Issue 235

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ISSUE 235 END-FEB2019

LOOK WHO’S BRIDGING OUT-OF-HOME WITH INTERACTIVITY BIG TREE’S SHUKOR HAS HIS EYE ON OUT-OF-HOME POSSIBILITIES!

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EDITOR’S NOTE

WHEN I WAS 5 “YEARS OLD, MY

MOTHER ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT HAPPINESS WAS THE KEY TO LIFE. WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL, THEY ASKED ME WHAT I WANTED TO BE WHEN I GREW UP. I WROTE DOWN ‘HAPPY’. THEY TOLD ME I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT, AND I TOLD THEM THEY DIDN’T UNDERSTAND LIFE.

ISSUE235END-FEB2019

THESE IMPACTFUL SAME FACEBOOK TO CIRCUS, CAMPAIGNS INSPIRED MONITOR INDIA FORBES’ AGENCY COUNCIL NEW MONKEYS ELECTIONS? OOH LA LA

This interesting article was first spotted for us by Moving Walls...

IT’S an ad from Comedy Central in advance of the new season. You can see the Comedy Central logo below the hashtag. If you think about it, it’s a brilliant marketing strategy. They take control of the hashtag from the start, owning it. They’re obviously not interested in cancelling the show. If there’s any controversy during the season, or anyone offended

by South Park, the Network is basically saying, “This is South Park, what do you expect?” While they also fire up those who might quickly glance and see only the hashtag, getting viewers excited for the new season as an act of “saving their show” (which was never in jeopardy).

”

JOHN LENNON

ALMOST 30% OF “GO-JEK E-HAILS IN INDONESIA ARE FRAUDULENT. ”

LATEST STUDY BY SPIRE RESEARCH AND CONSULTING

I NEVER “COMPLETED MY STUDIES AT ITM. THEY KICKED ME OUT. ” MOHAMAD SABU DEFENCE MINISTER MALAYSIA

3

THE same people who revealed that more than 3.6 million users of its service in Asia may have had their information improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica last year are monitoring elections?

Cambridge Analytica, which was key in US President Donald Trumps’s election campaign, received international attention after the firm was accused of harvesting almost 87 million Facebook users’ data for political purposes.

And Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg went from saying it was “crazy” to think Facebook could influence an election to vowing that he will “fix” Facebook.

Interestingly, while it faced mounting issues and various scandals throughout 2018, Facebook continues to grow its revenue and user base.

In Q4 2018, the social network giant managed to exceed Wall Street expectations as it generated US$16.9 billion for that quarter. Of that, the profit amounts to US$6.9 billion.

Facebook prioritizes user growth; the more data a person shares with Facebook, the more ads can target a user, which makes users that much more valuable to Facebook.

It’s not just your name and age. Facebook can also track your likes, the content you write, your purchases, and where you are right now.

Who can forget Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam who took Facebook to task last year.

He reminded Simon Milner, VP of Public Policy for Facebook Asia Pacific, why it is important for Facebook to fully answer questions from the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods.

But I suppose Singapore can rest easy for a while now since Facebook is investing in a S$1.4 billion data centre on the island soon, first such hub in Asia and its 15th in the world.

It will support “hundreds of jobs” and form part of Facebook’s growing presence in Singapore and the region when it starts operations in 2022.

As India faces elections soon, Facebook said it will launch transparency tools for electoral ads in the country to help prevent foreign interference.

It will also make political and issue advertising on its platform more transparent.

And this will be done from

Facebook’s operations centre in Singapore.

“We will create a publicly searchable library of these ads for up to seven years. The library will include information on the range of the ads’ budget, number of people they reached, and demographics of who saw the ad, including age, gender, and location,” said Samidh Chakrabarti, Director of Product Management and Civic Engagement at Facebook.

“These teams will add a layer of defence against fake news, hate speech and voter suppression, and will work cross-functionally with our threat intelligence, data science, engineering, research community, operations, legal, and other teams,” explained Katie Harbath, Global Politics and Government Outreach Director at Facebook.

The company said it will continue to expand its thirdparty fact-checking programme, covering content in 16 languages: “We have rolled out the ability for fact-checkers to review photos and videos in addition to article links, because we know multimedia-based misinformation is making up a greater share of false news.”

Outsourcing democracy?

Facebook also wants to give us a few lessons about democracy….

There are plans to organise a series of workshops over the next few months in Singapore, Delhi, Nairobi, Berlin, New York, Mexico City, and others, inviting experts and organisations who work on issues like free expression, technology and democracy, procedural fairness, and human rights.

Facebook, is also planning another regional operations centre focused on election integrity in Dublin….

BEFORE you go firing your head of marketing and bringing in a new one, let me save you some time and money. Here’s what your new CMO will say....

We need to get more digital.

We need to get younger.

PAUL Smith’s pink wall Is an LA Instagram phenomenon — but is It paying off for Paul Smith? The brand has all but denounced the wall’s social media success. People spent about an hour and a half in the small parking lot in front of Paul Smith’s LA flagship on Melrose Avenue, a popular shopping street. By the end, most got a subtle tan and a better idea of how big a phenomenon the storefront’s bright pink wall had become. Some even referred to it as a “landmark”, and as of a few months ago, it has its own security guard tasked with preventing cars from colliding with photo-takers and attempting to enforce the no-professionalcameras rule.

It doesn’t matter what the problem is, the answer will be…

We need to get more digital.

We need to get younger.

You have a crappy product?

We need to get more digital.

We need to get younger.

You have no discernible strategy?

We need to get more digital.

We need to get younger.

Your advertising is a pile of shit?

We need to get more digital.

We need to get younger.

Your stores are filthy, your people are morons?

We need to get more digital.

We need to get younger.

COCA-COLA’S large billboard in Toronto became one of the most effective, share-worthy billboards of 2018. The billboard has a halffull Coca-Cola bottle with several straws branching out to nearby apartment windows.

If you’re looking for a marketing job, repeat after me: We need to get more digital.

We need to get younger.

It’s the universal marketing strategy and will get you hired by any dumbass corporation in America.

You’ll only last 18 months, but that’s ok.

There will always be another dumbass corporation that needs your keen insights.

A chapter from Bob Hoffman’s laest book, now available on Amazon.

CONSUMERS did not just read Powerade’s billboard, they experienced it. The installations doubled as workout challenges where participants could scale rock walls or practice their boxing skills.

