Marketing Magazine SG - Nov 2015

MARKETING MAGAZINE SINGAPORE EDITION

THE ART & SCIENCE OF CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS

SINGAPORE

NOVEMBER 2015

marketing-interactive.com

NOVEMBER 2015

STARBUCKS’ JANE LAU ON HER ACQUIRED TASTE FOR MARKETING PAGE 30

THE RACE FOR AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT: WHO WILL WIN? PAGE 20

S$5.90 INC GST

DATA-DRIVEN MARKETING: TIPS AND TRICKS PAGE 34

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T H E

A R E Y O U N E X T M O B I L E

M A S T E R ?

MARKETING-INTER ACTIVE .COM /MOB-E X-AWARDS/SG/

Key Contacts Entries: Czarina Solomon +65 6423 0329 czarinas@marketing-interactive.com Sponsorship & Advertising: Johnathan Tiang +65 6423 0329 johnanthant@marketing-interactive.com

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

Rezwana Manjur, Deputy Editor rezwanam@marketing-interactive.com Noreen Ismail, Journalist noreeni@marketing-interactive.com Editorial – International Matt Eaton, Editor (Hong Kong) matte@marketing-interactive.com Production and Design Shahrom Kamarulzaman, Regional Art Director shahrom@lighthousemedia.com.sg Fauzie Rasid, Senior Designer fauzier@lighthousemedia.com.sg Advertising Sales – Singapore & Malaysia Johnathan Tiang, Sales Manager johnathant@marketing-interactive.com Ee Kai Li, Account Manager kailie@marketing-interactive.com Grace Goh, Account Manager graceg@marketing-interactive.com 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 Circulation Executive Deborah Quek, Circulations Executive deborahq@marketing-interactive.com Finance Evelyn Wong, Regional Finance Director evelynw@lighthousemedia.com.sg

Anyone in marketing today would agree the pace of change in our industry is nothing short of manic. Driven by technology, data and digital, the landscape is presenting new challenges for marketers as well as agencies.

In such a situation where distractions and diversions are aplenty, what will keep a brand on track is nothing else, but a single-minded focus on the consumer.

Understanding their behaviour, media consumption patterns and buyer journey, all of this requires marketing to get deeper into behavioural science – an interesting foray I must say.

And in the heart of it all is data. Data as a topic divides many in our industry. Some say it is making marketers lazy, some swear by it.

Regardless, no one denies its growing role in marketing.

According to a study by Forbes Insights and Turn, the marketing software and analytics platform, while a commitment to data-driven marketing is on the rise, about half the survey respondents comprising marketing decisionmakers said their efforts are lagging or are siloed across their companies.

Closer to home, a TNS survey of more than 2,700 marketing professionals across Asia Pacific, said while local businesses today have much more data at their disposal, many are failing to use the information to help them make informed decisions.

According to the study, much of this data analysis trickles down into the marketing department with almost one in three marketers (29%) in Singapore now managing real-time

data as part of their role. However, more than three quarters (77%) of marketers in Singapore admit they find it difficult to integrate data from different sources.

With so much data available, marketers know they should be able to make decisions in real-time, but many are struggling to integrate traditional and digital measurements.

But this isn’t the problem of marketing alone – being data-driven in marketing is no different from having a data-driven culture in the company.

It’s a mindset shift for brands and those who are willing to make that move, and break those silos, will win.

More importantly, it is worth remembering what Ronald H. Coase, in Essays on Economics and Economists, said: “If you torture the data long enough, it will confess.”

It may even confess what you want it to confess, so as marketers, it is about time we use data wisely and put it in perspective.

In this edition, we discuss the role of data, issues surrounding it and potential solutions.

Hope you enjoy the edition.

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

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

IF YOU TORTURE THE DATA LONG ENOUGH ...

Management Søren Beaulieu, Publisher sorenb@marketing-interactive.com Tony Kelly, Editorial Director tk@marketing-interactive.com Justin Randles, Group Managing Director jr@marketing-interactive.com

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, 1F, Wui Tat Centre, 55 Connaught Road West, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2861 1882 Fax: +852 2861 1336 To subscribe to Marketing magazine, go to: www.marketing-interactive.com

Rayana Pandey Editor

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CONTENTS

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

15 LUXURY’S OUTWARD FORAY Why did Ralph Lauren pick a top-notch lead from a mass-market brand? Noreen Ismail explores.

20 THE RACE FOR AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT: WHO WILL WIN? How will Facebook’s slate of new ad tools affect TV ad dollars? Noreen Ismail finds out.

23 IS THE HAZE PUTTING BRAND SINGAPORE UNDER THREAT? Should Singapore have used the grand prix to bring the issue of the haze to a global stage?

Rezwana Manjur writes.

24 RECYCLING OF IDEAS: IS IT ACCEPTABLE? In an industry where we are forced to come up with ideas every single day, only for some | of them to be tossed aside – is it really that big a crime to reuse an old idea for a new client?

Rezwana Manjur investigates.

Jane Lau, managing director of Starbucks Singapore, describes her journey into the marketing world, coming from procurement.

30 PROFILE: STARBUCKS’ MANAGING DIRECTOR JANE LAU Like coffee, marketing isn’t for everyone. Jane Lau speaks to Noreen Ismail about her journey into the world of marketing.

34 MASTER REPORT: DATA-DRIVEN INTEGRATED MARKETING A look at the number of doors which can open up if your organisation puts data at the heart of your business. Rezwana Manjur reports.

42 TV BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR A comprehensive list of the broadcasters who have managed to grab and keep marketers’ attention.

50 RADIO BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR A list of radio channels marketers have indicated as their favourite.

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE!

20 15 KEY TAKEAWAYS: >> Why agencies should be allowed to recycle ideas for their clients. >> TV and radio stations marketers prefer. >> Tips to put data at the heart of marketing.

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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.

General Mills picks Mindshare General Mills named Mindshare as its global media agency, with the WPP media group taking on duties for the company across the Asia Pacific region. Details of the Asia Pacific business were still being worked out, a General Mills spokesperson told Marketing.

The decision was made after a wide ranging global media review, where Mindshare was chosen to handle its US business.

Konica Minolta appoints agency Printing solutions company Konica Minolta appointed Singapore agency Huntington Communications as its PR agency, following a pitch. The account covers the Singapore market only and is for a period of one year. Huntington is tasked to provide strategic counselling and media relations for the brand. In addition, the agency will manage and create community initiatives to drive brand differentiation.

Venturing into Singapore UK-based technology marketing agency April Six launched its first Asia Pacific office in Singapore.

With the new office, the agency aims to become the first in the Asia Pacific region to offer a specialist service for technology organisations with a truly global footprint. April Six will provide technology firms in the region with more service options. It appointed Brad Harris (pictured), managing director, to lead its Singapore office.

M Making ki room ffor more After selling its UK business to software solutions provider Idox, digital agency Reading Room’s Australian and Singapore arms received a major capital injection.

This came after a buy back from external shareholders by the founders Margaret Manning and Simon Usher. The Asia Pacific businesses are headquartered in Singapore and the agency also has four offices in Australia.

It also recently launched in Thailand with clients across the whole region.

Connecting consumers NTUC Income launched a new campaign called “Adviser Connect” to promote the organisation’s linking of its consumers to the right financial advisors. Working with BBH Asia Pacific, the campaign runs across mediums such as OOH, digital banners, radio and taxis.

The Adviser Connect platform personalises a financial advisor for consumers based on preferences they have selected – from a similar age group to personal interests.

Lazada aims to boost growth Lazada Singapore appointed The Hoffman Agency Singapore as its PR agency. The Hoffman Agency will help position Lazada as consumers’ top-of-mind platform for online shopping. Since its launch in Singapore, Lazada has built a strong corporate presence and moved into the next phase of growth. The organisation is now looking to strengthen its consumer public relations outreach.

Innovating anew International branding agency Landor will be launching a new business unit called Landor NorthandSouth in Southeast Asia.

The new unit, which is slated to start work in the first quarter of next year, will have expertise in “very rapid innovation and design thinking” said Nick Foley, president of the Southeast Asia and Pacific regions and managing director of Landor’s Singapore office.

Zebra appoints Text100 Tech company Zebra Technologies Corporation appointed integrated communications agency Text100 as its agency of record for Asia Pacific. Text100 will provide communications services to help Zebra strengthen awareness and preference for its tracking and visibility solutions with companies in the manufacturing, retail, transport and logistics, and healthcare industries.

Text100 will serve Zebra in eight countries across Asia Pacific: Singapore, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

CONNECT. ENGAGE. REWARD www.edenred.com.sg | info-sg@edenred.com | +65 6229 8686 4 MA R KET ING NOV EMBER 2 015

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NEWS

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Sluggish growth for SPH Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) reported a 20.4% drop in its annual net profit mainly due to a lower fair value gain on investment properties. Advertisement revenue for its media business also contributed to the loss.

Revenue numbers for the media business dropped by SG$60.9 million or 6.3% compared with the previous year. Mirroring publishing industry’s downward trend globally, SPH’s ad revenue fell by SG$53.7 million, indicating a 7.4% fall.

Entertaining win Havas Media bagged duties for 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros Singapore following a pitch.

The appointment was for the Singapore market and covers media planning and buying duties. The pitch was called in July this year. The ad spend report for Warner Brothers was approximated to be about $10 million according to AC Nielsen.

Havas Media did not comment at the time of writing.

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ZenithOptimedia’s new hub ZenithOptimedia unveiled its plans to create its first regional analytics and technology hub for Asia, in Singapore. This Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a major investment by ZenithOptimedia to develop solutions for emerging technologies and data. The team will consist of domain specialists to develop and deliver custom solutions for the Asia Pacific market and its clients. The CoE will also focus on mobile and contemporary analytics solutions such as social and text analytics.

Lighting up the qualifiers The FIFA World Cup qualifiers held at the Singapore Sports Hub were transformed into a vibrant and dynamic platform for in-event sports marketing. Full perimeter LED boards were used for the first time for the match between Singapore and Afghanistan. The new pitch-side advertising was one of the sponsorship activities introduced by the Football Association of Singapore’s strategic partner MP & Silva.

Microsoft chooses CtrlShift Microsoft named digital marketing company CtrlShift as its exclusive sales partner for advertising in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. This extended its partnership with Microsoft to four Southeast Asian markets, including Malaysia. CtrlShift offers inventory across Microsoft’s unique suite of advertising solutions, including MSN, Skype, Windows, Windows Ads in Apps and Outlook.com across devices and platforms.

Women of Will Sportswear retailer Under Armour launched a regional extension of its global women’s campaign “Women of Will” which was activated in March this year.

Dedicated to celebrating the many women who use fitness and exercise to lead a healthy lifestyle, the campaign in Southeast Asia aimed to raise awareness for breast health in the month of October through Under Armour’s Power in Pink apparel series.

Declaring sustainability The Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) asked leading supermarkets, pharmacies and furniture retailers to declare they have not procured or used wood, paper and/or pulp materials from any of the companies accused of causing fires in Indonesia. These retailers included IKEA, Prime Supermarket, Sheng Siong, NTUC Unity, Watsons, NTUC FairPrice and Dairy Farm Group, which owns Cold Storage, Giant Singapore, Market Place by Jason’s, Guardian and 7-Eleven.

DBS calls for media pitch Singapore-based DBS Bank, which has operations in multiple markets across Asia, has called for a media pitch. It has a presence in markets such as Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, India and Taiwan. Havas Media is the incumbent and has held the account since January 2009.

The pitch will be managed by marketing consultant TrinityP3.

HPB hunts for media agency The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has called for a media pitch. It is looking to appoint a media agency to provide media strategies, planning, buying and implementation services for integrated marketing and communication campaigns for HPB’s various health initiatives.

The appointment is for one year with an option to extend for another. The appointed agency is expected to plan and recommend impactful and costeffective integrated through-theline media strategies for HPB’s events and campaigns.

Coca-Cola closes Tuas plant Coca-Cola Singapore Beverages will wind down manufacturing operations at its bottling plant in Tuas over the coming months, with a full closure planned by February 2016. The company will move its bottling operations to Malaysia. About 200 job cuts will be made following the closure.

Its marketing divisions will not be affected by the job cuts.

Soapy reminder The Breast Cancer Foundation introduced the “Ladysaver Soap” – an initiative to encourage women to check their breasts regularly and hopefully form a habit of doing so. The idea, developed by DDB Group Singapore and produced in collaboration with local sponsor Soap Ministry, was launched during Breast Cancer Awareness month. The Ladysaver Soap is embedded with the waterproof reminder to “check breasts”, progressively revealed with every shower.

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Green initiative Carlsberg Singapore launched a global crowd-sourcing campaign “Cheers to green ideas”, which was initiated by the Carlsberg Group headquartered in Copenhagen. “Cheers to green ideas” is a global corporate sustainability campaign in partnership with the Think Tank Sustainia, to inspire and incentivise people and companies around the world to provide ideas on how to make Carlsberg beer more sustainable.

Meaningful innovation Electronics company Philips rolled out a content-led integrated brand campaign in Singapore to promote its brand positioning and refreshed brand identity. The campaign featured stories that are rooted to local issues and trends to better reflect Philips’ mission to improve people’s lives through meaningful innovation.

The Singapore brand campaign – the third and final instalment of a wider campaign in ASEAN and Asia Pacific – centred on the new visual storytelling platform “innovation and you”.

Celebrity endorsement AkzoNobel, the maker of Dulux paints, launched a campaign for Dulux Ambiance, a range of premium interior and special effects wall paints. For this, Dulux Ambiance partnered with FLY Entertainment artist Nadya Hutagalung to launch its special effects wall paints.

Dulux Ambiance was created by colour experts and designers, based on an advanced paint formulation that offers wall decoration solutions.

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Happy education Nanyang Business School (NBS), a school under Nanyang Technological University, reappointed Happy Marketer as its digital marketing agency of record in Singapore. Happy Marketer, an integrated digital marketing consulting firm headquartered in Singapore, will provide inbound marketing, digital paid media advertising, content marketing, social media management, web analytics and conversion optimisation services for NBS in Singapore, as well as email automation globally.

MCCY calls for media pitch Government agency the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) has called for a media pitch. The government body is looking for an agency to provide online media planning and buying services for a period of 12 months. The appointed agency will work closely with MCCY on the online media buying plan to achieve its marketing objectives. The tasks include paid advertisements on MCCY’s social channels, ad networks and search engine marketing.

Sentosa shifts media account Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) appointed MEC as its new media agency, shifting the account from incumbent OMD. MEC is contracted for two years. The agency is tasked to handle the Sentosa business, dealing with branding, strategic planning and creative planning of future campaigns. In 2011, the agency handled media buying for SDC in Singapore, along with other markets in the region.

Flying high with Leo Burnett Tigerair appointed Leo Burnett as its social media agency of record following a pitch. The appointment sees Leo Burnett manage Tigerair’s integrated social media channels, which include Facebook, Twitter and Instagram across Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong and Indonesia. In 2013, the airline also underwent a rebranding exercise handled

by TSLA. Teh Yik Chuan, director of sales and marketing of Tigerair, said he was impressed with the agency’s understanding of its brand.

Celebrating commitment As part of United Overseas Bank’s (UOB) 80th anniversary celebrations, the bank launched a brand campaign focused on its unwavering and long-term commitment to its customers and employees. The new brand campaign is built on the heritage of UOB and the elements that have helped the bank remain relevant in the changing lives of its customers and employees globally. This principle is what lies behind the new tag line: “Right by you.”

Investing in data Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) made its biggest data centre investment in Singapore to date with a new SG$400 million data centre in Jurong.

According to the telco, this was to meet growing demand for colocation and cloud services in Singapore. The new data centre is designed to meet the hosting needs of the financial services industry, government agencies, and cloud and internet service providers.

The good oil ExxonMobil’s Mobil 1, a synthetic engine oil manufacturer, launched its latest regional campaign called Car-Fu. Created by BBDO Singapore, the digital campaign included video, website assets and social activation. By leveraging the technology partnership between Mobil 1 and McLaren-Honda, Car-Fu was created not only to engage the target audience with entertaining content, but also to increase awareness and product consideration levels among everyday drivers.

French invasion MediaCorp and Crème Simon Singapore entered an agreement in which the Singapore media company took a stake in the French skincare company in exchange for advertising products and services. MediaCorp entered a media-for-equity partnership, an alternative investment model to the more conventional cash investments and seed funding that the company has undertaken to grow its business inorganically.

SG$2 million boost for Vanitee Luxasia, the leading distributor of renowned global fragrance and cosmetics brands in the region, along with angel investor Robert Yap, injected an amount of SG$2 million into Vanitee, a Singapore-based app to find and book beauty services.

This was in a bid to boost the four-month-old app’s business expansion. The investment is being used to accelerate Vanitee’s user acquisition, and to grow its engineering and community teams.

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Chang revamps Thai Beverage’s beer brand Chang Beer rebranded itself to Chang Classic. Five variants of Chang have been consolidated into one product named Chang Classic which officially launched on 9 October in Thailand. It will gradually roll out globally. The new look bears a revamped liquid profile and packaging. The new primary packaging sports a more contemporary look with a refreshed green colour and a long-necked shape.

Indonesia measures up Media measurement and analytics company comScore launched two initiatives to expand mobile audience measurement in Indonesia. The firm activated its syndicated Mobile Metrix solution and introduced a joint mobile panel development with market research company Kantar, which fuels mobile and crossmedia audience measurement.

The Mobile Metrix launched in Indonesia allows for the reporting of mobile browsers and app audiences on smartphones and tablets for tagged publishers.

New e-expressions Facebook launched its longoverdue “dislike” button in the form of six new emotional reactions, an extension of the thumbs-up button that gives its users more ways to share their reaction to a post in a quick way. The six new emojis depict various expressions, from an open mouth to express surprise (wow) to a scowling red face for anger (angry).

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Integrating a new tool TubeMogul, an enterprise software platform for brand advertising, integrated Nielsen’s digital ad ratings desktop measurement tool into its platform. The programmatic video advertising company said the Nielsen digital ad ratings (DAR) – formerly branded as online campaign ratings – reporting was embedded in the TubeMogul platform across Singapore, China, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

DAR provides an audience age and gender verification tool for digital campaigns targeted to desktop sites.

Cognitive dedication IBM launched a consulting organisation to push for the value of cognitive business. The new practice draws on the expertise of more than 2,000 consulting professionals spanning machine learning, advanced analytics, data science and development.

The unit is supported by change management specialists to accelerate client journeys to cognitive business. Industry analyst firm IDC predicted that by 2018 half of all consumers would interact regularly with services based on cognitive computing.

Mondelēz splits media duties Mondelēz decided to split its account between Dentsu Aegis’ Carat and Starcom Mediavest (SMG). The chocolate maker’s APAC business will be handled

by Carat. Carat will also be Mondelēz’s media partner in Europe and North America.

The agency will handle all of Mondelēz’s communications.

Meanwhile, SMG will look over territories such as EEMEA and Latin America. The changes will take effect from 1 January 2016.

Viral content library Rightster, the global multi-platform network for digital video, launched VideoSpring, a fully searchable video licencing portal for brands, agencies and producers to source trending content for their creative campaigns and programming. The video library, which consists of a collection of viral and user-generated content, offers marketers, creatives and producers the ability to discover and licence the best-known and most shared videos on the web.

Waggener Edstrom rebrands Independent communications agency Waggener Edstrom changed its name to WE. A statement from the agency said the new name and look showed how the agency had transformed over time to better harness the power of the collective WE – its clients, people, partners and influencers. Matt Lackie, executive vice-president of WE Asia Pacific, said: “This evolution has been underway for quite some time.”

