MARKETING Issue 210

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ISSUE 210 (MAY-JUNE)

Spencer Lee

Commercial Director AirAsia Berhad

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FAME STARTS HERE MEET THE JURY OF THE FINEST MINDS IN MARKETING! SHARING IS LEARNING

06 & 07 JULY, 2017 RESERVED YOUR SEAT TODAY. CONTACT RUBY AT 03 7726 2588 OR RUBY@ADOIMAGAZINE.COM

cCO note

LET 2017 BE YOUR YEAR OF LEARNING

By Malati Siniah, malati@adoimagazine.com

I first came across the phrase ‘Ancora Imparo’ which means ‘I am still learning’ when I was a student, as it was my university’s motto.

Though it has been many years since I have left, this phrase still holds true to me till today.

It is also an important phrase of both marketers and agency folk alike as the industry goes through a new phase of change.

The rapid changes in the digital world have spurred a frenzy of online courses thanks to a growing demand in the market.

To keep up with times, you too should begin upskilling yourself seriously, be it taking an introductory course online or learning more on the area that you are interested in via workshops or conferences.

I too have been doing the same; only last month MARKETING organised a digital marketing workshop where our master 2

trainer, the awardwinning creative Kenneth Yu, shared with myself and 20 other participants the latest trends in digital.

Kenneth shared how while presenting his slides on Facebook ads he was told to stop by his colleague as the information which he pulled out a week before had already become outdated.

That is how quickly the industry is changing.

Learning is a key focus of this month’s issue, in our cover story with AirAsia, one of Malaysia’s sharpest minds in marketing shared with me, the airline’s digital journey.

Digital transformation according to Spencer did not occur overnight but required constant investment

MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

and improvement.

Throughout the feature, we learn more on the hand work and research that goes into making this award-winning airline the success story it is today.

While learning requires you to invest additional time, we spoke to some of the top industry leaders including Tim from INTI, Prashant from Entropia, Malek from BFM to share some of their time-saving tips which allow them to use their time more productively.

Apply their advice to your daily routine and gain a little bit more learning time. I have been practising bullet journaling upon reading

Malek’s tip on it.

Finally, if you want to learn from the best and improve your strategies don’t forget to join us this 6th & 7th of July at the APPIES awards and earn your "MBA" in marketing. Listen to the vibrant keynote speakers and the 31 brilliant marketers who will be judging the awards, all handpicked

by Professor Harmandar Singh.

Enjoy the issue and see you at the APPIES!

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ISSUE 210 (MAY-JUNE2017)

Regional CEO Harmandar Singh ham@adoimagazine.com Chief Content Officer Malati Siniah malati@adoimagazine.com Business Development Manager Jarrod Sunil Solomon jarrod@adoimagazine.com Art Director Chemical Ali ali@adoimagazine.com Designer Tham Fook Wai wai@adoimagazine.com Subscriptions Ruby Lim ruby@ham.com.my Photography & Digital Imaging DL Studio No 7, Jalan PJU 3/50, Sunway Damansara 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor D.E. Malaysia tel +603 7880 6380 / 6386, email: studiodl@pd.jaring.my

AIRASIA: THE SKY'S THE LIMIT

COVER STORY

11

AirAsia has been painting the skies red since it launched 16 years ago. For more than half of that time Spencer Lee, Head of Commercial, AirAsia Berhad has been with the company building the foundation for this award-winning airline.

In this interview, he shares his journey with AirAsia and...

CCO NOTE

02

Mccain Goh, mccain1982@yahoo.com Web & Digital Manager Saravana Kumaa Contributors: Josh Sklar, Paul Loosley, Contagious Print Spec Solution Sdn Bhd (726670-H) No 57, Jalan Balakong Jaya 6, Taman Industri Balakong Raya, 43300 Balakong, Selangor Darul Ehsan Distribution: Five E-Comm No. 2 & 2-1, Jalan Palma Raya Bandar Botanic, 41200 Klang, Selangor MARKETING magazine is published by Sledgehammer Communications (M) Sdn Bhd 22B, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad Satu, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 603-7726 2588 Fax: 603-7722 5712 www.marketingmagazine.com.my follow us on: www.facebook.com/marketingmagazine.asia Digital Edition: http://goo.gl/e0B07B © All Rights Reserved By: Sledgehammer Communications (M) Sdn Bhd (289967-W) No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without prior permission in writing from the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions and/ or for any consequences of reliance upon information in this publication.

The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher or editor. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertisers.

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MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

LET 2017 BE YOUR YEAR OF LEARNING I first came across the phrase ‘Ancora Imparo’ which means ‘I am still learning’ when I was a student, as it was my university’s motto. Though it has been many years since I have left, this phrase still holds true to me till today. It is also an important phrase of both marketers and agency folk alike as the industry goes through a new phase of change. The rapid changes in the digital world have spurred a frenzy of online courses thanks to a growing demand in the market. To keep up with times, you too should begin upskilling yourself seriously, be it taking an introductory course online or learning more on the area that you are interested in via workshops or conferences. I too have been doing the same; only last month MARKETING organised a digital marketing workshop where our master trainer, the award-winning creative Kenneth Yu, shared with...

ONLINE FLUX

A NEW BRAND OPPORTUNITY TO REACH YOUR AUDIENCES Ever since digital became a marketing tool a little more than 20 years ago, it has had a problem with credibility amongst its bigger brothers and sisters who play above the line. Although budgets are now finally more fairly balanced across the whole family, there is one glaring area that causes digital to still be considered the black sheep: very few of its experts appreciate or have a deep knowledge of brand. Of course, the reverse is also true, as brand experts tend

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SUPERBRANDS

MEET THE ELITE FEW THAT CLINCHED THE TITLE OF ‘SUPERBRANDS.’

06

What’s in a brand? That very question has been running through the mind of marketers and consumers alike for years. Is it the values that it stands for? The promises that it delivers? The level of innovation it strives to achieve? “Branding today is not just a simple marketing exercise or activity. It is a highly integrated philosophy that needs to be engaged at every level of business. We at Superbrands firmly...

SOCIAL MARKETING

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2017

SHUT UP ABOUT ADVERTISING!

ADVERTISING THE POLITICS OF FAILURE Watching YouTube in the UK is currently a pain in the bum. I am writing this, in Blighty, a week or so before the UK general election on June 8th. So should you be unfortunate enough to be here, and be surfing YouTube, you will be hit with an annoying advert every 30 seconds or so.

Many of which you cannot skip nor avoid...

ADDDON SOCIAL ADVERTISING APP LAUNCHES WITH A PROMISE OF 100% TRANSPARENCY TO ADVERTISERS In our modern world, many are questioning Bots, viewability, fake news and furthermore, the entire digital world. On the other hand, it has brought tremendous value to the marketers’ ecosystem. The overwhelming greatest concern being the actual numbers and figures they receive in their monthly reports...

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CASE STUDY

26 30 22

MALAYSIAN CONSUMERS CHOOSE 25 PRODUCTS AS PRODUCT OF THE YEAR WINNERS FOR 2017/18!

Recently, 25 products voted by 2,000 consumers, were announced as Product of the Year Malaysia (POY) winners in their respective categories at a glitzy ceremony at the Sime Darby Convention Centre. “The winners were decided from the results of a consumer research study by Nielsen Malaysia. This was done after a panel of judges met to shortlist and streamline the entries,” said Professor Harmandar Singh, Director of Product of the Year Asia.

“The Product of the Year logo tells consumers this is a good product, not because we say so, but because consumers chose that product as the best in its category.”

JOE BOXER INACTIVITY TRACKER Kmart and Joe Boxer leveraged wearable technology to engage with customers through the development of the world’s first “Inactivity” Tracker.

ISSUE210MAY-JUNEMARKETING

5

MEET THE ELITE FEW THE TITLE OF ‘SUPE APACS

What’s in a brand?

That very question has been running through the mind of marketers and consumers alike for years.

Is it the values that it stands for?

The promises that it delivers? The level of innovation it strives to achieve?

“Branding today is not just a simple marketing exercise or activity. It is a highly integrated philosophy that needs to be engaged at every level of business. We at Superbrands firmly believe that branding needs to be extended across all touch-points of both the organisation and the distribution supply chain. Branding is not just a process with a beginning and endrather it is an ongoing continually evolving process”, shared Mike English, CEO of 6

Dato Mohd Shukrie

NILAI CRYSTAL

DEKA

Superbrands Malaysia in the 9th edition of the much-sought-after Superbrands book.

Dubbed the ‘Oscars of Branding’, Superbrands, the independent authority and arbiter of branding, deep dives into the area of branding and celebrates the top 50 brands in Malaysia along with one lucky

MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

brand taking home the coveted ‘Brand of the Year’ title.

This year PosLaju took the top spot winning the Brand of the Year. In an interview with local daily The Borneo Post, Pos Malaysia group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh shared, “As the main brand for the group, we

are proud that PosLaju has won the Brand of the Year Award for two years in a row which is a first global achievement for a Superbrand, thanks to our customers and the 25,000 Pos Malaysia management and staff.”

Other brand winners of this year’s Superbrands include 100 Plus,

7-Eleven, Bank Rakyat, Dreamland, Coway, Sony, Kotex and more.

Participation for the awards is strictly by invitation only, to maintain the quality and standards upheld by Superbrands globally.

After a carefully filtering through the selection list set by the Superbrands Council, over 2,000 senior managers and

superbrands

W THAT CLINCHED ERBRANDS.’

marketing professionals were invited to vote for candidate brands. More than 1,400 leading brands in Malaysia were scored by the Superbrands Council members and through an online poll.

The highest scoring brands have been chosen as Superbrands and only the brands that achieve the level

of recognition set by the independent Superbrands Council are eligible for inclusion in the Superbrands Malaysia book, which traces the history and achievements of each of the brands.

Speaking on the stringent selection and voting process, Mike divulged, “A strong brand has to engage

with its customers, make customers feel a sense of ownership and instil trust but above all, it must always deliver on its promises, so getting onto the Superbrands list is both a prestigious accolade and an arduous task as all these criteria need to be met.”

SUNWAY

ISSUE210MAY-JUNE

7

superbrands THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THIS YEAR’S

50

SUPERBRANDS’ WINNERS

8

SUPERBRAND

FUN FACT

100PLUS

100PLUS was launched in the year its parent company, FRASER & NEAVE (F&N), celebrated its 100th Anniversary.

The beverage was named to commemorate this milestone

7-Eleven

The first 7-Eleven store in Malaysia was opened in October 1984, in Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

Apacs Sports

Apacs sells more than 800 racquets daily

Avon

Avon offered a self-employment model to women that was well ahead of its time

Bank Rakyat

Bank Rakyat was the first bank to place its livery advertisement on AirAsia’s aircraft

Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb introduced the world’s first mass-produced soft contact lense, SoftLens, in 1971.

Blackmores

In the earl years, Blackmores’ biggest selling product was Herbal and Mineral Toothpaste.

Brain-Zone

The company is one of the fastest growing child education groups in Malaysia. Currently it has more than 45 centres.

Central Sugars Refinery (CSR)

CSR is the only refinery in Malaysia that produces liquid sugar for industrial customers.

Carrefour

The brand logo symbolises ‘crossroad’ via two opposite arrows. The first letter of the brand name is also added, the letter ‘C’ in the space between the two arrows.

Cavenzi

Cavenzi is the first home based company to provide direct online purchase for home furniture in Malaysia.

Cellsafe

Cellsafe is the only facility in Malaysia to offer a secondary storage site for cord blood stem cells, providing added security to the samples

Colgate

Colgate toothpaste was first marketed in jars- a far cry from the collapsible tubes or special pump action packaging available today.

Cornell

The company was established in USA, in 1995.

Coway

Coway was the first overseas company to obtain HALAL certification from JAKIM for water purifiers

Dairy Champ

Etika acquired the Goodday brand in 2010, which was previously owned by Susu Lembu Asli (Johore) Sdn Bhd.

