The rapid increase in the number of digital channels, platforms and devices has changed the way we consume information, engage with brands and make decisions. This creates the need for solutions to make sense of it all for marketers too.
Amobee, our digital marketing arm, offers ways for companies to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their advertising strategies across multiple, disparate and competing media platforms. The largest of Singtel's digital subsidiaries, Amobee, has been securing key global clients such as Airbnb, Dell EMC and Lexus.
To strengthen its technological edge in digital advertising, Amobee acquired Turn, a leading data management platform and multi-channel programmatic media buying platform, in the first half of 2017. Amobee now offers marketers an independent end-to-end advertising and data management platform across all channels, formats and devices, access to proprietary Amobee Brand Intelligence insights to inform their creative development and media strategies, as well as advanced analytics and media planning capabilities.
Customers are thus empowered to plan and buy media for specific audiences in an integrated fashion, which optimises their advertising spend across the different platforms. The acquisition will solidify Amobee’s position as a leading global digital marketing player and continued expansion in Asia Pacific.
Amobee also introduced innovative solutions across mobile, social and video. It launched Amobee Impact, an award-winning suite of mobile products that enables brands and agencies to engage customers by delivering immersive, full-sensory ad formats and feature-driven experiences. Amobee Video Everywhere delivers video campaigns across all channels and devices from one unified platform. Amobee Interactive Video dynamically creates and customises the digital video experience for each consumer, on every device, based on demographic, behavioural, weather, time and location data.
Amobee also extended its social media channels to include Snapchat, adding to its existing Ads API partnerships with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. This puts Amobee among an elite group of companies globally which have Ads API partnerships across all major social media platforms.
With the continued proliferation of affordable mobile devices, more consumers across Asia are becoming connected and spending more time watching online video content whenever they want to.
HOOQ, Singtel’s joint venture with Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment, has steadily grown its subscriber base on the back of this soaring demand. The video streaming service is now available in five markets: Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Thailand and most recently, Singapore.
HOOQ offers affordable access to over 30,000 hours of the best of Hollywood and local content. A new app design with faster loading times, a better way to discover content, and other enhanced features was introduced last year.
With its aim of becoming the largest OTT provider in the Asia Pacific, HOOQ has been forging close collaborations with our regional associates and other partners, building the largest catalogue of kids content in Asia and making a deeper push into localisation. Significantly, it ventured into original, local content creation with the announcement of a full-length feature film, followed by a five-part mini-series of the critically acclaimed crime thriller movie On The Job in the Philippines. Both the feature film and mini-series will be available exclusively on the HOOQ platform in the second half of 2017. HOOQ has plans for original productions in Indonesia and Thailand too.
HOOQ also launched a new movie rental service which allows customers to catch Hollywood blockbusters such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Passengers and Arrival from major studios including Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Disney as soon as three months after theatrical release. This service is now available in the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Thailand. Additionally, existing customers in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand can also enjoy one free movie rental per month as part of their monthly subscription.
Location and mobility data is being used to transform how government agencies and businesses interact and deliver services to their citizens and customers.
With spatial elements present in about 80% of all enterprise data, more and more government agencies and business are tapping into the power of the geospatial analytics capabilities of DataSpark, our advanced analytics business. The useful insights generated from anonymised and aggregated data has drawn great interest from a broad range of industries, including real estate, financial services, marketing and digital, and it is deploying its products in markets beyond Singapore, including Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
DataSpark continues to invest in deepening its technical capabilities to improve the availability, accuracy and latency of its location insights and expanding its range of mobility intelligence products and services. It has filed four more geoanalytics patents and started to make its mobility intelligence accessible via APIs and SDKs.
Upcoming plans include channel partnerships with other analytics companies to expand its product coverage and establish a stronger commercial presence in the region and Australia.
We focus relentlessly on innovation to drive growth.
Singtel Innov8, our corporate venture arm, connects with innovation hubs globally for new ideas, technology, products and services and introduces startups with great vision, technology, and execution ability to the Group.
Since its establishment in 2010, Innov8 has invested in over 65 companies globally in various verticals including cyber security, digital marketing, mobile video and big data. In addition, Innov8 has been supporting local Singapore startups including Shopback, an online cashback rewards platform, and Carro, Southeast Asia’s largest car marketplace. Innov8 has also had a number of successful exits from its portfolio companies, the latest of which was Tubemogul which was acquired by Adobe last year.