Diageo appoints Mirum Alcoholic beverage giant Diageo appointed Mirum Vietnam as its digital agency for Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker, as well as Diageo’s nightlife events platform 9Life. This is the second time Mirum has snagged Diageo’s Smirnoff business. Last year’s campaign was about “Stirring the good times,” a local spin on the global brand’s purpose.

A lack of self-esteem Beauty anxiety is felt by girls as young as 10. A study done by Dove found that nine out of 10 girls wanted to change at least one thing about their physical appearance. The brand has teamed up with creative content agency Evidently for its selfesteem project “Change One Thing”.

HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

GRABTAXI’S F1 FEVER

GrabTaxi Singapore unleashed a number of “supercars” from 15 to 20 September 2015 onto the streets of Singapore. Seven supercars roamed around the city to amp up the atmosphere as Singapore geared up for the race of the season.

Commuters were encouraged to participate in the marketing stunt

and travel in luxury and style by booking free rides via the GrabTaxi app. In the spirit of Singapore’s racing season, each supercar sported the bold green and black livery of GrabTaxi. The creative and media buying duties were handled by APD. The campaign cost between SG$100,000 and SG$400,000.

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NEWS

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AUDIT WATCH

ENGAGING CONDO RESIDENTS

Reaching further Vietnam Airlines launched “Reach Further”, a new global campaign that showcases the carrier’s fleet and cutting-edge features with the help of J. Walter Thompson Vietnam. This year’s global campaign focuses on the carrier’s long-haul business class while highlighting a host of features that help to provide a superior flying experience. The campaign launched in June 2015 and is currently airing in 10 countries.

Luring the Brits Singapore Tourism Board Northern & Western Europe (STB) called for a public relations pitch out of its UK office. The appointed agency will also be tasked to provide PR and communications consultancy services to STB for strategic counsel, traditional and new media cultivation and media relations, including traditional and digital media. This is all in a bid to attract more inbound visitors from the UK.

Topping the ranks For the third consecutive year, Apple and Google topped Interbrand’s best global brands ranking, both significantly increasing their value. Apple, with a brand valuation of US$170.2 billion, shot up 43% this year to claim the top spot. Google, valued at US$120.3 billion, increased its value by 12%, while Microsoft ranked fourth ahead of IBM and Amazon, which entered the top 10 list for the first time with a brand value of US$38 billion.

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CondoConcierge has been launched in Singapore. Owned by parent company Perceptif Ventures, the free magazine is delivered directly to condo apartments in areas such as Orchard, Katong, East Coast and Sentosa.

CondoConcierge will also be distributed to expat organisations, clubs, schools, cafes and other relevant outlets in Singapore. The magazine aims to draw in advertisers from the luxury goods, property, interior and travel sectors.

The monthly publication launched in October in Singapore with a print run of 10,000. The team aims to double its distribution by early 2016.

It is currently not audited, but plans to get its circulation audited once it has completed its fi rst two distribution cycles.

The magazine is available

#TakeFlight returns Twitter introduced a redesigned experience for its #TakeFlight initiative to help agencies build expertise with the company’s realtime marketing capabilities. Twitter Flight School aims to provide a more customised way for brands to build expertise. Participants can take part in scenario-based exercises and receive tips on efficient media planning and optimising brand awareness.

Citi settles media pitch Citi appointed Publicis Groupe’s One Citi Global team to handle its media account. One Citi Global is a custom-created business unit made up of various agencies under the Publicis Groupe network. The group covers not only media duties, but also creative, production and digital.

Currently, Publicis Worldwide handles Citi’s creative duties.

in both print and digital, with its website currently undergoing a makeover.

While the magazine has section editors, it is looking to appoint a chief editor. The magazine consists of a team of nine, including designers, contributors and editors.

It bears the motto “Engaging residents with a rewarding lifestyle” targeting affluent expats and Singaporeans couples and families living in condos.

Integrating Instagram Adknowledge Asia, an advertising technology company, launched Instagram advertising through its social video marketing platform, AdParlor. The new AdParlor software extension allows brands and agencies to place advertisements on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter from a single, integrated platform to produce key insights for improved targeting and efficiency.

The AdParlor integration of Instagram was aimed at giving advertisers a way to connect with customers across all popular social platforms.

M Maxus wins CocoMax T Thai F&B company Asiatic Agro IIndustry appointed Maxus to h handle the media account for its C CocoMax product for a period of o one year starting January 2016.

M Maxus will also help with strategy d development and research for the b brand. “Maxus Singapore was a appointed to build up CocoMax’s media relations which is focused on building more profitable relationships between consumers and brands,” said Warongrong Tunkham, marketing director of Asiatic Agro.

Connecting with netizens Social intelligence company Digimind launched its social media command centres. The command centres leverage sporting events, trade shows, concerts, and other live events by putting a spotlight on social media communication.

Viewers are presented with trending hashtags and relevant social media channels to connect with, live Tweets and mentions, and the most important alerts.

Social media data offers insights into every department from product development to sales and customer service.

Virtual reality for MINI MINI launched two new 360° short films on Facebook. The campaign was said to be one of the first virtual reality campaigns to use a cinematic narrative. The films were created by the Berlin creative agency KKLD which was also responsible for the global campaign concept that spanned across several digital channels.

The two six-minute short films Real Memories and Backwater can be viewed on Facebook with its newest 360 video feature.

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Adding capabilities The BBC has added new opportunities for advertisers with the launch of its first fully commercially funded non-English language website. BBC.jp offers a mixture of business, entertainment and technology stories, alongside news, analysis and features from the BBC’s network of journalists in almost 100 countries around the globe. It comprises a Japanese translation of the content from the BBC’s world-class English language global news and feature site BBC.com.

Uber enters Macau After much local debate, ride sharing company Uber began operating in Macau, making it the 343rd city in which the company operates. The US start-up company announced the soft launch of its services in Macau.

For the time being, only the UberBLACK service, which uses high-end vehicles, is available.

Tomás Campos, Uber Macau’s launcher, said the company’s entry into the SAR had been eagerly anticipated.

Getting digitally savvy Pandora unveiled its first online store in Hong Kong. The e-platform provides two delivery options – standard delivery within two to four business days or a scheduled delivery for customers to pick the delivery date and time.

It also offers online exclusive products and online returns.

The online store mirrors that of its bricks and mortar shops, enabling the consumer to easily browse product and search for specific items.

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Musically inclined After its first success in China in 2014, Green United Music (GUM), the leading French music house and one of the biggest in Europe, moved to a new and bigger recording and production facility that houses three new studios to expand its presence in the market. Located in the heart of Shanghai’s creative centre, the studios provide digital recording with the latest audio plug-ins, VO recording and an extensive sound design library.

Changing lives Cathay Pacific and CNN teamed up for a series of on-air segments called The Trip That Changed My Life. The show is running across CNN’s TV and digital networks.

The campaign went live on 22 October and marks a big shift for the airline brand which is exploring new ways of engaging audiences through content initiatives and social media channels.

Respecting consumer privacy New research from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) found that as data consumption and processing increases, marketers are becoming increasingly respectful of consumer privacy and how they handle personal data. The new study by WFA conducted in conjunction with The Customer Framework indicated that more marketers want to build direct customer relationships via the use of first-party data, with 73% of respondents considering this “business critical”, and 88% planning on ramping up usage.

The earliest regularly printed newspapers were published weekly o in early 1600’s Tensions in the Germany media existed from the start - with authorities concerned about emboldening the masses through education, and publishers cautious not to offend o

Newspapers represented vast improvements in the immediacy & accessibility of information available to the public - a precursor to today’s knowledge saturated, information age

By the 1850's advances in new printing technology allowed publishers to print up to 10,000 Increased newspapers in a production at low single hour cost enabled the mass distribution of the news across all social classes, and encouraged the democratisation of knowledge

Insight Worth Sharing. www.kadence.com/share US UK UAE India Singapore Indonesia Vietnam China N OVE M BE R 2 01 5 M ARKE TI N G 9

23/11/2015 2:15:10 PM

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

1 Campaign My Masterpiece Brief The National Gallery has invited local artists to act as advocates for the gallery’s collection in a bid to make art accessible to the public. These artists share their thoughts on their favourite art pieces in the collection.

The campaign will run in news dailies, cinema, OOH, digital advertising, and social media until the end of the year.

Client

National Gallery Singapore

Creative

M&C Saatchi Singapore

Media

ZenithOptimedia

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2 Campaign The Storm Brief The cornerstone of the campaign for New Balance is “The Storm”, a video featuring 17 of the brand’s sponsored global professional athletes across the sports of running, baseball, tennis, soccer and triathlons. Following the story of a woman on a run who reaches her limit, the spot showcases the brand’s desire to keep moving forward to evolve and to progress. In Singapore, the commercials are shown across JCDecaux networks, on Moove Media platforms and mediums such as SMRT buses.

Client

New Balance

Creative

Arnold Worldwide

Media

Paprika Global

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

3 Campaign Ladies First Since 1916 Brief The global brand campaign aims to be a platform for young women. It is inspired by women who create their own paths, make their own rules, and harness the power of femininity and strength. The campaign features backdrops commissioned from female artists demonstrating examples of what the campaign stands for, giving women a platform to express themselves.

Client

Keds

Creative

kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners (kbs+)

Media

kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners (kbs+)

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4 Campaign Dulux Ambiance Brief Dulux Ambiance partnered with FLY Entertainment artist Nadya Hutagalung to launch its special effects wall paints.

In Singapore, the campaign launched in October to encourage consumers to refresh their homes in time to welcome the New Year and Lunar New Year. It will run across markets such as Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar and Cambodia.

4

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Client

AkzoNobel

Creative

Dentsu Singapore

Media

MediaCom

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

N OVE M BE R 2 01 5 M ARKE TI N G 1 1

19/11/2015 9:21:18 PM

OPINION: AD WATCH/WEB WATCH

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Adrian Yeap Associate creative director Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Singapore

AD WATCH HOT: Welcome to Airbnb Airbnb is a forwardthinking brand, and it came as no surprise when an ad showcased the brand to perfection.

It has all the right ingredients: tone, art direction and attention to detail – not surprisingly, they are everything the brand stands for too. It was also good to note that they released a behind-the-scenes video to show the science behind the magic, adding new content and continuing the conversation among fans.

It is one of the few commercials that marry craft and ideas without compromising on production quality.

NOT: MILO Ice Energy commercial This is probably what happened: the client wanted to sell the new Ice Energy product, decided that leveraging on influencers such as Tosh was the best way to generate attention, and then “strongly encouraged” the team to use them. Too many marketers, and dare I say admen, have wrongly grasped the concept of social as merely being in a social space, using influencers and doing an ice-bucket challenge – without being backed up by a solid idea and an equally sound media-buying strategy.

Graeme Stephenson Design director The Bonsey Design Partnership

WEB WATCH HOT: grabtaxi.com

NOT: thesaladshop.com.sg

This site does exactly what it needs to do the second you land. It leads with a simple, no-bull proposition followed swiftly by a summary of the user interface; highlighting its efficiency and user simplicity. Exactly where to download the app is expressed in a contrasting, on-brand green band which remains clearly visible above the fold. The dropdown function to access the various cities is a welcoming feature, as is the localised third-party offers and incentives, according to the selected location. The page trail is simple, light hearted and relevant – allowing for a useful content hook to warrant the vertical page formats and lead the viewer through the key features, which are displayed in a direct and succinct way. The images familiarise people with the visual interface of the app itself, with no superfluous background noise.

The only minor criticism is the phone rollover which still feels slightly counter intuitive.

Straight away there are too many animated features on screen at once, each vying for the users’ attention, just for the sake of unwanted distraction. The view display seems restrained and tight – every element feels crammed in. And who are these bizarre characters populating the page? What connection do they have to the actual brand experience of eating at the Salad Shop? The horizontal menu bar feels slippery and arduous to use. Did I forget to mention the site isn’t even responsive? The in-shop order forms are more user-friendly than the website. Fact. But the biggest problem with this site is an oversight of the end user’s primary reason for visiting – to view the menu. There is an opportunity here to craft an engaging story around its wide range of fresh ingredients, and freedom to create your own dish. And don’t get me started on the music … yuk.

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DIRECT MAIL CASE STUDY

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ZOUK’S MIDWEEK MAYHEM Zouk relaunches TGIW by inviting partygoers for some Wednesday madness. event itself targeted largely tertiary students and party animals that come out mid-week to play.

The creative idea was executed based on and inspired by the quote penned by writer Anaïs Nin which reads: “We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.”

The idea focuses on the individuality and the uniqueness of each individual. This theme of self-reflection is expressed through the revolving idea of mirrors and holographic as the event’s central motif. Thus, a mirror was sent as the media invite.

The event garnered a relatively large turnout for Wednesday 29 July compared with the usual mid-week crowd. Within Zouk, those who were specially invited were treated at the Members Bar.

THE MAIL Objective: To celebrate TGIW’s third anniversary as well as Zouk’s one and only Wednesday night.

Target audience: Media, regular club goers, tertiary students and party animals.

Rocking on Wednesday: Zouk came up with a fun direct mailer for its TGIW event.

Results: Singapore’s iconic nightclub Zouk celebrated its Thank God It’s Wednesday’s (TGIW) third anniversary event on 29 July 2015 as a homage to mid-week fun. Twenty years ago, before there was Mambo Jambo, there was TGIW – the game-changing mid-week party that really gave Singaporeans a reason to stay out late on Wednesdays. Fast-forward 20 years and the nightclub has come the full circle as it marks the return of TGIW to the Zouk complex every Wednesday.

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Through the media invite, Zouk aimed to prep its partygoers with heady visuals for the aural feast that awaited them as the club turned up the heat with full-on friendly mash-up, electro and hip hop.

For its direct mail marketing, an invite was sent out exclusively to the media, key opinion leaders and regular club goers. The invite was also made available as part of Zouk’s social media giveaways. Though the media invite was sent to the media and regular club goers, the

Many members from the media, influencers and personalities turned up for the event. Digitally, the event ran on the hashtag #LoveTGIW which received over 100 shout-outs for the night.

Sofie Chandra

Head of marketing and events Zouk

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19/11/2015 9:20:24 PM

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16/11/2015 2:59:52 PM

NEWS ANALYSIS

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LUXURY’S OUTWARD FORAY Why did Ralph Lauren pick a top-notch lead from a mass-market brand?

Noreen Ismail explores.

Looking out: Why luxury brands are eyeing mass-market leaders.

American designer Ralph Lauren recently appointed former global president of Old Navy Stefan Larsson to succeed his role as chief executive officer of the former’s titular fashion empire.

In September, Grita Loebsack, a former vice president at Unilever, joined Kering as CEO of emerging brands, which include names such as Stella McCartney and Gucci. Meanwhile, luxury powerhouse Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) snagged a top Apple executive to join as its chief digital officer.

Do these appointments signal a trend?

What is making luxury brands go after massmarket brands’ top brass? Is it technology or the ‘consumerisation’ of luxury that calls for a different skill-set at the top?

Consumerisation of luxury has long been a concern for the industry. With the rise of the new-age affluent class, luxury brands are eager to cast a wider net. Is a mass-market-like strategy then inevitable for luxury brands?

Lawrence Chong, CEO of Consulus, sees the appointment as part of an emerging hiring trend.

“Luxury brands cannot continue to remain out of reach,” Chong said.

According to the Ralph Lauren team, the recent hire follows a number of changes the company has made to strengthen its industry

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leadership, reach new consumers and drive the continued growth of Ralph Lauren Corporation.

As luxury brands adapt their strategy to attract a broadening audience, it comes as no surprise that a fashion maestro such as Ralph Lauren picked a replacement that has succeeded in expanding and growing massmarket brands.

Dominic Twyford, country director, Landor Malaysia cited the example of LVMH’s recent hire of Apple’s Ian Rogers as a signal for luxury’s need to evolve its marketing.

“Traditionally reliant on in-store experiences, the luxury end of the market is slowly realising that online retail is a crucial factor in future growth. In the case of Rogers, LVMH have poached specific knowledge and experience,” Twyford explains.

Luxury brands are looking for broader retail skills to match today’s omnichannel retail world, Twyford adds.

“In the case of Larsson, they have hired someone who while at H&M and Old Navy spent his time chasing fashion trends, but this doesn’t mean that Ralph Lauren are about to go down market.”

Under Larsson’s leadership, Old Navy enjoyed three consecutive years of profitable growth, adding US$1 billion in sales. Prior to that, Larsson was at Swedish retailer Hennes &

Mauritz (H&M) for 15 years where he was part of the team that grew sales from US$3 billion to US $17 billion and expanded the company’s operations from 12 to 44 countries.

Larsson’s hire highlights his ability to develop agile brands and create new opportunity through constant transformation.

Ultimately, he understands how to create demand and growth whilst maintaining brand relevance. Twyford explained that luxury brands pale in comparison to the likes of Uniqlo, H&M and Zara when it comes to their speed to market.

As mass-market brands soar in their ability to maintain low-costs while still appealing to millennials, logo-reliant brands like Ralph Lauren feel static, Twyford adds.

“Ralph Lauren need to change mindset from top down, they believe Larsson has his finger on the pulse of the market, consumer and retail industry.”

Larsson’s appointment is effective from November 2015 onwards, at which time he will also join the Ralph Lauren Corporation board. Larsson will report to Ralph Lauren, who will continue to actively drive the company’s vision and strategy as executive chairman and chief creative officer. “This hire isn’t about understanding the world of luxury, it is bigger than that,” Twyford says.

Meanwhile, Chong thinks the talent love between mass-market and luxury cuts both ways: “When Angela Ahrendts left Burberry to join Apple as retail head, it was a major nod to the trend that making luxury accessible is the way forward. This means reaching out early to the rising group of High Earners.”

But this is a tough balance to strike.

How does a luxury brand prevent losing its premium feel and image while becoming widely accessible?

“It is more like introducing premium economy class on an airline and getting people to watch through the business class experience so as to induce one to upgrade. It is a tried and tested model and it works,” Chong explains.

Through such mass-market poaching, luxury brands can hope to achieve a more sustainable revenue pipeline in an increasingly complex market. It is all about hiring the right people with experience in serving the wealthy middle class who are moving towards the high net worth category and how to appeal to this group, Chong says.

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23/11/2015 2:08:16 PM

NEWS ANALYSIS

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VOLKSWAGEN’S EXHAUST EMISSION SCANDAL: WHAT SHOULD THE NEXT PR STEPS BE? The nature of the globalised world is such that even if a scandal is happening in the US, consumers in Asia and other markets will be just as concerned. Is there a way for Volkswagen to redeem itself? Rezwana Manjur investigates.

Shrouded in misery: What should Volkswagen do to reinstate its reputation?

Volkswagen has been making headlines globally recently, but for all the wrong reasons.

The German brand came under fire for its recent pollution scandal and moreover, for knowingly lying to its consumers.

Volkswagen admitted it used software that manipulated exhaust emissions during government testing.

The news broke after the US Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board revealed their findings while testing diesel cars of the Volkswagen Group.

Currently, in the US alone, the brand could potentially face criminal charges along with a hefty US$18 billion fine.

Martin Winterkorn, then CEO of Volkswagen AG, apologised. In a statement he said: “I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public.

We will co-operate fully with the responsible agencies, with transparency and urgency, to

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clearly, openly, and completely establish all of the facts of this case. Volkswagen has ordered an external investigation of this matter.”

In a press statement on its site, the brand also said that to cover the necessary service measures and other efforts to win back the trust of customers, Volkswagen plans to set aside a provision of some 6.5 billion Euro.

Nearly 11 million of its cars can appear more environmentally friendly than they are during emissions tests, it said.

