Verizon Media launches state-of-the-art Yahoo studio in Singapore that brings tech-powered storytelling to next-gen SEA audience.

Equipped with cutting-edge video production capabilities such as mixed reality, motion capture, and live streaming, Yahoo Studio will set the stage for innovation with tomorrow’s technologies, to create compelling local content for youths and young adults across Southeast Asia. The studio in Singapore, with top-of-the-line capabilities, is the latest addition to Verizon Media's global studio expansion -- studios in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Taiwan, nearer home. Yahoo Studio Singapore will take forward Verizon Media's continued investment in video and the future of innovative content, with a deeper local focus and commitment to users in the region.

In addition to Yahoo TV, Yahoo Studio will support video production for Verizon Media’s platforms such as Yahoo News, and branded content for agency partners and advertisers. The possibilities are exciting as Yahoo Studio innovates with future technologies that will accelerate with the arrival of 5G -- coming to Singapore and parts of SEA next year.

A snapshot of what’s possible at Yahoo Studio

• Supported capabilities, such as cloud-based publishing, enable live streaming. Yahoo TV broadcasts widely followed Esports tournaments and events like KKBOX Music Awards and TechCrunch Disrupt live to users across Southeast Asia.
• Mixed reality, AR/VR capabilities will allow for motion capture and engaging content. Think virtual characters that can interact with users real-time! Yahoo Studio will be able to bring a new dimension to video creation.
• Motion capture graphics allow for high-quality 3D virtual settings in which hosts in the studio appear as if they are live on site.
• Studio equipment with the latest technology enables efficient productions that allow for minimal manpower which is highly valuable in a high labor cost environment.
• By collaborating with studios in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia, Verizon Media has the potential to deliver regionally relevant content for an Asia-Pacific audience.

HubSpot announced offering free email creation, sending, and analytics as part of the free HubSpot CRM.

In doing so, HubSpot gives users the tools they need to see the full view of the customer journey and ultimately provide a more cohesive front end experience for their customers.

According to a report from HubSpot Research businesses often suffer from app overload, which makes them lose up to an hour a day logging into and managing disparate systems. By bringing email and advertising tools into the free CRM, HubSpot is giving users the ability to manage those essential features in one connected system, saving them precious time and providing insight into the entire customer experience.

HubSpot CRM users are now able to create contact lists and send up to 2,000 emails per month, all with an email editor that is designed with efficiency and ease of use in mind. The company also announced that it has expanded the capabilities of the free tier of its ads tools, which previously only supported Facebook lead ads. Now, users of HubSpot’s free marketing tools can manage and track up to $1,000 per month of ad spend across Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn ads. The tool also includes conversion-level reporting and up to two account connections. Both features feed insights back into the CRM, giving users a full view of how prospects and customers are interacting with their business.

Real-time omnichannel marketing solutions provider Resulticks announced that Kulmeet Bawa has joined the company as its Chief Operating Officer and President, JAPAC.

In his wide-ranging new role, Bawa will play a pivotal role in global strategy formulation and will drive Resulticks’ marketing and business development efforts in the JAPAC region. He will be based out of the company headquarters in Singapore.

Building on Resulticks’ strong foothold in much of the region, Bawa will assume executive leadership responsibility across Japan, India, Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, empowering organizations there to leverage Resulticks’ industry-leading approach to highly individualized, real-time customer engagement.

Bawa brings to his new role a profound understanding of the challenges and opportunities enterprises face in the digital era, having served as Vice President and Managing Director for Adobe South Asia. With more than 28 years of cross-functional experience, he has a strong track record of building businesses from the ground up and steering them to a leadership position within a short span of time. Known for his suave and “never say never” style, he has helped global brands challenge the status quo, embrace innovation, and be at the forefront of digital transformation in an era of data explosion and artificial intelligence.

Prior to his tenure at Adobe, Bawa has worked in leadership roles at Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. He has also served for more than 12 years in the Indian Armoured Corps and is an alumnus of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and the prestigious National Defence Academy.

