ha c r e d i b l e o u t l o o k s oa s t op r o m o t e t h e m a g a z i n e a n d give its clients more confidence w i t ht h e c i r c u l a t i o n u m b e r s i t w a s c l a i m i n g .C u r r e n t l y ,i t s t o t a l a v e r a g e circulation per issue is 8,094. “ A d v e r t i s e r s w a n t t ok n o w t h a t

t h e ya r e g e t t i n ga g o o dr e t u r no n t h e i r i n v e s t m e n t .T h e r e f o r e e v e r y r e a d e r o f a p u b l i c a t i o nh a s a v a l u e t o t h e a d v e r t i s e r , ” h e s a i d .I f a na u d i t i s n o t d o n e ,p u b l i s h e r s r u nt h e r i s ko f claiming greatly inflated circulation v a l u e t oj u s t i f yt h e r e t u r n t ot h e a d v e r t i s e r .H e a d d e di f a p u b l i c a t i o n i s a u d i t e d ,t h e nt h e a d v e r t i s e r i s confident the claim on the circulation is true as it has been verified by a r e p u t a b l e t h i r d - p a r t ya u d i t b u r e a u s u c ha s t h e A B C .

Huawei employs Hollywood Huawei appointed Henry Cavill and Scarlett Johansson as global product ambassadors for the unveiling of its latest P9 series, after a recent similar move with Lionel Messi. It also collaborated with global camera brand Leica, releasing a preview trailer at an exclusive launch event at London’s Battersea Evolution. Cavill and Johansson are slated to make appearances in the P9 series television commercial. Global dominance Blis, the location-based advertising technology company, secured US$25 million in series B funding from major new investors. The investment will launch Blis into the US market as well as allowing expansion in existing Hong Kong and Singapore markets and the development of new technologies and products. The investment will help fund the continued expansion and the scaling of international sales and marketing activities.

SK-II empowers women Skincare brand SK-II launched a video empowering single women to not let the pressure of marrying before turning 27 dictate their future. Called “Marriage market takeover”, the video covers the pressure women face from their parents and society to marry young and chronicles their road to acceptance. The inspirational video garnered more than 2.7 million views on Chinese social media within three days. M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 7

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

HOW ADS DAMAGE THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE Are your ads interrupting an otherwise great customer experience? Vivienne Tay reports. Is that pesky ad interrupting your buying experience? Well, you are not alone. According to a recent report by HubSpot, ads are damaging consumer experiences. It also quantifies the popularity of ad blocker tools. The study states that ads are damaging consumer experiences, with 80% of consumers across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia leaving websites due to the interruption of online ads, with 50% installing ad blocker tools. Globally, ad blocking cost publishers close to US$22 billion in 2015 alone, representing a cause for concern among traditional advertisers who must rethink methods of audience engagement. The new research uncovered that the higher levels of ad blocker penetration was among Millennial audiences, along with its impact in improving consumers’ online experiences. Generated from HubSpot’s global

interruptive ads survey, The Effectiveness of Advertising in Asia Pacific investigates the interaction between marketers and consumers

with ads in the future. Take a look at some of the insights from the report.

1. Millennials have the highest adoption rate of ad blocker software; with Adblock Plus – the world’s most popular ad blocker app – reaching 300 million downloads worldwide. Have you installed or do you have plans to install adblocker? 46%

43%

30% 27% 18% 13%

13% 6%

18-24 years old

25-34 years old

35-44 years old

I have already installed an adblocker

45+ years old

I plan on installing an adblocker in the next 6 months

Base: 580 global consumers

2. Email and sponsored advertising generate the most neutral experience, but 77% of respondents revealed they would unsubscribe from a brand’s distribution list if they were sent too many messages. Email and sponsored advertising generate the most neutral experience. Did these ads/actions generate a positive or negative experience? Average rank where 1 = extremely negative and 5 = extremely positive Email newsletters

3.57

Sponsored Twitter ads

Source: Hubspot Global Interruptive Ads Survey, Q4 2015 – Q1 2016

Television commercials

Email newsletters

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WHAT DOES ALIBABA’S CONTROLLING STAKE IN LAZADA MEAN? This move makes Alibaba the controlling shareholder of Lazada. What does this mean for the future of e-commerce in the region? Vivienne Tay writes.

Expanding: Alibaba’s stake in Lazada will help it grow its business in the Asia Pacific market.

Alibaba will acquire Rocket Internet’s 9.1% stake in Lazada for US$137 million, along with a transaction that includes Alibaba’s investment of US$500 million in Lazada. This move makes Alibaba the controlling shareholder of Lazada when complete, equating to an equity valuation of Lazada of US$1.5 billion. Oliver Samwer, CEO of Rocket Internet, said: “This transaction is a key milestone for Lazada as it underlines its position as a leading online platform in Southeast Asia. Alibaba as the new major shareholder is further strengthening this position and provides the basis for significant future growth given Alibaba’s strong strategic position in the region. “We are looking forward to working with Alibaba and the existing Lazada shareholders to support Lazada in building the leading e-commerce franchise in Southeast Asia.” Experts at Forrester have said these being mobile-first markets are more favourable to 10 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

Alibaba as compared to Europe and the North American market. Satish Meena, a forecast analyst at Forrester, said: “After doing significant investments in India, this deal will strengthen Alibaba’s hold in the Asia Pacific market, excluding Japan. “Also, setting overseas expansion can be very expensive when you include the cost of building the brand and investment in logistics. This will allow Alibaba to focus on bringing more merchants while using the existing brand name of Lazada to grow further.” Some of the key challenges in Southeast Asia for e-commerce includes use of cash on delivery, insufficient logistics infrastructure and inconsistent customs/import duties. In particular, the lack of warehouses outside Singapore and Thailand is a key concern for e-commerce players who want to penetrate further into the rural areas and support the lastmile delivery.

They will have to invest more in nonmetropolitan areas to ensure efficient time to market, she added. Before acquiring this stake in Lazada, Alibaba invested in Singpost and Quantium Solutions International, a wholly owned subsidiary of SingPost in 2015, which handles end-to-end e-commerce logistics and fulfilment services in the APAC region. “Alibaba will use the infrastructure built by Lazada, combined with its existing investment in Singpost, to further build the logistics necessary for expanding in Southeast Asia,” she said. Xiaofeng Wang, senior analyst at Forrester Beijing, said this investment was an important move for Alibaba’s global expansion in the B2C area. Alibaba has multiple approaches in its global expansion: 1. Tmall Global focuses on collaborating with global merchants to enrich inventories for Chinese consumers. 2. AliExpress is to help Chinese merchants sell products to the global market. 3. Opening offices in countries such as the US and UK for better operations in the market. “Investing in Lazada not only serves all the above purposes, it also helps Alibaba enter the large Southeast Asian market, and also provides benefits in areas like logistics and payment processes where Lazada has already established,” he said. Founded in 2012, Lazada is an e-commerce gateway for local and international sellers as well as brands to reach consumers in distinct Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. “We are very excited about joining forces with Alibaba and see significant synergies that will drive great benefits to our customers, sellers, brands and the broader e-commerce ecosystem in Southeast Asia. The transaction will help us to accelerate our goal to provide the 550 million consumers in the region access to the broadest and most unique assortment range,” said Maximilian Bittner, CEO of Lazada. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

CNBC LAUNCHES IN-HOUSE CREATIVE AGENCY The agency will offer services around audience, brand consultancy, content, data, events and experiences, writes Rezwana Manjur.

The new trend: CNBC is just one of many media companies taking their creative capabilities in-house.

Media houses adding creative capabilities in-house have been a rising trend for some time now. And the most recent one to follow suit is CNBC which is launching a full-service in-house commercial agency called CNBC Catalyst with a full set of international ad sales team and content studio. The move is designed to firmly reassert the network’s commercial position in the global advertising marketplace. The agency will offer a menu of services articulated through the shorthand ABCDE – audience, brand consultancy, content, data and events and experiences. Catalyst is positioned as the “rights-holder to the world’s most powerful audience”. With an expanded product suite and expertise, the team will work with clients to fully exploit CNBC’s access to the global business and investor community. In Singapore, Mediacorp and SPH have already had creative units within the company for years. Among global media companies, WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

Turner in 2011 restructured its sponsorship and promotions department and launched a full-service in-house agency offering creative solutions to clients. And it is not just media, most recently, classic telcos such as StarHub have started to add capabilities that were previously outsourced such as social media in-house. CNBC Catalyst is headquartered in London and Singapore with country specific experts based throughout EMEA and APAC. The Singapore team is being led by director Kerry Tarrant. She has more than 10 years with CNBC International, having held various roles in the UK and Singapore. Before joining CNBC, she was the regional director of Greater China, Japan and the Philippines at the BBC, based in Hong Kong. Already, CNBC Catalyst has a portfolio of clients from various industries, including PETRONAS, Toshiba, Bank of Singapore and Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism.

The agency has in the past 12 months added more than a dozen consultative sales executives, expert brand strategists and a range of new products in areas such as digital. The Catalyst concept has evolved under the leadership of Max Raven, who joined CNBC as senior vice-president in 2015. Raven said: “Advertising platforms have multiplied to the extent that you can talk to an audience in a thousand different ways. But engaging that audience – creating a two-way dialogue that moves the needle – is a much more specialist art. Catalyst will help clients practise that art, so they spark the desired reaction with our affluent business and investor audience.” KC Sullivan, president and MD of CNBC International, added: “As a business, we’ve started a journey to strengthen and refine our brand positioning. We have a pipeline of initiatives planned to ensure CNBC is differentiated in the ever-expanding media landscape.” M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 1 1

IS KL’S NEW BRANDING ENTICING ENOUGH? Does the new tag line and branding do justice to the very vibrant Malaysian city? Rezwana Manjur speaks to regional branding leads on their take.

