Advertising + Marketing MY - Nov 2014

IT IS ALL ABOUT COLLABORATION AND BREAKING DOWN SILOS

BUT IT'S A TASK EASIER SAID THAN DONE P32

NOEMBER2014

advertising + m

arketing malaysia

NOVEMBER 2

014

Taking the customer conversation forward

Dates / Time / Location: 11 - 12 March, 9am - 5pmVenue: InterContinental SingaporePrices: Till 10 FebruaryClient-side: S$1.290Marketing Solutions Providers: S$2.090

Brought to you by:

w w w . m a r k e t i n g - i n t e r a c t i v e . c o m / c u s t o m e r - e x p e r i e n c e / s g

speakers

Reshel ChanSenior customer service managerChan Brothers Travel

Jason LingDirector of global e-commerceMillennium & Copthorne

Enny HartatiHead of designLuxola

Karen EidsvikRegional director, AsiaSubway Systems Singapore

Rahul AsthanaRegional marketing director, baby & child care, digital & e-commerceKimberly-Clark

Jon SugiharaHead of productRedMart

Souad-Marie AssaadProduct managerLuxola

Pascal LyHead of digital customer experienceSchneider Electric

Jo HallRegional general manager, merchandise & marketingToys ‘R’ Us

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ED ’ S L E T T E R

WWW.MARKET ING- INTERACT IVE .COM N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | a d ve r t i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng 1

WHAT’S A MODERN DAY MARKETING TEAM LIKE?

Elizabeth LowDeputy Editor

Ask any marketer or agency lead what their biggest challenge is and the knee-jerk answer to that is always “talent shortage”.

But is this really the case? In fact, the past few years have meant a greater pool of talent available for marketers as they realise that their future marketing team could come from various sources – technologists, data scientists, and more. The issue then is not talent shortage.

The co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, David Packard, rightly said: “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” As digital quickly forces marketers to that reality, this only highlights the urgent truth to this.

I was at a discussion with several senior marketers recently and someone, in pure frustration, asked: “How am I supposed to plan my marketing team for the next five years when I don’t even know what it should look like?” This was met with agreement across the room.

This begs the question: With the landscape rapidly shifting – can leaders put together the right team for the future?

This means massive significance for anyone on the agency side as well. How do current agency models fit into clients’ quickly changing teams and marketing processes? Are the old relationships and structures still relevant?

In one interview, Mondelēz’s Pete Mitchell opined: “Most agencies are stocked with the wrong kind of people they need for the next five years”, suggesting that we need to see more millennials in senior positions to overcome this problem.

Cathy Calhoun, chief client officer at Weber Shandwick said: “In communications you have to have part Madison Avenue marketing – part Hollywood entertainment and part Silicon Valley technology.”

On page 16, we discuss how that affects traditional agency client relationships.

It’s clear both companies and agencies are striving to find out what that dream team for the future needs to look like.

It’s far too early for anyone to say they’ve nailed the answer, but several companies are taking strides to close the gap. Philips, Mondelēz, OCBC and others are taking a hard look at their teams and coming up with whole new structures, placing data-based decision-making at their core. The latest one to join the trend is MasterCard. On page 32, you’ll read about its massive overhaul of its marketing with a data-driven approach.

Change is never quick or easy, but I hope this issue will bring you a step closer to your answer.

Enjoy the magazine.

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EditorialRayana Pandey, [email protected]

Elizabeth Low, Deputy [email protected]

Rezwana Manjur, Senior [email protected]

Editorial – InternationalMatt Eaton, Editor (Hong Kong)[email protected]

Oliver Bayani, Editor (Philippines)[email protected]

Production and DesignShahrom Kamarulzaman, Regional Art [email protected]

Fauzie Rasid, Senior [email protected]

Advertising SalesJoven Barcenas, Senior Project [email protected]

Johnathan Tiang, Senior Account [email protected]

Trina Choy, Senior Account [email protected]

Joey Lau, Account [email protected]

Jocelyn Ma, Account [email protected]

EventsYeo Wei Qi, Regional Head of Events [email protected]

Database & CirculationsJune Tan, Senior Database Operations Executive [email protected]

FinanceEvelyn Wong, Regional Finance [email protected]

ManagementSøren Beaulieu, [email protected]

Tony Kelly, Editorial [email protected]

Justin Randles, Group Managing [email protected]

Advertising + Marketing Malaysia is published 6 times per year by Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd PP 16093/12/2011 (026708). Printed in Malaysia on CTP process by Atlas Cetak (M) Sdn Bhd No. 2 Persiaran Industri, Bandar Sri Damansara, 52200 Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-6273 3333. For subscriptions, contact circulations at +65 6423 0329 or email [email protected]. COPYRIGHT & REPRINTS: All material printed in Advertising + Marketing Malaysia is protected under the copyright act. All rights reserved. No material may be reproduced in part or in whole without the prior written consent of the publisher and copyright holder. Permission may be requested through the Singapore office. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in Advertising + Marketing Malaysia are not necessarily the views of the publisher. Singapore: Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd 100C Pasir Panjang Road, #05-01 See Hoy Chan Hub Singapore 118519 Tel: +65 6423 0329 Fax: +65 6423 0117 Hong Kong: Lighthouse Independent Media Ltd Unit A, 7/F, Wah Kit Commercial Building 302 Des Voeux Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2861 1882 Fax: +852 2861 1336 To subscribe to A+M Malaysia magazine, go to: www.marketing-interactive.com...............................................................................................................

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Asia’s Premier Content

Marketing Event is Back!Content 360 is your one stop immersive look into the world of best practice content marketing from across the region. Stay connected, gain insights to what’s trending,

learn from our experts, share your ideas and join in the content revolution!

First line-up of speakers include:

• Vaasu Gavarasana, head – digital marketing, AXA• Priyanka Nath, digital & social media lead, South Asia, Dell• Rupali Shah, digital marketing lead, Asia Pacific, Fuji Xerox

• Nadeem Amin, regional digital marketing manager - ANZ, Asia Pacific, South Africa, Kellogg Australia• Myra Gorostiaga, social media analytics lead, Lenovo

• Timothy Hou, director of communications and social media, Marina Bay Sands• Pete Mitchell, global media innovations director, Mondel z International

• Don Nolan, editor-in-chief, Nissan Global Media Center, Nissan Motors• Aldrina Thirunagaran, assistant vice president, digital marketing, OCBC Bank

• Miguel Bernas, director – digital marketing, PayPal• Kris LeBoutillier, digital content director, APAC, Visa

…and many others to be named soon

When: 8 – 9 April, 2015 InterContinental Singapore

9.00 am to 5.00pm (Registration starts at 8)

To book your seat and take advantage of our early bird rate until 6 February, contact Joven Barcenas at +65 6423 0329 / +65 9820 5195 or email [email protected]

For questions regarding advertising and sponsorship, contactSoren Beaulieu +65 6423 0329, [email protected]

Brought to you by:

w w w . m a r k e t i n g - i n t e r a c t i v e . c o m / c o n t e n t 3 6 0 / s g

C ONT ENT S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


19

24

26 OPINION: Media agencies: Own your audience, own your power What does the future hold for media agencies? Starcom MediaVest Group’s Rajesh Mahtani gives his thoughts.

OPIN IONS DEPARTMENTS

4 NEWS Eu Yan Sang appoints Wild Advertising & Marketing its creative agency; DBS Bank moves part of its business to R/GA; BreadTalk appoints Publicis for social media duties; APB Singapore moves its account to Starcom MediaVest; plus more.

19 DIRECT MAIL CASE STUDY How a strategic direct mail campaign helped History Asia garner attention for its new series.

18 AD WATCH/WEB WATCH Dentsu Singapore’s Jatinder Sandhu loves Buick China’s road safety ad; while Havas Media’s Josh Gallagher highly rates the website from Volvo Trucks.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:>> How data can sit in the

marketing team of the future.

>> What to look out for post-merger.

>> Singapore’s top magazines.

FEATURES

20 PROFILE: UNILEVER’S SUSANNE ARFELT Unilever Singapore’s head of marketing Susanne Arfelt talks to Elizabeth Low about the pains of going digital, client-agency relations and managing a demanding workforce.

28 FEATURE: WHAT NEW AGE MARKETING LOOKS LIKE New age marketing is all about collaboration and breaking down silos, but it’s a task easier said than done. Here’s how MasterCard took a step in that direction. Rayana Pandey reports.

34 CREATIVITY MASTER REPORT Case studies from top brands on their creative brand strategies.

16 NEWS ANALYSIS: 7 REASONS WHY BIG AND SMALL AGENCY MERGERS FAIL Here are seven reasons why a merger between a big agency and a small one may fail. Apple Lam reports.

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE!

20

The co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, David Packard once said: “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” While businesses understand the need to break down the silos in theory, achieving it in reality is still a herculean task. Here’s MasterCard’s step towards building a modern-day marketing team. Page 32.

26

NEWS

WWW.MARKET ING- INTERACT IVE .COM4 a d ve r t i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 4

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WANT MORE BREAKING NEWS? SCAN THE CODE TO FIND OUT WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE INDUSTRY.

Breaking traditionsTraditional Chinese medicine brand Eu Yan Sang appointed Wild Advertising & Marketing as its creative agency. This comes as the brand looks to shift its position from a traditionally heritage brand to one which is integrated and relevant to younger consumers. The appointment is for a year and Wild is tasked to provide strategic counsel, integrated creative services through-the-line, digital and social media strategies.

Banking on R/GADBS Bank moved a part of its business to R/GA from DDB Group, Marketing understands. While DDB remains the agency of record for DBS, R/GA has been appointed for part of DBS’ branding business. While DBS confirmed the news, it did not respond to queries on the size of the business. Both R/GA and DDB declined to comment.

A gentle touchBoutique agency Touch PR & Events has made new additions for its lifestyle clients. The first is with renowned Japanese patisserie Henri Charpentier which opened a 4,400 square foot dessert salon at Dempsey Hill in October. The second is with shoes and accessories brand Jelly Bunny, which will open its first flagship store in Plaza Singapura in November. Touch also recently launched its new web portal.

Asking the right questionsShould you be content with having two airbags in your new car or is having six airbags a necessity today? These are some of the questions Volkswagen Singapore, through its “You Can Do Better” campaign, wants to encourage car buyers to ask. The campaign kicked off at the end of July through an unbranded billboard at Tanglin Mall, which leads people to a similarly unbranded website, youcandobetter.sg.

A taste of the high lifeAsiaOne, the aggregator of local, regional and international news – from Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) – has entered into a content and sales partnership with LifestyleAsia.com. The partnership is set to enhance the luxury lifestyle content on AsiaOne. Readers of AsiaOne will have access to more news and inside stories of the exquisite high life. Through the new content partnership, readers can visit LifestyleAsia.com directly via AsiaOne’s landing page.

A good causeAs part of its campaign for the Breast Cancer Foundation, DDB Group Singapore ran a campaign reminding women to check their breasts first thing in the morning. Playing on a social media theme, the agency is making the logos of Facebook, Twitter or Instagram look like visuals of a breast self-examination. This is for this year’s Breast Cancer Foundation theme – “Together We Are Stronger”.

Open for businessBoutique agency Orbital Group is the creative agency for property portal OpenHouse for a period of two years. In addition, OpenHouse also appointed Right Hook Communications to manage its content strategy campaign. OpenHouse is a newly launched property portal helmed by Peter Tay and Patricia Sum and the pair are looking to create a foothold with its innovative property matching features and user-centric technology.

On the huntNanyang Technological University (NTU) is looking to appoint a panel of marketing and advertising agencies. The appointment is for one year from 15 November 2014 to 14 November 2015. There is also an option to extend on a yearly basis for two successive years. Agencies vying for the account need to have experience in developing and executing branding exercises for major organisations and corporations.

A free rideUber, the ride sharing service which set foot in Singapore in January 2013, recently ran a promotion called “free Uber” where customers were treated to two free rides from uberX or UberTAXI. The company said the campaign was to reward its existing customer and rider base. In October, all riders also received a 25% discount on all UberTAXI rides.

