Espionage drama ‘Gray’ makes PH premiere on Lionsgate Play

by Ferry Bayu | Aug 22, 2023 | Business

Espionage drama ‘Gray’ makes PH premiere on Lionsgate Play

GOLDEN Globe winner Patricia Clarkson takes the audience on a thrilling roller coaster ride through the high-stakes world of spies in Gray, streaming now in the Philippines on Lionsgate Play.

The gripping series delves into a maze of espionage, where passion, deceit, the pursuit of truth, and the delicate fragility of life intersect in a captivating manner.

The captivating series centers around CIA agent Cornelia Gray, portrayed by Oscar nominee, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Patricia Clarkson. After twenty years in hiding due to suspicions of treason, she reenters her former life, only to uncover a new mole within her spy network, endangering her and her allies.

Gray is based on an original concept by David Baldacci (Absolute Power), a renowned author with over 40 national and international bestsellers. Bringing this tale to life are BAFTA nominee writer John J. McLaughlin (Point Pleasant; Black Swan) and award-winning director Ruba Nadda (Manifest; Magnum P.I.).

Lionsgate Play exclusively premieres Gray in the Philippines, marking the series’ first release on the streaming service in any market. Tune in to Lionsgate Play on PLDT Home to catch more exciting premieres.

Whoscall app launched in the Philippines to block spam calls, messages

by Ferry Bayu | Aug 22, 2023 | Business

Whoscall app launched in the Philippines to block spam calls, messages

A Taiwan-based technology firm on Tuesday launched Whoscall—a call identification and spam-blocking app to address the rising mobile scam cases in the Philippines.

“As fraud became more apparent during and after the pandemic, we saw how Filipinos have suffered losses from scams, much like in other countries where we have launched Whoscall such as Thailand, Malaysia and Japan,” said Manwoo Joo, chief operating officer of Gogolook .

“This reality ignited our drive to create a comprehensive life protection platform accessible to every Filipino across the nation,” he said.

Powered by world-leading AI and data-driven technology, Whoscall boasts of the largest database in East Asia and Southeast Asia of over 2.6 billion entries to detect unknown callers, spam and scam calls and texts and potentially harmful URLs.

Whoscall app identifies unknown numbers, blocks spam calls and scans suspicious URLs from messages to provide comprehensive mobile protection. Armed with a range of innovative AI features and an internationally acclaimed reputation, Whoscall arrived in the country to enhance the nation’s mobile security.

Users can regain control and confidence over their phone communications. The app’s anti-fraud features allow users to make informed decisions on whether to answer or ignore calls and messages.

Individuals on the app can report suspicious numbers, empowering them to participate in the broad movement against fraudulent activities.

Gabriel Barrios, country marketing head for the Philippines, said Whoscall has been available as the leading caller ID and scam detection app in Thailand and Taiwan, accumulating 100 million downloads worldwide.

“It has been rolling out in other Asian countries as well, and we’re happy to finally provide this protective service to all Filipinos. We highly encourage everyone to install it on their phones and join the community to protect themselves and their loved ones from potential risks, fraud, and scams. It’s about time we all step up and unite for a Scam-Free Pilipinas,” he said.

Whoscall is available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Grab launches the GrabScholar Programme and GrabMerchant Centre in Singapore to promote inclusive growth

by Ferry Bayu | Aug 21, 2023 | Business

Grab to drive inclusive growth with new regional GrabScholar Programme and GrabMerchant Centre in Singapore

Grab opens new Headquarters @ Singapore at event graced by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong

Tan Hooi Ling, Co-Founder of Grab; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Mr Lawrence Wong and Anthony Tan, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Grab, officially launched Grab HQ @ Singapore on 11 August.

SINGAPORE, August 11, 2022 – Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading superapp, announced two new initiatives to drive inclusive growth in Southeast Asia today at the official opening of its Headquarters @ Singapore. The new initiatives include a US$1 million GrabScholar programme to disburse scholarships and bursaries to students across Southeast Asia, and a new GrabMerchant Centre to help small businesses grow online. Grab Headquarters @ Singapore was launched in the presence of Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong.

