Advertising + Marketing MY - Jan/Feb 2016

JAN/FEB

2016

HOW CHINA’S SLOWDOWN IS IMPACTING MALAYSIA PAGE 8 TIPS TO PROTECTING YOUR BRAND ONLINE PAGE 12

Enter the only agency awards in the region judged solely by client-marketers.

Entries are open to ALL agencies.

ENTRY DEADLINE

AOTY 1 MARCH 2016

MARKIES 15 MARCH 2016

For entries and more information, call Carlo Reston at +65 6423 0329, ext: 258 or email carlor@marketing-interactive.com For sponsorship opportunities, call Joven Barcenas at +65 6423 0329, ext: 252 or email jovenb@marketing-interactive.com

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ED’S LETTER

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A CORPORATE AFFAIR

Rezwana Manjur, Deputy Editor rezwanam@marketing-interactive.com Noreen Ismail, Journalist noreeni@marketing-interactive.com Editorial – International Matt Eaton, Editor (Hong Kong) matte@marketing-interactive.com Production and Design Shahrom Kamarulzaman, Regional Art Director shahrom@lighthousemedia.com.sg Fauzie Rasid, Senior Designer fauzier@lighthousemedia.com.sg Advertising Sales Johnathan Tiang, Sales Manager johnathant@marketing-interactive.com Ee Kai Li, Account Manager kailie@marketing-interactive.com Grace Goh, Account Manager graceg@marketing-interactive.com Ong Yi Xuan, Advertising Sales Coordinator yixuano@marketing-interactive.com Advertising Sales - International Sara Wan, Senior Sales Manager (Hong Kong) saraw@marketing-interactive.com Events Yeo Wei Qi, Regional Head of Events Services weiqi@marketing-interactive.com Circulation Executive Deborah Quek, Circulations Executive deborahq@marketing-interactive.com Finance Evelyn Wong, Regional Finance Director evelynw@lighthousemedia.com.sg

affairs cannot be undermined in today’s context where stakeholders are many and expectations are high.

As Shweta Shukla, director of communications and government affairs for Asia Pacific at Kimberly-Clark, says: “There is rarely an aspect of business that CA does not impact – from building brands to corporate reputation to enabling entry/expansion into markets to preventing business disruption.”

In the same light, Christopher Samuel, director of corporate engagement for Monsanto, Asia Pacific, tells us that as the world seeks more transparency from organisations on their role and performance on the planet, best-in-class corporate affairs will bring even more insights and ideas in the areas of purpose, policy, products and partnerships, while radically evolving people engagement and development.

The signs are clear that corporate affairs will remain a top priority for any comms professional in the times to come.

Enjoy the edition.

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

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

Public relations, once termed as the toughest job in the world (no, seriously), has come a long way. My friends in PR would agree the function is far more evolved than it was in the past.

From becoming data-centric to driving content and social – PR is at the forefront of this change. As a result, it is now an equal partner with marketing, and in some cases, even has a seat in the boardroom.

And as they continue to evolve, the lines between PR and marketing will continue to blur, old silos will be broken and newer structures will emerge. As it is, we have begun to see quite a few PR professionals take on the CMO role.

As Clara Shek, managing director of Ogilvy Public Relations Hong Kong, tells us, we are already seeing the PR function being rapidly encroached upon by the marketing, social media and digital departments in organisations.

“Some people are going as far to predict that PR agencies will cease to exist 10 years from now,” she said.

According to her, this is both a threat and an opportunity.

“While marketing, advertising and PR can all claim to drive the strategies for paid, owned and earned media, not every discipline has the experience and ability to navigate through the earned space.”

In this edition we are looking at a specific discipline which mostly sits under PR/commscorporate affairs. The importance of corporate

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

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Rayana Pandey Editor

JA N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 201 6 | a dvert i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 1

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CONTENTS

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4 A MONTH IN NEWS 8 SLOWDOWN IN CHINA’S ECONOMY TO IMPACT MALAYSIA Zenith Malaysia CEO Gerald Miranda says China’s economic slowdown will naturally have a large effect

on the region as a whole. Rezwana Manjur writes.

9 THE DAWN OF THE DIGITAL CMO The day will come sooner than we think for digital CMOs. Rezwana Manjur reports.

16 MAS’ REBRANDING IN LIMBO: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CLIENTS CHANGE THEIR MINDS? With Malaysia Airlines’ rebranding now on the back-burner, is the airline losing credibility within its

Corporate affairs, just like any other discipline of communications, is seeing rapid changes. What are these changes and what should professionals aspiring to be in this role know? We explore the topic in-depth in this issue.

partner ecosystem? Rezwana Manjur finds out.

17 THE FORMULA BEHIND WINNING NEW BUSINESS You want to impress a client? Here are some key truths about getting their attention.

18 MANAGING CORPORATE AFFAIRS How has the discipline evolved over the years? Noreen Ismail finds out.

24 PR ASIA 2015 All that went on during the two-day conference.

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE!

9 8 What you’ll learn in this issue: >> The future of corporate affairs. >> The impact of the global economic slowdown on Malaysia. >> The rise of digital CMOs. WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

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NEWS

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

Yonder Music launched Celcom launched Yonder Music in Malaysia. Creative executions for the campaign were handled

by M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur.

During the week leading up to the launch, a huge purple truck was spotted at various high visibility locations in Klang Valley. As part of the social media activation to hype up the activities, the team at M&C Saatchi engaged celebrities such as Afgan, Dato Siti Nurhaliza, Atilia and celebrity bloggers.

Maxis calls creative pitch Communications service provider Maxis called for a creative pitch.

The chosen agency will be tasked to handle creative duties for the Maxis brand. A+M understands the contract is for one year with an option to renew for another. Sulin Lau, head of marketing services at Maxis, said: “We’ve invited the agencies we’ve really enjoyed working with this past year – Leo Burnett, Ogilvy, APD, Ensemble and Kingdom Digital.”

A perfect brew Wonda enlisted the help of M&C Saatchi to create the launch campaign for Wonda Kopi Tarik. The challenge was how to convince consumers that Wonda Kopi Tarik was as authentic as the Kopi Tarik at their regular corner coffee shop. The launch film focused on a Kopi Tarik aficionado trying to make the perfect cup of Kopi Tarik. The solution was a giant hot air balloon that allowed him to tarik (which means pull in Malay) from a great height.

Partnership extension The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Royal FrieslandCampina signed a multiyear extension of their marketing partnership. As the official milk partner of the NBA in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, FrieslandCampina continues to engage the NBA’s fan base in Asia through its “Drink.Move.BeStrong” campaign. The campaign aims to cultivate an active and healthy lifestyle among children through play, sports and proper nutrition.

Global ad spend set to grow Global advertising expenditure is expected to grow to US$579 billion, up 4.7% from 2015, according to Zenith Media.

However, on a regional basis, the Chinese economy may impact regional ad markets.

China, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, which have been categorised as fast-track Asia economies, recorded the highest growth rate among all the regions at 9% in the global market between 2015 to 2016.

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Film festival launched The inaugural Singapore Film Festival launched in Kuala Lumpur on 14 January 2016.

The event was produced by Culture Link, with programme partner Singapore Film Society.

The festival saw Singapore’s anthology film 7 Letters, Eric Khoo’s 12 Storeys, award-winning Ilo Ilo and Sayang Disayang make their Malaysian premiere at GSC cinemas in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur and 1 Utama Shopping Centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

TheLorry on the move Malaysia-based on-demand logistics start-up, TheLorry, raised a US$1.5 million Series A round led by SPH Media Fund, with participation from Silicon Valley based Elixir Capital. The start-up previously raised a seed round from Singapore-based KK Fund in early 2015. The company intends to use this funding to strengthen its presence in Malaysia, introduce new services and prepare for a regional expansion.

A MINI move MINI Malaysia introduced a new and exclusive MINI Countryman Park Lane as it looks to compete in the country in the premium automotive compact segment.

Han Sang Yun, managing director and CEO of BMW Group Malaysia, said with its first introduction globally and in Malaysia, the Mini Countryman has paved its way into the lives of new customer segments and enabled the brand to establish a secure standing in the premium compact segment.

Aladdin challenges Alibaba Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysia’s celebrity astronaut and certified surgeon, launched an e-commerce business called the Aladdin Group of Companies, set up as a halal rival to e-commerce bigwigs Amazon and Alibaba.

Aladdin will be operational in 30 countries and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. The website, Aladdin Street, brands itself as the “world’s first exclusive premium halal e-marketplace” Sheikh Muszaphar said.

Regional media pitch Health food company Cerebos called for a regional media pitch for the Southeast Asia markets, sources confirmed to A+M. The incumbents for the Singapore and Malaysia markets are UM and Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG) respectively. UM was appointed in April 2015 for two years, while SMG’s win was announced in January 2015. The pitch will cover the Southeast Asian markets.

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NEWS

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Media win Danone Dumex handed MEC Malaysia its media account.

The agency is Dumex’s media agency of record. The agency is responsible for all media planning and buying capabilities with a remit to raise the level of awareness and increase efficiencies for all its brands across all mediums. MEC was awarded the business after coming out on top in a pitch that involved several agencies.

Nothing, but the best Superbest Power Health Food & Beverages, a local coffee energy drink, and Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership announced the title sponsorship for the Malaysian FA Cup. The three-year deal from 2016 to 2018 will see the competition being called the “Superbest Power Piala FA”, as well as the launch of a new FA Cup logo that incorporates the Superbest Power brand.

Can you make it Red Bull launched its “Can You Make It 2016” campaign which is a competition featuring 165 student teams from more than 50 countries. The teams travel across Europe using nothing, but Red Bull cans as their currency.

University students across Malaysia have been encouraged to join the competition, which will witness teams traverse more than 1,000 kilometres in European cities in a single week, to arrive at a final secret location in Europe.

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Branching out MicroAd Singapore launched a new branch office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Citing reasons such as the constant growth of Malaysia’s digital advertising market and receiving requests from various clients for Malaysia’s market, the company aims to extend its services to more advertisers and to better facilitate its clients’ needs through localisation. By the end of 2015, MicroAd had attained more than 2000 clients in Southeast Asia, according to the agency.

U Mobile appoints Text 100 Telco U Mobile appointed Text 100 Malaysia as its public relations agency and TBWA as its creative agency for its postpaid services.

BBDO, which has been with U Mobile as its creative agency since 2013, will be focusing on U Mobile’s prepaid services. U Mobile also appointed Tiffany Chew as head of corporate communications and Schrene Goh as head of marketing communications for the brand and digital marketing division.

GuocoLand inks deal GuocoLand Limited inked a deal with AccorHotels for the management of the group’s two newly built hotels in Malaysia and Singapore. Raymond Choong, president and CEO of GuocoLand, said the developments aim to bring more livable spaces to the business districts. In Malaysia, the 312-room Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara is also an integral part of a new 8.5 acre integrated development in the up-market enclave called Damansara City.

A pig goes missing Journey to the West – The Monkey King 2’s movie posters had a key character Zhu Bajie missing from its collaterals. The Zhu Bajie character is half human and half pig. In promotional posters in Malaysia, however, the image does not feature this character. Modified for the Malaysia market, the original poster of the film shows the monk Tang Sanzang and his disciples Monkey King Sun Wukong, Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie.

Mindshare wins new business Nippon Paint appointed Mindshare as its media agency.

Mindshare Malaysia won the account following a pitch which included UM and incumbent Vizeum. The appointment was effective 1 January 2016 and covers the full suite of strategic and media services. Alex Yoong, assistant general manager of group marketing at Nippon Paint, said: “Everyone talks about data and content being today’s key imperatives for successful brand building. Mindshare demonstrated a clear understanding and expertise for both.”

Video press releases available Pi PR Consultancy made video press releases (VPRs) available to its clients. The boutique PR firm, which primarily focuses on serving ICT and technology centric corporations and organisations in Malaysia, stated that VPRs were the “tool” the market needs now. This is to more effectively reach out to TV stations be it mainstream, satellite, cable or online.

