The Future of Adaptive Marketing

The average attention span has declined significantly in recent decades. In 2000, our concentration could still last for 12 seconds. In 2015, the number dropped to eight seconds. Owning multiple communications devices and using them simultaneously have become an integral part of our lives. Plus, today’s consumers are no longer satisfied to stay on the receiving end of the information flow. Consumer engagement is customarily expected when it comes to marketing.

Due to all these changes, marketing has become extremely complicated. There seem to be no rules to follow anymore.

From left to right: AmCham President Andrea Wu; Geese Niu, Business Director, MindShare Communications Taiwan; Speaker Susan Chao, Managing Director of Mindshare Communications Taiwan; Travel and Tourism Committee Co-Chair Achim v. Hake, General Manager, The Sherwood Taipei.

To map out a path for the future of marketing, Susan Chao, Managing Director of Mindshare Communications Taiwan, was invited to speak on “The Future of Adaptive Marketing” at an AmCham Taipei special luncheon at The Sherwood Taipei on December 7. Chao’s presentation outlined three strategies to successful marketing today:

  • Involve multiple media channels to generate a more powerful information flow.
  • Capture and interact with consumers.
  • Utilize adaptive marketing – tailoring advertising approaches based on individual data – for greater effectiveness and efficiency than traditional marketing.

Adaptive marketing involves the collection of user data, customization of the advertising content according to personal preferences, and delivery of the content through the channels guaranteed to reach the target audience. Customized information increases the opportunity to seize the attention of the desired targets within a short period of time, before their focus drifts to another device.

Interested in attending our events? Join us at other upcoming events, click here.

Note: AmCham events are intended primarily for AmCham members and their guests. Many events are open to members’ guests and other non-members, but the attendance of any non-member must be approved in advance. AmCham reserves the right not to admit a non-member to any event without explanation.

A Visit to Logistic Republic – Taiwan’s Most Modern Logistics Solution

AmCham Taipei members and staff spent a fun and informative afternoon exploring Taiwan’s most innovative and modern logistics hub.

Although Taiwan is one of the most trade-dependent economies in the world, its exports and imports often pass through warehouses that are poorly designed, of substandard condition, or even illegally constructed. Taiwan’s small size means that industrial-zoned land is simply too valuable to be used for warehouses and an estimated two-thirds of Taiwan’s warehouses are illegally located on agricultural land without proper building permits and little investment into modern logistics.

Ally Logistic Property (ALP) bucks this trend by offering modern, innovation and technology-driven warehousing and logistics services to the Taiwan market, as AmCham members learned on their visit Nov. 3 to ALP’s Logistics Republic (LR) massive smart warehouse and logistics hub in Ruifang. Providing logistic services to customers using the Port of Keelung, LR is only in Phase 1 but already encompasses 171,400 square meters.

Hosted by Warren Wang, Executive Assistant to Charlie Chang, Managing Director of ALP, AmCham members were first treated to a tour of the site’s central office. With its modern design and warm wood finish, it resembles a high-end café more than the bland, utilitarian space more typical of the industry – and it even has an espresso bar. Wang told AmCham members that several of ALP customers have been so impressed by the design that they contracted ALP to design their own workspaces as well.

From left to right: AmCham member Warren Wang, Executive Assistant to Managing Director of Ally Logistic Property and Andrea Wu AmCham President

ALP was established just three years ago, with US$1 billion in investment from Cathay Financial Holdings Corp., but is already well on its way towards its goal of building and managing one million square meters of modern smart warehouse and logistics infrastructure. Wang explained that ALP’s LR site is a warehouse solution that maximizes operational efficiency and minimizes transportation needs by co-locating various players in the logistic service industry together with their clients. The company continues to drive innovation in the logistics sector with ambitious expansion plans to meet the needs of Taiwan’s manufacturers, retailers, e-commerce businesses, and third-party logistic service providers, he said.

Following Wang’s briefing, AmCham members piled into the bus once more to visit the actual warehouses. First on the agenda was a tour of French sporting goods maker Decathlon’s distribution center. Decathlon is a maker of a wide range of sporting goods, from weightlifting gear to racing bicycles and badminton racquets. Jimmy Correia, Decathlon’s Taiwan Logistics Leader, led AmCham members on a tour of the distribution center, where Decathlon’s youthful and sporty logistics workers “pick and pack” – with the help of advanced technology – sporting goods for shipment to Decathlon’s stores in Taiwan and around the world.

Following these tours, AmCham members were treated to some of Dyna Logistics’ wares – a wine tasting sponsored by Dyna Logistics and ALP.

A tour of the LR Wine Hub followed, led by the General Manager of Dyna Logistics, James Pong. In marked contrast to Decathlon’s distribution center, which bustled with youthful staff, Dyna Logistics’ cavernous wine hub was eerily quiet. Pong told AmCham members that the entire warehouse was staffed by fewer than a dozen workers, with most of the wines picked from the tall racks soaring 20 meters above by huge vertical machines that traversed the aisles. With fragile, irregularly shaped bottles and strict temperature requirements, wine is notoriously challenging to ship and store, yet Dyna Logistics’ automation and climate control enabled the warehousing operation to function with smooth precision.

Following these tours, AmCham members were treated to some of Dyna Logistics’ wares – a wine tasting sponsored by Dyna Logistics and ALP. AmCham conveyed its special thanks to ALP for sponsoring the roundtrip bus ride to the Logistic Republic Park in Ruifang.

Interested in attending our events? Join us at other upcoming events, click here.

Note: AmCham events are intended primarily for AmCham members and their guests. Many events are open to members’ guests and other non-members, but the attendance of any non-member must be approved in advance. AmCham reserves the right not to admit a non-member to any event without explanation.