BIG+ BRINGS A 360º

ISSUE 235/// END-FEB2019 COVER STORY

05 EVENTS CALENDAR 18 & 19 APRIL 2019

ADVANCED MARKETING WORKSHOP: TRANSFORM YOUR MARKETING FOR THE DIGITAL WORLD 25 & 26 APRIL 2019

APPIES MALAYSIA MARKETING AWARDS 16 MAY 2019

STRATEGIC BRAND PLANNING WORKSHOP

BIG+ BRINGS A 360º DIGITAL EXPERIENCE TO OUT-OF-HOME ADVERTISING

DIGITAL EXPERIENCE TO OUT-OF-HOME ADVERTISING

24 JUNE 2019

MALAYSIAN MEDIA CONFERENCE 30 JULY 2019

BEST OF GLOBAL DIGITAL MARKETING CONFERENCE 07 OCTOBER 2019

DRAGONS OF MALAYSIA & ASIA AWARDS NIGHT 15 NOVEMBER 2019

CMO CONFERENCE & AWARDS NIGHT

Regional CEO Professor Harmandar Singh ham@adoimagazine.com Business Development Managers Jarrod Sunil Solomon jarrod@adoimagazine.com Sandesh Singh sandesh@adoimagazine.com Art Director / Designer Chemical Ali ali@adoimagazine.com Designer Lilna Marlina lilna@adoimagazine.com Events & Workshops Ruby Lim ruby@adoimagazine.com

EDITOR'S NOTE

FACEBOOK TO MONITOR INDIA ELECTIONS? The same people who revealed that more than 3.6 million users of its service in Asia may have had their information improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica last year are monitoring elections? Cambridge Analytica, which was key in US President Donald Trumps’s election campaign, received international attention after the firm was accused of harvesting almost 87 million Facebook users’ data for political purposes.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg went from saying it was “crazy” to think Facebook could influence an election to vowing that he will “fix” Facebook.

Interestingly, while it faced mounting issues of various scandals throughout 2018, Facebook continues to grow its revenue and user base. In Q4 2018, the social network giant managed to exceed Wall Street expectations as it generated US$16.9 billion for that quarter...

CREATIVE SURGE

LINKEDOUT

amira@adoimagazine.com

HARNESSING THE AD INDUSTRY FOR GREATER SOCIETAL IMPACT

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

Contributors: Bob Hoffman, Edward Ong, Greg Paull, Alvin Teoh, Salim Khubchandani Printer: Cetakrapi Sdn Bhd 22, Jalan Kepong, Taman Sri Ehsan, 52100 Kuala Lumpur

CREATIVE SOCIETY

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Web & Digital: Nurul Amira Ibrahim

Roving Photographer: Mccain Goh

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IDEAS: THE HONEST EGG STORY

Distribution: Spear Millennium Distribution Sdn Bhd E-1-5, Apartment AC4, Taman Sri Sentosa, Batu 6, Jalan Kelang Lama, 58000 Kuala Lumpur

09 10 WAYS TO MAKE LINKEDIN LESS BORING Let’s face it. LinkedIn is a monumental bore. Unless you’re a demented stalker or desperately looking for a job, what the hell is LinkedIn good for?...

MPH Distributors Sdn Bhd (5048-A) Ground Floor Warehouse, Bangunan TH No. 5, Jalan Bersatu, Section 13/4

I am a proud Malaysian and I delight in the ‘rojakness’ of our culture. But we don’t see the authenticity of who we are as a people, because of existing restrictions with censorship.

I understand the need for censorship in the area of religious or racial sensitivities or in the area of morals and vulgarity but when things like mix language or the natural way Bahasa is spoken in real life are questioned, then we end up producing work that is not authentic...

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BEST CNY TVCS2019

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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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EVERYBODY LOOKS FORWARD TO THIS.

CMOS INVENTING RELEVANCE?

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Tel: 603-7726 2588 Fax: 603-7722 5712 www.marketingmagazine.com.my

At the 2018 Lexus Design Awards, ‘Honest Egg’ by Aesthetid took home the People’s Choice Award. The winner was determined by votes cast by the public on the competition website.

The work, shortlisted from 1,319 entries worldwide, made Aesthetid the first Southeast Asian winner of the prestigious competition. I got in touch with the owners about their most eggcellent performance. “Lay it on the line.”

I said. “Tell us about Aesthetid”. “We’re Industrial Designers,” replied Paul Yong, Director and Co-founder of...

15 09 RELEVANCE MIGHT BE THE CMO’S BIGGEST CHALLENGE

We asked our readers which were their favourite Chinese New Year TVCs this year from 31 videos selected by us. Almost 300 validated online responses were received and we have drawn up the rankings in the following pages. Before you turn this page and ignore what else we have to say, bear this in mind: ours is a very limited survey amongst affluent influencers and opinion shapers in the Malaysian marketing communications and media industry.

For those who have been voted by our readers into the top 15, take a bow. We applaud your efforts and keep shining. For those who voted for your own work, nice try.

“Polis kata jangan!”, circa Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Malaysia’s largest Out-Of-Home (OOH) media player recently launched its Big+ solution; this platform comprises a suite of offerings that bridge various OOH media with cutting-edge online capabilities, all of them targeting business partners, advertisers, and media agencies.

The event, with the theme Bridging Experience, opens new experiences as consumers can respond instantly upon viewing the advertised products or services on static and digital OOH media.

During the event, Big Tree CEO Shukor Ariffin shared, “This is what Bridging Experience is all about; addressing the gap between awareness and consideration of purchase; increasing engagement; as well as creating opportunities for target marketing and sequential messaging.”

IPG Mediabrands Malaysia CEO, Bala Pomaleh, also shares similar insights during his recent commentary on 2019 trends, “High potential remains within OOH media that many advertisers are not yet capitalising on. There remains a huge vacuum that needs to be filled; specifically, in terms of creating customised messaging for OOH media that will highly complement online and other offline media. Brands should be made aware of these opportunities.”

MARKETING had a sit-down with Shukor amidst all this excitement to get the full picture...

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SHELL SAYS HELLO TO DRIVERS

COVER STORY

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COVER STORY

HOW GEO-FENCING, FACIAL RECOGNITION, MOBILE ENGAGEMENT, LIVE STREAMING AND MORE WILL

CHANGE THE FACE OF OOH IN 2019

“We always seek new ways to connect with our audience and this amazing technology allowed us to engage in a unique manner. Through this digital screen, we gave Shell V-Power the voice to reach out to specific car brands and drivers in a personalised way,” said Chung Ai Kee, Head of Retail Marketing, Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd. Here is an interesting campaign that Shell did recently, tapping into Big Tree’s array of possibilities.

