Marketing Magazine Singapore - November 2016

THE ART & SCIENCE OF CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS

NOVEMBER 2016

SINGAPORE

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

Venus Hew, Senior Journalist venush@marketing-interactive.com Monisha Rao, Senior Journalist monishar@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 Circulation Executive Deborah Quek, Circulations Executive deborahq@marketing-interactive.com

We know the huge role digital plays in our lives. No one can question it. But in a market such as Singapore, where we have an ageing population, it is worth taking a moment to consider offline channels as well.

Recently, my dad, who is hovering around the 60s age group, faced a difficult conversation over the phone when he was asked to retrieve information about an old car he owned. After speaking to several voiceautomated and real people on the other end of the line for at least a good 30 minutes, he was asked to head to a website to log on with a password to try and retrieve the information.

Unfortunately, in this instance with my intense work schedule, I wasn’t by his side to come to his aid.

Desperately, he told the operator he didn’t quite understand the process which was met by a long silence and another phone call.

Frustrating isn’t it?

I’m not saying our older folks are not a savvy bunch. There are those who are very IT literate. But there is also a digital disparity. And while I am all for educating the older generation with the wave of digital, I must admit I do understand, and sometimes shamefully, identify with their inertia.

I do think as a community we rely on digital a little too much and we are losing touch with the beauty of the offline world. The instant gratification nature of today is also making us a little bit impatient.

When internet services break down, we take to social media to rant until the minute they are up again. When an airline website crashes due to high demand, we move to the next best deal. When a device fails, we ditch the brand completely. Clearly, we are a demanding bunch to please.

So this month, I vowed to do something a little different. While I am addicted to the speed and adrenaline of our online daily newsletters, we’ve also kept a little special something for the print pages.

This month when you flip through the pages of the magazine you will find issues and articles that are covered offline first. And I hope to make that a constant.

Happy flipping!

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

WE DON’T NEED TO BE ‘ON’ ALL THE TIME

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 publisher of Marketing magazine 2/F, Connaught Harbourfront House, 35-36 Connaught Road West, 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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OCTOB E R 2 016 M ARKE TI N G 1

NEWS

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

Creating magical moments Disney Junior Asia launched its “Magical Moments” campaign with Mediacorp OOH Media. This was done through an augmented reality stunt involving an interactive 6-sheet panel at a bus stop next to the Tampines regional library.

As part of the campaign, a video showcasing the panels was created showing the interactive AR panel engaging families at a bus stop via special character surprises.

A bright spot JCDecaux aimed to brighten the look of its Changi Airport Terminal 2 arrival immigration halls advertising space. The out-ofhome media owner converted the former twin front-lit wall wraps in each of the two arrival immigration halls in Terminal 2 to a single large panoramic lightbox. JCDecaux unveiled this pair of panoramic lightboxes in August together with Samsung’s launch of its products.

Acronis sponsors F1 team Technology company Acronis became the first local brand to directly sponsor a Formula 1 racing team. The team chosen was Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of the two F1 teams owned by Red Bull. Previously, the title sponsors were Singtel and Singapore Airlines. Acronis, however, is the first to sponsor a team directly.

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New brand campaign Singapore Press Holdings launched a new brand campaign called “The power of sharing” for its publications and offerings.

Conceptualised by its in-house creative team led by Tommy Lim, head of SPH’s CreativeLab, it will run on various channels and media platforms ranging from print and online to outdoor.

It features a microsite which encourages members of the public to participate and share their thoughts with the organisation.

Taking a cruise Princess Cruises announced its latest digital advertising campaign called “Time Back” that targets specifically the working female. The global cruise and tour company said it was taking a different approach by bringing across the idea that cruising was not all about the hustle and bustle of activities onboard, but rather an enriching holiday experience that helps people gain new perspectives and reconnect with loved ones.

McDonald’s ends search McDonald’s is set to conclude its search for local franchise partners in Malaysia and Singapore.

According to Bloomberg, the deal is estimated to be worth up to US$400 million. According to an article on Reuters, the group which clinched the franchise rights was Saudi Arabian Reza Food Services. It currently exclusively owns and operates all McDonald’s restaurants in the Western and Southern regions of Saudi Arabia.

New online content Mm2 Entertainment collaborated with eight digital content producers to commission original online content such as mini movies and web series.

The producers have a range of styles for the content. Under this collaboration, the producers will continue to produce work for their own channels under the common banner of “Mm2 digital content producers”.

Silvercab and Grab partner up Grab brought Silvercab drivers onto its platform. This is its second partnership with a local taxi operator, and it is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to better serve its drivers and make transportation accessible for all passengers. The drivers will benefit from more ride bookings with access to Grab’s passenger base and technology.

New advertising partnership Mediacorp OOH Media partnered with Trans-Cab Services to offer taxi advertising exclusively, adding variety to its outdoor advertising platforms. The partnership sees AXA Singapore as the first client.

The company’s “Born to Protect” campaign is a global corporate brand initiative, which is aimed to increase brand preference by showcasing its brand promise and unique vision of protection.

Dentsu launches data centre Dentsu Aegis Network launched the “Dentsu Aegis Network global data innovation centre” – the network’s first R&D centre.

Supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, it will develop and produce innovative applications and serve as a hub for data scientists and technology talent for the entire network globally. It will also drive the company’s growth in data excellence and digital media expenditure.

URA appoints Carbon URA appointed Carbon Interactive as its agency to develop and implement a digital marketing plan for Singapore’s public space programme. The creative agency will support URA’s “Our Favourite Place” initiative to enliven public spaces in Singapore with a forecasted digital marketing strategy, social media management and on-ground campaign activation. It aims to achieve huge community interest and activation in the co-ownership of shared spaces.

Donate and support Singapore Red Cross unveiled a campaign to promote its suite of local community services and raise awareness to further its fundraising efforts. The campaign was conceptualised by MullenLowe Singapore. It aims to engage people in the stories of some of the beneficiaries and show how their donations and support are required for continuous growth.

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NEWS

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Guilty of plagiarism Local aesthetic centre, Only Aesthetic, was found to have plagiarised an iconic UN campaign called “The Autocomplete Truth”. The spot was originally conceptualised by Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai. Images from the original campaign were taken, edited and reposted by the centre.

However, since then, all traces of the plagiarised posts have been taken down from the company’s Instagram.

HPB relaunches campaign The Health Promotion Board relaunched its National Steps Challenge. This follows the success of its first season, which saw over five billion steps being clocked within the first month of the campaign. The media agency for this campaign was MEC Singapore. The aim of the campaign is to spread awareness, generate interest and participation in the National Steps Challenge’s second season.

A massive roster MCI appointed 30 agencies, content creators and media owners in its agency roster.

Thirty three organisations pitched for the tender. According to Gebiz, those contracted will be responsible for creative conceptualisation, planning, execution and media buying services for government communication campaigns for the whole year, with an option to extend for two more years.

New experience created Royal Philips, in its efforts to create interactive ways of experiencing healthy living, unveiled the Philips consumer care centre in Singapore. The centre exhibits a healthy living experience for consumers, and showcases the company’s product portfolio. The space was designed to recreate various rooms within the home allowing consumers to interact with Philips products, and learn more about them in a home-like setting.

New appointment Singapore Airlines (SIA) appointed Zenith Singapore for its social media and campaign management, and production needs. The move comes almost a year after SIA appointed Zenith Singapore to handle its global media planning and buying services.

Dentsu rolls out apology Dentsu president and CEO Tadashi Ishii has admitted to approximately 633 suspicious transactions, involving over 111 clients. The number of cases where fees were charged was found to be around 14 and worth about JPY 230 million. According to the company, all clients involved have been communicated to, and it is not set to affect the company “materially.”

NUS appoints Media Shop The NUS’ Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy reappointed The Media Shop as its media agency for the third year in a row. It saw agencies such as Asatsu-DK Singapore, OMD Singapore, Paprika Global and Starlight Advertising vying for the account.

INSPIRE & MOTIVATE

Drive Motivation & Performance

Build Brand Value

Drive Sales & Results

Increase Share of Wallet

Bringing the Right Experiences to your Business Solutions

CONNECT & ENGAGE

Enjoy Rewarding Experiences

Drive Customer Satisfaction

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

CRM & PRM

Data Profiling & Analytics

Rewards & Incentives

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Aspiration for Progress & Performance

Nurture Lasting Partnerships

Contact us on how we can work together to inspire loyalty and drive rewarding experiences.

Web: Email: Contact:

www.edenred.com.sg info-sg@edenred.com +65 6229 8686

9/30/2016 11:35:32 AM

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NEWS

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Company sues blogger Influencer company, Netccentric’s ChurpChurp network, sued lifestyle blogger, Ang Chiew Ting, for a breach of contract. Ang entered an agreement with the agency where she agreed to have the company exclusively manage and negotiate all commercial deals involving her social media accounts. Since then, Ang has entered more than 30 commercial, advertising and promotional agreements with brands without ChurpChurp’s knowledge, approval and negotiation.

Testing new markets Rolling Stone announced the formation of a strategic partnership with BandLab Technologies, who will take a 49% minority stake in Rolling Stone, alongside parent company Wenner Media. The company will focus on expanding Rolling Stone’s business in new markets, and propel the brand’s global evolution. The BandLab Technologies’ portfolio of companies and affiliates is led by co-founder Meng Ru Kuok.

Jack’s Place launches campaign Jack’s Place launched a new family campaign to mark its 50th anniversary. The campaign was conceptualised by digital agency, Section. The campaign began with a Facebook contest. As part of this, two families were selected and featured as part of the campaign. Jack’s Place will roll out five online videos supported by ads both online and offline in an integrated manner for convergence.

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Mutiny launched Former Brand New Media’s global group head of knowledge, Nick Fawbert, launched a digital transformation consultancy called Mutiny. It is a consultancy business for the Asian marketplace specialising in business transformation through digital marketing. It offers bespoke programme development to support the creation of longterm digital marketing strategies, business structures that support them, and delivery of skills and talent development through workshops and e-learning programmes.

Looking to Myanmar Singapore Tourism Board launched marketing activities and promotional campaigns to attract travellers from Myanmar to Singapore. It organised the first “Singapore Festival” in an effort to encourage more travellers from the country and mark the 50th year of the countries’ diplomatic relations. The board executed a two-day festival at Myanmar Plaza where Singapore’s iconic landmarks, food, games and performances were showcased.

Local agency opens in Shanghai Singapore-based The Secret Little Agency made its first foray into the Shanghai market with the opening of its new office. It will be headed by co-founder Mavis Neo as creative lead, and Krystie Koh, as director of operations. It counts brands such as the Singapore Economic Development board, Tiger Beer and Netflix as its key clients both at a regional and global level.

MDA and IDA merge The Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore and Infocomm Development (IDA) Authority of Singapore have officially merged to form the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA). The new IMDA will develop and regulate the converging infocomm (ICT), and media sectors and will implement the Infocomm Media 2025 plan. It will also support the Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) to bond communities through compelling local content.

National security campaign The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) appointed GroupM, along with Ogilvy Public Relations and Zoo Group, for the conceptualisation and management of a national cyber security awareness campaign. The network and its agency partners will also be responsible for management, design, development, execution and PR support. The ministry collaborated with Mediacorp and Tribal Worldwide Singapore to reach out to the members who communicate in dialect.

Joining up WPP’s Circus Social integrated its products with GroupM’s Vocanic, allowing clients to listen to and analyse social and news data through 20/Twenty, and use VSocial’s publishing features to publish and manage a social presence. The new features include a full social CRM capability that allows brands to search for and track their customers in realtime, store details and interaction, and schedule content.

On the hunt The Ministry of Education is on the look out for an agency to provide consultancy services for marketing communications for its kindergarten division.

According to Gebiz, the agency will be responsible for the conceptualisation of a campaign strategy based on a review of the current strategy and assessment of branding, marketing needs and objectives. It will also develop a marketing plan, along with the creation of campaign visuals and templates.

Fuel saving campaign Shell engaged an XCO Media+ Optimax truck for its fuel saving “Live life full-on” campaign to promote its fuel efficiency benefits.

To promote the campaign, the fully wrapped truck moved along a selected high-traffic road to reach out to drivers. On-ground activations were conducted at Mapletree Business Park and East Coast Park. The Optimax truck is the agency’s latest OOH advertising asset.

Subway undertakes review Subway Systems Singapore is reviewing its creative account for the regional market.

Marketing understands this is part of its usual review procedure. The incumbent for the account is Saatchi & Saatchi. The pitch is scheduled to conclude at the end of this year. Moreover, the company did not review its media pitch with its agency MediaCom, which was appointed last year.

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NEWS

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Google buys FameBit Tech giant Google bought FameBit to help its influencers and video creators on YouTube boost their sponsorship and promotional deals. It is a digital and social media marketing start-up that connects digital influencers with advertisers, marketers and brands for paid promotions, product placements and sponsorships. Google did not reveal the price of the acquisition.

Skittles outsmarts Trump Donald Trump Jr took to Twitter and equated a bowl of skittles to affected Syrian refugees. The brand retaliated and said: “Skittles are candy. Refugees are people.

We don’t feel it’s an appropriate analogy. We will respectfully refrain from further commentary as anything we say could be misinterpreted as marketing.”

This saw thousands of likes and re-tweets with a trending hashtag #SkittlesWelcome.

Emirates’ new ad To promote its Airbus A380, Emirates launched a new ad spot featuring Jennifer Aniston.

This is the second time the actress has collaborated with the airline, the first being last year.

The script and creative concept was a collaboration between Bryan Buckley, known for his Super Bowl ads, and Emirates’ in-house advertising team and produced in conjunction with the WPP Group.