“Volkswagen does not tolerate any kind of violation of laws whatsoever. It is and remains the top priority of the board of management to win back lost trust and to avert damage to our customers. The group will inform the public on the further progress of the investigations constantly and transparently,” the statement read.

According to brand intelligence service YouGov, its BrandIndex perception data states

that in a matter of four days, Volkswagen’s growing scandal brought the car maker to its lowest US consumer perception levels in more than six and a half years.

YouGov BrandIndex measured Volkswagen’s consumer perception with its Buzz score, which asks respondents: “If you’ve heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”

A Buzz score can range from -100 to 100 with a zero score equalling a neutral position.

For example, a score of 35 means that 35% more people said they were positive than negative about the brand.

For most of September, VW’s Buzz score was in the 10 to 11 range. Following the incident, it plummeted to -2. VW had never gone below a zero Buzz score since January 2009.

Meanwhile, according to Meltwater, online chatter showed that in September alone there was, understandably, an increase in negative sentiment compared with the month of August.

The results also showed the public backlash was most prominent on the 21st and 22nd of September, which had the biggest spike in negative sentiments. The platforms monitored were blogs, comments, Facebook, reviews and forums, Twitter, Wikipedia and YouTube.

So, it is safe to say the brand has a long way to go to recover its ground.

According to Lars Voedisch, principal consultant and managing director of PRecious Communications, the mantra in such a crisis situation should be: “Get it fast, get it right, get it out and get it over with.”

He explained the brand needed to quickly make it clear to the public, if it was only the US market that was affected or were other markets also implicated. To date it has been released that 11 million cars are affected, but it’s not clear if this extends to other markets.

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NEWS ANALYSIS

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The nature of the globalised world is such that even if a scandal is happening in the US, consumers in Asia and other markets will be just as concerned.

However, it is a known fact the risk of legal implications might make it hard for a brand in crisis to release a statement. This is often a tussle PR faces with legal in a crisis communication situation.

So should HQ be handling all communication?

The directive from HQ now should be to alert all marketing and comms leads across all geographies to only make concrete statements on facts and not leave room for speculation.

While this may be criticised by some as being evasive, Voedisch is of the view that when a crisis hits a brand it should try to have as much control over the situation as possible.

“Make sure regular updates are given and ensure the information given is 100% accurate to remain in control. This should trickle down to front office staff who are dealing directly with the consumers. Not having an answer is all right, but stick closely to the facts and do not leave room for speculation.”

Next step While it is hard to imagine a silver lining in such a situation, Voedisch advises it is the perfect opportunity for the brand to get all of its dirty laundry out now. If more information comes at a later date, it will simply prolong the negative brand sentiment on consumers’ minds.

“The issue now is to deal with what is at hand and ensure it never happens again and that is the tricky bit as it requires building trust with the consumer again,” he said. However, if the brand is effectively able to win back consumer trust, it can work towards using this issue to push for an industry wide change.

But timing is vital in such a situation. If this is done too early, it may seem as though they are simply sweeping the dust under the carpet, and trying to deflect the situation.

Should the CEO have stepped down?

Soon after the news of the scandal broke, CEO Martin Winterkorn announced his resignation.

Winterkorn in a statement said he was “shocked by the events of the past few days” and “stunned” that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group.

“As CEO I accept responsibility for the irregularities that have been found in diesel engines and have therefore requested the supervisory board to agree on terminating my function as CEO of the Volkswagen Group. I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrongdoing on my part,” read his statement.

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CONVERSATION SENTIMENT

was of the view the resignation of the CEO was the first and correct step as it demonstrated accountability. He explained that reputation damage in a crisis such as this is often directly proportional to the company’s ability to show authentic leadership.

“Clearly in Volkswagen’s case, trust in the company’s leadership was destroyed and a circuit breaker was required to enable the company to take a leadership role in managing its crisis,” West said.

However, he added that not always does a CEO’s head need to roll in crisis situations.

“In a crisis, people look for transparency and accountability, it does not always have to lead to anyone’s resignation,” he said. “The CEO’s role in a crisis is to mandate action and demand accountability, and to lead. However, in this case the failure is widespread, occurred over a long-time frame or rather on his watch.

It is systemic and therefore ultimately led to the CEO’s door.”

By sentiment August

September

August

September

Neutral

375840

370927

Positive

68550

46201

Negative

34521

40520

Source: Meltwater

Winterkorn also added that the company needed a fresh start in terms of personnel and he was “clearing the way” with his resignation.

He added this was the only way to win back the trust of the public.

Voedisch said it was still too early to decide if Winterkorn needed to go to remedy the entire situation. “What is clear is that the advisory board wants to have somebody on top who has not been involved in this scandal,” he said.

Sonya Madeira, founder of Rice Communications, however, lauded the move and added it was good it happened so quickly.

She said the entire incident was likely to impact the whole automotive industry and give it a wake-up jolt.

When asked if the CEO’s head should always be the first to roll in such crisis situations, she explained that if a scandal is knowingly engineered, the buck stops at the top and the CEO’s head needs to roll.

“This is needed when the public and shareholders have lost faith in the leadership and someone needs to step in to clean up the problem and repair the image.”

Brian West, managing director of reputation management for APAC and global chair crisis management for FleishmanHillard Singapore,

Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

While the CEO stepping down may demonstrate the brand moving in the right direction, going back to its glory days will not be a cakewalk for the brand.

But this is not to say it is impossible.

West suggests the next step for the company is for its leadership team to establish a guiding light strategy (GLS), which is bold, clear and aspirational. This should be a clear statement on what Volkswagen wants to stand and be known for.

“The GLS gives the company a real chance of emerging from a crisis stronger than before,” West said.

“Having a GLS facilitates clarity on the big picture, the long-term strategy of Volkswagen and the desired reputation the company wants to project and protect by aligning the company’s management of the current crisis with that longterm vision, mission and reputation.”

Often, having a GLS unifies the management team to head in the same direction and reassures it there is light at the end of the tunnel. It also allows it to focus on the things it has control over, and to take control.

“This is where the company moves from reacting to proposing, from following to leading, from defensive to assertive – they are, in fact, reaffirming what the company stands for, bringing its values to life in a crisis via its actions.

The GLS takes management from managing a crisis to leadership during a crisis,” West said.

Voedisch reiterated this was the perfect opportunity for the brand to get all of its dirty laundry out. If more information comes at a later date, it will simply prolong the negative brand sentiment on consumers’ minds.

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19/11/2015 9:18:54 PM

NEWS ANALYSIS

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CAN YOU IGNORE THE VALUE SMALL AGENCIES ADD? Smaller agencies may just be more committed to helping you achieve your marketing goals.

Bigger is not always better: There are many reasons why marketers should consider smaller agencies.

Let’s consider a common situation. You are a top marketing professional in a top multinational organisation of global repute. You are a decision-maker or significant influencer in your firm’s choice of vendor for either advertising, media, branding, PR or market research agencies.

Numerous agencies across any of the above domains have been in touch with you,

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but you only work with the very best in each field. So you work with the largest and most famous names in whichever field you are in.

They are as big and as reputable as your own organisation and you are assured that you get the best that is possible.

So, when representatives from smaller agencies try to contact you, you politely decline them, citing reasons of travel or a busy schedule

(which is often true) or worse, ignore them. But smart marketers are increasingly realising the value that smaller agencies bring. If you have been reluctant to try them out because they lack history or heritage, there is a possibility you may be doing yourself a disservice.

Let me explain what advantages a small agency might bring compared with their more established counterparts.

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19/11/2015 9:20:06 PM

NEWS ANALYSIS

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Flexibility Consider your own massive organisation. To take a step in a new direction, think of the layers of decision-makers who have to validate the idea and how often new ideas get squashed because not everyone up the ladder is aligned to them.

Large vendors often face the same. They have very strong processes and structures in place which deliver consistent results and have made them credible over time. However, the same processes are rigid and complex and can rarely be tweaked to accommodate a client’s need.

As Jeff Rosenblum, founder of Questus, pointed out: “For large agencies, flexibility is antithetical. It conflicts with their legacy business model.”

On the other hand, smaller agencies are quick and flexible and can adapt to your needs without significant legacy burdens.

In a nutshell, smaller agencies are expected to listen to their clients to understand their needs, and thereby decide on the deliverables, rather than suggesting to the client what their tested and established methodologies have proven as deliverables over time.

Subject matter expertise Now this can always be questioned, but in general the choice comes between a “Jack of all trades” or a “Master of a few”. Large firms are present everywhere, across every industry and they are capable of doing good work in almost everything you throw at them.

Smaller agencies, on the other hand, have relatively limited resources and fewer domains of expertise, but they go far deeper and far richer in those specific domains. While a large firm may be a safe bet for doing “good” work in 40 different areas, a small firm will be able to provide “better” work in five of those areas, which is their key strength.

Access to the think tank For larger agencies, in most cases, a client will have a multi-layered interface starting from the assistant to the manager to the director to the CEO of a division to higher layers that may even be out of the horizon. While every large firm is expected to have competent professionals, layers do exist for a reason.

Many top firms are the brainchild of one genius, who has since moved on, but who has left a legacy for the firm to carry on. Over the years, there will be many top professionals involved, but few will match that founder’s genius.

On the other hand, smaller companies will

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“For smaller firms, it is a ‘quest for reputation’ rather than reputation itself. A matter of life or death with every project and there is no room for being relaxed or complacent.”

Amitabha Das — director – Asia, Relevance Marketing

mostly give you the opportunity to work directly with the main brain, allowing you to get the best out of a budding, hungry entity. You might end up working with the next David Ogilvy, if you are lucky.

Fresh ideas The larger firms are reputable and wellestablished for a good reason. They have done quality work consistently over years (or decades) earning themselves credibility.

However, what made them stand out in the first place was not that consistency. They stole the light by bringing in fresh ideas that were rare at that point in time. Once their ideas were successful, they developed the consistency model and made it standardised. With that, they ensured those once groundbreaking ideas are replicated steadily and uniformly.

But in a fast paced and ever-evolving world of marketing, that is also tantamount to being undeviating and unchanging, which often stifles fresh idea generation.

A smaller firm, on the contrary, thrives on fresh ideas. This is what gives birth to them and is what keeps them from becoming dead meat.

Reputation There is no doubt that larger established firms have a much stronger reputation. Reputation was not built over a day and often takes decades to build. But once a certain reputation has been built, because of the sizeable growth that necessarily follows, it is not an easy task to conform to the same values that led to that reputation.

For smaller firms, it is a “quest for reputation” rather than reputation itself. A matter of life or death with every project and there is no room for being relaxed or complacent.

That makes them hungrier and eager to take that extra step to make sure the client is satisfied. With a large agency, you generally get what you asked for, or even what they promised to deliver. With a small agency, you generally get more than what you asked for because their urge to give you more is what keeps them running.

In short, smaller agencies have far higher stakes and therefore their effort and commitment levels are higher, and their desire to make things right is noticeably stronger.

Competitive advantage This one probably applies more to the domains of branding or market research than to the more creative areas. But everybody would have noticed it at some point although most would have accepted it as the industry norm. The big guys have very similar offerings!

They compete with each other globally and tend to use similar tools and techniques to outsmart each other. When you place three reports from the top three firms, you will see a large part of them either the same or similar. Which effectively means all your competitors have exactly the same reports and similar insights. How would you outplay your competitor when both of you are using the same weapon?

If you desire to be ahead of them, you have to try something they might not have tried yet.

That solution may be in the boutique agency that puts you ahead of time and ahead of your competition.

Some closing thoughts It is true that there are too many small and big agencies around and it is not an easy task to pay individual attention to all of them. Most top professionals also realise the need to “play it safe” at certain points in their career and a large well-reputed agency is a politically safe bet without any doubt.

It should also be mentioned that many large agencies provide top quality work without some of the limitations that have been mentioned.

Likewise, not every small agency comes without these limitations and not every small firm provides top quality work.

However, by depriving the smaller agencies a chance, you may actually be depriving yourself of a major breakthrough. Indeed, they may not have been there yesterday, but if you do the same as you did yesterday, you’ll get the same results as yesterday.

Big or small, the final decision needs to be made on the value they bring on board. But the next time an unknown boutique agency shows eagerness to connect, do yourself a favour, spare them a slot and hear them out. That might actually turn out to be your best decision!

The writer is Amitabha Das, director – Asia, Relevance Marketing.

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NEWS ANALYSIS

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WHO WINS IN THE RACE FOR AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT? How will Facebook’s slate of new ad tools and StarHub launching audience measurement tools affect TV ad dollars? Noreen Ismail and Rayana Pandey explore.

Facing a new way of doing things: Will Facebook’s TRP for video ads end up being a game-changer?

Facebook has unveiled a slate of new advertising tools to lure more advertisers onto its platform.

Leveraging its strengths on mobile, Facebook is encouraging marketers to boost TV campaigns with Facebook video ads via TRP buying which provides a way for advertisers to plan, buy and measure Facebook video ads using TRP as the metric.

According to Facebook, marketers can plan a campaign across TV and Facebook with a total TRP target in mind, and buying a share of those TRPs directly with Facebook.

Working with Nielsen’s digital ad ratings (DAR) measurement system, DAR can verify Facebook’s in-target TRP delivery while Nielsen’s total ad ratings system can verify the TRP delivery for Facebook and television combined.

According to the social media giant, it has

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seen a 25% growth in the number of active advertisers on Facebook since February.

Boasting 2.5 million advertisers actively engaging and utilising on its platform, Facebook’s new ad tools are set to change the way marketers spend their ad dollars, presumably shifting more TV ad dollars onto the social media platform.

In a Facebook-commissioned study conducted by Nielsen across 42 US campaigns, advertisers saw a 19% increase in targeted reach when TV and Facebook tools were combined versus TV alone. This incremental reach increased to 37% when Millennials were the target audience, Facebook claimed.

Making a case for the efficiency of its ad tools, the study said Facebook impressions were twice more likely to hit their target audience than TV impressions, signalling lower ad spend by advertisers to reach their target audiences.

These impressive statistics only serve to prove the reality of TV’s declining popularity.

Ivan Wong, managing partner at Mindshare Singapore, said the move to “steal” TV ad dollars was not unique in the market. “Google is doing something similar with its YouTube inventory, positioning it as another viable option to traditional TV.” Still, there is a strong desire and demand to have a single measurement currency across screens.As such, Facebook’s reach and frequency (R&F) capabilities across devices could potentially make the switch from TV to social media easier for advertisers who may be used to TV measurement metrics, Wong explained.

“In some ways, this emphasis on traditional R&F and TRP metrics alludes to the still fairly dominant position of TV in the marketplace and recognition by the top tech companies that ‘if

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NEWS ANALYSIS

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you can’t beat them, join them’,” he said.

Facebook’s new ad tools will also provide advertisers with an additional avenue to consider aside from Google’s YouTube, Eileen Ooi, general manager of Maxus Malaysia, said.

Given today’s advertising dollars are already shifting from TV to online videos, with YouTube primarily dominating the platform, Ooi said Facebook’s strong base in Malaysia made it a serious contender for advertisers to begin rolling out campaigns on its platform.

“Allowing options for the gross rating buying format is definitely a game changer in the industry. As such, broadcasters need to be quick in their reactions and come up with a strategy to generate video content to bring consumers back,” Ooi said.

StarHub next to join in Shortly after Facebook announced its TVlike ratings, i.e, video ads via TRP buying, pay TV operator StarHub partnered with Nielsen to launch StarHub SmarTAM, a TV audience measurement system using return path data (RPD) technology.

StarHub has also commissioned Nielsen to support the subscription and sales of SmarTAM data. Harvesting RPD from StarHub’s two-way digital set-top boxes in 545,000 homes and applying Nielsen’s proprietary research for TV viewership measurement, StarHub SmarTAM claims to offer advertisers, media buyers and content providers granular insight into what StarHub’s TV households and individuals are watching.

The TV audience measurement system tracks both real-time and time-shift viewing of TV content and advertising spots across more than 200 StarHub TV channels. Around 5,000 StarHub TV homes have been selected to be statistically representative of the StarHub TV households in Singapore.

The move, although not the first in the market, comes at a time the fight for TV ad dollars is intensifying. (It is worth noting that although digital ad spend is growing exponentially, TV still commands a lion’s share in most Asian markets.)

In January this year, Singtel Advertising and Kantar Media announced a similar deal introducing RPD technology in Singapore as part of SingTel mio TV’s new television audience measurement platform. RPD is captured for the entire Singtel mio TV customer base to ensure that all audience segments and niche channels are represented.

Not only that, in June this year, Singtel Advertising inked a deal with Appier, an AIempowered cross-screen technology company,

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A smart move: StarHub’s SmarTAM has been lauded by many media agencies in the industry.

to introduce the first programmatic TV solution in Singapore, enabling advertisers to more effectively reach Singapore’s substantial, but fragmented TV-watching population.

Throw Facebook into the mix and the war for ad dollars becomes even more brutal.

What does this mean for the industry?

In Singapore, historically, media planners have had to make do with V diary for cable TV measurement, which is an archaic anachronism from the 1990s.

And while media agencies laud StarHub’s move, saying the robust sample of 5,000 lends credibility to this measure of cable ratings and improves accountability, there are a few points to note.

“One will have to factor in additional complexity later in the second quarter of 2016, where we will have an additional ratings system commissioned by MDA. We could potentially end up with three different ratings systems (GfK, TNS and Nielsen) for measuring TV in Singapore leading to a scenario of more confusion on which metric is ‘the right metric’,” said Helen Lee, managing director of ZenithOptimedia, Singapore.

With potentially three measurement systems by year end, Lee believes media companies such as MediaCorp and StarHub will leverage on the system that will give them the strongest position.

“Multi-screens viewing is very prevalent now, therefore, it actually makes sense to look at ratings from the unified measurement system that MDA is championing,” she said.

For advertisers and media agencies, the unified measurement system will be the one to potentially provide a neutral perspective.

“We are also very eager to see whether the data will confirm some of the hypothesis,” she said.

Echoing the sentiment is James Campbell, head of planning at Mindshare, who said with

its additional data sets, StarHub has taken a big jump to the front of the field when it comes to audience measurement.

“While we see this as a very positive move on StarHub’s part, it will undoubtedly create another challenge for the industry – lack of a single source panel – at a time when advertisers and agencies are looking for a common measurement currency,” he said.

Currently, FTA and Singtel are measured

by Kantar, and StarHub now by Nielsen, while the digital media owners are looking at a host of different solutions. “As GfK put their own system in place following the MDA tender, and as this develops further to fulfil the original ambition, questions will need to be answered about which measurement systems should be adopted by the industry as a whole,” he said.

Lauding the move, Nick Seckold, CEO of Mindshare Singapore, said while StarHub has always had great content, the lack of cable ratings data has discouraged many advertisers from investing more due to the pressures of delivering ROI back to their businesses.

“Given their relationship with their customers across a number of areas, I’m pleased to see them start to use some of the data assets to validate the quality of their content,” he said.

“We also see SmarTAM allowing brands to drill deeper at the planning stage to target specific audiences/households based on behavioural trends.

“If StarHub can deliver on the ambition, it will most certainly create a step change in how TV advertising is planned and measured.”

But only time will tell if this has an effect on the FTA operators given the level of comfort the market has with traditional ratings methodology.

“If nothing else, it will force the industry as a whole move to forward to innovate at a time many brands are shifting a greater percentage of their investment online.”

