In this weekly segment, ExchangeWire sums up key industry updates on ad tech from around the Asia-Pacific region – and in this edition: ATS SG: Ad tech must make things easier for brands; Social marketing lab planned for China; DCMN acquires India-based attribution platform; Outbrain offers certification in SEA; GroupM agency opens up in Taiwan; and IAB AU gets new chief.

ATS SG: Ad tech must make things easier for brands

At ExchangeWire's annual ATS conference in Singapore this week, more than 500 delegates gathered to discuss what was going right, and wrong, for the region's ad tech industry and highlight challenges that needed to be resolved.

During a discussion on the tech and media landscape, panellists underscored the need for market players to better identify what brands needed and offer the right tools to deliver these requirements.

According to Damien Cummings, Standard Chartered Bank's global head of digital marketing, there often was a "disconnect" between his key objectives and the solutions pitched. He noted that his main goals revolved around customer engagement and revenue generation; so any technology tools that could help improve these two areas would pique his interest.

Most ad tech vendors today, however, were more focused on how they could deliver products that were cheaper and, hence, help him achieve cost savings. They should instead be highlighting how they could help the bank grow its customer base, Cummings said.

Fellow panellist Kevin Walsh, Carat's Asia-Pacific managing director, added that rather than sell tools that boasted better tech specs at a lower price, market players should explain how their solutions could help drive business growth for brands.

Walsh said: "The 20% cheaper argument is an easy sell sometimes, but we need to stay away from that... If you're selling me a piece of technology that's cheaper and faster, it's not going to be there [and will be obsolete] tomorrow. If you're telling me how it can help grow my clientele, that I'll be interested [to know]."

He further noted that with the rapid pace of change in the market, it was unlikely that a single vendor could offer the best solutions across the entire technology stack.

Cummings agreed, adding that he did not believe in "one green button" that could offer everything he needed to run all his marketing initiatives effectively. "It doesn't exist... there's no best-in-class all around", he said.

He revealed that because he relied heavily on agencies for advice regarding the right tools to implement, this meant ad tech vendors would need to work alongside the agencies and his team to build a suitable model for the bank.

Read our report for more highlights from ATS Singapore 2016.

Social marketing lab planned for China

Tencent and WPP have inked an agreement to set up a facility aimed at developing products and services that support social media campaigns.

The partners would create a China social marketing lab that tapped Tencent's expertise in the local online market and WPP's international marketing experience.

Tapping technology and analytics, products developed from the facility would support customers and their target audiences, delivering campaigns for Tencent's QQ and Weixin or WeChat messaging platforms.

WPP CEO and Founder Martin Sorrell said: "This partnership combines the best of talent and technology within WPP and Tencent. Fostering innovation in the social sphere is key in today's world of hyper-connectivity."

Tencent vice president Davis Lin added: "This partnership represents Tencent’s efforts to creating a vibrant content industry through creative social advertising formats, data and technology."

GroupM agency opens up in Taiwan

GroupM-owned media agency Maxus has established its presence in Taipei to help its local clients expand into global markets.

Led by business director Nicky Huang, the Taiwan office would comprise a team of five and focus on digital trading and media planning and implementation.

Maxus Global Asia-Pacific CEO Ajit Varghese said: "Taiwan has the fifth largest economy in Asia and provides Maxus with huge opportunities for growth, especially within the service and electronics industries.

"The advertising industry in Taiwan is growing at a phenomenal pace and, by launching Maxus Taiwan, we have a great opportunity to be leading change for our clients within the region", Varghese said, adding that the local outfit (located within GroupM's Taipei office) would support the agency's North Asian business.

Huang, who has more than 15 years of industry experience, previously worked at several major agencies including MEC, Zenith, OMD, and Mindshare.

DCMN acquires India-based attribution platform

The German ad tech firm has bought 1SDK for an undisclosed sum and will integrate the latter's attribution platform with its current technology stack, which includes TV attribution.

DCMN's founders with 1SDK's Anil Kutty

Built to measure the performance of mobile marketing campaigns, 1SDK's platform would enable DCMN to address increasing demand in this space and enhance its TV attribution technology, the companies said.

DCMN co-founder and managing director Andreas Dengler, said: "We strongly believe mobile is the future. The time spent with mobile digital media has now surpassed desktop, and the trend is expected to accelerate. This acquisition gives DCMN the technology to measure the success of its mobile campaigns based on its own datasets, something which is only going to become more and more important to deliver an exceptional marketing performance."

Incorporated in the US, 1SDK operated a development hub in Kochi, India. Its platform measured conversions based on key metrics such as retention, engagement, and churn, or app uninstalls.

With the acquisition, its platform would be integrated with DCMN's portfolio of marketing tools and its clientele, which comprised mainly Indian startups and companies with mobile apps, would be migrated to the integrated platform when available.

1SDK's founder Anil Kutty would remain with the company, assuming the role of mobile products director, as would the India-based startup's developers. DCMN also would open an additional tech hub in Kochi.

Kutty said: "Customers are looking for an integrated experience across multiple channels including TV, online, and mobile. Under the deal, 1SDK's mobile analytics platform will be combined with DCMN's current portfolio of innovative TV attribution capabilities to best meet the needs of our current and future customers."

Outbrain offers certification in SEA

The content discovery platform has extended its certification offering to Southeast Asia, following the programme's May 2016 launch in Australia.

Called 'Outbrain Academy', the certification scheme for video and content discovery was designed to guide digital marketers and media agencies in creating brand stories that supported consumer journeys.

Outbrain Asia-Pacific managing director Ayal Steiner said: "Native content discovery has become an integral part of the marketer's digital toolkit, encouraging Outbrain to evolve quickly to stay ahead of the strategic needs that marketers have both globally and in Southeast Asia.

"Our goal is to provide professional training and recognition to individuals who have the skillsets required to deliver concrete outcomes and positive ROI for their brands", Steiner said. "These industry trailblazers have moved beyond 'traffic' as the singular success metric for video and content."

The programme would kick off in Singapore on 12 July, when participants would learn about campaign setup and management, measurement and performance optimisation, and video storytelling. Outbrain said it also would share customer insights.

The programme would be gradually rolled out to other Southeast Asian markets.

Vijay Solanki

IAB AU gets new chief

The Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) Australian chapter has appointed a new CEO, Vijay Solanki, who will join the industry group from his previous role as chief digital officer at Southern Cross Austereo.

Solanki, who will officially begin his stint at IAB in August, has more than 20 years of experience in international marketing, brand, digital, and media, and also worked at Philips as senior director of global digital innovation.

He takes over former IAB CEO Alice Manners, who left in May.

IAB Australia Chair Ed Harrison said: "Vijay brings a new set of skills and perspectives to the IAB. He will be tasked with bringing together an increasingly broad range of stakeholders including advertisers, agencies, media, and technology business, and charting a new course of growth and increased purpose for IAB as the 'go to' partner for all things digital."