Marketing Magazine Singapore - August 2016 by Marketing Magazine Group

THE ART & SCIENCE OF CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS

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SINGAPORE

AUGUST 2016

marketing-interactive.com

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

Venus Hew, Senior Journalist venush@marketing-interactive.com Vivienne Tay, Journalist viviennet@marketing-interactive.com Editorial – International Inti Tam, Deputy Editor (Hong Kong) intit@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 Johnathan Tiang, Team Lead johnathant@marketing-interactive.com Ee Kai Li, Account Manager kailie@marketing-interactive.com Erica Loh, Account Manager erical@marketing-interactive.com Nadiah Jamaludin, Account Manager nadiahj@marketing-interactive.com Ong Yi Xuan, Trade Marketing Executive yixuano@marketing-interactive.com Advertising Sales - International Sara Wan, Senior Sales Manager (Hong Kong) saraw@marketing-interactive.com Event Production and Marketing Hairol Salim, Regional Lead - Events and Training hairol@marketing-interactive.com Andrew Davy, Regional Marketing Lead andrewd@marketing-interactive.com Event Services Yeo Wei Qi, Regional Head of Events Services weiqi@marketing-interactive.com

Recently I was put on “distraction duty” during my two-year-old niece’s dinner time. Bored within minutes of my Jim Carrey (from The Mask) impressions, she reached out for the nearest smartphone device available. What resulted was an awe-worthy sequence of events. Within minutes, and with very little help, she accessed YouTube, found a bunch of nursery rhymes she liked and scrolled through the list to end up on a Twinkle Twinkle Little Star video. The song then went on loop for a good three minutes. While I was blown away at how easily toddlers can navigate the world of digital, it was also somewhat nostalgic to see that great content (in this case, an age-old nursery rhyme) can transcend time, no matter how much the mediums of communication change and evolve. During a recent Marketing Insights conference on targeting cross-border travellers, Soon Sze-Meng, vice-president and head of marketing strategy, planning and insights at Visa, echoed a similar sentiment saying marketers should move from being focused on the channel of communication to the communication itself (page 44). This month, we also look at how good content is necessary in communicating with clients in the B2B space. On page 38, we hear from the likes of DHL, Cisco Systems Singapore and Text 100 on what clients

struggle with when creating great content. But this is not to say we can afford to be completely channel agnostic. At the end of the day, content might be king, but distribution is still queen. Having the right media partner is crucial in having your brand message amplified. In this issue we see the evolution of one of the classic mediums – out of home. Out-of-home was late to enter the world of marketing in Singapore, but over the years it has evolved and kept up with the changing world of technology. With new tips and tricks, media owners are fast grabbing eyeballs of consumers and wallets of marketers. To help you decode the competitive world out there, we have put together a list on page 26 of the top OOH mediums out there to help you bring your campaign ideas to life. With that, I hope you enjoy the issue.

Circulation Executive Deborah Quek, Circulations Executive deborahq@marketing-interactive.com Finance Evelyn Wong, Regional Finance Director evelynw@lighthousemedia.com.sg Management Søren Beaulieu, Publisher sorenb@marketing-interactive.com Justin Randles, Group Managing Director jr@marketing-interactive.com Tony Kelly, Managing Director tk@marketing-interactive.com Marketing is published 12 times per year by Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd. Printed in Singapore on CTP process by Sun Rise Printing & Supplies Pte Ltd, 10 Admiralty Street, #06-20 North Link Building, Singapore 757695. Tel: (65) 6383 5290. MCI (P) 122/01/2016. For subscriptions, contact circulations at +65 6423 0329 or email subscriptions@marketing-interactive.com. COPYRIGHT & REPRINTS: All material printed in Marketing 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 Marketing 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 198755 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 Marketing magazine, go to: www.marketing-interactive.com

Rezwana Manjur Editor

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JU NE 2 016 M ARKE TI N G 1

Photography: Stefanus Elliot Lee – www.elliotly.com; Makeup & Hair: Michmakeover using Make Up For Ever & hair using Sebastian Professional – www.michmakeover.com

Editorial Rezwana Manjur, Editor rezwanam@marketing-interactive.com

GOOD CONTENT LASTS A LIFETIME

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

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

14 PAYPAL’S NEW MONEY CAMPAIGN AIMS TO CASH IN ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY Vivienne Tay takes a look at the brand’s first major campaign following its separation from internet giant eBay.

16 IS ENOUGH BEING DONE TO ATTRACT MUSLIM TRAVELLERS TO SINGAPORE? What more can be done to attract this lucrative segment? Vivienne Tay explores.

20 DID NINTENDO LOSE OUT BY NOT LAUNCHING POKÉMON GO IN SINGAPORE? Should Singapore have been one of the initial markets to launch Pokémon Go? Vivienne Tay asks.

How can brands cut through the clutter in Singapore’s out-of-home media scene?

24 PROFILE: CORINE OOI, FONTERRA BRANDS’ GROUP GM OF GLOBAL MATERNAL – PAEDIATRICS Fonterra Brands’ Corine Ooi speaks to Vivienne Tay on selling a brand vision internally to retain employees – especially with more Millennials entering the workforce.

26 OUT-OF-HOME MEDIA OF THE YEAR Take a look at some of the biggest players in the OOH scene in Singapore.

38 MASTER REPORT: CONTENT MARKETING It is important to view content marketing as a strategy as opposed to a tactic, especially in the B2B realm. Our latest Master Report explores why.

46 LOYALTY & ENGAGEMENT AWARDS 2016 DBS took home top honours once again, but the competition was stiff. Read more about the awards here.

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16 14

KEY TAKEAWAYS: >> Getting mileage for the Muslim dollar. >> Retaining Millennial staff in your company. >> Content marketing is becoming more of a necessity than a nice to have. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

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

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

Star power L’Oréal Paris Singapore launched an interactive out-of-home panel featuring brand ambassador and local celebrity Rui En. This was for the relaunch of its L’Oréal Paris UV Mist. It invited the public to meet En on an interactive digital screen, where upon detection of people standing around the interactive panel using motion sensors, she appeared promoting the features of the UV Mist to the public. Nanyang appoints agency Nanyang Polytechnic reappointed Asia PR Werkz as its PR agency for a two-year term until 2018, with an optional extension of one year. The appointment came following a pitch with five other agencies. The account includes the development of the PR strategy as well as the designing and executing of a media relations plan to ensure a steady stream of good quality and positive media coverage for the polytechnic. Luring Chinese travellers Grab and Ant Financial Services Group, the parent company of Alipay, paired up to provide a cross-border payment solution to Chinese travellers visiting and residing in Singapore and Thailand. Alipay users can pay for their taxi and private-hire car rides booked through the Grab app with their Alipay accounts. Before, Chinese travellers paid either by connecting their dual currency credit cards or making a payment via cash. 4 M A R K ET I N G A U G U ST 2 0 1 6

Joining forces The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) partnered with National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), U Creative and e2i to unveil a suite of initiatives to help freelancers secure more job opportunities in creative industries. Participating companies include creative agencies Black Design, mm2 Entertainment and Verite Production. Freelancers are attached to a host company through a structured attachment to develop their skills. Healthy mission Philips released two content films conceptualised by Iris Singapore to showcase its mission of improving people’s lives through meaningful innovations in its #InSicknessandHealth campaign. Both films followed the lives of two loving pioneer generation couples and how they faced the trials and tribulations of a serious illness together. It aimed to encourage Singaporeans to come forward with their own personal stories

Up for grabs People’s Association (PA), Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and the Public Utilities Board (PUB) are looking to appoint agencies. PA is looking to engage an agency providing social media services; IDA is looking for social media consultancy services for three years; and PUB is looking for event management services for its social media outreach activities.

Sky high with Fiji Fiji Airways appointed Baldwin Boyle Shand (BBS) as its public relations agency of record for Singapore and Southeast Asia. The appointment follows several regional new business wins for BBS this year in the transport, travel and tourism sector, including Tourism New Zealand, and Royal Caribbean International. The national carrier for Fiji launched the first direct flights between Nadi, Fiji and Singapore in April. Seeking forgiveness Philips Lighting Singapore released a new spot for Hari Raya, conceptualised by iris Singapore. This is a first for the lighting brand locally. According to the agency the spot was built on the tradition of seeking forgiveness from family and friends. Building on this, it hoped to help make the festive celebration more meaningful by helping a family seek forgiveness in the most heartfelt manner. Gaining momentum Starwood Hotels & Resorts collaborated with John Brown Media to create “Momentum”, a digital content hub to inspire today’s travellers. The two collaborated on the content, leaving the integrity and authenticity of the articles to editorial experts. The site introduced guest contributors who are experts in various fields, including music, design, food and technology to share their knowledge and tips.

New partnership Singapore-headquartered influencer marketing and media company Gushcloud and uFluencer Group entered into a barter agreement to further expand their respective networks. The deal will allow the company to tap on uFluencer’s large influencer network outside Asia particularly its strong network in the United States and United Kingdom. In return, uFluencer will be able to connect with Gushcloud’s clients and influencers from the five Southeast Asian countries it currently operates in.

Himalaya’s fresh Moove Himalaya Herbals Healthcare partnered with Moove Media to come up with concept trains in three cabins of a Downtown Line train. These spaces were decked with floor and panel stickers. Commuters were not only exposed to the properties of the brand’s three key ingredients – Aloe Vera, Neem and Apricot – but also had a bit of fun posing for photographs with 18 herb crown stickers on board the trains. Small, but powerful CIMB Bank Singapore launched a new brand campaign called “The Small Bank Theory” to position itself as a bank which marches to a different beat through the creation of an Instagram branch. Designed to look like the exterior of a bank building, the campaign closely mimicked the experience of visiting a physical bank branch. The campaign was created by Havas Worldwide Singapore. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

Daring to dream Luxury skincare brand SK-II collaborated with SPHMBO to launch a one-day campaign titled “Dream Again” at Singapore’s busy Raffles Place on 20 June. Together with children counsellors and local personalities such as ambassador Rebecca Lim, actress Oon Shu An, musician Benjamin Kheng and actor Joshua Tan, SK-II Singapore encouraged and inspired adults to reconnect with their forgotten dreams as well as look past societal expectations and demands.

Beyond physical disabilities The National Council of Social Service collaborated with Clear Channel, Mediacom and WILD to launch an out-of-home campaign for “See the True Me” on Clear Channel Play’s digital network. It aims to change the mindset of Singaporeans towards people with disabilities and allow them to be recognised as individuals for their abilities and strengths. It was supported by six-sheet printed posters and a 10-second advert on 50 Play digital screens. A swift exit Following the announcement of it shutting is Raffles joint, California Fitness announced that the Bugis and Novena will also see the same fate. This comes following the brand shutting its clubs across China and Hong Kong. According to a press statement, J.V. Fitness, operator of California Fitness, does not have adequate liquid resources to continue its operations in Singapore.

Outbrain partners Mediacorp Mediacorp inked a two-year partnership with Outbrain to enhance its digital strategy. Through Outbrain’s Engage solution, it aims to drive monetisation and power personalised content journeys. The arrangement allows Mediacorp’s online properties – Channel NewsAsia and TODAY online – to fully leverage the Outbrain technology platform to drive deeper engagement and audience growth, gain insights about its digital users and maximise monetisation opportunities.

Looking for an agency Singapore Management University called for a creative, digital and media pitch. The contract is for a period of three years. Its search for a digital agency is a first, with concrete plans for digital activation. The new agency appointed will handle duties pertaining to undergraduate, postgraduate and corporate identity. The incumbents on the account are Wild Advertising & Marketing as creative and ZenithOptimedia as the media agency. Mediacorp apologises In an interview with The New Paper, thinkBIG Communications was identified as the agency behind the notorious Toggle “Fashion police” promotional video, which featured fashion influencer Saffron Sharpe. The video was heavily criticised by netizens for being offensive and Mediacorp has since pulled the plug on the video and apologised.

INSPIRE & MOTIVATE

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Bringing the Right Experiences to your Business Solutions

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Strengthen Partnerships with Marketing & Loyalty Strategies to Connect and Engage your Customers.

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AU GU S T 2 016 M ARKE TI N G 5

SIA kicks off 3D hot air balloon Singapore Airlines partnered with Mediacorp OOH Media to create a contest involving a 3D hot air balloon at bus shelters. This is in conjunction with new flight routes offered by the national flight carrier, including the Singapore-Canberra-Wellington route. To raise awareness of the new routes and Canberra as a destination, the campaign curated experiential moments that travellers can enjoy when they are in Canberra. Emarsys expands offering Emarsys launched its mobile suite to enhance mobile app engagement and optimise customer journeys to increase customer loyalty. Connected to its B2C marketing cloud, the suite features “mobile engage” for apps which powers retailers, brands and e-commerce mobile app engagement strategies through automation. All of which are designed to bring back users to the app through personalised content. It will enable marketers to deliver revenue-driving mobile marketing campaigns.

Yakult goes digital Yakult appointed digital and event technology agency Kwirke as its official social media partner to oversee its main social media platform on Facebook. The appointment includes developing Yakult Singapore’s social media content marketing and advertising strategies. According to Helme Sarim, general manager of Kwirke, it is crucial for a traditional brand such as Yakult to place greater emphasis on its social media platforms to stay relevant. 6 M A R K ET I N G A U G U ST 2 0 1 6

Getting socially savvy Nespresso Singapore appointed Publicis Singapore as its social media agency of record. Publicis Singapore will be responsible for Nespresso’s social media marketing and campaigns for its Singapore portfolio. This includes the management of social engagement, content, analytics and strategy across its core channels. The incumbent on the account was GOODSTUPH. Globally, the coffee maker brand has teamed up with Hollywood star George Clooney for its commercials.

Where is the love? Scoot released a new spot which details the feelings of neglect that some fathers feel on Father’s Day, a holiday which does not draw as much buzz compared with Mother’s Day. Most of the fathers in the spot lament not receiving anything meaningful on Father’s Day, or otherwise receiving gifts which are less thoughtful – from the same “I Love Dad” mug from previous years to an insincere text message.

Mobile wallets on the rise Singapore was one of the first countries in Asia to launch Android Pay and the third location worldwide after the US and the UK. Android Pay works with MasterCard and Visa as well as credit and debit cards from many of Singapore’s major financial institutions such as DBS, OCBC Bank, POSB, Standard Chartered Bank, and UOB as participating banks.