Bloomberg Media Group announced the appointment of Mark Froude as Head of Ad Sales in Asia Pacific.

In this role, he will lead Bloomberg Media Group’s sales organization and advertising strategy in the region, overseeing cross-platform sales initiatives and the advancement of Bloomberg Media’s strategic consulting services. Froude previously held the role for ten years prior to relocating to New Zealand in 2018. He will be based in Singapore.

Prior to Bloomberg, Mark was Managing Director of Press Start Media, a company he founded in 2003 to provide a range of media services and event management for international media clients in the Asia Pacific. Mark has held Sales and Marketing management positions at Asia Business News, CNBC Asia Pacific, and TVNZ.

Redhill, the Singapore headquartered communications agency, is happy to announce Alpana Killawala’s association with the agency as a Senior Advisor. The former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) spokesperson’s move follows her retirement after a 26-year career with the India’s central bank.

Based out of Mumbai, Alpana Killawala will be advising Redhill clients on financial communication strategy.

Dalet, a leading provider of solutions and services for broadcasters and content professionals, acquires the Ooyala Flex Media Platform business.

The asset deal includes the Ooyala Flex Media Platform, as well as Ooyala personnel across sales, marketing, engineering, professional services, and support. The Ooyala Flex Media Platform, which is primarily sold as a subscription/SaaS offering, is a perfect solution for servicing OTT and digital media distribution workflows. The acquisition of these assets, personnel, and customers will expand the Dalet solutions offering to more verticals and tiers beyond its traditional customer base in News and Production workflows and accelerate Dalet's strategic move to increase recurring revenue models, with a subscription/SaaS-based services offering.

Ooyala’s customers include leading brands such as Audi, Fox Sports Australia, HBO Asia, Media Prima, National Rugby League, Turner Asia, TV2, Zomin.TV, The Picture Production Company, Sky Sports, and Smoke and Mirrors.

Together, Dalet’s and Ooyala’s experienced teams dedicated to support, DevOps, and on-premise/cloud platform monitoring will better serve these premium customers.

ZTE Corporation opened its Cybersecurity Lab Europe in Brussels, Belgium.

Located in the administrative and political heart of the EU, the Cybersecurity Lab Europe will provide a much wider range of access to the external security verification of ZTE’s products, services and processes, and will facilitate the external cooperation in the security field with stakeholders.

The opening of the lab is another important part of a transparency initiative of ZTE. Under such an initiative, the company has launched two other Cybersecurity labs in Nanjing, China and Rome, Italy in May. As the platform for transparency and cooperation, the lab provides four essential functions including source code review, document review, black box testing and penetration testing. In addition, ZTE will conduct in-depth research of the security field in the lab, in partnerships with industry-leading security organizations. Moreover, the lab will play a significant role of guaranteeing the security of the company’s 5G solutions in the 5G era.

Representatives of the European Commission and of the European Council, as well as telecoms operators, GSMA and other industry associations have attended the opening ceremony.

ZTE has been committed to providing customers with end-to-end secure products and services, integrating security considerations and controls into every aspect of the product life cycle. Confronted with Cybersecurity challenges and opportunities as well in the 5G era, the company will keep adhering to its vision of ”Enabling Connectivity and Trust Everywhere” to bring trustworthy cybersecurity capabilities worldwide.

Smaato announced the appointment of Arndt Groth as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Groth, who has been President of Smaato for the past year and a half, succeeds Ragnar Kruse, who founded Smaato in 2005 with co-founder Petra Vorsteher. Groth reports directly to the Supervisory Board of Smaato Inc. Kruse and the president founded a new company.

Most recently, Groth was CEO of PubliGroupe AG in Lausanne, Switzerland, which was acquired by Swisscom AG. Prior to that, he served as International Vice President, Northern Europe, for DoubleClick (Google) and as CEO of InteractiveMedia CCSP AG, a subsidiary of T-Online International AG, one of Europe's largest online marketers, and President of the Adconion Media Group.