Avaya identifies gaps in the guest experience

Avaya has announced the findings of its first annual Hospitality Industry Survey, where 72 global hotel brands identified market trends and room for improvement.

Survey respondents aligned around three particular issues as they seek to improve the guest experience: guest engagement, communication and services. Many companies, however, are seeing significant opportunities by taking advantage of mobile, multichannel communications for both guests and staff, and updating standard, in-room devices with cool new applications and capabilities.

Various gaps in the guest experience were identified through the survey:

Engaging guests - more than half (55%) of hospitality companies say they struggle to engage their guests during the booking process, while 70% say they struggle during and after the visit.

Communication between guests and staff leaves a lot to be desired - 60% of survey respondents say the inability of their staff to effectively communicate with guests is a “main factor” diminishing the guest experience at their properties.

Services - six in 10 (62%) of global respondents said the quality of the guest experience at their properties would be significantly improved by enhanced in-room and on-property guest services.

Technology to the rescue

Since most guests are on the move during their stay - as well as a large portion of the staff dedicated to serving them - respondents recognised that mobile apps offer the most compelling opportunity for improving service of any technology (48%). In fact, 81% of respondents are planning to create high-functioning apps over the next five years.

“The guest experience is more important than price when it comes to repeat customers and recommendations. The big question is how do we improve the experience at a reasonable cost, when nearly everything about a hotel has high capital and operating expenses? With Avaya, our hospitality industry customers are finding exciting new ways of engaging guests, creating efficiencies and delight that will help ensure their properties are booked to capacity,” said Frederick Sabty, VP, Hospitality Worldwide for Avaya.

Avaya provides solutions to more than 2,500 hotels worldwide and has existing relationships with nine out of 10 of the world’s luxury hotels.

CFOs in Singapore grapple with data overload

• Singapore Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are challenged by changing stakeholder expectations and reporting frequency
• CFOs expect shifts in reporting operating model

CFOs are left exposed as the increasing volume and pace of data impacts their ability to provide meaningful insights to boards at speed, with no errors. This finding is stated in a new report* by EY Financial Accounting and Advisory Services (FAAS): 66% of respondents worldwide say this issue is having a significant impact on the effectiveness of corporate reporting, up from 57% in 2015.

How can reporting catch up with an accelerating world?, an annual global survey of 1,000 CFOs or heads of reporting of large organisations across 25 countries (including 40 from Singapore) in organisations with revenue greater than US$500 million finds that the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Japan and the Middle East all cite changes to technology as their number one external reporting challenge.

Dealing with these technological changes, including cloud-based systems, data analytics, robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) is also the top issue for 35% of emerging markets respondents.

Joon-Arn Chiang, EY Asia-Pacific FAAS Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP, says, “CFOs worldwide are struggling to make the most of the increased volume and speed of data available to them. Many are encumbered by legacy systems that do not allow reporting teams to extract forward-looking insight from large, fast-changing data sets. The result is an increasing expectation gap between what boards now look for from corporate reporting and what CFOs can deliver. Until reporting catches up with technological advancements it will continue to be compromised.”

Singapore CFOs appear to see greater issues around changing stakeholder expectations. The top external challenges that Singapore respondents cited are changing stakeholder expectations of information (Singapore 32%, global 18%), and frequency of reporting requirements (Singapore 30%, global 17%).

Chiang comments:
“Many Singapore companies have overseas business interests or are subsidiaries of MNCs, and so are subjected to the various reporting requirements of GAAP and rules in Singapore, their home country, and their country-of-listing. This ‘onion-layering’ of regulatory risks compels Singapore CFOs to be adept in grappling with the different rules and reporting expectations across jurisdictions.”

CFOs expect shifts in reporting operating model

Close to a third (32%) and 40% of global and Singapore respondents surveyed rank their reporting operating model as “average”, and 56% and 37% of them respectively say transforming their model is a major focus of their role.

Over the next two years, 54% of CFOs globally expect to see a very significant or significant increase in the use of outsourcing, followed by managed services (51%) and captive shared services centrer – onshore or near-shore (50%). Captive shared services centers – offshore and centralised centres of excellence are at 48% and 46% respectively.

For Singapore CFOs, more than half expect to see an increased use in outsourcing (55%), followed by captive shared services – offshore (45%), captive shared services – onshore or near-shore (43%), managed services (35%) and centralised centres of excellence (25%).