Shell got personal in delivering messages to its target audience by saying “Hello!” to specific drivers. In executing the Shell V-Power campaign, it incorporated Big

Tree’s Big Effects - a suite of dynamic digital content offerings, this time specifically for vehicle identification.

This campaign was performed at the digital screen Cubig@Bangsar, located at the traffic light junction by Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC). Advanced vehicle identification technology was incorporated into the digital screen that enabled Shell to customise its messaging according to automobile brands spotted onsite – Mercedes, BMW, and Honda, to name a few.

Once they were identified, personalised messages from Shell were pushed to greet drivers of the targeted vehicles.

ACER GOES BEYOND THE TUNNEL

NEWBIES who meet Shukor may think he is a professional golfer or uses a superior tanning lotion that trumps whatever Donald Trump has on him. Neither is true. The man has a natural tan and it’s likely the Malaysian OOH industry has a lot to do with it. Now in his mid-40s, Shukor has been trolling the industry to seek out new possibilities and innovations for marketers. In fact, he’s been at it for over 20 years now. Truly, he knows his audience and the platforms like the back of his hand. This makes him the perfect catalyst to catapult and cascade brand messaging into the next big frontier–Digital OOH. How will Big+ change the way OOH media is being bought and sold in Malaysia? Do you see ‘programmatic’ buying coming into the picture?

Big+ will empower OOH advertising solutions with online capabilities and digitally powered engagement functions. Essentially, both will work together to induce immediate call-to-action among

consumers who see these digital advertisements. The advertising landscape is changing as more digital innovations come into play. This is how market players can go beyond what they can do right now and be more effective marketers. With Big+, Big Tree is ready for the oncoming digital disruption as we look to making OOH media more progressive.

Essentially, Big+ technological offerings, most of which are in development with our industry partners, it will augment OOH even more. While these media platforms are still relevant, the question I usually bring up is: for how long? That is precisely why Big Tree introduced this new innovative solution.

You asked if programmatic will be a part of this big picture – to some degree, it will be.

Part of the digital disruption will be the growing use of data analytics, a growing trend that advertisers and marketeers are already looking into. Big+ has considered this as the sensors and scanners that are in use will detect, track, and actively

engage the target audience. The continuous collection of data will be critical as it enables to be more proactive.

Tell us more about Big Capture, Big Scan, and Big Effects.

It’s a three-point system that works hand-in-hand to actively promote the right advertisements to specific audiences.

Of the three, the first – Big Capture – is the most proactive as it determines if users are within a specific zone that are part of a specific target audience.

The other two directly interact with users that have received prompts from the advertisements and encourage them to engage with the interactive content.

With Big Scan, consumers can immediately engage with call-to-action and jump right into activation.

As for Big Effects, it responds to current conditions in real-time to ensure the most engaging advertising appears.

In doing so, the marketing content always fits the target

audience or environment ambience.

With these next-gen innovations available, there must be a major partnership with technology players at play. This isn’t something that can be done overnight....

It’s not going to be feasible for us to venture out alone. Hence the deep collaborations we have with our technology partners. What we want, really, is the technology.

The data we are already active collecting and it’s something these tech vendors are also gathering on their own.Of course, besides getting it from scratch, Big Tree just taps into it. As for the data we have on hand, the more basic types, we will continue to track them and fully utilise in specific ways.

Of course, what we have on hand is not enough. In my opinion, there are two types of data – first, legacies that are good for analysis and storing in silos; second, active dynamics that are always changing in real-time. It’s the latter that marketers must go

after now and this is something we are trying to harness with our key technology partners.

Do you have any critical case studies to share?

There are two good ones that come to mind. First, let’s go with Acer. This Taiwanese IT brand is keen on geo-fencing. The second one is Shell. This oil and gas giant is all about Big Effects.

While both systems work with dynamic content, Acer is very straight forward with what it wants as the focus is on zoning locations and using pro-active marketing to reach out to general consumers.

As for Shell, it is using the Cubig@Bangsar digital screen, the one next to the Bangsar Shopping Centre.

To keep the dynamic content active, we use artificial intelligence (AI) and closed-circuit cameras to scan and track certain car brands.

The data pushes over to the AI and instructs the system to call up the right advertisement.

For instance, if specific car brands – like BMW, Honda, Audi,

or Mercedes– pull up, the screen captures the data at the traffic light and communicates the information directly with the AI. This immediately changes the marketing to be more personalised as it speaks directly to the drivers of these cars and ask if they would like to try the allnew Shell V-Power fuel.

What are the challenges you face right now?

Right now, we are no longer focused on just outdoor.

It’s OOH for a reason and, as this industry is now witnessing, there is an upsurge for this sort of media; all thanks to digital transformation.

I always had this in my mind – how we can do more to create a buzz and engage consumers? This is top-of-mind for me, always.

My inspiration – the launch event for Justin Timberlake’s album while I was in Los Angeles.

It was insightful to see how everything was linked together, from inception to execution.

I don’t say outdoor anymore for all my collaterals. I use OOH as

I want clients to think big.

Personally, the first impression that comes to mind when one says Outdoor is poster boys. Thus, you won’t see any more Outdoor when you come to Big Tree.

It’s more dynamic when I say OOH – it can be anything after all.

Psychologically, outdoor creates a tunnel vision effect and, for me, Big Tree is not just about billboards.

It’s changing with the times, updating itself and becoming something bigger.

That’s been a long-standing challenge – to get more to understand the change the advertising space is undergoing.

To see how things are shaping now, it is a dream come true and I know I am one step closer to my goal.

Do you see a future where will you be working with the marketers themselves?

As long as it’s a win-win, when it comes to data or technology, we are open to any form of collaboration.

We are also looking at some

other digital technology that link the office back-end so it becomes seamless.

What is wrong with the industry at the moment?

For starters, the way OOH results are being measured.

Some parties tried to do it, but the figures were selective. The sample size and sense of scale do not fit the way the industry is expanding.

More research is needed to create more accurate findings.

When I was in LA attending the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) event, I talked to some of these analysts and discovered that their mindset is different.

For me, that’s also a problem we are now facing: the mindset or background of folks within the industry itself.

Secondly, regulation - the supply side has a low barrier of entry and anyone can come into the business and start something.

In doing so, regulatory practices then become compromised. This, to me, is also a Big challenge.

“We are pleased with the results delivered by Big+, which helped reinforce our message through a higher than average CTR, engaging audiences, and stretching the ad dollars spent,” shared a representative from Acer.

Acer’s mantra is about constantly looking for innovative ways to reach customers in a more targeted manner, while setting itself apart from the noise.