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Most valuable brands Brand consultancy Interbrand named Apple, Google and CocaCola as the three most valuable brands in its 2016 Best Global Brands report, with automotive and technology brands dominating the rankings. For the fourth year in a row, Apple and Google claimed the top positions.

Apple’s brand value grew by 5% to US$178,119 million, while Google’s brand value rose 11% to US$133,252 million.

Dollar strikes with ads Male grooming brand Dollar Shave Club launched three 30-second ad spots which took aim at competitors such as Axe and Old Spice for its hyper masculine marketing, which may not be relatable to the average Joe. This came a little after the brand was recently acquired by Unilever. According to numerous news sources Unilever paid about US$1 billion in an all-cash deal.

Lawsuit filed According to a lawsuit filed by The Centre for Science in the Public Interest, PepsiCo was accused of misleading consumers by marketing its product Naked Juice’s Kale Blazer, as predominantly containing high-value ingredients. PepsiCo, however, refuted all the allegations by the non-profit organisation.

In response to the lawsuit, the company issued a press release which called the lawsuit baseless.

Mitsubishi powers on Mitsubishi Heavy Industries extended its commercial partnership with CNN International Commercial (CNNIC) and sponsored a 12-week global campaign called “Powering Your World”. This is a dedicated digital series on CNN Money which explores innovations that are transforming the way energy is created and used. The advertising solution included extensive branding on the microsite produced by Create, CNNIC’s inhouse branded content studio.

IKEA tackles divorce IKEA’s new ad tackled the issue of divorce. It took a non-traditional approach to tap the consumer psyche. The ad was part of a new communication approach launched by the company’s headquarters in Sweden. The concept expressed and highlighted its presence in the consumer’s life by trying to give them what they exactly require. This was the first TV commercial in a series of nine.

Toy launch in HK Building on the success of Force Friday in Hong Kong, Toys”R”Us organised a midnight toy launch at its Tsim Sha Tsui store for the latest Star Wars iteration Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and related collectibles.

Attended by 500 people, the toy store’s Star Wars campaign kicked off with the very first “Giant Millennium Falcon Building Event” at its TST storefront.

HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

A DIRECT HIT

DirectAsia, in an effort to drive awareness and sales of the company’s car insurance among drivers in the country, launched a new campaign.

It highlighted the autopilot behaviour consumers typically demonstrate when renewing their car insurance policies.

Leading with the hashtag #DontGetStuck, the company encouraged consumers to make better choices by switching to DirectAsia Insurance, and not be resigned to slow

claims processes, inflexible policies or paying more than they should.

The campaign was run across television, newspapers, digital and out-of-home channels.

While the creative was done by MullenLowe, the bus shelter canopy was carried out by an independent designer. The media execution was done by Initiative.

The bus shelter execution in particular cost about SG$60,000.

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NEWS

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New performance platform MSLGROUP, in conjunction with Publicis Communications and Publicis Media, launched an influence-to-impact performance platform called Conversation2Commerce for the global market. The company aims to deliver what it calls the “true potential” of influence in marketing and reputation. Headed

by MSLGROUP’s chief influence strategist, Erin Lanuti, the new global solution provided services in influence identification, content and idea creation, targeting, amplification and measurement.

Emerald’s minority stake Emerald Media acquired a minority stake in YuppTV worth US$50 million. Emerald Media is a Pan-Asian platform established by leading global investment firm KKR. YuppTV is an over-the-top video platform for South Asian content, which offers live TV, catch-up TV and movies ondemand in 14 languages across the globe. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the platform has access to more than 400 million households across the world.

Google Indonesia raided Google Inc’s Jakarta office was raided by Indonesian tax officials in an effort to collect unpaid outstanding tax liabilities by the company. In a statement to The Jakarta Post, Muhammad Haniv, head of the Jakarta Special Tax Office, said tax investigators had visited Google’s office as part of an investigation to look into the company’s refusal to undergo a state tax audit.

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AUDIT WATCH

A FOOD LOVER’S ASSURANCE New media agencies FrieslandCampina selected its media agencies for its consumer brands. The agencies included are MEC, Carat, Essence and Pervorm. The contract is from 2017 onwards. With these media agencies the dairy company seeks to globally improve the effectiveness of its media and marketing investments for its consumer brands. The expertise of these agencies will drive integrated media planning in the fast-moving consumer goods market.

Alibaba goes global Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced that Alibaba Pictures Group had formed a “comprehensive strategic alliance” with Amblin Partners, the Hollywood content company led by director and producer Steven Spielberg, to co-produce and finance films for international and Chinese audiences. It will acquire a minority stake in Amblin Partners and take a seat on its board of directors. Financial terms were not disclosed.

P&G’s bold new ambassador P&G’s CoverGirl unveiled its first ever male ambassador a 17-yearold make-up artist James Charles.

This is the first time the 55-yearold beauty brand has brought on board a male face. It is famously known for collaborating with female celebrities and winners from America’s Next Top Model. News of the collaboration first surfaced on Charles’ Instagram through a video and post announcing the ambassadorship.

Epicure magazine targets affluent professionals, driven foodies, aspiring cooks, avid travellers, wine enthusiasts, chefs and restaurateurs.

The magazine is a monthly one, with a current circulation of 9,765 which is audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations Singapore.

Currently widely available in Jakarta and Bali, epicure successfully launched two Bali supplements in May 2015 and April 2016, and is planning its next special project: Bali Villas and Suites for October 2016.

The magazine has about 38 advertisers from Bali and 17 advertisers from Jakarta, with brands that include Four Seasons, St. Regis, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Conrad, Sofitel, Kempinski, Edrington/Macallan, Alila Hotels and Resorts, and W Hotels & Resorts. “Auditing has helped us enforce credibility and media professionalism gaining

advertisers’ support. Unfortunately, many magazines remain unaudited because advertisers still believe in claimed circulation,” said Sum Kwong Ho, group publisher at Magazines Integrated.

“Circulation Audit has never become obligatory or mandatory in Singapore though we pride ourselves as the media hub and championed vehemently on IP rights.

“I have written to the MDA and suggested audit certificates be criteria for renewal of the MITA permit for publications that have reached five years of existence. The matter has been in limbo.”

Eel ad pulled down A new video created to promote Shibushi in Japan as an eel farming haven resulted in widespread outrage. Netizens criticised the ad for being sexist and “perverse”. The ad in question featured a young girl in a black one-piece swimsuit lounging around the pool. She is seen swimming and sunbathing at the side of the pool while eating. The video was taken down soon after.

New digital partner Kraft Heinz in Indonesia selected VML Indonesia as its digital partner to handle its ABC brand, which has a presence in soy, chili, shrimp paste, beverages and canned foods. VML will lead the digital strategy and owned channel executions for the portfolio. The agency’s mandate includes campaign development, content creation, social management and website road-mapping.

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

1 Campaign Asia Square ‘Amazing square’ Brief To position Asia Square as the place where the top companies are based, the campaign makes three bold claims – “There’s always room at the top”, “In business every move counts” and “At Asia Square you’ll always have the advantage”. This is supported by arresting visuals showing movers and shakers inside the square surrounded by the masses who are looking on.

Client

Asia Square

Creative

mangham gaxiola mcgarrybowen

THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM AT THE TOP

AT ASIA SQUARE, YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE ADVANTAGE

Reaching for the top is part of our culture. Asia Square’s 25 international awards for design, construction quality, sustainability and energy management says a lot. You’ll also find some of the world’s most respected blue chip companies, one of the leading global banks, three of the top insurance companies and the largest asset management company in the world. Asia Square gives you easy access to great restaurants, an award winning food garden, state-of-the-art fitness and yoga studios and the

Media

Downtown MRT line. Whether you need 600 sq ft or 35,000 sq ft, call the leasing team and get a view from the top.

DM2 Asia

Asia Square: Gillian Tng +65 6411 3294

Jones Lang LaSalle: Andrew Tangye +65 6220 3888

www.asia-square.com

Working at Asia Square is like playing tennis at Wimbledon’s Centre Court. It is the best building in Singapore’s CBD at Marina Bay. Asia Square is home to some of the world’s most respected blue chip companies, including one of the leading global banks, three of the world’s top insurance companies and the largest asset management company in the world. Location is everything and at Asia Square you have access to great restaurants, an award-winning food garden, one of Singapore’s biggest fitness centres and the Downtown MRT line. Whether you need 600 sq ft or 35,000 sq ft, call the leasing team and get the Asia Square advantage.

Asia Square: Gillian Tng +65 6411 3294

Jones Lang LaSalle: Andrew Tangye +65 6220 3888

www.asia-square.com

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2 Campaign Cherished tradition for the modern bride Brief Goldheart created a moving short film about the challenging dynamic between the modern bride and her mother-in-law, and in the process, illustrated the significance of the long-standing Si Dian Jin wedding custom. The digital short film featured celebrities Rebecca Lim, Nora Samosir and Xiang Yun in both English and Mandarin. Currently, there are press and print advertisements, advertorial and digital marketing initiatives to reach out to both bridesto-be and mothers-in-law.

Client

Goldheart

Creative

Mediacorp Brand Studio

Media

Havas Media Singapore

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

3 Campaign Back to school Brief Notable personalities from all walks of life such as actress Rebecca Lim, member of parliament Tin Pei Ling and other prominent figures have rallied together to support education for youth in need by donning their alma mater uniforms. This is part of an NTUC Income OrangeAid campaign, which invites Singaporeans to show their support by posting old photos of themselves in school uniforms on Facebook, and to tag three friends to do the same.

Client

NTUC Income

Creative

BBH

Media

OMD

3 4 Campaign Toyota regional safety campaign Brief Toyota has launched its regional safety campaign for a third consecutive year. Called “Be safety leaders”, the campaign urges drivers and passengers to be proactive in traffic safety by beginning with the simple act of belting up. Through this educational campaign, Toyota hopes to reinforce the fact that seat belts complement airbags and increase their effectiveness by 15 times.

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Client

Toyota Motor Asia Pacific

Creative

Delphys Hakuhodo International

Media

In-house

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

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Caroline Chua Regional head of copy The Alchemy Partnership

AD WATCH HOT: Income – back to school Strategically, this campaign by NTUC Income is right on the money. A well-loved local brand champions empowerment through education for youth in need. That’s definitely a good cause, and I have to say that both NTUC Income plus the ad agency scored extra brownie points for this campaign. With local politicians, celebrities, social media influencers and a renowned hawker vendor fronting the campaign, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by a sense of patriotism. Plus, it is also the first time in many months a local campaign has actually got my attention – enough for me to go through all 15 posters they have plastered on their Facebook. Although the execution and copy are really simple, the story behind each one of them still speak volumes. It is also nice to know that in times like these, there’s a brand out there that truly has its heart in the right place.

NOT: Great Eastern – do the best for your loved ones Once again, Great Eastern has run an ad that is neither fresh or surprising.

Then again, why am I not surprised?

You can term the message as runof-the-mill, done to death and even passé propaganda. Midway through the video, you would have already known what’s going to happen in the end. So if you’re expecting a twist, I’ll just have to break the news to you now and say that there’s absolutely none. The main message of, “Do the best for your loved ones,” does nothing for me and when they throw in the overzealous insurance agent going the extra mile for his client, it becomes overly contrived. It’s almost as though they’re playing a game of chance, and perhaps hopefully, this time round, will evoke an emotional response from viewers. But the real question here is – when will Great Eastern learn? The truth is, nobody knows.

Collin Ng Project director Clickr Media

WEB WATCH HOT: redmart.com

NOT: ntu.edu.sg

RedMart has one of the best e-commerce experiences when it comes to online grocery shopping. From its style and layout, one can tell the design is pivoted around the company’s understanding of its customers’ journey and user behaviour on the site. When you first arrive on the page, you will see: search, browse by category, delivery slot checking, a price-match service, and two featured promotion banners.

These are the key features that customers look for when they first land on an e-commerce site, which directly answers to their needs. This also includes the need to find products fast, to know what time they can receive their purchases and to get products at the best value. Its mobile web is also responsive, plus it has its own mobile app. Lastly, I like that its iconic shade of red used in branding is very much consistently applied to all its assets – from website down to its delivery vehicles!

University websites generally struggle with information overload and the need to cater to at least three distinct types of audiences (undergraduates, graduates and academics/researchers) with different sets of content needed for the customer journey. NTU’s home page seems to be designed primarily for returning visitors. For example, its rotating banners and news sliders are taking up key areas on the page.

This approach works great for the media folk alumnus, academics and researchers who visit the site often for updates. But for new students, they will have to rely on the links of the navigation bars on top, and will probably need to go through at least three pages to reach the pages that are relevant to them. The “prospective students” link in the top left corner helps, but again, it is located in a spot easy to be missed among all the links and images one can see at first glance.

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DIRECT MAIL CASE STUDY

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APT811 – PUTTING ITS OWN DESIGN ON THINGS An apt way to showcase its design services.

and brand methodology. It also aimed to communicate its competency in effective strategy to design meaningful and uniquely branded experiences for businesses.

THE MAIL Mapping a direction: Growing a business with design in mind

To promote its design services, design and innovation agency APT811 designed a direct mailer pack to reach out to potential customers to showcase what it could do.

Called, “Let us grow your business with design”, the mailer aimed to create targeted awareness to introduce the agency. It was also meant to be an easy to understand kit that enabled its target audience to make prompt and accurate decisions on where to begin their brand campaign. It was targeted at those who value design and are willing to adopt design methodologies to strategically engage internal and external stakeholders through business design and brand innovation.