Handing it back Grey Group returned the controversial Bronze Lion that it won at Cannes for its I-SEA app. According to a press statement, this was due to “unfair, unrelenting attacks by unnamed bloggers” and also to ensure “there is not even the hint of impropriety or question” of its integrity. The move comes after widespread criticism of the agency for retaining the award. Getting certified Premium content discovery platform Outbrain launched its certification programme called Outbrain Academy in Southeast Asia following its May 2016 debut in Australia. The new certification programme is designed to provide digital professionals with advanced skills and the bestpractice methodologies required to turn brand stories into targeted digital consumer journeys and measurable brand results via the Outbrain platform.

An encouraging message Whisper Singapore launched a new spot which continues Procter & Gamble’s feminine hygiene brand Always’ #LikeAGirl social experiment campaign which went viral in 2014. Always is marketed as Whisper in most Asian markets. It features various young female athletes in rugby, shot-put, basketball, weightlifting and boxing, and hopes to inspire young girls to keep playing sports and not be subject to societal norms.

A fresh look UOB launched a new campaign for the UOB Lady’s card targeting modern women and their spending habits. Through the campaign, it looked to modernise the brand and simultaneously attract more card members. It adopted a softer approach to demonstrate a more intimate understanding of women and their view of the world in contrast to the common chest-thumping female empowerment route other brands tend to take.

NTUC gets on Facebook Live Foodforlifetv.sg, co-owned by NTUC FairPrice, and operated by content marketing agency Brand New Media, held its first Facebook Live event entitled “Live Healthy, Eat Healthy”. Targeted at PMEBs, the programme is for those who have little time on their hands and want a change from hawker fare. It was televised live in HD featuring nutritionist Charlotte de Drouas, who tackled questions surrounding healthy home-cooked meals. Kicking off a new era StarHub and Astro offered young footballers the chance to train with one of the leading football clubs in Europe. Called Astro Kem Bola (football camp) and organised by Astro Kasih, the sports outreach programme was open to Singaporean boys and girls aged between 10 and 12. It aimed to give student athletes the opportunity to experience professional football at the highest level. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

Havas launches Adcity Havas launched a new global network called Adcity focused on connecting brands and consumers across everyday life activities through both OOH and local cross-media communications. Adcity applies consumer understanding to data activation, media convergence, new technologies and client interactions. It operates across 35 offices via 300 experts across Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America. It will see additional offices opening in Europe, the US and Asia.

Brand-safe inventory Blis launched Blis Prime which offers access to high quality and brand-safe inventory which it claims will deliver “great campaign results”. Blis Prime gives advertisers a customisable marketplace guaranteeing access to high-end publishers, premium data and exclusive ad formats that aren’t available in the open market. Global inventory from publishers such as News International and Forbes, combined with location data, is made available programmatically via exchange partners across the Blis Platform.

HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

GOING PLACES

P S B A c a d e m yl a u n c h e di t s # p s b g o p l a c e s c a m p a i g nw h i c h a i m s t op r o m o t e i t s u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m m e s t or e c e n t l yg r a d u a t e d p o l y t e c h n i c s t u d e n t s .T h e c a m p a i g n looks to raise its profile as a premier t e r t i a r ye d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t e . T h r o u g ht h e o m n i - c h a n n e l c a m p a i g n ,s t u d e n t s a n dl e c t u r e r s f r o n t e dt h e c a m p a i g n .T h e t o n g u e i n - c h e e kp h r a s e “ R a i s e t h e B a r , G oP l a c e s ” w a s t a r g e t e da t p a r e n t s a n dp r o s p e c t i v e s t u d e n t s w h o

8 M A R K ET I N G A U G U ST 2 0 1 6

d r o v e t ot h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e f a i r i n J u n e .T h e c a m p a i g nw a s p r o m o t e d a t r o a ds h o w s ,o np r i n t a n do n o u t - o f - h o m e c h a n n e l s a n dw a s amplified by earned media, digital a n ds o c i a l m e d i a p l a t f o r m s .A r o u n d S G $ 2 0 0 , 0 0 0w a s s p e n t o nb u s w r a p s fo rt h is c a m p a ig n . S i xw e e k s i n t ot h e c a m p a i g n , P S B A c a d e m ys a w a 1 4 % i n c r e a s e i n l e a d s g e n e r a t e do v e r t h e s a m e p e r i o d l a s t y e a r ,m a k i n gu p3 2 % o f t o t a l l e a d s a c c u m u l a t e di n2 0 1 6 .

#unstereotype yourselves Unilever wanted to change the way women and men are portrayed in advertising through a new movement called “#unstereotype”. According to Aline Santos, executive VP of global marketing for Unilever, #unstereotype is about men as well as women. The global consumer goods company also urged marketers globally to be aware of the outdated stereotypes of gender that advertising still propagates.

Revlon snaps up Arden shares Revlon agreed to buy all of the outstanding shares of Elizabeth Arden for US$14 per share in cash, in a deal worth US$870 million. Benefits that Revlon is expected to enjoy include an expanded global footprint and a significant presence across all major beauty channels and categories, including the addition of Elizabeth Arden’s growing prestige skincare, colour cosmetics and fragrances.

The jewel in the crown Swarovski awarded its global media business to Havas Media, giving the agency responsibility for its account in more than 35 countries, including the US, China, UK, Italy, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Australia, Canada, Spain, Mexico and Brazil. The scope of work will cover the full range of media, including social and programmatic. Havas will take over responsibilities from ZenithOptimedia, the incumbent agency for the past nine years, from January 2017.

Measuring digital advertising Oracle and Snapchat partnered up to measure the impact of digital advertising in the physical world. The two are looking to measure incremental store sales resulting from marketing campaigns run on Snapchat. By analysing the impact of campaigns on in-store sales, Oracle Data Cloud will help consumer packaged goods advertisers quantify and improve their ongoing marketing efforts on Snapchat.

Dove’s aggressive approach Dove, a personal care brand owned by Unilever, announced a new spot accompanying its latest campaign #MyBeautyMySay, where it features stories of women of different backgrounds standing up for their own beauty. It also explored the act of how society uses their beauty against them and takes on an aggressive approach on how women should fight for themselves and not be subject to such judgments.

Fighting it out Abercrombie & Fitch sued Gap as the former claimed the hire of its new chief marketing officer Craig Brommers violated his non-compete clause. According to the lawsuit, Brommers, who had been a senior VP of marketing at the company for nearly three years, is prohibited from working for 12 retail competitors, including Gap, for a period of a year upon resigning from Abercrombie. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

AUDIT WATCH

THE BUSINESS OF AUDIT A s ia n L e g a l B u s in e s s ( A L B )i s a m o n t h l yp u b l i c a t i o nw h i c hr e a c h e s s e n io rl e g a lp ro fe s s io n a ls a n d c o rp o ra te b u s in e s sl e a d e rsf ro m a ll b u s i n e s s s e c t o r s a n di n d u s t r i e s .I t h a s a c i r c u l a t i o no f 4 0 , 0 0 0a n di s d i s t r i b u t e di nS i n g a p o r e ,H o n gK o n g a n dC h i n a . A L B c o m b in e s n e w s , re s e a rc h a n da n a l y s i s f r o m p r o f e s s i o n a l l e g a l j o u r n a l i s t s a n de x p e r t o p i n i o n s o f s e n i o r i n d u s t r yp r o f e s s i o n a l s , a l o n gw i t hm a r ke t - l e a d i n gd a t a f r o m T h o m s o nR e u t e r s .E a c h i s s u e p r o v i d e s i n s i g h t s a n dc o n t a i n s i n - d e p t hf e a t u r e s e x a m i n i n gc h a n g e s i nl e g i s l a t i o n ,i m p o r t a n t a r e a s o f p r a c t i c e ,o v e r s e a s j u r i s d i c t i o n s a n d revealing profiles of major industry le a d e rs . I t h a s b e e na u d i t e di nt h e p a s t a n dt h e t e a m i s p r e p a r i n gf o r t h e a u d i t t h i s y e a r b yt h e A u d i t B u r e a u o f C i r c u l a t i o ni nS i n g a p o r e .O n e o f the biggest benefits of auditing for

UNHCR appoints Edelman UNHCR Hong Kong, a suboffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) appointed Edelman as its marketing agency in Hong Kong. UNHCR was recording the highest levels of forced displacement on record leading up to World Refugee Day on 20 June. Edelman launched #itstartswithus, an integrated campaign with digital marketing at the heart to drive conversation in Hong Kong and Macau and generate leads and donors for UNHCR. Cleartrip gets creative India’s online travel company Cleartrip appointed Mullen Lintas (ML) to handle its creative duties. These duties will be handled out of ML’s Bangalore office. The agency was appointed after a multi-agency pitch and was chosen for presenting a communications strategy that was forward-looking and in line with the expectations of the company. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

a n i c h e p u b l i c a t i o n s u c ha s A L B i s t oe s t a b l i s hg e n u i n e a n db e l i e v a b l e c irc u la tio n u m b e rs . “ I nr e c e n t y e a r s ,m a g a z i n e c irc u la tio n q u o te d is in s o m e w a y s a n artificial figure. Auditing validates c i r c u l a t i o nb e c a u s e t h e r e a r e l e s s t h i n g s t h a t c a nb e h i d d e n , ” s a i d A m a n t h a C h i a ,p u b l i s h e r a n d h e a do f s a l e s a n dl e g a l b u s i n e s s ,A S E A N a n d N o r t hA s i a ,T h o m s o nR e u t e r s .

Three-way partnership Dutch dairy product brand Friso China, Chinese internet giant Tencent and media agency Carat China announced a strategic partnership to develop new content to engage with Chinese consumers. The three parties will conduct co-operation around content marketing programmes such as Let Go, Baby, and work together to release a white paper on mothers and kids in the near future. A new film fund Chinese internet giant Baidu set up a RMB2 billion (US$307.7 million) fund to invest in more than 30 films over the next two years. The announcement was made during the Shanghai International Film Festival. Yongming Xu, general manager of Baidu Nuomi, said the company would fund at least 30 movies, including animated films, live action films and several targeting Chinese youth, hoping to earn billions at the box office.

The Simpsons go to China The Simpsons store has finally set foot in China. Its first theme store opened in Beijing’s Taikoo Li Sanlitun, featuring more than 125 exclusive merchandise items related to The Simpsons animated television series, a Gracie Films production in association with 20th Century Fox. Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products also announced the launch of three additional retail stores in Shanghai, Xi’an and Beijing during the second half of 2016.

A worldwide barrel hunt Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey rolled out “Jack Daniel’s Barrel Hunt”, a global scavenger hunt, as part of its 150th anniversary celebration. The first barrel hunt took place in the US on 1 July and visited over 50 countries in 90 days. The brand also provided clues via its local Facebook pages to help fans find the hidden whiskey barrels around the world to win the unique and specially designed prizes.

Strategic alliance Global mobile communications brand BlackBerry entered a strategic alliance with PT Elang Mahkota Teknologi Tbk (Emtek). It will provide cross-platform BBM users with access to enriched content and services. The partnership aims to advance BBM for the consumer market through a licensing agreement with Emtek Group that enables the company to develop new BBM applications and services for Android, iOS and Windows Phones.

Hilton launches in Xi’an Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Worldwide’s upscale global hotel brand, launched Hilton Garden Inn Xi’An/Hi-Tech Zone. This is the second Hilton Worldwide hotel in Xi’an after Hilton Xi’an. Owned by Yango Group and managed by Hilton Worldwide, the 276-room Hilton Garden Inn Xi’An/Hi-Tech Zone adds to Hilton Garden Inn’s portfolio of more than 675 hotels worldwide.

Finding a new balance New Balance appointed DeVries Global to lead its public relations and influencer engagement programmes in China. The agency will support New Balance on integrated brand communication campaigns, media and key opinion leader outreach, and social media management. Andres Vejarano, regional managing director for Asia at DeVries Global, said the company was thrilled to assist in spreading the word on New Balance to a growing audience in China.

Remembering the past McDonald’s celebrated its latest Toy Museum which holds a large variety of toys, including 1,000 toys dating back to 1980, at City Plaza in Taikoo Shing. Through a four-day campaign, the fast-food chain partnered with DDB and Tribal Hong Kong to turn back time by recreating McDonald’s adverts from the past. The campaign was designed to inspire shared feelings of nostalgia with its authentic retro-look hailing from the 1990s. AU GU S T 2 016 M ARKE TI N G 9

NEW WORK .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

1 Campaign M1. For Every One. Everywhere. Brief The campaign aims to show M1 as a reliable partner that is always by the side of its customers. It has been launched with films on various television and online platforms, accompanied with print advertising, supported by OOH and digital. Client

Creative

Y&R Singapore

Media

ZenithOptimedia

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2 Campaign Love Local Brief The new campaign aims to bring a twist of local flavours to Singaporeans this National Day. The localised campaign has been executed via television, radio stations, social media platforms as well as out-of-home where posters have been planted island-wide. Client

McDonald’s Singapore

Creative

DDB Group Singapore

Media

OMD

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3 Campaign See The True Me Brief The National Council of Social Service collaborated with Clear Channel to launch an OOH campaign which aims to change the mindset of Singaporeans towards people with disabilities and allow them to be recognised as individuals for their abilities and strengths. Client

National Council of Social Service

Creative

Wild Advertising & Marketing

Media

Mediacom

4 Campaign Volvic Extra Mile Brief With the “Volvic Extra Mile Challenge” campaign, the brand aims to inspire consumers to exercise power and determination. The film documents the Volvic Extra Mile journey of influencers across Asia and is shared across a variety of digital platforms.

