Marketing Magazine SG - Jun 2014

OUR INSIGHT

RESULTSDELIVERED

YOURBUSINESS

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WWW.MARKET ING- INTERACT IVE .COM JUNE 2014 MARKET ING 1

E D ’ S L E T T E R

MANY QUESTIONS, BUT CAN WE FIND THE ANSWERS?

Rayana PandeyEditor

EditorialRayana Pandey, Editor

[email protected]

Elizabeth Low, Deputy Editor

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Rezwana Manjur, Senior Journalist

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EventsYeo Wei Qi, Head, Events Services

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MarketingJune Tan, Regional Marketing Executive

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FinanceEvelyn Wong, Regional Finance Director

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ManagementSøren Beaulieu, Publisher

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The internet is a funny place and socialmedia makes it funnier. Almost everything

becomes a phenomenon within minutes and is

forgotten within seconds.

I am pretty much a part of this short memory

span syndrome myself but increasingly, I’m

having trust issues with the medium.

You can be reading two reports at the same

time – both nicely contradicting each other. In

one, taking selfi es can be a mental disorder, in

the other, maybe not. In one, there can be quick

tips to lose belly fat, the other can be trashing

those tips or “busting myths” about losing belly

fat. You know what I mean, right?

There’s just too much information out there.

Credible or not, I can’t say. It isn’t a big deal for

me as a user; I can switch off whenever I want.

The real problem is for brands which are

constantly pushing content, be it ads, videos,

Facebook posts, Instagram competitions or

LinkedIn articles.

How do you get noticed/read and trusted?

Some brands enlist the help of celebrities or

bloggers or word-of-mouth or user-generated

content. But at the end of the day, these are a

handful of strategies deployed by many brands.

How do you differentiate yours? The answer

brings us back to one thing: creativity. Both in

ideation as well as execution.

The importance of creativity has been

questioned since the advent of digital and since

everything became, practically, on-demand.

Time-to-market took prominence over well-

thought out and tested methods in order to

attract consumers in real-time.

As an industry, our knee-jerk reaction

was to upload TVCs online. Quite quickly we

realised it wasn’t the right answer. There were

many such short-cuts we took only to realise

we have to get back to the drawing board and

think about the basics again.

As a result of all this, the role of the

“traditional” creative agencies and creative

directors also came under scrutiny. Creative

capabilities began to be brought in-house

by media agencies as well as clients, further

stiffening competition for these agencies.

What does all of this mean for the creative

industry? Where is it headed? And, does it

need a revival of sorts? We seek to fi nd some

answers in this edition.

Happy reading.

Marketing is published 12 times per year by Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd. Printed in Singapore on CTP process by Sun Rise Printing & Supplies Pte Ltd, 10 Admiralty Street, #06-20 North Link Building, Singapore 757695. Tel: (65) 6383 5290. MICA (P) 180/03/2009. For subscriptions, contact circulations at +65 6423 0329 or email [email protected]. COPYRIGHT & REPRINTS: All material printed in Marketing is protected under the copyright act. All rights reserved. No material may be reproduced in part or in whole without the prior written consent of the publisher and copyright holder. Permission may be requested through the Singapore offi ce. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in Marketing are not necessarily the views of the publisher. Singapore: Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd 100C Pasir Panjang Road, #05-01 See Hoy Chan Hub, Singapore 118519 198755 Tel: +65 6423 0329 Fax: +65 6423 0117 Hong Kong: Lighthouse Independent Media Ltd Unit A, 7/F, Wah Kit Commercial Building 302 Des Voeux Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2861 1882 Fax: +852 2861 1336 To subscribe to Marketing magazine, go to: www.marketing-interactive.com

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24 AD WATCH/WEB WATCHBBDO and Proximity Singapore’s Primus Nair highlights AWARE’s Guardian Angel, while he thinks

BMW’s M Button ad could have been done better.

Meanwhile, Rapp Singapore’s Ed Cheong thinks

Google’s Iron Fish search story was bang on.

OPIN IONS DEPARTMENTS

4 NEWSThe IDA looks to introduce more telco operators; the

Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore looks

to further regulate the beauty industry’s ads; SIA

appoints Performics as its regional SEO/SEM agency;

plus more.

25 DIRECT MAIL CASE STUDYLife Inspired mailed out keys to invite guests to an

exclusive party. Here’s what the response was like.

22 BRAND HEALTH CHECK: ALIBABACan Alibaba clear its murky image for its huge global

ambitions?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:>> The changing role of creative

agencies and creative directors.

>> How to write a good brief.

>> How to improve the marketing-procurement relationship.

FEATURES

12 BRIEFS FROM HELLBriefs from hell are a common frustration for agencies. Here are seven ingredients for the brief from hell. Is yours

one of them? Elizabeth Low writes.

14 MARKETING AND PROCUREMENT’S LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIPHere’s how to bury the hatchet. Rezwana Manjur reports.

16 COCA-COLA’S FOREIGN WORKER GESTURE: SWEET OR ARTIFICIAL?The plight of foreign workers in Singapore is gaining increasing attention. Here’s what happened when Coke

weighed in on the situation. Rezwana Manjur reports.

34 CREATIVE CATCH-UP PROFILES The industry’s top creative names give a tell-all of their careers.

30 COVER FEATURE: A CREATIVE DIRECTOR’S CHANGING ROLE In an age of technology and rapid change, is the role of the traditional creative agency diminishing? What does it

mean to be a creative director now? Elizabeth Low reports.

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE!

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The call for strong creative directors is greater

than ever. We talk to the Singapore ad industry’s

biggest creative names, in a barefaced tell-all of

their journey to the top in our Creative Catch-Up

feature on page 34.

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WWW.MARKET ING- INTERACT IVE .COM4 MARKET ING JUNE 2014

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

More competition for telcosThe Infocomm Development

Authority (IDA) launched a public

consultation to seek input from

the industry and members of the

public on proposals to introduce

more telco operators. It is also

looking into approaching mobile

virtual network operators. These

new introductions “can potentially

offer consumers more choices

of service providers, and may

bring about greater vibrancy and

competition in the mobile and

wireless landscape,” IDA said.

Snapshot for the futureNikon consolidated its media,

digital and social media duties

under Maxus Singapore. Maxus

Singapore is now responsible for

helping Nikon to drive its integrated

brand campaigns and will share

social media duties with Vocanic,

also part of GroupM. As part of

its latest launch brand campaign,

Nikon Singapore partnered with

SPH Kiss92FM to get listeners to

share their dreams and aspirations

on air.

Not so beautifulBeauty products and services

have caused an increasing number

of complaints in the past three

years. The Advertising Standards

Authority of Singapore (ASAS)

is now looking to speak to both

industry professionals and media

owners on further regulating

the ads. In 2013 it received 78

complaints from the industry and

about 70% of the ads ran on print

media across both Chinese and

English titles.

All fi red upFirefl y, a full-service carrier,

appointed PHD Malaysia as its

media agency. The account was

won following a pitch involving

several agencies. The appointment

will see PHD Malaysia as the

agency of record for Firefl y in the

markets of Malaysia, Singapore,

Thailand and Indonesia. The scope

of the account covers strategic

media and communications

planning and buying across all

media platforms.

Being in the loopMindshare launched The Loop – a

data-infused “war room” in Asia.

The agency hopes that through

the new offering, clients can make

more collaborative and adaptive

decisions across their paid, owned

and earned marketing in real-time.

Through The Loop, marketers can

track consumer response, and

competitive moves. Clients can

adapt the usage of media channels

and the content, based on this

data in near real-time.

Bringing Line to lifeMobile platform Line launched its

fi rst pop-up store in Singapore to

bring the “Line experience” to life.

The store had an array of offi cial

Line merchandise available. As

part of Line’s ongoing efforts to

plan localised campaigns, Line

Singapore also collaborated

with retailer Uniqlo for a limited

collection of 10 Uniqlo graphic

T-shirts which were made available

for sale.

Content is kingBloomberg Television launched a

new brand marketing campaign

in Singapore to highlight its

regional business news content.

The campaign will roll out in other

key markets throughout the year.

Bloomberg Television is featuring

its latest campaign at Raffl es Place

MRT Station with 192 posters.

This follows a successful campaign

where it debuted its pop-up studio

at Raffl es Place in November 2013.

Mixed signalsIt seems mixed martial arts (MMA)

fans got mixed signals when the

event organiser cancelled the tour

to Singapore. The Singapore leg

of the tour is part of the 11-city

global tour. But was there an

event to begin with? Ultimate

Fighting Championship posted

on its Facebook page about

false advertising done by event

organisers LAMC and Ch’i Life

Studio Asia in Singapore.

PHD takes on MFLG accountMount Faber Leisure Group

(MFLG) appointed PHD as its

media agency. The contract is for

a year with an option to extend for

another. The agency is handling

media planning and buying duties

for the region. MFLG confi rmed

the appointment to Marketing.

Marketing understands the

media account is worth about

a million dollars.

On trackVolvo Trucks partnered with the

National Geographic Channel to

roll out its Asia 360° campaign.

In the lead-up to the Asia launch

of its new truck range in May,

Volvo Trucks created a virtual

journey from Singapore to South

Korea. Users could follow through

a microsite which featured

the stories of three different

personalities and a collection of

stunning 360° panoramic shots

in Asia.

The guardian angelTo help women combat

harassment and alert emergency

contacts when they face threats

to their personal safety, JWT

Singapore, in support of the

Association of Women for Action

and Research, launched the

Guardian Angel personal safety

accessory line. Designed in the

shape of a halo, The Guardian

Angel is a simple and elegant

innovation which can be worn as a

necklace or bracelet.

Cat powerSingapore was the fi rst market

to begin McDonald’s online

Hello Kitty Bubbly World sales.

McDonald’s launched a microsite

just for the promotion. Despite the

set being priced at a somewhat

steep SG$80, the products

pulled in such a huge response

McDonald’s had to halt sales

on the website for several hours

because of extremely high traffi c.

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Let the best man winSingapore Sports Council (SSC)

posted a tender looking for

a media agency. However, a

spokesperson from the SSC

clarifi ed the tender was open to

all creative and media agencies.

The appointed agency is required

to plan, strategise, and execute

media strategies and propose

appropriate advertising media,

co-ordinate and place media

bookings for Sport Singapore’s

programmes, initiatives and

campaigns, inclusive of the 28th

SEA Games.

UM jumps on boardInternational Enterprise Singapore

appointed UM for strategic

planning, negotiation and buying

of key advertising spaces in the

country and in relevant overseas

markets. IE Singapore is the

government agency tasked with

driving Singapore’s external

economy through spearheading

the overseas growth of

Singapore-based companies and

promoting international trade. The

appointment of the agency is for

two years beginning in May.

Sentosa appoints OMDMarketing understands the

Sentosa Development Corporation

(SDC) appointed OMD as its

media agency for a two-year

contract, with an option to extend

for another. OMD is in charge of

part of the Sentosa business, and

will deal with branding, strategic

planning and creative planning

of future campaigns. The pitch

was called in October 2013 and

involved agencies such as Carat,

GroupM and IPG.

BiC fi nds a new HostBiC Lighters and Pens appointed

Host Singapore to manage its

creative business for stationery for

2014. BiC Lighters and Pens has a

range of products under its name,

including lighters, stationery and

shavers. Host will be managing its

social media channels. The agency

was appointed following a pitch for

the APAC market. Host Singapore

offi cially launched in January 2013.

Girl powerClozette and StarWorld, FOX

International Channels’ female

entertainment channel, paired

up to create an original short-

form content production. The

content, titled StyleSetter, is a

two-minute interstitial covering

the latest fashion and beauty

trends as well as the venues and

events industry in Asia. The clips

air on StarWorld between TV

programmes throughout the day

and on all of StarWorld’s social

media platforms.

A healthy startThe Health Promotion Board

launched a tender to appoint

a creative agency. HPB said it

“may appoint multiple contractors

for creative development and

implementation services for

integrated marketing and

communication”. The selected

agency will be tasked to

propose campaign strategies

and mechanics to ensure all

key objectives of future HPB

campaigns are met and will

also have to plan, advise and

assist HPB.


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More good stuffGoodstuph has bagged more

business, being appointed the

social media agency of record for

Spa Esprit’s beauty brands – Strip,

Browhaus and We Need A Hero.

It will also work with several food

brands under the company. The

agency has been appointed for

a year starting 1 May, with an

account worth a fi ve-fi gure sum,

according to Goodstuph founder

Pat Law (pictured).

Getting on boardMillward Brown has made

available a range of mobile

solutions, allowing clients access

to consumer opinions in real-time.

This is to leverage the consumer

shift to mobile. Millward Brown’s

current solutions are retail

experience; creative effectiveness;

in-market performance; and

media optimisation. Several of the

agency’s clients such as Nestlé

and Unilever have already started

to go mobile with their research.

Looking inwardsThe Media Development Authority

(MDA) is looking to gather national

data on media consumption

across all content platforms. MDA

is working with local broadcasters

to put together national data on

local media consumption across

free-to-air TV, cable TV, IPTV,

online and mobile platforms.

In the long run, it is hoping to reel

in local audiences with better

tailored content.

Refreshing the Lux brandUnilever’s skincare brand Lux

underwent a revamp – launching

its product packaging. The

current campaign refl ects the

brand’s vision through consumer

touch-points such as rich

colours, luxuriant visuals, and

merchandising displays with

refreshed packaging. A global

campaign is also running across

TV, out-of-home, print and digital

channels. This relaunch puts fi ne

fragrance at the heart of all Lux’s

beauty treats.