“As we celebrate Grab’s 10th anniversary this year, we hope that our announcements today will help small businesses and our future workforce upskill and maximise their opportunities, even in this challenging macro environment. Providing access to digital tools can be a powerful way to ensure all Southeast Asians can equally participate in – and benefit from – the rising digital economy, the same way 10 years ago when our driver-partners learned how to use their smartphones to earn incomes,” said Anthony Tan, Group CEO and Co-founder, Grab.

“Grab’s new headquarters in Singapore is a testament to Singapore’s growing vibrant digital ecosystem. As Grab grows to 3,000 employees working across corporate, business and tech functions, more exciting and innovative capabilities will be created for our digital economy. We look forward to Singapore’s continued partnership with Grab to create exciting job opportunities for Singaporeans, and to strengthen Singapore as the location for high-end R&D and innovation,” said Chan Ih-Ming, Senior Vice President, Digital Industry Singapore (DISG).

GrabScholar programme to provide US$1 million worth of scholarships and bursaries annually

Grab has committed an annual US$1 million from the GrabForGood Fund towards the GrabScholar programme, which will provide university scholarships and educational bursaries across all countries Grab operates in Southeast Asia.

GrabScholar programme plans to award over 2,000 scholarships and bursaries annually. It will cover tuition and study-related expenses for underprivileged children to attend primary, secondary or vocational schools as well as universities. Internship opportunities will also be offered to tertiary students to develop their professional aptitude and prepare them for full-time roles when they graduate.

GrabScholar was launched in Indonesia last month in partnership with Yayasan Benih Baik Indonesia[1]. This is in addition to existing scholarship and bursary initiatives that are offered to the children of Grab’s driver-, delivery- and merchant-partners in Singapore and Thailand. This has helped to open access to quality education and transform lives locally. The new region wide GrabScholar programme is an expanded effort to support the broader communities across Southeast Asia.

“We are pleased to partner with Grab to offer the scholarships and bursaries for underprivileged children in Indonesia. Clearly, creating a social impact is at the core of Grab’s mission — the tech company has invested in many different projects to support the local communities. With their strong support, we hope to contribute to the development of inclusive communities, improving the quality of life of their families in the long term,” said Andi F. Noya, Co-founder of BenihBaik.

GrabMerchant Centre to help small businesses thrive online

Grab has been helping small businesses come online in the past two years. As Southeast Asia leaves behind the worst of Covid-19 lockdowns and drives towards recovery, these SMEs have also stabilised their delivery business’ operations and are now ready to scale.

To facilitate this, Grab will soon launch its first-ever GrabMerchant Centre to provide 1-on-1 business consultation services for our SME merchant-partners. It will be located at Grab HQ @ Singapore. GrabMerchant Centre is a one-stop hub dedicated to helping small businesses optimise their online presence, maximise GrabFood, GrabMart, GrabFin and GrabAds services for their businesses, and learn to use digital tools to grow.

GrabMerchant Centre provides a suite of services:

1-on-1 business consultation with Grab Account Managers. Merchant-partners can tap on Grab’s Southeast Asia network, access to data insights and multi-vertical ecosystem. Account managers will provide dedicated consultations to advise on long-term growth plans and provide actionable business insights to help merchant-partners grow to the next level.Prioritised operational assistance. Merchants are able to subscribe to “Merchant Concierge Service”, a prioritised hotline to get direct assistance to solve any operational issues. This ensures their delivery business runs smoothly and reduces downtime.Workshops and networking. The GrabMerchant Centre will regularly organise upskilling workshops to help merchant-partners stay abreast of the latest industry trends and developments. These will also serve as networking sessions to facilitate business connections and a small business community for collective learning. It launched its first-ever GrabMerchant Open House on 5th August 2022 which was well-received by merchant-partners.

