Marketing Magazine SG - Oct 2015

MARKETING MAGAZINE SINGAPORE EDITION

THE ART & SCIENCE OF CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS

SINGAPORE

OCTOBER 2015

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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

Scholar, statistician and risk analyst Nassim Nicholas Taleb once said: “The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” I find this statement difficult to disagree with.

Let’s focus on the third one for now. (The other two are well beyond the scope of our discussion here!)

Many of us draw comfort from the fact that we have regular jobs, a fixed salary, perks, bonuses (well, somewhat) and so on. And this shapes our expectation from our workplace and, well, life in general.

But there are some brave ones who have broken ranks. A bunch of really smart people in our industry who left their cushioned jobs in big multi-nationals and struck out on their own.

I call them brave for many reasons. For one, it is tough to survive for the long-term here.

Singapore, although the easiest market in the region to kick-start your own venture because of a significantly lower barrier to entry, is also one of the most competitive and expensive markets to operate in.

Keeping the business afloat with a steady stream of work, while maintaining the headcount and being profitable at the same time, is a daunting task, and more so if you do not have the support of a network.

Compounded by the fact that media and advertising are becoming more and more commoditised and profit margins are hitting an all-time low, these agencies have to find a niche and position themselves as experts in it.

Competition from the network agencies, who offer clients much bigger scale, is another major consideration for these independent agencies.

What sees them through then? The answer – in my view – is courage, conviction and confidence in one’s ability to add value to the client’s business.

There are also certain things going in their favour. Imagine getting your work done sans tiers of approval, a rigid creative framework, tedious time-sheets and with a quick turnaround time and more autonomy? Bliss, isn’t it?

There are many such bitter-sweet stories behind each of these agencies – of setbacks, failures, getting up, brushing it all off, making a fresh start and making it big. And for many, it was often that one client who placed their trust in them; they were, quite literally, the wind beneath their wings.

In this edition we showcase our highly popular column “The Independents” featuring such heart-warming stories. I hope you enjoy the edition.

Circulation Executive Deborah Quek, Circulations Executive deborahq@marketing-interactive.com Finance Evelyn Wong, Regional Finance Director evelynw@lighthousemedia.com.sg Management Søren Beaulieu, Publisher sorenb@marketing-interactive.com Tony Kelly, Editorial Director tk@marketing-interactive.com Justin Randles, Group Managing Director jr@marketing-interactive.com

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

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

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

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

OF COURAGE, CONVICTION AND CONFIDENCE

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.

12 WHAT BRANDS CAN LEARN FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL’S NEW CONTENT The Wall Street Journal recently launched its unified global edition. What does this mean for its content strategy, and what can brands learn about content marketing from this move? Rayana Pandey asks.

16 CROSS-BORDER AGENCY EXPANSION: IS THE INTEREST MUTUAL? Marketing asks industry players who have expanded in both Singapore and Malaysia the feasibility and the pros and cons of such a business move. Noreen Ismail writes.

18 CREATIVE VERSUS MEDIA AGENCIES: WHO’S GOT THE TALENT? Are creative agencies getting the cream of the crop vis-à-vis media agencies or is there more to the issue of recruiting fresh grads to the ad industry? Rezwana Manjur asks.

Some of Singapore’s most creative and courageous minds share with Marketing what it is like to leave the comforts of a big multi-national agency and start on their own.

20 COVER STORY: THE INDEPENDENTS Marketing talks to a host of independent agencies in Singapore on their journey so far.

44 MASTER REPORT: LOCALISATION OF CONTENT – WHAT’S IN IT FOR BRANDS? What brands need to keep in mind when adapting global work for a local audience.

Rezwana Manjur asks.

50 MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 60 ALL ABOUT MARKETING EVENTS AWARDS 2015 The fourth annual awards saw William Grant & Sons and GOODSTUPH walk away with the top honours.

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE!

16 12 KEY TAKEAWAYS: >> How to approach content marketing. >> What are the top magazines marketers prefer? >> Best events from across the region.

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18 44

ON THE COVER: Art direction: Shahrom Kamarulzaman & Edwin Tan; Photography: Edwin Tan — Lumina (www.animulstudio.com); Makeup & Hair: Michmakeover using MAKE UP FOR EVER Professional , Hairdo Using LABIOSTHETIQUE– (www.michmakeover.com)

Which are the titles that are marketers’ top choice? This year’s survey reveals the answers.

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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.

Visa concludes media pitch Visa handed its media duties to Starcom Mediavest Group for its APAC markets. Previously, OMD handled Visa’s media buying duties in Asia. The account was handed to the agency following a review in 2008 along with Latin America and several parts of Europe. The pitch was called in April shortly after Visa’s brand chief Antonio Lucio left to take on the role of CMO at Hewlett Packard.

Rocketing into Asia German internet platform Rocket Internet is set to launch one new venture every three months in the Asia Pacific region. According to the company’s press release, the roll out of the new companies is part of its strategy to build one of the largest internet platforms in the APAC region. This business quest is led by Rock Internet’s Singapore-based outfit, Asia Pacific Internet Group (APACIG) – a joint venture with Qatari telco provider Ooredoo.

Media Shop looks to Shanghai Independent local media agency The Media Shop is beefing up its North Asia presence with a new Shanghai office. The office will be led by Kelly Ang who joined the agency in August this year. She was previously the APAC marcom manager for Intersil Corporation and has vast experience in the full marketing spectrum. She reports to Jessica Toh, co-founder of the agency.

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Telcos team up The start-up innovation arms of Singtel (Singtel Innov8), Orange (Orange Fab), Deutsche Telekom (hub:raum) and Telefónica (Telefónica Open Future) have joined forces to bridge the startup ecosystems in the markets of Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. The partnership aims to catalyse the growth of eligible start-ups and launch them beyond their respective home markets.

Selected start-ups can tap into the resources and networks of the four leading communications companies.

Smaato gets PR savvy Smaato, a global real-time advertising platform for mobile publishers and app developers, appointed EastWest PR as its Asia Pacific PR agency of record following a pitch. The agency is contracted on a six-month retainer with the company.

Marketing understands that PRecious Communications was the incumbent on the account.

EastWest PR agency is tasked to develop and manage Smaato’s media and analyst relations programme in APAC.

Smart insurance Insurance company AXA has encouraged parents to be overprotective in ensuring their families are well-insured by launching an AXA SmartFamily scheme. According to AXA, this personal accident plan is a first-of-its-kind in Singapore. To promote its plan, AXA heralded an integrated approach to marketing its campaign. Throughout September, the campaign rolled out in phases on various media platforms.

New beginnings OpenGov Asia (OpenGov) has acquired all digital assets of former FutureGov after completing the legal paperwork. OpenGov is run by former Alphabet Media managing director for conferences Mohit Sagar. FutureGov ceased all its operations in May this year.

Speaking to Marketing, Sagar, while declining to reveal the cost of the transaction, said the deal was limited to the digital assets of FutureGov.

Siren goes off General Mills appointed Havas Worldwide Siren to handle all execution and publicity of its SG50-themed Largest Cupcake Mosaic project for its Betty Crocker brand in Singapore. In conjunction with Singapore’s 50th birthday celebration, the project aimed to foster the Singapore spirit of caring, sharing and togetherness within the community. The event had an epic bake-off session that produced 29,610 cupcakes.

SP calls for creative pitch Tertiary institution Singapore Polytechnic has called for a creative pitch. In a brief seen

by Marketing, the appointed advertising agency will manage the institution’s advertisements on all online and digital media platforms for a period of one year, with the option to renew the contract for one more year.

The agency will be responsible for advance bookings of online and digital space/spots for the placement of advertisements.

Last issue for FHM Singapore’s FHM ceased publication in September.

According to a statement from MediaCorp, following the closure of the magazine, the company will “focus its resources on new men’s segment projects” that are more relevant to consumers in the “ever changing landscape”.

Key advertisers for the magazine included the likes of Nike, adidas, Playhouse Club, Prestige Products, CapitaMalls and Crystal Time to name a few.

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Crossing borders Malaysia-based digital agency Lion & Lion opened its doors in Singapore. The office launched on 17 September. The agency’s clients in Singapore include the likes of furniture company IKEA, luxury cosmetics e-tailer Hermo and financial planner SingSaver.

The office is led by managing director Sumit Ramchandani, and the Singapore team is supported by the agency’s team in Kuala Lumpur which boasts more than 100 employees.

Y&R extends partnership Y&R Singapore extended its partnership with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) for one year with an option to extend for another. Y&R has worked with TAFEP for seven years. TAFEP, a client since 2009, is part of Y&R Singapore’s government client portfolio which also includes WDA and the Ministry of Manpower’s creative AOR account which it won in June this year.

Dove shows off Haircare brand Dove selected OOH media company JCDecaux to launch its latest shampoo with a special creative execution at ION Orchard. Dove is showcasing its latest product with a combination of digital, static and customised 3D product displays. For this launch, Dove is also running a 360-degree media campaign, including free-to-air television, outdoor, social media and influencers. Dove is working with media agency Mindshare and creative agency Ogilvy.

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Trip down memory lane Maybank Singapore partnered with Singapore-based creative agency noisycrayons to launch “Vault of Memories”, a commemorative digital campaign in celebration of the nation’s golden jubilee. The campaign presented four million Singaporeans with digital visual cards that featured iconic food, activities and landmarks of Singapore’s past that participants had to identify. The engagement incorporated the element of social referrals by having participants make referrals to earn cards.

A different Viewpoint WPP’s programmatic media and technology platform Xaxis launched a new offering called Xaxis Viewpoint in Asia Pacific.

Xaxis Viewpoint is a programmatic product that guarantees advertisers 100% viewability.

Xaxis Viewpoint is available in markets such as Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Xaxis Viewpoint gives advertisers access to a pool of inventory that offers first-look access to the industry’s premium publishers.

Pernod Ricard appoints Socialyse Distilled beverage provider Pernod Ricard appointed Socialyse, Havas’ social media arm, as its new social media agency after a pitch process. A total of three agencies were vying for the account. The pitch was called in June this year. Socialyse will take on and manage four brands under Pernod Ricard’s wings. These are Absolut, Chivas Regal, G.H. Mumm and The Glenlivet.

Making amends Bakery chain BreadTalk entered into a Voluntary Compliance Agreement with the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) to commit itself to fair practices.

BreadTalk came under fire after a picture of it mis-marketing soya bean milk started circling online.

BreadTalk also gave away 50,000 of its pork floss buns over three weekends in an effort to regain consumers’ trust after the chain was caught mislabelling its soya milk.

Stepping out in Asia British shoe brand Clarks is turning the spotlight on Asia with an aggressive growth plan to open 100 stores in the region in the next 12 months. The £1.5 billion business, which is celebrating its 190th anniversary in 2015, operates through retail, wholesale, franchise and online channels and has a presence in 130 markets worldwide. The brand is heavily investing in reinvigorating key existing stores in China, Japan and Singapore.

Tapping on the selfies Jetstar stepped up its marketing game with the launch of a new campaign that taps on the cultural phenomenon of the selfie. Launching a brand refresh campaign, “Because You Can”, the low-cost carrier aims to empower travellers to travel their way. The campaign marks the airline’s first regional campaign specially tailored for the Southeast Asian audience. The campaign has rolled out in seven markets across Southeast Asia.

The journey continues After its high-profile takeover of title sponsorship of the F1 from Singtel last year, Singapore Airlines said it was continuing the partnership until 2017. “As a strong supporter of both sports and tourism, we look forward to further showcasing the race to the world, and helping to strengthen Singapore’s image as a world-class tourism, cultural and sporting event city,” said Singapore Airlines CEO, Goh Choon Phong.

A sponsor-free Colour Run CIMB pulled out its sponsorship of the Colour Run which proceeded without a sponsor. A spokesperson from the event’s organisers, IMG, confirmed the bank’s withdrawal, with the following statement to Marketing: “While CIMB’s withdrawal is regrettable, it will not prevent us from operating a fun, safe and great event of a type and quality equivalent to events we have operated in previous years.”

Better Together Five local independent agencies of various marketing specialties joined hands to launch a new collective called Better Together.

The group comprises five agencies which offer creative, digital, events, media or public relations services. The new collective is made up of creative agency TMRW, media shop BlackBlue Media Group, brand activation agency I_Possible, PR firm Saffron Communications and music events company Red Spade Entertainment.

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NEWS

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Alibaba launches data centre Alibaba launched a new data centre in Singapore. This follows two earlier rounds of investment for SingPost by Alibaba, totalling US$456 million. The company has launched a new cloud data centre and a headquarter of international business in Singapore. The centre launched in early September.

Alibaba already had a base and some staff in Singapore since it launched a Southeast Asia spinoff of its Taobao marketplace in 2013.

Insuring brand awareness Tenet Sompo Insurance launched a campaign which aims to raise greater brand awareness about its offerings among the PMETs through its attention-grabbing visuals. Tenet Sompo took on the execution by using visuals augmented with 3D effect using the “trick art” concept at the Ocean Financial Centre, exclusively marketed by SPHMBO. Audiences were encouraged to pose and take photographs, tag with #TenetSompoInsurance and upload to their Facebook account.

Time's up Cosmopolitan Singapore ceased operations after four years in the Singapore market.

The last issue of Cosmopolitan Singapore is its October 2015 edition. A spokesperson from SPH Magazines confirmed the news to Marketing adding that Cosmopolitan Singapore was “launched in a crowded lifestyle market” and “as a business model, the magazine is not sustainable”. All permanent staff members of the magazine will be redeployed within the company.

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All lit up Singapore Airlines lit up the night carnival in the lead-up to this year’s Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix.

This year’s carnival was held in conjunction with race promoter Singapore GP’s “Rev Up Singapore!” campaign. The “Rev Up Singapore!” initiatives – part of a campaign by Singapore GP to get the local community excited for the Formula 1 night race – were aimed to be more fanfriendly this year.

Multi-million dollar boost The Singapore Tourism Board launched a SG$10 million Experience Step-Up Fund under its Tourism Product Development Scheme. The fund aims to encourage businesses to develop new tourist-targeted initiatives that enhance the overall visitor experience in Singapore. The launch of the new fund will see an open call for proposals for tour development and technology initiatives. Sentosa and Robinsons have already expressed an eagerness to tap on the newly launched funding.

In-flight fun Telecommunications company StarHub launched an in-flight ad campaign by branding the meal tray tables on Tigerair’s Singapore aircraft. In addition to the interior branding, Tigerair’s in-flight crew members distributed free SIM cards to passengers along with a detailed brochure of the telco’s offerings. This campaign was designed to target Singapore inbound traffic from key markets such as India, Indonesia, China and Malaysia.

Social move Crabtree & Evelyn appointed Mirum Social, the social media arm of Mirum Singapore, its social media duties. Mirum Social now manages Crabtree & Evelyn’s social presence in Singapore, which includes social campaigns and content creation for the brand’s Facebook and Instagram.

The account was handed to Mirum following a pitch. This was the brand’s first time appointing a social media agency to handle its accounts.

Circus Social launches platform Circus Social, a Singapore-based digital software company partly owned by WPP, launched social intelligence platform 20/Twenty.

20/Twenty turns social insights and analysis into actionable data for brands and agencies – aiming to be a “Bloomberg terminal” for marketers. This was selected by SPH’s Plug and Play Accelerator Programme. This collaboration is aimed at building a “strong pipeline of high growth, innovation-driven tech start-ups” to address the challenges of the media industry.

ZenithOptimedia soars to new heights Singapore Airlines (SIA) appointed ZenithOptimedia to handle its global media planning and buying services. The incumbent on the account was MEC. SIA spokesperson, Nicholas Ionides confirmed the news to Marketing.

The contract began on 1 October 2015 and will run until 30 September 2018, with an option to extend for another two years.

Healthy start Publicis Singapore launched a global healthcare brand in Singapore and named Sharon Tan as the general manager of the unit. Publicis Healthcare Singapore is supported by the Publicis Healthcare Communications Group, the world’s largest healthcare agency network with 70 offices in 10 countries. CEO of Publicis Singapore, Lou Dela Pena, said: “Singapore is heading towards being a world-class healthcare hub in terms of R&D and innovation.”

Sponsoring safety Allianz’s sponsorship efforts of the Singapore Grand Prix was centered around the theme of safety. Leveraging their partnership, Allianz produced three royalty-free videos in 2015 featuring Lewis Hamilton as the expert for road safety. The aim was to raise awareness about the devastating impact of traffic deaths on societies worldwide and to increase awareness through local and global initiatives, thus contributing to safer roads and reducing the global death toll.

EDB hires R3 The Singapore Economic Development Board appointed marketing consultant R3 as its long-term global agency management consultant following a tender. Also vying for the account was Roth Observatory International. The appointment is for a period of four years with the option to extend for another two. The contract covers key agency tender management for appointment from April 2016 onwards.

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NEWS

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Diageo settles pitch Diageo appointed Carat Asia Pacific as its media agency.

The pitch covers major SEA markets and cuts across a range of brands, including Guinness, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, Singleton, Haig, Cîroc and Benmore. According to sources, the review included both digital and traditional media. Marketing first reported in April that Diageo was in the midst of reviewing its media agency roster.

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Experiencing Japan TripAdvisor partnered with All Nippon Airways to launch an “Experience Japan” global online campaign and drive inbound travel to Japan. The campaign utilises trending data by TripAdvisor in 14 countries and aims to raise traveller interest in visiting more of Japan’s regional cities. According to a statement from TripAdvisor, this was the first time its trending data was being utilised for an online campaign.

Maggi wants love Nestlé’s Maggi launched a new campaign called #WeMissYouToo in India. The emotional ad withheld mentioning the brand name until the very end. The video spot for the ad depicts how the brand brings households and families together. The ad was created by McCann India.

Thai acquisition Grey Group acquired Thai advertising and digital agency nudeJEH. The agency is now called GREYnJ United. The local team is led by Jureeporn Thaidumrong (creative chairwoman), Kanaporn Hutcheson (managing director) and Thor Santisiri (chairman).

The agency has a headcount of more than 60 full-time staff.

The trio report to area director and CEO of Grey Group Thailand and Grey Group Singapore, Subbaraju Alluri.

McDonald’s says sorry Fast-food giant McDonald’s has admitted to plagiarising a creative work which was copied into an ad campaign for the company.

The original work in question was part of a cheeky creative stunt done by photographer Kristina Bakrevski for her friend, writer David Sikorski. The pictorial capture went viral online, and was first picked up by news portal BuzzFeed in mid July.

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NEWS

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More media transparency Millennial Media, an independent mobile ad marketplace, is working with Integral Ad Science to launch its 100% viewability guarantee for in-app mobile advertising in Asia Pacific. Integral Ad Science delivers the first-tomarket viewability measurement solution for all MRAID-compliant mobile advertising application integrations. With this new offering, Millennial Media aims to ensure its advertisers with the most trusted source of mobile impressions in the ecosystem.

MTV rebrands Iconic music channel MTV has unveiled a rebrand. Beginning 1 September, MTV channels across Southeast Asia shifted from their popular “I Want My MTV” tag line to a more assertive “I Am My MTV”, signalling the network’s approach in drawing more usergenerated content as part of its latest rebrand. The network celebrates its audience and talent by spotlighting their social media videos between programming onair and across all platforms with #MTVbump.

Isentia acquires King Content Isentia acquired content marketing company King Content in a full acquisition. Isentia is acquiring 100% of King Content, of which 60% was paid upfront in cash.

The final expected price will be AU$48 million dependent on reaching revenue targets over the next two financial years. The acquisition “further diversifies Isentia’s services across owned and earned media” in one of the fastest growing segments of the communications and marketing industries.

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Role model girls GapKids partnered with Ellen DeGeneres’ new lifestyle brand ED to launch GapKids x ED, a limited edition apparel collection.

The GapKids x ED campaign features six young girls who have excelled at skateboarding, drumming, robotics and entrepreneurialism. Through the campaign, GAP aims to provoke a feeling of strength, empowerment and pure enjoyment and create “an environment of positive social engagement”.

Stylish aspirations In the wake of the successful “The Runway” project in 2014, Unilever’s haircare brand TRESemmé, along with Mirum Jakarta, initiated the second leg of the campaign, which featured Indonesia’s first interactive 360-degree virtual runway.

Consumers were invited for a behind-the-scene’s 360-degree look and experience of a model’s show preparation that consists of a photo session, wardrobe fitting, make-up and hairstyling which showcases TRESemmé’s products – before finally hitting a virtual runway.

Instagram’s new solution Instagram rolled out a full-funnel advertising solution following up on its plans first announced in June. Instagram enables advertisers of all scales to run ads on the platform in Asia Pacific and globally. The platform offers a new suite of features, including more action-oriented ad formats, landscape images and videos, and the ability to reach the right group, leveraging Facebook’s ad management technology.

Google revamps Google unveiled yet another makeover. Catering to its presence on a growing range of platforms whether it be on desktop, apps or devices, the search giant revamped its logo and introduced an “identity family” for the Google brand. It also rolled out different versions of its logos across its various products to make its tools more user-friendly.

New elements such as a colourful Google mic has been integrated into the apps.

Merging creatives Havas Worldwide Jakarta is now one fully integrated creative and digital agency under the global Havas Worldwide banner. This was a move initiated by the two CEOs from AdWork and Narendra to combine clout and bring specialist disciplines and expertise under one roof. The merger of the two subsidiaries into one Havas operation in Jakarta marks the next step of collaboration for above-the-line advertising and below the-line promotion.