Innovation Council Luncheon: Unlocking the Power of Authentic Experiences through the Sharing Ecnoomy

On October 17, AmCham Taipei’s Innovation Council had the pleasure of hosting Airbnb’s Asia-Pacific public policy lead Mike Orgill, to share his insights with guests and members about the rise of the global “Sharing Economy”.

The “Sharing economy” is an umbrella term with a range of meanings, often used to describe economic and social activity involving online transactions. Some notable platforms include Airbnb, Uber, and Zipcar.

img_2208
During Mr. Orgill’s presentation, he covered a the following topics:

  • Opportunities and future development of Sharing Economy
  • New trends in travel
  • Best-practice sharing on partnerships, such as how Airbnb became the partner of the recent Olympics in Rio
  • Experience sharing on working with governments to develop new regulatory frameworks for sharing economy

To browse or register for all upcoming AmCham Events, click here.

img_2310

Gina Tsai (left) Airbnb’s Hong Kong and Taiwan Public Policy Head, Mike Orgill (right) APAC Public Policy Head, with Revital Golan (center), AmCham Technology Committee Co-Chair and Managing Director of Anemone Ventures.

Premier Chang on Innovation and Taiwanese Startups

amcham-taipei-premier-startups-innovation

Speaking at a special AmCham Taipei luncheon on April 7, Premier Simon San-cheng Chang stressed the importance of innovation and the success of Taiwanese startups for Taiwan’s economic prosperity.

He noted that Taiwan has many of the attributes needed to become a Startup Nation and a hub for Taiwanese startups:

  • Quality human resources
  • High-quality education, especially in science, math and IT
  • Strong foundation in ICT infrastructure
  • Ideal market size for pilot trials
  • No. 5 in U.S. patents registered

But two major obstacles need to be overcome:

  • A domestic market that is too small to nurture sufficient growth
  • Local venture capitalists that are reluctant to invest in early-stage Taiwanese startups

Chang expressed optimism that Taiwan has the potential to become an innovation hub for the Asia-Pacific region, but it must look beyond its own shores to tap international opportunities.

amcham-taipei-premier-startups-innovation-2

In recent years, the government has sought to help promote Taiwanese startups through various initiatives:

  • Support for incubators/accelerators – for example, the Ministry of Science and Technology’s “From IP to IPO” program and the National Development Council’s “Taiwan Startup Stadium” bootcamps.
  • Investment in venture capital funds designed to get international VCs involved in the Taiwan market.
  • Support for regional startup shows, such as MOSA and the “Meet Taipei Startup Carnival 2015.”

The key to future success will be tapping the research potential in Taiwan’s academic institutions as a seedbed for innovation and startups.

Taiwan’s Role in the Future of Computer Memory

Micron CEO Mark Durcan addresses AmCham Taipei Guests at a Special Luncheon on March 10 regarding the semiconductor industry in Taiwan

Micron Technology CEO Mark Durcan spoke to AmCham Taipei guests on March 10 at a special Global Executive Insights luncheon, offering a wealth of knowledge about future trends in the global computer memory industry and a clear summary of why Taiwan plays such a large role in the sector. Durcan’s full presentation is available below.

2015 Semiconductor Market Breakdown

Durcan stressed three major trends in the memory segment of the semiconductor industry:

1. Supplier consolidation:

Major semiconductor manufacturers continue to consolidate through mergers and acquisitions.

2. Diversification of end markets

During the dotcom boom and bust over 70% of memory was dedicated to PC applications. Today only 25% goes to PCs, while demand for memory in mobile devices and server/cloud applications soars. Significant growth for memory demand can also be seen in other advanced fields:

  • Automotive: crash avoidance technology
  • Medical: advanced diagnostics
  • Graphics: augmented/virtual reality and gaming

diversifyiing-memory-segments-micron-technology

3. Slowing supply growth

While demand growth for memory (measured in bits) continues to rise, the amount of new bits that can be produced each year by the industry through advances in existing technology is plateauing.

The result is a gradual shift away from supplying memory products to major OEMs, towards a diversified end market – and an increasing demand for more customized, innovative memory solutions for individual customers.

Looking forward

Due to the slowing technology-driven scaling of existing memory types (NAND and DRAM), Micron has begun to explore the development of new memory products, including:

3D NAND – a new configuration of existing NAND memory chips has tripled the capacity of existing NAND products, allowing 3.5TB to be stored in a space the size of a stick of gum while greatly reducing power consumption

3D Xpoint – An entirely new type of memory (the first in decades), Durcan claims that 3D Xpoint has the potential to dramatically transform computing architectures, boasting speeds and densities 1000x greater than those of NAND.

Taiwan’s Role

Micron, one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, produces 60% of it’s DRAM memory chips in Taiwan alone. Since 2008, Micron has invested US$8bn in Taiwan, with another $4bn pending the completion of their acquisition of Inotera. Durcan stressed repeatedly the importance of Taiwan to the success of Micron’s semiconductor business, highlighting several key factors that contribute to its optimal business environment:

  • Advanced education programs produce a high quality talent pool, with experience in semiconductor technology and strong work ethic
  • A Supportive and business-friendly government and regulatory environment.
  • A strong, quality-focused technology manufacturing ecosystem that drives a cost-competitive environment, as well as a high-quality test and assembly infrastructure
  • Proximity to large markets such as China, with engineers and other talent who speak the same language and live in the same time zone as customers from these markets
  • Historically affordable energy costs

AmCham Taipei would like to thank Mark Durcan and Micron for their time and willingness to share their insight with the Taiwan business community at this AmCham Special Luncheon.