A nurturing environmentTo build and nurture local talent,

SMG Social, Starcom’s social and

content division, has spearheaded

an initiative called “SMG Social

Connect” to train Singaporean

students to be certifi ed community

managers. The initiative was

put together with support from

Singapore Polytechnic and

Facebook. The course consists of

a day-long training, a workshop

element, brief and a presentation

to the course organisers.

A Brilliant appointmentFollowing a six-way pitch,

Fundsupermart.com, an online unit

distributor, appointed Brilliant as

its regional agency for branding,

advertising and strategic duties.

Fundsupermart.com, which is also

present in Malaysia, Hong Kong

and India, is the online unit trust

distribution arm of iFAST Financial.

The agency appointment is the

result of an across-the-board

review, which started more than

six months ago, to consolidate and

strengthen the Fundsupermart.

com brand.

Education is keyWDA launched a tender looking

to appoint a panel of creative

agencies to provide advertising,

marketing and communications

services. The agencies will be

tasked to promote Continuing

Education and Training (CET)

and related programmes. The

appointment is for two years, with

the option to extend for another

two years. A WDA spokesperson

declined to comment on the worth

of the account.

SEG appoints Reading RoomFollowing a three-way pitch in

early April, Spa Esprit Group (SEG)

appointed digital agency Reading

Room to handle the building and

revamping of its websites for

several brands under the group.

These brands include Skinny Pizza,

Tiong Bahru Bakery, Forty Hands,

Qi Mantra, Spa Esprit and the

group’s corporate website. It will

also provide consultancy services

on how digital marketing can help

SEG fulfi l its business objectives.

Sharp as a razorBeauty and health brand LAC

Taut appointed digital agency

Razorfi sh to lead its digital

strategy in Singapore. Razorfi sh

Singapore is tasked to evaluate

and refocus LAC Taut’s marketing

efforts towards more effective

digital experiences and re-

engage younger audiences. The

agency will also conduct a digital

audit, identify focus areas and

evaluate the business and digital

landscape surrounding the brand

in Singapore.

Cloudy directionsThe Consumer Association of

Singapore (CASE) has criticised

local telcos for not being

transparent in the marketing of

their 4G services. CASE executive

director, Seah Seng Choon,

said the telcos should be more

transparent in the way they

market 4G services rather than

hide information in the “terms and

conditions” sections. This comes

following public confusion at

fi nding out their 4G mobile

plan might not guarantee them

4G services.

The secret is outIndependent Singapore agency

The Secret Little Agency (TSLA)

won the global branding and

creative account for chocolate

brand, Awfully Chocolate. The

agency will work with Synergy

Foods in Hong Kong, the sole

global distributor of the brand’s

chocolate, bars and biscuits.

The distributor will take care

of the packaging and product

development. TSLA will focus on

brand-building. This is the fi rst

global win for TSLA Hong Kong.

Scooting awayScoot, the long-haul low-cost

arm of the Singapore Airlines

Group, appointed Performics as

its regional SEO/SEM agency.

Scoot confi rmed the appointment

to Marketing. The agency was

appointed following a pitch and is

handling all the markets in which

Scoot has a presence in. This

includes Australia, Singapore,

Hong Kong, Japan, China, South

Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. The

appointment is for two years.


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HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST?

Local agency @ccomplice recently

sent out a direct mailer – with a

fake gun in it – to its clients across

multiple industries as a play on the

agency’s name. It was sent to 35

clients. According to Tobias Wilson,

its founder, the campaign resulted in

a net 80% response rate. This was

basically because the gun was able

to shock the clients with its realistic

touch and feel. Wilson added for

the stunt, the boxes cost SG$35

each while the guns were SG$20.

Meanwhile, the printing cost was

SG$5 and the custom dog tags that

accompanied the gun, along with the

accomplice face plate, were US$15.

The total package cost about SG$75.

A STRAIGHT SHOOTER

Microsoft chooses agenciesMicrosoft Corporation chose

Interpublic Group (IPG) as its

agency of record for advertising

and global deployment, while

Dentsu Aegis was appointed to

handle media planning, media

buying and search advertising.

Creative, localisation and

deployment will be handled by

various agency teams throughout

IPG’s global network. Dentsu

Aegis will handle media planning

across the company’s network.

On the huntSamsung Electronics called for a

global, media, creative and digital

pitch. This involves the Singapore

market as well. R3, headquartered

in Singapore, is also understood

to be running the pitch. Starcom

MediaVest Group handles the

majority of Samsung’s global

media business. The company’s

creative partners include Leo

Burnett and Cheil.

A new lookThe Asian Food Channel (AFC)

celebrated its 10th anniversary with

a new logo and on-air look. This is

the channel’s fi rst brand makeover

since its launch in 2005. The

array of dots was removed in the

new AFC logo, but it retained the

green typography with a spray of

colour. The brand refresh has also

reached online as AFC revamps it

offi cial website.

Living on the edgeEdge Asia, a digital advertising

group under Australia’s STW

group, is continuing its aggressive

expansion in the region, acquiring

Indonesian digital agency Alpha

Salmon. The partnership was

formed with the intent of providing

its clients in Southeast Asia with an

extensive regional network. Alpha

Salmon will continue to operate in

the local Indonesian market.

Merging online and offl ineYouTube is making a big play to get

its YouTube stars in the limelight. In

a fi rst for the online video channel,

a spokesperson at YouTube said

it was marketing its most popular

content creators offl ine. This was

aimed at pushing their demand

online. YouTube is advertising on

traditional media such as billboards,

subway ads and local TV spots in

the US and Tokyo.

New initiativesLinkedIn launched three new

initiatives to push content

marketing. The features are

Sponsored Updates Partners

which provides brands and

agencies with campaign

management tools to manage

and optimise Sponsored Updates

campaigns. Meanwhile, the

Content Partners Program

manages the ongoing challenge

of having enough quality content

to share with audiences and the

Sponsored InMail on Mobile allows

marketers to engage targeted

audiences with personalised

content on mobile.

Getting sociableMSC Cruises appointed global

social media agency We Are

Social to develop its social

media strategy. MSC Cruises is

working with We Are Social Italy to

strengthen the content strategy.

We Are Social will activate an

international team across eight

markets to defi ne and co-ordinate

a creative approach consistent

with each country’s needs.

MSC Cruises aims to enhance

its knowledge of the needs

of travellers.

Beautifying JapanArcade created an integrated

campaign for the launch of

Unilever’s Clear Hair & Scalp Care

range in Japan across broadcast

and print. With Japan facing

signifi cant societal shifts, the

emphasis is changing for women

in the personal care market. The

campaign platform, “Strong is

beautiful”, is designed to map out

a new territory for Japanese beauty

that deliberately steps beyond the

“kawaii” imagery.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .

Round twoIn its second major global

revamp, PayPal overhauled its

brand identity, including the logo.

The new look refl ects PayPal’s

simplicity, convenience and

security, redesigned for today’s

dynamic, mobile-fi rst world. The

brand identity was developed

by design fi rm fuseproject and a

global brand campaign, created

by Havas Worldwide, has rolled

out across multiple markets. The

campaign is called “Powering the

People Economy”.

Aussies brew up a campaignDentsu Australia launched a new

campaign for Kölsch, a German-

style beer brewed by the 4 Pines

Brewing Company. The campaign,

featuring print, point-of-sales,

radio and a video, is based on

the tangled history of Kölsch and

takes a laconic Australian view of

what was obviously a very serious

matter to the original German

brewers. The content piece

was produced by Heckler, with

animation director Mark Simpson

leading the charge.

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Where’s the drama?Samsung launched two TV

commercials inspired from Korean

TV dramas to tap the Hong Kong

and China markets. The spots are

designed to reinforce the traits

of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and

Galaxy Gear Fit.

AUDIT WATCH

BILLIONAIRE BULLETIN SKIPS AUDIT

Billionaire.com launched its Singapore edition of the publication late last year. Targeting the “ultra high-net-worth” community, the Billionaire Bulletin is distributed to super wealthy individuals globally. The publication will have fi ve issues this year: May, June, September, November and a December/January 2015 issue.

A spokesperson told Marketing the publication would be skipping the circulation audit process.

“Our strategy isn’t focused on reaching millions of readers, but rather, reaching readers worth hundreds of millions – or more,” said the spokesperson.

“The traditional audit plays to the strengths of traditional publishers, whose focus is quantity, not quality of readers. Ours is a sniper rifl e, rather than a scattergun approach. And we

are able to verifi ably prove that we are reaching precisely the audience we say we are.”

It claims a global total print run of 40,000 with tailored editions to particular parts of the world: US 20,000; UK/EMEA 11,000; Singapore/Hong Kong 7,000; and China (in simplifi ed Chinese) 2,000.

The publication runs in partnership with Wealth-X. For advertisers, it is targeting key brands in the luxury, fashion, watches, jewellery, cars, travel and hospitality sectors. It also will provide pro-bono space to certain charities and NGOs.

Panda attackTo mark the opening of design

hub PMQ in June, creative fi rm

AllRightsReserved brought the

long-running worldwide exhibition

tour of 1,600 “pandas” to Hong

Kong in an attempt to connect

creativity to conservation. After

touring France, the Netherlands,

Italy, Switzerland, Germany,

Taiwan and nearly 100 exhibitions,

the 1,600 pandas will land in

Hong Kong for the fi rst time.

The “pandas” were made from

recycled materials.

A foxy moveFox International Channels locked

in an international partnership

on M. Night Shyamalan’s new

suspense-fi lled 10-episode event

thriller Wayward Pines. FIC will

control all rights outside of the US

to become exclusive fi rst-window

broadcaster in its 125 country

universe as well as the exclusive

international sales arm. For the

fi rst time, FIC also assumed

direct sales responsibility

for all international television

windows, non-linear and home

entertainment rights.

New entrantsTwo Chinese companies –

CCTV and Baidu – entered

ZenithOptimedia’s top 30 global

media owners ranking list this

year, the fi rst time any company

from China has done so. They

join Brazil’s Globo as the only

companies based in emerging

markets on the list. The top media

owner is Google, which is by some

distance the world’s largest media

owner, with revenues 47% higher

than the second-largest, DirecTV.

Getting personalThe Wall Street Journal unveiled

#WSJbe, its biggest multi-media

brand effort across Asia Pacifi c

to date, speaking to readers’

aspirations, with inspirations

driven by a skeleton crew from

its Asia editorial team. Targeting

consumer and trade media,

the campaign adopts a heavy

storytelling approach featuring

personal stories and aspirations

behind four key journalists’ career

paths. The campaign runs on TV,

print, online and OOH channels.

A candid momentFujifi lm launched a TV and print

ad campaign for its latest X-T1

camera. The campaign aired on

TV and was shown on screens

in the lobbies of offi ce buildings.

Print ads featuring stills of the TVC

have appeared in newspapers and

magazines, while out-of-home

ads for bus billboards and MTR

stations were also released. The

ads were produced by creative

agency Metta Communications.

Getting a gripFollowing accusations of false

advertising, Vibram - the maker of

the toe gripping shoe - agreed to

settle a class action lawsuit. Post-

settlement, the company will not

be able to make claims that the

FiveFingers footwear is effective in

strengthening muscles or reducing

injury without scientifi c backing to

prove the claims.

A long term relationshipThe International Olympic

Committee (IOC) handed

NBCUniversal (NBCU) the

broadcast rights in the USA for

the Olympic Games up until 2032.

NBCU acquired the broadcast

rights across free-to-air television,

subscription television, internet

and mobile. The agreement is from

2021 to 2032 and is valued at US$

7.65 billion with an additional US$

100 million signing bonus set aside

for the promotion of Olympism and

the Olympic values.

A delicate divorceA US$35 billion plan to create the

world’s largest advertising holding

group was abandoned. Publicis

and Omnicom jointly announced

that they have terminated their

proposed “merger of equals” by

mutual agreement. The French-US

alliance has been on shaky

ground for several months. Tax

problems and a reluctance from

China regulators to green light

the deal had dented the plan to

create adland’s biggest agency

holding group.

Y&R consolidatesY&R consolidated the agency’s

retail and shopper marketing

capabilities into a single, unifi ed

network: Labstore. Y&R’s other

retail and shopper capabilities

such as IdeaWorks are now under

the Labstore network. In Asia,

Y&R Labstore made its debut in

Thailand and the Philippines. Jon

Bird, co-founder of Y&R’s retail

marketing agency, IdeaWorks, is

now global managing director.

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NEW WORK


1CampaignGlobal Perspectives. Local Insights.

BriefBloomberg Television launched a new brand marketing campaign in Singapore to highlight its regional business news content. The new brand campaign will highlight Bloomberg TV Asia’s key personalities in Asia, and feature issues that matter to people on the street. The campaign will roll out in other key markets throughout the year.

Client Bloomberg Television Creative In-house

Media Kinetic Worldwide

2CampaignNescafé White Coffee 2014

BriefNestlé rolled out a new TVC to position Nescafé White Coffee as the premium white coffee brand in the market. The script aimed to evoke a sense of nostalgia among viewers and to strengthen the campaign further, a street activation aspect was launched where brand ambassadors riding customised Nescafé White Coffee bicycles were deployed to give away free samples.

Client Nestlé

Creative Visibility Design Media N/A

1

2

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NEW WORK

SUBMISSIONS

PLEASE SEND US YOUR

BEST NEW WORK REGULARLY

IN HIGH-RES JPEG OR PDF

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR

THESE PAGES. EMAIL

[email protected]

WWW.MARKET ING- INTERACT IVE .COM JUNE 2014 MARKET ING 1 1

4Campaign JWEL Launch

BriefThe campaign promotes the fi ve classic ice-cream fl avours and is currently running on radio, OOH and print. Also, commuters have been enjoying a free “royal” shuttle service that looped from Plaza Singapura, the Singapore Management University’s School of Business to the Istana. This “royal bus” was a SBS transit bus which had undergone a complete makeover with the help of Moove Media and F&N Creameries Singapore. This was meant to drum up publicity for its latest offering – JWEL, from the Ice Cream Empire.

