Spring into Chinese New Year with Deliveroo’s 88 Golden Ang Baos Promotion

Spring into Chinese New Year with Deliveroo’s 88 Golden Ang Baos Promotion

19th January 2016, Singapore – With Chinese New Year just around the corner, families in Singapore are in for a treat. Deliveroo, the on-demand premium food delivery service, is kick-starting the festive season with its 88 Golden Ang Baos promotion!

Not one to monkey around this Chinese New Year, Deliveroo will be spreading wishes of prosperity to its customers by giving out 88 Golden Ang Baos worth $88 each to 88 lucky winners. As 88 is traditionally regarded as an auspicious number, the promotion represents the service’s heart-felt wishes of fortune, wealth, and success for their customers, symbolizing prosperity to come.

Drawing inspiration from Willy Wonka’s The Golden Ticket giveaway, the Golden Ang Baos will be randomly dropped into the Rooman or Roowomen’s delivery bag before one picks their order up. When the customer pick their food from the delivery bag, they will be delightfully surprised to receive the Golden Ang Baos worth $88 each.

The promotion will run from January 22 to February 7, in all eleven areas that Deliveroo currently delivers to. Redemption details will be printed on the ang bao.

About Deliveroo
A London based start-up launched in 2013 by William Shu and Greg Orlowski, Deliveroo is an on-demand premium food delivery service that brings meals from a wide selection of independent and high-quality chain restaurants right to customers’ homes or offices, in an average time of 32 minutes. With the use of Deliveroo’s proprietary technology and logistics platform, high quality restaurants are now able to offer delivery to their customers. Deliveroo has had more than 300 restaurants join the family in Singapore, including Cedele, Chopsuey Cafe, Kinki Restaurant, Meat Liquor, Potato Head Folk and PS. Cafe to name a few.

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Schmidt Vinotek Showcase Selection at The WineFamily Gathering 2015

Schmidt Vinotek Showcase Selection at The WineFamily Gathering 2015

17^th October 2015, Singapore – Schmidt Vinotek had made a strong statement to local wine connoisseurs that they are here to stay! As one of the world’s well-known wine distributor who majors in German Wines, Schmidt Vinotek recently entered Singapore market and created more options for wine fans in Singapore. The company also distributes Austria and Sweden wine alongside with hand-picked Italian and Hungarian wine offering the wine connoisseurs a pampered list of choices.

Recently at The WineFamily Gathering 2015, held at Singapore Flyer, Singapore, Schmidt Vinotek showcased their selection at the event and had received excellent accolades from the attendees to the event. Attended mainly by wine connoisseurs, restaurant & hotel owners, celebrities and country ambassadors, the event also attracted many wine fans and tourists. It is no doubt the most visited wine table (Booth) at the event.

The company is well established in Hong Kong being one of the most popular German Wine company with 3 upmarket outlets and the company is looking to duplicate the success here in Singapore. What came as a surprise was, there are far more German wine fans than expected. If you had not tasted German wine or had not sampled German wine for the last decade, it’s time to do soon. German wine today packs more flavor than what it was known before – raw and lacking of character. And trust us, you will be pleasantly surprised – by German Wine.

Do keep yourself updated by Liking Schmidt Vinotek’s Facebook Page here.

And continue to be “Wein Surprised”!

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Why SMS Marketing (Will) Failed?

Article was Originally Produced by Ad-Library Singapore.

Why SMS Marketing (Will) Failed?

14^th October 2015, Singapore – Today, yes today in year 2015, when we are swarmed with hundreds of communications applications (Apps) which piggybacks on 3G/4G data network – is slowly or in fact, rapidly replacing the good old SMS. (Short Messaging Service).

Real Competition – The top messaging apps today are none other than Whatapps, WeChat, Line, Tango, Viber, Skype and even the latest to join the crop are the Messenger by Facebook. So where does SMS stands today?

Now ask yourself, how many times do you really SMS a contact these days? When You received a SMS, do you look at it immediately like how you would when you received a message from the above mentioned apps? Likely people that you know or connected would have contacted you via an apps rather than sending you a SMS isn’t it? You must agree with me that such messaging culture is the trend today.

Junk Messages – Now, what about advertisements that shows up unsolicited on your SMS inbox? With today’s smart phones, sender numbers can be blocked from sending unsolicited SMS easily sending thousands of junk SMS Advertisements to thin air – now wait, those are advertising dollars paid by advertisers who seemingly were given the impression that their advertising dollar was well spent.

No, I am not saying that this form of advertising is not effective, I never said that – because thousands of SMSes were really sent based on the advertiser’s order, my point here is, how many of these SMSes were read by the receiver? Do you, yes I mean you, did even read a SMS advertisement from top to bottom at least once? Ok, now you are getting the drift.