The brand has been present on the Media Wall Graphics and Irregular Lightboxes in the Tunnel Experience, connecting Suria KLCC to LRT KLCC and Avenue K. This tunnel

targets the affluent urban demographic, professionals as well as local and international travellers.

Acer’s launch campaign for the Acer Swift 5 combined creative visuals in the Tunnel Experience and also online engagement. In expanding the campaign’s reach as well as augmenting campaign effectiveness, Acer explored Big+ with Big Capture, a geofence technology that serves online banners to audiences’ smart devices.

At the end of the campaign, Acer successfully achieved a click-through-rate (CTR) of 45% higher than the average display network CTR.

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ISSUE235END-FEB2019

the necessary info is printed on the packaging – something that is promptly discarded when the consumer gets home.

We know that eggs can stay fresh for up to 60 days. But we don’t always know or check how long it’s been in the supermarket.

3 days? 4 weeks? 5 weeks?”

CREATIVE SURGE

IDEAS: THE HONEST EGG STORY AT the 2018 Lexus Design Awards, ‘Honest Egg’ by Aesthetid took home the people’s choice award. The winner was determined by votes cast by the public on the competition website. The work, shortlisted from 1,319 entries worldwide, made Aesthetid the first South East Asian winner of the prestigious competition. I got in touch with the owners about their most egg-cellent performance.

“Lay it on the line.” I said.

“Tell us about Aesthetid” “We’re Industrial Designers,” replied Paul Yong, Director and Co-founder of the agency based in Gelang Patah, Johor. “We bring technology, business, and design

together to create meaningful value-added experiences.”

OBJECTIVE “How did the idea for Honest Egg come about?”

“The theme for the 2018 competition was ‘CO-‘, a Latin prefix meaning together or in partnership, to combine one element with another. The task was to find a harmonious co-existence between nature and society through design,” said Paul. “We wanted to find a solution for everyday problems.”

“And you decided to focus on eggs,” I added. “Specifically, how to tell if an egg has gone bad before you crack the shell.”

CREATIVE SHOWCASE

Client

Dos Miradas Campaign Title

Trump / Kim Jong-un / Putin Advertising Agency

TBWA\Buenos Aires, Argentina Chief Creative Officer

Pablo Poncini Executive Creative Directors

Juan Cruz Bazterrica, Guillermo Castañeda Art Director

Guido Barna Copywriter

Martín Alfred Photographer

Shutterstock Digital Aritst

Pablo Romanos

“Well, it’s a little more than that,” revealed Paul. “We wanted to reduce food wastage through transparency in design. US1 trillion worth of food are wasted every year. Roughly half of which takes place at home. We wanted an idea/solution that everybody can relate with.”

CHALLENGE “We didn’t start with eggs,” said Paul. “We started with egg packaging. These things are usually terribly confusing – you have the manufacturer date, the best-by date, the expiry date, miscellaneous numbers, and so on. Consumers just want to know: Are the eggs are fresh? Yes, all

TRUTH “Why does the idea need to exist at all?” I asked. “You can shake the egg, smell it, see if it floats or something to tell whether it’s fresh. In fact, if it starts chirping and walking around on two legs – it’s probably way past the expiry date.”

“You can do that. But what if you have more than one egg or a baker’s dozen or more? People just want to open the fridge, take out the eggs and make whatever they’re going to make.”

ANSWER “There are also plastic stickers that you can place on the egg that change colour if the egg goes bad,“ reiterated Paul.

“We wanted something more bio-degradable and eco-friendly, and came up with the idea of a bio-ink.

This bio-ink is made from natural microbes and a stabiliser.

The ink is stamped on the egg and can be pre-programmed to appear at a specific date. You’ll see nothing at first and this means the egg is fresh. But let’s say the egg is going to expire on Day 30. On Day 28, it can show you a ‘meh face’ that means means you better consume it before it goes bad. And if the egg has a dead face – an x where its eyes used to be – well, that

means you probably shouldn’t eat the egg.”

“Can we throw it at people we don’t like?” Paul, however, pretended not to hear the question. He talked about the competition and his plans for the company. During the time of this writing, Honest Egg is a concept that exists only on paper.

The egg is really only a medium.

The idea is a printed intelligent ink pigment that changes colour in response to a pre-calibrated time period. In theory, this can be applied onto other food products as well.

Aesthetid is currently in discussion with a local university to realise the work, which could take months, or years even.

Check out aesthetid.com or the company’s FB page for updates on the project. In the meantime, if you need to know whether your egg is good or bad, place it in a bowl of water. If it sinks, it’s fresh and edible. If it starts to stand, it’s still good. If it floats to the top, throw it away. If the water turns green, or makes strange, unearthly sounds, get your camera ready.

Edward Ong is on a quest to discover and create Malaysia’s best ideas.

He is an award-winning Writer and Creative Director, and can be found at IdeasAreBorderless.com

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TEN WAYS TO MAKE LINKEDIN LESS BORING ISSUE235END-FEB2019

LINKEDOUT

LET’S FACE IT. LINKEDIN IS A MONUMENTAL BORE. UNLESS you’re a demented stalker or desperately looking for a job, what the hell is LinkedIn good for? I’ve been on it for about five years and I still have no idea why. The only thing the site has to offer is a constant stream of tediously earnest essays entitled “10 Amazing Ways To Promote Your Personal Brand” or some other stale business banality.

Other than that…let’s be honest here.. we don’t really give a shit if some dry cleaner from Buffalo is looking at our profile.

We want people who can make us some money, do us some good, or at least get us laid.

Am I right?

So, I have some ideas for the folks over at LinkedIn. Use all the awesome data you’ve collected about us and our “connections” to create some pages with categories of stuff that we ambitious business folks actually care about and will come back to check on every day. Here are 10

suggestions for totally compelling pages that would make LinkedIn a lot more interesting: 1. CEOs you’re connected to who have done time 2. People who used to work with who hate you and are now unemployed 3. People you are connected to who have extra Super Bowl tickets 4. Pathetic douche guys you once slept with when you were drunk and are now “life coaches” 5. Super-hot nymphos who looked at your profile 6. People you’ve done business with who are useless but have job openings you want 7. Rich guys who can get you on Pebble Beach 8. People who have deliciously nasty stories about your boss 9. Contacts who’ve had bad plastic surgery 10. People your age who look way older than you See what I mean? If LinkedIn had stuff like this, I’d Like them on Facebook.