The top three drivers for what Singapore CFOs hope to achieve by these new reporting arrangements are: the use of data analytics to drive forward-looking strategic insight (50%); creating a more flexible and agile reporting function (32%); and future-proofing the reporting function against disruptions and changes (30%).

Chiang adds, “High operating costs over more routine transactions are driving the outsourcing of high-volume work to lower-cost countries. The concentration of data prepared in a consistent manner in a centralised location, combined with the use of analytics, presents companies with the opportunity to derive insights and anticipate opportunities that were not viable previously. It also allows for faster and more specific and focused changes to the reporting function that enables organisations to respond better to evolving business and reporting demands.”

Yet, with all these changes, 42% and 62% of global and Singapore CFOs respectively are concerned about striking the right balance between central control and the need to devolve reporting so it is attuned to local needs.

Today, the dominant organising principle for corporate reporting is one where everything is controlled from head office (Singapore 30%, global 33%). However, CFOs are likely to move towards control residing with head office but significant responsibilities assigned to local markets.

Chiang says, “CFOs are mapping out how they see the future of reporting. However, unless decisive action is taken quickly to define a bold strategy and vision for advancing the reporting process, they will continue to fall behind the pace of technology.

The future-ready CFO needs to become fluent in the tools available for them to deliver a corporate reporting strategy that integrates technology with financial and non-financial reporting needs, so as to effectively elevate their role to become true strategic business partners to the CEO.”

*How can reporting catch up with an accelerating world? surveyed 1,000 CFOs or heads of reporting of large organisations to understand the challenges they face in corporate reporting. Over More than 40% of the organisations were in excess of US$5 billion a year in revenues, with 21% in excess of US$20 billion. Respondents were split across the Americas; Asia-Pacific; Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA); and Japan, and covered 14 main industry sectors. The survey was supplemented by in-depth interviews with the following CFOs and heads of reporting organisations, as well as EY subject-matter professionals.

The RYDE Carpool Challenge starts this April

RYDE, the Singapore carpooling app, has in partnership with Cycle & Carriage launched RYDE Carpool Challenge with a Mitsubishi Attrage as the giveaway.

RYDE’s first nationwide campaign runs for eight months, from 1 April 2016. With the help of all members, RYDE targets to clock a total carpool distance of 1,000,000km and thereby reduce 200,000kg of carbon emissions in this campaign. The aim is to promote carpooling as a more sustainable option to move around.

Every month, two winners will be picked - the top rider and top driver with the most number of successful carpool trips for that month. At the end of eight months, the top three riders and top three drivers from the monthly winners will proceed to the final round to compete for the grand prize. A member may only win one monthly challenge but can continue to improve on his or her personal performance in later months, with the best score used in a bid to qualify for the finals. All scores will be calculated based on the number of successful carpool trips per month.

The final round involves the six finalists sharing their most memorable carpooling experience and why they want to win the car. The winner receives a Mitsubishi Attrage, an ecofriendly sedan, in December 2016.

“We are very excited to partner RYDE to help promote carpooling in Singapore. The Attrage has superior fuel efficiency of 20.8km/litre; this enables the driver to save more with every ride!” said Alvyn Ang, Director of Operations from Cycle & Carriage.

Aviva will also be sponsoring a free one-year motor insurance plan for the winner. Pan Jinlong, Head of General Insurance from Aviva, said, “We are happy to work with RYDE to create awareness for carpooling because this is an ecofriendly alternative for the daily commute.”

Terence Zou, Founder and CEO of RYDE Technologies, said, “We want to promote carpooling in a fun, creative and engaging way where everyone can do their part in reducing our carbon footprint with some friendly competition. The average car on the road emits 187g CO²/km. We chose a fuel efficient car, the Mitsubishi Attrage that emits only 113g CO²/km as the grand prize. A perfect car to carpool with!”

posted from Bloggeroid

Singapore is one of Asia's most competitive talent markets

Source: Randstad Sourceright website. Global figures.

Randstad Sourceright, a global talent player, today announced availability of its 2016 Talent Trends Report, a guide to 30 of the most important trends impacting the world of talent, employees and business this year.

The Randstad Sourceright 2016 Talent Trends Report was developed with the feedback and outlooks of nearly 400 HR, talent and business leaders spanning more than 60 countries. Randstad Sourceright uncovered that the single most challenging talent management issue of today is the lack of critical talent and the resulting impact on business, as well as a company’s leadership and succession pipeline. Other repercussions of talent scarcity include increased spending on talent acquisition, growing frustration among hiring managers and disappointed leaders who want to know why business plans aren’t moving forward.