Komli Media launches RevX RevX, a new company focusing on mobile app re-engagement globally, launched with US$4 million in funding from Komli’s existing investors – Norwest, Nexus, Helion, DFJ, and Peepul Capital. RevX was conceived and incubated by Komli Media, one of APAC’s leading digital media technology companies.

The company is headed by CEO Mukesh Agarwal and COO Ruksh Chatterji. RevX helps mobile businesses grow engagement and revenue through its datadriven, predictive advertising software that enables one-to-one marketing.

HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

SPREADING THE JOY

OOH Media produced and developed a new “Joy Truck”. The truck was used for a Channel 8 series – The Joy Truck 3. The exterior of the truck was made up of 3D elements and 2D die-cuts of a variety of printed candies to represent the simple and joyful pleasures in life. The truck’s

exterior also served as a form of prepublicity for the programme while travelling on the road during filming.

The show’s details such as its premiere date and time were printed on the exterior to attract potential viewers. The ballpark cost of the Joy Truck was SG$80,000.

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NEWS

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AUDIT WATCH

KEEPING ITS EDGE It has been 11 years since its fi rst circulation audit, and The Edge Singapore is still going strong with its audited approach for advertisers.

The Edge Singapore was launched in April 2002 and a year later had its fi rst annual audit, managing director Edward Stanislaus told Marketing.

In a market where few do official audits, Marketing asked him the benefits of having the publication’s circulation audited.

“With an audited circulation, we provide credibility. Our advertisers know exactly how efficiently and effectively their budgets are deployed when they invest in The Edge,” he said.

Do these benefits outweigh the cost and trouble of doing it?

“Absolutely,” he said. The cost is an acceptable part of doing business as a responsible publisher, he added.

“We fi rmly believe it is our

Hootsuite gets popular Hootsuite saw more than two million installs from its popular app directory in the past four years. The app directory gives customers the ability to integrate Hootsuite with more than 140 solutions, ranging from CRM, customer support, and marketing automation to deep listening and analytics. Recently released apps on the app directory include Dropbox, Google Drive, IBM Silverpop Engage, MailChimp, Reputology and Zendesk.

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responsibility to our advertisers to provide an audited circulation. The benefit is The Edge is well regarded and, hence, readily included in their media plans.”

The latest audit by ABC Singapore was for FY2013 with a circulation of 24,047 comprising print and digital editions.

Kicking goals Digital agency VML Indonesia launched a live stream campaign through Periscope for adidas Indonesia. As part of the brand’s global campaign for a new line of football boots Ace & X, adidas brought football activation to Jakarta, Indonesia, to find talented Indonesian football players. The campaign engaged with hundreds of live viewers and made adidas Indonesia the first adidas market in Southeast Asia and the first sports brand in Indonesia to utilise the Twitter-owned app Periscope.

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AXA’S CELEBRITY SHOWDOWN How a pair of boxing gloves got AXA love and glory.

Nothing excites like an electrifying showdown, especially when two well-known celebrities face off against each other. To create buzz and invite the media for AXA’s new product launch, we decided to send a unique direct mailer that related well to the “ultimate face-off” theme of the launch event.

Without revealing the campaign theme, the media invite came in the form of a boxing match ticket (with a ticket sleeve in tow) that was tagged with a pair of boxing gloves.

The ticket was specially designed to replicate the look of a real boxing match ticket – from the perforated side that’s synonymous to an “old-school” admission ticket – down to the smallest details. Every design element was thoroughly thought through, such as the red stars, boxing gloves as well as the ticket sleeve used to contain the ticket. No details were spared in the making of this invite.

The boxing gloves that came with the invite served to create intrigue. But more than just that, they gave an additional notch of competitiveness and hype which resonated with the theme and served as a teaser of what to expect at the event – an ultimate showdown between two celebrity guests.

Last, but not least, we took it a step further

with the way we delivered the invites to our targeted media. A mini activation was initiated with the deployment of two SEA Games boxers. Decked in full red and blue boxing gear respectively, the boxers surprised the media guests at their respective location by circling around, interacting with them and finally handdelivering the invites to them.

THE MAIL Objective: We wanted to spark the interest of targeted media to get them to RSVP for the event, as well as post the invites online to create buzz.

Target audience: Traditional media as well as online influencers who have a focus on family and parenting.

Results: Out of the total direct mailers sent, more than half attended the event. More than 60% were interested to find out more about the product and its offerings.

Cheryl Lim

Head of branding and external communications AXA Singapore.

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WILL BITCOIN TAKE OFF IN ASIA? Still in its nascent stages, bitcoin’s eventual take-off in Asia is hard to predict.

Noreen Ismail writes.

Will consumers in Asia finally trust the Bitcoin payment system?

Bitcoin has reached Asian shores with the cryptocurrency’s debut in Singapore.

Touted as the digital currency set to power up electronic payments globally, Bitcoin has received its fair share of good and bad press when it comes to convincing financial institutions of its legitimacy.

That a Bitcoin vendor such as Coinbase chooses to set up shop in Singapore may come as a surprise to some, given the tight regulations in the market. Yet, the emergence and growing utility of Bitcoin since its launch six years ago is a testament to its potential as a game-changer in financial technology.

Still in its nascent stages, Bitcoin’s eventual take-off in Asia is hard to predict. The newly introduced cryptocurrency may need some form of marketing in order to alleviate consumer perceptions of its risk and volatility.

According to Prantik Mazumdar, managing partner of Happy Marketer, the unregulated nature of the cryptocurrency makes it prone to dismissal by consumers who are more risk-averse.

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Sean Burke-Gaffney, director of technology at SapientNitro, echoes this view, citing the lack of regulation on Bitcoin invites speculation, making fraudulent transactions a more serious concern for those who are hesitant to adopt the digital currency.

Moreover, Bitcoin’s volatility in the market may cause a slow rate of adoption, if any, in the Asian markets, Mazumdar said.

“I don’t think the introduction of Bitcoins will adversely impact any of the other preexisting modes of payment in the near future,” he said.

“As with everything new, brands can choose to experiment with it to see if their customer base is ready to adopt it and maybe even offer incentives to urge them to try Bitcoins as a payment mode.”

He predicted brands in the gaming, electronics and e-commerce industries in particular will pave the way for this new mode of payment given their customers tend to be more tech-savvy and are early adopters of technology.

Meanwhile, Burke-Gaffney posits global adoption by money markets will take a long time.

“Remember that it took PayPal seven years to become legitimate and even now it is not used in so many places. For Bitcoin, global adoption is likely 10 years away, if at all.”

Mazumdar pointed out the lack of awareness and education about the benefits of the Bitcoin system may impede its uptake in the region making brands reluctant to adopt the cryptocurrency.

To market Bitcoins to the masses, he said there needs to be massive amounts of investments in educating the public about what Bitcoins are and how the system works.

One of the ways to boost the digital currency’s popularity is by highlighting Bitcoin’s benefits as compared to the current cash system.

“Since the currency is not backed by the central bank, these companies in the Bitcoin ecosystem may want to leverage local and global academics to endorse and support the new currency,” he said.

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WHAT LESSONS CAN YOU LEARN FROM WSJ’S NEW CONTENT STRATEGY The Wall Street Journal recently launched its unified global edition. What does this mean for its content strategy, and what can brands learn about content marketing from this move?

Rayana Pandey asks.

Content evolution: What brands and publishers need to know when it comes to creating great content.

Consolidation in print isn’t anything new to the market. We’ve seen a number of publications do that in recent years, but what’s interesting is the way these established publications are approaching content, given the digital-first strategy.

Most recently, The Wall Street Journal intensified its push for international growth with the launch of new, enhanced global print and digital editions in Europe and Asia first announced in June this year.

With a broadsheet format mirroring the US edition, the title will see a circulation from Monday through to Friday, expanded in both

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size and scope, and a wider and more diverse selection of the Journal’s peerless reporting, insight and analysis.

While the Journal will now be globally consistent in style and sections, regionally relevant content available throughout each day’s paper will be curated for readers in separate Europe and Asia editions.

Distribution of the print editions will focus on key cities closely aligned to the Journal’s business-oriented readership, while the revamped digital offerings will offer an improved mobile experience to readers around the world.

All content will be available via the

expanded regional iPad and Android editions, also launching today, marking a strengthened global digital presence for the Journal.

Now, there are some important lessons in there for brands which are serious about content marketing.

Metrics – what to measure At a time when different digital metrics are cropping up, how does WSJ ensure it is looking at the right metrics for its content? What is the objective of the editorial team? Gerard Baker, editor-in-chief of Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, said dwell time was perhaps the

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most important as it showed how engaged the audience was.

“The grubby commercial reality is that if readers spend time, it maximises the exposure ads on our site gets,” he said. However, he added dwell time was not the sole metric WSJ refers to.

There are page views, social shares and other metrics. The main website is seeing a majority of the traffic come in through search and social and not the home page.

“We are looking at ways to engage the audience through these channels and once they are in our website we need to look at ways to keep them engaged again,” Baker said.

In fact, WSJ recently promoted managing editor and Journal veteran Yumiko Ono to the role of Asia audience engagement editor. What this role effectively does is drive subscriber outreach and retention, along with attract new audiences by understanding audience behaviour on the platform.

But it’s not always about traffic On an individual reporter basis, there is an art and science to measuring success. A reporter getting a lot of traffic for his/her stories isn’t necessarily better than the others, Paul Beckett, Asia editor of WSJ, explained.

“We want traffic to our site for sure, but we want reporters who are best at their beats and that is not dependent on how many clicks your story got, but how many times you beat the competition with correct, factual and objective reporting,” he said.

Digital has made news a 24-hour business and news titles are constantly gathering, chasing and sharing news.

“We are in world where everyone is reporter.

As journalists we are very much a part of that extraordinary amount of action. But we not only have to break news for our subscribers first, but also be factually correct,” Beckett said.

Even when we are competing in the digital space – producing videos, tweeting, getting on the news wire more quickly than ever before – we have to get the story right.

And here’s how it pays off Now this is not something brands looking into brand journalism genuinely prioritise because selling a product is the end-goal, but how important being objective in your content is, is reflected by what WSJ’s Baker has to say about the difference between news and opinion and the rise of citizen journalism.

Baker said it was impossible to be 100% objective, but the editorial team at WSJ was aware and made serious efforts to keep the

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“We want traffic to our site for sure, but we want reporters who are best at their beats and that is not dependent on how many clicks your story got, but how many times you beat the competition with correct, factual and objective reporting.”

Paul Beckett - Asia editor of WSJ

two biases at bay. Reporting bias – where the story is skewed in one direction politically or otherwise – and selection bias in the way it chooses what is interesting.

A model unique to WSJ, Baker said, was the strict separation of its news pages and opinion pages.

“We do not have the same people making the decisions,” Baker said.

“The opinion pages have a very strong ideological outlook, are very conservative, robust and articulate. That’s what makes the Journal stand out.”

However, organisationally, the editor for the opinion pages reports directly to the CEO just as Baker does.

“That’s a very rare structure, but a testament of the Journal’s desire of achieving the best possible objective reporting in its newspapers.”

Likewise, when it comes to citizen journalism, the Journal doesn’t see that as a threat. There is an awareness that every consumer is a source of information in this age of connectivity, but this democratisation of news is good for established brands as it presents an opportunity to cement their brand as the trusted source.

“I think the very explosion of sources of news makes the premium value of reliable news that much greater. People see so much information, they almost immediately look for the source they trust,” Baker said.

Be the source people trust. If you can position yourself as that, it will help you retain your audience even amidst the informational avalanche.

As a news organisation, WSJ relies on the public for tips and leads and encourages people to do so, but it does not see value in totally relying on citizen journalism.

“And that is not because we are smarter, but our readers expect our content to be rigorously checked, properly edited and gone through robust testing. Citizen journalism doesn’t go through the same process and readers know that,” he said.

Videos, visuals and interactivity The WSJ has a large team in Hong Kong and

other markets of Asia churning out content for this region.

“The era of waiting for New York to wake up is gone. Hong Kong is producing material for the region at a time that best suits the audience here,” Beckett said.

And it’s not just text. Digital has presented an opportunity to engage the audience in various ways, especially through graphics and videos and other interactive features.

“Digital platforms to us now is what colour TV was for radio,” Beckett said. The possibilities are endless.

And therefore, innovate One way WSJ is innovating is through 3D and virtual reality, thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones. “We are beginning to use these technologies to make interacting with the WSJ more unique and immersive. These are powerful ways of visualising content or experiencing our events and will be made available globally, soon,” he said.

Content wise, everything it does now is optimised for smartphones. It has revamped its apps and is innovating in the way news is presented, interpreting data in a much more meaningful way.

Recently, it announced tying up with Apple to provide news-related content for the Apple news app. The app which is expected to launch soon will come preloaded on the company’s new operating system iOS 9.

It recently launched WSJ Pro with WSJ Pro Central Banking, the first of what will be a premium suite of industry and subject-specific content services, combining news, data and events in a single membership platform.

Proprietary central banking content and tools available to members via the WSJ Pro web portal will draw on the expertise of the Journal’s global team of leading central bank journalists, offering essential news and insight on the Federal Reserve and other global central banks, a wider analysis of global monetary policy and economics, as well as the data that drives policy decisions.

“This and many more such innovations are in the pipeline for us,” Baker said.

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16/10/2015 1:59:52 PM

NEWS ANALYSIS

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CAN GRABTAXI MATCH UBER’S POPULARITY? Some tout GrabTaxi as one of the best-funded startups Southeast Asia but can it overtake Uber in terms of popularity? Rezwana Manjur writes.

GrabTaxi has just raised its largest ever funding of more than US$350 million from US investment firm Coatue Management, China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation and China’s top Uber rival, Didi Kuaidi. This brings GrabTaxi’s total funding to about US$700 million and makes it one of the best-funded start-ups in the history of Southeast Asia.

According to the company, the funds will be used to rapidly grow the company’s offerings and replicate GrabTaxi’s taxi product line in the region and expand its engineering offices across Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Beijing.

Through the funding, the company hopes to address some of the region’s transportation challenges.

“Diversifying into private cars and motorbikes has allowed us to touch people of varying income levels and commuting needs,” said Anthony Tan, group CEO and co-founder of GrabTaxi.

He added that such investments were not only a statement on GrabTaxi’s dominance in the region, but also the growth potential of Southeast Asia on a global level.

Currently available under the GrabTaxi umbrella is GrabBike, a motorbike taxi booking service available in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, markets where motorcycle taxis are a very popular form of commuter transportation.

Meanwhile, in markets such as Singapore, services such as GrabCar, a private hire vehicle service, have been made available and are increasingly being used. The service mimics that of rival Uber, which has long used private vehicles to shuttle consumers to their destinations.

In a conversation with Marketing, Ryan Lim, founder of QED Consulting, said that while the businesses might look similar from an outsider’s perspective, they differ in their target audience. Uber is known to attract a more premium international expatriate crowd whereas GrabTaxi, and even GrabCar, are more for the convenience for the everyday locals.

He noted that Uber’s strength is its global presence, and consumers being creatures of habit, will stick to services they are familiar with, explained Lim. Prantik Mazumdar, managing partner of

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brand Xiaomi to sell its flagship Mi Note directly to Uber customers. When consumers ordered the Mi Note, all purchases were charged to the users’ Uber account and the handset was delivered via select Uber cars.

“Hence, the target audience and business potential of Uber is bigger than that of GrabTaxi’s,” he added.

Happy Marketer, added that while Uber has had some PR issues globally, it is still very early in the game and it has built a robust global platform which has been lauded as a gamechanger for the public transportation industry.

Moreover, with its recent US$50 billion valuation, the company also has access to a lot of resources that have fuelled its innovation and helped it scale.

“What I love about Uber is that the same app works wherever I go, its cashless payment system, the two-way rating platform, innovations like UberPOP (car pooling), UberEATS (food delivery service), and its partnership with Spotify provide a very smooth and impactful service. The company has been one step ahead in solving real world problems of commuters,” Mazumdar said.

“In my view, GrabTaxi and the likes are good solutions, but I would categorise them as ‘me too’ products, where they have managed to replicate Uber’s features, but not innovate beyond that. Hence, they have been entangled in a price war to acquire more drivers and passengers, which isn’t an idea position to be in.”

Meanwhile, according to Preetham Venkky, head of digital strategy and business at KRDS Singapore, GrabTaxi operates as a service provider, while Uber looks at its offering as a business platform.

While Uber is trying to solve logistics problems, GrabTaxi is still simply bringing consumers from one point to another, explained Venkky. One clear example of this was when Uber partnered with Chinese smartphone

So how can GrabTaxi innovate?

Mazumdar pointed out several ways for GrabTaxi to innovate itself in the SEA markets.

• Provide access to localised transportation solutions such as Ojeks in Jakarta and auto-rickshaws in India.

• Forge partnerships with other service providers such as hotels, restaurants, e-commerce vendors, schools and offices to strike large-scale corporate transportation deals with them to create a different niche all together.

• Address the critical aspect of safety in cars, which can have a huge impact in Asian markets, especially for women passengers.

• It can also integrate its apps with large social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and WhatsApp to allow consumers to hail a car through those popular apps and have an option to share their journey details via those platforms.

• It can make rides more fun if they can publicly gamify the journeys and award drivers and passengers who are loyal to the brand.

• GrabTaxi should not just be focusing on expanding its user base, but also on converting its existing customers into a loyal community and adding value for them by making their travel experience safer, more social and more rewarding.

Ajit Varghese, CEO of Maxus, said that one key way would be for GrabTaxi be to reposition itself and push for customer-centricity.

He added the brand needed to get its positioning across to more people and build loyalty as increasingly it is becoming a cluttered market.

So, therefore, marketing would become critical in the near future to build a brand for the long term.

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CROSS-BORDER AGENCY EXPANSION: IS THE INTEREST MUTUAL? A+M asks industry players who have expanded in both Singapore and Malaysia the feasibility and the pros and cons of such a business move. Noreen Ismail writes.

Return trip: Are agencies in Singapore and Malaysia finding it easy to expand their presence on the other side of the border?

With our long shared history and cultural heritage, it may seem like cross-border agency expansion across Singapore and Malaysia is a natural progression for independent agencies seeking to grow their footprint in the region.

With digital agency Lion & Lion announcing its fourth regional outfit in Singapore and social media firm Yellow Mango, newly minted in the Little Red Dot, will we see more and more Malaysian agencies entering Singapore and vice-versa?

In a separate conversation with Marketing, Warren Tan, CEO of VLT, also expressed interest in expanding into the Singapore market.

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Meanwhile, Singapore-based creative shop GOVT has also recently opened in Malaysia, starting with clients such as Tourism Malaysia, Pernod Ricard Malaysia and Airbnb Malaysia.

Delving into the topic of cross-border expansion, we spoke to some industry players about what makes such a business move enticing, and if there is mutual love on both sides of the causeway when it comes to revenue opportunities and growth.

What’s going in Singapore’s favour?

According to Lion & Lion’s managing director Sumit Ramchandani there are three factors

that make Singapore an attractive expansion location for the digital agency.

“In terms of digital maturity, it is one of the top in the world; behaviour of people in Singapore reveals that they are more willing to go digital.”

Also, as a known regional hub of various multi-national corporations, Singapore is an ideal option for the agency to tap into the regional budgets of international firms that have a presence in the country.

“Establishing good relations with the right people can potentially open up doors for us. In Singapore we’d have access to a firm’s regional

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budget, and open doors to other markets as well where the marketing spend might be more country specific,” he said Third, Singapore’s entrepreneurial environment makes it a friendly test bed location for new businesses. With various government initiatives aimed at supporting start-ups and small and medium enterprises, the country continues to be a fertile spot for agencies to expand and experiment in the market.

Launching its fourth office in the region in Singapore, Ramchandani said, to expand into a diverse market such as Singapore from a more homogenous one required a high level of maturity in the field.

Once an agency ensures its suite of services can match a more sophisticated market’s current business offerings, it should tap on the close proximity of its neighbouring countries when narrowing options for business expansion.

Alvin Kok, founder of Yellow Mango Communications, also cited economic prosperity as one of the factors that makes Singapore a business magnet.

Furthermore, he said the booming marketing and advertising industry, in spite of its small-market size, translates to more growth and opportunities.

“Singapore’s economic growth has a lot more potential as it is also faster and more stable as compared to Malaysia’s,” he said.

Cultural similarities For Yellow Mango, it chose Singapore because of the cultural and linguistic similarities between the two countries which allowed for a smooth transition for the agency.

Kok said: “Our agency is strong in English and Malay languages so Singapore was the closest to expand. We were offered to expand in Thailand since we have a client in Bangkok, but we weren’t ready for that because language can be a potential barrier for this in the Thai market.”

Leon Lai, group managing director of GOVT, also agreed the proximity, language and culture played vital roles in selecting Malaysia as the agency’s first location outside of Singapore.

Aside from meeting the requests of his Malaysian clients, Lai said expanding in Malaysia was a natural fit for the agency.

“I think the biggest factor was in the culture, the other ASEAN countries are a little bit more different.”

On the other hand, Pat Law, founder of Goodstuph, says proximity and culture are the very reasons why the agency feels it’s not necessary to have a local representative or office in Malaysia.

“If the cultures were very different then we

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“Our agency is strong in English and Malay languages so Singapore was the closest to expand. We were offered to expand in Thailand since we have a client in Bangkok, but we weren’t ready for that because language can be a potential barrier for this in the Thai market.”

Alvin Kok - founder of Yellow Mango Communications

might consider it. Setting up in Malaysia would also mean looking at a co-partner,” Law said.

Challenges for Singapore and Malaysia Economic challenges such as the rapidly falling Malaysian ringgit has led to investors pulling out from the Malaysian market, thereby affecting overall business spend.