Branding a city: What do clients need to keep in mind to put a city on the world stage?

Kuala Lumpur city has a new branding initiative to position the city as a destination of choice. The new tag line reads: “Kuala Lumpur: Exciting. Surprising. Enticing. A city of contrasts and diversity.” The new branding tag line will be planted across various parts of the city. The mayor of the city, Datuk Seri Mohd Amin Nordin, said the new branding looks to stimulate growth in tourism numbers, investment, job opportunities and business development. The city will also host major events. According to a report on The Star, Datuk Amin was quoted as saying the branding is aimed to bring the city “to the forefront of the region’s most popular destinations for business and leisure” which will “promote strengthening of infrastructure, preservation of heritage and lead to higher returns”. He added the rebranding looks to differentiate KL from other Malaysian cities not only regionally, but globally, and to create “a brand that speaks of the city’s intrinsic character”. In recent times, competition for the tourism industry has intensified drastically. Recently, the Singapore government injected SG$700 million into the tourism industry to build up data capabilities to better engage with visitors. 12 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

Meanwhile, the tourism board in Indonesia is also ramping up its efforts and offering investment opportunities to the Chinese to grow the tourism business. Hence, the move to position KL as a major Asian city comes as no surprise. While it might be too soon to say whether or not the new branding will work, not all branding leads in the market are happy with the result. Zayn Khan, Southeast Asia CEO of Dragon Rouge, said the problem with the new Kuala Lumpur city brand was that it was not singleminded, and there was no creative idea to hold the branding together. “Did they need to say both ‘contrasts and diversity’? Isn’t contrast inherent in diversity?” he asked. Khan added the new branding lists all the “rather generic” brand attributes, and questioned if it was really necessary. After all, these attributes should be used to build the character of the identity and shape the launch activities. It should not have been stuck on as a meaningless tag line, he explained. In terms of the design elements, Khan said it was not modern, innovative or vibrant. “KL is actually a very colourful city,” he said, adding: “Greater Kuala Lumpur is a large, international city with a relatively affluent tax base. You would think they would have

had the budget and the mindset to hire real professionals to build a brand that would stand out in the region and do KL justice.” As for advice to clients looking to embark on destination marketing or rebranding, Khan said: “Own one proposition, one idea, and imply a benefit to tourists, investors, residents and local businesses. Express it creatively and build a whole identity, not just a logo and a tag line. And, of course, examine all the ways you can bring it to life and deliver on it credibly.” Nick Foley, president of the SEA and Pacific regions and managing director of Landor, added destination branding at its best heralds significant change for a nation or a city. At its worst, it can be perceived as window dressing and a diversion. “It is not clear as to what else is being associated with KL’s new branding,” he said. “When embarking on a refreshed brand for a city, one must remember that it is taxpayers funds that are being used to pay for the project. It is imperative the residents of a city feel any funds spent on a new identity can be the impetus for positive change.” Graham Hitchmough, CEO of Brand Union South and Southeast Asia, said the new KL branding exemplifies some of the challenges and complexities of contemporary destination branding – the temptation to try and be all things to all people. “Overall there is also a feeling the contemporary nature of KL is not reflected as strongly as it could be. With one of the most memorable and consistent country branding propositions behind it, the KL city branding must aspire to similar levels of recall and familiarity.” However, in trying to satisfy such a diverse range of audiences, in this case, domestic, international, leisure, business and investors, there is often a danger the proposition overstretches itself. It may struggle to deliver the single cut-through message that has made “Malaysia, Truly Asia” such a durable platform. Hitchmough added, however, these are early days and the tide could turn. “A destination brand platform does not live or die on the basis of a launch and a logo, but on how effectively it is activated and sustained across a multiplicity of brand experience touchpoints over time. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

SHOULD AGENCIES BE WORRIED WITH MUELLER LEAVING MAS? The move comes in the midst of a media agency pitch. What should agencies be wary of at this point? Rezwana Manjur finds out.

Hitting turbulence: Can MAS and its agency partners still fly high under new leadership?

Come September this year, MAS’ highly acclaimed CEO Christoph Mueller will be stepping down – a move that has certainly raised eyebrows for the already struggling brand. What makes the situation even more questionable, is the fact he is exiting before completing the three-year contract. The statement released from Khazanah did not give much clarity to the matter, stating merely it was “due to a change in his personal circumstances”. Mueller, who is known to be a star in the airline aviation industry, after successfully turning the fate around for Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus, joined the MAS team in 2015. He was brought in to revive the beleaguered airline’s image following the tragedies of MH370 and MH17. With Mueller on board, the airline was certainly making waves. In the short year under his direction, he cut about 6000 jobs to streamline MAS operations. Simultaneously, he WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

also hired several senior-level executives such as COO Peter Bellew and head of marketing Charles McKee. The airline was also mulling over the idea of a complete brand revamp which drew in several of the region’s biggest advertising agencies. According to The Guardian, the revamp was slated to take place in September 2015. But all plans came to a halt when Malaysia’s state investment firm Khazanah Nasional in January announced the much-awaited rebranding of Malaysia Airline might not actually happen – at least not in the near future. Currently the airline is also in the midst of a media pitch. Speaking under anonymity, one media agency individual eyeing the business told A+M the untimely exit was worrying. “Marketing and media are critical pillars going forward for the success of Malaysia Airlines’ turnaround. With a relatively new creative agency and now a media pitch going

on, the question of stability and long-term vision and deliverables is bound to creep in,” he said. Meanwhile, Seema Punwani, a principal consultant with R3, also said that usually a change in leadership at the top leads to a review of business priorities – which would mean a change in expectations from the agencies. As such, agencies should ask the right questions during the pitch process to get clarity on clients’ business priorities and their role in the process. “The CEO’s role is critical in shaping the brand and vision – especially for a company like Malaysian Airlines which has gone through a very tough phase, both in its brand and business efforts,” she said, adding the CEO’s exit at this critical juncture would mean that agencies need to brace themselves for a potential change in direction. “They would need to be nimble in their response and strategic in their advice.” Nick Foley, president of the Southeast Asia and Pacific regions at Landor, also added: “Mueller had just about started to turn the airline around and had returned the airline to profit – albeit small in size – in recent months. We don’t know the full reason for Mueller’s departure other than the official Khazanah line. From an outsiders perspective, it felt like Mueller was gaining traction. On current perceptions, I cannot see how Mueller leaving MAS will help the airline’s recovery.” MAS, Foley said, needs to look for a new CEO with a firm resolve to see the job through for the next five years because changing CEOs on a constant basis rarely works. “The question now is: not what skills the new CEO should posses, but what MAS is prepared to do differently. “It can sometimes feel like the CEO is being made the scapegoat for circumstances beyond his or her control. Full service airlines make a big deal of ‘loyalty programmes’, yet when it comes to MAS being to loyal to a new CEO who was having a positive impact on the airline, one could be wondering where its loyalty was to Mueller.” M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 1 3

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14 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

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PROFILE ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CRACKING MARKETING GOALS WITHOUT MEETING BUSINESS OBJECTIVES, SAYS MASTERCARD’S DEBORAH GOLDINGHAM IN A CONVERSATION WITH RAYANA PANDEY day before her 21st birthday, while waiting at the airport to head home, Deborah Goldingham spots a job ad at American Express. A week later, she starts her first full-time corporate job as product manager at AMEX. And since then, the current head of marketing for Southeast Asia at MasterCard has not looked back. At AMEX, she was looking after the corporate card marketing, and after few years of doing so, dipped her toes into merchant marketing, working with strategic merchant partners to try and get card usage up. It was in 1996 when she got a call from Visa to join as an account manager. Three years after that she took on the role of country manager. It was also a year before the Olympics which Visa was sponsoring. Being the youngest country manager for Visa at the time was a fantastic learning curve for her as she went all the way from being an account manager to driving complete country responsibility of the P&L. It was a little over three years in the role when Goldingham was offered a role at MasterCard – a company she has now been with for 13 years. She took on the Southeast Asia role six years ago and has since been looking after the entire spectrum of marketing for the region. Having worked across all the top brands in the payments industry, she has witnessed the transformation first-hand. A prominent leader in this space, she believes the industry has come a long way. Back in the day when she started, it was all about building physical acceptance at scale and issuing plastic cards. Today it’s about driving commerce with electronic payments leading with digital across emerging and developed economies and merchant segments. “Payments is one of the exciting industries to be in. Not only does it play out across every consumer category – be it FMCG or travel or retail – it plays a major role in driving commerce across geographies and industries, from large to small-scale businesses and from nascent and emerging market segments to mature markets,” she says. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

But what helped lay a foundation for her career in marketing were two things. First, the skills she picked up while helping her dad with his retail store in Auckland. It was her first experience in assessing buyer behaviour and converting visitors into shoppers. “It was where I first learnt to understand the need of the consumer and turning a visit into a transaction. That has never left me,” she says. The other and the most critical factor was her exposure to managing P&Ls at Visa, one that taught her an important lesson. “You [as a marketer] can either be a cost centre or a revenue centre, and you can choose what you want to be,” she says. Her belief? For marketers to succeed, business objectives have to come first and the marketing/comms objective second. The relevance of business P&L in marketing is way more than what it used to be when she first started. “You can sell whatever you want, but unless it’s driving the P&L or driving the numbers, and benefiting the business in the long term, it does not matter,” she says. And in her role, she has to drive two P&Ls, or that’s how she sees it – one for MasterCard, a brand that does not see itself as a card issuer, but a technology company that facilitates secure transactions between merchants, banks and cardholders, and the other for its partners. While MasterCard doesn’t own direct relationships with customers, it invests heavily in insights into customer behaviour to support two of its most important stakeholders – issuers or the banks, and the merchants. Its approach across the region is to bring deep consumer insights to both issuers and merchant partners to align and add value to their priorities and strategies in the markets. When working with issuers, it partners with them to deliver new programmes, products and services from both a lifestyle and relationship POV with their customers. In working with merchant partners, it develops programmes that align its insights to consumers who travel, shop, dine, play and desire unique experiences as well as integrating platforms and products that deliver a superior cardholder experience whenever and wherever they M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 1 5