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Client

Evian Volvic International

Creative

Iris Worldwide

Media

Unruly

SUBMISSIONS PLEASE SEND US YOUR BEST NEW WORK REGULARLY IN HIGH-RES JPEG OR PDF TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THESE PAGES. EMAIL REZWANAM@MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.COM

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OPINION: AD WATCH/WEB WATCH ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Jackson Tan Creative director BLACK

AD WATCH HOT: Eurosport UK – #CantoYes

NOT: Toggle – fashion police

This is a tongue-in-cheek bid by French football legend Eric Cantona for the England managerial position. Cantona is well-known publicly as a footballing genius with a “bad boy” edge and humour. His sarcastic rants and comments about the historical failure of the England team after its latest defeat to the unfavoured Iceland team in the knock-out stages of the European Championship are well known. England’s team manager Roy Hodgson announced his resignation immediately after the defeat. The English FA is looking for a new manager. The video went viral with an open “referendum” to vote #CantoYes or #CantoNo with 95% of the public voting for #CantoYes. It was a timely campaign that tapped into the current news stories, coinciding with the recent events of Brexit and Euro 2016. It is part of a series of viral videos created by Eurosport.

Much like the Eric Cantona video, this is an attempt to create a tongue-in-cheek irreverent viral video to promote Toggle’s new show Double Trouble. Campaigns such as this are double-edged, the video that pointed out people on the street as “fashion disasters” became a “PR disaster”. It rubbed the public up the wrong way and received a massive backlash and had to be taken offline. The host did not have the right persona and public recognition to be a “fashion police”. She was also underserved by the bad concept and sloppy execution. The campaign was also not clear about how it was linked to the new show. It might have worked better if the show’s main hosts Kumar and Mark Lee were featured in the video instead.

Michelle Tan Design director Section

WEB WATCH HOT: georgegoestojapan.com

NOT: info.singtel.com

Annual reports are usually very wordy and boring. Websites containing reports are usually just a similar version of its printed version. But Lien Foundation has translated the stats and information of the report into an illustrated graphic novel online. It is a creative solution to getting people, young and old, interested to scroll through the content. The layout reads like a graphic novel. I wanted to keep reading because the illustrations pulled me in. Navigation is straightforward, with relevant animation sprinkled within the online report. With their approach, they have implemented what their organisation stands for into their annual report as well, which is, “A better tomorrow begins by being radical today”. One thing I would change is to put the Lien Foundation logo upfront, so people will know what this website is about. I thought the URL was slightly cryptic as well.

This is a very hardworking front page. I love how they have all the content easily accessible on the main page, unlike StarHub’s above-thefold home page. But there are too many things going on, even if it gets the user to their end destination faster. The masthead banners are flipping too fast, perhaps to match the speed of their 4G? The icons used on the page are very iOS and dated. Singtel is currently using too many different fonts across the entire page, DIN, Helvetica Neue and tons of fonts in the masthead banners. I think the website could be improved simply by updating the icons and standardising the fonts. The beauty of the brand elements are lost the further you scroll down the page. Singtel is known to be a leader in terms of the products it sells and campaigns it produces, but its website, sadly looks neglected.

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DIRECT MAIL CASE STUDY ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

AN ‘EGG-SQUISITE’ INVITE House of Krug’s different take on themed invitations.

Nothing, but the best: The “eggvite” was created by award-winning pastry chef Janice Wong.

With hundreds of invitations going out to the public each day, it is difficult to cut through the clutter to make your event stand out and garner interest. Taking themed invitations to a whole new level, the House of Krug decided to make its invitations synonymous with one versatile ingredient which can be paired with its Krug Grande Cuvée champagne. Every year, the champagne house releases an exclusive publication highlighting one chosen ingredient to be paired with its Krug Grande Cuvée. Shrouding the “eggvite” with an air of mystery, it hoped to keep potential guests intrigued until their arrival at the event. The result was nothing short of “eggsquisite”, with a basket of hand-crafted chocolate eggs presented with a card invitation. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

The “eggvite” was created by awardwinning pastry chef Janice Wong who was approached to create the invite specifically for the launch event. Made entirely of chocolate, the large dark cherry chicken egg represented the House of Krug. Its three quail eggs represented the three Singapore-based Krug ambassade chefs – Christopher Millar (Stellar at 1-Altitude), Ryan Clift (Tippling Club) and Kirk Westaway (JAAN). They were among 17 global Krug ambassade chefs featured in the Krug book 2016, Poached, scrambled or fried? for their recipes of an egg-based creation. The “eggvites” were sent to traditional and online media as well as selected food bloggers, key opinion leaders and selected clients of House of Krug for the exclusive one-night-only dinner at JAAN. Three Singapore Krug ambassades presented their egg dishes that were paired with the Krug Grand Cuvée.

THE MAIL Objective Launch the House of Krug’s exclusive publication which features pairings for its Krug Grande Cuvée Champagne.

Target audience Media partners, key opinion leaders in the industry and other guests.

Result The event saw a turnout of 40 top-tier media, key opinion leaders and guests. It generated a total of 56 Instagram posts, 11 tweets and 11 Facebook posts for an estimated reach of 460,000 over the three platforms. Rachel Carrasco Brand manager Moët Hennessy Prestige Champagnes

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

PAYPAL’S ‘NEW MONEY’ CAMPAIGN AIMS TO CASH IN ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY Vivienne Tay takes a look at the brand’s first major campaign following its separation from internet giant eBay. PayPal launched its “New Money” campaign in Singapore and Asia Pacific. This is the brand’s first major brand campaign as an independent company following its separation from internet giant eBay. Marketing spoke to Leanne Sheraton, PayPal’s head of APAC for marketing and consumer business, about its latest marketing initiative. She explained the objective of the campaign was to make a statement about the future of money and introduce the “new” PayPal to the world at the same time. The 45-second commercial of “New Money” highlights PayPal’s features as a paperless payment option, not limited by time zones and geographical factors. The campaign will also be localised for the market it launches in for Asia. Sheraton explained “New Money” is a statement to inspire people about the possibilities of the new global economy. “New Money has no boundaries. We have the technology and the innovation for people to be able to buy and sell securely and confidently no matter where in the world they are. These are the possibilities of the new global economy,” she said. The campaign, which was first aired during the first quarter of the annual SuperBowl game earlier this year, was PayPal’s first SuperBowlscaled ad. The spot was produced by musicvideo director Nabil Elderkin, known for his work with some of the world’s top music artists such as Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. As such, the campaign clearly targets Millennials. Sheraton added the boundaries between global and Asian Millennial consumers are now even more blurred given Asian consumers are seen to be the audience with the most global mindset. Quoting a recent global study by PayPal and Ipsos, surveying cross-border buying patterns of Millennials, she said Millennials in Asia Pacific 1 4 M A R K ET I N G A U G U ST 2 01 6

New Money: PayPal is hoping to inspire people about the possibilities of the new global economy.

are in fact the most globalised in their mindsets and behaviours – 79% of Millennials in Asia Pacific have shopped online in the past 12 months, higher than the global average of 73%, with two in five shopping cross-border. “In Asia Pacific, people are hungry to pursue new interests, new experiences and new opportunities in the global economy. People are no longer limited by what is available around them or be excluded from a world of new experiences, options and opportunities,” she said Moreover, being in a period of profound transformation, be it how people shop, how merchants sell, how people interact with financial institutions; the very nature of money itself is changing. It’s a time where payment and financial systems must serve customers, not the other way around.

Similarly, Millennial entrepreneurs have been creating new idea-based businesses, ushering a new wave of entrepreneurship. The lure of being an entrepreneur among Millennials has never been greater, she added. This is arising from the combination of how mainstream digital payments and social platforms have become, as well as an independent self-starter spirit that is driving a wave of innovation to achieve purpose-driven work and life. But the territory is not without challenges. A lack of ease in navigating the complexities of a global economy and difficulty in finding the best solutions are some, to name a few. Other notable challenges include fraudulent online activities and transactional difficulties. As such the campaign also aims to inject a positive sentiment into the world of online payments. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

IS ENOUGH BEING DONE TO ATTRACT MUSLIM TRAVELLERS TO SINGAPORE? What more can be done to attract this lucrative segment? Vivienne Tay finds out.

Time to lift our game: There is a great opportunity for Singapore to attract Muslim visitors, and not just from Muslim-majority markets.

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Many retailers and brands have understood the importance of targeting the Muslim consumer. Recently, Marketing wrote about brands such as Uniqlo, D&G, Mango and H&M making a foray into Islamic fashion. The travel industry has also woken up to the potential of Muslim tourists. Late last year the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said it would set aside about 15% of its marketing budget to promote the country as Muslimfriendly. Meanwhile, according to a report on The Gulf News, hotels globally are looking to become fully halal as the number of Muslim travellers is set to increase from 108 million in 2014 to 150 million by 2020. Yet, a recent article in The Straits Times reported that Muslim travellers to Singapore are likely to dip after 2020 because of the predicted rise of United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Oman. This conclusion was reached from the data acquired from CrescentRating’s Global Muslim Travel Index 2016 and the Ramadan Travel Report 2016. Although the original report, as seen by Marketing, did not specifically point to the dipping of the Muslim traveller footfall locally, it still begged the question on whether enough

is being done to attract this growing market. In a statement to Marketing, Leong Yue Kheong, assistant chief executive (international group) at the Singapore Tourism Board, defended Singapore’s position saying it would “remain an attractive destination for Muslim travellers” due to “a sense of familiarity” and harmony when they step into Singapore. From halal food choices, and places to fulfil religious obligations while being on vacation widely available, Leong added Singapore also had an extensive variety of family-friendly attractions. The experiences Muslim travellers get in Singapore ensures there is always something which will appeal to those from the Middle East. “Nonetheless, STB strives to ensure Singapore remains a unique destination through the injection of appropriate content that will create memorable experiences and not only attract new visitors, but also bring back repeat visitors,” he said. Leong added that to target this group of travellers, the STB also released a halal travel guide for Muslim travellers in Malaysia and Indonesia – in conjunction with luxury-fashion magazine Glam and Glam Lelaki (Malaysia) and travel publication Panorama magazine (Indonesia). The travel guide details the wide selection of halal food and facilities, as well as the various ethnic landmarks and precincts in Singapore. Currently, STB also has an office in Dubai which works with trade partners in the Middle East to increase the awareness and affinity of Singapore as an ideal holiday destination, said Leong. This includes embarking on partnerships to promote the destination across the region, and developing new marketing materials that are culturally sensitive and appropriate for this market. “In keeping with the market trends, STB also seeks to engage travellers more actively through digital and social media channels with the aim of creating a community of travel advocates for Singapore,” Leong said. Can more be done? Agreeing with Leong is professor Cedomir Nestorovic, director, executive MBA for Asia Pacific at ESSEC Business School, who added Singapore has been especially popular with Muslim travellers as they often come travelling in huge groups and families. As such, the issue of healthcare and safety are of big concern to these families. These travellers are also known to stay for an extended period of time – sometimes this can be as long as the entire month of Ramadan, explained Nestorovic. Hence, one way the government can

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continue luring them is by having a superior healthcare system and infrastructure. But nonetheless, he added: “Although Singapore welcomes Muslim travellers, nothing is actively being done to attract them.” “In the short-term, Singapore’s position as a top destination for Muslim travellers will not be impacted due to its strong position in the hearts of Muslim travellers. However, in the mid to long-term, it may lose out to other countries which are making a stronger marketing push to attract Muslim travellers to its destinations such as Thailand, Japan and South Korea. “Singapore is not losing popularity because of its diminishing appeal; it is losing its popularity because other countries have more to offer.” To attract Millennial Muslim travellers, he said that having international tie-ups with other Asian countries such as Thailand, South Korea and Japan can be useful in helping Singapore expand its offerings. One example of such an initiative is travel package strategies. “This will not only smoothen the transition process for Muslim travellers taking time to visit Asia between countries, it will also provide a greater ease of mind and further strengthen Singapore’s position as a central hub in Southeast Asia where travellers can get all they need before heading to their next destination,” he added. Q Akashah, executive director at Islamic branding consultancy Ogilvy Noor Singapore, said there was an opportunity for Singapore to focus more on destination branding to attract Muslim visitors, and not just from Muslimmajority markets. “A strong spirit of community is key in Muslim cultures and is well-reflected in Singapore. We could look to attract Muslim visitors from Muslim-minority markets to Singapore during Ramadan so they can also experience and immerse themselves in this community spirit during a significant occasion on the Muslim calendar,” she said. However, there needs to be a thoughtthrough plan to attract Muslim visitors, especially as we are seeing the disposable incomes of this consumer segment increasing, alongside their desire to travel the world, she added. She also pointed out Japan as a case study with its focus on showing that the nation is Muslim-friendly. “It has been making consistent efforts over the past few years and it is at multiple levels – not just in showcasing to visitors the ease of accessing halal authentic Japanese food, but also at a government-to-government level. This reflects how seriously they are taking this,” she said. AU GU S T 2 016 MA RKE TI N G 1 7

DID NINTENDO LOSE OUT BY NOT LAUNCHING POKÉMON GO IN SINGAPORE? Should Singapore have been one of the initial markets to launch Pokémon Go given its high smartphone penetration rate and love for all things Pikachu? Vivienne Tay asks.

Taking the world by storm: Pokémon Go has been a huge hit and marketers need to realise gaming is no longer a niche market.