Client F&N Creameries Singapore

Creative Ogilvy RedWorks

Media Mindshare

3CampaignEveryone’s Home Ground

Brief Building on the anticipation and excitement of BPL football fans in Singapore, Carlsberg created Everyone’s Home Ground where football fans could experience the football frenzy with Carlsberg. More than just a get-together of football fans and consumers, Everyone’s Home Ground was an exclusive and premier live screening event where Carlsberg amplifi ed the experience with giant TV screens, deluxe couches and an overall VIP experience. To promote this event online and offl ine, Carlsberg ran ads on various OOH platforms, including buses, bus shelters, train stations and the giant TV screen at Chevron House to highlight the Carlsberg TVC.

Client Carlsberg Singapore

Creative Havas Worldwide Singapore

Media OMD

4

3

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


HOW TO WRITE A ‘MONSTER’ BRIEFBriefs from hell are a common frustration for agencies. Here are seven ingredients for the brief from hell. Is yours one of them? Elizabeth Low writes.

Earlier this year, I was speaking to a marketer who had just called an open pitch.

In the short few minutes asking for details on

the pitch, this marketer clearly seemed to check

all the boxes on how to give a “monster” brief.

Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: “Hi, I hear you’re calling a pitch for XXX. Can

you give me a few details?”

Marketer: “Yes, we want someone to buy space

on online media, paid media, social media for

our campaign.”

Me: “Which part of the business is this for?”

Marketer: “You can go on our website and look

at any of our core businesses and choose one.

Actually, we’re more interested in seeing what

the agencies come up with and going through

that.”

Me: “Well, what’s the main objective?”

Marketer: “Basically we want someone who has

contacts to Google and Facebook because we

don’t know anyone there.”

An open tender had been called for this. I ended

the phone call thinking that any agency that tried

to pick up this business would be left 10 times

more frustrated than I was.

Unfortunately, “monster” briefs are common

in the industry, as senior industry executives

share their frustrations on the things clients do in

briefs in this article.

Marketers, take note – here’s how to tell if

your brief needs tweaking:

1. No indication of budgetSeveral industry executives highlight the issue of

not indicating the budget on a brief.

“The fi rst sign of trouble is when there’s

no budget range provided, which often signals

that the prospect will be deciding the outcome

on commoditised price more than on creative

quality,” said Bob Pickard, chairman of

Huntsworth Asia Pacifi c.

2. The ever evolving briefMultiple changes of the brief over a long period

is another problem, said Lars Voedisch, founder

of PRecious Communications.

Added Pickard: “The worst briefs change

the rules of the game as the process progresses,

regardless of how much time and effort the

agencies have invested thus far.

“I remember one a few years ago where

the budget was slashed and then the senior

decision-makers disappeared from the process

at the last moment.

“Having had teams across the region

prepare a fully loaded top-tier proposal that

was based on the original scenario, we were

left holding the bag and there was absolutely

no contrition at the client end. “We had fl own

in key leaders from top Asia Pacifi c markets

and suddenly found ourselves meeting with a

single marketing manager who explained that

‘things have suddenly changed’. Obviously that

kind of ‘bait and switch’ is toxic to the prospect

company’s reputation,” says Pickard.

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“The worst things you could say to an agency? “Up to you’, ‘Agency to recommend’ and my personal favourite: ‘I am not sure what we want, but I will know it when I see it”

Lionel Goh — client service director for Havas Worldwide

have been known to have anywhere up to a

dozen agencies or more. For example, Scoot

reputedly pulled in up to 30 agencies when the

budget carrier called its fi rst pitch.

5. The “top secret” briefA big frustration is when clients get too secretive

with their company’s strategies, not wanting to

give away confi dential information. While this is

understandable, don’t take this too far in a brief.

“There was one brief that was too secretive

about its company’s strategy and direction

– just indicating that it was a major shift and

the brand strategy should support that,” said

Voedisch, highlighting one of the worst briefs

he’s encountered.

“Be clear in the objectives of what you want

to achieve. Provide some guidance either on the

deliverables or budget.”

6. The internal client warIf it isn’t diffi cult enough trying to understand

what the client wants, it’s worse when they

don’t know what they want because of internal

confl ict.

When dissonance between internal

stakeholders comes up – for example, in

communications and marketing, those are more

ingredients for a bad brief, said Tarun Deo,

managing director of Golin Harris, Southeast

Asia and Singapore.

“Both have a different view of the results they

seek and so the brief is unclear and muddled,

with the agency trying to cope with the politics

of it all.”

7. The bloody boring briefAnother ingredient for a bad brief is when the

client only wants to play it safe, asking for

repetitive work – resulting in a completely

uninspiring brief. Sure the agency will do it, but

you can expect zero enthusiasm and even less

creativity.

Deo adds a note to agencies as well – if you

don’t like the brief, hold out for something better.

“Good agencies respond to good briefs –

we live in the days of good agencies being in a

position to pick and choose who they would like

to work for, so prospects need to think of their

briefs as tools to attract the best agencies and

not just assume that if we put ‘something’ out

there the best will come,” he said.

3. The “up to the agency” brief“Some of the bad habits I have witnessed include

the cut and paste mentality – where someone

takes a past brief and then literally cuts and

pastes its components onto a new one without

regard to its relevance,” said Lionel Goh, client

service director for Havas Worldwide.

“This means that some irrelevant information

to the current project is included and it sends

us on a wild goose chase that ultimately wastes

time for all parties.”

The worst things you could say to an

agency? “Up to you’, ‘Agency to recommend’

and my personal favourite: ‘I am not sure

what we want, but I will know it when I see it’,”

Goh added.

“The worst brief I have ever worked on (and

I still keep a copy) had on the cover of a 10-plus

page document: ‘Objective: Generally to create

awareness.’ “That said, while it was the worst

brief, it turned out to be one of the most profi table

projects I had the privilege of working on.”

4. The beauty paradeSpamming out a brief to a dozen or more

agencies is another bad sign, say agency

professionals.

Calling it a “beauty parade”, Huntsworth’s

Pickard said it was disconcerting for a pitching

agency. However, so far in the local market, this

is not uncommon. Several larger government

tenders, as well as the major brand assignments,

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


5 REASONS WHY THE PROCUREMENT GUY HATES YOUMarketing and procurement – a classic love-hate relationship. Here’s how to bury the hatchet, writes Rezwana Manjur.

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procurement specialist criticised marketers

for being far too fi ckle. Every other day there

is a new demand – a new creative epiphany.

Procurement guys like to plan out their steps

and this burst of creativity interrupts their natural

work fl ow.

4. Too much dramaSaid one procurement department: “From time

to time we have requests from the marketing

department that a certain component needs to

be updated and that it’s a life and death situation

if they do not get it.

“It’s never a life or death situation as we have

come to understand. It’s just bad planning.”

Cut the drama, guys.

5. Promising the moonPromising the moon during pitches? How about

checking with the procurement teams once?

Sometimes agencies and even marketers

make unrealistic demands for campaigns. For

the procurement teams on both sides, it is all

about logistics and feasibility. Often the agency

gets carried away promising campaigns that are

simply tough, if not impossible, to execute. (And

agencies, aren’t you guilty of this?)

“We are not here to kill dreams but hey,

being realistic helps!” said the procurement

professional.

I had a taste of the classic love-hate

relationship, hate more than love, of course,

between marketing and procurement, as I sat

between two professionals from these functions.

In an ideal world, marketing and procurement

should work hand-in-hand; complement each

other; work towards profi tability and all the good

things in the world you can think of.

The reality is a tad bit different though.

Yes, the relationship between procurement

and marketing is somewhat improving, but

the tension remains. In a candid conversation

with several senior procurement specialists in

the industry, I asked them what annoyed them

about their marketing departments.

Here’s what they said:

1. The last minute stroke of geniusProcurement: “Most last-minute requests

are not entertained or welcomed as internal

purchasers will require months of planning

ahead of time. Marketers always have demands

made in that last minute and this is a challenge

for the procurement team as orders have already

been placed way ahead.”

Marketer: “But the marketing function is

somewhat reactive. Sometimes you see a

campaign by your competitors and you just

need to beat them and gain back the interest of

your consumer. So you need to make alterations

to the plan you have already set in motion. Also,

competition is so high, especially in a market

like Singapore, that pressure is always there to

churn out something faster. The rise of real-time

marketing also doesn’t help make things easier

as the pressure is on to engage the consumer

now, like right now.”

2. The mentality to spend and not saveThe conversation went on.

Procurement: “If marketers are able to provide

us with specifi c numbers and details way ahead

of a promotion, we are able to buy the goods in

bulk. That would save us a lot of expenditure in

the long run.”

Marketer: “From time to time a last-minute change

in colours or packaging materials will affect the

promotions. Sometimes the bigger picture is only

clearer nearer to the date execution.”

Another senior marketer chipped in: “The

procurement teams are always fi rst to buy into

the cheapest option. Even when an experienced

vendor can do a job far more quickly and

effi ciently, the procurement team goes for the

one that costs less.”

3. Not sticking to the planMuch like the fi rst point above, another

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Brought to you byBrought to you by

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


Late last year, orderly Singapore saw its fi rst riot in many years, as foreign workers

rioted in Little India, shocking the nation and

consequently sparking a furious debate on

its foreign worker situation. While this later led

to a series of high-profi le court cases and the

workers involved were repatriated, it threw a

harsh spotlight on the struggles of these foreign

workers to locals.

It was likely with this in mind that Coca-Cola

decided to weigh in on the situation, partnering

the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) to

perform a kind act for foreign workers.

Using remote-controlled drones, it dropped

off boxes of Coke to more than 2500 workers

around Singapore, said Coca-Cola’s agency

Ogilvy & Mather Singapore, who created the

campaign.

The project had locals writing messages of

gratitude to workers at high-rise construction

sites throughout the country and tying them to

the cans; 2,734 photos of individuals with their

handwritten notes were delivered on the cans to

as high as the 35th storey of construction sites in

a surprise treat to workers. This was done over

March and April.

Themed “Happiness from the Skies,”

the project sought to build bridges between

Singaporeans and the city-state’s 1.3 million

migrant worker population – about one third

of the country’s entire workforce. Before the

deliveries, SKM volunteers reached out to

Singaporeans, asking them to write supportive

messages for the workers.

“At Coca-Cola we are in the business of

sharing happiness all around the world. So

when Ogilvy came to us with the innovative idea

of combining Coke with drone technology to

connect two segments of the community - who

rarely interact - to share a special moment of

happiness, we could not resist the temptation

to give it a go,” said Leonardo O’Grady, ASEAN

director of integrated marketing communications

for Coca-Cola Singapore. Eugene Cheong, chief

creative offi cer of Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacifi c,

said: “Construction workers, in particular, tend

to be ‘invisible’ as they are working in areas that

are not accessible to the average person. So in

order to appreciate them, we fi rst need to see

them.”

While some loved the campaign and praised

Coke’s gesture, it also drew a strong response

from critics for being a publicity stunt.

For example, commentor Marie B said on

the article published by Marketing: [sic] “To

whoever fi nds this ‘kind’ or ‘nice’ or ‘cute’ (aw) :

you must be kidding, fi rst the fact that they could

not even send a human to go give them the cans

while saying hello is really weird, second Coke

is certainly what they needed to improve their

really bad working conditions in Singapore, on

the long-term, not.”

Marketing spoke to several senior PR

executives for their take. Even they were divided.

PR value versus genuine valueScott Pettet, VP of APAC at Lewis PR, said

while this was a great stunt, “it falls squarely into

the category of stunt because it places more

emphasis on form over function”.

For example, he said, Coke could have

delivered thousands more cans by truck, but

would that have had the same PR impact? “Of

course not,” he said.

However, Jamie Morse, managing director

of Hill+Knowlton, was more positive about the

move. “The mere fact that so many people

are talking about the worker conditions today

than before is an indicator of the campaign’s

success.”

Hopefully, he added, those in power would

now be talking more about the issues affecting

migrant workers. In Coke’s defence, it is after all

the job of governments and regulatory bodies

to address worker conditions, not that of

corporates, added Morse.

“It would be unfair to be cynical about

brands which look to particular social issues

as a means to further their image. As people

we want to get involved in social causes to feel

good about ourselves just as much as to help

others,” said Morse, adding there isn’t anything

inherently wrong with brands doing the same.

Mylinh Cheung, managing director of Epic

PR, also added that while this was a stunt, it

was still a well thought through activation that

was value-based.“The issues plaguing foreign

workers are far too deep and complicated to try

and resolve overnight, “said Cheung.

Tarun Deo, managing director of GolinHarris,

Southeast Asia and Singapore, said the success

could be attributed to the campaign’s simplicity

that fi tted with Coke’s Happiness campaign

while falling in line with Singapore Kindness

Movement’s agenda.

Coke could not be reached at the time of

publishing for further comment.

COCA-COLA’S FOREIGN WORKER GESTURE: SWEET OR ARTIFICIAL?The plight of foreign workers in Singapore is gaining increasing attention. Here’s what happened when Coke weighed in on the situation. Rezwana Manjur reports.

A touchy situation: It looks like Coca-Cola hit a nerve with its gesture.