“By being locally relevant and combining a compelling reason to use electronic payments versus cash, we can build a brand through content that engages consumers and delivers financial security and integrity in the system.” pay. “And so we need to look and consider both of those at the same time. If our programmes don’t help them with their business objectives, then it’s pretty much of no use,” she says. Therefore, the starting point for her is to look at the profile of the issuer in the market it is operating in, understand what its focus is and suggest customised solutions. And that, Goldingham and her team does for partners across Southeast Asia. Within the region, Thailand provides an opportunity for the brand to develop awareness among affluent consumers who love to experience life and travel to places where experiences matter. MasterCard launched Priceless Thailand as part of its global Priceless Cities programme and is focused on partnering with the best there is in Thailand to provide exclusive access to experiences and offers for cardholders to enjoy those truly memorable moments. “We believe that by providing priceless experiences for these consumers in Thailand, we will be their preferred brand every day, everywhere.” Looking at Malaysia, it provides a great opportunity for MasterCard to engage with mass affluent consumers to drive everyday spend across core categories and create preference against cash. It does so by delivering engaging content and relevant offers and experiences targeting consumers when and where they need them throughout their daily lives. Indonesia represents a huge opportunity for the company to move cash transactions to electronic payments both online and at the point of sale. And all of that sits well with MasterCard’s overall vision which is to 16 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

become a “force for good” in a world beyond cash. “By being locally relevant and combining a compelling reason to use electronic payments versus cash, we can build a brand through content that engages consumers and delivers financial security and integrity in the system,” she says. But is it not a challenge to manage issuer marketing, merchant marketing, brand as well as PR for a region as diverse as Southeast Asia? According to Goldingham, it is more a motivation than a challenge. “You can be having a discussion with a bank in Myanmar or Cambodia or Singapore at the same time. They are fundamentally different and at different stages of growth, but they’re all trying to do one thing – trying to understand how to deliver something new to their consumer. It is fascinating.” This is the sort of customer-centricity that will help marketing drive value for the business. Her golden rule is to never lose sight of the consumer. “For marketers, it is important to literally immerse yourself in data and constantly ask questions about the data. Keep measuring what you’re doing and prove that it’s being measured,” she says. Marketers don’t need to be geeks, but need to know the art of asking the right questions. “Work with the business and understand how things tick. Open the hood of everything you’re dealing with and don’t just take things at face value. Really question every part of the business and think where you can actually add value, because what you need to know is not always on the surface,” she says. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

16 June

Four Seasons Hotel Singapore

Analytics for Action With more and more companies embracing the power of data and embedding analytics into business processes than ever before, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s getting crowded. How can you integrate and advance your analytics to remain competitive? Analytics 2016 returns with a solid line-up of data and digital experts from companies including Dell, Levi Strauss & Co, Lenovo, Mastercard, Starhub and more to tackle your organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s key challenges of maximising insights and taking your analytics capabilities to the next level. Find out more at www.marketing-interactive.com/analytics/sg/

Rates

Client-side marketers: SG$ 990 Solutions providers: SG$ 1,890

For more information, contact: Nirah Aziz, project manager +65 6423 0329 niraha@marketing-interactive.com

Featured speakers

Kameel Vohra

Prakash Chandrasekar

Abdul Rahim Bawa

Belle Chua

Global Launch Marketing Manager Dell

Regional Head - eCommerce Strategy, Planning and Analytics, AMA Levi Strauss & Co.

Vice President, B2B Marketing and Analytics (SEA) MasterCard Singapore

Digital and Social Analytics Lead StarHub

Knowledge Partner

Sandeep Mittal

Anna Rokina

Founder and Managing Director Cartesian Consulting

Global Analytics and Listening Lead Lenovo

Exhibitor

Brought to you by

18 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

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MARKETING FEATURE: E-SPORTS ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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TItNi ng G 19 M AY 201 6 | aMAY dvert2i016 s i ng MA + mRKE a r ke

WHY ESPORTS MATTERS TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING YOU

Whether you were the biggest geek in “Esports is the biggest disruption to hit our school or are now the office jock, you need to industry iPhoneofin e-sport. 2007” For those wake up since to thethe realities of you not familiar with the term, e-sports is The traditional focus of game publishers has been on basically organised, competitive gaming, and the gamers themselves, who spend money directly in usually comprises multi-player teams playing or on their titles. More recently, publishers have put against one another. another group at the center of their marketing effort: Globally, brands such as Coca-Cola have the content creators who create and share game woken up to the budding possibilities of this video For content on channels YouTube, Hitbox, field. several years,such the asbeverage giant GAMERS CREATORS DingIt and Twitch. Thisitself groupinhasmajor proved to be a has been involving e-gaming valuablesuch and cost-effective marketing tool for events as the League of Legends World publishers, bringing increased attention and players Championship in the US market. In fact, for a to few now, the iscompany has even had a theiryears games. Esports a prime example of this. head of global gaming. Esports competitions and the content around them MONEY MARKETING brands suchengaged as Nissan, Intel, Nike, helpOther publishers to grow and active NBCUniversal and their Toyota have also started communities around titles, prolonging the investing this gamers arena. and transforming their titles lifespan ofintheir However, many client-side marketers A+M into true entertainment brands. The number of spoke to in APAC were not yet comfortable with viewers can easily outnumber the number of gamers their experiences in this arena. Agency players and could provide as much monetization were not surprised that marketers were hesitant opportunities as the players themselves. “This is the most untapped segment of entertainment. Films are filled with product ESPORTS AUDIENCE GROWTH 6 placement, but with gaming, especially mobile 2014, 2015, 2015 & 2019 | GLOBAL gaming due to lower barrier to entry, brands OCCASIONAL VIEWERS can own the entire game,” Ashley Ringrose, the ENTHUSIASTS +11.2% CAGR founder of Soap – Linked by Isobar told A+M. But that is not to say the giants of Asia are +13.3% not picking up on the trend. In fact, at the tail YoY +11.2% 165 end of March this year, Chinese billionaire Jack YoY Ma and his team of experts at Alibaba decided 125 111 180 to dip into the gaming pool. Alibaba Sports 114 Group (AliSports) paid Singapore-listed e and 131 115 m-commerce company YuuZoo Corporation 90 Limited, a multimillion US dollar fee to organise and run the World Electronic Sport Games (WESG). 2014 2015 2016 2019 AliSports and YuuGames, together, are planning to launch 1200 e-sports events this year in 15 cities across China, which is home to more than 100 million e-sports fans, and more than 440 million gamers. AVERAGE REVENUE PER ESPORTS While AliSports might have been formed to ESPORTS REVENUE PER ENTHUSIAST | 2012-2020 | GLOBAL target China’s highly well-paid sports industry, it has clearly seen a light at the end of the internet $15 >$2Bn The average annual revenue sports tunnel. In fact, the group plans to invest per fan of basketball US$15.4 million for WESG alone. Moreover, $11 $20 The average annual revenue WESG will have 20 appointed e-sports clubs per fan of the NBA $1.0Bn competition centres and contest participants $60 $6.0 The average annual revenue will compete for a lucrative US$5.5 million in $7.6 per fan of the NFL >$1Bn prize money. $3.5 At the press conference, Zhang Dazhong, $2.2 $0.46Bn CEO of AliSports, said: “Sports is a multi-billion dollar business in China, with massive growth $0.19Bn 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 potential. That is why Alibaba is investing heavily 90M 131M 180M in this vertical. Linking sport and technology enhances the quality of life. That is what we want to do through AliSports.” Source: Newzoo 2016 Global E-sports Market Report

VIEWERS

OPPORTUNITY Asia-Pacific will account for

44%

of the Esports Audience in 2016

2014-2019

MILLION

12%

19%

MILLION

256M

MILLION

2016

MILLION

25%

44%

MILLION

NAM

APAC

REST OF WORLD

Source: Newzoo 2016 Global Esports Market Report

FAN GROWS

ALTERNATIVE OPTIMISTIC SCENARIO

TOTAL ESPORTS REVENUES

REPORT SCENARIO

AVERAGE REVENUE PER ENTHUSIAST

Comparing esports and traditional sports makes sense to a certain extent. As the Esports Economy matures, draws more advertisers and increases its merchandise and ticketing revenues directly from consumers, the average annual revenue per fan will continue to rise toward that of traditional sports. This coming year, we anticipate $3.5 per esports fan, still almost five times lower than that of basketball ($15 per year) but up from $2.2 in 2014. Using a conservative scenario, we estimate the annual average revenue per esports fan will reach around $6.0 by 2019.