“The Asia Pacific market faces a very uncertain 2016 with many challenges and opportunities ahead. For talent leaders, they also face a highly fluid world of work as talent scarcity grows across the region. To make sure their organisations remain agile during turbulent times, they need insight, the right strategies in place and a clear action plan,” said Doug Edmonds, Managing Director, Randstad Sourceright Asia Pacific. “Our 2016 Talent Trends Report takes an in-depth look at how leaders are responding to these developments and how best to prepare for these changes.”

Source: Randstad Sourceright website. Global figures.

Singapore especially remains one of Asia’s most competitive talent markets. The survey discovered some revealing insights shared by Singapore-based HR leaders:

Four in 10 (41%) said they need leaders the most (enterprising, multi-skilled professionals who can lead organisational change, development, and innovation) in the next five years

Nearly seven in 10 (68%) said talent scarcity negatively impacted their business in 2015

Eight in 10 (78%) plan to improve the skills of their hiring managers to provide a better candidate experience

The following areas that needs more investment to support their business goals, say Singapore HR leaders:

• More market intelligence (61%) 
• Investment in business and HR analytics (59%) 
• Investment in specialised recruiting and sourcing operations for specific skill-sets (54%) 

The survey results presented in the report also provide a holistic view of how organisations around the world deploy talent, the challenges they face and the solutions that help them to keep moving forward. Key findings include:

85% of respondents believe an integrated talent management approach encompassing permanent and contingent talent will enhance the resources available for business growth.

Source: Randstad Sourceright website. Global figures.

The use of talent and workforce analytics continues to increase, with 73% in Singapore using this data to create more efficient workforce planning.

When asked about the biggest trends impacting the future of work in the next five to 10 years, the top responses were the need to create greater flexible working options to attract mobile talent, the ability to analyse internal and external employee data to source and retain talent and the challenge of keeping pace with evolving technology. 

Interested?

Download a complimentary copy of Randstad Sourceright 2016 Talent Trends Report. Infographics are available on the same page. 

Jabra outlines the challenges of working productively in an office

Source: Jabra research report.

Audio and communications technology specialist Jabra says there are challenges in creating productive working environments when staff have to battle with distractions, poorly organised meetings and ineffective technology in the course of the typical working day.

In research report Productivity at the Office – Challenges 2015 Jabra notes that businesses are investing in time and tools for skilled office-based staff (knowledge workers) to effectively collaborate and concentrate. However, employees face distractions throughout the working day, attend unproductive meetings, and struggle to use technology that was originally intended to improve productivity.

Key findings:

 More than a third (36%) think office meetings diminish productivity
 Close to half (46%) think noise levels are the most distracting issue in the office
 Over a quarter (28%) are annoyed by too many emails, though 78% would rather send an email than make a call to resolve an issue

The Productivity at the Office report reveals that most workers question the productivity of collaborative workspaces that businesses have created to achieve efficiencies. Most are situated in open plan offices (34%), which is also thought of as the least productive environment (35% agree).

The report also reveals the failure of knowledge workers to achieve productive collaboration time. Over half (51%) agreed that meetings without direction or a clear agenda led to wasted meeting time, while 32% cited lack of decision-making. Three in 10 respondents (31%) cite lack of follow-up, 26% a lack of preparation and 25% the effect of latecomers.

In a conference call scenario, some of the most annoying issues are due to sound, whether it is not being able to hear people’s voices, irrelevant background noise, connection issues, overall audio quality, not knowing if speakerphones are working as intended or if other participants can hear the speaker. This presents a paradox: the majority of knowledge workers want to attend meetings despite these issues because of the perceived productivity gain to the organisation, even though 36% claim meetings diminish their personal productivity.

Productivity of time spent at their desk is also crucial: workers spend most of their time at their desks, over 66% of the working week (over six times more than in meetings), so it is where the most significant productivity gains can be made or lost. However, knowledge workers deal with up to 17 distractions during work, many of which are caused by other people.

The most common distractions are noise levels (46%), interruptions from colleagues (43%), and emails (28%). People also value environmental factors that could be better controlled, such as temperature, air quality, and lack of privacy. Re-thinking desk space for time spent concentrating could eliminate a host of issues that negatively impact productivity at work.