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WEEKDAYS 6AM sin/hk WEEKDAYS 7AM sin/hk WEEKDAYS 10AM sin/hk WEEKDAYS 12PM sin/hk

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SRI JEGARAJAHANCHOR

*Source: Ipsos A� uent Survey Asia Pacifi c Q3-Q4 2013 All 10 markets, Monthly viewers. Investors defi ned as: Own Stock/Securities/Bonds or Foreign Currencies As An Investment or Unit Trust Fund/Mutual Fund or O� shore Investment Accounts. C-suite executives defi ned as: CEO/Chairman/Managing Director/President/C-Level executives or Director/General Manager/Vice President or CFO. Frequent travellers defi ned as: Made 3+ international trips in past 12 months.

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


7 LESSONS FROM THE WORLD’S TOP BRANDSAn analysis of the fortunes of some of the world’s most famous brands by Millward Brown has revealed seven key approaches companies can use to boost their brand value. Jennifer Chan writes.

The secret sauce: What made the world’s top brands famous?

An analysis of the fortunes of some of the world’s most famous brands by Millward Brown

has revealed seven key approaches companies

can use to boost their brand value.

Based on the performance of brands such

as Apple, Amazon and Visa over eight years of

the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global

Brands study, these learnings demonstrate the

power of the annual ranking and its ability to

identify brands that are making waves.

The lessons are based on the fortunes

of clusters of similar and often competing

companies such as Vodafone, Samsung and

Nokia, and demonstrate how a brand and its

portrayal via communications have been critical

to company fi nancial success.

Identify a human truth. You can rise

incredibly fast, but when you get it wrong you can

fall equally quickly. Apple’s rapid rise from No.29

in the fi rst BrandZ rankings in 2006, with a brand

value of US$16 billion, to No.1 in 2012, with a

value of US$183 billion, comes off the back of

a universal truth that people want technology to

work simply and easily. By contrast, Nokia lost

its consumer connection at around the same

time, thinking its then-superior technology would

be enough to beat the challenge of the iPhone.

It has since dropped from US$44 billion at No.9

in 2008 to US$10.7 billion and No.81 in 2011,

exiting the rankings altogether in 2012.

Make your own connection. You can only

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important. Visa has been particularly successful

moving from No.36 and US$16.3 billion in 2009

to a spot in the BrandZ 2013 top 10, at No.9,

with a value of US$56 billion.

Learn to live locally. Simply because you are

from one country doesn’t mean you can’t also

be a local brand in another. Some of the most

iconic American brands such as McDonald’s

and Coca-Cola have successfully transcended

their origins to become global brands that feel

local around the world. McDonald’s and Coke

have become part of the community wherever

they operate and connect via their universal

truths such as Coke’s “Happiness” message.

This strategy has helped both brands retain top

10 positions (and further gained places) even as

the brand value required to stay in the top 10 has

increased by 18%.

“Smart marketers seek to learn from the

successes of their peers and avoid the failings of

brands that have ceased to be as effective,” said

Anastasia Kourovskaia, vice-president of EMEA

at Millward Brown Optimor.

“This analysis of the BrandZ top 100 data

over eight years highlights essential learnings

that all brands need take on board. The path to

brand growth isn’t always obvious and marketers

sometimes need to look beyond the day-to-day

business to see the wider opportunities.”

go so far as a fast-follower, but ultimately to be

a great marketer you need your own connection.

Samsung has risen remarkably far and fast,

and has had fl ashes of marketing excellence,

including the recent Oscar selfi e campaign. As

a brand, though, it still has an opportunity to

unearth its own universal truth. When it does, it

should continue its rise from its No.30 position in

the 2013 rankings with a brand value of US$21.4

billion.

Technological superiority on its own is not everything. In fact it’s not even 90%, because

people aren’t rational. The technological gap

between Apple, Samsung and their competitors

is fairly small, but their relative business fortunes

have been miles apart. The signifi cant difference

is brand love and an affi nity with consumers

driven by Apple and Samsung’s ability to

meet the needs of consumers in a way that is

meaningful.

International expansion isn’t the only way to grow. Quite often, leveraging your brand

into other categories can be more effective.

Walmart’s purchasing power hasn’t ensured a

smooth global expansion and its BrandZ ranking

has declined slightly over the past eight years,

ranking No.18 with a brand value of US$36.2

billion in 2013. Other retail brands have driven

brand growth by expanding their footprint into

other categories, most notably with Amazon’s

stretch from books to appliances to universal

retailer.

Disruptive innovation and reinventing yourself drives tremendous growth in almost every market. Disruptive innovation is the spiritual

heartland of Amazon, which has changed the way

we buy and in the process, moved from No.92

in 2007 to No.14 and a brand value of US$45.7

billion in 2013. Other brands have also taken a

similar path, including Vodafone, which is now

moving from a provider of mobile services to a

rounded broadcast provider focused on Europe

and BT, entering the ranking at No.94 in 2013 and

storming up as a result of successful expansion

beyond calls and lines into broadband, television

and fi nally entertainment and sports.

Often your competitors aren’t who you think. The success of Visa and MasterCard

demonstrates that brands don’t compete only

against those that provide the same services.

Quite often, key competitors come from areas

where they can provide substitute services and

products. For Visa, MasterCard and American

Express, the common enemy over the past few

decades has been cash and cheques; however,

slowly but surely, both are becoming less

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In 2013, the World Health Organisation (WHO) sharply criticised the food industry for marketing unhealthy products to children, calling the

move “disastrously effective” at fuelling a worldwide obesity epidemic.

It pointed out junk food had been linked to obesity related health

issues, with companies even using technology to target these products

to kids.

“Children are surrounded by ads urging them to consume high-

fat, high-sugar, high-salt foods, even when they are in places where

they should be protected, such as schools and sports facilities,” said

Zsuzsanna Jakab, the director of the WHO’s regional unit for Europe, in

an article by website Think Progress.

The WHO had tracked advertising for sugary drinks, sweetened

breakfast cereals, cookies, candy, snacks and fast-food outlets and

found television is still the most common medium for these ads, and that

children are especially vulnerable to that strategy because “they cannot

always distinguish between advertisements and cartoons like adults can”.

But it looks like the situation is seeing progress. According to newly

released data by the EU Pledge, European children are exposed to

signifi cantly less food marketing than in 2005.

The pledge, which represents 20 companies (pictured, right) and

more than 80% of food ad spend in the EU, has these companies

committing to change the products they advertise to children under the

age of 12. The commitment was made in the context of the European

Commission’s “Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health”.

Stephan Loerke, the managing director of World Federation of

Advertisers (WFA), said these studies were showing European children

were seeing less food ads on TV, especially for products not fulfi lling strict

nutrition criteria.

“This is important, given children still spend far more time in front of TV

than any other media. Going forward, we are delighted to be implementing

even stricter common criteria while ensuring our commitments apply

equally across other media channels, including digital,” he said.

Loerke added that effective coverage of online and company owned

websites was critical to ensure the continued effectiveness of the self-

regulatory initiative.

Independent data from Accenture Media Management also shows

how the world’s biggest food brands have signifi cantly changed the

products they advertise to children in the European Union since 2005

on TV.

The results demonstrate how brands are either voluntarily pulling

out of or only advertising products that meet strict nutrition criteria

during children’s programming and that children are being exposed

to considerably less advertising for all food products across all TV

programming, said a WFA report.

The latest data also shows how, on average across all EU markets

since 2005, that children are exposed to 31% less ads for EU pledge

products on TV across all programming. They see 47% less ads for

products that do not meet the nutrition criteria and 82% less for products

not meeting the criteria in and around children’s programmes. Companies’

overall compliance rate with their commitments on TV was 98.1%.

The commitments also extend to schools, children’s print

publications, online advertising and company owned websites. For

company owned websites, the European Advertising Standards Alliance

verifi ed 343 websites across the EU to check whether companies were

directly targeting children under 12 with products not meeting the

nutrition criteria. They found 22 websites to be in breach, meaning a total

compliance rate of 94%.

MARKET SPOTLIGHT: EUROPE

A global move to reduce unhealthy food marketing to children has been sweeping through the various

regions and it appears to be bearing fruit in Europe. Elizabeth Low reports.

EUROPE’S FOOD MARKETERS GET HEALTHY

Companies involved in the EU Pledge Source: WFA

Last year, the companies announced the development of even stricter

common nutrition criteria that would determine, where applicable, what

products can be advertised to children under 12. This criteria will come

into force at the end of 2014. The group also announced the fast-food

service restaurant, the Quick Group, joining the initiative.

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In what could have been the largest technology debut yet, Alibaba gave investors a

closer look at the e-commerce juggernaut in an

IPO prospectus last month.

While the world marvelled at its vast size,

the issue of trust inevitably came up. But in the

business it’s in, can Alibaba inspire investors’

trust and play on the global stage?

For example, one of its key businesses,

its Taobao site, was listed on the US Trade

Representative’s “notorious market” list for

piracy and counterfeit offenders. While it has

since been taken from the list, the business is

undeniably diffi cult to police.

And Alibaba has been taking tough

measures to root out its murky image. Even as

it headed towards its IPO, founder Jack Ma was

stepping up efforts to clean house.

Acknowledging this in its IPO fi ling, the

group admitted the perception that its sites were

cluttered with counterfeit items could hurt its

ability to win over customers, investors and US

retail partners.

According to The Guardian, some security

experts even say the Chinese group’s stricter

standards on piracy and fake goods may

surpass those of Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc.

It’s not stopping there. The group is

also getting serious with its image, hiring Jim

Wilkinson, a senior PepsiCo executive, who

also worked for the US government, as its new

head of international corporate communications,

according to The Wall Street Journal.

Can Alibaba clean up its image and attain its

global ambitions? Time will tell, but it looks like it

is certainly headed that way.

TREATMENT

Timimi’s tonic:• Clear communication of its story.• Consistency of action.• Principle-led vision.

Pickard’s pill:• Build a positive image on social media.• Be careful about how it positions itself.• Focus on an international stage instead

of the US.

Today, Alibaba still has a relatively low profi le outside of China, but that is already changing very quickly. Alibaba is seen as a large and growing Chinese e-commerce player with global-scale ambitions.

In addition to the usual “laundry list” of concerns on ethics, transparency, security and respect for intellectual property, Alibaba will face fears about what to many will be its surprisingly gigantic scale.

It has a magnifi cent opportunity to build a global brand with a positive image through social media. But it needs to craft its corporate communications wisely. Some Chinese companies have exploded onto the world stage for negative reasons, seen to be imitating on cheap price rather than innovating based on quality.

Alibaba has a fascinating story to tell and a clever business strategy to explain. But it needs to talk about more than just how it plans to leverage the vast size of the domestic market. In Jack Ma, it has a compelling leader whose persona travels better across national borders compared with other Chinese corporate leaders, who have often shied away from the limelight.

At a time when global brands are expected to act like people and not like things, in Ma, it has someone who personifi es the company. But he needs to be careful what he says, so as not to gratuitously stimulate fear about what could be perceived as another Chinese giant’s conquering ambitions.

Let’s cut to the chase: Barring any skeletons in the closet, Alibaba is one of the most impressive companies that has ever been built.

In my view, it would lag behind only Apple, Google, Samsung and IBM in the technology world in terms of impact and potential. Yes, it is more important than Facebook. How many companies do you know with a 102-year plan?

How many “local” companies are there who have a mission to “make it easier to do business across the world”? How many companies write their IPO letters to employees, asking them to prepare for “unparalleled ruthlessness and pressure”? Alibaba is a hero for the Asian internet community, living proof that both innovation and scale can be built in our neck of the woods. I would suspect that, for the same reason it excites us, it worries some in the West.

My advice to Alibaba is to better tell its story, so the world gets to know (and admire) it as a brand. Its Chinese heritage will arouse suspicion in some quarters. This can be overcome by clarity of communication, backed by consistency of action.

Alibaba believes in “customer fi rst, employees second, shareholders third”. It will become increasingly hard to live by its principles when it comes under pressures from the IPO. It will need to maintain a really strong inner compass to keep to that vision. I for one, hope they can do it.

DIAGNOSIS

Keith TimimiChairmanVML Qais

Bob PickardChairman, Asia Pacifi cHuntsworth plc

OPENING UP TO THE WORLD

The big clean up: Can Alibaba clear its murky image for its huge global ambitions?

SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS DATA:

Revenue Year ended March 31: Nine months ended December 31:

2012 RMB 2013 RMB 2012 RMB 2013 RMB

China commerce 11,990 13,322 14,883 14,492

International commerce 10,570 11,742 12,906 12,546

Cloud computing and Internet infrastructure 10,627 11,807 13,011 12,658

Others 8,714 9,867 11,344 11,059

Total 1,913 1,940 1,667 1,599

22_BrandHealthCheck_JUNE14_sub.indd 2222_BrandHealthCheck_JUNE14_sub.indd 22 5/6/2014 5:33:13 PM5/6/2014 5:33:13 PM

Korea Tourism Organization and Korea MICE Bureau take pride in establishing Korea as the premier destination for MICE visitors. For more information and assistance in holding your events in Korea, please contact KTO (Singapore office) at +65- 6533 0441 or email:[email protected]

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This one is a little

bit of a letdown.

BMW has an

interesting story

to tell with its

fabled M button.

One push and it

gives your car a

kick in the pants, in terms of power. Great. Creatively, that’s really rich

territory. The route they’ve gone with, however, seems a little odd. It

depicts a man surprising his wife by creating a button that transforms

his living room from austere to Austin Powers. The message of a

button completely changing the characteristics of something is clear

enough, but the execution trades excitement for something bordering

on cheesy. Which is a shame because there is a lot to say about the

product and a real emotional benefi t that comes with it. And while I can

appreciate that it’s part of a bigger Pleasure Points campaign, I think

they could have possibly made more of it.