It aimed to display its approach to business design, and how design can be an integral part of businesses – from advocating brand innovation to stakeholders’ engagement to defining and aligning brand purpose. To do WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

so, a customised letter was addressed to the recipient to accompany each mailer.

The direct mailer pack consisted of two parts – a folded A5 size pamphlet which opened up to a chart segmenting the different stages where businesses would be, with services recommended strategically for companies based on the stage they are at, thus giving them an overall idea on approaches to adopt.

This aimed to help recipients start their decision-making of their brand development campaign. It also included a little A5 booklet showcasing some of the projects completed and the brand’s strategic approaches to engagements, innovation and brand alignment.

Through the mailer, APT811 hoped to show its unique approach to business design

Objective An introduction and awareness direct mailer to communicate APT811’s approach to business design and innovation, defining services offered as well as proposed services for different stages of a business.

Target audience Entrepreneurs and senior executives tasked to lead change in their company.

Results The mailer gathered good feedback and awareness from potential clients. It provided them with clear information on brand requirements and approaches.

Felix Fong Chief executive APT811 Design & Innovation Agency

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DENTSU-TOYOTA SAGA: A MUCH NEEDED WAKE UP CALL FOR EVERYONE? Rezwana Manjur and Vivienne Tay ask marketers what they think of the Dentsu-Toyota furore and how the system can be changed to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

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“Technology is supposed to make things easier and more transparent, but this isn’t always the case.”

Dentsu president and CEO Tadashi Ishii apologised and admitted to approximately 633 suspicious transactions involving more than 111 clients. Among those transactions, the number of cases where fees were charged while no placement had been made was found to be around 14 and worth about JPY 230 million.

According to the company, all clients involved have been already communicated to and it is not set to affect the company “materially”. This came days after the Toyota saga which rocked the marketing community where Dentsu Inc admitted to claims that its subsidiaries DA Search and Link (DASL) had overbilled long-serving client Toyota for its performance-marketing services.

These claims first surfaced in a report on AdNews. In a press statement, the agency added that the types of irregularities involving inappropriate operations which it has detected to date, included “discrepancies in advertising placement periods either made consciously or by human error, failure of placement, and false reporting regarding performance results WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

or achievements”. This was on top of invoices not reflecting actual results, resulting in unjust overcharged billings.

“We take this matter seriously and immediately after finding out about the incidents, we organised an internal investigation team in the middle of August. We have initiated extensive investigations to grasp and verify the actual situations, including the root causes leading to the inappropriate operations. We are vigorously continuing our investigations,” Ishii said in a statement. The investigations cover those digital advertising services rendered after November 2012 until now in Japan.

“While we are still in the process of pursuing our investigations, if we confirm new facts, we will deal with such new findings in the same manner.”

He added the company was determined to clarify the causes leading to the inappropriate operations and to establish further requisite measures for resolving the situation, along with fundamental preventive measures.

It hopes to “implement such steps faithfully and steadily in order to restore confidence” in the company by the end of the year.

Moreover, following the taking of such steps, the agency now plans to report the progress of its efforts to clients and business partners, including advertisers, related associations and organisations and all other stakeholders.

“We sincerely apologise to our esteemed advertisers, the parties concerned and our shareholders from the bottom of our hearts for causing concern and trouble,” he said.

A DAN representative in a statement to Marketing said the case was one which was isolated to its digital operations in Japan.

This is not the first time a media agency has faced such a public issue of falsifying claims or overbilling clients. In 2014, WPP’s Mediacom faced a similar issue for fabricating campaign data in the Australian market which led to several of its other clients reviewing their relationship with the agency. Recently, WPP’s GroupM appointed John Montgomery to a new role of executive vice-president of brand safety for GroupM global.

He worked with GroupM’s community of digital advertising and media trading experts at Mindshare, MEC, Mediacom, Maxus, Essence and Xaxis to create a coherent set of global standards that operationalise brand safety for GroupM’s clients in every market in which they advertise.

Moreover, the shocking news triggered the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) to finally unveil a new set of guidelines to ensure transparency between agencies and clients.

The ANA also commissioned an assessment by K2 Intelligence.

ANA said that marketers were now expected to require media agencies to be fully transparent in their proceedings in order to elevate trust and restore confidence in the agency-client relationship.

It also released a recommended contract template, urging marketers to leverage it as the foundation for master service agreements with agencies.

Crisis for media agencies?

But are media agencies, who many say have long stolen the spotlight from creative agencies, now having a moment of crisis?

Darren Woolley, founder and global CEO of TrinityP3, said that trust was very important in these relationships, but the new DentsuToyota revelation is proving that trust alone will not protect a marketer from practices which are not transparent. If this can happen to a client relationship, which has been seen by the industry as long-standing and significant, it can happen to anyone.

This, he added, was an indication that marketers and advertisers in the region can no longer ignore the issue of media transparency.

He added many marketers here have been quick to dismiss the issue believing it is a problem for the US and Australia, but not an issue for Asia.

“Every marketer in the region now needs to rethink how they are contracting their media agency arrangements to deliver transparency, value and performance,” Woolley said.

He said many marketers go into relationships with their media agency providing total trust for the investment of significant sums of money with little or no regulation or governance around how that money is charged or invested.

“The fact is that media agencies have been charging advertisers less up front in the way of fees for a number of years because they know they can make up the shortfall in other less transparent ways,” he said.

He added simply changing agencies will not be a cure, but rather marketers and agencies need to implement contracts and practices to ensure transparency, performance and value will slowly build trust.

Paul Davies, managing partner at Roth, said in his interactions with marketers, he sees a general continuing trend downwards of trust of agency marketing services generally – not just media. Specifically the issue is centred around a lack of transparency and openness regarding commercials.

“Clearly, the media companies are the ones at the sharp end of this negativity at present. As digital media spend continues to increase, this NOVE MB E R 2 016 MARKE TI N G 1 5

BRANDED CONTENT

TIPS TO PLAN A MIND-BLOWING CHRISTMAS PARTY n a flash, 2016 is almost over and it has just dawned on the marketing department that the festive season is looming right ahead. Yes, it is Christmas – the time to organise events and probably throw a memorable party for all the co-workers to celebrate the company’s achievements for the year and get everyone looking forward to the next. What to do, with so little time left? No worries.

While there is no hard-and-fast rule to planning a great party, there are some guidelines to make sure you stay on course. Here is some two cents from award-winning Orange Clove Catering.

1. GET STARTED More often than not, we have all these big ideas when we start to plan and we spend far too much time worrying about achieving them. Truth is, you are never going to get things going if you do not start somewhere. Straighten out the fundamentals. Take your guest list for example, you cannot throw an event without knowing the estimated turnout and who you are going to invite.

2. DETERMINE THE TONE OF YOUR EVENT Is it an intimate gathering with your colleagues at your office or an elaborate sit-down dinner with all your clients? It should be easier to plot out your budget and shortlist the venue with a clear direction in mind.

Events spaces are scarce in Singapore so book them early before they are snapped up on the popular dates. If you are looking at having a sky garden party, there is always the iFly Singapore Sky Garden and Avalon Singapore for the unpolished view overseeing Marina Bay Sands. For intimate parties, Top Deck and The Art House are your next best bet.

3. FOOD IS KING Food plays an important role – no, it is not just about filling your guests up. Food has become a must-have for any event and a conversation-starter for everyone. As your guests engage in small talk by the buffet lines, the last thing you want is for them to be sharing grouses over how bad the food tastes or looks.

Honey Glazed Chicken Ham with Tangy Pineapple Relish.

do you want to ensure the best in the food quality and taste, but also in the presentation and service as well.

It is important to choose food that is fitting for the occasion and your guests. Therefore, find a caterer that can give you the luxury of choice and customisation.

5. TURN EXPECTATIONS INTO REALITY Finally, this is the part where you tackle all your – or your management’s – expectations and try to meet them.

It is important to work smart from the get-go. Choosing a one-stop provider like Orange Clove can help you save valuable time, manpower and money. Always pay attention to what valueadd your vendors, such as your caterer, can bring to the table. You never know when those little extras will come in handy.

Some things that you may want to keep an eye out for: • Customisation of menus • Thematic or corporate colour matching set-ups • Sit-down dining concept • Ready-to-eat drop-off items • Setting up of live cooking stations • Provision of a butler service • Mobile food truck • Tentage and logistical support • Backdrop and props fabrication • Event management When it comes to planning an event it is never too early to plan, but it is never too late to get started as well. Make the right choices, and you may just make yourself the hero of the event.

Merry Christmas and good luck with your office party!

Check if your guests have any dietary requirements and work it out with your caterer in advance. It would be wise to engage a caterer that can accommodate last-minute changes, swaps or add-ons.

4. CHOOSE THE RIGHT CATERER Browse through the credentials, gallery and testimonials of the caterer to see if they have delivered their brand promise. Not only

Orange Clove is rewarding its customers with early booking of Christmas menus so place your order early by 12th Dec to enjoy exclusive discount with UOB cards and Mac & Cheese worth $120 (while stock last).

For more information, please visit: Facebook: Orange Clove Catering Instagram: orangeclovecatering T: 6515 0991 E: enquiry@orangeclove.com.sg W: www.orangeclove.com.sg

NEWS ANALYSIS

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will not improve until transparency is improved,” he said. Moreover, transparency is hampered by the number of service/technology providers involved in the process of delivering digital advertising.

“The tone and message of the holding company bosses doesn’t help in this regard as we certainly see this as just spin to try and deflect the issues,” he said.

“But clearly marketers have work to do here as well by improving and professionalising the management of the marketing service companies they use.”

Marketers open up on their trust issues While initially the car manufacturer Toyota did not want to comment on the matter, a spokesperson later came out with a statement to Marketing, saying: “At Toyota, we value our relationships with our agencies and other partners. While we are not in a position to provide additional details, we have been notified

by Dentsu of irregularities in some digital media business transactions. We would like to refrain from commenting further at this time.”

Because the waters in that area still remain murky, it has caused several marketers in the region to sit up and rethink their relationship with their agencies given Toyota’s long-standing history with Dentsu.

In a conversation with Marketing, Juliana Lim, senior marketing director of KFC Singapore, said the Dentsu Toyota revelation does in fact make her uncomfortable “to a certain extent”.

She said while the brand does track overall performance of digital campaigns in-house, a large part of the relationship with its agencies is “based on trust”.

“We take our media agency’s reports mostly on face value,” she said.

“We don’t have a specific performance tracking tool in-house because acquiring programmatic tracking tools in-house is also an expensive matter. The programmatic and digital space as well is constantly evolving.”

Another senior global marketer who spoke to Marketing under anonymity, said the move was indeed worrying for clients and advertisers.

He said that with the recent ANA findings, overcharging and fraud in Australia, and now Dentsu overcharging in Japan, “such dodgy practices must be widespread”.

“Technology is supposed to make things easier and more transparent, but this isn’t always the case, particularly when it comes to areas like programmatic,” he said.

He added that while he hasn’t actually felt or found evidence of being overcharged for account management, what he finds challenging are the “dubious deals on outdoor WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

Making the numbers add up: Clients and agencies need to be more honest with each other so both feel they are getting the right deal.

placements in emerging markets, the lack of transparency on rebates in big regional deals and in digital programmatic buying”.

“There is a view there that some clients have cut costs to the bone for their agencies, leading them to seek other revenue, but in the case of Toyota they are a company spending billions in a long-term and personal relationship with their agency so there must be more going on,” he said.

Echoing the sentiment was Juliet Yap, marketing director at Carlsberg Malaysia, who said this was a key concern for her because most brands and marketers “did not know exactly where the money was spent, and how it was spent.”

“Often, with the media buying space being a black box, we are not aware of what we do not know,” she said.

Safeguarding your future According to Yap, last year, as part of a global effort, Carlsberg Malaysia carried out a compliance and procedural audit. This has proven to be useful as it has helped in pointing out some areas on how the brand could have greater transparency. However, it is also a costly exercise, she added.

KFC’s Lim added that an audit body could be set up to put a system in place which could call for media and digital media buying audits regularly as well as at random.

Meanwhile, Decathlon’s head of marketing and communications, Clarence Chew, said self-sufficiency was needed for marketers now as it’s the only way to ensure that such issues will not happen.

“This means that marketers need to limit their exposure to being overly-reliant on outsourcing so many core functions. There

needs to be some kind of quality control process to prevent this from happening or the industry would just see a natural death,” he said.

The marketer, speaking under anonymity, said ultimately transparency was the solution, and more needs to be understood as to how media is bought and where the money is spent.

Auditing is one solution, but then marketing may become like the accounting and financial services industries, where regulation is needed or stronger self-regulation sought out.

He also urged for a more evolved relationship between clients and agency partners where agencies would no longer be seen as a “commodity”.

“Agencies shouldn’t be cutting their costs until they feel pushed into a situation where they need to disguise costs. There might be a good template for agencies to follow in the form of management consultants where they don’t drop their pants on cost. They value their time and expertise and charge accordingly,” he said.

“Agencies also need to take their reputation much more seriously.”

This reputation has been hampered for a while now as agencies are more and more now seen as “flippant with reputation and trust” due to the rise of scam awards. Other reasons also include not investing enough into the hiring of the best and brightest minds (always opting for low-cost resources and juniors until they burn out) and being inconsistent in their costs and the value they bring.

“Both agencies and marketers need to show what they bring to the table, how much revenue they create or how you’re making customers happy. Do it in a transparent way and many problems will go away,” he said.

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While every organisation today, be it private or public, recognises the importance of being social, very few actually get their social engagement to the point where they have a community of brand ambassadors who can step in to save the brand during a crisis.

