Advertising + Marketing MY - Mar/Apr 2014

ED’S LETTER

ALL STRESSED UP Elizabeth Low, Deputy Editor elizabethl@marketing-interactive.com Rezwana Manjur, Senior Journalist rezwanam@marketing-interactive.com Editorial – International Matt Eaton, Editor (Hong Kong) matte@marketing-interactive.com Oliver Bayani, Editor (Philippines) oliverb@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 Che Winstrom, Sales Manager chew@marketing-interactive.com Mercy Soh, Senior Account Manager mercys@marketing-interactive.com Johnathan Tiang, Account Manager johnathant@marketing-interactive.com Trina Choy, Account Manager trinac@marketing-interactive.com Yuru Wong, Account Manager yuruw@marketing-interactive.com Events Yeo Wei Qi, Head, Events Services weiqi@marketing-interactive.com Database & Circulations June Tan, Senior Database Operations Executive junet@lighthousemedia.com.sg Finance Evelyn Wong, Regional Finance Director evelynw@lighthousemedia.com.sg Management Søren Beaulieu, Publisher sorenb@marketing-interactive.com Tony Kelly, Editorial Director tk@marketing-interactive.com Justin Randles, Group Managing Director jr@marketing-interactive.com

Second guessing Quite often the PR agency/manager has no inkling of what the client’s management wants.

And this is more so in the case of bigger, multinational companies where the management is not easily accessible, leaving a lot of room for miscommunication, second guessing and, therefore, mismatched expectations.

The dollar dilemma Budgets, as always, are another source of frustration. From shoe-string to nonexistent to simply bad budget management – the range is, well, disappointing. My sympathies are with poor account managers who are being pulled by clients on one hand asking for more with less and by account directors, on the other, whose orders are to stop servicing the client.

Perfection is a myth …

Sometimes clients ask for perfection. Agency folks, this will ring a bell. You’ve worked very hard to get a media plan ready – releases, social media, press interviews, everything. A pretty creative PR campaign overall, but that one teeny weeny typo, which would have crept in thanks to auto-correct, is all the client is fixated on. The entire work is ignored because of that one mistake. Now, that’s really asking for perfection, isn’t it?

… so is the deadline How many times have you had a client come to you and ask for that report on Saturday morning? The team ends up working all night on Friday, hands the report to the client on Saturday and gets this million-dollar reply as a reward: “Oh! my boss just postponed the meeting to next week, but thanks for your effort, anyways!”

Death of a PR manager’s career This one is a horror story and doesn’t happen often, or so is my hope. Clients call the PR agency’s boss asking to remove a consultant from the account on the grounds of underperformance. Now this could well be true in some instances, in others it’s just a case of the client not providing the consultant with ample information. We are playing with someone’s career, guys.

This comes across as a long rant against clients, granted, but these reasons are why PR is one of the world’s most stressful jobs. What are the other issues the business of PR faces?

We explore all of that in this edition.

Also, on behalf of Advertising and Marketing Malaysia, I’d like to thank all our advertisers, partners and readers for the support they have shown to our restructuring efforts in the market.

Here’s to working closely together in the future.

Advertising + Marketing Malaysia is published 6 times per year by Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd PP 16093/12/2011 (026708). Printed in Malaysia on CTP process by Atlas Cetak (M) Sdn Bhd No. 2 Persiaran Industri, Bandar Sri Damansara, 52200 Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-6273 3333.

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Permission may be requested through the Singapore offi ce. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in Advertising + Marketing Malaysia are not necessarily the views of the publisher. Singapore: Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd 100C Pasir Panjang Road, #05-01 See Hoy Chan Hub Singapore 118519 Tel: +65 6423 0329 Fax: +65 6423 0117 Hong Kong: Lighthouse Independent Media Ltd Unit A, 7/F, Wah Kit Commercial Building 302 Des Voeux Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2861 1882 Fax: +852 2861 1336 To subscribe to A+M Malaysia magazine, go to: www.marketing-interactive.com ...............................................................................................................

A MEMBER OF

WWW.M A RK ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E .C O M

Rayana Pandey Editor

M A R C H / AP R I L 201 4 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 1

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

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

There has to be a few solid reasons why PR has been voted as one of the most stressful jobs in the world for a few years in a row. While the methodology of such research can be debated, I know for a fact my PR friends seem to be in a firefight at work on a daily basis.

Drawing the line on clients’ demands versus the risk of losing the account is the bottom line of nearly every dilemma they face. What’s making their job so tough?

how to keep them loyal

?

find full answers in Epsilon’s 2013 Consumer Loyalty Study

Wei - China

John - Australia 55 years old a premium customer of AUS Financial, which manages 70% of his investment

Shireen - India 23 years old shops 2-3 times a month often listens to friends’ recommendations

Epsilon’s 2013 Consumer Loyalty Study An analysis of customer engagement that enriches loyalty

Misako - Japan

34 years old a member of MaxMiles for 7 years enjoys being treated like a valued customer

41 years old a housewife with 2 children always opens emails from her preferred grocery store for relevant offers

13 n’s Epsilon’s Epsilon ’s 2013 n’’ss 20Epsilon ’s 2013 13silon y dy tuConsumer ’ 20Ep altu n’s ymSer CLoyalty Consu Loyalty umStud onsumStudy um er Loya Epsilo mer Co Loynssu lty Stud u China Australiaa y Cons India

Japan

y 2013

Januar

January 2013

January 2013

January

Read more about other consumer attitudes and views about loyalty in a series of reports from Epsilon.

2013

DOWNLOAD THE REPORTS AT www.epsilon.com/loyalty2013

Contact us +852 3589 6300 epsilon.com apac-info@epsilon.com Alliance Data FHC, Inc., trading as Epsilon International

Connect with us Follow us @EpsilonAPAC Join our group Epsilon Asia Pacific ҼࡨEpsilonਬ՛ங

CONTENTS THE CASE STUDY EDITION 38 CASE STUDY: SENHENG Electronics firm Senheng runs a contest that leverages sport to generate millions in sales revenue.

40 CASE STUDY: WATSONS

14

Health and beauty brand Watsons scores big with guys with its title-sponsorship of Piala Malaysia.

42 CASE STUDY: BUMBLEBEE Sony, Kao Laurier and DiGi grow brand awareness and forge social bonds with a traditionally anti-social practice.

The use of traditional and not-so-traditional avenues gives brands much cause for marketing joy.

44 CASE STUDY: VITAGEN VITAGEN’s move to ride on a popular comedy programme goes down well with its target audience.

48 CASE STUDY: PERODUA

26

Perodua takes the comedy route to reinforce its position as the most affordable and popular MPV among Malaysian motorists.

FEATUR ES 14 WHY SENIOR PR GUYS LEAVE BIG AGENCIES While churn in agencies has always been the norm, several senior public relations agency professionals tell Elizabeth Low why larger agency models didn’t work for them.

26 PROFILE: HTC’S SIRPA IKOLA

31 OPINION

HTC is splashing out in a costly effort to make its brand likeable. Can it become the brand of choice?

Rezwana Manjur asks HTC’s Southeast Asia marketing lead Sirpa Ikola.

30 BRAND HEALTH CHECK: ABERCROMBIE & FITCH It looks like sexy models and controversy aren’t enough to keep a brand going, as Abercrombie & Fitch is finding out.

31 AD WATCH/WEB WATCH Hakuhodo’s Patrick Ng praises Heineken’s campaign; while VML Qais’ Joshua Sim gives the Indochino website full marks.

What you’ll learn in this issue: >> Why senior executives leave large agencies.

DEPARTMENTS

>> An in-depth look into regional roles.

4 NEWS

>> Key marketing ideas for your brand.

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4

BMW Asia calls for a regional creative pitch; L’Oréal Malaysia settles digital pitch; AirAsia apologises over ad; plus more.

M A R C H / AP R I L 201 4 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 3

NEWS

A MONTH

IN NEWS A better service Music streaming service Spotify partnered with SEA digital media representative Better Sdn Bhd to open the music service’s advertising platform to local brands in Malaysia. Since launching in Malaysia in April 2013, Spotify has been connecting with music fans in the market by providing free access to more than 24 million international and local songs that are available across all devices.

A roaring start L’Oréal Malaysia chose Lion & Lion as its digital marketing agency.

The pitch for the account involved six other advertising and media agencies. Lion & Lion is tasked to develop and execute digital marketing across the region for the cosmetics group. The scope of the assignment encompasses all of L’Oréal Malaysia’s 17 brands, including haircare and skincare leaders L’Oréal Paris, Garnier and Lancôme.

Looking next door Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched a tender looking to appoint a research agency to conduct qualitative consumer research with its target audiences in Malaysia. According to a spokesperson from STB, Malaysia is one of Singapore’s top five source markets in terms of tourism receipts and visitor arrivals, “hence it is important to our marketing and research efforts”.

AirAsia sorry over ad Budget carrier AirAsia has apologised for an article in its in-flight magazine Travel 3Sixty.

Under its training and preparation section, an article was written with the sentence: “Pilot training in AirAsia is continuous and very thorough. Rest assured that your captain is well prepared to ensure your plane will never get lost. Have a safe flight.” This came shortly after the tragedy of Malaysian Airlines’ missing flight.

A new start The Sunday Mail was relaunched in March 2014. The relaunch comes after English daily newspaper Malay Mail embarked on a digital revolution with partners that included the Oriental Daily, Sinar Harian and Makkal Osai to launch the Malay Mail Gr8 Deals subscription packages with device partners Huawei and Samsung. The Sunday Mail is in print and digital.

Making a difference Lowe Malaysia has been appointed for the education brand portfolios of Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s (TM) education arms, Multimedia University (MMU) and Multimedia College (MMC).

The achievement follows Lowe’s recent appointment as the lead agency for TM’s consumer and SME market segments. Mazuin Zin, managing director of Lowe Malaysia, said: “MMU and MMC have been discreetly transforming the tertiary education sector for the longest time.”

4 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

New partnership Clozette and StarWorld, FOX International Channels’ female entertainment channel, have paired up to create an original short-form content production. The content, titled StyleSetter, is a two-minute interstitial covering the latest fashion and beauty trends as well as the venues and events industry in Asia. This is an open partnership which initially runs across the markets of Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Roger Yuen (pictured) is the founder and chief executive of Clozette.

Big push Independent data management platform Lotame secured US$15 million in Series D funding. The round was led by Sozo Ventures and TrueBridge Capital Partners, with substantial participation from existing investors Battery Ventures, Emergence Capital Partners and R.J. Finlay & Co. Combined with previous funding, Lotame raised a total of US$44 million. The financing allows Lotame to accelerate the development of its innovative realtime, cross-device data platform.

Protecting man’s best friend Dog food brand Pedigree collaborated with Starcom MediaVest (SMG) Malaysia to launch “Pedigree Nutri Number Calculator”. The insights for the campaign stemmed from an observation the majority of dog owners in Malaysia provided their dogs with either meal leftovers or home-cooked food on a daily basis. As a result, their dogs are not getting enough nourishment because their nutritional needs vary largely from humans’.

Milking its partnership The National Basketball Association (NBA) and dairy company Royal FrieslandCampina made a deal for a multi-year marketing partnership across Southeast Asia. FrieslandCampina activated its “Drink.Move.

BeStrong” campaign to reach the NBA’s fan base in Asia. This is done through grassroots events, television and digital activities, and localised content for its customers.

FrieslandCampina will provide NBA fans the opportunity to receive NBA-branded products, in-store promotions and NBA experiences.

Affiniti secures accounts Brand communications and creative agency Affiniti has secured several regional accounts. It was appointed by Malaysian premium boutique hotel chain, Jia Hotel Group, to develop the hotel’s brand identity, and to strategise and lead its marketing and promotional efforts as the hotel group braces itself for two key launches in Malacca and Penang in 2014. Affiniti also bagged niche Thai property developer, Thai Kriya Limited.

A long-term affair Tribal Worldwide Malaysia retained Volkswagen Malaysia’s digital advertising business after a four-way pitch. The agency has worked on the business since the Volkswagen Group in Malaysia was established in 2006. Over the years, Tribal Worldwide Malaysia has seen the brand through several key milestones by injecting social experience and introducing digital innovations to create one-ofa-kind car launches. This contract will take effect for two years.

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What are the forces redefining market research?

Research Asia Interactive returns in 2014 and will take an in-depth look at the developments, challenges and the future of market research.

