Marketing Magazine SG - Mar 2015

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

Elizabeth Low, Deputy Editor elizabethl@marketing-interactive.com Rezwana Manjur, Senior Journalist 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 – Singapore & Malaysia Trina Choy, Senior Account Manager trinac@marketing-interactive.com Johnathan Tiang, Senior Account Manager johnathant@marketing-interactive.com Grace Goh, Account Manager graceg@marketing-interactive.com Jocelyn Ma, Account Manager jocelynm@marketing-interactive.com Ong Yi Xuan, Advertising Sales Coordinator yixuano@marketing-interactive.com Advertising Sales – International Josi Yan, Sales Director (Hong Kong) josiy@marketing-interactive.com Events Yeo Wei Qi, Regional Head of Events Services weiqi@marketing-interactive.com Marketing June Tan, Regional Marketing Executive junet@lighthousemedia.com.sg Finance Evelyn Wong, Regional Finance Director evelynw@lighthousemedia.com.sg Management Søren Beaulieu, Publisher sorenb@marketing-interactive.com Tony Kelly, Editorial Director tk@marketing-interactive.com

Lately, I have seen a lot of conversations on talent – engagement, career progression, recognition, training, retention and so on.

I agree with all of that, but behind this rather daunting task, companies often miss out on the small steps that make all of this a reality.

Cultivating empathy is one of them.

Every year Marketing magazine has an editor’s conference where we discuss a range of things that help us, well, enjoy our work and do better at it.

A couple of years ago in one such discussion on creating an ideal team, our editorial director Tony Kelly said something which has stuck with me ever since. He said: “You are not a different person when you come to work.”

Speaking from personal experience of being part of a team and leading one now, I can vouch for the validity of that statement. We carry with us the emotional baggage of things that have happened at home, with family or friends. While all of us hope it does not affect our work, there are times it gets overwhelming.

What helps in such situations? An empathetic team and manager to begin with, which encourages the employee to perform well and with a relaxed mind. This is an example of small steps/changes I am alluding to.

There’s a lot of emphasis on companies becoming truly customer-centric, an omnichannel approach to understanding customers and so on and so forth.

That to me is a distant dream if companies fail to understand and empathise with people who work for them – and who will go the extra mile to help achieve business goals if they appreciate what the manager and the team has done for them.

And I say both the team and manager for a reason. Putting the blame on managers and the management for every other issue, to me, is escapism. I’m a big believer in bringing about change where you are and in whatever capacity.

Creating a work culture is a leader’s job, agreed. Keeping it up and making it better if need be, especially for peers, is everyone’s job.

This mindset of feeling empowered is yet another example of small steps/changes.

No longer are the issues of culture and talent soft. These are hard issues and have to be dealt with accordingly for any organisation’s success.

Let’s focus on the small steps, guys. The bigger picture will take care of itself.

Meanwhile, enjoy the edition which talks about a company’s level of innovativeness, changes happening in different spheres of marketing, customer experience and much more.

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

FORGET CUSTOMERS, HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR COLLEAGUES?

Justin Randles, Group Managing Director jr@marketing-interactive.com

Marketing is published 12 times per year by Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd. Printed in Singapore on CTP process by Sun Rise Printing & Supplies Pte Ltd, 10 Admiralty Street, #06-20 North Link Building, Singapore 757695. Tel: (65) 6383 5290.

MICA (P) 180/03/2009. For subscriptions, contact circulations at +65 6423 0329 or email subscriptions@marketing-interactive.com. COPYRIGHT & REPRINTS: All material printed in Marketing is protected under the copyright act. All rights reserved.

No material may be reproduced in part or in whole without the prior written consent of the publisher and copyright holder. Permission may be requested through the Singapore office. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in Marketing are not necessarily the views of the publisher. Singapore: Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd 100C Pasir Panjang Road, #05-01 See Hoy Chan Hub, Singapore 118519 198755 Tel: +65 6423 0329 Fax: +65 6423 0117 Hong Kong: Lighthouse Independent Media Ltd Unit A, 7/F, Wah Kit Commercial Building 302 Des Voeux Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2861 1882 Fax: +852 2861 1336 To subscribe to Marketing magazine, go to: www.marketing-interactive.com

Rayana Pandey Editor

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Subscribe FREE of charge at www.mice-world.com

For more information, contact Soren Beaulieu, sorenb@mice-world.com, +65 6423 0329

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CONTENTS

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FEA TU R ES 18 SIX WAYS TO MODERNISE YOUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT. How to break down silos in your marketing organisation? Ambrish Bandalkul finds out.

22 IS THE BRAND STILL VALUABLE IN AN INCREASINGLY DIGITAL WORLD? Has digital brought down the value of branding? Apple Lam finds out.

34 A NEW AGE FOR LUXURY The age-old practices of luxury brands are changing as consumers see luxury differently. What does new-age luxury marketing look like? Rezwana Manjur reports.

42 THE RISE OF THE ‘SHE-CONOMY’ Women represent a growth market for global brands – here’s why and how brands in multiple industries are trying to get a slice of this burgeoning market. Apple Lam reports.

What are the changes happening in luxury marketing? Marketing in its cover story explores.

46 MOB-EX AWARDS 2015 Read all about DBS Bank’s and Codigo’s splendid victories at the Mob-Ex Awards 2015.

OPINIONS

D E PA RT M E NT S

28 AD WATCH/WEB WATCH

4 NEWS

Why Melvin Kuek, managing director of Y&R Advertising Singapore, isn’t impressed with Lexus’ “Make some noise”, but loves Clash of Clans – Liam’s Revenge; and why Wai Kit Lew, Clicks2Customers’ regional MD, is a fan of Lazada.sg, but thinks Toyotasingapore.com.sg can do better.

Singtel unveils a new branding; SPH Radio launches a radio station for men; Singapore Airlines’ new online campaign; plus MediaCorp reorganises.

29 DIRECT MAIL CASE STUDY Icelandic vodka brand Reyka picked a playful way to draw guests to its event, with themed stereoscopes.

56 LAST WORD Two months into her new role, American Apparel CEO Paula Schneider has made several drastic senior management changes to her team. Is the brand losing its edge? Rezwana Manjur finds out.

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE!

22 18 KEY TAKEAWAYS: >> The new way of marketing your brand. >> How luxury marketing is evolving. >> The role of branding in the digital age.

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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.

Years in the making After 16 years, Singapore’s largest telco Singtel unveiled its brand new revamp along with a refreshed logo. With the change, the brand also repositioned itself with a brand promise, “Let’s make every day better”. According to Singtel’s group CEO Chua Sock Koong, this came as the brand today has grown from just being a telecoms company into multimedia and ICT services.

New name Lifestyle publication I-S Magazine underwent a major rebrand and is now called SG. The brand now encompasses daily lifestyle news, openings and social media updates on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; a mobile “what’s on” app (SG Now); a biweekly print publication and targeted weekly e-newsletters for events, food and travel. This is the 20th year of the magazine being in Singapore.

Personalised search Online property search portal 99.co officially launched with an expansion of its services into the residential sales segment with new investments totalling SG$2.7 million to date. The site claims to display unbiased search results, which are personalised to the query of the end user and sorted by the quality of the listing data versus the promotional spend of the agents.

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Into the cloud Rally, the social media specialist agency of IPG Mediabrands in Asia, launched Socio 3.0, a social marketing cloud service, to its clients. Socio 3.0 brings real-time consumer data that helps marketers to develop the right social media messaging, to launch it via the appropriate social touch-points and to measure its effectiveness. The proprietary platform of Socio was developed in collaboration with IPG Mediabrands’ global technology solutions team.

UM Singapore sits pretty The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) appointed UM Singapore its traditional and digital media buying and planning duties.

The appointment was for the Singapore market. UM Singapore has worked with SIT since 2012.

Pat Lim, managing director of UM Singapore, said: “Our 360 media offerings comprising traditional, digital and content marketing solutions have been well received by them.”

Cashing in DBS’ marketing stunt for Chinese New Year had the bank creating specially configured ATMs allowing customers to cash out crisp new notes. The bank set up 29 pop-up DBS/POSB ATMs in 10 community clubs across Singapore. Its customers were able to withdraw new notes from these ATMs, and also at 58 SingPost branches in Singapore.

Logical choice Logitech Malaysia appointed LEWIS PR to lead its integrated communications for the brand. In this role, LEWIS will lead public relations and digital marketing across Logitech’s main divisions of peripherals for PC, mobility and video communications for business. Additionally, LEWIS will manage, generate and sustain conversations on Logitech Malaysia’s Facebook page, while driving brand affinity through highlevel outreach with technology and lifestyle media.

A love scam The Singapore Police Force warned the public against falling for online love scams with this campaign. Ran at bus shelters on Clear Channel platforms, the campaign warned the public about online love scams and cyber extortion. According to Clear Channel, the target audience was “mature female adults and younger male adults, who both possess a common trait of being lonely and seeking for friendship or love”.

Shortlist revealed Singtel released a shortlist of agencies for its media buying duties in Singapore. Marketing understands that Havas Media, MEC, PHD and a joint venture between Carat and Vizeum called Team Connect have made the cut.

In an earlier shortlist confirmed to Marketing by a spokesperson from Singtel, Mediacom had also made the cut, but was later dropped in the second round.

A man’s world SPH Radio launched a designated radio station for Singaporean men called ONE FM 91.3. It targets males over 30, offering them specially curated music to their tastes, along with sports and men’s lifestyle news. Sim Hong Huat, GM of SPH Radio, said after reviewing the radio landscape in Singapore, SPH found a gap in the market and jumped at the opportunity to create a station unlike others.

Medical benefits Allergan Medical Aesthetics appointed Carat for its media planning and buying duties. The appointment covers the Asia Pacific market. Work will be led out of the Carat Singapore regional office. This was the first time Allergan Medical Aesthetics has appointed a regional media agency. Meanwhile, Leo Burnett Group Singapore was also appointed earlier to handle integrated communications for its medical aesthetics range in Asia Pacific.

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NEWS

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A big celebration The Singapore Armed Forces appointed a consortium led by Asia PR Werkz for the integrated marketing, communications and events work of SAF50.

Media planning strategy and media buying was led by Maxus Communications. Meanwhile, AUX Media Group executed the events management portion. Irene Ang, who also leads FLY Entertainment, provided the online engagement consultancy. The pitch was called late last year.

A new super power Programmatic buying firm AdzCentral merged with two other ad technology firms Better and Asia Digital Ventures to create one of the largest independent Asian programmatic companies.

The three companies that came together to form CtrlShift comprise 130 employees across five markets in Southeast Asia, made up of consultants, media traders, data scientists, ad-tech product specialists and software engineers. The firm will be headquartered in Singapore. q g p

Data deluxe Singtel Advertising, a digital advertising solutions platform under Group Digital L!fe, and Kantar Media, a television audience measurement company, installed the Return Path Data (RPD) technology as a part of Singtel mio TV’s new television audience measurement platform.

The RPD is said to accurately monitor audience consumption behaviour at a household level and allows Singtel mio TV to optimise its pay TV programming.

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A new super power Programmatic buying firm AdzCentral merged with two other ad technology firms Better and Asia Digital Ventures to create one of the largest independent Asian programmatic companies.

The three companies that came together to form CtrlShift comprise 130 employees across five markets in Southeast Asia, made up of consultants, media traders, data scientists, ad-tech product specialists and software engineers. The firm will be headquartered in Singapore.

National service The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are looking for an agency to launch their integrated marketing and communications campaign.

The campaign aims to raise public support for NS men and reach out to employers to promote the hire of NS men. Some of the key areas of responsibility are campaign management and planning, social media engagement, public relations and media management.

What are your resolutions?

Singapore Airlines launched a new online campaign called #MyTravelResolution to inspire consumers on social media to fulfil their most aspiring travel resolutions for the New Year. SIA had earlier asked fans to share with their travel resolutions on Facebook and Twitter. Among the responses received, the airline found five travellers from four different countries and helped them fulfil their travel resolutions.

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NEWS

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Scaling back FutureBrand is being tipped to scale back its Singapore operations. In a statement to Marketing, Susie Hunt (pictured), chairman of FutureBrand APAC, said there would not be a closure in FutureBrand operations in Singapore, but rather the agency would be “refocusing its operations as a regional strategy hub for key regional and global clients such as Unilever and Nestlé”.

Getting creative The Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) is looking to appoint a creative agency for its tactical campaigns for two years with an option to extend for another year. The agency will be tasked to propose a three-year creative tactical campaign and create concepts and key visuals.

The agency chosen will be tasked to position Sentosa as a leading lifestyle and leisure resort destination.

Changing hands KFC Singapore appointed Ogilvy & Mather Singapore as its agency of record moving the account from Ren Partnerships. Ogilvy & Mather Singapore is now responsible for all KFC’s communications in the Singapore market. Before working with Ren Partnerships, the KFC Singapore’s account was held

by Grey. Meanwhile, Virginia Ng, senior marketing director of KFC Singapore, left the company after 13 years with the organisation.

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A new mandate Independent integrated marketing communications agency Mandate Communications retained the Singapore Army account following the tender in March last year.

The agency was first appointed in 1988. “The reappointment is testament to Mandate’s in-depth understanding of the brand and its transformation through the years,” said a statement from Mandate.

To add to its remit, Mandate was tasked by the MINDEF Scholarship Centre to brand and market its scholarships.

Shopping marathon Google, along with DBS and SingPost launched a 72-hour Great Online Shopping Festival.

From midnight on 2 February, the online shopping festival saw deals from more than 60 brands on a common platform to Singaporeans. SingPost offered its delivery and returns solutions to brands taking part in the festival. SingPost also offered online shoppers access to 90 POPStations – or smart locker stations – around the island.

Getting sporty Sports media rights company MP & Silva kicked off a partnership with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to create new revenue streams that will provide growth platforms for the sport and take the game of football in Singapore to the next level, said MP & Silva. The multipronged partnership focuses on Singapore’s National “A” team and age group teams.

CPF hunts for agency The Central Provident Fund board (CPF) is looking for agencies to provide integrated marketing and public communication services. As part of CPF’s public communications efforts, CPF is seeking to appoint agencies to increase awareness and understanding of CPF policies and schemes among members.

With the help of the agencies, the board also aims to educate members on the role of the CPF system and schemes.

Taking it to the Max Frasers Centrepoint Malls moved its media account from Havas Media to Maxus Communications.

The appointment came following a closed door pitch where incumbent Havas Media was also vying for the account.

Maxus will be handling all media planning and buying with strategic counsel and customised consumer targeting solutions.

The appointment was for the Singapore market, however, there was no time frame slated.

Scanning the barcode Indochine Media Ventures issued its first edition of Barcode Magazine Singapore, tailored to “curious co-ed” readers aged 20 to 28. After the success of Barcode Vietnam, launched in September 2012, the publisher of Robb Report Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, Barcode Vietnam and Luxury Guide, decided to anchor Barcode in Singapore. It features conversations around fashion, dining, beauty and wellness, entertainment and travel.

A Healthy appointment Pfizer Consumer Healthcare appointed Havas Media as its media agency of record. The appointment comes following a pitch late last year involving three agencies. The scope covers media planning and buying for Singapore and entails strategy development and media planning and buying for household brand names such as Centrum, Imedeen and Caltrate. According to Havas Media, the reported media spending for Pfizer is more than SG$3 million on an annual basis.

A big shift MediaCorp has reorganised itself moving away from traditional media lines towards a focus on specific consumer groups. In an internal memo, MediaCorp CEO Shaun Seow shared with employees the rationale for the changes. MediaCorp’s business portfolio, comprising more than 50 products, will be managed by teams focused on the following consumer segments: family, news, youth, parents, women, men, Malay, Indian, foodies, learners, live entertainment and premieres.

An epic spark SPARK Architects reappointed Epic PR for another term based on successful delivery of key PR campaigns in 2014. Stephen Pimbley, founding director of SPARK Architects, said: “What impressed us about Epic PR is how quickly they understood our vision for a sustainable and convivial built environment, and then to be able convey that to the media and maintain their interest.”

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Call us if you need a partner for:• Venue Sourcing • Destination Management • Event Conceptualization • Supplier Management

• Registration Services • Branding & Graphic Design • Event Production/Logistics Support

Contact us with your event brief today.