Unless you live under a giant rock, you’d know Nintendo’s latest game Pokémon Go has caused quite a stir worldwide since its recent launch. From causing traffic problems to job losses because of anger management issues over the game, Pokémon Go has definitely aroused emotions. The game was initially available in the US, Australia and New Zealand. While a global rollout was planned, several media reports said that it is on pause because of technical difficulties. According to The Wall Street Journal, 2 0 M A R K ET I N G A U G U ST 2 01 6

Pokémon Go has already added more than a staggering US$9 billion to Nintendo’s market value. It is also starting to surpass Twitter in the number of daily active users on Android. For those of us not heavily involved with the game, here’s how it works. Users need to turn on the camera function on their mobiles as the game utilises augmented reality to “catch” the Pokémons on the go. When spotted, you have to swipe at the little monsters to consider them caught. So why is this such a global phenomenon,

you ask? Well, it’s because it combines 1990s nostalgia with “a taste of the future” using augmented reality, explains Justin Peyton, chief strategy officer APAC of DigitasLBi. He says the game adds a sense of purpose that really connects to the audience. Nonetheless, if you grew up in Singapore in the ’90s, most certainly you’d be familiar with the Pokémon craze the nation faced. Combined with the fact the market is very much a mobile-first one, we wonder why Nintendo didn’t launch it in Singapore, along with the WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

initial markets US, Australia and New Zealand. Prantik Mazumdar, managing partner at Happy Marketer, says while he is surprised Singapore was not considered to be one of the initial test beds for Nintendo despite its smartphone penetration, markets such as the US, Australia, Japan and New Zealand were probably used because of the bigger scale it can get from the larger population sizes. Agreeing with Mazumdar, Peyton says there were probably two different strategies that came into play when releasing a game such as Pokémon Go globally. First, scale would come into play. As such, Nintendo launching it in markets such as the US, helped build a global appetite before launching it into other markets through the publicity and awareness generated. “This makes a lot of sense for brands who are very confident in their product,” he says. The alternative, he adds, would have been to use smaller markets that display similar behaviours to large markets to test functionality and effectively evolve a product before a wider release. He says both are apt strategies. Selecting which is right for a game or app simply requires the publisher to take an honest look at their product to determine where they are in the development pipeline. After all, you only get one chance to make a first impression, and ideally, the impression you make in large markets should be a great one because that will drive the majority of the revenue. Should marketers give Pokémon Go a go? Mazumdar says with the trend, more experimental marketers are likely to jump on this wave and utilise the geolocation functions of Pokémon Go to put their brands on the map. But if they do so, they should make it quick. “As Pokémon Go is a mobile game, the craze will probably be something which is short-lived,” he says. Erik Hallander, regional mobile and innovation director at Isobar Asia Pacific, however, warns against brands jumping in too quickly on the trend for the sake of it. The moment it gets too geared towards brand profit, gamers will see through it in a heartbeat and riot. The gaming audience is a more cynical audience than everyone else. Meanwhile, for Ashley Ringrose, founder of Soap – Linked by Isobar, Pokémon Go is an indication that gaming is now mainstream and brands should no longer deny it by saying gaming is niche. While the use of augmented reality makes the game more shareable, brands should not start trying to replicate it, he says. He says the trend would be more beneficial WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

POKÉMON: A GO OR A NO FOR RETAILERS? If you didn’t aready know, Pokemon Go is a game which was jointly developed by Nintendo, The Pokémon Company and game developer Niantic which broke free from Google last year. Niantic focuses on real-time geospatial and indexing techniques, and as such, its games utilise augment reality. While there is certainly excitement around the game, not everyone is happy. One such company is Palmers Fresh Grill, a restaurant in Lexington, United States, which claims its business has been disrupted. In a statement to Marketing, a spokesperson from the Palmers Fresh Grill said there was definitely an increase in traffic to its restaurant, however, this has been more of a bane than a boon. Out of the 40 people who visit the restaurant each day since the game’s release, only a total of two parties actually dined in. “The rest were like zombies, bumping into guests, blocking tables as we try to seat them and trying to walk into our kitchen. Guests, as well as employees, are fed up with the impolite behaviour of these players,” the spokesperson said. Palmers Fresh Grill has since posted signs, letting people who play know the restaurant’s dining area is only for restaurant patrons. Low Bee Yin, marketing director of Courts Malaysia, said in a conversation with Marketing that despite knowing the game is a current fad, having the Pokémon pop up in different areas of the Courts store would definitely result in immediate engagement. While this can drive footfall into the store, a brand marketer should not expect this to result in sales. “It would be great for Courts to be one of the places people can find these little creatures. If time and technology permits, as a marketer, it would be a dream to create our very own Pokémon,” she said. However, Low is aware this might tip the balance towards commercialisation of the game which could result in the loss of appeal from consumers. Sulin Lau, head of marketing services at Maxis, added that as a brand that’s been supporting the gaming and e-sports community for a while, she and her team were exited to see mobile and AR gaming going mainstream. “Recently we saw Pokémon overtaking sex as a Google search term. More interestingly, people are interacting with the app over 40 minutes each day – which is higher than we’ve seen for even the biggest messaging and social apps,” she said. “Even if the initial craze settles down, it’s likely that Pokémon Go (and all the other AR games that will surely follow it) will disrupt how most telcos see mobile gaming – as mainstream rather than niche.” Meanwhile, Howie Lau, CMO of StarHub in Singapore, without revealing StarHub’s plans, said that as a marketer and tech enthusiast the entire phenomenon was exciting because it was the first time augmented reality had been implemented in a large-scale setting. “This no doubt pushes the boundaries of mobile, and as all the reports say, it is extremely addictive,” Lau said. Globally, some establishments have put in place strategies to cash in on the action and increase footfall. L’inizio Pizza Bar in New York reported a 30% increase in sales, according to Bloomberg through the use of “lures”. Lures is part of the in-game purchases to attract Pokémon creatures towards their location, and hence, build their collection. However, according to the Financial Times, Niantic is planning to allow retailers and brands to sponsor locations on its virtual map to further expand its revenue stream. Pokémon Go currently utilises a customised version of Google Maps to map in-game locations such as “stops” and “gyms” to encourage users to move from one location to another. Sponsoring locations may involve making a particular venue an official “Pokémon stop” which would, hence, help in driving location to businesses with a brick and mortar shop. It has also been reported by multiple news sites that some “poke stops” have surfaced in locations seen as inappropriate such as Holocaust memorials in Auschwitz, Poland.

to smaller players in the market such as retail stores or F&B establishments. For bigger brands such as supermarket chains, this might be seen as a more blatant

move. Like Mazumdar, he adds the buzz will probably “wear off in a few weeks”. “Have some fun with the ‘fad’, but don’t try and go any deeper and make money.” AU GU S T 2 016 MA RKE TI N G 2 1

THE DEMISE OF THE CALIFORNIA FITNESS BRAND Is this the beginning of the end for mega gyms? Vivienne Tay investigates. California Fitness closed all of its branches in Singapore, much to the ire of many members who signed up for its memberships and packages. The brand made the announcement on its Facebook page on 16 July which led to an influx of its Raffles Club patrons to its remaining Bugis and Novena branches. Soon after, both clubs shut down because of inadequate financial resources to continue operations. Since then, a petition has been created on Change.org to get the Singapore authorities to step in on the matter. It was first created following the shutting down of California Fitness’ main Orchard Road branch earlier this year. It urged action to be taken by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in getting California Fitness Singapore to give pro-rated refunds to its victims subject to branch closures. Meanwhile, JV Fitness, which operates the fitness chain, made regional news when it shut down its Hong Kong branch operations due to millions of dollars in debt with investigations ongoing on two staff members. When contacted by Marketing, Seah Seng Choon, executive director of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), said: “Consumers should take note that purchasing membership packages may be cheaper in the long run, but they will face the risk of losing their pre-payment in the event that the company closes down. “Before signing any contract, consumers should read the terms and conditions carefully, and clarify the refund policy of the company. “For example, they should verify if they would be able to get a refund of the non-utilised sessions in their package if anything goes wrong or if a particular outlet closes down.” When the Raffles outlet first closed, he advised consumers to approach the club to request for cancellation and a refund of their membership package and added that those who faced difficulty in resolving the issue may approach CASE for further assistance. According to Nick Foley, president of the Southeast Asia and Pacific regions for Landor, the demise of the fitness brand was likely due to an increase in the opening of smaller independent gyms. 2 2 M A R K ET I N G A U G U ST 2 01 6

Getting fit just got tougher: Being a well-known fitness brand is no guarantee of success these days.

He said big was no longer beautiful when it came to fitness and gyms. He added that in the early days the company did capitalise on the fitness movement, but consumer preferences for working have since evolved and gyms need to keep up with these trends or face extinction. “This is classic disruption. Evolve or exit,” he said. Agreeing with Foley on the demise, despite the ongoing “get fit” movement which has gained significant traction in recent years, is Lawrence Chong, CEO of Consulus. He attributed the brand’s downfall to stiff competition. “The get fit movement will continue, but there are just too many gyms and it is time for the weak ones to close or to consolidate,” Chong said. “The capital required to run a programmebased gym business model is intense. So I expect the industry to either see mergers or those that are not managed well to drop off.” Is this a warning to similar mega gyms? Foley added that every gym owner should be continually assessing what the latest trends are in the industry and continue to stay agile. “Stand for something and never stay still is a useful mindset to have when future-proofing a brand’s success,” he said.

He added a brand can be well-known, but if it is not relevant to its core audience and it’s not distinguished from its competition then its sway with consumers will drop quickly. “Being well-known is one thing, but all brands have to regularly review and transform their business model to make sure they have the resources to meet the growing challenges of competition. So being well-known is not insurance,” Chong said. Street talk Marketing also spoke to several California Fitness members who told us they were not notified about the Raffles club’s closure. They admitted they did not know their rights as consumers or the regulations when it came to signing up for the memberships because of the hard-selling involved during the sign-ups. Shoaib Ahmed, 28: “Initially, I saw the notice in Raffles Place asking members to go to their Bugis or Novena branches, but to be honest, I signed up based on the location of Raffles. So I would like to be reimbursed the pro-rated lump sum I paid when joining.” Carlo Reston, 31: “I signed up for another two years, which starts in December this year. I didn’t foresee this happening.” WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

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

We all know that finding truly great marketing talent is hard. While many might say it is ultimately about cultivating and investing in the employees you already have, the job-hopping itch many Millennials feel doesn’t make it any easier on management. But Corine Ooi, group general manager of global maternal – paediatrics, for Fonterra Brands, thinks otherwise. Rather than throw up your hands in despair, she says companies and managers need to start finding a way to sell employees a vision. She adds that marketers need to take the time to find someone who lives and breathes the brand. This is essential in keeping them in the company for the long haul. But to do so, a vision needs to be sold. Marketers, she explains, are often great at crafting a narrative and selling a vision to their consumers, but they still haven’t mastered the art of doing so for their employees. “If an employee is able to genuinely live and breathe the brand and believe in the company’s or the brand’s vision, not only will he or she internalise brand values, he or she will stay because of passion,” she says. Proudly donning lilac – the signature colour for one of Fonterra’s leading brands Anmum, she says what is harder than finding good talent is retaining it. Ooi, who has been with Fonterra for more than nine years, is very much aware of the increasing job-hopping trend present in the mind of younger marketers, who often leave after a two to three-year stint.

hands of consumers, targeting mothers has also evolved for the brand. In the past, Ooi says, convincing mothers about products was far less daunting a task than it is today. Parents in the past were more trusting, and as such, grabbing their share of wallets was also easier. Modern mothers are very much research-oriented and better informed because of the proliferation of content sites online. As such, brands have to work that much harder to gain their trust. Millennial mums, she explains, weigh all the different outcomes and possibilities before making purchasing decisions. They are also more likely to engage in a discourse before their purchase. “Due to the proliferation of the media, especially digital platforms, mothers today have the option of not listening to the company, but instead to other mothers,” she says. As such, the brand needs to find a way to weave itself into being part of the conversation. She adds that how Anmum is adapting to this new breed of mothers is by trying to provide a platform for conversations to happen across the region. On top of executing tactical ad activations, the brand also has a forum where mothers can communicate. “It is really about the way you speak and your tone. Don’t push your brand messaging. Instead allow for Millennial mothers to talk to their peers and express their views. Be the conduit for conversations.” She adds that Southeast Asia being a diverse region has mothers from all walks of life. Hence, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it

“THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN HAVING MULTIPLE AGENCIES

INVOLVED THAT ARE MISMATCHED IN THE LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE

BRAND AND INDUSTRY.” Before her stint at Fonterra, she worked with Johnson & Johnson for more than four years. She has also spent years building her career with the likes of Beiersdorf, Abbott and Mead Johnson Nutrition. All in all, she has about 28 years in sales and marketing experience. As such, she believes an individual needs to be at the one company for at least five years to see the fruits of their labour. “If you have passion for the brand and the business then why would you want to leave? And that too so quickly,” she said. This is where good training comes in. She urges that company heads move away from standard run-of-the-mill training to something that is innovative and cannot be found elsewhere. “Take measures to imbue a sense of ownership of the brand and the business. At the end of the day, it is about selling the vision.” When asked about what skills would make a good marketer, she says a strong background in sales is necessary. This will enable marketers to familiarise themselves with the customer journey and essentially know the nooks and crannies of the purchase process. In a sales role, an individual gets first-hand experience on the challenges and drawbacks of marketing plans and this enables them to later have a clearer implementation plan. Their marketing theories will be more practice-driven rather than constructed based on theory. The new age consumer With the marketing industry seeing a colossal shift of power being in the WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

comes to communicating with them. For example, she finds that consumers in Malaysia and Indonesia tend not to be as vocal as their counterparts in China. “SEA mothers are more likely to sit back and watch the action unfold. You don’t have consumers making a stand against topical causes especially in the paediatric products segment.” But, ultimately, to navigate the fragmented media landscape today, you need to put trust in your agency partners. She says leveraging on agency relationships is crucial in creating successful brand campaigns with consistent messaging. “Be open and receptive to what the agency has to offer and their ideas and proposals. Don’t be myopic,” she says. Much like her advice to Millennials job-hopping, she also advises against agency hopping. Especially if consistency is something a brand values in its campaign executions. “There is nothing worse than having multiple agencies involved that are mismatched in the level of understanding of the brand and industry,” she says. Hence, for long-term campaigns, it is advisable to stick to a single creative agency which understands the brand to ensure sustainability, she explains. “Otherwise, you will be doing a lot of work as a marketer trying to explain, guide and hold their hands through understanding the brand and the industry. I don’t think anyone has the time to do that.” AU GU S T 2 016 MARKE TI N G 2 5

METHODOLOGY HOW DID WE ACHIEVE THIS? The Media Benchmarking Survey is one of Marketing’s main initiatives to understand and inform our marketing community on Singapore’s competitive media landscape. The OOH Media of the Year rankings were derived from the questions in the Media Bench Marking Survey via an online questionnaire on Marketing’s database of client advertisers and marketing services agency professionals. All answers were considered by Marketing when finalising the rankings. This year’s revamped survey focused on the marketers’ top five preferred choices of the media and the rankings were collated based on the total scoring systems with preference one getting five points and preference five getting one point. QUALITY RECIPIENTS AND RESPONDENTS With more than 900 respondents participating in this year’s survey, the research has gathered holistic and up to date feedback from advertising decision-makers and influencers and agency professionals from various marketing services. One hundred per cent of our respondents were manager-level decision-makers with more than 20% from the most senior ranks of client advertisers and another 27% were VPs or director-level marketers. The majority of the respondents from the agency side were CEOs, MDs and GMs (47%), 43% were marketing personnel and 10% creative and media personnel. Advertisers from major and local international banks, FMCG companies, property and construction, as well as those from travel and hospitality companies participated in the survey. Agency professionals across the marketing spectrum were also well-represented.