BMW appoints agencies BMW Malaysia appointed its media and PR agencies in Malaysia following pitches. The media buying duties were awarded to Zenith, and Cohn & Wolfe was appointed to PR. Confirming the appointments, Sashi Ambi, head of corporate communications, told A+M the contracts were for a year with an option to extend for another. The creative duties for the brand continue to remain with Ogilvy & Mather.

Healthy celebration Health beauty retailer Watsons released an original song and a star-studded music video as part of its Chinese New Year campaign.

Watsons’ Chinese New Year music video featured the original song Happy Beautiful Year and cameo appearances by more than 20 top Malaysian celebrities. The highlight of the campaign was the song and music video performed live at the launch by five celebrities.

Dentsu Utama quits 4As Dentsu Utama resigned from the Malaysian 4As. It came after the agency was accused of plagiarism by 4As for creating works that were seen as too close a copy of works in Europe for WWF. Moreover, eight of its Kancil Awards were also revoked. A spokesperson from Dentsu Utama also confirmed the move saying that on 29 December, Dentsu Utama was accused of plagiarism, a claim it strongly disputed.

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NEWS

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ZenRooms takes ride with Uber Hotel network ZenRooms partnered with Uber in Indonesia to offer users a seamless travel and hotel experience. As part of this partnership, Uber riders can get IDR 100.000 off a ZenRooms booking by using the voucher code Uberzenrooms. Meanwhile, at each ZenRooms hotel, customers are given a Uber key card holder that entitles them to an IDR 100.000 discount on their first Uber booking.

Lighting up Hong Kong To unveil its new SUV model, the All New RX, Lexus Hong Kong dazzled passers-by with a set of moving light art shows that turned the city into a gigantic canvas after dark, done by creative partner The Gate Hong Kong. Held over two nights in December, the mobile light art project gave audiences a preview of the All New RX via visual formations.

Hoffman Agency’s new role The Hoffman Agency was appointed by Wearable IoT World, an accelerator company focused on the internet of things (IoT), wearables and other emerging technologies, as its global public relations and marketing communications consultancy. The agency is tasked to spearhead Wearable IoT World’s global branding, media and stakeholder engagement and thoughtleadership programmes to deliver effective brand awareness in the long run.

Saving the rhino OgilvyOne Beijing joined WildAid in its fight against rhino horn consumption with a new campaign “Nail Biters” launched in China. Rhinos are one of the most critically endangered species in the world, and yet poaching of this dwindling population has been on the continual rise since 2008. “Nail Biters” aims to call out this truth and, in doing so, change the dialogue surrounding the practice.

Brookstone opens in China Brookstone, a US-based speciality retailer, opened its first overseas store in one of the largest shopping centres in Nanjing, China. Brookstone CEO Tom Via said Chinese customers were enthusiastically embracing the first Brookstone China store experience and first-day sales had far exceeded expectations.

The American retailer has also opened three stores within Funtalk Telecommunication’s locations in Beijing and Shanghai. Brookstone will adopt a sales model that features a hands-on interactive shopping experience.

Grey Group buys Korean firm Grey Group acquired a majority stake in Vinyl-I Co, a creative digital agency based in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 2000, Vinyl-I Co evolved from a web and UX design agency to a full service digital advertising agency which incorporates new media technology to enhance the user experience, especially in the area of interactive design.

Vinyl-I Co is managed by CEO Paul Cho and Gil Kim, chief operating officer.

6 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | JA N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 2016

Flamingo heads to Indonesia Flamingo launched an office in Jakarta to build on its SEA expertise. Heading up the Jakarta office is Adri Reksodipoetro, who is an Indonesian native and outgoing managing director of Flamingo’s APAC hub in Singapore. Before this, he also worked in various insights agencies in Paris and Sydney.

Clients for the Indonesia office include Heineken, Disney, Google and Unilever.

Merging businesses WPP merged its Australian and New Zealand businesses with STW Communications Group in Australia and New Zealand. The merger saw WPP increase its shareholding from 23.6% to 61.5%.

The merged group will become the primary vehicle for WPP in Australia and New Zealand. WPP has been an investor in the company since 1988. The merger continues WPP’s strategy of investing in important geographic markets and to advance “horizontality”, a WPP statement said.

Shell announces job cuts Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell announced it would be making around 2,800 job cuts globally following its takeover of rival BG Group. These job cuts are about 3% of the total combined group’s workforce. Shell is looking to integrate BG’s business into its own. As part of this, Shell is proposing that office consolidation is undertaken where practical in certain locations around the world.

Media shift P&G moved its media business in North America to Omnicom.

The account was previously held

by Publicis Groupe’s Starcom Mediavest (SMG) and was one of its top few clients. Reports on global media said the bulk of the account moved to Omnicom with Dentsu’s Carat taking on some parts of the media duties as well.

HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

BRINGING THE FOREST TO COMMUTERS

April Group’s PaperOne implemented a six-week OOH creative campaign on the Downtown train to target professionals, managers, executives and technicians and the general public using the line.

April Group created a highimpact thematic concept train to give commuters more than a ride, but a

new immersive experience – a forest in the train. The campaign played a part in extending an invitation to the public to sign up and attend the Clean & Green SG50 Mass Tree Planting at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park held on 24 October 2015.

The OOH campaign ran from 14 September to 24 October 2015 and cost about SG$55,000.

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NEWS

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Millward’s new solution Market research company Millward Brown launched digital behaviour analytics (DBA), an advanced analytics solution. DBA aims to give businesses near realtime access to actionable insights on brand health and marketing campaign performances, using data from search patterns and social media conversations.

The tool uses changes in online behaviours to give advertisers real-time feedback on the inmarket performance of specific campaigns.

PropertyGuru buys website Online property portal group PropertyGuru Group acquired RumahDijual.com, one of Indonesia’s property websites, for an undisclosed amount.

This came on the back of its latest acquisition of new project marketing solution, ePropertyTrack, in July, following an SG$175 million investment from a strategic consortium of three investors, including Emtek Group – Indonesia’s largest media group – in June.

Cathay Pacific flies high Cathay Pacific launched the second phase of its campaign called “Life Well Travelled” on the SPHMBO platforms at Chevron House and Marina Bay Link Mall.

Cathay Pacific aims to position its brand in a unique space, in terms of personalised service and enabling its customers to travel well as part of living well. This campaign is targeted to frequent business travellers and leisure travellers who will travel with their families and kids.

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Bentley appoints Accelerate Bentley appointed Accelerate Advertising as its regional marketing and PR agency in Asia Pacific, following a pitch. A four-year-old agency, Accelerate focuses on the automotive sector, creating marketing and comms campaigns for brands. The agency will support the client by creating integrated campaigns across channels as well as PR, media planning and management duties.

New acquisition Dentsu Aegis Network acquired JaymeSyfu Group in the Philippines. The JaymeSyfu Group will join forces with Dentsu Philippines to form Dentsu JaymeSyfu. Previously known as DM9 JaymeSyfu, the agency was founded in October 2005 by chief creative officer Merlee CruzJayme and chief client relations Alex Syfu. With GM Ronald Barreiro, the three of them have steered the agency business to phenomenal growth.

Growing its network Through an acquisition, Dentsu Aegis Network welcomed ASPAC Creative Communications in the Philippines to the network formalising the relationship in which the two entities have worked closely together since 2012. ASPAC is now part of Dentsu’s global agency network, but will continue to operate separately and retain its brand identity. ASPAC was founded in February 1975 as ASPAC Communicators by Max B. Ramos Jr.

AUDIT WATCH

A BIG TICKET BUY Regional luxury property and lifestyle magazine and website Property Report was recently purchased by online property portal group PropertyGuru.

PropertyGuru bought the publication from Ensign Media, a publishing company headquartered in Singapore.

The acquisition of the Ensign businesses will strengthen PropertyGuru’s integrated property media capabilities. PropertyGuru’s 14 million users and Property Report’s 70,000 online and offline readers, will have a combined access to PropertyGuru’s 600 monthly research and news articles published in three languages across four markets, and Property Report’s 100plus online features per month.

At present, Property Report’s online site attracts an average of 40,000 visitors every month. It has

Scoot appoints Performics Low-cost carrier Scoot appointed Performics, part of ZenithOptimedia, as its agency of record to manage its global media communications business both offline and online. Performics covers traditional forms of media buys (print, TV, radio and OOH ) on the offline front, and biddable media (digital displays, SEM and programmatic) on the online front.

Shake up for Publicis Publicis Groupe announced a shake-up of its operating model by “breaking down silos” in a move to offer clients a more streamlined service. The restructure aims to simplify the way clients access the range of solutions within the network from PR to healthcare, advertising and media, while at the same time accelerating growth within the Publicis network.

a combined 35,000 followers across all social media platforms. These numbers are currently not audited.

Founded by Terry Blackburn and Duncan Worthington in 2003 and headquartered in Singapore, Ensign began publishing Property Report in 2004. Focusing on high-end real estate in the region, and international investment opportunities for readers, Property Report is a bimonthly print magazine distributed across ASEAN and Hong Kong via newsstands, five-star hotels, airport lounges and direct mail. Existing staff of Ensign will be absorbed into PropertyGuru.

Disney’s new media partner Disney Studios Southeast Asia appointed Dentsu Media as its media agency of record for the company’s regional business, following a pitch. Dentsu Möbius leads the account. The agency is tasked to provide strategy and creative planning, regional coordination and alignment, media planning, buying and reporting for digital, ATL and on-ground execution.

New travel series Qatar Airways extended its commercial relationship with CNN International by embarking on an exclusive international sponsorship campaign of the network’s new monthly travel series, In 24 Hours. The campaign builds on the longstanding relationship between the two companies which dates back to Qatar Airways’ spot advertising first running on CNN International in 2003, and subsequent sponsorships such as CNN Weather and an aviation theme week.

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NEWS ANALYSIS

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SLOWDOWN IN CHINA’S ECONOMY TO IMPACT MALAYSIA’S AD MARKET

Zenith Malaysia CEO Gerald Miranda says China’s economic slowdown will naturally have a large effect on the region as a whole. Rezwana Manjur explores.

Far-reaching impact: What will the events in China mean for Malaysia?

Global advertising expenditure is expected to grow to US$579 billion, up 4.7% from 2015, according to Zenith Media. However, on a regional basis the Chinese economy may impact the regional ad markets.

China, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, which have been categorised as “fast-track” Asia economies, recorded the highest growth rate among all the regions at 9% between 20152016.

However, according to Zenith Malaysia CEO Gerald Miranda, China accounts for 74% of ad spend in fast-track Asia economies, “so its slowdown naturally has a large effect on the region as a whole”.

“We expect ad expenditure in fast-track Asia to grow 8.9% in 2015, and at an average rate of 8.4% a year between 2015 and 2018, down from 14.7% a year between 2009 and 2014,” Miranda said.

The study also stated fast-track Asia economies have grown rapidly over the years as they adopted western technology and practices, while benefiting from the rapid inflow 8 a d verti s i ng + marketi ng | JA N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 2016

of funds from investors hoping to tap into this growth.

“Fast-track Asia barely noticed the 2009 downturn (ad expenditure grew by 7.9% that year) and since then has grown very strongly, ending 2014 up an estimated 10.7%,” he said.

In Malaysia, ad spend for year-to-date November 2015 slipped 3.2% to RM12.395 billion from RM12.811 billion in the corresponding period in 2014.

Pay-TV accounted for the lion’s share of ad spend with RM5.2 billion followed by newspapers at RM3.81 billion and fee-to-air TV with RM2.603 billion.

With the exception of pay-TV which experienced a 6.4% increase, ad spend for free-to-air TV and newspapers dropped by 11.3% and 10.7% respectively. According to Miranda, the industry estimates ad spend for 2015 to be softer by around 3%.

