In this weekly segment, ExchangeWire sum up key industry updates on ad tech from around the Asia-Pacific region – and in this edition: Asian consumers show varying engagement preference; Tencent to track campaigns with AppsFlyer; Dentsu opens China data lab; AdAsia launches influencer marketing platform; Twitter courses target Asian agencies; and CtrlShift appoints several new senior execs.

Asian consumers show varying engagement preference

Consumers across six Asian markets indicate varying preferences in terms of how they engage with brands as well as search and decide on their purchases.

While email was the preferred platform consumers tapped for brand engagement in Singapore (58%) and Thailand (60%), chat apps proved more popular in Malaysia (62%) and China (70%). In Indonesia, 56% of respondents pointed to banner ads, while 61% in Hong Kong cited SMS, revealed a study commissioned by Experian, which polled more than 1,200 consumers across the six markets. IDC conducted the research.

Some 31% of Singapore consumers turned to social media to seek information, as did 49% in Malaysia, 67% in Indonesia, and 58% in Thailand. Chat apps ranked equally important in China (47%), while video ads were preferred by 63% in Hong Kong.

In terms of platforms that triggered product interest, 28% in Singapore pointed to social media, as did 44% in Malaysia, 49% in Thailand, and 25% in Hong Kong. For Indonesians, however, SMS was the main platform for 62%, while 48% of China respondents pointed to chat apps.

E-commerce retailers would be keen to know that email was the primary driver of online-to-offline conversion for 27% in Singapore, but SMS proved most effective for 57% of consumers in Indonesia. For 45% of China consumers, though, purchase intent was triggered by chat apps. In Hong Kong, this was split between video ads and social media at 23%.

In terms of unplanned purchases triggered by promotions, email was the leading platform for 34% in Singapore. Social media, however, was the primary sales trigger here for 50% in Malaysia, 68% in Indonesia, and 58% in Thailand. SMS proved popular among 36% in Hong Kong, while 51% in China cited social media.

(Source: Experian)

The findings revealed significant differences in how the region's consumers researched and purchased goods and services as well engaged with brands, said Experian, noting that preferences crossed multiple channels including SMS, app notifications, email, social media, and chat apps. Ad content formats also differed, encompassing ads delivered in email, mobile apps, social media, video, and search.

"The findings highlight the complexity of reaching digital consumers in Asia across many channels and how crucial that is", it added.

Experian Southeast Asia managing director Jeff Price said: "Asia is in the midst of a great digital revolution, with an explosion of smart devices, social media interactions, and e-commerce transactions. The beneficiary of this interconnectivity is clearly the digital consumer, but also the businesses serving them.

"While this evolution has greatly enabled and empowered both sides, it has also challenged businesses to be more effective and targeted in the way they communicate and market to this modern, digital-savvy consumer", Price said.

He stressed the need for companies to keep pace with changing digital consumer behaviours by tapping data insights, and be quick to do so.

Tencent to track campaigns with AppsFlyer

Marketers running ads on Tencent's platforms will now be able to track their campaign performance through AppsFlyer's mobile attribution analytics tool.

The two companies announced a new partnership to enable brands to measure and optimise campaign results on the Tencent Social Ads platform, which runs across the China vendor's mobile apps including WeChat and QQ.

With AppsFlyer, marketers would have real-time access to campaign data, such as clicks and activations, as well as post-campaign activities including in-app purchases, ARPU (average revenue per user), and LTV (lifetime value).

Tencent Social Ads product manager Canny Lau said: "In today's increasingly competitive landscape, app marketers need deep insights about the performance of their install campaigns more than ever. The insights our advertisers will get from AppsFlyer are invaluable in helping them maximise the return on their app install ad spend."

AppsFlyer's vice president of partner development, Elad Masiach, added that Tencent would enable the ad tech vendor to expand its presence in Asia. He noted that campaign metrics from a third-party provider was "absolutely necessary" for platform growth.

Dentsu opens China data lab

Dentsu Aegis Network have set up a data lab in China that will provide its agencies with real-time data collection, analytics, activation, and reporting.

The agency group said the facility was established to resolve three key challenges in digital marketing, mainly, the ability to filter, analyse, and store customer information across multiple platforms as well as provide real-time insights.

They added that the customer footprint was highly fragmented and huge volumes of data had resulted in complicated marketing environments. The lack of deep and persistent insights also meant there was no consistency in brand messaging.

Dentsu Aegis Network China CEO Motohiro Yamagishi said the new lab would be shared among its 21 agency brands and would help facilitate collaboration between the agencies.

The agency's China CIO, Chris Jin, added: "The Dentsu Aegis Data Lab unifies and integrates real-time data of marketing ecosystems from all the agencies in Dentsu Aegis Network. This data integration enables actionable insights from a holistic viewpoint and makes advanced predictions possible for improved outcomes."

AdAsia launches influencer marketing platform

AdAsia Holdings have unveiled a new marketing platform touted to enable marketers to develop and monitor influencer-driven ads bought through its network, as well as other ad exchanges.

Called CastingAsia, the platform would be able to analyse influencer data to identify the right match for brands, said the ad tech vendor, which added that the new tool would be integrated into its AdAsia Digital Platform.

The company's CEO and co-founder, Kosuke Sogo, said: "With the number of eyeballs on mobile devices and cross-device social media usage in this region, brand storytelling has never been easier. This makes influencer marketing highly relevant in Asia, and marketers should explore opportunities of tying influencer marketing with programmatic advertising."

Twitter courses target Asian agencies

Twitter has introduced new courses aimed at helping agencies in the region better build campaigns on the social media platform.

Offered via its Flight School programme, the new modules, as well as #GoLive agency bootcamps, were designed to guide agencies in tapping publisher content with Twitter Amplify and optimising campaign results with Twitter Ads.

The company's APAC and MENA head of agency development, Simon Brockman, said: "Agencies know of Twitter, but not many know how best to leverage our latest tools in a way that adds value for their clients. To help increase the understanding of our platform as the industry evolves, we are working to engage more with marketers around the world so that they, and their clients, can use Twitter more effectively to reach and engage their target customers."

More than 20 agency bootcamps also would be held with agencies in India, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines in August and September, gathering Twitter's subject experts, who would offer best practices in research, product, and brand strategy.

CtrlShift appoints several new senior execs

The programmatic media platform has hired a new CEO, CFO, and country head for its Malaysia operations.

Deepika Nikhilender was appointed CEO, having joined the company three months earlier as managing director, while Shelly Maneth was named CFO. Current head of product, Serm Teck Choon, also would double-hat as country head of Malaysia.

Former CEO and co-founder, Rene E. Menezes, had joined the company's board of directors, alongside co-founders Pete Yoong and Reza Behnam.

Nikhilender said: "Our vision is for CtrlShift to be the primary partner for businesses looking to target, engage, and grow customers through data-driven communication. We also want to be a voice for the industry to transform the way programmatic is viewed and used."

Headquartered in Singapore, CtrlShift was formed in January last year from the merger of three companies, including programmatic trading platform AdzCentral and ad tech distribution company Asia Digital Ventures.