Power of pinkSocial shopping network Clozette showed its support for Breast Cancer Awareness month with its new campaign, Pink is Power. The campaign ran with the tag line, “Stylish. Savvy. Connected. Aware” and was launched across Clozette’s digital platforms to encourage Clozette shoppers to show the power of pink. The campaign ran alongside facts about breast cancer and was led by the ambassadors from Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia.

Helping the massesThe Media Development Authority launched the Digital TV Assistance Scheme to help eligible low-income households switch to digital TV. The scheme will be implemented alongside the progressive roll-out of MediaCorp’s digital TV network. The assistance scheme package includes a free digital TV set-top box, an indoor antenna and installation. Each eligible household is entitled to one assistance scheme package.

Seeing RedPromoting the second season of TV show The Blacklist, AXN released a criminal mastermind named “Red” Reddington character onto the streets of Singapore. Currently, the Red of The Blacklist is played by the Emmy award-winning James Spader. The character was running around Singapore.

NEWS


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Making someone smileThe Singapore Kindness Movement partnered with MediaCorp’s OOH Media to launch this year’s Singapore Kindness Movement campaign – “A Nation of Kindness Starts with One”. “Mirror Mirror” is a creative concept used to convey this year’s Singapore Kindness Movement message: “If I can smile at myself, I can make someone smile today.” About 120 OOH Media’s bus shelters have been utilised to showcase the campaign.

Having a good weekendWeekender, a local lifestyle free paper, and online publication, Mothership.sg, entered a content-sharing partnership across their print, digital and social media platforms. Mothership.sg now reproduces Weekender’s lifestyle articles on its website and social media platforms, while Weekender publishes mothership.sg’s community and lifestyle articles in its paper and website. Mothership.sg also appointed Weekender Group as its exclusive media representative to help market mothership.sg’s digital media solutions to advertisers.

Getting smartLocal telco StarHub launched a new advertising solution called smart targeting. Smart targeting leverages different sources of StarHub’s big data, including mobile contextual data and return-path data from two-way set-top boxes to create customer segmentation. Depending on the advertising objective of the brand, this allows StarHub to target or retarget consumers in various ways, such as across platforms in the digital space (mobile and online) or on TV only.

Hertz’s big challengeHertz Asia launched a campaign to raise its profile among a newly targeted market – the tertiary students in Singapore. To engage young drivers, the brand launched Singapore’s first drive challenge called the Hertz Drive Challenge. This was an inaugural collaboration with Campus Magazine which is a free-distribution tertiary student publication. The challenge saw five teams of tertiary students battling it out.

Smelling the aromaCommuters passing by a 35-metre square wallscape advertisement at SBS Transit’s North East Line Dhoby Ghaut station were hit by a floral scent. The flowery scent, emitted from the wallscape, was part of an advertisement campaign launched with Unilever, with the help of Moove Media, to promote its latest range of comfort aromatherapy fabric conditioner. Apart from the scent, the wallscape advertisement also featured flashing LED lights.

A big moveAsia Pacific Breweries (APB) Singapore moved its account within the Publicis Groupe from ZenithOptimedia to Starcom MediaVest. This is part of a global media agency alignment, Rene de Monchy, head of marketing for Asia Pacific Breweries (Singapore), confirmed to Marketing. According to de Monchy, APB will be progressively moving its full media duties in Singapore from ZenithOptimedia to Starcom MediaVest between September and December 2014.

NEWS


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Saving the rhinosSingapore Zoo launched a rhinoceros conservation awareness campaign, titled Rhinos in Trouble: The Hornest Truth, to raise awareness about the plight of rhinoceroses in the wild. It worked closely with TRAFFIC Southeast Asia and Wildlife Conservation Society (Vietnam) to stamp out the illegal trade of rhino horns. The month-long campaign encouraged visitors to Singapore Zoo to donate their nail clippings to symbolise their commitment to rhino conservation.

A smart way to flyLow-fares carrier Jetstar Asia launched a new service that allows travellers to board using their smartphones. The mobile boarding pass, launched at the end of October, uses a two-dimensional barcode to allow passengers straight-to-gate departures. Jetstar Asia CEO Barathan Pasupathi said the mobile boarding pass was the latest investment in innovation from the carrier to make travel more convenient for customers.

Reaching outEdinburgh-based brand Tens sunglasses appointed DFW Creative its PR agency as it plans to expand into Southeast Asia. DFW Creative is overseeing the brand’s PR outreach in Singapore and is focused on helping it expand into markets within the region. Founded in the summer of 2014, the brand claims to have launched the second-most successful fashion campaign on crowdfunding site Indiegogo.com.

DiGi appoints Dragon RougeDiGi Telecommunications appointed Dragon Rouge its branding agency. The work is being handled by Dragon Rouge’s Southeast Asia team, based in Singapore. Since opening for business in May, Dragon Rouge Singapore has picked up brand assignments with corporate, government and FMCG clients in Singapore and Malaysia. The firm also recently appointed Jordy Huisman as creative director for Southeast Asia and is continuing to expand its strategy and creative teams.

A healthy moveAfter two years of mulling over advertising standards, the Singapore government released new guidelines detailing the standards of advertising imposed for children. These guidelines will kick in from January next year. F&B companies will only be allowed to promote products through marketing communications activities if products meet the “common nutrition criteria” which is a framework to help determine which products can be advertised based on nutritional content.

A makeoverThe Business Times (BT), the financial daily of Singapore Press Holdings, launched a major refresh of its newspaper, website and mobile apps. The new BT website carries breaking news and stories from the print edition. BT’s iPad, iPhone and Android smartphone apps have also been refreshed with improved navigation and a new search feature. The refreshed look carries a new masthead, wider columns and more distinct fonts.

Towering overOOH advertising company JCDecaux unveiled its new “Digital Towers” which are located at the arrival immigration halls within Terminal 1 of Singapore Changi Airport. Boasting a height of seven metres, the two towers offer high quality display through nine units of high definition digital screens. In addition, the digital towers come with programmable screen rotation, which can be co-ordinated with customised image reproduction.

Adding some CredContent marketing agency King Content has partnered with content marketing platform NewsCred in Asia Pacific. The partnership leverages NewsCred’s comprehensive software and premium content with King Content’s content marketing strategy, custom content and amplification services. Through this, King Content can now offer its clients licensed content through NewsCred from more than 4,500 content providers, including reputed publishers such as The Huffington Post and The Economist.

Managing AsiaCNBC signed a regional sponsorship deal with Hitachi around the network’s Managing Asia: Asia Builders series. The campaign includes an event in Singapore and runs across CNBC’s TV and digital platforms. In addition to the on-ground event, Hitachi’s sponsorship includes promos running on CNBC Asia Pacific and digital entitlements on CNBC.com along with a series of TVCs. These promos will showcase Hitachi’s innovations.

Making the switchMediaCorp and the Media Development Authority launched an integrated campaign for its new digital TV initiative called the Digital TV Switch-Over. Earlier, the MDA made an announcement on the launch of its Digital TV Assistance Scheme to help eligible low income households switch to digital TV. Created by Ren Partnership, the campaign goes across television, print, OOH, radio and digital.

GeckoLife launchesSocial network GeckoLife, the brainchild of co-CEOs Rajeev Gupta and Ashish Trivedi, has been launched – claiming to be Asia’s first social network designed for both children and adults. GeckoLife is aiming to grow its social presence in Singapore and expand into other markets across the Asia Pacific region, while continuing to evolve its product offering. The company is headquartered in Singapore with offices in Australia, India and the US.

What’s normal?American retailer Gap is bringing its global campaign to Singapore, questioning people what it means to “dress normally”. Launching on multiple marketing vehicles, Dress Normal asks individuals to shape their own authentic, personal style. “Finding your own version of ‘dress normal’ is an art – my normal is different from your normal, and that’s the essence of the campaign,” said Seth Farbman, Gap’s global chief marketing officer.

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LESG_Fullpage Print Ad.indd 1LESG_Fullpage Print Ad.indd 1 7/10/2014 6:30:02 PM7/10/2014 6:30:02 PM

NEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

Would you like garlic scents spritzed at you from a bus stop ad? We’re not sure we did, but this ad certainly scored points for novelty.

Disney launched an integrated publicity campaign for the movie The Hundred-Foot Journey. Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the campaign ran on Clear Channel’s platform at bus stops, particularly ones close to “food meccas” in Singapore: Victoria Street, New Bridge Road and Holland Avenue, said a Clear Channel release.

A custom-built casing placed at the side of the panel housed a diffuser that sprayed the scent periodically. Commuters could also push the button to release the scent on demand. Garlic was chosen over other food scents because of its unique smell, said Clear Channel. The campaign also ran on digital channels. The creative agency was Bates CHI & Partners, while the media agency was m/SIX.

The production cost was estimated at SG$2,700 per unit, excluding media cost.

NOT TO BE SNIFFED AT

Clipping its wingsWhile Red Bull may not actually have given you wings upon consumption, it has now been forced to give consumers US$10 back for false advertising. According to several news sites, the payout could also take the form of two Red Bull products. This comes as the company agrees to pay more than US$13 million after settling a US class action lawsuit.

Asking the right questionsFacebook will be making updates to news feed to show people more relevant ads. It will allow users to specify why they don’t want to see an ad, instead of just being able to hide an ad, as they were previously able to.

Gaining the EdgeSoutheast Asian digital agency Edge Asia, under STW Group, acquired Vietnam-based agency Red Brand Builders. Founded in 2004 by Marc Gough, Red Brand Builders has clients such as Kimberly-Clark, Unilever, Big C, Nestlé, Masan and Vinamilk. After joining Edge Asia, Red Brand Builders’ managing director Chris Elkin will lead Edge Asia’s Vietnam business.

A new pushReddit announced on its blog it had closed a new US$50 million round of outside funding. With the money, Reddit plans to hire more staff for product development, expand its community management team, build better moderation and community tools and work closely with third-party developers to expand mobile offerings. The fund will also be used to pay for its growing technical infrastructure.

Hootsuite closes dealSocial relationship platform Hootsuite closed a US$60 million deal in financing, and acquired social telephony firm Zeetl. According to global media, the six-year-old firm is now estimated to be worth US$1 billion. It landed a US$165 million series B funding in August last year. The latest round of funding was led by a “large Boston-based asset manager”, said the company.

Arcade wins Vaseline dutiesUnilever appointed Arcade for digital marketing duties for its Vaseline Men brand in Indonesia. The win comes following a three-way pitch for the Indonesia market. Tessa Mahendra Tamin, Unilever’s country media manager, said: “Arcade once more demonstrated obvious passion, commitment and an insightful approach that put them ahead of the pack. We’ve challenged Arcade to deliver new ground-breaking work for Vaseline Men in the digital space.”

A new initiativeNew communications consultancy A House Called Alice, which was started by Waggener Edstrom executives Nick Meir and Simon Cliffe, bagged duties for charity foundation Dame Kelly Holmes Trust to advise on strategic communications. The agency is tasked to raise awareness of the trust and its work across the UK. It is working with brands to deliver projects across the UK, Europe and the US.

A special gift packIn conjunction with the Thadingyut festival, an annual event that observes the end of Buddhist Lent, Coca-Cola has designed a gift pack, with the help of its agency TODAY Ogilvy & Mather.

Dentsu acquires Covario Dentsu Aegis Network acquired search and content marketing agency Covario. Covario has a standalone SEO software unit and is headquartered in California. The firm has more than 140 professionals who provide paid and organic search, social media and content marketing agency services to global brands and direct marketing clients. Covario’s agency business will become part of Dentsu Aegis Network, and will transition towards operating as iProspect. (Pictured: Nigel Morris, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Americas and EMEA)

A heartfelt apologyChris Cox, chief product officer of Facebook, has apologised for its “real name” policy. The apology comes after the social media giant was caught off guard by a backlash from San Francisco’s drag community where several prominent members were locked out of their accounts for not going by their legal names. Cox said Facebook would update its policy which would enable users to identify themselves by their preferred names.