Deka

Deka now markets more than twenty different fan models, and ten water heater models in Malaysia.

Dreamland

Dreamland is a brand trusted by Malaysians for over 30 years

Dulux

Dulux is the first to introduct the full range of low odur and low volatile organic compound (VOC) interior emulsion products with Green Lables accreditation.

F&N

The flavour of F&N Sarsi actually stems from the sarsaparilla root.

Fibre Star

It needs about 600 pieces of coconut to make one King Size (6’X7”) Fibre Star mattress.

Gardenia

Over 35,000 people walk through the gates of Gardenia each year for a free factory tour.

Honda

Since its establishment in 1948, Honda has served close to 400 million customers worldwide.

Indah Kiat (IK)

IK’s fibre suppliers plant more than 1.5 million trees every day.

Jasmine

Jasmine is the first company to introduce fragrant rice to the market.

MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

Kenny Rogers ROASTERS (KRR)

Kenny’s Home-made muffin are made fresh everyday

Kleenex

Kleenex was ‘born’ in 1924 as the first ever facial tissue and is now the world’s No.1 facial tissue.

Kopiko

Kopiko has developed a rich coffee candy extract that resonates with consumers as a ‘pocket coffee’.

Kotex

Kotex’s first public education programme was initiated in the late 1920s with a pamphlet called ‘Majorie May’s 12th Birthday.

LORENZO

The first product LORENZO produced were Fabric and PVC sofas in the beginning of establishment.

MAGGI

The first two flavours of MAGGI 2-minute Noodles launched in Malaysia were Curry and Chicken. These two flavours are still the most popular today.

The Manhattan FISH MARKET

The company also offers franchise opportunities.

Munchy’s

The name is derived from the mandarin term ‘Mai Qi’, ‘Mai’ means flour or wheat and ‘Qi’ refers to the magical quality of delicious wafers, made from the finest ingredients.

NATUREL

In the Soft Oil segment, two thirds of Malaysian consumers have a bottle of NATUREL cooking oil at home.

Nilai Crystal

The company has innovated a new material for making Metal Trophy which they call White-Silver Trophy.

Nu Skin

Nu Skin Nourish the Children initiative has donated 350 million meals to fight hunger since 2002.

Onitek

Building on almost 17 years in the aluminium product industry. Onitek has grown from a mere 5 employees in 1997 to 180 in 2014.

Palm Garden Golf Club (PGGC)

PGGC have resident pets ranging from geese, goats and Serama chickens.

Pos Laju

Pos Laju is bringing greater convenience and touchpoints to customers through the introduction of Pos Laju EziDrive-Thru; self service pick-up and drop-off terminals (i.e. Pos Laju EziBox & Pos Laju Prepaid EziDrop) at strategic locations nationwide.

Reliance

Reliance Travel has been in the travel and tourism industry for more than 44 years.

Saji

Saji in Bahasa means ‘to serve’; it reflects the brand’s commitment to serve the best products to consumers.

Sharp

Sharp will be celebrating its 100th year anniversary in 2012.

SKECHERS

SKECHERS very first footwear style was the logger boot.

Smart Reader

Smart Reader Worldwide is the first education franchise organisation to receive ISO 2001:2000 certification.

Sony

In Malaysia, Sony collaborates with UNICEF through football activities to help improve the lives of children locally and globally.

St Guchi

St Guchi’s one-key system allows you to enter your home in the shortest time.

Tupperware

A Tupperware party is held somewhere around the world every 2.2 seconds.

XMA

XMA enhances your household life by bringing its affordable, efficient and easy to use products.

YET Plus

YET Plus is the first Downlight brand to be awarded Superbrands status.

Yokohama Batteries

Yokohama Batteries has been in Malaysia since 1967.

ISSUE210MAY-JUNE

9

say what “THE DAYS OF THE FULL SERVICE AGENCY HAVE CHANGED, AND THE DYNAMICS OF THE BUSINESS HAVE EVOLVED. WE ARE TAKING THAT AS A WAKE UP CALL. THESE DAYS CLIENTS ARE SELECTIVE AND SEEK SPECIALIZATION - ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL. WE WILL MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT SOON ON OUR FORWARD PLANS AS THE SPENCER AZIZUL BRAND NAME HAS RESONATED WITH MARKETERS FOR OVER 30 YEARS,” SAID CHAIRMAN AZIZUL KALLAHAN JUST BEFORE CLOSING SPENCER-AZIZUL ADVERTISING.

“AS TECHNOLOGY BECOMES THE MAINSTAY OF ANY BUSINESS, NEW ROLES WILL EMERGE AND GREATER EMPHASIS WILL BE PLACED ON CANDIDATES WITH STRONG PERSONALITIES THAT CAN ADAPT EASILY TO FAST-CHANGING MARKET CONDITIONS. DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGISTS AND UX/UI DESIGNERS WILL BE IN DEMAND AND COMPANIES WILL SEEK TALENT WHO HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CREATE NEW SALES CHANNELS AND EXPAND MARKET SHARE.”

“TOO OFTEN MARKETERS WANT TO DRIVE ‘NEW NEWS’ – CONSTANTLY CHANGING THE MESSAGING BEFORE IT’S BEEN GIVEN A CHANCE TO SINK IN WITH CONSUMERS, LET ALONE WEAR OUT,” YOLANDE BATTELL, CLIENT PARTNER AT DIGITAL AGENCY JELLYFISH SHARED IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MARKETING WEEK.

SANJAY MODI, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT MONSTER.COM

“WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLEX LANDSCAPES WHERE DIFFERENT AGENCIES ARE HELPING YOU SPEND MARKETING DOLLARS IN DIFFERENT CHANNELS, IT’S HARD TO TALLY THAT UP AND LOOK AT HOW EFFECTIVE THAT MARKETING IS. COMPANIES ASK THEMSELVES HOW THEY CAN COMPARE TV TO MOBILE, ESPECIALLY IF THEY USE DIFFERENT AGENCIES AND CONTRACTS. IT MAKES SENSE TO PUT A CLEANER, SIMPLER STRUCTURE IN PLACE.” FERGUS JARVIS, PARTNER AT STRATEGY CONSULTANCY OC&C

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cover story

Spencer Lee

AIRASIA: THE SKY'S THE LIMIT AirAsia has been painting the skies red since it launched 16 years ago. For more than half of that time Spencer Lee, Head of Commercial, AirAsia Berhad has been with the company building the foundation for this award-winning airline. In this interview, he shares his journey with AirAsia and the secret to its innovation

by Malati Siniah

We arrived at RedQ, AirAsia’s 18,000sqm new office space at 2pm on the dot as our photoshoot with AirAsia’s Spencer Lee was to end at approximately 2.15pm. It was the shortest photo shoot we had ever done…

cover story “AirAsia REALLY IS A DREAM, AND AFTER 10 YEARS I’M STILL LIVING MINE. THIS IS ONE PLACE THAT WILL GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WHO YOU ARE, TO REALISE YOUR POTENTIAL BY WORKING HARD TOWARDS IT.” – SPENCER LEE, HEAD OF COMMERCIAL, AirAsia

12 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

It was the only pocket of time AirAsia’s Head of Commercial had as his calendar was filled with back to back meetings before his business trip to Dubai the next day.

Donning his coat over his navy blue jeans and black V-neck t-shirt, Spencer was allsmiles as he entered AirAsia’s in-house photo studio where our photographer was ready to nail his shot.

“You are the experts; I trust you” Spencer grinned when asked if he would like to see the shots taken.

As the clock was ticking, he breezed through the shoot accommodating every pose request. With two minutes to spare we were done, and with an easy smile Spencer thanked everyone on the team and rushed back to his office.

He was not kidding, as we adjourned from the 5th Floor to the ground floor of RedQ to shoot Spencer’s team I spotted him deep in discussion with 10 other team members at AirAsia’s meeting room.

Fast, efficient and results driven. Just like the outcome of the shoot, I could see how Spencer rose up the ranks from Marketing Manager in 2006 to the role he holds today, overseeing the entire Commercial function for AirAsia in Malaysia.

In the decade that he has been with AirAsia, Spencer has worn multiple hats by leading various departments within the organisation and won a string of awards while at it. Some of those include Best Asean Marketing and Promotional ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 13

Campaign, Best Asean Airline Programme from the Asean Tourism Association (ASEANTA), Best Use of Out-OfHome and Best Use of Activations/Events at the Malaysian Media Awards.

When we spoke earlier, Spencer shared with me his thoughts on building a digital airline and the secret to AirAsia’s innovation…

MARKETING (M): When AirAsia’s Group CEO, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, announced that AirAsia would be a full fledge digital airline company, it puzzled some people and confused others.

In your words how could an airline become an Internet company?

Spencer (S): Actually, this shouldn’t really come as a surprise. At AirAsia, technology has always been essential to everything we do, from the very beginning.

Contrary to what some people believe, we didn’t introduce online ticket booking in Malaysia, but without a doubt, we popularised it by offering free seats and one-ringgit seats that you can only buy online. Now that Malaysians are comfortable with e-commerce, digital does not only mean payment, though going AIRASIA IN NUMBERS:

2

The number of Aircrafts the airlines started off with when it launched in 2001

10

cashless is one of our goals.

Digital helps us create a better flying experience for our guests. How? By keeping things simple, but at the same time give consumers the freedom of choice so that you can make the best decisions for the kind of traveller that you are.

Now everyone can fly. But before you can fly, you need to book.

We streamlined the booking process and made it personal.

When you sign up as a member, AirAsia’s Single Sign On saves your details and preferences. With BigPay, your debit and credit card details are kept secure with our Payment Card IndustryData Security Standardcertified partner.

If you return to your browser, your last searched destination will reappear in the destination fields. We reduced the number of steps from flight search

to checkout on AirAsia. com. At the same time we still do promote our ancillary products—that is, everything that isn’t airfare, from baggage, santan in-flight meals, preferred seats and Tune Protect travel insurance, to Wi-Fi, car rental and hotel bookings—this is so that you can pre-purchase everything you need for your trip in one go.

M: You sold me on having digital at the heart of your operations but how are you tapping into digital to better serve your customers…

S: We go by the insight of needing to be where our customers are. Not many are aware, but we have made it possible for customers to book flights via LINE and WeChat.

We did this because of the high engagement on these instant messaging platforms, which provided exciting new avenues for bookings. We give our guests, even more, options to make their

AirAsia is the only Malaysian-based airline which operates to all 10 Asean nations including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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20

The number of people powering AirAsia’s marketing team

120

Number of destinations you can fly to with Asia

230 20,000

Routes covered by the airlines

AllStars working together to make AirAsia the most preferred Airline in the region

cover story

WHEN AIRASIA’S GROUP CEO, TAN SRI TONY FERNANDES, ANNOUNCED THAT AIRASIA WOULD BE A FULLY DIGITAL AIRLINE COMPANY, IT PUZZLED SOME PEOPLE AND CONFUSED OTHERS. HOW CAN AN AIRLINE BE AN INTERNET COMPANY….

OVER

400,000,000

Tan Sri Anthony Francis "Tony" Fernandes, Co-founder AirAsia who introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline "Now everyone can fly"

GUESTS THAT AIRASIA HAS FLOWN

ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 15

cover story flights more enjoyable.

You may either checkin on the web or the AirAsia mobile app for paperless travel. On board selected aircrafts, you can connect with your friends and loved ones with our built-in Wi-Fi, ROKKI. In case you haven’t tried ROKKI yet, check out the free destination guides and video streaming whenever you see the Wi-Fi sign on your flight.

And of course, there’s shopping. BIG Duty Free has a great selection of duty-free items and AirAsia merchandise that you can pre-order before your flight. Lowest prices guaranteed!

We’ve also found the cure for the post-holiday blues: more holidays!