NASA is one brand which has been able to do that. During a recent conference organised

by Socialbakers called “Engage”, Veronica McGregor, news and social media manager of NASA, said a few years ago when a government organisation had to shut down all of NASA’s communications due to a political situation, its community came to its aid.

“We couldn’t work or post anything. So we put out a blanket statement on our social platforms saying that all our events were shut down and we wouldn’t be posting on social media.” She said what she and her team didn’t expect was that within an hour of this announcement, its social community came to its rescue.

“The public started seeing posts go with a hashtag #thingsnasamighttweet,” she said. But this wasn’t sent out by the employees of NASA. It was sent out by the NASA alumni.

It turns out that in preparation of the widely covered shutdown, this group of NASA enthusiasts created a Google spreadsheet and 2 0 M A R K ET I N G N OV EMB ER 201 6

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assigned shifts of when they would post NASA updates on social media.

Since over the years they had been followers of NASA and ambassadors of the brand on various public forums, these folks knew where to look for information. Over 16 days this resulted in 15,000 posts by 4,400 users.

“We sat for 16 days and watched this go on. The news media soon noticed and started seeing that even though NASA’s communications were shut down, NASA news was going out one way or another, and it wasn’t us employees. We didn’t do a single one. That was our community taking care of us.”

Today, social media for NASA sits under public affairs.

“All NASA-related news needs to reach the widest public so social media just became a new thing under public affairs. In the past, it used to just be news media,” she said.

While in the past, communication was largely one way, she explained that opening up to the world of social allowed NASA to understand what its followers and fans were struggling to comprehend about space.

Answering that, of course, led to more conversations and engagement.

“We rarely would get direct feedback in

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the past, but when we started getting on social media, we got a lot of direct feedback. It was fabulous because we were able to answer people’s concerns,” she said.

NASA first got onto Twitter really early in 2008. Twitter was relatively new then.

“I had a Twitter account and I started tweeting in first person as though the rover by itself was posting a tweet. As soon as I tweeted it out, I started getting responses on what I will do or how I would land,” she said.

“We weren’t looking for customers, but rather coverage. We had seen across newspapers going out of business and reporters previously covering our missions being laid off. I was getting desperate to see how we could get our news of a mission due to land on Mars out to the American public easily on mobile phones,” she said.

Today, NASA’s Twitter has 19 million followers, but it still doesn’t have an advertising budget.

“We have never ever done a sponsored post. We have never paid for media and we are not allowed to use government funds for advertising. But what we have is great stories and videos to tell the public worldwide.”

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create such a strong following with close to no social media budget?

Well, it is in NASA’s DNA to start small with close to nothing and build around it, McGregor said.

“We go to space where there is very little to work with. We are known to make things happen,” she said.

But back here on earth, one way the brand does it is by actually meeting its brand enthusiasts. Since 2009, NASA has been inviting its social media followers to come to events and launches at NASA centres. It opens up 120 slots six weeks before the event depending on location, and entries come in from all over the world.

In 2009, NASA brought in more than 100 people and gave them a red-carpet experience, bringing its scientists and engineers on board and letting its fans experience what goes on behind the scenes. This was the start of its community.

Since then, there have been about 130 such events with six to seven thousand alumni members attending these events.

“These people are critical to us – they do what sometimes we can't do. They get the message out to their communities which we might not reach,” she said.

While it never actually goes out and actively asks celebrities to tweet about the brand, occasionally, NASA does use pop culture references in its tweets and these from time to time get picked up by celebrities.

It also reaches out to a diverse range of people from students to TV directors or producers to actors and writers to invite them to events to grow its reach.

“We also sometimes select someone with a big Twitter following,” she said.

“One such guest who was interested in an event had previously been on an MTV show and when we asked why he should be selected, he said a lot of his followers were teenage girls and we gasped. Do you know how hard it is for us to reach that audience of teenage girls?” she said.

When he tweeted to all his followers what questions to ask the NASA engineers, questions poured in.

“I have never seen so many teenage girls interested in NASA and asking questions! Many of them wanted to know how the women on the NASA team got there,” she said.

“What we have done is taken fans, followers and consumers of our photos and Facebook content or web page, and spoken to them directly. By doing so, we have made them empowered advocates and ambassadors for NASA. They go online and talk at events and spread the corporation’s popularity.

Empowering your fans is, hence, crucial.”

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U N D E R S TA N D I N G T H E S O C I A L C R E AT U R E We all know about the infamous Jägerbombs – you know, the drink you throw down before a big night out with your friends. Jägermeister has long had an image of being a party drink.

But that wasn’t necessarily what Brown-Forman Australia, distributors of the Jägermeister brand in Australia, wanted the alcohol brand to be known for. “For the past decade the Jägermeister brand got overshadowed by Jägerbombs. The brand was getting a perception which it didn’t want to stand for,” said senior brand manager Michael Bouda.

To change this, it had to create something that would catch the attention of its target audience of young adults aged 18-28. Looking around, most of its competitors were taking the usual route of promoting mixed drinks. Brown-Forman Australia didn’t want to do that.

“We had to do something that would grab their attention and make sure it cut through the clutter,” he said. Working with its social media agency Society, which is part of UM, Brown-Forman created the “Creatures of the Night” campaign for the Australian market.

It was a major content marketing campaign where the brand created and socialised archetypes of party animals, namely the “Suave Stag”, the “Dependable Wingman”, the “Reclusive Snow Leopard”, the “Dodging Fox” and the “Nocturnal night owl”. The brand created the content and asked blokes on social media to tag their friends who best embodied these archetypes. The campaign also drove engagement by providing people with social ammunation that sparked friendly banter on a night out and naturally infused their chat with branded content.

This helped build Jagermeister's core values. The social team also responded to comments in real-time, fuelling conversations even further. It also asked members of the public to prove how their crews embodied these archetypes to have their very own personalised illustration.

During the campaign period, the brand reached 88% of the target audience, of which 15% of the target audience interacted with the campaign. Overall purchase consideration increased 20% and sales increased 10% after eight years of decline.

In a separate conversation with Marketing, Bouda said: “We looked around and used our common sense when coming up with the campaign. We observed the lives of our target audience and how they used social media.” He added that despite the campaign being launched nearly three years ago, it is still bringing in sales for the distributor. Currently, it has double-digital growth in the Australia market – about 20% above last year.

“We wanted to give Jägermeister a role to help spark a conversation.” This campaign, he added, was not “over branded” or pushing the brand message too hard. Yet the brand was presented in a way it should actually be consumed. “So, we launched it in a social setting and infused the branding in a more natural manner.”

While this campaign proved to be successful almost immediately, not all social campaigns are as lucky. To this, he explains, success should really depend on business goals and challenges. The challenge, however, was in managing expectations of senior management.

At times, stakeholders want to see ROI quickly, but brand-building takes time.

“For us, we were trying to change the perception which is heavily rooted in Jägermeister and the Jägerbombs to something else. Changing perceptions can take a few years,” he said. But for a new brand which simply wants to build awareness, the job is probably slightly easier than changing the already built brand equity and consumer belif.

“We are trying to educate customers that Jägermeister is so much more than Jägerbombs. So we thought, maybe if consumers are having fun and interacting with this campaign they will be more likely to listen,” he said. But at the end of the day, marketers must remember it is an investment, so results are expected.

Sometimes companies are afraid of being edgy or innovative. Other times, the marketers themselves are to be blamed for not living the life or understanding the life of the target audience on the ground. Bouda stressed nonetheless brands must dare to experiment based on insights on target audience’s lives. Then, thinking out of the box shouldn’t be so hard.

“We are not in a charity. We are in a business. So whatever you do, you should expect a return on investment.”

marketers to bring people together virtually or physically, the fans are likely to feel more a part of a community as well.

“It is amazing the magic that can happen by bringing them together. So you might not have spaceship, but your company has a fan base and they will probably think of themselves more

as fans if they are in the room with like-minded people,” she said. NASA, she added, is not trying to get “customers” through social media.

“What we have is a brand which is recognisable worldwide. The reaction for our brand is incredible; it is something people feel strongly and emotionally about.”

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Social media has changed how the world communicates – be it for a campaign, a product launch or even a dreaded crisis.

In fact, going forward it will change the rules of engagement in both everyday communication and crisis situations even more, said Dennis Owen, group manager of social media at Cathay Pacific Airways, who was speaking at the Socialbakers “Engage” Bali conference.

Last year, the brand faced its own terrifying crisis when its plane CX884 travelling from Hong Kong to Los Angeles had to make an emergency landing at a remote military airport in Alaska. This came after a smell of smoke was detected on board. During the scary situation, one passenger named Ethan Williams recorded a video of what was happening in the flight as the events were unfolding. This video was later circulated online and shortly after it was uploaded, it had more than 300 000 views. Currently, it has more than two million views and climbing.

“This video came out when the world didn’t yet have live video streaming such as Facebook Live,” Owen said. “These new features have changed our world drastically. Moreover, with the rise of smartphone penetration, most consumers are constantly taking videos and photos as well. Today, everyone is a reporter.

That’s just the reality we have to deal with in social media and crisis communication.”

Explaining the procedures that followed soon after the smoke smell was detected, he said that when such a situation occurs, the first move the captain makes is to change radio frequency to squat 7700. The second thing is to stabilise the plane and then depending on how long that takes, he contacts the base.

“But the moment the captain changes the radio frequency to squat 7700, this hits social media because of the numerous sites monitoring aircraft emergencies. News is already on social media before even the airline operations can hear about it,” Owen said.

In this particular incident, he said, it took only 60 seconds for flight monitoring websites to pick up the diversion news, and send a tweet out to the world of social. Since the reasons were not yet known, it was a tweet that carried the words “reason unknown”.

“The words ‘reason unknown’ draws a lot of interest,” he said, adding that this was when mainstream media also caught onto the news.

“Everyone likes to share news first. So these incidents can go viral very easily. We need to stay on top of it and communicate.”

Owen is also of the view that today, communication on a social channel takes precedence over traditional press releases during a crisis situation.

“The world is very different today for communication. In the past, it used to be about press releases and getting that out within the WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

first hour. But that day is over. Today it is social media first,” he said.

During this crisis, in 48 hours the brand had nine social media posts and three press releases. He added that traditional news outlets have now lost the battle to the world of social.

As such, they are also on the lookout for news on social media.

“I think press releases are secondary to social media posts. But because traditional media is also under pressure to get news out quickly, the level of accuracy today can be somewhat compromised," he said. As such, brands need to watch who the media outlets are also speaking to on social.

“It is up to us as brands to understand how the fast change in social media affects us and how it affects communication during a period of a crisis.

“When there is a crisis, it passes. But in the world of digital and social media, the way the crisis was handled stays documented forever.

So the importance of communicating factually, I can’t stress enough,” Owen said.

He added that when you have a crisis, how

because there is a new tool doesn’t mean your community management will be completely different. You still need to create advocates to communicate on your behalf and drive consumers back to your social channels,” he said.

In a crisis, you need to lead the public back to your web page and your own social media sites – where the facts are and there is no speculation – brand ambassadors need to be planted and disseminated during a crisis situation.

“You need people on your behalf to lead the crowd back to the safe space,” he said.

Brands also need to actively monitor how the media shares news about your brand to the public and ensure accuracy – especially during a period of crisis where all parties are under tremendous pressure. He also added that brands should think about holding live videos of press conferences.

“You know people are going to be watching the news so wouldn’t you rather they watch it from your end which is accurate and factual?

Try to drive people to your own sites to get the

“When there is a crisis, it passes. But in the world of digital and social media, the way it was handled stays on forever.

So the importance of communicating factually, I can’t stress enough.”

Dennis Owen – group manager of social media at Cathay Pacific Airways

you communicate around the crisis can have more of a long-term brand impact than the actual situation.

“How you communicate is just as important, if not more important, to the brand in the long run. For us, we communicated quickly and effectively. But we were also lucky that the base we landed on had no Wi-Fi and neither did the plane. So when the customers began tweeting and taking to social media, they knew they were safe. As such, there wasn’t an extremely negative comment out of the hundreds out there,” he said.

“It is worth wondering what we would do if this happened today. Live video features such as Periscope and Facebook Live weren’t there in the past. But it is now. Ordinary people are using them during a crisis situation today,” he added.

As such, brands need to constantly re-evaluate their communication strategies during a crisis situation.

Be reactive and proactive Marketing and PR folks need to be reactive and monitor live videos, social media sites and conduct social listening for their brands.

But brands should not worry about new tools emerging every other day, said Owen. “Just

most accurate information,” he said. On the proactive side, marketers and communicators need to watch how other brands handle a crisis.

“When there is a crisis, go on social channels and see how other brands are reacting,” he said. Creating policies that suit your brand is also a must.

“Don’t wait or say I will think about it next year. Go out there and create your own policy around live feeds and how to handle it.”

Currently, Cathay has its own digital toolkit for a crisis communication.

“In my view, 99.5% of crisis will hit social media first and during a crisis you will be very busy. So you need to have a checklist in front of you. If you don’t have a crisis plan around digital and social, you should create one. Have this in place,” he said.

“If you have a crisis and you don’t handle it well in terms of communication, you will then have two problems on your hands. The crisis right now and the one going on in social media.

“But if you handle social media well, it can actually help you in the current crisis. So make sure you are doing it well and effectively.

“You will never be fully prepared for a crisis.

But the best way is to be prepared for that time.

Test and learn. Test and learn. Test and learn.”

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Sports marketing, over the years, has evolved to become a hot topic among broadcasters and sports franchises alike. The fast paced development in technology has only propelled this growth further. Monisha Rao explores how sporting events now play a significant role in people’s lives, and how brands need to lift their game to appeal to these fans.