TOTAL ESPORTS REVENUES

GLOBAL NUMBER OF ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS

Source: Newzoo 2016 Global Esports Market Report

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And what’s in it for YuuZoo? YuuZoo will gain a significant number of new users, who will be added to YuuZoo’s fast-growing user-base, and of course, it will generate additional revenue from promotional fees, advertising revenue and e-commerce sales. In fact, according to research by e-sports and mobile intelligence experts Newzoo, the global e-sport revenue generated via advertising, sponsorship, media rights, merchandise and tickets and additional game publisher investments will reach US$463 million in 2016. Already, the amount gamers spent in Southeast Asia reached almost US$1.1 billion in 2014, of which 60 million consumers spent an average of US$18.40 on games, with six key countries accounting for 99% of the total revenues generated in the whole region. These countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. And, of course, media rights companies such as MP & Silva are also seeing value in this segment. Most recently, the company bagged the global marketing rights of Garena, a Southeast Asian internet and mobile platform company. The foray into the space for MP & Silva will see the company work closely with Garena to secure brand partnerships and maximise commercial opportunities in Asia Pacific for three major e-sports properties. Beatrice Lee, MP & Silva’s managing director of Asia Pacific, says that in this arena, there’s a sponsorship opportunity that is yet to be realised. Quoting NewZoo studies, she adds that Southeast Asia comprises more than 126 million gamers. This figure is set to double by 2017. What is heartening for Lee is she is now seeing brands from tech, mobile and lifestyle express interest in this space arena and discuss aspects such as entitlements and potential sponsorship platforms. Other possible avenues of branding, which are also being discussed with clients, include featuring logos during live game-play and screen saver loops, broadcast sponsorship, online advertising, media and promotional exposure, as well as product placement and activation at the tournaments. Combating prejudices Despite the compelling statistics and marketing trends, several advertisers in Asia still remain hesitant and may not consider e-sports or gaming as an established form of mainstream entertainment yet. Elicia Lee, director of gaming property platform Eliphant, told A+M it WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

Getting in on the action: E-sports provides a great chance for brands to spread their message.

M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 2 1

is still a challenge to get sponsors for gaming events, especially mainstream brands who still view gaming as being a niche market. Eliphant currently owns two gaming properties, GameStart Asia, a gaming convention in Singapore, and also BEast of the East which runs regional e-sports tournaments. Particularly in Asia, she adds, there is also a lingering stigma that gaming is bad for you. “Many people do not realise that with the explosion of smartphones and mobile gaming, almost everyone has played a game at some point. Gaming is going mainstream,” she says. When probed as to where she feels the hesitation is coming from, she says it is probably the fear of the unknown. “A lot of people are unfamiliar with gaming, and thus are hesitant to invest, especially when they are unable to see direct or tangible ROI from sponsoring one or two events.” However, Lee is quick to understand clients’ perspectives as well, given the industry is still up and coming and there have been a lot of experimental initiatives which might not have worked out in a brand’s favour. One recent example is the Shanghai Major which saw many technical and production difficulties and was criticised by gaming enthusiasts. “I’ve seen brands who have invested in badly run or badly promoted events and gotten burnt, which has damaged their perception of the gaming market’s potential.” Seconding her sentiment is Dennis Yu, digital and gaming media planner at Maxus. Yu agrees that many companies are still harbouring the idea that “gamers are geeks, male and antisocial”. But in reality, the demographic profile is changing with there being more casual/mobile gamers and a half-and-half split when it comes to gender. The rise of mobile adoption and an evolution of the casual gamer has led to an influx of the female demographic. Moreover, the ubiquity of smartphones has fostered a rise in “burst” style game-play where playing time is made in bite-sized increments instead of one consistent session. For the casual gamer, one who is not a heavy user of video games, this is a perfect medium. “We find that females are filling this demographic extremely well, explaining why Candy Crush has such great integration with females and subsequently casual gamers,” Yu says. Lawrence Robertson, associate director of sales for Infront Pan-Asia, also pointed out a very poignant issue with the world of e-sports. More and more, consumers and brands are extremely concerned with issues around 2 2 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

PRIZEPOOL CONTINUES TO GROW

2005-2015 | GLOBAL

$61.0M

+70% YoY

$36.0M

$18M

$19.8M

$3.6M

$4.4M

2005

2006

$6.1M

$6.4M

2007

2008

$9.7M

in prize money, with only $1.6 million coming from publisher Valve.

$13.1M

$5.2M

$3.5M

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Once again, the biggest prize pool in 2015 belonged to The International, which topped

2015

Source: Newzoo 2016 Global Esports Market Report

A DESIRABLE DEMOGRAPHIC AGE/GENDER OF ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS | 2015 | GLOBAL M10-20

M21-35

M36-50

F10-20

M51-65

F51-65

F21-35

F36-50

F51-65

Esports entertains a young and desirable

demographic with Enthusiasts aged 21-35

M10-20

through traditional advertising as they spend

16%

less time watching TV, listening to the radio and reading printed media.

115

F10-20

Several brand have entered the esports

MILLION

industry as sponsors. Initially, these were mostly endemic brands, but last year saw a big

M36-50

11%

NON-ENDEMIC BRANDS

age group is increasingly difficult to reach

20%

F21-35

M51-65

ENDEMIC BRANDS

representing 54% of the Esports Audience. This

F36-50

M21-35

37%

increase in non-endemic brands entering the space. We expect even more non-endemic brands to make their move into the esports industry in 2016. You can see why on the following pages.

ENTHUSIASTS ARE HIGH EARNERS EMPLOYMENT STATUS AND INCOME BRACKET | 2015 | GLOBAL

Aside from their desirable demographics, Esports Enthusiasts are also more likely to have a high income and a full-time job than the general online population. They are big spenders on digital media and gamerelated products. They also spend more on digital media subscriptions such as Netflix, HBO and Spotify than the online population. This goes against some perceptions that the Esports Audience consists of people who don’t work and have nothing to spend.

ONLINE POPULATION

ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS

53%

65% 48%

32%

31% 29%

In Brazil, Esports Enthusiasts are more than

more likely to have a Spotify subscription and almost twice as likely to be subscribed to Netflix

37%

15% 4%

Unemployed

Full-Time Job

Low Income

Middle Income

High Income

Source: Newzoo 2016 Global Esports Market Report

Source: Newzoo 2016 Global E-sports Market Report

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lifestyle genre they are following. “Given how challenging the fragmented media landscape is, e-sports platforms offer a more focused avenue to reach audiences who spend an average of three hours daily consuming e-sports content,” Lee says. Tom Kelshaw, director of innovation at Maxus, also adds: “I know a lot of marketers who’d be interested in spending upwards of four hours a day, and six to 12 moments a day in front of audiences. Gaming gives them this opportunity.” Moreover, gamers are a very engaged and loyal bunch. They are also extremely vocal about their tastes. “I like to depict the gamers as an echo chamber. When one person likes something, they will tell their friends who will echo their sentiment,” Yu says, adding there is a large amount of room to gain market share with a target audience that is receptive and ready for the “attention” coming from brands. Eliphant’s Lee also adds that while gamers are a picky bunch, once brands have won them over, they can be extremely loyal customers in the long term.

Game on: E-sports is taking off in Asia, providing marketers with new and great opportunities.

“Given how challenging the fragmented media landscape is, e-sports platforms offer a more focused avenue to reach audiences who spend an average of three hours daily consuming e-sports content.” Beatrice Lee, MP & Silva’s managing director of Asia Pacific

healthy living. Issues such as obesity and other negative connotations still surround the world of e-sports, he says. Sports on the ground, he says, attracts millions of fans because it is real-life drama. No matter how immersive and captivating these worlds and games are, for many, e-sports still remains virtual and cannot replicate real life. “Brands who seek out partnerships and sponsorships are always seeking an element of authenticity from an association, and online gaming along with e-sports, can sometimes struggle to recreate this,” he says. MP & Silva's Lee is of the view that while variety and diversity in the gaming industry is usually a great thing, one of the main challenges WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

the industry faces is there’s an assortment of e-sports leagues around the world. “The international e-sports following is heavily splintered across various leagues and tournaments and there is no governing body for the overall e-sports arena like how FIFA or the IOC is to football or multi-sport competitions,” Lee says. As such credibility may sometimes be a factor. Zooming in to the target demographic Why e-sports makes sense for marketers, adds Lee, is because of the profile of viewers it attracts with an average age of 21 to 35. Sponsors are always keen to know what media this demographic are consuming or what

The key to the next level However, education is needed and necessary for this industry to bloom. “We do our best to engage potential sponsors and help them understand the audience, and work with them to maximise their participation. We also have to manage expectations and tell people that if you want to win over the gaming audience, it’s an ongoing commitment,” Lee says. Ringrose adds that brands need to rethink what the gaming industry is like today. It is now a piece of interactive communication which consumers would normally pay for and would spend hours playing with. “Why pay to have an ad at the beginning of a film in the cinema when you can be the thing they are playing while they wait for the movie to start? And then play on the train home,” he says. Great advancements are being made in the gaming industry as an ad medium with extremely elaborate in-game integrations, including product placement and even key gameplay changes; all of which are being well received by the gaming audience. “The advent of e-sports as a growing worldwide sport has definitely fostered the legitimacy of gaming as a channel and has added another avenue to bring capital into a growing segment. It stands to reason that more companies are taking notice of the opportunities available in video games,” he adds. M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 2 3

ARE MARKETERS MISSING THE MARK COMPLETELY WHEN IT COMES TO THE ELDERLY? REZWANA MANJUR WRITES.

2 4 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

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unveiled $3 billion Action Plan for Successful Ageing 3 . However, while the growing importance of this generation is starting to be recognized, the CPG industry at large continues to focus on the young and family demographics.

MARKETING FEATURE: SILVER GENERATION

The silver generation faces a number of challenges when navigating the retail

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .landscape . . . . . . . . . . .in . . .search . . . . . . .for . . .products . . . . . . . . . .and . . . . services . . . . . . . . .that . . . . .meet . . . . . .their . . . . .specific . . . . . . . . needs. ................................... Nielsen undertook a specific study of the mature market to understand these challenges and discover if their needs were being met by manufacturers and retailers today.