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BRANDED CONTENT

MAINTAINING ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ DURING TIMES OF VOLATILITY

A new, discretionary postal service is enabling overseas investors to go about their daily tasks uninterrupted, and with the peace of mind that their mail is safe and secure. Complementing Singapore’s impressive pro-business environment, the service is ideal for individuals who own properties, investment accounts and businesses in the city-state and across Southeast Asia. une 2015 saw Singapore once again top the World Bank’s annual

acknowledged

“Doing Business” rankings – a survey that examines the ease

leaders globally that Singaporean

of conducting trade and investment in almost 190 countries

businesspeople

globally. For those familiar with the nation, this should come as

prudence, vigilance and security.

no surprise, as for decades Singapore has boasted modern,

Furthermore, these attributes are

world-class office space, state-of-the-art infrastructure and connectivity,

supported by paramount servicing

and a highly skilled workforce that is among the most competent in Asia.

by value

business integrity,

levels as exemplified by the likes of Singapore Airlines.

The city-state is also a vibrant financial services hub, which services the needs of businesses and high-net-worth individuals from across the region and beyond. Indeed, with almost US$1.4 trillion worth of assets

It is in this light that SingPost has launched its Hold Mail Service (HMS).

under management, Singapore is recognised as a premier business and

Designed for the well-heeled individual and corporates (both local and

finance centre, where the majority of multinational corporations house

overseas), HMS is safe and reliable, and involves the discreet handling,

their regional headquarters. Indeed, Singapore’s economy is among the

storage and delivery of mail. With an emphasis on enforcing the security

most diverse in the region – in addition to its financing capabilities, it

and confidentiality of client data, subscribers to the service have access

has also established itself as a centre for multiple sectors and segments,

to a mail management experience on a whole new level, which provides

including information technology, e-commerce, logistics, healthcare,

convenience and complete peace of mind.

natural resources, consumer electronics, and many, many more.

HMS achieves this by offering each subscriber a new, unique postal address, where all future correspondence will be sent. Mail can be Singapore’s broad industrial base has also exposed the nation to

collected in person or hand-delivered to another address in Singapore.

challenges currently ongoing in the global markets. Indeed, volatility has notably been experienced in the city-state’s equities and foreign

The mail will only be handed over to the client upon presentation of formal

exchange markets, with the Straits Times Index falling by more than 10%

identification. Indeed, for about S$100 per month, clients can go about

since January 2015, and the Singapore dollar depreciating by almost 6%

their daily activities in the knowledge that their mail is securely stored,

against the US dollar during the same time period.

thus allowing subscribers to concentrate on other matters that demand their attention, whether investing, conducting general business activities,

Nonetheless, through decades of careful planning, Singapore is among

or growing one’s wealth.

the most robust economies globally and continues to provide a vibrant environment for investors and entrepreneurs to thrive.

For more information on HMS visit holdmail.com.sg.

Two facets of doing business in Singapore stand out when compared with other economies in the region: discretion and safety. Indeed, it is universally

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NEWS ANALYSIS

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IS THE HAZE PUTTING BRAND SINGAPORE UNDER THREAT? Should Singapore have used the grand prix to bring the issue of the haze to a global stage?

Rezwana Manjur writes.

In for the long haul: Will the haze have an impact on Singapore as a tourist destination?

Every year, the grand prix brings global tourists from all corners of the world. Recent data by global travel search engine Skyscanner showed that Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Hong Kong emerged as the top five F1 fanatics based on a compounded annual growth rate in flight search data from 2012 to 2015.

The grand prix weekend is the time that Singapore is dressed to its finest to promote the nation through not only event-based marketing, but also word of mouth. This year though, the situation was drastically different as the nation sat under a thick blanket of smog and dark clouds.

While Oliver Chong, STB’s executive director for communications, then told The Straits Times it would be “premature to determine the extent of the impact of the haze at this juncture (on the grand prix)”, there is no doubt the haze is dealing a fresh blow to the tourism industry in Singapore which in recent years has been struggling.

One simply had to look out the window to see what is usually one of the glitziest festivals and hyped-up tourism seasons for Singapore, covered in “50 shades of grey”, quite literally.

Recently, ahead of the F1 this season, the

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GP management released a statement saying that based on current PSI levels, there were no plans to “amend the published racing and entertainment programme” as the haze situation was highly changeable not only from day to day, but from hour to hour.

While this was true, it is worth wondering if the sunny Singapore brand image is under threat as tourists pour into the city. Has the image of the bustling nightlife, myriad of cultures under clear skies on tourism marketing collaterals been dramatically distorted?

Joseph Baladi, managing partner at BrandAsian, is sympathetic to the plight of STB saying the issue lies outside the scope of the tourism body. He added the haze has almost become an annual event for those living in the region and the fact those living in the country expect it to happen is the biggest factor that will impact brand Singapore’s image.

“But unlike the F1, if the pollution onslaught continues unchecked, Singapore will soon lose its pristine ‘clean and safe’ brand association with consequences on a huge scale that would – by comparison – reduce the damage experienced by the grand prix to a mere footnote. Clean isn’t just in reference to the

streets and safe isn’t just crime – its about the overall heath,” he said.

He also added that the brand Singapore image was also built on aspects such as attracting big business to set up locally, attracting families to stay and retaining and attracting talent. If the problem persists, Singapore will lose its charm and go down the route of Hong Kong. With no actual resources, Singapore’s pristine reputation is all it has.

Graham Hitchmough, South and Southeast Asia CEO of Brand Union, was a little more positive on the matter saying that amid the glaring lights, popping flashbulbs, grit, petrol fumes and 130 decibels of roaring engines and Bon Jovi’s greatest hits, it’s likely the haze will hardly be noticed at all.

He poignantly pointed out that rather than sweep Singapore’s “guilty secret” under the carpet at one of its greatest shows, it would be wise to use the annual three days under the global gaze to bring the “perennial issue of haze more firmly under the spotlight, or bring a lasting solution closer”.

“In that sense it will probably be an opportunity missed rather than just a PR catastrophe averted,” he said.

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FEATURE

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RECYCLING OF IDEAS: IS IT ACCEPTABLE? In an industry where we are forced to come up with ideas every single day, only for some of them to be tossed aside is it really that big a crime to reuse an old idea for a new client?

Rezwana Manjur finds out.

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Take a look at these two ads on these pages.

The similarity in this instance is pretty obvious. Both these ads were launched during the haze period and while they might have been for different markets, the idea was fairly similar and both were created by the same agency, Yellow Mango Communications, for different clients.

This is not a case in isolation, but it prompted me to ask this question – is recycling ideas by agencies acceptable?

When questioned by Marketing on the similarities, Yellow Mango Communications’ lead Alvin Kok explains that while the Malaysia and Singapore team consist of very different individuals, being a collective team, there are similar ideas that pop up from time to time.

He says the post on the Manhattan Fish Market for the Singapore market went up first and in the case of the Carrie ad in Malaysia, the agency simply executed the ad under the client’s orders.

“The client conceptualised it and I am certain they could have seen it somewhere else.

The ads were using the same tone and manner, but were not exactly the same,” defends Kok explaining that one was for food delivery, while the other was for a hygiene product.

He, however, assures Marketing that the agency actively takes on different brand strategies for different clients, but what can’t be avoided is the similar thought process that runs through the spine of the agency.

“If the entire idea is re-pitched, then I don’t think it is quite right. Nonetheless, these ideas belong to the agency until they have been used,” he says.

Recycling of ideas: Should you do it?

With so many ideas being generated every day, let’s be honest, there are bound to be idea overlaps and working on the agency side, churning out ideas day in and day out, is no cakewalk either. Surely, when a spark of brilliance happens and you come up with the perfect idea for a campaign, only to be shot down by your clients moments later, it would hurt.

What then do you do with those amazing concepts? Do you simply chuck them in the bin and wait for your next moment of genius? Or do you keep them in the back of your mind to pitch to a braver client?

Pat Law, founder of local creative agency GOODSTUPH, says in instances where both ads are running for different clients, “the agency should be shot in the head for having a misaligned moral compass and given an award for being so mercenary at the same time”.

She says that unless you’re an agency that

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“Very seldom do we dip into the rejected ideas graveyard to bring an idea back to life. But I have to admit, there have been times where we felt very strongly for an idea, and refused to bury it just because one client didn’t get it.”

Pat Law – founder of local creative agency GOODSTUPH

churns out final artworks adapted from global agencies on a daily basis, agencies owe it to a client to develop ideas based on the brief on hand.

For a creative agency, adds Law, the most interesting bit of work lies in the conceptualisation process.

“So very seldom do we dip into the rejected ideas graveyard to bring an idea back to life. But I have to admit, there have been times where we felt very strongly for an idea, and refused to bury it just because one client didn’t get it,” she says. What then does Law and her team at GOODSTUPH do with it?

“For ideas we refuse to bury, we’d keep them in the storeroom and perhaps even run it on our own,” she says.

Patrick Low, founder and creative director

for Goodfellas, however, is of the view it is “perfectly fine” if one client’s rejected ideas fits another client’s brand and proposition – and is then used by the latter. Much like Kok, he is of the view that an idea is the creative agency’s product and it has every right to sell its product to whoever it wishes.

“Imagine you are a boutique owner and you have chosen a dress for a customer, but for some reason she decided not to buy it. Should you sell it to another suitable customer or throw it away?” he asks.

Clients speak up The concept of recycling an idea is not new to Singapore. At a debate last year held by Pitchmark, an organisation aiming to protect creators’ intellectual property during pitches

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FEATURE

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agencies the company works with on a project basis, if the agency reuses an idea pitched initially to Eu Yan Sang (which was subsequently rejected) for another client, it wouldn’t be too big a headache for her and her team. However, for agencies in long-term contracts with the company, the expectations are higher.

This is because these long-term agencies are ideally seen as long-term partners where they are often privy to business insights that give wings to an idea. Moreover, because of the long-term nature of the relationship, an idea rejected for one campaign now doesn’t mean it will not be picked up for a later one.

“We usually establish a mutual understanding with our long-term partners that the rejected idea should be kept for future use,” Koh says. “If that level of trust is breached, then as with all relationships, it will be impossible to continue.”

She emphasises that should an insightdriven idea be recycled for another brand, it becomes an integrity issue and the company would not be comfortable extending the relationship with the agency.

“Imagine you are a boutique owner and you have chosen a dress for a customer, but for some reason she decided not to buy it. Should you sell it to another suitable customer or throw it away?”

Patrick Low – founder and creative director for Goodfellas

by promoting paying pitch fees in Singapore, Nader Tadros, partner sales director for APAC at Microsoft, said pitch fees in Singapore would probably not work simply because agencies tended to recycle ideas. Hence, clients would simply be paying for ideas that have already been sitting in the storeroom.

“If we are to pay a pitch fee, what is the assurance that the idea created is solely for our organisation and will not be reused or resold to a competitor if we are to reject the idea at that point?” Tadros asked.

This was met with a response from Stephanie Lee, manager of original productions and content development at Singtel, who says the idea theft issue is simply the “nature of the business”.

This is a common phenomenon and even

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for an agency, ideas are generated based on “inspiration” from another avenue.

With an abundance of images and information readily available, it is often difficult to claim that an idea is completely original, she adds. However, she is quick to clarify that while the recycling of ideas may be the nature of the business, she is neither in support nor accepting of it.

While some advertising and marketing friends remain split on whether or not recycling ideas is a big no-no in the advertising business, there are several marketers we spoke to who seem a little more eco-friendly when it comes to reusing old rejected ideas.

Corrinne Koh, marketing lead at Eu Yan Sang, says the standards vary for retainer agencies and project-based agencies. For

What if you are pitched a ‘once rejected’ idea?

If the tables are turned and a brand rejects an idea which fits perfectly with Eu Yan Sang’s DNA and achieves its marketing objectives, explains Koh, then there will be no reason for her to say no. She adds this is provided the brand, who it was initially pitched to, is willing to share it and that all parties must be kept in the loop.

Gale Choong, head of marketing at Unilever, echoed Koh’s sentiments.

“As long as the campaign proposed answers the brief and is within the proposed budget and the key is to deliver intended objectives of the campaign, whether or not the idea was rejected by another, we should still evaluate it objectively. Maybe it’s just because the other client failed to see a gem,” she says.

According to Choong, if an idea is rejected due to the failure of answering the brief and the quality of the idea as a whole, then there is no reason why the agency cannot re-propose the idea to another client, with whom it may sit better with.

However, if the idea is re-hatched for a direct competitor, it will most definitely not reflect well on the agency’s integrity.

For Choong, however, when reusing a rehashed idea, caution must be practised.

Where she would draw the line is if an agency re-pitches an idea that has been rejected by one client for another repeatedly – especially if the clients are direct competitors.

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CREATIVE HEADS SPEAK UP After hearing what clients and agencies really thought of re-hashing old ideas, we had a quick conversation with some of the creative directors in Singapore. We asked them what really is the worth of a good idea and should an agency try to keep it alive if a client rejects it. Here’s what they had to say: “The whole originality debate has been and will always rage on. Today I don’t think there is truly an original thought because everything is inspired, formed and shaped from your experiences and the environment in which you live.

Therefore, it is entirely possible that someone else has had the same idea independently from you because ideas exist in the ether. Creative minds are constantly pulling from various sources and what’s important is where those inputs come from and how you remix those inputs to create fresh outputs.

Recycling ideas only becomes an issue when it’s the easy way out, when you’ve got an idea and you stick it to a problem regardless. Shamelessly copying someone else’s idea is also unacceptable. But ultimately, ideas are nothing until they have lived and if an idea hasn’t been brought to life, it should then be given every chance to live.”

Grant Hunter – regional creative director for APAC at iris Worldwide

“Creatives recycle ideas all the time. But it’s in how you do it, isn’t it? Recycling can’t be your first instinct. You shouldn’t propose an idea that you’ve already executed for another client. And if it’s been presented to one client before, perhaps you shouldn’t sell it to another, lock, stock and barrel. Otherwise, as they said in Game of Thrones, ‘Shame!’

Timothy Chan – creative director for GOVT

“We may all have different interpretations of what ‘recycling ideas’ means. ‘Recycling’ is fine if it is your own idea and hasn’t been executed before. So what if a client had rejected it previously? It is only ‘recycled’ to the agency that conceived it, but will be new, fresh and, perhaps, brilliant to the next client you are presenting it to. We’ve all seen that happen.

Ideas reside in the mind until we give life to them in our work. If we find them worthy to be ‘recycled’, then they must be good ideas. And if they’re good ideas that haven’t seen the light of day, they deserve another chance and usually have to be reworked to fit the brief and product anyway.

These days, clients are expecting more in a shorter space of time and, often, at a lower cost. Agencies do their level best to satisfy on all counts. So ‘recycling ideas’ is one recourse, but let’s not talk about it like it’s a new concept that did not exist before.

Ng Khee Jin – founder and creative director for Wild Advertising & Marketing

“A creative idea which has been presented to a client, but not sold is still considered the property of the agency. It is wise to represent it to another client if the solution meets the brief. It is as simple as that.

No agency should feel ashamed to do so. After all, you spent hours conceiving the idea and, hence, it is solely yours until you find a suitable buyer. I won’t call it recycling. It’s a wrong term to use. It is just smart thinking.”

Terrence Tan – founder for Ice Inc

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PROFILE

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Like coffee, marketing isn’t for everyone.

Noreen Ismail explores Starbucks Singapore’s managing director Jane Lau’s evolving love for both the beverage industry and marketing.

ost of us may not remember our first cup of Starbucks coffee. This memory recedes into the borders of our mind, unaware of the eventual impact it has on how we take our cup: plain or doused with sugar, strong or not-so-strong.

For Jane Lau, managing director of Starbucks Coffee Company Singapore, her first cup of Starbucks coffee was credited to an outlet at an underground Japanese shopping mall.

“I can’t remember which coffee it was. All I remember is my friend’s excitement at spotting a Starbucks in Japan.”

For Lau, who confessed to resorting to coffee for “functional reasons” before that point, her taste in coffee has happily evolved to become something more of an acquired taste akin to her preferences in wine.

“I like to drink wine and similar to this, my preference in coffee has graduated to preferring bolder and heavier taste profiles,” Lau says, recounting a Starbucks-designed “origin” trip where employees get to travel to various coffee farms in the region to learn more about the brand’s sourcing practices. It was a trip to Sumatra that enhanced her appreciation for coffee beans.

“It was a totally rare experience where we get to see the hard work and labour of the coffee farmers,” Lau says.

Taking away from this experience, Lau was inspired to contribute back to the farmers for their hard work. Thus, the launch of Starbucks’ One Tree for Every Bag project was rolled out in September this year.

Starbucks Singapore has activated the initiative as part of its commitment to support the coffee industry by ensuring that a coffee tree is planted for every bag of coffee purchased in stores island-wide through until September 2016.

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The move to marketing Sourcing for quality products is not exactly far from her domain expertise.

Having worked at Starbucks for more than 12 years, her added cachet is her extensive background in supply chain. Before being promoted to her current role, she was procurement director for Starbucks Asia Pacific from 2007 to 2011. In this role, she was responsible for procurement and supply chain management for a total of 12 regional markets, including Japan and China.

Before that, as supply chain director, Lau led a team which successfully set up and established Starbucks’ presence in China in 2005. She was also integral in pioneering the Starbucks supply chain team in 2001 which oversaw the establishment of all distribution networks and sourcing channels in Asia. This groundwork has been instrumental in serving as Starbucks’ base for growth in Asia.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that Lau enjoys the behind-the-scenes processes when it comes to overseeing the finished product from its point of origin.

Still, adding marketing to her remit as managing director four years ago was no easy feat. Lau confesses her smooth transition is credited to her immediate team members, which include marketing director Ruth Lam. “I have a great team and a very creative partner when it comes to marketing, so it’s all been a smooth transition coming from the supply chain sector,” Lau says.

As managing director, she is responsible for overseeing all facets of the Starbucks brand locally, including vision and strategy, business development and operations. Lau notes the various stages of marketing – from ideation to implementation – and overlaps them with the necessary

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PROFILE

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skills from her previous experiences in procurement. As for her newly minted marketing philosophy, Lau adheres to the Starbucks’ signature style of communicating the brand via experiences.

“We want to communicate in a way that lets our customers and partners know what Starbucks is all about – a special company passionate about our coffee and the experience we provide.”

Customer experience a key focus For the Singapore market, the company develops flavours that are tailored to the local cultural influences, while marketing them in a timely manner.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, for example, inspired Starbucks Singapore to launch mooncake treats in gula melaka and pandan flavours, catering to popular tastes in the market.

When asked her thoughts on the rising café culture in Singapore, Lau doesn’t think it poses a threat to the coffee chain. Instead, she says the trend will accelerate Singaporeans’ interest in coffee, spurring their selfeducation when it comes to their next whiff of the brew.

This, in turn, has solidified a platform for Starbucks Singapore to expand its product offerings and speciality services. Catering to the increasingly sophisticated demands of coffee-lovers in the country, the company has since launched its premium Starbucks Reserve brand which comprises a collection of single-origin coffees in the world. In addition, the chain launched its innovative clover brewing system – a specialised brewing technique that uses patented vacuum-press technology.

“The number of independent coffee shops has undeniably grown, and we will continue seeing this trend. However, we feel that it’s a very good thing: Starbucks is passionate when it comes to educating the consumer,” Lau says.

The proliferation of coffee shops, according to Lau, helps the chain bring product awareness to the fore: the store will continue rolling out speciality products because consumers in Singapore have become more cognisant of the coffee options available in the market.

For example, Starbucks Singapore is launching Origami – a proprietary Japanese brewing technique – for coffee connoisseurs to broaden their coffee experience this upcoming holiday season. Thus, the prevalence of independent coffee shops provides a healthy dose of competition, raising the bar for the coffee chain to provide even better experiences for its customers.

To continually bolster Starbucks’ relevance and popularity in the market, Lau explains the creative ideation process that goes into creating the brand’s signature tastes. For instance, beverage ideas are based on research done regionally. For Asia Pacific markets, the research and development centre is located in Shanghai where taste profiles are developed and studied to roll out Starbucks’ signature flavours across the region.