Find out all about them on 27 June 2014 Grand Park City Hall Hotel,Singapore 9.00am – 5.00pm (Registration starts at 8.00am)

w w w. r e s e a r c h i n t e r a c t i v e - c o n f e r e n c e . c o m

NEWS

A new taste Kronenbourg beer launched a regional integrated brand campaign with the help of BBH Asia Pacific. The campaign, which extends to print, digital, point-ofsale, out-of-home and all brand collateral, will launch across the region. BBH conceptualised the campaign – “Taste the French Way of Life” – with development for the Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets.

Reaching the party crowd Motive Media, a nightlife media network for venues and events, launched in Singapore. Motive Media’s launch is aimed at helping create the link between brands and partygoers. It has secured media spaces in popular club locations such as The Vault, kyō, Dom and Timbre. The firm’s existing clients include Cognac Croizet, McLaren, Volvo, DQ Vodka, Jabra, SINGHA and SingTel. Cashless but happy McDonald’s Singapore launched a card payment initiative through its mobile application for food delivery.

To make use of this new payment feature, customers create a onetime user account and register their Visa cards. When orders are placed, the pre-registered Visa account will be used and payment can be made. Card details are encrypted and securely managed

by Visa’s payment gateway CyberSource.

A group partnership Groupon launched Groupon Partner Network (GPN), a proprietary local e-commerce affiliate marketing platform, designed to help online publishers monetise their online presence through the promotion of Groupon deals. Through a suite of publishing tools, including re-targeting, GPN distributes relevant Groupon deals across partner websites and apps. GPN is available in more than 30 countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Thailand and Philippines.

A watchful eye The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is in the midst of looking for an agency consultant. The consultant will help the board conduct a two-way performance evaluation between STB and its appointed creative, media, digital and digital production agencies.

The consultant will have to monitor and determine annual scope and fees, and assist with year-end fee closure and manage pitches if required.

An eye-catching experience Mediatech launched a 12 by 10 metre high-resolution LED display screen at the junction of Orchard and Cairnhill Road outside the new Robinsons mall. This screen offers advertisers a multi-sensory canvas to display their advertisements and digital campaigns through augmented reality technology.

Mediatech is the exclusive media marketing partner of this new display screen. Mediatech has already lined up a list of advertisers for 2014.

6 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

A new beginning BMW Asia called a pitch looking for a creative agency. The pitch is for the Southeast Asia region and is being handled by marketing consultants R3. R3 confirmed its involvement with the pitch.

BMW appointed Y&R its creative agency in November 2012 and the contract took effect from 2 January 2013. The finalists for the last round of reviews included Publicis Worldwide.

Time for a holiday?

Skyscanner kicked off its first integrated marketing campaign, “Go Anywhere and Everywhere”, with a consumer competition that offered winners free holidays to numerous destinations across the world. Through this campaign, Skyscanner aimed to raise awareness of its brand and how it makes planning for travel easy.

Skyscanner’s agencies on the campaign were Leo Burnett, Havas Media and IN.FOM for creative, media and PR respectively.

Going live Dentsu Aegis Network is set to launch the experiential marketing agency psLIVE in all key Asia Pacific markets. Ashish Bhasin (pictured), chairman of Posterscope and psLIVE Asia Pacific, said the plan would begin with rebranding the existing and experiential business in markets such as India, Malaysia and Indonesia in the near future to psLIVE. The agency will first roll out in India.

An updated offering Amobee updated its Amobee platform with the addition of Amobee LTV which enables advertisers, publishers and app developers to gain insights into mobile app customer bases.

Amobee LTV aims to get detailed insight on mobile app users and directly engage and re-engage app users to increase ROI. The platform provides a user-friendly holistic view of what users are doing with multiple apps.

Carlsberg appoints JWT Carlsberg Singapore retained GolinHarris to lead its corporate and internal communications and brand marketing efforts in 2014. These services encompass the brands of Carlsberg, Carlsberg Special Brew, Kronenbourg and Somersby for 12 months. Meanwhile, Carlsberg appointed JWT to handle its creative business in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong after a three-way pitch. The three JWT offices will work with Carlsberg on a regional and local level.

Good sportsmanship MP & Silva partnered with the Badminton Asia Confederation for the exclusive worldwide media rights for its calendar of events, including the region’s premium international tournament in the Badminton Asia Championships.

The rights, from 2014 to 2016, comprise the global distribution of media and covers all platforms and devices, including broadband internet and mobile, as well as betting and in-flight rights.

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

NEWS

For the ladies TBWA\Shanghai created a platform to support the adidas women’s “all in for my girls” platform in China, with a campaign spanning TV, print, outdoor and PR. The latest spot is built on top of a campaign which first introduced the idea of sisterhood and how sport for young Chinese women is fun, playful and social without having to be overly competitive. The campaign launched officially on 1 March.

For the youth Australia’s online and digital outof-home content platform oOH! Media launched a content platform across more than 50 universities throughout the country. The new platform by Australia’s largest outof-home media company acts like a giant digital campus where every tertiary student in the country can hang out and discuss news, views and pop culture on campus, at home or when they are out and about.

Roaring good time Yamaha Motor Vietnam appointed Dentsu Vietnam its corporate advertising and creative agency.

Dentsu Vietnam is tasked with helping build greater awareness for Yamaha Motor and to revitalise the company’s brand image in the country. Dentsu Vietnam’s scope of work includes creative, media planning and buying, and event management, while leveraging on “Yamaha Motor’s five innovative brand characteristics – sporty, fashionable, fuel efficient, high performance and durable”.

Communicating to the masses Go Communications formed a partnership with Sengdara Communications in Laos, headquartered in Vientiane. The Laos partnership adds further strength to the Go Group’s network that includes offices in Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Japan, India and China. With offices in each of the Mekong Delta countries, The Go Group has an edge to service both international and local companies who are looking for a network.

Time for a tea break Lipton launched its new global brand campaign which encourages people to break out of their routines and embrace the present.

The “Be More Tea” campaign kicked off with a 60-second spot that aired during the Academy Awards featuring the Muppets as they prepared for their upcoming movie Muppets Most Wanted. The campaign highlights the essence of the “Be More Tea” spirit.

A good chat Burberry has extended its partnership with WeChat to enhance its social and mobile presence in China. The expanded digital deal allowed Burberry followers on WeChat to watch its London Fashion Week show and hear WeChat-only audio content.

Followers could also instantly personalise a digital version of the Runway Made to Order plaques with their name in English or Chinese characters.

8 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

Finding a voice Clear Scalp & Hair partnered with NBC’s The Voice competition for season six as the official haircare sponsor of the show. The multiplatform partnership includes custom content featuring personal stories of past The Voice artists.

Additionally, as part of the initiative, Clear Scalp & Hair will be the official title sponsor of The Voice Live Tour.

A Kiwi affair Havas Media Group, the global media network of Havas, formed a strategic alliance with Kiwi agency Lassoo Media. This alliance allows Havas Media Group to extend its presence in New Zealand, a market it views as important in the Asia-Pacific region. As a result of this strategic alliance, Lassoo will support Havas Media Group’s international requirements in the New Zealand market.

A new look Reebok is sporting a new look with its new logo. The change is its second big revamp in its 121-year history. The brand will be using the Reebok Delta symbol across all its products. The new logo will first appear on footwear and apparel across all fitness disciplines supported by Reebok, including training, running, outdoor, yoga, dance and aerobics.

A bling affair Luxury jewellery retailer Tiffany & Co. named Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide its new creative partner.

A pitch for the global business started in October. Ogilvy & Mather will provide brand positioning and advertising support for Tiffany & Co. globally with creative and strategic hubs in New York and Paris. It’s not clear how the relationship will play out across Asia.

HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

FLOWER POWER

This Valentine’s Day, Power 98 had a fun day out as the Safra Radio Station crew hit the streets distributing flowers. The primary objective of the activation was to market the radio station and the DJs from the prime-time belts.

The campaign was pulled off in partnership with Marina Bay Link Mall and Jurliss Flowers.

Through the on-ground activation, Power 98 FM aimed to reach out to its target base of PMEBs. Meanwhile, Marina Bay Link Mall took part in the campaign to reward and thank its customers. For Jurliss Flowers, the ultimate aim was to increase brand awareness.

Overall, the marketing activation cost SG$30,000.

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

NEWS

A strong addiction A recent ad by Coca-Cola for its Diet Coke campaign raised a few eyebrows for cheekily playing with the term “You’re on Coke”. The campaign runs with the tag line, “You’re on” – next to the Diet Coke logo and was created by New York agency Droga5. Coca-Cola said the advertising was one part of the new campaign for Diet Coke called “You’re On”.

For a better experience Dentsu Aegis Network said it will launch its experiential marketing agency psLive in all key AsiaPacific markets. The agency will first roll out in India, with Asiawide plans for psLive expansion expected soon. Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia, will take on the additional role of Asia chairman for Posterscope and psLive Asia Pacific. Nick Waters, Dentsu’s Asia-Pacific CEO, said psLive will play an important role in Asia, particularly in key markets like ANZ, South East Asia and India.

A new market Turner Broadcasting formed a partnership with PT Trans Media Corpora to launch CNN Indonesia as a 24-hour news channel and website in Bahasa Indonesia.

Jeff Zucker, CNN’s worldwide president, said this agreement puts CNN in a unique position to reach millions of Indonesians in a way it had not been able to previously. The TV channel will be accompanied by a strong digital presence.

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Another opportunity Carat extended its Australian presence with a launch into the Queensland market. Furthermore, the agency has integrated digital experts within every client service team and expanded the agency’s strategic resources by tapping into Carat’s 25-strong national strategy team. Gabriela Merrick was promoted to managing director for Carat Brisbane. She has 11 years of experience with the company and was most recently GM at Mitchells Queensland.

AUDIT WATCH MCI (P) 085/12/2013

EDISI 01/ TAHUN I - JANUARI 2014

INDONESIAN INFLUENCE

I LAPORAN UTAMA

HAL 4

Mengaduk Yu-sheng, Menanti Angpao

Perayaan Imlek, atau lazimnya diucapkan di Singapura sebagai Lunar New Year, adalah satu dari sekian banyak acara penting yang paling ditunggu setiap tahunnya.

I KISAH SUKSES

Menanti Berkah T di Tahun Kuda

HAL 6

Tak Ada Lawan, Dilarang Ikut Kompetisi Lego di Indonesia MCI (P) 085/12/2013

EDISI 01/ TAHUN I - JANUARI ANUARI 2014

A new Indonesian newspaper has launched in Singapore targeting Indonesians living in the country.

Radar Singapura was published in January with an initial print run of 5,000 free copies. The newspaper is distributed at Indonesian restaurants at Orchard, Bugis and Raffles and Paya Lebar MRT, as well as student forums, remittance centres, the Indonesian embassy, professional associations, Indonesian gathering places and relevant events.

It targets telcos, airlines with daily flights to Indonesia (such as Garuda, Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Lion Air, AirAsia, Jetstar, Tiger), banks/remittance services (such as Western Union, Mass Express), and Indonesian restaurants (such

Kepingan lego, jika berada di tangan ahlinya, dapat memunculkan HAL 4 bentuk yang luar biasa.

I LAPORAN UTAMA AM MA

u-sheng, Mengaduk Yu Yu-sheng, ng gpao Menanti Angpao

Perayaan Imlek, ata atau au la lazimnya azim mnya ga apura ssebagai eb bagai diucapkan di Singapura ad dala ah ssatu atu u Lunar New Year, adalah ak acara acara dari sekian banyak ing gd ittungg gu penting yang paling ditunggu setiap tahunnya.

I KISAH SUKSES S

HAL 6

I LENSA

HAL 18

I SEPUTAR SELEBRITI

HAL 19

Bukan Anak yang Diharapkan Shandy Aulia meluncurkan buku Incomplete yang mengisahkan perjalanan hidupnya.

Kepingan lego, jika berada a, di tangan ahlinya, kan dapat memunculkan bentuk yang luar biasa.

HAL H AL 18 I SPORTIF

HAL 21

Aji Arsitek Timnas U-23

I SEPUTAR SELEBRITI EB BRITI

PSSI akhirnya resmi menunjuk Aji Santoso sebagai pelatih Timnas HAL H AL 19 U-23.

HAL 22 Bukan ukan Anak I KULINER ang yang Soto Ayam Lamongan iharapkan Resep soto ayam Diharapkan

Shandy Aulia Lamongan meluncurkan adalah salah satu kuliner buku Incomplete khas Indonesia yang begitu yang mengisahkan banyak digemari. perjalanan dupnya. hidupnya.

