The business and marketing world has gone through quite the makeover, all thanks to how people make purchases these days. It used to be all about buying what you needed, but now, it’s about making purchases based on what resonates with your emotional demand.

In this new paradigm, profound experiences, genuine connections, and the additional value that businesses offer have become pivotal factors that shape a consumer’s decision to interact with a brand.

Despite these shifts, businesses have a savvy strategy within reach — immersing themselves in the age of content, where people and communities feel more compelled to participate in movements along with the mobile-first generation.

Today, the tables have turned, and people are no longer the ones looking for content; instead, with the power of technology, short and snappy content is the ones searching for a relevant consumer. This is where one can build brand trust and engage with meaningful connections through punchier, relevant content, which can serve as a powerful tool to convey a brand’s values, personality, and offerings while also catering to the needs of consumers.

It goes beyond just informing individuals about a brand’s identity and offerings; it also involves resonating with what matters to people today. For businesses ready to embark on this content journey, it is an opportune moment to reassess their strategies with a renewed emphasis on core components: creativity and content-driven commerce.

The next creative renaissance

To start things off, businesses should make sure that the content they create keeps consumers engaged, and that’s where creativity steps in. This means always looking for ways to refresh their creative assets to retain consumers’ attention and prevent creative fatigue in the long run.

Also Read: From a single brew to unicorn: Kopi Kenangan’s journey of coffee and creativity

Embracing tech-driven innovations, such as video-editing templates and tools like CapCut and one-stop-shop creative production platforms like TikTok Creative Exchange, can breathe life into content, making it more captivating and dynamic.

The more entertaining your content is, the more powerful a business becomes through word-of-mouth influence. This can propel a product to its viral state as passionate customers organically spread joy and excitement about the brand.

Within TikTok’s diverse ecosystem, there are many thriving subcultures like #BookTok and #FoodTok, with over 202.6 billion views and 77 billion views, respectively. This diversity enables a personalised approach, leading to stronger connections and greater success in our ever-evolving landscape.

Content-driven commerce

According to a TikTok-commissioned study by Boston Consulting Group in 2023, the BCG study, 81 per cent of APAC TikTok users say video content influenced their recent purchase. #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, a powerful and well-documented cultural phenomenon which introduced users to new ways to discover new products on the platform, has generated over 80+ billion views, showcasing tremendous potential for consumers’ experiential needs that brands can tap into.

Instead of solely relying on traditional marketing methods, businesses are better off adopting a more personalised and interactive approach that seamlessly blends entertainment, content, and commerce. The BCG study has shed light on the emerging landscape of ‘Shoppertainment,’ which is forecasted to be worth US$1 trillion in the Asia Pacific by 2025.

This itself can be a game changer for businesses. Not only does it empower them to design an immersive and unforgettable customer journey that blends shopping seamlessly with entertainment and content, but it also positions them to captivate audiences and take their brand loyalty to new heights.

Learning from those around us

Several businesses and business owners have already embarked on their journey toward embracing the non-linear, infinite-loop purchase journey. This approach, centred around the convergence of content and commerce, has elevated shopping experiences to an entirely new level. Let’s take a page out of the books of some successful brands that we’ve worked with that exemplify this concept.

Also Read: Human creativity drives tech while AI accelerates it: Yee May Leong of Equinix

Mc JEANS, the Thai fashion brand, explored new marketing strategies by collaborating with creators on TikTok Creator Marketplace. They experimented with varying affiliate commission rates to maximise efficiency. The brand also optimised ad creatives on TikTok Ads Manager, utilising insights, trends and keywords identified from the Creative Center.

Additionally, they accelerated live streams and short video content to 10x the platform average and ran live shopping ads as always while doubling down on video shopping ads during key sales moments. They were able to tap into TikTok Shop Partners to manage content creation, live stream production and store operations, achieving >US$500K monthly GMV.

Similarly, the Skincare brand Garnier showcased the power of collaboration in Vietnam with content creators to launch their new serum product. The result? A 30 per cent uplift in sales on other platforms during a shopping festival, elevating their product to the top serum spot for the month.

Seizing your business opportunity

The successes of brands like Mc JEANS and Garnier serve as compelling evidence of the immense potential for businesses to fuel their growth through the power of content. Accessible tools and platforms that allow for live streaming, video editing, and seamless shopping offer an invigorating opening for brands to embark on the journey of the contemporary creative renaissance.

To initiate the process, businesses can begin by evaluating their existing assets and adapting them to fit various platforms with minimal friction. Exploring collaboration with creators to harness the power of creative storytelling can also further strengthen the engagement between the brand and its consumers, bringing creative ideas to life using the power of platforms and communities like ours.