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AUDIT WATCH

T3 MAGAZINE FOLDS

Publishing house Playworks has decided to stop publishing T3 Singapore. The last issue for the magazine was issue 106, which was published in September 2014. In a statement, a spokesperson from the company told Marketing it “has decided at this point to pivot its business and focus its business in the digital space”. The magazine ran monthly issues and covered topics

from the latest mobiles to sports and cars. The magazine also underwent a revamp in 2011 to provide readers with sharper visuals and insightful content. According to the publisher, the magazine had a circulation of 25,000. The magazine was not audited. Last year, the company also shut its digital entertainment magazine Playworks. The magazine was first launched in 2000.

CORRECTION

With regards to September’s issue which carried our feature Out of Home Media of the Year, Marketing Magazine would like to clarify that Mediatech Services is the exclusive media marketing partner of Cinema Advertising for all Shaw Cinemas. A profile of Mediatech in the top 10 rankings can be found on Marketing-Interactive.com.

With regards to our Snapped column in the October issue, the people pictured in picture 2 of The Media Shop’s event were Cindy Low, APAC Marketing, Vormetric, Inc; Christine Chong, program marketing Manager, APJ, FireEye,Inc and Jessica Toh, co-founder / regional business director, The Media Shop.

Marketing apologises for the errors.

Mindshare wins accountTesco Lotus, a leading retail business in Thailand, handed its overall media planning and buying business across online and offline to Mindshare Thailand. The win came after a pitching process that included a number of international agencies. Mindshare supports Tesco Lotus in an ongoing conversation with customers across the agnostic media ecosystem of paid, owned and earned to ensure the company stays ahead of the competition.

A Mirriad of offeringsNative in-video advertising firm Mirriad has partnered with Universal Music Group (UMG) and Havas to enable UMG to feature digital brand integration in select music videos. This will be done using Mirriad’s video technology. In addition, Havas, through its Havas Media network, becomes the first global agency to partner with Mirriad and UMG for strategic native in-video advertising for key clients, including LVMH, Dish Network, LG and Coca-Cola.

A sweet dealInternational candy maker Mondelēz inked a global partnership with Google to push further into the online video realm. This new agreement is the company’s largest investment in digital media and is part of its strategy to invest more of its media spending in digital and online video. Globally, the company also committed to shifting 10% of its ad budgets to online video in 2014.

All settledSamsung concluded its global marketing review by handing the account to a roster of Publicis agencies. According to reports, incumbent creative agency Leo Burnett has bagged the account once again. The company also added another Publicis agency BBH and independent agency Wieden+Kennedy to the roster. Starcom MediaVest has been retained for media duties, extending its grip on the business to about seven years.

Adding onIPG Mediabrands, the media investment arm of Interpublic Group, agreed to acquire Turkish social media agency Promoqube. Promoqube was founded in 2010 by Korhan Kurt and Özgür Alaz and provides marketing solutions for brands on social platforms. Its clients include Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, Bridgestone and Is Bankasi. The company will continue to operate from its current location in Istanbul and will remain a separate entity.

Rallying against terrorismSocial media is a powerful tool of communication and now it’s being used to fight terror by Muslims globally. Muslims are rallying together on social media using the hashtag #NotInMyName to shout out to the world that ISIS is not a representation of their religious views. The campaign, launched on 10 September, is being driven by British organisation Active

Wego switches onto TVTravel search site Wego has developed its first television and online video campaign. The campaign was initially launched in Indonesia and is now expected to be extended to its other core markets. The campaign consists of a series of ads that are set to run across television and YouTube. This is an extension of Wego’s investment to engage with travellers for efficient travel plans.

Creating awarenessEricsson partnered with CNN International for an integrated advertising campaign to promote Ericsson’s brand awareness among global upscale audiences. The creative production for the advertising spot, billboards, co-branded promotions and online branding, will be developed by Turner Commercial Productions.

Change Foundation.

Giving a Yelp American reviews site Yelp.com debuted in Hong Kong in traditional Chinese and English. Hong Kong is the third location in Asia where the company has established its site. Unlike in six of the company’s most developed markets such as the US and Canada, ad spaces are not available on the Hong Kong site.

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NEW WORK

WWW.MARKET ING- INTERACT IVE .COM1 0 a d ve r t i s i ng + m a r ke t i ng | N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 4

1CampaignFuture You

BriefThe brand campaign challenges Singaporeans to be “future ready” before they meet their future “older selves” and realise they have not prepared themselves for old age. The campaign rides on the back of a recent survey by Nielsen with young adults in Singapore between the ages of 18 to 29 where there is an overwhelming pessimism about financial preparation and retirement needs.

Client NTUC Income

Creative BBH Asia Pacific

Media OMD Asia Pacific

2CampaignOwn Now

BriefThe campaign features models and young influencers from across Asia bringing the “Own Now” idea to life. The campaign launched in Malaysia and Indonesia with a 15-second TVC. It will also roll out in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore across channels, including online, OOH, TVC and print in the coming weeks.

Client Zalora

Creative BBH Asia Pacific Media ZenithOptimedia

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4Campaign Dress Normal

BriefThrough the “Dress Normal” campaign, Gap asks individuals to shape their own authentic personal style. The print advertisements carry tag lines such as “dress like no one’s watching” and “let your actions speak louder than your clothes”. A 360 marketing matrix across print, outdoor, TV, digital, social, mobile and BTL initiatives have been rolled out for the campaign. The campaign also consists of a series of commercials that will air on TV, in stores and online.

Client Gap

Creative Wieden+Kennedy

Media In-house

3CampaignDare To Be Somebody

Brief The campaign has been created to build and launch a distinctive brand image for the University of South Australia. Through the campaign, the institute aims to create awareness and drive student enrolments. The campaign runs in Singapore on OOH, online, Spotify and mobile platforms.

Client University of South Australia and M2 Academy

Creative Wild Advertising & Marketing

Media MediaCom

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DID FACEBOOK MANIPULATE OCCUPY CENTRAL’S PARTICIPATION?Having conducted an emotional manipulation study on users in the past, could Facebook have manipulated its algorithm to show Hong Kong users more Occupy Central posts than what is relevant to them? Apple Lam reports.

If you have scrolled through your Facebook news feed in the past month, it has probably been dominated by content relating to Occupy Central.

Is it possible Facebook tweaked its news feed algorithms such that more Occupy Central posts showed up in the news feeds of Hongkongers?

In the past, Facebook has manipulated its algorithm to see how users would respond.

In June, scientific journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), published the paper, “Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks”.

It showcased the results of a 2012 emotional manipulation study conducted by the paper’s authors – Facebook’s data scientist Adam Kramer and Cornell University researchers Jamie Guillory and Jeffrey Hancock – on 689,003 Facebook users.

In the study, Facebook reduced the amount of positive or negative posts in the users’ news feeds.

“When positive expressions were reduced, people produced fewer positive posts and more negative posts; when negative expressions were reduced, the opposite pattern occurred,” the authors of the paper wrote.

“These results indicate that emotions expressed by others on Facebook influence our own emotions, constituting experimental evidence for massive-scale contagion via social networks.”

On 2 October, Facebook’s chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer wrote in a blog post that Facebook was unprepared for the reaction to the publication of the paper.

“It is clear now that there are things we should have done differently. For example, we should have considered other non-experimental ways to do this research,” he wrote.

“Over the past three months, we’ve taken a close look at the way we do research. We are introducing a new framework that covers both internal work and research that might be

published.” A digital consultant in Hong Kong believes there are reasons to be suspicious.

“Facebook has a history of controlling what you can and cannot see. It said it would show more news in your news feed and Occupy Central counts as news,” he says.

In response to a query about whether Facebook manipulated its algorithm to show more Occupy Central posts in Hong Kong users’ news feeds than usual, a Facebook spokesperson said: “This claim is absurd and completely unfounded.

“News feed shows stories based on the people and things you’re connected to and it would be inaccurate and misleading to suggest we had updated news feed to prioritise the content you mentioned.”

Tweaking the algorithm may not be necessary after allDigital marketers and social media experts who spoke to Marketing on the topic believe Facebook does not need to tweak its algorithm – Occupy Central would still take up the top spots in our news feeds anyway.

“I think it’s insane to think that somebody in a foreign country could create radical change in another with Facebook posts,” says Jay Oatway, an independent digital marketing consultant.

He points out Facebook’s algorithm is already designed to try and show individual users what is most relevant and interesting to them.

“If you are using Facebook a lot, clicking, liking or commenting on Occupy Central posts

and they are coming from someone located geographically near you or your friends, they become signals processed by Facebook’s algorithm. Facebook doesn’t need to flip any switches – the algorithm already does what it is designed to do.”

Also pointing to the fact that Facebook’s algorithm is centred around relevance to the user, Henry Wood, the Greater China digital lead at Waggener Edstrom Communications, believes manipulation of the algorithm is unnecessary.

“Facebook certainly could have manipulated the algorithm either to share a love of democracy or to boost its popularity as a platform, but I don’t think it was necessary.

“Occupy Central was and still is a highly relevant, personal and engaging subject in Hong Kong.

Another possible cause of Occupy Central posts dominating Hongkongers’ news feeds were the sheer number of videos of the protests uploaded onto Facebook since the government fired tear gas at protesters on 28 September, according to Lleyton Li, manager of intelligence and analytics at CMRS Digital Solutions.

“Facebook has been saying that it would like to show more video content to users. The more videos you watch, the more videos will show up in your news feed,” said Li, who oversees a team of analysts monitoring social media platforms, including Facebook.

The fact that many brands have stopped most of their Facebook activity, including advertising and marketing campaigns, in light of the Occupy Central protests is another contributing factor to the vast amount of Occupy Central posts in news feeds.

“Most brands have stopped their ads and campaigns. Occupy Central is the hottest topic that the whole of Hong Kong cares about right now and there are no other topics competing with it,” Li said.

“Combined with this, the lack of activity on the part of brands have helped increase the likelihood of Occupy Central content showing up in Hongkongers’ news feeds.”


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SINGAPORE AUTHORITIES TIE DOWN GUIDELINES ON FOOD MARKETING TO KIDSMarketers looking to reach children under 12 will require a nutrition compliance certificate. More here on the guidelines that will kick in by next year. Rezwana Manjur reports.

After two years of mulling over advertising standards, the government has released new guidelines detailing the standards of advertising imposed for children. These guidelines will kick in from January next year, where food and beverage products companies will only be allowed to promote products through marketing communications activities if the products meet the “common nutrition criteria”.

The common nutrition criteria is a framework to help food manufacturers determine which food and beverage products can be advertised to children based on nutrition content. The criteria applies to both packaged food and food services. Advertisers wishing to promote food and beverage products primarily targeted at children aged 12 years and below will need to complete the nutrition criteria compliance certificate and provide the media owner with the certificate.

For any food or beverage marketing communication not accompanied by a duly completed certificate, media owners should assume the product does not meet the common nutrition criteria.

Meanwhile, food and beverage marketing communications primarily targeted at children in all media will be assessed using the following criteria:Placement – whether the key target audience of the medium is children. For example, a TV channel that only broadcasts children’s programmes or a TV channel that broadcasts children’s programmes in specific time belts. There should also not be any fixed outdoor advertising within 50 metres of a primary school.Advertising content – whether advertising tools and techniques used are designed to appeal specifically to children. Examples would include the use of licensed characters or toys; use of interactive games or contests; and overall creative execution such as the use of language and visuals that are directed primarily at children.

The guidelines were developed by a public-private partnership consortium comprising stakeholders from MOH, HPB, ASAS, a council of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), Food Industry Asia (FIA) as well as

representatives from media and advertising industries.

ASAS will also be conducting workshops in November to provide training for key stakeholders such as brand owners, media owners, media compliance officers, creative and media agencies.

If advertisers are found not to be keeping in line with the prescribed guidelines, ASAS will first ask them to amend the advertisement. Subsequently, ASAS will work with media owners to withhold the advertising space. ASAS will also take steps to name and shame the advertisers if these criteria are not met.