I SPORTIF

Di Singapura, Imlek tak hanya dirayakan etnis Tionghoa. Semua orang, dari latar belakang etnis atau bangsa apapun, akan ikut larut dalam kebahagiaan. Mereka akan tumpah ke jalan-jalan, menikmati kemeriahan acara tahun baru.

Tahun ini, puncak dari keseluruhan acara adalah Chingay Parade. Parade tersebut menampilkan atraksi dari delapan ribu orang, batik terbesar di dunia sepanjang tiga ratus enam puluh meter, boneka sejenis wayang setinggi empat meter, tarian balet oleh tujuh ratus penari dan pergelaran dari negara Italia, Korea dan China. Sungguh sayang untuk dilewatkan.

Penjuru Singapura juga dihiasi dengan berbagai ornamen berbentuk kuda. Sesuai penanggalan China, 2014 adalah Tahun Kuda Kayu.

Kuda Kayu melambangkan antusiasme. Tentu saja kita berharap dunia bisnis akan Di Singapura, Imlek tak hanya lebih bergairah dibandingkan dirayakan etnis Tionghoa. Semua orang, tahun sebelumnya. Pasar dari latar belakang etnis atau bangsa lebih optimistis dan apapun, akan ikut larut dalam memiliki mood yang kebahagiaan. Mereka akan tumpah ke positif. Gong Xi Fa Cai. I jalan-jalan, menikmati kemeriahan acara tahun baru.

Tahun ini, puncak dari keseluruhan acara adalah Chingay Parade. Parade tersebut menampilkan atraksi dari delapan ribu orang, batik terbesar di dunia sepanjang tiga ratus enam puluh meter, boneka sejenis wayang setinggi empat meter, tarian balet oleh tujuh ratus penari dan pergelaran dari negara Italia, Korea dan China. Sungguh sayang untuk dilewatkan.

Penjuru Singapura juga dihiasi dengan berbagai ornamen berbentuk kuda. Sesuai penanggalan China, 2014 adalah Tahun Kuda Kayu.

Kuda Kayu melambangkan antusiasme. Tentu saja kita berharap dunia bisnis akan lebih bergairah dibandingkan tahun sebelumnya. Pasar lebih optimistis dan memiliki mood yang positif. Gong Xi Fa Cai. I www.radarsingapura.com, 24 Hlm

Menanti Berkah T di Tahun Kuda

Tak Ada Lawan, wan, ut Dilarang Ikut ego Kompetisi Lego di Indonesiaa

I LENSA

www.radarsingapura.com, 24 Hlm

AHUN Baru Imlek, atau yang dikenal juga sebagai Lunar New Year, atau Spring Festival (Festival Musim Semi), merupakan salah satu acara yang paling ditunggu-tunggu setiap tahunnya. Ini adalah acara terbesar dan terpenting dalam komunitas etnis Tionghoa, yang dirayakan di seluruh dunia.

AHUN Baru Imlek, atau yang dikenal juga sebagai Lunar New Year, atau Spring Festival (Festival Musim Semi), merupakan salah satu acara yang paling ditunggu-tunggu setiap tahunnya. Ini adalah acara terbesar dan terpenting dalam komunitas etnis Tionghoa, yang dirayakan di seluruh dunia.

DOK RADAR SINGAPURA

HAL H AL 21

Aji Arsitek Timnas U-233 PSSI akhirnya resmi menunjuk Aji Santoso sebagai pelatih Timnas U-23.

I KULINER

HAL 22

Soto Ayam Lamongan Resep soto ayam Lamongan adalah salah satu kuliner khas Indonesia yang begitu banyak digemari.

A marriage made in space NDN Group is taking one Chinese couple into space to get married.

The record-breaking attempt is slated for Q1 or Q2 of 2015 in collaboration with Virgin Galactic, which will provide a manned spacecraft for at least six passengers. Andy Ann, founder of NDN Group, said the initial idea of a space wedding was spawned between himself and Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson.

Scooting off Italian scooter brand Vespa appointed BBH to handle its global advertising account. The appointment comes without a pitch. BBH will handle advertising across Asia, Europe and the US. The agency will help the scooter brand develop a new brand position that builds on its strong heritage and simultaneously appeals to newer audiences. Ads will roll out later this year.

Getting good vibes Viber and Nokia inked an exclusive deal which provides Nokia X device users with a version of Viber that is at parity with Viber’s latest version for Android. “This strategic partnership will help us provide Nokia users with a great messaging and calling experience enhanced with photo sharing, stickers and other Viber functionality,” said Talmon Marco, CEO of Viber.

A creative incubator Creative network Iris has launched an innovations and ventures division. Called The Nursery, it will focus on the development of new products and services. The dedicated global unit will tap into the network’s creative teams to bring more start-up style ideas to big brands and create new business concepts.

DOK RADAR SINGAPURA

as Sari Ratu, IndoChili) and more.

For readers, it targets Indonesians living and staying in Singapore as workers, students, business owners and tourists. It aims to have its circulation audited, said chief editor Martin Pardede, but it has not determined when and who this will be done by.

Lowe cooks up a win Indonesian instant noodle brand Indomie appointed Lowe Indonesia as its agency following a pitch that involved Ogilvy and Leo Burnett. The appointment is for the Indonesia market and the contract is said to be for a year. Joseph Tan, CEO of Lowe Indonesia, said: “For Indonesians, Indomie goes beyond being just the ultimate comfort food; it conjures up national pride across our country’s diverse cultures.”

X marks the spot Mountain Dew partnered with 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. Managed by creative agency Motive, the campaign builds on more than a decade of successful entertainment partnerships. This is Mountain Dew’s largest-ever international entertainment promotion. The global TVC will launch at the end of April globally and the promotional campaign engages consumers across various touchpoints – from in-store and special commemorative packaging.

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NEW WORK

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1 Campaign “The IKEA Bedroom Stories” Brief Two short films were created which featured bedroom makeovers for people facing unique space challenges. The first film centred around the life of 30-year-old civil servant Frank, whose passion for Cosplay has not only seen him sweeping up awards at world championships, but has also left him with a cluttered bedroom.

The second film featured Michele, a mum trying to squeeze her beloved husband and son into one bedroom in a four-room flat.

Client

IKEA

Creative

BBH APAC

Media

OMD

1

2 Campaign Cornetto’s Red Tour Brief Unilever is pushing its Cornetto brand through Taylor Swift’s upcoming Red Tour in ASEAN. The campaign includes TVCs, OOH and radio ads and will run on a number of platforms, including YouTube and Yahoo. The other markets the campaign runs in include Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.

Client

Unilever Singapore

Creative

Alchemy

Media

Mindshare

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NEW WORK

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3 Campaign Anywhere and Everywhere Brief Through the campaign, Skyscanner hopes to raise awareness of its brand and how it makes planning for travel easy, and also delight people with a free holiday. The campaign is heavily publicised through digital media, mobile ad networks and social media such as Yahoo, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. In addition, there are out-of-home executions, including posters at 122 bus stops island-wide, double-decker buses and giant outdoor digital screens.

Client

Skyscanner

Creative

Leo Burnett Singapore

Media

Havas Media

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4 Campaign Taste the French Way of Life Brief Kronenbourg beer launched a regional integrated brand campaign with the help of BBH Asia Pacific across print, digital, point-of-sale, out-of-home and all brand collaterals.

BBH Asia Pacific was first handed the Kronenbourg business in October 2013 and was tasked to create a new brand strategy for the French beer brand in the region. The new campaign is also built off strong Asian insights.

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Client

Kronenbourg

Creative

BBH

Media

OMD

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

M A R C H / AP R I L 201 4 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 1 1

NEWS ANALYSIS

WHAT KIND OF CMO ARE YOU? A study has identified three main types of CMOs. Who’s adding most to the financial bottomline? Elizabeth Low reports. with just 25% of traditionalists, while 31% of outperformers are social strategists.

Succeeding in a digital world takes three prerequisites: using data analytics to get a much deeper understanding of customers, individually as well as collectively; designing rewarding customer experiences; and capitalising on new technologies to provide those experiences smartly and efficiently, said the study.

Rising influence of CMOs Other insights from the study were that 63% of CEOs lean on CMOs to help formulate their business strategy, concluding that the influence of CMOs within their organisation is increasing.

This is second only to the CFO (72%). (Pictured in figure one).

FIGURE 1 Rising star: CEOs rely increasingly heavilty on CMOs for strategic input.

CxO involvement in business strategy development

Cracking the code: What skills should a CMO possess?

CFO

72%

CMO There are three main types of CMOs – traditionalists, social strategists and digital pacesetters – when it comes to integrating digital in a business.

Three types of CMOs Traditionalists are challenged by the data explosion, the growth in social media, and the plethora of new channels and devices. They have yet to integrate their physical and digital sales and service channels; seldom engage with customers via social networks; and rarely use analytics to extract insights from the customer data they collect.

Social strategists, on the other hand, have passed the first few milestones. They’ve recognised social media’s potential as a vehicle for engaging with customers, and they’re building the infrastructure they’ll need to operate in the social arena. But they have not begun to exploit the opportunities arising from the data explosion and advanced analytics.

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As for digital pacesetters, they are reasonably prepared for the data explosion and well-placed to handle the increasingly heavy social and mobile traffic from a growing range of devices. They are also actively putting in place the resources required to operate as a fully integrated physical-digital enterprise, and regularly use analytics to generate insights from customer data.

These were the three main profiles of CMOs identified by IBM in its study of more than 500 CMOs across 56 countries and 19 industries worldwide, including Asia-Pacific and Japan.

The study, “Stepping up to the challenge: How CMOs can start to close the aspirational gap”, is part of its C-suite studies.

And there’s a close link between the degree of digital acumen CMOs display and the financial performance of the enterprises for which they work, said the study.

Forty three per cent of the outperformers in the study are digital pacesetters, compared

CIO CSCO CHRO

63% 42% 37% 35%

It also found that when a CMO has a close working relationship with the CIO, the enterprise is more likely to perform better overall. High-performing CMOs were reported to have a stronger working relationship with CIOs than those identified as financial underperformers.

The study also found that CMOs today are less concerned with both monitoring their brand via social media and trying to monetise social media.

In addition, 94% of marketing leaders believe that mobile applications will play a significant role in helping them reach their goals over the next three to five years, which is up from 80% from three years before.

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NEWS ANALYSIS

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WHY SENIOR PR GUYS LEAVE BIG AGENCIES While churn in agencies has always been the norm, several senior public relations agency professionals tell Elizabeth Low why the larger agency models didn’t work for them.

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NEWS ANALYSIS 1. Too much process is killing innovation Most large agencies are parts of listed companies leading to what some have called a short-term obsession with targets and, in turn, a short-term view on productivity, people and training.

“Often you hear that senior agency staff are encouraged to run their team/practice/project as if it was their own company – but the reality is you hardly have any freedom to execute it that way as you are still stuck in a complex organisation that traditionally is mainly focused on stability and risk-aversion,” said Lars Voedisch, founder of PRecious Communications, who has had experience at several larger network agencies.

2. Less actual time with the client and PR Many times, big agencies are hired not only for their ability to execute, but especially for the promise of strategic counsel and insights provided by senior consultants. However, several professionals have lamented that in reality senior consultants get less time with the client.

“This is due to the rigid staggered hourly rate-charging roster. If a director-level or above staff spends too much time with a client, the shown profitability of the account goes down and a finance director would run after them shouting ‘over-servicing’,” Voedisch said.

Bob Pickard, chairman of Huntsworth Asia Pacific, echoed similar views.

“There’s a cruel irony that many rising executives experience the hard way inside conglomerate firms when they realise the very assets that made them senior in the first place – consulting savvy, new business prowess, amazing client service – become much harder

“Whether your agency is big or small, if the people you work with share your passion for building the firm with their own hands and hearts – intelligent and fun colleagues who you like, respect and trust – then that’s probably the right firm for you.”

Bob Pickard – chairman of Huntsworth Asia Pacific

to actually do in rigid bureaucracies where the stultifying process and administrative mania grinds everyone down,” he said.

Pickard, who has held leading roles in several large agencies, said what might disappoint the most is those who eventually rise to senior roles in the firm may not be the most talented at leadership as well.

3. Bogged down by global reporting Others have highlighted their reporting lines to global headquarters as a hindrance.

A former agency lead, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said because of having to run even the minutest detail through several levels at the regional or HQ level, large agency managers struggle to make the changes they need to make to adapt the agency and align it with local market dynamics.

