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SMG’s Catalyst 2.0 delivers research in Southeast Asia

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With a 360 degree view of the consumer – integrating brand, media and consumer insights – Starcom MediaVest Group’s Catalyst 2.0 in Southeast Asia shares some case studies.
 
Catalyst 2.0 is a single source research which delivers against the human experience product which creates meaningful experiences for the consumer.
 
The investment in Catalyst 2.0 has seen results in Southeast Asia.
 
Case Study #1:

A local bank in Malaysia approached SMG with a challenge – to overcome media clutter in the banking category and win over urban Malaysians. SMG’s solution was to apply Contact Destinations (CD) to identify 3 areas: banking category drivers, brand performance against key competitors by driver and contact opportunities mapped against key drivers. “We also went deeper into two consumer segments among the urban Malaysians – the mass market and the new rich,” they said.
 
SMG won the bank’s planning and buying business by delivering a deep understanding of key category drivers, identifying competitive performance and recommending the right contact choices to drive scale and differentiation across segments.
 
Case Study #2:

In Singapore, the challenge was to demystify “The World of Multiscreens”. Singapore is a mature internet market but there is a clear gap in the market place learnings with a lack of deeper context behind cross-screen behaviors, SMG said. The Catalyst 2.0 multiscreen section was designed to understand multiscreen Singaporean users better, as well as find out the role and importance of each screen in their consumer lifestyle. 

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The result was that it strengthened their product where planning teams now use the learnings for a more relevant, inspired experience design – the right experience across and within screens by target. “It also strengthened our reputation as digital/cross-screen leaders in the industry and among client prospects/existent clients,” SMG said.
 
Case Study #3:

In Thailand, a multi-national grocery store challenged SMG to tell them a compelling consumer story as part of the new business pitch presentation. Catalyst 2.0 was the key to their success as the study helped orchestrate the full analysis from uncovering the right target, product penetration, shopping triggers, to the right contact mix based not only on usage/penetration but level of influence. 

“We converted Catalyst 2.0 data into fact based recommendations using consumer segmentation, Contact Evaluation Matrix and Contact Destinations. We successfully told a powerful consumer story and created smarter communications product to connect brand with people,” SMG said.

Catalyst 2.0 is a proprietary consumer study, integrating the best in class network approaches. The result is a hybrid product between syndicated and customized research across SEA that puts human understanding at its core and powers the experience planning journey in a simple and meaningful way, gleaming insights into a holistic view of the consumer journey.
 
Catalyst 2.0 allows the generation of data that does not exist in the market to power SMG’s apps i.e. the Contact Evaluation Matrix (CEM). It is uniquely designed for a richer cross-tier analysis than any other syndicated study in the region, covering both urban (all markets) and rural areas (Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand).
 
A quantitative research methodology was adopted for all markets and interviewees fall within the age groups of 12-69 and 15-49. The study consists of 3 modules – Consumer, Media and Category/Brand. Deliverables will help with identifying brand pyramids, contact destinations, mapping CEM, as well as consumer value targeting.
 
“As a result, our product is strengthened and SMG planning teams now apply the learnings to make their experience designs more relevant and inspired. Overall, Catalyst 2.0 has further strengthened SMG’s reputation as the digital and cross-screen leader in the industry,” said Rajesh Mahtani, Head of Strategy & Growth Southeast Asia.

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