ASAS also urges advertisers to keep in mind that marketing communications for food and beverage products primarily addressed to children should not imply that children are likely to be ridiculed, inferior to others, less popular, disloyal or have let someone down if they or their family do not use the advertised product.

The products should also not urge children to buy the food or beverage product, or persuade others to buy the products for them, via “high pressure” and “hard sell” techniques.

“Words or the tones adopted in the advertisement should not cajole, pressure or bully children or their parents into buying the food or beverage product,” said ASAS in the guidelines. The ads are also urged not to feature prices with words such as “only” or “just”, which implies a level of affordability.

Meanwhile, popular personalities or celebrities (live or animated) well-known among children must also not suggest that consumption of the product would enable children to resemble an admired figure or role model.

They must also not suggest the non-consumption of the product would imply the children are not being loyal to the figure or role. However, popular personalities or celebrities may present factual and relevant statements about nutrition and health.

This follows a major move sweeping across the globe at this point.This move is expected to have a major impact on the way marketers operate.

The move is expected to have a major impact on marketers.


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IS THE AOR MODEL OBSOLETE?In an age where data and therefore digital is increasingly running the show, is the traditional AOR model redundant? Here are the challenges it faces. Elizabeth Low writes.

There has been enough said of the data age. With the rapid uptake of data-driven marketing and the role digital is playing in marketing, the marketing profession has seen a major upheaval in the way it is run.

Major brands and firms are placing data centres right smack in the middle of their processes, building their own data and analytics teams in-house – of which play a key part in informing their next marketing moves. The likes of OCBC, Lenovo, Philips, IBM, StarHub and more have already taken this path.

What this also means is that it places vital

information back in the hands of the marketer. How has this changed the traditional client-agency relationship? Are agencies offering what marketers really need?

A recent interview with Pete Mitchell, global media innovations director for Mondelēz, seemed to indicate a gap. Speaking on the company’s goals to take on more real-time, data-driven approaches, Mitchell said this was an area larger agencies seemed to struggle to do adequately.

While praising legacy creative agencies for their ability to execute longer form work, Mitchell

said there remained a gap for agencies who can do both long and short-form work. The creative agencies tend to do great work for TV, but are falling behind when it comes to the likes of real-time marketing.

This is an area big agencies are struggling with, and what social media, digital or media agencies with creative arms are doing better, according to Mitchell.

Most agencies are stocked with the wrong kind of people they need for the next five years.

“It is full of people that have been doing this job and have an allegiance to doing so for the

In with the new: Can brands and agencies work on a solely project-basis?


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same way that they have for the past 50 years – (taking) a highly protectionist approach – (that is thinking) TV first; working on a production margin and award-winning work that tends to be made for TV,” he said.

“These tend to be longer form work and lend themselves to a more campaign-style of execution.”

He cites one great recent example of such work being Johnnie Walker Blue’s campaign with Jude Law. (Johnnie Walker recently shot a short film with Jude Law and co-star Giancarlo Giannini in a handcrafted boat, filmed in the British Virgin Islands. The film was released online and done by Anomaly out of New York.) “Legacy agencies such as JWT and Ogilvy & Mather are great at this (longer form work),” he points out.

Pointing out Mondelēz’s data-driven direction, much like the likes of Philips has recently taken, Mitchell opined then that agencies need to be able to work more on a project basis instead of campaigns.

“In fact, we don’t need agencies of record. Brands should be able to work with agencies on a project basis and look for agencies in terms of what they are good at. Agencies need to be more specialised. We should be stepping away from the agency of record model.

“We should also be more comfortable with working with agencies who may work on competitors. They do that all the time anyway.”

Is the concept of AORs overrated?Obviously the view throws into question the need for the classic client-agency relationship, which in recent years has seen a rapid shortening as clients are quick to call pitches for a new partner.

Susanne Arfelt, head of marketing for Unilever Singapore, staunchly disagrees with that view. “Brands are like people, it takes time to get to know them. If we continuously change agencies, there will be little to no consistency in the look and feel of the communication,” she said.

“Agency relationships take a long time to build and I believe the greatest work comes out once the client and agency have tried a couple of campaigns, learned how they can optimise and continuously improve through honest conversations.”

Also, through the AOR model, the client can tie the agency to the success of the brand, which ultimately assures the agency has to focus on business results, and not merely go for the creative “wow” effect.

Richard Bleasdale, of marketing consultancy Roth Observatory International, says that an entirely project-based approach has its merits.

“Agencies can pick and choose the things

they do and don’t want to work on. It will allow them to stay fresher. Work in more focused and concentrated bursts. Give their people more interesting variety. Marketers, too, can pick and choose which agencies work on what. It will keep the agencies on their toes. They’ll get more fresh perspectives and ideas,” Bleasdale said.

While the idea looks to be driven by a desire for better work, the theory may sound better than the practice, he adds.

Challenges for marketers and agenciesIn reality, this would mean massive hurdles for both marketers and agencies.

“For marketers, not only would they be facing increases in average agency fees, they would also face significant increases in agency management time to bring new agencies up to speed on their brands/business, and to manage and integrate the now wider group of project-based agencies they work with,” he said.

On the agency side, uncertainty of income would make it very difficult to retain talent. “You just wouldn’t know if you can pay them. In fact, to some extent, there would be some challenge knowing if you could pay any expenses at all,” he said.

The implication is that agencies would have to significantly increase their fees to cover the income uncertainty. This is commonly seen today in the different rate cards agencies offer for retained versus project-based work.

From the company’s research, Bleasdale said the three critical factors of trust, co-operation and commitment were needed for great work.

“You can again see why purely project-based marketer/agency relationships will struggle to establish the conditions where great relationships and so better work can be produced,” he said.

He conceded some global marketers, for example, Coca-Cola, are experimenting with a “halfway house”, where a roster of multiple specialist agencies is appointed as agencies of record. These cover areas such as shopper marketing, activation, digital and more – and the agencies work on a rotating project basis to execute campaigns.

“Coke has implemented a unique remuneration methodology for these relationships. Agencies are paid on a project

basis, with the fee determined based on the project’s strategic importance, the quality of agency talent working on it and the results of the campaign,” he said.

However, to date, there has been no formal feedback from either Coke or its rostered agencies on the success or otherwise of this model, he said.

Agencies need to catch upWhile it’s easy to see the difficulties a solely project-based model will throw up, it’s clear the agency model needs to play catch-up quickly

Frank Bauer, CEO of JWT Singapore, agrees that communications will be more data-intelligence driven, with direct engagements with consumers through various touch-points. This would call for more flexible partners to execute. However, he added that a brand idea needs to be consistent and evolve over time, and that would call for a trusted partner.

He also added that on the part of agencies, there is a need to specialise. Larger groups may, however, decide to create a family of brand and engagement specialists.

Bauer admits that digital fragmentation has changed the role of agencies. “PR and media agencies expanded their role as experts on ‘new media’, and digital agencies gained power and clout.

“The ad agency’s added value and role got a little blurred, and sometimes questioned, and brand owners ended up giving out the same briefing to a whole bunch of agencies.

“It is common practice for a company to have a brand campaign by their ‘agency of record’ running at the same time as a digital campaign by a different agency and a social media push by another.”

But there remains a fresh opportunity for agencies that look at brands strategically to rekindle a relationship by partnering with the C-suite.

While the debate goes on about how to reach that, agencies need to quickly find their footing in the forever changing media landscape.

“Agencies that can focus on digital development without trying to become a ‘digital agency’ and leave everything else behind, will become the go-to partner of CEOs,” Bauer said.

“This is an area big agencies are struggling with, and what social media, digital or media agencies with creative arms are doing better.”

Pete Mitchell – global media innovations director, Mondelēz.

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Here are seven reasons why a merger between a big agency and a small one may fail. Apple Lam reports.

It is not uncommon to hear about a merger where a big agency acquires a small one, often an independent agency started by an innovative entrepreneur with experience in his or her industry, whether it is public relations, marketing or advertising.

Why do some of these mergers fall apart whereas others manage to thrive in spite of the differences between the two agencies?

1. Insufficient time allowed for post-merger integrationHow long should the post-merger integration process take?

“The adjustment period could take months or years. It simply depends on when you sort out the chaos,” said Aaron Lau, CEO and president of Cheil Greater China, whose boutique ad agency Bravo was acquired by Cheil Worldwide in 2012.

“It depends on whether the senior

management of the acquired company can quickly reinstate the vision of the company. The let’s-wait-and-see period is critical.”

A communications professional, whose boutique agency went through a merger with a big agency, says the big agency has to see the integration as an ongoing one, rather than a process that finishes after just a few months.

“It’s a constant battle to keep people educated about why the merger is taking place,” she says.

Some small agencies can be more than a decade old and their ways of working are ingrained, meaning the actual integration process can even take a few years.

David Ko, co-founder and MD at Daylight Partnership, had sold his boutique PR agency Shout Communications to PR giant Waggener Edstrom in 2005.

After his earn-out finished over the course of two years, he stayed on at Waggener Edstrom for two more years to find and train his successor, while ensuring the entire team supported his successor.

2. Not doing due diligence for the two agencies’ differences in organisational culture from top-to-bottomBefore a large agency merges with a small one, it often conducts due diligence to investigate the financial assets of the small agency.

“But they don’t do much due diligence for the soft-side of the acquired. When the visions of the two agencies don’t tally up, this contributes to a fall out,” Lau says.

The soft-side includes the culture, vision and dreams of the people in the small agency. For example, the family atmosphere of a small agency is very different from the often bureaucratic culture of big agencies.

Even if a cultural litmus test is done before the deal is sealed, it often occurs between the CEOs of the two companies rather than the staff members.

“Because M&A negotiations are confidential by nature and the leaders are the ones making the decision, the people most affected by the acquisition – the staff – are usually the last to know,” Ko says.

How long should the post-merger integration take?

7 REASONS WHY BIG AND SMALL AGENCY MERGERS FAILHere are seven reasons why a merger between a big agency and a small one might fail. Apple Lam reports.

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“Right from the start, they don’t have a say, and as a leader, you don’t have their buy-in or emotional support.”

3. Stomping out the entrepreneurial spirit of the small agencyBecause small agencies often begin as start-ups, their owners are very entrepreneurial. Owners of successful agencies are adept at finding clients and running the business, which requires stamina, creativity and a proactive attitude.

Once the small agency is acquired, if the owner chooses to stay on, they must find a way to thrive in a big agency environment.

Ko believes the CEO of the small agency should be offered the autonomy to make decisions to make sure they still have a sense of control and do not become a cog in a big machine.

“People who start agencies are very entrepreneurial and are used to running their own show, with plenty of ideas. When they become lost in a large agency, they will become very demotivated,” he says.

Lau takes a different view.“Once you are acquired, you have to change

your mindset to one where you are looking after someone else’s asset. It isn’t quite yours anymore and it’s a shared responsibility,” he says.

“You need to take the interests of the acquirer into account and realise there is a bigger agenda beyond what you want to do.”

One argument for why the small agency voice should be protected, rather than assimilated into the big agency’s, is to retain talented people.

Often, small agencies have capabilities that big agencies don’t because staff members get things done in a certain way, made possible by the culture of that particular small agency.

One example is the acquisition of digital marketing or public relations agencies by large agencies.

“A lot of big agencies acquire small ones because of their client or talent bases. Why don’t the big agencies have these digital capabilities to begin with? It’s because there is something in the company stopping them from developing,” Ko says.

“If you absorb a digital agency completely and impose the same obstacles on the small agency, it would kill the business.”

4. Not effectively empowering middle managers to communicate with front-line staffThe communications professional says that staff members often take on a completely different character in a new organisation. When a merger takes place and a new organisational culture is formed, staff members must adjust their

personality and work ethic to fit in with the new organisation.

One way to communicate the reason why the two agencies needed to be merged and what comes afterwards is to empower respected middle managers to help disseminate the new mission through the culture and to front-line staff members.

“Senior managers should work with middle managers to create a new mission through discussion sessions,” she says.

This is particularly important when big agencies often have global senior management. Middle managers based locally can help front-line staff feel part of a new organisation – giving them the moral and technical support of a big agency. Planning the integration process properly is crucial.