RELEVANCE MIGHT BE THE CMO’S BIGGEST CHALLENGE

BY GREG PAULL, PRINCIPAL, R3

THE C-Suite has become a battleground as executives across all industries work to restructure their companies and redefine their businesses to align with emerging consumer demands. Pressure is especially falling on the shoulders of Chief Marketing Officers, who are seeing their roles change, their territory fragmenting and knowledge requirements expanding.

As job requirements shift, so do the CMOs. Executive search and consulting company Spencer Stuart noted that while the average tenure of CMOs has remained relatively steady at the top 100 most-advertised brands, an unusually high number of CMOs at well-known brands have changed jobs. Chief marketers

Bob Hoffman has been called “The most provocative man in advertising”. In his book, Laughing@Advertising, he is out to disrupt the disruptors - those sombre, imperious souls who’ve made marketing and advertising such an earnest and humourless endeavour. It is on sale now at Amazon and only available in paperback. There’s no ebook, he says, because pixels aren’t funny.

Digital, Chief Customer Experience Officer & Chief Revenue Officer, what is marketing supposed to do if they no longer handle any of those components?” said Raja Rajamannar, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Mastercard in the book Global CMO: Best Practice in Marketing Effectiveness & Efficiency Around the World. “That is an existential threat to the CMO at one level.”

Up, Over; Down Or Out

are moving from company to company, or assuming different roles within their current company.

New Roles for New Levels of Expertise

The past few years have seen a host of new positions being established in the C-Suite to fill the demand for new levels of expertise, particularly in areas related to digital technology and innovation. Chief Digital Officers, Chief Growth Officers and Chief Consumer Experience Officers are welcome additions to many marketing teams, though there are some who astutely observe that conflicts between these positions and that of the CMO are inevitable.

“When you have a Chief

This shake-up is defined by the simple phrase “up, over; down or out.” Some CMOs are being promoted into new roles, like that of President or Chief Concept Officer, giving them greater influence. For others, their title remains the same as their job scope expands to include more responsibilities.

With increasing fragmented leadership within areas related to marketing, there is the risk of a CMO losing influence within an organisation, or in some instances, the role of the CMO being eliminated altogether.

Regrettably, CMOs are often directly in the firing line if business growth targets are not met. This is by no means the end of the CMO, but merely a call to arms for those in marketing leadership positions to rethink

their purpose and impact.

Five ways for CMOs to keep their roles fresh, effective and relevant: Keep communication lines open Tangible goals are often the hardest to communicate, yet the most imperative to have. Communicating accomplishments and goals to the CEO, as well as fostering communication across departments is vital if CMOs want to demonstrate where they can drive effective change.

Adopt a start-up frame of mind Innovation as a way to add business value is the way forward. This means that CMOs must adapt both their role, and those of their team, to continually challenge the status quo and test new concepts and ideas whenever possible.

This includes creating a factbased decision-making funnel, prototyping and setting up agile teams, and partnership structures.

Innovate or acquire It’s time for CMOs to invest in incubators and new platforms, or even acquire

companies to bridge gaps where an organisation can’t build certain capabilities in-house.

Mergers and acquisitions with the right company can drive innovation and allow the parent company to learn and absorb knowledge through proximity and experience.

Spend on new technologies Invest directly and thoughtfully in technology. The converse to mindful adoption is following technology trends without understanding shortterm demands on resource and longer-term impact to the bottom-line. CMOs are advised to choose a point where technology and product can meet, and work things out from there.

Know what you’re talking about Better questions always lead to better answers. While it’s not possible for one CMO to know everything, it is important for the CMO to know enough to identify what lines of inquiry need to be taken on any issue related to marketing and the consumer. This demands a more collaborative environment where the CMO’s role is akin to a network orchestrator than the more traditional command and control executive.

MEET THE JUDGES FOR APPIES MALAYSIA MARKETING AWARDS 2019 APPIES Malaysia is an annual 2-day Marketing Congress and Awards Festival showcasing, sharing and celebrating the country’s best marketing campaigns.

INVITED GUEST SPEAKERS:

ALBERN MURTY

CEO Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd

MERRILL PEREYRA

APPIES MALAYSIA 2019 JUDGES

LAI SHU WEI

VP, Mass Market Marketing Operations TM Berhad

SCHRENE GOH

Head of Marketing POS Malaysia Berhad

ANDREW PINTO Head of Marketing Mudah.my Sdn Bhd

ABDUL SANI ABDUL MURAD Group Chief Marketing Officer RHB Bank Berhad

BERNARD LEE

Head of Marketing Services Digi Telecommunications

MELATI ABDUL HAI

VP & Chief Marketing Officer McDonald’s Malaysia

CEO Restaurants QSR Brands (M) Holdings Sdn Bhd

ADVISORY COUNCIL SUTAPA BHATTACHARYA

GM - Strategic Communications & Branding Tenaga Nasional Berhad

PROF HARMANDAR SINGH President APPIES Malaysia

JAVED JAFRI

JOHN D CHACKO

Channel Communication Manager Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia & Laos Unilever (Malaysia) Holdings Sdn Bhd

Founder & CEO, JDC BrandTruth President and VP Asia International Advertising Association

GOPAL PUTREVU

LEE LIM MENG

IRIS CHANG

Country Marketing Head GRAB

TIMOTHY JOHNSON

GRAHAM LIM

Senior VPMarketing, Product & Partnerships INTI International University & Colleges

Vice President, Marketing F&N Services Sdn Bhd

TAI KAM LEONG

RENDA LOW

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY

YB TUAN GOBIND SINGH DEO MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MULTIMEDIA MALAYSIA APRIL 25 & 26, 2019 GRAND BALLROOM, EASTIN HOTEL PETALING JAYA.