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OUT-OF-HOME MEDIA OF THE YEAR ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

JCDECAUX

Taking home the coveted number one spot this year is JCDecaux Singapore. This year, JCDecaux Singapore renewed its advertising concession with Singapore Changi Airport until 2022. With the renewal, it will expand its footprint in Changi Airport with an enhanced advertising inventory, offering more of its digital media and large format displays. JCDecaux will also extend its coverage to the new Terminal 4, scheduled to open in the second half of 2017. For more than a decade, JCDecaux has been the exclusive media partner of Cathay, Filmgarde and WE Cinema in Singapore. With the win of the exclusive media partnership for Shaw Theatres, JCDecaux Cinema Network is now the largest and leading in-theatre advertising network in Singapore totalling 18 cineplexes and 144 screens. In February, the ION Digital Fashion Network and ION Link Digital Network were enhanced with audio capabilities. The new dimension of sound, accompanied by stimulating digital content on the 80” MUPIs, now commands 100% of shoppers and train commuters’ attention, engaging advertisers’ target audience more effectively as they immerse completely in a brand’s message. JCDecaux has also over the past year expanded its advertising footprint in Singapore

XCO MEDIA+

Climbing up to the number two spot is XCO Media+. As the advertising arm for SMRT Corporation, XCO Media+ manages and markets the out-of-home advertising solutions in the SMRT network. Throughout the year, XCO Media+ has had iBillboards in different stations, including Orchard and Raffles, with out-of-home digital advertising formats which combine motion, sight and sound to heighten the interaction. SMRT Commercial pushed ahead with its growth plans with the set up of The X Collective (XCO) this past year. A wholly owned subsidiary

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with a new partnership for Suntec City Mall. The selected media sites located at key touch-points within the mall offer advertisers the unique opportunity to reach out to shoppers and key business decision-makers working in the area. As part of the strategy to strengthen its presence along the prime location of Orchard Road, JCDecaux worked in conjunction with Shaw House to introduce a new 23 square metre Lightbox on the façade of the building facing Wheelock Place. The new outdoor site launched in May offers advertisers the opportunity to extend their campaign footprint beyond the

cinematic environment for greater brand visibility and exposure. As product innovation is part of its DNA, JCDecaux recently developed a new interactive and innovative media solution with the introduction of Beacon technology into its media platforms. This new capability provides an opportunity for advertisers to communicate with their target audience beyond advertising panels for a greater engagement. In the first half of 2016, JCDecaux welcomed several new advertisers, including Air Mauritius, American Express, Audi, Honda and DBS.

of SMRT Commercial, XCO leverages on the strengths, capabilities and experience of SMRT Commercial in media and marketing to solve business challenges and develop impactful platforms, powerful ideas and a social currency that creates authentic connections with their audiences. Within XCO Media+, the team has been tasked to manage SMRT’s media advertising assets while expanding the company’s footprint with new digital and out-of-home assets. In May, XCO Media+ partnered with Panasonic and JR Group to be the exclusive sales and media agency for both groups’ digital OOH advertising networks in Singapore. Panasonic’s

screens include its LED digital network in the high traffic areas of Orchard and Bugis. JR Group’s assets are its fast expanding hot-food vending machines. In the first quarter of this year, XCO Media+ rolled out its first OptiMaX truck to offer brand owners a 3D advertising experience and travelling activation space, and more. OptiMaX kicked of Eeva Productions’ The Voice of China 5 (China Super Vocal) Singapore auditions at a media conference in March. In 2014, SMRT Commercial and Disney also inked an 18-month collaboration to bring Disney into the SMRT public transport, retail and digital networks. The collaboration will bring Disney’s franchises and brands closer to more than two million passengers on SMRT’s transport network and hundreds of thousands more shoppers in SMRT’s retail and digital networks daily. Together, the two brought the intergalactic Star Wars experience into the transport and retail networks. It welcomed the launch of the Star Wars trains where commuters and fans could travel in intergalactic style last Christmas. In the past year, XCO Media+ serviced new accounts such as Skechers, Pokka, Electrolux and Louis Vuitton taking up branddefining OOH and digital spaces in XCO Media+’s suite of assets. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

CLEAR CHANNEL

Coming in third in this year’s OOH Media of the Year ranking is Clear Channel. The past 12 months have been eventful for the OOH media player, with new initiatives and developments lined up to further its foray in the OOH media space. According to the company, November 2015 saw a seven-fold expansion of its digital out-ofhome inventory in Singapore. Called Play 2.0, it included expanded bus shelter networks which lit up Singapore’s skies with 200 75-inch digital screens which will continue to be deployed across the island. The new additions provide contextual advertising solutions and are embedded with an HD camera, colour, gender and object recognition that can be executed seamlessly. Beyond audience-triggered content,

dynamic targeting messages can be activated based on weather, time, date, news and events. The touch-screen functionality will also allow for an interactive and immersive digital experience. The digital panels are capable of displaying real-time information with updates or feeds sourced from social media platforms or directed web links. Through instantaneous information, it looks to help consumers make better information decisions and fuel a greater call-to-action on

advertising messages. Additionally, these panels are now beacon-enabled with speaker options. The OOH media company also saw the launch of Clear Channel Transit in May 2015, where it was awarded the exclusive five-year contract to manage the bus-wrap advertising operations of Singapore’s third local bus operator Tower Transit Singapore. The contract will see it operate 26 bus services in the Western part of the island starting mid-2016. Clear Channel Singapore also saw the homecoming of Amanda Woo as head of marketing. Woo, who was the marketing manager in 2008, returns to lead the marketing department and assume overall responsibility for marketing communications, research and insights, mobile and digital development, creativity and innovation. Key campaigns in the past year included Coca-Cola Taste the Feeling – a GIF-producing photo booth activated by facial and colour detection; and the Disney campaigns in 2016 such as Zootopia and The Jungle Book as well as Captain America: Civil War. It also included AXA “Born to Protect”; Keep Singapore Clean, NTUC Social Enterprise and Tiger Beer SG50. Some key advertisers include Air France, Degussa, United Airlines, Kellogg’s, Eu Yan Sang, Nets and Sadia.

while maintaining the panels’ even lighting and vibrancy. Over the past year, Mediacorp OOH Media executed various campaigns that enabled a variety of audience engagements. One such campaign was Elizabeth Arden’s interactive panel resembling the #IAMJUICYCOUTURE bottle dispensing on-the-spot perfume samples via motion sensors. Another was OCBC Singapore’s multifaceted, “Because it’s Christmas” campaign, that incorporated a stunning 3D concept shelter and free coach rides to cardholders. It also created Singapore Airlines’ 3D hot-air balloon panels giving the public photo opportunities to pose with Canberra’s

famous attractions. Through opportunities such as L’Oréal Paris Singapore’s campaign, which involved its brand ambassador Rui En interacting with members of the public onscreen, Mediacorp OOH was able to showcase its personal touch when it came to engagement. Similarly, for the Gardens by the Bay “Tulipmania” campaign, the OOH media showcased its digital interactive capabilities through “omnified” bus shelter screens for a cobranded contest. Moving forward, OOH Media aims to continue challenging the status quo of outdoor advertising through innovations and keeping on top of technological advancements.

MEDIACORP

Taking home fourth position this year is Mediacorp. The past year saw Mediacorp OOH Media rolling out a number of initiatives – from scoring a collaborative deal with Yeap Transport to offer coach advertising – to a deal with WE Cinemas by Eng Wah to break into cinema advertising. It also expanded its repertoire of platforms to include additional ambient advertising panels at Orchard Towers, The Centrepoint, Jubilee Square and 321 Clementi. An adrenaline-pumping event at the Sports Hub was also developed for the inaugural Festival of Wheels, a foray into experiential marketing for the media platform owner. Additionally, its platforms have undergone an upgrade through its Opti-Prime screens. It now allows digital engagements with its Omnify (dynamic NFC) feature. It also offers digital concierge services, e-commerce and fulfilment to facilitate the consumer path-to-purchase journey and tap on real-time advertising. Mediacorp OOH Media also grew its fleet of OTMB (on the move billboard) trucks to expand its flexibility to conduct activations and engagements at experiential campaigns. 2015 also saw the relaunch of its 2D flagships as first-of-its-kind 2D illuminated lightboxes, which feature improved night-time visibility, 32 M A R K ET I N G A U G U ST 2 01 6

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MOOVE MEDIA

Coming in at number five is Moove Media. This year saw Moove Media working on a couple of key initiatives, especially a partnership with the Land Transport Authority of Singapore (LTA) to roll out a series of concept trains on its North East Line, Downtown Line and SBS Transit buses to celebrate various festive holidays with its commuters. This year, for the first time, 100 ComfortDelGro taxis were installed with a palm sized Wi-Fi dongle to provide unlimited Wi-Fi access. To enjoy the free Wi-Fi, commuters could turn on Wi-Fi on their Wi-Fi-enabled devices with no sign-in required. One notable Moove Media event was the launch of its Moove Bling Bus at Balaclava, Suntec City, early this year. The Moove Bling Bus featured LED lights lined up on both sides of the bus, a design which has been approved exclusively for SBS Transit buses. Electrolux, Gem Residences and Sompo Insurance were the first advertisers. TOUCH Community Services partnered with Moove Media to launch a Downtown Line concept train as part of the campaign for “The Make a Difference Race 2016”, a mental awareness run taking place in October this year. The concept train was decked out with

GOLDEN VILLAGE

Taking the number six spot in this year’s OOH Media of the Year is movie screening company Golden Village. In the past year, Golden Village (GV) offered various opportunities for brands to actively engage their target audience. This has allowed advertisers to benefit from its diverse product offerings which have allowed it to easily target

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vibrant colours and accompanied by positive community messages for the mental health community. LTA also launched its first National Day Parade (NDP) concept train with Moove Media that featured designs based on Singapore folklore, building a better future for Singapore as well as unity and racial harmony by representing different acts of the NDP show. Lyrics to classic NDP songs were reflected in the speech bubbles above the passenger

seats along with footprint decals. EVA Air launched a Hello Kitty SBS Transit concept double-deck bus as part of its “Hello Kitty Jet Launch” advertising campaign with Moove Media. The double-deck bus was fully wrapped with designs featuring Sanrio’s characters. Some brands which have jumped on board with initiatives include Himalaya Herbals, EVA Air, TOUCH Community Services and Health Promotion Board.

different consumer segments and profiles. Its customers cut across a wide demographic, from young adults to the silver generation. Many brands worked with Golden Village to execute fun, creative and interactive on-ground activations in 2015. These OOH ads served as a platform for different brands to stand out from their competitors and cut through the clutter in the

saturated OOH media market. One example was Dyson’s product demonstrations of the new Dyson Pure Cool and vacuums, which gave customers a greater appreciation of the products’ attributes. Another example was the MercedesBenz’s video which gave moviegoers a sensory experience of what it was like to ride the German luxury car. Other notable mentions include Musee Platinum, which installed decals inside the women’s rest room; and Audi, which gave a literal translation of the copy, “unexpected downpours”, by installing stickers printed with the image of falling water on GV’s VivoCity’s staircases. GV believes its advertising spaces are ideal in helping clients rejuvenate their existing customers’ interest while reaching out to new ones at the same time. In a time where the retail sector is facing lukewarm demand, coupled with a slowing economy, a creative mindset and work ethos such as this has enabled advertisers to buck trends and reach goals they set for themselves. In 2015, Golden Village worked with VISA, StarHub, DBS, NTUC Income, Coca-Cola, Standard Chartered Bank, MINI, Tiffany, Cartier and UOB. It also worked for the first time with Estetica, My Beauty Diary, Mitsubishi, Singapore Gumtree, Fitness First and others. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

SPHMBO

Clinching position number seven is SPHMBO, the out-of-home media arm of Singapore Press Holdings. In the past year, SPHMBO has been focusing its efforts on providing an abundance of quality digital and static advertising options to advertisers. The company said its recent partnership with VivoCity provided advertisers great opportunities to reach scores of shoppers through the new digital in-mall advertising platform. This suite of versatile digital media comprises mainly a large video wall made up of 36 units of 55-inch LED displays in the main atrium with three other sizeable similar video walls on link bridges on the first level. A long stretch of video wall is located at the basement two entrance which connects directly to the HarbourFront MRT station. There are also two ceiling-mounted digital screens at the taxi stand outside the mall. The advertisers who participated included Seiko, Walt Disney’s Finding Dory, Rado, Huawei and DBS. In partnership with SPHMBO, South Beach Consortium launched its second phase of its advertising option with captivating back-toback dual LED screens at its event plaza. These 25 square metre LED screens were highly visible to retail patrons and pedestrians coming or heading to the Esplanade MRT station.

