Cheil Worldwide, Grey launch contrasting initiatives to tap ecommerce opportunity

After Group M, Reprise and Dentsu's moves to expand their ability to help clients succeed in the burgeoning ecommerce market, Korean network Cheil Worldwide and WPP's creative agency Grey have also launched contrasting opportunities to target this opportunity.

While Cheil has launched its own e-commerce platform, named GETTT, in South Korea, Grey has formed what it calls an ecommerce collective, drawing on talent from across the world, with APAC alone committing 100 people to this new effort. 

In the case of Cheil, GETTT or 'Get The Taste', houses 70 lifestyle brands including fashion, interior, beauty and tech, as a rental service. Having an owned e-commerce platform will enable Cheil to strengthen its digital marketing capabilities through accumulated expertise in ecommerce business and customer behaviour analysis, the network noted in a statement. 

At GETTT, consumers can rent a product and switch to an outright purchase if they like it. The purchase price is discounted based on the number of times the product has been rented by consumers. If consumers wish to buy the product in mint condition, they can purchase it by returning the product they have rented.

GETTT’s rental service is not only for individual consumers, but also for content companies who need various outfits and props. This B2B rental service is expected to improve rental pricing and process efficiently for small to medium productions and creators. 

This platform also offers different trial services to supplement limitations of online shopping, which includes free trial of selected brands, and fitting delivery service that enables consumers to try out fashion items at home and return for free. Moreover, GETTT regularly features curated contents that reflect consumers' interest, brand stories and interview with designers.

"We look forward to proposing insightful trends by utilising Cheil Worldwide's creative and data-driven marketing capabilities," said a GETTT representative. "GETTT will continue to provide new opportunities to experience the different taste and lifestyles and help connect less known brands with consumers who appreciate them."

Elsehwere, Grey is taking a different approach to the ecommerce market with its Grey Commerce Collective (CoCo). This global collective aims to bring all the shopper, retail, experiential and commerce centres of the agency together and will have a presence in Grey offices across the globe. While Grey CoCo is being driven by Nirvik Singh (global COO, chairman and CEO of Grey Asia, Middle East and Africa) it would operate on a Centre of Excellence (COE) approach and is being helmed by Richa Kapse in Southeast Asia. 

Grey CoCo brings together specialists in packaging and retail design, commerce, experience and activation from different Grey offices around the world. Grey Singapore’s Shopper Team becomes part of this unit and is now able to offer much deeper and wider commerce capabilities to clients across Southeast Asia, according to the agency. 

Elaborating on the focus area for Grey CoCo Singapore, Kapse said in a media release: “Over the past year, we have seen a growing demand from our clients to co-ordinate the in-store design and communication with complementary social media assets. Increasingly, we see the shoppers are expecting brands to have the same storyline across social, e-commerce and physical retail channels."

In the past year, Grey has unveiled some ecommerce work it has done for its clients. For example, Earlier this year, Grey and MAC connected content to commerce in a campaign ranging from digital and social content to  e-commerce and a physical retail store. Spotlight Ready was the spring campaign for the APAC restage of MAC’s Lightful C range across Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea. 

Director: Sieun Song, Jaechan Lee (product)

Grey CoCo will work independently as well as leverage the strength of the larger WPP network. 

Grey also recently also launched a new campaign for Olay, in partnership with Shopee. It targets millennial women across key SEA markets using bite-sized content spread out like a mini-series. The campaign also brings on board the engaging shopping experience to consumers, coupled with more value, as they are given access to promotions during Shopee’s Super Brand Day.

But why is a creative shop wading into ecommerce? Kapse contends that as Grey commerce specialists, this collective aims to communicate and capture target shoppers where they spend their time the most, which is increasingly on social media and digital marketplaces. 

"Similar to bricks and mortar, the millennial and Gen Z shoppers are expecting to be wowed and immersed in a brand experience online," she adds. "A simple price promotion on a well laid out brand shelf is no longer enough to drown out the competition. Grey brings the creative approach to tackle our clients’ commerce business problems." 

(This article first appeared on CampaignAsia.com)