The future is indeed brimming with opportunities for businesses, and the convergence of content and creativity is the ticket for those looking to cut through the noise for growth. By seizing the opportunities that come their way, businesses or founders can stay on top in the entrepreneurial world and navigate this dynamic landscape successfully, eventually attaining a portion of the US$1 trillion opportunity for growth.

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I’m admittedly a generalist — a jack-of-all-trades, a master of few.

Since graduating from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2009, my professional path has led me through diverse functions, spanning product management, marketing, financial analysis, investor relations, fundraising, and community management.

With each new venture, I experience a twinge of imposter syndrome and that fear of being ‘not good enough’. Yet there’s always this addictive rush of adrenaline and excitement as I learn the ropes, uncover hacks, question the incumbent practices and survive.

Around 2.5 years ago, I had the privilege of joining Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India (VVSEAI), where I led the corporate communications and community engagement for the fund. VVSEAI is a venture capital powerhouse investing in tech startups at pre-A, series A, or B stages across diverse sectors in the SEAI region and boasts US$1.5 billion in Assets under Management (AUM). As part of the global Vertex network, encompassing six funds with a collective US$6.5 billion AUM, VVSEAI plays a pivotal role in shaping the startup landscape.

On the side, I lead the Asia Startup Network (ASN), a community designed to empower early-stage entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia. ASN facilitates learning opportunities from industry experts and investors, fostering a collaborative environment for networking among budding entrepreneurs. We also give back by raising donations for charities, clocking over nearly US$180,000 in donations for charities like Beyond Social Services in the past three years.

Navigating digital marketing and communications in the dynamic Southeast Asian landscape, especially when targeting entrepreneurs gearing up for Series A funding, has been a fascinating journey at VVSEAI.

Here are some key takeaways from my two years here:

Digital marketing: There is no one-size-fits-all approach to content marketing

Southeast Asia is so often regarded as one region, but in fact, it is a very fragmented group of countries with very varied sets of cultures and habits. 

In Singapore and India, we often use LinkedIn, especially among working professionals. However, in Thailand and Vietnam, Meta/Facebook serves as a primary platform for both business and personal purposes. As for Indonesia, the land with the most social media users (over 190m according to Statista!), Instagram and TikTok are the main platforms to engage your target audiences.

Recognising the diverse linguistic landscape, we’ve realised the need for subtitles in video content targeting non-English native speakers to prevent our intended message from being lost. 

Also Read: Unlocking marketing success for startups and small businesses: Strategies for excellence

When I first started out in 2021, I initially believed that I could copy and paste the same content across different social media platforms — but I was wrong. Subsequently, my team and I adopted a more nuanced strategy.

We delve into the data, analysing posts with high impressions or engagements on each platform. Additionally, we engage in conversations with founders in specific markets, leading to insights that shape our tailored content approach.

Digital marketing: The 7-11-4 model works

Are multiple channels necessary? Well, the renowned 7-11-4 rule suggests that we should position ourselves where founders and entrepreneurs actively engage. For some context, research by Google suggests that if a buyer is exposed to content from the same brand for more than seven hours, across eleven moments and in four locations, he or she becomes more familiar with the brand and is more likely to recommend it.

Each platform demands a tailored approach. For instance, LinkedIn often requires a more formal tone compared to Facebook, Meta, or Instagram. I find posting on Twitter/ X the hardest, as you will need to condense the message, capture the attention of your target audience and add hashtags at the same time, all within 280 characters! 

Looking back, I find LinkedIn’s content creation and follower growth to be the fastest and ‘easiest’. For VVSEAI’s LinkedIn, our follower count grew the fastest, reaching 10,000 in just over two years.

Interestingly, ASN’s Meta/Facebook platform saw significant growth with minimal effort, reaching 700 followers despite little time and attention spent on it. Notably, strategic event planning played a crucial role in boosting engagement in 2020, contributing to the platform’s growth.

Communications: Distribution, distribution, distribution

In content creation, meticulous planning for distribution is paramount. In the offline world, the phrase used is “Location, Location, Location” because, for brick-and-mortar establishments, it’s all about being visible and accessible to the customers you are targeting. The same principle holds true in the online world.

How do you market your content to the channels that are already being followed by your target audience? 

In the startup vernacular, we often discuss Product Market Fit. Translating this to the marketing domain, we can think of it as Content Channel Fit (CCF). When we achieve CCF, our content ‘flies’, effortlessly reaching 100,000 impressions within a few days.

Bringing it full circle to the strategy of repurposing content for diverse social media platforms, we’ve discovered that distinct content channels require unique formatting approaches. For instance, we adapt our podcast content into short-form videos for IG reels, enhancing distribution and engagement.

Communications: Market the content and the author

Beyond having value-adding content and an effective distribution plan, I realise that a complementary strategy is to promote my colleagues as thought leaders so that they get to showcase their expertise, build credibility, and gain visibility within the startup community. 