“In our Shanghai R&D centre, we conduct consumer research to develop a unique taste profile for the regional and local markets because the US taste profile compiled by the main office greatly differs from our APAC audience,” Lau says.

Digital connection When it comes to elevating brand recall, the approach is less so evangelical than it is about engaging with fans online. Powering up its communications with customers, Starbucks Singapore has pooled its marketing strategies into its social media efforts, utilising digital platforms such as Facebook to increase online engagement.

“We’ve recently refocused our resources in creating content on our social media platforms because we want to get into the heart of the consumers’ conversations,” Lau says.

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“In our Shanghai R&D centre, we conduct consumer research to develop a unique taste profile for the regional and local markets because the US taste profile compiled by the main office greatly differs from our APAC audience.”

For this digital investment, the company has an in-house team that manages the brand’s digital presence while leveraging its global assets for any creative executions.

The company works with media agency 16-0-2 for media buying duties in the Singapore market.

Echoing its global office’s moves, the company has galvanised social initiatives that adhere to Starbucks’ general mission statement of giving back to the community.

Lau cites the example of Starbucks Singapore’s collaboration with the Autism Resource Centre (ARC) where it hired six employees – known as partners – to work at the chain’s 100th store located at the Boat House.

“At Starbucks we pride ourselves on providing the best experience where it’s all about connecting with the people. For our partnership with ARC, we tailored our training programme to ensure that our partners are confident in the work that they do.”

Currently, Starbucks Singapore works with 10 ARC partners.

“As a parent, I can understand how a child’s ability to work independently can impact the family.”

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WHAT ARE MARKETERS DOING WITH CONSUMER DATA? From cookies to selfies what is the next big thing when it comes to data-mining?

Rezwana Manjur reports.

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We know data is crucial to marketing, but it seems like local businesses today are still struggling to understand it.

While businesses today have much more data at their disposal, new research from global research consultancy TNS reveals that many are failing to use the information to help them make informed decisions.

According to TNS Marketing Monitor, a survey of more than 2,700 marketing professionals across Asia Pacific showed that much of this data analysis trickles down into the marketing department with almost one in three marketers (29%) in Singapore now managing real-time data as part of their role. However, more than three quarters (77%) of marketers in Singapore admit they find it difficult to integrate data from different sources.

WITH DATA COMES PRIVACY CONCERNS Another huge area of concern with the data explosion is privacy. New research from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has found that as data consumption and processing increases, marketers are becoming increasingly respectful of consumer privacy, and how they handle personal data.

The study by WFA conducted in conjunction with The Customer Framework indicated that more marketers want to build direct customer relationships via the use of first-party data, with 73% of respondents considering this “business critical”, and 88% planning on ramping up usage. With the increased use and processing of consumer data, however, 85% of respondents acknowledged that privacy is integral to building customer trust, and more than just legal compliance.

Brands are also recognising that their ability to embrace a data-driven future relies on increasing consumer trust, which in turn, requires brands to go beyond compliance.

The WFA study states that such considerations should ideally sit within brands’ customer information strategy, documenting, among other things, what data is required, how it’s to be used, where it can be obtained and whether it should be owned. Customer information strategies were found to be in place for just 55% of respondents.

The study also found that 72% of senior marketers view data as a strategic asset, although more than half are only just starting the process of giving it a central place in their marketing.

Based on responses from 32 companies with a global annual marketing spend of US$35 billion, the survey found that 31% described

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Data and more data: Will Asian marketers start using photos that people put on social media to learn more about their needs and wants.

themselves as advanced or highly advanced in the adoption of data-driven marketing (DDM) using multiple data personalisation and segmentation techniques. These advanced companies are underpinning their efforts with a range of technology solutions, including customer relationship management (CRM) systems, analytical systems, data management platforms (DMPs) and rules engines.

However, not all companies are as advanced. About 56% of respondents recognise they are still early in the journey, at best in the initial planning stage, and have yet to deploy a DDM strategy. The study also found a range in confidence in analytics, with only half “somewhat confident” and 27% “not very confident” in their ability to identify return on investment via data analysis.

Nevertheless, investment into analytics and insight is on the rise with 89% of respondents expecting to increase budgets and 31% to boost them “greatly”. The goal is to evolve the analytics function from the historical reporting of “what happened” to more predictive and prescriptive approaches, something that a quarter of respondents already claim to be able to deliver.

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“Data consumption is set to increase rapidly and with that sophistication – clarifying how data will be used and how consumer privacy will be protected, should be a fundamental component of a brand’s strategy as it advances into DDM,” said Matt Green, senior global marketing manager at the WFA. “Enhanced transparency and a strong value proposition will be vital to ensuring consumer trust in how the industry collects, stores and uses data today, and in the future.”

GETTING CREATIVE OR CREEPY WITH DATA Nonetheless, globally, marketers have started getting creative in the ways in which they accumulate data. One avenue of data collection marketers seem to be exploring is through images. While a consumer’s biggest concern when posting a photo on Instagram or on Facebook accounts might be which filter to use, what marketers are looking out for are the mosaic of information the image holds for them.

Creepy, right?

Well, there are several photo-mining start-ups out there today which

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are actively sifting through consumers’ public selfies or images to help marketers and advertisers have a better understanding of consumer profiles and the data out there.

One such photo-mining start-up is Ditto Labs which mines publicly available images on Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr.

In a conversation with Marketing, David Rose, CEO of Ditto Labs, says social media is becoming increasingly visual, but brands aren’t able to “listen to photos” – and this is where the company steps in. It fills the gaps with proprietary image recognition tools that tags brands, scenes and objects in the daily torrent of photos people share on social media. This is then transcribed into coherent customer insights and an engagement strategy for Ditto Labs’ clients.

“There’s a famous phrase: A picture is worth a thousand words.

In a single photo there can be a number of unique buying signals. For instance, a marketer can tell where the image came from, what brands are present in the image and the person’s interests,” Rose says.

Today the world is moving to a point where personal stories are told through social images. Mingle that with the growing smartphone penetration and the dropping price range, image-based storytelling will, sooner than later, dominate.

“Millions of new people are going to be walking around with a digital camera in their pocket. Couple this with people’s preference for image-first social networks like Instagram, and you have a new way for marketers to understand customers’ behaviours and preferences,” he says.

Without naming clients, Rose says that in several instances, privacy concerns have been raised by potential clients. However, he reiterates his team only analyses publicly available photos – not very much different from how marketers mine for data from text messages.

“Admittedly, some people do express privacy concerns when they first see the platform. However, this initial reaction is typically due to seeing something novel, and not because there’s a sense that people’s privacy is invaded,” Rose says.

“I think social photo analysis is where social text analysis was a few years ago. Nowadays, people understand that if they tweet about a brand, that text is searchable. Soon people will adopt the same understanding about the photos they share.”

DATA MINING FROM SELFIES – AN EVOLUTION TO TEXT MINING? However, disagreeing with Rose is long-time digital marketer Damien Cummings, global head of digital marketing at Standard Chartered. He explains the two are very different as consumers post images in a bid to share them with their loved ones or friends.

Cummings says: “You can’t have personal relationships or friendships with brands. So, corporations don’t have a right to hijack selfies for their own marketing interest. I suspect there would be a huge backlash from consumers if they found out that their selfies were being used without their permission, even for simple data gathering.”

In his view, text-based content is usually publicly posted and there’s already an assumption that all of this content (whether it appears on Facebook, Twitter or a blog) is going to be seen publicly and as fair game.

Prantik Mazumdar, managing partner of Happy Marketer, however, agrees with Rose that this could possibly be an evolution of text-based data mining.

“I think once any piece of content, irrespective of format, which is on the public domain, is available for anyone to see, rehash, mine, analyse,

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“You can’t have a personal relationships or friendships with brands. So corporations don’t have a right to hijack selfies for their own marketing interest. I suspect there would be a huge backlash from consumers if found out that their selfies were being used without their permission, even for simple data gathering.”

Damien Cummings – global head of digital marketing at Standard Chartered Bank

reproduce unless of course it is copyright protected. So I don’t see why data mining for consumer pictures should be any different from data mining for text-based posts or data gathered from campaigns,” he says.

While the data is on the public domain and open for mining, what would be nice is if the brand chooses to be proactive and open about the data mining initiative, he adds.

IS ASIA READY FOR DATA MINING FROM IMAGES? While the service might be taking off in the US, most of the marketers Marketing reached out to in APAC said that at this point of time, they were not data mining when it came to images.

Cummings echoes these marketers and says while there is a massive interest in moving to insight and data-driven marketing, there’s still only a small percentage of marketers that have embraced it.

Even when it comes to mining for data based from their own brand campaigns, most marketers are simply content to have customers engage with their brand, or share their experience of that brand with a friend.

“The idea of mining data from selfies is an interesting one, but for what end? Unless a brand has a team of analytics to mine insights, or a robust digital marketing operations capability that can take advantage of these insights, then the effort isn’t worth it,” Cummings says.

Of course, there is also the very thorny issue of privacy.

“In the short term, there aren’t that many benefits. The risk of upsetting customers by stealing data from their photos appears to massively outweigh any benefits,” he adds.

Don Anderson, regional managing director of social media agency We Are Social, added that currently there is still very little guidance and regulation in the industry for how researchers should or shouldn’t use social media data.

“For research, our use of such data tends to remain at an aggregate audience/community level to gain insight into consumer behaviour and trends, and not really at a personal level to target individuals,” Anderson explains.

On the whole, however, he adds this is probably no different than “traditional” social media listening.

Whether image-based data mining will take off in Singapore or not, one thing remains clear – Singaporean businesses are investing more in data-driven digital platforms and tracking systems to help them understand the challenging online landscape.

And, ultimately, as the change of pace accelerates, data will be a constant companion of the marketer to peer into the future and move alongside the consumer’s evolving habits.

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REACHING THE RIGHT TARGET AUDIENCE IN A DIGITALLY DISRUPTED WORLD WITH SINGTEL TV

Digital disruption is redefining decades-old media consumption habits. Traditional media, built on a model of one-way conversations with audiences, must now accommodate social media’s ability to engage consumers and generate a dialogue – or risk falling behind.

Consumers, who are more empowered and demanding than ever before, can now choose from an array of television, digital, magazine, radio and live event platforms from which to view content. To target them, advertisers and marketers must be prepared to diversify their brand messaging across multiple mediums and channels.

So how should advertisers and media buyers navigate today’s highly fragmented and diversified media landscape and craft an integrated consumer engagement strategy? And how do they find a balance between traditional and new media to effectively reach their target audiences?

TRADITIONAL MEDIA CONSUMPTION PATTERNS A survey conducted by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) reveals valuable insights into local customer satisfaction with regards to various aspects of media content and services across broadcast, print and online platforms.

The MDA’s Media Consumer Experience Study 2014 analysed patterns of behaviour and consumption across various media platforms in an effort to keep pace with the phenomenon of media convergence, growth of digital broadcasting and changing TV consumption habits in Singapore.

Results showed that although Singaporeans increasingly use the internet to consume media-related content through a multitude of devices, they remain strong consumers of local TV. The Overall Media Satisfaction Index was 75.7%, with consumers most satisfied with the quality of media reception and reliability of media services, such as television and radio.

A second study, Mapping Digital Media: Singapore, cites the continued strength of traditional media as a content provider. In highly

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connected Singapore, digital devices such as smartphones and tablets are the preferred option for accessing such content, and it is also worth noting that when at home and watching TV, Singaporeans are more than likely to be watching local TV channels, whether free or paid.

It is clear that traditional media continues to be a trusted source of news and entertainment, while the number of people accessing programming via digital formats has risen sharply and will continue to rise in the foreseeable future.

SPEAKING TO AUDIENCES IN MULTI-LINGUAL SINGAPORE For advertisers in Singapore, a big challenge in navigating the new media landscape is reaching audiences in the country’s four official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil.

Ethnic Chinese make up 75% of Singapore’s 5.5 million population.

Furthermore, more than 40% of Singaporean Chinese are Hokkien, making it the largest Chinese dialect group in Singapore, and therefore an extremely important consumer group for brands to target.

Singtel TV (formerly known as mioTV) has made excellent headway in the arena of pay TV in Singapore. Now host to more than 190 channels and catering to more than 425,000 viewers locally, one channel in particular stands out as a platform through which brands can develop awareness and market to a specific demographic group – the ethnic Chinese and Hokkien-speaking audience in Singapore.

CH502 Jia Le (HD) is considered a pioneering Hokkien-language TV channel and the only one of its kind on Singapore TV. Launched in 2011, Jia Le is Singapore’s first and only Hokkien-language channel, with the highest viewership among Chinese/Asian channels among all channels on Singtel TV. Catch-up content on Jia Le can also be viewed on-demand and on-the-go.

A 24-hour channel, Jia Le is focused on the Hokkien dialect and Mandarin content, and features the latest top-rated Hokkien and Mandarin dramas and variety shows sourced from Taiwan and the region.

To-date, Jia Le is unbeatable in the Chinese entertainment category,

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with almost three times the viewership of native Chinese channel CCTV-4 (also available on Singtel TV) and outperforming other popular regional channels such as Star Chinese Movies and KBS World.

Even with dominant leadership, Jia Le continues to exceed its success year-on-year, with a 46% increase in ratings, 45% increase in viewership and a 9% gain in monthly reach since 2014.

Additionally, viewers who are fans of Jia Le spent at least 15 hours a month on average watching the channel, demonstrating the effectiveness of its very successful “sticky” programming style. Viewers who are new to the channel tend to become fast fans, especially when it comes to following a certain popular programme series.

It can therefore be said that Jia Le is the go-to for advertisers and marketers who are looking to exclusively reach a very well-defined Mandarin/Hokkien-speaking audience in Singapore.

IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE AND INSIGHTS INTO CORE VIEWERS Going beyond Jia Le as a media platform, the channel features a dedicated resource team that works behind the scenes to bring value to the advertiser or marketer with insights into specific target audience profiles, and in-depth consumer data through Singtel’s highly adept consumer analytics teams.

By incorporating customer data into the marketing mix, the production and commercial experts behind Jia Le are able to work strategically with brands to offer comprehensive knowledge and insights into Jia Le’s core viewers, drawing to a close degree what viewers want to see and how best to integrate content or products into programmes where necessary.

Their knowledge base allows them to create customised programmes to meet a business’ needs, whether it’s to specifically target certain groups or reach a broad Chinese or Mandarin/Hokkien-speaking crowd in general.

CUSTOM CONTENT AND PRODUCT PLACEMENT Singtel TV also has access to high-quality, full video production capabilities, with the ability to create custom programmes wherein product placements can be featured, or where bespoke content can be developed and created specifically to support a business’ products and services.

Jia Le’s first original production was Are You Hokkien?, a Mandarin/ Hokkien-language programme that brought viewers a special insider look into everything Hokkien in Singapore.

The series, which ran for two seasons, aimed to help audiences rediscover what it means to be Hokkien and find a deeper connection with their roots. The programme enjoyed much success, delivering an average rating of 1.28% among Chinese viewers at the end of the second season (36% higher than the season one average rating).

Are You Hokkien Season II also ranked number one among pay Chinese entertainment channels during its time slot, with a 195% lead over its closest competitor.

The programme was also produced with sponsorship from prominent homegrown brands Bee Cheng Hiang and SONGHE Fragrant Rice. Both these companies are well-loved by, and have deep roots within the hearts of many Singaporeans as brands that they have grown up with. Sending a message through Are You Hokkien was therefore the perfect way for these brands to reach an audience in a relatable and non-intrusive manner that resonated well with viewers.

Another successful production was Life of Pearl, Jia Le’s first Hokkien drama co-produced with Taiwan’s Sanlih Entertainment Television.

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The plot is based on the trials and tribulations of Taiwanese child star Ji Bao Ru (紀寶如) during her ventures to Singapore to perform in the 70s, and stars top Taiwanese Hokkien actors Long Shao-Hua (龍劭華), Chen Guan Lin (陳冠霖), Li Liang Jing (李亮瑾) and Ji Bao Ru herself.

The series ranked number one among pay Chinese entertainment channels in its time slot; with a 17% lead over its closest competitor.

Overall, it ranked number two among all pay TV channels on Singtel TV. Other lauded original productions from Jia Le include two other interstitial series following the success of Are You Hokkien – Hokkien in 3 Minutes, a short series on learning common colloquial Hokkien words and phrases, and Our Lovepedia, a series celebrating the lives of unique Singaporeans featuring an intimate look into their personal stories.

Season one of Our Lovepedia received an average rating of 1.15% among Singtel TV’s Chinese audience. The programme was number one during its time slot and overall the second most watched programme in August 2015, second only to LIVE BPL matches. Our Lovepedia II Chinese New Year edition is an upcoming version to look out for in 2016.

By possessing the capabilities to create original productions, Singtel TV can help brands develop and create content that they can truly own, allowing them to differentiate themselves from the competition.

TELEVISION REMAINS A STRONG AND TRUSTED MEDIA CHANNEL The possibilities of the new media landscape in Singapore are endless, but we’ve established that amid all the ways one can consume media today, television still remains a strong and reliable channel for advertisers and marketers to target their consumers. ent use of customer Coupled with the intelligent eferences, customer data – such as viewership preferences, demographics and preferred time slots – Singtel ter understand and TV is able to help brands better predict consumer behaviour. This in turn enables ised solutions that us to better develop customised edia buyers make will help advertisers and media ons to effectively informed purchasing decisions ntial, but reach Singapore’s substantial, diverse consumer base.

Anurag Dahiya, head of content and advertising sales, Group Consumer, Singtel

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CASE STUDY

SINGTEL TV HELPS BRANDS CUT THROUGH THE CLUTTER Storytelling is the key to effective branding and every brand needs a unique story to give context, meaning and emotion to the products.

Compelling brand stories have engaged consumers and helped to increase revenue since time immemorial. Here’s a case in point. During the Great Depression, a detergent company based in Cincinnati had a problem. Back then, there was no established way to effectively engage women in the household, a demographic the company’s revenue was heavily dependent on. So it decided to innovate, telling compelling stories targeted at women through a freshly commercialised technology called radio. These episodic audio tales of families facing strife, joy and pain struck a chord with listeners and transformed the company into a household brand.

Taking on the dual role of media producer and advertiser, and with radio stations as storytelling partners, that successful company was Procter & Gamble.

Now as we switch settings from the 1930s in Cincinnati to modern day Singapore, local brands desire to do likewise, but on a different platform. Television is the mass marketing medium of choice, with paid involvements in programming or content coming at a premium. In other words, to deliver compelling stories that cut through the clutter, local brands need to engage a specialist storytelling partner that not only produces its own programmes, but also offers cost-effective content co-creation and product integration.

Singtel, along with its top-rating Chinese-Hokkien entertainment channel Jia Le, is one such example. Awash with gripping storylines, heartstring-tugging love sagas and variety shows with madcap hosts, both its original long-form productions and short-form interstitials have captured the attention of local PMETs and mature audiences. Now, imagine if locally based brands could leverage channels such as Jia Le the same way P&G leveraged radio stations in Cincinnati – apart from advertising during commercial breaks, they could both co-produce and integrate editorially relevant brand stories into well-received Chinese-Hokkien programmes that air during prime time or are available on-demand. Here’s an example of a brand that has successfully done so.

CO-PRODUCING BESPOKE CONTENT WITH BEE CHENG HIANG The Chinese New Year is one of the most widely celebrated holidays where families, friends and business associates gather to celebrate with food and festivities. It is therefore no surprise marketers often tap into the festive spirit with family oriented messages. However, to be successful, marketers need to design campaigns that break through the generic seasonal clutter and build brand equity.