What people is really using these days – In my line of work, I managed to speak to a few big spenders who advertise on huge budgets and I asked them a few interesting questions and guess what was their replies? My first question was which messaging apps do you use the most, and all given me the same answer – Whatapps. And when I asked which messaging apps on their phones that they use the least and all replied SMS. Now this is sick isn’t it, these advertisers themselves do not believe in using SMS and they spend money on SMS marketing, the irony of trade.

Impressive mechanics but no one is reading – It is always impressive to listen to how SMS Marketing companies present their pitch. You were made to believe that you are able to send unsolicited SMSes to specific locations, to specific demographics at specific time & date etc. Well, technology being technology, it is possible to achieve what these companies had claimed – but my point rolls back to the top – will anyone even read?

The Same culprits – To add to the irritation, personally I am already irritated by the phone marketing people who had been calling me at the wrong time to sell me the wrong products which I am not interested in.  If you live in Singapore, you are likely to have received cold calls at least once from Insurance Companies, Banks trying to sell you Insurance or Credit Card, Slimming Centres, Property Agents, MLM etc. After the DNC (Do Not Call) Registrar was set up following complaints from the public, many of these companies had switched to SMS marketing.

The irritation continues as now, you are likely to receive unsolicited SMS advertisements from Insurance Companies, Banks trying to sell you Insurance or Credit Card, Slimming Centres, Property Agents, MLM etc.

Marketers, before you buy up an advertising package for SMS Marketing, ask yourself these questions.
1) Do you even read unsolicited SMS Advertisements?
2) Did you delete the unsolicited SMS immediately?
3) Have you tried blocking these sender numbers?
4) Will you even buy anything, just anything from unsolicited SMS?
5) Will you bother with the “traditional-door-salesman-without-a-face” (unsolicited SMS)

OK, now sign on that Advertising Order for 3,000 SMSes to be sent to your desired audience.

And good luck.

The views and notes presented is solely the author’s personal views and no SMS marketing company was emotionally hurt with this article.

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RHB Wins “Best Card Loyalty Program”

Powered by Tagit, RHB Wins “Best Card Loyalty Program” at The Cards & Electronic Payments International (CEPI) Asia Summit & Awards 2015

16^th September 2015, Singapore – Powered by Tagit, RHB wins “Best Card Loyalty Program” Award at the Cards & Electronic Payments International Asia Summit & Awards 2015, which recognises the best in the banking & finance industry.

Over the past few years, mobile penetration has continued to gather speed across the world, with Asia Pacific boasting some of the highest adoption rates in the world. There is a drastic change in consumer behaviour and how people are using their mobile devices on-the-move, as part of increasingly busy lifestyles. Customer’s expectation about their bank has also changed; they want to manage all their banking offerings on the go.

Promotions and deals offered by banks have been in the market for a reasonable amount of time. However, customers were not able to use it to its full extent. Locating and tracking deals was a tedious job. Even when you buy a deal, redeeming it using paper coupons would be cumbersome.  Similarly tracking and recalling which discount privileges were available at which location was also a hassle.

The new RHB Lifestyle mobile app changes the way customers manage and redeem their coupons and deals offered by the bank.  Using this innovative app, RHB customers can purchase coupons online and redeem them by scanning the merchant’s QR code using their smartphone. RHB customers can also take advantage of deals and privileges using the innovative augmented reality feature to locate nearby deals, ATMs or RHB branches and share deals and coupons instantly via social media.  App users can also send and receive gifts between them. The app is available for all RHB bank customers. The bank plans to add online coupon redemption and push notifications in its next release and credit card redemption in the near future.

According to World Bank, Malaysia, with 140 per cent mobile penetration, is leading Indonesia, Thailand and even United States. There are more than 10 million smartphone users in Malaysia.

Rohan Krishnalingam, Group Chief Operations Officer, RHB Banking Group said, “The app was made possible through the dedication and commitment of the team involved. At RHB, we are passionate about delivering memorable experiences for our customers. Through our commitment to continuously enhancing our customer service experience based on the ever changing needs and demands, we will continue to remain innovative to anticipate and deliver expectations.”

Sandeep Bagaria, CEO of Tagit said “We are very pleased to receive this award with RHB. It was a very collaborative effort between the teams as partners with the aim of delivering a tremendous customer experience and the award is recognition of that. Forward looking banks like RHB are increasingly using mobile technologies to significantly enhance customer engagement and Tagit is privileged to work with them as a strategic digital partner.”

About Tagit
Tagit is a leading digital solution provider to some of the world’s largest banks and enterprises across the globe. Tagit has an extensive portfolio in delivering key Mobile Applications. Millions of users across the globe use Tagit’s applications every day. Tagit’s mobility platform “Mobeix” enables clients to rapidly launch innovative mobile applications by configuring once and deploying across multiple mobile devices and operating systems. Built on a highly secure and scalable architecture, the solution has been deployed at market leaders in the region and globally.