“It makes it difficult also to provide relief where it may be needed across the business – such as hiring staff to alleviate pressure when you are investing in a client or needing to give someone an out-of-line pay rise,” he said.

Pickard said it depended on the firm.

“The ones who ‘get it’ and provide line-ofsight management latitude with empowered

Bags are packed: Some senior talent prefer smaller agencies over big ones for a variety of reasons.

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senior leaders on the front lines of the business, in this region are the ones where the best people really want to work,” he said.

On the other hand, firms with a repelling effect on talent acquisition and retention are the ones that put Asia under “direct rule” from global HQ, he added, “where the solution to just about every problem seems to involve putting Westerners on planes to Asia rather than empowering the Asian leadership”.

He said companies that allowed the Asian leadership to loom large in the global enterprise – “and that means proportionate seats on the executive committee and shares of the stock – seemed to thrive compared with the ones where Asia was kept “under the thumb of remote corporate masters”.

4. But there are also benefits On the other hand, one former senior-level PR professional, who has also left a larger agency for a more independent outfit, said he disagreed with the idea it was limiting to lead at a larger shop.

“I tend to disagree that your wings are clipped working in a big agency because it’s in a bigger outfit that you have the resources and budget to experiment new business ideas and campaigns.

“In a smaller agency, you may not have the resources to try new things, for example, hire a small unit of people to do social media. As a senior leader in a big agency, you need to be able to work the system in order to experiment.”

He added a bigger agency would always come with more processes, bureaucracy and even politics, and it was merely part of the business that some senior folks may embrace as part of their work, but some may not.

“At the end of the day, I think senior people should find a configuration where they can be the best they can be: where they have freedom to innovate, can avoid wasting time on nonsense, enjoy the ability to act quickly and can make decisions at the client-facing coalface of the business,” Pickard said.

“Whether your agency is big or small, if the people you work with share your passion for building the firm with their own hands and hearts – intelligent and fun colleagues who you like, respect and trust – then that’s probably the right firm for you.”

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NEWS ANALYSIS

DELIVERING SOME HOME TRUTHS ABOUT PR What PR job searchers need to know about their next employer.

Have the right expectations: PR job seekers need to know what they are getting into when looking for a job.

At Marketing magazine’s very first PR Awards in Singapore, the official Talent Sponsor, Prospect Resourcing’s managing director Emma Dale revealed some home truths about PR jobs and the required skills.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN SOURCING PR TALENT? On top of very strong PR/communications skills and the experience of working with local, regional and also global clients, what clients are really looking for from local candidates is fluency (verbal, reading, writing) in Mandarin, Cantonese and English. This is very hard to find. Understandably, this skill helps bring in new business and develops relationships with stakeholders and media.

AGENCY VERSUS IN-HOUSE PR ROLES, WHICH IS MORE IN DEMAND? It is tough sourcing PR talent for PR agencies because many candidates want in-house roles.

They feel the grass is greener on the other side, and that an in-house role offers a better work/ life balance. There is also a belief there will be less pressure. And I can tell you plenty of 1 6 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

in-house practitioners would tell you this is a myth. Moreover, there is tough competition for in-house roles because they are fewer in number and high in demand.

WHAT DOES THE INDUSTRY THINK ABOUT JOB-HOPPERS? There are a great many job-hoppers in the market – they have moved over the years just for salary or a better job title. Thankfully, employers are now more wary about these movers, and are not as interested in them compared with people who have displayed stability and longevity in their previous firms.

WHAT ARE THE SKILLS PR PRACTITIONERS OF THE FUTURE SHOULD POSSESS? PR practitioners need to be far more integrated.

PR agencies are no longer offering pure-play PR services and therefore, require their staff to have skills in digital, social and marketing in general. Inhouse roles require candidates to have specific skills such as internal and external comms, stakeholder engagement, events and so on.

Last year, we saw a huge emphasis on

internal comms, employee engagement and executive comms. Firms saw the benefit of communicating better with their staff to make sure they were retained and engaged.

Other than these, what’s also important is the ability to understand an integrated approach, diversify your skill-set, and multi-task. Gone are the days where senior people just took on pure strategic roles. The job now requires everyone to be flexible, adaptable, strategic as well as hands-on.

ARE BRANDS AWARE OF THE EVOLVED ROLE OF PR AND THE VALUE IT CAN ADD? There is a growing awareness among businesses that the role of PR is more than column-inches and that media relations/support is a small part of the puzzle. What’s also important is the role PR plays in creating content. The PR industry needs to continue to develop and improve its content offering across multiple digital and traditional media platforms.

With more than 300 attendees, the inaugural awards took place at the InterContinental Singapore on 26 February.

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NEWS ANALYSIS

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE IN YOUR STRATEGY? Try a really easy test to evaluate the viability of your marketing plan.

If you’re not familiar with formal logic, then you can apply a really simple test – the “really?” test. When you are evaluating the strategic argument ask yourself, “Really? – do I honestly believe in the cold light of day that this will work?”

If you don’t, redo it. Most campaigns I’ve evaluated fail the test the first time.

In the case of our Purple Cow strategy, I do not believe one million “Likes” means we will increase our market share by 10%. It fails as a strategy, and “Likes” fails as a valid KPI for this campaign.

If our research shows that: • The key barrier to the purchase of Purple Cows is that only 10% of the total addressable market have seen a humorous Purple Cow; • Fifty per cent of people who see a Purple Cow campaign convert to purchase; • Of the group that converted, men between 28-35, who are first-time fathers, make up 80% of that group.

Navigate the marketing process with intellectual honesty.

It’s been my experience that nine times out of 10, social media measurement problems are not problems with social media, but with strategy. The problem appears to be a measurement issue, but actually it’s symptomatic of deeper issues that occur long ago at the beginning of the campaign. It’s like going to a doctor with a curious case of uncontrollable bleeding, but not mentioning the machete implanted in your leg.

I quickly diagnose faux-measurement issues when I hear: • “The client wanted to go viral, but now the CEO wants to know what the business results were, can you help?”

• “It’s awesome we got one million ‘Likes’.”

• When I see a case film with numbers of fans incrementing on a spinning counter.

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The solution is actually very simple – it only requires four steps and a bit of intellectual honesty.

At the beginning of each campaign I ask the consulting strategist to give me four broad statements based around intent, strategy, tactics and KPIs.

“To ensure success, you’ll also need good creative and a heavy dose of luck.”

For those of you familiar with formal logic, you may see similarities between this structure and a syllogistic argument. In fact, I like to call this the strategic argument – and it can be evaluated in the same way. It should be the executive summary of any strategy, social or otherwise.

Then we could do something like this: 1. We will grow our market share in the Purple Cow market by 10%.

2. By increasing awareness of talking Purple Cows among men 28-35 who are new parents.

3. Through daily videos of a talking Purple Cow comedian telling jokes about his first time raising Purple Calves.

4. We will know we have succeeded if our target group of men aged 28-35 who are new parents on Facebook show an 80% increase in awareness versus our control group post-campaign.

There is still no guarantee of success, but the strategy will be sound. To ensure success, you need a good creative and a heavy dose of luck. But as they say, those who practice often are far more lucky than those who don’t.

Jonathan Nguyen is regional strategy director at Social@Ogilvy.

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NEWS ANALYSIS

THE REALITIES OF A REGIONAL ROLE Aiming for a regional role? Rezwana Manjur finds out what you need to know about it.

Being in the know: While a regional role sounds lucrative, are you prepared for it?

Talk to any regional marketer and they will tell you that what makes Asia exciting is its diversity – and that’s precisely the biggest challenge as well. However, they are also the first ones to be made redundant in times of economic recession or organisational restructures as has been witnessed in the past.

Be it LG, Samsung, Nokia and others, the restructures in these organisations have made regional marketing leads redundant or scrambling for another role within the local operations.

This led us to ask senior marketing professionals what they thought were the perils of a regional role. Here are some highlighted by 2 0 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

Sandeep Khanna, founder and CEO of Karma Asia Consulting.

Khanna, in the past, has held top regional roles in companies such as LG and Nokia.

• Influence without authority: In most companies it is an advisory role with real authority vested with the country management. In this scenario, how does one deliver value?

• The policeman no one likes: In many companies, it is essentially a policing role where templates and processes are the key tasks assigned to the regional person. Not a very enviable job.

• The first cost to be cut: It is an inherently unstable position. Whenever there is a need to cut costs, the regional folks are the first on the chopping block. Only in very rare companies do they centralise marketing and only have sales people in the countries.

• A relentless treadmill: If the job is to be done right, the regional person has to not only know the countries better than the local people, they must be able to generate synergies by running regional programmes which deliver better efficiencies as compared to the countries doing things solo. For that to happen, they need to run faster than WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

NEWS ANALYSIS

everyone else in the marketing function which sometimes becomes operationally infeasible.

Daily challenges of regional marketers Khanna highlights other operational challenges as well. The most important task, perhaps, is to create a sharply defined vision for the regional marketing team and get buy-in on this from the country’s managing directors, regional CEO and global leaders. Often this does not happen. And that leads to all sorts of confusion and chaos on a day-to-day basis.

“If this is sorted at the start, then the rest follows easily and the regional teams and local teams can actually build a complementary set of programmes to win in the markets. The successful companies do this well and that is what separates the leaders from the also-rans,” he says.

What exactly are those challenges: • Local offices might not want to engage the regional marketers because they do not know enough about local markets.

There is low potential to add value to local businesses.

• It is a staff function most of the time. Country business heads could undermine the importance of the regional marketing people.

As a rule, line managers get more respect than staff.

• It is very hard to please everyone. From a local country’s perspective, the starting position for a regional role is that of a “policeman” out to find faults.

• High degree of politics is another concern. A regional job is seen as a reward for doing well in a country most of the time. This can easily become a cause of envy or jealousy among those who did not make it.

• It is difficult to win country support because regional objectives sometimes are long-term while countries are looking at the next quarter.

• It is hard to be objective. Generally speaking, regional people focus on key markets only, sidelining the smaller and less important ones. It’s these markets that could then go viral with criticism thereby undermining the good work potentially done in the more important markets.

Despite all that there are huge pluses to this role.

Every market, with its own culture and dynamics, makes the job of a regional marketer exciting and rewarding.

This role lets you drive the marketing vision for the business. There is a higher sense of fulfilment because it sharpens the strategic thinking of the person.

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aggregating local efforts and synergising them.

Add to it the fact it’s a great learning opportunity – to cross-pollinate and fertilise ideas across the borders,” Khanna says.

Access to top management accords regional leads with a much better networking potential with global leaders and even the functional leaders of other functions in the region.

And, of course, there is a higher exposure to strategic initiatives of the company and an opportunity to be part of bigger initiatives.

Go global or local?

Whether to go global or local is a huge concern for decision-makers at the business level. We ask what works best for some marketers in a regional role. Sarah Fisher, senior marketer for adidas said that despite the diversity present in the market it still employs a global campaign strategy. “While this choice has its fair share of challenges, it is important for the brand to be consistent.”

Of course, the brand makes small tweaks for campaigns to simply make sense in that market, but on the whole the brand employs a global strategy “with a local twist”.

“We are believers for the most part in one

a local on the team who can put the campaign in the right cultural perspective. “We spend a lot of time discussing cultural differences which the end-consumer may not pick up on due to the fact the final campaign only reflects an aspiration and certain parts of the setting,” she says.

“While we aim to take into account the different regional differences, we always have to balance the production budget versus local relevance.”

Tips for a regional remit Many regional marketers have learnt about cultural sensitivities the hard way. It’s better to be prepared than be sorry later, so here are some basic tips they shared. They are easy to remember, but easier to forget, so watch out: Distribution channel: While markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore have 100% mobile penetration rates, other markets such as India have not yet reached the same mobile maturity levels. For many emerging markets in Asia TV remains king, so know your market before you decide the media mix.

Translation: A perfect campaign tag line could turn out to be imperfect when translated. So be very careful when “adapting” campaigns.

“There are all hues of regional marketers. But to be a really good one, there is a need for an amazing combination of ability and attitude.”

Sandeep Khanna — founder and CEO of Karma Asia Consulting

consistent brand voice, we have the same filters that apply across all our communications as a brand around the world and we genuinely believe this is what makes us so strong,” Fisher says.

She explains this is to ensure consumers in all parts of the world are looking at the same visual identity from the brand and therefore, as a result, knowing exactly what the brand stands for.