“So it is a risk that business owners need to be willing to take on when expanding into the market,” Lai said.

Moreover, there are other internal framework issues to consider before starting up in a different market.

“With regards to remuneration, wages are about 20% higher (talking about dollar for dollar value here) than Singapore, so you have to factor that in your business plan,” Lai said.

According to Gary Tang, founder of The Media Shop, economic stability and client demand were lacking in Malaysia. As for the media landscape, the huge cultural differences makes the agency hesitant about entering the market.

Another challenge for Malaysia is that of talent. Sonya Madeira, founder and managing partner of Rice Communications, says a reason she hasn’t had a direct presence in Malaysia is because of the talent drain the country faces.

“Many of Malaysia’s highly sought-after talents are now moving to Singapore,” she said.

On the other hand, the key challenge for Malaysian agencies expanding into Singapore is the high operational costs borne by the agencies as compared to their cross-border counterparts. Ramchandani also highlighted that tightening laws on hiring foreign talent can put a damper on an agency that is eager to access and recruit high-quality talent.

“Now we don’t have a free hand in hiring anymore, as compared to two years ago.”

For Yellow Mango, the agency has had a hard time establishing its brand because Singapore companies are still reluctant to work with a Malaysian agency, citing discrepancies in the transfer of knowledge between the markets.

For example, most Singapore brands are not convinced that what has worked in Malaysia could work in the Singapore market as well, Alvin said. “But as with any company starting up in a new locale, we have to work in establishing

ourselves and I’m confident that we will adapt accordingly.” To remedy this perceived lack of trust, the company is investing in cross-training of its staff.

Possible solutions As for GOVT’s Lai, having a Malaysian partner onboard its team helped to ease the transition into the market.

“If you feel you have a unique business offering that you can provide in Malaysia, I think that it should be a valid consideration. After all, the market and therefore, opportunities, are much bigger than Singapore.

“Although the current exchange rate is not the most ideal, we shouldn’t forget that the primary aim should not be to convert your earnings into SG dollars.”

For Law, she explained that in considering a Malaysian outfit, it would make more business sense to use Malaysia for its production.

“For us, even though we service clients in Malaysia, the ideation process comes from Singapore whereas the production is done in Malaysia.”

Meanwhile, Tang feels having a partner in the market is a more feasible idea.

“We were looking to explore the Malaysia market some time last year and at that point we touched base with several independent media agencies to understand the market. We felt it would be more feasible to partner up with an agency rather than set up completely on our own.

“The Malaysian media scene is more relationship-based so it would be much easier to have an on-ground individual who is familiar.

As a Singaporean, it was difficult for us to operate in a market which is so relationshipbased.”

According to Madeira, servicing clients for Rice has been easy enough from here.

“When we first started we had clients that were headquartered in KL and we would fly down there every two weeks to have meetings.

For us it didn’t make sense to have someone on the ground.

“However, if a client, regional or local, is really looking to heavily invest in the Malaysia market then I would try to convince my staff or find an amazing multi-faceted partner there.”

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CREATIVE VERSUS MEDIA AGENCIES: WHO’S GOT THE TALENT? Are creative agencies getting the cream of the crop vis-à -vis media agencies or is there more to the issue of recruiting fresh grads to the ad industry? Rezwana Manjur asks.

To be continued: The fight for the brightest minds in the industry goes on.

In a conversation I recently had with a CEO of a media agency, we were discussing the difficulties of finding good local talent. Forget top level executives, he was of the view that even on a junior level, finding enthusiastic passionate individuals was close to impossible.

And he is not alone in his views. Often the woes of the ad world that are echoed

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throughout the industry are centred around the lack of talent. Furthermore, he added if graduates did in fact look to join the ad industry (#blessed), most of the time, the creative guys would get the first pick. Media agencies were hardly ever on the radar.

And this is because of the lack of awareness of what exactly media agencies do. Media

agencies, while brilliant at marketing for their clients, fail to do so when it comes to their own brands.

Goh Shu Fen, principal consultant of R3 and president of the Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS), agreed to the point that media agencies have not been fantastic at branding and defining what value they bring to the

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table, beyond the simple buying and planning duties.

According to recent IAS research, ad agencies locally, as it is, are paying at least 20% less than most industries. This is not even comparing it to higher paying sectors such as finance and banking. Hence, making the industry look attractive is a must if new blood and creativity is to enter the world of advertising.

“Relative to more mature markets in the west, the understanding of what marketing means is vague, and hence, the respective domains within the sector even more nebulous.

The advertising industry is perceived, rightly so, to be a creative industry and therefore creative agencies tend to be the first port of call for any graduates who may not be considering a career in advertising,” Goh said.

From R3’s own consulting experience, Goh added the consulting team had often had to reeducate senior stakeholders for the need for

is not as interesting compared with creative agencies.

Giving the example of the recent career fair organised by the IAS which was open to all tertiary institutions, Lim and Goh said most media agencies did not take the opportunity to market themselves.

This was despite the event being a targeted platform for media folks to market their agencies and establish a strong share of voice to fresh blood emerging from school each year.

While the media agency field today has come a long way with a lot of depth in specialised areas, where it has been lazy is in its push for visibility and recognition.

“There is definitely a lack of understanding of what we do and the fact that media agencies are no longer just all about straight-off media planning and buying. Moreover, our offices also tend to look less impressive and we know such factors still do matter to fresh grads,” Lim said.

Patricia Goh, managing director of Starcom

“I agree that, generally, traditional creative agencies have had stronger brands than their media counterparts, mostly due to the fact that historically they’ve delivered a tangible output that sometimes has their name attached in mass media.”

Chris Willingham - CEO of BBDO Singapore

media agencies to be more strategic partners beyond buying. She said: “Media agencies need to behave more like investment planners than real estate agents.

Clients need to take a more strategic view on how they spend and account for over 80% of their marketing budget.”

In a separate conversation, Jacqui Lim, managing director of Havas Media, also agreed the fault lies in the industry not coming together to market itself as a whole.

“This is very much unlike the creative agency folks who actively know how to beat their own drum and make a name for themselves,” she said.

According to Lim, even students who are actually clued into the advertising industry, suffer from a perception issue as to what the media industry does. As for those who did not study media/marketing/advertising in school, a career in the media agency world is not even on their radar or consideration.

Despite all their advancements, media agencies are typically perceived as being less creative, more data-driven and reporting-heavy – which could lead fresh grads to think the job

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Mediavest Group Singapore, said the search for talent was always a struggle and the trick was in getting creative in the types of candidates being hired. The advertising industry today needs critical thinkers, so in addition to looking to marketing schools for talent, SMG heads to scientific disciplines for a more diversified talent pool.

“We are somersaulting our way into new talent pools like engineering, financial institutions and the info-communications industry where we hire based on attributes, bypassing direct competition,” she said.

Do the creative folks have it easy?

The answer coming from creative folks is in the negative, but for reasons that are completely different.

What constitutes the creative industry has changed significantly now. Chris Willingham, CEO of BBDO Singapore, said the creative sector now included media agencies who were increasingly offering creative solutions, clients with in-house creative departments and, of course, the many tech businesses and start-ups.

“I agree that, generally, traditional creative

agencies have had stronger brands than their media counterparts, mostly due to the fact that historically they’ve delivered a tangible output that sometimes has their name attached in mass media.”

However, with the shift in what the world of creative means, there is greater competition than ever for attracting true creative talent. This is making it especially challenging for agencies as a whole to attract the very best, whether they’re creative or media shops.

Competition has also intensified as the likes of Google and Facebook claim a chunk of the talent that might have found itself working at creative agencies just a few years ago.

Rumki Fernandes, regional director for talent and HR for APAC at Grey Group, added that creative agencies have their own set of challenges as far as recruiting the right talent.

Creative agencies, because of the massive takeover of the world of data and digital, today need tech-savvy folks with broad skill sets and out-of-the-box thinking.

Like Willingham, she was also of the view that the talent craved by the creative world today overlaps the Silicon Valley type of jobs, tech start-ups, product companies and social media outfits out there.

Overcoming the issue – is HR to be blamed?

It hardly comes as a surprise the responsibility for attracting fresh talent has to start from the top. However, if the issue of a lack of talent has been around for years, does this mean the HR and talent teams are failing to understand what the industry needs?

“If we are truly passionate about what we do and are vested in attracting the best fresh talent for the agency, it is important to invest the time and effort of the senior folks in the agency in the hiring process,” Havas Media’s Lim said.

Management teams need to actively craft guidelines on investing in fresh graduates to join the teams, and work hand-in-hand with HR to attract fresh people into the agency. Simply handing the HR teams a guidebook on what is needed in today’s changing media landscape is not enough.

SMG’s managing director Goh also added that in the agency it is not the HR department’s KPI to find talent. At every level in the hierarchy, managers, directors and CEOs should have their own customised needs and relationships with talent they would like to hire.

“We have all hired or been hired this way.

Our policy is it’s not just finding the talent, it’s being the right company for the talent,” she said.

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Art direction: Shahrom Kamarulzaman & Edwin Tan; Photography: Edwin Tan — Lumina (www.animulstudio.com); Makeup & Hair: Michmakeover using MAKE UP FOR EVER Professional , Hairdo Using LABIOSTHETIQUE– (www.michmakeover.com)

Being your own boss is anything, but glamorous.

The road to success is daunting and there’s no room for self-doubt. What does it take to strike out on your own and make it big in a competitive market such as Singapore?

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YOU WAKE UP AND HAVE YOUR MORNING coffee, while catching up with the news; stroll into your office at 10.30am; go to a fancy restaurant for client meetings; sign a few proposals and leave the office by 5pm.

That is the dream life, isn’t it? But that is exactly what it is – a dream.

Being in the agency world is hard enough as it is. Couple that with having to pay your own office bills, fix leaking pipes in the pantry and, quite literally, feed your staff, that dream can very much turn into a nightmare.

Life in an independent agency is anything, but easy. In fact, it can be downright frightening to many.

One minute, you may be on top of your game grabbing clients left, right and centre, and the next, you are out. So often, the brightest of creatives cave into the pressures of running their own shop and pack up, only to head back to the comforts of an agency network.

“AFTER THE INITIAL EUPHORIA HAS SUBSIDED, IT TAKES GRIT, GUTS AND A SOLID GAME PLAN TO SURVIVE THIS INTENSE COMPETITION.”

Running your own shop in a market as crowded as Singapore is not glamorous. After the initial euphoria has subsided, it takes grit, guts and a solid game plan to survive this intense competition. As an agency lead, you will be the first person to come into work and the last to leave. Heck, you may even need to invest in a cozy couch to spend numerous nights in the office.

Hearing the stories of perseverance and endurance, and seeing how these small, yet numerous entities add a different dimension to the local advertising scene, provoked us at Marketing magazine to come up with our own series called “The Independents”.

The series documents the struggles of agency veterans who left the safety nets of working in a big agency network to take control of their own fates. You may also log onto our website to read the full version of each of these interviews.

From left: Ryan Lim, founding partner and principal consultant, QED Consulting; Pat Law, founder, GOODSTUPH; Rachit Dayal, managing partner, Happy Marketer; Patrick Low, founder and creative partner, Goodfellas; Anand A Vathiyar, founder and managing director, Up & Up; Charlie Blower, co−founder and managing partner, Blak Labs; Terrence Tan, founder and chief creative officer, Ice Inc; and Chris J Reed, global CEO and founder, Black Marketing.

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THE INDEPENDENTS

3-SIXTY BRAND COMMUNICATIONS HEADED BY

STEPHEN CHOY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR) & CINDY TAY (CLIENT SERVICE DIRECTOR)

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Choy: Believe it or not, 3-Sixty was conceived on my wedding anniversary. I had the day off, but the wife was busy working. I just happened to walk past International Plaza (that’s where the Registry of Companies was located back then), and the rest is history.

But seriously, I had given much thought about having new challenges after more than seven years of happily servicing a myriad of accounts. I felt setting up a company would be an enriching venture. Yup, we were all young and foolish once.

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? It was tough – and still is – to find the right fit for the team. Those with experience would prefer to stay in a “branded MNC” rather than with a local start-up.

And those who are fresh in the workforce find it hard to match the pace. My ex-colleague whom I worked with in O&M decided to leave her cushy MNC job to join me.

You know, it was really like a Jerry Maguire moment then. And she then convinced her art director buddy to join the team. And after that, it was just all systems go.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR SHOP? There is no one thing that stands out. But as a local agency, we sometimes get bullied – clients think they can ask us to do things they normally wouldn’t dare to ask of an MNC. I once worked for weeks on a logo design for a quasi-government outfit.

We had close to 25 design variations and you know what, the client picked two and asked the team to work on three more new designs so she would have options to present to her boss. I was flabbergasted!

Would she have done this to an MNC? Maybe yes, maybe not … but I told her she

could have all the designs for free, and left the meeting.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT? Of course! Especially after you have a team and suddenly you are not only responsible to your family, but all the lives of your teammates.

And that is quite daunting. I just try not to think about failure.

The one thing I constantly emphasise to the team almost to the point of nagging is credibility. Once we gain trust, failure seems a distant possibility. Unlike MNCs, we do not have the luxury of second chances. In my experience, when clients are unhappy with a team in an MNC, the agency simply changes the team. With independent agencies, the clients change agency!

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? I have always joked that every art director wants to shoot a feature film, every copywriter wants to write a book and every suit wants to own an agency.

Of course, it sounds nice being “da Boss” but as with all titles, it comes with a lot, a lot of responsibilities. You never know when you will lose an account, lose a key teammate, or if you have enough to make the next pay cheques, your next mortgage.

My kid is constantly being placed on eBay auction.

Would I work for someone again? In the service industry, we are always working for someone.

PLUSES OF BEING INDEPENDENT? Freedom, of course. The freedom to choose the types of clients that will help grow the agency and vice versa. We have never shied away from parting ways with clients that have become a morale issue.

Also, the freedom to remunerate the team as we see fit. Let’s be honest, as much as we love advertising, we can’t always do it for love.

At the end of the day, after all the hard work, the team cannot be worried about their finance.

Every so often, we will declare a day off – a sports day, a company trip or just an afternoon of relaxation, usually after a bout of hard work.

We don’t need to justify to any head office or shareholders and this does wonders for the esprit de corps and morale.

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD? I don’t mean to sound cliché, but in advertising or in the business world, you can only fool people once. Hence, I have always, always emphasised honesty and credibility. Always.

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WHAT MADE YOU START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Ng: Having spent two years (and losing half my liver on whiskey) at a global brand agency, it finally dawned on me one bright hung-over morning that starting up my own agency was the only way in which I could practise my craft.

That too, in a manner I believe in – that would make me (as well as my clients) happy.

I remember it was around Christmas of 2002 and one of us was swigging Acacia wine (hence our name). Our first cut in terms of a corporate rebranding programme – local hairdresser Kimage.

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? All three of us, myself, Jervis Mun and Hazel Leong were colleagues from Addison, originally a WPP brand agency that was a pioneer in the Singapore market. We believed we could do better … and we did. Acacia was nominated for Local Hero Agency of the Year in 2014 while Addison has since faded into oblivion.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR OWN AGENCY? When the best creative on my team left to fly with Singapore Airlines (now I travel Emirates). Creatives are restless by nature and turnover is relatively high in our industry.

It is always painful when people you have helped nurture need to leave, but at the same time you are proud when you see colleaguesturned friends establish their careers from the foundation you have provided.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT? I do not believe in failure, only results – good and bad. I decide on check points where I take stock and make a decision or tweak my strategy where needed.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? COULD YOU EVER WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE AGAIN? I believe it is a calling, not necessarily better or worse than being an employee – just different.

My peers and I, we continually work for and are accountable to our clients. One could liken it to working for multiple bosses from different companies all at once … so we should have enough experience to make awesome employees.

PLUSES AND MINUSES OF BEING INDEPENDENT? Plus point is that you get to truly make a difference by helping small local brands build up from scratch. The minus, talent crunch is especially bad.

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HOW DID YOU INITIALLY MARKET YOUR AGENCY? I started out with a degree from business school (NUS) and cut my teeth in business development before I returned to full-time design school. I am lucky (and cursed) that both marketing and creative are second nature to me. So clients knew I understood first-hand the challenges they faced, and they found in us a rare combination that was able to synergise both the business and creative aspects of their brief.

HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? I realised the industry operated in silos, you are either labelled a creative or a strategy person.

They did not know (and still do not know) what to do with the odd creature who happened to be savvy both ways. So in an endeavour to retain my uniqueness, I asked my agency for a dual track career path. Thankfully they agreed and in the end the experience benefited us when we decided to embark on Acacia.

THE INDEPENDENTS

ACACIA DESIGN CONSULTANTS HEADED BY

KELVIN NG (CO−FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR),

HAZEL LEONG (CO−FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR) & JERVIS MUN (CO-FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR)

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD? Put people first, then money, then awards, else things will screw up.

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D GIVE ANYONE WANTING TO MAKE IT OUT ON THEIR OWN? Make sure you maintain a good dose of humility and an equally healthy dose of stubborn conviction. The trick lies in knowing when to apply which.

ONE THING START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER IN THIS MARKET? You need to think regional, at the very least.

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Lim: I don’t believe in office politics as it often undermines the quality of work produced for clients.

Unfortunately, a work environment with no politics seems to be an exception in our industry. And after years of being in the industry, I figured I’d start something on my own that is anti-politics and pro-clients.

We established our agency towards the tail-end of 2011 and were very fortunate to have the Ministry of Health as our first client who also gave us our very first island-wide campaign.

So far it has been perfect! Starting Addiction is the best decision of my (career) life!

WHAT WAS YOUR CLAIM TO FAME? One of our proudest campaigns was the one which we did for the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS).

The campaign was extremely meaningful and heartfelt to us as CHAS is targeted at lower to middle-income Singaporeans and they can sign-up for CHAS to receive healthcare subsidies at participating GP and dental clinics.

When we first won the campaign, Singaporeans were not familiar with it. But today, over 500,000 lower to middle-income Singaporeans have signed up for CHAS and benefited from it.

No feeling can be better than that! Oh … our campaign was also mentioned on the PM’s Facebook page which was sweet!

HOW DID YOU INITIALLY MARKET YOUR AGENCY? Our clients see us as an agency with top-notch

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THE INDEPENDENTS

ADDICTION ADVERTISING HEADED BY

LIONEL LIM (MANAGING DIRECTOR),

THONG CHEW FATT (DIRECTOR) & JASON (DIRECTOR)

LEE

creativity with an amazing servicing level. And at super-duper fast turnaround time, probably the fastest in the industry.

At Addiction, there’s absolutely no internal politics as we believe that positive and happy talents result in happy work and happy clients.

Positivity attracts positivity. That’s how clients come on board.

HOW HAVE YOUR EXPERIENCES IN THE AD WORLD SHAPED YOU? I’ve certainly had my fair share of working with some of the best-in-class bitches that our industry has to offer which often resulted in the client suffering. This is why at Addiction, we have a “no-bitch” rule. And a 100% client retention rate.

WHAT KIND OF A BOSS ARE YOU? I don’t see myself as a boss, but more of a catalyst – a catalyst to positivity and happiness in the mostly bitchy industry.

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD ?

Internal politics result in clients not getting the best from their agencies. At Addiction, we are all friends. Never colleagues.

ONE THING START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER IN THIS MARKET? Always ask yourself – why are you in this industry? If you don’t smile when you think about it, leave and be happy.

A PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D GIVE ANYONE WANTING TO MAKE IT OUT ON THEIR OWN? Do it. Let’s make our industry better.

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succeed and focus on the business to ensure that it does. I’m also a very happy frontman for a business and have always loved leading from the front, selling, and ultimately, that’s what marketing and leading a business is all about, selling.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? Love it, love it, love it! I hate working for other people. One of the spurs for creating Black Marketing was not being paid by two previous employers due to cash flow problems and I vowed never to be in that situation ever again where I had no control of my own income.

I could never work for anyone directly ever again. Plus, no one could afford me these days and I’m probably totally unemployable!

THE INDEPENDENTS

BLACK MARKETING HEADED BY

CHRIS J REED (GLOBAL CEO AND FOUNDER)

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Reed: When I was first fired in the UK in my second real job. I was 24. I never wanted to be the victim of politics and other people’s whims again. It also runs in my family. My grandfather, father and uncle were all entrepreneurs.

Starting up my own company took a while longer than I thought it would as I realised I didn’t know enough people to make it work.

So I started my first company when I was 31 in London. I started Black Marketing in January of 2014 in Singapore.

First client in the UK was all of my previous employers as I had left on good terms. Even the one that fired me, I ended up getting as a client.

In Singapore my first client for Black was the CEO of Scandinavian Business Seating.

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? In Singapore it’s all been through LinkedIn. We’ve gone from one person in one country to over 35 in seven countries, 15 of which are based at our HQ in Singapore.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? In Singapore – the issue for most SMEs is around talent. We have some wonderful employees, but we’ve had a few experiences where people (no longer with us) have let our clients down and that’s unforgivable.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT? Never. Not now, not in the UK. Ask yourself the question, what’s the worst that can happen?

You fail and you start again. I am Mr Optimist and Mr Enthusiastic so I never think I’m going to fail at anything. I am single-mindedly driven to

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HOW DID YOU INITIALLY MARKET YOUR AGENCY? Networking, networking, networking.

In real life at a million events from Marketing to Brit Cham, from entrepreneur events to AmCham. I love networking and I network everywhere. Having a purple tipped Mohawk helps with this, as people want to talk to you, if about nothing else, then about your hair!

