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AS Watson Group Triumphs with 36 Stevie® Awards in the 11th annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards 2024

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HONG KONG, July 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — AS Watson Group, the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, has achieved an impressive 36 Stevie® Awards and been named the Overall Winner and received the Grand Stevie Award in the 11th annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards® 2024. These accolades span multiple categories, including 11 Gold, 10 Silver, and 13 Bronze awards. The Awards is a prestigious recognition programme that recognises business innovation across Asia-Pacific region.

Among the 36 awards spanning multiple categories, AS Watson Group’s recognition as the recipient of the prestigious Grand Stevie Award is a testament to the company’s dedication to driving business innovation across the Asia-Pacific region. This achievement is underpinned by AS Watson Group’s extensive 16,500+ O+O (Offline plus Online) store network, which serves as the core customer touchpoints, along with 130,000 colleagues worldwide. Seamlessly integrated with over 120 digital platforms, this O+O ecosystem is further bolstered by the company’s base of 170 million loyal members, fostering deep customer connectivity.

Watsons, the flagship health and beauty brand of AS Watson Group, has run the “The New Beautiful” and received 4 prestigious awards, reflecting its determination to redefine the concept of beauty and prioritise the overall well-being of its customers through the “Dare to Be” initiative, which encompasses their body, mind, and soul.

Additionally, the “Go Green with Watsons” region-wide environmental campaign has garnered 5 recognitions, successfully promoting sustainable behavior change among customers through carbon-neutral events and innovative gamification features within the Watsons app. Watsons has also been lauded for its achievements in providing engaging O+O shopping experiences, innovative GetActive events and concerts, as well as its dedication to sustainability, exemplified by its participation in Operation Smile. These accomplishments have been highly rated by the esteemed Stevie Asia-Pacific judges.

Here are the 36 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards won by AS Watson Group:

AS Watson Group

Grand Stevie AwardMost Innovative Communications Team of the Year – GoldAward for Innovative Management in Retail – GoldAward for Innovation in Internal Communications Videos – GoldAward for Innovation in Organisational Image Videos – GoldInnovative Achievement in International Expansion – SilverThought Leader of The Year – SilverAward for Innovation in Community Relations – BronzeAward for Innovation in Sponsorships – Bronze

Watsons International

People’s Choice Stevie AwardsAward for Excellence in Innovation in Consumer Product & Service Industries – GoldInnovative Achievement in Diversity & Inclusion – GoldAward for Innovation in Shopping or E-commerce Apps – GoldProject of the Year in the Area of Nature & Biological Diversity – SilverAward for Innovation in the Use of Video – SilverAward for Innovation in Media Relations – BronzeInnovative Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility – BronzeAward for Sustainability & Climate Protection Services – BronzeClimate Protection and Sustainability Campaign of the Year – Bronze

Watsons’ market – Mainland China

Award for the Innovative Use of Technology in Customer Service – GoldAward for Innovation in Business-to-Business Services – SilverAward for Innovation in Content Marketing – Bronze

Watsons’ market – Hong Kong

Award or Innovation in Consumer Electronics & Information Technology – GoldAward for the Innovative Use of Technology in Customer Service – SilverAward for Innovation in Health & Wellness – SilverAward for Innovation in Consumer Electronics & Information Technology – Bronze

Watsons’ market – Malaysia

Award for Innovation in Consumer Events – SilverAward for Innovation in Cross-Media Marketing – Bronze

Watsons’ market – Philippines

Award for Innovation in the Use of Social Media – GoldAward for Innovation in Community Relations – SilverAward for Innovation in the Use of Viral Media/Word of Mouth – BronzeAward for Innovation in Branded Entertainment – BronzeAward for Innovation in Entertainment Events – Bronze

Watsons’ market – Thailand

Award for Innovation in Cross-Media Marketing – Bronze

Watsons’ market – Taiwan

Innovative Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility – Silver

Watsons Water

Award for Sustainability & Climate Protection Services – Gold

Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards are the only awards program to recognise business innovation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. In 2024, The 11th Annual Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards received more than 1,000 nominations in 25 markets about innovative achievements were considered by the judges.

Details about Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and the lists of Stevie Award winners are available at https://asia.stevieawards.com/2024-stevie-winners.

About AS Watson Group

Established in 1841, AS Watson Group is the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer operating over 16,500 stores under 12 retail brands in 28 markets, with about 130,000 employees worldwide. For the fiscal year 2023, AS Watson Group recorded revenue of US$23 billion. Every year, we are serving over 5.5 billion shoppers via our O+O (Offline plus Online) technology-enabled platforms.

AS Watson Group is also a member of the world-renowned multinational conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, which has four core businesses ‐ ports and related services, retail, infrastructure and telecommunications in over 50 countries.