HOT: Google: Iron Fish

The best stuff makes things matter. And makes me pretty envious right

after. Just like most Google Search stories, this piece is charming. But

what stood out was the brutally simple innovation at its core. Without

giving much away if you haven’t seen it – a man uses cultural beliefs

to make something that matters to impoverished Cambodians. The

end result was bang on brand and lived up to the DNA of Google. The

brand didn’t have to drum up its functionality. The action spoke quite

loudly enough.

This year has

seen an explosion

in wearable tech.

From Bluetooth

watches to

Google’s own

Glass, we’ve seen

tons of devices

targeted at giving

you faster access

to information. The Guardian Angel bracelet (or necklace), however,

is a little different. Designed for the Association of Women for Action

and Research (AWARE), it is an accessory designed to send an SOS

text and GPS location of the wearer to a friend or family member in the

event of an emergency. It can also place a fake call to your own phone

to help you duck out of uncomfortable situations (handy, if you work in

advertising). And while the overall presentation could use a little polish,

it’s a simple, elegant idea that could prove very effective. Nice.

NOT: STB – See where the world is heading

This one’s easy. Matter of fact, it’s such an obvious choice it almost

feels like I’m kicking someone who’s already down. But if by now

you’ve not seen this promo fi lm for STB, I wouldn’t wish to spoil it

for you either. The one star I’ve given is for the saving grace that is

Singapore’s gorgeous backdrop. Cheesy daytime TV dialogue, awful

directing, and a surprise pregnancy had all the makings of a bad

comedic skit. Pretty ironically the fi lm’s message is to see where the

world is heading. Because sadly, at the time of writing, this viral fi lm is

busy heading around the world.

HOT: Guardian Angel

AD WATCHNOT: Yeo’s – BMW M Button

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

Primus NairGroup creative directorBBDO and Proximity Singapore

WEB WATCHEd CheongCreative directorRapp Singapore

24_AWWW_JUNE14_sub.indd 2424_AWWW_JUNE14_sub.indd 24 5/6/2014 5:32:31 PM5/6/2014 5:32:31 PM

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Life Inspired mailed out keys to invite guests to an exclusive party. Here’s what the response was like.

PUTTING ON A GOOD SHOW

Juliana FooMarketing director,LI TV Asia

Objective:To tease guests invited to the Million Dollar

Listing Viewing Party

Idea: Real estate, the main essence of the show.

Results:The exclusive invite-only party for 50 guests. We

had a total of 65 guests that were intrigued by the

key that came with the invitation card.

THE MAIL

The right key: This direct mailer helped Life Inspired pull a full-capacity crowd.

At Life Inspired, we have always wanted to bring to life the experiences of our shows on air.

With the launch of our new series Million Dollar

Listing season one, which is being shown in Asia

for the fi rst time, we wanted to bring the essence

of the show to life.

Million Dollar Listing centres on three real

estate agents in New York – Fredrik Eklund,

Ryan Serhant and Michael Lorber – and

follows them as they wheel and deal luxurious

properties in the city. Not only are these young

men successful, they are also aggressive, well-

groomed and charming.

The exclusive invite-only Million Dollar Listing

Viewing Party marked the fi rst of its kind for Life

Inspired in Singapore as we brought to life the

New York experience to our viewers. The design

idea behind the direct mailer invitation card was

to capture the essence of the show – New York

City as the backdrop. The invitation card served

as a teaser as to what was to come at the party.

The invitation card itself was with a minimalist

and chic look, inspired by the modern New York

skyline.

In addition to the card, each guest received

a key they would bring to the party to unlock

their “Million Dollar Listing”. At the party, there

was a “door” that guests could unlock with their

key and this added to the whole experience

of unlocking a dream home, just like how the

agents in the series do with their respective

clients.

At the party, guests had the New York

experience with New York street signs on every

table, hors d’oeuvres with landmark names

and even a mini-lighted Empire Tower. Tasty

cocktails named after the three star agents

were served throughout the night. Guests could

also view episode one of the series in a special

viewing room. Celebrity attendees that night

included Andrea Savage, Jaymee Ong, Jason

Godfrey and Sonia Davison.

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MARKETING’S AGENCY OF THE YEAR 2014

DATE: 15 May 2014

VENUE: Shangri-la Hotel Singapore

1 Robert Woolfrey, managing director,

APAC, Millennial Media, handing

out awards for the Mobile Marketing

Agency of the Year.

2 The teams from Dentsu Möbius and

Millennial Media.

3 Team Blugrapes.

4 Team Govt bagging the Local Hero

award for Digital Marketing Agency of

the Year.

5 Team Flamingo taking home the

bronze award for Market Research

Agency of the Year.

6 & 7 Selfi es on stage were the latest

trend spotted on AOTY night.

8 Edelman winning the gold award for

Public Relations.

9 Overall Agency of the Year went to

Ogilvy & Mather.

10 ZenithOptimedia wins the Overall

Creative Ideas MARKie.

11 Team Nielsen taking home the gold

award for Market Research Agency of

the Year.

12 Yolk(at)Grey takes home the

MARKie for Best Idea – Web Design.

13 Amcasia! wins the Local Hero

award for Event Marketing Agency of

the Year.

14 The stage set for the big night.

15 Guests mingling.

16 Truck from Dino Media at the event.

17 Trophies for the night.

2

3 4

5

8

6

7

1

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9

1413

15

11

10

16 17

12

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www.freef low.com.sg

www.facebook.com/freef lowproductions

vimeo.com/freef lowproductions

It’s something you say to the person who helped you open that door, returned you your change or perhaps changed your life. Whatever role you’ve played in our lives, we sincerely thank you.

Thank you.

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CREATIVE CATCH-UP

f you’ve been drawing

inspiration to be a creative

director from all the

episodes you’ve watched

of Don Draper in Mad

Men, you may want to

think again.

The role of a creative

director is likely the most challenging

one in the industry right now.

Perhaps the best way to look at this

is to start with some context: looking

at the wider role of the traditional

creative agency – which is facing the

same pressing dilemma.

In the past, the roles for creative

agencies, media agencies and

public relations agencies sat well

on their own side of the fence.

But these days, media buying and

public relations agencies are winning

creative awards and hiring creative

directors. As for clients, more of

them are taking the best creatives

in-house.

Then there is the rise of

technology in driving creativity. With

the rise of online platforms allowing

consumers to become creators

easily, brands are also quick to

harness this.

Take for example, the move to

crowd-sourcing for campaigns. Major

“THE CREATIVE AGENCY’S TRADITIONAL ROLE AS IDEA GENERATORS FOR A BRAND HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY DIMINISHED. AS HAS THEIR TRADITIONAL COMPLEMENTARY ROLE AS IDEA EXECUTORS.”

RICHARD BLEASDALEREGIONAL MANAGING PARTNER FOR ASIA PACIFIC AT ROTH OBSERVATORY INTERNATIONAL

brands such as Coca-Cola and BMW

have taken to this, reporting good

success for such campaigns. In one

example, Coca-Cola worked with

crowd-sourcing agency eYeka to

reach out to the latter’s community

of creators to ask for ideas for a

China campaign.

Coca-Cola’s Leonardo O’Grady

told eMarketer in an interview this

move pulled in “thousands of new

ideas from a global community of

creative individuals”.

The role of the creative agencyIndustry watchers believe this

signals the diminishing of the

traditional creative agency as

we know it.

Richard Bleasdale, regional

managing partner for Asia Pacifi c

at Roth Observatory International,

says: “Clearly today, ‘creative’ is

not the sole domain of a director,

a department or even an agency.

Technological and cultural change

has driven real creative freedom.

Ideas can, and do, come from

anywhere. And often the best

ones come from a brand’s

consumers or its employees – and

not from an agency.”

“So the creative agency’s

traditional role as idea generators

for a brand has been signifi cantly

diminished. As has their traditional

complementary role as idea

executors.”

However, the call for creativity

in building businesses remains high

and the creative agency’s other

traditional roles – idea curation and

storytelling – are more in demand

than ever. In this area is where the

opportunity lies.

“We see an opportunity for

‘creative agencies’ to apply their

creative problem-solving skills at

a higher level inside organisations

by looking to solve bigger

business rather than just marketing

challenges,” Bleasdale says.

Michael Chadwick, brand

strategy director for Asia Pacifi c

at Mondelēz International, echoed

the same views, saying the value of

creativity is on the rise.

“The recognition that it’s a

fundamental contributor to brand and

business performance is growing;

at Mondelēz International we know

it is one of the key drivers of ROI,”

he says.

In terms of fi nding the right

talent, nurturing it and creating the

conditions for creativity to happen,

these are not easy to come by –

and those that can – will be heavily

sought after.

However, his next words

easily serve as a caveat to creative

agencies. “I think the main shift is

that most clients are now just more

open to the idea that this kind of

talent and creativity might be found

anywhere – it’s not the sole preserve

of an ad agency anymore.

“That’s a good thing because

you raise the bar on quality and

you get a greater diversity of thinking.

And for the best agencies – and

the best creative talents within

those agencies – it’s not a threat

because they have a greater

than fair share of this kind of talent

and creativity.”

Adds Darren Woolley, managing

director of marketing management

consultancy TrinityP3: “For many

agencies that continue to defi ne

creativity in terms of advertising alone

(be that digital or not) are diminishing.

It is because businesses are today

faced with great complexity and

complex issues and problems and

they are looking for creative solutions

because traditional approaches are

proving much less effective.”

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CREATIVE CATCH-UP

“I THINK THE MAIN SHIFT IS THAT MOST CLIENTS ARE

NOW JUST MORE OPEN TO THE IDEA THAT THIS KIND OF TALENT

AND CREATIVITY MIGHT BE FOUND ANYWHERE – IT’S NOT

THE SOLE PRESERVE OF ANAD AGENCY ANYMORE.”

MICHAEL CHADWICKBRAND STRATEGY DIRECTOR FOR ASIA PACIFIC

AT MONDELĒZ INTERNATIONAL

What happens to the role of the creative director?This raises several questions: What

becomes of the role of the creative

director then?

“It’s possibly the hardest

one in the industry right now,”

Bleasdale says. The role continues

to change dramatically, with creative

directors constantly pulled by

opposing forces.

The list of requirements is long:

The need to get closer to their

clients; be close to the consumers;

the ability to create great ideas

and curate someone else’s great

ideas; the challenge to get closer

to their clients’ business issues; the

challenge to understand and manage

fi nancials; and the need to grow and

retain great talent.

“It’s a real left brain right brain

struggle – and we see it getting

tougher before it gets easier,”

Bleasdale says.

Perhaps as a bizarre twist to

the role, last year saw the trend of

companies such as Intel, BlackBerry

and Polaroid making high-profi le

appointments of pop stars

such as Justin Timberlake,

Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga as

their “creative directors”.

While these are seemingly more

of a publicity stunt, trends such as

this only throw more ambiguity into

the rapidly evolving nature of the

creative director’s role.

Here’s why the role is so

challenging.

Traditionally, the role of the

creative director has been to ensure

the standard of creative advertising is

maintained. And the problem is with

measuring that.

“This is usually measured against

the arbitrary peer judgement of

creative awards as a measure of

their success in this task, even if it

requires creating fake campaigns to

achieve that,” Woolley says.

“In the majority of agencies, the

creative director, their reputation,

their credentials and their awarding-

winning ability are primarily used to

draw creative talent to the agency.”

On a market basis, only a relative

few creative directors have the

reputation that extends beyond the

advertising industry into marketing

and makes a difference in drawing

business to the agency.

“The best, of course, rise rapidly

to a regional and global role because

they have been identifi ed as having

this ability to draw clients to the

agency and this is then leveraged on

a wider platform,” Woolley says.

But just as in the case of

creative agencies, while creative

directors’ roles become more

demanding, the call for good creative

leads becomes even more pressing

for organisations.

Just like creative agencies,

the role looks set to take on

more of a focus on idea curation

and storytelling skills being

applied to larger business problems

and challenges, rather than

just marketing communications

problems and challenges,

says Bleasdale.

“Therefore, the CD retains a

crucial role in shaping the quality

of thinking, quality of interactions

and quality of solutions that brands

and businesses are developing,”

Bleasdale says.

“As someone a lot smarter than

me said over 50 years ago: ‘Creativity

remains the most powerful driving

force in business’.”

Mondelēz’s Chadwick echoes

the same opinion: “Creative leaders

who know how to guide, shape

and build brands are always going

to be at the centre of any

conversation.”

In closing, perhaps this scene

from Mad Men best sums up the

need for strong creative directors.

In season four, legendary

creative Don Draper is in a crisis

of epic proportions. He is facing a

client exodus; partners squabbling,

and having to make massive

redundancies. In short, he’s in every

agency leader’s worst nightmare.

When his trusted copywriter

asks him what the agency should

do, he utters, very philosophically:

“We’re gonna sit at our desks typing

while the walls fall down around us.

Because we’re the least important,

most important thing there is.”

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CREATIVE CATCH-UP


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While advertising has come a long way from crude, homemaker-style stereotypes of women in the 1950s, has it really lost its obsession with feminine stereotyping? Rezwana Manjur reports.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

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If you are a woman reading this article and the image of the Sheryl

Sandberg-type power mum doesn’t resonate with you, well, you could

always be a domestic goddess; or the vixen embodying every man’s

desire. If all else fails, you could always be the insecure everyday woman

just trying to fi nd happiness. Whichever you pick, it looks like advertising

has a type for you.

A decade ago, when Dove launched its incredible “Real Beauty”

campaign with the help of advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, the public

lauded the diversity of the women depicted. But since banking on that

strategy 10 years later, it looks like it could be wearing thin. The criticism

surrounding its latest campaign, “Patches”, could be revealing – perhaps

it’s been playing the image of the insecure woman for far too long.