Global forecasts Globally, this year will be a big year given there will be major hikes in conjunction with quadrennial events such as the Rio Olympics,

US presidential elections and the European Football Championships.

Zenith Media, in its latest ad expenditure forecasts, predicts internet ad spend, which grew 18% year-on-year by the end of 2015, to register growth rates of an average of 13% annual growth between 2015 and 2018.

By 2018, internet advertising is expected to account for 36% of all global advertising, overtaking television for the first time to become the world’s largest advertising medium.

The global ad market, which has enjoyed stable growth rates ranging between 4% and 5% a year since 2011, is expected to maintain this pace between 2016 to 2018.

Since it began in the mid-1990s, internet advertising (both desktop and mobile) has principally risen at the expense of print. Over the past 10 years internet advertising has risen from 6% of total global spend in 2005 to 29% in 2015.

Meanwhile, newspapers’ share of global spend fell from 29% to 13%, while magazines dropped from 13% to 7%. The spend on newspapers and magazines is predicted to shrink, at average rates of 4% and 3% a year respectively, between 2015 and 2018, ending with respective 10% and 5% market shares.

Print titles will continue to lose market share as their readership continues to decline, either moving to online versions of print brands or other forms of information and entertainment entirely.

The figures for newspapers and magazines include only advertising in printed editions of these publications, not on their websites, or in tablet editions or mobile apps, all of which are reflected in the internet category.

The performance of print editions does not wholly describe the overall performance of newspaper and magazine publishers.

“Mobile is now the main driver of global ad spend growth and we forecast this medium to contribute a full 87% of all the extra ad spend between 2015 and 2018. Television and desktop internet will be the second and third-largest contributors respectively, accounting for 13% and 6% of new ad expenditure respectively.”

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NEWS ANALYSIS

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THE DAWN OF THE DIGITAL CMO The day will come sooner than we think for digital CMOs. Rezwana Manjur writes.

The rise of the digital CMO is imminent. And it is going to happen probably sooner than we think.

In a conversation with A+M, Wendy Heng, associate director of sales and marketing, healthcare, supply chain and procurement, at recruitment firm Robert Walters, says by simply observing how consumers interact with brands, it is evident it will be beneficial for companies if CMOs came from a digital background.

While she believes this revolution may happen as soon as the next five years, she is quick to admit that for more traditional organisations such as FMCG brands this may take a little longer. However, at this point of the game, finding good digital marketers across most industries, she says, is still a challenge.

“Digital marketing is up and coming – and a lot of roles we recruit for are based on either broad-based digital marketing managers or specialist roles such as a SEO specialist, social media and digital analyst. However in this arena, Singapore is still relatively young compared to markets such as the US and UK and it’s a struggle to find the right talent,” she says.

So where does one find great digital talent?

According to Heng, clients looking to make marketing hires in Singapore generally prefer those with regional exposure and with both client and agency side experience.

But when it comes to digital they are more open. When clients come knocking on her door for good digital candidates, Heng often tries to convince them to pull in talent from the agency side because agencies have stronger talent pools.

Geographically as well, clients are also more willing to take in candidates who may not have worked in the region because digital capabilities are not bounded by locations.

Nonetheless, a good sign seems to be that currently 82% of overseas Singaporeans are keen to return home given the right incentives after gaining overseas exposure.

This number, according to a recent Robert Walters study, cuts across industries such as sales and marketing, accounting and finance, compliance, human resources, information technology, sales and marketing, banking and financial services and technical healthcare.

Heng explains this could be because there WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

The changing landscape: The rise of the digital CMO indicates a huge shift in marketing.

is a huge shift in focus in APAC and Singapore which has many APAC and regional structures in place.

“Many returning locals and foreign talent alike, move here for greater exposure and opportunities. Being the APAC hub, in Singapore you really get more market exposure,” she says.

Keeping the talent is still a challenge Heng admits she has learnt to accept the fact that people no longer stay in companies for decades. While in areas such as marketing or in-house communications, the average lifespan is about three years, in digital it is as low as

18 months. “It used to floor me when people moved in just 18 months, but in the world of digital, people are driven by things they are able to do. So while some companies might sell Millennials the dream of going digital, they might not be able to evolve fast enough, and hence, people move,” she says.

She explains that Millennials are also always looking for the next big challenge and this may come as often as every two to three months.

“Millennials are not as interested in depth as breadth, and for many, progression is not vertical it is about making or experiencing something different,” she says.

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HOW TO UNBLOCK AD BLOCKING Ad blocking will become more prevalent unless advertisers come up with ways to entertain consumers, says Matt Eaton.

Hitting the wall with ad blockers: Brands need to give consumers a good user experience to deter them from blocking your ads.

Much has been made of the rise and rise of ad blocking technology, thanks probably to tech giants such as Apple which are slowly bending to consumers’ growing dislike of invasive and disruptive online ads. But don’t rush to call it an “adblockalypse” just yet.

In its 2016 digital forecast, social@Ogilvy says ad blocker usage has exploded. Even before Apple released iOS 9, which supports such technology, usage had been growing at a rate of more than 40% year-on-year, with few signs of it slowing down.

Driven by a desire for greater privacy control and stopping page load-bloat, some predict there are now 198 million active ad block users around the world, costing publishers nearly $22 billion during 2015.

For mobile and tablet users, the story may not be as dramatic. In its annual digital forecast, Deloitte Global predicts a mere 0.3% of all mobile device owners (tablets included) will use an ad blocker by the end of 2016. This is likely to place less than US$100 million (0.1%) of the US$70 billion mobile advertising (smartphones and tablets) market at risk.

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But while such low figures may not set off alarm bells, the demographic make-up of people using such technology should.

Increasingly, it’s savvy Millennials who are severely disrupting traditional models of digital marketing, consuming fewer banner ads and threatening existing online advertising models.

How do you get around it? One immediate solution is native advertising, or content marketing, and making sure that the content being created is for specific audience interests.

“That’s not merely a Facebook, Twitter or Apple news feed,” social@ogilvy research noted. “It means earning attention – space and scale wherever audience members chose to consume information.”

Speaking at SOPA’s Media Insiders series last month, Nicola Yates, channel planning director and head of Cathay Pacific global media, said it was a major challenge advertisers should sit up and take notice of.

“I think advertisers are ignoring it, but the next generation will start blocking. Advertising is not relevant for them. Millennials have an attention span of seconds and if you don’t

capture that and if you fail to evolve and work it out, ad blockers will rise.”

Henry Heung, director of strategic partner relations at Google, added it was important to understand why ad-blocker technology had grown so fast. He said it was up to the industry as a whole to ensure a good mobile and desktop experience was a key priority.

“If I myself have a bad experience on PC or on mobile, it may push you towards this. It’s our responsibility to make sure we deliver a good user experience. It’s something we collectively need to figure out.”

Finally, the earned mode of advertising also offers other ways to gain rewards.

“If you give something of value to the consumer they are more likely to engage.

Advertisers and brands are very inward looking and genuinely believe people care about brands. People don’t. We are selfish, we want to be entertained and we are pushed for time,” Yates said.

“This is where content comes in. You just have to be there at different touch-points and give them something interesting.”

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MALAYSIAN ASTRONAUT LAUNCHES ALADDIN TO COMPETE WITH THE LIKES OF ALIBABA AND AMAZON Will the “world’s first exclusive premium halal e-marketplace” be able to work its magic? Noreen Ismail explores.

Taking on the big boys: Aladdin is hoping to rival Amazon and Alibaba.

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysia’s celebrity astronaut and certified surgeon, has launched an e-commerce business called the Aladdin Group of Companies, set up as a halal rival to e-commerce bigwigs Amazon and Alibaba, The Malay Mail Online reported.

Aladdin will be operational in 30 countries and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur.

The website, Aladdin Street, brands itself as the “world’s first exclusive premium halal e-marketplace”, Sheikh Muszaphar told reporters at a news conference.

It will pick merchants which are either halal certified by the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) or those who comply with the shariah guidelines to market on its site.

Launched by former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, The Malay Mail Online said Aladdin could end up costing close to US$100 million (RM425 million) over the next WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

three years for its operations and marketing in 30 countries.

“What we aim to achieve is to compete with the likes of Amazon and Alibaba, and maybe even be bigger than them one day. Aladdin represents an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to gain halal certification and immediately gain access to 30 markets globally,” Sheikh Muszaphar said during Aladdin’s launch.

Will Aladdin be able to work the magic?

Over the next three years, the company plans to expand into other markets such as Indonesia, India, China, the Middle East, and parts of Europe.

Citing rising global demand for halal products, Sheikh Muszaphar added the e-commerce site also aims to appeal to nonMuslims, “because halal is not about religion alone, it is also about ethics and hygiene”.

Commenting on the foray into halal

e-commerce, David Soo, general manager of Saatchi Arachnid, said: “I think this is indeed a good opportunity to tap into the halal market which is huge. Coming from Malaysia, which is already seen as a progressive modern authority on Islamic commerce globally, lends it more credibility.”

Soo said there was definitely a market for products that cater to Muslims worldwide.

“With internet penetration rising in these developing markets even more, I think Alibaba will succeed.”

Whether it will rival the likes of Amazon and Alibaba will largely depend on its operations and how well the website is promoted.

In addition, as with all e-commerce providers, the fast and accurate fulfillment of goods purchased will be a key to its potential success, Soo added.

Similarly, Q Akashah, executive director at Islamic branding consultancy Ogilvy Noor Singapore, said the company could set itself up for success based on two key factors.

1. Solid marketing and a communications strategy. It’s essential for the company to market and communicate their proposition well. Beyond creating awareness and visibility, it is important to create a strong relevant point-of-view and positioning that will resonate with both the Muslim and non-Muslim consumer. This is a challenge, especially for a new company looking to compete with the existing major players 2. Upholding shariah standards. The company must stay true to being compliant with shariah guidelines – that all processes throughout the entire value chain, and not just the end product, is halal. This extends from using halal ingredients to ethical and fair hiring practices, etc. Consumers today demand high standards from brands, and if caught compromising this, the trust will be broken and will be very hard to earn back.

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TIPS ON HOW TO SPOT DOPPELGÄNGER SITES Noreen Ismail says there are a number of ways to recognise doppelgänger sites.

Government bodies are having a tough time lately dealing with an advent of fake sites.

The Work Development Agency recently had to issue an official statement on its Facebook

page, warning users of two doppelgänger sites that have used its SkillsFuture initiative to set up URLs that might confuse the public.

The rise of bogus sites spinning off

from government agencies is not a new phenomenon. In Singapore alone, last year, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) were examples of

Worrying times: The rise of bogus sites spinning off from government agencies is not a new phenomenon and consumers need to be on the look out.

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government ministries plagued by technological disruptions. What followed was a series of fake websites posing as the aforementioned parties, aggravating the ordeal.

The common nature of these bogus sites is they tend to prompt the user to log in or register in order to gather personal data while confusing the public.

Naturally, the affected parties must act fast to nip the situation in the bud. In the case of WDA’s hijacked SkillsFuture brand, Kelly Ho, lawyer and managing director for Kel LLC, said that some possible options for the government

“Prior to a launch, companies need to put in place a robust plan to ensure that consumers know how to recognise the correct website. If it is a big launch, they also need to anticipate phishing attacks and also look at buying the URLs of similar sounding websites to ensure that customers who mistakenly go to these web addresses are redirected accordingly.”

John Bai — director of security response, Symantec.

agency to consider were: 1. Commence an action in court for trademark infringement and/or passing off.

2. For “.sg” domain names, submit a complaint to the Singapore Network Information Centre, a wholly owned subsidiary of IDA. If WDA succeeds, then the domain name will have to be cancelled or transferred to WDA. 3. For non “.sg” domain names, submit a complaint to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

WDA can commence the court action and/ or submit the complaints arguing the following grounds: (i) The registrant’s domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which WDA has rights. (ii) The registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name. (iii) The domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

Prevention is always better than cure John Bai, director of security response at Symantec, said that education was a key component when it comes to protecting a brand’s website. While doppelgänger websites may not always be fraudulent in nature, it is important for consumers to be aware of the official website they should be referring to.