Please visit www.aswatson.com/our-company/o-and-o-strategy/ for more information.

About the Stevie® Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in nine programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the Stevie vie Awards for Technology Excellence. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 nominations each year. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com .

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SOURCE AS Watson

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Digital & Intelligent Pathway: Xiaohongshu and VOGUE Business Unveil Groundbreaking Lifestyle Marketing Insights at Milan Summit

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MILAN, Sept. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — As the exclusive strategic partner, Xiaohongshu teamed up with VOGUE Business to host the The Digital Silk Road: Pioneering the Future of Luxury Lifestyles summit at Milan’s historic Palazzo Serbelloni on September 26-27, 2024. The event aimed to redefine marketing, product innovation, and brand evolution through a human-centric lens, nurturing a more creative and vibrant ecosystem for global brands. 

The summit gathered marketing experts from prestigious global brands and senior executives from Xiaohongshu’s Beauty, Luxury and Clothing, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), and Durable Goods departments. Together, they explored the forefront of digital marketing trends and pioneering lifestyle ecosystems within China’s luxury, beauty, wellness, beverage, and home living domains. 

Xiaohongshu, a trendsetting hub for brands to gain popularity, boasts a vast young consumer base and a high-quality content ecosystem. With deep insights into industry trends and user preferences, it has become the premier marketing platform for brands seeking to forge emotional connections with Chinese consumers.

For those venturing into the Chinese market or seeking new growth opportunities, Xiaohongshu is not just an optimal community to reach target consumers but also an essential partner for expanding their presence in China. It serves as a crucial platform for business growth, making now the prime time to join this content community platform. 

In the era of digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), social media, and innovative commercial solutions are redefining modern lifestyles and enhancing human potential. The two-day event delved into cutting-edge digital marketing tools and emerging consumption trends, with Xiaohongshu showcasing human-centric marketing strategies spanning the luxury, wellness, beverage, and home living sectors. 

In today’s digital landscape, public attention has fragmented, leading to diverse interest circles and personalized lifestyles. How can brands capture the attention and recognition of a broader audience? During a roundtable titled “Tapping lifestyle trends the micro-cultures driving engagement”, Shawn Li, General Manager of  the Commercial Durable Consumption Division at Xiaohongshu, exchanged insights on shifting consumer behaviors with global leaders in fashion, home furnishings, and beauty. 

— Influencers now serve as messengers and amplifiers within specific interest circles, emerging as a novel communication medium and reshaping communication dynamics within these communities;

— Younger consumers prioritize the blend of personal needs and aesthetic experiences, valuing emotional depth, sentimental value, and individuality.

Health, a trending global topic in recent years, dominated the FMCG-Wellness Breakfast Session on September 27. The event, themed “Navigating the new tools for digital success”, featured Rex Zhang, General Manager of the Commercial Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Industry Group Division at Xiaohongshu, and Jayden Wu, Head of the Healthcare and Wellness Industry Division at Xiaohongshu. They examined Chinese market trends for global wellness brands: 

— The seamless integration of social media and e-commerce is transforming shopping habits and brand experiences, ushering in an unprecedented revolution in the health sector.

China’s youth are embracing emerging wellness trends, incorporating traditional Chinese practices, and unlocking substantial consumption potential.

Cynthia Zhong, head of the Luxury Industry Division at Xiaohongshu, presented on the theme “Xiaohongshu:The new frontline of lifestyle platform” showcasing the platform’s unique approach to unlocking brand potential alongside global fashion, luxury, and lifestyle brands. 

— Xiaohongshu has cultivated a distinctive community ecosystem by leveraging its differentiated community positioning and extensive user base, fostering a trusted and engaging atmosphere.

— With premium user-generated content (UGC) as its cornerstone, Xiaohongshu enables brands to authentically share compelling, relevant content featuring users’ genuine experiences, creating exclusive brand identities and enhancing brand appeal.

Human-Centric Marketing: Unlocking Marketing Potential

At the summit, Xiaohongshu unveiled its comprehensive insights into 20 demographic groups, with a particular focus on luxury through the introduction of the “Luxury Living” persona. This classification segmented luxury consumers based on their varied spiritual needs, highlighting four core motivators behind luxury spending and granting attendees an insightful glimpse into Xiaohongshu’s luxury consumer base. The diversity of the “Luxury Living” persona opens up fresh avenues for brand-consumer interactions, aligning brand identity with consumer self-expression. It satisfies the target consumers’ quest for self-identity markers and a sense of belonging, transcending conventional status symbols and instead embodying the essence of individuals, nurturing their evolving spiritual world and cultivating a deep, lasting emotional connection with brands. 