Holger Reisinger, SVP, Jabra, comments: “Productivity is critical to business success and remaining competitive. Every allocated resource should be used to its best advantage and to the most benefit to the organisation, with processes and tools in place to make sure this happens. Whilst many organisations have designed workspaces to facilitate better collaboration, and invested in technology to bring people together in meetings or on calls, this approach is not consistently delivering the intended benefits. Businesses need to re-evaluate their knowledge workers’ needs to ensure productivity throughout the working day if they are to meet commercial goals.”

The report also highlights how limited productivity at work affects a company’s ability to attract and retain staff, as distractions in the workplace significantly affect work-life balance. Today, a significant proportion of knowledge workers are struggling to complete their tasks during the working day. About a third (36%) are completing tasks outside of work hours and the office in order to make sure tasks are completed ahead of the next working day.

To facilitate meetings, technology such as smart boards, speakerphones, project management software, or mind-mapping or brainstorming software is often used. Yet, implementing these tools is often counterintuitive to productivity, for example when time has to be spent setting up conference calls. The time and investment wasted is significant: 25% of meetings are delayed due to technical and/or user issues, and on average 2.7 minutes of every meeting is lost as a result.

Depending on the number of attendees at the meeting, the cost to the business can escalate. Whilst 71% of meetings take place in one place, 29% are across multiple locations so collaborative technology is crucial. However, knowledge workers struggle to use it, causing significant frustrations that five in ten say are annoying.

Reisinger concluded: “Businesses have to facilitate a unique balance of collaboration and concentration. To date they have made great strides in enabling workers to achieve more through collaboration and they must do this whilst ensuring employees don’t lose time trying to use ineffective technology. Otherwise, organisations are wasting resources each time a worker fails to conduct a conference call or meeting. Whilst this remains a challenge, businesses also have to consider achieving productivity in employee’s concentration time. An adaptable workspace depending on the individual, task or job role is the new way of working businesses must accommodate.”

Interested?

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about Jabra's latest collaboration device

*About the Productivity at the Office report is a survey of over 2,449 workers aged 18 to 65 across US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, China, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, conducted in May 2015 as part of Jabra’s New Ways of Working initiative.

Twenty SK-II prizes up for grabs in the Singapore BRAND'S InnerShine RubyCollagen Essence 30-Day Challenge

Source: Brand's website. Sample Instagram posts.

BRAND’S is running the BRAND'S InnerShine RubyCollagen Essence 30-Day Challenge in Singapore till 31 December 2015. Prizes will be issued on a first come first served basis during the promotional period, or whilst stock lasts, whichever occurs earlier. The company is offering SK-II facial treatments as prizes.

Individuals can join the contest by buying BRAND’S InnerShine RubyCollagen Essence Drink or Strip from retail stores or online. A minimum of 30 bottles must be purchased, for example three 10-strip RubyCollagen packs, three 12-bottle packs or five 6-bottle packs.

Take BRAND’S RubyCollagen for 30 consecutive days, with a minimum of one bottle or strip consumed a day. Document the journey through a minimum of one Instagram post a day, for 30 consecutive days, with the hashtags #rubycollagen30daychallenge and #innershinesg, plus tag @innershinesg in the post.

Once the 30-Day RubyCollagen Challenge has been completed, send a message to BRAND’S InnerShine Facebook account with your Instagram account name and personal details (full name, identity card number, email, mobile number), and a photo of the purchase receipt(s) as proof of purchase.

The first fifteen participants to complete the 30-Day RC Challenge will each win a SK-II Perfecting Luxe facial worth S$320. The next five participants who complete the 30-Day RC Challenge will each win a SK-II Discovery Facial worth S$190.

Interested?

InnerShine RubyCollagen Essence costs S$62.90 online for a dozen 50ml bottles. Read the terms and conditions

Hashtags: #rubycollagen30daychallenge, #innershinesg

The diversification challenge facing GCC countries

If the GCC countries were to catch up to the average OECD level of diversification, the region could see additional gains of up to US$17.7 billion. This is one of the findings of EY’s Growth Drivers 2 report: Digging beneath the surface - Is it time to rethink diversification in the GCC? 