With that in mind, Singtel’s data-driven solutions analysed dynamic consumer behaviour across platforms and delivered robust insights.

With these insights, Bee Cheng Hiang, a market leader in the local

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foodstuff and barbecued meat industry, could then strategically select the right platforms for effective engagement and work with Singtel TV to co-produce content for these selected platforms. Daily channelby-channel viewing data from Singtel TV subscribers was combined with insights from Singtel’s Project Newsroom – a commissioned report detailing household demographics and product consumption information. Using this data set, consumers who tuned into Jia Le, Singapore’s top-rating and only Chinese-Hokkien entertainment channel, was identified as Bee Cheng Hiang’s most relevant target segment, for the following reasons: • Jia Le viewers had one of the highest purchase percentages for food items (93%) and fast-moving consumer goods (83%).

• Jia Le viewers included a good mix of both younger PMETs and mature audiences, a majority (81%) of whom live with parents or children – in line with Bee Cheng Hiang’s aims of targeting family orientated individuals and purchase decision-makers of the above mentioned product categories.

Informed by these insights, Singtel TV recommended a marketing campaign that included prime time advertising on Jia Le, customised web banners on HungryGoWhere – a popular online source for F&B recommendations, as well as bespoke short-form content production for greater resonance among viewers.

“During the Chinese New Year season, brands typically line up to advertise before, during and after family oriented programmes.

Jia Le’s Are You Hokkien season two was an attractive proposition because of its appeal to different demographics and its premiere during the festive season. Beyond the purchase of prime time advertising slots, Bee Cheng Hiang was looking to tap on Singtel TV viewers’ interest in the show and its association with Chinese culture and the Chinese New Year. As such, to complement prime time advertising, Singtel TV worked with Bee Cheng Hiang to co-produce an interstitial with quirky Singtel show host Huang Jing Lun,” said Anurag Dahiya, head of content and advertising, Group Consumer, Singtel.

SINGTEL TV: CUSTOMISED BRAND STORYTELLING “With Bee Cheng Hiang and SONGHE having come on board as official sponsors for ‘Are You Hokkien Season 2,’on Jia Le and OPPO, NTUC Income and BRAND'S® doing likewise for our ‘live’ telecast of the Barclays Premier League 2015/2016 season, it is rewarding to see our investments in content production capabilities and strategic engagement tools gain recognition among and benefit locally-based brands. Be it through customised brand content on ‘Goals HQ’ and ‘Goals Express’ on mioStadium or ‘Are You Hokkien’ and ‘Life of Pearl’ on Jia Le , our goal is to continuously enable brands to create and tell engaging and editorially-relevant stories to our comprehensive base of Singtel TV viewers,” said Mr. Dahiya.

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TV BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

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Tr a d i t i o n a l l y o n e o f t h e m o s t r e s i l i e n t m e d i u m s , T V h a s s e en i t s fai r sh a re of c om p et i t i on a s t h e di gi t a l rea l m p os e s n ew t h rea t s t o t h e b u si n e s s, p u s h i n g b r o a d c a s t e r s t o i n n ova t e.

H e r e a r e S i n g a p o r e’ s t o p b r o a d c a s t e r s a c c or di n g t o m a rket e r s.

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TV BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

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METHODOLOGY HOW DID WE ACHIEVE THIS? The TV broadcaster rankings were derived from questions in Marketing’s annual Media Spend Benchmarking Survey. Marketing Research employed an online questionnaire and surveyed its database of client advertisers and marketing services agency professionals. All answers given by respondents were considered by Marketing when finalising the rankings.

QUALITY RECIPIENTS AND RESPONDENTS More than 700 respondents participated in the Media Spend Benchmarking Survey. Genuine advertising decision-makers and influencers across key agency-using industries were well represented as were agency professionals from various marketing services.

Nearly 87% of client advertiser-side respondents were manager-level decision-makers and above, with 10% from the most senior ranks of client advertisers – CEOs, MDs or GMs – and another 18% were VPs or director-level marketers.

The majority of the respondents from the agency side were CEOs, MDs or GMs (32%), 16% were marketing personnel, while 23% were sales personnel. The remaining 29% were operations, creative and media personnel.

Advertisers from major and local international banks, FMCG companies, property and construction, IT and telecommunications firms, as well as those from travel and tourism companies participated in the survey. Agency professionals across the marketing services spectrum were also well represented.

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TV BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

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1 | MEDIACORP

MediaCorp is once again crowned the winner of the TV Broadcaster of the Year. MediaCorp pioneered the development of Singapore’s broadcasting industry, with the broadcast of radio in 1936 and television in 1963.

Today, MediaCorp has the most complete range of platforms, spanning television, radio, newspapers, magazines, digital and out-ofhome media. It has more than 50 products and brands in four languages (English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil), reaching out to virtually all adults in Singapore every week.

As Singapore rang in its 50th year of independence, MediaCorp kicked off a yearlong celebration with notable events such as the SG50 countdown show in Marina Bay, “The Gift of Song”, a nationwide song-writing competition, and an SG50 design-a-tee competition. In March, millions in Singapore and worldwide watched MediaCorp’s coverage

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of the events during the week of National Mourning in Singapore.

One of MediaCorp’s chief priorities is to ensure it delivers quality content in ways that people want to consume it. To this end, MediaCorp continues to invest in its overthe-top service Toggle which has more than 800,000 subscribers to date. In April 2015, a revamped version of Toggle was launched bringing together MediaCorp’s strong entertainment editorial and video offerings to provide an enhanced digital entertainment experience to users.

Also in April, MediaCorp undertook a major reorganisation moving away from traditional media platforms towards a focus on consumers and their preferences. The realignment of management and staff to serve specific customer segments bears testimony to the fact the national broadcaster wants to

focus on knowing its different customer groups intimately, with a view to offering 360 content that goes beyond any single media platform.

MediaCorp is also embracing the digital age and is transforming the entire organisation to be more relevant than ever.

In March, MediaCorp appointed its first chief digital officer to bring about synergies across the organisation to implement a digitalfirst strategy in the delivery of key content and services.

In April, MediaCorp announced a significant investment in KapanLagi, one of Indonesia’s fastest growing independent digital companies, with a plan to align both organisations’ media assets and to help advertisers cross-sell in two key Southeast Asian markets.

For its news production, all stories now break on digital platforms before they are repurposed for television, radio and print.

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SUCCESS IS ALL ABOUT WINNING PARTNERSHIPS

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As Singapore’s pioneer broadcaster, we now have over 50 products and brands in four languages (English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil) reaching out to virtually all adults in Singapore every week.

Each year, we produce about 2000 hours of entertainment content in four languages catering to audiences in Singapore and the region.

MediaCorp was named Terrestrial Broadcaster of the Year for the eleventh time at the 2014 Asian Television Awards.

Choose a media partner with a sterling track record who can provide innovative trans-media solutions to help you score your next win! www.mediacorp.sg

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TV BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

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2 | DISCOVERY Climbing up one spot and coming in at number two is Discovery Networks Asia Pacific.

The network recently acquired premium rugby channel Setanta Sports Asia and boosted sports offerings with the acquisition of rights for key sporting events, including exclusive media rights for the UEFA Champions League and Europa League for Singapore on Eurosport.

Some key campaigns for the network this year included the likes of the TLC Festival which was the inaugural TLC Festival in Singapore featuring a large-scale on-ground event with TLC personalities, local fare, live music and lifestyle booths. The event gave fans of the channel a chance to interact, enjoy and experience the excitement of the TLC brand.

For the ANZ Bank’s “Game Changers”,

the network helped to promote a digitally led campaign with a specially developed mobile app and interactive video featuring entrepreneur Mike Wiluan, and a custom-curated programme lineup spotlighting some of Asia’s trailblazers.

Some key advertisers for the brand include Apple, Resorts World Sentosa, Philips and ANZ Bank. The network also recently appointed Arthur Bastings as president and managing director of Discovery Networks Asia Pacific.

video ad units that house a dynamic channel schedule – all working together to encourage tune-in and greater engagement with the content.

Another key campaign launched by the channel was the BBC “Lifestyle Celebrity Chef” event partnership with IKEA and StarHub. BBC Lifestyle celebrity chef Rachel Allen conducted an exclusive live demonstration at IKEA Tampines as part of the annual StarHub Hubalicious food events. This marked a first for IKEA to host a live cooking demonstration in its new kitchen showroom.

In June 2015, BBC Worldwide launched a new content marketing team, BBC StoryWorks, sitting within BBC Advertising. The BBC StoryWorks teams, based in Singapore, Sydney, New York and London, will span the

globe offering clients content solutions built on compelling narratives that will engage audiences.

3 | BBC Taking third spot is BBC Worldwide. In August 2015, BBC News opened a new digital newsroom and studio in Singapore. The facilities brought the BBC’s news, business and digital teams together.

The broadcaster also launched the BBC Earth linear channel in Asia on 3 October 2015.

BBC Earth is part of a global strategy created and shaped by research into audience demand.

It is BBC Worldwide’s brand for premium factual content, from natural history and the human world to outer space and science.

For the launch of the BBC Earth channel, the channel deployed a time-targeted digital content strategy to communicate the breadth of programming available. This included the extensive use of social, mobile and programmatic

4 | TURNER INTERNATIONAL ASIA PACIFIC

This has been a tremendous growth year for Turner in APAC with a significant increase in portfolio size and depth. Notable highlights included the launches of all Turner channels on Singtel TV Singapore, Toonami in Thailand and India, Oh!K and Boomerang in Malaysia, Warner TV in Taiwan, CNN Philippines, CNN Indonesia

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and the World Heritage Channel, the network’s first factual brand. Boomerang and Warner TV also revealed a fresh new look, while on the digital front, Turner launched Cartoon Network and Boomerang Watch and Play apps, the Cartoon Network Anything micro network, CollegeHumor Australia and a new Style vertical on CNN.com.

Turner welcomed Voo Chih Yeong, VP of SEA affiliate sales and Sunita Rajan, VP of advertising sales for CNNI, while Vishal Dembla was promoted to VP of SEA for affiliate sales.

Roger Clark and Tim Schwarz were promoted as the CNN bureau chiefs for Hong Kong and Beijing respectively, while Andrew Demaria is now the managing editor of CNN Digital International. From in-depth coverage of breaking news to the US presidential debates CNN has seen growth on TV and even bigger

growth digitally. CNN’s feature programming highlights include the On The Road series which recently spotlighted Singapore to Culinary Journeys, Growing India and Future Cities.

Warner TV is the No.1 GE brand in Singapore and recently launched the new fall season with a pan-regional “Villains Are Coming” campaign that included a university school tour in the Philippines and an on-ground event in Kuala Lumpur which drew 15,000 fans.

With the leading bouquet of kids’ brands in Asia Pacific, Turner offers a truly immersive world for fans and advertisers such as Prudential, which not only renewed a five-year partnership with Cha-Ching Money Smart Kids, Asia’s first multi-platform financial literacy programme on Cartoon Network, but also extended it locally into Thailand with Boomerang.

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TV BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

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5 | NBCUNIVERSAL NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL This year saw an increased investment in local productions for Universal. DIVA launched the first-ever Asian version of popular makeover format How Do I Look? E! increased its local relevance in the Philippines with the new countdown series Top 5 Philippines, hosted by popular DJ Sam YG and E! News correspondent Erin Lim, in addition to a new season of the popular reality series It Takes Gutz to Be a Gutierrez.

Localisation was also a priority in Indonesia, with E! All-Access Jakarta lifestyle vignettes produced centring around Jakarta; and Malaysia, with the E! Music Special: Yuna, a concert follow-up to last year’s highly rated E! News Asia Special: Yuna, and a new season of reality mini-series Facing Up To Fazura.

People-wise, NBCUniversal Networks International promoted Charmaine Wong to director of advertising sales; Tine Hansen relocated from Australia to Singapore to take up the role of director of advertising solutions; and

Henry Robles was promoted to VP of audience research and analysis. In addition, Maria Hassouni was promoted to the role of director of sales strategy; Lena Ng was hired as the manager of advertising sales for Malaysia; and Ruben Lawrence joined as director of marketing for Asia.

The past 12 months also saw the launch of the third phase of NBCU’s unique Pan Asian research project “High Heeled Warriors”, which uncovers how marketers and advertisers can best connect, engage and communicate with women. It also ran a 360 marketing campaign, including a talent tour for How Do I Look? Asia, sponsored regionally by ZALORA and in Malaysia

by Panasonic Beauty and Marigold Yogurt Drink.

Its key advertisers include Indonesia Tourism, Gucci, NIVEA Google, Emirates and others.

6 | FOX INTERNATIONAL CHANNELS FOX International Channels (FIC) has had a great year in terms of growth and expansion.

FIC’s key brands FOX, FOX Sports and National Geographic Channel were made available over-the-top in partnership with leading platforms, including Avex in Japan, Tencent and its OTT partners in China, Astro in Malaysia and Cignal in the Philippines. These services range from SVOD, linear streaming to catch-up and will offer FIC’s content across all genres.

In Singapore, FIC in partnership with MDA, created FOX Formats Lab to support the development of local content production talent and ramp up the creation of international TV content by local production companies.

FIC renewed its focus on Japan and Korea to capitalise on emerging opportunities in these

markets. Additionally the company ramped up its investment in the production of Chinese content, with a particular focus on Mainland China. As a result, the senior management team overseeing North and Southeast Asia was restructured to best align with these objectives.

Joon Lee will take on the role of EVP of North Asia and head of original productions – Mainland China. Simeon Dawes has taken on the additional territory of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, responsible for the region’s P&L. Keertan Adyanthaya is the EVP for content and communications for Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. FIC announced a deal with Korea’s leading media company JTBC to launch a new channel – JTBC3 FOX Sports – in Korea, which is a collaboration between the two media partners.

This will further strengthen FIC’s aim to expand the brand reach of FOX Sports across Asia and also deepen its localisation strategy.

Its National Geographic Channel launched a comprehensive travel feature, designed for Emirates, as part of an integrated marketing campaign called “Be There”.

7 | SONY PICTURES TELEVISION NETWORKS, ASIA Claiming seventh spot this year is Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia.

It’s been a year of continued leadership for Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia, which is home to English general entertainment powerhouses AXN and Sony Channel; and Asian content giants Animax, GEM and ONE. AXN dominated ratings with its talent contest Asia’s Got Talent, breaking some pay TV records and racking up millions of views across social platforms. The channel also celebrated 18 years in Asia with a dynamic new brand identity, which promises to “redefine action”. This past year saw the rebranding of its sister network SET into the stylish, female-skewing Sony Channel, which is now available on StarHub and Singtel TV. Korean entertainment channel ONE launched the popular “Ppali-Ppali Showtime”

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block, with hit shows airing within 24 hours of Korea. Fans of Animax, which offers anime simulcasts with Japan, were treated with the newly launched “OO-Kun” – a mischief-making blue raccoon that now features his own line of adorable merchandise and short-form animations.

Riding the popular wave of Asian entertainment, it launched GEM, a joint venture channel with leading Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV. Specialising in premium Japanese entertainment, among others, the channel enjoys exclusive access to Nippon TV’s coveted content library.

On the leadership front, SPT Networks, Asia consolidated its Asian and English content portfolios, naming Virginia Lim as vice-president of content and marketing, reporting to Hui Keng

Ang, senior vice-president and general manager for Asia. It also launched “Picture This” a global environmental awareness initiative to encourage positive change. Brands such as GrabTaxi, Great Eastern Life, Caltex and Sony Mobile were some of the clients who tapped the network of Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia this year.

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TV BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

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8 | CNBC ASIA PACIFIC Coming in eighth this year is CNBC Asia Pacific. CNBC continues to provide audiences with original and hard-hitting journalism with programmes such as Inside China, covering trends and stories shaping modern China, while Managing Asia saw exclusive and news-making access to the region’s top CEOs.

In September 2014, CNBC launched a monthly travel and lifestyle programme First Class. Hosted by Susan Li, First Class covers the best in lifestyle, luxury and travel in Asia, enhancing CNBC’s weekend offering that takes the investor audience from the business week into the weekends.

In June 2015, CNBC recruited Max Raven as senior vice-president of international ad sales. Raven takes on responsibility for CNBC International’s sales strategy for operations in Asia Pacific and beyond. Raven joined CNBC as the network is expanding its multi-platform commercial offering, while developing solutions for C-suite and investor audiences.

In October, CNBC recognised top business leaders in Asia such as Fast Retailing’s

chairman, president and CEO Tadashi Yanai and Changi Airport Group’s CEO Lee Seow Hiang through platforms such as the Asia Business Leaders Awards and Travel Business Leader Award. CNBC partnered with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau to present the Asia Business Leaders Awards in Bangkok and with the Singapore Tourism Board for the Travel Business Leader Award at Singapore’s Capitol Theatre.

In the past year, CNBC has worked with an extensive client list which includes Indonesia Tourism, Japan Cabinet Office, Toshiba, DBS and China’s State Council Information Office, on campaigns that engaged target audiences via television, digital, social platforms as well as events.

satellites, 530 TV platforms, mobile, IPTV, and with over 20 million monthly views on YouTube.

FashionTV broadcasts in 193 countries to more than 400 million households and seven

million public locations across five continents. It is the only 24-hour fashion, beauty and lifestyle television station worldwide.

The FashionTV website continues to provide up-to-date scoops on all-things fashion – from featuring up-and-coming models to providing live feeds from runway shows. FashionTV also boasts a slew of merchandise under the brand, including beverages and fashion accessories.

In terms of new media, FashionTV has expanded its social media presence with millions of followers on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and more.

It has a total Facebook fan base of more than two million users and growing. On YouTube, FashionTV syndicates 55,000 videos with over 550,000 subscribers and growing.

9 | FASHIONTV Coming in ninth this year is FashionTV. Since its inception in 1997, FashionTV has been setting the highest standards for excellence in fashion and lifestyle broadcasting.

The only TV equivalent to fashion print media, appealing to everyone interested in fashion, style, beauty and trends, FashionTV continues to understand and cater to its audience by providing original, unbiased and informative programming. With a strong image and exceptional awareness, FashionTV’s brand projects a unique, cosmopolitan and modern style allowing for influential partnerships with many global brands.

FashionTV touts itself as the global multimedia network leader in fashion and lifestyle content, broadcasting to more than 60

10 | SCRIPPS NETWORKS INTERACTIVE Taking 10th spot this year is Scripps Networks Interactive.

This year it has continued to develop highprofile, lifestyle-oriented content for many media platforms, including television, digital, mobile and publishing. Its media portfolio includes popular lifestyle brands HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country.

On-air programming is complemented with online videos, social media and e-commerce components on companion websites.

Its programming is viewed on every continent worldwide, while its websites lead their respective categories with tens of millions of unique visitors every month. Its content distribution includes, but is not limited to: videoon-demand, the internet, satellite radio, books,

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magazines, DVDs, video games and the latest mobile and emerging platforms. In addition, its brands reach consumers through branded merchandising such as kitchenware and other home products, food venues and experiences such as festivals and cruises.

It has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, Dallas,

Atlanta, Detroit and Cincinnati. It also maintains an office in London and Singapore.

It appointed Henry Ahn as president of content distribution and marketing. Ahn, who was previously EVP, now oversees all aspects of distribution with both traditional linear partners and the rapidly increasing businesses seeking high-quality digital content.

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RADIO BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

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RADIO BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR, GOES THE SONG FROM THE BUGGLES. BUT DID IT REALLY? RADIO, ONE OF THE OLDEST FORMS OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING, HAS MANAGED TO TRANSCEND GENERATIONS, AND REMAIN RELEVANT TO VARIOUS DEMOGRAPHICS. TODAY IT IS A VITAL PLAYER IN THE ADVERTISING MIX. THE MEDIUM PRESENTS ITSELF TO BE A RELIABLE AND POWERFUL ONE FOR CONSUMERS TO LEARN ABOUT BRANDS. IN THIS EDITION WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE TOP RADIO BROADCASTERS IN SINGAPORE AND HOW THEY HAVE STAYED AHEAD OF THE GAME.