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NEWS

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Mobile first Starbucks Corporation is making a push into mobile this year as the brand sees a wide customer acceptance and adoption of its mobile technologies. This was announced by Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ chairman, president and CEO. He said in the US alone, Starbucks had seen more than 13 million customers actively using Starbucks’ mobile apps.

Starbucks has also appointed Kevin Johnson as president and chief operating officer.

Not so happy Coca-Cola came under fire for trying to do something a little cheerful. It launched a new social media campaign called #MakeItHappy which took negative tweets and tried to create ASCII images. The images were then sent out with the tag line: “We turned the hate you found into something happy. RT to make people :)” Unfortunately, users sent out several tweets from Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf autobiography, which resulted in Coca-Cola creating an image using Hitler’s Mein Kampf quote.

From outer space Want your ads to be seen by the entire world? There’s no better place to display than in space.

SpaceBillboard, a space project initiated by three PhD researchers in engineering at a Belgium university, is putting this insane sounding idea into reality by launching what it claims as the first ad billboard to be placed out of this world under a crowdfunding project.

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Banking on it Nielsen completed its acquisition of Brandbank. Brandbank serves in the area of product content creation, management and publishing solutions for multichannel retailing. The business works with major multi-national grocery and health and beauty retailers and more than 6,000 FMCG suppliers in more than 16 markets. It helps them to create, manage and distribute product content optimised for shopper marketing and category planning.

Roaring off Shanghai Volkswagen appointed FCB Shanghai as its creative agency for Škoda in Mainland China. Among the branding initiatives the agency will lead for the brand this year are Škoda’s rebranding campaign and the launch of two new models in Mainland China. “2015 is an important year for Škoda for continuous growth in China,” said Xie Jinhui, senior manager of marketing communications at Shanghai Volkswagen.

Attention all agencies Unilever announced a review of its media buying and planning business, putting incumbents Mindshare, IPG and PHD on alert.

A Unilever spokesperson confirmed the review to Marketing, adding it was in the early stages of a review process, held every three years.

Marketing can confirm incumbent Mindshare, which holds the lion’s share of the Unilever business in Asia, is vying for the account.

What’s up with WhatsApp? WhatsApp confirmed the beta testing of its long-awaited voicecalling feature after an Android user posted a screenshot of the feature on reddit. Regions the new feature will cover remain unclear for the time being. “We are rolling out a beta test of our new voice-calling feature to a small number of people,” WhatsApp communication lead Brandon McCormick responded to Marketing’s inquiry.

Calling all haters Adidas lit a spark under the world of football by launching its #ThereWillBeHaters campaign.

The campaign was launched to coincide with the launch of adidas’ new football footwear range for 2015. The campaign is focused on a provocative new video featuring global football stars such as Luis Suárez, Gareth Bale, James Rodríguez and Karim Benzema and proclaims that if you have “haters”, then it’s the ultimate compliment.

An epic consolidation FOX International Channels (FIC) consolidated all of its 126 FOX channels outside the United States under a single brand positioning and network package. This worldwide rebrand took place in conjunction with the return of FOX’s international hit The Walking Dead. The new strategy reflects the brand’s growing dominance in the international television marketplace and addresses the importance of branding in an increasingly fragmented environment.

Lucky dog Tourism New Zealand appointed creative agency Dog as its creative marketing and communications agency, targeting the Indonesian market with fully integrated offline and digital marketing paid activities. The partnership sees the agency devise strategies and implement the global travel brand’s creative campaigns in the region, including tactical joint venture communication campaigns and the second phase of Tourism New Zealand’s global brand-building exercise.

Lonely hearts China Mobile Hong Kong celebrated Valentine’s Day with a digital campaign to help lonely hearts find love by creating and publishing their Valentine’s Day cards. Spanning online, mobile and social media, the digital campaign was launched with a video featuring an adorable male dog and his male owner – both secretly in love with a female dog and her female owner respectively – but are too shy to express their feelings.

A good vibe Mobile communications app Viber partnered with social news and entertainment company BuzzFeed to launch Viber Public Chat. Viber Public Chat is said to give users an exclusive inside view into the most shareable stories and videos on the web. BuzzFeed’s social media editors, community moderators and editorial team will contribute to the ongoing public chat conversation, sharing news on Viber and adding their own commentary and discussion. Viber users can follow the conversations in real-time and interact with posts, indicating the content they like.

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

1 Campaign I am the full story Brief The campaign aims to highlight Nikon’s FX range of cameras showcasing how different cameras are suited for different interests. This can range from hard core photography professionals, videographers, hobbyists and amateurs. The campaign runs on mediums such as OOH, digital and print.

Client

Nikon Singapore

Creative

2 girls, 2 dogs and 1 cat

Media

Maxus Communications Singapore

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2 Campaign Festive Crime Prevention Brief The integrated campaign aims to raise the public’s awareness and knowledge on common scams that are especially prevalent during the festive season. It focuses on two popular online scams – online love scams and cyber extortion.

The target audience are mature female adults and younger male adults, who both possess a common trait of being lonely and seeking friendship or love.

Client

Singapore Police Force

Creative

Clear Channel Singapore

Media

Universal McCann

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3 Campaign #changedestiny First Chapter Brief P&G’s SK-II unveiled a new brand philosophy #ChangeDestiny with the launch of what it says is its “biggest empowerment campaign” to date. The global launch film features acclaimed ballet dancer Misa Kuranaga. SKII said Kuranaga’s story perfectly exemplified the philosophy behind #ChangeDestiny”, which is SK-II’s latest campaign to inspire women to change their own destiny.

Client

SK-II

Creative Singapore / Tokyo

Leo Burnett

Media

Mediacom (all markets) and Starcom MediaVest Group (China)

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4 Campaign Tiger Uncage CNY 2015 Brief For this campaign, Tiger Beer commissioned a limited edition illustration by London-based artists Shan Jiang and Jacky Tsai to cut through the CNY clutter of ads. The illustrations were adapted throughthe-line for its marketing initiatives, including product packaging, point-ofsale, promotional activities, and road shows. It runs on digital, ATL and BTL.

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Client

Tiger Beer

Creative

Droga5 Australia and Iris Nation

Media

Starcom MediaVest Singapore

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

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NEWS ANALYSIS

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THE ROLE OF IDEATION IN CONTENT MARKETING How can you tell if your idea for content marketing is great or not? Nick Fawbert of Brand New Media gives you a checklist.

We often hear about content marketing as an ongoing strategy, but for many of us in the industry getting started means developing a short-term solution that works instantly and effectively with minimum fuss: the first campaign that will prove what we can achieve.

We’ve worked hard with our partners over the years to find an approach to meet these goals that is simple, transparent and accountable.

We have found a number of key components we need to get right for a content marketing campaign: • Attractive commercially driven ideation.

• Well priced, transparent and effective content creation.

• Agreed and cost-efficient distribution platforms.

• Defined and well-funded amplification strategy.

• Transparent and specific accountability structure.

• A simple transferable campaign summary.

For this article, we’d like to focus on the ideation process from a video perspective on the basis that all great campaigns grow from exceptional underlying ideas. The principles apply equally regardless of whether you’re dealing in video, prose, infographics, long form or short-form content marketing.

The aim in a successful ideation process is to generate content ideas that meet a business opportunity, and find the right balance between commercial and consumer needs to drive influence, audience acquisition and content sharing at affordable investment levels.

A business opportunity may be hard to find in a traditional media brief which will tend to be more focused on audience acquisition. For example, a typical request may start … “Build awareness among ABC1 males aged 18-34”.

We can’t generate a content foundation from that, so instead we aim to identify the underlying commercial dynamic.

For example, a discount airline hinges on selling discount tickets to overseas destinations, so a content goal could be to prove that great fun could be had at those destinations when travelling on a tight budget.

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builds. Episode cliff hangers drive audience commitment and establish communities.

The data acquired by initial releases allows you to optimise the message, fine-tune the production, and use digital marketing retargeting platforms to reach out more efficiently to the engaged and responsive audiences.

What’s your big idea for content marketing?

In a similar vein, credit card content may not focus on the discount the credit can offer at restaurants, but on the value of the customer experience when they visit.

Business analysis encompasses a wide range of engagement across multiple stakeholders. We benefit from knowing about more than just the product or service, but by understanding the customer’s needs, their alternative solutions, the value proposition and the defendable product advantages.

We then need to translate that into a great idea that does several things: It’s commercial Great content marketing lies at the core of the sales funnel. It’s key the content is geared to reaching commercial objectives. We need to put commerce at the centre of ideation. We focus on consumer needs, proposed and competitive solutions, a clear value proposition and what we term “the unfair advantage” – the things your competitors cannot occupy.

It’s episodic Content marketing in a social environment demands the use of multiple episodes, particularly to achieve the frequency involved with brand saliency.

With viewing time typically limited to between three to five minutes, multiple episodes allow you to tell a much more involved story and demonstrate a wider range of product benefits.

Multiple episodes allow audiences to grow as content is shared and enthusiasm

It’s social Consumer engagement is key to social sharing, and social sharing is key to audience growth.

Great content has to leverage social media triggers such as humour, awe, ingenuity and audience value to incentivise consumers to pass the content onto friends.

It’s responsive Great content ensures your audiences always have the opportunity to turn a great experience into a buying decision. We weave conversion opportunities deeply into the content narrative ensuring consumers consider the next step in the purchase process to be a natural one to take.

It’s scalable Great ideas need the strength and depth to expand and diversify, and allow brands to create and sustain communities over long periods of time. There’s no place for a one-hit wonder when it comes to commercial success.

It’s legal It almost goes without saying, but a successful content marketing campaign needs to ensure that all copyright and legal issues are addressed to allow brands to use content whenever, wherever and however they like. We work hard with our legal team to ensure appropriate permits are obtained in full to allow brands unfettered access to the media of their choice.

These are approaches that work well across a broad range of media planning processes – so it’s not unusual to find the ideation stage of content marketing planning sitting at the centre of decisions in digital platforms, search marketing, display campaigns and mobile activity.

Nick Fawbert is the managing director of Brand New Media Asia.

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TONY FERNANDES’ PERSONAL TOUCH A LESSON IN CRISIS COMMS Is Fernandes re-writing the text book for how leaders should act during a modern-day crisis?

Rezwana Manjur finds out.

Like a true leader: AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes set the right example during the crisis.

The search for answers for AirAsia flight QZ8501 flying from Surabaya to Singapore which led to the loss of 162 lives, lasted a few weeks. In the midst of the tragedy, which took place last year, stood group CEO Tony Fernandes, who sent out a letter to AirAsia customers to thank them for their support.

In the letter, Fernandes stated the past few weeks have been the “most difficult weeks” of his life since starting AirAsia 13 years ago. He also said he “wanted to reach out and thank [customers] for the warmth and support given”.

“Your messages of love and encouragement strengthen our resolve to be better. We will continue to provide updates as the investigation goes on. Rest assured, we are committed to reviewing and improving our products and services,” he stated in the letter.

In the days following the tragic incident, Fernandes took to his Twitter account to provide updates on the flight search plans which led to many PR professionals lauding his commitment

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to being transparent to the public. “In terms of AirAsia and Tony Fernandes himself, I think they have done an excellent job. Their response has been swift and comprehensive. Fernandes’ personal touch is befitting of the AirAsia brand and of his high-profile as CEO,” Scott Pettet, vice-president of APAC at LEWIS PR, said.

He added both Fernandes and the AirAsia brand have used social media very effectively to communicate at every juncture and have stuck to the facts and have not been drawn into conjecture despite some of the early misreporting on the tragedy.

At the outset, Fernandes said, “I am the leader of this company. I take responsibility’ – all he has done since then is live up to this statement.”

“I think like most people, I marvel at his energy and emotional authenticity – it’s impossible to keep those up if you’re not being sincere,” said John Kerr, the managing director of Asia at Zeno Group.

He added yesterday’s personalised message was a continuation of a “nonstop stream of authentic communications” since the tragedy unfolded.

Kerr also added that right now, Fernandes was the AirAsia brand and the company’s ability to quickly rebuild trust after this crisis would be led and defined by his leadership.

While most brands and CEOs could surely pick up a tip or two from Fernandes’ savvy social media ways, Kerr was quick to add that no CEO was actually going to suddenly turn on a social channel during a crisis and suddenly be successful in communicating in the same way.

“Fernandes is rewriting the text book for how leaders should act during a modern-day crisis and has been a social media leader for years. Successful CEOs will be proactive in building personal credibility and strong peer relationships online – and hope they never have to manage a crisis such as this.”

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DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE AN INNOVATIVE CULTURE? Four questions you need to ask yourself to find out - BrandLearning’s Hayley Spurling writes.

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In our work with clients across industries we’ve found that what makes the biggest difference to their innovation track record is not an individual’s skills, but their innovation culture.

Companies with a great innovation culture have encouraging leaders, clear innovation strategies, well-observed innovation processes, team structures that give space for innovation ideas to be fostered, and agile, flexible project teams to make them happen.

These together are the drivers of capabilities: strategy, organisation, people, skills, processes and culture. Leaders need to manage all of these, thinking about how they interact, if they really want to drive growth.

Let’s get specific.

Does your company have an innovation strategy that specifies the role innovation needs to play in delivering the brand’s purpose or in creating new brands, and is this in line with the overall corporate strategy?

Do you know which particular areas of innovation you need to excel in to create a strategic advantage in your category?

Have you made full benefit of digital technologies in enabling the innovation process – bringing internal and external partners together, like for example, the Unilever Foundry or LEGO’s crowd-sourcing?

Are your leaders and middle managers embracing the risks and creative courage that innovation requires?

Lessons in innovation culture LEGO is a great example. It’s a company filled with creative and skilled people, but despite its best intentions, in 2000 its innovation strategy led it down a path that virtually bankrupted it. In a digital world filled with kids playing computer games, people were questioning the relevance of a plastic brick.

The company tried to address this with a drive for innovation – sparking entry into new sectors such as video games and digital toys, jewellery and theme parks, and it proliferated its core range with movie tie-ups. The result was confusion.

Instead of innovating to support its brand purpose, its brand purpose became muddled and people didn’t know what it really offered and was about, and its internal efficiencies and profitability were compromised.

The company’s performance turned around when it shifted its strategy to innovation within clear parameters, guided by its brand purpose, and reconnecting it with its LEGO fan base. It

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“Companies with a great innovation culture have encouraging leaders, clear innovation strategies, wellobserved innovation processes, team structures that give space for innovation ideas to be fostered, and agile, flexible project teams to make them happen.”

Hayley Spurling — brand director at Brand Learning.

continued to encourage innovation internally and with external LEGO fans, but it controlled it with clearer processes.

Also, it asked this vital question: does this match our brand purpose of building the next generation of engineers by playing well, and does it match our corporate strategy of being the best company for family products? The results speak for themselves.

Another forward-looking example is Rakuten – an exciting innovative company from Japan to watch out for. In the Forbes survey, it was rated as the second most innovative company in Asia. Today it’s the world’s third biggest e-commerce company. What keeps it at the forefront of innovation is its strong culture of innovation rooted in its Japanese roots of respect and discipline.

Is your company innovative enough?

If you want to find out, here are some questions you should ask yourself: 1. Does your company have an innovation strategy that specifies the role innovation needs to play in delivering the brand’s purpose or in creating new brands? Is this in line with the overall corporate strategy?

Does it, for example, set up the level of innovation required: from adding more SKUs such as flavours or colours to tap into trends, to creating new propositions to deliver against the overall brand purpose more deeply (such as Google maps with travel directions that take into account traffic flow to help people find more information they need, when they need it), or to create new brands for the portfolio?

Do you know which particular areas of innovation you need to excel in to create a strategic advantage in your category?

At Brand Learning we use the model of the innovation value chain to map the areas of innovation and spot where companies need to build capabilities.

Some companies, for example, will focus on coming up with new ideas first, as a way to build their brand. Others will build strategic

advantage by excelling at getting to market (Mondelēz does this well with its chocolate brands for example), and yet others, such as P&G, will excel in rapid global rollout.

2. Have you made full benefit of digital technologies in enabling the innovation process?

In a globally networked world, digital platforms that crowd-source and crowdselect innovation ideas help companies such as LEGO and Unilever drive their innovation agenda. (If you haven’t already looked at it, check out Unilever’s foundry programme.)

