In this weekly segment, ExchangeWire sum up key industry updates on ad tech from around the Asia-Pacific region – and in this edition: Singapore consumers feel more valued by local brands; Columbus land in India via SVG acquisition; IAB AU offer handbook on location marketing; Blink Now on Ooyala in Philippines; Essence open Delhi analytics hub; and Amobee Turn up focus on transparency.

Singapore consumers feel more valued by local brands

Just 19% of consumers in the country feel international brands appreciated their loyalty, compared to 26% who feel the same about local brands.

This despite 35% who said they expected foreign brands to demonstrate appreciation of their regular patronage, while 32% said the same for local brands, revealed a survey by ICLP, which polled 750 respondents in Singapore. The study queried consumers about their preferences and attitudes towards local and global brands, rating these against seven relationship criteria such as rewards, reliability, and communication. Singapore brands named in the survey included supermarket chains NTUC FairPrice and Cold Storage and department store Robinsons, while international brands included retail chains Uniqlo and ZARA.

Some 22% expected local brands to listen to them, with 20% indicating that these companies actually did do so. In comparison, while 26% expected international brands to listen to them, 19% believed they actually did. The findings revealed a larger gap in expectations and reality for foreign brands, said ICLP.

The loyalty marketing agency further noted little sign of loyalty among Singapore consumers, with only 4% describing their relationship with local brands as "devoted" and 2% saying the same for global brands.

Bruno Tay, Singapore Country Manager, ICLP

With populations now increasingly connected, consumers had more choices and were less inclined to pledge their loyalty easily. ICLP's Singapore country manager Bruno Tay said: "In this digital era, brands need to communicate with consumers [and] listen to what they want. On this scale, local brands appear to fare better because of their deeper resonance; but this could also be because global brands have not seized the opportunity to establish stronger local relevance with customers in their product offerings, communications, and campaigns."

The study also unveiled a 7% gap between expectations and reality with regards to customers' expectation of receiving something in return for sharing personal data.

Tay explained that, despite their global recognition and resources, international brands were not deemed to be leveraging such resources better than local retailers in recognising consumers for their loyalty.

"Both local and international brands need to make better use of the data they are collecting from customers, by finding ways to lend a personal touch to each customer and offering tailored promotions and services that lie within the appropriate contexts in the customer journey", he said.

Columbus land in India via SVG acquisition

Dentsu Aegis Network have acquired Indian digital agency SVG Media, paving their own Columbus agency brand's foray into the local market.

The merger would see the Indian agency joining the Dentsu agency and rebranded as 'SVG Columbus', according to the group. The acquisition would further drive Columbus' expansion across Asia-Pacific, where they currently were in nine markets.

Founded in 2006, SVG Media encompassed brands such as DGM and Seventynine and employed some 280 people in four cities, namely, Gurgaon, Chennai, Bangalore, and Mumbai. The agency provided various digital media services, including mobile app distribution and online performance marketing. Anurag Gupta, who was appointed CEO of SVG Columbus and DGM, would report to Dentsu Aegis Network's South Asia chairman and CEO Ashish Bhasin.

Bhasin said: "India is a significant market with rapid growth potential in its mobile and performance-marketing business; and Dentsu Aegis Network India has a strong track record in the search and performance space to deliver this. Given their capabilities in data-led search, performance marketing and mobile, SVG Columbus are ideally positioned to capture the fragmented long-tail publisher market in India using technology and data."

He added that India accounted for more than 35% of the group's revenue.

IAB AU offer handbook on location marketing

Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia have released their Mobile Location Data Handbook to help marketers tap location data to build their audiences.

Published by the industry group's mobile advertising council, the guidebook aimed to "simplify location data for those thinking of employing it" as well as provide practical tips for advertisers already using such data in their marketing efforts, said the IAB.

The handbook looked at various aspects of mobile location data, such as data types and using these in planning campaigns. It also included questions marketers should ask potential tech vendors on location data.

IAB Australia CEO Vijay Solanki said: "With around 14.5 million Australians on their mobile every day, it is increasingly important that marketers think about customer location when it comes to marketing."

IAB Mobile Council's chair and Celtra's regional director, Rick Knott, added: "The potential of mobile location data is profound. It can boost engagement, reach, relevance, and sales for marketers, when properly integrated into marketing strategy."

According to the group's device ownership trends report in January, 84% of Australians aged 14 and above had a smartphone, and 72% of them used the mobile device to access the internet.

Blink Now on Ooyala in Philippines

Philippine content services provider, Blink Now, have signed a deal to tap Ooyala's video analytics platform and glean more insights about their audiences.

Part of SM Lifestyle Entertainment (SMLEI), Blink Now has more than 180,000 users across the Philippines who consume their video services via subscription, transaction, and ad-supported. The company hoped to better understand these audiences' habits via Ooyala's platform.

SMLEI's assistant vice president of digital media and head, Francis Gerard R. Tupaz, said: "Supporting multiple TV monetisation models demands rich data to guide decisions." He added that analytics generated from Ooyala's platform would enable his team to better link their business decisions to the audience's desires and provide "the confidence to know what we build is what they want most".

Through Ooyala IQ, for instance, Blink Now could access updated insights on what content was trending and feature high-performing content to attract more viewers. They also could receive granular data to track engagement over different periods of time across all properties or even individual videos. The data would help ensure the Philippine video provider was reinvesting in high-profits content based on audiences' viewing behaviours.

Ooyala's Asia-Pacific general manager, Steve Davis, said: "With our analytics, they now have the insights to see how audiences watch Hollywood titles versus globally-recognised TV episodes differently, what content is driving them the most money, and how their audiences prefers to pay for and access content across devices."

Essence open Delhi analytics hub

The digital agency have set up an analytics hub in Delhi, India, which will focus on campaign analytics and serve as an R&D facility.

Research efforts at the new site would focus on mobile analytics, machine learning, social data mining, and customer analytics, Essence said. The agency added that the India hub would work with their analytics team to drive "innovation and overall operational excellence".

The hub's global director, Wu Qianqian, also revealed plans to expand the local team, including a number of key senior hires.

Wu noted: "Launching the global analytics hub is a step in right direction and it supports Essence's continued commitment to providing clients with superior, data-driven solutions. Investment in sound strategic solutions, advanced analytics, and cutting-edge technology will be paramount to the success of the initiative."

Essence's global head of analytics, Anant Mathur, added that the hub would be "critical" in fuelling the agency's growth in the global analytics space.

Kim Perell, CEO, Amobee

Amobee Turn up focus on transparency

Singtel's mobile ad subsidiary Amobee have finalised their acquisition of Turn with a pledge to offer advertisers transparency and improve the delivery of programmatic services.

In a post announcing the completion of the merger, Amobee CEO Kim Perell said marketers today need a platform that consolidates different buying channels, including open and walled gardens. They also need the ability to extract insights from first- as well as third-party data, especially in an environment where the customer journey continues to evolve and customer attention is divided between apps, ad formats, and media channels.

Perell said: "No matter the channel, marketers want to know how, and where, their budgets are spent, and how to do so most effectively. Amobee + Turn is committed to providing marketers with transparency.

"While we believe in the promise of self-serve programmatic technology, we also recognise that promise is not yet a reality for all", she added. "We're bringing together seasoned client service advisors to give the unbiased guidance marketers need to help them get started or accelerate their programmes."

Following the merger, Amobee's global employee headcount clocked at more than 800.