5. Not effectively managing changes to pricing and expectations of existing clientsBig agencies typically charge more than small agencies, usually because they have more resources which can be leveraged to offer a more diverse range of services, and in many cases, to larger clients.

After a merger, small agencies may be asked to raise the fees they charge for their services. They are then presented with the situation where they need to convince a long-term retainer client why they need to charge more.

This may include arguing that now the small agency is part of a large one, it can benefit from economies of scale and, thus, offer better and more diverse services.

“It can be difficult to convince clients and you can lose some of them – that’s natural,” the communications professional says.

The new pricing of services can affect the small agency’s client base. If some open-minded retainer clients are willing to accept the higher fees and the proposal of an expanded service, the small agency will still experience the stress of needing to be extra proactive to ensure they are generating that added value.

In the beginning, the small agency must learn how to access the larger pool of resources owned by the large agency. This can present an extra obstacle to quickly stepping up the quality of services for clients.

Meanwhile, some clients choose small agencies because they believe boutique agencies produce higher quality work more quickly, are potentially cheaper and will take better care of the clients’ needs.

Such clients may be worried about a loss of focus on them after the merger takes place. Theoretically, the more clients an agency has, if the number of staff remains the same or people leave, it’s likely the small agency will have less resources and attention for the client.

Ko says the acquisition of digital advertising agencies by traditional ad agencies can be difficult financially speaking, because digital projects and accounts offer smaller profit margins.

“In the transition period, this could have a negative impact on revenue. The same could apply to PR agencies, but it’s slightly easier for PR agencies because their revenue bases are not threatened by digital,” he said.

6. The small agency’s staff may not be able to handle the big agency’s large MNC clientsSmall agencies may usually take on smaller clients or just a part of a big client’s account whereas big agencies usually serve large multinational companies and big remits.

The communications professional says sometimes after a merger, the small agency’s staff may be asked to help out with accounts of big corporate clients that previously only belonged to the big agency.

While this helps give exposure to staff members, a lot of management time is dedicated to ensuring these clients are serviced properly because not every small agency has senior managers and account managers with experience serving large corporate clients.

This could also take time away from the small agency for servicing its existing clients.

7. During the integration process, you lose half of the CEOBefore the merger, 100% of the CEO’s time will probably be focused on client acquisition.

After the merger, the CEO’s time would be split between running the business and communicating with the small agency’s staff members and senior management of the big agency as part of the integration process.

“I would say that my first year after the acquisition was very difficult and I was very stressed out. I had a 150% increase in workload – I was doing my usual work and also integrating with the big agency,” Ko said.

“Many of my new bosses were in different time zones halfway across the globe and I wasn’t getting enough sleep.”

“The adjustment period could take months or years. It simply depends on when you sort out the chaos.”

Aaron Lau – CEO and president of Cheil Greater China.

OP I N I O N : A D WAT CH /WEB WAT CH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


My favourite ad of the year so far is for Buick in China. It’s a road safety ad, which conveys its message simply and elegantly, while managing to evoke powerful emotions.

It involves the victim of a road traffic accident holding up the very sign that was ignored by a driver, moments before the accident took place. As a pure concept, it’s a beautifully powerful and fresh way to convey a road safety message. It even works without really having to read the line, “signs are there for a reason” (which as a copywriter, I can greatly appreciate). But just to make sure you’re knocked for six, it also tells us who the victim is and how the accident happened, which nicely adds an extra layer of emotion. The mood created through the art direction’s saturated effect also poignantly frames the victim and the sign, making sure the image isn’t one to be easily forgotten.

HOT: perspectivesofprogress.com

I have to admit, I’m a big fan of a website that leads with an experience. The handsomely designed website from Volvo trucks does just that. With a clean and intuitive layout, it smartly partners with Bing and National Geographic to provide visitors with some well thought out content, videos and panoramic stills. Once hooked you can’t help but tab across to delve into more content, this time about the product, feeding a new generation of web users who like to binge on good content, all the while falling deeper into the brand story. I must be frank though, I couldn’t help thinking I wanted a bit more. With only three videos across a whole region I felt like it could have been attacked a lot harder. If there is more coming then I think it’s smart … give me a reason to go back! Even better, invite me to layer on my own experience. Until next time, perhaps.

NOT: coca-cola.com.sg

I’m not sure whether I am part of some big joke or not, but the Coke websites – global and local – are not up to scratch. Now Coke, everything else that you do is very classy, and I’m sure the website is low on the list for a beverage company, but this isn’t bringing me any happiness. To start off with, speed matters on the web. As fast is getting faster, I’m not sure I even have the patience for this website.The layout is not appealing, period. Interestingly when you start getting into the activations (click on “Explore the world of Ahh” as part of the extremely successful Share a Coke campaign) it’s a totally different story – a happy and inquisitive experience awaits! The local sites are another step down. Do yourself a favour, get a Coke with a meal, sit down and head to the Republic of Singapore site.

My least favourite ad is the mysterious, “Who Is She?” campaign for Julie’s biscuits. First, I have nothing against the campaign’s intentions of corporate social responsibility. My issues are with the unnecessary enigmatic messaging. The headline asks, “Who Is She?” From the visual we assume it’s the nice old lady. But then the sub-heading suddenly tells us, “she is … me”. Now we’re not sure who’s talking to us, and what they’re trying to get at. The copy then goes on to explain the narrator is in fact the helper Firdaus. Before he further informs us that,

“she is the best of me”. We’re then asked, “who is the best of you?” Before being told to “share your story today”. Unfortunately for such a well-meaning campaign, it’s grammatically confusing with multiple layers of messaging that just leaves the viewer with no idea of who is who, or what they’re expected to do.

HOT: Road Safety Buick

AD WATCHNOT: Who Is She? campaign

Jatinder SandhuCreative directorDentsu Singapore

WEB WATCHJosh GallagherRegional strategy directorHavas Media

D I R E C T MA I L C A S E S T UDY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


A strategic direct mail campaign helped History Asia garner attention for its new series.

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

Hazel YapDirector of marketing communications A+E Networks Asia.

Objective: To garner attention for its reality show.

Idea: Postcards with photography by amateur photographers.

Results:PR value of more than US$1.2 million achieved.

THE MAIL

History Asia used beautiful photography to hook its audience.

History Asia’s first original reality competition series, Photo Face-Off, took on a different approach as part of its marketing efforts. In a bid to capture the essence of the series and to introduce it to the media, clients and affiliates in Asia, A+E Networks demonstrated how a picture truly speaks a thousand words.

The series, which premiered on 23 September 2014 at 10.30pm, featured five amateur photographers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam competing for the assignment of a lifetime – an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to photograph some of the world’s biggest stars as well as a trip to the Canon Photo Clinic in Japan.

In each episode, the amateur photographers and professional photographer, Justin Mott, battled through three challenges – speed, theme and extreme, in their home countries.

In the finale, the amateur photographers met in Taiwan and competed against each other for the final prize, with Mott as one of the judges.

Leading up to the premiere, postcards of photographs by Mott and the amateur photographers were delivered to the media, clients and affiliates. The photo postcards were delivered twice a week from the week of 11 August to the week of 1 September to introduce the series and the photographers with their photographs.

Each photo postcard consisted of a description of the series or the photographers and a call-to-action to tune in to the premiere of Photo Face-Off on History Channel. A hashtag #PhotoFaceOff was also created and included in the photo postcards to encourage social media mentions.

There were many positive comments from the media, clients and affiliates, with some even requesting for high-res versions of the photos to

use as computer screen savers, to reprint or to republish. The total regional PR value garnered for Photo Face-Off to date is more than US$1.2 million.

P RO F I L E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


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Susanne Arfelt Rajamand, head of marketing for Unilever Singapore, has worn several different hats at Unilever – moving from global roles to regional ones before taking on her current role for Singapore. A Unilever stalwart, she started in the company as a management trainee before moving through various roles. She now oversees 40 brands for Unilever.

Arfelt is in her second year in her current role in leading Unilever’s marketing for Singapore, and is a familiar face in the industry. Upon taking on her role, she has been active in pushing for change within the organisation. One of the first things she changed was the overall structure – creating a category structure for different product groups – ice-cream, skin cleansing and others.

Another move she pushed for was to make a deep dive into consumer

“THERE IS A TENDENCY OF OVER PROMISING ON PITCHES AND IT JUST DOES NOT

BRING ANYTHING GOOD BECAUSE IN THE END, IF YOU’RE IN IT FOR A LONG RUN AND

IF YOU’VE BEEN A LITTLE TOO OPTIMISTIC,IT IS GOING TO TURN OUT NEGATIVELY.”

analytics with the team’s media agency Mindshare to change how it made its media investments. This saw Unilever moving heavily into experiential marketing in Singapore.

For example, the past few years saw Unilever execute several major experiential marketing moves, such as its Magnum Pleasure stores and events, Ben & Jerry’s Chunk Fest as well as scented out-of-home ads with SMRT for its Comfort Aromatherapy fabric conditioner.

“We went from a heavy spend in traditional media (TV especially) to a more balanced spend with new platforms (digital) for certain brands, but there was little impact for others. Going ahead we are looking at less dramatic changes, but instead focus on further optimisation of current channel usage in line with where the consumers move their media consumption,” she says.

While Unilever has been actively pushing into new digital, mobile marketing and e-commerce, Arfelt raises the issue of how difficult digital initiatives are to measure. Stakeholder management (buy-in) is a big issue in pushing for digital because of a lack of a consistent and reliable means of tracking. While measuring effectiveness (cost-per-click, etc) is possible; seeing how it measures up against competitors is not possible.

“It’s really an auditing issue. We’ve really taken a significant leap into digital which I strongly feel is the right thing to do. But it also means that usual tracking that Unilever runs by is not in place to really cover and understand how we are spending the money,” Arfelt admits.

“Justifying that is challenging in a market where you don’t have the similar analytics as you have in more traditional media.”

It is more of an auditing issue, where it is hard to track what competitors are doing in the space, unlike in traditional media.

“So there is definitely more of a challenge of arguing why we are going down that journey and if that is the right thing to do.”

The next biggest issue for Arfelt is managing a workforce. While she loves working with her local team, one issue with the local workforce is its low patience.

“The expectations on both monetary and title progression is very high. Managing that has definitely been a whole new challenge to me because my previous management experience has been with a more international workforce, with people from Southeast Asia or Europe, where there is not as much mobility as with the other markets – there’s a lot more focus on learning.”

Managing that expectation is one of her biggest challenges, she said.How does she do it then? Arfelt laughs and says: “For that you have

to ask them. It’s not easy.”

The next thing we talk about is her take on agency relations. Catch Arfelt in any conference or meeting and she’s always surrounded by agency executives looking to talk to her. What makes an agency stand out in a pitch, I ask.

The answer is simple. “Firstly, try to understand my business and try to understand my business problem rather than coming in with a tailor-cut pitch which in most cases they do. Secondly, they should come in with a clear point of view on how they can be different. What I find is most agencies just tell you what they have done,” she says.

“And be honest there is a tendency of over promising on pitches and it just does not bring anything good because in the end, if you’re in it for a long run and if you’ve been a little too optimistic, it is going to turn out negatively.”

That said, she describes herself as believing in long-term agency relations. In another interview on whether the idea of having agencies of record was still relevant, Arfelt argued: “Brands are like people, it takes time to get to know them. If we continuously change agencies, there will be little to no consistency in the look and feel of the communication.

“Agency relationships take a long time to build and I believe the greatest work comes out once the client and agency have tried a couple of campaigns, learned how they can optimise and continuously improve through honest conversations.”

She notes how her current PR agency GolinHarris impressed her on a pitch for Toni&Guy.

“They spent a lot of resources listening to our consumers and brought a lot of great ideas to the table. That impressed me that they really tried to take the business challenge.

“I believe very much in trusting and empowering other people.”

