Tech Bites: Week of August 1, 2022

NEWS

Dentsu Group has acquired Extentia, a technology and services firm with a focus on enterprise mobility, cloud engineering, and user experiences. Extentia will join Merkle, within Dentsu Group’s international business, Dentsu International. Established in 1998, Extentia will boost Merkle’s existing Salesforce capabilities, adding scale and additional geography in India. 

Moving Walls has partnered with GroupM to bring automation and accountability to digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising across the Philippines. This enables GroupM Philippines agencies to leverage Moving Audiences, an audience data-driven planning, buying, and verification solution for DOOH media. 

A report from Meltwater titled ‘The Rise of the Creator Economy: A New Opportunity for Brands in Asia-Pacific’ has found that micro-influencers are emerging as APAC brands’ top choice for collaboration. In 2021, micro-influencers represented 91% of all sponsored post engagements - including likes, shares and comments, within APAC. The cost to engage micro-influencers in APAC is considerably lower, at an average rate of USD200 per Instagram post, as compared to engaging famous influencers. The report also found that these influencers see the strongest engagement rate on TikTok, where they experience 32x and 4x greater engagement than on Facebook and Instagram, respectively. 

InMobi and iPrice Group have joined forces to help brands bring personalized Shoppable Ad Storefronts to consumers across Southeast Asia. Shoppable Ad Storefronts, consisting of Instant Shoppables and Branded Stores, is a technology which enables an ecommerce experiences within mobile ads tailored to the audience. The access to audience segments and insights into the full purchase funnel are powered by iPrice’s  relationships with Southeast Asia’s digital-first and traditional retailers. These Storefront Ads can be created by brands and delivered to mobile shoppers on the InMobi Exchange via the InMobi DSP or any other third-party DSP. 

Zalora and Addias have created a pop-up store to host an exclusive Adidas range, and a tongue-in-cheek reference to Zalora as an ecommerce marketplace in its supermarket concept. This collaboration aims to strengthen Adidas’ presence on the e-tailer’s platform and one can expect more joint activations in the upcoming seasons. In a click and mortar experience, customers can browse the store, scan the unique QR codes tagged on each item, cart out on the Zalora app and have the items shipped directly to their doorstep. 

APPOINTMENTS AND WINS

Fyllo, the data-driven marketing and regulatory solutions platform, is expanding its footprint in the region with the appointment of Robert Woolfrey as managing director, APAC. Woolfrey, who left Amobee before it was sold by Singtel, will report to Fyllo's chief commercial officer, Jeff Ragovin. 

AppsFlyer has promoted Nico Marco to SEAPAC marketing director. He will be tasked to bolster AppsFlyer’s brand reputation in the region, conceptualise marketing strategies, and enhance demand generation efforts for the company. In his previous role, he was the senior communications lead for APAC. In his new role, he will report directly to Ronen Mense, president and managing director of AppsFlyer APAC. 

Dentsu International has appointed Danny Bass as chief executive officer of its media business across the ANZ, overseeing Carat, iProspect, and Dentsu X. Bass brings more than 20 years’ experience in digital media to Dentsu, most recently as director of Snap and formerly CEO of IPG Mediabrands Australia.