About RHB Banking Group
The RHB Banking Group is the fourth largest fully integrated financial services group in Malaysia. The Group’s core businesses are streamlined into three main business pillars, namely Group Retail and Commercial Banking, Group International Business and Group Corporate and Investment Banking. These  businesses  are  offered through  its  main  subsidiaries  -RHB  Bank  Berhad,  RHB  Investment  Bank  Berhad, RHB Insurance Berhad and RHB Islamic Bank Berhad, while its asset management and unit trust businesses are undertaken by RHB Asset Management Sdn. Bhd. and RHB Islamic International Asset Management Berhad. The Group’s regional presence now spans ten countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Lao PDR and Myanmar. It is RHB Banking Group’s aspiration to continue to deliver superior customer experience and shareholder value; and to be recognised as a Leading Multinational Financial Services Group.

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Asia TV Forum & Market and ScreenSingapore returns this December 2015

Asia TV Forum & Market and ScreenSingapore returns this December 2015

Photo Credit: Asia TV Forum & Market

23rd July 2015, Singapore – Asia’s leading television and film event, the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and ScreenSingapore (SS) will return once again this 1 – 4 December.  Hosted at  Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, the must-attend event for the Asian entertainment content industry will bring together international industry players from the TV and film industry to buy, sell, finance, distribute and co-produce across platforms.

With last year’s edition showcasing over 71 speakers and 658 exhibitors, 2015’s ATF & SS attendees can expect to be a part of the proven leading quality platform for the entertainment content ecosystem in Asia, learning and experiencing the evolution of the Asian entertainment industry.

Attendees of the 2015’s Asia TV Forum & Market will benefit from the dynamically curated Market and Conference where they can tap into the growth potential of Asia’s market, experience the robust character of Asia’s entertainment content industry and connect with international content sellers and Asian buyers. Besides buying and selling of entertainment content, ATF’s conferences will feature a stellar cast of the industry’s thought leaders who will share their perspectives and expertise on the intricacies of the Asian television industry.

In addition to Formats@ATF where participants learn to create, develop market ideas with industry format experts, 2015 will also see the newly rebranded Junior@ATF, which cover a wider spectrum of genres for kid’s content where leading commissioners, financiers and buyers can uncover talent and new kid’s content.

As  Southeast Asia’s definitive marketplace for filmmakers, producers, distributors, financiers and film buyers, attendees of 2015’s ScreenSingapore can look forward to more insightful sharing sessions, co-production and financing opportunities through the conference and market.

With an estimated 4,800 attendees across 60 countries last year, the 2015 edition of the ATF and SS promises to see an even bigger turnout, so be sure to get your tickets before 31 July and don’t miss this opportunity to experience the future of Asian Television.

Stay tuned for the line-up of top industry speakers and exciting programmes onwww.asiatvforum.com and www.screensingapore.com.sg in the upcoming months.

About Asia TV Forum & Market and ScreenSingapore
Asia Television Forum & Market (ATF) and ScreenSingapore (SS) is a must-attend international event for the financing, co-producing, buying and selling of TV and film entertainment content across all platforms. Bringing together international content sellers and Asia Pacific buyers, ATF and SS provide the gateway to making an impact on Asia’s entertainment content business. Showcasing the robust and intricate workings of Asia’s expanding content entertainment industry, the ATF & SS 2015 will lead industry players into the heart of the evolution of the industry.

For more information on ATF 2015, visit the official website at www.asiatvforum.com
For more information on SS 2015, visit the official website at www.screensingapore.com.sg

About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 500 events in 43 countries. In 2014 Reed brought together over seven million event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and are organised by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events and is part of the RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.

For more information, visit www.reedexpo.com

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Richard Tsang is Featured in PRWeek’s 2015 Global Power Book Top 500 Most Influential Professionals in the PR World

Richard Tsang is Featured in PRWeek’s 2015 Global Power Book Top 500 Most Influential Professionals in the PR World – The only agency owner in Hong Kong to be listed

HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – 25 June 2015 – Strategic Public Relations Group(“SPRG” or the “Group”), one of the largest public relations networks in Asia, is pleased to announce that Mr Richard Tsang, Chairman of SPRG, has been included in “PRWeek’s 2015 Global Power Book”, which outlines the top 500 most influential professionals in the PR world. Richard becomes the only agency owner in Hong Kong to be included in the listing. His accomplishments and contributions to the industry have therefore been recognised by PRWeek once again, having been included in the “Asia Power List 2014 – The 50 Most Influential People in PR”.

Richard is an investor relations/PR veteran with over 25 years of industry experience in Asia. At the age of 29, he founded a boutique consultancy specialising in financial communications in Hong Kong. Under Richard’s leadership, SPRG successfully branched out, becoming an integrated public relations group with 300 professionals working from nine offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.  Within 20 years time, SPRGhas transformed into an award-winning agency.