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

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WHY THE MARKETING INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE FEMALE LEADERSNearly 70% of entry-level recruits in the marketing, PR and advertising industries are women. But APAC regional heads of the top five PR agencies are all men. Why? Edelman’s Cornelia Kunze writes.

executive born and bred in a thoroughly Western culture, my understanding of the gender equality topic was primarily fuelled from reading about diversity in newspapers and discussing the merits of a gender quota over dinner conversations.

The operation I came from in Germany had 70% female employees and more than 50% in senior leadership were women. We had flexible working hours and part-time work was a perfectly acceptable option. And I was the female executive at the top – so no reason to worry. Or so I thought – my bad. Diversity, and especially gender diversity, is often just classified as a moral requirement rather than

Every year, millions of young women leave Asia’s first-class business schools and universities to enter the job market. When it comes to education in both emerging and developed markets, there is almost no gender gap, apart from perhaps a few typically male-dominated subjects such as engineering.

In our profession – marketing, public relations and advertising – we face a large imbalance that favours females in entry level positions. About 70% of our entry level new recruits are women, in both this part of the world and elsewhere. We should have a considerable advantage and opportunity to have equally high female representation at the

top. And we could content ourselves with much better quotas than other sectors: 50% of our middle-management and 25% of our senior management are women.

However, the APAC regional heads of the top five PR agencies are all men. What happens to the many job starters who do not make it through to the senior-management level? How does the change take place in the talent pool from junior to senior level? What can we as business leaders do to retain and promote them? It’s a rocky road towards increasing the percentage of women in leadership in Asia Pacific. But ignoring this path is not an option.

When coming to Asia as a female senior

Is gender diversity more than a moral requirement?

NEWS ANA L Y S I S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


a business imperative. An active change to promote gender diversity is not supposed to marry easily with the primacy of meritocracy.

It might have been Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, that shook up the female corporate world and made the topic the talk of the town and the boardroom. Translated into numerous languages, business people all over the world are waking up to a new topic of conversation. While most big multinationals have representatives and programmes for “diversity and inclusion” in place, the effectiveness of those programmes is often compromised by the realities – by deeply rooted traditions, perceptions and current behaviours seemingly set in stone.

When I accepted the role of a steering committee member of Edelman’s GWEN (global women executive network) I wanted to find out what made the Asia Pacific region different. What barriers are we facing as we search for solutions to meet our firm’s global goal for 50% female leadership, set by Richard Edelman himself.

Overall, there is a serious gender gap in most parts of Asia Pacific, which means that women are underrepresented in the labour force, political decision-making, access to health and education. According to the World Economic Forum Gender Report 2013 which ranks 136 countries, India (101), Japan (105) and South Korea (111) rank among the lowest in this region. The Philippines (fifth) is one bright spot, not only leading the way in Asia Pacific, but also leaving behind Britain, the US and France.

There is no lack of research: most studies have found that few women are in leading positions, apart from some encouraging examples and figures in China, Vietnam and the Philippines. The proportion of women in the workforce decreases at each successive level of the hierarchy.

According to a report, Japanese women make up 49% of university graduates and 45% of entry level jobs – but less than 1% of CEO positions. Almost half of women employees leave their jobs voluntarily because of family commitments, mid-career or at senior levels. In South Korea a very small proportion of women move into middle management, and in India only about 30% of educated women even work in junior-level positions.

The Singapore Board Diversity report 2013 states that less than 5% of chairman and CEO positions are held by women – while 58% of listed companies have all-male boards. When it comes to our industry, there are not a lot of specific facts available, except for Australia. And they are not encouraging: according to

new figures from Graduate Careers Australia, the public relations industry holds the dubious honour of having the highest gender wage disparity of any industry: “Women represent just a quarter of staff in creative departments” (in Australia) according to The Communications Council’s latest Salary Survey, with just 13.5% of senior creative positions occupied by females.

The general trend is not a lot more encouraging in Europe, however, it is more acute in Asia. With generally lower proportions of women in the labour force, it becomes more difficult to feed the pipeline of leaders in Asia. Companies are recommended to address the cultural and organisational issues to crack the gender gap, while not being equipped to solve them.

The primary role of women as wives, mothers and caretakers is deeply ingrained in cultures. Whereas women in China carry the burden of taking care of the elderly, the influence of traditional families in India includes but doesn’t stop at the choice of a husband. The choice of the future employer, the pace of the career, the intensity of working hours, the daily commute, the required work-related travel – all of this can be subject to family decisions and put the female employee between a rock and a hard place.

The commonly discussed glass ceiling effect is not only a result of family pressure or a deliberate choice to move into a slower lane with her career. Even though it is denied by some female executives who have made it to the top, the old boys’ network is alive and kicking, hand-in-hand with a solid bureaucracy.

The Economist has created its own glass-ceiling index[1], according to which, the places “not to be” for a woman are South Korea and Japan. When it comes to moving up the career ladder, the traditional gender role doesn’t sync with the image of a career woman – defined by everybody else except the women themselves.

The current reality of wage gaps is not helpful, either. There is a global consensus that 35% think that women earn less than men in the same job profile.

Societal change is slowly under way. In most countries, women are increasingly educated, marry later and have fewer children. This goes

hand-in-hand with their own aspiration to pursue an adequate career and offer themselves to the job market, under conditions that allow them to “have it all” – family and career.

Back to advertising, public relations and creative agencies specifically: young graduates joining our agencies are most likely urban, career-oriented, want to be part of an exciting, global and ever-changing sector and are primarily female. Are they less affected by the cultural context they live in? No – they are part of it as much as anyone else in the world.

We as employers have to acknowledge that as much as diversity fuels innovation and great business performance, it requires our acceptance of our people’s needs and wants. And it requires flexibility to make it work for everybody. Our firm has decided to set up a specific programme towards more female representation in senior leadership.

I love to be a part of making this happen in the Asia context and I meet many women and men who do the same in their businesses.

We also need to share responsibility with our clients. The large majority of our senior communications clients in Southeast Asia on the PR side, for example, are female. In order for this to be reflected in agencies, clients need to agree that it is manageable to have shared job roles and flexible work hours for client-facing agency staff.

In Australia, we are beginning to see major clients add gender diversity policies as a procurement requirement in contract negotiations with suppliers. A “male champions of change programme” by the communications sector was set up and members have already agreed and signed up to this pledge.

What everybody can do is very specific: more flexible HR policies, maternity and paternity leave, working from home, flexible working hours and child care facilities – these have proven successful and are on the rise. This is in addition to role models, mentoring and a clear-cut career path for women. Companies, in which male senior executives – like ours – champion and truly support change can lead the way.

The writer is Cornelia Kunze, vice-chair of Edelman Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

“It’s a rocky road towards increasing the percentage of women in leadership in Asia Pacific. But ignoring this path is not an option.”

Cornelia Kunze – vice-chair, Edelman Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

NEWS ANA L Y S I S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


MEDIA AGENCIES: OWN YOUR AUDIENCE, OWN YOUR POWERStarcom MediaVest Group’s Rajesh Mahtani talks about what media agencies need for their next step of evolution.

Media agencies have always made various investments to differentiate themselves, stand out and gain competitive advantage. They have invested in research to gain unique access to knowledge. They have invested in tools that drive productivity and create proprietary approaches for tactical planning. And they have invested in creating planning techniques which help planners formulate cracking ideas and drive innovation.

We have in our arsenal unique approaches, techniques and knowledge, but lack ownership of something tangible - something which clients would want to purchase and be willing to pay top dollar for. So what is it exactly? I believe tomorrow will be about media agencies owning audiences. Audiences that clients want. Audiences that we can sell to clients.

A competitive edge would naturally come with greater ownership of audiences – ready cross-screen audience pools that can be packaged with products and ultimately, drive better business results for clients. I believe all media agencies will move in this direction – to own audience pools and we will, over the next few years, see three trends take shape.

1. Tech acquisitionsAgencies are getting into a lot of partnerships these days. Common ones would be content and distribution partnerships, as well as data and technology partnerships that provide access to unique data and services. All that agencies have dabbled in so far are driven by research which enables the development of unique planning frameworks and approaches that help planners think, organise and ideate – therefore, delivering innovation and breakthrough campaigns. This is complemented by proprietary tools developed by agencies that boost productivity, optimisation and decision-making capabilities to develop unique perspectives in client deliverables. All in the name of gaining a competitive advantage in this dynamic landscape. We all want (to be the only one) to provide the best to our clients – unique and proprietary knowledge, insights and solutions. Partnerships are great. But we

might need to start buying to have greater freedom and control over the development and packaging of products as well as the audience. Just as how we’ve seen media companies or networks acquire other agencies and research firms, it may soon apply to tech companies and vice versa.

2. ‘True’ product developmentWith such acquisitions in place, greater ownership enables the generation of unique solutions to provide clients with off-the-shelf products that are sold consistently and marketed in different ways. Admittedly, agencies have never exactly been in the data and technology business, in the sense that we do not own high-end technology. Often, what is referred to as a product is a service or solution bespoke to a specific client. The definition of a product is something that is produced in a standardised fashion for all customers and marketed at large, while configured to individual segments as necessary.

3. Ownership of audience pools across multi-screensOwned audience pools are generated from agencies’ practice of programmatic buying. Agencies’ access to unique data points through

programmatic buying bolsters inventory from ad exchanges with a layer of audience filter that results in a unique pool of audiences that can be sold to clients. These audiences are now primarily found attached in the banner space. However, as media becomes increasingly digitised – from television to print and radio – audiences will pool across media as everything will eventually be served in the digital space and connected to IP addresses. And more importantly, all media inventory will be sold in ad exchanges as they become digitised. Digitisation has also increased addressability and complements even the offline space. For example, consumers who read e-copies of newspapers will enable marketers to study their responses to ads. Through the inventory of collected data, we can then better understand behaviours with the various audience identifiers in place.

In the near future, I have confidence we’ll eventually be able to accurately identify whether it is the same person across different mediums, even with different cookies. This is where partnerships and perhaps, acquisitions, would come into play in expediting the process.

The writer is Rajesh Mahtani, head of strategy and growth for Southeast Asia, Starcom MediaVest Group.

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F E A TUR E : B I G D A T A AND MARK E T I N G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


IT IS ALL ABOUT COLLABORATION

AND BREAKING DOWN SILOS BUT IT'S A TASK EASIER

SAID THAN DONE. HERE'S HOW MASTERCARD TOOK A STEP

IN THAT DIRECTION. RAYANA PANDEY REPORTS.

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The co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, David Packard once said: “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” The way digital is shaping the reality for businesses now, it only reinforces what he said.

Driven from the top, an organisation needs to break down the silos to be truly customer-centric. Conversely, as the pressures of ROI and accountability increase, marketing needs to step out of its comfort zone and collaborate with other functions across the business.

While businesses understand the need to break down the silos in theory, achieving it in reality is still a herculean task. Big global brands have already taken a step in this direction, such as the likes of P&G and Mondelēz who have been bringing about the organisational changes required for a modern-day marketing team.

MasterCard is another example. The financial services corporation recently launched its data and analytics-driven platform called Priceless Engine. It enables the company to track trends as they happen and collaborate with merchants to tailor their offers to consumers based on those trends, all as much as possible in real time.

I sat down with Sam Ahmed, senior vice-president and group head of marketing for Asia Pacific at MasterCard, to ask what went on behind the scenes to launch this platform. Not just any other launch, Priceless Engine required the company to make fundamental changes to its cross-functional workings – a change Ahmed says is irreversible.

“It is the new way of working for the marketing department.”

The discussion for Priceless Engine started sometime in November last year and what triggered it was a few things. The issuers, or MasterCard’s partner banks, were talking more and more about digital marketing, but through the lens of driving business and not just advertising.

At the same time, MasterCard conducted digital landscape research about who was doing a good job in this area, from which it learnt that the best brands weren’t doing great digital advertising. They were driving business through digital and social. The conversation internally centred around how to come up with a system which helped everyone in the ecosystem: the issuer, the technology teams and the merchants.

After a discussion with Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing officer of MasterCard, it was decided APAC would take the lead. The numbers also made perfect sense. E-commerce growth in the region is growing at a staggering 30%, the internet population in Asia stands at about

1.3 billion with nearly 11.5 million being added to it on average every month.