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METHODOLOGY HOW DID WE ACHIEVE THIS? The Radio Broadcaster of the Year rankings were derived from questions in Marketing’s annual Media Spend Benchmarking Survey. Marketing Research employed an online questionnaire and surveyed its database of client advertisers and marketing services agency professionals. All answers given by respondents were considered by Marketing when finalising the rankings.

QUALITY RECIPIENTS AND RESPONDENTS More than 750 respondents participated in the Media Spend Benchmarking Survey. Genuine advertising decision-makers and influencers across key agency-using industries were well represented as were agency professionals from various marketing services. Nearly 96% of client advertiser-side respondents were manager-level decision-makers and above with more than 14% from the most senior ranks of client advertisers and another 47% were VPs or director-level marketers.

The majority of the respondents from the agency side were CEOs, MDs and GMs (49%), 40% were marketing personnel and 10% creative and media personnel. Advertisers from major and local international banks, FMCG companies, property and construction, IT and telecommunications firms, as well as those from travel and tourism companies participated in the survey.

Agency professionals across the marketing services spectrum were also well represented.

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RADIO BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

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CLASS 95FM

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MediaCorp’s Class 95FM has once again taken top spot in this year’s Radio Broadcaster of the Year.

The station celebrated its 25th birthday with a logo overhaul that showcased a new, spirited attitude of the station. The new design and colours were also aimed at reflecting a fun and playful station.

With the new look came a new sound as well with the station shifting its music focus to embrace the 1990s and 2000s.

Bold new changes also took place in Class 95’s programming lineup as a new morning show duo was introduced – Muttons In The Morning (Justin Ang and Vernon A).

The wave of change also brought in a new international talent, Simone Heng, for the afternoon sessions. And at nights, radio

listeners could wind down with their new man to midnight Tim Oh. A major first for radio and on Class 95FM was the “Celebrity Takeover” in June-July. Favourite local celebrities such as Pornsak, Barbarella, Xin Hua Hua (from The Noose), Hossan Leong, The Dim Sum Dollies and Mr Miyagi took over the morning show while the Muttons were away.

To round off the year-long celebrations for Class 95’s birthday was SG$80,000 worth of holidays in Spin Around The World. As the station celebrates this special year, listeners had the chance to win holidays to destinations such as NY, Shanghai and Korea.

The station, which specifically targets PMEBs aged 25 to 40, also brought on board new advertisers this year, including the likes of Porsche, Hermès, Zuji and Chan Brothers.

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of the total radio listening audience among English stations. The station also added that it aims to make fans continuously feel inspired and empowered by the station with its key

campaigns encouraging fans to dream or express gratitude to their loved ones.

Some examples of this includes its Expedia – Kiss92’s “Dream Experiences” where Expedia gave away dream travel experiences to places such as Spain and Czech Republic. There was also the Royal Caribbean – Kiss92 “Love at Sea” campaign where Kiss92 fans won trips with their loved ones.

Kiss92 is also a top choice among clients who want to reach out to women who are the key decision-makers, and their families. New advertisers included the likes of FMCG brands such as Julie’s Biscuit, Marigold, Pokka, Florida’s Natural, travel/airlines such as Royal Caribbean, Singapore Airlines and Scoot, and more.

Kiss92 says that in the Singapore radio scene, it is the only station targeting women who are aged 30 to 50.

and Joe Augustin, while Vernetta Lopez moved to host the evening Drive Time. Meanwhile, well-known personality, Jamie Yeo joined the team to front the 2pm-5pm time belt.

Gold 905 also held a sold-out Rock of Ages Party for rock fans at the Hard Rock Café, where a lucky winner won a pair of concert tickets to catch the legendary U2 in New York City.

Some new advertisers for the station included the likes of NETS, Samsung, Bath & Body Works and British Club. The station targets those aged 35 and above.

Going forward, with a refreshed station image, Gold 905 looks towards continually building a discerning 35-year and above audience by offering familiar hits, engaging content capped off with luxe experiences.

Morning Agenda which runs from 6am to 10am; Viewpoints which runs 12.30pm to 2pm; The Culture Cafe from 4.30pm to 6pm; Evening Digest from 6pm to 9pm and LateNite Lineup from 9pm to 12am.

The station has over the years been a popular choice among marketers and is a preferred

choice among those aged 30 and above. This is mainly because the station is big on lifestyle and news and also gets listeners engaged through call-in programmes. Main advertisers of the platform come from diverse verticals, including health supplement distributors, manufacturers, property agencies, and others.

KISS92 Climbing up the ranks and taking home second spot this year is Kiss92 which came in at fourth position last year. Citing Nielsen radio survey results, the station claims to have had one of the highest growths in cumulative listenership among English radio stations.

Despite being only a three-year-old station, Kiss92’s cumulative listenership now stands at 645,000, heating up the competition among English radio stations.

Kiss92 retained its leading position among English radio stations in terms of market share

GOLD 905 Holding on tightly to its third position is Gold 905. The station embarked on a brand reposition with a new logo, new station tag line, new way of ID-ing its call letters – it is now pronounced as Gold nine oh five – with the music focus shifting to the 1980s and 1990s.

In line with this, the station launched a yearlong promo campaign called “The Luxe Life” which was anchored with giveaways of luxurious travel and hotel experiences worth SG$77,000.

A new morning show duo was introduced, The Mike and Joe Xperiment! with Mike Kasem

938LIVE Taking fourth spot is 938LIVE. The station has this year fallen in the rankings by two spots from number two last year. 938LIVE was formerly known as NewsRadio 938 and was launched on 13 June 2005. It continues to be one of the only English news and talk stations that broadcasts round the clock.

The station has an engaging and enticing spread of programmes on current affairs, health, business and lifestyle, as well as news every half hour until midnight.

The station’s key weekday shows are

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The station also embarked on a unique payit-forward campaign with “Act of Awesome”.

Venturing away from the conventional mechanics where the caller wins a prize for themselves, Act of Awesome provides listeners

an opportunity to call in and nominate their friends and loved ones for the giveaway of the week valued between SG$3000 to SG$6000 dollars.

The station today continues to live up to its social media reputation having grown its 50,000 Twitter following to 126,000 in one year.

It has also grown its fan base to 191,000 on Facebook, and 32,000 on YouTube. Of special mention is the video interview with the stars of Maze Runner hosted by Gomez on 987TV which garnered 231,000 views in the span of five weeks.

The station targets listeners aged between 15 to 34. Its new advertisers include Bugis Plus, Pepsi, Pokka, American Eagle Outfitters and AIA, UOB Travel Planners, STA Travel, National Youth Council, Triumph, City Developments Limited and Walt Disney Co.

The station brought in popular night duo JK and Mike to helm The Power Breakfast Show in a bid to inject humour and good vibes for its morning listeners.

Local songwriter-performing artist Daphne Khoo now hosts the lunch time belt.

Meanwhile, YouTube sensation Dee Kosh now hosts the evening time belt, closing the evening show.

Power 98FM continues to attract new advertisers while developing longer term relationships with existing partners.

Power 98FM targets a mix of listeners aged 25 to 44 and reaches out to almost 300,000 listeners on a weekly basis with an additional reach of 350,000 exclusive listeners in all SAF camps and SAFRA clubs.

Content-wise, the station now plays only popular hits and focuses on lifestyle content,

including entertainment, health, travel, food and sports. Moving ahead, Power 98FM aims to be the lifestyle radio station playing the greatest mix of music on one station, the network said.

new acts such as Kiat Goh, Abigail Yeo, and regional artists Aaron Yan, Sam Lee, Jia Jia, Bii and Li Ronghao.

The station has also retained existing

sponsors and attracted new ones this year as it continues to be heard by audiences across 20 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, among many others.

YES 933 was involved in several creative transmedia projects co-anchored by Channel 8.

In the lead up to the final of The Journey trilogy, YES 933 produced a 20-episode radio drama The Journey: Building A Homeland to bridge the gaps between The Journey II: Tumultuous Times and The Journey III: Our Homeland.

The station ramped up local initiatives for the National Day weekend with four full days of work by local artists and composers.

The station continues to be the top choice for banking, petrol and electronics clients targeting a mix of PMEs and it also saw a surge in advertising from the government for SG50.

987FM Once again coming in at fifth position is 987FM. True to its youthful personality, 987 strives to always stay fresh, bold and fun.

In April 2015, The Bro Code, comprising Gerald Koh and Joakim Gomez debuted on the evening drive. Koh brings with him nine years of industry experience and an ardent fan base of 41,000 followers on Twitter alone.

The station also introduced Singapore’s only dedicated hip hop and R&B show, Turn Up, hosted by former Singapore Idol and 987 Star winner, Tabitha Nauser.

POWER 98FM Coming in sixth spot this year is Power 98FM. The SAFRA network-owned radio station made its debut on the airwaves in October 1994.

Power 98FM has undergone some significant changes in the past 12 months to celebrate its 21st birthday this year.

Tailoring its content, the station strives to offer something different to its listeners in terms of music, its line-up and a mix of lifestyle content.

For this reason, Power 98FM has revamped its key time belts – morning drive, lunch and evening.

YES 933 Clinching seventh spot is YES 933. The station had a logo refresh exercise in April this year. While it retained its signature yellow and blue, the new logo boasts an enhanced and livelier image to portray the brand’s mission.

New station notebooks were given out at three locations simultaneously across the island.

Meanwhile, requests for new decals surged this year.

The station hosted the 19th Singapore Hit Awards held in November 2014 featuring artists Stefanie Sun, Eric Moo, Kelly Poon, alongside

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LUSH 99.5FM

Claiming eighth spot is Lush 99.5FM. In September of 2015, Lush 99.5FM changed its tag line to “Dare to be different”, reinforcing the station’s positioning as having a different mix of non-mainstream music. In August, the station played “All Local All Day” for 48 hours, breaking its own record of 24 hours of local music set in 2014.

In addition, its #iListenToLush social media campaign from 27 August to 30 September resulted in 911 posts across platforms, with over a one million reach. This, according to the station, showcases the highly influential nature of Lush’s

community in spite of its small size. The station has also started a series of on-ground events called Kaleidoscope held monthly from June at the Velvet Underground Dance in Zouk Singapore.

The event will culminate in the localised tent at ZoukOut branded as Kaleidoscope Arena by Lush 99.5FM on 12 December. Rosalyn Lee now hosts Lush Bites from 9am to 1pm and Tammy Henderson replaces Loretta Chen for The Art of Lush capsules featuring theatre, art

and exhibitions. Meanwhile, Lush was the official radio station for Singapore Fashion Week in May 2015, featuring curated playlists on all show days and on-site branding in video interstitials.

The station mainly targets 25 to 40-year-old listeners with the highest percentage of listeners in the 25-35 range.

Looking ahead, it is striving to influence culture through highlighting the best in Singapore’s art and music scene.

entertainment from the pair, with real chemistry honed from 10 years worth of co-hosting together.

The morning drive time belt 6am to 10am on ONE FM’s #1 Breakfast Show is anchored by

Ong and the Flying Dutchman, with executive producer Andre Hoeden and producer Shaun Tupaz, both formally from The Married Men. The show also features Elliott Danker, who takes care of news, traffic and weather.

Leading up to the launch of this powerpacked breakfast show, the station ran a “Guess the DJ” contest.

New advertisers on ONE FM 91.3 include automobile clients such as PPSL for BMW, Jaguar, FMCG brands such as Berocca, home and furnishing brands such as Courts and Daikin, and a wide array of sporting event organisers, including WTA Tennis, Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore, WWE Live Singapore and more.

ONE FM 91.3 aims to up the ante in terms of radio programming to push the industry to greater heights.

The Local Guide is updated weekly to suggest ways in which expats can have meaningful engagement with the locals through art exhibitions, family events and concerts.

Meanwhile, “The Uniquely Singapore” programme serves to acquaint the expat community with local customs and traditions.

New advertisers that have come on board this year include Bochinche, Senso Group and Catalunya. The station targets a mix of professionals, managers, executives and businessmen (PMEBs) aged 30-54. It aims to continue building the community among the expats in Singapore.

ONE FM 91.3

Taking ninth spot is ONE FM 91.3 which went through a complete revamp, with an entirely new format, music, target audience and brand positioning.

Relaunched in January 2015, ONE FM 91.3 is now Singapore’s only radio station targeting men aged 30 and above. On-air content is also focused on sports, current affairs, and lifestyle trends of interest to men.

ONE FM 91.3 also scored a coup with the addition of radio legends Glenn Ong and the Flying Dutchman. Fans can expect double the

EXPAT RADIO 96.3 XFM

Coming in tenth this year is Expat Radio 96.3 XFM. The past year saw XFM introduce Globetrekker – a week-long, one-hour lunch special from Monday to Friday, 12 to 1pm – where the station celebrated different countries’ National Days with native fun facts and music.

Ambassadors, high commissioners and prominent business/community leaders representing the different countries recorded greetings with XFM wishing their fellow expatriates living and working here a happy National Day.

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NAVIGATING THE DATA JUNGLE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA There is no shortage of data around us.

There’s social media data, traditional CRMs, market-level data, client-level data, campaignlevel data and so on and so forth. But as it takes centre stage for marketing, how are marketers approaching data from the standpoint of brand-building?

Marketing organised a luncheon roundtable, with the help of leading global marketing technology company Amobee, to understand how clients and agency professionals are making marketing data-driven.

Date: Wednesday 16 September 2015

Venue: Garibaldi – Italian Restaurant and Bar

Sponsor:

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Start with the end in mind This perhaps is the biggest challenge for brands, that is, to get that roadmap right and have a solid objective of what brands want to achieve, guests at the roundtable said.

Speaking about Yum! Brands’ Social Hive, Charmaine Wong, chief marketing officer at Yum! Asia Franchise, said the one thing the brand is careful about is that with data it is garbage in and garbage out.

“If you choose the wrong matrix, you get garbage. And I think that’s why brands struggle,” she said, adding that data can only take you so far.

Typically, brands start with a hypothesis and then see whether the data supports it or not.

The thing to remember is just like statistics, you can make numbers tell you anything you want, Wong warned.

“Similarly, because there are so many different sources of data, depending on what I want to look at, I can use anything to support the hypothesis. Marketers, therefore, need to interpret the data and make judgment calls to join the dots,” she said.

Data should not drive marketers to be lazy, said Sandipan Roy, regional strategy director at Isobar, adding that marketers may have stopped talking insights because they are thinking of what the data is telling them and not thinking of what they can do with it.

As companies become more and more serious about data, there are bound to be a few hurdles along the way. Talking about the ground realities, guests at the luncheon said marketers, who are sitting at the cusp of the changes brought about by digital, are managing way more work now than they were before. Time, therefore, is an issue. What helps in such a scenario is if the top management is driving the change and the company culture supports the transition.

“Who drives that culture of the organisation is important. It’s best if it’s a top-down approach.

The culture needs to be adaptable and speed is of the essence,” said Aldrina Thirunagaran, assistant vice-president of digital marketing at OCBC Bank Singapore.

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make sense of it. How to use the data and make it actionable is limited to a few in the organisation.

That needs to change,” said Monica Bhatia, regional digital director at Maxus Singapore.

Echoing the same view, Jodie Collins, digital strategy director at OMD Singapore, said alongside that at the client-side are challenges internally about who owns the data. Who is going to own it and make decisions about data is a challenge brands need to answer.

First, second and third-party data While first and second-party data is readily available, third-party data isn’t as robust in Asia as it should be. For third-party data suppliers to set up shop in Asia Pacific, programmatic will have to take off. “It’s a chicken and egg situation, so the industry has to move into this space faster,” Collins said.

But outside of party data, is the only reliable source of data from Google, Facebook and the telcos? The region has a lot of rich data, guests said. However, scalable data is only with the likes of Google and Facebook, said Siddharth Surana, general manager for Asia Pacific at Havas Media.

“Telcos too have come in with lots of data, but that is only leveraged by clients and agencies in the middle or bottom of the funnel. The other area Asia is taking the lead is location-based data and patterns. The challenge though is that we cannot stitch all of the data together,” he said, adding that: “Agencies have issues – not really getting

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the big picture right and clients don’t understand the implication of data very well.”

One example of understanding what location data could mean was this data point by Amobee.

Amobee analysed web, video, mobile and social consumption data (through its Brand Intelligence platform) and offline analytics (through the DataSpark geospatial platform) to reveal some unique findings. Web consumption/chatter peaked about Joseph Schooling on 11 June with

stories around his gold medal haul and again after the games. Looking at the sentiment, it was highly positive around the time of his medal haul, but noticeably on 17 June when he donated $10,000 to charities on his birthday.

When applying geospatial analysis to this, Amobee found clear regional support for Schooling in the East of Singapore. Such insights can be of help to marketers, but are they investing in location-based intelligence enough?

A large part of mobile marketing is still ad banner-driven which did not resonate with the audience.

The challenge for brands here is to transform their business to be able to talk to the individual in a non-intrusive, yet engaging way.

“We sit on top of a wealth of data. The issue is agencies and advertisers need to take that leap and use that data across the whole process.

Businesses can find insights which are rich, but it scares brands. That’s because it would require them to reinvent the way they market,” said Carl Nawagamuwa, vice-president of APAC at Amobee Singapore.

The reality of mobile data is that it is not static, said Lynette Poh, director of marketing communications at SingTel Digital Media.

“You have to keep at it constantly and optimise your campaigns. This also requires the reality of media planning to change as well. Even though not all planning requires location-data, it is becoming more and more important,” she said.

Citing the example of Starbucks, Yum’s Wong said the coffee brand has made the use of mobile for payments very well.

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“People do not want to wait for their coffee so what Starbucks did really smartly was to have an app and mobile payment system tied with location-based services. So, there’s a whole new focus on how to solve a customer experience issue using mobile and make it easier for the customer to interact with your brand,” she said.

Integrating and making marketing social Pooling the data sitting in various silos will become more and more important as real-time marketing becomes more mainstream.

“It’s rough in my experience,” said Nick Seckold, CEO of Mindshare Singapore.

“From my experience so far, it’s not easy.

You are in effect disrupting the process that a brand or a client may be following through and through. Agencies need to convince clients of a tangible reason to have small separate pools of money separate.”

For a lot of marketers and also the agencies, usually the budgets are fixed and once the campaign goes live, they find it tough to move those budgets around.

According to Wong, there are a lot of limitations in real-time. In her industry many of the franchises have legacy systems. While there are processes to manage the franchises, many brands with this set-up may find it difficult to keep them all on the same page, given the different levels of digital evolution they may be at.

Citing a real-life example, Amobee’s Nawagamuwa said: “We used Brand Intelligence in a war room format for premium automative brand during the Super Bowl to amplify their 60 second spot. There was a team of creative, social media and media guys together with the client in the room because the client wanted to maximise the investment in TV through social media. The idea was to carry beyond just that 60-second commercial,” he said.

Another example for social data was the Burger King and McDonald’s Peace Burger stunt.

Today’s trends and conversations happen in minutes and hours not weeks or months.

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analysed web, video, mobile and social consumption surrounding the stunt. Analysing web consumption, social chatter and sentiment, Amobee’s brand intelligence platform showed BK was the clear winner here. Almost 32% of the Burger King digital content engagement was around the McWhopper versus only 11% for McDonald’s which significantly helped Burger King to dominate and own the social conversation. Burger King saw the most reward with an increased 529% positive sentiment on

Twitter, although tweets around McDonald’s were increased by 78%, the volume of positive tweets only increased by 5%.

