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Gold, Silver and Bronze winners announced for the WARC Awards 2024 Asia-Pacific

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WARC Awards

7 Gold, 11 Silver and 15 Bronze awarded across 10 markets for 12 categories

Local and global brands honoured including Dove, McDonald’s, Paytm, Samsung, and leading agencies from across APAC represented

22 May 2024 –  The Gold, Silver and Bronze winners are announced for the WARC Awards 2024 – Asia Pacific. Now in their fourth year, the awards, in association with LIONS, honour marketing and strategic effectiveness.

7 Gold, 11 Silver and 15 Bronze accolades have been awarded for Asia-Pacific. Campaigns for both global and local brands, and for a diverse range of product categories covering CPG, finance and travel are represented showcasing how marketers are driving growth across different sectors.

India has won the most awards (11), followed by Australia (7), New Zealand (4), Singapore (3), Greater China (2), Hong Kong SAR (2), Philippines (1), Taiwan (1), Thailand (1) and Vietnam (1).

The three APAC jury panels followed a rigorous judging process using the Creative Effectiveness and the B2B Effectiveness Ladders, unique tools providing a consistent approach and global language to benchmark effectiveness.

The Gold, Silver and Bronze winners are:

Brand Purpose category:

Gold

  • An envelope that sealed the fate of women · Ujjivan Small Finance Bank · McCann Worldgroup, Gurugram · India

Silver

  • Brand Purpose · LEAD School · TBWA/India, Mumbai · India

Bronze

  • Dove’s journey from good to loved · Dove · Ogilvy, Mumbai · India

Business-to-Business category

Bronze

  • Making money talk · Paytm · McCann Worldgroup, Gurugram · India

Channel integration category

Bronze

  • Saudi tourism invites Chinese travellers to Lai Bai! · Saudi Tourism Authority · PHD Media MENA, Glodow and Nead Communications, San Francisco · Greater China
  • Reviving the lost colours of West Bengal · Sunlight · Mindshare, Mumbai · India

Channel Pioneer category

Gold

  • Samsung iTest – Comparing apples with androids · Samsung Galaxy · DDB Auckland / Tribal Aotearoa, Auckland · New Zealand

Silver

  • Doing nothing makes you unmissable · Cadbury 5 Star · Ogilvy, Mumbai · India

Jury chair, Sindhuja Rai, CEO, Wavemaker, APAC, said: “Something which was seen as innovative a few years back is now business as usual, showing a maturity within the market. There were cases that showed really strong, inspiring and clever use of technology, but being anchored and rooted in the heart of the brand and the business, rather than being a novelty.”

Cultural Impact category

Gold

  • Changing the education system to keep girls in school · Whisper (feminine hygiene) · Leo Burnett, Mumbai · India

Silver

  • #LetHerGrow · Dove · Edelman, Bangkok · Thailand
  • Can a cookie help India win the World Cup? · Oreo · Leo Burnett, Mumbai · India

Bronze

  • Correct the internet · Team Heroine · DDB, Auckland · New Zealand

Customer Experience category

Silver

  • Re:Store · KFC · Dentsu Creative, Shanghai · Greater China

Bronze

  • Rebuilding a more wonderful airline experience · Virgin Australia · Special, Sydney / PHD Sydney · Australia

Commenting on the Bronze winner, jury chair Dean Chadwick, Chief Marketing Officer, MYOB, said: “The Virgin case study was not a one and done campaign. The brand is committed to the middle seat lottery for a number of years. So you can see the net effect of that as a consumer because the brand is there for the long haul.”