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“We have noticed the storytelling format works the best among the audience. Audiences seem more interested in the lives of the athletes, and tend to draw inspiration from them. We, therefore, cannot just limit ourselves to putting on the ‘game’.”

Dino Jacinto M Laurena – head of integrated sports for ABS-CBN Corporation

Each year, the sports industry around the world creates historic moments, and 2016 was no different. While on the global front, Rio Olympics 2016 took the world by storm, in Asia the SEA games and F1 Grand Prix garnered mass attention. Sports events connect fans globally on a single platform.

According to a Nielsen study – “Southeast Asia’s Sports industry: Start-ups, Singapore and serious potential” – today, major investments have been made in the sports scene in Asia, and as such, the continent’s growing importance in global sport is clear.

While Asia has seen the emergence of sports such as hockey, cricket and football in recent years, mixed martial arts is one sport that is rapidly gaining traction.

At the recently organised Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Summit 2016 by ONE Championship, prominent athletes, sponsors and media companies in the region came together to address the evolution of the industry.

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Championship, 2 6 M A R K ET I N G N OV EM B ER 201 6

said mixed martial arts was "Asia" in its truest sense, and has been widely recognised as the fastest growing sport around the world.

“While sports organisers all across the world continue to complain about declining sponsorships and declining viewership, MMA has tracked significant growth in the same arena,” he said.

One topic highly discussed was the live streaming of sporting events and the role broadcasters play. Craig Dobbs, head of acquisitions for Fox Sports at Fox Networks Group, said live streaming of sporting events was the future of television as it stirred emotions among viewers in real-time.

“Live platforms are an essential, and they cannot be replaced by any other medium,” he said adding that MMA, using the help of real-time experiences has created real-time experiences, “rendering all other sports form as artificial”.

Peter C.S. Kim, CEO of PKE Partners, said that in America an average person’s spending

per household on “live” sports has grown by 30%, while watching events on location has declined by about 9%.

Agreeing with him was Dino Jacinto M Laurena, head of integrated sports for ABSCBN Corporation who said “live” viewing had picked up because viewers today had FOMO (fear of missing out). Live streaming, hence, allows audiences to know what is happening in real-time while being in the comfort of their own home. “Everybody wants to share real-time events via social media,” he said.

He explained that sports content was the “very first reality television which came into existence”.

“We have realised that the audience today are emotionally connected to sports.

Therefore, as a company, we have been involved in understanding the business reach of sports with the help of various events and developing technology to connect better with the audience,” he said.

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are already sports available on television, the concept of “live” sports continues to grow because “audiences want to live that particular milestone in sports”.

“They want to put themselves in the athlete’s shoes now and create real-time experiences for themselves.”

Choosing the right content Undoubtedly, there is tons of sports content today already out there.

A report by Nielsen states that in 2015 alone, there were more than 127,000 hours of sports programming available on broadcast and cable TV and more than 31 billion hours spent viewing sport, which is up 160% and 41%, respectively, from 2005.

So cutting through the clutter of content is a challenge.

Discussing what type of content actually works, ABS-CBN Corporation’s Laurena explained that when it comes to the sports marketing sector, regardless of the demographics, there are certain common denominators that come into play.

Relevance, he explained, was critical.

“We have noticed the storytelling format works the best among the audience. Audiences seem more interested in the lives of the athletes, and tend to draw inspiration from them. We, therefore, cannot just limit ourselves to putting on the ‘game’. This is why we try to conceptualise documentaries and talk shows,” he said. In the Philippines, he explained, audiences want to see athletes as real people.

While in the past, TV was the way to consume any and all sporting content, today, added screens have allowed consumers to watch their favourite sporting programmes in various ways.

Kim explained that short-form content had also gained mass popularity among the younger audience as they are continuously on the lookout for quick and easily available content. Mobile applications, websites, blogs, OTT and the like, seem to be the most preferred mode of content.

Agreeing with him, Laurena said: “We have noticed that sharing content on social media has become a part of the audience’s everyday life. This trend, therefore, must be efficiently optimised.”

Dobbs explained that as part of a media group, content creators need to think of content consumption as a whole and not just in the form of TV content.

“We are media captains, not TV captains.

We are an amalgamation of all the platforms that the users can connect with in today’s world,” he said. As such, with access to social media and other digital platforms, broadcasters today can no longer look at themselves in one light.

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Clearly, brands have realised the importance of this growing viewership in the sports arena and have made significant investment in tapping its true potential. According to the IEG Sponsorship Spending Report, brands will spend US$60.2 billion on sponsorship in 2016, an increase of 4.7% compared with 2015.

While North America seemed to remain the largest spender in 2015, the battle for second spot between Europe and Asia Pacific still continues. The report stated that over the past 10 years, APAC has closed the gap to US$0.9 billion from 2016 and will slowly grab second spot.

So what are some of the trends to watch out for? Deloitte Sports in its recent article identified business trends that may be seen in the sports marketing sector: • Over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms Major opportunities lie ahead for sports channels and broadcasters to tap revenue from OTT platforms. With the Millennials now inclined towards content on the go, this platform can be leveraged for the future of sports media. Its wide audience reach has made it popular among broadcasters.

• New sponsorship assets With space constraints in stadiums, teams and leagues are running out of space to lure sponsors. With this, the concept of sponsorship has gone beyond the traditional realm to adopt a new conventional strategy. New marketing and sponsorship assets are definitely on the way to connect sports fans on a global platform.

• The stadium of the future With the concept of the home viewing experience having evolved so drastically in the past, it is imperative for sports franchises to take note of it. In order to entice viewers from the comforts of their homes into stadiums, sports franchises will need to upgrade stadiums with the best technology to heighten fan engagement. Only the improvement in technological investment will attract home viewers into stadiums and create new experiences.

They need to think of mass reach be it through TV, online, social or mobile.

Finding star power balance Who doesn’t love seeing a celebrity? Celebrities, athletes, superstars and any prominent figures have their own advantages as it helps to attract the audience’s attention. Laurena explained however, that a balance was required.

While the term “superstar” might draw in audiences, this does not mean that you need to continuously engage the audience with the term, he said. Once the audience gets hooked on your channel with the help of these superstars, you must evolve them into brand ambassadors of the sport. A constant flow of content also needs to be created around them to keep audiences entertained.

Bashir Ahmad, an MMA fighter based out of Pakistan and the US, said the MMA as an organisation was still catching up in Asia, but it was starting to give recognition to its fighters.

“If you aren’t making use of social media to engage with your fans, you are losing out,” he said. He added sport, in general, was growing in Asia and players were vying for the short attention of fans in an immensely cluttered social space.

“While the window of opportunity for

players to reach out to the audience is still open in the world of social, it will soon close,” he said.

Brandon Michael Vera, a Filipino-American fighter, said audiences no longer perceived MMA athletes as just fighters, but rather as real humans. “They connect to us now on a personal basis and recognise us for the individuals that we are. This is one of our biggest achievements,” he said.

He added that it was more difficult, however, to gain a fan base in Asia, specifically for him, in the Philippines.

“It has been a lot more difficult to establish a fan base in the Philippines than in the US. I have been asking everyone why it is the case, and I have failed to get the answer,” he said.

But while engagement is crucial, one cannot be in the marketing industry without thinking return on investment and revenue.

Laurena, while expressing his opinion on the role of technology in user engagement, said that with the advent of virtual reality, viewers want to “see beyond the punch” in sporting events such as the MMA. He said in the near future, technology would provide a 360-degree view of sporting events, and this act of engagement would certainly generate a different stream of revenue for companies.

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Radio is one of the oldest and the noblest mediums for communication. It has proved its sturdiness and managed to transcend time.

It has continued to win over the love of consumers and marketers. We take a look at the most reliable players in the market.

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 Radio Broadcaster of the Year's rankings were derived from the questions in the Media Benchmarking 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 gathered holistic and up-to-date feedback from advertising decision-makers and influencers and agency professionals from various marketing services.

100% 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%), while 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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CLASS 95 In top spot this year is Class 95. Over the past year, to cater to listeners with varying needs and tastes, the radio station made some bold moves to revamp its programming and brand to stay in tune with its audiences.

For example, the station brought Justin Ang and Vernon Anthonisz, endearingly called “The Muttons”, over from radio station 98.7.

This was done to lure the young listeners with a flavour of local humour for the morning drive. The station also added Simone Heng to its list of presenters, who was last heard in Australia and Dubai.

Moreover, on the music front, the station tightened its format to focus on the biggest hits of today, the 1990s and 2000s.

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With a fun and familiar, yet fresh sound, the station is making the utmost use of social media.

It curated more experiential activities on the platform by means of “live” Facebook interviews and videos of listener engagement parties to “take listening beyond radio”.

Clients who have embraced the new station include Hilton Worldwide International Singapore, Fiji Airways, McDonald’s, Mitsubishi Motors, Kia Motors and Republic Auto.

Beyond the line-up changes, the station rebranded its logo, and adopted a bold orange and blue look.

This was done to reflect the station’s

younger, bolder programming and music. The motive was to stay on top of current trends.

Moreover, to complement this zesty new look, the station actively sought bold and exciting experiences to reward its listeners such as “Spin around the world” and “Spin and win.”

Listeners stood the chance to win access to the Grammy Awards and concerts by Coldplay and Ed Sheeran.

They could also win trips to destinations such as New York and Tokyo.

According to programme director Maggie Lim the focus for the station is always to “wow” the listeners.

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KISS92 Grabbing second position this year is Kiss92, Singapore’s first-ever radio station which targets women aged 30-50. Accompanied with popular songs and iconic station events for continued engagement with listeners, Kiss92 provides content that women love.

In the past year, the station has had a few significant developments in its branding and campaign strategies. For example, it carried out television commercials and print ads for

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938LIVE

its morning show featuring Maddy Jason and Arnold. The station also executed two major campaigns called “Perfect Match” and “Triple Play” in May this year.

Kiss92’s Perfect Match was presented

by Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef with Silkair. The station selected three couples to go through a series of on-air and on-ground challenges. The “Perfect Match” couple were crowned at Wave House Sentosa in an “invite only” event.

The winning couple walked away with a SG$60,000 wedding package, including cash, home renovation, bridal gown, wedding suit, wedding car, venue and dinner at St. Regis Singapore, and more.

The station also gave out SG$50,000 in the form of a reward as part of the “Triple Play” campaign to a 39-year-old woman who

particular interest for lifestyle and health. The different natures of the shows broadcast ensures the station has a varied demographic of listeners, who are also tech-savvy and consume information on-the-go.

Over the past year, the station conducted various on-ground events. This year, the station celebrated Mother’s Day with listeners and their mothers at a flower workshop, and separately

distributed flowers to mothers at a flower giveaway event. Along similar lines, the station organised a Father’s Day event, where fathers were treated to goodie bags and health tips from gym instructors.

Moreover, to reach out to listeners who were not present at the event, the presenters at the station conducted “live” reports.

For audience engagement on issues of national interest, the station co-organised a town hall with the REACH feedback unit at Toa Payoh Hub. REACH (reaching everyone for active citizenry @ home) is the lead agency in facilitating “Whole-of-Government efforts to engage and connect with you, our fellow citizens, on national and social issues that are close to your hearts”. Presenter Bharati Jagdish facilitated the discussion among members of the public and panellists.

playlist to stay up-to-date with the current times. It now plays music from the 1980s and 1990s. In line with its “Luxe Life” tag line, the station has executed a few lavish campaigns and events.

For example, various listeners have won all-expenses paid trips to Iceland, Spain and Portugal. Listeners have also won luxurious stays at St. Regis Singapore and the Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa.

Another successful campaign was “Gold to the Stars” where the station brought listeners closer to their favourite music artists performing around the globe.

Moreover, the station also rewarded fans with concert experiences to watch music legends such as Tom Jones, Kool & The Gang, Madonna, Take That, UB40, The Three Degrees, Olivia Newton-John, Queen + Adam

Lambert, Kylie Minogue and KC and The Sunshine Band.

The station mainly targets English PMEBs aged 35 and above.

According to the recent Nielsen Radio Diary survey, the station gained 29,000 new listeners, the highest increase among all English radio stations in Singapore.

The station also now has new advertisers such as Ministry of Home Affairs, UOB Business, CIMB Bank, Mitsubishi Motors, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai on board.

Moreover, originally produced digital content posted on the station’s social media platform, has also helped the station increase its fan base.

Looking ahead, Gold 905 aims to build upon its play list and digital content to reach an even wider audience of listeners and advertisers.

In third spot this year is Singapore’s English news and information station 938LIVE. The station provides updates on everyday news, business and sports briefs throughout the day until midnight. To engage with listeners, the station urges those with a view or question to call during the talk shows Talkback and Call Us. The station also has shows such as A Slice of Life, Body and Soul, Culture Café and Parenting Made Easy to appeal to listeners who have a

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GOLD 905 Coming in fourth place this year is Gold 905.

The station has updated its music line-up and

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worked as a secretary at Parkway Hospital.

Although the station sees a lot of interest from new advertisers from all sectors, it is notably popular with the property, banking and automotive sectors.

The drive time shows are sponsored by two petroleum companies, Esso in the morning and SPC in the evenings.

Going forward, the station aims to “continue having all the great songs in one place and be Singapore’s number one English radio station”.

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listening experience with “live broadcast on-thego” where the disc jockeys hit the road during rush hour to broadcast live from a truck.

Recently, the station further engaged listeners with an 80-hour broadcast marathon at a shopping mall where the DJs hosted the shows live in their pyjamas on a bed.