Speaking at events, I love to get up on stage and evangelise about LinkedIn and all its many benefits. I have had people from LinkedIn say they have learnt new things as a result of seeing me speak. Every time I speak I never fail to generate leads. And, of course, the place that still generates most of my leads is LinkedIn. HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? My first experience in the ad world was actually being marketing manager of the legendary concert venue, Hammersmith Odeon in London (now Apollo). It shaped me because I had no budget, but I had content; 200 fantastic concerts and comedy events a year to play with plus millions of people going past my venue and going through it.

So I learnt about using my content – from tickets/VIP experiences with the stars – to gain exposure at the venue and create marketing partnerships to gain exposure with brands and the media that were targeting my specific concert-going audience who are different at every event.

We had everyone from Take That to Billy Connolly, R. Kelly to Metallica playing. Every audience had to have a completely different and focused partnership marketing strategy.

I learnt that it’s who you know, not what you know. The contacts that I made then helped me create partnerships with no budgets and I used those contacts in all my future roles as I did with every job in my entire career.

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Blower: The thought occurs to you every now and then when you’re working for someone else. And when my (then) future partners and I met up for coffee one day in 2010, we figured then it was a good time to give it a go.

It’s called Blak Labs because it’s an experiment to see whether creatives can successfully run a business.

We first started up in 2010. The first client who gave us a chance was Maybank. They are still a client today and since then we’ve grown by word-of-mouth. Thanks to everyone who has shared our name around!

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? As it happens, we’ve all worked together in the past or wanted to work together in the past.

So we started by coming together at each other’s homes, then at cafes in Dempsey Road, chatting things through and putting together a rough idea of how we wanted to position ourselves – organising ourselves around a client’s business.

Then we set about doing it. Today, it gives a client reassurance to see the business owners are the people doing the work and tackling their problems with creative care.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? Choosing an office. We went out and looked at loads of places and finally found one that felt right. Leaving our first office was hard, but necessary due to our growth.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? Of course – but you learn to use that feeling to push through. You pitch. You win some. You lose some. Lick your wounds, have a rest, then get back on the horse to try again the next day. As Winston Churchill put it: “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

We are still full of enthusiasm which is why we’re now doing work in Myanmar.

THE INDEPENDENTS

BLAK LABS HEADED BY

CHARLIE BLOWER (CO−FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER),

KOH HWEE PENG

us or not. No need to check with someone in NYC who doesn’t give a damn about anything, but the numbers.

COULD YOU WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE? It depends who they are.

PLUSES AND MINUSES OF BEING INDEPENDENT Pluses: You make your own destiny – there’s no safety net. Minuses: You’ve got to think twice as hard and watch the cash flow.

(CREATIVE PARTNER),

JUSTIN LIM (CREATIVE PARTNER),

NICK TAN (CREATIVE PARTNER) & ELSA PECK (CREATIVE PARTNER)

HOW DID YOU INITIALLY MARKET YOUR AGENCY? We had nothing, but an idea, a desire to create work that solves problems, and some great talent. We also had some big experiences to draw on. We cold-called a lot.

We didn’t actively market ourselves until we’d actually done something worth talking about … which got picked up. Things snowballed from there.

HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? My first experience was great – at DDB in Hong Kong with two great bosses who taught me a lot. Then I went to work for a small agency in Hong Kong. That’s really where I learned a great deal – in a small agency, you have to do everything.

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD? Better listening skills which gives us a better understanding of what we should be doing for clients. And a clearer idea of how we should be protecting and rewarding our people. We take every one away on a trip each year to thank them (we’re not the first agency to do this). And we try to have a Friday lunch after a big push at the office.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER? There is no safety net.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? Having come from running an MNC, where you are just a link in the chain, it feels pretty liberating.

But it’s also exhausting … never enough hours in the day. But what we understand better now is that being your own boss means there is no safety net … you either eat or die trying … luckily, we’ve managed to keep starvation from the door.

It’s pretty simple … the partners sit around one table and boil the questions down to the barest essence and figure out if things work for

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Pye: I joined JWT Hong Kong as a designer.

I did a four-year degree in graphic information design and worked in London for a few years.

I love coming up with ideas and then making the work look beautiful. How did it shape me? It made me open my mind, be adventurous and, above all work darn fast.

Hodges: I’ve wanted to do ads and write copy since I was 13 years old. I blame John Hegarty – and I got to tell him so last year.

Ultimately, I did the D&AD workshop, lugged my portfolio around London for months and finally got a break at BBDO. I’ve honestly never lost that buzz.

THE INDEPENDENTS

BRILLIANT AGENCY HEADED BY

JASON HODGES (CREATIVE PARTNER) & JON PYE (CREATIVE PARTNER)

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Brilliant Agency: We both came to the conclusion at the same time. Each of us ran creative departments at multinational agencies.

You get to the stage where your desire to learn more seems to stop, buried deep under piles of creative briefs. Running our own agency is a big leap from running a creative department, but it gave us both our next challenge – and in nearly four years we have learned a hell of a lot – probably more what not to do – but the journey has been fun.

WHICH YEAR DID YOU FIRST START UP? WHO WAS THE FIRST CLIENT YOU HAD ON BOARD? Hodges: We started up on 1 February 2012. It was the first time we’d ever been at my desk at 9am … and it hit us, while staring at the phone, that we had started a business with zero business. Then, at 9.15am, there was a call out of the blue from Ian Batey, looking for some help on a three-month global pitch.

WHAT WAS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? HOW DID YOU OVERCOME IT? Hodges: It was letting one of our early global clients go – at the time we could least afford to.

Pye: It was mainly due to differing opinions of where we thought the brand should be. It was a tough decision – one that many would say was naïve – but looking back today, it was a decision we would make again in a heartbeat.

Every member of the team must believe in what we’re doing for our clients and their brands.

HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU?

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WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD? Hodges: Never say die. London was super competitive and to quote Heidi Klum – “One day you’re in, the next you’re out”. So, you stay awake when you’ve worked through the night and never stop pushing, learning and listening.

Treating everyone you meet with respect goes a long way too.

Pye: For any good agency to survive, you live on the work that you create and the results it brings to your clients. Make them look good in front of their bosses and that will be good for you in the long run. So pushing harder, staying current – especially in digital and social – is something we instil in the wider team. It isn’t always possible to do award-winning work: it’s about making it brilliant in the time you’ve got and the budget you have.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER IN THIS MARKET? Pye: There are other start-ups just behind you and they haven’t got your back!

WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D GIVE ANYONE WANTING TO MAKE IT OUT ON THEIR OWN? Hodges: Never look down … and hire a financial person the moment you can.

Pye: You will never know if you could have made it if you don’t try. Wondering later won’t satisfy your need to know.

WOULD YOU BE OPEN TO A BUYOUT? Brilliant Agency: Heck yeah … we love what we do, but at the end of the day, you don’t live to work, you work to live. Whereby right now we are very happy where we are, we’d be happy to talk. Besides I have my eyes on a brand new Porsche 911 Turbo (says Pye) – unless I move back to the UK I will never be able to afford one and I love Singapore too much.

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THE INDEPENDENTS

COMMUNITY HEADED BY

VICTOR NG (FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR)

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Ng: The past seven years of being the creative lead of multinational network agencies has been fruitful.

But the notion of forging an agency’s identity and success from scratch sounded strangely stimulating, and eventually became more creatively challenging than cracking a brief.

YOU’VE BEEN A CREATIVE ALL YOUR LIFE. WHAT’S IT LIKE TO RUN AN AGENCY NOW? Pretty exciting actually. I have never really thought of myself as a business lead, but perhaps more of a creative lead with a business perspective. In my experience, most clients enjoy working with creatives who actually do the work on their brands.

Plus, dealing with the client directly puts business accountability on top of unadulterated creativity. It’s a lot harder to look a poker-faced client in the eye across a boardroom table and say, “I’m not so sure how this idea elevates brand affinity in your target audience, but trust me, this is going to clean up the awards shows.”

Someone once told me, “Master the business of creativity, not just the creativity of the business”. I’m lucky to surround myself with people who are wiser than me.

HOW DIFFERENTLY DO YOU RUN YOUR AGENCY? The best thing about running your own agency is being able to do what you think is the right thing, even if it challenges conventional wisdom. Maybe there’s some wisdom in being unconventional.

The best agencies seem to have it all – they win a disproportionate amount of business, awards and talent. The rest of the industry wonders how they get it done year in year out, but they just do.

Community is a lot simpler in that regard.

We just want to do good work, make a living and have fun – almost always in that order.

You’d be surprised to know how hard it is to do all three.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ADLAND’S OBSESSION WITH AWARDS? Are agencies obsessed about awards? Not all, I’m sure. Everyone has (mostly divergent) views on the awards chase and I don’t think mine are any more right than anyone else’s.

Awards that reward genuinely relevant creativity are great for the industry. But should we make awards the only advertisement of our abilities? Worth a thought.

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WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D GIVE ANYONE WANTING TO MAKE IT OUT ON THEIR OWN? Five years ago, the local creative icon Lim Sau Hoong told me: “Before you strike it out on your own, figure out what you are really, really good at.” I’ve always believed, it’s better to fail at doing the right thing, than to succeed at doing the wrong thing.

IT’S SAID CREATIVES CAN’T MARKET THEMSELVES. DO YOU AGREE? Not really. Richard Branson could’ve easily been an agency creative with his imaginative flair, and we know how brilliant he is at marketing the Branson brand. And what about the great Steve Jobs? The ability to market something quite possibly sits somewhere between the left and right brain.

We see creative entrepreneurs redefining business industries such as tech, mobile and music. It’s exciting just seeing what they’ve done and wondering what they’ll do next.

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker and a certain LeBron James. You are talking about the All-NBA first team, right?

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR OWN AGENCY? The good thing is I don’t see myself running a small agency, but more like a coach running a sports team.

Communicating the game plan, signing the right players, getting them to play together, and actually winning some games.

None of that is easy, but all of that is kind of fun to me. The hardest moment was to decide where to put up the boxing heavy bag in our office. We took a vote.

PLUSES AND MINUSES OF BEING INDEPENDENT Benefits and drawbacks are really how you perceive them. Is being small a drawback or a benefit? What about big-sounding job titles?

Or time sheets? The real benefit in being an independent agency? You can really swing for the fences, without worrying about breaking a window.

HOW HARD IS IT TO GO UP AGAINST A MORE WELL-KNOWN AGENCY IN A PITCH AND HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH IT? Clients are increasingly aware the size of the idea matters more than the size of an agency.

Having big ideas helps level the playing field.

To share a great sports quote, it’s not about winning or losing, but how you competed in the game.

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Bartholomeusz: Just before I turned 30, (women do strange things at that age) I had just spent four and a half years working for Hongkonger Richard Li at Pacific Century.

He was a totally kick-ass boss and championed anyone who had ambition and street smarts so while I pulled in ridiculous hours (precursor of my life now!), it was cool working for someone so driven.

I started f8 in 2000. Our first client was an American online company and we were invited to pitch for the account against a US and Euro agency and we won it. It gave us enough startup capital to fund us for six months. I decided to give it one year to see where I could go with it, the rest as they say, is history.

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? I was a shareholder of a publishing company and the initial team that made up f8 was actually the design unit that did our magazine template work.

I realised that I enjoyed the creative process much more than the publishing side of the business and brought over the design unit and that’s how f8 began.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? I’m too stubborn to accept defeat. I’ve seen enough agencies open with great ambitions and fail miserably because they forgot that it’s always a business first. I will always champion the spirit of creativity, but I do sometimes think that while people in this industry have their heads in the clouds, their feet aren’t very firmly planted on the ground.

So they approach running an agency like they’re still working in a cushy network and they don’t realise just how tough, expensive, competitive and cut-throat running a small new agency is. People don’t just buy ideas, they want to work with people that are credible, reliable and responsible. And that’s the cornerstone of our success.

I have always told my team that the least I could do was to ensure they get paid on time, get bonuses and good salary rises, and that they should never have to fear being axed just because we lose an account.

In the process, they’ll get to work with great brands that add to the value of their own creative portfolios. However, I never ever said it will be easy, because it isn’t. You don’t get to be a profitable business by slacking off.

So we hire people with the right attitude and individuals with integrity and heart.

A general is only as good as his army, as they rightly say. And failure for me will never be an option.

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If you’re not bullish about your own business, how will clients ever have faith that you will champion theirs?

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? I only allow myself one “pat on the back” moment one day, per year, right after we close our books and I see our numbers. Then it’s back to business again. I never rest on our laurels because this business is so unforgiving and so fickle. I do get annoyed when people tell me “f8 is you” – it isn’t by far.

While I write copy for some clients, I don’t design and I am an abysmal project manager.

I am allowed to continue as a “boss” because many others here are far better than me in the areas I am poor at and this is what make us a well-rounded solid agency. I have no delusions of grandeur about my own limitations.

I work for people every day as I consider every client my boss.

THE INDEPENDENTS

FORMUL8 HEADED BY

FIONA BARTHOLOMEUSZ (MANAGING DIRECTOR)

HOW DID YOU INITIALLY MARKET YOUR AGENCY? I called every person I knew who was in marketing and asked for design projects.

I guess my enthusiasm and passion for the business swayed a few people into trying us out.

Philips and Nokia were two brands who stuck their necks out for us and gave us a chance to work alongside the network agencies on roster.

I’m still pals with their former marketing folks to this day and I will always owe them a lot.

They didn’t have to be supportive or fair in their treatment of us, but they were, and people like that are few and far between.

Loyalty is a greatly undervalued trait in this business.

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THE INDEPENDENTS

GOODFELLAS HEADED BY

PATRICK LOW (FOUNDER & CREATIVE PARTNER)

WHAT MADE YOU START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Low: We were going through a prolonged period of austerity at Y&R. It came to a point when we couldn’t replace the creative folks who quit even though the agency was in the black. And, in spite of the depleted creative department, we had to pitch for every account that moved, burning weekend after weekend.

Winning new businesses did not offer any respite; we had to win awards too.

It was impossible trying to convince my creative teams to spend their free time working on award-winning work when they would rather spend what little time they had with their families.

Besides, even when we did manage to think up a few award-winning ideas, our clients refused to have anything to do with them.

Finally, one of my most trusted deputies, Benny Quek, three times the “Employee of the Year” award winner threw in the towel, claiming he could not take the abuse any longer – Benny was the guy who could walk through hell without breaking a sweat.

I figured that if Benny could quit so could I. Besides, I hadn’t been able to go on vacation for a few years and quitting seemed like the best option.

In October 2009, about two months after leaving Y&R, Goodfellas was incorporated and our first client was GK Goh, a Forex Brokerage firm.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT? To be honest, no. When I left Y&R, I was pushing 55, the age my dad retired.

The only reason I’m still in the business is because I enjoy creating ads and my clients still trust me to do it. Knowing that there is life after advertising helps.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? It’s true there’s nothing like being your own boss. You wouldn’t know it until you try it. I’d probably work for someone if I worked in a different industry. For me, the biggest plus is there are no KPIs to meet. We just follow our credo of doing our best for the day.

HOW DID YOU MARKET YOUR AGENCY? We didn’t market our agency. It was purely by word of mouth. We started with clients who knew us personally, and others called us after seeing our work. And it’s been like this ever since. Occasionally, we get invited to pitch.

Fortunately, we’ve won most of the pitches we’ve participated in. Since January, we’ve won two out of three.

HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? My first job was as a visualiser/art director at Fortune Ad in 1978. It had Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Fiat, IKEA, DBS Bank and ABN bank on its client list.

My creative director then was Allein Moore.

Although he was a designer by training, he could write as well. I learnt that advertising isn’t just about pretty designs, and that a good ad is the perfect union between words and pictures.

It still is for me today.

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD? Ours is a people business and creative people by their nature are not easy to manage.

I’m mindful that the best talent can also be very disruptive in an organisation. Therefore, when I hire I look beyond talent. Integrity, drive and the ability to be a team player are what I value most.

WHAT DO START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER IN THIS MARKET? Rentals can cripple you before you land your first client, so a fancy address isn’t necessary unless your clients need to meet at your office frequently.

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE TO ANYONE WANTING TO START THEIR OWN AGENCY Don’t begin by wanting to make lots of money, think of solving clients’ problems first. If you do the latter well, money will come. If making lots of money motivates you, be an investment banker.

WOULD YOU BE OPEN TO A BUYOUT? We’ve had a few requests from Japan and Europe, but we’re a fairly young agency with potential for growth. We are enjoying our independence, but who knows what the future holds.

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Law: When I realised brain tumours cost a fair bit of money! I hate to be this uninspiring, but GOODSTUPH was born out of a need to be responsible to the family – my dad has a benign brain tumour and I pay the bills.

I believe those who need to feed others stay hungry. That practical need has since evolved into something bigger. I personally think we have a civic duty as a local independent agency to keep doing good work and redefine the industry’s perception of a local agency.

We started in March 2010. Two weeks after business commenced, Nike knocked on our door and became our first client.

It was a modest, but significant project for us. The faith Nike had in us when we had nothing but a table donated by a fellow local agency set the tone for the rest of our clients.

WHAT MAKES YOUR AGENCY STAND OUT? There are three values I hold closely to my heart, which I try to instil in my team. They include: 1. Honesty It’s important to make an honest living and to be extremely self-aware. A good number of us suffer from the Chihuahua syndrome – we have no concept of how small we are. When you’re in this industry for this long, you can get caught up drinking your own Kool-Aid. Here’s an example – don’t you dare talk about how much “depth and width” you have as an agency when the last time we checked, none of your PowerPoint slides, oh no I’m sorry, regional toolkits, saw light. Ever. None of the eight local markets you’re in brought into your manifesto. A Facebook photo competition, a strategy it surely is not. And most importantly, you didn’t find a cure for cancer.

2. Bravery Courage comes in different forms, and it isn’t just about being brave with creativity. It’s also about daring to own up to mistakes to clients and partners when sh-- happens. And if sh-- doesn’t happen, the idea is probably not exciting enough.

3. Authenticity You are who you attract, as the saying goes. And it is absolutely true. Most times. I think we’re best known for the above values.

I think it’s safe to say GOODSTUPH has heart and soul.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? The toughest moment for me was when I did

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not have the heart to fire, when I should have, two times over. I underestimated the fatalities a toxic employee can bring to a small agency.

In some sense, while I have paid the price for my mismanagement, I’m glad it happened.

When you pull the weeds out of the garden, the flowers will bloom.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? No one can prepare for how lonely you’ll feel being your own boss. There are certain rights I no longer have.

I no longer have the right to complain, because I have the right to make the change.

I don’t have the right to show fear because I have the right to instil confidence.

I certainly feel a greater sense of responsibility for my people. I don’t go a day without thinking about, “how many months can we go without new business”. There is also a greater sense of satisfaction when I get compliments about my people from our clients.

THE INDEPENDENTS

GOODSTUPH HEADED BY

PAT LAW (FOUNDER)

COULD YOU WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE? Of course I can work for someone else again.

I’d like to look forward to payday like I used to as an employee.

HOW DO YOU MARKET YOUR AGENCY? There certainly wasn’t a brand blueprint whatsoever for GOODSTUPH as a brand. We figured we should let our work do the talking.

We’re not the type of agency who’d give log cakes for Christmas, but we’d give you naughty stone lions instead.

We’re not the type of agency who’d do an Oscar-worthy show-and-tell with a million buzzwords, but we’d give you notebooks to calculate how douchey your agency is.

I may be a little presumptuous here, but I’d like to think we throw one of the best agency anniversary parties around too. Or, at the very least, I think our goodie bag is pretty legit.

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HOW DID YOU INITIALLY MARKET YOUR AGENCY? There was a lot more talking than work done at the beginning. Whether it was through previous contacts, friends, or sometimes, even word of mouth. We were not earning big bucks to market ourselves the way we wanted to, but great work speaks volumes and people heard about it.

Managing expectations is key to gaining the trust of clients. Don’t light a match if you don’t know what you’re burning.

THE INDEPENDENTS

GOVT HEADED BY

LEON LAI (GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR),

AARON KOH & CASEY LOH (EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTORS)

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? KOH: In a HK café on a cold winter night in Shanghai accompanied by seven ice lemon teas. We started GOVT in December 2012 with a project for Zouk during ZoukOut. WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT GOVT? We spend a lot more time and effort on the quality of work and spend less time getting it through the different tiers of bigger organisations.

The more flexible you are when it comes to creative ego, the more you work together with the client and not for them – and the more you’re willing to challenge and not say yes all the time.

It’s only then the bigger brands begin to know that we’re not as small as they think.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? Applying our own systems of work into one system. Coming from different agency backgrounds from bigger networks, it was a tussle to iron out the details that weren’t visible to us before.

A system has to evolve through time and it’s constantly changing for the better. When the agency gets bigger, the smaller system won’t work.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? The job satisfaction is my Grand Prix; you fail or succeed solely based on your own experience and judgment.

COULD YOU EVER WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE AGAIN? I’d rather not, but why not? I could very well be a taxi driver when I’m 60.

PLUSES AND MINUSES OF BEING INDEPENDENT? Greater achievements come with greater pressure.

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HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? DDB Singapore was my first ad agency. The truth was, I didn’t know how to do a lot of things, but I told everyone I could … then I would check YouTube on how to do it. I was usually the last to leave the building and because of that, it paid off in the long run.

Always ask the right questions and point out the wrong answers.

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD ?

I’m not a veteran creative and I don’t have 20 years of advertising experience.

It’s a scary notion to think how could one start an ad agency? But from my fewer years in the ad world, I’ve come to realise that I’ll always talk to my colleagues about why this, why that, how long, too short, and how I didn’t have a choice because my name wasn’t Bill Bernbach or John Hegarty.