Fisher says today’s world is increasingly becoming connected and, hence, the fragments are becoming smaller. “Despite each market having its own distinct culture there is absolutely overlap regarding trends and activities,” she says.

However, not all marketers agree. On the basis of anonymity, one senior marketer from a large FMCG brand said sometimes the local teams can have a “not-created-here attitude” when it comes to a global campaign.

While in reality, FMCG brands will have to go with regional strategies to assure high quality of production and a well-aligned brand image across markets, it is always important to have

Cultural nuances: Now this may sound like common sense, but it’s an elusive concept. For example, what may seem perfect in Singapore may be considered offensive in Indonesia.

Attire: Remember that while a few parts of Asia are cosmopolitan, many Asian markets are still conservative. There are also several Muslim nations with guidelines for attire and outlook.

Talent: Is the talent featured in campaigns truly Pan-Asian or does she/he look too much like someone else from another culture? There are deep-rooted cultural issues such as skin colour and social standing that can come up when marketing in a diverse region such as Asia.

“There are all hues of regional marketers.

But to be a really good one, there is a need for an amazing combination of ability and attitude,” Khanna says.

Ability, thought leadership in the business, a demonstrably superior ability to plan and execute, strong conceptual and thinking skills, attitude, a very high level of charisma, energy and collaboration, all rolled into one, is what is needed. Are you prepared?

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NEWS ANALYSIS

THE BIG BUSINESS OF FAKING IT Celebrities and businesses have bought fans and followers just to gain clout online. But here’s what it will really cost a brand. Elizabeth Low writes.

Buyer beware: In the long-term, bought fans are all cost and no benefit.

As businesses rapidly move to boost their digital clout, the lure of taking the quick route to success has also been on the rise.

Recently, the spotlight has fallen on the lucrative business of click farms and selling fake followers, fans or “Likes” on social media.

According to an Associated Press article, Dhaka, in Bangladesh, is an international hub for click farms. Quoting the CEO of Dhakabased social media promotion firm Unique IT World, Saiful Islam, he says he pays workers to 2 4 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

manually click on clients’ social media pages, making it harder for Facebook, Google and others to catch them. This is because this makes those accounts genuine.

The article pointed out Dhaka as the most popular city for many, including soccer star Lionel Messi, who has 51 million “Likes”. These click farms have many, usually lowly paid, workers simply tapping away on “Like” buttons, viewing videos or re-tweeting comments. While these businesses have drawn much controversy

for being the digital age’s sweatshops, there are also many implications for brands.

SOCIAL MEDIA “INFLUENCE” GOING CHEAP Businesses selling followers are proliferating online. According to AP, BuyPlusFollowers sells 250 Google+ shares for $12.95, Instagramengine sells 1,000 followers for $12 and Authentichits sells 1,000 SoundCloud plays for $9.

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NEWS ANALYSIS average of US$65. In fact our researchers found one dealer who may have generated US$1.4 million just by selling fake Twitter followers,” Hurmuses says.

Nearly 63% of fake accounts are created by duplicating the information of real users by appending their screen name with a few characters while still using the same profile photo, location and description, adds Hurmuses.

“Spamming using Twitter lists is another trend we have discovered. Twitter accounts barely a few hours old can add over 90,000 people to various lists,” he says.

But, as of now, there is no way to stop such activities other than by manually blocking these suspicious users. While this may work in the short-term, Hurmuses says it will be a tedious process for users who have been added to hundreds of lists.

THE BIG CLEAN UP – IS IT ENOUGH? In 2012, Facebook made a major announcement – a move to clean up fake “Likes”. This move affected many brands regionally.

Despite the move, a Facebook spokesperson said it still needed to focus on dealing with abuse for fake accounts.

“We’ve made a lot of progress by building a combination of automated and manual systems to block accounts used for fraudulent purposes and Like button clicks. We also take action against sellers of fake clicks and help shut them down,” a spokesperson from Facebook said.

“Fake clicks will do nothing towards that goal. In the long-term, bought fans are all cost and no benefit, and will cripple a brand’s ability to justify an ongoing budget for social media.”

Ian McKee – CEO and founder, Vocanic

online, and another selling Twitter followers on eBay. And these are getting cheaper. According to Jeff Hurmuses, vice-president of APAC for security solutions firm Barracuda Networks, there are currently 52 sellers on eBay selling Twitter followers and who are also making fake Twitter accounts more affordable.

“A year ago, 1,000 fake followers could have set you back US$25, but now the average price is US$11. At an estimate, these dealers have several thousand buyers who spend an WWW.M A RK ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E .C O M

This includes catching fake accounts at various points of interaction with Facebook, including registration, friending, clicking the “Like” button and messaging.

“We write rules to catch anomalies that signal fake accounts, and we use classifiers based on machine learning to help us identify suspicious behaviour. To validate and improve the quality of our automated decisions, we often use user prompts and other techniques to help us better determine if an action or account is real,” she said.

A Google spokesperson said it had also placed methods to check for clicks and views.

“And we take action against bad actors that seek to game our systems,” she said. But she did not give details on how it was doing this.

Twitter could not be reached for comment at the time of printing.

THE REAL PRICE OF FAKING IT While this takes place across the region, one agency executive highlighted how rampant the situation is in China.

Florian Pihs, senior planning director of strategy, innovation and optimisation at SapientNitro China, says his team comes across click fraud often. While the agency largely works on creatives, his team encounters it in the analytics and optimisation aspect of the business.

“There is a huge amount of click fraud in China. When we are trying to look at how the site is performing and segment it – in terms of search traffic, traffic from social media and so on – you never see any media platform miss their target. They usually over perform their targets by around 50%. Then when we go down into numbers on where this is from, where did they arrive from, which landing page, what did they do from there, we see a lot of irregularities, in terms of paid traffic that is coming in from odd hours,” he says.

However, he laments that clients and media agencies have not had a genuine incentive to address the issue when brought up since both parties will temporarily appear to have achieved their objectives on clicks and traffic. Few clients are eager to get genuine traffic, he adds.

“That is a behaviour that is rewarded in China at this point in time,” he says.

Ryan Lim, business director and co-founder of Blugrapes, says that this was prevalent in Singapore more than a year ago, but he sees much less of it now the market is more sophisticated.

HOW IT HURTS BRANDS “It slowed when marketers realised that they couldn’t sustain it and their fans dropped when they couldn’t pay,” Lim says. Also, it was not promoting real growth for a brand.

The problem with this is that it dilutes a brand’s effectiveness online.

“The impact of your digital activation is reduced by the amount of fake traffic,” Pihs says. “Right now what you are measuring is just clicks and traffic, you are hoping that awareness will lead to preference,” he adds.

But these fake clicks will do nothing towards that goal. In the long-term, bought fans are all cost and no benefit, and will cripple a brand’s ability to justify an ongoing budget for social media, says Ian McKee, CEO and founder of social media agency Vocanic, adding he has seen this outside of China in the region as well.

“Bought fans are empty calories – while the fan count will grow, the engagement rate will plummet with no possible way to lift it. The brand is left with a dead weight to manage,” he says.

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PROFILE

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P PR ROOF FI LI LE E

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HTC IS SPLASHING OUT IN A COSTLY EFFORT TO MAKE ITS BRAND LIKEABLE. CAN IT BECOME THE BRAND OF CHOICE? REZWANA MANJUR ASKS HTC’S SOUTHEAST ASIA MARKETING LEAD SIRPA IKOLA. It hasn’t been an easy time for HTC. Competing in an extremely competitive environment, with much stronger rivals, the brand is well aware of its challenges.

Pushing against its flailing market share, it spent the whole of last year on major marketing initiatives to turn around its brand.

While tech geeks and enthusiasts were aware of the technological differentiators presented by the brand, general consumers still didn’t know what the Taiwanese smartphone company stood for. Despite all its prior efforts, the public still generally saw it as a tech provider, senior director of marketing for Southeast Asia, Sirpa Ikola, tells Marketing.

The brand was in desperate need to make itself more interesting. Hence, in the second half of the year, in came the “iron man” himself as Robert Downey Jr jumped on board as the brand’s ambassador. Many deemed the stunt as HTC’s boldest move yet to reviving its image.

HTC reportedly spent US$12 million signing on the actor for a two-year period. A global campaign was rolled out starting in August and the initial campaign comprised a series of 16-second ads which featured the actor as the instigator of change. The series of ads were designed as playful and provided unique interpretations of HTC acronyms such as “Humongous Tinfoil Catamaran” and “Hipster Troll Carwash”.

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M A R C H / AP R I L 201 4 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 2 7

PROFILE Nonetheless, in January 2014, co-founder and chairwoman Cher Wang told Reuters in an interview that marketing was an area the company “didn’t do well” in 2013.

So were all the efforts in vain? Was the US$12 million spent worth it, I ask Ikola.

“Marketing did what they could. And we did so in a very competitive environment,” was her response.

Ikola, who came on board the HTC team late last year, justifies that brand-building doesn’t happen overnight.

will also now be heavily targeting the mid-tier market, launching products in the US$150 to US$300 range in both its emerging and developed markets. It is also looking to broaden its market beyond tech-savvy 20to 30-year-olds. And to expand more of its core audience, HTC will be making a push into lifestyle by reaching out to influencers.

“We need to have more females, power mums, soccer mums, bloggers, creative people – we want them to see the benefits of it. HTC should be able to infiltrate these people through their passion points.”

Ikola and her team plan to get the ball rolling by introducing the device

“ WE FOCUSED ON BRAND AND I THINK THE BRAND PIECE WORKED FOR US. WHETHER IT WORKED TO ACTIVATE SALES ON A RETAIL LEVEL OR NOT – PERHAPS THERE ARE STILL THINGS TO BE LEARNT – BUT BRAND-BUILDING DOES NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.” “We focused on brand and I think the brand piece worked for us.

Whether it worked to activate sales on a retail level or not – perhaps there are still things to be learnt – but brand-building does not happen overnight,” she said.

To Ikola, both brand-building and marketing takes time and one of the key factors in marketing that one quickly comes to terms with is the ability to create multiple experiences and experiment before you hit the targets.

What the marketing initiatives did, however, was create buzz around the brand.

“I think it was a great effort in getting our name out there and it was successful.

“We created a lot of talkability about what he (Downey Jr) was able to do for the brand, and that awareness of what HTC stands for was necessary and important. At the same time we need to do more in the consumerisation of the brand and educating the people to understand the key experiences that we bring to the market.”

And perhaps that is something HTC needs to do more of. Education efforts, she explained, are not an easy feat for the brand. Plus, working on the Android platform, she says the brand has to strive harder to find a point of differentiation.

HTC – THE PREFERRED BRAND? In comparison to what HTC did last year where the focus was awareness, this year it wants to put a focus on becoming the preferred brand.

“By preference I mean that the base of people I ask will say they only choose HTC – not ‘I consider it’ but rather ‘I prefer it’. That’s the kind of emotional connection we want people to have to the device and the capabilities, and that is the key strategy I need to crack.”

Going forward, HTC will also be offering a wider product portfolio. It 2 8 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | M A R C H / AP R I L 2014

through design because that is ultimately what attracts the consumers, and then slowly seep the products through to influencers, social media, PR and press. Word of mouth is also very important for the brand.

FREEDOM OF THE UNDERDOG On the bright side, while acknowledging the brand is an underdog compared with rivals such as Samsung, this gives it a lot of freedom to experiment.

“HTC is a very entrepreneurial-spirited company where many things happen fast and you often have to find your own way of doing things. We can never complain about too much bureaucracy and you have a lot of power in your hands to make the right things,” she said.

“We need new, crazy out-of-the-box ideas. And you have that freedom when you are an underdog,” she adds, also referring to her expectation of agency partners.

“Nobody can spend crazy money anymore, so you have to make your media and your marketing work harder. More with less, also alternative marketing ideas.”

Hailing from Finland, Ikola cut her teeth marketing for Nokia, which was where her love of “consumerising” technology began.

She says an entrepreneurial attitude is important to her.

“I’m used to working at a very entrepreneurial company because of before, so I bring a lot of energy to the team and a can-do attitude,” adding that one doesn’t necessarily need an “army of people doing things for you”, but believes in empowering a team to outdo itself, similar to her take on agency partners.

“The promise of an underdog coming and making a mark or even potentially threatening the big guys is fantastic.”