Instant Impact category

Gold

  • Trapped · Income Insurance · Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Singapore · Singapore

Silver

  • Making the best call in home loans – How ANZ mobilised a thousand staff, redefined value and reversed a year of share decline in one month · ANZ · TBWA/New Zealand, Auckland · New Zealand
  • Spotify becomes the undisputed leader in IPL · Spotify · Leo Burnett, Mumbai · India

Bronze

  • How un-Australia delivered new records for Australian lamb · Australian Lamb · The Monkeys, part of Accenture song, Sydney / One Green Bean, Sydney · Australia
  • McDonald’s coffee retirement · McCafé · DDB Group, Hong Kong · Hong Kong (SAR)

Long-term Growth category

Gold

  • Brewing coffee culture in tea-drinking India · Nescafé · McCann, Gurugram · India

Silver

  • Beertime is playtime · Bar Beer · Ogilvy, Taipei City · Taiwan, China
  • Industry SuperFunds · Industry SuperFunds · Shannon Company, Melbourne · Australia

Bronze

  • How little moments made big bickies for Arnott’s · Arnott’s Biscuits · Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney · Australia

Partnerships & Sponsorships category

Bronze

  • Domex X Petron partnership · Domex · Mindshare, Taguig · Philippines

Path-to-Purchase category

Bronze

  • Instant shoppable ads – A Moët & Chandon X News Corp Australia commerce partnership powered by Vudoo · Moët & Chandon · Vudoo, Melbourne · Australia

Strategic Thinking category (new)

Gold

  • How can a country exist without land? · Government of Tuvalu · The Monkeys, part of Accenture song, Sydney · Australia

Silver

  • You’re cooked · Fire and Emergency New Zealand · Motion Sickness, Auckland · New Zealand
  • Singapore’s favourite side trip · Gojek · Forsman & Bodenfors, Singapore · Singapore

Bronze

  • We see you care · Agency for Integrated Care · The Secret Little Agency, Singapore · Singapore
  • McDiploma · McDonald’s · DDB Hong Kong SAR · Hong Kong SAR
  • Cadbury 5 star presents – The mush detector · Cadbury 5 Star · Ogilvy Mumbai / Wavemaker Mumbai · India

Commenting on the winning work, jury chair Bhaskar Choudhuri, Chief Marketing Officer, Lenovo, APAC, said: “The overwhelming majority of the issues that the case studies were trying to solve were not marketing or advertising problems, but business problems related to brand growth, market share or category stagnation.”

Use of Data category

Gold

  • Democratising technology to help farmers fight climate change · Lay’s · Leo Burnett, Mumbai, India

Bronze

  • Tết 2022 – The safe ticket home · Lifebuoy · Mindshare, Ho Chi Minh City / Creativehunts, Ho Chi Minh City · Vietnam

The Gold winners will automatically progress to compete at a Global level where a super-jury made up of all the regional jury chairs – Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, North America – will award the coveted WARC Grands Prix, the ultimate recognition for marketing success. The Grands Prix will be revealed on 13 June via the Effectiveness Show part one. The Effectiveness Show part two will include interviews and insights from the Grand Prix winners.

Events

China’s digital hub Hangzhou hosts conference on AI, OPC

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OPC

HANGZHOU, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 June 2026 – The inaugural AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference was held from June 29 to 30 in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, capital city of east China’s Zhejiang Province. Centered on one-person company (OPC), a new form of smart economy in the AI era, the conference program comprised one opening ceremony and two parallel breakout sessions.

It gathered around 400 delegates from government departments, industry associations, financial institutions, AI enterprises and OPC startup operators across the country. Participants exchanged insights on AI innovation pathways and cross-industry integration strategies, injecting strong impetus into Hangzhou’s ambition to develop a national benchmark hub for AI+OPC entrepreneurship.

A series of key launches and milestone ceremonies took place during the opening segment. Official releases included the 2026 national OPC development observation report, Hangzhou’s 2026–2028 action plan and supporting policies to build a national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub, and a catalog of actionable AI+OPC application scenarios. Attendees also received an in-depth interpretation of the specifications for AI-enabled OPC community services and evaluation.

The ceremony featured multiple landmark initiatives: plaque awarding for Hangzhou’s priority AI+OPC incubation communities and dedicated observation sites, the official launch of the AI+OPC Community Alliance initiative, and a kickoff marking the official construction of the national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub.