Gerard Gallagher, MENA Advisory Leader, EY, says: “Dependence on oil and growing youth unemployment are the GCC’s biggest economic challenges. With recent oil price volatility, diversification has returned to the top of the GCC agenda; it’s an opportunity worth US$17.7 billion. To put that into context, it is more than three-quarters of the entire flow of foreign direct investment to the GCC region for 2013.” ­­

The EY Diversification Tracker, which benchmarks the GCC countries both globally and against each other, provides a standardised basis for assessing the degree to which economies have moved away from dependence on oil. It focuses on three aspects — export complexity, the share of the non-oil sector and private versus public sector spending — which have been combined to give a percentage of diversification relative to the highest global performer.

The report identifies a ‘sweet spot’ where regional strengths, economic impact and nationals’ employment preferences meet, allowing all three factors to be achieved.

“The best drivers of diversification are those that have the strongest linkages with the rest of the economy. These sectors are said to have a high economic multiplier: in other words, a dollar of investment translates into far more than a dollar of GDP due to the stimulation of other sectors. Sectors that fall in the sweet spot include: transport, financial services, retail and tourism, telecoms and R&D,” says Gallagher.

The analysis of multiplier sectors in hydrocarbon economies shows that additional investment in oil and gas brings the least additional return to GDP at US$1.30 and affects just seven other sectors. Construction is at the opposite extreme. It has the highest economic multiplier, averaging an impact of US$1.80 in GDP for every dollar invested in construction activity. This trickle down feeds into almost every other sector.

Michael Hasbani, New Markets Leader, MENA Advisory Services, EY says: “The key is not for governments to pump more public money into these sectors. The public sector needs to shift from being the main investor to being the enabler and driver of business, resetting the incentives, removing regulatory obstacles, encouraging collaboration and providing world-class infrastructure and services. The goal for diversification is not what is achievable in each individual country, it is how Gulf companies and governments can find innovative, proactive and profitable solutions to challenges such as resource scarcity, demographics and digitalisation, that are having a profound impact on how business is done and on where jobs are created.”

Creating jobs will be a critical outcome. However, diversification does not automatically create jobs that are viable substitutes for public sector employment. Creating private sector jobs will not ensure employment for young nationals unless they are taught the technical skills and professional attitudes that would both motivate and enable them to take on the increasingly demanding jobs that the knowledge economy brings.

To tackle this issue, many of the Gulf countries have been working to improve their education systems and have developed innovation ecosystems, encouraging technical research and entrepreneurship.

“Diversification will struggle if the GCC region only looks inwards. Governments and companies in the region should shape global trends to its advantage. The sectors that are preserved without transformation will no longer be relevant to the rest of the world, let alone competitive. The window of opportunity to break the reliance on oil and gas is now, but it will require new and innovative approaches to make it happen. It is time to truly capitalise the collective strength of the GCC, integrating our economies and harmonising regulations to encourage long term, sustainable prosperity and fulfill our global ambitions,” said Hasbani.

Euromonitor analyses consumer opportunities for those over 60

Source: Euromonitor website.

Market research company Euromonitor International released today a new white paper on the senior consumer opportunity. While companies have traditionally ignored later lifers, defined as people over 60, because they are seen as frugal spenders with lower incomes and the ability to resist marketing messages, this segment is growing significantly.

The population over 60 stood at 912 million in 2014, representing 12.6% of the global population, and by 2030, this segment will grow to 18% of the total, or 1.5 billion globally, the company said.

While China is the fastest growing ageing market with over 60s forecast to grow by more than 46% between 2014 and 2030, Japan has the oldest population, with a third of the total population aged over 60. Japan is a model on the impact of this demographic shift, showing the effects of different methods of governmental intervention and product development opportunities.

Key findings include:

• E-health, home assistance and elderly-friendly services will drive technology developments in the senior market, with health being the most dynamic consumer expenditure category through 2030. 
• Efficacy and natural features remain key when it comes to marketing beauty products to the over 60s. 
• Luxury goods focusing on heritage and craftsmanship are popular.
• As senior consumers usually invest in timeless, quality clothing, an older population will have a negative impact on sales volume in the apparel market. 
• Presbyopia represents a key market driver in eyewear. 

Download a copy of the white paper here. 

Brand Alliance to launch book on Asia brand heroes

Brand Alliance, a brand consultancy, will be launching its first book, Influential Brands: A documentary of their heroic rise, to celebrate brand leadership and entrepreneurship in conjunction with its 2014 Influential Brands conference: Celebrating brand leadership and Asia brand heroes on 7 November 2014 at Suntec City Convention Centre.

Source: Brand Alliance. Alibaba's brand story is in the book.