The ad “Patches” showed an “experiment”, which saw an authority

fi gure in the form of psychologist Ann Kearney, who studies body image

issues, bringing in women to talk about their insecurities. She then gives the

women a revolutionary beauty drug which works like a nicotine patch and

asks them to document the results. Miraculously, the women feel beautiful.

The campaign drew criticism: Are women so stereotypically insecure to fall

for such a simple prank?

There are more local examples. Late last year, the Ministry of Defence,

in an attempt to recruit women into the army, sent out direct mailers in

the form of a fake mirror and eye-shadow palette. The envelope said:

“Discover shades of green that bring out the best in you.” Local women’s

rights group AWARE slammed the ad as portraying an inaccurate and

offensive stereotype about women and called the army’s use of make-up

and mirrors to appeal to women “trivialising”.

Jolene Tan, programmes and communications senior manager at

AWARE Singapore, says that today some ads “explicitly rely on damaging

and insulting stereotypes about women”.

“Many ads, even if they are not so openly contemptuous of women,

seek to promote insecurities in women and girls. Often these are based

on appearance, suggesting that women and girls are – and should feel –

inadequate unless the shapes and sizes of their bodies or specifi c body

parts meet certain narrow-minded standards,” Tan says.

She added it was common knowledge that most images of women

used in advertising were heavily airbrushed or edited to conform to a “rigid

view” of what female bodies and faces should look like.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH STEREOTYPES?Marketers and advertisers are aware the roles and social stature of women

are changing quickly, and they need to keep up.

JWT’s global planning director Atika Malik says advertisers are well

aware that clichéd images of a woman in a spotless home or waiting on her

family or being sensual is in no way refl ective of the complexity of modern

women’s lives.

While marketers are trying to communicate with women in a more

authentic way, the real danger lies in simply replacing one stereotype for

another – the perfect housewife for the multitasking mother, the pin-up girl

for the hair-swishing vixen. This is not necessarily refl ecting the changes in

their lives in a nuanced way.

“Insights need to be rooted in the real world – and that world is

changing fast every day. There are stereotypes of women that haven’t

changed in years and their repeated usage proves that we as an industry

don’t really understand our audience. Stereotypes are pretty dangerous for

an industry that is built on human understanding,” she says.

“Women aren’t just one homogenous group and most campaigns are

probably still painting women in general with brushstrokes that are much

too broad.”

Farrokh Madon, chief creative offi cer of Young &Rubicam, is also of a

similar stand. He says it is human nature to put everything into boxes. This

is what often leads to stereotypes.

“However, while the world evolves, sometimes perceptions don’t keep

pace. Some of the advertising directed at women is cringe worthy. It’s

almost as if someone had wrapped women up in cotton wool and said:

‘Thou shall not evolve.’ This must stop,” Madon says.

In fact, clients today should no longer ask to be seen as talking

exclusively to women, says Madon. Marketers should not have a specifi c

communication targeted at women because this shows they are being

seen in a different light.

While a brand can have touch-point differences – based on an area

women are more likely to frequent, it is no longer a necessity that a different

set of communications be created just to target women.

CHART A

CHART B

Charts A & B Source: Microsoft & Ogilvy Digital Divas 2013

Dove's Patches campaign touched on women's body issues.

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For example, according to Generation Asia, a study by Y&R in

partnership with VML Qais covering 34,000 people across 10 countries,

47% of them prefer powerful vehicles, similar to men.

“So when marketers try to suddenly talk to women specifi cally, the

communication may sound patronising,” Madon says.

Sirpa Ikola, a senior marketer at HTC, in an earlier conversation with

Marketing, said HTC as a brand would also be making a move into acquiring

more of the female demographic. So when asked what were some of the

mistakes and pitfalls she would be looking out for, she explained one of

the mistakes brands usually made was over-simplifying messages to attract

female buyers.

“A marketer should never make a woman feel like she will not

understand or ‘get it’ if they don’t simplify the benefi t or the product

messages,” Ikola says.

Like Madon, she is also of the view that a marketer’s aim cannot just be

to get a woman to buy the product, but rather provide an amazing personal

experience. The experience should touch the woman in her multiple roles

as a daughter, sister, mother, businesswoman and professional.

“Personally, I feel it is a shame that many brands ignore the fact that

women love the ‘entire shopping experience’ not just the buying,” Ikola says.

DOES STEREOTYPING ACTUALLY WORK THEN?Despite all the arguments – the answer is still yes.

One such industry where it has worked is in the perfume advertising and

make-up industry. Through the images portrayed in the communication of

these campaigns, women are not just sold the product, but rather a sense

of “hope” of the image portrayed, said Ikola.

Madon also agrees that when executed right and with taste,

stereotyping can be made to work for a brand. Humour is one such way.

“If you play on a cliché, give it your own twist to break out of a

stereotype,” Madon says.

For example, when a marketer uses a stereotype normally implied on

women and imposes it on men, you not only add some humour – you

also break the tension. Nonetheless, you have to be careful of not further

perpetuating the stereotype.

RELATING TO THE AUDIENCEThe lines of stereotyping can blur with what is known as generalisation.

With the cost of expenditure rising, marketers are often under pressure of

stretching out their dollars in the short time they have to reach consumers.

Take, for example, a 30-second TVC – in less than a minute, the

marketer is tasked to engage the target customer, tell a compelling story

and have a call to action.

In crunch time a little generalisation is helpful for the brand to quickly

identify with its target demographic. But it is when done badly that

generalisation crosses over to the dark side of stereotyping.

One well-played generalisation says Madon was P&G’s “Thank You

Mums” campaign which saw immense success when it launched in

London in 2012.

“We all owe a huge debt to our mums. So if the ‘stereotype’ is true, by

all means use it. Glorify mums. They are most certainly worth it.”

P&G was a sponsor of the London Olympics, but combining sport

with a raft of products aimed at housewives seemed odd as there was no

obvious connection – except that behind every athlete is a mother who

wants the best for their children.

The marketers at P&G fast realised it was the mums who helped future

stars reach their potential and they wanted to show appreciation for all

of these mums. Hence, for the Olympics, P&G’s communication focused

on it being the “Proud Sponsor of Mums”. All of P&G’s products were

communicated in a way to make any mother’s life easier.

According to numbers provided by P&G’s media agency, MediaCom,

the campaign generated more than 20,000 “Thank you, Mum” stories

and increased the campaign awareness eight-fold. P&G’s TV ROI was

up 60% on single brand activity and sales of participating brands rose by

5%. In Poland and Central Europe, P&G reached 42% brand awareness,

overtaking L’Oréal, Henkel and Unilever, and its e-commerce sales reached

its highest ever mark of a positive 320%.

SO WHAT DO WOMEN WANT?A question not only men, but marketers are scratching their heads over:

What works with women?

Honestly, should a brand stereotype women in ads? Perhaps. And

there is no hard and fast rule on what works, which is why it looks like

stereotyping will still be around.

But one safe point is to associate with good. Twenty-fi rst century

women strongly believe they can make a difference in this world, and

in general, they evaluate brands strongly through what they believe the

brands stand for, said a study by Carat.

Ministry of Defence's direct mail campaign to women

Source: Carat CCS Benchmark study 2012

Online is the best way to reach Singaporean women

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TRAILBLAZERSMotto: “I want to stand out from the crowd”

Profi le:• Ambitious, competitive, progressive, unique.

• Motivated by power and recognition.

• Career-oriented; Big spender.

• Pushes her limits; constantly challenges herself.

• Consumes media and entertainment on multiple platforms.

Highlights:• US$364: Average amount spent on beauty products. Highest spender

on personal care.

• US$2,000: Average amount spent on luxury products. Favourite

brands include Chanel and Mulberry.

• No.1 biggest risk-taker in fi nancial planning. Most likely to own stocks

and shares.

MARKETING TO WOMEN USING HIGH HEELED WARRIORS INSIGHTS

HEART-WARMERSMotto: “Money can’t buy the happiness that family brings”

Profi le:• Caring, loyal, supportive.

• Motivated by family and a sense of belonging.

• Work-life balance important, but family is still priority.

Highlights:• 83% do grocery shopping weekly, more than any other segment.

• 77% with at least one car in her household, with preference for family

centric brands such as Toyota and Honda.

• 64% rely on Pay-TV for information on what to spend on.

WHAT WOMEN WATCHNBCUniversal knows that women are conquering the world … one stiletto

step at a time.

Thus, the global entertainment powerhouse commissioned High

Heeled Warriors – an in-depth psychographic study by research partner

Ipsos – that explores the different lifestyle habits, motivations and

aspirations of the modern urban woman.

Based on insights and analyses gathered from a sample of 3,000

females aged 20 to 44 in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia

and Hong Kong, the study showed how advertisers and Pay-TV

operators can better understand, connect and engage this highly coveted

demographic.

One of the key highlights is that women in Asia can be classifi ed

into fi ve unique and colourful identities that defi ne them as consumers:

career-oriented trailblazers; family focused heart-warmers; spontaneous

passionistas; stability loving peacekeepers or people-savvy social-siders.

But whichever category one might relate most to, all fi ve segments

share a common desire in their TV viewing diets: a craving for content that

is fi rst, fresh and fabulous.

Programming on NBCUniversal’s bouquet of regional channels

reaffi rms this.

Popular general entertainment channel DIVA Universal showcases

some of the hottest and most-talked about programmes around the globe,

such as fashion-forward reality franchise The Face, the intense cooking

competition My Kitchen Rules and the fast-tracked legal drama Suits.

Meanwhile, E! – the pulse of pop culture, and a social-sider’s haven

– has extended its “Express From Hollywood” campaign to its sensational

fl agship reality series Keeping Up With The Kardashians, which will now

premiere 48 hours after the US.

The High Heeled Warriors campaign established NBCUniversal’s

position as the network of choice for advertisers targeting female

consumers. We know women – they watch us.

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About NBCUniversalUniversal Networks International is one of the world’s premier entertainment portfolios, delivering

quality content and compelling brands to over 176 territories around the world. The brands in the

portfolio include Universal Channel, Syfy, 13th Street Universal, Studio Universal, E! Entertainment

Television, The Style Network, DIVA Universal, Telemundo and Golf Channel. Universal Networks International is a division of NBCUniversal, one of the

world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global

audience. NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast Corporation.

PASSIONISTASMotto: “I want to live in the moment and have no regrets”

Profi le:• Adventurous, spontaneous, assertive.

• Motivated by career and opportunities to see the world and living it up.

• Wants to be independent.

• Lives for the moment.

Highlights:• US$1,800: Average annual spend on luxury goods. More likely

to consider brands such as Prada and Céline.

• US$620: Average last spend on consumer electronics.

• 25%: Percentage of passionistas who own stocks and shares. She has

a relatively greater appetite for risk and variety in her fi nancial portfolio.

PEACEKEEPERSMotto: “I want a simple life: calm, stable and predictable”

Profi le:• Traditional and harmonious.

• Desires stability and simplicity.

• Looks for quality.

• Fiercely loyal to favourite brands and TV shows.

Highlights:• US$1,700: Average spend on luxury items, with preference for brands

with heritage and history such as Gucci, LV and Chanel.

• 86%: Percentage of peacekeepers with a savings account. This

segment is the least satisfi ed with fi nancial services available.

• 82%: Percentage that turn to Pay-TV as the top means of watching

TV shows.

SOCIAL-SIDERSMotto: “Life is great! I love my friends and I enjoy making new ones”

Profi le:• Social, optimistic, content.

• Wide social circle.

• TV viewing is considered to be a social activity.

• Enjoys pop culture-centric series such as E! News and Keeping Up

With The Kardashians.

Highlights:• 93%: Percentage with a savings account.

• 40%: Percentage who watch TV in their friends’ homes.

• 454: Average number of Facebook friends – the highest among

segments.

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CASE STUDY

From August to October 2013, as homage

to the inspiring and infl uential High Heeled

Warriors of Asia, DIVA Universal and Hugo

Boss, along with offi cial digital partner, MSN,

presented the High Heeled Warrior Awards.

The High Heeled Warrior Awards

aimed to recognise and celebrate women

living in Asia, from any age bracket, who

contributed and created a positive impact

in their community in one way or another.

The awards highlighted the importance in

the roles which women play in society – from

business, arts, entertainment, community

service and education.

“The roles that women play today

have great impact on the lives of people

around them and in society,” said Christine

Fellowes, managing director for Asia Pacifi c

at Universal Networks International.

“We believe women in Asia are High

Heeled Warriors as they face growing

expectations with increasing intelligence,

independence and power. As the

entertainment network that brings global

brands women love and look up to, High

Heeled Warriors Awards is our avenue

of honouring women around us and their

laudable achievements in life.”

The 2013 winners included Tjin Lee

for the Entrepreneurship category and Lisa

Surihani in Arts and Entertainment. For the

Community and Service category, Mary

Soan, and Jasmine Ong Kim Li in the Unsung

Heroes category.

All these women inspire others and

their infl uence is real and evident in the

impact they play in society, propelling a

nation and its people towards the future,

be it in business, arts and entertainment or

community service.

Through lending its support to the

awards, luxury fashion and fragrance brand

Hugo Boss and Boss Jour associates with

women who approach life expectations with

increasing power and capability.

THEY ARE HIGH HEELED WARRIORS

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WITH A BIG PRESENCE IN SINGAPORE, RADIO IS STILL GOING STRONG GIVEN ITS

RESILIENCE AND APTITUDE FOR INNOVATION. IN THIS YEAR’S RANKINGS, MARKETERS

IN SINGAPORE TELL US THE RADIO STATIONS THAT BEST HELP THEM REACH THEIR

TARGET AUDIENCE.