“Prior to a launch, companies need to put in place a robust plan to ensure that consumers know how to recognise the correct website.

If it is a big launch, they also need to anticipate phishing attacks and also look at buying the URLs of similar sounding websites to ensure that customers who mistakenly go to these web addresses are redirected accordingly.”

He pointed out that many of the current phishing techniques rely on driving customers to spoofed websites to capture personal information.

“As such, technology such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Extended Validation (EV) SSL are critical in fighting phishing and

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other forms of cybercrime by encrypting sensitive information and helping customers authenticate your site.”

He also shared the following tips on how to spot doppelgänger websites: • Incorrect address Always check the address bar and verify that all is as it should be. If you are suspicious, do a domain Whois look up to see who owns the domain. The result will tell you the registrar (company that the domain was purchased through), when it was created, when it expires as well as contact details.

• Check domain name Another easy way is to check the domain name in Google – if you type the domain name into Google, if it is a real site, there should be links to that website from other websites. If only the domain comes up and no other search result appears for that domain name, then it is very suspicious.

• Check if the login, create account, and payment pages are secure Many fake or doppelgänger sites will not bother to buy an SSL certificate. SSL certificates secure the transfer of your data when you submit sensitive information (creating an account, or submitting payment info) and cost money. A scam site, quite often, will not bother with an SSL certificate, as the site will likely be shut down within a couple months after the fraud has been reported.

• Beware of links shared via email Users should not use links in an email to connect to a website unless they are absolutely sure they are authentic. Instead, open a new browser window and type the URL directly into the address bar. Often a phishing or doppelgänger website will look identical to the original – look at the address bar to make sure that this is the case.

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WILL RAYANI AIR CONTRADICT MALAYSIA’S COSMOPOLITAN IMAGE? Rayani Air has taken on a bold new point of differentiation, positioning itself as an Islamic airline which will strictly follow Islamic laws. Will it work? Rezwana Manjur finds out.

Taking off: Will Rayani Air’s new strategy attract a loyal customer base?

The Malaysian aviation industry has in recent times had a fair bit of press. While still recovering from the shocks of MH370, MH17 and the AirAsia Flight 8501 tragedies, the country has decided to embrace another new airline called Rayani Air. Unlike its Malaysian aviation companions AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines, Rayani Air has taken on a bold new point of differentiation, positioning itself as an Islamic airline which will strictly follow Islamic laws.

The airline currently serves up a halal menu to passengers and has prayer calls before flight take-offs. The female muslim flight crew will also be required to wear the hijab.

Rayani Air’s founders Ravi Alagendrran and his wife Karthiyani Govindan, who are not muslims, in an interview to The Malay Mail Online, said, despite being halal certified, the airline welcomed passengers of all faith who were looking to travel in a “modest and alcoholfree environment”. This has led to the airline coming under scrutiny with some claiming it is simply using religion as a marketing gimmick.

The launch of the airline comes at a rather turbulent time. It is safe to say in recent times, despite its strong multi-cultural heritage, Malaysia’s cosmopolitan image has come under an intense spotlight.

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Mail Online reported that Muslim lawmakers had voiced concerns about Muslim nationals imposing their beliefs on their fellow countrymen.

These claims of religious tensions were further highlighted when during the Hari Raya festivities, Australian company Servcorp Malaysia faced some backlash for its mascot, a wombat dressed in traditional Malay costume, being mistaken to be a pig.

In late 2014, an event called “I want to touch a dog”, which was initially launched in an attempt to dispel Muslim fears of touching dogs, also came under fire by several members of the public for what was deemed to potentially hamper Muslim values and culture. This was covered by members of the press globally bringing to the frontline Malaysia’s cosmopolitan image.

Now with the launch of the new halalcertified airline, we asked several branding leaders if this would further destroy Malaysia’s secular cosmopolitan image.

Nick Foley, president of the Southeast Asia and Pacific regions at Landor Associates, says it is unlikely. Successful brands are known to tap into the consumer’s psyche by being relevant to their target audience and by being noticeably different to the competition.

“Rayani Air is clearly targeting a key sector of the Malaysian community and by doing so is distinct from their competition. The

next challenge will be to build trust with their passengers so as to create ongoing loyalty.

Only time will tell if the Islamic focus yields longterm dividends for the airline,” he says.

He adds that consumers prefer to build affinity with particular groups.

“Rayani Air is simply adopting a tried and true technique for increasing familiarity with a core demographic in Malaysia.”

Sharing his thoughts on the matter, Graham Hitchmough, CEO of Brand Union, South and Southeast Asia, says now more than ever, air travellers are not just seeking convenience and punctuality, but reassurances of safety, security and emotional as well as physical comfort.

“This is nowhere more true than in Malaysia, and if a significant enough proportion of passengers are more likely to find that sense of calm with an airline that demonstratively reflects their own values and belief system, then I think it is hard for anyone to criticise,” he says.

While he agrees the airline owners may be exhibiting a degree of opportunism, he is quick to note this is common with most products or brands which seek to target or court a specific audience segment – be it demographic, attitudinal or even faith-based.

He explains that what is different in the case of Rayani Air, however, is it does place even greater responsibility on the business to deliver on its promises and ensure the integrity and consistency of its offers.

“Any lapse in standards or compromise of its stated shariah-compliant commitments should not and will not be tolerated by a consumer base for whom such things matter far beyond mere marketing expediency,” he says.

Darien Mah, CEO at Forefront, says the airline is at an advantage having a key differentiating aspect that benefits it to grow in the long run and eventually create good customer loyalty and relationships for the future.

Echoing Hitchmough, he says: “It can be an excellent strategy especially if the airline is able to cater to a growing niche market and in this case, in accordance to the shariah-compliant adherence.”

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PEPSI’S NEW EXPERIMENTAL BAR: WILL IT WORK? Will Pepsi’s new Kola House help the brand connect with the next generation? Noreen Ismail finds out.

Pepsi has ventured into the hospitality and F&B scene with the upcoming launch of Kola House.

The company described it as “the first experimental kola bar, restaurant, lounge and event space to open in the US market”. This first-of-its-kind hospitality venture is set to open its doors in spring 2016, with its flagship location in New York City’s Meatpacking District.

Kola House seeks to brand colas as a premium item, and its consumption a prime experience, going as far as introducing a full artisanal menu that offers “specialty plates inspired by the kola nut”.

“We wanted to create a modern hub for consumers to share social and immersive experiences that were anchored in the exploration of our cola’s artisanal craft and flavour,” Seth Kaufman, chief marketing officer, PepsiCo North America Beverages, said in a press statement.

“The Kola House represents a new space for us to support our consumer-first approach to drive authenticity and innovation around our beverage offerings and ideals.”

The flagship location will also serve as a transformative event space for pop culture moments in music, art, style, film, sports and more.

Pepsi is leveraging its broad partnership with Live Nation to help build a special music series, Live at the Kola House, which will serve as tent pole moments throughout its year-long programming.

Branching into hospitality The company’s move into hospitality comes on the back of a reported 5% decline in net revenue and a 10% decline in operating profit, according to its Q3 financials released last year.

Commenting on the brand’s experimental foray into hospitality, Nick Foley, president for SE Asia Pacific and Japan at Landor Associates, said: “It’s fresh and vibrant. Quite different to what we’ve come to expect from Pepsi. As to how relevant it is to the brand’s target audience remains to be seen. Certainly, I don’t believe it will damage the brand.”

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Drink up: Pepsi is hoping its new bar will see consumers share social and immersive experiences.

bottom line depends on how much consumers are prepared to pay for the Kola House experience.

This is a classic premiumisation strategy from Pepsi. If they get the offer right, and generate sustainable levels of patronage to the venue, then it could create profitable streams of income for a brand in its maturity.

Mahesh Neelakantan, founder and CEO of Newton, agreed with Foley’s view.

“I think it’s amazing that a global brand like Pepsi is venturing into this space – they have already made the headlines and are grabbing a lot of attention especially from marketers and the media.

“I am equally happy to hear that this isn’t just a pop-up store and is here to stay.

“I am sure Kola House will allow them to engage consumers directly, co-create concepts and marketing programmes with them, test NPD initiatives and reward the participating consumers with experiences that will be unique and bespoke.”

He hopes the initiative will trigger a lot of similar initiatives by other brands.

“Keeping the brand experience central is a way to tell a multi-dimensional story. Not only that, every offline interaction will be beamed online via the consumer’s social spaces – which in turn will attract more interest and engagement.”

Neelakantan said the Kola House initiative was similar to companies investing in R&D and design labs, in addition to its self-designed offline to online experiences and engagement.

Though it’s uncertain if the move could translate into immediate sales impacting the bottom line – it will definitely help the brand pump up its equity and brand love, impacting its bottom line in the long run.

“While it may not directly translate to sales I believe this will heap returns in many more ways directly impacting the brand imagery and connection with its core audience.”

He added this move could open up various possibilities and create trends in food pairing or rituals in beverage consumption.

This will ultimately drive brand stories which will definitely resonate with the youth.

“This is exactly what Pepsi intends to do to connect with the next generation.”

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MAS’ REBRANDING IN LIMBO: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CLIENTS CHANGE THEIR MINDS? With Malaysia Airlines’ rebranding now on the back-burner, is the airline losing credibility within its partner ecosystem? Rezwana Manjur finds out.

Grounded: Malaysia Airlines’ rebranding exercise has come to a grinding halt.

According to Malaysia’s state investment firm Khazanah Nasional, the much awaited rebranding of Malaysia Airlines may not actually happen – at least not in the near future.

In an article on the Malaysian Insider, Khazanah’s managing director Tan Sri Datuk Azman Mokhtar was quoted as saying the airline had to fix its basics and have a strong foundation before launching a rebranding exercise.

“To be honest, I do not feel [the rebranding exercise] is important now and also it is not a priority,” he was quoted saying.

A+M has reached out to MAS for confirmation and more details on the decision.

The quote comes in direct contradiction to several articles published in both the local and global press. Branding alone, was a topic several high ranking executives in the company – from former CMO Dean Dacko to newly appointed CEO Christoph Mueller – spoke about.

The statement also comes after months of pitching conducted by the airline for a new branding and advertising partner. The highprofiled pitch drew the attention of the 4As in Malaysia which asked MAS to pay a pitch fee.

The branding pitch alone saw big network agencies from Singapore and Malaysia take part. Ultimately, following months of speculation, branding agency Prophet bagged branding duties, while M&C Saatchi took on the contract as its main master creative agency.

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branding lead involved in the pitch expressed disappointment on the matter saying that a number of agencies had put in substantial efforts and MAS had in fact demanded a significant amount of work to be done from the agencies during the rounds of pitching.

While some may argue that a name change or a logo redesign is an expensive feat for the airline to undertake at this point, he countered it by saying rebranding is never just about a name change, it is more to do with finding the airline’s spirit, identity and an overarching idea.

While the discussion for the name change was brought up during the pitching session, his team was against the idea, he said.

“But nonetheless, we were too deep into the pitching process to pull out. The worst thing they could do is change a name because it automatically seems like they are hiding something. MAS never needed a name change.”

He added that at a time when the airline should be working to build its trust with consumers and the industry, this move doesn’t help build credibility in its partner ecosystem.

A case of broken trust?

Darren Woolley, founder and global CEO of TrinityP3, however, thinks an isolated situation such as this will not damage the reputation of the brand anymore significantly than it already is.

Client marketers do from time to time launch a pitch that is not completed. In Singapore, under

anonymity, several agencies have told A+M that government agencies such as HPB, HDB and NCPG have garnered such a reputation.

“This is usually when the marketing team races to the market place in a knee-jerk reaction and without a clear, concise and agreed procurement strategy and plan,” Woolley said.