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OPINION: BRAND HEALTH CHECK

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WHEN SEX DOESN’T SELL ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT 2013 (Figures in thousands, in US$)

Not so sexy: A&F is in need of a brand revamp.

Ailing teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) recently stripped its controversial chief executive Mike Jeffries of his chairman duties. According to a Reuters piece, the move came because of investor pressure to reduce Jeffries’ control over the company.

He was appointed A&F’s CEO in 1992 to revamp the brand, and was responsible for the company’s sexed-up image, with its racy ads, catalogues and topless in-store male models the brand has become well-known for.

Meanwhile, Jeffries also created waves for the brand with his controversial jibes. For example, Jeffries once declared the brand only wanted to market to good looking people.

The brand has also been accused of racist behaviour in its hiring practices. In the midst of the press storms these incidents created, it looked like the brand was getting away with the controversy. However, A&F’s heavy focus on marketing and neglect of other elements such as product and pricing may have led the brand into its current decline.

The brand banks heavily on enforcing an “aspirational lifestyle”, in its own words. In the midst of this, it has also kept its prices high. For example, simple tees in A&F cost an average of SG$50-80. Its key marketing vehicle is its store experience, according to A&F in its annual report.

It also markets through digital, e-commerce and social media.

Analysts have said the brand’s overt focus on marketing and cutting costs instead of improving merchandise to bring back shoppers is costing the brand.

Shares of the company, which is set to post its eighth straight decline in quarterly same-store sales, have lost about a quarter of their value in the past 12 months, according to Reuters. Can the brand turn itself around?

3 0 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

2012

2011

2010

Net sales

4,510,805

4,158,058

3,468,777

Gross profit

2,816,709

2,550,224

2,217,429

Net income

237,011

143,934

155,709

DIAGNOSIS Ambrish Chaudhry Regional strategy director, The Brand Union

One can’t help but feel for Mike Jeffries, the recently deposed chairman of A&F. In the hubris-filled days prior to 2008 it would have been easy to be vain and haughty to the point of clearly telling a huge proportion of people that your brand simply isn’t for them. That’s exactly what he did when he proclaimed in an interview the A&F brand was not meant for fat kids, ugly people or for the plain old “uncool”.

While it may have, in an odd 1990s marketing strategy way, made sense to associate the brand with a certain kind of aspirational audience, this is perhaps one of the biggest examples of a business doyen reading the zeitgeist wrongly.

We live in extraordinarily transparent times with businesses realising they have a clear role to play in creating value for the communities they operate in and increasingly brands are becoming a force for good. Think Unilever with its genuine commitment to sustainability and Dove propagating the cause for real beauty.

A&F seems like a company at odds with the very audience it is trying to woo.

Ironically its response to falling sales has been to include larger-sized clothes for exactly the audience it worked so hard to exclude. Inauthenticity is akin to kryptonite for brands in our hyper-connected, blogs and tweets-driven world.

Unless it has a genuine rethink on how it wants to be more inclusive, the future doesn’t look too buff for A&F.

Lawrence Chong CEO Consulus

A&F is just operating in a very tough environment with the killer matrix of the rise of fast-retailing; the impact of online shopping creating a generation of browsers and not shoppers and new ideas by indie fashion entrepreneurs.

So other than the sexy perception, customers now want your brand to be sexy in terms of pricing and availability. So in this business you should remain high-end and personalised, but maintain a smaller footprint. Otherwise, if you start to grow larger in scale, but are not nimble enough in terms of moving fashion concepts quickly and keeping costs low, then you will most likely be in trouble.

In the coming quarters, other fashion brands such as A&F will face similarly tough decisions of either transformation to rethink the way they sell clothes or cut more costs.

A&F needs to start taking practical steps to right its brand. It needs to look into adjusting the heart of its brand strategy to cater to a new audience.

This includes an adjustment in pricing, a shift in the core messaging (copy and visuals), and a redirection internally towards shifting away from selling sex to youth towards asking what youth want today, taking a page from H&M and Forever 21.

Finally, its retail store design (dark, heavy smelling scents, extravagant and pounding music) needs to change. I believe going lighter, cleaner and simpler is the way to go.

TREATMENT Chaudhry’s cure: • Become more inclusive as a brand.

• Have a clear role in the value it can create for the community.

Chong’s cure: • Adjust the brand’s strategy to a new audience.

• Cleaner retail store designs.

• Shift in core messaging.

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OPINION: AD WATCH/WEB WATCH

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Patrick Ng Senior art director Hakuhodo

AD WATCH HOT: Heineken – The Experiment

NOT: Stay fresh under stress

On 6 January, Heineken debuted “Dance More, Drink Slow” – a global campaign designed to promote moderation over excess – and abstinence, for that matter. It featured EDM superstar Armin van Buuren as its face and spokesperson. Great insight – as mentioned in the video – “If the music is good, people hit the dance floor, and the more they dance, the slower they drink”. This demonstrated Heineken as a brand genuinely serious about drinking with responsibility, moderating beer consumption and not just being obsessed with boosting sales. The medium-term objective of getting consumers to enjoy their dance with a responsible drink was achievable by engaging the audience rather than a “holier than thou” message of curbing binge drinking through prohibiting sales. Coolness extended to the campaign hashtag – #DMDS. Superb execution with the use of a new track from van Buuren’s Save My Night.

This is fear-based marketing where companies prank unsuspecting people, record and call it an ad. It is about two guys who run off with a woman’s baby, and it turns out to be a deodorant ad with the tag line, “Stay fresh under stress”. This sort of “shock” tactics may prove too risky for the brand. With the advent of social media and real-time updates, the brand may suffer irreversible damage if an onlooker or passerby deemed it to be an unsavoury experience and decided to ridicule the brand in the public domain. It is also dangerous because it tests consumers’ tolerance levels and exposes their insecurities in public.

Clarification: This ad was not actually executed by a client, but by Toronto-based agency John St.

Joshua Sim Associate creative director VML Qais

WEB WATCH HOT: Indochino.com

NOT: HSBC.com.sg

There are many options out there to help the modern man stand out from the crowd, look smart and be comfortable in the clothes they wear.

Bringing traditional tailoring services online, Indochino.com has simplified the process of getting custom-made shirts, pants and suits, and brought it to the comfort of your own home. The overall look and feel of the site is simple, uncluttered and very easy on the eye. Past the home page, you are guided through a simple flow process where you can customise the look and feel of your clothes by specifying the overall style and material used. You can even scrutinise every detail of your garment in a gallery featuring your selections, and customise its look with the help of a step-by-step illustrative customisation wizard. The big bang for the buck is when you reach the checkout flow. With clear instructional texts and videos, understanding how to pen down your measurements never seemed easier. Online tailoring is set to stay and Indochino.com gets the overall digital experience right. Its interface weaves seamlessly from the desktop to mobile, keeping the site simple with a flow that is natural for any online shoppers out there.

There is an ongoing trend for banks to undergo huge facelifts for their digital properties to remain relevant or even setting new standards for their online customers.

HSBC Singapore seems to be losing out in this race. Over the years, HSBC’s red prism logo has been a strong design statement that has set the brand apart from its competitors. However, going through HSBC.com. sg today, I could not but help feel that it is stuck in the early years of the millennium. From images that resemble online stock libraries to graphics and typography that are poorly treated, the dated look does injustice to the regional bank’s image. And while the sections featuring its products are easy to navigate, much more could have been done to stoke customer interest and turn them into actual leads. Banking online is huge and fast becoming the norm. HSBC will do well to understand that providing a true-to-life digital experience is instrumental for banks to expand new customer bases while retaining the old.

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M A R C H / AP R I L 201 4 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 3 1

SNAPPED

Drama Festival Kuala Lumpur 2014 DATE: 20-22 February 2014 VENUE: Kuala Lumpur 1 Siti Saleha at the Drama Festival Kuala Lumpur 2014.

2 Nur Fathia graced the event with her presence.

3 Erra Fazira with a striking pose on the red carpet.

4 Aiman Hakim looking dapper in his snazzy suit.

5 Awie and Erra Fazira kicked off the event with a wonderful performance; with them are Sherry Alhadad and Zulin Aziz, hosts of the Anugerah DFKL Gala Night 2014.

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6 (From left): Zara Zya, Raja Ahmad Alauddin and Azlee Khairi were among the award winners as voted by viewers.

7 The Anugerah DFKL Gala Night was held at Taman Mahsuri, Hotel Royale Chulan KL. 8 (Top, from left): Actresses Nur Risteena and Zara Zya; Filmscape representative Siti; and drama producers A. Aida, Jalena Rejab and Jane.

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(Bottom, from left): Actor Bill Azali; drama producer Haji Zeel; actor Azlee Khairi; a representative from MIG; drama producer Azma Aizal Yusoof; and actress Datin Paduka Umie Aida.

9 Datuk Rosyam Nor posing with a fan.

10 Azma Aizal Yusoof with the participants of the Drama Festival Kuala Lumpur workshop.

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11 A talk by Datin Paduka Umie Aida at the Drama Festival Kuala Lumpur workshop.

12 Participants posing at the audition.

13 Enthusiastic participants at the Drama Festival Kuala Lumpur workshop.

14 Attendees queuing at the audition.

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SNAPPED

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CASE STUDY

THIS IS THE YEAR MARKETERS SHOULD START TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR CAMPAIGNS WORK – BOTH THE BOTTOM-LINE AND ATTRACTING AND RETAINING CUSTOMERS.

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What do we mean when we talk about success in marketing? Is it robust sales, is it strong brand recall, a solid bottom-line or the ability to keep customers coming back to your brand over and over again for a great experience the marketing team has created over years of fine-tuning?

Success is, of course, a combination of all these things and more, which is what makes marketing such a complex, but critical piece of the business world.

But success has been an intangible metric for most brand managers. With limited industry wide standards for measuring the effectiveness of outdoor advertising, sports sponsorship, event marketing, mobile advertising or even WWW.M A RK ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E .C O M

“While 71% of marketers focused more of their activities and budgets on new media platforms (particularly mobile, social and digital), marketers actually spent less time and effort researching, developing and testing what worked and what drove real results.”

— Fournaise research

public relations, marketers have largely been left to define their own set of metrics for measuring success.

The emergence of digital and social media channels have given rise to new forms of marketing, but the tools to measure their

performance have remained elusive and while we all know what happens when a tweet turns sour, there’s very little to show what a positive retweet, or a huge following on Facebook means.

A recent survey of 1,200 CEOs, M A R C H / AP R I L 201 4 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 3 5

CASE STUDY

management and marketing decision-makers in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia found that more than 70% of marketers in 2013 failed to deliver real and quantifiable business results on their marketing activities.

Over the past year, Fournaise Marketing Group has measured the actual effectiveness of 2.5 million B2C and B2B marketing strategies, campaigns and advertising across all media channels to identify what worked and what didn’t.

3 6 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

The company found that while 71% of marketers focused more of their activities and budgets on new media platforms (particularly mobile, social and digital), marketers actually spent less time and effort researching, developing and testing what worked and what drove real results. Because of this, Fournaise research says campaigns performed three times lower on average.

Additionally, 70% of marketers believed marketing automation, omni-channel

executions and big data management would be “game changers” in 2013 and therefore spent more of their time and money on these emerging areas.

Again, Fournaise’s tracking showed 79% of these marketers admitted they still failed to prove their marketing spending and the ROI expected of them by their management.

Yes, post-campaign research to measure effectiveness, attitudes, brand recall and motivation gives some indication of a campaign’s performance – no one has ever proven that changing attitudes or having strong brand recall actually contributes to the bottom line.

It’s a strange situation for any marketer to find themselves in, particularly in these times of greater scrutiny and penny pinching.

On top of all this, there is now a greater push towards marketing automation, driven by companies such as IBM, Accenture, Adobe and a range of newer data-driven mediabuying companies – all promising a new approach to measurement. But even this is still in the early stages of development across Asia Pacific.

As budgets inevitably crumble and are faced with a growing collection of media channels, 2014 should be a year that marketers take the time to understand their channels and make better use of technology and understanding which channels perform the best.

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CASE STUDY

>>

SENHENG

CAMPAIGN SENHENG MASTER POWER SHOP & WIN CONTEST CLIENT SENHENG ELECTRIC (KL) SDN BHD AGENCY ADWIZARD PLATFORM ASTRO

market, Senheng also makes it a point to embrace and implement new and unique changes to serve customers better.