FOCUS MEDIA

Coming in at number eight is Focus Media which still maintains its robust network of more than 900 digital screens at elevator lobbies in over 500 commercial buildings across the island. The company said it engages some one million professionals, managers, executives and businessmen (PMEBs) daily via TV commercials, dressing up of lift cabins and screens or various forms of on-ground activations. Focus Media has recently secured two

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It adds onto its current LED facade and an in-lift screen network serving the office tower. Occupiers include Facebook, Sanofi, Rabobank, Bain & Company, Pandora, Hitachi and Boeing.

new large format static billboard sites within the CBD and also gone into partnership to take on media-sales representation of all available inventory for a key commercial building within a business hub. All three of which should go live sometime in Q4 2016. It also has touch-points in Orchard Road that allows for ambient advertising along the underpass walkway leading from Somerset MRT into Orchard Gateway. Wall wrap stickers mounted on three illuminated walls, along with a

SPHMBO also upgraded both the indoor and outdoor LED screens at 313@somerset to boost its business portfolio with higher quality digital media options. Advertisers can now expect a sharper display with brilliant colours to amplify their campaigns. A bigger screen wrap option has been presented to advertisers as well. Since its launch in 2009, more than 600 advertisers have leveraged on its exposure to the huge footfall of commuters and shoppers. Large and iconic billboard sites such as Paragon and Tanglin Mall have also been added to the portfolio to broaden its coverage along the Orchard shopping belt. Besides expanding its product portfolio, SPHMBO has also over the year worked with AIA to launch AIA SAVEST plan. To pique the audience’s interest, the first large-scale lenticular art in Singapore was set up along the busy underpass of Ocean Financial Centre. When viewed from different directions, two different messages, “save” and “invest”, can be seen. In conjunction with the SK-II “Dream Again” campaign, SPHMBO’s Chevron House LED screen was transformed into a digital dream wall to display the “live” posts collected via a tablet. The campaign aimed to motivate working professionals to share and pursue their dreams.

digital screen, make for impactful visuals along the wide and brightly lit passageway. Key campaigns here were operated by Lenovo, Fitbit and Star Cruises where they dressed up the entire area together with running a TVC. Focus Media says it has seen a constant flow of government agencies advertising on its platforms. These include the likes of the Public Utilities Board, Ministry of Communication and Information, CPF, Spring Singapore, IDA, HPB, National Gallery Singapore and Sports SG. It also has a wide array of clients from the private sector in various fields. These companies have engaged Focus Media to run campaigns on various media platforms, including lifestyle, travel, banking, telecommunications, luxury, retail, property, motoring and FMCG and aim to engage white-collar business executives. Over the past year, Focus Media partnered with regular returning clients such as AXA, Audi, Canon, LG, Marina Bay Sands, M1, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Tiger Airways, UOB and many others. The company also saw an influx of new clients such as Caltex, Fitbit, GrabTaxi, Jeep, Mont Blanc, Malaysia Dairy Industries, McDonald’s, Rimowa, SK-II, Sony Mobile, Singapore Airlines and Strongbow (APB). Going forward, it will continue to actively secure new key large format sites. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

MEDIATECH

Mediatech grabs the number nine spot this time. Over the past year, Mediatech has continued to focus strategically on expanding and developing new OOH media platforms in key locations such as Orchard and key regional hubs. The company focuses on places that are more inclusive and popular through life, work and play. There are also plans in place to integrate online technology with its static billboards. This will revolutionise the way advertisers view outdoor media and with the advancement in

technology, advertisers will be able to finally track their viewership on outdoor. Viewership tracking through eyeballs can be done seamlessly through smartphones with its tracking mobile app. Besides tracking viewership and reporting other relevant marketing data, online engagement with outdoor ads will also be available where advertisers are able to create further engagement from the outdoor billboards through online promotions to potential mobile users. Over the past year, one of the many

advertisers and partners that Mediatech worked with included Canon on its launch of the PowerShot N2. It featured a highly prominent large format ultra bright smart lightbox at Bugis, reaching to heavy vehicular traffic along Rochor Road. In addition, it also helped Casio launch its new range of G Shock watches targeting professionals, executives, businessmen and the shopping crowd in the Bugis area. The outdoor campaigns received positive feedback with stellar sales results, the company said. Another project along Orchard was the partnership with Robinsons through an integrated media campaign using creative popup stores to launch Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S2 at Robinsons @ Heeren. The event was said to be highly successful and met the campaign’s objectives. Its other key advertisers include luxury labels such as Burberry, Givenchy, Bvlgari, Chanel and Cartier and other brands such as MSIG, Sulwhasoo, Visa, SK-II and Canon. Mediatech, which was founded in 1984, has shifted direction towards developing street furniture, smart static outdoor, events and promotions. The company said more developments are expected to unfold in the coming months and it would continue to create eye-catching events at high-traffic key locations.

Another key campaign was with DemoPower, in planning and executing sampling programmes for Perfect Italiano. Promoters whipped up various interesting recipes to highlight the versatility and convenience of using Perfect Italiano cheeses to shoppers. ActMedia says it looks to create meaningful shopper engagement throughout the “pre,

during and post” shopper journey. This can be created via the understanding of shopper behaviour and targeted consumers in different channels, formats and categories. Incorporated in 1993, the company offers a range of shopper marketing services such as in-store and outdoor media, product demonstrations, merchandising, data mining and precision marketing programmes.

10 ACTMEDIA Taking tenth spot is ActMedia. In the past year, the company has evolved from being just an instore advertising media company to an online to offline (O2O) marketing services company, providing platforms for marketers to engage with consumers. In 2016, ActMedia focused on five influencers of the new shoppers’ journey. It said many of its clients’ programmes this year are sensory driven to attain a higher level of shopper engagement. Key campaigns in the past year included Nestlé Cerelac’s ShelfVision banner activation which used light-sensory creatives. The LED-lit heart shape blinked continuously as it climbed up the daily iron chart until it reached the 100% mark. Meanwhile, for the Snapple campaign, a walking ad crew was seen donning Snapple apparel and pushing trolleys filled with Snapple bottles along Orchard Road. The aim was to approach members of the public to take part in a simple quiz for a free Snapple giveaway. ActMedia was also involved with the F&N Creameries’ event enthralling shoppers via FairPrice’s in-store radio with attractive promotions and prizes. Plus, it threw in an instore road show with local radio personality Glenn Ong. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

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WHY CONTENT IS VITAL FOR ALL B2B MARKETERS

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Content marketing is here to stay and marketers from B2B firms are quickly learning that great content can help in generating leads and sales. Our latest Master Report gives you a clear idea of what to expect in this booming space.

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The words "content marketing" have exploded over the past few years. Marketers from travel to F&B and fashion are certainly maturing in how they use content. B2B marketers are no different. In fact, in the B2B space, content marketing has often been lauded as the perfect channel to generate leads and sales. In a conversation with Marketing, Rashish Pandey, director of marketing for APAC at Cisco Systems, said B2B marketing relies heavily on building trusted partnerships with customers. As such, Cisco Systems is increasing its content marketing budget substantially. It is investing in both local resources and funding to build audience-first content in key markets. “We have realised the importance of storytelling to engage customers and building an emotional connection. This is where building content marketing capabilities comes in. Content marketing allows us to tell compelling stories at scale that resonates with our customers, drives engagement, builds relationships and ultimately drives demand,” he said. Wayne Tay, regional digital communications manager for DHL Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, said the advent of social selling had fuelled the growth of content marketing in the B2B space. The traditional sales model of doing cold calls, finding quality leads and making contact is slowly moving to social channels where sales

teams engage and educate potential customers to ultimately close a deal. As such, content marketing can help business development teams to build relationships and create meaningful and business-relevant conversations with clients. “The way people look for information has also evolved; buyers are more informed of their partners because there are so many digital avenues for them to acquire information. Hence, the traditional sales model is increasingly less effective now,” Tay said. Yet, not all marketers are as forward-thinking it seems. Many remain uncertain on how to exactly create a solid content plan. A recent study by the Content Marketing Institute, titled 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends – North America showed that fewer B2B marketers have a documented content marketing strategy this year (32%) compared with last year (35%). This is despite 53% of the most effective marketers today having a documented content marketing strategy. In correlation, the study also stated that 40% of the least effective marketers have no strategy at all. So what exactly is holding marketers back? One reason could be due to a lack of understanding as to how to generate effective content. Currently only 30% of B2B marketers in North America

Source: 2016 Content Marketing Trends - North America Content Marketing Institute/Marketing Profs

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say their organisations are effective at content marketing, down from 38% last year. Tay says that creating quality content, which is also creative, is a challenge for companies where content differentiation is low. As such, these companies need to tell the same story in different ways. He added as content marketing is a holistic way of acquiring customers in the long-term, “it will be more challenging to get businesses to invest in top of funnel and middle of funnel marketing activities such as downloading a white paper or obtaining a product sample, as compared to bottom of funnel activities such as getting a sale that does not deliver immediate ROI”. PR firm Text 100, which helps a number of B2B marketers with their content strategies, agreed that creating engaging content is tough. Often, the agency and the client will begin the content marketing journey with a strong editorial focus, but it is hard work balancing editorial versus commercial interests from the business units that often fund these programmes. It added, as far as challenges go, the biggest challenge is to tie content marketing efforts with conversion (that is, lead generation) to demonstrate business ROI. It is easy to design the digital conversion path in theory, but in

“The way people look for information has also evolved; buyers are more informed of their partners because there are so many digital avenues for them to acquire information. Hence, the traditional sales model is increasingly less effective now.”

reality there are real challenges such as legacy tech that hinders the integration of the CMS and CRM systems, or the way the communications, marketing and sales functions are set up within an organisation. Meanwhile, the study added that the average spend on budgets also remains stagnant despite many understanding that content marketing should be placed as a priority. Like last year, most companies currently spend only 28% of their total marketing budget on content. This is in stark contrast to the most effective companies which allocate 42%, and the most sophisticated/ mature who allocate 46%. Text 100 added that its clients’ spend ranges from as little as US$50,000 a year to US$400,000 a year – this can include content production (articles, infographics, videos), paid and social amplification. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

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Seven steps to plan a B2B content marketing strategy Traditional media advertising – from newspapers and radio to TV and internet ads – has always been about interruption marketing. B2B marketers are moving towards publishing solutions for customer painpoints and positioning themselves as trusted advisors rather than approaching their audiences with a sales pitch. This puts content at the heart of marketing. According to the 2016 Content Preferences Survey by DemandGen, 51% of B2B buyers rely more on content to research and make B2B purchasing decisions than they did a year ago. It is essential to approach content marketing as a strategy rather than a tactic. If you have not started content marketing or are still testing the waters, these seven steps will help you plan your B2B content marketing strategy. Why do I want a content marketing strategy? Since content marketing can be used to solve several business challenges, it is important to identify its core purpose. Create a mission statement that identifies the function of content marketing and answers the question, “what is the purpose of content marketing?” Whether it is generating and nurturing leads, or building brand awareness and engagement, a content marketing mission statement will

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help you set actionable KPIs and get buy-in from all stakeholders. Without it, your content marketing will lack direction resulting in limited success. Who is my target audience? Knowing your audience can help create content that your buyers can relate to. Use audience persona to identify your ideal audience. Besides behavioural and geographical data, firmography (industry, revenue size, etc) is one of the unique features of B2B audience persona. With the audience persona created and prioritised, the next step is to identify your audience’s watering holes – where do they get together and share ideas? It could be on social media (LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter) or on community forums. This will also help recognise their media consumption patterns – such as whether they prefer case studies, videos, blogs or illustrated guides. Which platform is optimal for me? An often overlooked aspect of content marketing is the publication platform. The rule of thumb is to not build your content house on rented land. This means hosting your content on web property that belongs to you so that you own your audience data and have greater control over conversations and conversions.

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Taking a sustainable approach by using a hub and spoke model will ensure the long-term success of your content marketing efforts. In this case, your organisation’s blog should be the hub and appropriate social channels (the spokes) could be used to engage with your audience effectively. According to the 2016 North American B2B Content Marketing Trends report by Content Marketing Institute, the most efficient spokes to publish your B2B content are LinkedIn, SlideShare and Twitter, while YouTube, Facebook and Instagram work very well to connect with a consumer audience. What should my content convey? Your content’s focus should be the confluence of what your audience wants to hear, what you want to say, and what’s unique about your story. Use keyword research tools from Google and BuzzSumo and community engagement platforms such as Quora to identify the topics that your content should address. For instance, there are several questions on Quora related to cloud computing. By answering them, you can position your organisation as an expert in the field and lead the users to your website. By being a part of your audience’s watering holes, you will be able to identify their interests, pain-points and solution requirements. Finally, ask your prospects what they want to know more about during face-to-face interactions and meetings.

Where are the content gaps? It is possible to build a content pipeline by creating, curating and repurposing content. Create an editorial calendar to ensure that your content is consistent and accurate. A content audit can map your existing content to your customer’s medium, persona and buying stage such as the top, middle and bottom of the funnel to identify and address content gaps. This will also help deliver the right content to the right audience via the appropriate channel and at the right time. How can I distribute content? The visibility of content pieces on the internet is crucial. Without proper distribution or syndication, your content will not reach the target audience, hence, reducing the benefits of your content marketing strategy. Syndication can either be paid (Google Adwords, Outbrain, etc) or organic – through optimising your content for search engines. Many content marketers find search engine marketing (SEM) to be very effective, while promoted posts such as promoted tweets and LinkedIn’s sponsored updates also play a major role in helping your content gain visibility. How do I know I’m effective? This is where we come the full circle. The best way to monitor your content performance is to check against your content marketing mission statement and KPIs defined originally. Did your content generate enough leads or help your organisation’s brand get better exposure? Is your content showing up on the first page of search results for keywords which were initially identified? These are some of the metrics that can be used to measure your content performance. Your audience are consumers of content. Creating content – videos, blog posts and case studies – can be fun as you get to explore your creative side. However, you need to consistently deliver compelling content that will engage your customers and keep them coming back for more. To engage, educate and inform your target audience should be your ultimate goal. Leads and conversions will follow. This report is brought to you by Gopal Jayaprakash from GetIT Comms.