Others digitally empower collaboration behind the scenes – digitising the workflow of projects, sharing ideas internally and communicating via private social platforms.

3. Are your leaders and middle managers embracing the risks and creative courage that innovation requires?

Companies need to recognise and reward the attitudes and behaviours which drive innovation. Attitude to risk, the ability to make bold decisions and allowing the project team to have fresh independent thinking all stem from the culture of the organisation.

Leadership must do more than make go/no decisions against linear development paths, and be able to embrace constant flux, replan talent and resources according to the opportunity.

The leaders of the most innovative companies see themselves as innovators and do not delegate this responsibility. They must display the behaviours which underpin creativity and innovation so this way of working is entrenched in the cultural DNA. The writers are Hayley Spurling, brand director at Brand Learning; and Sandeep Khanna, managing director for Asia Pacific at Brand Learning.

The writer is Hayley Spurling, brand director at Brand Learning.

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LESSONS FROM NISSAN’S REDDIT PR DISASTER Nissan put its CEO on Reddit for an open Q&A session, resulting in a PR disaster. Experts give tips on maneuvering Reddit. Elizabeth Low writes.

Unique challenges: Is your spokesperson prepared to talk on different social media platforms?

Recently, the PR team for Renault-Nissan decided to make a bold (or otherwise foolish) move to place the company’s CEO Carlos Ghosn on Reddit for one of the site’s, Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions, from the Detroit Auto show.

It blew up to epic proportions as the team struggled to keep up with questions, with many going unanswered. Worse, the company had to fend off accusations of astroturfing,

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as Redditors and the media cried foul over suspicions its PR team was seeding questions on the site.

This happened when users started probing about the authenticity of questions being asked from new users who seemed to have no history on the site.

Was Nissan guilty of astroturfing?

For example, here are some questions picked

up by Mashable from users with no prior account history on Reddit – igniting suspicion on the site: “What was your first car?”, by Smodizzle007 (no account history except for that question).

“Hello Mr Ghosn, first off thanks for doing an AMA! Second, I am new to car sales and have recently been hired at a Nissan dealership, do you have any advice for a new Nissan salesman?” (question was from an account that

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has since been deleted). “How do you intend to solve the issue of inclement weather with fully autonomous vehicles? Will they be able to deal with snow and ice?” The question came from Sluggyjohnson (no account history except for that question).

“Hi Carlos, I’m a diehard Datsun/Nissan fan that is very glad to see how well the company has done with you at the helm and hoping to see many more years of continued success.

My question is how you see hydrogen fuel cells playing a part in electric vehicles and if Nissan/ Renault are investing, or planning to invest in this technology, directly or through partnerships?

Thank you and regards, Doug.” The question came from BigDoug75, (no account history except for that question).

“Extremely obvious, considering how all the questions that are positive and name very specific products are the only ones that get answers. Answers that all plug their products.

Again, why do the mods allow things like this through, but “internet celebrities” (whom many would honestly love to know about) are banned? This AMA is the most blatant PR stunt I’ve seen. Seriously, read these freaking questions and answers and tell me they don’t seem utterly staged,” complained Reddit user chrisman01.

While a spokesperson for Reddit told the media the number of questions from new users was not uncommon, the affair still earned Nissan more negative than positive press.

The issue of inauthenticity While the benefit of doubt needs to be given to Nissan and its team, experts critiqued the execution of it.

“As a general PR strategy, the seeding of questions is not unusual or uncommon.

However, in today’s social media age where perception is stronger than the truth, such a tactic is no longer as effective,” said digital agency QED’s Freda Kwok.

“Interaction on open platforms should be kept as genuine and sincere as possible – if there are no questions coming in, then the brand should take it as a feedback and look into the issues which may have led to the lack of interest in the first place.”

Don Anderson, managing director of We Are Social Singapore, said while Nissan deserved the benefit of the doubt, it was clear the team was ill-prepared for the medium.

“On review of the comments made by the CEO in the AMA, it’s clear he and his team of advisors had very little grasp of how the Reddit community functions and the expectation of its members from anyone who steps up in front of

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“It’s clear he and his team of advisors had very little grasp of how the Reddit community functions and the expectation of its members from anyone who steps up in front of them. This is a community built on authenticity, not PR sound bites or setups.”

Don Anderson - managing director of We Are Social Singapore

them. This is a community built on authenticity, not PR sound bites or setups.”

“Any business leader who willingly opens up the floor to Redditors needs to ensure they are seen as a human being – and this comes through adjusting their tone and voice to suit, not to mention the willingness to veer from a preset agenda – in order to earn the community’s respect and manage the conversation.”

However, Bob Pickard, chairman of Asia Pacific for The Huntsworth Group, said credit should be given to Nissan for attempting to engage in a new way.

“With innovations such as their content studio, Nissan in recent years have pushed the PR envelope and been ahead of the curve on corporate communications,” he said.

“However, this is an opportunity for corporate learning and how to do things better next time – especially when dealing with a powerful PR asset like Carlos Ghosn, such a highly respected CEO. “A lot of people think about digital as an extension of brand marketing, but where social media meets corporate communications – such as this case – is where the most advanced degree of senior experience and skill needs to be well applied.”

Handling Reddit with class Ironically, the year before, Nissan scored a marketing jackpot on the site, launching a campaign on it with Amazon. It hosted a thread asking users “If you could have one thing from Amazon, what would it be?” and rewarded users with the most creative responses. The promotion ended with a massive Amazon box showing up in a Wisconsin town, showing Amazon had actually delivered a Nissan.

Nissan, along with a camera crew, had driven the box around the area, and a picture of the delivery was posted on the site and went on to be one of the top posts.

Leaders who have also gone on Reddit fairly successfully were Barack Obama in 2012 and Bill Gates in 2014. Obama went on Reddit for 30 minutes, managing deftly answers to both political concerns as well as cheekier ones such as, “What’s the recipe for the White House’s beer?” See his AMA here.

Gates went on Reddit to promote work for his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but also added insightful personal touches such as his relationship with Steve Jobs, and his decision to leave his children US$10 million in their trust funds. See his AMA here.

We Are Social’s Anderson gives a few pointers for brands on the platform: Identify your objectives for using the platform: Is it to promote a new product, service, methodology or a personality from the company itself? What are your expected outcomes from engaging the Reddit community? Are you simply looking to drive awareness or change perceptions about the organisation or the individual leading the conversation from the brand side? How can the community really add value? And better yet, how are you adding value to the community?

Prepare a set list of responses, but know that you may have to deviate from those canned responses. Responses should always be personalised. Use your prepared responses carefully. Don’t cut and paste.

Identify and agree up front on the type of tone and voice you intend to use in front of the Reddit community. Make it an honest, approachable, relaxed voice and avoid at all costs sounding like someone who is sitting in a boardroom delivering PR sound bites or a prepared script.

Expect the unexpected. Map out different scenarios of where the conversation could go off course and result in controversial questions from the community, and how you would expect to respond in this situation.

Provide solid proof the individual is indeed “human” and has an established personality or presence in social. Share a Twitter handle.

Cite prior online conversations the brand’s representative has engaged across, but share with a sincere voice.

Select a mix of questions to respond to, including ones that may not be on target to your brand promotion objectives. Consider recruiting an independent moderator for a live AMA, who can help manage the conversation and the stream of questions, and to establish up front what is acceptable behaviour within the session from participants.

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6 WAYS TO MODERNISE YOUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT How to break down silos in your marketing organisation? Ambrish Bandalkul finds out.

While marketing channels may have proliferated, consumers still demand consistency in interactions. This requires a coordinated marketing effort across all channels such that marketers can respond quickly to take advantage of new opportunities and coursecorrect when things go wrong.

A recent Forrester Research report details what marketers need to do to accomplish this.

1. Install a marketing operating system A marketing operating system “ties marketing systems, processes and outcomes explicitly to the unique expectations of the customer”, according to Forrester.

Under a marketing operating system, each marketing team has a clearly defined purpose within the organisation’s overarching goal of marketing to consumers effectively. Each team is supported by robust technological know-how that consolidates planning, budgeting, KPI-setting and ROI measurement under one umbrella. The purpose of this is to align incentives for effective cross-channel marketing.

2. Streamline communications using technology Marketers should use social collaboration tools available in the cloud software of vendors such as Oracle, Adobe or salesforce.com to streamline internal communications. This will allow internal stakeholders to spend more time executing their role as opposed to figuring out who they need to work with to execute correctly.

3. Instil a preference for fast experiments over full-scale marketing plans Marketers shouldn’t spend all their time creating elaborate, fully baked marketing plans. Instead, campaigns should be deployed with the expectation they can be course-corrected. At Dow Chemical, campaigns are deployed on a smaller scale to gauge their success, corrected where needed, and then scaled across the organisation.

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Time to collaborate: Organisations need to tear down silos in order to be truly customer-centric.

4. Force your teams out of their comfort zones Marketers need to grow their skill sets to remain relevant in an environment which demands cross-channel integration. At NYSElisted American industrial materials company Kennametal, CMO John Jacko incorporates job rotation to force his team to pick up new skills.

5. Foster collaboration over individual channel performance In an environment of cross-channel integration, organisations, in which certain channels are incentivised to perform at the expense of others, will fail. Cross-channel customer experiences need to be at the heart of the marketing organisation. At Amazon.com subsidiary Zappos.com, fixed titles and organisational reporting structures were eliminated at the end of 2014. Instead, employees will focus

on the work that needs to be done to execute customer experience management effectively, and resources will be assigned according to the demands of different assignments.

6. Implement customer-based marketing teams Marketing needs to be aligned with customer life cycle stages to adequately address customer needs at each stage. Organisational structures need to reflect this. At NASDAQ-listed retailer HSN, chief marketing and business development officer Bill Brand, reorganised his marketing department into teams focused on customer acquisition, assimilation, best customers, winbacks and lapsed customers.

As of December 2014, HSN is experiencing its highest number of new shoppers in the past 12 months, highest levels of total spend per customer, and the highest levels of customer engagement in its history.

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WHY RECIPROCITY IS THE KEY TO BUILDING DEEP CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS Why are some multi-sensory experiences far more attractive than others? Philipp Kristian Diekhoner of futureLab, MetLife writes.

Jinsop Lee’s inspiring 2013 TED talk on multi-sensory experiences in our lives affirmed a hypothesis I’d been harbouring for years – that the most pleasurable human experiences involve all of our five senses.

Simple and powerful, his theory explains why eating a good meal, dancing in a bar or sleeping with your partner feels so enticing.

Experience design, thus, should A stimuli across multiple sensory dimensions.

A few industries traditionally excel at this such as the high-end hospitality and entertainment sectors, beauty and SPA establishments or luxury malls, for example. In these contexts, multi-sensory experiences account for a large portion of value created.

Take Jamie Oliver’s restaurants: Good, simple food served in a great ambience, with an open kitchen and small retail portion within the premises. It’s a journey of culinary appreciation and discovery for which we gladly pay a premium.

I like to assume a technical view when looking at brands’ efforts to engage customers through the senses and was curious to discover a common trait shared by all exceptional customer experiences. Why are some multisensory experiences far more attractive than others? What is the difference between a good and a great customer experience?

A major misconception with regards to experience design is that customers in a certain target demographic have the same needs, and want the same things. Just like we don’t all want to drive the same car or live in the same house, we don’t necessarily seek the exact same interactions.

Personalisation plays a pivotal role in creating exceptional customer experiences, and is absolutely irreplaceable. Cleverly designed communities allow brands such as fitness app Fitocracy to better engage their users and help them stick to their goals. Existing users endorse the activity of newbies, and discuss health challenges in a supportive, forum-like fashion that builds empathy and social context.

A similar misconception exists around repeat

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engagement. Many of my peers believe brands should deliver the same experience every time, but that’s only part of the truth. Humans love variety, especially in a familiar context. We stick to a brand because we seek a certain standard, not because we love monotony.

Platforms such as AirBnB have a highly engaged user base for this reason. Nespresso introduces new variations every season, which creates both variety and anticipation. Absolut Vodka assigns a random design pattern to some of its bottles, each one completely unique. All three are iconic brands.

This points to a major flaw in prevalent experience design theory: “Prescribing” a customer journey in a one-size-fits-all, standardised and repeatable matter doesn’t work. Brands prioritising consistency of expression over actual, experiential value-add, fall short of customer expectations and lose out in the long run.

An essential element of exceptional experiences is involvement: Humans experience by doing. We love to make choices, share our opinions and interact with the world around us. We want to participate as much as we like to receive. Underlying this is the psychological principle of reciprocity.

The best brand experiences establish personalised mutual relationships with customers – defined by equality of power over, and involvement with, each other. At Ritz-Carlton, each employee is given an allowance of up to $2,000 to remedy a customer complaint. This is one of many initiatives to empower staff and show real commitments to guests’ wellbeing.

In the crème de la crème of experiences, reciprocity occurs across four dimensions: The transaction dimension (getting a fair deal for what you pay); the personality dimension (feeling like you and the brand “jive”); the interaction dimension (striking a balance of service and customer actions/decisions); and the peer dimension (feeling that fellow customers are enjoying a similarly good experience).

I recently designed the user experience

A two-way traffic: Keeping audiences engaged is key to building a lasting relationship.

of local start-up mypassport.asia, a single subscription giving users access to dozens of boutique gyms, yoga places, and the like, in Singapore.

It’s a highly personalised, dramatically simplified and visually engaging interface that talks to people’s fundamental human needs to integrate wellbeing affordably into their daily lives. Designed to be intuitive from the start, the interface is highly visual and guides through imagery, gently providing wayfinding along the way.

It encourages exploration of the interface at one’s own pace, therein connecting users to work out cultures they identify with. Rather than using a static customer journey, the design is purely driven by empathy and user empowerment.

As a fundamental human metric, the degree of reciprocity we achieve in our lives directly impacts our sense of happiness. The more reciprocal our human interactions, the more joy we experience ourselves.

The highly collaborative nature of humanity hard-wires us to seek relationships of mutual benefit with people and brands. To build such a relationship with your customers, a flexible approach is needed – one that requires empowering the people involved in delivering the experience and deploying flexible processes that allow for genuine human touch to be applied.

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ARE BRANDS TURNING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS INTO VALUABLE INSIGHTS? An inability to see immediate positive impact on the bottom line is one of the key reasons customer complaint systems are not highly valued. Ambrish Bandalkul reports. managing expectations in foreign countries. We also face problems in service recovery post-tour.

Sometimes customers choose to remain silent and allow their dissatisfaction to fester during the tour, while expecting a tour refund instead of voicing their complaint early. Eighty per cent of such cases can be resolved easily if they were raised immediately to our tour managers.

Marketing: How do you ensure the feedback from customer complaints is taken into account to improve your processes?

Getting too many complaints? It could be a good thing for your brand.

Customer complaints are supposed to be a great way to find out what your customers actually think of you. Yet why does it so often feel like businesses are tone deaf? Ahead of our Customer Experience conference, we spoke to Reshel Chan, senior customer service manager at iconic Singaporean travel agency Chan Brothers Travel, to find out why process improvement can be very hard.

Marketing: Customer complaints are supposed to be a great source of customer intelligence. Why do so many businesses fail to take advantage of this to improve processes?

Chan: Instead of using the label complaint, we prefer to label it feedback or feed-forward. The former helps the company retain its customers by providing service recovery whenever

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required while rectifying current issues. The latter helps us understand how we can wow our customers. When recorded systematically, feedback and feed-forward can become a huge asset in improving business processes. The reason that customer complaint management systems are not more highly valued are: 1. Incorrect understanding of feedback/feedforward.

2. An inability to see immediate positive impact on the bottom line.

3. Staff complacency and lack of desire within an organisation to improve the customers’ experience.

Marketing: What are the biggest challenges you face in handling customer complaints?

Chan: One of the biggest challenges we face is in maintaining Singaporeans’ high standards and

Chan: We interact with our customers through several touch-points – at point of sale, through continual Facebook, email and phone dialogue, during pre-departure briefings and on tour 24/7 with our tour managers.

We table all feedback formally for subsequent action and improvement via personalised notes on a customer’s account history, point-of-sale customer feedback forms, post-tour customer feedback forms and posttour tour manager feedback forms. In addition to immediate action where applicable, all feedback is then consolidated and reviewed again quarterly.