The company was one of the first among its peers in the retail space to forge a strong corporate association with sports, especially badminton. In 2010, the SS Junior Badminton Talent Scholarship, a joint effort between Senheng and Samsung, was launched to continue Malaysia’s legacy of badminton excellence by inspiring, identifying and nurturing badminton talents. Senheng has also been a sponsor of all the key badminton tournaments in Malaysia since 2012.

Said managing director Lim Kim Heng, himself a badminton enthusiast: “We at Senheng are true sports fans. We believe in living a healthy lifestyle, and have sponsored numerous sports-related campaigns through the years.”

unique shopping experience with its latest promotional campaign.

STRATEGY:

The company made the decision to organise the Senheng Master Power Shop & Win Contest with a view to driving sales and giving consumers the opportunity to visit China to watch the 2013 BWF World Badminton Championships matches “live” for free, thereby cementing its association with the sport.

As broadcast sponsor of the BWF Championships event on Astro, Senheng organised a contest for all of its PlusOne cardholders. With a minimum spend of RM999

OBJECTIVES:

Senheng Electric sought to generate sales; reward its loyal clients with attractive promotion packages, exciting premium gifts and great contest prizes; and offer customers a

BACKGROUND:

Senheng Electric (KL) Sdn Bhd is a leading consumer electronics chain in Malaysia, operating more than 100 outlets throughout the country. It offers a wide variety of electrical products for the home and office, as well as portable devices such as laptops, tablet computers and smartphones.

According to the company’s brand statement, it is committed to providing customers with a convenient and unique shopping experience, as well as better value, each and every time they shop at a Senheng store. Senheng understands buying trends and the purchasing inclinations of its customers, and strives to always offer “the latest and the greatest products” at its stores. As a major player in the Malaysian consumer electronics 3 8 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

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“THE SENHENG MASTER POWER SHOP & WIN CONTEST ATTRACTED MORE THAN 400,000 ENTRIES NATIONWIDE AND GENERATED RM270 MILLION IN SALES REVENUE.” in a single receipt at any Senheng outlet or senQ Digital Station, 100 lucky customers stood the chance to win a six-day, four-night trip to Guangzhou to watch the semi-finals and final of the 2013 BWF Championships live (and also cheer on Malaysian professional badminton player and national hero Datuk Lee Chong Wei). The championships was held from August 5 to 11 at the Tianhe Sports Centre.

EXECUTION:

The Senheng Master Power Shop & Win campaign ran from 1 March to 31 May, 2013. Awareness was driven by high-frequency cross-channel promo spots and creative vignettes on Astro TV properties, 30-second cross-station radio commercials in three languages (Bahasa on Sinar FM, English spots on Hitz FM and Mandarin segments on My FM), and online in the form of web banners on www.stadiumastro.com.

RESULTS:

The Senheng Master Power Shop & Win Contest attracted more than 400,000 entries nationwide and generated RM270 million in sales revenue, which was 24% of Senheng’s total sales in 2013.

Of the 50 people who won a trip for two, 28 were males and 22 were females (28 Chinese, 17 Malays, three Indians and two of another race), showing Malaysians’ enthusiasm towards badminton. Five of the winners were from Perak and Penang respectively, 11 were from Selangor, four were from Sarawak, six hailed from Kuala Lumpur and Sabah respectively, 10 were from Johor, and one each came from Pahang, Kelantan, and Terengganu.

The winners also occupied a wide age range: two were below 21, 12 were from the 21-30 age segment, 22 from the 31-40 demographic, five from 41-50, and nine others were above the age of 50.

All these findings pointed to a positive result: that Senheng had successfully reached out to Malaysian customers from all walks of life.

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CASE STUDY

>>

WATSONS

CAMPAIGN WATSONS MALAYSIA CUP BRANDED CONTENT PARTNERSHIP CLIENT WATSONS AGENCY OMD MALAYSIA PLATFORM ASTRO

in Malaysia not only for females, but also for male grooming needs. The brand desired to increase its market share among its intended target audience of males by riding on the most-viewed sport in the country.

BACKGROUND:

Watsons is the flagship health and beauty brand of A.S. Watson Group, and Asia’s leading health and beauty retailer. The brand operates more than 3,600 stores and more than 900 pharmacies in 12 Asian and European markets, including China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau), Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, Turkey and Ukraine.

In Malaysia, Watsons manages more than 300 stores, serving more than three million customers per month.

Watsons continually sets the standard in the health, wellness and beauty market, providing personalised advice and counselling in health, beauty and personal care as well as its market-leading product range, making customers “look good, feel great” every day.

Since 2009, Watsons has been the No.1 pharmacy/drugstore brand in Asia.

OBJECTIVES:

The key aim of the Watsons Piala Malaysia Sponsorship campaign was to establish Watsons as the one-stop store 4 0 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

STRATEGY:

Watsons found football to be the most appropriate channel because it resonates widely with the masses – although heavily skewed to males, it also reaches a substantially large percentage of females.

The degree of fan involvement in football is also extremely high – and with the viewer’s engagement with a programme being a good indicator of how involved he or she will become with a commercial message, it made perfect sense to ride on the sport’s immense popularity in the country.

Watsons, thus, decided to title-sponsor Malaysia’s most-watched football tournament, the Malaysia Cup or Piala Malaysia, a competition with an 87-year history. The move would give Watsons a highly flexible level of brand integration with which to interact with its intended target audiences.

EXECUTION:

The campaign, which was conducted from 20 August to 3 November, 2013, featured the production of a series of limited-edition Watsons VIP membership

cards. These cards were meant to act as a key driver to upping Watsons’ membership numbers and encouraging store visits.

Emblazoned with the photographs of nine popular Malaysian football clubs, the cards were available at select Watsons stores for a limited period of time. (As the title sponsor of the Malaysia Cup competition, Watsons held the rights to the players’ images.)

A number of contests were held to fuel target audience participation. One was the Watsons Stylish Player of the Match contest, in which participants had to guess the Watsons Stylish Player in a specific “live” Malaysia Cup match. Only entries received via Facebook were considered valid. The first five participants who guessed the correct player were selected as the winners, and received a pair of tickets each to the Malaysia Cup finals.

The specific aim of this particular contest was to promote awareness of men’s grooming among the male audience.

Another competition was the Watsons Piala Malaysia Finals contest. Here, participants had to complete the slogan: “I want to win the Watsons Piala Malaysia Finals VIP tickets because …” in not more than 20 words. Similarly, only entries received via Facebook were deemed valid. Three winners were then selected by the organisers based on how far they kept to the word limit and the level of creativity of their slogans. Each WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

”ACCORDING TO THE POST-CAMPAIGN RESEARCH, ABOUT 90% OF FOOTBALL FANS PREFER AND TRUST WATSONS’ BRANDS.”

victorious participant won two Watsons Piala Malaysia Finals VIP tickets.

Advertising and promotions initiatives comprised information dissemination and social sharing on Facebook and Twitter, in-store leaflets at Watsons outlets, and online banners at www.stadiumastro.com/arena.

On TV, a ticker promo urged fans to guess the Watsons Stylish Player of the Match. A number of on-ground events such as trophy tours, viewing parties and a finals carnival was also organised. Brand exposure at the Malaysia Cup Finals itself was ensured by the prominent placement of buntings, giant banners and P-boards throughout the Shah Alam stadium in Selangor.

RESULTS:

The number of visits to Watsons stores and membership sign-ups increased as a result of the campaign. The limited-edition VIP cards proved highly popular, with a take-up rate of 94% – so much so that Watsons stores in states with popular football teams, such as Kelantan, ran out of stock.

Watsons successfully reached out to male football fans, with a share of 36% of the limited-edition VIP member cardholders.

Surprisingly, they also enjoyed support from females who love Malaysian football, with said segment contributing a card take-up rate of 64% of the total.

Watsons also gained high awareness among Malaysian football fans, with prompted awareness at 96% and unprompted awareness at 81%. Overall, the sponsorship resulted in high positive sentiment towards the brand.

According to the post-campaign research, about 90% of football fans prefer and trust Watsons’ brands. Significantly, more than 80% of fans claimed they would choose Watsons over its rival brands.

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CASE STUDY

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GEMPAKNYA

CAMPAIGN GEMPAKNYA PARTNERSHIP MARKETING PROGRAMME CLIENTS MISCELLANEOUS AGENCY BUMBLEBEE CONSULTANCY BACKGROUND:

The Gempaknya (“It’s exciting”) series – comprising the Gempaknya My School (GMS), Gempaknya My Community (GMC) and Gempaknya My Varsity (GMV) initiatives – is an engagement platform developed by Bumblebee Consultancy, a creative agency that specialises in employing the visual arts as a key component in its campaigns. This initiative helps companies reach their intended audiences by fostering a sense of identity with the brand, and solidarity among the members of the target segment itself.

Bumblebee matches the client’s product with an existing cause, or creates a new approach. This can be a general initiative such as entertainment, or a facility upgrading exercise, or it can be more specific and targeted, such as a children’s or women’s enrichment programme, or creating a youth zone in the community. The agency then ties this into a creative, artistic approach and wraps up with an on-ground drive. Sponsors benefit from the exposure, while the community benefits through their social needs being addressed.

STRATEGY:

GMS is a social initiative in which companies “own” an arts programme and bring it to schools in Malaysia. Students are given the freedom to express themselves creatively via the fashioning of a mural on a wall on the school’s premises (with said mural following a positive, motivational theme), allowing the brands that want to speak directly to youth to become more relevant to this segment. It is also proven such an endeavour will strengthen the students’ sense of camaraderie.

Similarly, the GMC and GMV initiatives are aimed at the occupants of public flats, and students of creative courses on campus respectively. GMC brings together many pertinent matters under one umbrella, unifying 4 2 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

the various social issues the community wants to tackle. This is more holistic and impactful to the residents, and a more efficient tool for community leaders and collaborators alike.

GMV, Bumblebee’s key focus in Q4 2014, will grow to incorporate co-creation projects with art and design, and rope in architectural schools. At present, it’s a platform for clients to bring creative projects to campus.

EXECUTION:

GMS linked students from secondary schools (almost 100 to date) with professional graffiti artists to produce art beneficial to the students and the school. These professional graffiti artists included personalities such as Bone, Escape VA, Orkibal, and Kenji Chai. A number of workshops and joint painting sessions between the artists and students WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

were held, with Sony, Kao Laurier, DiGi Telecommunications and Johnson & Johnson among the brands that signed on as sponsors.

DiGi, for example, kicked off a three-part GMS project called “Graffiti with Buddyz” in 10 secondary schools. The first instalment comprised a graffiti workshop by various artists, followed by a “blog and win” contest where secondary school students were encouraged to blog about the event to hone their writing skills. The final component was the “Buddyz Handshake”, in which participating students taught their peers the handshake to strengthen friendships.

The current GMC drive is focused on the PPR (Projek Perumahan Rakyat or people housing project, mostly state-owned) communities. Bumblebee is working with the resident committees, municipal councils and NGOs/activists to create a series of socialimpact projects leading to a one-day carnival that will allow on-ground engagement through bazaars and other activities to signify a closing celebration for all the parties involved.

RESULTS:

The GMS project has received positive feedback from the schools, with the activity viewed as an extra-curricular exercise that built new skills among students.

The secondary school project was the most successful, on top of the fact the teenage segment is an attractive market.

“In the simplest sense, this programme was a highly engaging ‘art day’ for schools, and an engagement tool for clients and sponsors,” said Christine Ngh, founder of Bumblebee Consultancy.

The end result not only proved recreational for students and teachers, it was also effective in teaching the students about teamwork and offering them the opportunity to learn more about an alternative career path.

A post-programme survey with a random sampling of respondents revealed an upward shift in brand perception of the sponsor, as well as a positive shift in the school’s atmosphere. Visit www.facebook. com/gempaknya.my.school for documentation of all the past projects.

Gempaknya My Community carnivals will be held on these days at the following locations: May 10 – PPR Kg. Baru Hicom (Shah Alam) May 31 – PPR Kota Damansara June 8 – PPR Seri Semarak (KL)

E-mail campaigns@bumblebee-world.com for more information.

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CASE STUDY

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VITAGEN

CAMPAIGN VITAGEN OH MY GANU! SPONSORSHIP CLIENT MALAYSIA MILK SDN BHD AGENCY PEOPLE ’N RICH-H SDN BHD PLATFORM ASTRO BACKGROUND:

VITAGEN is a cultured milk drink with billions of live good bacteria such as lactobacillus acidophilus and lactobacillus casei which, when consumed, help to maintain a healthy digestive system. These probiotic cultures are specially imported from the Chr. Hansen laboratory in Denmark, a world-leading cultures facility that supplies high-quality probiotics worldwide.