Local celebrities and recording artists have also in recent times come on board as

guests to provide variety and an alternative radio experience. The star power makes it the torchbearer for entertainment radio and creates a diversity in styles. In addition, fresh radio faces are discovered and many are becoming radio star personalities through Yes 933 platforms such as “The Sound Makers DJ Search”.

Yes 933 claims to be the definitive station for young audiences who seek all things fun and trendy. The station engages the younger audience through the weeknight programme, and explores different themes related to campus lifestyle. The station’s inaugural “Bus ride to school” initiative provides a mobile experience for students complete with fun and games.

The station has attracted advertisers, particularly from the tourism and real estate industry, and has seen a year-on-year growth in advertising revenue.

new tag line “Above the Noise” (ATN), along with a revamped look and attitude.

The radio station has continued to stay single-mindedly focused on a youth audience which ranges from the ages of 18 to 29.

ATN was launched in March through an integrated branding campaign with activations across major media platforms and social media.

This helped in achieving high 360 engagement, with the new theme evident in all 987 events such as #987CatchEmAll, #987TheBrotakCode, #987Star.

This year saw 987 aiming to give people the 987 ATN experience in what they hear on-air, see on social media and experience at events. This was best demonstrated in the #987TheBrotakCode campaign which beat #AprilFools on Twitter on 1 April, and created a buzz with the “live” broadcast on Toggle of

deejays from The Bro Code having their heads shaved by Narelle Kheng and Jayley Woo. More recently, 987 caught onto the Pokémon craze with #987CatchEmAll where listeners were invited on 987 trainers buses to catch Pokémons with DJs. In March, DJ Gerald Koh took on the role of 987’s assistant programming director while co-helming The Bro Code with Joakim Gomez.

Since then, all time-belts have been refreshed, including weekend shows to bring more distinct personalities and targeted activities.

987 boasts to be the only English station that has improved in time spent listening and share in the Nielsen Radio Diary Survey and has steadily been able to increase its following on social media through high engagement, especially for targeted campaigns, with 198,000 followers on Facebook and 186,000 followers on Twitter.

different to its listeners in terms of music, its lineup and a mix of lifestyle content. It continues to attract new advertisers while developing longer term relationships with existing partners.

On weekdays, the radio station features various programmes to keep its listeners entertained. The Power Breakfast Show features DJs Jerald Justin Ko (JK) and Michael Tan. Power Up! features Jeremy Ratnam.

Meanwhile, Ex-Factor stars Mister Young and

Jacqui Thibodeaux are followed by a segment

by Mr. Miyagi, while the Impromptu Two showcases Charmaine Phua and Dee Kosh.

On weekends, the station features the Power Sports Show by Jeremy Ratnam and Raj Kumar; Saturdays With Adora by Adora Sarah; Sundays With Nick by Nicholas Yeam; and Sundays With Carmen by Carmen Ang. Content-wise, the station plays popular hits and focuses on lifestyle content.

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YES 933 Grabbing fifth spot this year is Yes 933, which offers not only the latest and most popular music, but also lifestyle engagement through onair content, enhanced by its strong social media and on-ground presence.

The station is a key player that has presented the “Global Chinese Music Awards” to the world, a prestigious music ceremony that honours musicians and talent from the Asia Pacific region.

The station also revolutionised the drive time

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Coming in sixth place is 987 which underwent a major change this year with the launch of its

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POWER 98FM Coming in seventh place this year is Power 98FM. The SAFRA network-owned radio station made its debut on the airwaves in October 1994 and targets a mix of listeners from the ages of 25 to 44.

It reaches out to almost 300,000 listeners on a weekly basis with an additional reach of 350,000 exclusive listeners in all SAF camps and SAFRA Clubs.

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ONE FM 91.3 One FM 91.3 has taken home eighth place this year in Radio Broadcaster of the Year. One FM is mainly targeted at males aged 30 years and above. It aims to “keep it real” with the best morning show crew and the best experiences.

In mid 2015, the station ran a campaign for listeners to guess who the new morning show hosts would be. A SG$10,000 prize for listeners was dangled for viewers who got it right. In July 2015, it was revealed that popular radio DJs

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CAPITAL 95.8FM Coming in ninth in this year’s rankings is Capital 95.8FM which continues to be at the forefront for the latest news, current affairs and lifestyle innovations. The station focuses on compelling interaction between citizens and the government where thoughts, ideas and suggestions in areas related to policies and schemes are exchanged.

It prides itself on playing a significant role in shaping the national identity with many new

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LOVE 97.2 FM Coming in at number 10 in this year’s Radio Broadcaster of the Year is Love 97.2 FM. The station offers content which aims to strike a chord with listeners and to stay relevant.

On-air content includes its morning show called The Funniest Morning Show, which has been well-received, even expanding to a ticketed stand-up comedy show.

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Glenn Ong and The Flying Dutchman had made a return to the airwaves and jumped on board the SPH radio network.

Since the station was launched in January 2015, there have been a constant slew of advertisers ranging from the automotive to the FMCG sectors. Berocca was the first advertiser to sponsor the new breakfast show with Ong and The Flying Dutchman.

Recently, McDonald’s also signed Ong and The Flying Dutchman as ambassadors of its Signature Collection of burgers.

In November 2015, the station, together with LAMC, brought Def Leppard to Singapore which saw nearly 8,000 people rocking at Suntec City.

The station also started the monthly Beer O’Clock sessions where fans were invited to join the breakfast crew for an evening of free

initiatives, among which is On Air with Ministers.

It targets Chinese-speaking PMEBs, and recently topped the Nielsen Radio Diary survey as the most listened to news and information radio station.

Its advertising sponsorship is constantly growing year-on-year, attracting advertisers such as Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre and many more.

It aims to amplify advertisers’ brands

its secondary target audience includes PMEBs, aged 35 to 54.

The station also introduces familiar karaoke songs throughout the day into its playlist to resonate well with its mature listeners.

To further engage listeners, the station generates activities and produces outdoor shows to allow interaction between the DJs and their supporters. One successful show was the sold-out stage musical, New Journey to the West, which was produced to celebrate the station’s 21st birthday. A new contemporary musical comedy will also be produced this year to mark its 22nd birthday.

This year the radio station continued to maintain excellent relationships with advertisers ranging from MNCs to SMEs, such as Changi Airport Group and NTUC Enterprise Cooperative, with its advertising revenue increasing

beer and stand a chance to be the chug mug champ. One FM continued to live up to its reputation of giving listeners the experience of a lifetime. In April 2016, it gave listeners the chance to fly to Mexico for a Guns N’ Roses concert, fly to Japan to catch WWE live, a trip to the home of Game of Thrones and more.

to specific target audiences effectively by enhancing the customer experience through engaging, enriching and timely content offerings.

The station strives to encourage communications.

Hence, its afternoon programme is specially designed to connect meaningfully with the silver generation, retirees and home-makers – a model radio show for successful ageing and empowering all to age with dignity and vitality.

To connect with those who share memories and experiences of the “xinyao” song movement in the 1980s, it has a special weeknight programme catered to the movement. The show is hosted by a veteran radio personality with iconic guests from the xinyao era.

This year, the station is looking forward to offering more insights and creating new opportunities for its audiences and advertisers.

annually. It continues to reach out to its audiences through collaborations with Mediacorp Channel 8 to expand the long-running health programme, Body SOS into a multi touch-point experience.

The programme is into its fifth edition and shares with listeners topics related to health, beauty and wellness.

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In an era where the customer is king, brands are struggling to grab and maintain a share of the customer’s wallet and mind.

When it comes to ensuring that customers stay loyal to a brand, the first step would actually be to understand what makes consumers fickle with their brand loyalty in the first place. But with the fragmented media space, this is not easy.

While some marketers may say loyalty is now a thing of the past, others argue that having a loyalty programme is how marketers can gain an insight into the likes and dislikes of distracted customers. That in turn, gains them some undivided attention with their consumers.

According to Rare Consulting’s Redefining Loyalty report, 65% of customers will still shop with the brand even if its loyalty programme ceases to exist. In fact, only one in three people said that loyalty programmes are a vital ingredient for a consumer’s relationship with a brand. But what a loyalty programme does is open up avenues to understanding the consumer.

When asked what loyalty meant to them, respondents cited brand trust, customer experience and being rewarded as aspects of loyalty.

Clarence Chew, Decathlon’s head of marketing and communications, agreed saying that customer loyalty is defined by the relationship a brand has with its customers.

“It is extremely important as customers now have the power of choice and there are many brands competing for the same attention. Another challenge is how to differentiate between a buyer and user in order to enhance the relationship between our brand and the customer,” he said.

The study also found that trust was a central theme in the research findings when it came to customers’ definitions of brand loyalty.

In fact, brand trust is something which is considered fundamental to building loyalty, which is a popular theory. Rare Consulting frames brand trust as the occurrence when a brand “delivers on its promise”.

Source: Rare: Consulting Source: Rare: Consulting

Getting up close and personal The demand for a personalised customer experience is now higher than ever. This is supported by a report by Rare Consulting, which found that personalisation varies for consumers across different generations.

About 54% of participants from Generation K (the generation after the Millennials) and 52% of Millennial participants felt that personalisation was a high priority.

Meanwhile, only 48% of Generation X participants and 40% of Baby Boomers felt it was a priority.

However, drivers of purchase consideration may vary across life stages. For example, when it comes to younger audiences such as the Millennials, location, returns and store designs are more influential on their purchase decisions in comparison with other generations.

The report also found that customers regard loyalty as a two-way relationship. This means their behaviour and commitment needs to be recognised in some way to provide a satisfactory experience. A good loyalty programme can help that.

Moreover, it is also essential for brands to deliver on their promise to provide that ideal experience.

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Trust is found to be developed based on a belief in the trust of what a brand says to its consumers along with a sense of reliability.

Trust will then also lead to brand love, which is also an important driver for customer loyalty. While the specifics of what makes people love

Source: Rare: Consulting

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Source: Rare: Consulting

a brand are different across the various generations, positive perceptions of the brand and emotional connections are key.

There are also several other facets which contribute to customer loyalty. This includes shared values and perceived quality.

When it comes to shared values, the likeability of a brand plays an important role.

Not only does it relate closely with a brand’s image, it also arises from an alignment of brand attributes with a consumer’s preferences.

The findings also indicated that when it comes to more general

purchase decisions, the biggest factors which influence a customer’s decision usually revolves around price, quality and convenience.

This is consistent with findings from a 2015 Nielsen global survey called The Future of Grocery which found that the top three factors when it comes to store switching includes price (63%), product quality (59%) and convenience (54%).

The results come in higher in Asia Pacific as compared to the global average.

Meanwhile, special promotions (49%), store cleanliness (40%), selection and assortment of products (30%) and staff (24%) are also crucial factors mentioned when it comes to repeated store visits.

“The findings also indicated that when it comes to more general purchase decisions, the biggest factors which influence a customer’s decision usually revolves around price, quality and convenience.”

Source: Rare: Consulting

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GAINING BRAND AFFINITY Brand affinity is also important to Millennials when it comes to their brand loyalty as they believe what they buy is a representation of who they are.

Hence, they are more inclined to brands which play to their need for self-actualisation.

The Rare Report study also said that Generation K tends to be more driven by experiential benefits such as personalisation and fun.

Their propensity to trust a brand is higher than the other generations as they are more open to some of the less functional benefits of a loyalty programme.

Meanwhile, members of Generation X place greater emphasis on ease of use and quality, which highlights the importance of the overall experience, whereas Baby Boomers take a more utilitarian view with value for money and reliability.

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The loyalty ‘elixir’ Let’s get this straight once and for all. Loyalty is not the answer to everything and you can’t expect it to turn around your business with a snap of your fingers. It’s a diligent trial and improvement process that starts when you think you know your business and customers well enough to build a coherent strategy.

Strategy is just the beginning – you need to follow it up with a committed investment and a practical implementation plan.

But at the end of that tunnel awaits a prize. A good loyalty programme truly has the power to transform a brand into a personal relationship, and transcends barriers to create a direct channel to your customer.

In its best form, it’s the simplest way to have a conversation with your customer. It’s beautiful and powerful.

That’s the vision that most brands chase. But with all good intentions, many in-house loyalty programmes just can’t seem to create successful customer loyalty impact. When posed with such a dilemma, a loyalty consultant has to ask some hard questions.

1. Is your business margin, and hence, your contribution to loyalty too low to make a reasonable impact?

2. Is your frequency and value math not adding up to a total transaction amount that offers a decent give back to customers?

3. Is your brand really lean on internal assets that can be converted to rewards and benefits?

4. Are the nature and competitive forces in your industry not conducive for an in-house loyalty programme?

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“Sometimes a brand needs to break the boundaries of a traditional loyalty approach.”

Here are a few industries that may answer yes to the above questions.

Low margin and low give back: Electronics/white goods. Low frequency and value math: Automotive. Lean asset base: e-commerce.

Opposing nature to loyalty: Restaurants/F&B. If it’s a yes to most of the above, then the big question becomes: can loyalty work for me? And the answer to that in most cases is: your in-house loyalty programme probably won’t.

But that doesn’t mean that loyalty is out the window. What it means is that your own brand’s loyalty programme may not have the business conduciveness to create something with high value or impact.

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In such cases a brand needs to break the boundaries of a traditional loyalty approach.

BORROWED LOYALTY – WHAT? More often than not, the term “borrowed loyalty” attracts blank stares.

What do you mean? How do you borrow loyalty?

So here’s a quick definition: Loyalty is borrowed when Brand A has a well-established, well-recognised loyalty proposition, and importantly a currency that is highly valued in the market, and Brand B leverages on Brand A’s currency and programme to create customer loyalty within its own customer base.