Richard is a frequent speaker at international forums and seminars, offering his insights on a wide range of topics, including investor relations, brand communications and marketing, reputation management, media relations, and issues and crisis management.  In so doing, he has helped raise the stature of the PR industry.  

Correspondingly, Richard has been honoured with over 10 accolades in recognition of his professionalism.  He was the winner of the 2003 “Young Entrepreneur Award”, a constituent of the DHL/SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards; a recipient of “The Excellence in Achievement of World Chinese Youth Entrepreneurs 2009″ title from the Yazhou Zhoukan and World Federation of Chinese Entrepreneurs Organisation; and awardee of the 2012 Asia-Pacific SABRE Award for“Outstanding Individual Achievement”, becoming the first Chinese individual to receive such distinction.

Indicative of his positive impact on the communications industry and business community as a whole, Richard has been elected Incoming Chairman of Public Relations Organisation International (“PROI Worldwide”), and will be leading the world’s largest independent PR network from 2016 to2018.  Aside from this important chairmanship, he also holds over 50 board, committee and advisory positions in the business, education, religion and social welfare spheres.

“I am deeply honoured to be featured in PRWeek’s 2015 Global Power Book.  Having been in the business for 25 years now, I feel I have an obligation to foster the development of theindustry by promoting best practices and helping enhance the professionalism of public relations and communications.  Consequently, aside from sitting on various boards, I also allocate time to groom the next generation of PR professionals by serving as a part-time lecturer at The Chinese University of Hong Kong — a personal commitment that dates back to 1994,” Richard remarked.  He added, “Most recently, I have set up a not-for-profit organisation to fully utilise our connections and social networks; linking up corporations, NGOs and volunteer workers to help the underprivileged.”

About Strategic Public Relations Group

Strategic Public Relations Group (SPRG) is one of the largest public relations networks in Asia and the largest public relations consultancy in Hong Kong.

SPRG is an integrated public relations group and an investor relations and financial communications specialist. It has 300 professionals working from nine offices in the region.

Through its own offices and affiliation with a global public relations network, SPRG can assist clients to access more than 110 cities around the world. The World PR Report ranks SPRG plus the other 74 global independent agencies within PROI Worldwide as the 5th largest network in the world by net fee income.

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Ruder Finn Wins 2015 Gold PR Week Award for Greater China Consultancy of the Year‏

Ruder Finn Wins 2015 Gold PR Week Award for Greater China Consultancy of the Year‏

Photo: A Golden Victory: Ruder Finn China and Hong Teams Celebrating Winning PR Week’s 2015 Greater China Consultancy of the Year

25th June 2015, SHANGHAI, CHINA – Ruder Finn Asia(www.ruderfinnasia.com) won the PR Week Gold Award for Greater China PR Consultancy of the Year at the PR Week Awards Ceremony held in Hong Kong on 18 June, 2015. In a highly competitive category, which saw numerous major public relations firms submit entries, the judges recognised Ruder Finn’s work, people and performance in awarding Gold in the category. Ruder Finn also scored two Bronze Awards on the evening. In Singapore, Ruder Finn won Bronze for Media Relations Campaign of the Year for GrabTaxi “Rides Made Awesome” and in Guangzhou won Bronze for Best Use of Broadcast/Video for Cotton Council International for “‘Mian is’ Touch of Cotton, Touch of True Me”.

Gary Scattergood, Editor of PR Week, said today, “This category saw every major international firm in China submit entries and we congratulate Ruder Finn Asia on their victory. The firm has had a good year and this performance was recognised by the judging panel formed of both consultancy and client-side representatives. We wish them all the best as PR Week’s Gold Winner of Greater China PR Consultancy for 2015.”

The PR Week Gold win marks another high point in a record-breaking year for Ruder Finn which saw the firm achieve five #1 market rankings in Greater China in the R3 Worldwide China PR Scope 2015 research (www.r3international.com). Ruder Finn was ranked by client-side marketers as the #1 PR firm in China across the priority business and performance categories of “Contribution to Business Growth”, “Client Performance”, “Market Insight”, “Breakthrough Thinking” and “Campaign Effectiveness” in the R3 Worldwide study. In addition to five #1 rankings and increasing client satisfaction scores, Ruder Finn China also showed financial, client, new business and operational success in 2014 with year-on-year revenues increasing by 10% and profits by 42%. Ruder Finn China today employs 250 people and the firm’s largest clients include Volkswagen Group China, Cartier, Sanofi, Michelin, Hermès, Longines, Omron, Bosch and British Columbia. A significant portfolio of new client wins has also driven business outperformance, including Alibaba, Shanghai Disney Resort, De Beers, Michael Kors, Richemont, Blancpain and Watches and Wonders.