As I stood twiddling my thumb on my mobile, my mother struggled to read the label on the packaging of dried fruit snacks. She had heard about unhealthy levels of sodium in that product and was concerned whether to make the purchase or not. Unfortunately, she had left her prescription glasses in the car and was having a difficult time reading the information at the back of the pack. My mother is 58 and this is not an uncommon problem among those in that age bracket. According to Nielsen’s latest survey, Turning Silver into Retail Gold, 67% of elderly consumers aged 55 years and above have indicated that more products need to have clearly labelled nutritional information. This group also currently accounts for 40% of Singapore’s grocery spending and is projected to grow to 24% of the overall population by 2030. Clearly, they present viable business opportunities for retailers and manufacturers. But are local retailers and brands aware of this potential? Is there enough being done to win the hearts and carts of these players? “In forty years time, nearly four out of every 10 Singaporeans will be over 65 years old. So reviewing how your brand caters to older consumers isn’t just good PR, it’s good business sense,” says Katie Ewer, strategy director for JKR. And this isn’t just about making labels easier to understand with bigger type; it’s also about making packs easier to open, making products easier to find and making supermarket navigation more straightforward. “Bear in mind that in 40 years, all those silver consumers will also be silver surfers, buying their groceries on line. Making sure that your brand can get noticed and chosen when it’s 16mm high on a mobile page, is a consideration that’s been woefully neglected by brands and online retailers alike,” she adds. Gale Choong, head of marketing at Unilever Singapore, who makes routine retail checks, agreed with the survey results and said there hasn’t been a “massive conscious effort” from FMCG players. This is despite many recognising the trend and the need to adapt to suit the silver generation. But she noted, food is a growing area of experimentation. Herve Simon, group marketing director for Ayam Brand, also shared that going forward the market will see many companies create products that are geared to the ageing population. He said that for food brands, an ageing population means an evolution of nutrition.

12%

2004

2014

30%

24% 2030

forecasted

Products with easy-to-read labels

TEA

TURNING SILVER INTO RETAIL GOLD | M ARCH 2016

PRODUCT RELATED

CALORIES

**g

PROTEIN

**g

SUGAR

**g

SODIUM

**g

UNMET NEEDS

Products with clearly labelled nutritional information

67%

咖啡 44%

Local language on packaging

Source: Nielsen’s “Turning Silver into Retail Gold” survey

“Marketing by any age segment is a very delicate task whether teenage or an older age. Many older people resent being overtly marketed to on the basis of their age.” Kim Walker – CEO of Silver Group Asia

Hence, the focus for brands will be a shift in creating food products which will address the nutritional changes for that segment, with a key concept of ageing well. For Ayam Brand specifically, fatty fish and coconut products are 6

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two main categories under its umbrella, the brand intends to capitalise and promote. Dairy company FrieslandCampina is also a fast mover into this field, recognising the growing elderly segment is an important one in Asia.

TURNING SILVER INTO RETAIL GOLD | M ARCH 2016 M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 2 5

MARKETING FEATURE: SILVER GENERATION ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Last year, it created Optimel, its first product in Asia, which was launched in Hong Kong and targeted at those 40 and above. The various ranges further broke down the categories into 40+, 50+ and 60 and above and respectively catered to the nutritional requirements and needs of people in each of the age range. Ada Wong, head of public affairs and communications at FrieslandCampina Asia, explained the company saw the “rising trend towards self-care and taking ownership of one’s health and nutrition” among older consumers and has worked with local retail partners, health authorities and other relevant stakeholders to ensure it could meet the nutritional needs of consumers worldwide. Chris Martell, managing director of Geometry Global Singapore, however, was of the view that the top unmet needs of today’s ageing shopper, complements larger consumer trends. There is currently an increased focus on health and wellness, and this is not unique to elderly shoppers alone. Much like their younger counterparts, the elderly, especially those in developed economies, are reinventing ageing by living longer, busier and more satisfying lives aided by technology. Hence, brands and their retail partners need not simply look at solving problems for the elderly, but rather shoppers as a whole. Dedicated investments From the same Nielsen survey, 65% specified that they have difficulty in finding shopping aisles dedicated to ageing-needs products. As such, we asked retail players if dedicated aisles for older generations were needed. Gerry Lee, deputy CEO of Singapore at NTUC FairPrice, told Marketing that recognising the growing segment of seniors in Singapore and the need to cater to its needs, FairPrice has piloted stores in the Bukit Merah and Lengkok Bahru areas which are specially catered towards such customers. Some of the features found in the stores include wider checkout lanes, larger signage and clearer price tags, rest areas with benches and water coolers, and call buttons and magnifying glasses around the stores. “We’ve also introduced a dedicated aisle for products which are targeted for seniors’ needs such as grip bars, adult diapers and dietary supplements,” Lee said. NTUC FairPrice is also working with HPB to include collaterals in its stores which helps encourage healthy eating and grocery shopping. It runs promotions such as a 2% seniors 2 6 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

Personal care products that meet my special needs

46%

Foods with smaller-sized portion

Food products that meet my special nutritional diet needs

46%

38%

MUST-HAVES

NICE-TO-HAVE

Attentive staff

SHOPPING ENVIRONMENT

UNMET FULFILLED NEEDS NEEDS

40%

PRODUCT RELATED

Healthier food options Product availability in the frequented channels Products with easy-to-use product packages Products with easy-toopen product packages

48%

Wheelchair-friendly facilities

63%

48% Wide range of product categories to meet elderly needs

Source: Nielsen’s “Turning Silver into Retail Gold” survey

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discount on Tuesdays for those 60 years of age or older, and a 3% Pioneer Generation discount on Monday to entice the older shoppers; and more than 100 of its frontline staff have also undergone specialised training on how to serve seniors. While Martell encourages brands to make investments which make life easier for the older shoppers, he added brands need to be smart about how they spend their marketing dollars. He said: “If planning dedicated products/ experiences for ageing consumers, then design for older eyes and amplify the brand through emotional and functional benefits they care about. Beyond that, age is just a number.” Moreover, product visibility today isn’t just an issue for older eyes. Many categories in stores, as well as online, are far too complex and are sold with little thought to how a shopper decides on what to purchase. “This is damaging for the retailer and brands being sold, while the consumer may be missing out on benefits from a product he/she

“If planning dedicated products/experiences for ageing consumers, then design for older eyes and amplify the brand through emotional and functional benefits they care about. Beyond that, age is just a number.” Chris Martell – managing director of Geometry Global Singapore

didn’t even notice,” he said. In many categories, he explained, it’s less a matter of segmenting products or experiences by age, and more a matter of investing in the experience overall – simplified information that helps shoppers make better choices being key here. In categories, age segmentation of products could benefit the experience and differentiate a brand, but more important is clearly communicating the benefits this generation cares about for the product to standout. Kim Walker, CEO of Silver Group Asia, said that having shopping aisles dedicated to ageing-needs products works for “age-silo” products. Older consumers, depending on their

age, buy a much wider range of products and services. Hence, creating a dedicated aisle and attempting to bundle all “ageing” products into a specific store or aisle can lead to retail failure. “Marketing by any age segment is a very delicate task whether teenage or an older age. Many older people resent being overtly marketed to on the basis of their age. That’s why so many age-based marketing initiatives aimed at older consumers have failed,” he said. Like any other consumer segment, attitudes and purchasing patterns of older shoppers will be influenced greatly by life stage, income, education, age and, in the unique case of older consumers, their physical condition.

CHALLENGES FOR THE SILVER GENERATION Trouble finding food products to meet specific dietary requirements. While there are many healthy food alternatives in the market, 38% elderly consumers have trouble finding food products that meet their special dietary needs. The Singapore Health Promotion Board has identified some of the common problems faced by the silver generation, including lactose intolerance, difficulty in chewing and a poor appetite. With a limited range of offerings that cater specifically to these needs, many elderly people have to settle with alternatives such as baby foods or general food products that do not address their actual issues. Lack of innovation in personal care products for the ageing consumer. As we age, our needs evolve – our hair becomes thinner and more brittle; our skin is drier and less elastic. While hair and beauty products exist in the market for specific needs, there is little focus on how these needs differ for the elderly consumer. Product packaging and labelling are not “elderly friendly”. Product packaging is another area that represents a challenge to many elderly consumers. Small print and lack of clarity on nutritional information are cited as some of the common challenges the elderly have when purchasing consumer packaged goods. Adjusting these features would make it easier for senior grocery buyers to navigate through the wide array of products and help improve their purchasing journey. The retail environment is not “elderly friendly”. Age takes a toll on the physical body and mobility issues become a daily concern for many of the elderly. Lack of elderly friendly facilities (for example, benches for resting) is one of the common problems faced. Many elderly consumers may also not understand promotional communications written in English and therefore, assistance or translation in their known language is required. Inattentive retail staff is also a challenge in many retail environments. Excerpt from Nielsen’s “Turning Silver into Retail Gold” survey

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M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 2 7

From creation to dissemination and amplification, the third annual content marketing conference, Content 360 Singapore, saw senior brand decision-makers delve deeper into the hows of contentled marketing. From case studies to real-time content marketing exercises, the audience immersed themselves in discussions around best practices in this space as they shape marketing in Singapore and the region. 2 8 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

Gold sponsors

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M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 2 9