One brand extends its established loyalty impact to another’s customer. The beauty of borrowed loyalty is a brand doesn’t have to commit valuable resources towards creating and managing a programme.

However, it does mean purchasing another programme’s currency at a price higher than what yours would have been, and letting go of the inhouse loyalty brand equity, relinquishing control and strategic ownership.

A CASE IN POINT: KALIGO Let’s take a look at this online hotel aggregator. Established in Singapore in 2014, Kaligo differentiates itself by its unique loyalty proposition: offering its customers the choice of 50-plus different loyalty programmes globally (airline, banking, etc) to earn rewards from.

So what is the maths behind Kaligo’s loyalty proposition?

On one side of the equation is the marketing mix. Kaligo channels its above-the-line advertising cost into rewards points, and greater commission earned during off-season as sales incentives, gets translated into more member miles. On the other side of the equation is the cost to purchase the partner’s programme’s points or miles.

For example, Kaligo partners with Singapore Airlines to offer customers KrisFlyer miles for hotel purchases. Both brands would have arrived at a pre-negotiated price at which Kaligo would purchase KrisFlyer miles. The unique combination of a dispensable commission from hotels booked and the price of points purchased from the loyalty programme would determine my unique earn from a booking.

The online travel industry is a text-book example of industry nature opposing the concept of customer loyalty. It is very lean on brand assets that can be offered as a loyalty proposition. A “taking the bull by its

horns” approach was the decision for Kaligo to not try to build a loyalty programme of its own, but become the enabler instead.

In the process, it created a loyalty offering that was unique, differentiated and truly targeted. If it means borrowing 50 partner loyalty programmes, why not?

“Our growth and success to date has been driven by our strong partnerships with loyalty programmes. We really see ourselves as a provider of innovative and high-value accrual and redemption products for our loyalty programme partners’ members. The loyalty we generate is due to our unique offers, localised user experience and best-in-market accrual and redemption rates. We invest in a best-in-market offering and customer experience, but rely on our loyalty partners to invest in marketing Kaligo via their channels.” – Frank Poon, CMO (Kaligo).

The programme recently won the Mega Award for Loyalty Innovation in 2015.

BUT YOU REALLY DON’T NEED 50, YOU COULD JUST ‘GRAB’ ONE If you look at the taxi service market in Singapore, exciting things are happening. As I write this article, one global and another regional player are giving the leading taxi service provider in Singapore a run for its money. ComfortDelgro saw global player Uber enter the market in 2013 and regional player Grab launch later the same year. In two years, Uber and Grab have disrupted the historical taxi service model and re-aligned customer behaviour and expectations in the industry.

What were the key driving forces of disruption? The concept of a shared economy, enabling everyone behind wheels to become a taxi driver and creating an entrepreneurial environment. A demand-driven taxi fare structure making it attractive for drivers to pick passengers at peak hours. App-based technology allowing for booking transparency.

Allowing drivers to bid by proximity and destination, and providing passengers real-time tracking and direct driver contact.

But what excites us most is the use of borrowed loyalty. Uber shook hands with Starwood and quickly expanded the success of this concept to American Airlines, while Grab went with Krisflyer and Amex.

Let’s pick up Uber to get a rundown on its loyalty proposition.

UBER: “EVERY TIME YOU BOOK, YOU WILL THINK OF YOUR NEXT STAY AT STARWOOD.” I am just quoting my friend above who fits Uber’s identified target segment perfectly. The Singaporean expat and global traveller, who is a huge user of global hotel and airline programmes. “Seventy two per cent of the more than 290 cities where Uber operates feature a Starwood hotel”. Uber has its loyalty strategy immaculately right.

Loyalty proposition: One Starpoint/dollar spent on all Uber rides.

Bonus Starpoints when using Uber in conjunction with a hotel stay, with incremental bonus points by SPG tier status.

Kaligo borrows loyalty from 50+ programmes across hotels, airlines, banking and other industries

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What’s the impact?

1. Customer acquisition. All users who link their SPG and Uber accounts will be able to select the “SPG” vehicle option within the Uber app for the chance to catch a free “SPG #SuiteRide”. Anyone in the Starwood customer pool becomes fair game for Uber. Anyone who even aspires to stay at Starwood can be targeted jointly by both brands.

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Starpoints balance to book a redemption night at the hotel would look at repeat purchases to build their points base.

WHY BORROWING IS BETTER EVEN WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR OWN …

SOMETIMES Truth is, borrowed loyalty is not a new concept by any means. Strategic marketing partnerships among brands are the most common form of mutual value generation. Loyalty partnerships and borrowed loyalty among brands are just a natural extension of the same concept.

Brand A’s customer base starts seeing an extended value from purchases at partner brand B, and decides to purchase there instead of at competitor brand C. And vice-versa. We have a nerdy term for it called “cross-pollination”. Take the new loyalty partnership between NTUC Link and Caltex for example. Members of the Plus! Rewards Programme, spearheaded by NTUC Link, now have a reason to visit Caltex (rather than other petrol stations) because they earn LinkPoints for the fuel they buy at Caltex, which can be used to offset their next fuel purchase, groceries at NTUC Fairprice or to redeem rewards from other partners. Caltex is exclusively offering LinkPoints, thus pushing Caltex customers to Plus! Partners.

When multiple brands join hands and leverage each other’s brand equity to grow and protect their customer base through long-term strategic partnerships, it becomes a loyalty coalition. The kind of loyalty impact that a successful coalition can create is truly phenomenal. Nectar, UK’s largest retail coalition programme, has more than 70% of households participating in the programme. These customers would shop almost exclusively at the brands participating in the programme. Each individual partner in the programme has observed higher revenue generated by customers who are members of Nectar compared with non-members. In the spirit of cross-pollination, 5% of new customers acquired by a brand are from another brand within the same coalition.

WHAT WORKS FOR YOU IS WHAT’S BEST FOR YOU The fact is, there is no one-size-fits-all in loyalty. What’s good for you may not be good for me. Obviously, building a loyalty strategy that fits your brand’s needs and objectives, and being in control of its destiny is the ideal scenario. But the end sometimes outweighs the means. If you have

In March 2016, Caltex Singapore, in partnership with NTUC Link, announced a new tie-up with the Plus! Rewards Programme for an exclusive fuel rewards partnership

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“The moment of that realisation might be the opportunity here.

To look out, seek the right partner, and join forces together.”

committed massive resources, time and investment into loyalty over an extended period of time and if the programme is still not performing up to your expectations due to fundamental issues with the nature of the brand or industry, it might not be worth your while pumping more investment into a bottomless pit. The moment of that realisation might be the opportunity here. To look out, seek the right partner, and join forces together.

ABOUT AIMIA Aimia Inc. is a data-driven marketing and loyalty analytics company. We provide our clients with the customer insights they need to make smarter business decisions and build relevant, rewarding and long-term one-toone relationships, evolving the value exchange to the mutual benefit of both our clients and consumers.

We do this through our own coalition loyalty programs such as Aeroplan in Canada, Nectar in the UK, and Air Miles Middle East, and through provision of loyalty strategy, program development, implementation and management services underpinned by leading products and technology platforms such as the Aimia Loyalty Platform – Enterprise and Aimia Loyalty Platform – SaaS, and through our analytics and insights business, including Intelligent Shopper Solutions. We own stakes in loyalty programs, such as Club Premier in Mexico and Think Big, a partnership with Air Asia and Tune Group.

Our clients are diverse, and we have industryleading expertise in the fast-moving consumer goods, retail, financial services, and travel and airline industries globally to deliver against their unique needs.

For more information about Aimia, visit www.aimia.com or email enquiries.asiapacific@aimia.com

Parijat Priyadarshini Head of Loyalty Business Consulting, Aimia Asia

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WHO DO YOU TRUST WITH YOUR CONTENT MARKETING PLAN? Content is king and marketers know it.

With traditional advertising slowly losing its appeal in the eyes of many consumers, marketers are fast understanding that content may be the way to win back consumers’ diminishing attention spans.

Speaking at a recent Content Marketing Insights session, sponsored by the BBC, Norliza Kassim, head of digital engagement and content, global digital marketing, for Standard Chartered Singapore, said content marketing had evolved to become the “truest form of marketing”.

“Marketing is about understanding the customer’s needs to deliver what is required.

Content marketing does that efficiently, hence, there has been a significant shift in focus towards serving and educating customers with relevant content and shifting away from mere product advertising,” she said.

And rightly so, marketers globally are increasingly working their hardest to increase the budgets in this field – to not only keep up with the competition, but also to create new experiences for consumers.

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investment in content marketing and storytelling to make their presence felt.

But creating content does not come easy or cheap, warns Deborah Goldingham, head of marketing for southeast Asia for MasterCard, who was also part of the panel.

She said that currently MasterCard has a main content hub which sits out of the US. This is largely because today, the world is immensely globalised and consumers are able to access content from all parts of the world through the worldwide web. Of course, the cost as well is a factor.

She explained with the help of various social listening tools, MasterCard, with its content marketing journey, has been able to successfully convert user-generated content into creative executions for the brand. This has led to an increase in user engagement and yielded great results for the brand.

Once you can prove the worth of content, she added, it is easier to get senior management to embrace it.

She said: “Real-time publishing of content in the past has helped us generate a massive increase in sales. If you are able to convert these

creative works into numbers, stakeholders in the company will not question you.”

One challenge she said, in the content space, was crafting the right story which keeps your brand idea intact while portraying the realistic consumer journey.

“Stop wanting consumers to be what you want them to be. When this is stopped, consumer engagement will follow,” she said.

Further explaining how content marketing can be quantified in terms of conversions, Travis Teo, director of integrated media for SAP Asia, said in the past conversions were measured by tracking the number of downloads of either the brands’ PDF documents on available SAP solutions or its white papers. However, this did

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not provide a good overview of how content was working for the brand.

Over the years, consumers have also demanded for more “snackable” content online.

As such, the brand slowly evolved its blog into a content platform and also measures the success of the platform through social listening tools that track the consumer’s journey from social to search and websites to registration.

“Although we are only halfway there, as technology evolves, we will develop a better marketing mix to define how much increase in revenue this activity contributes back to our organisation,” he said.

Who do you trust with your content?

Today, many players from publishers and content agencies to social media agencies and PR players are all claiming to understand content. When asked who exactly should be in charge of it, Sara Varela, social media strategist for Marina Bay Sands and ArtScience Museum, said for her team, it was done in-house. She added that whoever your content partner might be, the most important thing was for the marketer to be able to understand how to use content. Moreover, often brands are now also turning to trusted partners in the publishing world to churn out their content.

Kassim said today there was enough content creation work to go around for both agencies and publishers – and even in-house content creators. “In order to create relevant local content, we have subject matter experts internally who develop high quality write-ups on

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finance, wealth management and investments,” she said. She added that choosing a content partner largely depends on the topic. It can be both publishers and agencies depending on the tone and medium. “We need a combination of writers to get across the right content to the customers,” she said.

Agreeing with her was John Williams, vicepresident of Southeast Asia and South Asia for BBC Worldwide, who said that publishers and agencies have their own roles to play in the content ecosystem. As such, there is enough room in the world for all to coexist.

He added that working with established publishers such as the BBC helps in ensuring credibility in the minds of the audience and also clients. However, agencies are very much needed in bridging the gap to reach audiences through the right mediums, and as such, the two need to work together closely.

“It is a virtual circle which is here to stay,” he said. Teo added that ultimately, whoever you choose, it is the brand’s responsibility to make

sure the content is localised to come across as authentic and relatable to the consumer.

Is social media a propeller?

In the current landscape, no execution is complete without social. Kassim said the advent of social media had certainly impacted the consumer buying behaviour and consumers have now become smarter in their buying approaches. Research, comparison and reviews, she explained, were the steps followed before they make a purchase decision.

Often this research is done on social platforms, and as such, a brand’s content must keep in mind the social and shareability.

Varela added that rather than see social as a platform to just add a filter to, brands need to think about creating something tangible which consumers can relate to. Social helps create a space for interaction for fan followers, she said.

But social today is fast becoming a norm.

When asked what made our panellists excited about the future, Williams said: “My favourite tool is using facial coding technology to measure the effectiveness of content marketing. We use this system to track facial expressions of a human being when presented with content. Although the tool is not perfect, it will definitely help brands create more effective and compelling content in the long run.”

Meanwhile, Kassim said that from past learnings she found technology tools such as dynamic personalisation had enabled marketers to create, manage and optimise content and, hence, help brands know what works and what doesn’t. She looks forward to more such tools that enable content marketers such as herself.

Goldingham said using artificial intelligence in the field of content marketing was one she was excited about. Teo added: “It is no longer about how different tools will help churn out the customer journey in the future. It is about how this technology converges to paint the new face of content marketing.”

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HOW BIG DATA CAN POWER UP YOUR EXISTING MARKETING STRATEGY Retailers have a hard job today with the proliferation of competition and the rise of “distraction” among consumers.

During a recent round table jointly organised by Marketing and StarHub with several senior marketing leaders – attendees shared, discussed and learnt from each other on their challenges and issues faced amid a challenging retail landscape.

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Many of those present said that while they were eager to capture their consumers’ attention and wallet share to remain competitive, many were confused as to how to do it effectively.