Marketing: What’s the most difficult part of drawing the process improvement insight from customer complaints?

Chan: The most challenging part would be identifying the areas where elevated customer service standards brings significant enough utility to justify investment, yet keeping in mind business sustainability through maintaining profitable margins.

For example, we may serve chilli sauce for Singaporean travellers on our tours to enhance the overall dining experience, but we may just stop short of delivering six-star Michelin cuisine on a four-star tour fare .

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IS THE BRAND STILL VALUABLE? Has digital brought down the value of branding? Apple Lam finds out.

Back to the brand: Is digital forcing you to compromise on your brand positioning?

The rise of digital and new manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing have empowered SMEs to become challengers to mass-market brands by diversifying the range of products available on the market.

How important is branding to massmarket brands today or does demand for their products simply come from a desire to fulfil basic wants and needs? How should branding be transformed to genuinely help customers sort through the clutter of digital marketing content and pick a brand based on its brand image and reputation?

The value of the brand For Doreen Cheng, marketing director at MARS Hong Kong, the rise of new technologies and digital marketing means consumers are spoilt for choice. In such a context, branding becomes even more important in influencing customer preferences.

“Branding is getting lots of people to buy your product and service – it has financial value,” Cheng said.

“Finances should be connected to the brand. The success of your branding is evident in your reach and how many people are using your product or service. Market penetration is king.”

The brand is an identity that permeates throughout a business and its value lies in helping the company sustain growth in the long run.

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“The brand is alive and has a relationship with the customer. Marketers and other staff members should embrace the brand’s values such as through the way customer service representatives dress. The organisation’s values should be built around the brand.

“Branding is a technique that forms part of a long-term and sustainable business model.”

Rose Yeung, director of sales and marketing at 7-Eleven Hong Kong, believes brand rejuvenation is the key to keeping a brand fresh in the customer’s mind in today’s fast-changing world.

“You need to keep doing things to reenergise the brand. Otherwise the brand will start feeling old. Ideally, you want your brand to feel like an old friend who feels familiar to and understands the customer, but not a friend who seems to be ageing,” she said.

“For us, because our core products involve instant gratification – grabbing drinks and snacks, for instance – we are competing with other convenience stores and a range of retailers.

“That’s why brand rejuvenation is so important for us so that when a customer needs a drink or something to eat, we come to mind first.”

Expressing the brand Advertising is an obvious place where a brand can express itself and its values. But achieving

the status of being iconic and building up brand reputation, among even those who might lie outside of your target market through advertising, is no easy feat.

Cheng said: “You want as many people to be aware of your brand as possible and for the ad to resonate with them. For example, you do not even need to look at the iPhone or the logo in an ad to know it was done by Apple because they have such a distinctive style.

“One glance at the look and feel of the ad will tell you it’s Apple.” She added that smarter content was needed for digital to keep the brand story extra short and sweet, crucial for effective communication on digital.

Yeung agreed and said customers treasure conversations with brands on social media and mobile, which must match up with the brand’s offline communications.

In the case of 7-Eleven Hong Kong, branding embedded in the retail store environment is another form of expression.

“Because Hong Kong stores are very small, we need to ensure they have a convenient layout and customers can easily find what they need as well as continuing to put new products on the shelves. These are all part of the brand experience,” Yeung said.

“Even if they shop very quickly at convenience stores, the store environment can make the difference between whether they like or dislike the brand.”

What counts as branding success?

A traditional measurement of brand equity is market share, whether it’s the growth of your business or the increased share taken up by your sector in its broader industry.

“Real success in branding is to go beyond the brand and become a lifestyle,” Cheng said.

“Because humans need things to enhance their experiences, deliver a brand experience rather than just a brand.”

Even looking at an iconic ad can be a sort of experience, where the ad is being consumed rather than the product and leaves an impression on the customer.

Another way is to conduct research into brand equity by conducting phone and faceto-face interviews with customers and focus groups.

Yeung said 7-Eleven Hong Kong conducted

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NEWS ANALYSIS

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research into customer preferences several times a year to identify which branding attributes matter to customers, how much effort the company invested in such attributes and to decide whether or not to invest more effort into these attributes.

Monitoring changes in brand attributes valued by customers over time also informs the company’s long-term marketing strategy. Social media is also a source of data that can provide insights into how well the brand is doing.

“The rise of digital and social media means we can collect customer insights through digital, such as by looking at people’s reactions to posts or proprietary digital platforms to deduce whether they really like our products and services or not,” Yeung said.

“We can then respond in real time. For example, if they really like particular merchandise we are promoting at a certain time, then we would push it harder or launch more promotions.”

Another method is to solicit opinions proactively from social media fans.

“We have asked users what they want from upcoming product launches or to get feedback on things we are thinking of launching. These conversations are connected to the brand because any interaction with the brand is a brand experience,” Yeung said.

“Social media gives the customer a real-time

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platform to interact with you and how quickly you respond and act upon their feedback determines the quality of your brand experience.”

Should mass-market brands look into niche branding?

Some luxury brands have begun looking into launching limited edition products or brands within the big brand to maximise growth and capture a more diverse range of customers.

Would this strategy bode well for mass-market brands?

Cheng believes niche branding is not the strategy for mass-market brands.

“Niche branding simply increases market penetration by a little and people have a tendency to switch between niche brands.

We shouldn’t give niche marketing a premium – if your business model is mass-market then market penetration is the priority,” Cheng said.

“Brands are starting to become too similar so instead of launching a niche brand, try to become distinctive and tell a compelling story about your brand.”

In contrast, Yeung said niche marketing could be valuable for capturing smaller customer segments in addition to mainstream audiences.

“For example, our brand serves the masses, but we also want to position the brand as young and energetic. We have print ads, TVCs and

Facebook feeds. But we might have a campaign through which we want to lock in a niche target audience,” Yeung said.

“In that case, apart from doing the basic TVC and print ads, we might produce special viral videos to intrigue young people who have more distinctive tastes.” Her idea is the top layer of 7-Eleven’s branding strategy is to serve the masses. Below that layer, the strategy is to target a younger audience, which can require special methods such as niche marketing.

What will the value of the brand look like in the future?

It won’t be just about the number of customers who have used your products and services, according to Yeung, but more about creating a demand for the future based on customer insights.

“It’s a fast changing world. You can’t simply focus on the present value of your brand.

Innovation takes time so you should develop a vision for market development and work towards that,” Yeung said.

“Apple is a case in point. Now, they are meeting the existing needs of their customers, but in the beginning, they created demand for their products.” Cheng foresees brands sticking to the fundamentals of a brand-oriented business model, whether online or offline.

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BRANDS – ARE YOU FAITHFUL OR ARE YOU A FLIRT? Valentine’s Day has just passed by and made Rezwana Manjur think about how much of a flirt brands are when it comes to other agencies.

A white paper published by The Bed Ford Group says the average agency client relationship is now a mere three years. We know in some cases it is only one or, at best, two.

In the 1980s the number was 7.2 years.

Another study by agency RPA showed that while 88% of clients claim to openly speak their mind, only 36% of agency partners agree.

Also, while 90% of agencies think they really do understand their clients’ business, only 65% of clients agreed.

For folks working in the marketing and communications industry, it sure seems like marketers and agencies are not communicating enough, perhaps they don’t even understand each other very well.

Now Valentine’s Day has just gone by and relationship talks are happening all around us.

Last year the Daily Mail reported Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular times for relationships to come to an end. So this had me wondering – what with so many hot shops popping up every other day in our industry are brands staying loyal to agencies and vice versa?

Are clients always flirting with leaving their AORs? Steven Greenway, head of commercial at Scoot, told Marketing he thinks otherwise.

The brand currently works with a network of agencies. As such creative ideas are plenty and the brand hardly needs to look outside the network, according to him. Moreover, a lot of the times the fun hot shop agencies are mostly “here today and gone tomorrow”, he adds However, Rod Strother, director of the digital and social centre of excellence at Lenovo Singapore, feels sometimes this “flirting around” can actually be all about brands doing good due diligence.

“Checking in with agencies that you’ve seen before and hearing what they are doing that is new or listening to pitches from new agencies which you’ve never met can often provide validation that your current agency is keeping up with or staying ahead of the competition,” Strother says.

He adds that often enough agencies will make contact with brands to introduce themselves.

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True love: Is there such a thing when it comes to client-agency relationship?

For Lenovo, he explains, given the amount of projects the company has on board, it is sometimes impossible for its agency (We Are Social) to take on all of them. This is then handed out to other agencies to test their capabilities.

“Nonetheless, as the brand’s main agency, first dibs are always given to We Are Social on any new projects.”

But what if your relationship is a struggling one, I ask Strother. Usually a great deal of investment will have been made on both sides into the relationship, he said.

Also, with the accumulated brand and product knowledge within the agency, it is not always easy to just up and leave a struggling agency client relationship. Hence, it is always worth exploring why it’s not working.

Ideally, an open and honest dialogue is needed in such a situation if both parties are able to step back to assess each other’s performance. However, as with any relationship, there is no guarantee of the relationship not souring. As Strother says: So yes, when you do run out of options then unfortunately severing ties is your last resort. But that’s exactly what it should be – a last resort.

Agencies take on the love affair Keith Timimi, chairman of VML Qais, adds that before embarking on a relationship it is the duty of any buying organisation to perform due diligence and carefully select from the options before it.

“Having selected one or more agency partners, investment is needed on all sides to get the benefit out of those relationships,” he says.

“The best work tends to be driven out of deep long-term partnerships – with teams of people from the client and agency side who have been through the wars together, have had their ups and downs, and have worked out how to work it out together.”

He adds a big part of the agency client relationship evolution needs to start with the procurement department. In a nutshell, more needs to be done to evaluate the best partnerships that can take “more account of the outsized contribution of intangibles to performance-based success”.

Meanwhile, with the customer pulling further ahead of marketers, agencies and clients need to come closer together to create a new relevance for brands and products in the world that consumers have fashioned for themselves.

“Now more than ever we need to be thinking long-term,” Timimi says.

Meanwhile, Dan Gibson, managing director of Havas Singapore, agrees that when clients do snoop around for ideas or “flirt” with other agencies it takes away from giving 100% with their current agencies.

So how do you ensure your client is not straying?

Gibson says agencies and clients both need to be sensitive to their partners and listen to their needs. That insight should be applied to salvage the relationship. If it’s still worth a shot, then a strategy must be formulated to “shake things up, so that your partner feels an immediate, tangible and positive difference”.

Ajit Varghese, regional CEO of Maxus, adds that when the relationship is not evolving or there is an expectation mismatch, partnerships should see a natural end.

If not, both parties end up investing a lot behind understanding the brands, working styles and expectations, intellectual equity, change management, and softer aspects of a team’s passion and speed. And all that gets lost in transition and rebuilding.

“Smart clients and agencies do understand this and set up constant evaluation metrics and set the agenda that is constantly discussed so these relationships are worked upon with KPIs and objectives,” Varghese says.

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24/10/2014 17:01

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ARE BRANDS READY FOR PAY-TO-PLAY? How should brands approach Facebook now that its organic reach is almost close to nil?

Rayana Pandey asks. (thus suggesting some semblance of brand affinity) or to one who has not?” he says.

As a result, clients will need to review their online digital advertising budgets if they want to reach their audiences on FB, and at the very least, review allocation within the digital spend itself.

“Generally speaking, FB display seems to perform better from a click-through-rate perspective in comparison to other online display platforms/channels,” he adds.

Over and out: What brands should know about Facebook’s declining organic reach.

What was once a fear of many marketers is now a reality. Facebook has made it official that it will actively cut down on “promotional content” that appears in a user’s News Feed.

Facebook’s declining organic reach is no secret. Read what marketers thought about it here. What is new, however, is that it’s happening now and is forcing marketers to either p(l)ay along or miss out.

Ever since Facebook went public, it has made its stance clear about the saturation of the organic reach of branded content through Facebook pages.

“The point is, why should reach be free on this medium given that brands splurge for reach on every other channel – from TV, print, OOH, search and display banner ads? And mind you, it’s a public company now and it has to report quarterly revenue figures to shareholders,” said Prantik Mazumdar, managing partner of Happy Marketer.

According to Prakash Kamdar, CEO of Isobar Singapore, with all brands now having to pay to have their content seen by their fans and/ or non-fans alike, it only makes it all the more important for them to ensure their sponsored content is rich in engagement value to see real ROI from a cost-per-engagement perspective.

But do these recent developments render the years that brands spent amassing fans as a pointless exercise? Kamdar disagrees.

“Let me put it this way – would a brand rather pay to have its post seen by a person who has made an effort to like its brand page

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Here are five key points as summarised by Mazumdar on what brands should do about this change: 1. First, accept the change in regime and objectively compare the social channel with other available options and see if it still makes commercial sense. I doubt there is any other medium out there today that can potentially give you a reach of 1.3 billion monthly active users, who can be targeted using powerful demographic/behavioural/ interest-based parameters.

2. Use Facebook more as an engagement platform to build your brand, listen to your customers and interact with them – measure its efficacy from that point of view as opposed to the usual metrics of clicks, leads and sales. The brand page platform is best suited for it.

3. It’s a given that to increase reach, brands must pay. Given the money involved, brands will carefully need to decide which posts are important enough to be paid promoted and which ones can survive with its usual organic reach. Brands will be forced to focus more on the quality of the content, the image/video used, the copywriting efforts that could drive higher clicks and readership – essentially the payment regime will drive higher levels of involvement, creativity and discipline from both brands and their agencies.

4. If brands want to leverage Facebook as a lead generation/sales channel, they should make the most of Facebook’s new advertising products such as custom audience and remarketing ads that allow

brands to serve custom ads/messages to its loyal/existing customer bases to drive higher conversion. Even for the normal ads, brands should carry out more A/B testing to see which ones work better. It is imperative brands juxtapose their customer data with the Facebook advertising system to drive higher ROI. 5. Brands need to make the most of Facebook’s open graph platform to link up their website and microsite assets with their Facebook page using plug-ins – this would help increase the flow of traffic between their website and their fan page and vice versa.

6. As per Facebook’s Q4 earnings report, the bulk of its growth is being driven by its mobile app users in Asia and it’s critical brands optimise their content engagement experience for the mobile device.

Brands need to get used to the paid regime on digital platforms, choose clear business objectives for the different social platforms, plan their spends well and optimise regularly and continue to measure the right metrics. In my view, Facebook is still one of the better digital channels available for clients out there and far more cost-effective than many other offline/ online channels.

It’s up to the brands and their agencies on how they make the most of the organic and inorganic options available.

In an announcement, Facebook identified three kinds of posts it will actively curb. Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an app; posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real context; and posts that reuse the exact same content from ads.

“Beginning in January 2015, people will see less of this type of content in their News Feeds.

As we’ve said before, News Feed is already a competitive place – as more people and pages are posting content, competition to appear in News Feed has increased. All of this means that pages that post promotional creative should expect their organic distribution to fall significantly over time,” Facebook said. .

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5 TRENDS TO EXPECT IN THE YEAR OF THE GOAT The role of the ECDs will change drastically, clients will take a more active role in creative here’s what to expect, writes Bates CHI’s chief David Mayo.

The Year of the Horse brought trends to the forefront such as a bigger push towards native advertising, crowdsourcing and a greater appreciation for data. What will the Year of the Goat bring?

1. Clients take a more active role in creative Marketing directors today are more clued-in and have more opinions on the work than their predecessors, a result of being in their jobs and in Asia longer. They will take a more active hand in the creative process, and the agencies they want to work with, to create the work they want.

2. Bespoke, not integrated More clients will opt to use multiple agencies over a single one. There has been a greater shift towards project work, as marketers choose to work with specialist shops, instead of retainers, to create the most impactful campaigns designed for different audiences. The concept of integrated agencies will be shadowed by the need for collaboration over a wider range of platforms to engage audiences where it most matters to them.

3. The role of the ECDs will change drastically In response to clients’ changing needs, ECDs will have to don new hats and become less of directors and more of producers. Apart from conceptualising the work, they will now have to act as a central point for a network of specialists, and channel their efforts over various platforms into a collective whole.

4. Responsive, omni-channel retail In the age of snackable content and information on demand, consumers are becoming more savvy, and multi-channel shopping has become an expectation that must be met. Increasingly there will be a blurring of lines between physical and online stores, as businesses’ psychological loyalty to different retail channels breaks down to better capture the customer. Businesses will evolve to create a top-notch customer experience driven from

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What will the industry focus on in 2015?