So, after speaking to my current partner Leon Lai, I decided to walk the talk. I implemented my own beliefs in the agency and I’m blessed to have an amazingly dedicated team that looks in the same direction as I do and can only do greater things in GOVT. ONE THING START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER IN THIS MARKET? Starting up a business is like buying a car.

You’ve bought the insurance, got your loan, paid the road tax and have some cash in the bank for a rainy day. Anyone who has the mindset and financial capabilities could very well do this, but it’s the maintenance that truly matters.

You will hit some bumps along the way, repair some blown tyres, polish it to make it look brand new, etc.

If you do these well, the road could be as long as you want it to be. These factors mirror every start-up whatever the context is and it’s up to perseverance and foresight to see beyond the hiccups and keep the engine on for as long as it goes.

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE TO ANYONE WANTING TO START THEIR OWN AGENCY Assumption is the mother of all f*** ups.

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Dayal: I studied at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and they had a fantastic programme where they would send students to work in start-ups around the world. I got a chance to go to the US, study at the University of Pennsylvania and intern at a tech start-up.

Being the only one in a five-person company without a defined purpose, I created the title of “cheap marketing officer” and starting developing all of the digital assets and marketing campaigns that took the company from US$0 to US$2 million per annum in sales in two years.

I knew that I wanted to do marketing, and digital was the future of this field. I had seen the glorious future based on search engines, social media and decision-focused data and analytics.

So with that energy, I returned to Singapore in the early 2000s and started looking for jobs in the area. But the best “digital marketing” companies in that era were focused on making EDMs, doing SMS blasts and making brochureware microsites.

The terrible condition of the agency world, and the general recession around SARS, made the decision of starting up a company pretty easy.

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? Looking back, it’s obvious the team consists of people who could be friends and enjoy each others’ company for 10-12 hours a day.

Almost all the folks who joined the team in the beginning were people who were either friends, or I could see as friends for the next five to 10 years.

I met my first business partner and cofounder David Liem through shared interests – both of us held leadership roles in the Toastmasters movement, both of us coached kids and adults at a popular motivational programme, and both of us had common passions for marketing and speaking.

I met my current partner, Prantik Mazumdar, during our time as students at NUS. After graduation, we both went our own paths but reunited several years later. If we hadn’t been friends, I wouldn’t have been able to convince him to jump to the scary, unpredictable world of running an agency.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? It is a wild, wild ride. Thankfully, more and more entrepreneurs are now talking about the lows of the journey. And boy, they do get low.

I have been seriously depressed, gotten admitted to hospital for unknown conditions, felt lonely while surrounded by thousands

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of people, and questioned my sanity and intelligence almost daily for the first many years of this journey.

Fortunately for me, my mentors early in the journey warned me this would happen.

And since I knew this was inevitable, I spent my early 20s studying psychology, neuro-linguistic programming, hypnotherapy and preparing for the inevitable day where I would need to find the strength to stay afloat on this journey.

And I could go down this route, because I knew I would never look back. Once I got started in this business, there was no working for anyone else – the only way out would be forward.

THE INDEPENDENTS

HAPPY MARKETER HEADED BY

RACHIT DAYAL & PRANTIK MAZUMDAR (MANAGING PARTNERS)

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT? Yes and no. When our financial crisis struck, we were afraid of failing to fulfil our promise to our colleagues. There are people in our firm who have planned weddings, bought houses and made financial obligations. And we always have to find a way to ensure they meet their goals.

But no, because we have the quiet confidence that our approach to creating futureready marketing is a mission that will eventually win. So, even if the worst was to happen, and the business of our marketing was to fail, we know the message will resonate, evolve and eventually win through.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? One of the most challenging moments was when a partner decided to depart the company after the first five years. While we had all agreed on what we loved doing, we had never talked about what happens when one of us stops loving the business of marketing.

Suddenly we had to deal with issues such as valuation and cash flow for buyouts.

In that period, we had a serious financial crisis.

After buying out one of the partners, and paying salaries, we were down to only S$200 in our account.

Fortunately for us, everyone else in the company stepped up.

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has encountered – especially when every job greatly demands my attention and input.

The result: consecutive 16-hour working days and countless late nights in the office with my staff and freelancers.

Having said that, eventual approvals and recognition of our work from clients and the public alike makes every second of our commitment to any project feel like time well spent.

THE INDEPENDENTS

ICE INC HEADED BY

TERRENCE TAN (FOUNDER & CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER)

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Tan: I had my first break back in 2000 when I co-founded 10am Communications. I’ve always wanted to run a company. I changed my mind about being self-employed after five years and decided to return to agency life. It wasn’t an easy decision to make then. Without regrets, I have gained much more, achievement wise, after joining M&C Saatchi and DDB. Then, after spending six and a half years with DDB, I decided to give it a second shot.

This time around I had a solid vision and knew exactly what I wanted to create with my own agency. In 2011, I founded Ice Inc. I positioned Ice to be an agency that caters to fashion in retail, luxury brands, skincare, beauty design and branding.

I had Skin Inc and MediaCorp as Ice’s anchor clients then. Today, they’re still with me.

I am eternally grateful to them for trusting my then newcomer of a start-up. A year later we landed ION Orchard.

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? I didn’t start the agency with a team of creatives and account executives. I found it to be a risky move as a newcomer if there wasn’t a substantial enough number in terms of clientele to support that. My headcount only increased with demand.

Apart from running the show myself, a handful of freelancers, who supported me with creative outputs, helped keep the running costs down and the business profitable.

Only in its second year did Ice witness a growth in its account management team.

Keeping the agency nimble and profitable was my priority. And up until today I have managed to maintain that.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? Having multiple deadlines due in the same week counts as among the greatest challenges Ice

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ARE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? I am, of course. I haven’t met someone who isn’t. Failure can be averted with a trusty plan.

In the event of a worst-case scenario, there’s always plan B. I’m working very hard to make sure this day doesn’t come.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? I haven’t worked this much in three decades of my career, not before Ice. Though I have to say it is all highly fulfilling, albeit in very exhausting ways.

HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? I had my first job in a small local agency designing classified ads. At that time, the challenge was to design nice borders around the ad to help it stand out from a sea of recruitment ads. I fell in love with that and took up night classes to further my skills and knowledge. It may be the most unchallenging job today, but it has provided me a strong foundation in typography and layout creation.

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD? I believe in beautiful breakthroughs: true insights and aesthetic mastery coming together to create memorable ideas. I always make it a point to have my work reflect the philosophies I preach.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER IN THIS MARKET? Take it all one step at a time. Having too much on your plate is a good problem to have in comparison to having staff sit in the office and wait for jobs. As a boss, be prepared to get your hands dirty and make sure every piece of work that goes out of the agency is something you are proud of.

WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D GIVE TO ANYONE WANTING TO START ON THEIR OWN? Find your niche. Differentiate from your competitors the work you can provide and make every effort worthy of your time.

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Teo: When I realised that locals weren’t given enough credit for the work we do. We started up on July 1999. Nokia was our first client.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? Losing people you really care for. You never overcome it. You just learn to be less outwardly emotional and tell yourself that you will see them again because we’re always family, just out of the context of work.

ARE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? I’m not afraid of failing, but I’m afraid of failing my team.

I handle it by always being the “devil’s advocate”. I always feel there’s nothing wrong with being overly prepared. My team will feel otherwise I’m sure because I ask so many questions that I think sometimes they feel I don’t understand the concepts and don’t like them.

My job is to understand them so well that I will be able to explain it best to the client and have all the answers at hand if the client isn’t sure. So I overanalyse to understand better.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? I’ve never been my own boss. Our clients and our Kinetic teams are my bosses because I work for them. If there is one day I work for myself that would be the day I know it’s the end of the road for me.

PLUSES OF BEING INDEPENDENT? We run our place as a family. We make decisions based on what we think is best for everyone. We have our own house rules that allow us to be who we are.

The biggest plus for me personally is the fact that I can wear a T-shirt, shorts and slippers and my clients and team trust I can do my job. There’s really zero pretence. All the time and effort is focused on the client, the team and doing good work, so you don’t waste your time on politics and s---.

jobs started to come in. Because we kept ourselves really small, paid ourselves little, we didn’t feel the real pressure of getting a lot of clients at the start. I think because we started by thinking small, the pressure wasn’t too hard to deal with.

HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? My first experience with the ad world goes way back to the time when I was a child spending hours watching repeats of TV ads. My dad recorded commercials and played them for me to keep me busy. I could sing every jingle that was on TV. When we did go on holidays, people would look at landmarks, I would look at posters and street ads. So I knew it was something that intrigued me.

THE INDEPENDENTS

KINETIC SINGAPORE HEADED BY

CAROLYN TEO & PANN LIM (CO−FOUNDERS)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER IN THIS MARKET? Don’t spend on the unnecessary. Kinetic was housed in the Thye Hong Centre for 10 years before we saved enough to buy our current shophouse in Joo Chiat.

And when we got our shophouse, Pann Lim, our creative director and co-founder, had to double up as the interior designer because we only had that much that we could afford for the renovation.

And this shophouse is probably the best investment we have because the biggest killer in most companies is rent. And our prudence paid off because we will never be a slave to any landlord.

WOULD YOU BE OPEN TO A BUYOUT? It’s not me to say never, but I think we’ve passed too many boats now. People know us too well and know we love our brand too much to do the “requirements” if we were bought out. We didn’t start Kinetic for money, and I don’t see us ending Kinetic for money either. KIN is family.

HOW DID YOU INITIALLY MARKET YOUR AGENCY? I have to say that we had a stroke of luck. I was finishing my term at Nokia, and my bosses (thank you!) wanted me to finish the job at my new job. It was for a Nokia video which we even managed to get Massive Attack to give us rights to use their track.

That gave us our capital to get three computers.

Then we got our first award for our next project with Pest Busters (thank you!) and the

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Sho: The desire to do something on my own started when I was a freelance graphic designer in 1990, way before I had formal design education and training. The experience of being in an independent operation was exciting and the freedom of creativity was satisfying. I guess this conditioned me and served as a prelude to my future in running a creative studio.

WHO WAS YOUR FIRST CLIENT? My first break came when Tangs contacted and appointed us to handle their vendors’ advertisements. After they established confidence in us, they appointed us to handle other areas of work such as loyalty marketing, corporate communications and below-the-line promotions.

This helped jump-start my business and keep it alive long enough for other business opportunities to come knocking on our door.

We are grateful to Tangs and have an unspoken affinity with them. After Neighbor was set up, the client base from Bio was brought over.

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? Work picked up pace in an exponential manner to the point I was not able to cope. It was then I invited an ex-schoolmate to join me and we changed the company’s name to Neighbor.

We did not start hiring until about a year later with our first account executive. We had a good run, but the partnership did not work out and we parted ways with me taking over the sole ownership of Neighbor and the team.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? Besides the daily running of the business and team management, I used to find it tough that some clients needed a lot of convincing to understand and realise that our proposed creative solutions are true and effective.

It does get mind-bending when they have hired us to come on board, but shy away from our ideas and approaches owing to personal preferences, management decisions or budget issues.

Yet, there is also a deep sense of satisfaction when work comes to fruition successfully, whether in terms of a client win or the successful execution of a creative idea. In a manner of speaking, I am working for and with my clients. Working for someone else is imaginable, but the likelihood is low unless Neighbor gets a good offer.

PLUSES AND MINUSES OF BEING INDEPENDENT The upside of being independent is that creativity is pretty much left unfettered, unlike in bigger agencies where creative work is subject to too much input – it can come out looking heavily altered beyond recognition.

With no red tape getting in the way, work gets done much more efficiently; the same goes for ceasing any unhealthy relationships with less than reasonable clients.

The downside is attention has to be divided between business and creativity. Staying preoccupied with the former can distract us from the creative work.

THE INDEPENDENTS

NEIGHBOR HEADED BY

SHAUN SHO (CREATIVE DIRECTOR)

ADVICE YOU’D GIVE TO ANYONE WANTING TO MAKE IT OUT ON THEIR OWN? Passion is key, always keep the fire burning.

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD AND IMPLEMENTED IN YOUR CURRENT BUSINESS? As much as a good piece of work speaks for itself, presentation skills are important as well.

Pitching is a lose-lose situation for an agency, so we don’t pitch unless it is an exceptional opportunity. And, always walk the talk and deliver your promises. Honesty builds efficiency and trust.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? I was not afraid of failing in my younger days.

There was nothing to lose. Over the years, I have discovered that every cloud has a silver lining. This provides me with a more positive outlook as I move on to the next step.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? There is so much responsibility behind this designation so the stress level is significant.

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to hear to keep me going forward and stay attuned to the trends and pulse of the industry.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? It feels great because I can bark orders and pretend that everyone listens! Seriously, the real joy of being a boss is to be the master of my own destiny. It’s one of those paths that once you’ve embarked on, will be very hard to turn back.

Though not impossible, it would be tremendously difficult to return to being an employee where decisions are seldom in your hands. I believe in having the autonomy to produce the best work that I would be proud of in many years to come.

WHAT MADE YOU START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Lim: I wish there was a precise moment in my life when the clouds cleared and a loud voice rang out from the heavens telling me to go start out my own! It was a long deliberation process that brewed over the years.

However, I recall starting my entrepreneurial thinking years ago when my wife was expecting our first child and all I had was SG$2,000 in the bank. I was working for a multinational corporate when suddenly there was a massive layoff.

When I entered the office that morning, there were hundreds of empty seats because three-quarters of the staff had just been laid off.

It made me wonder if any one of us had done something wrong and how we could have avoided this fate.

I then realised that we had exchanged control of our careers for a supposedly stable salary. And I knew I had to do something on my own so I could be in control of my professional life.

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? I had to “bribe” or rather convince two of my most trusted and respected ex-colleagues from our previous agency, Natasha Zhao and Freda Kwok, to pause their individual pursuits and try training and consulting work on a freelance basis. I was so relieved that they agreed (after many nice meals and pastries).

ARE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? Honestly, I have failed so many times that I can consider myself very experienced! So the fear doesn’t grip me as much these days. Now, I try to maintain a healthy level of paranoia, not listen to myself too much and be paralysed by mere shadows.

Instead, I often tell myself what I need

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THE INDEPENDENTS

QED CONSULTING HEADED BY

RYAN LIM (FOUNDING PARTNER & PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT)

PLUSES AND MINUSES OF BEING INDEPENDENT? As independents, we are captains of our own destiny that allows us to navigate and invest nimbly according to what is right (market needs) than to be hampered by quarterly results. This also means there is no insurance plan or mother ship to save us when we are in trouble!

Since failure is not an option, we become formidable opponents as we always go beyond the call of duty. We have to take full responsibility of our failures, but on the flip side we also can bask in the full glory of our successes. As Yoda once said: “Do or do not.

There is no try.”

HOW DID YOU INITIALLY MARKET YOUR AGENCY? QED never did any formal marketing, but our work was testament to the good jobs we did and the clients became friends who told their other friends. Because our philosophy was to help our clients and their businesses, not simply sell services and solutions.

Plus, we were the only ones who were daring enough to tell clients what they ought to hear, and not just what they wanted to hear.

It’s easy to leave an impression after business meetings when I am the worst looking among my much better looking colleagues!

HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? I was hired by P&G before I graduated from NUS. It was love at first sight as I personally experienced the rigorous discipline that goes into marketing with a purpose.

I then applied my formal training as an electrical engineer to further develop structures and systems within the art-form of marketing and communications for long-term sustainability and scalability.

This forms the DNA of what QED essentially does when we provide digital management consulting.

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Wong: I always knew I just needed to invest a few years to get some experience elsewhere, then get my own crew and sail my own ship. We started officially in 2005 and our very first client was Soo Kee Jewellery, commissioning us on a TV commercial that we are to this day very fond of, even though it’s a bit old school now.

HOW DID YOU PUT YOUR FIRST TEAM TOGETHER? The job for the first team, we always knew, was going to be rough. This was the start-up phase and all-nighters and huge sacrifices were always just part of the equation. So I picked some guys with guts that I had worked with before – these were the troopers who made things happen.

Along the way, we’ve also added a few gems to the team.

This one was our first team on our first agency trip after the first year. We are about 50-strong today.

WHAT WAS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? HOW DID YOU OVERCOME IT?

THE INDEPENDENTS

THE ALCHEMY PARTNERSHIP HEADED BY

ALVIN WONG TWEI (CEO)

The toughest moment was taking a huge risk with a vanity project (to do with very fast cars) that failed and cost us a lot of money. Though that only taught us we were on the right track – to be able to risk, and fail, and try again.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? I’m not afraid to fail. I’m more afraid of not trying enough to make it work.

COULD YOU EVER WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE AGAIN? I would never say never.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING INDEPENDENT? I like doing my own thing, my way.

WHAT IS THE WORST THING ABOUT BEING INDEPENDENT? I like doing my own thing, my way. (Though sometimes, you need to learn about other ways too).

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D GIVE ANYONE WANTING TO MAKE IT OUT ON THEIR OWN? Stop, collaborate, and listen. That’s why we work with other agencies every now and then and hold little events with our peers – like football plus booze shots for Halloween Soccer!

We all grow together. One round of shots before each round. Keeps the soccer standards really high!

HOW DID YOU INITIALLY MARKET YOUR AGENCY? This guy knew that guy. That guy knew another guy. It’s about who you know more than what you know.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER IN THIS MARKET? Stop dreaming about the perfect plan. Execute, and improvise along the way! Let’s go!

ONE CAMPAIGN YOU ARE REALLY PROUD OF? Our biggest multi-million dollar project thus far is one starring superstar Rain, and produced in Seoul, Sydney and Singapore, for Asia Pacific Breweries.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR YOUR AGENCY? We like to think that we are building a different sort of agency from the inside out. Experimenting by owning our own brands, starting projects that redefine what we offer as an agency, and have fun doing it all the time!

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Lee: I don’t think there was a precise moment.

I was contemplating a move to New York when an opportunity came. The idea of starting out on my own was just as exciting because I knew I could shape my own destiny. We started in June 1999. My first client was my ex-agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty. The agency sent all its clients who needed design to our door so we are forever grateful to them.

WHAT MAKES YOUR AGENCY STAND OUT? Our ability to marry art and commerce with the aim of exceeding at both.

We have also evolved as an agency from doing print and branding to specialising in spacial communications.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? I think the day-to-day running of the agency is tough enough, you don’t need a major crisis. There are client relationships, project constraints, managing expectations, staff issues and so on. We get better at choosing suitable clients as we mature as an agency.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT? I think I am always paranoid about failing. That pushes me to do better each time. I drink lots of wine!

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? It’s great. I’m not sure if it’s for everyone, but the perks outweigh the stress for me.

COULD YOU WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE AGAIN? The obvious answer would be no, but I’m not so sure – maybe one day when my priorities change. Like if I went into teaching for a change.

PLUSES OF BEING INDEPENDENT When you are independent you get to decide your own fate. You do not have to adhere to anyone’s agenda except yours. Whether to take on a project or not it’s entirely up to you. If you fail to achieve what you set out in the project there are also no excuses. I guess the benefit is that you do not have to deal with internal politics and all the other bulls---.

HOW DID YOU INITIALLY MARKET YOUR AGENCY? We were very fortunate to have BBH’s backing when we started. Jobs were already flowing through the door so we just concentrated on

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making great work and hoped that word of mouth would bring us new clients.

Winning awards also added to our profile significantly.

HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? My start in advertising gave me a grounded foundation of what the business world is like.

I learned the rules and then eventually how to break them. I am an ideas-driven designer and I got that training from my days at BBH.

THE INDEPENDENTS

THE ASYLUM HEADED BY

CHRIS LEE (FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR)

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD? There are many things that I’ve learned, mostly what not to do!

• No time sheets.

• No pitch unless it’s something extraordinary.

• Creatives are best suited to sell the work.

• Don’t grow too large.

• Contribute to the community.

ONE THING START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER IN THIS MARKET? You have to be different from everyone else.

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D GIVE ANYONE WANTING TO MAKE IT OUT ON THEIR OWN? Do it only when you are hungry enough. Only then will you not take failure as an answer.

WOULD YOU BE OPEN TO A BUYOUT? I’d never say never. But it has to be the right partner because we want to do bigger and more exciting projects globally.

DO YOU HAVE A FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOR THE AGENCY? We will continue to grow in terms of global projects and we want to be the first agency you think of when you want a branded environment.

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THE INDEPENDENTS

THE MEDIA SHOP HEADED BY

GARY TANG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR) & JESSICA TOH (REGIONAL BUSINESS DIRECTOR)

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Toh: I was thinking of joining an ad agency to help with business development and integrate media buying into the process when Gary mentioned that if I had my own plans, I should include him. It sounded brilliant at that time that we should do something together.

out. Every decision made often has a huge impact on someone’s professional or even personal life. It also affects the direction where the company is headed in. It will always be nice to work with someone who is able to mentor and motivate you. Striking out on your own means there are times when there is no one to point you in the right direction when needed.

Tang: There was actually no precise moment; after working in various media agencies in different capacities, I wanted to challenge myself, get out of my comfort zone and achieve something greater. And the timing was ideal too – Jessica and I were the first hires in a new media agency in 2008. We occasionally brought up this topic over lunches and eight months later, we decided Singapore really needed a local media independent and thus created The Media Shop.

Tang: It was fun for the first week, but reality set in quickly and we got down to business thereafter. Having a business partner to bounce off ideas helps too. Jessica and I may have differing views for certain matters, but we always have a shared goal for the company.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT? Toh: To me, every obstacle is always a learning experience which makes us wiser.