CAN BRANDS MAKE MONEY OFF CONTENT? Great content can help your brand accomplish various goals, but is making money one of them? The answer could be yes, according to Tony Chow, director of creative and content marketing for Asia Pacific at Marriott International. “In fact, a long-term goal for Marriott is to be a media company. We are setting our eyes on making our first full-length feature film and that will be a revenue source from content. In a couple of years, we may be leveraging avenues such as MIPTV to distribute content,” he said, adding that content distribution will be a big priority for the brand going forward. Speaking at the Content 360 conference, Chow highlighted the transition from traditional marketing to content marketing. We are no longer selling rooms, we are selling experiences. “The reality? You’ve got to serve champagne quality service in beer budgets, so it’s time to get smarter about content,” Chow (pictured) quipped. For brands to build lasting relationships with consumers using content, they need to start thinking and acting like publishers, something that is a long-term goal for Marriott. “We have an opportunity here as a brand to be the world’s best travel-lifestyle publisher,” he said. Marriott’s global and content studio is one such example. It is a multi-platform studio developing, producing and distributing content that aims to engage, inform and entertain target audiences across multiple screens. Not only does it produce hero content (that is, big investment content done once or twice a year) such as the video series Two Bellmen, it also has its own newsroom to keep abreast of the industry and world happenings, which allows it to create relevant and real-time content for consumption. Two Bellmen is a comedy film about two bellmen who prove their company loyalty when the JW Marriott LA Live comes under siege by “The Purple Panthers,” the primary antagonists of the movie. The three Cs – content, community and commerce Chow explains the 3Cs of content marketing for Marriott – content, community and commerce (refer to chart). Content encompasses the time spent creating the deliverable (i.e. videos), it also refers to the engagement in terms of 3 0 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

likes, shares and comments. Views are also an important part of the picture because it helps track progress and possible demographics. Community comprises of subscribers, followers and members of its loyalty programme. Chow also stressed the importance of leveraging Marriott’s loyalty programme members as they are most likely to be brand advocates who can help spread the brand message more effectively. Out of the three, commerce takes a more tactical approach, consisting of bookings, media buys and licensing fees with regards to distributing the content which is also another key factor for content marketing success. Videos: Are they really that important? Among all other forms of content, Chow said video is the one that works best for the brand.

“I am a believer of videos because a video says a thousand words. We have a lot of content on the website and our custom magazines. While we focus on those equally, the role video plays for us is different. For us, storytelling comes across best in videos,” he said. Also talking about videos and a proper investment in them at Content 360 was Radha K Raman, marketing director for Asia Pacific at Brightcove. She highlighted the difference between brands owning their own video streaming platform versus advertising on free platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. She cited Hugo Boss as a great example of a brand which is effective in utilising its digital properties to raise brand awareness through customer engagement. The brand livestreamed its New York Fashion week directly from its website on top of its YouTube channel to achieve greater reach. She stressed the importance of landing pages when it came to initiating a call-to-action to improve conversion rates. This is especially important for companies that utilise email marketing campaigns. A good way to maximise conversion in e-newsletters would be to draw viewers to click the image in the email and be taken to the landing page that plays the video. Having the video play on the landing page allows one to put other related content such as information and even e-commerce links which can help aid sales. Furthermore, having the video run on one’s own website enables brands to track site visits and potentially convert a viewer into a customer. YouTube may not be “YourTube”

CREATIVE + CONTENT KPIs CONTENT

COMMUNITY

TIME SPENT +

SUBSCRIBERS +

ENGAGEMENT COMMENTS, LIKES, SHARES +

FOLLOWERS +

VIEWS

ACQUISITION (REWARDS, EMAIL SIGN-UPs)

COMMERCE

BOOKINGS + MEDIA BUYS + LICENSING FEES

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“YouTube is synonymous with video and YouTube is an obvious choice for marketers because you want to fish where the fish are. But YouTube is not a video marketing strategy, it’s merely a distribution channel – one that comes with its own set of challenges and limited opportunities for brands to own and control the experience,” Raman said. She highlights the downside of using free video platforms (FVP): • Poor SEO – although videos considered high quality are rewarded in search results, reaping those rewards are only possible if the videos are embedded in your own site. • Lack of context: On YouTube, anything goes. A viewer could see competitor ads and irrelevant content being served next to the brand videos. • Lack of branding – both YouTube and Vimeo limit the brand and customisation options on a brand’s channel. Moreover, when brands embed their player on their website, it’s the YouTube or Vimeo branding that shows up, thereby diluting the experience. • Limited admin controls – with free players, anyone across the company who has administrative rights has full access to the channel – there is no way to limit levels of administrative access. • Denied access – there is potential to miss out on an audience for countries such as China and workplaces which block FVPs. • Superficial analytics – analytics on these platforms are superficial because when it comes to tracking lead-generation and ROI on FVPs they can’t be tied to individual prospects. • Analytics’ consequences of making video edits – no matter how minor the change, all viewing history and stats associated will be lost on FVPs. • Lack of user experience control – with YouTube your content is subject to advertising and this can affect the user experience journey as these ads could be from an actual competitor. “As video marketers, we’re no longer delivering impressions, we’re delivering marketing results. If a prospect downloads a PDF, you know they downloaded something. You don’t know if they actually read it, what content they consumed and you have no way to tell sales if this is actually a hot lead, or what the lead knows,” she said. Why visual content is paramount to success Jetstar Airways has also been successful in the past year when it comes to creating visual content which touches on all the key points WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

mentioned. Focusing on localised content which is both funny and emotive, it capitalised on FVPs to help spread the brand awareness. Sharing her views at Marketing’s Content 360 conference, Chantal van Wijnbergen, head of marketing and PR for SEA at Jetstar Airways, talked about the airline’s journey this year in engaging customers through videos. “The beauty of videos is the ability to capture a more complex story when pictures can’t,” she said. Showing sensitivity towards local cultures and holidays, Jetstar launched a campaign during the Chinese New Year period last year, which matched singles through the power of the zodiac and gave them a chance to escape the judgment of singlehood from relatives during the holiday season and possibly “meet their true love”. In November last year, Jetstar

ran a campaign for December babies who felt neglected during the festive season because their birthdays were too close to the Christmas holidays. Wijnbergen shared the positive response to the campaign and also highlighted the importance of going back to your consumer and listening to what they want and then making a connection to the brand. “Nothing is more boring to consumers than a corporate birthday,” Wijnbergen said. Jetstar’s success with its videos lies in the importance of localising content for the Southeast Asian market to be able to better connect with its audience; which shows the stronghold that visual content, particularly video, has on the whole content marketing game – a highly talked about topic during the Content 360 event.

HOW MUCH CONTENT IS TOO MUCH CONTENT?

In a panel discussion at Content 360, Don Anderson, co-founder and head of outreach for Asia Content Marketing Association, posed a few questions around content quality versus quantity and budgets. Here are some excerpts from the conversation. Anderson: “Is there such a thing as too much content?” Chris Reed, global CEO and founder of Black Marketing: “It’s not a conversation about excess content, it’s about using the existing content fully. There are many instances where we see a company develop content and top leaders share it on LinkedIn, but the staff hardly share that content. How you get your employees in the habit of sharing content is critical. A lot of them are not using the right kind of content in the right ways. Simply producing content is not enough, amplifying it is equally important.” Gerald Ang, global digital leader for GE: “Speak when it’s needed, be meaningful and find a natural rhythm in your content. Be simple and purposeful. Think of your year-long calendar as a blank canvas, and then fill it up with selected moments you want to own.” Anderson: “ACMA did a survey last year and participated marketers suggested only 20% of their marketing budgets is going into content marketing. What sort of budgets are you seeing and what is the money being spent on?” Ang: “20% is a good baseline and it goes up depending on media and co-creation partnerships. The marketing team has to look at what will drive business results and focus accordingly. Of the 20%, about 10% goes in production, but you also need to include media and measurement budgets. For us, we focus on earned media for which we don’t have to spend and then look at owned and earned in that order. We focus on earned, owned and paid media in that order. “In terms of medium, we are digital first. We look at spending on TV only in rare cases when it is absolutely relevant, otherwise our focus is online. Other than that social listening is also a big area of focus for us.” Tony Chow, director of creative and content marketing for Asia Pacific at Marriott International: “We are moving away from traditional advertising and our focus is largely on content. We aim to do 1-2 Hero content, the budget for which could run into a few millions, and then focus on what we call the Hub content, which require relatively smaller budgets. We are not doing anything on TV or print at the moment. It is all digital.”

M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 3 1

IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT SALES are meant to be dynamic. This is the content you really want to “go viral” and is worth putting a bit of money behind. A great example of this was the marketing that companies planned around the birth of Great Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton’s baby where they were able to preplan their messaging, so they could put some resources behind their efforts. However, most could only expect their content to have a short shelf life.