Also Read: AI in influencer marketing: Transforming trends and shaping the future

I’m delighted to witness the recognition of my colleague and Venture Partner, Genping Liu, who was invited to write the Business Times column “Crypto Watch,” building his reputation as a fintech and blockchain expert. Similarly, my colleague and Partner, Puiyan Leung, is well-known for her expertise in the climate space. Her three-part series on climate tech investments in Southeast Asia was published on Deal Street Asia (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). This not only enhances their individual profiles but also contributes to the collective expertise of our team.

Communications: Images and videos are king

In today’s fast-paced, digital-first landscape, content is abundant, and attention spans are fleeting. Whether skimming through articles or scrolling through social media, users seek visual appeal. Images and videos play a pivotal role in capturing attention and ensuring enjoyable content consumption. At VVSEAI, we meticulously repurpose written content into video format and vice versa to ensure that readership is maximised.

Our strategic use of Instagram, where we post reels from our podcast “Hard Truths by Vertex,” has seen a threefold increase in followers within six months, achieved organically.

Additionally, we have also observed that incorporating images into articles has proven to increase page reading time (Of course! We are, after all, visual creatures). We also make a deliberate effort to craft visually engaging titles and use captivating images in our article and video banners to attract a wider readership.

I feel grateful to have the opportunity to try out a marketing role, and it changes the way I look at creating and capturing the value of a piece of work. As with any job, the key question to ask every day is why we do this, who we are targeting and what we are trying to achieve. No matter what role it is, I learned that critical thinking will always take one further.

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Micoworks, a marketing company that optimises communication between companies and their customers, has raised JPY 3.5 billion (~US$24.5 million) in a Series B funding round.

Vertex Growth, a growth-stage VC fund anchored by Vertex Holdings, a subsidiary of Temasek, led the round. Participating investors include JAFCO Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, and Mizuho Capital. Existing investors, such as ALL STAR SAAS FUND and Eight Roads Ventures Japan, also contributed.

Also Read: Unlocking marketing success for startups and small businesses: Strategies for excellence

Micoworks will utilise funds to enhance its product features and strengthen organisational capabilities, with plans to expand into the Asian region. The company is setting up development teams in the Philippines and Taiwan, besides broadening its reach to Taiwan, Thailand, and other Asian countries where the LINE business platform has a significant presence. Beyond the LINE ecosystem, the company intends to integrate MicoCloud with various popular communication channels.

Headquartered in Kita-ku and led by CEO Osamu Yamada, Micoworks develops and provides marketing platforms MicoCloud and Micomii.

MicoCloud is a marketing platform that optimises communication between companies and their customers. In addition to offering highly extended functions for the official LINE account, it collects data across multiple channels. This data collection enables optimal communication tailored to customer needs. Furthermore, MicoCloud creates tangible business results for clients by providing a one-stop service that includes consulting and operational support.

Micomii is a LINE mini-application service for restaurants. It is designed to automatically attract repeat customers and assist in developing a regular customer base. This service lets membership cards quickly be issued through a customer’s smartphone. Additionally, it enables the automated sending of thank-you notes for visits, helping attract more customers while keeping operating costs low.

Also Read: AnyMind Group expands into Saudi Arabia, rolls out influencer and mobile marketing platforms

Micoworks says these platforms maximise brand value and expand business possibilities by facilitating optimal communication.

As of December 2023, over 1,000 brands, including consumer-facing companies like Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Pasona, and JR Tokai Tours, have utilised MicoCloud.

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Image Credit: Micoworks

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Khazanah and CGC Digital have announced a joint investment in Southeast Asian MSME digital finance platform Funding Societies (Modalku in Indonesia).

With this new investment, Funding Societies aims to expand its Malaysian coverage to areas beyond Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, and Johor. By the end of 2025, it targets to serve more than 25,000 MSMEs across Malaysia, thereby improving MSMEs’ access to financing, growth, and scalability while fostering job creation and income development for those employed by these businesses.

Also Read: Funding Societies raises US$7.5M debt financing from Norway’s state-owned Norfund

The investment follows the inking of CGC Digital’s partnership with Funding Societies earlier this year, where a new guarantee product was developed via a pilot programme. The product provides Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia’s guarantee at the transactional level of Funding Societies’s digital supply chain financing, thereby directly supporting the business activities of MSMEs and advancing financial inclusion.

Established in 2015, Funding Societies provides financing to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), especially micro and small businesses currently unserved by existing financial institutions. Since its inception, it claims to have disbursed over US$3.5 billion in business financing through five million transactions, positively impacting over 100,000 businesses across Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Also Read: Funding Societies hopes to move from alternative to mainstream financing one day

In Malaysia, Funding Societies aims to address the RM90 billion2 (US$19 billion) funding gap for MSMEs. Moreover, it intends to widen the reach of its Islamic financing solutions introduced earlier this year. Since its launch in May 2023, it has disbursed over RM100 (US$21) million in Shariah-compliant financing in Malaysia.