The 1-on-1 business consultations were piloted earlier this year, with success stories of how the data insights provided helped small businesses grow their online delivery business volume.

Shannon Lua, Founder of Butter Studio, a bakery chain with four outlets in Singapore, shared: “When COVID-19 hit, I thought I would no longer be able to pursue the big plans I had for Butter Studio. Thankfully there were platforms like Grab to help us maintain our accessibility to customers. We even reached a new customer segment through GrabFood – those who required super last-minute cake deliveries.

Our online sales saw a spike and it motivated us to keep doing better. I decided to sign up for a few sessions with GrabMerchant Centre, which inspired me to make systematic improvements to our delivery offering, like enhancing our menu with better visuals and descriptions, and changing up our operational flow so that our staff could effectively manage walk-in and online orders. Since the first session, we have seen a 30% increase in GrabFood sales on average. I am glad to have kept all four Butter Studio outlets open and we’re back to exploring expansion plans for the business.”

Filzah Miranti Binte Mohd Dawood, Co-Owner, Gerak Nenek Obek, a Malay food stall, shared, “Trying to keep our small stall open during COVID-19 was not easy – we lost many of our regular walk-in customers. I knew it was important to start going online even though my mum was a bit apprehensive initially. I decided to just give it a try and registered our stall on GrabFood. Later, I also signed up for the GrabMerchant Centre service. Through it, I learnt how to use the Ad Manager tool on our merchant app to customise our own banners, and I was advised to sign up for the Islandwide Delivery service to expand my stall’s reach. We saw our GrabFood orders more than triple in three months and half of them come from Islandwide Delivery service. My mother is now a big fan of Grab, she will chide me whenever I forget to turn on the GrabFood Merchant app.”

More details about GrabMerchant Centre’s services and related charges can be found here.

Grab HQ @ Singapore is located at one-north business park. Spanning nine floors and more than 42,000 sqm, it brings about 3,000 Grabbers and a R&D Centre under one roof. Apart from the first GrabMerchant Centre, it will also be home to the digibank team. The headquarters is one of two headquarters Grab has in the region. The dual headquarter is based in Jakarta, Indonesia, and serves as Grab’s regional innovation hub for small businesses.

[1] Yayasan Benih Baik Indonesia is a foundation that is focused on helping people in need and vulnerable groups in improving quality of life in Indonesia.

Filipino Consumers Name Their Favorite Brands of 2023

by Ferry Bayu | Aug 21, 2023 | Business

Filipino Consumers Name Their Favorite Brands of 2023

Discover the results of the 2023 Consumer Choice Award, which surveyed 1,200 Filipinos about their opinions towards multiple brands on various major industries and topics.

Standard Insights Unveils Winners of the 2023 Consumer Choice Awards Philippines

Earlier this year, over 1,200 Filipinos participated in a survey to vote for their favorite brands in a wide range of industries. The survey was part of Standard Insights’ Consumer Choice Awards 2023, which aims to recognize brands that have earned Filipino consumers’ trust and loyalty.

Among the favorite brands of Filipinos, we can find:

Best Mobile Network Operator: Globe Telecom

Prominent telecommunications giant Globe Telecom emerges as the undisputed leader in the telecommunications sector, securing an impressive 41.2% of the overall votes. This is their 2nd consecutive year being recognized, following last year’s sweep at the Mobile Network Operator Awards 2022.

Best Retail Bank: BDO Unibank

Full-service universal bank BDO Unibank stands as the favored retail banking brand, commanding a significant 33.0% of the votes.

Best Retail Insurance: Sun Life

Insurance provider Sun Life distinguishes itself as the favored insurance brand with an endorsement from 25.3% of the participants.

Best Local Beer: San Miguel

Local beer icon San Miguel secures its position as the favored local beer with a substantial 52.8% of the votes.

Best International Beer: Heineken

Global brewing powerhouse Heineken wins over consumer hearts as the preferred international beer, capturing an impressive 54.1% of the votes.