"These are intimate discussions with brands and Singapore brands which have not been told before. It is a peek into how some brands were developed and morphed into the brands we know today," said Brand Alliance in a statement. "We believe this is a book that will be an invaluable resource for budding entrepreneurs, academics, students, marketing and branding professionals and anyone hoping to gain more insights into 10 of Asia's most Influential Brands."

Brand Alliance notes that the book will promote the power of branding, provide an educational reference, while also inspiring others to do the same. "Each Asian-based brand has contributed to the vibrant business ecosystem here and many have even extended their brand influence on the world map with their brand names and innovations. The stories of these time-tested brands can also help the next generation of business leaders gain insights and provide any inspiring entrepreneur with valuable business tips and lessons," said the company.

"Most importantly, we hope to inspire a sense of pride in the collective achievements of these brands and the positive effects of the sharing of their stories."

The brainchild of Brand Alliance Founder Amy Lim, the book illustrates the journey of ten Asia brand heroes through personal conversations with brand founders and brand guardians. The result is an intimate dialogue which takes the reader from a brand’s creation to its challenges today.

Lim's passion in creating and developing brands goes beyond simply establishing global brands, but sustainable brands with a purpose. She admires Asia brands which have developed into today’s brand heroes. It is this understanding, admiration and empathy for Asian brands which led to the development of the book as a platform for brand appreciation and an intimate insight into their stories, to enable, encourage and inspire other brand owners, at whichever stage of the brand lifecycle.

According to Brand Alliance, all brands begin with a founder who has a story. It is the brand founders who craft and shape the brand into a living personality. Brand Alliance believes that most brands are inextricably linked to the personality and vision of its founders.

The stories of the ten brands in the book, taken from various parts of Asia and industries, aim to provide a perspective on how the elements of culture, environment and founder’s values may affect the brand’s influence on people and businesses. The brands featured in the chapters here come from different countries – mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and India.

Source: Brand Alliance. The Cocoa Trees is well known for its confectionery in Singapore.

Each chapter in the book in the book starts with the founder’s background, leading into the brand’s evolution, the brand DNA which illustrates how the brand takes on parts of the founder’s personality, brand model which provides an overview of the brand’s growth over the years and leading into the business and brand challenges and how each brand overcame them.

In the last section, brand performance is analysed through qualitative and quantitative parameters. Brand performance is not limited to financials and the size, but is also based on its influence in comparison to the industry and its influence on a consumer’s life.

Alibaba, for example, started as a B2B e-commerce platform and is now an e-commerce player which commands more than 70% of China’s mobile commerce share and an e-commerce giant ready to take on world giant Amazon. Its presence now resonates across industries and countries. The company made global headlines for being behind the world's largest IPO this year.

Besides Alibaba, the brand heroes featured in the book include:

• Channel NewsAsia: Asia’s first network and proudly Singaporean 
• CapitaLand’s China story: Singapore’s leading developer, a zero to hero story in China and first told here 
• The Cocoa Trees by Focus Network Agencies: Growing confectionery in travel retail and beyond 
• HealthStats: A doctor who has revolutionised the industry. Well known in medical industries worldwide 
• Old Chang Kee: A Singapore heritage brand; while the story has been told, the chapter includes insider views on their products and development. 

Tata, Tao Kae Noi and the Park Hotel Group are also featured.

The recommended retail price for the hardcover book is S$88. It is in full colour, with more than 200 pages. Email contact@influentialbrands.com for bulk orders and pre-orders. The book will be available at Relay & Times Travel bookstores at Changi Airport and all major bookstores in Singapore from November 2014.

Influential Brands is a consumer-insight driven award programme with a mix of integrated engagement platforms for brands. It celebrates its second year in 2014. The award celebrates brands which have achieved a good standing with consumers and also provide brands with a platform for further engagement with consumers.

Brand Alliance chose the top influential brands in Singapore earlier this year.

Canon PhotoMarathon will be in November for Singapore

Source: Canon eDM. 

The region's largest photo competition, the Canon PhotoMarathon 2014, is back for the 12th consecutive year. Spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, India, Thailand and Cambodia, the competition is a great opportunity for companies to organise a team to participate under the Corporate Challenge category.

All companies need are a minimum of three members who have to register together*. Unlike the open and student categories, the corporate team is judged as a team. The scores of the photos submitted by the individual members of the corporate team are combined and the highest score wins the award.