Elan Shou, SVP and Managing Director of Ruder Finn Greater China said today, “This is a wonderful result and it feels great to be the Gold Winner of PR Week’s 2015 Greater China PR Consultancy of the Year! This is a win for everybody — all of our team. Every day we strive to deliver great work, passion and commitment and this has now been recognised in these important industry Awards.”

Photo: A Golden Victory: Ruder Finn China and Hong Teams Celebrating Winning PR Week’s 2015 Greater China Consultancy of the Year

Jean-Michel Dumont, Chairman of Ruder Finn Asia said today, “This is a huge win for us and marks an extraordinary journey building our Greater China business into a powerhouse of clients, talent, creativity and financial performance. We have built a business that can now be accurately defined as the Gold Standard for our industry in Greater China. The Award is a reflection of the outstanding work our China team does, day in, day out. Our people are constantly proving themselves and doing better and better work.”

Kathy Bloomgarden, Global CEO of Ruder Finn, said, “Ruder Finn Asia has truly set the bar for PR performance in Greater China with unparalleled results in one of the world’s most important and dynamic markets. This incredible honor is a testament to our global commitment to progressing innovative communications in China, with the best creative ideas, superb client service and meaningful results — focused on truly making an impact for our clients.”

Ruder Finn Overview
Ruder Finn (www.ruderfinn.com) is a US$75 million global public relations consultancy, with dual headquarters in New York and Beijing and ten additional offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The firm closed 2014 with a 17% global revenue increase (24% in the US), its second consecutive year of double-digit growth with 86% of 2014 revenues from multinational clients. Founded in Asia-Pacific in 1989, Ruder Finn Asia has grown at an average of 25 per cent every year since 2000 and has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore. With close to 330 staff in Asia-Pacific, and 250 in China, the firm is represented across all other regional markets through a network of high quality affiliates. Delivering award-winning innovative, strategic public relations campaigns, Ruder Finn Asia’s key clients include Emirates, Jumeirah, Cartier, Volkswagen Group, Sanofi, Daiichi Sankyo, L’Oréal, Omron, Hermès, GSK, Cotton Inc, Bang & Olufsen, Michelin and leading brands from the Kering, LVMH and Richemont Groups.

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Ebizo Ichikawa XI Returns to Singapore

Ebizo Ichikawa XI Returns to Singapore
– with Japan Theatre 2015 to Revive One of Kabuki‘s Greatest Plays‏

Ebizo Ichikawa XI © Shunsuke Sakai

23rd June 2015, Singapore – First performed in 1699, Uwanari  is one of the famed Kabuki Jūhachiban, a set of eighteen kabuki plays that epitomise the Ichikawa family’s acting style. Uwanari, meaning “second wife” or “jealousy”, is a torrid tale of jealousy, hate, and love, wherein a jilted wife revenges herself against her ex-husband and his new wife. Passions will flare and dark schemes will bloom in this riveting play.

Along with Uwanari, Ebizo Ichikawa XI will also be debuting a brand new piece in Singapore, Mimasu Kuruwa no Kasauri, a piece about an umbrella seller who charms passers-by with his fine wares and irresistable charisma. When confronted by ruffians who attempt to extort him, the umbrella seller reveals himself to be Ishikawa Goemon, Japan’s greatest thief and outlaw. In a dazzling display of athleticism, he soundly beats the thugs and is lauded as a hero by the entire district.

This October, audiences will not only be amazed and delighted by one of Japan’s best living kabuki practitioners, but will also have the opportunity to witness kabuki history being made.

Tickets for Japan Theatre 2015 will go on sale on 11 July 2015 through Marina Bay Sands (marinabaysands.com/ticketing), for S$89, S$115, S$145, S$185 and S$350 (VIP).

Showtimes:

Date/Day	Showtime
17 October 2015 — Saturday	3pm & 7:30pm
18 October 2015 — Sunday	3pm

About EMS Entertainment
EMS Entertainment is the leading global creator of high-quality interactive exhibitions, family entertainment and live stage productions. For more than two decades EMS Entertainment has specialized on emotional brand building by transforming new and existing brands into immersive, educational, interactive and entertaining experiences that travel the world.

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SUSUR LEE, BRUNO MÉNARD AND AUDRA MORRICE TAPPED TO JUDGE LIFETIME(R)’S MASTERCHEF ASIA‏

SUSUR LEE, BRUNO MÉNARD AND AUDRA MORRICE TAPPED TO JUDGE LIFETIME(R)’S MASTERCHEF ASIA‏

Photo: The Panel L-R – Audra Morrice, Susur Lee & Bruno Ménard.
Source: LIFETIME

03rd June 2015 (Originally Released on 26th May 2015), Singapore – A+E Networks® Asia announced today a line-up of judges for the inaugural season of MasterChef Asia.  The panel includes Hong Kong-born, culinary genius Susur Lee; 3-Michelin Starred chef Bruno Ménard; and culinary TV personality and Singapore-born, Audra Morrice, a MasterChef Australia finalist.