TAKING THE ORGANISATION ALONGThere were various teams that needed to be on board, Ahmed explains, beginning with the global digital and technology teams. Priceless Engine is made up of 20 different tech platforms. “There was no way we could have done that alone. The marketing team collaborated with them to get the project going.”

An important priority was to link this initiative to business and drive transactions.

A key learning for the marketing team was that the digital marketing language isn’t suited for business.

“Here is an example. Previously, we would walk into the room ecstatic with the 5% engagement rate we got from a certain campaign. To a business person, 5% of anything is not worth their time.” There was a need, therefore, to change the metrics and language.

And finally, the global accounts team, which leads big accounts in terms of sales and service. “Their belief in this has been incredible. They saw from their end that this was a big discussion in this area and they really backed us."

“We have now interacted with over 38 issuers across APAC and without their help, we wouldn’t have got it done.”

This, according to Ahmed, is the first time MasterCard has had to rewire cross-functional workings to this extent.

“In marketing we have found over the last few years that you cannot succeed without the cross functional teams aligning because without it, you will have a great advert, but nothing else. This rewiring is what helped us with the launch of Priceless Engine.”

IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT SKILLSOne of the learnings the team had early on was the job couldn’t have been done by itself alone. Therefore, it appointed one digital agency

“It is the new way of working for the marketing department.”

Sam Ahmed – SVP, group head of marketing, APAC, MasterCard.

It came up with dashboards and metrics to inspire the business people, but before that the marketing team interviewed the likes of Vicky Bindra, president of Asia Pacific and global accounts for MasterCard Worldwide, and key presidents in the region, including Eddie Grobler, division president of Australasia for MasterCard.

“And they helped us shape the key metrics they wanted us to drive and one of them was click-through transactions,” Ahmed says. The objective of the business was simple. Digital advertising should drive consumers to a purchase action and not an engagement action. “This meant we had to rewire things,” he says.

The third function involved was the market development team which liaises with the merchants. Historically, the two teams spoke for a few weeks, developed a campaign and then spoke to the issuers and the whole process would take weeks. But with Priceless Engine, the conversations need to be far more frequent and in some cases, almost instant.

“Some campaigns needed answers within 12 hours. That’s a new culture – feeding back, getting sign-offs with sometimes four to five people and legal. That has enabled us to move fast with the merchants,” Ahmed says.

across the region, for the first time. This meant it now had a partner that it could scale the work with.

Together with TBWA\’s Digital Arts Network, it looked at specific resources it needed. This included digital strategists, data analytics experts, data scientists and content producers.

Internally, it also hired people from different areas. Another big learning for the company was that there was no extensive experience in this area, according to Ahmed.

It’s really hard to source for the right people in this area. So, if you are looking for someone with 10 years of experience to make you feel comfortable, it’s just not there.

So, what’s the solution to this? “You need to judge people on their runway ability; that has been my learning. Do they have the ability to take this to the next level, even though they may not be doing it currently?” he says.

Over the next three years, MasterCard has a resource plan in place to hire across these new roles, including that of a community manager to act as the link between digital and media.

“It took us a few years to start hiring digital specialists and then we started hiring media people. And now we realise it’s time to mesh them and, hence, the need for community managers,” he says.




“Previously, we would walk into the room ecstatic with the 5% engagement rate we got from a certain campaign. To a business person, 5% of anything is not worth their time.”

Sam Ahmed – SVP, group head of marketing, APAC, MasterCard.

Another important learning is that such talent is typically in the age group of 25-30 and along with digital, they have had business experience as well. And if they have had regional experience, it really adds to their credentials, according to Ahmed.

THE DAY-TO-DAY RUNNING OF THE ENGINEThe regional team meets twice a day. In the case of the ongoing campaign with Justin Timberlake, for example, the team meets at 10am. This team includes the digital strategists, content producer, analyst experts and the marketing team together with the agencies – the media agency, the digital agency and often Facebook as well.

The team distils three key things:• Insights into current trends.• How is the content produced doing across

all the platforms.• What the next steps are.

They then have joint calls with all markets – India, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia in this case. All four engines then get on a call again

in the afternoon to share what they have learnt and raise questions or concerns. “This helps us pick up learnings from one market and apply it to others if needed. What it also enables is giving marketers an option to raise their hands and discuss challenges they are facing in their market and not give up,” Ahmed says.

The business teams also get involved at a regular interval. “What we found that it’s best to involve business in a week or two. Too much if it can be overwhelming, but if campaigns need, we approach them almost instantly.”

Also, the way the marketing team operates internally – how often it meets and updates – has changed. As Ahmed puts it, the operating model the team has built will change six months down the line.

“We have a lot of learning yet to happen and when it does, the model will change or evolve.”

MasterCard recently announced the launch of its Priceless Engine – a new innovative platform for marketing that allows the brand to provide its bank partners with deep insights that will subsequently help them deliver the right offers to their customers at the right time.

Specifically through leveraging its depth of analytics, MasterCard will assist banks – through a four-part process – in understanding consumer sentiment and trends based on social conversations; track

“As MasterCard research shows, the transaction is where social and digital engagement happens, and having the right offers, the right data, the right assets, and the right content at the right time will create a behaviour change with the consumer.”

Ahmed added that with the rapid and exponential growth in social media, “digital marketing can no longer be just about communication or engagement”.

He further noted that with Priceless Engine, MasterCard now possesses the “ability to drive brand differentiation and significant revenue growth for [its] partners”.

To ensure the Priceless Engine has global scale and reach, MasterCard will be working closely with key partners in the social media space, including Facebook, giving consumers in the region unprecedented access to the most relevant offers.

MasterCard also plans to triple its investment in digital marketing in the Asia Pacific region over the next three years, as part of its continued commitment to working with banks and merchants to understand and match consumer needs and wants.

MASTERCARD LAUNCHES PRICELESS ENGINEengagement and transactions on campaigns to translate these findings into meaningful feedback; create and share content across borders to increase scale; and, finally, analyse data in real time.

Sam Ahmed, senior vice-president and group head of marketing for Asia Pacific at MasterCard, said: “Innovation is crucial to staying relevant in this swiftly evolving digital age, and the MasterCard Priceless Engine will be the cornerstone in the payments ecosystem, connecting issuers, merchants and consumers.

And iterative learning is crucial to the new-age marketing teams. "For marketing to be able to raise their hands and say we don’t know all the answers, but we will get better, and for the business to let marketing run this way is a huge shift," he adds.

“10 years ago that would mean 'losing face' as a marketer, if you said you’re trying something that won’t last,” Ahmed says laughing.

From now until the end of the year, MasterCard will roll Priceless Engine out through the Priceless Surprises platform to drive transaction velocity. This will be issuer agnostic, that is, for all of MasterCard’s partner banks.

In 2015, it will start to work with specific issuers and merchants on specific campaigns using this technology depending on their business needs and priorities.




at a staggering 30% in APAC. Lastly, the world’s most social media active population is Asia Pacific. “As a business leader, and not just a marketer, your job has changed fundamentally. The time to wait has gone. The time to act is upon us,” Jain said. Therefore, there are three crucial things businesses need to prepare for and they are precision targeting, creating compelling content and investing in analytics.

Three big trends are reshaping how consumers interact with brands and, while they are hardly any secret, the point businesses often miss is that digital is not a marketing tool; it is essentially the new way for businesses to operate or run the risk of losing out.

Speakers at the MasterCard symposium on digital and social held in Sydney reiterated this issue.

Here is a brief overview of these three changes:The zero moment of truthHistorically, the first step for brands was to create stimulus or awareness of the product which led to the first moment of truth – purchase – and eventually, the second moment of truth – consumers experiencing the product.

Now, a crucial step has emerged before the first moment, called the zero moment of truth. It’s when after being made aware of the product, the consumer searches the product online and seeks reviews and referrals before making the decision to purchase it.

“Brands need to be prepared for this moment. If you and your marketing teams are only creating that stimulus, you are helping some other businesses, not yours,” said Taru Jain, founder of Maxential.

The network effectSocial media has given rise to the tremendous influence a consumer has online. Before you know it, a message has been amplified multiple folds – a reach which even paid media can never offer (or at least not without a hefty spend). Brands need to recognise this, especially in the Asia Pacific region where internet penetration, and therefore uptake of social media, is unprecedented.

The ability to target the right audience at the right timeTechnology such as programmatic buying has now enabled brands to target a very specific audience in real time. With the right kind of content, brands stand a chance to garner the attention of their audience almost instantly. An agile approach to marketing messages and campaigns, therefore, can move the needle really quickly as far as business objectives are concerned.

“And if brands don’t get this right with the right kind of content, they can easily be

labelled as spam,” said Sam Ahmed, senior vice-president and group head of marketing for Asia Pacific at MasterCard.

So, the question arises: why go digital now?As Jain pointed out: “In the markets that many of you operate (referring to Asia Pacific), that are your major growth areas, and source of revenue, 1.3 billion people are using the internet.”

And that number is only growing. Every month nearly 11.5 million new users are coming online.

“It is not a new or emerging media. It is fully emerged, so if you are still toying with the idea of digital, this is how much opportunity you lose out every month,” he said.

And what are the consumers doing online? They are shopping – e-commerce is growing

1.3 BILLION REASONS WHY YOU CAN’T IGNORE DIGITAL

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APAC Press 210x280 (FA).indd 1 24/10/2014 17:01

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CREATIVITY IS THE INDUSTRY’S KEY CURRENCY.

BUT IT’S ALWAYS EASIER AS A CONCEPT THAN IT IS IN

EXECUTION. MARKETING LOOKS AT THESE ORGANISATIONS’

BEST CREATIVE STRATEGIES, AND HOW THESE PULLED IN THE

RESULTS THEY NEEDED IN THE CREATIVITY MASTER REPORT.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

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HOW TO GET CREATIVE – WHEN YOU’RE NOTCreativity is the industry’s key currency – here’s how to make sure you don’t run out. Rezwana Manjur writes.

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While the marketing landscape keeps changing, the demand for creativity remains unabated across all companies.

In an interview with Leo Burnett Worldwide’s Mark Tutssel, Marketing asked if creativity could be nurtured. No, is his take.

“I think great creativity is something you either have or you don’t,” said the chief creative officer. However, he added that certain skills could be learned over the years. While, the debate of “nature versus nurture” in the creative field remains ongoing, here are some quick tips to rejuvenate your tired Friday mind.

GET TIREDAn article on Fast Company says that being

tired can actually work in your favour because this is when your brain filters lesser information and you are more distracted. Unrelated issues crop up in your mind and that can sometimes result in the unexpected birth of creativity.

A study by Scientific American also echoes the notion that distraction is not always bad.

“Insight problems involve thinking outside the box. This is where susceptibility to ‘distraction’ can be of benefit. At off-peak times we are less focused, and may consider a broader range of information. This wider scope gives us access to more alternatives and diverse interpretations, thus

fostering innovation and insight.”The article by Fast Company also stated the period of coming

out of sleep (yes, when you are still a little groggy and tired) called the hypnopompic state is when surrealist painter Salvador Dalí was known to churn out his famous works.

be just as overwhelming. A moderate level of noise, however, is expected to distract people without significantly affecting the extent of processing.

Next time you’re stuck, try heading down to the nearest cafe.

BE BLUEWell don’t start crying at your desks now folks, but do surround yourself with the colour blue.

A 2009 study by the University of British Columbia asked the question: What colour most improves brain performance and receptivity to advertising, red or blue? The findings showed that both colours can. However, while red is the most effective at enhancing our attention to detail, blue is best at boosting our ability to think creatively.

The colour blue was also closely associated with openness,

peace and tranquility which made the participants take more risks, said the study.

MAKE SOME FRIENDS AND GET OUT OF THE OFFICEThis should come as no surprise as we are all in the people business – but if you are one of those brooding Mad Men-type of creative directors, you should stop right now.

“Creativity and innovation come from human interactions and collaboration. The lone genius that develops an idea doesn’t exist or perhaps didn’t really exist,” Steelcase’s director of design Michael Held said in an earlier interview with Marketing.