AirAsia BIG Points allow AirAsia members to earn points from everyday purchases like petrol or online purchases on Lazada. I’m sure you agree that flights and hotel stays are great rewards.

I pitched to you our full suite of products of services to show that we aren’t just about cheap fares but about value.

We analyse data from our guests to obtain the information on what they want and need.

Digital requires investment. It’s not a one-time exercise but constant improvement.

You may not have noticed it, but the interface and the features of the website and mobile app are continuously being upgraded and updated.

Malati Siniah, MARKETING's Chief Content Officer speaking to Spencer at RedQ

Our commitment to digitalisation is exemplified with our first hackathon, Airvolution.

At the end of the day, we believe that technology can help us find solutions to everyday issues.

M: Your advice to company’s who are trying to embrace the digital revolution…

S: Today’s businesses must embrace technology, not be afraid of it. It’s not just something that’s ‘niceto-have’ anymore. It is vital. Ultimately, what is good for the customer is good for the bottom line.

Let me take one step back. Digital is a mindset. It is about technology, yes, but it’s also about the people.

It requires investment in talent and individuals who can adapt and change to meet the demands of the digital era. That is the secret of

16 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

how we innovate.

Technology has always been essential to everything we do.

Our people and digital culture will always be a key driver in our operations. With the effective use of technology and the right people, any idea can fly.

AirAsia really is a dream, and after 10 years I’m still living mine. This is one place that will give you the opportunity to be who you are, to realise your potential by working hard towards it.

Spencer who recently celebrated his 10 years with the airlines shared, Tony truly is the brand, asserts Spencer. It was he who set the vision and direction for us. There’s a lot of empowerment and trust in that we’re allowed to do our jobs the best way we know, but it goes

MANAGING AN ALLSTAR TEAM

AirAsia social media team. The faces behind AirAsia's viral social campaigns.

both ways. We have a very clear direction for what we must achieve, and we all work towards our KPI. Spencer is a big believer in personality over what is written on paper when it comes to selecting his team members...

"It’s not just about what is on their resumé, and we do not discriminate. In AirAsia, we look for that winning

DNA and choose individuals based on their passion, attitude and overall approach when faced with challenging situations.

We always emphasise that our biggest asset today is our people. We really value our team.

After all, there is no brand if you do not have anyone doing the job for you," he shared.

Looking at AirAsia’s bright and colourful

office space with its multicoloured beanbags scattered upon an Astroturf and state-ofthe-art innovation lab, one tends to forget that this is the hub of a very fast-paced industry.

Encouraging staff not only to work hard but also play hard, RedQ is fully equipped with gym facilities for instructors to conduct various classes including yoga and boot camp.

“Walk into our office of Allstars, and you can see each of us 100% focused on our tasks.

We do take things very seriously yet we have fun in our work.”

Spencer added.

M: What are the company’s guiding principles when it comes to marketing?

S: Know your audience, understand their needs and conveying a relevant message will always be

a rule of thumb when it comes to marketing.

From quirky copies to videos that get the people sharing.

M: Can you share a bit more on the research which goes on behind this and how AirAsia manages to gather the right insights from each of the countries it covers?

S: Having a sense of humour is the take away for fun video content, however, to strike the ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 17

cover story “WALK INTO OUR OFFICE OF ALLSTARS, AND YOU CAN SEE EACH OF US 100% FOCUSED ON OUR TASKS. WE DO TAKE THINGS VERY SERIOUSLY YET WE HAVE FUN IN OUR WORK.”

chord of the audience takes a little bit more.

Having a social media platform that has a global and local following allows us to dwell into a little bit more into the insights of what is trending. It’s fundamental to keep our fingers on the pulse of the audiences we are communicating too. This is important for us to understand the commonalities and differences across the different segments.

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M: Plenty of your recent advertising is on reaching out to the ASEAN consumer, what are some of AirAsia’s strategies moving forward on building an ASEAN brand…

S: AirAsia is not just an airline, but an airline for the community and that is our pride. Enabling travels within Asean with a vast network, high frequencies with great convenience brings us to where we are today.

Our vision has been how we change the

travel landscape in the region and connecting people from point to point.

Our strategy has been making Asean borderless; we have a great product namely the Asean Pass which allows more travel within the region at an affordable price. We shall continue to provide the sense of belonging to our guests by offering a flying experience with a local touch, for example, our Santan

in-flight meals offering a vast variety of Asean food. Such would be the unique experience when one flies with us.

M: What are some of the challenges in marketing to consumers and how has AirAsia been able to overcome these challenges?

S: Like a lot of brands, our consumers are getting more fragmented and likewise the media space. Certain brands are losing brand loyalty in the fast changing

demands. Therefore, it is important that a marketer takes a closer look at the consumers' attitude and values, and thus using the right media mix to reach out to them.

In a market that is varied by online and offline demands, the complexity and implications need to be taken into account.

That is what always determines our marketing strategy.

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FAME STARTS HERE WINNING AN APPIES AWARD IN RARE! SHARING IS LEARNING

06 & 07 JULY, 2017 RESERVED YOUR SEAT TODAY. CONTACT RUBY AT 03 7726 2588 OR RUBY@ADOIMAGAZINE.COM

by Josh Sklar, President of Heresy, Author of “Digital Doesn’t Matter (and other advertising heresies)” josh@heresy.co, @ chiefheretic, http:// heresy.co, http:// digitaldoesntmatter.com

EVER since digital became a marketing tool a little more than 20 years ago, it has had a problem with credibility amongst its bigger brothers and sisters who play above the line. Although budgets are now finally more fairly balanced across the whole family, there is one glaring area that causes digital to still be considered the black sheep: very few of its experts appreciate or have a deep knowledge of brand. Of course, the reverse is also true, as brand experts tend

20 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

not to sully themselves with understanding online engagement or technology. To be fair, they are divergent, specialized fields and it makes sense that they will be mostly compartmentalized by an agency or marketing group, but in this era of authenticity and social media it is necessary to expand ones interests.

This is a time when we should be using the Internet, apps, digital assistants and AI, mobile, social, live streaming, geo-location, native advertising,

personalized content, the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality, gaming, and the rest to add dimension to our brands’ unique personalities. When marketers begin to realize that they should not be freaked out about not understanding how to be instantly successful with digital marketing, they have a chance of recognizing the opportunity in front of them. They can speak one-on-one and oneto-many in their own voice, using traits that are a core part of their

brand, as much as their customers’ traits are a central part of their own personalities. One that is even more powerful than television or print for telling a story.

Instead of talking down to or at regular people, as is the nature of other media, online has a great deal of variety and is used in the very same ways by those that are trying to be reached. Through its brand, a company has a real chance of making a connection. Consumers generally are unfamiliar with communicating

online FLUX

A NEW BRAND OPPORTUNITY TO REACH YOUR AUDIENCES through a television set, a radio, or on a postcard to a stranger, but thanks to the number of hours they spend every day on them, they do understand Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Periscope. They are seeking out information, entertainment, and engagement from a number of sources (e.g., friends, family, colleagues, classmates, peers, celebrities, people who shares interests and purchases, politicians, even

... Instead of talking down to or at regular people, as is the nature of other media, online has a great deal of variety and is used in the very same ways by those that are trying to be reached...

corporations) and they have expectations about each.

If the brand can match and even exceed those expectations, they will form the much desirable emotional or rational attachment that brand engagement strives for – the one that brings in revenue year after year. So, instead of trying to come up with a clever headline in a limited space or to work out the animation in a display ad that will capture their eye as they scroll so they might glance at your message, or even trying to bribe them through an incentive, try using the tools in your digital marketing box that will help you speak directly to each of your targets in a manner that they will appreciate.

It will take a few months to establish a memorable relationship, but if you are true to your brand essence (and have given any thought to your brand platform at all), and think about what the people you’re trying to reach want from your brand, you will have a distinct edge over all of your competition. Everyone turns to their online friends for advice, don’t they? Be their friend.

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case study

Joe Boxer Inactivity Tracker Kmart and Joe Boxer leveraged wearable technology to engage with customers through the development of the world’s first “Inactivity” Tracker.

General info Joe Boxer, Kmart Client

USA

Markets

2015 – Present Timing

FCB Agencies/Vendors

22 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

app

e-commerce activation

wearable inactivity tracking

case study The Background

The Process

Joe Boxer, a manufacturer of men’s, women’s, and children’s pajamas and underwear, is well-known for its tonguein-cheek personality. Their past holiday season campaigns drove top-of-mind brand awareness and increased sales for their retail partner, Kmart. However, in the “off season,” both engagement and sales are comparatively low. Joe Boxer and Kmart wanted to create a campaign to drive sales momentum for men’s pajamas among millennials during this low season.

Every aspect of this campaign was executed by the lead agency, FCB Chicago. The software for the wristband and the app were both developed in-house.

They leveraged existing wristband technologies with an innovative way to engage customers in a way that was in line with Joe Boxer’s brand personality.

The Technology The Inactivity Tracker, much like the FitBit, utilizes wearable technology that connects to a mobile app, designed to work with iOS and Android systems. Since the device is the opposite of normal activity trackers and is designed to reward users for laziness, the software had to be redeveloped to track non-activity.

The Idea True to the brand, Joe Boxer decided to play off the popularity of activity trackers combined with the laid-back attitude of Joe Boxer pajamas to create the first “Inactivity” Tracer wristband and accompanying app. The wristband Inactivity Tracker tracks the wearers’ lack of movement and actually encourages less activity. The less activity the wearer does, the more rewards they can earn in the app. The product was sold alongside Joe Boxer pajamas inside Kmart stores, but the ability to buy the pajamas online was integrated into the app to encourage the least amount of movement necessary.

The Results After the launch of the Joe Boxer Inactivity Tracker, off season sales increased by 64% and the tracker sold out within days of being on the shelf. Brand awareness increased, with engagement on social increasing by 300%. Additionally, the campaign won a mobile Grand Prix at Cannes this year.

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creative showcase ESCAPE CLIENT FECOFAR LAXATIVE AGENCY DHÉLET Y&R COUNTRY ARGENTINA CREATIVE DIRECTORS MARTIN NINO GOLDBERG, FEDERICO AUBONE, BENJAMIN TORNQUIST, IVAN ZIMMERMANN ART DIRECTOR NICOLAS MONTANARO COPYWRITER LIGHUEN GORECKI

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social marketing

ADDDON SOCIAL ADVERTISING APP LAUNCHES WITH A PROMISE OF 100% TRANSPARENCY TO ADVERTISERS

IT’S TIME TO GET PERSONAL

by Malati Siniah

IN our modern world, many are questioning Bots, viewability, fake news and furthermore, the entire digital world. On the other hand, it has brought tremendous value to the marketers’ ecosystem.

The overwhelming greatest concern being the actual numbers and figures they receive in their monthly reports.

Justin Connolly, who co-founded the Australian company AdddON, shared the following in his interview with MARKETING...

According to a report by eMarketer “the ‘Global Digital Ad’ spend this year is estimated to be US$80 billion and out of that amount US$16.4 billion is reported to be the real cost of ad fraud”. Based on these figures, we saw the need to launch a digital advertising platform that enables clients to view each consumer engagement, justifying every dollar invested in their advertising campaigns.

Let’s face it, mobile ad blocking is growing by 90% every year, and we believe that

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‘Generic Advertising’ needs to change in this over invasive digital market.

Ask your friends – normal people, not anyone who works in marketing, to look back at their 100 most recent actions on Facebook and Twitter.

What percentage will be engagements with brands? Hmmm…

Take a second and read this data from Forrester Research. In the end, only 0.02% of Coca Cola’s users in the UK – that’s 5,500 people – will “engage” with a given Facebook and Twitter post.

TRANSPARENT ON TRANSPARENCY

To start a campaign on the AdddON platform, a client can create an account, upload their ad template, set a budget and then finally nominate a fixed amount to pay the consumer for each engagement shared.