“There has been a greater shift towards project work, as marketers choose to work with specialist shops, instead of retainers, to create the most impactful campaigns designed for different audiences.”

David Mayo — Chief executive officer, Bates CHI & Partners Asia.

back-end technology to sale, incorporating a brand story and consistent offerings that are channel agnostic.

5. Mobile advertising will mature The mobile device is the centre of the consumer’s universe, and marketers who don’t pay attention to mobile strategies this

year do so at their own disadvantage. Despite some growing pains, this is the year mobile strategies will scale up, and we can expect to see marketers redefine the use of mobile in a variety of ways. At the same time, more mobile advertising measurement tools will be rolled out, allowing advertisers to better track and optimise mobile campaigns.

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OPINION: AD WATCH/WEB WATCH

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Melvin Kuek Managing director Y&R Advertising Singapore

AD WATCH HOT: Clash of Clans – Liam’s Revenge

NOT: Lexus ‘Make some noise’

Every big brand’s ad budget considerations seem to vanish in the face of the Super Bowl.

At least 42 ads, running at a cost of US$4.5 million per 30 seconds, are vying for the world’s attention. The sheer cost of the media placement seems to be just cause for brands to spend lavishly on one-time celebrity endorsements and/or Nolan-esque production values. Let’s review from the “have they spent wisely” viewpoint. An action game featuring a big-time action star. Has to be a winner right? Damn right it is. It’s got Liam Neeson in full-on Bryan Mills (Taken) mode talking about taking out another gamer in a brilliant monologue with his mobile. Key consumer insight: if it’s cool enough for him to play, it’s cool enough for us older kids as well. Well played Supercell. Getting Neeson on board was well worth the money from a business opportunity standpoint. I just get the nagging feeling it didn’t need to spend US$9 million on a one-minute spot to achieve that.

This should have been a good one. Great product proposition: Lexus’ first ever turbo-charged engine gracing the quite stylish NX luxury hybrid crossover. The creative execution left me completely lost. “Be seen. Be heard. Make some noise” was all about some models dancing around a rather wet carpark. Instead of sexy turbo growls, we had taps and clicks making up the droll soundscape around the interspersed car-porn footage.

This was a wasted creative opportunity to showcase a new landmark for Lexus. Conversely, this ad definitely needed to cough up the media millions to force on the eyeballs. I fear even that is not enough to convince anyone to consider buying the car.

Wai Kit Lew Clicks2Customers Managing director of SEA

WEB WATCH HOT: Lazada.sg

NOT: Toyotasingapore.com.sg

One of my main criteria nowadays when assessing a brand’s website is its ability to provide a satisfying mobile experience. Lazada is one of those e-commerce companies that understands the difference between desktop and mobile users and its site is fully responsive. The desktop version of the site offers a visually appealing appearance and is great for browsing. It strikes a really good balance between the visual and functional elements of the site, and despite the use of high quality images, the site feels quick and responsive. The mobile site is more geared towards users who want to do a quick search for a product, and I often use it to compare prices when shopping in physical stores.

My only criticism is Lazada prompts me to install its app, rather than use the mobile site, whenever I browse the site. I understand it wants to promote the app, but as user, I find it interferes with my intentions.

Car brands have a long history of developing websites which try to resemble a showroom, but are terrible from a user’s point of view.

When visiting the Toyota Singapore site on my mobile phone, I’m served the desktop version of the site, which in itself, feels like a big brochure. Needless to say, finding any useful information on this site using a mobile phone is a challenge, and the first link I clicked even took me to a completely different microsite. Other car brands do provide a very engaging and satisfying mobile experience, but Toyota is definitely falling behind in this aspect of brand experience. Ironically, at the bottom of the page I was asked if I was interested in taking a short survey to help improve the site. But the survey itself wasn’t mobile friendly and the questions felt completely out of touch with the user experience. Hopefully a consumer-centric site revamp is imminent.

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AN ICELANDIC EXPERIENCE Icelandic vodka brand Reyka picked a playful way to draw guests to its event, with themed stereoscopes.

A little creativity went a long way in helping Reyka draw in guests for its launch event.

In the face of a wearied consumer landscape that had witnessed countless tried and tested party themes in the name of vodka, Reyka was looking for a unique touch for its launch event.

Reyka – a handcrafted and small-batch Icelandic vodka – sought to enter the premium vodka market with an immersive and unique experience to intrigue guests. The idea was to put across the inventive Icelandic culture as a point of differentiation and drive brand preference.

With the help of its creative agency Goodstuph, key influencers from various creative industries were invited to create a cascading effect of brand preference to the rest of the consumers. These people are at the forefront of cool and are highly courted by brands. A good idea and impeccable execution was needed to get their attention. When you live on the edge of the arctic, you need to know how to have fun.

The solution was to use Iceland’s unique culture to create a space that would allow consumers to experience Reyka very differently – not just through the act of tasting the vodka, but also through a sensory encounter with the brand and its stories.

Therefore the entire premise of the experience was to create an unexpected, inventive wonderland that provided a view into Iceland and its quirkiness. With this, it knew the run of the mill printed paper invites wouldn’t cut it for such a unique event.

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It created a view into Iceland with an inventive analog toy – a stereoscope. The stereoscopes were customised with the Reyka branding and 3D reels were created containing the fairy tale storyline of the creation of Reyka and the details of the event. These branded stereoscopes were then packed into plastic toy packaging and hand delivered to a targeted guest list.

The results The brand received an 80% response rate to invites sent out, with more than 250 creative opinion leaders attending the event, and an additional 45 media guests participating in the media preview hosted by its Reyka regional ambassador.

THE MAIL Objective: Enter the premium vodka market with an immersive and unique experience to intrigue guests.

Idea: During the event, the team saw: • 750 or more trials of the product with positive feedback.

• 156 social media posts about the event were also made, of which 14 were celebrity posts, equating to an outreach to 193,014 followers, with total estimated PR value of more than SG$70,000.

• Total estimated PR value of more than SG$141,954 for both online and print coverage.

What was most encouraging was the overwhelming response and positive feedback received at the event, with more than three mentions of the Reyka encounter being “one of the best launches” of the year.

Stereoscopes were customised with the Reyka branding; 3D reels were created containing the story line of the creation of Reyka and the details of the event.

Results: An 80% response rate to invites sent out; more than 250 creative opinion leaders attending the event; and an additional 45 media guests participating in the media preview; and 750 or more trials of the product with positive feedback.

Felle Lim Regional brand manager William Grant & Sons

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5/3/2015 7:33:53 PM

STARWOOD’S ASIA PACIFIC PRESIDENT STEPHEN HO IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL LEADER OF A BILLION-DOLLAR HOTEL GROUP. A QUIET ACHIEVER AND RISK-TAKER, THIS FORMER PASTRY CHEF IS NOW FRONTING AN AMBITIOUS EXPANSION OF THE HOTEL GROUP IN SOME OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST GROWTH MARKETS, WRITES JENNIFER CHAN. The 38th floor penthouse at W Hotels is not for the faint-hearted.

Surrounded by a wall of windows overlooking Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, it is a magnificent, and somewhat intimidating view.

It’s where I’m scheduled to meet Stephen Ho, president of Starwood Hotels’ Asia Pacific operations, but instead we shift to Woobar for a more casual setting.

Ho started his career at Starwood 31 years ago as a pastry chef in Singapore.

The father of three sits at the helm of one of the world’s largest hotels and resorts companies, spearheading the ambitious expansion of the Starwood empire and its collection of brands – Sheraton, W Hotels, St. Regis, Westin and Four Points by Sheraton.

In the past decade, the HKU graduate has added about 150 more

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hotels, growing the business from less than 12 hotels 10 years ago to almost 200 operating hotels and resorts in the Greater China region.

After three decades of service, he describes his success as a mixture of a feel for new markets and knowing when to seize an opportunity.

“It was not an easy change, but I took the challenge,” Ho says of his move from the kitchen into the office.

“I’ve always had the belief that if things didn’t work out, I can always go back to the kitchen. I was a very successful pastry chef,” he adds proudly.

The opportunity came 12 years ago when he was offered a development position in China, a role he accepted without hesitation.

“I believed in the potential of China earlier before everybody else. I saw the opportunity when I first visited The Great Wall Sheraton.

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PROFILE

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“The area was very deserted and there was only one building. Then you started to see the growth of the city, you see people starting to change in China.

You have to take risks at times, but more importantly, you have to believe in the market, which makes you stay for the long haul.

“In China, the volume of the population makes you realise there’s a lot of potential.”

Being the world’s second largest economy, China accounts for 50% of Starwood’s business in Asia Pacific, the group’s second largest market after North America.

To make the best out of the hub of the biggest tourism growth market, where 70% of Starwood guests are mostly domestic travellers, the group migrated its headquarters to Shanghai and Beijing for six weeks to back the launch of its fourth and second Sheraton in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively, back in 2011.

“It was done basically to assist the local team, to gain a better understanding of the China market and to spend more time with partners.”

And the momentum continues. The hotel chain is opening an average of 20 to 30 hotels every year in the market.

“When we look five to 10 years down the road, China will overtake the US because there’s a lot happening in China. Understanding the China market is therefore very important.”

In the hotel space, where room occupancy is often considered a hotel performance benchmark, a great deal of effort has been put into diversifying the target market.

The 85% occupancy for the 4,000 rooms at the Sheraton Hotel in

customer loyalty under the help of word-of-mouth.” Like many hotel chains, Starwood is now capturing data from both the hotels and customers about preferences on rooms, diet, music, as well as booking patterns via the SPG online channels and app.

“You need to make sure your guests feel like they’re in the city, and to let them feel they have been recognised, and to let them know that you would take the trouble to understand them during the stay.” Starwood is serious about this and says it will invest about US$100 million into digital and technology innovation across its global network in the next two years, on top of the US$500 million upgrade which has already been spent.

The hotel chain is also realising the increasingly important role of online travel agents, or OTAs, such as Ctrip, TripAdvisor and Agoda, platforms that account for 20% of the bookings within the Starwood family in Asia.

“Online booking activity is vivid these days. OTAs are like our travel agent partners, and we have to understand each others’ needs to best utilise the platform.”

The key, he stresses, is to strike a balance on brand presence across all platforms, including traditional media and all SPG digital channels – since more than 50% of guests are SPG members.

That being said, the answer to customer loyalty can be found in even the smallest things – staff who speak mandarin, a pair of comfortable slippers or a localised menu.

“Food and beverage are very important to keep the locals. From breakfast to lunch meetings, and dinner for gatherings. It’s important to keep the local population, that’s the only way you can be successful.”

“THE ANSWER TO CUSTOMER LOYALTY CAN BE FOUND IN EVEN THE SMALLEST THINGS – STAFF WHO SPEAK MANDARIN, A PAIR OF COMFORTABLE SLIPPERS OR A LOCALISED MENU.” Macau, for example, is based upon a wide range of MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) events for business guests on top of its billion-dollar casino business for leisure guests.

In the same vein, the W brand in Hong Kong also adds up to a 90% occupancy because the 38-storey building is equipped with a handsome Woobar and even a W merchandise store for shoppers, captivating business travellers on week days and leisure seekers on weekends.

But the hotel business still has a great deal of work to do in getting customers to return on a regular basis. In that sense, customer loyalty plays a crucial role in business sustainability, particularly with luxury guests.

Its award-winning loyalty programme – Starwood’s Preferred Guest (SPG) – one of Ho’s proudest products – sits at the centre of its CRM marketing activities within the Starwood empire.

Loyalty is far more than just earning points.

"At Starwood, it’s more about special moments, like birthday surprises or bringing customers to concerts and even backstage, oneon-one ambassador services to handle travel bookings, and taking care also of their (SPG members) families.”

Indeed, the service is exclusive to SPG members, but then again, the company is making an effort to grow the membership base, Ho adds.

“It’s all about personalisation; and technology enables us to deliver personalised service.”

The concept of its newly launched SPG app-supported mobile and keyless entry system, which allows guests to use smartphones as a key, as well as its Apple Watch-compatible bluetooth room key system, certainly achieved what the president keeps emphasising – being innovative – which, again, sounds like another risky plan.

“This kind of innovation may not receive immediate return. But we stay bullish that in the long-run, this initiative will eventually increase

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For Ho, personally, he has a heavy dose of wanderlust, and a demanding one.

“Travelling is something you must enjoy. To me, the meaning of travel is to understand not only the city, but also the citizens – of what they eat, and what they do on a daily basis. From there, you gain a better understanding of a city and that may help the business at some point.”

Next March, he along with the whole senior management team, will relocate to India for five weeks to serve the same purpose. Up until now, there are 36 operating hotels under the Starwood umbrella in India with 40 under construction.

His next big project, following the W Beijing launch on 1 November, is an ambitious expansion plan into India next year, a country Ho predicts as the soon-to-be second largest market in Asia, behind China.

For now though, Ho is racing ahead at full steam, with plans to add more muscle to Starwood’s Asia portfolio with the launch of Le Méridien in Bhutan at the end of this year, and another one next year. The two 70 to 80 room boutique hotels may be small, but they are exclusive at US$350 to $400 per night.

His ambition also extends to adventure and ultra-luxury travel, with Starwood’s two biggest brands – Sheraton and W Hotel – opening up in Nepal and Sri Lanka and one St. Regis in Maldives, a vacation spot known for diving and all kinds of adventurous activities.

This aggressive expansion will bring about 10,000 more staff to the Starwood family across Asia.

Ho describes himself as “very bullish” about the overall business environment.

“There will always be challenges. But when you look at the market, people won’t stop travelling.

“There’s a significant increase in median income in the region and it will be those people who will fuel a lot of growth in the Asia Pacific.”

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MARKETING FEATURE: LUXURY MARKETING

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THE AGE-OLD PRACTICES OF LUXURY BRANDS ARE CHANGING, AS CONSUMERS SEE LUXURY DIFFERENTLY. WHAT’S NEW-AGE LUXURY MARKETING LIKE? REZWANA MANJUR WRITES.

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Welcome to the world of luxury. Once a world of extreme exclusivity, inaccessibility and elusiveness, today the world of luxury is evolving to target a wider audience.

The world of luxury is experiencing changes – both from the way consumers are developing, as well as the way luxury businesses themselves are being run. Luxury marketing has now shifted to reflect these trends.

On the consumer side, Sumindi Peiris, global director of Johnnie Walker – Reserve Variants of Diageo, says consumers are more interested in unique experiences and the social currency that comes with them rather than owning or collecting “possessions”, as in the past.

“The more traditional idea of conspicuous consumption is being replaced by an emphasis on quality, authenticity and uniqueness.

Modern consumers are demanding more meaningful and personalised returns on their spends; intangible success is measured in the form of ‘one of a kind’ experiences as well as deep personal development,” she says.

She explains the definition of “wealth” has become more and more segmented today. As an increasing number of people enter the world of wealth, luxury is available to more. However, the 1% of ultra wealthy consumers still seek exclusivity.

While brands obviously want to benefit from the growing pool of wealthy consumers, they also need to do so in a way that does not “cheapen” their cache in the eyes of the “most wealthy”, she adds.

Simultaneously, the rise of the ultra highnet-worth individual places new demands on luxury brands to think creatively – to go that extra mile and offer something truly rare and extraordinary.

Global takeover by luxury conglomerates Second, the way luxury businesses are being run has evolved as well. Sebastien VacherotToure, chief creative officer of Publicis 133 LUX Asia Pacific, the agency’s newest arm catered to luxury marketing, says just a decade ago luxury maisons were mostly family owned and had much smaller setups. However, today, luxury conglomerates are taking over these maisons.

These small in-house setups have thus grown exponentially and have evolved to take on specialised functions such as public relations, communications, customer service, digital, CRM, marketing and e-commerce, among others on a global scale.

“We’re seeing the democratisation of luxury at an unprecedented level, driven by globalisation and the digital revolution. Long gone are the days when luxury was only available to the select few. The idea of luxury,

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In tandem with trends: Whilst traditional media and events continue to dominate, digital is slowly making its place in the marketing mix of luxury brands.

once perceived as a ‘rarity’, has now evolved into ‘masstige’,” Vacherot-Toure says.