Meanwhile, Erick Rosa, ECD of Lowe + Partners, also added that movies and conversations with his three-year-old son definitely contributed to his creative process. Rosa also added that as often as possible he likes to take the creative team to brainstorm outside of the office – to a café or eatery.

Similarly, when asked how he induced creativity, Grey Group Kuala Lumpur’s group executive creative director David Sin said: “Take a walk, get out of the office, have a conversation with someone unrelated to the project I’m working on. The spontaneous responses from people are usually surprising. You could look at a problem from another lens and come up with something totally unexpected.”

“Creativity and innovation come from human interactions and collaboration. The lone genius that develops an idea doesn’t exist or perhaps didn’t really exist.”

Michael Held – director of design, Steelcase

MODERATE NOISEBefore you crank up the stereo, read this.

According to a study, “Is noise always bad? Exploring the effects of ambient noise on creative cognition”, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, various levels of noise while working affect creativity in different ways.

The study, which was also later published on The Atlantic in 2012, said that while a high level of noise (85 decibels) may cause a great deal of distraction, absolute silence (50 decibels) can

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In 2010, Universal Networks International (UNI) rebranded the Hallmark Channel as DIVA Universal as part of an effort to give the portfolio in Asia a cohesive, united look and feel that was distinctively NBCUniversal. So why, just four years later in July 2014, did DIVA launch a whole new look and tag line?

We caught up with Natalie Gee, creative director and head of production for Universal Networks International, to discuss the refresh and provide valuable insight into the project’s creative process.

“DIVA is the leading channel for women in Asia but, as we all know, this is a tough business with heavy competition for the female spend,” says Gee, a 25-year veteran of the media business.

“Where did we look first? We looked very closely at the competitive set – from messaging and brand look and feel – to the Pantone of the colour palette. We wanted our new look and voice to stand out from the crowd.”

The creative team had to be careful in crafting and refining the new brand identity: a new-look DIVA that was relatable, modern, contemporary and connected to a younger female audience.

It had a large task on its hands – to make sure its new look would, according to Gee, “retain and reinvigorate loyal viewers while attracting new subscribers comprised of a younger female audience that would drive a 20-44-year-old demographic, leading to viewership growth and improved revenue streams”.

“We wanted our makeover to turn heads and be the talk of the town.”Gee and the team – in collaboration with UNI’s central marketing team

– developed the refreshed channel over three months, combining many meetings, many late nights, lots of coffee and lots of research. Their key areas of focus were refining DIVA’s vision and brand values, creating a unique positioning, powerful tag line, new look and – most importantly – solidifying a connection with the audience.

This rebranding was also underpinned by extensive research. The team utilised findings from the commissioned “High Heeled Warriors” research – a unique psychographic study of women across Southeast Asia that uncovers the new choices women are making as they redefine their identity in a contemporary context.

“We took an in-depth look at what motivates the contemporary Asian woman: her ambitions, values and self-identity,” Gee says.

Following the research phase, Gee and the team turned their attention to crafting a tag line. “We knew that developing a tag line would further help define our brand promise, values and on-air positioning.”

“Be Yourself” was created in-house, conveying both a call to action and reflecting the empowerment inherent to the brand. “It is a statement and point of view for the brand, an expression of our positioning, and is easily relatable and involves the viewer.” She also emphasised there was no one better positioned to create the brand’s tag line than the creative people “living and breathing the brand every day”.

CREATING A NEW BRAND IDENTITY

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The transformation of all the on-air elements followed suit. “We have two branded blocks on the channel – the Telemundo dramas and our movies. To tie into the refresh, we placed bumpers on either end of the Telemundo Block that read "feel the passion", and used colours and packaging which reflect the new look for the movie block REEL DIVA."

Gee took the additional step of sending a team to film local landscapes in both Malaysia and the Philippines. Reaching out to connect with their local audiences, they shot a local DIVA brand campaign with eight stunning channel identifiers that brought to life the aspirational qualities of DIVA: inviting, fun, confident and passionate – things every viewer can feel right at home with, connect and relate to.

“We wanted DIVA to reflect our Asian audience and their environment.”Following its rebranding, DIVA looks poised to be an ideal partner

for advertisers, already working with big-name brands to build content and media solutions. Gee sees branded content as a way to enhance marketing strategies by heightening the appeal of brands with the new generation of viewers and consumers that advertisers are trying to reach. With branded content aimed at more emotional engagement, Gee believes this will lead to positive consumer behaviour, sales and profitability for its advertisers.

Just a few months on from the refresh, the revamped DIVA has already garnered more attention and produced results.

“We have seen requests for branded entertainment from clients such as Hugo Boss increasing over the past year. This trend will continue as advertisers look beyond the standard advertising options and look for other ways to engage their target market.”

In the near future, Gee envisions the new DIVA contributing to more integrated marketing campaigns, with clients reinforcing the concept or message on their own in-store and other marketing materials, on-air and in the digital space, be it online, social media or mobile.

Even when you are the leading channel for women in Asia, there is no time to rest. The creative team at NBCUniversal International Television continues to elevate DIVA to new heights and bigger opportunities. What is the ultimate aim behind this?

“To be valued by our viewers and the perfect partner for media solutions and advertisers,” she says.

ABOUT NATALIE GEENatalie Gee is a multi-award winning creative director at NBCUniversal Asia. Appointed in May 2008 and based in Singapore, Gee is responsible for driving creativity and brand integrity, strengthening the presence of NBCUniversal channels brands including DIVA, E!, Syfy and Universal Channel with consumers, affiliates and advertisers in Asia. Also head of production, Gee oversees local production projects including specials, series and vignettes on the channels. She leads a team of producers and graphic designers managing the on-air promotional activities of the channels portfolio as well as overseeing creative direction for all off-air marketing efforts of the business.

Visit Diva Channel’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DIVAtvAsia

Natalie Gee, creative director and head of production for Universal Networks International

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In an interesting take to the social media age, KLM set up a real-time customer service centre that was aimed at hijacking travellers’ Twitter feeds.

KLM set up a team for six days, operating from a hub in Amsterdam. A custom-designed glass pavilion was built at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, serving as a central control hub for the international campaign, connecting Amsterdam with various airports spread across the globe.

The KLM customer service team and DDB & Tribal Worldwide Amsterdam’s, team of 250 specialists worked from the glass pavilion for 24 hours each day, in shifts of 30 people at a time.

The campaign launched with an international #HappytoHelp Twitter takeover hashtag, where passengers worldwide could send in questions and they would be answered in real-time by the KLM customer service team.

The specially designated KLM customer service team constantly screened Twitter feeds in search for messages that indicated someone was in trouble during their travels. The team then responded with a creative and relevant #HappytoHelp answer which was personalised for each single passenger in real-time.

Bart Mol, creative director at DDB & Tribal Worldwide Amsterdam, said: “We wanted to show how important customer service is for KLM by engaging a team of helpers ready to serve with personal advice in real-time. With this Twitter takeover we wanted to help as many people as possible, not only KLM customers, but passengers worldwide, to travel more comfortably.”

Pol Hoenderboom, creative director at DDB & Tribal Worldwide Amsterdam, added that for the past six months, the team had been

KLM’S ‘HAPPY TO HELP’ TWITTER CAMPAIGN

CASE STUDY

actively searching Twitter for the most common questions travellers asked.

“#HappytoHelp was a huge international, real-time event where we actually didn’t know what questions we would run into. I can say one thing though: we were thoroughly prepared,” he said.

This centre not only aided travellers on social media, but also in person at the airport or on board. KLM had stationed its staff at key airports worldwide. Those customer service teams screened the airports for people in trouble and connected with the glass pavilion team in Amsterdam to tackle any travel problems.

The campaign started on Monday 13 October and ended on Friday 17 October.

The airline also had film crews on standby to shoot filmed responses to customers’ problems and record footage of the most interesting and unusual problems solved, which was later aired on YouTube.

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From Madonna to Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus, staying current and maintaining relevance is the ongoing mission of many pop culture divas cultivating their own personal brands. In fact, being creatively innovative is a key focus for any bona-fide diva. Celebrities are constantly evolving and refreshing their image and style to reflect the latest trends or mark a new career milestone or direction.

While Shakira, for example, is still the same hip-shaking, energising performer she was when she recorded her 2001 hit Whenever, Wherever video, she has constantly evolved her look and recently adopted a more natural, earthy look after becoming a mother.

Of course, brand refreshes are not exclusive to divas and celebrities. NBCUniversal International Television’s pop culture powerhouse channel E! Entertainment Television and flagship general entertainment brand Universal Channel have undergone refreshes in the past two years. And, most recently, NBCUniversal launched a new look and attitude in July 2014 for its own DIVA – its female-skewed channel.

OBJECTIVEDIVA’s previous brand positioning didn’t resonate as well with a younger audience. From an advertising perspective, the brand’s descriptors no longer defined the channel’s unique selling proposition. By refreshing, it affirmed its commitment to invest in both the programming and the look of the channel.

Before DIVA’s brand refresh, the channel boasted an extremely loyal viewership, while continuing to attract a younger demographic. A brand study conducted during the first half of 2014 showed DIVA was perceived as the number one English pay-TV channel that celebrated women and the number one channel that provided TV tailored for women.

It also tied as the number one channel that is most worth paying for and the number one most-loved channel. In fact, DIVA is the number one English pay-TV channel in Malaysia out of nine measured channels that target women aged 15-plus and women from 20-44*.

But divas don’t sit on their laurels and NBCUniversal wanted to better reflect the DIVA viewer by giving the brand a savvy makeover. DIVA had traditionally been a confident, feel-good lifestyle channel for women, packed full of drama and passion.

STRATEGYThe team decided to review and refresh and establish a global brand position that was relevant to channel requirements in all its markets. The refresh allowed local flexibility where needed and developed a brand positioning that would inspire the look and feel of a new channel identity. If done right, it would retain and reinvigorate its loyal viewers while attracting new subscribers and revenue streams (e.g ad sales).

With that foundation in place, DIVA was further refined with a more well-defined positioning, updated look, logo and tag line: “Be Yourself.” The refreshed DIVA is fun, inviting and passionate at its core. DIVA has a warm and friendly personality that encourages viewers to be themselves. This positioning is at the heart of her new identity.

HOW A DIVA REINVENTED HERSELF

DIVA’s new look is lighter, brighter, warm, welcoming and contemporary. This is expressed in new identifiers that bring to life the aspirational qualities of DIVA. The concept is called “Living Instagrams” which depict memorable moments that viewers don’t want to forget.

The inspiration for the colour palette and on-screen packaging comes from the beautiful effect of a lens flare created by changing light; the new look reflects DIVA’s core value of “passionate” with subtle light effects and confident, vibrant colours.

DIVA’s new logo is designed with a lighter font and softer rounded edges which make it stand out and give it a more contemporary feel. The redesign retains the brand’s core identity, but evolves to reflect a new modern look.

Of course, programming is a core component of any channel brand and the content on DIVA is no exception. DIVA invests in knowing her audience and what they want to watch and offers relatable, compelling and fun programming.

From reality series such as Supermodel Me and award-winning dramas, including The Good Wife, Suits and Downton Abbey to comedy fare such as the Golden Globe-winning Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the REEL DIVA movie block – the formula works. This top-notch range of quality content delivers on the expectations of DIVA viewers.

And the new DIVA is even more than a brand refresh and continuing to deliver the best content; there is a fundamental change to the service – DIVA wants her viewers to see content first – “Express from the US” within 48 hours of the US telecast.

DIVA continues to excel in an expanding and crowded pay-TV market by remaining fresh, fashionable and focused – reinventing herself over the years to remain relevant.

RESULTSDIVA continues to be the leading English GE (general entertainment) channel for women. Viewership also continues to increase and it offers a value proposition that engages advertisers and provides creative solutions for their campaigns.

*[1] Source: Nielsen Media Research (Malaysia)/Arianna. Kantar Media Research (Singapore/Philippines)/Infosys.

CASE STUDY

OUR INSIGHT

RESULTSDELIVERED

YOURBUSINESS

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