The open forum session featured keynote speeches from distinguished industry and academic leaders. Speakers included Pan Yunhe, former executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Zhejiang University; Liang Gui, former executive vice governor of Jiangxi Province and ex-director of the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and Zou Ling, head of Hong Hub, Shangcheng District’s single-member unicorn startup acceleration community, who shared cutting-edge insights from varied perspectives.

A panel dialogue followed, bringing together representatives from Moshu OPC Community (Beijing E-Town), the School of Future Science and Engineering at Soochow University, Qingju Hub · Future Digital Intelligence Port (Shangcheng District), and Puhua Capital for in-depth industry exchanges.

Complementary concurrent events held throughout the conference included an OPC capital-industry matchmaking salon, a symposium on industry-education integration for AI-powered OPC sectors, and a national exchange forum for AI+OPC community practitioners.

OPC has emerged as a vibrant new engine driving economic vitality and underpinning high-quality development. Against the backdrop of a new development era, the inaugural Hangzhou AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference unites OPC innovators nationwide.

Drawing on the creative energy of millions of independent super-individual operators, the event delivers sustained digital momentum to fuel Hangzhou’s super-individual economy, while rolling out replicable local practices and actionable Hangzhou solutions to advance high-quality growth of smart economies nationwide.

 

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Hainan FTP marks 6-month milestone of special customs operations, signs deals during Hong Kong visit

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Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – As the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) marked the six-month milestone since the launch of its full special customs operations, a Hainan provincial delegation wrapped up a three-day visit to Hong Kong. During the visit, the delegation signed deepened cooperation agreements with several major local chambers of commerce and promoted the latest policies introduced since the island-wide special customs operations took effect.

According to data released by Hainan Province during the visit, Hainan’s foreign trade has surged since the launch of special customs operations. As of June 17, the province’s total goods imports and exports reached RMB 173.98 billion (approximately US$24 billion), up 54.6% year on year. Imports of zero-tariff goods hit RMB 2.645 billion, a 120% jump that generated tariff savings of RMB 440 million. A total of 172,100 new market entities were registered—a 61% increase—including 1,240 foreign-invested enterprises. Zero-tariff items now account for 74% of all tariff lines, benefiting more than 12,000 market entities.

During the Hong Kong visit, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Provincial Committee (CCPIT Hainan) signed separate deepened cooperation MOUs with the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Under the MOUs, the parties will establish a regular liaison mechanism for the periodic exchange of economic and trade information, and will promote collaboration in areas including professional services, green finance, the digital economy, supply chain management, and cultural tourism. Mutual enterprise service desks will be set up to provide consulting services regarding policies and projects. The parties will leverage their complementary strengths to help Chinese mainland enterprises access overseas markets via Hong Kong, while facilitating Hong Kong companies’ entry into the Chinese mainland through Hainan.

The delegation also held talks with the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, exploring ways for British and American businesses to leverage Hainan’s value-added processing tariff exemptions and multifunctional free trade accounts to position themselves in regional supply chains and cross-border investment and financing. HSBC, De Beers, and other British firms are already active in Hainan, and the UK served as the Guest of Honor country at the 2025 China International Consumer Products Expo.

According to industry analysts, amid the shifting international trade landscape, Hainan is leveraging Hong Kong’s “super-connector” role to accelerate its integration with global capital and business networks, while simultaneously offering the Hong Kong business community a policy testing ground for entering the Chinese mainland market.

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Africa’s Grid Constraints Come into Focus as Regional Markets Push Toward Integration

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Africa

Regional power pools are advancing and renewable pipelines are growing, but the regulatory and financial architecture needed to connect them remains the continent’s most critical infrastructure gap – an issue central to the Power Africa Today conference at AEW 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 25, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa’s electricity demand is projected to nearly double to 2,291 TWh by 2050, requiring an estimated $30 billion in transmission and grid infrastructure investment to unlock and integrate new generation capacity. Yet across the continent, grid systems are struggling to keep pace with rapidly expanding supply pipelines and rising demand.