GOH SHU FEN

President, APPIES APAC Advisor, APPIES Malaysia Principal, R3 AsiaPacific

LIM IMUN

GM, Marketing MunchWorld Marketing Sdn Bhd

Head of Digital & E-commerce Marketing Kimberly-Clark Trading (M) Sdn Bhd

Marketing Director L’Oréal Malaysia Sdn Bhd

ANDY OTHMAN

Head of Digital & Marketing Retail Business Division PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd

Head of Branding and Partnerships Maxis

GM, Marketing Yeo Hiap Seng (Malaysia) Berhad

TO ATTEND CALL RUBY ON 03-77262588 RUBY@ADOIMAGAZINE.COM

MOHAMED ADAM WEE ABDULLAH Chief Judge - APPIES Malaysia 2019 Group Chief Marketing Officer & Group Chief Customer Experience Officer CIMB Group

GOLD

CHAI HUI FUNG

LINDA HASSAN

Regional Marketing Director Nando’s Chickenland Malaysia Sdn Bhd

Senior VP of Marketing, Malaysia & Singapore Domino’s Pizza

PETER POHLSCHMIDT

NOREEN SABRINA MOHD NOOR

Head of Digital Malaysia Airlines

ERIC WONG WAI YUEN

Chief Customer & Marketing Officer Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad

NORSIAH JURIANI JOHARI

VP, Brand & Group Communications Johor Corporation

ZALMAN AEFENDY ZAINAL ABIDIN Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Hong Leong Bank Bhd

SILVER

BEST PRESENTER

MUHAMAD ZAID HASMAN Director of Digital McDonald’s Malaysia

Head of Brand Communications MDEC

www.appies.com.my

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NEWS

Enfiniti Reignites OlaBola musical

AFTER multiple sold-out shows in 2018, Enfiniti Productions is bringing back the super-popular OlaBola the Musical for another run. This time, however, it will be “slicker, stronger, more luar biasa“. Fans, live-arts enthusiasts, and the generally curious will be happy to know that the Show Director, Tiara Jacquelina, promises a truckload of updates for the re-stage.

NEWS

“The re-opening of OlaBola the Musical is a MUCH improved version of the original. Since we have this opportunity, we decided to give the audience an even more powerful and unforgettable outing. Everything will go up several notches – music, lighting, football skills, and dance choreography – [just about] EVERYTHING! If you’ve watched last year’s show, then we hope this edition will blow you away as it is a re-experience

of Olabola,” Jacquelina shared.

As the first edition is famous for converting naysayers, it’s apt that the re-staging will create believers. After all, the inaugural setting is the critical reinvigoration for live-acts; so this second showing is setting out to be even more transformative.

Tickets for OlaBola the Musical, which runs from 18 February 2019 till 3 March 2019, are on sale now at: www. buyticket.asia.

SQ1 Serves Routes from San Francisco to Hong Kong, and Hong Kong to Singapore daily.

3% of Malaysians think advertising reinforces harmful norms The advertising industry’s failure to contemporise impacts the effectiveness of individual adverts and campaigns. Globally, men are 38% more likely than women to be featured prominently in ads.

However, the research shows that progressive ads for example those led by authoritative female characters outperform other ads.

At a high level, this means male-skewed brands are missing out on an average of US$9 billion in brand valuation globally. In addition many people see these traditional expressions of men and women in advertising as holding back progress with 60% in the Asia Pacific region and 63% in Malaysia agreeing that most ads in their country reinforce rather than help eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes.

83% of marketers in Asia Pacific think they are doing a good job of creating advertising that avoids gender stereotypes. However, 63% of people in the region and 62% in Malaysia say that advertising conforms to gender stereotypes, according to Kantar’s newest analysis of advertising creativity and media effectiveness.

Ian Kwan, Chief Commercial Officer of Kantar Insights Division said, “While half of Malaysians agree that the way their gender is portrayed in advertising is a reflection of reality, the majority also feel that advertising in this country typically conforms to gender stereotypes. However, we know that advertising has the potential to change the conversation. Progressive ads with authentic stories do well with audiences of both genders. Brands that want to journey through this with consumers need to start with ads that are carefully tested, handled sensibly, based on cultural and consumer understanding.”

The latest AdReaction study from Kantar includes analysis of 30, 000 ads survey responses from 450 global marketers, including consumer advertising attitudes among almost 40, 000 consumers and brand equity analysis of over 9, 000 global brands to create an in-depth understanding of the role of gender in advertising.

Leo is CEO at Lazada Malaysia

LEO Chow has been appointed CEO for Lazada Malaysia, taking the reigns from his predecessor Christophe Jejune.

He will lead strategic development and growth efforts in Malaysia, unlike his previous role where he worked on developing and implementing regional category and assortment strategies.

Leo will be working with local function teams and applying the vast experience he has from his time at Taobao.

His appointment as the new CEO is apt since he has been instrumental in facilitating Alibaba’s investment into Lazada.

He will now be building on the 2018 successes and big wins of Lazada Malaysia.

Some of the major achievements include breaking the 2017’s 11.11 sales record, generating more than RM100 million in gross merchandise value.

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Delta Air and Coke Pull Plug on Fizzled Campaign

THERE are times one can be cheeky with marketing; the recently fizzled flight cabin campaign for Delta Air and Coca-Cola is not one of them. The idea: get flight passengers on certain Delta Air to share their contact details with their ‘plane crushes’.

Simply put, the napkins sport Coca-Cola

labels and words of encouragement to live a little.

Perhaps, make some friends even. After all, the message ends with the words: “Hey...you never know.”

Passengers on Delta Air aircraft who have come across these napkins feel it is necessary to critique the idea; of course, they did not believe they needed to be kind at all.

Digi commits to Safer Internet Practices Schrene Charts New Path at POS Malaysia

SCHRENE Goh, Head of Global Marketing for Malaysian Airlines is moving on to a new role at POS Malaysia as Head of Marketing.

She joined the airline more than two years ago and has 17 years in regional marketing and digital experience across various industries including aviation, telecommunications, and consumer goods.

Prior to MAB, Schrene was Head of Marketing, Communications, Brand and Digital for U Mobile where she oversaw the digital engagement and overall direction of the department.

She also spent five years at AirAsia as Marketing Manager for ASEAN, including India where she turned the market to profit and grew the brand’s ancillary income from RM800.000 to more than RM1 billion a year.

In her new role at POS Malaysia, Schrene is expected to consolidate all their marketing efforts by streamlining all their commercial platforms into a progressive funnel moving forward.

Schrene also won the Best Marketer in Travel and Hospitality award (picture) recently at the Malaysian CMO awards.

She will also be joining 25 accomplished marketing leaders to judge the APPIES Malaysia Marketing Awards on April 25 & 26.

TBWA and PHD Win Singapore Airlines $100 Million Business

SINGAPORE Airlines has appointed TBWA\ and PHD for global creative and media duties, following a six-month pitch process handled by R3.

The appointment takes effect 1 April 2019 (this is no April Fool’s joke) and the contract is effective for five years.

TBWA\ and PHD will jointly provide overall strategy, creative, media planning, and content narrative solutions under one holding group. This

will result in enhanced strategic marketing communications.

Ara Hampartsoumian, Managing Director of TBWA\ Singapore, said: “We are extremely proud of the synergy of both teams; for us, success has been the only option and our persistent passion, energy and ambition for the SIA brand won in the end. As one team, which we have called SQ1, we look forward to leveraging the best of both our capabilities in driving innovative and impactful communications for the airline.”