Content marketing is an area that has picked up immense speed in recent years. Nonetheless, the investments made in this space are not always the fastest to bear fruit. Players in this field say it may take months or sometimes years before your efforts show results. However, C-suite level executives are not always ready to wait around that long to see the results. So what’s the solution? Probably a shift in mindset to realising not all marketing is about immediate sales. One marketer who believes in this is Anna Bory, GM of Audi Singapore, who was speaking at the two-day conference Content 360. Bory (pictured) is of the view that for luxury brands specifically, content marketing cannot always be about sales. She said: “Not every marketing initiative in the luxury industry is about direct sales.” For those in the luxury space, like Audi, sometimes it is about brand awareness. One such campaign where the brand was able to move away from sales and gain brand awareness was its SG50 campaign last year. The brand decided it would take locals back in time using VR capabilities. The brand worked with different government bodies and the National Gallery to ensure accuracy of the information it was feeding to consumers. “Our budget for this execution was only 30% of our usual media budget. So we needed to communicate smartly,” she explained. To ensure the initiative really resonated with participants, a free on-ground event was also created. “Having a sales KPI for such a campaign would have killed the idea. In this way, the pressure of sales was lifted and the team had the freedom to come up with ideas,” she said. Bory admitted that while there wasn’t 3 2 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

a totally accurate science of measuring the impact of the campaign, it tracked the footfall to stores, during and post the campaign, and combined it with on-ground surveys to establish a correlation. The campaign saw a more than 1.85 million Facebook reach, 287, 995 YouTube views and more than $600,000 in PR coverage. “However, having done one successful initiative helps us with our second one for R8,” she said adding that not all campaigns and content initiatives need to always go viral. Hence, it is important when creating innovative ideas to come up with the right metrics and KPIs. “Brands should stay away from KPIs that will kill your content idea.” On a similar point, Christie Poulos, global head of video at King Content, added that not all content needed to be relevant for both now and the future. What content needs, however, is a clear strategy. Quoting Julie Fleischer, director of media and consumer engagement at Kraft Foods, she explained the various kinds of content out there: PRODUCED Pre-planned Dynamic Viral

High Production Values

PERISHABLE

EVERGREEN

Lightweight Opportunistic Real time

Test & Learn Versioning Curation

EXECUTIONAL Source: Julie Fleischer, director of Media & Consumer Engagement, Kraft Foods.

Perishable and produced (top left): These are content pieces that may be planned, and

Produced and evergreen (top right): This is content that is built to last a very long time and, thus, requires a greater investment to produce. For instance, Kraft created a series of cooking videos that features celebrity chefs, which could then be reused every year as seasonal content. Perishable and executional (bottom left): This content is real-time and opportunistic, but may not have a lot of staying power – however, it can be quite impactful at the time of its distribution. An example of this was Oreo’s Super Bowl tweet – a real-time effort that didn’t require much advanced planning and execution and used Oreo’s existing distribution channels such as Twitter. However, in such cases it is important to note that to be real-time, you need the right people and processes in place to take advantage of current events and trends. Executional and evergreen (bottom right): This is content you continually create to be used in multiple ways, such as the recipes and food ideas Kraft publishes on an ongoing basis. Because of the nature of this type of content, marketers can continually test what’s working and make adjustments when needed. This is not an area where a lot of money needs to be spent, but it’s the best place to keep an eye out for future content ideas. At the end of the day, said Poulos, content marketing allows organisations to develop realistic, sustainable and measurable publishing plans that keep their content on track in the long term. “Content marketing cuts costs by reducing redundant or extraneous publishing efforts, while increasing effectiveness of existing assets. It aligns communication across channels so that web content, print collateral, social media conversations and internal knowledge management are working toward the same goals in channel-appropriate ways,” she said. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

WHAT AN END-TO-END CONTENT MARKETING PRACTICE LOOKS LIKE With content’s growing role in marketing, and marketing predominantly going digital, global technology company Cisco needed to re-look at the way it was leveraging content. What these changes necessitated was a move from talking campaigns to talking stories. Sharing Cisco’s journey of content marketing, in particular hiring and managing a team around content, with delegates at Content 360 was Rashish Pandey, director of marketing for Asia Pacific. Pandey defines content marketing as storytelling at scale that drives a desired action. And what makes good content is what he calls SHARP – shareable, humorous, actionable, relevant and professional. See the chart below: From creating one or two massive reports every year, Cisco is now creating a flurry of shareable and bite-sized content out of these reports throughout the year for continued engagement. But this switch, however simple it may look on the surface, has been a complete change-management journey, one that is still ongoing, according to Pandey. Once the vision of content-led marketing was established, Cisco set out to piece the puzzle together step by step – with talent being one of the most important things. What was clear was it didn’t want to outsource content marketing to an agency. It continues to use agencies, but the entire process is controlled and run internally. What’s the risk in outsourcing? While agencies are a great support to the brand, if the content muscle isn’t built in-house and brands rely too much on agencies, the content will become undifferentiated at the end, Pandey explained. Having in-house capabilities also allows brands control over the process which helps in the brand being agile, when it comes to content marketing. In Cisco’s case some of its subject matter experts are capable of publishing content without the need for it to go through an agency. With this in mind, it set out to create a new structure for its team. It created four new roles, each with a distinct job scope operating under a guideline of how to come together as one team. He said: “These are all the roles we thought that we needed to build an end-to-end content practice.” The roles are: • Customer experience manager – or WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

Getting Started Shareable

Findable and accessible

Presented in layers/modules

Snackable formats

Humour

Memorable – catches attention

Cuts through digital clutter

Simple, punchy and visual

Actionable

Drives to the next logical step in a journey

Accessible CTA links

Relevant

User goals

User context (right time/ place, etc.)

Tied to user needs, not just business

Professional

Within brand’s key areas of authority

Known, reputable experts/data

Trustworthy

Content is not complex. We just need to be S.H.A.R.P.

Provides integration across channels

Source: CISCO

the people champions. They are the custodians of customer insights. • Content managing editor – or those who have the power to say no to people within the organisation and still survive. They look at all the possible content pieces that could possibly run and choose the ones that would get the brand the most traction and engagement, much like an editor at any reputed publication. • Subject matter experts – those who understand the product are not necessarily engineers, but are capable of publishing content with authority and authenticity and in the tone that appeals to the audience. • Content marcom manager – quite literally the one that juggles a thousand balls without dropping one. They are the creative soul of all that gets published. “All these roles are in the process of getting filled up within Cisco and its subsidiaries worldwide,” Pandey said. Managing this team across geographies

requires being prescriptive to some extent, but with an awareness that content marketing isn’t a linear process. “We are prescriptive about who needs to attend the weekly meetings, for example, and what their role is, what is the expected outcome, how did the past performance work and so on. “But the important thing to note is that these meetings ensure we are agile, adapting to the needs of the business and working towards the outcome accordingly.” In such a massive transformation, training and preparedness becomes critical – from taking the teams through the basics of storytelling, to a digital-first approach to content, to the nittygritty of real-time and relevant content. So is rewarding these efforts. Cisco has a number of internal recognitions in place for various stages of content marketing. “The journey isn’t an easy one – it is complicated and requires a cultural change. But daring to start is crucial,” he said. M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 3 3

‘AD-BLOCKING CAN MAKE US BETTER MARKETERS’ It is easy to view ad-blocking as a threat when it comes to reaching out to consumers and telling them what your brand has to offer. However, disallowing access to a site’s free content unless ad-blockers are switched off – as some publishers are doing – may not be the wisest thing to do, according to Roshni Mahtani, CEO and founder of Tickled Media. Countering ad-blockers this way is shortsighted; instead, more focus should be placed on creating relevant content that viewers will be interested in. Mahtani, along with Kevin Hagino, senior regional brand manager of LEGO Group, and Phil Townend, managing director of Unruly, were part of a panel discussion at Marketing magazine’s Content 360 moderated by editor Rayana Pandey. In an August 2015 study by Adobe and PageFair, ad-blocking was estimated to cost publishers nearly US$22 billion during 2015, and at that point, there were about 198 million active ad-block users around the world. The number since has only grown. Moreover, with 3 4 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

some telcos in the UK and other markets now mulling over blocking ads on their network, brands are beginning to become wary, and digital media publishers such as Google and Facebook are gearing up for a tussle. Why do people install ad-blockers? Ads can be intrusive – especially those that interrupt what the user is doing. Moreover, sub par content makes it easy for people to ignore ads. In fact, many speakers at the conference highlighted in jest that, statistically, users are more likely to successfully climb Mount Everest than click a banner ad. The basic premise for ad-blockers to flourish? Ads are intrusive, disruptive to the user experience online and are irrelevant. Content evolution versus media evolution According to Townend, the emergence of programmatic advertising shows how fast the media landscape is evolving. While that in itself may not be a bad thing, if content does not evolve at the same pace, it will be a garbage in, garbage out story, regardless of the medium.

Brands should be fixated more on fixing the content rather than figuring out the cheapest medium to disseminate content. “If media is evolving at a million miles per hour and content is only evolving at ten, then we have a problem because the content quality is not improving at the same speed as the improvement of the automation,” Townend said. Supporting his observation, Hagino said: “I think we are all guilty of it, because the media is so powerful, that I think it makes us focus too much on the hows versus the whats.” According to Hagino, although consumers are busy and stressed out nowadays, they still wish to be part of the branding process – for brands they love. When it comes to finding the right messaging, he feels there is a need for brands to go back to the fundamentals and challenge themselves to getting the messaging right. “They [consumers] have a stronger voice,” he said, adding they like to be challenged by the content put out by brands. Hagino shared the story behind LEGO’s WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

SG50 campaign where it invited kids to design a Singapore of their choice. “Rebuild” started with LEGO enthusiasts in Singapore envisaging what the metropolis might look like in the next 50 years. Ideas ran from futuristic skyscrapers, dominating highways to towering offices. The brand then asked the builders of tomorrow, the children, to “rebuild” their ideal Singapore. The campaign launched with LEGO Singapore holding the Rebuild Your Memories Competition followed by the launch of the four LEGO SG50 limited edition Singapore icons mini builds. The LEGO SG50 event saw the public participating in a live construction of an 8.5 foot dragon playground made out of LEGO bricks. Talking about how successful the campaign was for LEGO, Hagino said a big reality in the online world today is that only the best content will get noticed. He added: “Ad-blockers will make us better marketers. It is the survival of the fittest for content. If ad-blocking becomes more mass, we will have to find better ways of creating and distributing content.”