In Nigeria, repeated nationwide grid collapses as recently as February 2026 underscore the fragility of aging transmission infrastructure. In East Africa, tower failures along the 428 km Loiyangalani-Suswa line temporarily stranded output from Lake Turkana Wind Power – Africa’s largest wind installation. Meanwhile, demand growth pressures are accelerating across North Africa, where electricity consumption is expected to rise by around 50% by 2035, driven by urbanization, desalination projects, and climate-related temperature increases.

Despite these constraints, generation investment continues to accelerate across Africa, particularly in renewables, gas-to-power and hybrid systems. However, without equivalent investment in transmission and interconnection, much of this new capacity risks being underutilized or stranded. This growing imbalance between generation and grid capacity is driving a sharper focus on system-wide planning and regional market design – issues that will be central to the newly launched Power Africa Today conference at African Energy Week 2026. The platform will bring together policymakers, utilities, investors and developers to explore how regional interconnection, cross-border trading frameworks and financing structures can better align generation growth with grid expansion.

Power Markets Experiment with Reform

Alongside infrastructure challenges, Africa’s electricity sector is undergoing gradual – but uneven – market reform. Most countries still operate vertically integrated systems dominated by state utilities, but a growing number are introducing competitive frameworks to attract private capital and improve efficiency.

Zimbabwe opened its electricity market to full private participation across generation, transmission and distribution in 2025, targeting $9 billion in new investment. South Africa is advancing one of the continent’s most ambitious grid expansion programs, with plans for 14,500 km of new transmission lines and 133,000 MVA of transformer capacity by 2034, alongside mechanisms designed to crowd in private financing. Kenya, meanwhile, has introduced open access regulations enabling independent power producers to wheel electricity directly to multiple off-takers, reshaping how generation assets interface with the grid.

Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future

Regional Integration Remains Fragmented

Efforts to connect Africa’s fragmented power systems are progressing, though at different speeds across regions. In Southern Africa, the World Bank’s RETRADE SAPP program, approved in 2025, is deploying $12 million to strengthen renewable integration and transmission capacity across 12 member states. In East Africa, the Ethiopia–Kenya–Tanzania Electricity Highway is now in trial operations at up to 2,000 MW, marking a significant step toward a more interconnected regional grid.

West Africa is also moving toward deeper integration, with permanent synchronization of the West Africa Power Pool expected in 2026. Analysts, including the African Finance Corporation, argue that such synchronization is critical to unlocking large-scale hydropower potential and industrial demand across the region. Longer term, full synchronization between the Eastern and Southern African power pools – targeted for the end of 2026 – could create one of the world’s largest cross-border electricity trading corridors.

Building Bankable Financial Architectures

While interconnection is advancing, infrastructure alone is not enough to create investable electricity markets. Investors consistently cite the lack of standardized offtake structures, creditworthy counterparties, and cross-border payment guarantees as key barriers to scaling capital deployment.

New models are emerging to address these constraints. Africa GreenCo, operating across Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, is helping to aggregate independent power producers under a single creditworthy intermediary, standardizing power purchase agreements and reducing counterparty risk. At a broader level, AUDA-NEPAD estimates that Africa requires around $30 billion in additional investment to complete priority transmission corridors and establish three fully interconnected regional trading blocs by 2030.

“Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “The question at Africa Energy Week is not whether integration is possible – the evidence is already there. The question is which regulatory frameworks and financial structures will get projects to financial close, and which markets will be ready when capital is looking to move.”

The Power Africa Today conference will run alongside AEW 2026, taking place October 12–16 in Cape Town, and will focus on the regulatory, financial and infrastructural architecture needed to build interconnected electricity markets capable of attracting institutional capital and delivering reliable, cross-border power at scale.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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