Photo: Susur Lee.
Source: LIFETIME.

Susur Lee has been referred to as the “Father of Fusion” and has won numerous culinary awards including Food and Wine magazine’s “Ten Chefs of the Millenium” and the 5-Star Diamond award from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences.  He is the owner-chef of four highly-rated restaurants in Canada including LEE, Luckee, Bent and LEE Kitchen in Toronto, as well as TungLok Heen in Singapore.  For 20 years, he has been the Executive Consulting Chef for the TungLok Group, which owns over 40 restaurants in Asia.

Photo: Chef Bruno Ménard
Source: LIFETIME.

Chef Bruno Ménard earned 3 Michelin Stars at L’Osier, a Tokyo-based restaurant that has been voted one of the top French restaurants outside of France.  Bruno has spent 20 years establishing some of the best restaurants in Asia and currently runs a top-tier culinary consulting firm in Singapore.  He was born in France to a chocolatier father and a patissier grandfather.  He brings to the show deep culinary expertise and an unparalleled passion and energy for gastronomy.

Photo: Audra Morrice
Source: LIFETIME.

Audra Morrice has been described as the next Martha Stewart of Asia.  Her success on MasterChef Australia cemented her career in food and launched her into the world of culinary TV.  Audra owns a successful catering business, hosts pop-up restaurant events and conducts South East Asian cooking classes.  She will publish her highly anticipated cookbook and launch her own range of artisanal food products.  Born in Singapore of Indian and Chinese descent, Audra is currently based in Australia.

“MasterChef Asia underlines our commitment to creating world-class programming on Lifetime for audiences across Asia,” said Prem Kamath, Deputy Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, A+E Networks Asia.  “We’re thrilled to align with such an accomplished and celebrated team of chef judges who also have deep Asian roots.”

MasterChef Asia’s 15-episode series will feature aspiring home-cooks from China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

“We considered many chefs from around Asia and overseas to find the right combination of knowledge, passion, charisma and warmth,” said Michele Schofield, Senior Vice President, Programming & Production, A+E Networks Asia.  “Susur brings stellar Asian food expertise and extensive technical knowledge, while Bruno has undisputed Michelin-rated credentials based in classic French cuisine.  Audra’s cooking is rooted in South Asian cuisine as well as pastry; she has a unique relatability to the contestants and is testament to the opportunity that MasterChef offers home cooks.”

MasterChef Asia is being produced in Singapore and is set to air in 2015.  Season 1 is presented by the Singapore Tourism Board and Knorr, in association with Panasonic, Changi Airport Group and Carlton Hotel Singapore.

Based on an original format by Franc Roddam and represented internationally by Endemol Shine Group, MasterChef is the most travelled food format in the world having sold to 52 territories and counting.

About Lifetime®
Lifetime is a premier female-focused entertainment destination dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning scripted series, non-fiction series and movies. As a result of the network’s aggressive programming strategy that has doubled the hours of its original programming, in 2014 the network reached its strongest ranking among the key Women 18-49 demo in six years and its youngest median age in 18 years. Lifetime Television®, LMN®, Lifetime Real Women® and Lifetime Digital™ are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.

About A+E Networks®
A+E Networks® is one of the world’s leading media companies and America’s second largest cable television network. A+E Networks’ channels are watched all over the world, reaching more than 330 million subscribers in over 200 territories. A+E Networks is a joint venture of Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation. Its networks and divisions include A&E®, Lifetime®, HISTORY®, LMN®, bio.®, H2™, HISTORY en Español™, LRW®, Crime + Investigation™, Military HISTORY®, A&E IndieFilms®, A+E Networks International®, A+E Networks Digital®, and A+E Networks Consumer Products®.

ABOUT ENDEMOL SHINE GROUP
Endemol Shine Group is the new joint venture bringing together Endemol, Shine and CORE Media, to create a global content creator, producer and distributor with a portfolio of international hits including American Idol, Big Brother, Black Mirror, Broadchurch, Bron/Broen, Deal or No Deal, Grantchester, Man vs. Food, MasterChef, Mr. Bean, One Born Every Minute, Peaky Blinders, So You Think You Can Dance, The Biggest Loser, The Fall, The Money Drop, Wipeout, and many more.

21st Century Fox and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC jointly manage Endemol Shine Group, with each owning 50 per cent. CORE Media continues to retain its own capital structure within the new joint venture. 

Endemol Shine Group’s businesses have creative operations in over 30 markets, with a diverse portfolio of over 600 revenue generating formats across scripted and non-scripted genres; coupled with digital, gaming, and distribution operations.