Brands are then able to integrate visuals from their ongoing campaigns into an AdddON template creating personalised micro ads that will then feature the users, targeting their peer to peer audience.

Once an AdddON co-created engagement is complete, users can then share it on their social media platforms and are rewarded for the initial share.

Clients can track every dollar spent with each AdddON created by a user through the AdddON dashboard. They will not only be able to view engagement figures, but also each individual AdddON crafted by the user, they can even be reused on their own social media sites or any other digital media locations.

An example of how clients can set up an AdddOn campaign

“Great emphasis was placed on the simplicity of the client’s dashboard in both navigation and data retrieval during the construction of the App,” Justin highlighted.

SAFE AND SECURE

When launching AdddON, it was paramount for the company to have a safe and secure payment gateway, as it is the clients’ reputation on the line when they are paying for each unique engagement.

Upon extensive research a partnership

“WE WANT TO BE TOTALLY TRANSPARENT WITH OUR CLIENTS AS WE BELIEVE IN OUR PRODUCT, AND THE RESULTS IT WILL GENERATE.” - JUSTIN

was finally cemented with PayPal and Stripe payments, ensuring a smooth transaction between client and user for sharing their AdddON engagement.

“From a client’s perspective, there isn’t any fear of them going over budget or overpaying as they are the ones setting the campaign budget” Justin added, while also pointing out, that clients can crosscheck their budget easily tracking every dollar spent on the campaign.

“We want to be totally transparent with our clients as we believe in our product, and the results it will generate.”

A NEW OUTLET FOR CREATIVITY

AdddON provides

both clients and agencies with a new creative canvas for them to work on.

Justin is looking forward to seeing both parties stretch their imagination.

When creating their AdddON template, clients must consider how it will fit with the consumer’s selfie, as it’s an essential element in attracting the users to share their AdddON. Justin also mentioned that AdddON is currently in talks with some major brands that are looking to build

brand affinity amongst their consumers in conjunction with AdddON. Finally, “taking selfies is a worldwide phenomen”. With AdddON, advertising will become personalised, fun and most importantly noticed by its target audience. Who knows, the consumer may even become the next face of a global brand!

For more information on AdddON visit www. adddon.com or contact justin@adddon.com

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PRODUCT OF THE YE PRODUCTS FOR CON From left, POY Judges: Monjur Elahi (Head of Consumer Insights, Nielsen Malaysia), Harmandar Singh (Director, Product of the Year Malaysia), Pat Wahid (Marketing Consultant), Prof Dr Mohammed Zin Nordin, Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI), Daniel Lim (Senior Marketing Manager, GCH Retail (M) Sdn Bhd), Rozina Aziz (Chief Marketing Officer, ASTRO GS Shop Sdn Bhd), Rachel Tan (Head of Marketing, Shopee Mobile Malaysia Sdn Bhd), Ronnie Tan (Senior GM, Marketing Comms, Sogo (KL) Department Store Sdn Bhd), Ronan Lee (GM, Marketing, 7-Eleven Malaysia Sdn. Bhd)

JURY Day for Product of the Year (POY) Malaysia was held on March 16 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre and they were briefed on the POY concept and how it has evolved over the years around the world.

Monjur Elahi, Head of Consumer Insights of The Nielsen Company Malaysia and POY’s Research Partner, shared the methodology and some data on how winning products experienced better sales performances when using the POY logo.

This year, 25 category winners were then voted by over 2,000 consumers through 28 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

an extensive survey conducted

by Nielsen Malaysia across categories including F&B, personal care, baby products, FMCG brands and many more.

over the year and there were more categories. The jurors were quite meticulous as they eliminated quite a few products moving forward.”

Ham added, “2016 saw quite a few new products launched

Product of the Year is the leading international

benchmark for innovation, and has been running across 40 countries over the past 26 years. It is about new products launched over the preceding year or new flavours or innovation added to existing products.

EAR JURY FINALISES NSUMER RESEARCH!

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Recently, 25 products voted by 2,000 consumers, were announced as Product of the Year Malaysia (POY) winners in their respective categories at a glitzy ceremony at the Sime Darby Convention Centre.

“The winners were decided from the results of a consumer research study

by Nielsen Malaysia. This was done after a panel of judges met to shortlist and streamline the entries,” said Professor Harmandar Singh, Director of Product of the Year Asia.

“The Product of the Year logo tells consumers this is a good product, not because we say so, but because consumers chose that product as the best in its category.”

“Now in its fourth year, Product of the Year in Malaysia is fast becoming the benchmark of consumer confidence in Malaysia,” adds Harmandar Singh, “Starting July 2017, consumers across Malaysia can shop easily by recognising the latest winners with the red Product of the Year logo which will be on packaging, advertising and in-store displays.”

The Product of the Year awards is in 40 countries and across the five continents.

Winning products for this fourth Product of the Year Malaysia awards are for new products or innovations in 2016.

The brainchild of French entrepreneur Christian Le Bret, the Product of the Year marketing concept was launched more than 26 years ago, with the critical objective of the need for a robust mechanism to allow consumers to be well informed about new and innovative products.

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MALAYSIAN CONSUMER AS PRODUCT OF THE YE FOR 2017/18!

RS CHOOSE 25 PRODUCTS YEAR WINNERS LIST OF POY WINNERS 2017/18:

WINNER Downy PARFUM CATEGORY Collection Air Freshener CATEGORY WINNER Facial Cleanser Glade Sensation Fresh WINNER Lemon Biore Men Facial Foam CATEGORY Deep Clean Action Body Wash Super Scrub WINNER

CATEGORY Dettol Gold Body Wash Fruit Drinks CATEGORY WINNER Carbonated Drinks Sunquick Tetra Pack WINNER CATEGORY Tropicana Frutz Green Tea CATEGORY WINNER Cereals CATEGORY Oishi Green Tea WINNER CATEGORY Mouthwash Nestlé Omega Plus with WINNER Health Food Drinks Oats Listerine Total Care WINNER CATEGORY CATEGORY Milo 3-in-1 Activ-Go Chocolates Sanitary Protection CATEGORY WINNER WINNER Household Cleaner Kit Kat Crunchy Peanut Kotex Overnight WINNER Butter CATEGORY Mr Muscle 5in1 MultiCATEGORY Shampoo Purpose Cleaner Coffee Mix WINNER Lavender WINNER

Sunsilk Anti-Dandruff CATEGORY Nestlé Latte Series CATEGORY Ice Cream CATEGORY Snacks WINNER Diapers WINNER Magnum Pink/Black WINNER CATEGORY Mister Potato Honey Drypers Drypantz Cheese Instant Noodles CATEGORY CATEGORY WINNER Dish Washing Liquid Maggi Royale Thai White Toothpaste WINNER WINNER Seafood Tom Yam Zip Dish Washing Liquid CATEGORY Colgate Maximum in Lemon Verdana Cavity Protection with Isotonic Drinks CATEGORY Sugar Acid Neutralizer WINNER Energy Drink CATEGORY 100 Plus Edge WINNER Toothbrush CATEGORY Red Bull Blue & Silver WINNER Laundry Detergent CATEGORY Oral B All Rounder 3D WINNER Fabric Softener White Breeze Colour Care

ISSUE210MAY-JUNEMARKETING 31

creative showcase

NESCAFE MITOSIS ADVERTISING AGENCY CASANOVA//MCCANN, COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, USA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ELIAS WEINSTOCK CREATIVE DIRECTOR FERNANDO POBLETE ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR / ART DIRECTOR FRANCISCO ROJA SENIOR COPYWRITER DANIEL STEWART AGENCY PRODUCER FLOR CASTANEDA RETOUCHER LUCHIN / LOBOSTUDIOLR

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fake news SINCE the early days of the internet and social media, fake news has been rampant, often slandering companies, brands and public figures. Often, the fake news goes viral because members of the public spread around unfounded news on the internet, either out of malice, self-interest or ignorance. The open nature of the internet and social media makes it easy for anyone to publish news stories, and in most cases, those who do it often lack reporting skills.

Many companies over the years have suffered from these types fake news.

SAFEGUARDIN IN A WORLD O

By Andrew Ong

PAYING A HEFTY PRICE FOR FALSE INFORMATION

Recently, a piece of fake news has been circulating the Internet, and on Facebook regarding famous shoemaker Bata Primavera Sdn Bhd, the news alleged that the company was selling shoes with the word Allah inscribed on shoe’s soles. Many were outraged by these unfounded rumours, and due to this incident, Bata had no other choice but to remove 70,000 pairs of the B-First school shoes from its 230 stores in Malaysia.

This whole fiasco cost Bata RM500,000 in losses; not only did they have to spend money to recall and transport the shoes, but they also had to make 34 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

NG YOUR BRAND OF ‘FAKE NEWS’ the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia, Chief Officer Network Security New Media Monitoring Compliance And Advocacy Sector Dr Mazlan Ismail.

COMBATING FAKE NEWS TOGETHER

a new batch of shoes to put on shelves to replace the ones they recalled. The shoes only returned to the shelves after the Al-Quran Printing Control, and Licensing Board of the Home Ministry cleared the shoemaker of the allegation on 30th March.

In February, AirAsia attracted unwanted attention when their brand was used in a supposed ‘free ticket’ survey

and fake ticket scam.

This isn’t the first time AirAsia has been a victim of fake news. Back in 2014, a scammer who claimed to represent the airline sent mass emails to the public, attempting to solicit personal information from users.

“The impact of fake news to individuals, companies, organisations and even the nation, is very significant,” said

“Fake news may cost negative reputation, credibility, integrity, brand image, loss of revenue or may even collapse the business of any business entities. Currently, MCMC has an aggressive media campaign through TV, Radio, traditional and new media for the people to fully utilise the portal sebenarnya.my to give information (tip off) for any possible fake news for the necessary follow up with the relevant government agencies,” he shared.

Elaborating more on the portal, Mazlan shared that sebenarnya.my is a one-stopcentre for Malaysians to report and check unverified news that they have received or noted online, via either social media, instant messaging service, blogs, websites and other social media platforms.

He added that the website is the brainchild of MCMC ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 35

IS NOT PO FAKE NEW AND WELL AND IMP FAR-R SAFEG VICTIM to counter fake news online that can have a national or societal impact, in which the authenticity can be verified by official channels or relevant government agencies.

KEEPING YOUR BRAND SAFE

In an unregulated environment keeping your brand safe can be hard. Earlier this year media giant Google was hit with a major scandal when a series of reports revealed that video ads from reputable brands was appearing on YouTube videos which carried extremist content.

Almost overnight, major brands including L’Oréal, Pepsi, Walmart, 36 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

fake news

“UNLESS YOUR BRAND OPULAR, YOU WON’T BE A TARGET. WS USUALLY HAPPENS TO POPULAR L-KNOWN BRANDS AS THE DAMAGE MPACT CAN BE TREMENDOUS AND -REACHING. HENCE, ONE CAN’T GUARD ONESELF FROM BEING A M OF FAKE NEWS WHEN ONE IS A POPULAR BRAND.” Johnson & Johnson and more pulled their ads from YouTube. This reportedly resulted in millions of losses in ad revenue for the video streaming platform.

Star Media Group’s digital services general manager Yee Wing-Tak explained that problem that landed YouTube in hot water was that it has no control over the content uploaded to the site, with 400 hours of videos uploaded every minute, according to reports.

“Unless they have a lot of people to vet each

video, there is no way to flag the offensive ones,” he said.

The 46-year-old media company has always paid close attention to ensure that none of its 8 million monthly online visitors come across content that promotes racism, hate speech, terrorism or the like.

“We have been a trusted partner of advertisers, and we practise transparency in ad placements.

Companies know for sure that their advertisements will

have a communications team, form a communications team or engage a professional PR consultant to manage the situation.