thereby making the experience disruptive and intrusive. “It is insane today because we always talk about the importance of putting the user in control and at the centre of the experience,” Townend said, adding that a way for brands to work around ad-blockers is to create content that users want to view and share. Some publishers have taken the honest and upfront approach by stating how watching this ad helps them keep their content free. Townend said that was a good strategy because it was polite. “The first thing we do when we look at a YouTube skippable ad is to see how much time of ours will it take. If it’s too much, the users will skip it right away, as they feel like they don’t have 90 seconds of precious time to give away. “However, ask someone for six seconds of their time like on a Vine-looped ad, and they’ll gladly stay with the brand for even longer”, Townend added, citing the contradiction of sixsecond videos or Vines, which many brands in the West are using to reach out to their consumers. “The average dwell time on a branded Vine is

“Ad-blockers will make us better marketers. It is the survival of the fittest for content. If ad-blocking becomes more mass, we will have to find better ways of creating and distributing content.” Kevin Hagino – senior regional brand manager of LEGO Group

When ads aren’t always hated According to Mahtani, successful marketing is all about targeting the right type of consumer with the right type of message. In a survey Tickled Media ran, it found only 18% of Singaporean mothers saying they find advertising relevant. The others felt the messaging was wrong in most ads. However, the number varies from market to market. For example, in the Philippines, 60% of mothers loved advertising as it allowed them to have more awareness of what’s out there. Mahtani emphasised on the importance of understanding demographics across markets and customising content for them. Publishers and brands, therefore, need to constantly produce content accordingly. While there is no prescriptive number of content that should be published, Mahtani said at Tickled Media, the content is produced keeping “search” at the heart of content creation. Being honest and upfront helps The advent of the internet took a surprising turn, speakers said. Rather than finding a more suitable tactic to advertise, brands copy pasted the TV strategy onto the internet, WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

20.2 seconds, which is over three loops. So ask someone for 90 seconds they give you five, ask someone for six seconds and they give you 20! Ask for less get more!” Creating content versus curated content There is no such thing as too much content, provided the brand is clear on if the content is pull content or push content. According to Mahtani, “pull” content hardly runs out of steam because there is a demand for it. For instance, “potty training” alone can comprise a hundred different combinations if a brand is targeting mums. Push content, however, has limitations because it is not something that the audience is needing more information on. On top of these two there is resource content, which includes long form, infographics and may take a few days to complete while lifestyle requires some thought and usually takes a few hours. “Pull content is unlimited whereas push content isn’t; we can only push so much,” Mahtani said. Create connections that count At the cusp of a great message is how you are

able to connect with your audience and where, which RadiumOne’s Charlie Baillie, shared more about during his presentation on “Building a connected content strategy”. “Ensure you know where the conversations are happening, especially with the likes of instant messaging platforms, which is where all the data is, in Asia Pacific. By not having visibility on that you are potentially missing out on opportunities,” he said. Here are his pointers on how you can create connections that count: • Wrap and track your own content – all of it. • Ensure you have visibility into “Dark Social”, that is, web traffic that’s not attributed to a known source and is hard to track. It could be that you are missing 70% of the leads available to you – this can give you precious insights that might have been missed previously. • Work with providers who can gather and activate the data in real time, not weeks and months – that way you can keep track of brand conversions and respond quickly whenever needed. • Operate and execute across all channels – so you can keep up with consumers who also use multiple platforms. Key benefits of connections that count • Strengthens real-time data collection capabilities. • Grows owned media audiences organically. • Informs and improves paid media investment. • Insights guide content creation and distribution. • Amplifies social and PR strategies. Timi Siytangco, director of brands and agencies for SEA at Outbrain, also talked about the importance of thinking about the brand and seeing how it intersects with consumer interest. She mentioned that consumers have three moments of attention, and connecting with them during those moments is essential in bringing your brand message across. These moments are the intent moment, the influence moment and the interest moment. She also advocated that content should be in-feed and not interruptive. Talking about certain content myths, she said despite the short attention span of audiences, longer videos can still be effective in connecting with an audience because it gives more room for the development in storytelling. “The next time someone tells you not to make a long video, get a second opinion,” she said. M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 3 5

BRANDS, STOP TRYING TO BE THE HERO OF YOUR OWN STORIES

To tell a story is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it has been done since the caveman and craftsman era. What we have now realised is that the simpler the story, the easier to remember. One of the best storytellers today, said Norliza Kassim, head of digital engagement and content, global digital marketing, Standard Chartered Bank, is Donald Trump. Agree or disagree with his views, the man is indeed polarising. He can no doubt stir up emotions which in turn leads to conversations because people just want to connect over his comments. “Human beings are wired to recognise and share stories,” she said. Storytelling is the best way to connect and that’s the heart of content marketing. She urges that to learn good storytelling, marketers should look to Hollywood. While the steps seem relatively simple, execution takes tons of practice and patience. Step 1: Meet the hero First and foremost, you need to set up your hero which should ideally be the customer. “You need to identify your customers’ needs and gain insight to their lives and set them up to be the hero of your story,” Kassim said. Step 2: Confrontation This is where the bulk of the story happens 3 6 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M AY 2016

and where you realise the pain points of your consumers. This is also the point where the hunt and discovery process peaks. According to several studies, quoted by Kassim, a person typically consumes 8.9 pieces of content when trying to resolve an issue or make a purchase. Hence, at this point, smart brands can create content that will help the customer move into the resolution phase. Step 3: Resolution This is where content marketing can bring sales and marketing functions together because it is where you put the customer at the centre of your brand purpose and come up with the best plan of execution. When you have executed all of this right and built trust with your consumers, that’s where you can begin to have a conversation with relevant and engaging content and educate them. The brand’s role is to guide the customers along, it is not to mandate, said Kassim adding: “The role of the brand is not to be the hero or the protagonist. That is for the consumer. The role of the brand is to be the mentor or the guru. Be part of the 8.9 pieces of content consumers take in.” Ultimately, the purpose is to move from talking about products and services and into customer needs. “It’s not easy to have a conversation with

customers. You need to be there where they are and be useful and trustworthy in your language,” she said. Meanwhile, John Williams, vice president for Southeast Asia and South Asia at BBC Worldwide, added that to really get the trust of your consumers you must move away from simply trying to be authentic and preaching ideals to having a purpose. “Nobody would dispute the importance of authenticity to brands – but authenticity does not establish meaning. Authenticity may mean being true to an ideal concept, but we mustn’t confuse these ideals with the real meaning of a brand in people’s lives,” Williams said. He added this is important more so now than ever before because consumers have become accustomed to filter out brands mentally, emotionally and increasingly through technology. “Ad blocking and falling attention spans are proof points. You have to demonstrate why consumers shouldn’t filter out your brand.” Having a brand purpose allows brands to be rooted in consumers’ experiences – and a sense of what matters to them. Like Kassim, he added brands needed to establish understanding by identifying consumer pain points and identity if they want their audiences to invest time listening to their advertising messages. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

LAST WORD ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

WAS THE NEW INSTAGRAM ALGORITHM NECESSARY? Several publications are calling it the “impending doom”, others have said it is the “death by algorithm”. Those are some of the concerns raised as Facebook’s photo and video-sharing app Instagram looks to introduce a new algorithmic feed. This new feed will replace the current chronological timeline that it currently offers. To quote Instagram in its blog post earlier this month: “The order of photos and videos in your feed will be based on the likelihood you’ll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post. As we begin, we’re focusing on optimising the order – all the posts will still be there, just in a different order.” If you were on Instagram when the news first broke like I was, it seemed as though many influencers and bloggers were in a panic mode urging users to “turn notifications on”. Many mistook that the changes would be rolling out today. The “turn on” feature, as Instagram explains, was to help protect users from losing views when the new algorithmic timeline is rolled out. In response to the online flurry happening on Instagram, the company took to Twitter to assure its users the changes are not happening yet. Since its announcement of the new change, Instagram has received numerous feedback from its users. An online petition has even been created against the new algorithmic feed, urging Instagram to give users a choice in choosing how they should be viewing their timeline.

Not happy: Not all changes are welcomed as Instagram is discovering.

While the move may help heaps with the social media brand’s monetisation plans, as a regular user of the platform, I find the change somewhat unnecessary. Fellow Millennial and budding influencer, 21-year-old Rachel Wong, who has more than 4000 followers, also shared her concerns with A+M, saying the new change will make it harder for smaller accounts like hers, who are looking to grow their following. “Since I’m trying to grow my follower count, I feel like this change is going to make it harder,” Wong told A+M. “Because (the number of likes I get) aren’t exactly at the range of ‘popular’ or ‘top posts’ standard, I doubt my posts will be the ones that are pushed to the top of others’ feeds.” As for myself, I deem my Instagram timeline as a personal curated space and a reflection of my personality. Currently, I follow more than 500 Instagram accounts. This ranges from photographers, bloggers, chefs, celebrities, and last, but not least, my family and close friends – all of which I would like to have equal screen time with. This new change, with numerous accounts asking followers such as myself to turn on post notifications for their uploads, adds an added pressure to consumers such as myself to further narrow my following. Also, by turning on the notifications of those I follow, I will be receiving notifications each time a photo is uploaded on Instagram. I certainly don’t want that given that I have already turned off my WhatsApp group chat notifications to prevent my phone from buzzing every few minutes. Moreover, just because I follow a celebrity who is holding a bottle of shampoo, doesn’t necessarily mean I will buy that shampoo. And if I have to see that post of the shampoo every time I log into my account, chances are I will un-follow the account. The writer is 21-year-old Wong Jeng Teng, an intern at A+M magazine.

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M AY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 3 7

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