This might sound clichéd, but I am a firm believer of whatever does not kill you will make you stronger.

Tang: Always! Most clients and partners have become friends and we did not want to let them down. Therefore we make sure we are very transparent in our processes and do not hide anything. We maintain our highest integrity at all times and this in turn leads to complete trust developed with them.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? Toh: Being a boss means making decisions, sometimes in a spilt-second, day in and day

WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED OUT, HOW DID YOU MARKET YOUR AGENCY? HOW DID YOU GET CLIENTS ON BOARD? Toh: I am a people person. Through my stint at CNET Networks (now CBS Interactive), I got acquainted with many marketers. Hence, when some clients heard we were starting our own agency, they came forward and wanted us to manage their campaigns.

HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? Toh: I started as a sales person for a small local radio broadcaster. Being the underdog meant that we needed to work extra hard and be really creative to reel in the budget because we did not have the audience number compared with the bigger players. This honed my skill set and helped nurture that entrepreneur in me.

Tang: I was a sales associate with a free weekly lifestyle magazine before I joined a local start-up advertising agency (Fong Haque & Soh) as a media buyer. Subsequently, I worked in various reputable advertising/media agencies such as Monsoon, Optimedia, The Media Edge, Dentsu, UM and DWA. I am grateful to have had the privilege of working with many advertising/ media veterans along the way and this helped to shape me into the media person I am today.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING START-UPS NEED TO REMEMBER IN THIS MARKET? Toh: Always maintain that integrity when you conduct your business. There are times when you might get tempted to break one or two rules just to get ahead. Stay true and remember that karma will come back to bite you sooner or later.

Tang: For a start, nobody owes you a living.

You cannot expect concessions from anyone just because you are a new start-up. You have to earn their trust and this takes time, therefore you have to be patient. There are no shortcuts in life, unfortunately.

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Vathiyar: My wife and I had plans to work in China, but SARS put paid to that. So while bumming around, an ex-agency buddy asked me to help him out with a pitch. That’s how I was introduced to the independent agency model.

It looked easy (yes, I was that naïve!) and we won quite a few pitches together. One day I got a call from another friend (later turnedStanChart-client) who wanted help on the Manhattan card launch because their main agency was chockablock.

The catch was I had to be a registered entity to be paid as a vendor (she didn’t know my other friends well enough) so I spoke to two of my art director friends who were at the crossroads of their careers and that’s how Up was born.

WHICH YEAR DID YOU FIRST START UP? WHO WAS THE FIRST CLIENT YOU HAD ON BOARD? We registered the company on 19 July 2003 on Kuan Yin’s birthday (I’m slightly superstitious) and while technically we started off by working with StanChart on several projects, to us Uppers (that’s what we call ourselves), Discovery Channel is considered our first proper account because it didn’t just fall into our laps.

We pitched and won it against MNCs and retained it for close to five years.

It helped that the Discovery clients were some of the nicest clients one could start an agency with (thank you Kevin Dickie, Penny Hill and Harry Tan).

They were warm, engaging and receptive to our ideas, good pay masters and even submitted our work for awards and paid for medals and trophies when we won! A client like that today would get a shrine in their names.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? From getting stiffed by clients (try SG$450,000 from one client!) to losing key accounts, but to me, the toughest moments have been people-related.

We are a people business more than an ideas business because you need people to make anything happen.

So when people I invest in whole-heartedly turn out to be self-serving individuals, or worse develop a misguided sense of entitlement, those are my toughest moments. You feel let down. You even feel like asking these characters: “Where do you get the ego/sense of entitlement?”

But then you take a step back and become more contemplative. There will always be people who will disappoint you just as there will

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always be people who will warm your heart. In my 12 years at Up, the people who warm my heart have been far, far greater.

HOW DO YOU HANDLE FAILURE? If you can make peace with the worst-case scenario, there is nothing to fear.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? The little pick-me-up of being your own boss comes at a very high cost that only business owners know/understand. There are more stressful “own boss” days than there are rewarding “own boss” days.

I can totally understand why some people just pack it in and go back to MNC life again. If I were to do it, it would only be if my new boss is someone I truly admire and the challenge is irresistible.

THE INDEPENDENTS

UP & UP HEADED BY

ANAND A VATHIYAR (FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR)

HOW DID YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE AD WORLD SHAPE YOU? I’m a TV addict. I grew up with commercials and jingles, but my first experience in the ad world was when I was at university. I was late for a movie at Lido when I saw an advertising exhibition on at Isetan. As late as I was, I stopped to watch some of the TVCs. I will not forget this one anti-AIDS TVC. A pencil writes the word AIDS, gets flipped over and the word is rubbed off by its eraser head. A super then says, “Use a rubber”. So simple and so good.

It got me piqued and I started looking at ads with intent thereafter, until I discovered volume six of the One Show. I borrowed it from my cousin who was in production and I read every ad in that annual, even using a magnifying glass to read the unreadable body copy.

It became my Bible and I’d say my early writing was heavily influenced by it. Patrick Low, Mark Fong and Jim Aitchison subsequently stepped up to the pulpit to shape my career and to some extent, my life.

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WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN AGENCY? Wild: Yeo Ai Ling (founder and client services director) was in a global role based in the US with Lenovo Worldwide jet-setting, yet yearning to chase her dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

Ng Khee Jin (founder and creative director) was twiddling his thumbs in Perth where he thought he had relocated for good. Lee Kai Xin (interactive director) was raring for a purpose and excitement and joined a year later to head up Wild’s interactive arm.

We started in January 2010. We were fortunate to hit the ground running with projects from Lenovo, NETS, Singapore Press Holdings and Skin Inc. Today, we’re a 30-0 team.

TOUGHEST MOMENTS IN RUNNING YOUR AGENCY? Starting up from scratch was the toughest, yet most rewarding part of the journey. Looking for our first few clients and getting them to believe in a small start-up enough to give us projects; then finding the right resources to deliver on quality work as our reputation depended on every single project that we took on.

How did we overcome it? Sheer determination, a can-do attitude and great team work. We never back down from a challenge.

THE INDEPENDENTS

WILD ADVERTISING & MARKETING HEADED BY

YEO AI LING (FOUNDER & CLIENT SERVICES DIRECTOR) & NG KHEE JIN (FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR)

employees and partners. In short, being your own boss is empowering, but at the same time humbling.

PLUSES AND MINUSES OF BEING INDEPENDENT? The joys of independence is being able to focus on our objectives and goals more easily, being able to make decisions quickly and being able to decide what we want to work on and whom we want to work with.

The downside is the perception of some clients that, if you’re local, you’re not as good or well-resourced. Ad agencies can be a bit like fashion brands. Those who are less aware and confident will hang onto brand names. The initiated client, on the other hand, shops for ability, chemistry and a bespoke experience that only an independent brand can give.

HOW DID YOU MARKET YOUR AGENCY? Thankfully, between us, we had a good network of contacts to tap on. We got clients on board through our credentials and expertise of providing them with an integrated marketing perspective to their advertising and communications.

WERE YOU AFRAID OF FAILING? Failure is not an option. It’s only failure if you say it is. Failure is an attitude. We don’t do failure.

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR YEARS IN THE AD WORLD? That everyone is accountable for the work, whether you are an account executive or an art director. Everyone at Wild lives and breathes this.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS? Being your own boss means that if you have a problem, the buck stops with you so you just have to figure a way to solve it by hook or by crook.

Though you don’t have to manage upwards, you have a different set of stakeholders to manage such as your

DO YOU HAVE A FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOR THE AGENCY? 1. Make more money.

2. Broaden and strengthen our service offerings.

3. Enter new markets.

4. Make more money.

See? There’s so much clarity when you’re independent.

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MAKING THE MOST OF LOCALISED CONTENT With consumers so easily having access to global shows, does it make any sense for marketers to place their marketing dollars into expensive sponsorship deals?

Marketing explores how you can make the most out of your sponsorship dollars.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

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After a long day’s work, your favourite activity might be to sit on your cozy corner on the couch and watch the contestants belt it out on American Idol.

Sitting in Asia, especially a market as vivaciously cosmopolitan and globally in tune as Singapore, it is not hard for consumers to be up to date with their favourite series or shows in the US or UK. And so what if the programme isn’t aired in Singapore? With high-speed internet connections, there is always a way to feed your entertainment hunger.

Broadcasters have also been quick to realise that if they do not feed their audiences need for fresh content fast enough, their channels are at a risk of plummeting ratings. More and more, broadcasters are plastering the words “same day telecast” and “live” across their hottest programmes in a bid to lure in TV viewers – or at least, still keep the ones watching their channels hooked.

In recent years, there has also been a rise in localising global programmes to make it more local. This has led to the rise of shows such as Asia’s Got Talent, Asia’s Next Top Model and most recently MasterChef Asia, all taking on peak show time hours to grab more local eyeballs. Major brands such as Subaru, Unilever, Microsoft, Jetstar and many others have also been investing marketing dollars into sponsoring these shows.

With the advent of digitisation and the integration of social media into our daily lives, having global content reach diverse audiences is not a challenge. However, it does give rise to the question on whether it actually makes sense for brands today to invest their already stretched

“A good test of this (adapting global content) is actually to look at the challenge from the reverse perspective. Can content crafted for a local audience appeal to an international one? The answer is yes, if the stories are consistent with the Brand's values, and if those values transcend international borders.”

Jeremy Heng – director of strategy and content, Havas Media

marketing budgets into sponsoring localised content. Gale Choong, head of marketing at Unilever, is of the view that sponsorship only makes sense, and is beneficial, if it serves the objective of “delivering the intended reach with the right target audience”.

She adds that for brands, while original content is always preferred as it can leave room for moulding of content to suit the brand’s DNA, it also runs a higher risk factor.

“Original content is always the best as it can be customised to the brand. However, original content does requires a bigger budget to commission as opposed to adapted content. On top of that, original content means that it has never been aired and the success factor is largely unknown. For adapted content, it may have had its track record in the past and its loyal following,” Choong says.

Jeremy Heng, director of strategy and content at Havas Media, also adds the main concern today is not whether content reaches a diverse audience but rather whether the content resonates with audiences.

“Audiences today expect content and messaging to be personalised and relevant, otherwise they will be tuned out completely. There is no onesize-fits-all approach and localisation of content must go beyond simple direct translation,” he says.

“Audiences will appreciate consideration of local cultures, language, tones, phrases and even imagery.”

WHEN TO CONSIDER SPONSORSHIP Choong explains that for a brand to consider sponsorship of a piece of adapted content, the show must in the first place have a great fit with the brand and be able to elevate the brand to deliver better consumer affiliation.

Moreover, brands need to be very clear in the intent and objectives of sponsorship in the first place, and truly understand if the objectives can actually be delivered via such content. Plus, it goes without saying, if any localised show is looking to bag a brand sponsor it must have the backing of high ratings to reach the brand’s target audience.

Heng added that when adapting content for local audiences, brands need to ensure the branded stories must be consistent with the core positioning.

“A good test of this (adapting global content) is actually to look at the challenge from the reverse perspective. Can content crafted for a local audience appeal to an international one? The answer is yes, if the stories are consistent with the brand’s values, and if those values transcend international borders,” he says.

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LOCAL HOOK, GLOBAL LOOK

Jeannie Mai (host of How Do I Look? US; stage, extreme right) and Sazzy Falak (host of How Do I Look? Asia; stage; fifth from right) at the Singapore launch of How Do I Look? Asia.

It’s no secret that local productions of popular international formats have created a new wave in Asia’s television landscape. NBCUniversal International Networks’ leading women’s entertainment channel in the region, DIVA, premiered the Asian version of fashion makeover series How Do I Look? on 31 August to spectacular ratings success. The series, hosted by Malaysian actress and style icon Sazzy Falak, was sponsored

by Zalora throughout the region, as well as Malaysian sponsors Marigold Yoghurt Drink and Panasonic Beauty.

From a brand integration perspective, these adaptations offer a winning combination – the ability to target and resonate with the desired audience by adding locally relevant twists to internationally recognised formats they love.

But with a proliferation of local format adaptions emerging in the crowded TV market, how does a brand navigate through this rising trend?

NBCUniversal International Networks shares the insights into How Do I Look? Asia and how it offers the best solution for brand integration.

RESEARCH One of the early catalysts that led to the creation of How Do I Look? Asia was NBCUniversal’s “high heeled warriors” research study on the content consumption habits of women in Asia.

With DIVA being the leading women’s entertainment channel in Asia, it was very important the channel was aligned with the viewing preferences

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and aspirations of its core female audience. The study, conducted in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, revealed that fashioncentric makeover shows appealed to four to five in 10 women.

These findings complemented DIVA’s viewership figures, where the US version of How Do I Look?, hosted by Vietnamese American TV personality Jeannie Mai, regularly appeared on the channel’s ranking of top 10 shows.

Research, both in the form of qualitative and quantitative, plays a strong role in shaping NBCUniversal International Networks’ local production slate: the company places an emphasis on backing all its projects and brand integrations with solid, meaningful insights and data.

SYMPHONY NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, is part of the largest media and entertainment company in the world. A company wide initiative called “Symphony” encourages collaboration across the company’s many divisions.

In addition to NBCUniversal International Networks, it also owns NBCUniversal International Studios, which operates NBCUniversal Formats (the rights owners of the How Do I Look? format) and Matchbox Asia (the production house for How Do I Look? Asia).

Having the network, rights holders and production company under one roof ensures consistency in terms of goals and interests, resulting in an increased efficiency and opportunity for brand integration.

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EXPERTISE As an international company, NBCUniversal International Networks is deeply rooted in Asia, having developed an expertise in creative media solutions for brands across the region over the past years.

An example of this, which involved local market expertise for a globalcentric brand was an Indonesia-centric campaign for TRESemmé called “Journey to New York Fashion Week”, which involved six Indonesian fashion bloggers and TRESemmé Indonesia ambassador Mariana Renata on their once-in-a-lifetime trip to the New York Fashion Week.

Their experience was chronicled on E! News Asia vignettes that aired throughout the region on E!, NBCUniversal’s pop culture powerhouse.

Another example of global-meets-local expertise was Aznil’s LA Selfies, the gold winner for Best Media Solution (TV/Online Video) at the 2015 Spark Awards for Media Excellence.

The campaign involved sending popular Malaysian TV host Aznil Haji Nawawi to Los Angeles to interview top E! talent Kim Kardashian, Giuliana Rancic and Christina Milian. The crossover between Hollywood and Malay entertainment – something that rarely, if ever, occurred – generated huge buzz in the local media and record-breaking ratings in Malaysia for E!’s Live from the Red Carpet: Golden Globes.

This proven track record demonstrates NBCUniversal’s prowess in both international and local spheres, giving an edge to productions such as How Do I Look? Asia.

In addition to on-screen brand integration, on-ground activations involving How Do I Look?, Asia’s regional sponsor Zalora, as well as Malaysian sponsors Marigold Yoghurt Drink and Panasonic Beauty were also integral to the show’s success. Flip to the next page to check out the various activities that took place across the region!

RESULTS The successful results of How Do I Look? Asia is a testament to the insights that went behind the creation of the show. It performed particularly well in Malaysia, where series host Sazzy Falak is from, and the Philippines, where it was shot.

In Malaysia, the premiere of How Do I Look? Asia was the number one series out of 18 English general entertainment and lifestyle channels during its time slot among total viewers, adults 16+, women 16+, adults 20-44, women 20-44, and PMEBs (professionals, managers, executives and businessmen).

The show’s ratings exceeded its time slot average by 27% among Diva’s core demo, women 20-44, and attracted a young and well-balanced gender ratio, with both men and women viewers tuning in. In fact, 68% of the viewers were adults 39 years old and younger, which is 17% more than the channel average.

For more information or to find out more about how you can better integrate your brand with NBCUniversal International Networks’ local productions, contact us at info.asia@nbcuni.com.

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Publishing, a sunset industry as it is known, is seeing a revival of sorts. Be it through digital or events, it is evolving to meet the needs of its audience as well as advertisers.

In this year’s rankings, let’s take a look at which titles have done a great job in remaining top-of-the-mind of marketers.

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OVERALL MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. HER WORLD Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 169,000 (Nielsen Media Index 2014) Bagging the overall title is Her World. A refresh was done from its August issue onwards to present a more modern and luxurious publication. This year, every edition has been digitised and made available on tablets. The tablet viewer gets exclusive reads and photos and enhancements such as special videos, interactive quizzes and animations. A fully interactive edition has also launched with a refreshed reading experience.

2. 8 DAYS Published by: MediaCorp Frequency: Weekly Readership: 75,000 (publisher’s claim)

3. THE PEAK Published by: SPH Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 17,753 (publisher’s claim)

8 DAYS is now part of the English family segment at MediaCorp. This is for better operational synergy, in line with the company’s move to be more customercentric. It continues to be a family friendly content purveyor aimed at working adults. Its core target audience comprises avid, discerning consumers aged 25 to 44, with almost 40% of them PMEBs and nearly 20% being white-collar workers.

Claiming third spot in overall Magazine of the Year is The Peak. In November 2014, The Peak launched The Peak Power List – kicking off an annual event to recognise exemplary individuals who have shown marked achievements in their respective domains and through their successes. With its website, tablet edition, social media and eDM, The Peak engages its readers way beyond just print.

WOMEN’S MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. HER WORLD Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 169,000 (Nielsen Media Index 2014) One major highlight for Her World, which comes in first for Women’s Magazine of the Year, was its 55th anniversary. It has been one of the most read women’s magazines in Singapore for all its 55 years and to celebrate this, the team put together a special edition in July (its birthday month). The edition featured 55 young women who want it all and have it all.

2. CLEO Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 69,000 (AC Nielsen 2014)

3. THE SINGAPORE WOMEN’S WEEKLY Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 87,000 (AC Nielsen 2014)

Cleo comes in at number two. It refreshed its Cleo 50 Most Eligible Bachelors event, holding it outdoors for the first time. Creative use of sponsorship such as the client’s sun block spray cabins on the beach added to the fun. Hashtags, signage and shout-outs drove more than 1000 posts in one hour on social media, which is a key medium for Cleo readers – social media-savvy women aged

The Singapore Women’s Weekly continues to engage readers with a series of popular masterclass workshops in beauty, fashion, family and food. The magazine has appointed a new editorin-chief, Barbara Koh who was previously senior editor. New advertisers for the magazine include the likes of IKEA, Hada Labo, India Tourism, Emirates and many others.

WOMEN’S FASHION MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR HARPER’S BAZAAR Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 24,000 (AC Nielsen 2014) Climbing to top spot is Harper’s Bazaar Singapore.

This year it was host to the Bazaar Asia New Generation contest, which searched for new fashion talent from across the region. Harper’s Bazaar also launched a new website and brought on board new advertisers such as BMW Asia, Bentley Motors Singapore, Ermenegildo Zegna Far-East, Franck Muller and many others.

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FEMALE Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 100,000 (Nielsen Media Index 2014) The magazine targets the fashion-forward and dynamic woman who frequently indulges her fashion and beauty desires. Since its facelift in April 2014, Female has steadily refined its design and content and comes in at number two this year. In January, Female launched its website – an online portal that delivers fresh content on fashion, beauty, watches, jewellery and lifestyle.

STYLE: Published by: MediaCorp Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 40,000 (publisher’s claim) Nabbing third spot is Style:.

To meet the appetite of today’s digitally connected consumers, Style: magazine gathered an inner circle of digital curators who are lending their personal touch to the title. Style: short-listed five ambassadors who epitomise what Style: is all about. They were featured in the January 2015 issue with their fashion philosophy and snippets of their Instagram posts.

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MEN’S MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 2. ESQUIRE Published by: Mongoose Publishing Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 28,000 copies (publisher’s claim) Esquire takes home second spot for the category. The magazine is looking to revamp its website due to launch in 2016. Meanwhile, it is also continuously pushing for more gallery and video content on Facebook and Instagram. New advertisers that have come on board for the magazine include names such as Brunello Cucinelli, UGG, Orlebar Brown, Fred Perry, Beam Suntory, IWC and others.

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1. MEN’S HEALTH Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 75,000 (Nielsen Media Index 2014) Men’s Health takes the top spot in the Men’s Magazine of the Year category. The magazine targets readers aged from their 20s to 45. A majority of its readers are in their late 20s and 30s and are well-educated and have an above average personal monthly income of the median SG$4,386. Men’s Health has more than 20,000 online members, 161,000 monthly unique visitors and more than 397,000 page views each month to its website.

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3. NANYOU Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Biannual Circulation: 20,000 (publisher’s claim) Taking third position is Nanyou. The magazine targets bilingual folks who enjoy English and Chinese periodicals and Chineseeducated expatriates, postgraduates and students who want a trendy read. Over the past year it has had a major facelift. With a tweaked masthead and overall design, it now looks more premium, exclusive and fashion-focus than ever. This was to make Nanyou more relevant and a collector’s edition.

MEN’S FASHION MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. AUGUST MAN Published by: Burda Singapore Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 33,000 (publisher’s claim)

2. MEN’S FOLIO Published by: Heart Media Frequency: 10 issues per year Circulation: 36,000 (publisher’s claim)

3. STYLE: MEN Published by: MediaCorp Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 30,000 (publisher’s claim)

August Man takes home top spot again in the category. The magazine launched its first hard cover rule book titled Rules For The Modern Man this year and has plans to push out more diversified content. It is positioning itself as not just a magazine, but as one that plays an influential role in the lives of men in Singapore. It is currently exploring the idea of creating August Man-branded products.

Coming in at number two is Men’s Folio. It prides itself as the authority in men’s fashion and luxury.