Finally, send in a report and add into ‘address appear on established fake news’ folder for websites belonging to future reference and Star Media Group,” submit to sebenarnya.

Wing-Tak added. my, the web portal

by MCMC (Malaysia HANDLING A FAKE NEWS Communications CRISIS and Multimedia According to industry Commission) that key expert Ivlynn Yap accumulates all fake Cheng Theng, the news spotted, shared Founder & Managing or reported in Malaysia Director of Citrine One, and elsewhere. there were several ways “Unless your brand in handling a fake news is not popular, you crisis. won’t be a target. Fake First, identify what news usually happens type of fake news it is, to popular and wellthen assess the impact known brands as the and seriousness of the damage and impact fake news. Next, look can be tremendous and for the right person to far-reaching. Hence, one address the fake news; can’t safeguard oneself if the company doesn’t from being a victim of

fake news when one is a popular brand.” Ivlynn said.

She further commented the ability to properly handle a crisis in the social-media space is where your mind and analytical skills will truly be put to the test.

“Ultimately, being unprepared is no excuse. If you know the threats or potential threats, get ready for them. For the spokesperson/s, you are the major actor, take your role seriously.

There is no space to flounder when providing facts. You must know what you want to say before they ask,” she explained.

While Ivlynn’s advice was for brands who are faced with the crisis Star’s Wing-Tak shared how brands can avoid the damaging situation.

He explained how the brand always ensures that their client’s ads are customised to the right demographics, interests and behaviour based on their pool of audience data.

“In short, advertisers have to be aware of where they place their ads. Is it a reputable, safe source of content?

“They should think of the implications to their company if their brands appear in sites with less-than-ideal content,” he advised.

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5 TIPS FOR RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL CROSS-DEVICE CAMPAIGN While cross-device campaigns offer better and more comprehensive results for advertisers than single channel campaigns, their implementation and optimization can also take up more of a campaign manager’s time if not executed efficiently.

Here are five tips for running successful and headache-free crossdevice campaigns:

FACES, 1 TARGET NOT PLACES

by Matthew Joyce, is the Country Manager for DataXu in Australia and New Zealand. He has worked with marketers and their agencies to help them efficiently engage with consumers in Australia, the UK and the USA for over 16 years.

Today, consumers use multiple devices and methods to shop.

Your customer might use their phone to browse and add a product to their basket, compare prices on other websites via their desktop, or complete the sale on a tablet at home after doing all of the above. That’s why, when running a

38 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

cross-device campaign, it is important to focus on the user’s device behavior to accurately determine how to best optimize each campaign.

The best media plans don’t focus on inventory; they focus on users. Carefully examine all campaign data available to capture everything you can about your customer’s purchasing behavior and journey in order to target more effectively in the future.

MEASURE REAL 2OUTCOMES BUSINESS INSTEAD OF VANITY METRICS

Cross-device campaigns are only as effective as the attribution model in place. Marketers typically want to know where the user last viewed (not clicked) the ad prior to the conversion, as this

digital marketing targeting as broad as possible. Start with a high bid CPM, and test one campaign at a time to pinpoint which types of campaigns are most responsive to cross-device. Once campaigns are flighting smoothly, repeat the method (rather than the creative).

Repeated testing helps marketers build stronger campaigns over time based on datadriven results.

USE DEVICE5CREATIVES SPECIFIC TO PROVIDE

USERS WITH A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE

data provides them with rich insights that they can apply to future campaigns.

For a campaign to be deemed a true success, measure the business outcomes and clearly define KPIs to measure success holistically.

In order to design a cross-channel approach that addresses the complexity and diversity of today’s media landscape and consumer behaviors, “follow the user to find the conversion.”

Furthermore, as users move across screens, consider the frequency in which the message is delivered to a customer (i.e. frequency capping).

Frequency caps are set to ensure maximum impact and to eliminate over-exposure among a target audience to a specific message.

OPTIMIZE, 3OPTIMIZE OPTIMIZE,

It is a “best practice” to continuously monitor and optimize all campaign performance.

Focus on key ROI metrics and use data to tweak tactics throughout the campaign to help meet goals. Avoid too many unnecessary changes however, or else efficiency will be lost. And remember to be patient, as campaigns do not deliver all at once! It

FROM 4AND LEARN SUCCESSES DUPLICATE THE

Studies have shown that sequences of ads are often more effective in engaging customers than repeated callto-action messages.

They also tend to deliver much higher conversion rates. Given that mobile search is officially a way of life for most consumers in 2016, make mobile a key part of any flight.

Customize creatives to each device they will be shown on to make ads more mobile-friendly.

Technology might enable the most optimized, targeted ad serving in the world, but if the creative itself isn’t executed well, the campaign will fall short of its intended results.

Test and learn from every campaign. Each campaign represents an opportunity for further improvement. To begin with, keep audience

To learn more about DataXu’s OneView cross-device solution download their CrossDevice white paper at http://bit.ly/2f67OvI

is important to have a two-week testing period to gather data before considering major revisions to a campaign’s setup or strategy. Optimize to ensure all messaging is consistent and that each stage of the buying process offers an exceptional user experience so as to not lose customers on the path to conversion.

TESTING METHOD

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NEWS PEPSI PULLS OUT GLOBAL AD SAYING THAT IT ‘CLEARLY MISSED THE MARK’ Pepsi’s latest global advertisement featuring Kendall Jenner which carried social and political undertones received negative backlash online forcing the company to pull out the ad and issue an apology yesterday.

In the advertisement, Kendell Jenner is seen to leave midway through her photo-shoot session to join a group of protesting youths. Playing the role of a peacemaker Kendall walks up to a stoic police officer and hands him a can of Pepsi, the officer accepts the drink with a smile and the group of protesters cheer.

Although it was not explicitly said, the advertisement relates

WHY IS FCB KL SO HOT? FCB Kuala Lumpur’s new business success streak continues with its recent selection to RHB Bank’s panel of agencies.

back to the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement in America which protests against violence and racism towards the African-

The agency’s first piece of work is the recently launched Raya film titled ‘Apa ditunggu-tunggu setiap kali Raya?’ which has already received over 650,000 views in the two days since it was released.

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American community. The advertisement became a controversial issue with major news outlets and netizens accusing Pepsi of taking the chance to

promote their product using a serious issue faced by the community.

Elle Hearns, executive director of the Marsha P. Johnson Institute and

The addition of RHB to the agency’s client list makes it seven new business wins for the FCB Group in 2017. FCB came on strong in the first two months of the year, securing appointments

from Havaianas and Zespri Malaysia. Its boutique agency, IGNITE also picked up Perodua’s festive advertising portfolio.

March saw FCB selected by Continental to introduce its new ContiConnect tyre management system to Asia. The campaign recently launched in Australia and will be making the rounds in numerous markets within this region. Adding to that was a successful partnership with FCB Jakarta that saw Levi’s added to the roster for both Malaysian and Indonesian offices.

formerly an organiser for Black Lives Matter told The New York Times that the ad “plays down the sacrifices people have historically taken in utilising protests.” “No one is finding joy from Pepsi at a protest,” she said. “That’s just not the reality of our lives. That’s not what it looks like to take bold action.”

Following the backlash, Pepsi issued an apology stating, “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace, and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark and apologise,” “We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are pulling the content and halting any further rollout.”

In April the network extended its global Clorox remit to South-East Asia with FCB Kuala Lumpur winning two key projects: Raya campaigns for the Clorox and Glad brands in Malaysia and the launch of Clorox Wipes in Singapore.

“Our success really comes down to two things: the good fortune of engaging with some top calibre clients willing to take a shot with us and our people who have leapt onto every opportunity given, working relentlessly to deliver work that our clients would be proud of,” said Shaun Tay, CEO of FCB Group in Malaysia.

NEWS TGV CINEMAS AND REDBERRY AMBIENT ENTERS INTO A NEW PARTNERSHIP TGV Cinemas and Redberry Ambient recently announced a strategic, ‘One Team One Stop Solution’.

The new change comes after 4 years of Redberry Ambient working on selling TGV’s on-screen media and TGV Cinemas specialising in selling their public service announcements and other offscreen media. The renewed partnership managed by Redberry Ambient will give clients a one stop solution for buying all media assets of TGV Cinemas, on-screen and off-screen.

BBDO HELP COUPLES GROW YOUNG TOGETHER BBDO Malaysia has helped Anlene launch a new campaign to promote Anlene Heart Plus, by turning “growing old together” on its head and setting a new standard for love and commitment between couples and Anlene proposes that with the right nutrition, people can continue to live as young as they feel inside. The campaign is focused on encouraging married, middle-aged women to look to Anlene Heart Plus for herself and her husband to inspire each other.

WHY FUNNY BUSINESS MUST STOP ON TV Primeworks Studios, the production arm under Media Prima has issued a formal apology to former national sprinter Watson Nyambek over an insensitive joke made about his late father during its Sukan Tak Sentral programme.

Due to the issue the presenter Azizul Ammar Abu Hassan had personally apologised to Watson and Azizul along with the whole production crew has been suspended.

MCDONALD’S MALAYSIA COMMITS TO A MILLION DOLLAR SEA GAMES SPONSORSHIP DEAL McDonald’s Malaysia will be the silver sponsor for the 29th SEA Games and 9th Asean Para Games with a sponsorship of over RM1 million. The sponsorship will include cash along with services and goods at several branches in Johor, Putrajaya, and Penang which would serve as exchange points for the Touch Relay event.

APPIES MALAYSIA SEES 20% INCREASE IN ENTRIES APPIES Malaysia’s entries have been coming in fast and furiously, and it concluded with a 20% increase in entries this year.

Back for the 2nd time, APPIES Malaysia brings together 30 senior marketers who will be judging the 50 marketing case studies that will be presented over the course of two days.

Listen to how top brands achieved their sales growth through powerful and compelling campaigns and get an insight into the best-kept secrets from today’s best brands.

Book your spot to network, share and learn from the best: Date 6 & 7 July 2017 Venue Grand Ballroom, Eastin Hotel, Petaling Jaya.

Time 8.30am - 6.00pm To register, connect with Ruby on 0377262588, ruby@adoimagazine.com, To find out more on the event visit www.appies. com.my

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BBDO AND U MOBILE PARTNER WITH KYOTO PROTOCOL BBDO Malaysia and U Mobile partnered with one of the country’s favourite local rock bands, Kyoto Protocol, as part of the telco’s Hari Raya campaign.

The campaign consists of a music video, directed by Laura Low and produced by Wayang Works, where Kyoto Protocol sings their rendition of the iconic “Maafkan Kami” track as tribute to Tan Sri P. Ramlee.

The song was carefully selected to be part of U Mobile’s Hari Raya campaign because it speaks of the qualities celebrated during Hari Raya, such as forgiveness and humility.

“It was a pleasure to work on this campaign, which embodies what Raya is all about. I strongly believe U Mobile’s sincerity, coupled with Kyoto Protocol’s star power, will charm many Malaysians,” said Farrah Harith McPherson, General Manager of BBDO Malaysia.

“U Mobile is really driven by our customers’ passion; hence we are always coming up with

unlimited ideas on how we can enhance their mobile experience. That drive is also inspired by healthy competition in the industry. The song truly captures our mindset and we want to mark the Raya festive season with great harmony,” said Jasmine Lee, Chief Marketing Officer, U Mobile.

SPRINGCREEK RETAINS DIGI’S SOCIAL ACCOUNT SpringCreek, the social media agency within IPG Mediabrands Malaysia has been reappointed the social media agency on retainer for Digi Telecommunications (Digi). In a recently concluded pitch, the agency won and retained the account against a number of agencies vying for the business including Entropia Global and the newly formed Ampersand Advisory.

SpringCreek will continue to provide Digi an extensive range of specialist social media services including creative, strategy, analytics, crisis management, wordof- mouth marketing, technology, and enterprise solutions.

ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 41

R U N C I T

M E D I A

wired MARKETING ONLINE GETS A

FRESH NEW LOOK IT was a long awaited change, after 10 years MARKETING has revamped is website (www. marketingmagazine.com.my) and unveiled a fresh new look for its online readers early this month.

The new website also marks a new direction for the brand’s to focus to focus more on visually driven content to give our readers an interactive reading experience online.

As we continue to bring you the hottest news in the industry through our daily ‘Breaking News’ which is constantly updated with a steady stream of engaging content, be sure to check out our new categories which include: • Campaign spotlight- Shining the spotlight on the most innovative campaigns in Malaysia and the rest of the region • Digital – Data, Analytics, Social and more find out the latest updates in the digital space in this section.

• Analysis- Research, reports and in-depth writeups which will inspire your next marketing innovation • AdoiTV- Stay tuned as we bring you more video content featuring the movers and shakers in the Malaysian marketing space.

A NEW SPACE FOR ADVERTISING With the change we have also made available some new ad spots available on our main picture carousel as well as a bigger and more prominent leader board spaces available for all of our advertisers.

44 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

Keen on advertising on our website? Get in touch with Jarrod at jarrod@adoimagazine. com / 018-220068

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in the marketing space. Sign up for our newsletter to receive fresh content in the media, advertising and marketing space and receive exclusive invites to the top industry events.

Have a say on what’s going on in the industry by joining the discussion

on our 3,500 people strong Facebook family and 3,150 active twitter followers.

Share with us your thoughts on the new website by writing to Malati at malati@ adoimagazine.com Catch you on www. marketingmagazine. com.my!

mobile advertising

FREAKOUT IS HERE TO DISRUPT THE LOCAL PUBLISHING SCENE Japan-based Technology company FreakOut is here to change the way local companies are using mobile advertising. With their fresh ideas and innovative solutions, in less then two months they are already changing the game in the local market.

ADDRESSING THE MARKET’S NEEDS

“Adblockers is a serious issue for publishers, according to last year’s report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) 26 percent of desktop users and 15 percent of mobile consumers use blockers to remove ads from publishers. Today’s consumers are used to having what they want at their fingertips and no longer want to consume these types of passive ads. FreakOut’s main aim is to bring out more native ads for mobile which will allow marketers to push out their products in a less intrusive way,” Japanese native, Risa Tsuji who heads the company’s local operations shared.

THE YOUNG AND VIBRANT FREAKOUT LEADS

Together with Risa is digital media veteran

Ash Raman, FreakOut Malaysia’s Head of Sales who joined the company to lend his insights on the local media scene.

No stranger to the local digital media scene, Ash has worked with several key media players including Media Prima, Mudah.my, PropertyGuru as well as several stints in the broadcast industry in the United Kingdom.

A GLOBAL COMPANY WITH A LOCAL OUTLOOK

FreakOut is one of the first and largest demand-side platform (DSP) in Asia and has over 200 employees.

Its offices outside Japan include Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, Taiwan, Vietnam, India and Philippines So why Malaysia?

High mobile penetration, wide user base and a strong familiarity in making online payments was Risa’s reply.

“More local brands are already looking to engage their customers through native ads, and so far we have received strong support and interest from local brands and publishers alike,” Ash added.

Locally, Freak Out has already inked partnerships with

several major publishers including Lowyat and SinChew.

MEET THE DIGITAL DISRUPTORS

POWERING ENGAGING MOBILE SOLUTIONS

Being the pioneer in DSP, Freakout is razor focused on combining both technology and creativity in their mobile advertising solutions.

One such example of this is the company’s very own native in-feed advertising network, Hike, which is focused on smartphones and has inventories of hundreds of local media on the platform.

Hike appears between publisher’s news feed, and its style is similar to the publisher’s organic articles (same image size, same font size and same font colour).

“In-feed ads is the new advertising format for the smartphone.

Its style is customised according to each media layout, and blends seamlessly to the publisher’s articles.

Already in-feed ads have become the mainstream of smartphone advertisements in Japan,” Risa explained.

She added that since Hike was launched in 2015, it has been used by more than 200 advertisers in their

Risa Tsuji and Ash Raman, FreakOut Malaysia’s Head of Sales

promotions. Some of them include AirAsia, Toyota, Honda, Japan Airlines and more.

MAKING ITS MARK IN THE LOCAL MARKET

Apart from making inroads with local publishers, the company is also looking to drive collaborations with local players. Most recently Risa shared her knowledge in the mobile

space at an event held by Dentsu Aegis Malaysia. Collaborations with digitally driven companies like Dentsu Aegis Network that is spearheading the digital space with data-led, mobile-first solutions for its clients could be on the horizon for FreakOut “In the Malaysian market, I believe Dentsu Aegis Network has a foresight on agendas surrounding digital and I’m happy to be sharing my thoughts on the importance of native advertising and how brands can better engage with their consumers online at the upcoming #Sessions, an exclusive Dentsu Aegis Mobile Day event,” Risa added.

ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 45

“I DON’T THINK THERE ARE ANY RUSSIANS THERE ARE NO YANKS; JUST CORPORATE CRIMINALS PLAYING WITH TANKS.”

Paul Loosley is an English person who has been in Asia 39 years, 12 as a Creative Director, 20 making TV commercials.

And in recent years, a brand consultant. And still, for some strange reason, he can’t shut-up about advertising. Any feedback; mail p.loosley@gmail.com (please keep it in sound-bites) 46 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

WATCHING YouTube in the UK is currently a pain in the bum. I am writing this, in Blighty, a week or so before the UK general election on June 8th. So should you be unfortunate enough to be here, and be surfing YouTube, you will be hit with an annoying advert every 30 seconds or so.

Many of which you cannot skip nor avoid.

Now if this ad bombardment wasn’t bad enough, many of the ads are manic and unpleasant personal attacks on opposing candidates.

A particularly good ‘un is one where the Conservative party is using bits of a speech from Jeremy Corbyn ,the Labour shadow PM, where a recording of a speech of his is shown on screen saying, “I’ve been opposed to anti-terror legislation since 1983”. Naturally, at the same time, the words are writ large onscreen. At just a few short weeks after the Manchester tragedy, this is hunnish behaviour. Low politics; not the ‘gentlemanly stuff’ we would expect from ‘Cool Britannia’. And it may cost the Conservative Party dear if the polls are anything to go by.

But let’s face it, political ads of hate have now become the norm. Trump ads during the 2016 election campaign showed Hilary Clinton fainting on the way to her car and alluding she was not strong enough to be president; low and possibly sexist stuff. The liberally sprinkled ‘crooked Hillary’ statements throughout Trump’s campaign were many and loud.

In fact one could argue that Trump’s entire campaign was based on the most outrageous and blatant insulting and name-calling of anyone who ran against him, let alone dare to oppose him. A strategy that, amazingly and unbelievably, given he is now POTUS, seems to have worked! (Note how

THE DEMON EYE!

OBAMA CAMPAIGN TRUMP CAMPAIGN

H. R. HALDEMAN

Americans cannot even be bothered to say ‘President of the United States’ anymore. Soon, I suspect, the highest post in America will be reduced to an emoji!).

These ads, particularly the demonising of opposing politicians with unfettered personal affronts, have now become the normal mainstay of any political advertising. And I am being quite literal. In 1997 a pro-Conservative Party poster showed Tony Blair (then labour Prime Minister) with his normal eyes torn away and replaced with the eyes of a demon, above

the line: ‘New Labour, New Danger’.

In Malaysia similarly attacking ads that made the most impact were for (I think; my memory isn’t what it was) the November 1999 General Election. Print advertising on behalf of the ruling coalition asked, by inference, whether the country wanted a man like Anwar Ibrahim as PM (this of course being a man who had been found guilty of sodomy the previous April). So we can’t run away with the idea that the culture of demonising opposition politicians is an exclusively

Shut up about advertising!

ADVERTISING THE POLITICS OF FAILURE western concept!

All of this tactic of backbiting, humiliation and aggression is so sad. Especially when my earliest recollection of a political sound bite was in 1957 when the then British Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan said ‘You’ve never had it so good’. I suspect most Brits of my generation will remember that. It was a positive and strong statement about the sudden spurt of prosperity that hit the country after the war years of dreadful austerity. Some bright spark in the opposition crossed out the words ‘never’, ‘so’ and ‘good’.

(Work it out!). But that kind of jolly nice political sound bite is long gone.

But now, of course, sound bites and snappy themes have become the norm.

Trump, as we all know, unless you have been living under a rock, used ‘Make America great again’ ad nauseam during his ad nauseous campaign. So much does he believe in the power of the neat slogan he has already announced that his 2020 re-

election theme will be ‘Keeping America Great’. I would suggest he may want to think about using ‘It was good while it lasted’ as a theme given the trouble he is now in.

Obama used ‘Yes we can!’ for his original 2008 campaign for president, but sadly that quickly turned into ‘No we can’t’.

But in the final insult it is the amazing amounts of money spent on political advertising that is both juicy for the ad makers and mind boggling for everyone else.

The UK’s ‘Independent’ online newspaper is quoted as saying that, in the 2015 general election, the British Conservative Party spent £1.2m on Facebook campaigns alone.

But that pales into total insignificance when you look at what the Yanks spend.

According to AdAge, during the 2008 election campaign, a mind boggling US$5.3 billion was spent on political advertising across America.

For simple comparison, P&G’s total 2008 ad spend on all of its myriad brands was US$8.5

billion; and that was worldwide!

In the recent 2016 American election, AdAge again quotes, ‘More than $93 million was spent on TV and radio in one state! A state with just 1.3 million residents! And in the single state of New Hampshire an astonishing $128million was blown on ads.

For a little context; in 1949, a gentleman called H. R. Haldeman, joined J. Walter Thompson, where he worked for 20 years in both Los Angeles and New York City. This chap ended up working as Chief of Staff for President Richard Nixon. In 1973 Haldeman ultimately was tried over his involvement in the Watergate ‘cover-up’ scandal, on counts of perjury, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, and found guilty and imprisoned for 18 months. As a consequence, when I worked at JWT in the 80s, we were told we could not, under any circumstances, do political advertising. That has certainly changed. M&C Saatchi being a prime mover these days (I mentioned before, in a past

COOL BRITANNIA

piece, that Margaret Thatcher’s main speech-writer was an executive at Saatchi & Saatchi in London). And JWT now spends quite a lot of energy researching political advertising (H.R. is probably giggling as he rotates in his grave). Finally, on a slightly lighter note, popular music has, for a long time, also been politicised (Bob Dylan built an entire career on it). A prime example is a very political and relatively obscure American band named ‘The Call’. They recorded a song in 1983 called ‘The walls came down’.

The entire lyric is remarkably prescient; talking about terrorism, nightly raids and the politics of failure, it is probably more relevant today than it was when they sang it; here’s my favourite line; “I don’t think there are any Russians There are no Yanks; Just corporate criminals Playing with tanks.”

(See the whole vid on YouTube if you can avoid the political ads) ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 47

ADF

A PAR

48 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

FEST2017:

ARTY IN PATTAYA

by Malati Siniah

I had been wracking my brains on what I would call this article.

What would summarise the four days of jampacked knowledge sessions, networking and of course parties…

For the past 20 years, the organisers of the region’s most prominent regional advertising awards have been throwing one of the best awards show on the banks of Pattaya.

The usually sleepy seaside town is awakened by the attending 1200 delegates from 69 cities who come to soak up after international speaker sessions, breakout workshops, networking events and the huge exhibition of 3,011entries across 18 awards categories.