Khazanah’s investment in Funding Societies is made alongside CGC Digital, by which the government hopes to create a more significant impact on the Malaysian MSME ecosystem. CGC Digital aims to advance financial inclusion by developing innovative digital guarantee products and its own guarantee credit scoring model that can close the gap and address the pain points in micro and small businesses demand for financing.

It will continue to collaborate with CGC Digital to provide digital guarantee products on its platform, which will further aid Malaysian micro and small businesses in getting financing in the long term. A digital-first approach through its digital guarantee product leveraging alternative data will allow micro and small enterprises to have broader and more affordable access to financing.

Also Read: SME lender Funding Societies nets US$27M debt funding

In November 2023, the fintech lender secured US$7.5 million in debt funding from Norwegian government-owned development financial institution (DFI) Norfund.

While MSMEs represent 97 per cent of business establishments in Malaysia and contribute 38 per cent to the GDP, this group still faces significant challenges in obtaining credit, as evidenced by Malaysia’s RM90 billion financing gap.
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(This article was first published on February 27, 2023)

William Temple and Zhou Ziling researched wireless sensor networks, energy management, and industrial cybersecurity at Singapore’s Advanced Digital Sciences Center from 2012 to 2013.

They both had a commercial mindset and saw an opportunity to leverage their experience with emerging digital technologies to be an early mover in Asia’s smart building market, valued at US$20 billion in 2021 and projected to reach US$91 billion by 2031. 

That was the beginning of Ampotech in 2014.

The company was started by Temple (CEO) and Ziling (CTO) as a spin-off of A*STAR and the University of Illinois research institute.

Temple has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. His business partner Ziling has a Master’s in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and a Bachelor’s degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). He was pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at NUS before joining Ampotech.

Based in Singapore, Ampotech uses the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing technology to help energy, operations, and facilities managers improve the performance of their buildings. 

Also Read: Building energy management startup Ampotech raises US$1.3M led by Earth VC

Its proprietary device AmpoHub becomes the brain of an electrical panel, logging usage data and detecting anomalies for specific equipment like air conditioners and motors. The data are transmitted securely to AmpoCloud over a WiFi network, where they can be analysed, downloaded, or shared via API. 

From solar inverters to HVAC, refrigeration and lighting systems, the AmpoHub and AmpoCloud can deliver real-time insight that is easy to integrate with third-party software like enterprise IoT data platforms or cloud-based building management systems. 

“We help businesses collect, analyse, and integrate building and machine electricity usage data for sustainability reporting, benchmarking automation, and facilities management,” Temple explained.

From a customer perspective, the startup helps smart building solution vendors reduce project delivery time and cost with its wireless devices and edge computing. 

For building owners, Ampotech breaks down data siloes to integrate their building or process energy consumption with carbon accounting software, facility management software, or other software tools and platforms they may be using.

“We have a full technology stack approach — from electronics design and firmware development to the cloud platform and AI applications for equipment identification and state detection. This helps us deliver better data quality and security than off-the-shelf systems while providing a single point of contact for support,” Temple claims.

Ampotech follows a B2B model, typically selling to energy services or energy solution companies, such as solar developers, utility companies, or system integrators that implement building management systems or industrial IoT projects. 

It also sells to industrial companies that are owners/operators. “Our products can be applied in any building, so we have worked with office buildings, shopping malls, factories, and residential developments.”

The firm has three revenue streams: selling connected devices, SaaS, and engineering services related to solution delivery.

“Globally, the built environment is responsible for around 37 per cent of carbon emissions. If you look only at the operation of buildings for things like air conditioning, lighting and plug loads, the figure is around 27 per cent. So this is a sizeable global problem, and our products can be applied worldwide,” Temple says.

The startup focuses on Southeast Asia, an underserved market with high growth potential.

Excluding the customers of its distributors and resellers, Ampotech works with over 60 organisations, including MNCs — all in Asia.

The startup plans to open an office in Vietnam, its first location outside its Singapore headquarters. It will also look to expand into Indonesia, where its existing investor Prasetia Dwidharma is based.

“Now that we have established ourselves in Singapore, our challenge is international growth. We will tap into the network of customers and partners we have established in Singapore and market our business more actively abroad,” Temple shares.

Early this month, the energy management company secured S$1.78 (US$1.3) million in pre-Series A funding led by Earth VC, with participation from KSL Maritime Ventures, the VC arm of The Kuok Maritime Group, and Silicon Solution Ventures and SEEDS Capital.

Ampotech plans to raise a larger Series A round in H2 this year. “We are looking for investors that can bring us into new markets or, in the case of a corporate VC, bring an existing customer base or complementary solution capabilities,” Temple says.

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