He adds the danger for brands which make this mistake regularly, however, is the market becomes suspicious. While you will find agencies that will want to pitch, the quality and calibre of the agencies declines as more reputable agencies make the decision to not waste their time.

“The bigger impact is on the professional reputation of the marketing lead. While sometimes the failure to achieve an outcome may not be their fault directly, they are tarred with the poor reputation,” he said.

Paul Davies, managing partner of Roth Observatory International, was of the view that should after a pitch, the client choose to terminate their contract with the agency after appointing them, it would definitely damage their reputation in the marketing industry.

“I suspect it would make the marketing industry be a little sceptical on future initiatives by the brand where they look for agency support.

It also shows a level of internal disarray or disconnect which does not bode well as they try and turn around MAS,” Davies said.

Compensation for terminated contracts?

Moreover, should a client choose to terminate a contract with the agency after appointing them because of internal reasons, both Davies and Woolley say compensation is necessary.

But Davies adds for large organisations, pitches can take a long time to complete and by the time the agency is appointed the market situation can have changed substantially.

“We also need to appreciate clients also put a significant amount of time and effort into a pitch – even when using a search and selection consultant. So it is not a decision they make lightly and if a decision is to stop or not appoint an agency is made, it is more often than not for very good reasons,” he said.

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THE FORMULA BEHIND WINNING NEW BUSINESS You want to impress a client? Here are some key truths about getting their attention.

But if it doesn’t help sell a product, it makes the innovation futile for the marketer.”

However, clients acknowledge they are equally guilty as they try to adopt a “test and learn approach”, but blame the agency when the initiative fails. It’s a learning curve for both parties and understanding the intention behind the requested innovation can help in closing the gaps.

Make a list: There are a number of things clients look for when choosing an agency.

In times of growing fragmentation of agencies, shrinking budgets and less reliance on AORs, it’s making it tough for clients to choose their agency partners. Furthermore, there is often a disconnect on what clients want and what agencies think clients want.

In the Agency Scope study conducted by R3, where the top 300 CMOs of the region were interviewed to get a perspective on their evolving needs and their views on agencies, it was discovered 26% of clients change agencies because of a “lack of effectiveness” while a “lack of creativity” was second at 21%.

In 2010, less than one-third of clients put importance on effectiveness. Changing times, changing needs.

So what exactly are clients looking for when they run a pitch these days? How do clients choose an agency that works best for them?

Here are some key truths – straight from the horse’s mouth.

Truth No. 1: Agencies don’t ask enough questions Agencies overestimate how much they know about the client brief and business and fail to use the opportunity to ask clients more questions about the business objectives and plans. Second-guessing the client is one of the biggest pitfalls that can cause the agency to lose at the pitch, or even an existing client.

Gaurav Gupta, marketing director for ASEAN at Kimberly-Clark, advises agencies to: “Talk more. Simply ask the right questions.”

Truth No. 2: Doing work that is right Clients don’t always know what they want. They WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

may only think they do. The onus lies on the agency to present work that is right – right by the consumer, right for the business and right for the brand.

“If I had to choose between award-winning work versus effective work I will use effective work. Every time,” says Charmaine Wong, marketing consultant at Pizza Hut Restaurants Asia.

Truth No. 3: It’s never just about the money Phei Yeng Han, procurement category manager for commercial at Fonterra Brands, put it very well when she counselled agencies that “clients are willing to pay if agencies help solve real-life problems”.

Market volatility is a world problem. An agency response which helps address that issue will stand a higher chance at winning the business. Understanding the business challenges is a very critical capability that Fonterra looks for when choosing its agencies.

Truth 4: Innovation is not a buzzword for clients It can be frustrating for agencies when clients demand innovation, but upon sharing the ideas they are accused of “pushing it too far”.

Advice from marketers is that clients truly desire innovation, but it must be innovation within the context of the business and the brand and not “innovation for innovation sake”.

Ideas need to be pitched correctly – is it a brand-building idea or a business delivery one?

Gupta said: “Digital allows for tracking of various intermediary KPIs, like app downloads for example, which gets agency folks excited.

Truth 5: Chemistry can be gauged at a pitch.

It’s not just a gut instinct. Clients judge chemistry at the pitch based on the attributes below: 1. Can the teams engage the clients with the right discussions and questions?

2. Can the agencies challenge the clients in a way that is constructive?

3. Are the agency team members order takers or thinkers? This is judged in Q&A sessions as well as in response to the pitch challenge.

4. Did the agency demonstrate a passion for the business?

Truth 6: Case studies should be positioned strategically Clients review case study submissions based on the criteria below: 1. Distance between the case study and team, that is, if work is done out of New York and showcased in a Singapore pitch, it would carry little or no value for clients.

2. Similar industry or target audience, that is, examples of work from a similar category or similar target audience is appreciated, for example, a telco who wants to sell more pre-paid cards will like to see a case on youth engagement from an unrelated category.

3. Team behind the work. If the case study was done by at least one of the team members present in the pitch meeting, it carries a lot of weight.

Final piece of advice – move beyond transactions and engage the clients in a strategic business conversation. That is sure to get their attention.

The writer is Seema Punwani, a principal consultant with R3.

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NOREEN ISMAIL INVESTIGATES THE EVOLUTION OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS AS INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS WEIGH IN ON WHAT THE PRACTICE MAY LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE.

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Corporate affairs, as a practice, currently stands smack-dab in the middle of a technological and paradigm shift. While the way it has been defined and practised has taken shape to evolve and adapt to new technologies, corporate affairs departments work differently across various sectors to reach a similar end goal: communicating a message effectively to the right audience.

In today’s open-source and always-on world, communications is a skill that has taken centre stage. The practice of corporate affairs holds the main responsibility for everything related to internal and external communications, government relations, PR and public policy; now corporate affairs includes an added challenge of relaying those messages in various channels to accommodate the business’ inevitable leap into digital.

The evolution of corporate affairs Christopher Samuel, director of corporate engagement for Monsanto, Asia Pacific, explains the three significant changes taking place in the realm of corporate affairs: 1. The traditional model of stakeholder engagement is dead.

Historically, commercial and corporate affairs leadership put their organisations (self) at the centre of the ecosystem, and mapped and engaged stakeholders with themselves at the centre. The reality is the citizen/customer/consumer is at centre of a large ecosystem consisting of several organisations and stakeholders.

Commercial and corporate affairs leadership need to humbly acknowledge their organisation’s position within this larger ecosystem and engage in relation to it.

2. Realigned thinking based on five core areas.

Corporate affairs leaders need to think and act critically on five core areas: Purpose (of the organisation on the planet), policy, products/services, partnerships, people leadership and development. According to Samuel, the most successful corporate affairs professionals seem to be the ones able to think and act critically on these five core areas.

3. Organisational rejig The execs leading talent and human resources should be tasked to ensure each member of their teams are the right culture fit for the organisation. Hires should be highly engaged and demonstrate agility and high performance in a rapidly evolving

cultural, commercial and communications context.

Are all corporate affairs roles created equal?

As the role of corporate affairs changes, so too the expectation of it. The tasks of a corporate affairs team differ depending on the organisational needs of the company, as well as the extent of its interaction with the government.

At agrochemical company Monsanto, it is organised into corporate engagement (CE) and government affairs (GA) teams.

Its team in Asia Pacific leads the combined responsibilities while focusing on “engaging and energising a diverse set of stakeholders on the needs, challenges and broad range of solutions farmers need to nourish our growing planet sustainably”.

The Asia Pacific team facilitates a diverse cross-functional role focused on engaging employees, external stakeholders and society on the “needs, challenges and broad range of solutions farmers need to nourish our growing planet sustainably; and opportunities in the areas of policy, regulation, sustainability, communications and community partnership”.

collaboration with functions such as legal and finance (for government affairs), marketing and sales (for brand, customer and digital PR), supply chain (for market expansion and sustainability initiatives), human resource (for internal communication) as well as directly with the CEO to build external reputation and a strong employer brand.

Meanwhile, for public transport operator SMRT Corporation, its corporate affairs team sits as part of the corporate marketing and communications department. This department is the larger group under which there are five teams including corporate affairs. The other four teams include new media, internal communications, media and marketing communications and community engagement and CSR. At SMRT Corporation, the corporate affairs team comprises a leader along with three members; the team works closely with two members from the finance department who help with investor relations and communications.

While corporate marketing and communications mainly deal with corporate communications, the company has a separate set-up that deals exclusively with

“There is rarely an aspect of business that CA does not impact – from building brands to corporate reputation to enabling entry/expansion into markets to preventing business disruption.”

Shweta Shukla – director of communications and government affairs – Asia Pacific, Kimberly-Clark

As for consumer packaged goods company Kimberly-Clark, its corporate affairs team in its APAC headquarters in Singapore is a two-member team, including Shweta Shukla, director of communications and government affairs – Asia Pacific.

However, in smaller markets where the company does not have a dedicated corporate affairs team member, any corporate affairs-related matter will be assisted from the headquarters through a “partnership approach”.

“We also ensure we have the right PR agencies such as Edelman, Ogilvy PR, MSL and local partners supporting our teams across key markets,” Shukla says.

The corporate affairs team works closely with other departments within the company.

“There is rarely an aspect of business that CA does not impact – from building brands to corporate reputation to enabling entry/ expansion into markets to preventing business disruption,” she says.

Hence, her team works in close

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the government. Colin Lim, vice-president for strategic relations, leads the entity that is tasked with government relations. Principally, SMRT’s corporate affairs team handles investor relations and communications: the team has always been tasked with putting together the company’s annual report.

However, with SGX’s new requirement for companies to produce sustainability reports by 2018, the corporate affairs team will now also manage this report, and prepare the company to take on the larger responsibility of producing integrated reports in the near future, said Patrick Nathan, vice-president for corporate information and communications at SMRT Corporation.

Government relations Monsanto works with the government via its industry association (CropLife Asia), and industry chambers (for example, US-ASEAN Business Council) to ensure farmers across Asia Pacific have access to cutting-edge technology solutions to meet their country’s WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

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A helping hand: Kimberly-Clark often partners with governments to help out with their CSR programmes.

“As the world seeks more transparency from organisations on their role and performance on the planet, best-in-class corporate affairs will bring even more insights and ideas in the areas of purpose, policy, products, partnerships while radically evolving people engagement and development.”

Christopher Samuel, director - corporate engagement, Monsanto, Asia Pacific

food and nutrition security and sustainability goals.

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exchanged learnings and experiences from across Asia Pacific and other agriculturefocused nations worldwide on agriculture investment policy and technology regulation.

According to Samuel, this was set up as a platform for nations in Asia Pacific to evolve into “globally comparable farmer-focused sciencebased agriculture regulatory systems”.

Meanwhile, Kimberly-Clark has partnered with governments in several ways to help build its business and brands.

It has launched corporate social responsibility programmes to help a nation’s agenda. For example, in keeping with Korea’s reforestation and environment priorities, Kimberly-Clark has been leading a threedecade programme called “Keep Korea Green” in which employees and consumers have together planted 50 million trees.

The company also recently expanded its global sanitation programme, “Toilets Change Lives”, in India to support and leverage the government’s “Clean India Campaign”. KimberlyClark is partnering with non-governmental organisations to build and repair school toilets as well as with social entrepreneurs to create sustainable sanitation solutions.

In Singapore, given the government’s impetus on digital innovation, Kimberly-Clark is collaborating with the Economic Development Board by sharing and showcasing its own global digital capabilities.

This is to explore the potential of local startups to take the company’s digital capabilities to the next level.

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In addition, the company’s “Touch of White Angels Programme”, in partnership with the China Women’s Development Foundation, trains nurses and health workers across hospitals in urban and rural China on infant and child care.

Kimberly-Clark also works with governments to establish standards for the country’s practices. For example, the Vietnam Institute of Standards approached KimberlyClark to help set standards for manufacturing quality diapers and sanitary napkins, driven by the market leadership and consumer trust Huggies and Kotex have earned in the market.