A PLATFORM FOR THE YOUNG CREATIVES

My conversation with a young creative from Vietnam during the networking party on day two gave me an insight as to how important the festival was to the next generation of creatives. Over wine and sushi at the festivals never-ending buffets she shared with me her perspective on how regional awards such as AdFest help her gain new perspectives on the work and the people she meets across the region, “It’s amazing to see the brilliant creative work coming from each region, the quirky Japanese ads, the absurdly funny Thai ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 49

“ALWAYS TRUST IN YOURSELF. THIS WAS ONE PARTICULAR SCENE IN THE UNDER ARMOUR AD WHERE PHELPS WAS LOOKING AT AN ABANDONED SWIMMING POOL WHICH EVERYONE THOUGHT I SHOULD CUT OUT AS IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS TRAINING..."

Ted Royer, Grand Jury President

50 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

Corey Esse Jury President Film Craft Lotus & New Director Lotus

Wain Choi Jury President Film Lotus & Radio Lotus

Victor Manggunio Jury President Media Lotus & Effective Lotus

ads and the emotional and moving Filipino ads. Each region has its special signature, and just by looking at this year’s winners this really comes out,” Tong Thra Nam one of the Young Lotus Workshop participants shared.

At the workshop themed “Create with

MEET THE JURY Pann Lim Jury President Design Lotus & Print Craft Lotus

a Swagger”, 15 pairs of the best young creatives in the region had 24-hours to come up with the idea for the following brief: ‘create a digital platform that not only raises awareness among creatives of ADFEST as an event, but also helps build an extended and on-going

Yasuharu Sasaki Jury President Interactive Lotus & Mobile Lotus

Fadi Yaish Jury President Outdoor Lotus & Press Lotus

Woon Hoh Jury President Direct Lotus & Promo Lotus

community throughout Asia Pacific, based on the festival’s principles and beliefs’.

The winning team came from Tokyo with Shun Akeda and Sayo Noda from Hakuhodo Inc. clinching the trophy.

Wain Choi, Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of

Cheil Worldwide, Seoul, who was Chairman of this year’s Young Lotus Workshop said, “Nurturing the next generation of creatives in Asia has always been at the centre of our attention. Communicating with the young creatives is an exciting experience as we can learn what ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 51

#GRANDE FOR HUMANITY inspires them, and makes them passionate.

They are the future of our industry. We are here to make sure their voice is heard through this region and globally.”

“The Tokyo team had a fresh concept that was relevant to why we go to award shows.

The moment you see great work, you would think ‘I wish I had done that.’ Their idea and its execution had great insight that tapped into emotions. The decision was unanimous among the four judges. Tokyo team deserves it,” says Choi.

The Young Lotus Workshop is one of the integral components of ADFEST every year.

Vinit Suraphongchai,

Chairman of ADFEST, shared, “We held the first Young Lotus workshop in 2004, and today it remains one of the only mentoring programs for young people to come together to learn from the world’s top creatives. I’d like to thank Cheil Worldwide for hosting this year’s Young Lotus Workshop, which is always one of the highlights of our festival.”

LIFE’S LESSONS IN CREATIVITY

The speaking sessions at this year’s AdFest was nothing short of inspiring, from how becoming a dad taught two award winning creative directors to become

52 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

more creative to how Ted Royer, Droga5’s Chief Creative Officer and ADFEST Grand Jury President the brilliant mind behind the iconic Michael Phelps Under Armour ad finds inspiration in comics.

Chris Gurney Regional ECD at ADK Global Singapore and Naohiro Togawa, creative director at ADK Tokyo wowed audiences with their insights and honesty when they shared how becoming a dad, helped them to be more creative.

They both shared how becoming a parent helped them to become better thinkers, coming up with quick and creative solutions to solve problems faced

by their children. This new phase in life also helped the two sharpen their imagination and storytelling abilities.

The two later showcased the innovative solutions which they had to come up with in taking care of their children, from coming up with an elaborate story to help them do simple things such as blowing their nose and more.

Solving these problems creatively helped them grow as both creative professions and as individuals.

Also touching on how creatives should seek inspiration in the every day was Droga5’s Ted Royer, during his

talk Ted highlighted the creative process which went behind some of his best work, including the Phelps Under Armour ad which picked up several metals at last year’s Cannes Lions.

“Always trust in yourself. This was one particular scene in the Under Armour ad where Phelps was looking at an abandoned swimming pool which everyone thought I should cut out as it had nothing to do with his training.

However, I decided to keep it as the scene was an open-ended one allowing the audiences to get into the mind of Phelps and guess for themselves what would have been in his mind during the scene.

Ted later spoke about his biggest inspiration, a comic artist named Jack Kirkby that created iconic characters such as AntMan, Thor and Captain America. Despite the odds being against him – being stifled creatively, low wages and poor working conditions, Jack soldiered on staying true to his work and crafting a fantasy world which captivated the world.

Drawing Jack’s story to what was happening with most creatives today, Ted encouraged those who were facing constraints in executing their creative ideas not to give up and stay true to their creative dream.

To those stuck in a rut here are Ted’s top four tips for getting those creative juices flowing: - Don’t Beg‘Instead of begging for your customer’s attention; you should always try to start your own.’

- How ‘true’ is your truth- ‘Dig deep and find out what truly is important to you.’

- Details matter‘Sometimes what is important to you might not be to others. Trust your judgement and edit out what only feels right to you.’

- Don’t let cynicism and despair get in your way- ‘Clients often don’t want great work.

Agencies often don’t support great work.

Briefs often aren’t good formats and are limited.

The industry is shrinkingDon’t focus on the chatter, trust your gut and most importantly don’t give up.’

MAKING MALAYSIA PROUD

The fourth and final day of AdFest ended on a sweet note for Malaysia with Naga DDB picking up a silver award for Film Lotus under the category ‘Internet Film: Public services & cause appeals’ at the festival’s final awards night.

The winning campaign, ‘The Sickest Mannequin Challenge’ was a public service announcement done by the agency for a local NGO Protect and Save the Children to bring to light the issue

The Sickest Mannequin Challenge ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 53

BRANDED CONTENT & ENTERTAINMENT LOTUS

DESIGN LOTUS

DIRECT LOTUS 54 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

of child abuse and sex trafficking.

There were seven other finalists in this category, and only two awards were given out.

The gold award went to JWT Sydney for its campaign, ‘The Lucky Ones’. The initiative was done to raise awareness for Parkinson’s Disease, and prompt donations in the lead up to World Parkinson’s Day. Out of the 12 finalists, the 20th AdFest ended with a medal tally of 6 metals for Malaysia.

Although we did not manage to beat last year’s tally of 8 metals, this year Malaysia took home more silver awards than the 2 won last year.

The 20th ADFEST wrapped up this year’s four-day Festival with an Awards Presentation at PEACH, Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand on Saturday, 25th March 2017.

Check out the full list of this year’s winners from Malaysia: 1) FILM CRAFT LOTUS CATEGORY DIRECTING ENTRY TITLE

BRAND

AGENCY

ENTERING COMPANY

AWARD

BLAST OFF

LAZADA GROUP (E-CART SERVICES MALAYSIA SDN. BHD.)

LEO BURNETT MALAYSIA

DIRECTORS THINK TANK SDN BHD

SILVER

SISTERS

ALLIANZ

OGILVY & MATHER KUALA LUMPUR

DIRECTORS THINK TANK SDN BHD

BRONZE

RUBBER BOY

PETROLIAM NASIONAL BERHAD (PETRONAS)

LEO BURNETT MALAYSIA

RESERVOIR WORLD SDN BHD

BRONZE

ENTRY TITLE

BRAND

AGENCY

ENTERING COMPANY

AWARD

BLAST OFF

LAZADA GROUP (E-CART SERVICES MALAYSIA SDN. BHD.)

LEO BURNETT MALAYSIA

DIRECTORS THINK TANK SDN BHD

SILVER

2) ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE

Close to 1200 delegates from 69 cities in total attended the advertising creativity festival, and soaked up after international speaker sessions, breakout workshops, networking events and the huge exhibition of 3,011entries across 18 awards categories.

Jimmy Lam, President of ADFEST shared, “We are very fortunate this year to have an extremely diligent group of Juries judging the ADFEST Lotus Awards. Every individual, but especially the Super Eight panel of Jury Presidents committed their time and really went the extra mile to ensure that the award results were fair and the outcome was something they could be proud of. We truly appreciate their efforts and their commitment to making ADFEST a respected festival of note on the world stage.

3) NEW DIRECTOR LOTUS CATEGORY INTERNET FILM ENTRY TITLE

BRAND

AGENCY

ENTERING COMPANY

AWARD

RUBBER BOY

PETROLIAM NASIONAL BERHAD (PETRONAS)

LEO BURNETT MALAYSIA

RESERVOIR WORLD SDN BHD

SILVER

3) NEW DIRECTOR LOTUS CATEGORY INTERNET FILM ENTRY TITLE

BRAND

AGENCY

ENTERING COMPANY

AWARD

THE SICKEST MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMEMNT

NAGA DDB TRIBAL

NAGA DDB TRIBAL SDN BHD

SILVER

EFFECTIVE LOTUS ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 55

#WORKHACKS: PRODUCTIVITY TIPS TO HELP YOU POWER THROUGH YOUR DAY THEY SAY TIME AND TIDE WAIT FOR NO MAN.

Time is a precious resource which is stretched thin for many working adults due to the barrage of deadlines faced daily. So how do we maximise the time at hand? How can we remove unnecessary time wasters and tackle the task in front of us?

We spoke to some of the top industry experts to share more on how they stay productive….

TIMOTHY JOHNSON

GETTING RID OF CLUTTER

To Timothy Johnson, INTI International University’s Senior 56 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

Vice President of Marketing, Products & Partnerships, preparing a list of priority tasks and ticking them off as you go is essential so that you don’t miss out on priority items.

His other tip is to start off any job with a clean table.

“I find that when your table is filled with a lot of paper /notes, one gets distracted easily. A messy table is nonproductive, so regular cleaning of the work desk is crucial to avoid distractions,” he shared.

MANAGING TECHNOLOGY

“My phone is mostly on silent mode. This ensures mindfulness in whatever I do, and helps me be more creative and productive,” Entropia’s Founder Prashant Kumar shared.

His relationship with his phone plays an important role on how he manages his time, “I try to minimise the number of apps in my phone.” he shared that this helps him to keep distraction to a minimum.

Prashant also has an innovative new way of staying productive during those long

PRASHANT KUMAR

marketing strategy

brainstorm sessions. He finds it more effective to take photos of things that he wants to remember during meetings, rather than taking notes.

“I no longer take notes at meetings, just photos of things which I find to be important.

These photos can also be easily shared with others.”

If you think all the productivity tips from this digitally savvy man is online based, think again, to save time Prashant prints out his documents to read in the car.

This method helps him to focus on meetings and brainstorms when he is in the office.

GOING BACK TO BASICS

Prashant is not the only one, ask Ensemble’s Executive ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 57

marketing strategy EXPLORE NEW PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

CHAN WOEI HERN

Creative Director Chan Woei Hern his top productivity app, and he will reply ‘a pen and an A3 layout pad’.

Check out short but sweet tips on how he stays on top of his game: Take naps.

Good Life’

https://www.amazon. com/Subtle-Art-NotGiving-Counterintuitive/ dp/0062457713

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Be brutal about time allocated to work on stuff Try not to attend more than one client meeting a day The best app is still a pen and an A3 layout pad Spend alone time before you do brainstorm time Play This book- ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counter-intuitive Approach to Living a 58 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

MALEK ALI

As forward thinking as his radio station, BFM’s chief executive officer Malek Ali is never afraid to try something new, “I’ve used so many notebooks to record notes in the past, but I find that they did not function beyond being a repository of notes (I guess that’s why they’re called notebooks!). The bullet journal, on the other hand, is something I use for calendaring, note taking, to-do lists, ideas repository that can easily be retrieved in the future.”

“But the biggest time sink for me today is calendaring, have not been able to solve that one yet (start-up culture also does not

allow for a perk like a personal assistant) but I have been given an AI software to try out,” he said.