Shobhit Datta, co-founder and director of marketing at online retailer HipVan, said its key challenge was to develop trust faster with his target audience to boost transactions as well as purchases. Agreeing with him was

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Rezwana Manjur Editor Marketing magazine

Cheryl Lim Head of branding and communications marketing AXA Singapore

Neha Saxena Head of CRM Charles & Keith Singapore

Shobhit Datta Co-founder, director of marketing HipVan

Eugene Kwek Head of marketing, retail banking and wealth management HSBC Insurance Singapore

Laetitia de SerouxGerhardt Marketing director JCDecaux Singapore

Himanshu Arora General manager Red Bull Singapore

Lisa Wong Head of marketing and communication, SEA Swarovski

Vittoria O’Connor Customer loyalty and digital director, APAC The Body Shop International

Sheryl Wong General manager – sales and marketing Triumph International Singapore

Katherine Chong Director of business development (emerging businesses) StarHub

Chris Choy Assistant vice-president of SmartHub StarHub

Ong Geok Chwee, Vice-president of emerging businesses StarHub

Neha Saxena, head of customer experience at Charles & Keith Singapore, who added that one of her biggest challenges was dealing with the attention span of her customers.

“It’s very critical to craft a strategy to keep them engaged, and those engagement strategies will keep changing from time to time,”

she said. She also added it was a challenge to map a consumer journey given the proliferation of digital and devices and the fragmentation of the media.

As such, having an ever-changing engagement strategy that leads to conversion, both online and offline, is needed.

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JCDecaux Singapore, said there was definitely a shift in client’s strategy. She added the use of big data would definitely help in engagement solutions.

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data and analytics could definitely help map out the profile of customers. Meanwhile, data can also help marketers understand what their competitors are doing, and as such, keep on par, if not ahead of the trends.

Tapping on consumer data While many retailers still find it a major challenge to process the tremendous amount of data they have collected and transform it into something useful, L’Oréal-owned British cosmetics

and skin care company, The Body Shop International, said it was definitely tapping on data to attract customers.

Through the collection and use of data – Vittoria O’Connor, customer loyalty and digital director of Asia Pacific at The Body Shop International, said the company was able to be more granular in its offerings and in turn build retention and conversion with its customers.

She added the next analytic capability she was looking at would involve the ability to provide more loyalty and product analytics. This will, she hopes, trigger relevant campaigns to its large customer base, which is an important element for the retention side of the business.

On the customer acquisition side, she said it would be on how to use insights about the existing customers and how to attract new customers to the brands, among other things.

Shift in consumer behaviour Many attendees also noted the customer journey has evolved, especially in the past few years, with the increasing popularity of online usage and smartphones.

Charles & Keith Singapore’s Saxena said she and her team had noticed a shift in customer buying behaviour with the launch of its new mobile app.

“There has been an increasing trend of customers taking photos of shoes online and going down to the shops for further enquiry.

This new channel has generated additional interest in the products and driven traffic to retail outlets,” she said.

Meanwhile, Triumph International Singapore’s general manager of sales and marketing Sheryl Wong shared there was not enough footfall at its outlets today.

The key challenge, she added, was to get consumers back into the shops, engage and excite them enough to create a memorable shopping experience. Lisa Wong, head of marketing and communication for Southeast Asia at Swarovski, also said she finds consumers a lot more fluid.

They are far savvier with online shopping, they travel more frequently and have a lot more influence from social media.

As such, Wong is working closely with media agencies to develop omni-channel campaigns to drive awareness. An omni-channel, as such, provides customers with a seamless shopping experience as it cuts across devices and it doesn’t matter if a customer is shopping at a mall or online from a laptop or smartphone.

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Cheryl Lim, head of branding and communications marketing at AXA Singapore, also said the insurance company uses data to align marketing campaigns from offline to online marketing channels to ensure there is an

alignment collectively and the call-to-actions complement one another.

Himanshu Arora, general manager at Red Bull Singapore, added ultimately, the customer’s first experience with a brand

was very important as it was the first step in building trust and affinity. Besides building trust, he added brands have to translate the awareness to action which remains a key challenge for many.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF DATA ANALYSIS AND BIG DATA? Laetitia de Seroux-Gerhardt, marketing director at JCDecaux Singapore: “From a media owner’s perspective, for sure big data is going to assist in understanding more of our clients, which is going to drive a big part of the business. For now, we are looking at OOH convergence, in terms of how to make use of this data to help us catch up and keep abreast of the new technologies and integrate them in our media offering.”

Himanshu Arora, general manager at Red Bull Singapore: “There are two sides to it. First, for our marketing to become stronger, more targeted to create campaigns that work better and smarter. Second, we don’t own the transactions of the consumers, but it’s really helpful to have this data available to us. Big data will allow us to track more accurately the customer journey, such as the transaction time of the day, which day of the week, so we can gear up our promotions better.”

Cheryl Lim, head of branding and communications marketing at AXA Singapore: “For me, big data is a buzzword and unless we know how we can benefit consumers based on what they want, it will not be useful. For auto insurance, we need to benefit and make sure consumers know how it is benefiting them. Therefore, it will become something useful. We also need to have a CEO who understands data and is in line. So it has to be a top-down approach.”

Vittoria O’Connor, customer loyalty and digital director of Asia Pacific at The Body Shop International: “You can have all the data in the world, but at the end of the day, it’s a matter of what’s in it for me and how can you help me. You need to have the right branding with the correct strategy, then using this data to help in your marketing proposition.”

Sheryl Wong, general manager of sales and marketing at Triumph International Singapore: “The correct and effective use of data will win happier customers as they are getting what they really need from us, essentially selling to consumers on what they really want.”

Shobhit Datta, co-founder, director of marketing at HipVan: “As an e-commerce company, we have the luxury of more data points than traditional retailers. For example, data collected via our survey helps to understand better the customers’ purchasing behaviour and journey.”

Lisa Wong, head of marketing and communication for Southeast Asia at Swarovski: “I hope one day with big data, we will reach a meaningful stage where we know what exactly our customers need. That will allow us to tell our brand stories better and in a relevant way.”

Neha Saxena, head of customer experience at Charles & Keith Singapore: “My hope is for big data to be easily accessible to users across the organisation. While the top-end would be using it for multiple insights, if my store manager is unable to access and analyse whether they can upsell or cross-sell to a customer, it will not make any sense. Big data has to go down to the micro level and be usable by everyone in the organisation.”

Ong Geok Chwee, vice-president of emerging businesses at StarHub: “Big data will just be a word and a set of data if you don’t make use of it in a relevant way. For us, we look at it as putting the right ingredients together, so it will enable the marketers to do a better job. We focus a lot on co-creation, so that we know exactly what you (the marketers) want to drive in terms of outcome and big data is just the ingredient.”

Katherine Chong, director of business development (emerging business) at StarHub: “From the analysis point of view, it’s towards contextual relevance and the life stage - essentially what i would need as a consumer. But as marketers, it will be in terms of returns on investments and the relevance as well. Our SmartHub Analytics can provide solutions to brands like AXA, with products that has targeted demographics and psychographics customer profile, to reach consumers at a correct life stage, showing more context to the offerings brand have in place.”

Chris Choy, StarHub’s assistant vice-president of SmartHub: “I think it’s important. Marketing is part of science, and it’s becoming more and more of a science. This justifies what we are doing a bit better to our bosses and shareholders.”

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CAREER PATH Lisa Wong Head of marketing and communications, Southeast Asia Swarovski First job?

Sub-editor at Zip Magazine in HK. First job in advertising/ marketing?

PR manager at Moët Hennessy Diageo Hong Kong and Macau.

I was given the chance to move into brand management soon after I joined. The nine years with Moët Hennessy was precious as I was offered different roles in the region, managing different portfolios. Everything I know about marketing, I learnt at Moët Hennessy.

Perks of your current job?

Unleashing the full possibility and potential of the most exciting emerging markets in the world.

Worst job?

None. Every job has been a great learning opportunity. It is my belief there is always something to learn from any manager I come across.

Marketing professionals you admire?

Mark Ritson, an associate professor of marketing and an expert in branding. He is one of the lecturers in LVMH House and I had the great fortune to attend his luxury marketing management course. It has had a very profound impact on how I behave as a luxury marketer.

Best career advice you’ve been given?

“Never say die” by Ruby Tang, former regional marketing director at Moët Hennessy Asia Pacific.

Why a career in marketing?

I only work for brands that I love.

I see it as a very meaningful job, to be one of the brand guardians in their histories and to ensure the story of these brands are told in a memorable and beautiful way.

If you weren’t in marketing?

Travel journalist.

6 4 M AR K ET I N G N OV EM B ER 201 6

JOB SHUFFLE Singapore Press Holdings appointed Lee Huay Leng as head of Chinese Media Group (CMG). She will take on the new role from December. She will also oversee the commercial and operational aspects of CMG, which publishes Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News. She is currently editor of Lianhe Wanbao and senior vice-president (new growth) of Lianhe Zaobao.

M&C Saatchi named Richard Morewood as regional CEO. He will be looking after the Singapore, Malaysia, New Delhi, Tokyo and Shanghai markets. He starts in January next year. Previously, he worked in the M&C Saatchi Australia and London team. He will be based in Singapore. He was last with DDB for five years holding roles such as regional business director and managing partner.

Global marketing and technology agency DigitasLBi strengthened its senior management team with the hire of Mark Teal as business development director for Singapore. He will report to Annette Male, APAC CEO. Teal, who brings 14 years of experience, will focus on growing client business through the introduction of the agency’s blended capabilities across data, creativity and digital media.

Jeremy Seow, managing director of Zeno Group Singapore, told Marketing he would be moving into a regional role, including Singapore

and Malaysia. He will work in partnership with global chief digital officer, John Kerr, along with other managing directors from across Asia to regionalise its most important clients, he said.

Replacing him is Matt Collette who was last director of regional planning and innovation with the group.

Netflix appointed Dipashree Das as partner marketing for Southeast Asia and India. She joins after a three-year stint at Singtel, where she was team lead for regional channel partnerships, trade marketing and sales strategy. According to her LinkedIn, she first joined Singtel in 2013 as senior content marketing manager for group digital life. She also developed the multi-channel regional launch campaign for Singtel’s big data brand DataSpark.

Tribal Worldwide Singapore appointed industry veteran Liew Shih How as creative group head, as part of its efforts to boost its creative team. He was previously a senior creative at 10AM Communications and has worked with brands such as Unilever, Nestlé, KFC, Guinness Stout, Tiger Beer, Pepsi and Sony. As a film director, he also produced the memorable Teochew Festival 2014 and Speak Mandarin Campaign 2009/2010.

Dillah Zakbah rejoined BBH Singapore as a creative technologist and will report to executive creative director Scott McClelland.

With this, she will assist with projects involving new and existing clients. She first joined BBH in 2009 as a product manager. Post

this, she operationally managed an advertising start-up by a team of former BBH tech specialists, to create a chat application which has now been acquired

by Google.

ComScore hired Jonah Ken Tan as its VP of Southeast Asia. He replaced Kerry Brown who has moved on to Eyeota as vice-president of research and offline products.

Tan will be based in Singapore, reporting to Joe Nguyen, comScore senior vice-president of Asia Pacific. He will also lead comScore’s business in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Dentsu Aegis Network promoted Ruth Stubbs to global president of iProspect, the network’s search and performance marketing unit.

She will be responsible for the global iProspect proposition and its business growth, among other things. Based out of Singapore, she will work alongside a senior global team in Asia, UK, EMEA and the US. She has been with the business since 2011 as CEO of iProspect Asia Pacific.

Mindshare appointed Robin Wong to the newly created role of CEO for the agency’s FAST hub (future adaptive specialist team) for APAC. His main objective is to help clients derive full value from data-led initiatives, particularly when it comes to leveraging analytics in delivering programmatic campaigns. He was previously managing partner and global head of operations of GroupM’s global data and analytics team.

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

LAST WORD

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WHAT’S IN A NAME? Everything! Rezwana Manjur writes.

Recently I bought tickets for the wrong flight. Yup. On the 13th of October at 5am, I arrived with a healthy dose of caffeine already in my bloodstream to find out I had bought tickets to fly to Malaysia on the wrong day. My flight was scheduled to fly on the 20th – a week away from when I needed to fly.

Quickly, I ran to one of the on-ground staff at a rather popular budget airline to find out how I could salvage the situation. She said the only chance of help lay in the hands of the customer service folks. So I called the number handed to me. A chirpy automated voice greeted me and told me to summarise what I wanted in very specific words.

“Flight refund,” I said grimly.

The same Australian voice then proceeded to ask me my name on a first-name last-name basis.

“Like John Smith,” she urged.

“Rezwana Manjur,” I replied. She couldn’t catch that and so, very politely, she asked me to repeat.

“Rezwana Manjur,” I said again.

“Oh I didn’t catch that,” she said, and proceeded to once again ask me to repeat my name.

“Rezwana Manjur,” I said, frustrated. And then my automated friend gave up. She referred me to a customer care service operator. Long story WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

short, by the time an actual human operator answered my call at 6am, I wasn’t the nicest of customers to her. And no, this was not just because I didn’t get a dime of my refund.

In fact, I’d like to believe (like most of you reading this post) that I am a rather nice customer under usual circumstances. I say my “pleases” and my “thank yous”. I try not to give waiters the stink eye if my food is late, even when I am “hangry”.

But what really annoyed me here was the sheer lack of cultural sensitivity. Here in Asia, you can’t possibly expect an easy name such as John Smith to come by often. Yes, we have a cosmopolitan culture and Caucasian sounding names, but we also have very ethnic ones too.

I am more than certain, there are many Asian names far more complicated than my own. I even dare say, I think many Caucasian names aren’t as simple as John Smith anymore either.

So, while I know this airline has been actively trying to embrace the local culture through many of its marketing tactics, which I was honestly impressed by, at that moment, I felt a little bit cheated (excuse the melodrama here).

And while I probably will still be a sucker for the next cheap promotion this airline offers, it has lost the star power in my eyes after this incident NOVE MB E R 2 016 MARKE TI N G 6 5