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HOW TO EFFECTIVELY TARGET THE TRAVELLING CONSUMER Think back on your last holiday. How was it? Was it full of adventure and excitement or was it one which was relaxing where you had the chance to explore local delicacies and nooks and crannies of a city? Maybe, it was a mix of both. Whatever your perfect getaway may be, chances are you did a fair amount of research both before and during the trip. Aiding this research was probably your handy mobile device. Last year, a study by TripAdvisor showed that 42% of travellers worldwide are connected travellers, having used a smartphone to plan or book a trip. These travellers are twice as likely (12%) as all other travellers to make travelrelated bookings via a mobile device. Almost three quarters (72%) of connected travellers use their smartphones to look for restaurants while on vacation. During a panel discussion at a recent halfday Insights, sponsored by Vpon called “Crossborder travellers – unlocking the revenue opportunity”, D. Sriram, chief operating officer of Vpon, explained that when targeting this 44 M AR K ET I N G A U G U ST 2 01 6

segment it was important to reach out to it both at the planning stage and also when it was up and about on its holiday destination. Wi-Fi, he added, is one of the best ways to specifically target cross-border travelers and gain insights and data to their travel habits. “Wi-Fi becomes the perfect marrying tool because you can receive data on the traveler and grab their attention in exchange for the free internet service. This creates a pipeline for a brand to send their ads through to the consumer as well,” he said. In Singapore, he added, this exchange was still in a nascent stage and many marketers still had not yet embraced the power of Wi-Fi – despite fully understanding the power of big data. “Most people have their phones with them when they travel, but yet they are mostly checking the device in their hotels rather than on the go because of the lack of Wi-Fi opportunities. From a marketer’s perspective, we are missing out on a lot of opportunity to target this curious segment,” he said. He added having the power of big data

allows for prediction of a consumers next move. “If you can predict something, you can build things around it,” Sriram added. Anthony Dobson, director of BDRC Asia, however added that today people are quite ready to exchange their personal information for a convenience such as internet access. “Knowing a person’s media consumption on mobile opens up numerous doors,” he said. “There is data out there, but the challenge is we are dealing with people who have a hard time giving up legacy systems. “People cling to them because they know what they know.” Accumulating this data nonetheless, he added, was vital, especially when targeting

DATE: 22 June

VENUE: Shangri-La Hotel Singapore

MADE POSSIBLE BY:

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EVENTS

today’s Millennials who are prolific travellers. Joanne Ang, group director of global sales and marketing at Frasers Hospitality Group, added that Millennials have multiple devices and networks so it was not just about understanding and mastering one channel of communication. “They are not predictable and so it is challenging targeting Millennials,” she said. “Within the Millennial group, there is a need to do further segmentation so making sure the message is relevant is necessary. When we launch a new brand under Frasers, part of the marketing strategy is to get agencies to reach out to the Millennials and fine-tune it to separate and distinguish from existing brands.” The next step is to actively engage with this group either by check-ins or selfie posts that provide instant gratification of being recognised. Creating content in the world of mobile Soon Sze-Meng, vice-president and head of marketing strategy, planning and insights at Visa, added that marketers should no longer be talking about digital marketing which is channel-centric. Ultimately, communication with customers’ needs to be about being where they are. “Today we are at a stage of digital marketing where we are at data marketing. It is about programmatic buying and leveraging

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“Firstly, when people travel for leisure, they usually do not have a computer, but they will definitely have the phone. If you want to talk to travellers, as a marketer if you are not on mobile that’s a huge opportunity lost. Second, having data and technology and the ability to find the right person at the right time for the right response matters. Third, don’t be afraid of the great firewall of China. When a Chinese consumer lands, due to the limited mediums he is exposed to, targeting becomes easier. I think we are still not using mobile enough and marketers are not clear yet on the strategy. If we are able to drive mobile consumers to take action, it will unlock a lot of potential.” • D. Sriram, chief operating officer of Vpon “Mobile has boosted the use and collection of data. If you have enough data points you can get close to predicting anything and now we have those data points.” • Anthony Dobson, director of BDRC Asia “For Frasers, I think definitely mobile is the way to go. With mobile, distance between a brand and a customer becomes irrelevant. Sitting in Asia you can reach customers in the US instantaneously. The challenge we have for markets like China is firewalls. Alipay is something we are looking at for China outbound and domestic travelling. There is huge potential as Chinese travellers are now travelling a lot more and this offers a whole host of opportunities for marketers to reach them and speak the right language that will resonate with them. The communication strategies on how to excite them at an appropriate time before travel matters. Mobile has brought distance closer across borders and our marketing messages need to be very targeted and fine-tuned to the customer’s profile. • Joanne Ang, group director of global sales and marketing at Frasers Hospitality Group “Mobile is now opening up floors for payments. It is a device that not only helps in the collection of data, but to purchase information. Mobile is forcing the different stakeholders of a brand be it clients, creative and media agencies, to all work closer together in creating and reinventing what communication and messaging means. One thing that stands out in the China market is the various different chat platforms such as WeChat and Tencent which lets consumers and brands experiment. China is one of the markets to look into and for many businesses to reach, and scalability requires platforms to serve large masses of people. Mobile has driven innovation and the bigger countries such as China will probably drive even more innovation. This is a space to look out for.” • Soon Sze-Meng, vice-president and head of marketing strategy, planning and insights at Visa

different data sets and building your own data management platforms,” he said. “We need to start embracing programmatic creative which is having different creatives served to different people at different times. “Marketers need to take a step back and

not just focus on mobile or digital or social, but know the right mediums to target.” More than ever, you need to today provide content that is customised and of interest. Sriram added that content has to evolve to fit the world of mobile which has become extremely personalised. He said that on mobile, every few years formats change when it comes to advertising and it is still low on effectiveness. Marketers are still trying to find the balance of targeting, but not being intrusive. The big idea in terms of content creation is no longer about a 30-second TVC or a splashy traditional print ad, but rather it can be something broken down across mediums. “Content has to evolve from this trap of having one big idea of creating a TVC. People are taking the 30-second TVC and still putting it on mobile,” he said. He added that because of all the data, tools and targeting systems present today, marketers are able to select the group of consumers they want to speak to far more easily. Today, with the rise of programmatic, there should be less focus on “cheap buys and more focus on targeting and relevance”, he explained. “Almost always, people are ignoring brand ads. Shouldn’t we do something about that? If you can serve an ad less times, but gain more response from your audience then everyone wins. If marketers don’t use this advantage wisely, they will eventually lose the audience.” AU GU S T 2 016 MARKE TI N G 45

Once again, DBS took home the coveted title of L&E 2016 Brand of the Year at the fourth edition of the Loyalty & Engagement Awards. This year the awards show was bigger and better with ground-breaking entries pouring in from across the Asia Pacific region. Here’s a look at all that went on during the awards. JUDGES

Kelvin Tan Director of marketing, international A&W Restaurants

Ernest Febrianto Head of marketing – Indonesia Aberdeen Asset Management

Ornella Lichon-Martin Director of loyalty – Asia Pacific AccorHotels Asia Pacific

Anna Bory General manager, marketing Audi Singapore

Nik Laming General manager – loyalty division Cebu Pacific Air

Phil Hawkins Head of loyalty operations – loyalty, CRM and flybuys Coles

Katharina Pohl Head of marketing – Asia Cotton On

Priyank Sharma Vice-president, strategy and planning, improvement team DBS Bank

Carolin Chan Director, marketing services Edenred Singapore

Rupa Rajamani General manager – global consumer brand engagement Fonterra Brands Singapore

Caroline Gazeley Regional connected product planning manager General Motors International

Joseph Teoh Head of regional marketing Grab

Stephanie Wong Vice-president, strategic partnerships & loyalty programme (group marketing & distribution) Great Eastern Life

Yet Pek Yeen Head of marketing Hong Leong Finance

Eugene Kwek Head of marketing HSBC Singapore

Khairul Nisa Ismail Head, enrich and loyalty Malaysia Airlines

Hun Liang Goh Head of consumer engagement – MY/SG/BN Mead Johnson Nutrition

Kittisak Eh Chuei Director, loyalty marketing Pan Pacific Hotels Group

Christine Loo Associate vicepresident and head of customer experience and loyalty Prudential Assurance Company Singapore

Arniban Pegu CRM and loyalty marketing lead, media solutions centre, SEA and Oceania Samsung Asia

Joseph Sundar Business development executive IBM

Cherry Koay Director of digital marketing, Southeast Asia hub Shangri-La International Hotel Management

Fen Lim Assistant general manager, head of financial services & loyalty U Mobile

Gina Lorenzana Vice-president, personal care Unilever Philippines

Geraldine Dreiser Director of quality YTL Hotels & Properties Malaysia

DBS CROWNED LOYALTY & ENGAGEMENT 2016 BRAND OF THE YEAR

Reigning champion DBS scored top honours at the fourth edition of the Loyalty & Engagement Awards in front of more than 300 of Asia Pacific’s finest marketers at the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore. This year’s regional event was bigger than ever as we opened entries across Asia Pacific resulting in entries from new markets such as Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. This led to groundbreaking work being displayed amid cut-throat competition. But ultimately, DBS made it over the line with a higher average score taking home four golds for Best Use of Employee Engagement Strategy, Best Card-Based Loyalty Programme, Best Use of Contests/Promotions and Best Use of Gamification. It also bagged two silvers in Best Use of Brand Advocacy/Influencers and Best Use of Employee Engagement Strategy and two bronzes in the Best Use of Gamification and Best Use of Mobile categories. Coming in a close second was runner-up TANGS. TANGS clinched awards in the areas of loyalty and relationship marketing with four golds (Best CRM Strategy, Best Loyalty Programme – Retailer, Best Innovative Loyalty Programme, Best Use of Rewards & Incentives), two silvers (Best Card-Based Loyalty Programme, Best Use of Technology) and two bronzes (Best Customer Experience, Loyalty Programme of the Year). In 2016, there were many high-scoring campaigns, including the “Hershey’s Happygrams” from The Hershey Company which received three golds, one silver and one bronze in the categories Best Engagement Strategy for a Female Audience, Best Use of Brand Advocacy/Influencers, Best Use of Mobile, Best Use of Social and Best Use of Direct Marketing categories respectively. AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme also snagged four gold for Best Regional Loyalty Marketing Campaign, Best Use of Direct Marketing, Best Use of Social and Loyalty Programme of the Year and one silver in the category of Best Loyalty Programme – Travel/Hospitality. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

Campaigns from Unilever Malaysia, Maybank and McDonald’s Singapore were also very popular with the judges. On the agency front there were many contenders across the 30 categories and three segments of loyalty, engagement and relationship marketing. But MRM//McCANN trumped competitors with the Hershey’s Happygrams campaign retaining its position as Relationship Marketing Agency of the Year and adding more metal to its trophy haul and stepping up as Engagement Agency of the Year for 2016. First time entrant, Meet Isaac had a night to remember and was named Loyalty Agency of the Year for its “TANGS Omni-Channel Experience” campaign. This year the awards saw the edition of three new categories – Best Loyalty Programme – F&B; Best Loyalty Programme – Retailer; and Best Loyalty Programme – Travel/Hospitality. A total of 94 trophies were awarded and participation was higher than ever with entries from brands and agencies in the loyalty, engagement and relationship marketing industry from across the region, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, India and the new markets of Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. This is a positive sign for the industry, said Rezwana Manjur, editor of Marketing magazine. “Client-side marketers are fast learning that having a human touch and truly knowing your customers is necessary in standing out in today’s competitive landscape,” she said. “We have seen an astounding number of entries this year and the competition was stiff and this truly indicates a maturation in loyalty marketing in the region. Congratulations to all our winners tonight.” The Loyalty and Engagement Awards 2016 was sponsored by Edenred, IBM and supported by partners Cellarmaster Wines, Graphiss and Peroni Nastro Azzurro. AU GU S T 2 016 MAR KE TI N G 47

ENGAGEMENT AGENCY OF THE YEAR MRM//MCCANN SINGAPORE

LOYALTY AGENCY OF THE YEAR MEET ISAAC

RELATIONSHIP MARKETING AGENCY OF THE YEAR MRM//MCCANN SINGAPORE

L&E 2016 BRAND OF THE YEAR DBS

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BEST ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR A FEMALE AUDIENCE

BEST ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR A MALE AUDIENCE

Client: Watsons Malaysia Campaign: Watsons Shows How it is Like Being a Lady during Ramadan-Raya Agency: OMD Malaysia Client: The Hershey Company Campaign: Hershey’s Happygrams Agency: MRM// McCANN Singapore

Client: Unilever Malaysia Campaign: Sunsilk Biggest Selfie Movie in Malaysia Agency: Immerse

BEST LOYALTY PROGRAMME – TRAVEL/HOSPITALITY

Client: Singapore Sports Hub Campaign: Mediacorp Rotax Max Singapore Open 2015 Agency: Mediacorp OOH Media Client: Maybank Campaign: MAYBANK CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF GOES SOCIAL Agency: Zenith Malaysia

BEST CRM STRATEGY

Client: AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme Campaign: AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme Agency: NIL

Client: Hilton Worldwide Campaign: Hilton HHonors Agency: Leo Burnett

Client: Wyndham Hotel Group Campaign: Wyndham Rewards Agency: NIL

BEST USE OF BRAND ADVOCACY/INFLUENCERS

Client: McDonald’s Singapore Campaign: McDelivery CRM Pilot Agency: Tasseologic

Client: TANGS Campaign: TANGS Omni-Channel Experience Agency: Meet Isaac

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Client: Land Transport Authority of Singapore & Canon Singapore Campaign: Those Who Move Us Agency: Dentsu Singapore

Client: Mediacorp Campaign: MeClub Agency: NIL

BEST USE OF EXPERIENTIAL/LIVE MARKETING

Client: DBS Campaign: National School Savings Campaign (NSSC) Agency: NIL

Client: The Hershey Company Campaign: Hershey’s Happygrams Agency: MRM// McCANN Singapore

Client: Canon Campaign: Photo Face Off Agency: Dentsu Singapore

Client: Great Eastern Life Campaign: Great Eastern Women’s Run 2015 Agency: NIL

Client: National Youth Council, Singapore Campaign: SHINE Festival 2015 – “Build Your World” Agency: The Events Artery

Client: Watsons Malaysia Campaign: Watsons’ Massive Event Set a New Record Agency: OMD Malaysia

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BEST PARTNERSHIP IN A LOYALTY PROGRAMME

BEST LOYALTY PROGRAMME – RETAILER

Client: NTUC Link Campaign: PLUS! VISA Agency: NIL

Client: Study Group Singapore (Bellerbys Educational Services) Campaign: Partners Connect Agency: NIL

Client: Malaysia Airlines Campaign: Bank Conversion, London 2x Miles, London 50% Redemption Agency: M&C Saatchi

BEST USE OF REWARDS & INCENTIVES

Client: IKEA FAMILY Australia Campaign: IKEA FAMILY uDecide™ Campaign Agency: Digital Alchemy

Client: TANGS Campaign: TANGS Omni-Channel Experience Agency: Meet Isaac

BEST USE OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY

Client: MasterCard Singapore Campaign: Road To Milan Agency: Digital Arts Network Client: TANGS Campaign: TANGS Omni-Channel Experience Agency: Meet Isaac