Interestingly enough Malek’s usage of ridesharing apps, Grab and Uber is a key function in how he maximises his time ‘I used to drive, and I would have to clear about 60 emails in my inbox by the time I get home most evenings, which usually means about 1.5 hours of work before I go to bed. But with Grab and Uber (I use both) I can clear my emails in between journeys, so I can just chill when I get home.”

EFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Apart from focusing on personal productivity, a key in better time management is working effectively as a team.

One way of how AirAsia’s regional head of branding, Rudy Khaw does this is by using apps like Trello or Slack.

“Apps such as Trello / Slack tend to help with tracking the progress of projects within teams and also across teams when there’s a larger involvement.

Trello especially from a checklist point of view, and Slack for discussions and a quick check on things,” he said.

He also said, Google Drive (file sharing apps) can help to increase one’s productivity, it’s good for collaboration, it’s simple, easy to access,

"SOMETIMES, THE MOST EFFICIENT IS A GOOD OLD PEN AND PAPER CHECKLIST AND ACTUAL COMMUNICATION. HUMAN INTERACTION BEATS APPS ANYTIME" easy to simultaneously update and helps with efficiency.

‘Apps aside, though, it’s always best to work based on something the individual or the team is comfortable using.

If the team isn’t used to it nor comfortable with the process, then it’s just a waste of time implementing the use of a new app for example.’

‘Sometimes, the most efficient is a good old pen and paper checklist and actual communication. Human interaction beats apps anytime.’

Have any #WorkHacks to share or a topic you want us to cover? Write to us at malati@adoimagazine.com.

RUDY KHAW

ISSUE210MAY-JUNE 59

creative showcase INTERNATIONAL SAETA TRAVELLING MADRID - DUBAI ADVERTISING AGENCY OGILVY, BARCELONA, SPAIN EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR CAMIL ROCA CREATIVE DIRECTORS NACHO MAGRO, GERMÁN MILANESI ART DIRECTORS BORIS PUYANA, SERGIO ERANSUS PHOTOGRAPHER GARRIGOSA STUDIO

60 MARKETINGISSUE210MAY-JUNE

Give your team the right tools One person subscribing to Contagious magazine – pretty smart.

A whole team using our intelligence resource, Contagious I/O – on fire. io.contagious.com

Interview / Simon Sinek

LEARNING TO LEAD Author and consultant Simon Sinek shares his mission for leadership to be more caring and empowering and explains why many companies are currently run in an ‘ass-backwards’ way

S

imon Sinek’s legendary TED talk, in which he advises businesses to ‘start with why’, is the third most-watched of all time. In it, he eulogises the benefits of defining a purpose beyond what a company does and how it does it. In addition to sharing his ideas at the United Nations and the US Congress, Sinek is an adjunct staff member of the RAND Corporation, one of the world’s most highly regarded think tanks, and a New York Times bestselling author.

His latest book, Together is Better, is designed to inspire leaders to make bold choices. Emily Hare speaks to him about his people-first style of leadership and how it can create holistic, long-term success for companies.

We’re increasingly hearing criticism of businesses that prioritise the needs of shareholders over their clients and employees, and the imbalance that can create. What are the dangers of making shareholder value the top priority?

It’s like a sports coach tasked with building a strong team and prioritising the needs of the fans over the needs of the players. It’s just not going to work.

The history of shareholder value was born in the late 70s when there was a rise of professional management being installed in companies that had investors who they wanted to protect. They came up with a new incentive structure based on the equity price, not on how the company was doing. It was designed by shareholders to protect their interests, not the company.

I think it’s outdated and the companies that are obsessed with it are the ones that struggle over the long term. Jack Welch [former chairman and CEO of General

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Electric] was one of the big pioneers of shareholder supremacy in the 80s and 90s and General Electric needed a $300bn bailout in 2008. That’s not a company built to last, that’s a company built for short-term gain.

Scandal-ridden companies such as VW, Wells Fargo and Tesco are prioritising numbers over common sense. The spreadsheet becomes more important than the lives of human beings.

Creating long-term business success underlies a lot of your work. What is the potential damage of focusing on the short term?

Quarterly reporting is arbitrary. How do you know that a company is healthy, just because we agree to look at the numbers on pre-determined dates four times a year?

How many companies actually have a ten-year plan these days? And even if they have one, they’re not following it.

I don’t have a problem with short-termism, the problem is we have too much. When we invest, we invest in things like our children and education, the future. The rest of it is gambling. I’m betting on your new product, I’m betting on your new ad campaign, I’m betting on your new CEO, and if it works out, fantastic; and if it doesn’t, I’ll lose my money.

We need to have investments and gambles. We need to have things that are sustainable in the long term and also things that are fun and crazy with the possibility of high risk, high reward. And we don’t have that.

There’s no CEO of a public company who likes being public. The pressure is overwhelming. They all know it’s an ass-backwards model. They defend it only because they’re incentivised by it, but privately, there’s

not a public company that thinks it’s great. That’s the dirty secret.

How do you define leadership?

Leadership is the commitment to see those around us succeed. It’s often misinterpreted as authority, but leadership has nothing to do with rank or authority.

People think just because they get promoted it makes them a leader. Actually, it means they’re in a position of leadership. Leadership is when we commit ourselves to the care and wellbeing of those around us.

How would you convince more bosses and managers to adopt your ideas around focusing on people’s wellbeing rather than shareholder value?

I’m preaching not to the CFOs who want to run businesses the old way, but to the people who work in the company. How do you like your job? Feel safe? Feel good? Feel like leadership cares about your personal growth? Do you think you’ll be sacrificed to save a number or do you think they’ll sacrifice the number to save you? If any of your answers to those questions causes concern, start putting pressure on your leadership. My goal isn’t to convince CFOs to change their ways, it’s to empower employees to stand up and speak out for what they want.

You’ve said that businesses have a responsibility to train their employees in human skills like communication, listening and effective confrontation. Why is that so important?

We are social animals and the way we communicate directly affects the way we feel about ourselves and

about each other. If someone’s mean to you, you feel bad.

If someone ignores you, you feel upset.

When your boss never talks to you at work, something like 40% of people actively disengage from their work.

And if you’re yelled at, something like 22% actively disengage. Which means even when we get into trouble, it’s better than being ignored.

We give people tons of training in how to do the job. And then, as they get more senior, we promote them into a position where they’re responsible for taking care of people who do the job they used to do, but they aren’t taught how to do that. They’re just expected to be good at it.

Did anybody teach them how to give constructive criticism? Is there a formal course in how to give and receive feedback, or how to listen? These are interpersonal skills that make an office run better, that make leadership run better, that make us talk to each other.

When companies teach human skills, there’s an added benefit. Not only is it good for business and innovation, not only are people learning to communicate and disagree, or to express discontent and give criticism up and down the chain of command, but they take all those skills home with them.

We bring our stress from home to work and our stress from work to home, it goes both ways. So if work takes responsibility for us as human beings, it has a magical positive impact in all aspects of our lives, which then comes back to benefit the company. We’d rather work at a place where we feel valued and valuable than one that simply makes us rich.

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Leadership is often misinterpreted as authority.

Actually, leadership is when we commit ourselves to the care and wellbeing of those around us What’s the one thing that people could change that would have the most impact at work?

Learning to listen, being the last to speak. In business, you walk into a meeting and go: ‘Right chaps, here’s the problem, here’s what I think we should do, but I’m interested in what you have to say.’ It’s too late. You’ve blown it. You’re either going to influence and bias the answers, or people are going to feel they have to agree.

Or if they give you honest opinions they don’t feel like you care anyway. I love leaders who walk into an organisation and say: ‘Here’s the problem, tell me what you think.’ They give no indication whether they agree or disagree with what’s being said. If anything, they’re asking questions to really understand what that person means. Then, when the whole table has expressed their thoughts, the boss says, ‘Ok, here’s what I think.’

Two things happen, leaders get the benefit of the whole room, so they may change their mind, or not, and even more importantly, everybody else feels like they got to contribute. They feel heard, they feel valued, they feel like they matter. If we don’t feel heard, if we don’t feel like our work matters, what ends up happening is politics.

We start looking to have any kind of control anywhere.

But if we all feel confident and valued, then politics goes away, because we all walk around satisfied as opposed to looking to have control over every detail.

So I think the very difficult skill of active listening would be the one thing that could profoundly change a corporate culture.

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You’ve also said that trust and empathy are very important in business. Why is that and how can companies encourage those attributes?

Trust is a feeling born out of the environment we’re in. If we feel safe, if we feel the company has our interests in mind, whether we’re a customer or an employee, if we feel that they would sacrifice their short term for us, we will reward them with our trust.

If you go on a first date and somebody holds a door open for you, do you trust them? No. They did something nice for you. If they let you have the last piece of cake, do you trust them? Of course not, but they did something nice for you. But if they do it all the time you will trust them, because you see that on a regular basis they’re willing to sacrifice their interests for you.

If they only did it at the beginning, but not continually, then you’d think it was just for appearances. Companies do that all the time. The most trusted companies are the ones where customers get the distinct feeling that it and the leadership and employees actually want to do right by them. Same goes inside a company. When I get the distinct feeling that the company actually cares about me as a human being, about my stresses and my strains, that it wants to help me be better at my job, I will reward it with my trust.

Empathy helps build that environment. It’s very common for someone to walk into an office and say: ‘You’ve missed your deadline for the third time in a row. If you don’t make this next deadline, I can’t guarantee that

you’re going to have a job.’ How inspired are you to meet that deadline? How inspired are you to work the next day? Not so much. Compare that to a good leader who walks into your office and says: ‘You know, you’ve missed your last three deadlines, are you ok? I’m worried about you.’

Genuine concern for our wellbeing allows us to be vulnerable. We are able to raise our hands and say: ‘I made a mistake,’ ‘I’m scared,’ ‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’ ‘You’ve given me a job that I feel unqualified for’ or ‘I’ve got stuff going on at home, it’s affecting my work.’

Vulnerability means being willing to put ourselves in a position of weakness, potential humiliation, potentially get into trouble, with the absolute confidence that we won’t lose our jobs, we won’t be humiliated and we won’t get into trouble. And that comes only from the conditions that those leaders create. And when that occurs, amazing things happen. And that’s the irony of vulnerability – when we’re willing to admit weakness in the short term, it makes the organisation stronger.

How well do you think leaders in the creative industry put all of this into practice?

The creative industry, unfortunately, is piss poor.

Just because somebody is really creative and we make them a creative director, it doesn’t make them a good leader. They become micro-managers because they really are better than the rest of us. That’s what got them promoted and it’s unbelievable how defensive or protective they become.

At some point when you become a leader, you let go, it’s not about you anymore. This is one of the troubles of being a leader. If everything goes right, you have to distribute all the credit. If everything goes wrong, you have to take all the responsibility. It sucks. But that’s why we give you more money and that’s why we give you a better office and a better parking space. No one is offended by the fact that somebody who is more senior has a higher salary. What offends us is if they are willing to take all those perks and advantages, but aren’t willing to take care of us.

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Why do you think it’s important for leaders to be measured as much against trust as against their performance?

We have to be comfortable with the fact that trust is not measured the same way, but it is measurable. It’s very easy to know who the bastard of the group is, just ask the people who work with them. They’re all going to point to the same person.

Some of the best companies I’ve seen have an annual or semi-annual peer review where everyone in the company can write an essay about why they should be recognised as the most valuable person,

based on company values. And then a group of volunteers goes through all the applications, interviews all the applicants, makes a decision and recognises the person that the company, not its leaders, has deemed the most valuable. It’s powerful because, if we’re working for our bosses, we’re working for one person’s approval, but when we’re good people, we get everyone’s approval. For social animals, getting recognised by the group is vastly more powerful than getting recognised by our boss. It sends a message that we all should take care of each other because we all want that kind of recognition.

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