About the Singapore Tourism Board
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a leading economic development agency in tourism, one of Singapore’s key service sectors. Known for partnership, innovation and excellence, STB champions tourism, making it a key economic driver for Singapore. We aim to differentiate and market Singapore as a must-visit destination offering a concentration of user-centric and enriching experiences through the “YourSingapore” brand. For more information, please visit www.stb.gov.sgor www.yoursingapore.com.

About Knorr
In 1838, Carl Heinrich Knorr moved to the German city of Heilbronn where he opened a factory and experimented with food drying techniques in order to preserve and guarantee quality, flavour and freshness.

Over time, Knorr has built on Carl Heinrich Knorr’s innovation legacy from the advent of the stock cube in 1910, to stock pots and bake-in-bags over the 21st century. Today, Knorr still defines itself by those same high standards of quality, flavour and freshness. Knorr is one of the world’s largest food brands, sold in more than 87 countries around the world. Based in Heilbronn, Germany, Knorr is Unilever’s largest brand, with a yearly sales value of 4 billion Euros.

At Knorr, we are dedicated to delivering great tasting products. Iconic bouillon cubes and soups are at the heart of the brand. Knorr chefs are culinary experts and creators of Knorr products. Knorr employs over 300 chefs representing over 48 nationalities and is one of the biggest employers of professional chefs worldwide. We are committed to a sustainable future through sourcing agricultural ingredients responsibly and building sustainable practices. As part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, Knorr has committed to source 100% of their agricultural ingredients sustainably by 2020.

For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.

About Panasonic Asia Pacific
Panasonic Asia Pacific provides the whole range of the brand’s products and solutions across the South East Asia and Pacific (APAC) region. The company focuses on promoting its Business-to-Business portfolio, such as in the field of energy solutions, whilst maintaining solid Business-to-Consumer growth, in line with the group’s global direction.

The region has 45 manufacturing sites, which hold as a key hub for Panasonic’s global production activities supporting the consumer, solutions and components and devices business. Based in Singapore, Panasonic Asia Pacific regional headquarter encourages locally-initiated energy solutions partnerships and businesses. In this fiscal year, the headquarters will also strengthen the company’s foothold in emerging markets. Panasonic Asia Pacific will continue to promote green innovation and reduce its regional carbon dioxide emissions footprint in support of Panasonic’s global eco initiatives.

About Changi Airport Group
Changi Airport Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd (CAG) (www.changiairportgroup.com) was formed on 16 June 2009 and the corporatisation of Singapore Changi Airport (IATA: SIN, ICAO: WSSS) followed on 1 July 2009. As the company managing Changi Airport, CAG undertakes key functions focusing on airport operations and management, air hub development, commercial activities and airport emergency services. CAG also manages Seletar Airport (IATA: XSP, ICAO: WSSL) and through its subsidiary Changi Airports International, invests in and manages foreign airports.

Changi Airport is the world’s sixth busiest airport for international traffic. It served a record 54.1 million passengers from around the globe in 2014. More than 350 retail stores and 160 F&B outlets are situated across three terminals to cater to passengers and visitors. With over 100 airlines providing connectivity to 300 cities worldwide, Changi Airport handles about 6,600 flights every week, or about one every 90 seconds.

About Carlton Hotel Singapore
Carlton Hotel Singapore is the largest independent hotel in Singapore that combines international standards with exceptional service and local charm. Carlton Hotel offers 940 well-appointed rooms with 13 function rooms, award-winning Wah Lok Cantonese restaurant, all-day dining Café Mosaic, Tuxedo Cafe & Pâtisserie, Gravity Bar, a gym and swimming pool. Every part of the hotel experience is crafted to celebrate modern Singapore and dedicated to the comfort of our guests.

Visit www.carltonhotel.sg for more information. Find us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/CarltonHotelSG

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Samsung Ranked No. 1 Brand in Asia

Samsung Ranked No. 1 Brand in Asia
Campaign Asia-Pacific Launches Asia’s Top 1000 Brands report 2015

02nd June 2015, HONG KONG, CHINA – While Samsung’s sales may be under pressure, its reputation in Asia is holding up. Campaign Asia-Pacific‘s study shows, without question, Asia trusts the Samsung brand.

The major electronics maker once again claims the top spot in Asia’s Top 1000 Brandsreport from Campaign Asia-Pacific in collaboration with global information and insights company, Nielsen. The annual survey is the biggest and most influential of its kind, revealing which brands consumers value the most across the region.

Beyond the headline of Samsung’s hold on the top spot, there is an overall trend in this year’s ranking of luxury names falling almost across the board. In Asia this may be one of the biggest signifiers of an emerging markets becoming more mature — it could also signal the end of a luxury boom that seemed to have no end in sight.