In 1977, Malaysia Milk Sdn Bhd (MMSB) introduced VITAGEN to Malaysians, making it the first cultured milk drink in the country before other brands of cultured milk drinks entered the market. The introduction of VITAGEN helped educate the Malaysian public on the benefits of consuming cultured milk drinks for a healthy digestive system.

Today, VITAGEN is still the popular choice for cultured milk drinks for many Malaysians, and continues to satisfy the increasing needs of health-conscious consumers in the country. Every bottle features the bacteria in wholesome milk and real fruit juice to help destroy bad bacteria, and it’s also free of fat and preservatives.

All this goodness aids in digestion, and

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“THE IDEA WAS TO USE ONE OF THE MAIN CAST MEMBERS OF THE POPULAR TV SHOW TO HIGHLIGHT THE HEALTH BENEFITS ONE COULD GAIN BY CONSUMING VITAGEN.”

keeps one’s intestinal system balanced and healthy. VITAGEN’s brand positioning is encapsulated in the phrase: “The true cultured milk drink.”

OBJECTIVES:

MMSB sought to educate consumers on VITAGEN’s beneficial product attributes: to help digestion, aid in boosting the immune system, contribute to improving the absorption of nutrients, help improve bowel movement and treat constipation, and work towards preventing bad bacteria from accumulating in the digestive system.

A secondary objective was to share information on general health aspects: to stress to consumers the importance of taking care of one’s digestive wellness.

STRATEGY:

The decision was made to leverage on the popular Oh My English! series on Astro TVIQ for the campaign.

Astro TVIQ is an Astro-branded channel brought exclusively for Malaysians and Bruneians who are existing Astro customers.

The programmes on this network are based on motivation, education, exploration, the arts, science and learning English and mathematics.

Launched in 2012, Oh My English! is a popular school-based sitcom targeted at youth, and set in the SMK Ayer Dalam educational institute.

A special spin-off, the Oh My Ganu! telemovie, was broadcast during the break before the debut of the third season to maintain fan interest and ride on the wave of the series’ popularity. The telemovie featured popular characters from Oh My English! such as Henry Middleton (portrayed by Zain Saidin), Cikgu Ayu (Tiz Zaqyah) and Jibam (Akhmal Nazri), and also starred top Malaysian comedian Zizan Raja Lawak.

The idea was to use one of the main cast members (Jibam) to highlight the health benefits one could gain by consuming VITAGEN. As the show is a hit among youth, the concept centred on targeting young consumers to get them to start drinking VITAGEN from an early age.

The gist of the Oh My Ganu! plot was that Cikgu Ayu, a teacher, had left the school to return to Terengganu. Fellow staff member Middleton (who is fond of her) tries to persuade her to return, but first he must prove himself to her family (who doesn’t trust him) and also compete with Cikgu Ayu’s admirer, Zizang.

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CASE STUDY

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VITAGEN

“1.1 MILLION VIEWERS WERE ATTRACTED DURING ITS FIRST RUN, AND THE SHOW RANKED AS THE NUMBER ONE TRENDING TOPIC ON TWITTER IN MALAYSIA.” EXECUTION:

The VITAGEN-sponsored telemovie was broadcast on 27 November 2013 on Astro TVIQ, Maya HD and Astro On The Go. VITAGEN was played up in the opening as well as the closing advertisements, in commercials during breaks in the programme itself, in a series of promos, and in the form of creative vignettes and fillers.

The plot line follows that when the boys were lost in a village, Jibam was desperately hunting for a bottle of VITAGEN in a specific flavour to quench his thirst and settle his upset tummy. He eventually found his teacher’s house, which was well stocked with VITAGEN, to his great relief.

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VITAGEN was also integrated into another comedic scene where, when the boys were eating with Cikgu Ayu and her family, they ran out of VITAGEN. The English teacher, Middleton, ended up drinking the water that is used to wash hands instead.

Over and above the scenes where the product was deliberately mentioned and showcased, there was incidental brand placement via VITAGEN buntings and other incidental shots. The cultured milk drink also featured on the Oh My English! Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram pages.

RESULTS:

The Oh My Ganu! telemovie enjoyed a tremendous response among its target audience, attracting 1.1 million viewers during its first run – making it the most watched programme in its time belt – and ranking as the number one trending topic on Twitter in Malaysia. Repeat broadcasts reached an average of 420,000 viewers. Oh My Ganu! proved to be Astro’s most-watched HD movie of 2013.

Post-show, 2,000 Instagram photos were uploaded regarding the telemovie (some of these showcased bottles of VITAGEN). There was also praise for the show on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

A sample of consumer responses on Twitter within 24 hours of Oh My Ganu!’s first telecast included: – “I might go to 7-Eleven after this. I’m craving for VITAGEN. Put this blame on #OhMyGanu.”

– “VITAGEN untuk penghadaman perut” (meaning “VITAGEN aids digestion”).

– “Di sebabkan #OhMyGanu malam tadi aku call akak aku suruh beli VITAGEN ni – terpengaruh (meaning “It was watching Oh My Ganu! last night that made me call my sister and ask her to buy me some VITAGEN – I was influenced!).

The Oh My English! game also made the number two spot on Apple’s App Store.

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CASE STUDY

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PERODUA

CAMPAIGN PERODUA ALZA LAUNCH CLIENT PERUSAHAAN OTOMOBIL KEDUA SDN BHD AGENCY VIZEUM MEDIA SERVICES (M) SDN BHD PLATFORM ASTRO

audio-visual capability, a more versatile interior design, a choice of either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic, and the proven 16-valve, 1.5-litre 3SZ-VE engine with DVVT. Sales of previous incarnations of the Alza had demonstrated the vehicle was well accepted by the public – not just in the MPV segment, but also in the sedan category.

Its flexibility in terms of features resulted in the car’s popularity cutting across gender and demographic boundaries, making the Alza truly a vehicle for everyone. As such, the

client hoped to replicate the success of Alza’s predecessors – at the very least, if not surpass them – with the new model.

OBJECTIVES:

Perodua’s “launch mission” was to reinforce Alza’s position as the most affordable and most popular MPV among Malaysian motorists. Prices for the latest Alza start at RM52,400 for the Standard (MT) version, while the Standard (AT) variant costs RM55,400. A notch higher is the SE,

BACKGROUND:

The Alza is a compact MPV produced by Malaysian car manufacturer Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (“Perodua”) and aimed at families with young children. Its name is derived from the Spanish verb alzar, which means “to raise”. The Alza is priced similarly to its peers in its category.

Perodua was about to introduce a new and improved Alza, which boasts a more extensive list of safety features, enhanced

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“THE EPISODE’S BROADCAST ATTRACTED A RECORD-BREAKING 1.44 MILLION VIEWERS, WITH THE PERODUA ALZA ALSO MAKING IT ONTO MALAYSIA’S TOP 10 TRENDING SEARCHES ON GOOGLE.”

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which is tagged at RM56,400 for the (MT) and RM59,400 for the (AT) variants respectively.

The auto-only Advanced Version with all the frills included has a sticker price of RM64,000 OTR (on-the-road). These latest OTR prices have been repositioned to be about 2% to 7% lower than those of previous incarnations of the Alza.

STRATEGY:

Because Perodua wanted to make the product launch a truly memorable event, it chose to employ week nine of Astro’s popular comedy reality show, Maharaja Lawak Mega 2013 (MLM 2013), as a platform from which to debut the new Alza. MLM typically features professional as well as up-and-coming comedians from Malaysia and the region, with these comics given the freedom to either form a group or go solo in the competition, relying on their personal wit and skill.

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CASE STUDY

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PERODUA

“BECAUSE PERODUA’S BRAND STATEMENT IS ‘BUILDING CAR PEOPLE FIRST’ – MEANING TO FOCUS ON THE DRIVERS BEFORE ACTUALLY CONCENTRATING ON THE PRODUCT – THE LINK WITH MLM 2013 WAS A NATURAL ONE.” Because Perodua’s brand statement is “building car people first” – meaning to focus on the drivers before actually concentrating on the product – the link with MLM 2013 was a 5 0 a d verti s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | M A R C H / A P R I L 2014

natural one. Comedy is timeless, and shared laughter brings people together and bonds individuals, increasing intimacy and happiness.

EXECUTION:

The new Perodua Alza was displayed on stage during the week nine performances, with the contestants allowed to creatively incorporate Alza into their performances either physically or verbally.

President and CEO Yang Bahagia Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh announced the contestants with the highest number of votes would win the new Alza.

RESULTS:

Using the MLM 2013 competition as a springboard resulted in an impactful and successful launch for the new Alza, which created awareness of the vehicle in Malaysian drivers’ minds – the strategy of using the vehicle as a prop during the week nine episode’s performances paid off.

Emerging victorious was the group Sepahtu, comprising Jep, Shuib and Rahim R2 – the comedians in the group ended up bringing home the new Alza.

The episode’s broadcast attracted a record-breaking 1.44 million viewers, with the Perodua Alza also making it onto Malaysia’s top 10 trending searches on Google.

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How to reach the shopper

Anytime Anywhere

Shopper Marketing returns and will take an in-depth look at what marketers of today really have to do to reach their customers in a world that’s connected 24/7.

featured speakers include

Hywel Evans Regional director of decision science APAC Aimia

Brian Hui VP, head of marketing Amazon China

Han Zantingh Managing director Asia BrainJuicer

Kensaku Konishi President & chief executive officer Canon Singapore

Gold Sponsors

Alan Chan Director of group branding department Chow Tai Fook Jewellery

Darren Fifield Head of marketing solutions eBay Enterprise Asia Pacific

Stanley Kee Managing director Southeast Asia GfK

Brought to you by:

w w w . s h o p p e r m a r k e t i n g - c o n f e r e n c e . c o m

Wing Chan Commercial director Samsonite Singapore

LAST WORD

SHOULD YOU BE CREEPED OUT BY FACEBOOK BUYING WHATSAPP? So Facebook has acquired WhatsApp. Here’s what Elizabeth Low thinks about it.

It was big news last month when Facebook announced it had bought WhatsApp for a hefty US$19 billion, and since then, many news reports have been discussing the worth of the buy.

But consumers are quickly raising data privacy concerns. Ryan Lim, business director of Blugrapes, warns that end users should be more wary since Facebook now has access to their mobile contacts and their network of friends on mobile that previously had eluded Facebook.

“Having so much consumer data in the hands of a commercial entity can be worrying without proper regulation to protect the interests of the end users,” Lim said.

To clarify, WhatsApp has long made a strong stand that it doesn’t believe in ads, and Mark Zuckerberg is echoing that same promise.

Here’s a short note from WhatsApp’s blog in 2012.

“Remember, when advertising is involved, you, the user, are the product. At WhatsApp, our engineers spend all their time fixing bugs, adding new features and ironing out all the little intricacies in our task of bringing rich, affordable, reliable messaging to every phone in the world.

That’s our product and that’s our passion. Your data isn’t even in the picture. We are simply not interested in any of it.”

But it looks like consumers aren’t totally convinced. Perhaps this hilarious tweet from blogger Mr Brown sums up the sentiment:

What about the depth of data Facebook will now have? Take for example this – Facebook’s data scientists are already cleverly making sense of all your interactions.

Check out its (creepy?) blog series on how it knows how long your relationships will last, when you’re falling in love, or going through a break-up.

Here’s how it looks when you’re in love.

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What’s next? Privacy concerns loom large in customers’ minds.

And when you break up:

*Charts from Facebook

But with WhatsApp, it looks like Facebook might know about your break-up before you do! Could you expect an ice-cream ad on Facebook after your break-up on WhatsApp, perhaps?

Or how about this – by now, most clever social-media users would have developed a filter of sorts as to how they interact on Facebook. (If anyone needs a reminder, two words for you: Anton Casey.)

So for me, while my interactions on Facebook are fairly filtered, my WhatsApp conversations aren’t. I send emoticons, quarrel, share private jokes (you get the idea) – something I wouldn’t even do on Facebook messenger. I’m pretty sure it’s the same for many users.

Yes, I’m aware data is already being captured everywhere, and it was only a matter of time before WhatsApp was acquired, but the reality of it happening is plain creepy. Yikes!

Looks like there’s only one thing to do – you might have to get off your mobile and meet your friends in person.

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Luxury.

RedeďŹ ned.

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