Should marketers be driven by this kind of buzz or is there more to social media than just measuring chatter? While social media is crucial for brands to listen online, Nawagamuwa said to bear in mind it is only one data source. “If you only focus on that, there will be holes. It is great and gives a whole lot of answers, but if you are looking to build your brand you need something more than just that. Often what people say on social isn’t necessarily what they do offline.

Hence, it is crucial to look at the bigger picture,” he said.

And while buzz is important, Bhatia said brands needed to listen closely and understand what that buzz means. “Most often brands bother about the buzz going up or down, but it is more important to see what consumers are talking about, what the content is and get a more qualitative outcome from the buzz.”

CLOSING THOUGHTS What’s the one thing both clients and agencies need to do to unlock the data opportunity in Southeast Asia in the next 12 to 18 months? We asked the guests.

“It is when we allow and believe data will give us confidence, but doesn’t allow us to get lazy.”

• Sandipan Roy, regional strategy director at Isobar “Have a key brand/campaign objective led by stakeholders. Don’t focus on data which is not needed.”

• Marie Gruy, regional director at Carat Singapore “Just by opening up the data, the problem won’t be solved. If every stakeholder in the company is working towards small successes then it would breed more confidence. All three parties – the client, agencies and ad tech providers need to work towards a common objective.”

• Carl Nawagamuwa, vice-president of APAC at Amobee Singapore “Client understanding. I believe education unlocks spend and therefore, getting all stakeholders onboard is important.”

• Jodie Collins, digital strategy director at OMD Singapore “For connected CRM to become a strategy. Once it kicks in, data will make more sense for brands.”

• Siddharth Surana, general manager for Asia Pacific at Havas Media “That level of push for a data-driven business has to come from the top management. (While not forgetting the human element in marketing).”

• Aldrina Thirunagaran, assistant vice-president of digital marketing at OCBC Bank Singapore “When data is not a separate department in an agency or in a client organisation and when it stops sitting just with the research person, that’s when we will see real change.”

• Monica Bhatia, regional digital director at Maxus Singapore “When we can democratise data across the organisation.”

• James Xuereb, head of business intelligence at migme “Capability building doesn’t happen overnight. Clients in APAC are not fully utilising data and technology is still holding us back in terms of how can you get the systems to talk to each other across markets and therefore, how to make the right connections.”

• Charmaine Wong, chief marketing officer at Yum! Asia Franchise “Courage from the brands, ad tech players, agencies and publishers. Courage is a thing that connects and brings everything together.”

• James Hawkins, president at Dentsu Möbius “The rise of ad tech players who will marry offline data with online to help target advertisers effectively.”

• Richard Tan, digital manager – ad operations at iProspect Singapore

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Consumers move at speed.

Don’t get left behind.

By analysing 60 billion data points daily across web, video, mobile and social, Amobee Brand Intelligence enables advertisers to make in-the-moment marketing decisions based on real-time audience insights.

For more information visit www.amobee.com

EVENTS

REACHING THE DISTRACTED CONSUMER In an age of real-time marketing where media platforms and channels are continuously evolving, the only constant for brands is customers. A single-minded focus on customers and connecting the dots of their journey is crucial for brands.

Companies which don’t align themselves around customers face a serious risk of a competitive disadvantage. The challenge for marketers, therefore, is to establish the connection with customers both offline and online.

There is a lot of talk around digital and rightly so – the uptake from consumers is unprecedented and brands are also increasing their investments in it. However, in Asia what can’t be ignored is that traditional mediums, that is, outdoor, TV and print, still command a lion’s share of the budget.

What are the innovations in this space and what do marketers expect from media owners to help strengthen their audience engagement?

Marketing’s luncheon meeting on this topic saw senior marketing decision-makers share tips and views on how to reach the right audience, engage them and make integration a reality to achieve true business results. Senior client marketers at the roundtable agreed these mediums need to be more interactive.

Cedric Dias, head of digital marketing at OCBC, said: “When I look at outdoor, the one thing it needs to be is interactive. Consumers interact with their mobile phones so much these days that other mediums, if not interactive, will lose out.” He added the interactivity will help brands spend more on outdoor. While the integration is

happening with print and other mediums, outdoor messages also needs to be interactive.

Immersive is another feature outdoor needs to possess. “The more immersive the medium, the more likely as a marketer would I spend the marketing dollars,” said Rahul Asthana, regional marketing director for APAC at Kimberly-Clark Corporation. As with any decision on which media to use, it really goes back to what consumer behaviour issue brands are trying to tackle to get the message across.

Moreover, Singapore makes for a market where OOH can thrive – people, across income segments and ages, are out and about a lot more

Date: Tuesday 29 September 2015

Venue: Oso Ristorante – Room D’Amico

Sponsor:

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given the high levels of safety and security. Being well-connected and boasting excellent public transport also plays a great role in the thriving OOH scene.

“In Singapore for the last couple of years, we have been using out-of-home very successfully.

We’ve used buses and taxis with Huggies’ advertising and we’ve found mums to be very receptive to such messages. And that’s the conversation with media agencies – given the problem that I’m going to solve: is the consumer receptive to that touch-point and does it have a role to play?” he said.

However, Pete Mitchell, former global media innovations director at Mondel z, feels the outdoor landscape has changed, but marketers have not changed their approach towards the medium and been consistent with their in-store, bus, MRT and mobile executions. “Marketers haven’t played much with the physical journey of the consumers which we should.”

Multi-sensory executions would be another reason why OOH could attract the attention of marketers.

“Especially, if I’m working on a category where sensory is important. So, if I’m say, a fastfood chain brand and if a consumer walks past a board which releases a particular scent, I know it would grab the customer’s attention,” Asthana said.

All these innovations will only help integrate OOH with other digital initiatives seamlessly.

Hari Chandrasekaran, head of paid media at PayPal, said marketers should constantly think of the seamlessness that can be achieved between TV/print/outdoor and Facebook or YouTube for that matter; how can you track a person between online and offline; and how much track-ability there is to help brands close the loop.

Top-of-the-mind awareness is important at the start and you may have to use traditional methods to educate the audience, but thereafter, because of the limitations of traditional media, you have to integrate it with digital, according to Tang Mei Sin, director of branding and marketing at SIM. “Traditional media is expensive if you wish to have the kind of scale you want. Digital, although not cheap, allows you to tell a lot of stories in multiple formats. It gives you the scale. Therefore, a strategy to utilise both online and offline is a must for brands.”

then at least you have a qualitative aspect to it and you can measure engagement. But with the evolution of traditional mediums comes the important question of using technology and data sensibly. Interpreting data isn’t enough; marketers need to inject human judgment into the interpretation as well, said Jacqueline Ng, director of international marketing at STB.

“The innovation I hope to see is actually innovative thinking of the multiple tools that are available. While these tools are state-of-the-art, the way they are being used by brands is nothing extraordinary,” she said.

Citing PayPal’s example, Chandrasekaran said it was heavily looking at first-party data and marrying first-party data with third-party data very

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actively to find look-a-like segments. It is doing so by partnering with a couple of DSPs and they are pushing the first-party data which is encrypted to find similar audience segments.

Anna Bory, general manager of marketing at Audi Singapore, said the company now approaches every project by putting aside a certain amount, maybe 10% of the budget, to try innovative solutions.

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said. However, David Chung, senior marketing manager at Eurokars Leasing, added a word of caution about data.

“In the segment that I operate in, I am very careful of what the data tells me, and not that it is wrong, but it just doesn’t paint the complete picture,” he said. “For instance, one may think that targeting the youth is the best way out, but after careful interpretation of data, coupled with our own understanding of the segment, we have discovered in many cases the actual customer is the youth’s parents or family in general. Marketers need to be very mindful of the data that you get.”

When it comes to figuring out the best way to market in a landscape where the media is highly fragmented, marketers suggested the smartest way is to follow the money trail.

“What is the shortest point between the trigger to sales and closing the deal? Once you have that, the issue is solved,” said Mark Fong, senior vice-president and head of branding and strategic marketing at City Developments.

Consumers are as distracted now as they were in the sixties and seventies, he said, so the challenge is therefore the same for marketers.

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different tools, but rather focus on content and the ultimate end – sales profitability.

The role of content When tackling engagement in a multi-screen environment, two themes dominated the discussions: brands becoming media owners and media owners’ adoption of digital with content being at the heart of both.

Bory said her company now has a dedicated person looking for content. “At the moment, it is one person, supported by an intern, but she looks at everything.”

According to Terrence Voon, director of marketing activation at STB, brands have to look at the entire customer journey and figure out what inspiration they are looking for. It is at these points where intercepting with relevant content will take a brand far.

For STB, it could be with assets such as a destination video or guide when targeting people planning a vacation or information about a place when they are already at the destination.

The traditional content model of one client briefing one agency is dead. It has to be opensourced – whether it is crowdsourcing or getting a bunch of start-ups to work on a business challenge. But this process requires you giving up control over your brand and this worries many brands. But it’s something that you have to get used to because the old model of one buyer and one seller is not working any more.

According to Qaiser Bachani, director of media for APAC, Middle East, Africa (AMA) at GSK, content comes from various places and the moment you start taking it seriously, you need to have the resources to manage the content – to oversee brand consistency, act like a coordinator within regions, make sure the efforts are not duplicated, and so on.

A brand will not have content teams the size of those in publishing houses. Their teams will be much smaller, so it is important to stay focused.

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SMRT Media, said the business for media owners has evolved accordingly. It is as much about getting into commerce and sales activation, as it is about awareness. As an industry, we have to change and adapt to trends such as these.

Given our extensive customer base of 2 million, it presents opportunities for brands. Simon

See, associate account director at SMRT Media added, “The key focus is being relevant. This entails understanding the consumers, their traveling patterns, knowing what they want.

This is why SMRT Media is embracing digital to engage these distracted consumers, to help advertisers achieve business results.”

CLOSING THOUGHTS “I think, leave the control to the consumer and learn to understand them, take in their inputs and then build it into your marketing.”

• Hari Chandrasekaran, head of paid media at PayPal “Data and content aren’t new to marketing, but we need to prioritise them now more than ever before.”

• Anna Bory, general manager of marketing at Audi Singapore “You just have to keep your ear to the ground. And you have to be flexible and agile to adapt to the changes as they come.”

• Rahul Asthana, regional marketing director for APAC at Kimberly-Clark Corporation “Don’t get carried away. Marketing remains a human business. As a collective, whether it’s a media team, marketing team, the aim should be to prioritise this. You should be able to do that if you clear your mind saying, I’m only there when it matters.”

• Qaiser Bachani, director of media for APAC, Middle East, Africa (AMA) at GSK “How to marry the touch-points to make marketing simpler, yet different? That’s what marketers should be thinking about.”

• Cedric Dias, head of digital marketing at OCBC “For anybody who is deciding on a marketing budget, be incredibly cynical. Know exactly what outcome that you want. Don’t do it because your competitors are doing it.”

• Mark Fong, senior vice-president and head of branding and strategic marketing at City Developments “The challenge for marketers is to stay really focused especially at a time budgets are constrained.”

• Yeoh Phee Suan, director of corporate communications and marketing services at the National Arts Council “Know what consumers want to know. Don’t push them something that they don’t want.”

• David Chung, senior marketing manager at Eurokars Leasing “Customer loyalty is important. Start thinking of your media keeping that in mind. How we retain the customers and how that will drag our brand along the way.”

• Alicia Seah, director of marketing and communications at Dynasty Travel “Don’t fall in the trap of five-second content. Quality content is way more useful than just any content.”

• Terrence Voon, director of marketing activation at STB “Make it easy for yourself and for your customer to experience you, interact with your message and buy something from you. Don’t frustrate them.”

• Tang Mei Sin, director of branding and marketing at SIM “We will continue to push out trendsetting OOH, digital and e-commerce offerings to reach the right audience, and engage the distracted consumers.”

• Glenn Seetoh, assistant general manager at SMRT Media “We are leading the way in marrying innovative, and interactive out-of-home and digital solutions that intimately engage consumers.”

• Simon See, associate account director at SMRT Media

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CAREERS

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CAREER PATH Ruth Yam Director of marketing and category Starbucks Singapore

First job?

I was a sales assistant at Giordano after my O levels.

First job in advertising/ marketing?

I started my career as a marketing executive at The Body Shop.

Best job?

At Starbucks! I’ve been at Starbucks for the past seven years and I look forward to going to work every day.

Perks of your current job?

Staff travel on both Jetstar, Qantas and our other partners.

Worst job?

None – because every job is a learning opportunity both professionally and personally.

Marketing professionals you admire?

All marketers out there. With the ever-evolving landscape, it’s a challenge for everyone to constantly keep up with new tools to stay relevant.

Best career advice you’ve been given?

Work for an organisation that you are passionate about.

JOB SHUFFLE Havas Worldwide appointed Levent Guenes as CEO to Southeast Asia.

The agency’s Singapore operation was previously headed

by Dan Gibson who relocated to Havas Worldwide’s London offi ce. Guenes was promoted from his chief operating offi cer role which he has held since June 2014. In his new role, he is tasked to lead the group’s agencies across nine markets in Southeast Asia.

Facebook appointed Kenneth Bishop as managing director of Southeast Asia.

Bishop is responsible for helping advertisers get better value out of its platform. He has been with Facebook for more than four years. He was most recently head of marketing for APAC and led initiatives related to consumer, growth and business marketing.

He is based in Singapore and has worked in the APAC region for more than seven years.

Why a career in marketing?

The marketing function is a dynamic role that drives the business – there is no “one-sizefits-all” strategy, and I enjoy stepping up to the challenge.

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

I’d love to explore a career in party planning or being a personal shopper.

How do you wind down?

I enjoy relaxing by doing housework, and also spending time with my family and two dogs.

SapientNitro Singapore appointed Sebastian Troen as the director of business development. He joined from technology solutions firm Avanade where he held the role of digital strategist of the ASEAN region for more than a year. At Avanade, he was tasked to build its digital practice across Singapore and Malaysia with a focus on digital marketing solutions.

MediaCom appointed a new CEO for its Australasian operations in Sean Seamer. He joined from his role as CEO of GroupM New Zealand. Before GroupM New

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Zealand, he spent 12 years working at MediaCom across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific. He was also chief business development officer of MediaCom Asia Pacific.

His appointment follows the promotion of James Sneddon and Anny Havercroft to managing directors of the Sydney and Melbourne offices respectively.

Digital media buying platform MediaMath appointed Joanna O’Connell as chief marketing officer. She is tasked to propel the company into its next stage of growth. O’Connell has more than 15 years of experience in the marketing and ad tech industry.

She joined MediaMath from AdExchanger, where she was lead analyst. In her role, she studied and published research on the challenges, opportunities and risks in digital marketing.

Havas Worldwide appointed Matt Howell as its global chief digital officer. Howell will lead the digital efforts throughout the network with a focus on expanding the agency’s offerings and delivering digital enterprises in alignment with Havas’ “Together” strategy.

He previously served as global chief digital officer for Arnold Worldwide beginning in 2011 and then for Havas Creative Group from 2012 to 2014.

Creative agency iris Worldwide appointed Maria Leow as business director. She will report to Craig Mapleston, managing director of iris ingapore. She has joined iris

with more than 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing management.

In her role as business director, she takes the lead in the growth of key strategic accounts, including SK-II and Shell.

OMD appointed Laura Ashton to the role of business director working with clients such as Estée Lauder Group, Sony PlayStation, Intel, Selleys Yates, and Pacific Brands. She brings more than 10 years of industry experience and joins OMD from Carat, where she worked as business director for clients such as Tiffany, Virgin Australia and all Microsoft brands.

MediaCom hired Matt Ware as head of programmatic for Asia Pacific. With more than 10 years of global industry experience, Ware joined MediaCom with experience in both digital and programmatic. He was last at MediaMath as commercial director for the APAC region where he led the commercial efforts to secure new business from agencies, advertisers and publishers across APAC. He is based in Singapore.

VivaKi, Publicis Groupe’s centre of excellence for paid media and ad tech, appointed Stephen Tompkins as vice-president of operations for Southeast Asia. He was promoted from his previous role as director for audience on demand to drive programmatic adoption and new product development across Southeast Asia.

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LAST WORD

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WAS GRABTAXI’S APOLOGY REALLY NECESSARY? Too often today, brands are quick to hide behind an apology following any campaign criticism.

Is that always the right thing to do? Rezwana Manjur asks.

Better safe than sorry? Maybe not in the case of Grab Taxi.

GrabTaxi launched an attention-grabbing “Love Boobs?” campaign to garner support in the fight against breast cancer.

The campaign received a mixed reaction from members of the public which prompted GrabTaxi’s group VP of marketing Cheryl Goh to officially apologise for the insensitivity of the campaign.

Goh told Marketing in a statement that the campaign did draw a mixed reaction for the tag line #GrabitBeatit. She went further to explain the tag line was chosen to capture the public’s attention because greater awareness can save lives.

“We apologise that it comes across as insensitive to breast cancer survivors, their families and the wider public. Breast cancer is not a trivial issue and we regret that the tag lines are not reflective of the seriousness of the issue,” Goh said.

“We wanted to support this cause in women’s health and safety because it is close to our hearts; we also have colleagues and loved ones who have or are going through treatment, and are completely supportive of them.”

While apologising for the campaign might be a quick fix for those insulted by the cheeky texts, was this necessarily the right move?

Personally, I find that too often today brands are quick to hide behind an invisible cloak of an apology following any form of campaign criticism.

In some ways, is it better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission?

While I was not personally a fan of the text or the hashtag promoting the cause, what bothered me more was the prompt apology from the brand.

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The campaign, no doubt, was bold enough to cut through the clutter and get people talking. It was also found funny by some. So if advertising is supposed to make a difference and gain awareness, why should a brand feel the need to apologise because a handful of people did not share its sense of humour?

If it was aimed at pleasing everyone, it shouldn’t have come up with that copy in the first place. (You know better safe than sorry!). We are all, after all, different people with different tastes at the end of the day. So, why are brands really that eager to please everyone?

Agreeing with me was founder and managing partner of Rice Communications, Sonya Madeira, who was of the view that brands really do not need to apologise unless the piece of content or advertisement is really offensive or racist, misogynistic or potentially inciting religious disharmony or violence.

Was the apology necessary?

Madeira added that for regular users of GrabTaxi, this is probably not that big of an issue. However, with any ad with a sensitive subject, it is not possible to get everyone on its side.

“There was some backlash, but not everyone hated the ad. Some even found it funny and attention-grabbing. GrabTaxi managed to cut through the clutter and get people talking so in that way I think it is a win for GrabTaxi,” Madeira said, adding that the apology was probably done in a bid to appease the naysayers.

Wesley Gunter, PR director of Right Hook Communications, was of the view that in this instance, since Singapore is still a somewhat conservative society, having controversial advertising campaigns will no doubt invoke negative reactions from many.

“We apologise that it comes across as insensitive to breast cancer survivors, their families and the wider public.

Breast cancer is not a trivial issue and we regret that the tag lines are not reflective of the seriousness of the issue.”

Cheryl Goh – group VP of marketing, GrabTaxi

“I do think the #GrabitBeatit campaign did fulfil its objective in creating awareness of breast cancer even if it did ruffle a few feathers. It is very important for creative agencies to push the envelope especially when it comes to public awareness campaigns like in the US and UK which tend to shock and awe,” Gunter says.

Like Madeira, he was of the view creativity only goes too far if it involves race or religion. And if an apology is really necessary, added Gunter, brands need to find an avenue to apologise to the specific groups of people while still defending their idea with clear logical explanations.

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