MAKING RICH MEDIA ACCESSIBLE
People crave visual information and, with the proliferation of mobile devices, they have more ways to consume it than ever. Globally, the average internet user spends over six hours a day on online media with 30% of it on mobile devices, according to GlobalWebIndex. Online videos are particularly popular among internet users and, between 2012 and 2014, the time spent watching online videos increased significantly in almost every country.
In the emerging markets, the demand for online videos is spreading, due to increasing smartphone adoption and a burgeoning middle class with spending power. The market for OTT video in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand is forecast to be worth US$1 billion by 2018, according to Business Monitor International and Global Insights. Despite the enormous amount of entertainment on the internet, options for enjoying online videos are often illegal, expensive or inconvenient. Across Singtel’s footprint, access to quality streamed content remains limited.
We took advantage of these developments with the launch of HOOQ in the Philippines and subsequently in Thailand and India.
HOOQ is a joint venture start-up between Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
It is a gateway to a world of Hollywood and local movies and TV series. An interactive app lets customers stream their favourite videos on any connected device, while the download option ensures customers can still enjoy the content uninterrupted when they do not have access to high-speed mobile internet.
HOOQ delivers on Group Digital Life’s strategy to develop new revenue streams and helps our associates encourage mobile adoption in their markets.
RE-INVENTING MARKETING
Advertising must follow its audience, and more and more people are choosing to consume media online rather than via traditional channels like TV and radio. At the end of 2014, digital advertising accounted for about 30% of global ad spending. Experts predict that this will grow over the next decade and supersede TV advertising, which has been the dominant advertising format for more than a decade.
In 2015 alone, Magna Global estimates that US$163 billion will be spent on digital advertising. Asia shows the largest potential for growth, with newly connected markets in China, India and Southeast Asia already consuming enormous amounts of media on portable devices. Significant growth is also expected in the US and Europe.
Our digital marketing arm, Amobee, is poised to seize these opportunities. Amobee helps brands and their agencies navigate the increasingly complex digital advertising landscape, enabling them to target and engage consumers at scale and on a global basis.
In 2014, we took a significant step to deepen Amobee’s reach and capabilities when we acquired Adconion and Kontera. With Adconion, Amobee’s newly unified digital marketing platform allows advertisers to identify and authentically connect with their audience across multiple channels – display, video, email, mobile and social – on all devices.
Amobee Brand Intelligence, a proprietary and patented technology created by Kontera, has a unique way of analysing digital content consumption and consumer sentiment both historically and in real time. The analysis produces useful insights that help Amobee’s clients to efficiently activate media and deliver powerful results.
GENERATING INSIGHTS FROM BIG DATA
DataSpark’s advanced analytics intelligently interprets data from the Singtel network to generate insights that explain and predict market developments. These insights help governments and businesses make smarter, better-informed decisions.
Our analytics tool, DataSpark, provides detailed meta-information while protecting individual customer privacy. All data used by DataSpark is encrypted, anonymised and aggregated to be compliant with Singtel’s data governance framework and with Singapore’s Personal Data Privacy Act.
DataSpark has access to extensive locational data repositories, allowing us to look below the surface, telling us where people are and when. For example, in 2014, we developed the capability to anonymously map crowd movements in malls. This revealed potentially profitable insights for retailers and mall managers alike, such as the most visited locations in each mall.
During the first year of DataSpark’s operations, we have focused on the following challenges:
- How telcos can gather intelligence to generate customer profiles and improve operations and planning
- How government agencies can use spatial data to support urban planning initiatives
- How businesses can use location data to improve marketing campaigns, such as by concentrating their efforts in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic
In all three areas, we have been able to deliver credible and relevant insights. For example, using location data, we were able to develop an accurate model of pedestrian traffic flows during peak hours in Singapore. We then patented technologies for profiling large population segments based on their movements and other mobility-related signatures. Our research has been published at high-profile data science conferences (1).
Moving ahead, we plan to invest significant resources into developing new approaches to big data analysis. These will allow us to explore even deeper than before.