Client: HP Inc. Campaign: HP AchievePlus – Privileges Agency: Edenred Singapore

BEST USE OF CO-CREATION/CROWD SOURCING

Client: DBS Campaign: DBS VIRTUAL CONFERENCE Agency: 3radical

Client: DBS Campaign: Consumer Banking Operations Singapore, Employee Engagement Agency: NIL

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Client: Maybank Campaign: MAYBANK CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF GOES SOCIAL Agency: Zenith Malaysia

Client: FOREFRONT International Campaign: Forefronteers Engagement Initiative Agency: NIL

BEST USE OF INTEGRATED MEDIA CAMPAIGN

Client: Land Transport Authority of Singapore and Canon Singapore Campaign: Those Who Move Us Agency: Dentsu Singapore Client: Unilever Malaysia Campaign: Sunsilk Biggest Selfie Movie in Malaysia Agency: Immerse

Client: Suntec City Campaign: Suntec Rewards Agency: Quantum Interactive

Client: Telekom Malaysia Campaign: Unifi: For the Makers of Tomorrow Agency: MullenLowe Malaysia

Client: Procter & Gamble Campaign: Olay Wall Agency: Razorfish

Client: Citibank Singapore Campaign: Citi Progress Makers Agencies: MEC Global, Publicis Singapore, Splash Interactive

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BEST CARD-BASED LOYALTY PROGRAMME

BEST USE OF DIRECT MARKETING

Client: TANGS Campaign: TANGS Omni-Channel Experience Agency: Meet Isaac

Client: DBS Campaign: POSB Everyday Card Dining and Grocery Campaign Agency: NIL

Client: TGV Cinemas Campaign: TGV Cinemas MovieClub Agency: NIL

BEST LOYALTY PROGRAMME – F&B

Client: Maybank Campaign: Maybank Treats Fair 2015 Agencies: Zenith Malaysia, Intigus

Client: AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme Campaign: AirAsia BIG Final Call Sale Agency: NIL

BEST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Client: Sari Coffee Indonesia Campaign: Starbucks Card Indonesia Agency: AIMIA Indonesia

Client: Nando’s Chickenland Malaysia Campaign: PERi-Vilege Loyalty Programme Agency: NIL

Client: Grand Hyatt Singapore Campaign: Club At The Hyatt Agency: NIL

BEST USE OF CONSUMER INSIGHTS/DATA ANALYTICS

Client: ZALORA Campaign: Product Delivery Communication Agency: NIL

Client: ZALORA Campaign: Self-Service Exchange Module Agency: NIL

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Client: TGV Cinemas Campaign: MovieMoney Bonanza Agency: NIL

Client: TANGS Campaign: TANGS Omni-Channel Experience Agency: Meet Isaac

BEST ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY BY A GOVERNMENT/COMMUNITY

Client: Bukalapak Campaign: Bukalapak re-engages idle app users Agency: Sociomantic Labs Client: McDonald’s Singapore Campaign: McDelivery Mass Personalisation Agency: Tasseologic

Client: The Hershey Company Campaign: Hershey’s Happygrams Agency: MRM// McCANN Singapore

Client: Land Transport Authority of Singapore and Canon Singapore Campaign: Those Who Move Us Agency: Dentsu Singapore Client: Health Promotion Board Campaign: National Steps Challenge™ Agency: DDB Group Singapore

Client: National Youth Council, Singapore Campaign: SHINE Festival 2015 – “Build Your World” Agency: The Events Artery

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BEST ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY BY A MEDIA OWNER

BEST USE OF CONTESTS/PROMOTIONS

Client: Mediacorp Campaign: MeClub Agency: NIL

Client: Clozette Campaign: Clozette Style Party 2016 Agency: NIL

Client: CNN International Campaign: All-In-OneOf-A-Kind Singapore! Agency: MEC

BEST USE OF SOCIAL

Client: Citibank Singapore Campaign: Citi Simply Irresistible GSS 2015 Agencies: Publicis Singapore, 360 Communications Client: DBS Campaign: DBS PayLah! SG$100,000 SGWave Agency: NIL

BEST USE OF GAMIFICATION

Client: The Hershey Company Campaign: Hershey’s Happygrams Agency: MRM// McCANN Singapore Client: AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme Campaign: AirAsia BIG Final Call Sale Agency: NIL

Client: Maybank Campaign: MAYBANK CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF GOES SOCIAL Agency: Zenith Malaysia

BEST USE OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING – B2B

Client: Anytime Fitness Campaign: MyAnytime App Agency: 3radical

Client: DBS Campaign: DBS VIRTUAL CONFERENCE Agency: 3radical

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Client: HP Inc. Campaign: HP AchievePlus – Privileges Agency: Edenred Singapore

Client: DBS Campaign: DBS Lifestyle – Mobile Gamification Agency: 3radical

BEST USE OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING – B2C

Client: ZALORA Campaign: Seller Relationship Management Agency: NIL

Client: Syngenta Asia Pacific Campaign: Syngenta PartnerGrow® Agency: Edenred Singapore

Client: BSN Campaign: Paris, Milan here I come Agency: MullenLowe Malaysia

Client: McDonald’s Singapore Campaign: McDelivery From Transactional to Personalisation Agency: Tasseologic

Client: United Overseas Bank Campaign: UOB #SavePaper the Smarter Way – an Earth Day Initiative Agency: Germs Singapore Client: Maybank Campaign: Maybank Treats Fair 2015 Agencies: Zenith Malaysia, Intigus

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BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY

BEST USE OF CSR

Client: TANGS Campaign: TANGS Omni-Channel Experience Agency: Meet Isaac

Client: Unilever Malaysia Campaign: Vaseline Spray-Off! Agency: Immerse

Client: Procter & Gamble Campaign: Olay Wall Agency: Razorfish

BEST USE OF MOBILE

Client: Beiersdorf Indonesia Campaign: Inovasi Dalam Edukasi (IDE) – Aksi Siaga Hansaplast Agency: AIMIA Client: FOX Sports Campaign: Fix My Court Agency: Isobar Malaysia

BEST REGIONAL LOYALTY MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Client: Bukalapak Campaign: Bukalapak re-engages idle app users Agency: Sociomantic Labs Client: The Hershey Company Campaign: Hershey’s Happygrams Agency: MRM// McCANN Singapore

Client: DBS Campaign: DBS Lifestyle – Mobile Gamification Agency: 3radical

LOYALTY PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR

Client: Epson Singapore Campaign: Epson Engage2WIN Agency: Edenred Singapore

Client: AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme Campaign: AirAsia BIG Final Call Sale Agency: NIL

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Client: InterContinental Hotels Group Campaign: Accelerate Multibrand Promotion 2015 Agency: OgilvyOne Worldwide

BEST INNOVATIVE LOYALTY PROGRAMME

Client: Suntec City Campaign: Suntec Rewards Agency: Quantum Interactive

Client: AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme Campaign: AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme Agency: NIL

Client: Telekom Malaysia Campaign: RE: Change that Inspires Change Agency: MullenLowe Malaysia

Client: TANGS Campaign: TANGS Omni-Channel Experience Agency: Meet Isaac

Client: Mediacorp Campaign: MeClub Agency: NIL

Client: TANGS Campaign: TANGS Omni-Channel Experience Agency: Meet Isaac

Client: Rabbit Campaign: Rabbit Rewards Agency: Digital Alchemy

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CAREERS ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

CAREER PATH Leanne Sheraton Senior director, marketing, PayPal APAC

First job?

Courier for a stockbroking company in Sydney – hand delivering trade instructions – I am pretty sure it is done by computer now! First job in advertising/ marketing?

Graduate marketing programme with Nestlé – the absolute best grounding in marketing and brand building a young marketer could ask for (with all the chocolate and sweets you could eat).

JOB SHUFFLE J. Walter Thompson APAC appointed John Gutteridge as regional CEO. He replaces longstanding APAC CEO Tom Doctoroff (pictured) who will be pursuing a new opportunity. The Singapore office also recently saw the exit of executive creative director Victor Ng and the recent hire of former Leo Burnett Singapore CEO Chris Chiu as chief creative partner. Chiu will, however, not be a direct replacement to Ng’s role.

Perks of your current job?

Immersion in the most exciting, diverse and high-growth region in Asia Pacific. I am personally energised and inspired by the passion, belief and optimism of the new generation of entrepreneurs currently emerging in this region. Worst job?

I was sent to regional South Australia to be a sales rep on the road as part of my graduate programme in the middle of a bad mouse plague. I still have nightmares about those mice. Marketing professionals you admire?

Richard Branson – a disrupter, risk-taker, champion of customers who continually creates and reinvents customer-led businesses. Why a career in marketing?

Marketing is about people – I’m fascinated by human motivation and inspired by making a difference in people’s lives. If you weren’t in marketing, what would you be?

I would like to think I have got a book in me, so a writer, but if that doesn’t work out, human resources – I’m passionate about creating great places to work and developing people. How do you wind down?

I absolutely love cooking and chopping vegetables is my wind down activity.

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The vice-president of international operations at Twitter, Shailesh Rao, has moved on and made the announcement via his Twitter account. In a follow-up tweet, he stated he was proud of what the team had built across the various markets and was pleased to be leaving the business in good hands. He was previously the vice-president of media, mobile and platforms at Google APAC. Omnicom Media Group (OMG) appointed Ranga Somanathan to lead Singapore and Malaysia as CEO. He will be in charge of OMG assets in Singapore and Malaysia, working alongside the senior management team and leads for OMD and PHD. He reports to Jasmin Sohrabji, CEO for SEA and India, and replaces Sony Wong in Singapore, who leaves at the end of the year for an early retirement. King Content bolstered its team bringing on board King Content Sydney’s senior content strategist and editor Daniel Hochuli. It has also hired Nadia Abdullah as social and native

account manager and strategist in Singapore and Dorothy So as senior content editor in Hong Kong. Peter Bakker, commercial director for King Content Asia, pointed to the growing recognition of the importance of content marketing in the region. Wunderman appointed Caspar Schlickum as chief executive officer for the Asia Pacific region, beginning in September. He joins from WPP’s Xaxis where he served as CEO for the EMEA region. He will oversee Wunderman’s Asia Pacific operations, which together employ some 1,000 people across 28 offices in 14 countries. He succeeded Martin Conneen who ended his decade-long tenure and served as president of Asia Pacific for two years. Microsoft saw the departure of veteran and long-standing chief operating officer (COO) Kevin Turner. Chief executive Satya Nadella said that five executives, namely Judson Althoff, Jean-Philippe Courtois, Chris Capossela, Kurt DelBene, and Amy Hood will split Turner’s duties. Turner is said to be moving on to a top post at global financial firm Citadel Securities as chief executive officer and vice chairman of the parent company, Citadel. Malaysia Aviation Group appointed chief operating officer Peter Bellew as group managing director and chief executive officer. He takes over from Christoph Mueller who stepped down from the role in March. This follows announcements on Bellew taking

on executive director duties for the MAS board in late April. The leadership changes have been approved by Khazanah Nasional, the sole shareholder of MAG. Dentsu Aegis Network appointed Philip Zohrab in a newly created role of chief data officer for Australia and New Zealand. He joins from iProspect in Singapore, where he was regional managing director of the digital technology operations. He has been with the Dentsu Aegis Network since 2013 and will help drive Dentsu Aegis Network’s global data strategy in a local context with Australia and New Zealand. Isobar promoted Jane Lin-Baden, CEO of Isobar China Group, to Asia Pacific CEO of Isobar, with immediate effect. She took over from Jean Lin, Isobar global CEO, who will focus on her global role going forward, formerly holding both roles. In her new leadership role, Lin-Baden will drive strategic growth to expand Isobar’s capabilities and accelerate business growth throughout the region. Publicis Communications promoted Steve Walls to chief strategy officer for its Singapore operations. He will oversee the strategic planning function across Publicis Communications agencies in Singapore. He will report to Lou Dela Pena, CEO of Publicis Communications. Walls was last executive planning director at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore and has been in the industry for more than 20 years. WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

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CLIENTS WHO DON’T PAY: HASN’T THE INDUSTRY HAD ENOUGH? There is nothing more appalling than non-paying clients (no, not even scam ads) in our industry. Rayana Pandey writes.

Are you paying your agencies on time?

While we may have come a long way, certain issues still plague the industry as they did decades ago – and non-paying clients top the list. Makes you wonder: how much have we really progressed? Non-paying clients are big and small, local and multinational, so let’s not discriminate. Suffering most from this lack of professionalism are the smaller agencies in Singapore. Speaking to a few such agencies here, revealed some of the most outrageous reasons for clients not paying. “Sorry, my boss is in a bad mood. She hasn’t signed the PO.” Or “you need to come by and make her happy. Give her some cakes and sweet stuff. She likes agencies like that. You guys are not ‘friendly’ enough”. Worse still? A project starts, but never sees the light of the day. Not because the agency didn’t complete the work, but the marketing lead on the account changed so often. Let me put that in perspective – 14 people in three years – each demanding the agency submit the work following new directions and guidelines, but the agency was expected to honour the initial quotation and keep producing the work. A disgruntled agency creative told me: ”Even the Lor Mee store near our office changed price from SG$4.50 to SG$5.50.” I found it somewhat hilarious, but checked myself because there is nothing funny about people losing jobs just because a certain someone didn’t pay for the work he/she commissioned. “Basically, it is the marketing managers/directors that just sit on WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

things. Their executives bear the brunt of it,” the creative lead said. Some of these agencies are on the verge of shutting down, others might too – sooner or later. For the industry to be thriving, and competing with other markets globally, a certain level of ethics and professionalism is critical, but as we know, they have been a bit of a rare commodity in the marketing/ advertising industry. The contradiction in a market such as Singapore is glaring. On the one hand, the EDB is pumping billions into making Singapore the most sophisticated digital hub globally, which will attract some of the biggest and the coolest businesses to its shore. On the other, certain industries simply refuse to get their act together. Is this how we will compete, globally? The solution is simple. Non-paying clients, grow up. Be professional and pay for what you’ve asked for. And if you can’t, design and develop that ad in-house. It may be average or pathetic, but isn’t your work a reflection of you anyway? There’s a need for a few disclaimers: Yes, this article has an agency-bias. No, I am not undermining other issues plaguing the industry And PS: I am not even going to talk about the 4As in Singapore. AU GU S T 2 016 MARKE TI N G 5 7