This has also led to the rise of using technology in the luxury sector, allowing luxury brands to reach their target audiences on a larger and more accurate scale.

Brenda Pek, Asia Pacific’s marketing manager for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, says with the exponential growth in the digital media space in recent years, more ultra high-networth individuals are embracing technology as a source of information. However, this remains a growing development for the brand, which still spends 50% to 60% of its marketing spend on events and 3% to 5% of its marketing spend on digital.

Ultimately, what digital effectively does is it allows brands to add a layer of richness to the client experience. This, in return, encourages

a closer and deeper connection in creative ways, says Rick Lam, senior vice-president of global marketing for Accor Luxury and Upscale Brands.

According to LuxHub, Havas Media’s newly launched luxury consulting boutique, one of the strongest trends is the growing role of digital in the luxury consumer journey. LuxHub recently completed a global luxury survey of the top 10% of consumers by household income.

It found nearly 57% of all respondents and 72% of Millennials felt that luxury brands should engage with social media. In China, social media engagement for luxury consumers can be expected to rise to 88%. While a rich in-store experience is key for many brands, (49% of respondents said it was their preferred method), the focus on digital for luxury marketing is only set to rise.

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“It’s now necessary to create a consistent and engaging luxury experience across channels and devices – something many luxury brands have been slow to adopt given the difficulty of creating a rich luxury experience on some devices. Even if consumers still prefer to buy luxury items in physical stores, many will research, compare and decide on products online before making the offline purchase,” says Stuart Clark, managing director of Havas Media APAC. One brand clearly leading the way in integrating online and offline is Cartier.

The luxury brand has invested in creating a series of social media films and content that is consistently animated across platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. As such, the content engages its audiences on various levels, leading to chatter, awareness and brand affinity – all of which has led to a huge increase in the brand’s online following.

Other luxury brands have also been experimenting on digital platforms, particularly for their localised focus.

Last year, just six months into a collaboration with mobile platform WeChat, Burberry decided to extend its partnership and enhance its social and mobile presence in China. The expanded digital deal allowed Burberry followers on WeChat to watch its London Fashion Week show and hear WeChat-only audio content about the inspiration and details of key runway events.

Vacherot-Toure adds that clearly marketers who are ahead of the curve can leverage social technology to amplify their presence and raise awareness in local markets. Ultimately they are able to create sustainable desire, allure and demand for their brands.

Can brands keep their exclusivity with digital?

While digital no doubt has had a profound impact on the world of luxury, it is a doubleedged sword.

In a conversation with Marketing, Erica Kerner, VP of marketing communications for Asia Pacific at Tiffany & Co, explains that while embracing digital is vital for most brands today, brands should be selective.

“For every brand there is a delicate balance of keeping it luxurious and exclusive, while reaching the masses when using social media.

However, luxury brands do need to remember it is OK to go a little bit mass market because as a brand you want to be aspirational and inspire consumers to buy your product in the future,” she says.

Social media is ultimately for the masses.

Hence, for every brand using digital, the challenge is slightly different, she adds.

Despite digital having the ability to increase

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sales numbers and reap great profits, it can, at the same time, put brands at risk of crass commercialism and destroy their allure. Hence, luxury brands need to learn to balance this paradox while interacting with consumers on a cultural level.

Myths should be conveyed indirectly and should be consistent across all touch-points – across product, merchandising, retail, digital and marketing platforms, says Vacherot-Toure.

“Brands such as Chanel, Hermès and Loro Piana focus on myth-telling, product savoirfaire and craftsmanship. They do not push consumers to buy their products, but rather communicate the allure of the brand and stories associated with it.”

A touch of class: Impressing the consumer With the struggle for attention only increasing, how does a luxury brand now stand out?

Recent trends have seen brands heavily

invest in event marketing to impress clients. No longer confined to a product showcase or the launch of a new store, brands are pushing their creative muscle with all kinds of events such as art exhibitions, galas and even experiential walk-throughs.

Kerner explains that while a print ad may set the mood of your brand, until brands can get customers into their stores, consumers have not really experienced the living breathing brand. While unable to release numbers as to how much of the brand’s spend currently goes into digital or event marketing, she does say that over the years the numbers have significantly increased.

When done right, the pay off these event experiences present to marketers is immense.

Events allow for storytelling to come to life and to communicate a brand’s code, DNA and values. A well-executed and thought-through event experience can generate immeasurable

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MARKETING FEATURE: LUXURY MARKETING

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emotional affinity between a brand and its audience.

This in turn increases loyalty and top-ofmind awareness.

Lam talks about the vital role of events in playing a more active role in a consumer’s experience.

Its luxury hotel chain Sofitel, for example, created a photo exhibition “Revealed” that took an intimate look at the world’s greatest modern artists at work as they revealed themselves to the photographer. Olivier Widmaier Picasso, grandson of Pablo Picasso, curated the exhibition and personally selected the 30 photographs from the collection of Paris Match, a well-known French weekly magazine.

First opening in New York, the exhibition then crossed the US and Canada before coming to Europe.

Another example would be the brand’s launch last year of Sofitel So Singapore. Sofitel So is a contemporary lifestyle brand under Sofitel Luxury Hotels. It is a collection of designer lifestyle hotels with unique personalities and chic style – each expressing the essence of its unique destination.

Each Sofitel So is crafted around a design “signature” – a collaboration with a worldrenowned designer or artist that links the essence of the destination.

Sofitel So Singapore featured the graphic touch of Karl Lagerfeld who exclusively

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Not scared of digital: Cartier is one of the luxury brands which has made significant progress in integrating digital into its marketing mix.

designed “The Lion’s Seal” emblem of the hotel, which commemorates the birth of “Singa Pura”, the Lion City. The emblem paid homage to the lion as a symbol of innate courage and dignity, values which underpin the ethos of Sofitel So Singapore, driving the evolution of the local hospitality industry.

Lagerfeld was also inspired by the property itself – an iconic neo-classical heritage building first built in 1927 as the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company Building and which was given conservative status in 2000 and is today situated in the thriving heart of Singapore’s central business district.

Sofitel So Singapore guests are now surrounded by Lagerfeld’s graphic touch through a variety of objects, including hotel collaterals from correspondence cards to check-in folders, door knockers and many more

surprise touches that guests are encouraged to discover themselves.

By creating such luxurious events, Lam explains the brand was able to underscore the passion that Sofitel brings to the art of hospitality.

It also allowed Sofitel to reinforce its commitment to culture in an engaging and enriching way for both the brand and Sofitel’s clients.

Keeping it fresh Nonetheless, constantly raising the bar in a very niche space, all the while keeping in line with the brand’s image and DNA of a luxury brand, is no easy feat.

For Diageo, says Peiris, the brand actively tries to differentiate its events by collaborating with creatives “who push the frontiers of what is possible”.

Last year the brand collaborated with

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renowned food architects Bompas & Parr and Done+Dusted, independent producers in branded content production, for its immersive production “Symphony in Blue”. This was a theatrical experience challenging consumers to touch, think and talk differently about whisky.

Agreeing with him, Lam says luxury brands face the constant need to stimulate and engage their audiences. Often this needs to be done by creating new and differentiating content.

However, this content must still be created in a way that is authentic to the brand’s story and savoir-faire and create meaning and value for the consumer and the brand.

With all that said and done, Kerner adds that what sets the world of luxury apart ultimately is the attention to detail and the consistency of the brand value – both of which are vital in executing

a flawless event. Hence, she explains, a common practice among many of the luxury brands is to have an event team in-house to ensure complete control over detail and ensure brand alignment.

Rise of the East It is hard to raise the subject of luxury marketing without looking at the burgeoning Chinese market – a market that is taking up the minds of luxury brand owners.

According to Bain & Company’s 2014 China Luxury Market Study, 70% of the 1,400 Mainland Chinese consumers surveyed said they liked to try out different brands and styles.

Almost 45% of respondents planned to buy more products from emerging luxury brands in the next three years.

“This creates a new window of opportunity for emerging brands. At the same time, it is

TOP FIVE LUXURY MARKETING TRENDS FOR 2015 – BY CHRIS COMER, CEO OF CASTLEWOOD GROUP 1.

The rise in the luxury “experience”: Top-end retailers have always provided customers with unique and luxury experiences as part of their sales strategy. The decision behind this is because of the consumer’s desire to feel like a VIP. By rousing a feel-good factor when purchasing a product, inevitably the consumer will associate that feeling with that brand.

2.

Personalised and not just customised: Luxury brands will look for ways to offer more than just customisable (available to mass market) products and services, but also personalised (only to VVIPs) products and services such as Johnnie Walker’s Signature Blend events. With the ever-increasing demands of consumers, the luxury segment is seeing expectations of a service that caters for individual needs, rather than a one-sizefits-all – and if you, as a brand, can’t deliver they will find a brand that can.

3.

Innovative marketing: Affluent individuals and UHNW consumers are susceptible to being targeted in new and innovative ways. I believe we will see an increase in brands from traditional industries executing cutting-edge and out-of-the-box marketing campaigns with digital and social media at the core of their activities.

4.

Increased targeting of the Asian market: The middle class in Asia is growing and will represent 66% (about 3.2 billion) of the global middle-class population that is expected to reach 4.9 billion by 2030, therefore, I believe we will see an influx in brands looking to capitalise on the increasing Asia market. We will see luxury brands begin to refocus their efforts to tap into this “new wealth”. We have already seen British luxury brand Mulberry introduce a special Chinese New Year engraving service at its Selfridges store in London; and Scottish whisky brand Haig launch its product with the help of David Beckham in Southeast Asia last year. I believe we will continue to see western brands focus their marketing efforts on increasing their market share with the Asian market.

5.

Increase of unique partnerships with established brands and celebrities: Joint collaborations and celebrity endorsements will be huge in 2015 as brands begin to form mutually beneficial relationships that enable them to grow and focus on their area of expertise. In addition, celebrity endorsements will continue to take centre stage, as brands capitalise on the international appeal of certain personalities that tap into their targeted demographics.

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imperative that more established brands don’t grow complacent as China’s luxury market continues to evolve or they risk falling out of favour with consumers,” said Bruno Lannes, a Bain partner and author of the study.

He adds that brands’ future positioning and popularity within the luxury market hinges on their willingness to revamp concepts to serve the needs of the increasingly sophisticated and well-informed Chinese consumers, “while managing the growing diversity of sales channels such as daigou”.

Daigous are overseas personal shoppers who buy luxury goods and ship them back to their customers in the Mainland. The daigou market grew to an estimated market value of RMB 55-75 billion last year.

Also, Southeast Asia will be an upcoming market in the next few years and the region is on the radar of many global luxury brands.

Kerner explains that while in the past brands did not always feel like they had to debut ideas in Asia, and product launches would usually happen in Europe and then hit Asia, today many brands are debuting their collections here.

Singapore and Malaysia have a longer history, but there is still a lot of room for growth, says Kerner. Meanwhile, markets such as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia also possess incredible opportunities.

The concept of luxury also varies greatly in each market in the region, according to Agility Research & Strategy, which recently released a study of associations consumers made with the concept of luxury. The agency administered the Agility Affluent Insights study online among 1500 (equally distributed) affluent respondents in five countries – China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and the US. Meanwhile, Jae Soh, general manager of Publicis 133 LUX Singapore, explains that tailored and localised marketing strategies are essential as the luxury sector is experiencing a surge in a diverse range of consumers.

Wealth centres are shifting from the west to the east. Asia is where the largest number of newly minted billionaires are based. The region saw strong growth in the size of its billionaire population and total billionaire wealth in 2013 – 30% of the net increase in global billionaire wealth came from this region. Billionaires – defined as those individuals with a net worth of US$1 billion or above – control nearly 4% of the world’s wealth.

These ultra wealthy individuals form one of the most exclusive clubs in the world: there is only one billionaire for every three million people on the planet.

“Striking a balance between global consistency and localised individuality when marketing these brands in a local context is key,” Soh says.

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MARKETING FEATURE: FEATURE ON WOMEN

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THE RISE OF THE "SHE-CONOMY"

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WOMEN REPRESENT A GROWTH MARKET FOR GLOBAL BRANDS - HERE'S WHY AND HOW BRANDS IN MULTIPLE INDUSTRIES ARE TRYING TO GET A SLICE OF THIS BURGEONING MARKET. APPLE LAM WRITES.

The female consumer is increasingly seen as a growth market for brands, even for those which offer traditionally male-oriented products in industries such as automobiles, sports, technology and alcohol beverages.

According to the Ernst & Young's Growing Beyond - High Achievers report, women now earn US$13 trillion around the world. In ďŹ ve years' time, it will go up to US$18 trillion. In 2028, women are expected to control threequarters of the world's discretionary spending.

"Women represent the largest emerging global market and economy because they are starting to have enormous power over politics, sports, business and society. Brands are now waking up to these massive opportunities," Annette Kimmitt, global middle market leader of Ernst & Young, said.

How should marketing departments and materials be adapted to better appeal to the female consumer?

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Part of the answer is to stop talking down to women in advertising and in the boardroom.

Naomi Simson, founding director of online start-up RedBalloon, had worked as a marketing manager for Apple in Australia in the 1990's.

"If you don't have more women in senior leadership roles, you won't have the insights you need to tap into the market of female consumers," she said.

"Women often wait for their turn to speak in the boardroom, and may not even get the chance to voice their ideas and opinions. It's at that very micro level where you miss out on the ideas and that's how you miss out on women as consumers if there isn't that space for them."

Kimmitt agreed brands need diversity of thinking in their marketing teams, which comes from cultural and gender diversity.

"Getting marketing messages right and keeping them accessible to women comes

down to values - if everyone thinks the same way, you won't be able to tap into a different market," she said.

Simson points to patronising language sometimes used by adverts seeking to appeal to women.

"Consumers are very aware when they are being conned, which is why anything unauthentic will be seen as promotion or lip service. If you use patronising language like 'Hey girl!', women will run away," Simson said.

"Women want to be treated the same as men in the sense that they want to be talked to in a transparent, authentic and respectful way."

Kimmitt believes marketing campaigns, such as Procter & Gamble's Like A Girl campaign for its brand Always, which use women's empowerment for branding purposes are positive beginnings for the ad industry.

"I understand why brands create these types of campaigns - you can take the approach

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of seeing it as simply branding - but when I watched the Like a Girl video, I realised that I used that expression too. It was a wake-up call that left an impression on me," Kimmitt said.

"Brands calling to close gender gaps are doing a good thing. People will say it’s selling but if it’s purpose-led, it will have an impact."

The advert is a form of consumer message that plays a major role in influencing culture, much like films and other art forms.

"Consumer messages contribute greatly to our culture," Simson said.

"We need changes in ads - especially naming and shaming of ads that patronise women."

Let's hear from a range of different industries about how they view the trend of the growing female consumer market and their response to it through their marketing strategy.

Automobiles: Audi Approximately 70% of Audi Hong Kong's customers are men and although cars are traditionally associated with men, Reinhold Carl, managing director of Audi Hong Kong, believes the women's premium car market has enormous growth potential.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)'s The Report on Female Consumers in Asia, women nowadays control spending in categories from clothing and accessories to cosmetics, groceries and automobiles.

"The automobile is a product reflecting the personal lifestyle and taste of both men and women today. Women are also the key decision makers in family matters including the purchase of big-ticket items like cars and may affect men's choice of car models," Carl said.

"Women are a significant driving force in today's economy. The 'She-conomy' is on the rise, as pointed out by more than a few reports.

Therefore, becoming a brand that appeals to women will enhance the recognition of Audi among both genders."

He said the growing earning and spending power of young women in Hong Kong and across Asia means women are now seeing the car increasingly as a status symbol.

"What we've seen also is that women who used to see the car as a functional item are now seeing it more and more as an emblem of social status and lifestyle," Carl said.

"Women are spending more on cars nowadays not only because of their functional properties. Design, technology, brand history and prestige are also factors of growing importance for women's purchasing decisions for cars."

Audi's strategy for targeting more women consumers is to increase the association of prestige and exclusivity with its brand by sponsoring events that spreads word-of-mouth, such as The Hong Kong Fashion Extravaganza.

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"Fashion is an effective platform for our brand to get closer to female drivers," Carl said.

"This is reflective of what we see as unique among female drivers and key influencers who are our target audience - design always comes first."