Best Retail Oil & Gas Brand: Petron

Leading fuel and energy leader Petron claims the top position within the oil and gas segment, amassing an impressive 45.7% of the votes.

Best Food & Beverage Delivery App: Foodpanda

Well-established food delivery platform Foodpanda dominates the food delivery category, capturing an impressive 56.2% of the votes.

Best Transportation App: Grab

Ride-hailing frontrunner Grab emerges as the premier transportation app, receiving a commendable 70.2% of the votes.

“The Philippines has known a momentous year with a new election, a significant impact on inflation, and COVID-19 issues that may have changed the way people consume. We are glad to have launched these awards in the Philippines to give brands insights into what people are thinking at the top of their minds and to reward them for their efforts. We are excited to see how the next editions will unfold,” said Florian Gaudel, Founder & CEO of Standard Insights.

The 2023 Consumer Choice Awards not only honour the brands that have achieved consumer trust but also set a definitive benchmark for others striving to excel in the Philippines’ competitive market. This recognition underscores the impact these brands have made on consumers and their commitment to delivering top-notch products and services.

For more information about the 2023 Consumer Choice Awards and the list of winners, please visit: https://standard-insights.com/awards/philippines/

About the Consumer Choice Awards

The Consumer Choice Awards by Standard Insights is an initiative that proudly recognizes brands that prioritize the needs and opinions of their customers resulting in being the top choice in their respective industries. The awards are based on a strict methodology involving real respondents, making the evaluation process fair and impartial.

Standard Insights offers accurate and comprehensive consumer insights utilizing the latest ad-tech infrastructure and Al-powered system. Our team of experts reaches real, representative respondents to give our clients the confidence they need when making important decisions about their brand’s future.

Standard Insights
Rémi Marié
Head of Digital
re**@***************ts.com

CECIL Hair, an authentic salon in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo, now accepts reservations via WhatsApp!

by Ferry Bayu | Aug 21, 2023 | Business

CECIL hair,” an authentic hair salon located in Shimokitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, has started accepting reservations through WhatsApp(+81 80‑3012‑8859)!

CECIL hair (Cecil), a shop located in Shimokitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, will start accepting reservations through WhatsApp(+81 80‑3012‑8859) from September 1st, 2023.

CECIL hair (Cecil), a beauty salon that opened in February 2021, is located in Shimokitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. It is conveniently accessible, just a 1-minute walk from Shimokitazawa Station’s east exit ticket gate on the Odakyu Line or the Inokashira Line’s central exit ticket gate. The salon’s concept focuses on personalized one-on-one customer service, from consultation by experienced stylists who have worked at renowned salons in Tokyo to the final styling. Despite being in the mid-price range, the salon aims to provide high value and an experience that clients can appreciate.

The salon features 6 styling seats, with a staff of 4 male stylists and 2 shampoo stations. Despite its compact layout, the salon strives to offer a relaxing environment for customers while delivering styles that meet the latest trends.

Here are some of the highlights of CECIL hair:

W Color High-Tone Color: Unveil your unique personality with colors that suit you.

CECIL offers various color options, including high-tone colors, clear beige colors, and blonde colors. Achieving these colors can be challenging due to the need for bleaching and the condition of the hair. With experienced hair colorists of over 10 years on board, CECIL guarantees high-quality high-tone color treatments.

Ultrasonic Iron Care Pro: Enhance treatment penetration with the ultrasonic iron care device.

Contrary to the traditional notion of irons being hot, these utilize infrared technology and remain cool to the touch. They can apply infrared treatment, enhancing the effects of hair treatment at the cellular level.

For Those Concerned About Curls and Frizz: Acid-based straightening or treatment-based hair improvement.

Hair improvement techniques, often referred to as “hair quality improvement,” come in two types: acid-based straightening and treatment-based improvement. The appropriate approach depends on concerns such as curls, hair texture, and damage. Whether it’s taming frizz caused by curls or improving the texture damaged by previous treatments, CECIL addresses clients’ specific concerns.