Future of corporate affairs So where is corporate affairs headed? As the world seeks more transparency from organisations on their role and performance on the planet, Monsanto’s Samuel foresees the opportunity for best-in-class corporate affairs to bring even more insights and ideas in the areas of purpose, policy, products, partnerships, while radically evolving people engagement and development.

Some challenges to navigate are in the areas of insights, strategy, ideas, creativity, ROI, evolutionary environments, volatility, ambiguity and people’s passions, given these are areas in which corporate affairs operate.

Moving forward, the practice’s uniqueness is its ability to attract talent historically groomed in other functions to get comfortable straddling various functional areas.

SMRT’s Nathan explains that corporate affairs within the organisation will still be dealing with corporate branding, however, the advent of social media has necessitated a new media team within corporate marketing and communications department.

“While we used to have a separate social media team, it has merged to be under the responsibility of the head of corporate marketing and communications group to make sure the branding and image positioning of the company is consistent across all media assets and platforms, and that the brand is carefully managed at all times.”

One of the challenges of corporate marketing and communications for a national operator such as SMRT is speed of its communication.

“The speed to adapt to new communications channels is crucial, the proliferation of platforms such as blogs and forums translates to the need to positively profile our organisation proactively instead of reactively.

“The team has to have its finger on the pulse constantly, making media monitoring even more critical than ever before," Nathan said.

Meanwhile, looking ahead, Shukla predicts three broad themes emerging for corporate

A step in the right direction: Monsanto works with governments to ensure farmers have access to cutting-edge technology.

affairs in the next five years: a blurring of lines cross-functionally, leading sustainability efforts and having measurable impact.

With restructuring becoming a norm in organisations, CA will need to be more adaptive and work seamlessly cross-functionally, while continuing to maintain and sharpening its functional edge. Second, as sustainability becomes both a government and business

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imperative, corporate affairs can take the lead in helping their organisations “talk” the walk among stakeholders and leverage it for business advantage. Last, corporate affairs can harness its full potential by leading projects that directly impact the top and bottom lines such as through brand PR or leveraging government policies that have maximum business impact for the company.

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CORPORATE AFFAIRS: WHAT IS ITS FUTURE? Both public affairs and public policy will continue to be critical functions within the communications set-up of companies.

Dealing with greater public scrutiny is a sign of the times so obviously firms need to find the right balance between being discreet in the pursuit of their business objectives, with regard to dealing with government and influencing policy, and being transparent with their public in general on the other hand, so these initiatives are perceived in a positive way. Companies that do find this balance will be the ones that will succeed business wise and enjoy the benefits of a good reputation.

Tarun Deo – managing director, SEA and Singapore, Golin Singapore

With several macro trends (such as the dispersion of trust, and democratisation of information) underpinning shifts in the global business environment, there is an increased need for corporate affairs practitioners to integrate and partner closely with the business (CEOs and senior leadership) to help steer and navigate government and regulatory changes, the changing media and social landscape, as well as a more vocal and activist public. Corporate affairs will need to deftly orchestrate and juggle a three-prong remit of “evolve-promote-protect”, acting as the change agent to ensure the organisation adapts and leads market expectations, forms the right alliances and partnerships, connects with key stakeholders and audiences, while upholding the organisation’s corporate conscience.

Evelyn Yeo – director, corporate and government affairs, Edelman Singapore

In my opinion, corporate affairs should be about influencing and shaping political, regulatory environments and overall stakeholder relations. From that perspective, 2016 will be a very interesting year. Trade will be heavily influenced by the start of the AEC, the new Trans-Pacific Partnership and the opening of markets such as Myanmar. At the same time many industries are seeing change in the way governments deal with them – for example, telcos and communications (and the merger of IDA and MDA in Singapore); how Fintech is forcing regulations to adapt; old industry lobbying groups fighting against incumbents (for example, hotel chains versus Airbnb; taxi firms versus Uber or GrabTaxi). Many of these “battles” are still wide open and it will depend on how fast companies can respond to and influence these changes that are upon us.

Lars Voedisch – principal consultant, managing director, PRecious Communications

“Uberization” of the economy and the speed of consumer adoption have changed the way business is conducted in today’s society, impacting security and transparency. Government agencies need to be aware of these and keep up with the digital transformation. They need to adopt a bottom-up approach, listen to the various sectors’ views and take these views and opinions into account when developing their policies. The top-down approach will not work in today’s fast-changing and connected world. Corporate affairs in the next five years will involve a more consultative approach. Engaging stakeholders to garner buy-ins and acceptance will be key.

Yu Poh Leng – senior vice-president, GM, Ruder Finn Asia

Corporate affairs will continue to become even more important over the next five years as consumers, customers and other stakeholders continue to demand increased transparency and accountability from companies and organisations. This means organisations need to get on the front foot to communicate who they are and what they stand for, particularly as they look to grow or evolve across all channels and in a way that’s engaging for all audiences. The way people are consuming information is also continuing to change. Attention spans are shortening, the desire to read information is decreasing and people are always “on”. Companies and organisations need to manage this. Communication needs to be shorter, more concise and visually standout if you want people to pay attention and engage with your content. And this all needs to happen in a way that still tells a good story.

Lily Carlyon – senior director, Baldwin Boyle Group

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We were back with the third edition of our highly popular PR Asia conference this year to explore various topics ranging from PR talent to client and agency relationships within the industry.

With keynote presentations and panel discussions involving industry heavyweights, we covered case studies on a wide variety of issues, providing insights on key areas such as building public confidence after a crisis and turning PR into a data-driven discipline. Here’s a summary of what was discussed. For more content from the event log onto www.marketing-interactive.com.

WILL PR PROFESSIONALS EVER BECOME CEOS? An effective CEO is widely accepted to be one who is able to tell a great story. While it is crucial to know business objectives and the numbers behind them, a CEO is expected to have superior communications skills that cut across an organisation’s various departments.

Given the importance of such a skill, why aren’t more PR professionals making the leap to the CEO seat? With data and tech dominating businesses, does being a

brilliant communicator take precedence in the boardroom?

During a panel at A+M’s PR Asia 2015 conference, moderated by Stuart Pallister, director of corporate communications at the NUS Business School, PR and marketing professionals agreed that while it takes a broad range of skills to qualify for the CEO role, a successful lead has to be able to put across a story in under three minutes.

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Chris Reed, global CEO and founder of Black Marketing, said that for any CEO dealing with a crisis, it’s a matter of style over substance when it comes to news delivery. Emma Dale, co-founder and managing director (Asia) at Prospect, cited the example of Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, who is communication savvy on top of being business-focused.

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a business enables him to “sell the corporate story to a given audience”.

Eva Sogbanmu, director of external communications for Asia Pacific at JLL, agreed with this view, highlighting that PR professionals who aspire to the top role need to get a grip with spreadsheets and business issues.

“If more PR folks get the numbers right and learn to measure results in terms of data and impact, it would pave the way for us to get to the top echelons of the company,” she said.

For PR professionals, however, the route to the top is not necessarily a direct one.

Does PR stand a solid chance?

To get noticed by the board, it is crucial for PR professionals to build their personal brand within the organisation and outside.

“You must be known by the executive team and people of other teams. No one is going to experience your skill set unless you’re making yourself visible,” Dale said.

In addition, experiencing and immersing oneself in other aspects of the business is absolutely crucial for PR folks to gain an understanding of the intricacies of the organisation.

A good place to start would be spending time with different department heads to get a bird’s-eye view of various structures and processes.

Sogbanmu said: “One of the advantages of being in corp comms is being able to find face time with top level management.”

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trusted advisor, easing the potential leap to the boardroom. Verdayne Nunis, director of communications and commercial business at Microsoft, said it was equally important for PR folks to enhance their visibility beyond just people within the organisation. Aside from spending a lot of time building the CEO’s profile, a comms person needs to influence everybody else that has a seat in the boardroom by continuing to bring insights to the table.

Nunis said: “There is no comprehensive way of measuring PR so you need to communicate that to the C-suite and show how you add value in different ways.”

Because the PR role automatically entails professional exposure for an individual, building an influential network is key to expanding one’s breadth and depth of expertise. This, according to Nunis, helps a brand effectively communicate to a wide range of audience – a business goal of any organisation.

Thus, in theory, with enhanced visibility and broad exposure, PR professionals make the perfect candidate for a top seat in the boardroom.

The case for PR in the boardroom More than ever now, earning a seat in the boardroom has become a crucial move for PR professionals who are eager to create an impact for their company.

With reputation contributing to more than 25% of a company’s market value, reputation risk tops the ranks as the most strategic risk that a company may face in the digital age.

With a slew of potential problems such as cyber security and intellectual property newly posed by the advent of technology, companies

now face the greater struggle of overcoming technological challenges that are impacting their businesses. Add to that, consumers are leapfrogging straight to mobile. As such, CEOs are also going into the social space to communicate with consumers right where they are, and in the process, equipping themselves with the necessary social media skills.

Roger Pua, senior director of corporate communications at LinkedIn Asia Pacific, agreed with this finding. According to him, CEO sociability is at an all-time high with 80% of CEOs now engaging in social media as compared with 36% in 2010.

And because CEOs are undoubtedly the face of the company, they are responsible for enhancing a brand or company’s image via social mediums. Taking this into consideration, Pua predicted that linking business strategy with communications will become one of the key issues for communicators in APAC in the next three years.

As such, given the added roles that senior leadership now plays in the internet era, communications professionals are the ones best suited to not only guide, but also lead a company’s communications on the digital front.

So what’s holding them back?

When asked what PR is not doing right to get the top role, Dale said that there’s not much that’s holding the industry back.

“Ambitious people who want the CEO role will work towards that. Now is the best time to get it because our role has evolved to that of a business communicator.”

Nunis also pointed out the need to “champion for the PR community” when discussing candidates for the top seat.

“We need to raise our visibility and show the kind of impact that we have.” One way is to encourage and advocate the use of PR work as part of the C-suite’s conversation so that PR becomes part of the boardroom vernacular on a regular basis.

On the other hand, Sogbanmu stressed that while there are a lot of ambitious PR folks, some are simply used to being in the background advisory role.

“We are used to coaching people at the back, so the thought of stepping out of your comfort zone is a huge deal. The CEO role and the level of exposure expected of you is not necessarily a comfortable place to be for PR professionals.”

Because PR folks are most familiar of the pitfalls of being the face of the company, some may choose to remain in the advisory role.

Dale added a comms director role is a great job, with most PR folks genuinely enjoying being in the background. As such, only a minority would gun for the top spot in the first place.

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Who owns social media? Marketing or communications? Or neither or both?

Ultimately, consumers today are getting information from multiple channels across advertising, editorial, events, social media, word of mouth, franchise networks, units in operation, movies, TV or even direct mail. And the purchase pattern by no means is linear.

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO INTEGRATE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS? Five years into the future, the integration of PR into the marketing function will no longer be a problem because all marketers, and C-level executives, will see the importance of it.

But today, that is still not the case.

“Integration is still relatively rare in the corporate and non-profit sector. That is the journey we are on as PR persons or marketing persons of the future,” said Simon Sproule, director of global marketing and communications at Aston Martin Lagonda, who was speaking at A+M’s PR Asia 2015 conference.

Specifically in the luxury business, integration needs to happen even more quickly because of the thin line between marketing and PR. At Aston Martin, the 102-year-old brand takes its inspiration from the Japanese word omotenashi; which is a Japanese art of hospitality, personal touch and providing unique products.

All of these aspects tie in both the worlds of PR and marketing.

“People who order Aston Martins do

so without a standard list of car parts of offerings. They want product personalisation – which is very important. The luxury segment is much more about experiences then product.

Yet, it still has to be very much about the brand,” he said.

This is where the business of integration becomes a necessity.

“You look at the categorisation of activities we conduct at Aston Martin and you have to ask: Does this conveniently sit with either marketing or PR?” he said.