He added that compact car models are more appealing to female consumers and the brand will be launching two compact car models this year.

Alcoholic beverages: Pernod Ricard Champagne is seen as a more traditionally feminine drink while wine and white spirits such as vodka and gin are seen are more unisex.

Whisky and cognac are mostly consumed by men in Asia.

"Women are certainly a growth area for us universally across Asia," Glen Brasington, VP of marketing at Pernod Ricard Asia, said.

"We see that the frequency of going out and hanging out at social occasions is growing for women in Asia, who have lower consumption per capita compared to women in the US and Europe.

"Asian women are drinking more of everything on average, whether it's beer, wine or spirits - but it's about drinking better, not

restaurant bars by themselves or with male and female friends. There is less gender segregation - you don't get groups of men going drinking by themselves as much anymore. The female drinker is driving the choice of the group's alcohol beverages a lot more," Brasington said.

"If groups of people order bottles, they might order bottles of champagne or vodka that the entire group can enjoy rather than just whisky or cognac, which is more popular among the men."

He points out that it's also easier to drink mixed drinks when socialising actively in a group at a bar in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and tier one cities in mainland China. In general, people are ordering more individual drinks and fewer bottles.

"Tier two and three cities still have a long way to go but in tier one Chinese cities, many 20-30-year-old women are in management positions. To bond with colleagues, they are more diverse in their choices of where they go drinking and the people they choose to drink with," Brasington said.

In response to the growing market of female drinkers, Pernod Ricard has been working with bars to create more mixed drinks.

Brasington said, "We are trying to get bars

“If you don't have more women in senior leadership roles, you won't have the insights you need to tap into the market of female consumers.”

Naomi Simson – founding director of online start-up RedBalloon

drinking excessively. We have seen this strong growth over the last three or four years."

Meanwhile, men's consumption patterns have not really changed.

He added there is a lot of corporate pressure on people to socialise with colleagues in Asia, such as having drinks or dinner consumed with drinks after work.

"More women taking up management positions is driving changes in choices of restaurants and types of alcohol beverages that female managers choose to consume along with their staff members," Brasington said.

Across mainland China, Korea and Japan, white-collar workers are shifting from drinking expensive whisky, cognac and wines at highend restaurants to frequenting more affordable restaurants and bars. This is partly reflective of recent anti-graft measures in mainland China, much like the cutting back of entertainment expenditure in Japan in the early 2000s.

In Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Singapore, the modern bar-focused restaurant has become increasingly popular and serves mixed drinks and cocktails.

"Females often go drinking at these

to think about mixed drinks that are made with simple gin- or vodka-based mixes, which fall in between straight spirits and very complex cocktails.

"Next, we would educate the bars to price the mixed drinks properly. They should have premium pricing that is cheaper than beer but not as expensive as cocktails."

He added that twospirits in a mixed drink is very strong and women tend not to want to purchase an expensive or a very strong drink, since many women in Asia prefer drinks with lower alcohol content.

The company's other marketing initiative revolves around champagne and white spirits, for which the brand hopes to promote high-energy unisex environments through experiential marketing such as when groups of men and women celebrate in bars.

"We keep our champagne creatives quite feminine and we encourage lots of unisex sharing of white spirits at music events and dance parties. In Korea, we sell big sets of champagne and vodka bottles with fresh fruit to encourage people to mix drinks themselves," Brasington said.

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MARKETING FEATURE: MARKETING TO WOMEN

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Brands need create cultures within marketing departments to empower women who represent the next big growth market for industries ranging from alcoholic beverages to sports and technology.

Meanwhile in Japan, the brand promotes a sparkling wine through collaborating with nail artists and giving out free samples.

Sports: PUMA Adrian Toy, head of marketing APAC at PUMA, said the men's segment has historically taken up a bigger part of the brand's business but over the past few years, women's participation in sports in the region has grown as they become increasingly health-conscious.

"It's no doubt that the future is female and all about the women's segment, particularly in the area of women's training. It has great growth potential here in the Asia as well as all over the world," Toy said.

PUMA has appointed singer Rihanna as brand ambassador and creative director.

"Her confidence, determination and joyful attitude make her a perfect partner for PUMA and she particularly resonates with the female audience," Toy said.

Meanwhile, communicating effectively with women interested in sports products through advertising means going beyond functional features and product design.

"Female consumers also need to see an emotional benefit such as how confident they can be when they work out wearing those products, such as through the confidence expressed by role models wearing the products," Toy said.

Technology: Sony Simois Ng, head of marketing communications at Sony, does not believe the men's market is saturated. The women's market has always existed but women are commanding more presence as consumers in traditionally maleoriented industries such as sports, cars and technology.

Women's growing spending power and

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their rise up the corporate ladder mean they demand products beyond fashion items. "In the past, a woman might simply buy clothing and handbags but today, these things probably can't satisfy her.

They want to express themselves more," Ng said.

The popularity of social media means that women can conduct their own research before purchasing camera models or ask people on social media networks which camera to buy rather than asking male friends for advice.

"The ease of sharing photos on social media leads to new behaviour that enables women to feel that they can truly own cameras too - that the camera is not just for men."

The desire to appeal to female consumers is reflected in the fact that manufacturers are beginning to change the form factor of cameras by producing lighter, smaller and more colourful cameras for women.

The women's market also has a high potential for growth for Sony.

Over the past two or three years, based on membership data, less than 20% of customers who purchased Sony's camera products are women.

Today, for more colourful and lighter camera models, around 40% of customers are women.

The customers purchasing mobile devices are estimated by Ng to be almost equally split between men and women.

For audiovisual equipment, most of Sony's customers are still men.

To target women consumers, Sony has been launching selfie cameras and producing camera designs that are more feminine.

The brand recently promoted a selfie camera by organising an event for Facebook fans, and creating crossover campaigns with Jill Stuart and agnes b as well as lifestyle news platforms targeted at women.

Cameras that are not designed specifically to be used for selfies are relaunched in other colours, such as in white or silver, after their initial launch dates to better appeal to women.

Mirrorless specifications and Wi-Fi sharing features are sometimes added to appeal to female customers' requirement for sharing photos instantaneously.

Ad creatives promoting such cameras showcase female brand ambassadors who are able to give fans tips for taking better photos.

"We rarely use women as ambassadors for professional cameras – the a5100 camera campaign was the first time we did it. Ad campaigns need to be more emotional for women," Ng said.

On Facebook, Sony opened the Photo Girl group which is a private group where women can join and share photographs upon approval by the brand.

"The group has over 1,000 members and it attracts women who enjoy taking photographs.

Some people might assume that women prefer to take selfies but actually, they can shoot professional photographs too," Ng said.

"The group allows them to share photos and photography techniques with other members.

We also hold courses and workshops for the members."

Apps for helping female beginners in photography to take shots with special effects, such as time lapse or double exposure, were developed by the brand to be used along with its cameras and to boost its brand image.

Health: GNC GNC Hong Kong's customers are almost equally split between the genders. Fast-growing categories for women in the health supplements industry include vitamins and fish oil and collagen pills, as well as pre-natal and slimming products.

Women are spending more on health supplements because they are becoming more knowledgeable about them and products emerging in the market such as prenatal milk powder.

Greater participation in sports by young adults and people in their thirties and forties is also a factor.

"Women, who usually do the grocery shopping for the entire family, are buying more health supplements that help improve sports performance or recovery from sports injuries for their partners and children," a GNC spokesperson said.

In terms of marketing the products, female consumers rely more on professional advice from staff members, word-of-mouth and celebrity endorsements.

"Women usually have needs in mind when they come to our stores but they may not know which product they want to buy."

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10/3/2015 11:29:15 AM

At a gala dinner at Singapore’s Mandarin Orchard Hotel, DBS Bank whizzed its way to bag the top honour as the Mob-Ex Best Of Show – Brand at the Mob-Ex Awards 2015. On the agency front, Codigo wowed the more than 300-strong audience grabbing the Best of Show – Agency honour. Here’s a recap of the awards night.

JUDGING PANEL Michelle Low, e-marketing communication and community manager, Agilent Technologies Mitsuru Kikunaga, group head of digital, AirAsia Belen Fernando, vice-president, marketing, Alaska Milk Corp Vaasu S. Gavarasana, head, digital marketing, AXA Singapore Keane Sua, director, marketing and membership, BIG Hotel Singapore Priyanka Nath, digital marketing and social media lead, Dell Singapore Ricky FM Law, Asia Pacific leader, digital marketing/issues and crisis communications, DuPont Singapore Donna V. Ferro, head, marketing communications and PR, Epson Philippines Corporation Caroline Leong, director, digital marketing, APAC, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Leon Traazil, head, digital and social marketing, HTC South Asia Rod Strother, director, digital and social centre of excellence, Lenovo Singapore James Pong , head, digital marketing, Maxis Lita Mardjuni, communications director, PT Nestlé Indonesia Arniban Pegu, regional lead for mobile automation, CRM and loyalty, Samsung Electronics (media solutions centre, Southeast Asia and Oceania) Leah Camilla R. Besa-Jimenez, first vice-president and group head – media convergence, Smart Communications, Inc Lee Yen Ming, head of digital marketing, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Joe Loy, head of digital, StarHub Adeline Tiah, senior vice-president (marketing), UOB

Platinum Sponsor

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DBS BANK AND CODIGO NAMED OVERALL CHAMPIONS AT MOB-EX 2015

At a gala dinner at Singapore’s Mandarin Orchard Hotel, DBS Bank whizzed its way to bag the top honour at the Mob-Ex Awards 2015.

It clinched four golds and one silver across four categories, including Best App/Content by a Consumer Brand and Best User Experience.

It inched narrowly ahead of closest rivals

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Singapore Press Holdings who took home three golds and two silvers, and United Overseas Bank which bagged one gold, five silvers and three bronze trophies.

On the agency front, Codigo wowed the more than 300-strong audience after winning the overall winner, with four gold, one silver and

two bronze trophies it won for DBS Bank, Faber Peak, McDonald’s Singapore and Singapore Cable Car. Germs Digital also had a great run, winning three golds and one silver for Singapore Press Holdings; and Lowe Vietnam impressed judges with its work for Castrol and Unilever Vietnam.

Other big winners at this year’s awards included McDonald’s Philippines with two golds and one silver; AXA Insurance Singapore with a gold, silver and bronze; and McCann Kuala Lumpur for the trophies it won for Mutiara Malaysia and Petronas.

The third edition of Mob-Ex Awards saw more than 340 entries received from throughout Southeast Asia, before being short-listed to 145 finalists in the 29 contested categories.

Judging the awards were senior mobile and marketing professionals from regional brands such as Epson Philippines, HTC South Asia, Lenovo Singapore, Nestlé Indonesia and Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia.

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5/3/2015 9:12:42 PM

THE MOB-EX BEST OF SHOW 2015 – BRAND DBS BANK WHAT THE WINNER HAD TO SAY: “Since the launch of DBS BusinessClass less than six months ago, we have grown our base to 7,000 members. With SMEs increasingly tech savvy, we are heartened they have taken to this mobile platform, which we developed to help them build social capital and sharpen their competitive edge. This accolade is an encouragement to us to continue on our innovation journey to further improve the customer experience.”

– Lim Chu Chong, head of SME banking, DBS Bank

THE MOB-EX BEST OF SHOW – AGENCY CODIGO WHAT THE WINNER HAD TO SAY: “Our dream has always been to build the simplest apps to make life easier and more entertaining. Thanks to our amazing group of developers, designers and managers, as well as our innovative and sometimes patient clients, this dream has become a reality. The simple things in life are now officially the best.”

– Codigo Team

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BEST IN-APP ADVERTISING

GOLD

Client: Del Monte Philippines Brand: Nil Campaign: Del Monte Kitchenomics Branded Content & Companion Mobile App Agency: GMA Marketing & Productions

SILVER

Client: Singapore Telecommunications Brand: Singtel Campaign: Singtel 4G – Are you Singapore’s Fastest?

Agency: MEC Singapore

BRONZE

Client: GMA Marketing and Productions Brand: Kapuso Milyonaryo (One At Heart Millionaire) Campaign: Kapuso Milyonaryo Mobile App Agency: Nil

BEST APP/CONTENT BY GOVERNMENT/COMMUNITY

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: Faber Peak Brand: Nil Campaign: Fly with the Super Heroes Agency: Codigo

Client: Mutiara Malaysia Brand: Nil Campaign: Minute of Silence Agency: McCann Kuala Lumpur

Client: Singapore Red Cross Society Brand: Nil Campaign: The Red Cross Connection Agency: UM, MRM//McCann, McCann Health

BEST USE OF SOCIAL PLATFORM

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: DBS Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: DBS BusinessClass Agencies: Omnifluence, Webscape, NCS, Codigo

Client: Unilever Vietnam Brand: CLEAR Campaign: My Kool Vietnam Agency: Lowe Vietnam

Client: Expedia Brand: Nil Campaign: The Anatomy of a Digital Traveller Agency: The Hoffman Agency

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BEST APP/CONTENT BY A CONSUMER BRAND

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: DBS Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: DBS PayLah! Mobile Wallet App Agency: Tribal DDB

Client: DBS Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: DBS Mobile apps Agency: Nil

Client: AirAsiaGo Brand: Nil Campaign: AirAsiaGo Mobile App Agency: RougePR, Rouge Creative Boutique (M)

BEST APP/CONTENT BY A MEDIA OWNER

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: Del Monte Philippines Brand: Nil Campaign: Del Monte Kitchenomics Branded Content & Companion Mobile App Agency: GMA Marketing & Productions

Client: Star Publications (M) Brand: The Star Campaign: The Star Mobile App Agency: Nil

Client: GMA Marketing and Productions Brand: Nil Campaign: Kapuso Milyonaryo Mobile App Agency: Nil

MOST CREATIVE APP

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: Samsung Brand: Nil Campaign: Masterpieces Mobile App Download Agency: Starcom MediaVest Group

Client: OCBC Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: OCBC Open Account App Agencies: McCann Singapore, TUS Isobar

Client: NTUC Income Insurance Co-Operative Brand: Nil Campaign: Orange Eye by NTUC Income Agency: Splash Interactive Group

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5/3/2015 9:13:08 PM

BEST MOBILE LAUNCH

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: PayPal Brand: Nil Campaign: Seasonal Security Agencies: Airwave, PHD Singapore

Client: United Overseas Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: UOB Toss & Win – Go Paperless, Go Online & Win Cash Agencies: Germs Digital, ZenithOptimedia – Singapore, PurpleClick Media, Leo Burnett, Single Point of Contact Client: OCBC Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: OCBC WowDeals Mobile App Launch Agencies: Isobar, McCann, VML Qais

BEST USE OF VIDEO/RICH MEDIA

GOLD

Client: Singapore Cable Car Brand: Mount Faber Leisure Group Campaign: Fly with the Super Heroes Agency: Codigo

SILVER

Client: Reckitt Benckiser Brand: Durex Campaign: Durex Touch Agency: Leo Burnett Malaysia

BRONZE

Client: United Overseas Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: UOB Toss & Win – Go Paperless, Go Online & Win Cash Agencies: Germs Digital, ZenithOptimedia – Singapore, PurpleClick Media, Leo Burnett, Single Point of Contact

BEST BRAND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

GOLD

Client: Singapore Press Holdings Brand: Nil Campaign: See The Big Picture Agency: Germs Digital

SILVER

Client: Beiersdorf Brand: Nivea Campaign: Gains Without Stains Agencies: Airwave, OMD

BRONZE

Client: Reckitt Benckiser Brand: Durex Campaign: The Social Intercourse Agency: Initiative Singapore

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BEST USE OF GAMES/CONTESTS/QUIZZES

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: FrogAsia Brand: Nil Campaign: FrogAsia Word Mania Challenge Agency: Lowe & Partners Malaysia

Client: DELL Singapore Brand: Nil Campaign: DELL ENGAGE SG Agency: 3radical

Client: Reckitt Benckiser Brand: Durex Campaign: The Social Intercourse Agency: Initiative Singapore

BEST UTILITY APP

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: ABS-CBN Corporation Brand: Nil Campaign: PasaHero: Passenger Safety App Agency: ABS-CBN Corporation

Client: AXA Insurance Singapore Brand: Nil Campaign: AXA SmartDrive Agency: Publicis Singapore