Mens-Folio.com, its digital asset, offers readers with a penchant for the good life, the latest updates on the spiffiest runway looks and the coolest gadgets and hang-outs in town. The magazine claims to have a regional reach encompassing Malaysia and Indonesia.

Taking third spot is Style: Men. It remains focused on delivering its unique take on the menswear, watches and grooming industries.

Keeping up with the digital world, the magazine has also become far more active on social media, increasing the regularity of its postings. New advertisers for the magazine include Givenchy, Franck Muller, Bremont and Alfred Dunhill.

RATECARD 2015

TRAVEL MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. TRAVEL + LEISURE SOUTHEAST ASIA Published by: Media Transasia Limited Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 60,000 (SEA, Hong Kong and Macau (publisher’s claim)

2. BUSINESS TRAVELLER Published by: Panacea Publishing International Frequency: 10 times a year Circulation: 30,463 (audited by ABC)

3. ACTION ASIA Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Bimonthly Circulation: 58, 800 (publisher’s claim)

Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia underwent a complete redesign this summer.

It was aimed at better serving its on-the-go readers with ever-more informative information in bright, crisp layouts. It has been on tablets since 2010 and, in addition, the magazine is also active on social media with content tailored for digital users.

Coming in second is Business Traveller Asia.

It launched a loyalty programme called BT Plus and is working on a total revamp of its website. The rollout of its revamped website is targeted for the end of the year. Its online platform includes a website and weekly e-newsletter that services readers with regular updates.

Action Asia has become more explicit in its themes for its running through the issues. It has deepened engagement with key brands, including airlines and tourism boards. It created special engagements with advertisers such as a biking supplement with the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

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LUXURY MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. THE PEAK Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 17,753 (publisher’s claim)

2. SINGAPORE TATLER Published by: Edipresse Singapore Frequency: Monthly Publication: 16,000 (publisher’s claim)

3. PRESTIGE SINGAPORE Published by: Burda Singapore Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 17,128 (publisher’s claim)

Taking top spot this year is The Peak. New advertisers for the magazine came from the F&B, tourism, luxury jets and cruise sectors. Its website was revamped in July 2014 to give a richer web responsive experience, while the tablet edition with bonus content continues to reach new readers. Together with its fortnightly newsletter, The Peak must reads, Facebook and Instagram, it offers a multiplatform solution to advertisers.

This year Singapore Tatler takes home second spot in the category. Over the past year, the team at Singapore Tatler has been building its digital properties and currently has a strong digital and social media presence.

Its site sgtatler.com has reached a milestone of more than one million page views per month, with more than 120,000 unique visitors. In addition to its print titles, the magazine has also expanded its events and digital divisions.

Taking third place is Prestige Singapore. This year the magazine saw a change in its managing TH editor as Genevieve ANNIVERSARY Jiang took over the role from Dylan Boey.

Besides print, Prestige Singapore can also be reached and read via prestige-singapore.com.sg and through various social media platforms. Prestige Singapore is realigning its regional strategy and working on a soon-to-be launched luxury portal.

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CARTIER CELEBRATES PRESTIGE’S

IN-FLIGHT MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. SILVERKRIS Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 1.55 million (publisher’s claim)

2. JETSTAR Published by: Ink Global Frequency: Monthly Readership: 108,000 (publisher’s claim)

3. GOING PLACES Published by: Spafax Networks Frequency: Monthly Readership: 1.2 million (publisher’s claim)

SilverKris comes in first place for its category this year. Having gained traction on its website and tablet editions, SilverKris offers a multi-platform proposition to engage travellers at every stage of their journey, and for advertisers to promote their brands through a holistic integrated solution. The SilverKris website, silverkris.com, underwent a revamp in July 2014 to enhance user engagement.

Jetstar comes in second this year. It launched a multimedia style cover last year that was unique and a first for Singapore-based low cost carriers. New advertisers that have come on board include Marina Bay Sands, Under Armour, Faber Peak Singapore, Kooks Wine, St Giles Hotel and others. The magazine continues to provide coverage on destination features, travel-related stories, food, arts and culture.

Coming in third this year is Going Places. Publisher Spafax has plans to launch a new first and business class magazine for Malaysia Airlines in November 2015.

Going Places continues to come up with innovative ways of marketing its digital assets. It launched its first Going Places Readers Choice Awards campaign in June 2015 which allows readers to vote for the best travel and lifestyle brands.

MOTOR VEHICLE MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. TORQUE Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 25,000 (Nielsen Media Index 2013) Torque claims top spot in its category. The magazine continues to add to its reports-relevant sidebars and important snippets to make its articles related to driving even more entertaining and educational.

Its latest offering, Torque After-Hours, seeks to expand motorists’ horizons even more by inviting them to exclusive test drives, educational workshops and entertaining car launches.

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2. TOP GEAR Published by: Big Bang Media Frequency: Monthly Readership: 25,000 (publisher’s claim)

3. WHEELS ASIA MAGAZINE Published by: Regent Media Frequency: Monthly Readership: 35,000 (publisher’s claim)

Top Gear maintains the second spot this year in its category. It recently joined forces with GrabTaxi to offer BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports cars and the allelectric BMW i3 car rides to both GrabTaxi and GrabCar users. It continuously features the latest personal and automotive gadgets. For readers to keep updated on all-things motoring, Top Gear also remains active on social media.

Wheels Asia claims third spot this year. Its website launch served to make the title more interactive and informative. The magazine continues to entice car enthusiasts for the latest news on the automotive industry. Some of its advertisers include Kah Motor, TVG, Komoco Motors and Trans Eurokars. Wheels Asia aims to be an indispensable journal for motorists.

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CONSUMER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. HWM Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 86,300 (publisher’s claim)

2. STUFF Published by: Haymarket Media Asia Frequency: Quarterly Readership: 30,000 (publisher’s claim)

HWM clinches the top spot for its category.

According to the magazine, HWM targets readers who love technology. It aims to guide readers through their passion and interest in all things tech – be it mobile phones to the latest games on the console and PC, high-definition TVs to all-rounder cameras.

With its range, scope and depth, HWM prides itself for its industry leading product reviews, as well as features and shoot-outs. Moving forward, it wants to give consumers the reliable trust they need to make informed decisions before buying the technology they want.

Stuff magazine takes second spot again this year.

The magazine continues to provide in-depth gadget reviews while building its audience both in print and online. It has switched to a quarterly print format to focus on its online site at www.stuff.tv. The magazine writes for both promoted and sponsored posts on top of its regular editorial content. Stuff has a presence on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and is active with its handle @Stuff_SG.

CHINESE MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. I-WEEKLY Published by: MediaCorp Frequency: Weekly Readership: 125,000 (publisher’s claim)

2. ICON Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 15,513 (publisher’s claim)

i-Weekly comes in first in its category this year. The magazine continues to provide insider scoops on local and regional stars, TV and movie updates as well as the latest in lifestyle trends, hotspots, malls and restaurants. Most recently, readers are able to download the digital copies of i-Weekly in the Magzter store through exclusive digital bundles.

Exclusive and current content is being pushed out on i-Weekly’s social platforms including Facebook and Instagram. In August 2015, i-Weekly’s website on toggle (iweekly.toggle. sg) also had a refreshed look, and there are plans to further expand the content on the site to drive web traffic and views.

ICON maintains second spot this year. The magazine celebrated 10 years in print in April 2015 with its grandest ICON Ball in its history. As a prelude in April, ICON presented an exhibition in partnership with ION Orchard to display specially curated covers from the past decade. Meanwhile, ICON’s website was revamped in October 2014 to better integrate with its print and tablet editions. Complementing this is the strategic use of social media channels, not just to engage, but as a means to generate content via active participation and involvement from readers and followers. The publication also garnered new advertisers from fashion, jewellery, interior furnishing, and F&B sectors.

PARENTING MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. YOUNG PARENTS Published by: SPH Magazines Frequency: Monthly Readership: 27,000 (Nielsen Media Index 2014) Young Parents takes first spot in its category.

Besides expert advice and features on local trends, it also offers leisure ideas and practical recipes for parents. In addition, Young Parents has a strong presence online with a dedicated website, Facebook page, Instagram account, as well as e-versions available on the iPad and Android, and on Magzter.

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2. PARENTS WORLD Published by: RedTree Group Frequency: Bimonthly Readership: 50,000 (publisher’s claim)

3. MOTHERHOOD Published by: Eastern Holdings Limited Frequency: Monthly Readership: 30,000 (publisher’s claim)

Coming in second, Parents World features parenting articles for kids up to 12 years old. It also organises various events and road shows, targeting modern, working parents and parents-to-be aged 25 to 50. Its readers seek insight on parenthood while maintaining a balanced lifestyle. The digital copy of the magazine is also available on Magzter and Booktique.

Coming in third, Motherhood magazine aspires to give parents a firm footing as they start an exciting and promising journey. With its coverage of parenting topics and more, the magazine aims to be a guide for parents to have handy during their child’s growing years. One of its features BUMP + BEYOND provides expecting mothers with the latest insights on pregnancy and motherhood.

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FOOD MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. WINE & DINE Published by: Wine & Dine Experience Frequency: Monthly Readership: 35,000 (publisher’s claim)

2. EPICURE Published by: Magazines Integrated Frequency: Monthly Readership: 9,765 (audited by ABC SG)

3. FOOD & TRAVEL Published by: Regent Media Frequency: Monthly Readership: 50,000 (publisher’s claim)

Coming in first in its category is Wine & Dine.

The past year saw its website revamped, and a monthly e-newsletter on the latest dining trends has been launched. An app that mirrors Singapore’s top restaurants will also be officially launched soon. Lifestyle-themed stories were cut back, and new food and wine columns were introduced to expand and deepen the editorial coverage on those topics.

Claiming second spot yet again is Epicure. The past year saw the magazine expanding aggressively into Indonesia to capitalise on the booming cuisine scenes in Jakarta and Bali. The monthly publication Epicure Indonesia is now managed directly through the Singapore office. The publication also launched Epicure Society to generate and enhance its targeted audience participation in Singapore and Indonesia.

Food & Travel takes third spot this year. The magazine invites readers to experience a world of cooking and travelling that satisfies the hunger for the good life. Now in its eighth year of publication, it consistently delivers coverage on home entertaining, destinations and dining to a passionate readership. According to the magazine, it is geared towards providing practical, relevant information and content.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. 8 DAYS Published by: MediaCorp Frequency: Weekly Readership: 75,000 (publisher’s claim) 8 Days maintains its top spot this year. The magazine is now part of the English family segment at MediaCorp, along with Channel 5, Class 95 and Gold 90.5. This is for better operational synergy and in line with the company’s move to be more customer-centric, it said in a statement. It continues to be a family friendly content purveyor aimed at working adults.

2. I-S MAGAZINE Published by: Asia City Media Group Frequency: Monthly Readership: 30,000 (publisher’s claim) JANUARY 2 - 22, 2015

I-S Magazine comes in second this year.

It rebranded as SG Magazine to reinforce its commitment to covering the very best in Singapore, from local initiatives to exciting events. Digitally, the magazine invested in its website SGNow.sg. It has acquired new advertisers such as Heineken, Ce La Vi, KLM and AirAsia to name a few.

New Year, New Name!

S G M A G A Z I N E # 6 6 9 | P R E V I O U S LY I - S M A G A Z I N E since 1995

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS

what’s on what’s new what matters

Along the Golden Mile, by Darren Soh—see ART page 8 Discover this and more than 75 awesome things to see and do in the next two weeks, inside.

WELLNESS

NEW BAR

TRAVEL

TECH

12 Ways to Start 2015 Right

Craft beer at Nickeldime Drafthouse

Climbing and more in Krabi

Smart Appliances

EXPAT LIVING Published by: Expat Living Publications Frequency: Monthly Readership: 18,455 (audited by ABC Singapore) Expat Living magazine takes third spot in its category. This year also saw Expat Living launch its Instagram account plus an increase in Facebook followers to more than 13,000 likes. It also launched the style pages to showcase its fashion and beauty content. Expat Living has seen a marked increase in the number of new advertisers coming on board this year.

LOCAL BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW Published by: Charlton Media Frequency: Bimonthly Circulation: 24,737 (audited by ABC Singapore) SBR continues to dominate the category this year.

To further establish its foothold as a premier discussion starter, SBR is now organising the Industry Insights Series, a two-day event aimed at gathering business leads to discuss best practices and address various issues in every industry. Some of its new advertisers include AIA, KazNet Media, Imagination and others.

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2. THE SME MAGAZINE Published by: Singapore Press Holdings Frequency: Bimonthly Circulation: 35,000 (publisher’s claim. It is distributed with The Business Times ) Over the course of the past year, the title streamlined sections of the magazine to create space for articles which gave relevant and practical tips for its businesses, including those on legal matters, banking, cash flow management and productivity enhancement. New advertisers include BCA and Dubai Airport Freezone.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

“IT’S ABOUT LEARNING HOW TOYOTA MAKES A CAR, AND APPLYING IT TO SUSHI.” DOUGLAS FOO, FOUNDER OF SAKAE HOLDINGS

3. BIZQ Published by: Publicitas Publishing Frequency: Quarterly Circulation: 21,500 (E-circulation, publisher’s claim) Since July 2015, the magazine has had a facelift following SBF’s appointment of a new publisher, Publicitas Publishing, replacing SPH. The entirely new editorial and design team started work on the magazine from July 2015 and the editorial framework was streamlined for clarity, readability and better flow. A new attractive masthead design was also introduced.

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MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

REGIONAL NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. THE ECONOMIST Published by: Economist Asia Frequency: Weekly Circulation: 1,547,562 (ABC audited circulation for Jan to June 2015) The Economist continues to be the top winner in the category. In February Zanny Minton Beddoes took Washington, over as editor-in-chief of The Economist. She was we have a problem... formerly the business affairs editor and became the first female editor of The Economist. As part of the new editorial team, Tom Standage was appointed deputy editor with specific responsibility for the publications digital strategy. In the past 12 months notable digital-led launches have included Economist Espresso, which provides a short daily shot of Economist analysis on smartphones and the desk top; Global Business Review, an app that offers a selection of Economist articles in English and Chinese and others. The magazine now has more than 10 million Twitter followers and six million Facebook fans.

INSIDE THIS WEEK: TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY Brazil disappoints, again

Primark’s retail revolution

Angela Merkel’s uncommon courage The magic of migrant money

SEPTEMBER 5TH–11TH 2015

Economist.com

Australia. . ...... A$11(Inc.GST) Bangladesh. . . . . . . . . . . . .TK470 Cambodia. . . . . . . . . . . . US$8.00 China. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RMB 75

Making cycling less deadly

Hong Kong. . . . . . . . . . . . .HK$ 80 India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 Indonesia. . . . . . . . . . Rp77,000 Japan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¥1,143+Tax

Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . Won 11,000 Malaysia. . . . . . . . . . . . . RM25.50 Myanmar. . . . . . . . . . . . .US$8.00 Nepal. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . NR490

New Zealand . . . . . . . NZ$13.00 Pakistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rs640 Philippines. . . . . . . . ..Pesos385 Singapore . . S$12.50 (Inc.GST)

Sri Lanka. . . . . . . . . . . . ..Rs1,000 Taiwan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NT$275 Thailand. . . . . . . . . . . . . Baht 300 Vietnam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . US$8.00

2. TIME Published by: TIME Inc Frequency: Weekly Circulation : 229,535 (audited by HK ABC, for FY 2014) TIME continues to capture events that shape lives through exceptional reporting, writing and photography, targeting influentials and opinion China’s leaders. It launched a new look aimed at enhancing New March and simplifying the reading experience with three new sections covering a wider range of topics. It also launched a year-long integrated project on space, following astronaut Scott Kelly on the longest space mission in American history. TIME.com is constantly evolving to simplify its site structure to enhance user experience and launching innovative ad units that are high impact, as well as enhancing ad viewability. TIME.com generated 52 million monthly unique visits (UVs), up +4% YOY, with 58% of UVs generated by mobile traffic.

SE P T E MBE R 21, 2015

BEIJING IS FLEXING ITS MUSCLE. SHOULD THE WORLD WORRY?

By Hannah Beech

Soldiers in formation during a massive military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3

time.com

REGIONAL BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 1. FORBES ASIA Published by: Forbes Media Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 80,000 (publisher’s claim) Forbes Asia retains its top spot in the category again this year. Serving as Asia Pacific’s definitive voice celebrating entrepreneurial capitalism and business, it identifies and profiles Asia’s noteworthy individuals in every edition. Forbes Asia presents relevant local features and authoritative reporting that is especially engaging to Asia’s most influential and successful business leaders.

2. BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK Published by: Bloomberg LP Frequency: Weekly Circulation: 41,118 (International APAC edition, audited by ABC) Helmed by Ellen Pollock, Bloomberg Businessweek’s content, design and reach is stronger than ever.

Businessweek lives online at Bloomberg.com which was totally redesigned and launched globally in January 2015 and in October it launches the Asia version of the site. New advertisers for the title include BNY Mellon, Singapore Tourism Board, UBS, Lexus, Samsung and others.

METHODOLOGY HOW DID WE ACHIEVE THIS? The Magazine 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.

3. FORTUNE Published by: TIME Inc Frequency: Monthly + 4 quarterly specials Circulation : 85,336 (audited by HK ABC FY 2014) Targeting the business elites, affluent and influentials Fortune pumped up its editorial with new tech hires from Gigaom and launched new editorial features such as The FORTUNE Accelerator, Change the World list, The Future of Work and BioInnovation. Launched in June 2014, Fortune. com’s unique visits reached 15.9 million in August 2015, up +100% YOY.

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 vel and tourism companies comp participated in the survey.

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

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 managerlevel decision-makers and above with more than 14% from the most

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JUDGES Kelvin Tan, chief marketing officer, A&W Restaurants, Indonesia Nadina Tyropoli, brand activation director, Southeast Asia and Pacific, adidas Schrene Goh, head of ancillary marketing, AirAsia Louise Eyres, group GM of marketing, ANZ Bank Nick Hickford, general manager – marketing and innovation, Bulla Dairy Foods Australia Maneet Jolly, general manager of marketing, Castrol India Essa Alvi, associate GM of marketing, Colgate Palmolive Pakistan Clarence Lin, vice-president, group strategic marketing and communications, DBS Bank Karmin Jah Jah, director of marketing, Dell Asia Pacific and Japan Betty Chan, director of marketing, Four Seasons Resorts Thailand Mainak Dhar, managing director, General Mills India Soriano Nicanor Lazaro, head, student recruitment, admissions and partnerships, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore Deepali Naair, chief marketing officer, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India Deborah Goldingham, head of marketing, Southeast Asia, MasterCard Ben Foo, marketing director, McDonald’s Malaysia Jo Mitchell, head of marketing, McDonald’s NZ Dr Jens Niedzielski, group director of marketing communications, Minor Hotel Group Trent Young, head of marketing, Nestlé Garland Mak, deputy general manager of international marketing, Nikon Singapore Amir Widjaya, SVP, head of marketing, PermataBank Indonesia Tessa Er, vice-president, resort marketing, Resorts World Sentosa Sarah-Jane Smith, senior manager, marcom and resident relations, SC Global Developments Georgina Williams, director of marketing and communications, ANZ, SilverNeedle Hospitality Charlotte Schraa, general manager, marketing and communications, Telstra

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THE REGION’S TOP EVENTS HONOURED AT MARKETING EVENTS AWARDS

William Grant & Sons and its agency GOODSTUPH rose comfortably to the top position at the fourth annual Marketing Events Awards in Singapore.

More than 300 senior event marketers and planners from across South Asia, Southeast Asia and ANZ came together to celebrate the year’s leading events at the Grand Hyatt Singapore.

Competition was tough, but the 127-year-old Scottish distiller and its Singaporean agency trumped the other finalists with a trophy tally of five gold awards, two silver and two bronze across nine categories to take out the coveted titles of Event Marketer of the Year and Event Agency of the Year for 2015.

William Grant & Sons and GOODSTUPH scored for two main events, “The Valley of the Deer” luxury experience for the Glenfiddich brand and the “Grant’s – It’s the Ship” party.

Awarded four gold for Best Digital Integration, Best Event Ambience (Consumer), Best Event Production and Best Multi-Channel Campaign, one silver for Best Event for the Press/Media and one bronze for Best Use of Technology “The Valley of the Deer” experience brought the whisky distillery experience to the Malaysian market through highly immersive experiences.

This included the integration of new interactive touch-based technology with traditional whisky tours, drawing on the brand’s long heritage and story. Held at the Carcosa Seri Negara colonial mansions in Kuala Lumpur, the four-day event received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the thousands of guests who attended and surpassed the brand’s objectives, securing its position in the challenging Malaysian market.

The “Grant’s – It’s the Ship” event took on a different approach to elevate the Grant’s whisky brand among young working men in Southeast Asia.

William Grant & Sons capitalised on Asia’s largest party cruise, “It’s the Ship”, to build the brand image using party lovers and a lively young crowd by offering them epic experiences. The promise to partygoers was: “You provide the company. We provide the courage.” Through unique games called “broments” and 96 hours of brand exposure with on-ship branding, activations and activities, Grant’s whisky became the

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drink of choice and well and truly established itself in the minds of the target market.

It also saw the team bag one gold for Best Sponsorship Activation, one silver for Best Event for a Targeted Community and one bronze for Best Event for a Product Launch/Relaunch.

DBS Bank was the second-highest scoring brand of the night with a trophy haul that included four gold for Best B2B Event, Best Digital Integration (B2B), Best Home-Grown Event, Best Venue Experience and two bronze for Best B2B Event and Best Use of Venue. This gave it a score of 18 according to the awards’ standard exponential-weighted point system (four points for gold, two points for silver and one point for bronze).