RAD I O B ROAD C A S T E R O F T H E Y E A R 20 14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


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How did we achieve this? The Radio Rankings were derived from questions in Marketing

Research’s annual Media Spend Benchmarking Survey. Marketing

Research employed an online questionnaire and surveyed its

database of client advertisers and marketing services agency

professionals. All answers given by respondents were considered by

Marketing when fi nalising the rankings.

Quality recipients and respondentsMore than 700 respondents participated in the Media Spend

Benchmarking Survey. Genuine advertising decision-makers and

infl uencers across key agency-using industries were well represented

as were agency professionals from various marketing services

categories.

Nearly 87% of client advertiser-side respondents were manager-

level decision-makers and above, with 10% from the most senior

ranks of client advertisers – CEOs, MDs or GMs – and another 18%

were VPs or director-level marketers.

The majority of the respondents from the agency side were

CEOs, MDs or GMs (32%), 16% were marketing personnel, while

23% were sales personnel. The remaining 29% were operations,

creative and media personnel.

Advertisers from major and local international banks, FMCG

companies, property and construction, IT and telecommunication

fi rms, as well as those from travel and tourism companies participated

in the survey. Agency professionals across the marketing services

spectrum were also well represented.

MMEEEEEEEEETTTHHHHOOOOOOODDOOOOOOOOOOLLOOOOOOOOOOOOGGGGGYYYYY

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RAD I O B ROAD C A S T E R O F T H E Y E A R 20 14

WWW.MARKET ING- INTERACT IVE .COM JUNE 20134MARKET ING 53




among marketers and a well-liked choice among

listeners above the age of 30.

This is largely because the station is big on

lifestyle and news.

1) CLASS 95FM

2) 938LIVE

3) GOLD 90.5FM

English Programming and Maggie Lim, assistant

programme director, assumed stewardship of

the 24-year-old station.

On 27 August 2013, the revamp of the

Morning Express saw Glenn Ong and Joe

Augustin pair up for the morning show.

This new combination piqued strong

reactions from listeners.

The menu board on this station also includes

“Your Best 5” with Jeremy Ratnam, while Class

95FM’s Nights with Bobby (Tonelli) is another

new addition to the station. Recently with the

introduction of Class95TV, the station now takes

on a visual connection for its listeners.

The station also connects with listeners

through new outreach activities such as the

“Private Party” series.

The deejays interact with listeners at the

most talked about venues such as ME@OUE,

SuperTree (by Indochine), the Asian Civilisations

Museum and onboard a yacht, bound for a

private island.

With an emphasis on cultivating on-ground

activation and an on-site presence, Class 95FM

also secured fi rst-time advertisers such as

Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce

Marketing. During this campaign, listeners were

sent to the Middle Eastern paradise for a week

of exploration.

Music offerings on Class 95FM have also

been renewed with a key focus on the 1990s

and current chart favourites to refl ect the taste of

the target group of PMEBs aged 25 to 40.

Class 95FM continues to lead radio listening

for the masses with a powerful playlist of hot

hits, and fresh innovative ways of engaging the

community with rich experiences.

Once again MediaCorp’s Class 95FMcame in fi rst for Radio Broadcaster of the Year.

Despite major changes being made in the

station’s programming – marketers still preferred

the station as their top choice for targeting

consumers.

This year there have been several bold

programming manoeuvres since the creative

team of Georgina Chang, vice-president of

The station also gets listeners talking through

its many call-in programmes. Main advertisers

of the station include government agencies,

private education providers, health supplement

distributors and manufacturers, healthcare

providers and property agencies.

Last year the station launched four new

weekend talk shows: You and the Law, Road

Trip, Pet Project, and The Good Life, with each

catering to a different set of audience interests

and sponsorship opportunities.

It also enhanced its health-related content

offering last year.

Coming in at second position once againthis year was 938LIVE. It is Singapore’s only

English news-talk station. Over the years,

the station has proven to be a popular choice

Coming third in this year’s Radio Broadcaster of the Year was Gold 90.5FM.

To boost its positioning, The Flying Dutchman

joined Vernetta Lopez on the morning drive-time

show on 20 August 2013. Both were previously

from Class 95FM.

Some major campaigns for the radio station

included The Gold Ball “A Viennese Affair” held

on 26 January 2013 – a fi rst for Singapore to

host the internationally acclaimed Schoenbrunn

Palace Orchestra. The event was attended by

500 guests and it was an evening where dance

and music came together in a grand style.

It also held an outdoor movie screening

where listeners drove in to catch Hollywood

blockbusters Pacifi c Rim and Jack the Giant

Slayer on 14 and 15 December 2013 at the F1

Village. This was sponsored by Nissan and HBO

with more than 250 cars enjoying this old-school

experience.

The station added Porsche, The Westin

Singapore, Riverbank (UOL Group), Sky Habitat,

Alex Residences, The Face Shop, Trichokare,

City Gas, Eu Yan Sang, Kleenex, AXA Insurance,

Parkway East Hospital and others as advertisers.

It targets PMEBs aged 35 years and above.


Revised Class 95 Thank You_Marketing magazine Ad_FA.pdf 1 5/26/14 7:26 PM



4) KISS92FM

6) Y.E.S. 93.3FM

5) 987FM

Clinching fourth position this year is Kiss92FM. The radio station continues to target

women aged 35 to 44 who have families.

The station intends on being associated as

a fun, inspirational, female and family oriented

station.

For all of its contests, its keeps these core

values in mind and the station prides itself on

offering informative content for the modern,

driven and savvy woman. Much of its content

revolves around travel, health, beauty, wellness

and parenting topics.

According to the station, its advertisers have

shown enthusiastic interest. Having a woman-

centric focus is in line with several of its clients’

objectives of reaching out to a target audience

which is independent, driven and always on the

look out for experiences or premium products.

Events organised by the station in

collaboration with clients also allow opportunities

for fans to spend time with family or for the

females to pamper themselves.

For example, for the Opel GTC Giveaway, in

a bid to drive awareness about the launch of the

Opel GTC, the car brand worked with the station

to give away a car.

Fans had to listen out for a cue on air, log

onto the Kiss92 mobile app and tap on the Opel

car image, and answer a simple question for

their chance to enter the draw to win the Opel

GTC. More than 17,000 entries were received

in two weeks.

Programming director Jamie Meldrum said

going forward the station hoped to engage not

only fans, but clients with more innovative and

creative campaign collaborations.

radio landscape by launching an online TV

star talent search in 2013 with several spoof

videos featuring the DJs. This has led to 987TV

garnering more than 21,000 subscribers with an

excess of 5.1 million views.

In April 2014, 987FM created Singapore’s

fi rst ever National Lip Syncing Championships.

The event saw many of Singapore’s best lip

sync performers and the winner bagged a trip to

Las Vegas to watch the Queen of Lip Syncing,

Britney Spears herself.

Over the year, the hip young channel bagged

many new advertisers.

Some of these included HTC, Budweiser

(Anheuser-Busch InBev), AirAsia, Sjora (Nestlé)

and Airbnb.

The channel is known to target listeners who

are aged between 15 to 29.

Dropping one position to fi fth this year is987FM. This year the station has chosen to

reinvent its Morning Drive show from January

2014. Sonia Chew and Joakim Gomez were

enlisted to form Singapore’s youngest morning

pair on a new show, The Wake Up Call.

The radio station also became one of the

fi rst stations with a dedicated digital executive in

Nic Shields. Shields has been tasked specifi cally

to engage listeners on the social media front,

making 987FM one of the most engaged radio

stations in Singapore. Currently the station

boasts a reach of more than 180,000 fans on

Facebook and almost 50,000 followers on

Twitter.

The station also prides itself on breaking

new barriers in the radio landscape. The

station’s visual arm, 987TV, has redefi ned the

MediaCorp’s Y.E.S. 93.3FM bags sixth spotin this year’s rankings. Apart from strengthening

ties with traditional banking, petroleum,

electronics and retail clients, one of the station’s

DJs, Peifen, also became the spokesperson

for a new product line, Atorrege AD+ (Betime

Marketing). It has also upped the ante in youth

engagement, being co-organisers of Campus

SuperStar and Project SuperStar, and staging

its own DJ hunt named The Voice of Y.E.S.

93.3FM. MediaCorp artistes Romeo Tan and

Zhang Zhenhuan, both named the top 10 Male

Artistes at the recent Star Awards, are currently

co-hosting the night belt with Chen Ning.

2014 is the year the station is dedicated

to promoting new local acts by increasing

airplay, special interview capsules and event

exposures.

The station also sees 2014 as another

adventurous year as it organises its inaugural

Cycle to Supper event in June, aside from

staging three birthday events in seven days to

mark the station’s anniversary in January.

In the third quarter of the year, it will be

launching 933TV, an online television channel

providing catch-up interviews and exclusive

online content featuring celebrities and DJs.

Canon is said to be the station’s fi rst client

onboard, with 933TV providing creative event

coverage to effectively reach a wider audience.

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WWW.MARKET ING- INTERACT IVE .COM JUNE 20134MARKET ING 57

RAD I O B ROAD C A S T E R O F T H E Y E A R 20 14

7) POWER 98FM 8) LUSH 99.5FM 9) HOT FM91.3

10) EXPAT RADIO 96.3XFM

SAFRA Radio-owned Power 98FM retainsits seventh spot in this year’s rankings. The

station’s advertising includes Singapore

Kindness Movement, NTUC, The Grandstand,

Costa Cruises, Sentosa, Ford, Garnier and

various Unilever brands.

The English cosmopolitan radio station plays

a wide range of music spanning from the 1990s

favourites to today’s hits. Targeting fun-loving 20

to 35-year-old working adults, the station serves

a variety of everyday content, including travel,

food, movies and more.

The station launched a new weekday

evening drive-time show called The Ex Factor

in June last year, which the station calls the fi rst

radio show of its kind in Singapore.

The show, led by exes DJ Mister Young and

DJ Jacqui, will showcase how the dynamic duo

take it out on each other in their own quirky ways,

bringing a surprise to listeners at every turn.

In #ExesSpoof, they give familiar tunes a

creative, hilarious twist creating original spoof

songs. New personas named Bee Geok and

Geok Bee were also introduced to listeners.

As the alter egos of the host, they entertain

listeners with the joys and woes of a typical

Singaporean couple.

Treating its listeners to a fun and vibrant ride

with DJ JK and DJ Mike, The Night Drive show

was launched in August 2013. The partnership

between the energetic JK and the sophisticated

Mike is seen to be the epitome of zany meets

classy.

With the introduction of WhatsApp and its

mobile app, Power 98FM is looking to continue

to amplify its on-air content in the digital space

by leveraging on popular social media platforms

such as Twitter and Facebook.

Expat Radio 96.3XFM grabs a position in the top 10 this year. Formerly known as the

International Channel in 1998 and relaunched

on 18 August 2008 as Expat Radio 96.3XFM,

the station hopes to reinforce its role in providing

content variety for the expatriate communities in

Singapore.

It is known to be Singapore’s only radio

station with Japanese, French, German, Hindi

and Korean languages presented.

It targets mainly the expatriate community

based in Singapore and those who want a

“cosmopolitan view of the world”.

The Japanese programmes are presented

by the DJs of FM 96.3 Smile Wave; the French

programmes are relayed “live” off the satellite

feeds of Radio France Internationale; the

German programmes are from Deutsche Welle;

and the Hindi programmes are presented by the

RJs of Masti 96.3 FM.

Some of its newest advertisers include

Singapore Airlines and DBS Bank.

The station also saw a new team on board

as it brought on Lynette Tan as producer or

presenter and Lyn Saadon as music director late

last year.

MediaCorp’s Lush came in eighth placeagain in this year’s rankings. A secondary target

of creative youths aged 15-20 was defi ned,

aside from maintaining its core audience of

PMEBs aged 25-45.

Some of its recent advertisers include

Seasonal Tastes’ Brunch Beats (The Westin

Singapore) featuring the fi rst live outdoor

broadcast of a DJ set in Singapore; Kluje.com,

AirAsia, and partnerships with Lo & Behold for

Tanjong Beach Club’s Full Steam Ahead parties

and Loof’s vinyl-only sets at Wax On Wax Off.

In January 2014, the station underwent

a rebrand, including a change in tag line to

“Your Indie Music Station”, updated music

programming to a mix of indie and electronica,

and the addition of several new presenters and

curators, including Rozz on the Evening Lush;

the Lush Life with Tracy Phillips; and The Art of

Lush with Loretta Chen.

Campaigns were also geared towards

discerning yet open-minded indie music lovers,

including Lush as the offi cial radio station for St

Jerome’s Laneway Music Festival 2014; The

Great Coachella Giveaway and the ongoing

#lushloveslocal Twitter campaign, where original

music from Singapore is highlighted on air and

online in a searchable hashtag database.

The campaign also aims to support the

scene through a series of music and art events,

which kick-started with Singapore Songbird and

Weish at Common Man Coffee Roasters in April.

Lush 99.5FM also supports Singapore talent

through musician-curated programmes such as

the Lush List, and showcasing the best local DJs

in multiple genres on the Lush Mix.

SPH UnionWorks’ HOT FM91.3 comes inat number nine in this year’s rankings. With the

target audience of those between 18 and 30, the

station has introduced the latest radio innovation,

HOTFM Control, which allows listeners to take

control of their music and decide what they want

to hear in real-time. They are able to do so by

accessing the station’s website or downloading

the HOTFM Control mobile app.