Participants at the Canon PhotoMarathon 2014 compete in creating photographic works with assigned themes under time pressure. In Singapore, the event starts at 7am (registration) at Suntec Convention Centre and ends only at 8pm.

Dates for the full-day event where it has yet to occur are:

• Indonesia - Medan 11 October
• Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur 11 October
• Malaysia - Penang 18 October
• Indonesia - Yogyakarta 19 October
• Brunei 19 October (registration not open at the time of writing)
• Indonesia - Jakarta 25 October
• Singapore 1 November
• Bangkok 29 November (registration not open at the time of writing)

Winners stand to win an all-expenses paid photo clinic trip to Japan in January 2015, which has been timed to coincide with the annual Santera Mairi festival.

To register for the Photomarathon, click here.

*Participants may only only register and compete for one corporation or organisation. Each participant participating under the Corporate Challenge warrants that he or she is (a) is validly employed by the corporation or organisation under which the participant is registering for; and (b) has obtained the necessary consents, permits and/or approvals to register under and use the corporation or organisation name. Other terms & conditions apply.

Tata Communications poses Global Scrapbook Challenge in leadup to next Formula 1 race

Tata Communications, a provider of a New World of Communications, has shared details of the second technology challenge intended to harness global brainpower in the US$50,000 initiative set against the connectivity innovation that defines Formula 1 racing.

In the lead-up to the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO D’ITALIA 2014, Tata Communications challenges the public to create a global digital scrapbook to celebrate the richness and diversity of ‘The Silver Arrows’ extensive history in the sport. The Global Scrapbook Challenge is intended to create and sustain a virtual ‘museum’ as an engaging online treasury of anecdote, recollection and intrigue that will attract both browsing visitors as much as the broadest range of contributions from fans of the sport.

Lewis Hamilton, Driver for the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team says, “The Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows have an amazing history in our sport. The legendary skills and achievements of drivers like Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss in the 1950s are an inspiration to me and, I believe, provide a rich tapestry for this project to bring our history alive through the hands of the fans themselves.”

Entrants are being set a technology challenge to define the capture and curation of artefact from the present season with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team back to Mercedes’ history in the sport in the 1950s. In addition entrants are being asked to propose a campaign methodology to ensure the Scrapbook captures the imagination of the digital generation.

Julie Woods-Moss, CMO and CEO of NextGen Business, Tata Communications says, “We are witnessing a seismic change in the way the world is engaging with digital content driven largely by user generated content. I believe the Global Scrapbook Challenge will be an enfranchising project that will allow people around the world to show their affinity to Formula One and create a fascinating archive of content delivered through cutting edge technologies.”

Tata Communications’ intention in setting the context for this challenge is to inspire entrants to creatively apply content curation and digital promotion to provide a new and novel dimension for fan engagement with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team.

Challenge 2 follows the success of the first task to creatively apply analytical and information technology solutions to demonstrate new and insightful information that can be derived from Formula One Management’s live data feeds. 

The judging panel is made up of Formula One Management’s CTO, John Morrison; 2008 FIA Formula One Drivers’ World Champion and MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team driver, Lewis Hamilton, Lewis’ 2014 World Championship-leading team Executive Director (Technical), Paddy Lowe; Tata Communications’ CMO and CEO of NextGen Business, Julie Woods-Moss and former F1 driver and Sky Sports F1 expert commentator, Martin Brundle. The judging panel will be evaluating submissions for Challenge 2 against the high standard set by the winners of the first round of the competition.

A full brief for the second F1 Connectivity Innovation Prize challenge can be downloaded from Tata Communications’ F1 Connectivity Innovation Prize website.

The third and final challenge will be announced on the eve of the 2014 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX.

Source: Tata Communications F1 Innovation Connectivity Prize website.

Tata Communications is a Technology Supplier of Formula 1 and provides Formula One Management with world-class connectivity to all 19 Formula 1 race locations over the world’s first wholly-owned sub-sea fibre network to circle the globe. It also provides hosting and content delivery services to Formula1.com, which is accessed by tens of millions of fans around the globe. This innovative collaboration positions Tata Communications corporately as a Technology Supplier of Formula 1 with category exclusive designations as Official Connectivity Provider of Formula 1 and Official Web Hosting and Content Delivery Network Provider of Formula1.com.

As the Official Managed Connectivity Supplier for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, Tata Communications also supports the data transmission over its global networks to keep Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at the leading edge of the championship.