The DBS Marina Regatta 2015 event impressed the jury with its conceptualisation, strategy and overall results. The fourth edition of the dragon boating competition and water sports festival attracted about 24,000 attendees over three consecutive weekends.

This year grew on the successes of previous editions under the theme of “Ignite the bay!” and lived up to its position as “Singapore’s biggest water sports festival” with sensory experiences, offline-online integration, art installations and many activations on land as well as the water races to increase awareness of water sports in Singapore beyond just the dragon boating community.

Other high-scoring brands at the awards included Sport Singapore for the 28th SEA Games; The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands for its Christmas and luxury relaunch campaigns; Asia Pacific Breweries for Heineken’s “The Transporter” and “Cities Festival” party events; the Google high-tech “Closer” experience and the “Great Eastern Women’s Run.” On the agency front, Pico Art International, Golin Singapore, Jack Morton Worldwide, The Events Artery, Make Studios and iris worldwide (Singapore) achieved impressive results for their brands’ events.

All winners were carefully determined by a panel of senior marketing professionals from leading brands that included adidas, General Mills, MasterCard, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Nikon and more.

A total of 92 trophies were awarded to the region’s best events and The Marketing Events Awards 2015 was supported by partners Grand Hyatt Singapore, Choice Wines International and Peroni Nastro Azzurro.

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EVENT MARKETER OF THE YEAR | WILLIAM GRANT & SONS

What the winner had to say: “At William Grant & Sons, freedom to lose embodies our marketing philosophy – the prerogative to push boundaries and take calculated risks in an incubated environment, the attitude of family before team, before individuals and the tenacity to break ceilings is what we believe creates experiential campaigns that consistently exceed conceptual brilliance and bridges commercial realism. We strive as individual levers, but within a system that continuously evolves and develops and we achieve as a team, as a family.”

– Marcus Low, regional marketing manager, Southeast Asia and third party markets, William Grant & Sons (Singapore)

EVENT AGENCY OF THE YEAR | GOODSTUPH

What the winner had to say: “At GOODSTUPH, we create not just events, but events in social networks and communities, held in social places. An event, while it lives on the ground for the moment that it is activated, lives for a much longer time online and in social headspaces.

Events are an integral part to social influence, as they create content. So when piecing these experiences together, you aren’t only thinking about the product, but the experience of the consumer every step of the way. They say a picture paints a thousand words, but an experience, much more.”

– Eugenia Tan, director of strategy, GOODSTUPH 6 2 MARKETING O C TO BER 2015

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BEST ARTS EVENT

BEST B2B EVENT

GOLD

Client: National Gallery Singapore Campaign: Naked Museum Agency: DeVries Global

GOLD

Client: DBS Bank Campaign: I Remember Broadway Agency: The Events Artery

SILVER

Client: National Youth Council, Singapore Campaign: SHINE Festival 2015 – #BuildYourWorld Agency: The Events Artery

SILVER

Client: Hewlett Packard (HP) Campaign: HP Consumer Partner Summit 2015 Agency: PMG Asia Pacific

BRONZE

Client: National Gallery Singapore Campaign: Portraits of the People Agency: Pico Art International

BRONZE

Client: DBS Bank Brand: DBS Asian Insights Campaign: Asian Insights 2015 – Igniting Possibilities for the Asia of Tomorrow Agency: MLA

BEST CONSISTENCY IN BRANDING

BEST CONSUMER EVENT

GOLD

Client: Canon Singapore Campaign: Canon PhotoMarathon XII 2014

GOLD

Client: Sport Singapore Campaign: 28th SEA Games

SILVER

Client: SC Asset Campaign: Farm Rak by SC Asset Agency: amcasia! Thailand

SILVER

Client: Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore Brand: Heineken Campaign: Heineken Green Room: The Transporter Agency: iris worldwide (Singapore)

BRONZE

Client: MasterCard Campaign: MasterCard® Legends Academy 2014 Agency: Octagon

BRONZE

Client: Parkway Pantai Brand: Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital Campaign: Hospital Land Agency: Cum. m+d

BEST DIGITAL INTEGRATION (B2B)

BEST DIGITAL INTEGRATION (CONSUMER)

GOLD

Client: DBS Bank Brand: Asian Insights Campaign: Asian Insights 2015 – Igniting Possibilities for the Asia of Tomorrow Agencies: Havas, CNBC, Aegis Media Digital Asia Pacific, Switch, Clickr Media

GOLD

Client: William Grant & Sons Brand: Glenfiddich Campaign: The Valley of the Deer Agencies: GOODSTUPH, Make Studios

SILVER

Client: Hewlett Packard (HP) Campaign: HP Consumer Partner Summit 2015 Agency: PMG Asia Pacific

SILVER

Client: Google Brand: Google+ Campaign: Closer Agency: Jack Morton Worldwide

BRONZE

Client: Ageing Asia Campaign: 6th Ageing Asia Innovation Forum 2015

BRONZE

Client: Canon Singapore Brand: Canon Campaign: EOS World Agency: Dentsu Singapore

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BEST EVENT AMBIENCE (B2B)

BEST EVENT AMBIENCE (CONSUMER)

GOLD

Client: Twitter Campaign: #EastMeetsWest Agency: George P. Johnson (Singapore)

GOLD

Client: William Grant & Sons Brand: Glenfiddich Campaign: The Valley of the Deer Agencies: GOODSTUPH, Make Studios, Pico Art

SILVER

Client: Hewlett Packard (HP) Campaign: HP Consumer Partner Summit 2015 Agencies: PMG Asia Pacific, The Events Network

SILVER

Client: Unilever Singapore Brand: Magnum Campaign: The World’s First Magnum Infinity Playground Agency: Golin Singapore

BRONZE

Client: Pernod Ricard Singapore Brand: Aberlour Single Malt Whisky Campaign: Launch of Aberlour Agency: Whitewords

BRONZE

Client: Sport Singapore Campaign: SEA Games Carnival @ Sports Hub Agencies: Unusual Productions, Adventurer’s

BEST EVENT FOR A PRODUCT LAUNCH/RELAUNCH

BEST EVENT FOR A TARGETED COMMUNITY

GOLD

Client: Unilever Singapore Brand: Magnum Campaign: The World’s First Magnum Infinity Playground Agency: Golin Singapore

GOLD

Client: National Youth Council, Singapore Campaign: SHINE Festival 2015 – #BuildYourWorld Agency: The Events Artery

SILVER

Client: Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore Brand: Heineken Campaign: Winning the City Back From Competition Agency: iris worldwide (Singapore)

SILVER

Client: William Grant & Sons Brand: Grant’s Blended Scotch Whisky Campaign: Grant’s – It’s The Ship Agency: GOODSTUPH

BRONZE

Client: William Grant & Sons Brand: Grant’s Blended Scotch Whisky Campaign: Grant’s – It’s The Ship Agency: GOODSTUPH

BRONZE

Client: Mead Johnson Nutrition (M) Brand: Enfagrow A+ Campaign: Enfagrow A+ Brain Expo 2015 Agency: Cake Experiential Communications (Asia)

BEST EVENT FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE

BEST EVENT FOR THE PRESS/MEDIA

GOLD

Client: Housing & Development Board Brand: SG Heart Map Campaign: SG Heart Map Agencies: Pico Art International, Black Design, Ong & Ong

GOLD

Client: Unilever Singapore Brand: Magnum Campaign: The World’s First Magnum Infinity Playground Agency: Golin Singapore

SILVER

Client: Toyota Campaign: Toyota Classics Agency: Dentsu Singapore

SILVER

Client: William Grant & Sons Brand: Glenfiddich Campaign: The Valley of the Deer Agencies: Ketchum Singapore, Text 100 Malaysia, GOODSTUPH

BRONZE

Client: Watsons Malaysia Campaign: Move Your Body Zumba Fitness Agency: The Hot Shoe Show & Co.

BRONZE

Client: Unilever Philippines Brand: Knorr Campaign: Knorr Lutong Nanay (the Wonders of MomCooked Meals) Agencies: Ogilvy, Bridges PR

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BEST EVENT PRODUCTION

BEST EVENT WEBSITE

GOLD

Client: William Grant & Sons Brand: Glenfiddich Campaign: The Valley of the Deer Agencies: GOODSTUPH, Pico Art

GOLD

Client: Toyota Campaign: Toyota Classics Agency: Dentsu Singapore

SILVER

Client: Sport Singapore Campaign: SEA Games Carnival @ Sports Hub Agencies: Unusual Productions, Adventurer’s

SILVER

Client: amc experience!

Campaign: 24SEVENS FOOTBALL

BRONZE

Client: Unilever Singapore Brand: Magnum Campaign: The World’s First Magnum Infinity Playground Agency: Golin Singapore

BRONZE

Client: Ogilvy & Mather Brand: ogilvydo Campaign: ogilvydo Cannes Lions Channel

BEST EXHIBITION EVENT

BEST GOVERNMENT SECTOR EVENT

GOLD

Client: Housing & Development Board Brand: SG Heart Map Campaign: SG Heart Map Agencies: Pico Art International, Black Design, Ong & Ong

GOLD

Client: Sport Singapore Campaign: 28th SEA Games

SILVER

Client: Mead Johnson Nutrition (M) Brand: Enfagrow A+ Campaign: Enfagrow A+ Brain Expo 2015 Agency: Cake Experiential Communications (Asia)

SILVER

Client: Land Transport Authority Campaign: Transport & You(th) Hackathon

BRONZE

Client: Science Centre Singapore in partnership with Newman Entertainment Campaign: Human Body Experience Exhibition Agency: Golin Singapore

BRONZE

Client: Housing & Development Board Campaign: SG Heart Map Agencies: Pico Art International, Black Design, Ong & Ong

BEST HOME-GROWN EVENT

BEST MULTI-CHANNEL CAMPAIGN

GOLD

Client: DBS Bank Campaign: DBS Marina Regatta 2015

GOLD

Client: William Grant & Sons Brand: Glenfiddich Campaign: The Valley of the Deer Agencies: GOODSTUPH, Ketchum

SILVER

Client: Great Eastern Life Brand: Great Eastern Women’s Run Campaign: Great Eastern Women’s Run 2014

SILVER

Client: Procter & Gamble Indonesia Brand: Downy Campaign: Downy Rekindling the Passion Agency: MediaCom Indonesia

BRONZE

Client: Canon Singapore Campaign: Canon PhotoMarathon XII 2014

BRONZE

Client: Science Centre Singapore Campaign: Transformers 30th Anniversary Exhibition Agency: Golin Singapore

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BEST POP-UP SHOP

BEST PR/GUERRILLA MARKETING STUNT

GOLD

Client: Unilever Brand: Sunsilk Campaign: Sunsilk Pop-Up Salon Agency: Mindshare

GOLD

Client: ONE Championship Campaign: ONE: WARRIOR’S QUEST

SILVER

Client: ZALORA Singapore, Jade-E Services Singapore Campaign: ZALORA Click-and-Mortar Pop-up at Orchard ION

SILVER

Client: Vanilla Luxury Campaign: Valentine Vendetta

BRONZE

Client: Nestlé Malaysia Campaign: Lebih Nilai, Lebih Funtastik Agency: The Hot Shoe Show & Co.

BRONZE

Client: Tune Group Campaign: Penalty Kick Redemption Agency: Moving Walls

BEST SPONSORSHIP ACTIVATION

BEST SPORTS-ORIENTED EVENT

GOLD

Client: William Grant & Sons Brand: Grant’s Blended Scotch Whisky Campaign: Grant’s – It’s The Ship Agency: GOODSTUPH

GOLD

Client: Great Eastern Life Brand: Great Eastern Women’s Run Campaign: Great Eastern Women’s Run 2014

SILVER

Client: Great Eastern Life Brand: Great Eastern Women’s Run Campaign: Great Eastern Women’s Run 2014

SILVER

Client: HSBC Campaign: HSBC Women’s Champions 2015 Agency: Jack Morton Worldwide

BRONZE

Client: HSBC Campaign: HSBC Women’s Champions 2015 Agency: Jack Morton Worldwide

BRONZE

Client: MasterCard Campaign: MasterCard® Legends Academy 2014 Agency: Octagon

BEST USE OF INFLUENCERS

BEST USE OF MALLS/SHOPPING CENTRES

GOLD

Client: The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Campaign: Celebrate the Spirit of Giving at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

GOLD

Client: The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Campaign: Celebrate the Spirit of Giving at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

SILVER

Client: MasterCard Campaign: MasterCard Priceless New Year’s Eve (featuring Hugh Jackman) Agency: Octagon

SILVER

Client: The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Campaign: The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Luxury Relaunch: Discover Your Key to a World of Luxury

BRONZE

Client: Procter & Gamble Brand: SK-II Campaign: SK-II #changedestiny Google+ Hangout with Cate Blanchett in collaboration with Luxola.com Agency: DeVries Global

BRONZE

Client: C. K. Tang Ltd Brand: TANGS Campaign: Shop For Good 2014

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BEST USE OF RETAIL/IN-STORE MARKETING

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

GOLD

Client: TGV Cinemas Campaign: Frozen Sing-A-Long

GOLD

Client: Spectrum Worldwide & Standard Chartered Bank Campaign: Standard Chartered Marathon 2015 – Digital Queue Agency: Socialyse – Havas Media

SILVER

Client: Procter & Gamble Brand: SK-II Campaign: SK-II #changedestiny Museum 2015 Agency: DeVries Global

SILVER

Client: Google Brand: Google+ Campaign: Closer Agency: Jack Morton Worldwide

BRONZE

Client: Citibank Singapore Campaign: Surprise And Delight – Citibank Chinese New Year Campaign 2015 Agency: 360 Communications

BRONZE

Client: Sport Singapore – Singapore Southeast Asian Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) Campaign: 28th SEA Games Agency: Starcom Mediavest Group Singapore

BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY

BEST USE OF VENUE

GOLD

Client: Google Brand: Google+ Campaign: Closer Agency: Jack Morton Worldwide

GOLD

Client: Art & Performance Festival Melaka Campaign: Melaka Art & Performance Festival (MAPFest) 2014 Agency: E-Plus Entertainment Productions (M)

SILVER

Client: Shell Campaign: Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2015 Agency: Imagination

SILVER

Client: National Youth Council, Singapore Campaign: SHINE Festival 2015 – #BuildYourWorld Agency: The Events Artery

BRONZE

Client: William Grant & Sons Brand: Glenfiddich Campaign: The Valley of the Deer Agencies: GOODSTUPH, Make Studios

BRONZE

Client: DBS Bank Campaign: DBS Marina Regatta 2015 Agency: MLA

BEST VENUE EXPERIENCE

MOST IMMERSIVE EVENT EXPERIENCE

GOLD

Client: DBS Bank Campaign: DBS Marina Regatta 2015 Agency: MLA

GOLD

Client: Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore Brand: Heineken Campaign: Heineken Green Room: The Transporter Agency: iris worldwide (Singapore)

SILVER

Client: Grand Hyatt Singapore Campaign: LivingGrand for the Chinese New Year Agency: Art-Management.com

SILVER

Client: Shell Campaign: Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2015 Agency: Imagination

BRONZE

Client: Scoot Campaign: Garang in the Air – Garang for Singapore Agencies: FLY Entertainment, Publicis

BRONZE

Client: Lenovo Campaign: Light and Seek: How a tablet illuminated a city Agency: We Are Social Singapore

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CAREERS

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CAREER PATH Chantal van Wijnbergen Regional manager, marketing and PR, SEA Jetstar First job?

Helping to sell meat and clean up in my father’s butcher store when I was 14.

First job in advertising/ marketing?

Trainee at the strategy planning department at JWT Amsterdam.

Best job?

My current job, for sure. I love the scope, the regional exposure, the many different market stages of development, and working with different cultures. Working for an airline really is like flying.

Perks of your current job?

Staff travel on both Jetstar, Qantas and our other partners.

Worst job?

Counting 25 tulip bulbs and putting them in a bag to be sealed for selling. I tried to look at it from a meditative perspective in the fi rst few days, but couldn’t last long.

Marketing professionals you admire?

Steve Jobs at Apple – he knew what we wanted and created consumer needs before we even knew we had them ourselves.

I also love every single thing Coca-Cola does.

Best career advice you’ve been given?

Magic happens outside your comfort zone.

Why a career in marketing?

Growing up, I was determined to be a lawyer, but luckily I failed my fi rst year of law. I had to change my direction and loved the master’s in communication science at the University of Amsterdam.

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

Probably a role where I could develop products or improve the customer journey. Touching the hearts and minds of customers is what makes me tick.

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JOB SHUFFLE Samsung’s regional head of marketing for its mobile phones business Ranji David left the company to join the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). She joined WFA as marketing director for the region. Stephan Loerke, managing director of WFA, said the organisation’s commitment to Asia remained strong. “It is a region of growth in terms of marketing and marketing spend and Ranji will help drive WFA’s growth in the region,” he said.

creative director of Southeast Asia.

Previously, Tan served as executive creative director for Wunderman Singapore only, but will now oversee work in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Tan reports to Nimesh Desai, managing director of Wunderman Southeast Asia.

Tan co-founded Comwerks in 2002 and has served as its creative lead ever since.

Interpublic Group appointed Simon Bond as chief growth officer. His role was effective 9 September.

Bond is responsible for driving Interpublic’s growth initiatives across the network and will report to Philippe Krakowsky, the EVP, chief strategy and talent officer.

He joined IPG from BBDO, where he has worked for the past 17 years in various posts, most recently as the agency’s global chief marketing officer.

Vivaki Vietnam appointed François Goddet as CEO. Goddet takes over from Deboo Mohanty who has held the position of Vivaki CEO since 2010. As CEO, Goddet will use his leadership skills, new business expertise and knowledge of the VivaKi network to lead both ZenithOptimedia and Starcom Mediavest Group in Vietnam. Responsible for operations across both agencies, he will work with the individual agency teams to stimulate business growth.

Janice Tan, client managing partner for IPG Mediabrands APAC, took on a new role as global head of Aviator at WPP’s Kinetic agency.

Tan was at IPG Mediabrands for three years. A spokesperson at IPG Mediabrands said the agency was not looking to make a replacement. She reports to Mauricio Sabogal, Kinetic’s global CEO. Over the years, she has worked on brands such as Dell, HP, Microsoft, Qatar Airways and Emirates.

Dan Gibson, group managing director of Havas Worldwide Singapore and Host Singapore, left his role after almost two years with the company.

Gibson is taking up a new role at the agency’s London office, several sources confirmed to Marketing. In December 2013, Havas Worldwide appointed Gibson, who was managing director for Host Singapore, to concurrently lead Havas Worldwide Singapore as group MD.

Wunderman Asia Pacific promoted Keith Tan to the newly created role of executive

Microsoft Singapore appointed Arthur Huang as its consumer channels group lead. In this

new role, he reports directly to Jessica Tan, managing director of Microsoft Singapore. He is responsible for developing the overall retail strategies for Microsoft’s consumer products, including Windows PC, Surface, Xbox, Office and Microsoft Hardware in Singapore. He joined Microsoft from Midea International, a global home appliances company, where he was vice-president of corporate marketing.

King Content appointed former brand manager from McCann Worldgroup and Formul8 Diana Chew to business development and marketing assistant. Chew is tasked to build a rapport with potential new clients and work closely with the commercial director Peter Bakker (pictured) to ensure all new business opportunities are capitalised on. She will be drawing on her experience of working with multiple brands such as OCBC, Wing Tai Asia, Mitsubishi Motors, Bordier, Sembcorp and L’Oréal.

Luxury group LVMH snagged former Apple Music executive Ian Rogers and appointed him chief digital officer of the LVMH Group, effective October 2015. Rogers succeeded Thomas Romieu and is tasked to strengthen LVMH’s digital capabilities and lead its efforts in the digital sphere. The appointment came a week after Rogers announced his departure from Apple where he oversaw the radio portion of Apple’s new music streaming service, Apple Music.

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LAST WORD

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RIDICULOUS THINGS CLIENTS IN SINGAPORE SAY Pat Law of Goodstuph shares with Marketing some of the frivolous things clients say.

Not again: The list of ridiculous things agency folks hear from clients is nice and long.

Pat Law, the outspoken founder of creative agency GOODSTUPH, shares with Marketing some of the wildest things heard in the agency world.

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“Can you change the font? ‘Ill’ in ‘illuminate’ looks like three joss sticks.”

“Can you spell out ‘plus’? The plus sign looks religious leh.”

“Can we create a festive campaign that can be used for Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year?”

“Is ‘Red is the new Black’ racist?”

“If I sign off to a 12-month retainer, can you give me two more months for free?”

“Eh, the website needs to be IE compatible please. Top management uses IE.” “Please book that Clear Channel bus shelter space outside our office.

Our CEO drives past there every morning.”

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“We need to target Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans” (by the way, this was in an actual brief found on Gebiz by a government body).

“We need to talk about the prevention of HIV following the principles of ‘ABCD’. ‘A’ stands for ‘abstinence’.”

“We cannot run ads next month. It’s seventh month.”

“We need a SG50 campaign. Because it is SG50.”

“You need to pay an admin fee of $200 to submit your pitch proposal to us.”

“Can we use Pan-Asians? They look more wealthy than Chinese.”

“The birds above my property cannot be black. Turn them white.”

“Red packet for volunteers? But they are volunteering right?”

“Can we buy the goodie bag from Taobao?”

Hilarious right? Share with us some wild demands you have heard from clients. Write to rezwanam@marketing-interactive.com

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16/10/2015 7:20:07 PM

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