In late March, HOT FM91.3 worked with

WWF for “Earth Hour 2014” involving the cast

of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 at The Float@

Marina Bay. With the partnership, it also brought

a surprise to a local secondary school with the

appearance of Andrew Garfi eld and Jamie Foxx

during its school assembly.

Partnering with Budweiser, HOT FM91.3

conducted the Budweiser Penalty Shoot-Out

in which 12 lucky radio fans fought for one

exclusive VIP spot to watch the semi-fi nals of the

2014 FIFA World Cup live in Brazil.

The penalty shoot-out was done at Clarke

Quay and it involved the station’s DJ, Shan

Wee, as the goalkeeper. HOT FM91.3 recently

wrapped up an eight-week reality radio

promotion in search of Singapore’s Hottest BFF.

Three sets of “best friends” or BFFs had

to go through weekly challenges such as

dodgeball, paintball and eating a cow’s brain

and tongue to win a Contiki 12-day European

Discovery trip, hitting eight countries, including

the cities of Paris, Amsterdam and Rome worth

more than $10,000.

Its new advertisers include Contiki, Police

Eyewear, National Youth Council and Budweiser.



EVENTS

marketing has skewed very heavily towards digital

investments; and only now have marketers begun

to realise that because consumers haven’t entirely

abandoned traditional media, they can’t either.

But this doesn’t mean that traditional media still

works as it did fi ve years ago: marketers have

to update their offerings to keep them in sync

with the digital age. To this end, Marketing and

DMrocket hosted a networking event at Cook

& Brew.

The event, hosted by Marketing’s Singapore

editor Rayana Pandey and sponsored by

DMrocket, saw attendance from brands such

as Chanel, Citibank and NTUC, among others.

The guests heard Watson share successful

direct mail campaigns that have involved the use

TRADITIONAL MEDIA STILL WORKS – IF YOU DO IT RIGHTAround 91% of consumers will not discard direct mail out of hand, and keep it for reference.

But here’s how it can work better.

What shone through at the recent Marketing magazine and DMrocket’s networking event was

that traditional media still very much has a place

in marketing campaigns.

According to Lisa Watson, commercial

business development manager at HP Asia

Pacifi c and chairman of the Direct Marketing

Association of Singapore, for the past fi ve years

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EVENTS

of technology and found out more about how

DMrocket is updating its offerings to marketers.

Attendees also stood the chance to win a

Samsung Galaxy S5, an iPad Air or a Google

Glass worth $1,500.

Watson presented two case studies on

how direct mail was successfully combined

with technology. The fi rst focused on Keds

Kids, a children’s fashion line. A campaign that

the company ran in Israel saw promotional

postcards being mailed out to parents offering

the opportunity for their children to appear on

a personalised cover of the Keds catalogue.

Parents were to submit pictures on the

Keds Facebook page, and the personalised

catalogues could be collected in-store. Mothers

who participated in the campaign spent an

average of $50 more in-store, making the

campaign a fi nancial success.

Watson’s second case study focused on

GLS, an American printing company with a

heavy focus on direct mail. To make its direct

mailers more interesting, it mailed humorous

comic strips depicting its sales reps (Digital Dude

for the male reps and Digital Diva for the females)

coming to the rescue of frustrated clients.

Each comic was personalised to the

client and the sales representative. Through

augmented reality, the mailer linked to a time-

lapse video of GLS’ new printing press being

assembled – an important selling point for its

client base. This campaign was also purported

to increase sales for GLS, as the company has

continued with it.

Lim Kian Peng, chief sales offi cer and

executive vice-president at SingPost, closed

the presentation by detailing SingPost’s new

offerings to marketers.

According to Lim, “studies have shown that

direct mail has always been an effective channel

for driving customers to a business”.

The latest survey by TNS Singapore in

September 2013 showed 91% (of consumers)

will not discard direct mail out of hand, and

will keep it for reference (and that) 83% enjoy

receiving and reading relevant promotional direct

mail.

Thus, to keep direct mail relevant and to

update its offerings, SingPost is introducing

four new offerings to marketers – ScanDelight,

Sample Store, Marketing Lab and the DMrocket

augmented reality application. For those who

are interested in investigating these further,

more information can be found at the DMrocket

website at www.dmrocket.com.

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John - Australia

v 55 years oldv a premium customer of AUS Financial, which manages 70% of his investment

Shireen - India

v 23 years oldv shops 2-3 times a month

v often listens to friends’

recommendations

Connect with us Follow us @EpsilonAPAC Join our group Epsilon Asia Pacific 关注Epsilon艾司隆

An analysis of customer engagement that enriches loyalty

Read more about other consumer attitudes and views about loyalty in a series of reports from Epsilon.

Contact us+852 3589 6300 epsilon.com [email protected]

Misako - Japan

v 41 years oldv a housewife with 2 childrenv always opens emails from her preferred grocery store for relevant offers

Wei - China

v 34 years oldv a member of MaxMiles for 7 yearsv enjoys being treated like a valued customer

Epsilon’s 2013 Consumer Loyalty Study

January 2013

Epsilon’s 2013

Consumer Loyalty Study

JapanJanuary 2013

Epsilon’s 2013


India

October 2012

Epsilon Cross-Country


CHINA

January 2013

Epsilon’s 2013 Consumer Loyalty Study Australia

January 2013

Epsilon’s 2013 Consumer Loyalty Study China

October 2012

Epsilon Cross-Country Consumer Loyalty StudyCHINA

DOWNLOAD THE REPORTS ATwww.epsilon.com/loyalty2013

how to keepthem loyal

find full answers in Epsilon’s 2013 Consumer Loyalty Study?

Alliance Data FHC, Inc., trading as Epsilon International

EpsilonIntl_A4_Loyalty_Print_29-01-2013.indd 1 1/29/13 11:56 PM

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Ambition is a leading global boutique recruitment business with coverage across Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and United Kingdom. Founded and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1999, the company has grown to become a prominent specialist player within marketing recruitment. For more information, please visit www.ambition.com.sg.

REGIONAL SALES MANAGER

ABOUT AMBITION

Regional SE Asia Opportunity

Contact Matthew Gardner on (65) 6854 5633 or email [email protected] quoting reference number MXG23242.

REGIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LEAD

Contact Richel Hidalgo on (65) 6854 5606 or email [email protected] quoting reference number RTH25626.

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First job? My fi rst job was working as a strategic analyst in New York for a consulting fi rm that was part of Havas Worldwide.

First job in advertising/marketing? After two years in consulting, I became a strategic planner at Young & Rubicam in New York working on the AT&T business. I called my mum saying I had landed a job at Madison Avenue and she cried; she thought “Madison Ave” was a department store!

Best job? Being a mum to my two kids. They have taught me everything about managing expectations, speaking clearly and simply, being honest and leading with values and compassion.

Perks of your current job? Working for a brand everybody loves gets you a lot of unexpected perks – I once had my crushed Panama hat repaired for free in Hollywood, I was upgraded on a fl ight because the clerk saw I had a Twitter logo on my laptop, and I usually get a big smile whenever people see my business card!

Worst job? Bad jobs are those where people want to see you fail.

Marketing professionals you admire? I still admire my very fi rst boss Dr Larry Chiagouris! He used to have me grade his PhD student papers so I could check out the programme without paying! I admire my current boss Shailesh Rao at Twitter, who is very wise.

Best career advice you’ve been given? Lead with your heart.

Why a career in marketing?I love people. For me, marketing is all about culture, trends and making people dream.

If you weren’t in marketing, what would you be? An opera singer, but my daughter says I sound like a “congested hippo” every time I try my rendition of “Happy” … ouch!

of Arena Indonesia. In this role, he

will report to Riadi Sugihtani, CEO

of Havas Media Group, Indonesia.

Bose joins the agency from DDB

India, where he was the senior

vice-president and business head

with a responsibility for media and

digital business.

Omnicom Media

Group Thailand

appointed

Suphanee Dechaburananon

as senior

consultant. In the role, her focus

will be on strengthening the

trading and investment function

of the network, across clients

from OMD, PHD and M2M. She

joins Omnicom Media Group from

GroupM Thailand, where she was

chairwoman. She has been part

of the local media and marketing

industry for more than 30 years.

Mead Johnson

appointed Angeli Beltran director

of digital marketing

and CRM. She

exited her position

as managing director of JobsDB.

com in April. She was in her last

role for more than a year, fi rst

joining JobsDB.com in November

2012. In her current role, she

reports directly to vice-president

of marketing for Asia, Jerson

Uy. Before that she co-founded

Dentsu Möbius with current lead

James Hawkins.

Turner International

Asia Pacifi c

appointed

Marianne Lee

vice-president of

content and general

entertainment. Lee will defi ne

and execute content and channel

strategy for Turner Broadcasting

System Asia Pacifi c’s general

entertainment brands. Reporting

to Ricky Ow, president of Turner

International Asia Pacifi c, she

will focus on TCM Turner Classic

Movies, truTV and WarnerTV.

Social relationship

platform HootSuite

appointed

Ajai Sehgal chief technology

offi cer. He brings

expertise in building high-growth,

high-volume development

organisations to his role at

HootSuite, heading the company’s

team of software engineers

and driving product strategy.

He boasts more than 18 years

of product and technology

experience, having most recently

worked as vice-president

of product and technology

at Groupon.

FutureBrand

appointed Susie Hunt to chair

its Asia Pacifi c

operations, with

responsibility for its

offi ces in Singapore, Shanghai,

Beijing, Hong Kong, Melbourne

and Sydney. Hunt has spent

the majority of her career in

Asia and is based in Singapore.

Most recently, she co-founded

the Singapore and London-

headquartered brand experience

consultancy HuntHaggarty,

whose clients include Google,

Dell, Coca-Cola, Unilever

and Motorola.

Havas Worldwide

Singapore

appointed Andrew Hook as executive

creative director to

oversee the creative operations

of the agency. Hook replaces

Victor Ng who recently exited

the agency. He was last creative

director for DDB Singapore where

he led the creative output for the

Health Promotion Board. Before

that, he spent several years

at Batey Ads working on

Singapore Airlines.

There have been several senior

management departures

at MediaCorp. Philip Koh,

managing director of the

convergent media division, along

with head of strategic marketing,

Patrick Yong, were known to be

serving their notice. MediaCorp

responded to the story, confi rming

the exits of both. More senior exits

took place this year as well, such

as the head of digital enterprise

Nick Fawbert after a fi ve-month

stint.

TBWA’s Digital Arts

Network (DAN)

hired Eero Aalto as

business director,

while Rukshan Perera was

hired as director

of operations.

Aalto joined DAN

from a Finland

independent digital

agency, Into-Digital,

where he was CEO for fi ve years.

Aalto was both partner and board

member of Into-Digital’s parent

company, Into ja Ida. Before

joining DAN, Perera was head of

strategy and planning at WPP’s

digital agency Possible.

RajDeepak Das

was appointed chief

creative offi cer for

Leo Burnett Group

India. In his new

role as CCO for the

operations covering Mumbai, New

Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai,

Das will be based in Mumbai and

will work closely with Saurabh

Varma, CEO of Leo Burnett

Group India. Das brings global

experience and a creativity focus

to help satisfy client needs and

promote new creative products.

Havas Media Group

appointed Anwesh Bose to the newly

created role of

managing director

C A R E E R S

JOB SHUFFLECAREER PATH

Freddie CovingtonInternational

marketing director

Twitter

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Many years ago, a prospective client told me that creativity was a commodity. As a young buck I didn’t get the gravitas of that comment,

but as a bitter old agency guy I now do – and it burns my soul.

First, let’s start with the term “creative”.

In the real world, the dictionary explains it as: cre・a・tive – [kree-

ey-tiv] – characterised by originality of thought; having or showing

imagination: a creative mind.

In our industry we also refer to pieces of work as “creative” whether

it be a print ad, EDM, display banner or a website.

We also refer to the people who create these works as creatives.

These are generally the sneaker-wearing, T-shirt-rocking folks who

listen to brand new electronic devices on oversized headphones

peeping through black-rimmed glasses.

So did my client mean that the creative executions were a commodity

or was it in reference to the people? Sadly, he could have meant both.

This brings me to my point – a creative is not creativity. Be it in print

or human form.

Very few people, and therefore the work they produce, are truly

creative. It’s the same way that playing the guitar doesn’t make you

Jimi Hendrix.

There are too many in the industry who talk the talk, churn out some

“creative”, get it signed off, buy the new iPhone and earn the moniker

“creative”.

It’s the consumers who are left to deal with the fallout of the average

campaigns that are signed off by clients – which are becoming easier

and easier to block from their existence.

A truly creative EDM is not just an EDM. The same way a Ferrari is

not just a car. A truly creative banner is not a banner, the same way a

Patek Philippe is not just a watch.

In a society so driven by brands and material possessions, I fi nd it

hard to believe these same people can go to work and totally throw that

value set out the window.

Owning 10 Hondas does not get you a Ferrari, no matter how much

of a “good deal” you got. At the same time, putting together these

Hondas doesn’t make you Enzo Ferrari.

So the next time you ask a “creative” for some “creativity”, or as a

“creative” you’re asked for some “creativity” please think about what

you’re really going to produce.

Are you prepared to put another cheap, beat-up old “Honda” into

the market, or are you going to market a brand new Ferrari?

The choice is yours – and trust me, your consumers will thank you

with results and your boss will thank you with bonuses.

WHY BEING A CREATIVE DOESN’T AUTOMATICALLY MAKE YOU CREATIVETobias Wilson of @ccomplice rants his frustrations with the world of creativity.

Is creativity a commodity?

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Marketing Magazine SG - Jun 2014

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Transcript of Marketing Magazine SG - Jun 2014