Take for example the movie Goldfinger with Sean Connery in an Aston Martin – is that marketing or PR? How about motor shows where journalists are invited – is it earned, shared or paid media if someone from the organisation (be it PR or marketing) sits with a journalist and inspires some story ideas which get written about?

Moreover, the ownership of social media breaks down the silos of marketing and PR even further, he added.

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What is holding this integration back?

According to Sproule traditional organisation structures lead to turf battles and many companies today are still too focused on the process and channel rather than the brand story or narrative.

“Marketing and PR leaders also still do not want to report to the ‘other side’ and don’t see the value of integration beyond personal loss or gain.

“They are still each trying to ‘own’ social media where really it should be a coming of the two together.

“Social media is not pure marketing or PR play. In fact, it is a wonderful way to get marketing and PR together to carve out shared objectives, business planning with various social media engagements.”

Those coming out of business schools are also not well equipped as these schools often separate PR and marketing courses. And lastly, the obsessions over budgets still persist with each trying to grab a bigger share of the pie.

Overcoming the challenges Sproule suggests that to overcome these hurdles, CEO support is vital.

Without CEO support, integration is almost impossible to implement. You also need a designated lead for the marcoms function with clear marcom KPIs that are validated by CEO. However, specialisation should not be forgotten as the two functions come together.

When integrating, it is important to remember that you can have different people handling different areas, but ultimately the brand consistency, especially in the luxury segment, needs to remain. Nuances in emerging markets can happen, but should not overpower the grand brand story.

Sproule also added that, of course, in this process of integration, companies will lose some of the team members on the journey. But at the end of the day, it is important to keep your eye on the prize as it’s a great brand story that will lead to any successful organisation.

“The best story will win be it coming from marketing or PR. And a comms strategy should be based on the narrative and how you tell that story – that is the main part of a comms strategy. So given the world we are in now, why won’t you integrate?”

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FIVE WAYS CSR CAN IMPACT YOUR BUSINESS brand is just as important: “Do customers end up trusting and loving the brand more after the CSR? Did brand perception change in any way?”

She explained that the purchase intent of the consumer before and after the CSR initiative is a measurable pursuit and that for companies such as KC, it has become a standard practice for its market research teams.

Similarly, she advised other companies to conduct such standard practices if they wanted to truly gauge the efficacy and effectiveness of their CSR efforts.

The link between a company’s strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) is inevitably tied to its brand perception.

Speaking at A+M’s PR Asia 2015 conference, Shweta Shukla, director of communications and government affairs for Asia Pacific at Kimberly-Clark (KC), presented a case study on how a company can go beyond corporate green-washing to implement truly effective CSR policies that enhance corporate reputations.

For KC, it partnered with various NGOs to increase local participation for its CSR initiatives. This helped to forge a new, profitable and more sustainable business future for both KC and the communities that it has adopted as part of its CSR drive.

Here are the five tangible ways CSR can impact your business.

1. BUILD THE TOP-LINE FOR PARTICIPATING BRANDS Focusing on an impact is important to CSR goals in order for them to be effective and aligned with business objectives. First, KC worked with various social entrepreneurs to create an impactful CSR initiative at the local as well as national levels.

Second, Shukla advised there be a systematic metric for measuring “hard core incremental sales” during the period of the CSR campaign that’s been launched. For example, companies can tie up with partnering retailers for their brands such as Watsons, NTUC, Cold Storage, and engage in market research to measure the total sales for the participating brand during the active period of the CSR campaign in question. Any increased sales during that period can be attributed to the topline and the CSR initiative, she said.

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2. CREATE A COMPETITIVE EDGE WITH CUSTOMERS Shukla advised that having strong ethics and CSR policies would also make an effective brand differentiation. According to a Nielsen study, 53% of consumers prefer to buy brands that are making a difference to a relevant cause.

Naturally, with enhanced brand perception, a well-publicised and impactful CSR campaign can help to further propel a brand’s name among its competitors.

Shukla cited the effect of its CSR campaign “Keep Korea Green Campaign” that has led to KC’s strong corporate reputation in the country.

“We are ranked among the other bigwigs, such as Samsung, for over 11 years in Korea.

That’s a track record we attribute to our CSR drive,” she said.

In Singapore, it launched a “Kleenex-look after our forests” campaign to educate the consumer about responsible forestry during the haze crisis. For this, Shukla pointed out that it was a cause that intersected with its corporate business interest as it helped to drive support and sales for the brand.

For a successful CSR cause, the campaign must be commercialised across all touchpoints and include a social media campaign, TV roll-outs and plenty of point-of-sales materials to drive sales.

3. FACILITATE MARKET ENTRY/ EXPANSION Building an effective CSR programme gives a brand a competitive edge with key partners and consumers. Because many customers have their own agenda and CSR priorities, brands must ensure their CSR efforts align with these values in order to drive footfall and support for the brand.

Consequently, CSR can help facilitate entry into a new market before a company decides

to set up. For example, a CSR initiative requires interactions with the government, communities and stakeholders before its launch. This first impression is crucial in setting up a successful launch pad for future business opportunities and can help aid the brand’s debut in the market. This is especially true for emerging markets, said Shukla, where competitor brands flood the market while consumers are still learning about the brands they can trust.

Thus, CSR can build the right reputation and trust for a smooth entry into a new market.

Likewise, these efforts also help for market expansion goals in the brand’s existing markets.

4. CAN ATTRACT AND RETAIN TALENT As more consumers want to align their purchase intent with socially responsible companies, so too employees who want to be associated with a company that helps resolve social issues.

Over 69% of employees choose to work for companies that are socially responsible, according to a Nielsen report. Not surprisingly, a strong CSR reputation can attract and retain talent for a company.

When asked how and why KC engages its employees in CSR campaigns, Shukla said that such an engagement helps to ensure the campaigns’ sustainability while helping increase retention rate among its employees.

For example, its CSR initiative to promote sanitation in India managed to galvanise employee advocates from its offices in Chicago to Bangladesh. These employees continue to be a part of a capabilities building team that partners with a local NGO in Swadha, India where the CSR drive still runs.

In Korea, its CSR campaign was initiated more broadly at the corporate level, with KC visibility ensured on pack and via corporate advertising to increase brand and corporate pride among its employees who participated in the campaign.

“Our ‘Keep Korea Green’ campaign was completely employee-driven; our employees wait for that time of the year to plant trees with their colleagues. Increasing employee engagement in our CSR programmes is important; we continuously look for ways to include that and how we can keep building that through every programme.”

5. CREATE A SAFETY NET DURING A CRISIS Having a solid CSR approach can be a great safety net for when issues and crises arise.

However, “You have to talk the talk and walk the CSR walk for this to actually work,” she said.

A company that is known to be proactive in social causes has built its reputation positively, and this can act as a buffer for when a PR crisis strikes.

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The practice of B2B sales and marketing is evolving at a rapid pace.

Digital technologies have transformed how business buyers access information and interact with vendors in many ways. How can B2B professionals create meaningful engagement with the new generation of business buyers? How can they adapt their strategies and tactics to effectively connect with these evolved buyers?

All this was discussed at the second annual B2B Asia – the ultimate forum for B2B professionals to explore challenges and opportunities within the industry. Here is what was discussed.

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FOUR TIPS TO SUCCEED AS A B2B MARKETER Business to business (B2B) marketing is all about delivering value to the customers.

Here are the edges you can sharpen to deliver value and achieve success in B2B marketing.

NO.1 INSIGHTS – KNOW THY MARKET, CUSTOMER AND COMPETITION: All marketing starts first with customer knowledge and market insights. Successful B2B marketers invest time to understand the industry dynamics and the way the value chain is arranged for the particular prospect that they are targeting. This important first step is sometimes fast-tracked in on-boarding which eventually results in weaker marketing impact.

Once the industry and organisational knowledge is acquired, then the buying

process of the decision-making unit should be mapped clearly. The ability to understand the customer’s specific challenges and needs will help to develop special propositions that deliver great value. Great B2B marketers have genuine curiosity about understanding the competitive offering and the value it delivers to customers – and only then can they create differentiation.

NO.2 BENEFITS – DON’T JUST FOCUS ON PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE – THINK ABOUT PRODUCT BENEFITS Product knowledge is a given in B2B marketing; however, great B2B marketers develop their understanding that goes beyond product specifications and features – they understand the key benefits the product or service delivers.

Often it is seen that product knowledge and training is built around the technical aspects only. Extra effort is required to link customer insights to real value and benefits sought. This is a key step to move the focus of marketing from internal to external.

NO.3 ADVOCACY – BE THE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER IN THE ORGANISATION: B2B marketers should be the voice of the customer in the organisation. Having key insights about customers and the benefits sought, marketers need to play a key role to shape the product development and delivery of end-to-end value with various partners such as the product and technology teams.

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In the absence of this, most internal discussions get centred on price and, hence, limit the value that can be delivered.

NO.4 ALLIANCES – WALK IN THE SHOES OF YOUR SALES PARTNERS. Successful B2B marketers invest the time to build sales alliances and regularly go out in the field with them. This helps to: • Outline what kind of sales tools and materials are required. Hence, the output the marketing team develops is valued by the sales team and helps the customer understand the benefits.

• Provide a good understanding of the gaps the sales team may have in competencies and help to develop training content to fill them.

• Capture competitive intelligence, as often sales teams enjoy a great relationship with the buying units. Spending time with them gives the marketer first-hand knowledge which generally does not come from looking at databases in the office.

As you embark upon your B2B marketing journey or re-calibrate your existing one, think regularly about how you and your team will deliver value to the customer and leverage the organisational chain – after all, it really is about value.

The writer is Amjad Shahabuddin, global marketing manager – Aviation Lubricants, Shell Eastern Petroleum Pte Ltd Singapore

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B2B MARKETERS, WHO’S REALLY STEALING YOUR TALENT?

Ask any marketer what they struggle with and talent is sure to crop up in that conversation.

As the wave of digital marketing takes over, the old ways of marketing and its rule book are quickly being tossed out the window.

And the problem seems to have hit the B2B industry harder. A new dawn in marketing requires new skill sets. This was at the heart of a panel discussion during the one-day B2B Asia conference held recently.

“The world is changing with digital and today we are in need of capabilities we haven’t needed or thought of before. To stay ahead, we must evolve. This means what we used to do or do right now, might be very different from what we want to do in the future. So the entire skill set is changing and that is my challenge in finding talent,” said Takashi Tokunaga, regional B2B marketing manager for Asia Pacific and Japan of Intel Technology Asia.

Agreeing with him was Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice-president of South and SEA at Canon, who added that along with attracting talent, B2B also has an issue of retaining talent.

“The issue of retention is as much an issue as attraction – given that B2B is not that glamorous as an industry. You can look at the top 100 valuations and you will not see too many B2B companies,” he said.

Today the biggest competitor to the B2B talent market are the Ubers and the AirBnbs of the world.

He added that big established companies today compete for young talent simply because what used to gravitate talent to the industry has

changed. Millennials have an entrepreneurial spirit and require flexibility and both of these requirements are met by the new-age companies.

Today’s start-ups no longer call for graveyard shifts and they know spending long hours is not a criteria to being successful, added Chris Reed, founder of the two-year-old agency Black Marketing. Reed added that people today want work-life balance and companies who can give it to them will attract the gems.

“Of course, a good status and good money is also a priority, but people today also want to feel like entrepreneurs so it is especially vital for smaller B2B players to be interesting and ensure they can teach their staff something more,” Reed said.

Skills needed to do well in the B2B world An oft-asked question is: if you are a B2C marketer, would it be hard for you to survive in the B2B world? The answer is no.

“It is all about transferable skills and how you network, find the right people, create your personal brand and how you communicate yourself,” Reed said.

Tokunaga gave the example of Intel’s very own CMO Steven Fund who joined the team some time ago from Staples.