Client: OCBC Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: OCBC Open Account App Agencies: McCann Singapore, TUS Isobar

BEST DIRECT RESPONSE CAMPAIGN

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: AXA Insurance Singapore Brand: Nil Campaign: AXA SmartDrive Agency: Publicis Singapore

Client: United Overseas Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: UOB Transformers: Age Of Extinction Promotion Agencies: Germs Digital, ZenithOptimedia – Singapore, PurpleClick Media

Client: Castrol Brand: Castrol CRB Campaign: Drive On Agency: Lowe Vietnam

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BEST CRM, LOYALTY AND ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: Castrol Brand: Castrol CRB Campaign: Drive On Agency: Lowe Vietnam

Client: The Body Shop Indonesia Brand: The Body Shop Campaign: Love Your Body Agency: Global Red Singapore

Client: GrabTaxi Brand: Nil Campaign: GrabTaxi Singapore: Beating the Biggest Competitor of All – Fixed Human Behaviour Agency: Ruder Finn Singapore

BEST USE OF INCENTIVES AND REWARDS

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: GMA Marketing and Productions Brand: Kapuso Milyonaryo (One At Heart Millionaire) Campaign: Kapuso Milyonaryo Mobile App Agency: Nil

Client: Castrol Brand: Castrol CRB Campaign: Drive On Agency: Lowe Vietnam

Client: United Overseas Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: UOB Transformers: Age Of Extinction Promotion Agencies: Germs Digital, ZenithOptimedia – Singapore, PurpleClick Media

BEST USE OF QR CODES

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: Singapore Cable Car Brand: Mount Faber Leisure Group Campaign: Fly with the Super Heroes Agency: Codigo

Client: Health Promotion Board Brand: Nil Campaign: National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign 2014 Agency: Nil

Client: Petroliam Nasional Brand: PETRONAS PRIMAX 95 Campaign: DoubleParkr the App Agency: McCann Kuala Lumpur

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BEST VIRAL MARKETING

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: United Overseas Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: UOB Toss & Win – Go Paperless, Go Online & Win Cash Agencies: Germs Digital, ZenithOptimedia – Singapore, PurpleClick Media, Leo Burnett, Single Point of Contact Client: Singapore Red Cross Society Brand: Nil Campaign: The Red Cross Connection Agency: UM, MRM//McCann, McCann Health

Client: Singapore Management University Brand: Nil Campaign: Choose Transformation. Choose A Different Agency: Wild Advertising & Marketing

BEST LOCATION-BASED MARKETING

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: Singapore Red Cross Society Brand: Nil Campaign: The Red Cross Connection Agency: UM, MRM//McCann, McCann Health

Client: Pocari Sweat Singapore Brand: Nil Campaign: Pocari CROSS RUN app with BEACON Agency: Asatsu-DK Singapore

Client: Unilever Malaysia Brand: Wall’s Campaign: Wall’s on Waze: “How we made Balik Kampung more enjoyable for Malaysian Families” Agency: Mindshare Malaysia

BEST MOBILE SITE

GOLD

Client: Mutiara Malaysia Brand: Nil Campaign: Minute of Silence Agency: McCann Kuala Lumpur

SILVER

Client: McDonald’s Philippines Brand: Nil Campaign: McDelivery Mobile Agency: Mobext

BRONZE

Client: United Overseas Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: UOB Toss & Win – Go Paperless, Go Online & Win Cash Agencies: Germs Digital, ZenithOptimedia – Singapore, PurpleClick Media, Leo Burnett, Single Point of Contact

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BEST MCOMMERCE SOLUTION

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: McDonald’s Philippines Brand: Nil Campaign: McDelivery Mobile Agency: Mobext

Client: Singapore Telecommunications Brand: Singtel Campaign: Singtel Prepaid – Simplicity wins the heart Agency: MEC Singapore

Client: McDonald’s™ Singapore Brand: Nil Campaign: McDelivery Mobile App Agency: Codigo

BEST MOBILE ADVERTISING SOLUTION

GOLD

Client: HTC Malaysia Brand: HTC One Max Campaign: HTC Hijack Agencies: PHD Malaysia, InMobi

SILVER

Client: Reckitt Benckiser Brand: Durex Campaign: Durex Touch Agency: Leo Burnett Malaysia

BRONZE

Client: Singapore Telecommunications Brand: Singtel Campaign: Singtel Fibre – The Most Non-Intrusive Door-to-Door Campaign Agency: MEC Singapore

BEST INTEGRATION OF MOBILE

GOLD

Client: Unilever Malaysia Brand: Rexona for Women Campaign: Rexona Move: Sweat to Change lives Agency: Lowe & Partners Malaysia

SILVER

Client: Singapore Press Holdings Brand: Nil Campaign: See The Big Picture Agency: Germs Digital

BRONZE

Client: AXA Insurance Singapore Brand: Nil Campaign: AXA SmartDrive Agency: Publicis Singapore

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BEST ORIGINAL CONTENT

GOLD

Client: Brand: Campaign: Agency:

Singapore Press Holdings Nil See The Big Picture Germs Digital

SILVER

Client: Unilever Vietnam Brand: CLEAR Campaign: My Kool Vietnam Agency: Lowe Vietnam

BRONZE

Client: Perfetti Van Melle Brand: Chupa Chups Campaign: Get Lolli Agency: BBH Asia Pacific

BEST CAMPAIGN FOR TABLETS/OTHER DEVICES

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: Audi Singapore Brand: A8 Campaign: The Art of Progress Agencies: Ad Near, MediaCom Singapore

Client: United Overseas Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: UOB Toss & Win – Go Paperless, Go Online & Win Cash Agencies: Germs Digital, ZenithOptimedia – Singapore, PurpleClick Media, Leo Burnett, Single Point of Contact Client: National Gallery Singapore Brand: Nil Campaign: Portraits of the People Agency: MRM//McCann

BEST USE OF MULTIPLE MOBILE CHANNELS

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: McDonald’s Philippines Brand: Nil Campaign: McDelivery Mobile Agency: Mobext

Client: DTAC Brand: Nil Campaign: DTAC Baby – The Power of Love Agency: Omnicom Media Group Digital

Client: PayPal Brand: Nil Campaign: Seasonal Security Agencies: Airwave, PHD Singapore

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BEST USE OF MOBILE FOR AN EVENT

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: Singapore Press Holdings Brand: Nil Campaign: See The Big Picture Agency: Germs Digital

Client: United Overseas Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: UOB Toss & Win – Go Paperless, Go Online & Win Cash Agencies: Germs Digital, ZenithOptimedia – Singapore, PurpleClick Media, Leo Burnett, Single Point of Contact Client: William Grant & Sons Brand: Glenfiddich Campaign: The Glenfiddich Experience Agency: GOODSTUPH / MAKE STUDIOS

MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF MOBILE

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: Land Transport Authority (LTA) Brand: Nil Campaign: MyTransport.SG Mobile app Agency: NCS

Client: United Overseas Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: UOB Toss & Win – Go Paperless, Go Online & Win Cash Agencies: Germs Digital, ZenithOptimedia – Singapore, PurpleClick Media, Leo Burnett, Single Point of Contact Client: Singapore Telecommunications Brand: Singtel Campaign: Singtel Fibre – The Most Non-Intrusive Door-to-Door Campaign Agency: MEC Singapore

BEST USER EXPERIENCE

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: Brand: Campaign: Agency:

DBS Bank Nil DBS Mobile apps Nil

Client: McDonald’s™ Singapore Brand: Nil Campaign: McDelivery Mobile App Agency: Codigo

Client: OCBC Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: OCBC Pay Anyone Agencies: McCann Singapore, TUS Isobar, Aleph Labs

MOST INFORMATIVE USE OF MOBILE

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: DBS Bank Brand: Nil Campaign: Scoreapp Agency: Nil

Client: Visa Worldwide Brand: Nil Campaign: Visa Explore app Agency: Proximity, NCS

Client: Singapore Telecommunications Brand: Singtel Campaign: Singtel Prepaid – Simplicity wins the heart Agency: MEC Singapore

MOST IMPROVED MOBILE ACTIVATION/APP

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Client: MediaCorp/Toggle Brand: Toggle Campaign: Toggle Agency: Nil

Client: Singapore Press Holdings Brand: The Business Times Campaign: The Business Times Relaunch 2014 Agency: Nil

Client: McDonald’s™ Singapore Brand: Nil Campaign: McDelivery Mobile App Agency: Codigo

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THE MOB-EX AWARDS WILL BE BACK NEXT YEAR, STAY TUNED!

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CAREERS

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CAREER PATH Corrinne Koh GM of marketing Eu Yan Sang International

First job? An entrepreneur – a co-owner of a digital agency.

First job in advertising/ marketing? I cut my marketing

teeth with the Burnetts. We were running quite a successful portfolio of clients on our own then. It was the dot-com era and we had a few investors interested in our business. We were extremely fortunate LB saw something in us, and it’s probably one of the most pivotal moments in my career. In six months, we became Arc Worldwide and the acquisition gave me the opportunity to work with Fortune 500 brand names.

Best job? It’s difficult to pick

one. My current role at Eu Yan Sang is one of the most interesting and challenging to date. Clearly digital and e-commerce play a big part. EuYanSang.com.sg lends a different dimension to the retail experience and it’s great to be working on the e-commerce piece again.

Perks of your current job?

An endless supply of great quality health foods, tonics and supplements.

Worst job? No experiences too

horrible that left permanent scars.

Marketing professionals you admire? Marketers who tell good

stories that resonate and utilise insights to build the a-ha moment Best career advice you’ve been given? Never stop learning.

Why a career in marketing?

Because I love being creative and scientific all at the same time.

Also, marketing has a direct impact on business, and I guess I’ve always been a business person at heart.

If you weren’t in marketing, what would you be?

A TV producer.

How do you wind down?

I watch American football.

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JOB SHUFFLE After nearly 17 years at the BBC, executive vice-president of advertising sales for Asia and ANZ, Sunita Rajan, joined CNN International Commercial’s executive team under chief commercial officer Rani R Raad. She is tasked to help with business growth in Asia Pacific.

She comes on board in March, overseeing CNN’s client base across Asia Pacific and leading teams across Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Delhi and Mumbai.

KFC Singapore’s senior marketing director Virginia Ng left the company after 13 years with the organisation. Ng was the senior marketing director for the brand for more than two years. Ng confirmed the move to Marketing.

Replacing her is Juliana Lim who is currently the senior marketing director for Pizza Hut Singapore.

In her new role, Lim reports to CEO Koh Kek Sin. ZenithOptimedia Asia Pacific appointed Felix Cartoux corporate development director of APAC, based in Singapore. In this newly created role, he will focus on building the ZenithOptimedia business in APAC through external growth opportunities on a local market basis, as well as geographical and product expansion. He joins ZenithOptimedia from Publicis Groupe in Paris, where he held the position of associate director within the mergers and acquisitions department.

Global independent communications agency Waggener Edstrom promoted Henry Wood as head of Studio

D Asia Pacific. In his new role, he is tasked to drive the agency’s digital service offering, including its insights and analytics, content, creative and social media teams.

He started his career with WE in 2009 as the Hong Kong digital lead and his remit later expanded to a Greater China role.

Burson-Marsteller appointed a new lead for its Asia Pacific operations with Terri-Helen Gaynor joining the company as president and chief executive officer for Asia Pacific. Based in Hong Kong, Gaynor succeeds Patrick Ford who had been chair of the Asia Pacific region since October 2012.

Ford continues as worldwide vice chair and CCO, and as chair of the APAC region through the leadership transition.

Adobe named Vince Lui head of strategic partnerships for Southeast Asia. In a press statement to Marketing, Adobe said the move boosted its investment in partnership support for the APAC region. Lui was previously regional head of XM Asia Pacific. He reports to Damon Scarr, Adobe’s director of partner sales for APAC. He oversees Adobe’s strategic partner relationships across the region.

Advertising technology company BlisMedia appointed Regina Goh managing director of Asia.

Goh’s appointment reflects the company’s Asia focused growth strategy for the year and its expansion plans into markets such as Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Hong Kong in 2015.

Goh oversees BlisMedia’s entire Asian operations, and will focus on managing the company’s expansion, as well as propelling the sales and operations teams towards growth in SEA. Google named Rajan Anandan, currently the head of India for Google, as its new Southeast Asia lead. He takes on the duties in addition to his role as head of the India operations. He reports to Karim Temsamani, president of Google APAC. His move comes shortly after Julian Persaud (pictured), its APAC lead, left to join Airbnb in a regional role.

Paul Soon, previously CEO of Asia Pacific for XM Asia, joined Possible Worldwide as the replacement for exiting Asia Pacific chief Kenny Powar. Powar is currently serving notice at Possible. Soon reports to global CEO Shane Atchison.

Soon is serving notice until March at XM Asia.

After nearly a year and a half in the role, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group’s group director of marketing for Asia Pacific Alfie Yee has exited the company. Before the role at Carlson Rezidor, he held a senior marketing role at Hilton Worldwide Asia Pacific for nearly five years.

Andrew Coroneo, who was the head of interaction at MEC, has left his role and joined Havas Digital as director of digital strategy and planning for MENA. Coroneo had first joined the MEC team in late 2013 and replaced Matt Drury who had left the agency to join Facebook. Coroneo reported to Sharon Soh, MD of MEC Singapore.

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45 Ubi Road 1, #03-03A, Singapore 408696

LAST WORD

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SHAKE UP WON’T SEE AMERICAN APPAREL LOSE ITS EDGE Two months into her new role, American Apparel CEO Paula Schneider has made several drastic senior management changes to her team. What does this mean for the brand’s creative direction?

Rezwana Manjur asks.

Time for a change but what does this mean for the brand?

Two months into her new role, American Apparel CEO Paula Schneider has made several senior management changes to her team.

This comes amid Schneider’s drive to put aside the brand’s “overtly sexual” advertising strategy to focus on social issues such as gay rights and anti-bullying, according to The Drum.

Recently it fired creative lead Iris Alonzo for the second time, five months after the brand had rehired her. Bloomberg reported the company first let her go in June when founder Dov Charney was being ousted for misconduct. However, Alonzo was hired again in October only to once again be fired.

Several fashion media outlets have linked Alonzo to working closely with Charney to build the risqué brand image of American Apparel. Along with her departure, another long-time creative director for the brand, Marsha Brady, was also let go.

In a conference call with the media, Schneider outlined several of the brand’s priorities to build the business strategy and increase shareholder value. She explained one of the key pillars for the brand under her leadership would be to build strong business fundamentals at the company and capture consumer attention in an increasingly competitive fashion landscape.

She also said the brand would be committing to investing more into the marketing and business strategies by bringing more experiencebased marketing to consumers on both online and brick and mortar store platforms.

To help in this change, American Apparel has hired Cynthia Erland to oversee the company’s marketing and communications programmes.

She has more than 20 years of fashion and entertainment branding experience.

Most recently, she was a senior marketing executive at Perry Ellis International. She has also held various marketing roles in C&C California,

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Universal Studios and E! Networks and has been lauded as a veteran in growing brand recognition, not just through advertising and public relations strategies, but also by celebrity seeding, promotions and events.

Meanwhile, to push its online agenda, Thoryn Stephens has come on board as chief digital officer. He will be responsible for optimising the company’s digital marketing, data analytics, and e-commerce strategies.

Before joining the company, Stephens was vice-president of data science at Tillster, a leading customer engagement partner for the restaurant industry.

He has also built products and platforms for brands, including the first optimisation programme for the FOX Network Group (FOX Broadcasting/ FOX Sports/FX) and Beachbody (P90X).

“I am excited to welcome Thoryn and Cynthia to the company. Both are innovators with deep expertise working with established brands. They will be an important addition to our experienced, creative and passionate team,” Schneider said.

End of edgy?

With all these changes in its creative and marketing team, does this mean the end of edgy marketing strategies for the iconic brand?

Possibly not, said Schneider. She was quick to add the brand had always been about social commentary and “gives a voice to everyone” from the workers in the factory to consumers.

Hence, edgy is part of its DNA. “Consumers today are fickle, but American Apparel has remained relevant. This is because of its core values. We will continue to be creative and will continue to be bold when relating to the consumers. The essence of American apparel will remain the same as with our commitment to an innovative marketing programme which shares iconic unique branding messages.”

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