Additionally, in the realm of wellness, health-conscious consumers across different age groups exhibit varying physical, experiential, and expressive desires in diverse usage scenarios. Based on health philosophies, consumption motivations, and use settings, Xiaohongshu identified eight key demographic groups as “Physique Care Advocates” within the healthcare and wellness sector at the summit, including Vitality Chargers, Workplace Efficiency Seekers, Slow Living Advocates, Glow-Up Researchers, Self-Care Enthusiasts, Fitness Fanatics, Endurance Explorers, and Silver-Haired Trendsetters.

This comprehensive segmentation underscores the escalating health consciousness among young generations, who adopt a proactive stance in managing their health and drive the health consumption landscape towards greater daily integration and diversity. Xiaohongshu enables brands by unveiling real-world consumer scenarios, and cultivating profound understanding of diverse pain points and shopping preferences. Through a meticulous grasp of consumers’ wellness requirements, brands can enhance their offerings, emphasize core competencies, and fortify competitive advantages, ultimately widening market reach for products that truly align with user demands. 

In the realm of home living, Xiaohongshu pinpointed four distinct personas: Nomadic Youth, Nesting Youth, All-Rounders, and Home Curators. Through collaboration with Xiaohongshu, brands can tap into these unique consumer segments, anchored by the “People-Needs-Scenarios-Trends” framework. Encompassing home decor aesthetics, furniture and appliance efficiency, and emotional satisfaction, brands receive a holistic analysis of crucial growth trends within the home living sector. Jointly, they can carve out innovative avenues for user engagement and catalyze business expansion. 

Innovative Solutions: A Win-Win Ecosystem for a Shared Future 

Brands on Xiaohongshu have enhanced their marketing strategies and bolstered business value, streamlining the process from inspiration to purchase. Xiaohongshu, along with its partner brands, has introduced a novel marketing approach that caters to the preferences of the new generation by bridging the gap between online and offline channels. This strategy has further expedited consumer engagement and communication, providing a convenient, efficient, and reassuring shopping experience.

For luxury brands, effectively communicating brand mantra and proposition is vital in engaging with their target audience. The runway serves as the cornerstone for brand storytelling, acting as a bridge between luxury consumption scenarios and marketing endeavors. Xiaohongshu’s distinctive “See Now, Buy Now” model for luxury fashion shows presents a groundbreaking solution. During Louis Vuitton’s (LV) Early Fall Women’s Collection show, the brand premiered a hybrid live streaming format on Xiaohongshu, showcasing both the runway and a preview event. Through this exclusive collaboration, LV paved an innovative marketing pathway, spanning from show highlights and multi-faceted product previews to direct purchasing via its mini-App, achieving a seamless transition from brand exposure to sales conversion.

Meanwhile, Xiaohongshu continues to break new ground in innovative marketing. Capitalizing on its robust consumer engagement, the platform has established a unique KOS (Key Opinion Sales) ecosystem, proving instrumental for brands in expanding their customer base. Currently, Xiaohongshu boasts over 100,000 business sales accounts spanning all industries, with nearly 2 million content posts. The KOS ecosystem efficiently broadens customer reach, streamlines ordering processes, and bridges the communication gap with consumers. By leveraging various content formats and marketing strategies, it communicates brand identity and aesthetic propositions, accelerating brands’ digital transformation and achieving a seamless closed-loop from inspiration to purchase.

Since its inception, Xiaohongshu has served as a bridge, connecting users to premium products and real-life experiences to the commercial world. With a human-centric approach, Xiaohongshu provides a seamless solution for brands’ business growth and sales conversion. This is achieved through practical marketing strategies, diversified brand solutions, and pioneering omnichannel conversion pathways. 

Looking ahead, Xiaohongshu remains committed to collaborating with brands to navigate the dynamic consumer market, fostering emotional resonance and value alignment with users, and fueling enduring brand vitality. 

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Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2518662/image_5030780_41529749.jpg 

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AI’s Billion-Dollar Play in Sports: How Vertical Generative AI Platforms Are Boosting Efficiency and Unlocking New Revenue

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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The $500 billion sports industry is on the verge of a technological revolution. LootMogul, an AI sports tech startup, is leading this charge. Artificial intelligence (AI), fueled by machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), is poised to redefine fan engagement and unlock unprecedented revenue streams. Purpose-built, vertical AI solutions are emerging as the key to this transformation, offering tailored approaches that address the unique dynamics of the sports ecosystem.

Dr. Sarah Chen, a leading sports technology analyst, explains: “Vertical AI solutions in sports are game-changers. They’re not just generic AI applications retrofitted for sports; they’re built from the ground up to understand and enhance every aspect of the sports industry, from player performance to fan engagement.”

Founder, Raj Rajkotia envisions “a dynamic, interconnected sports ecosystem where AI empowers and generates new revenue for everyone,” fueled by collaboration with over 400 athletes, teams, brands, fans, and partners.