DIGI has introduced a series of Public Service Announcement (PSA) videos. The focus of the series is to promote safer Internet practices.

They were all produced in conjunction with Safer Internet Day 2019, following the theme – Together for a Better Internet.

The clips were played across 30 Digi Stores nationwide on 14 and 15 February.

Some of them feature current Cabinet Ministers, Digi’s senior leadership and leading digital innovators. They will also be screened at various Digi Yellow Heart Initiative events.

These videos are part of Digi’s on-going efforts like Yellow Heart Initiative. Digi’s latest online safety survey, Digi Yellow Heart Cyberbullying and Youth Disposition Survey, serves as the primary driver for the PSAs.

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CREATIVE SOCIETY

BEST CNY TVC 2019

HARNESSING THE AD INDUSTRY FOR GREATER SOCIETAL IMPACT Malaysian Culture

I am a proud Malaysian and I delight in the ‘rojakness’ of our culture. But we don’t see the authenticity of who we are as a people, because of existing restrictions with censorship.

I understand the need for censorship in the area of religious or racial sensitivities or in the area of morals and vulgarity but when things like mix language or the natural way Bahasa is spoken in real life are questioned, then we end up producing work that is not authentic.

Sometimes it feels we’re walking on eggshells when we’re coming up with ideas and scripts, always feeling uneasy because we might offend someone or some group. I won’t go into details but perhaps we can study and update the way censorship works here so we can be free to capture the real Malaysian culture and spirit in our work.

These things goes a long way in instilling national pride and unity.

EVERYBODY LOOKS FORWARD TO THIS WE asked our readers which were their favourite Chinese New Year TVCs this year from 31 videos selected by us.

Almost 300 validated online responses were received and we have drawn up the rankings in the following pages.

Before you turn this page and ignore what else we have to say, bear this in mind: ours is a very limited survey amongst affluent influencers and opinion shapers in the Malaysian marketing communications and media industry. For those who have been voted by our readers into the top 15, take a bow. We applaud your efforts and keep shining.

Highlighting or Solving Local Issues

At any given chance, we try to promote positive values through our work. We’ve used our client’s platforms to promote unity, dialogue, mutual understanding, emphathy, and so on. And outside of brands, we’ve also collaborated with NGOs to support causes. One example being #Stopnurserycrimes. We highlighted the issue of pedophilia in support of better laws protecting children.

The ad industry is supposed to be masters of persuasion and through data can target specific people contextually.

One of the most famous cases in point is the work done out of Columbia called ‘The Christmas Tree Project’ and ‘Rivers of Light’ where the government commissioned an ad agency to help end the FARC insurgency and through this ‘ad’ campaign, large numbers of guerilla soldiers laid down their arms and went back to join society.

So we potentially have the knowhow to tackle local issues but seldom do because our daily work keeps us pinned down by a crazy schedule.

So I’m thinking - what if the government acted like paying clients and engaged us to solve whatever issues they feel needed solving. Perhaps we could find ways to collaborate.

Child marriages, gender inequality, the rise of radicalism in certain quarters, the gap that exists between Barisan/PAS supporters and the current government, cyber crimes, online grooming, the list is endless.

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Ad agencies can look at these as if they are marketing problems that needed solutions.

Supporting UN’s sustainable development goal on climate change

It’s no secret our collective future seems bleak. In every area highlighted by the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals – from the environment to life under the sea, from hunger to injustice, it seems the planet is overflowing with problems. And although the biggest issue confronting us is climate change, not many are aware or care about where we are headed.

The UN’s push for businesses to look at these 17 areas are yielding results but

perhaps it’s too little. Businesses mostly look at these things as a CSR and by that, I mean they get very little funding. As there is no profit to be made, marketers see no return on their investments from CSR and it becomes a side-show.

And we in the ad industry who work for these corporations and businesses can’t do much about this because again, there is no profit to be made so all efforts in these areas are small. One way the government can play a role is to create incentives for businesses to look seriously at the role they can play for our collective future.

For example, allow businesses to pitch for funds and you measure their proposals by the impact they intend to make in one or more areas of the 17 UN issues highlighted. Once funds ceases

to be a barrier, they will engage the ad industry and activate our problem solving capabilities and creativity to bring about results and we can also get good PR for the country in taking on a global issue and fixing it.

Alvin Teoh is Executive Creative Director of Naga DDB Tribal and a regular columnist for MARKETING magazine Malaysia.

For those who voted for your own work, nice try. “Polis kata jangan!”, circa Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

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BEST CNY TVC S2019

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Maxis: Dooit For Family Every year during Chinese New Year, families come together to play. Maxis Dooit For Family is about who will win.

The Ong Lai family? Fatt Choy family?....

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Watsons: Happy Beautiful Year An energetic performance by a cast of popular celebrities and influencers like Amber Chia, Jinnyboy, Justin Ng, Pink Tan, Han Xiiao Aii, and John Tan.

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PLUS: Shou Xin Ah Boy seems tangled up with his father’s annual routine every time he returns to celebrate Chinese New Year.

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CIMB: You Sang, We-Sang Celebrations are only perfect, when they’re done together. Watch how perfectionist Mr. Wong learned this lesson back in 1947. CIMB’s You-Sang, We-Sang campaign is also a game with big prizes.

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Panasonic: Lat Talilat Tali Tam Pom. Unexpected visitors are coming, and the house is a wreck.

Panasonic drives home the messaage of being festive-ready .

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Prudential: Word Count Ah Pa and Ah Girl have always been close. But an evergrowing distance between them starts appearing. Prudential’s 2019 Chinese New Year film celebrates their journey.

GamudaLand: The Family Tree This is the tale in the film: Life is like a tree. When nurtured well, its roots grow deep. Its trunk grows straight, providing strong support. Its branches stretch upwards, reaching great heights.

Our values form deep roots in our life. Roots that make us resilient against winds and storms, and bring happiness and joy.

TNB: ONG-est Hours Reunion done, makan done… now what? Not many realise, the hours between reunion dinner and midnight on the eve is the most ong-spicious … but why hor?

Daikin: Forget Me Not Daikin promotes the values of cherishing one another and being thankful for the times we get to spend with our loved ones.

Digi: Grandfather Stories A young man struggles to find his place in the world. It’s only when he pauses to listen to what Grandpa is actually saying, did he realise the true value of his heritage.