Asia’s Top 1000 Brands for 2015 also shows a rise in stature for many local Asia brands. Vietnam Air surged 87 places; Jollibee jumped almost 60 places; Softbank called in a 74 spot climb; and China’s Mengniu Dairy made a respectable leap of more than 100 places up in the ranking.

“This looks like the start of Asia’s brands growing from local heroes into regional giants and eventually onto multinational status,” said Jason Wincuinas, Managing Editor atCampaign Asia-Pacific.

A worrying sign for one of the world’s most well know and richest brands is a slightly slumping reputation in Asia. Apple fell (AGAIN!) this year, so while the company might be racking up a cash horde, Asia’s consumers are starting to show some fatigue. “This could also be interpreted as following the general trend of slumping luxury reputations,” Wincuinas adds.

The one name that has really bucked the trend of lowering luxury attractiveness is Chanel, which held its number nine place in the ranking again this year — and if the lines outside its stores in Hong Kong are any indication — that reputationlooks like it could be solid for another year.

Names like Samsung, Honda and Sony have global recognition and you’d expect to find them on any ranking of top brands. But for Campaign’s ranking you’ll also find local heroes, such as Watsons, Lotte or Air Asia making it into the top 50 or top 25 of our ranking.

“Actually I shouldn’t even call it ‘our ranking’; this is Asia’s ranking,” Wincuinas emphasised.  

“These are the brands the people all across Asia have told us are the best in their minds. And home-grown Asian ones are there alongside big global names like Coke or Nike. So the region’s overall recognition of brands that were once unique to just one market is definitely increasing.  Lenovo is one that ran up the charts by more than 20 spaces this year to land just short of the top 50; and its been making a charge forward for several years now. This was a company that was once little more than a contract manufacturer in China. Now it’s quickly becoming one of the most recognized brands in the world. That’s a fantastic story to find in the ranking and there is certainly more like that. WeChat is a name that didn’t even register outside China a couple years ago, now it’s making its way up the ranking too. Xiaomi is another. This measure of brand strength in Asia is more than a matter of marketing; it’s a cultural shift that’s bringing more of Asia to the world’s main stage.”

In its 12^th year running, Asia’s Top 1000 Brands aggregates data from an online survey that Campaign Asia-Pacific and Nielsen developed together. The report incorporates consumers in 13 key regional markets across Asia-Pacific: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. To be representative of market populations, survey quotas target age, gender and monthly household income.

As one of the regions’s most anticipated top-of-mind brand studies, it encompasses 14 major categories (alcohol, financial services, automotive, retail, restaurants, food, beverage, consumer electronics, computer hardware, computer software, courier services, media and telecommunications, travel and leisure, and household and personal care) and 73 sub-categories.

BIGGEST GAINERS
Milo: jumped 143 places to reach #72 The brand created localised products for fast-growing markets, such as Milo ‘more malt, more milk’ in the Philippines and the ‘3-in-1 Easy Cool’ product in Malaysia and Singapore.

Acer: moved 45 spots to reach #78 At the end of 2014, Acer reviewed its global advertising, which on agency, Mother, had led since 2012, and now uses a series of local shops.

New Balance rose 144 places to #351; Hyatt +28; Asiana +68

MAJOR DECLINES
Singapore Airlines: slumped 20 place to #83 The airline faces tough competition from younger competitors such as Emirates, Qatar and Etihad (although SIA still tops the full-service airline sub-category).

Louis Vuitton: fell 11 spots to #49 Popularity has dwindled among core Chinese target audience, particularly Chinese travellers. 

Omega fell 43 places to #235; Porsche slumped 26 spots to #344

As a ranking derived from consumer attitudes, Campaign Asia-Pacific’s Top 1000 is the clearest measure of brand image in Asia. The names appearing on this list represent the labels, products and services that are most prominent in the minds of consumers across the region. That represents more than half of the world’s population, which is part of why this ranking is so significant even on a global scale.

The brands that make Campaign’s list are mostly global companies but many are local to Asia’s individual markets. All have put a firm mark on the memories, purses and wallets of the whole of Asia. These are the companies people think about, talk about and buy from. But it’s more than a popularity contest; it’s also a critical brand-health check.

Aside from identifying the top brands, the full study available in print and online versions of the magazine, also features expert analysis to help identify key commercial trends affecting brands across the region and in individual markets.

 About Campaign Asia-Pacific

Campaign Asia-Pacific provides insights and intelligence into ideas, work and the personalities shaping the region’s marketing communications industry. It dives deeper into important subjects and presents the most compelling information that matters to businesses in the fastest-growing and most exciting communications market in the world across different multi-media channels.

http://www.campaignasia.com

About Haymarket
A truly global company, Haymarket publishes magazines, brochures, websites and digital content in 42 countries, working with 80 partner publishers in 29 different languages.

http://www.haymarket.com

About Nielsen
Nielsen N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence and mobile measurement. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA, and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visithttp://www.nielsen.com.

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