This commitment to collaboration is reflected in LootMogul’s platform, which is developing several AI capabilities that are emerging as game-changers for the sports industry:

AI-Driven Game Development: Text-to-game technology could empower fans to design and share their own custom sports games, opening up exciting new possibilities for user-generated content.Text-to-Merch AI Capability: Using AI to generate custom merchandise designs based on fan input, allowing fans to create and purchase unique, personalized apparel and accessories.Personalized Content Generation: Fans receive custom highlight reels of their favorite player’s best moments, delivered directly to their phone after each game.AI-Powered Fantasy Sports: Deep learning models could provide real-time player performance predictions, giving fantasy sports enthusiasts an unprecedented edge.Virtual Coaching and Training: Computer vision and ML can analyze athlete movements, offering personalized training programs that bridge the gap between professional and amateur athletes.Immersive AR/VR Experiences: Fans can step onto the field alongside their favorite athletes, experiencing the thrill of the game from their perspective.Predictive Analytics for Teams and Leagues: From optimizing ticket pricing to predicting player performance, ML and big data analytics can revolutionize team and league operations.Automated Sports Journalism: Advanced NLP could generate insightful sports articles and reports, providing cost-effective content generation for media outlets and teams.Sentiment Analysis for Brand Partnerships: By analyzing fan sentiment on social media, brands and athletes can form more effective and authentic partnerships.

The potential for AI in sports is vast, and the market is primed for disruption. The global sports technology market is projected to reach $40.2 billion by 2026, with AI and data analytics as key growth drivers. For investors seeking significant returns, the sports tech sector, particularly AI-driven platforms, presents an unprecedented opportunity.

LootMogul believes the future of sports is intelligent, immersive, and interconnected, and the company is dedicated to building the platform that will make this vision a reality. To learn more about LootMogul and its vision for the future of sports, podcast.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2519000/AI_LOOTMOGUL.jpg

 

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SOURCE LootMogul

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PrePass Now Integrates with Motive to Enhance Fleet Operations, Maximize Weigh Station Bypass Opportunities, and Save on Tolling Expenses

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PHOENIX, Sept. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — PrePass is now available on the Motive Marketplace through a new partnership with AI-powered integrated operations platform Motive, offering its comprehensive suite of services. Now available on the Motive Marketplace, this integration empowers fleets with seamless access to PrePass’ industry-leading integrated weigh station bypass and toll management services, significantly enhancing fleet safety, productivity, and profitability.

Customers will benefit from fewer weigh station stops and improved bypass reliability with the PrePass app and transponder. Additionally, Motive and PrePass customers will gain access to PrePass GPS Toll Verification, an innovative new service that saves fleets time and money by matching GPS location to toll charges. By surfacing toll charge inaccuracies, PrePass can file and resolve disputes on behalf of its customers, ensuring accurate toll payments and reducing operational costs.

Chris Murray, President of PrePass LLC, added, “This new partnership with Motive will help fleets optimize their operations by delivering more value today and into the future. As the only integrated bypass and tolling solution, we maximize their investment in telematics platforms by enabling more bypass opportunities, delivering substantial toll cost savings, and enhancing the experience for drivers and back-office staff.”

“Through our partnership, fleets can use PrePass to optimize routes, reduce expenses, and enhance safety,” said Harvey Grasty, Senior Director of Partnerships at Motive. “With PrePass integrated into Motive’s platform, fleets can save time by bypassing weigh stations and improve operations by relying on one unified platform for comprehensive support, toll management, and dispute resolution.”

For more information about the integration and services, visit PrePass.com.

About PrePass Safety Alliance:

PrePass Safety Alliance is a nonprofit public-private partnership of state commercial vehicle compliance agency and trucking industry leaders devoted to the safe, secure, and efficient use of North America’s highway system. Through widespread deployment of PrePass advanced technologies, the Alliance works to increase compliance in commercial vehicle operations while saving motor carriers time, fuel, and money. PrePass LLC, an Alliance subsidiary, is the operational entity for the PrePass program. To date, the Alliance has invested over $1 billion to deploy services that improve safety, reduce truck-related emissions, and preserve highway infrastructure. Learn more at PrePassAlliance.org

About PrePass:

PrePass® is North America’s most utilized and technologically advanced weigh station bypass and toll payment platform. Proven PrePass technologies enable safe, qualified motor carriers to bypass inspection facilities at highway speeds, saving them time, fuel, and money while reducing harmful emissions. As the only provider to offer bypass and electronic toll payment service on one device, PrePass technology helps fleets regain control of their toll costs, eliminate toll violations, and automatically identify and resolve max toll disputes. PrePass is the only preclearance system developed, owned, and operated in the United States of America. That’s why more than 100,000 fleets subscribe over 750,000 commercial vehicles to PrePass services. Learn more at PrePass.com

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SOURCE PrePass Safety Alliance

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