“Staples and Intel are nowhere close to each other in the kind of product they offer, but he came because of what he had to offer and what he had accomplished in his industry,” Tokunaga said.

He added that at the end of the day it was

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about your skill set and passion, along with acumen in the modern technology era.

“We can impart industry knowledge, but we can’t teach marketers modern marketing because it really hasn’t been done before”.

Key skill differentiators for B2B and B2C Nonetheless, skill sets for B2B and B2C no doubt differ.

Bharadwaj said at Canon, which caters to both B2B and B2C markets, there are some main points of differentiation. B2B marketing is more product-centric, tech-centric and functional in messaging.

However, in B2C it is more emotional, seasonal and rapid in messaging. Thus, the talent has to cater to these personalities of each of these functions.

For example, when Canon looks at the candidates in B2C, it looks at a candidate’s understanding on media, understanding of demographics, segmentation and so on. For B2B, the company looks for those who have a deep understanding of customer engagement, knowledge creation and dissemination, event experience, and so on.

At the end of the day, Bharadwaj said the tenure of talent in companies was shortening and the talent today would no longer be relevant in the future unless upskilled and trained constantly.

“We need to keep honing our skills,” he said, adding that it would be good to remember to ask yourselves every 100 days: “Mirror mirror, on the wall. Where are my blind spots?”

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DOES YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY COVER THE ENTIRE SALES CYCLE? What is perhaps the most basic requirement for B2B to succeed in today’s times, the sales and marketing alignment, is still a far-fetched dream for many brands.

But it’s the responsibility of the marketer to convince top management to move in that direction, said Michelle Toy, head of marketing and communications for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Securities Services, at the recently concluded B2B Asia conference.

Here are some of the main points highlighted by her and other speakers at the conference.

Sales and marketing team alignment Aligning sales and marketing as one team is potentially the biggest opportunity for improving business performance, ROI and business development cycles.

Many brands don’t even have a unified sales and marketing department and that is now essential.

“As marketers you are empowered to propose these changes to the management to improve business performance and show the value marketing brings,” Toy said.

You have to convince the CFO in his/her language, talk about top line sales, ROI, lead generation and if the CFO gets it, you pretty much have a seat at the table.

A marketing strategy throughout the sales cycle At BNP Paribas, marketing is aligned to every stage of the sales cycle. As typical as it is in the finance industry, the sales cycles are long, products are complex and customised, stakeholders are many and buying is a pretty rational decision.

Toy shared the four stages of the cycle and marketing’s role in them.

Desire: On the prospecting side, marketing would come in to see the prospects and this is typically where PR comes in to see what stories can be generated and shared on platforms such as LinkedIn. Focus: This stage is about knowing your segment and your strengths well. There is too much information out there and too much competition for brands. So to differentiate, B2B marketers must know what exactly their focus should be.

BNP Paribas, a year ago, did a rebranding exercise and polled over 200 stakeholders – clients, senior management and influencers – and asked them what the brand was good at, WWW.M A R K ET I N G - I N T ER A C T I V E.C O M

around social or traditional media bring it back to the real relationship-building.

Contribution: This is during the RFP stage where the mandate is given out from the prospects and marketing replies to them. “We do the formatting and make sure things like our data points and the executive summary is up to the mark,” she said, adding that when sales presents it, it can then deliver it like a story.

Winning edge: At this stage when the client is on board, marketing needs to ensure the partnership remains profitable and fruitful.

These deals are costly and therefore, for profitability to kick in a few years after it has been signed, the deal typically needs to be for a long-term period. During this time product and marketing should be involved in building loyalty and co-creating new solutions with the client. where it could improve, what was its perception and so on. From that data, marketing drew five key themes which it now talks about – globally, regionally and locally.

For example, RMB Internationalisation was determined as a key theme for the brand.

As Chinese capital markets open up, Asian institutions either want to expand to China or want access to that market. On the other hand, there are Chinese institutions wanting to expand to Europe or Asia.

“So any sort of RMB initiatives coming out of China is a key focus for us. We will take it up, talk about it in bite-size information and put it out on social media, repurpose it and/or put some research to it and talk about it,” Toy said, explaining how marketers can leverage such developments for their brands.

Relationships: This is both a responsibility of sales and marketing and while relationships no doubt are owned by sales, marketers need to provide the sizzle or the “icing on the cake”.

Events are a good impactful way of bringing it all together – investor conferences or VIP dinners and so on. In the online space, BNP Paribas uses LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter.

“Our customer segment is not big on Twitter, but the media follows us there so it’s an influential channel. LinkedIn connections sit with our sales teams, so we educate them on the content to be shared there,” she said.

The company uses YouTube to host its video assets and actively tracks engagement on the platform. And all the amplifications

Make digital and mobile a part of your marketing plan For BNP Paribas, its marketing strategy is content-led. “We chop and change big reports into smaller nuggets of information and use social media to disseminate it.”

When dealing with content, marketers must create economies of scale, breaking information down into chewable snippets and pushing it out to social media or even trade media.

“We only use paid media after we have seen success on owned media. If we get good engagement levels on the latter, we will think about a paid update to get that breadth in the engagement.”

Mobile is the future for B2B marketers and it should be one of their main goals for next year, Toy said. “To be able to use video on mobile and have an optimised web presence on mobile is critical,” she said.

Improving CRM and analytics And last, but not least, investing in proper CRM and analytics is key. At BNP Paribas, the customer and marketing data is fed through a CRM system which tracks all client accounts, deals and marketing activity. On the analytics side, the goal is to create a dashboard to show what works, what doesn’t, merge it with event management tools and product life cycle management tools to give the teams a fuller picture.

“Essentially, for marketers all this helps in reporting on ROI both quantitatively and qualitatively,” Toy said.

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MAKING B2B PR EFFECTIVE FOR DEMAND GENERATION B2B marketers, do you worry that your pitches are being ignored by journalists?

Getting the attention of journalists is among the top items on the wish lists of highperforming marketers. You want to ensure that you secure more media interviews and all your interviews get published. But do you pursue journalists and they escape you?

Here are five tips to turbocharge your B2B PR: 1. Provide a point of view, not data In this age of content clutter and 24×7 connectivity, information is freely available.

So when journalists approach you for quotes, don’t just stop at providing information. Instead, provide opinions and insights based on data and analyses so they develop topical and relevant stories.

Train your spokespersons to give local examples and references to help them build context and create meaning. A well articulated point of view gets your quote published and helps your brand stand out. A good example of a strong point of view is this post in Aon Hewitt’s Insights@Work blog.

2. Show social proof, increase credibility Invite journalists to attend your client events.

Your participants’ presence and engagement

levels present social proof about the relevance of your topics. This increases the credibility of your message for the journalists. Social proof is the concept that if we conform to the behaviour we see around us, we are less likely to make a mistake.

3. Help them build a complete story Facilitate one-to-one discussions for the journalists with your speakers on the sidelines of the event. Also, offer to facilitate interviews with your clients who are attending the event.

The scribes will thank you for it since this will help them to file comprehensive stories covering all angles (both from the supplier and buyer) making it easier to get them published.

If you present only your spokesperson to the journalist, there is a real risk that your story won’t get published!

4. Produce by-lined articles Editors are always on the lookout for quality content. But they are facing budget cuts with fewer full-time journalists producing content for them. Fill that gap by providing them with bylined articles rich with commercial insights.

Develop a strong understanding of your (and the publications’) audiences and produce by-lined articles addressing their pain points.

Quote data and findings from relevant research.

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If your story consists of only product plugs, it won’t get published. A well written by-lined article can get you the coveted op-ed position increasing visibility of your experts. According to Hinge Marketing, visible experts get invited for pitches and consistently win more business for their firms.

5. Humanise your brand According to the 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in corporate leaders is at an all-time low. CEOs are at the bottom of the list with extremely low trust levels. You can use PR to earn trust by humanising your leadership team. Collaborate with editors to feature them in personality based profile stories.

Readers love authentic stories where they get to know the personal side of a leader.

Anecdotes about their early career struggles, how they overcame them, their passions and even regrets can build a bond with your audiences.

Connection with your leaders will increase trust and differentiate your brand. Columns related to leadership, travel, food and health are ideal platforms for these.

Use these tips to increase the quality of your engagement with editors to secure media interviews and get them published consistently.

By doing that, you will transform your PR into a demand-generation engine that accelerates brand favourability and sales.

The writer is Maneesh Sah, head of marketing – Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Aon Hewitt WWW. MARK E TING-IN TE RAC TI VE . C OM

LAST WORD

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RAYANA AND REZWANA: SAME, SAME, BUT DIFFERENT. REALLY DIFFERENT Dear friends of A+M, we’ve had it. And when I say this, I really mean, we’ve had it.

All of 2015, I, deputy editor of A+M magazine, Rezwana, have been confused with editor, Rayana – through emails, phone calls and wait-for-it even face-to-face.

Granted, we look similar, you know, same height, weight, skin colour (#browntown) and at times we also wear similar outfits (just to make things worse). We even have the same phonetics to our name (RA-YANA/REZ-WA-NA), well, almost.

Ray’s side of the story is no different either. But hey, we’re two different people. By now you must be thinking, no way! After all, not many of you have seen us in the same room at the same time, so here’s proof.

But hang on, this isn’t a rant to our PR friends who email me, addressing it to Ray and vice-versa. It is also for our colleagues! *Facepalm*. This, therefore, is just a gentle (photographic) reminder. We are the who’s who of A+M magazine. No, literally – who IS who???

Here’s your guide: I write so much on idea theft, fake products, cheap copies and doppelgängers in our industry that this issue hits really close to home.

I first joined A+M in February 2012, fresh out of NTU (go NTU!).

I was hired by Rayana Pandey, the editor of the magazine. Now, Ray over the years, has taught me the ins and outs of journalism and the advertising and marketing scene in Singapore.

It is only natural that much of my professional mannerisms have been moulded by her.

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This has often led to many in the industry thinking we are interchangeable, one and the same.

Now for a fresh rookie journo, being confused as the editor isn’t a bad thing at all. I mean, who doesn’t want to be the editor of a regional magazine, right? (Disclaimer: If the confusion was made on the monthly pay day, this would be a completely different letter.)

But recently, when I took on the role of deputy editor, the problem escalated to a whole new level. I was getting invites, phone calls, media gifts (love them), sales pitches (hate them), story ideas and so much more – but only half the time.

Because at all the other times, it was pitched to Ray, while being sent to REZWANAM@marketing-interactive.com.

So for 2016, we hope this identity crisis, God help us both, will stop!

May we please (pretty, pretty please) request for the right emails, the right invites and, of course, the right media gifts.

But identity crisis or not, 2015 was still a fantastic year working with all our lovely industry friends. Stories were aplenty and ideas were overflowing. We launched several new successful columns and events and got much more personal with fellow readers.

As 2016 rolls along, we look forward to touching base with you and keeping this momentum going. Cheers to a bloody good year and a million hugs and kisses to all of you.

Over to you, Rez (no wait, I mean Ray).

Love, Rez. Thanks Ray, no wait, I mean Rez. *Facepalm*.

There is nothing more to add to except that, occasionally, passing off a call pretending to be Rez, is so damn helpful.

Me: “Sorry, Ray is not in the office at the moment, may I take a message?” Hey, not my fault if after stating clearly, it’s me Rayana here, the person goes: “Oh, hey Rezwana!”

And if you thought this was the end, check this out. That’s our events producer, Preeti Varadarajan together with us (take a guess who’s who again). Preeti’s first day at work, when she barely knew anyone except me who had hired her, meets a guest at one of our events who tells her a follow-up is needed with his client, post their meeting last week. This conversation was face-to-face and that meeting was with me. Go figure!

Oh, and just to make things worse, here’s another one of us three.

But anyway, all this aside, it was a fantastic year for us, guys. And we hope 2016 is a bigger and a better year for all of us.

Love, Ray/Rez/Preeti (you choose).

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