BEST CNY TVCS 2019

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RHB Group: Belief Inspired by true events, this story is about a boy who managed to make meaningful progress in his life, not only because he believed in himself, but also because his two biggest supporters have faith in him.

PETRONAS: Heart Petronas: “At a time when our hearts are open, is when the greatest blessings are seen.”

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KFC: 300ft of Separation Here’s to stronger bonds this Chinese New Year. Let’s interact with the family more. From all of us at KFC.

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AirAsia: The Perfect Lou Sang Family is just like Lou Sang, always better together. This film takes the concept to perfection.

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Malaysia Airlines: The Spirit of Hospitality Siblings Second Officer Vivian and flight attendant Adrian prove that distance only makes the heart grow fonder in this Chinese New Year reunion story.

*All descriptions are excerpted from YouTube, etc., and are not definitive; they only serve as a brief guide

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BIG DATA

ERA OF BIG DATA :

LESS IS MORE

THE big data phenomenon, digital transformation (aka Industry 4.0) and all else that has transformed way of living, obviously has come about thanks to the internet.

In fact, before proceeding, and without wanting to digress too much, so significant has been the role of the Internet in our lives that it makes me wonder whether in marketing or business terms, we may at some point in history come up with appropriate abbreviations to start referring to these eras as the per-internet and post-digitisation eras, almost like BC and AD. Perhaps for now we could refer to these as the pre-internet or PI and micro-segmentation or MS eras, with the high levels of microsegmentation possible post the internet .

... RETURNS IN MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION TERMS WERE THEN MEASURED BASED ON REACH, AND OPPORTUNITIES TO SEE ADS. THIS OLDER MODEL DOESN’T HOLD GOOD ANY MORE....

Is Digital the New Mass Medium?

If we look back over the years, in the pre-internet or PI era when channels like print, radio, television, outdoor formed the media mix for any brand, the objective was to reach out to as many or as large audiences as possible, with the intent of drawing interest, in the classical AIDA (Awareness-Interest-DesireAction) model.

Returns in marketing and communication terms were then measured based on reach, and opportunities to see ads. This older model doesn’t hold good any more. Whilst the AIDA model conceptually still holds well and may have undergone only some refinement, the duration span of this model has shortened considerably across product categories.

Growing numbers and populations across many digital communities makes them attractive for brands, promising a significant reach.

With the temptation of casting the net wide, many marketers unfortunately still attempt to exploit these digital or social channels on a mass media scale, engaging in what I’d like to term as ‘carpet-bombing’ or ‘net-casting’, through boosting ads on Facebook, pushing ads on Twitter, and even emailing similar messages across audience segments. Instead however, every individual could and ought to be regarded and targeted as such, in a personalised manner.

The Re-incarnation of ‘Direct Marketing’ :

Direct Marketing as a channel in the 90s was shortlived. It was measurable, more number-driven and thus boring, more for the scientific minded and hardly award-winning for the creative gurus. It was hardly considered fashionable or sexy (as a profession to be in), in fact quite the opposite.

In principle the key tenets of Direct Marketing are : personalised and direct, measurable, and with a strong call-to-action. Today, Facebook and Google are highly sophisticated direct marketing engines, where marketers buy ads and measure efficiency on basis of cost per click and other similar parameters, with digital media space being auctioned.

Importantly, while ‘traditional Direct Marketing’ if I may coin such a term, in the PI era largely relied on demographic data for a ‘different strokes for different folks’ effect, the internet has led to the explosion of psychographic and behavioural data, making personalisation possible to great levels in the MS era.

The internet and accompanying technology and

marketing automation tools have made measurement instantaneous, and through the single additional key dimension of speed transformed ‘direct marketing’ – campaigns are measurable in real-time, personalisation is highly do-able through micro-segmentation, with cross-channel synergistic communication. Here, omnichannel marketing adds hugely to the success of campaigns.

What Has Changed?

Not all brands doing ‘direct marketing’ with the help of Google and Facebook may be getting built, but instead get a momentary shot of adrenaline.

With the internet and thus big data, brands and marketers taking the ‘direct’ ride on the backs of Facebook and Google must exercise the ability to take the ‘personalised’ approach to optimise returns and reap the real benefits of the MS era, rather than just fall for the attractiveness of the massive reach of these platforms. Big data and the internet is not just about having massive volumes of data but more importantly the veracity and variety of sources

which make micro-segmentation possible and even allow for targeting based on the time dimension, beyond just space or geo-targeting.

Using an omni-channel marketing approach, deployment of several channels together with consistency and synergy across channels is key to the success of campaigns through personalisation.

Real Measurement : Is the brand missed? : I recently worked for a leading brand which claimed pride in having a decent sized email base of its customers to whom we diligently sent out daily newsletters. We decided for a while to experiment and reduce the frequency of the newsletter to just twice a week, against the daily issue – and nobody on the email base queried the drop or missed the issues.

This example establishes a key measurement parameter which is towards finding out who would truly miss you as a brand and how large is that audience – leaving a vacuum and being missed if you’re gone means you truly matter.

What are people saying about the brand? : Another key parameter lies in establishing what people perceive about the brand and if this measures up to and is in sync with the brand

proposition. In the urge to reach out to larger segments in a hurry and establish the brand in more minds, often focus even with regards to product category gets diluted resulting in dissonance and being seen as a ‘schizophrenic’ brand. In other words, in trying to establish or convey several things about the brand, ending up saying nothing at all.

Another important aspect that cannot be ignored is that brands are built and there to stay for the long haul on the fundamental premise of consumer trust and brand promises being met. And trust takes a long time to build, but can be destroyed very quickly, as in the case with any partnership.

Less is more in Marketing, even with Big Data :

In the ultimate analysis, while digital communities have acquired mass proportions and the internet has led to the data explosion making these large communities accessible, what cannot be overlooked is the quality of data and thus the ability to communicate with those who matter with the relevant message almost through a real-time dialogue, rather than communicating with lots of people. Additionally doing and saying something that matters to fewer people in groups, and harnessing their trust and loyalty, works far better than attempting to continue to say many things to everybody out there.

TRANSFORM YOUR MARKETING FOR THE DIGITAL WORLD W O R K S H O P

8.30am to 5.30pm

Salim is Founder of On-Target Marketing Solutions, Malaysia, a digital marketing and data analytics provider. He is passionate about data and strongly believes in the power of data to come up with great insights and winning ideas, and consults for brands in Marketing Strategy, Marketing Analytics and Performance Marketing. He is contactable at salim@ myontarget.com

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Sime Darby Convention Centre CLAIMABLE

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SIME DARBY CONVENTION CENTRE

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