Society Pass Incorporated (Nasdaq: SOPA) (“SoPa”), Southeast Asia (SEA)’s next generation, data-driven, loyalty, fintech and e-commerce ecosystem, today announces the official launch of its digital advertising platform, Thoughtful Media Group Inc (TMG), in the Philippines market. With the theme of “The Power of Influence”, TMG will introduce its new Manila-based executive team and its disruptive influencer advertising business model at a media presentation at 4 pm on Thursday, 17 August 2023 at Mansion Sports Bar & Lounge, OPL Building, 100 Don Carlos Palanca, Legazpi Village, Makati, 1229 Metro Manila, Philippines.
Established in 2010 and acquired by SoPa in 2022, TMG’s growth trajectory has been impressive. In just 12 months, TMG has grown from operating exclusively in its headquarters of Bangkok, Thailand, to expanding to Vietnam in 4Q 2022, to Indonesia in 1Q 2023 and now to Philippines in 3Q 2023. In addition, TMG’s employee count has increased from just 15 professionals in July 2022 to over 75 staff today. With an influencer network of more than 10,000 talented creators, an integrated roster of digital advertising products and services including influencer marketing and brand campaigns, social commerce, and sports marketing, and 13 years of experience serving more than 100 brands, TMG’s market entry into the Philippines market offers a significant value proposition to advertisers, merchants, and influencers in SEA’s fourth largest economy. Well positioned to benefit from Philippine’ forecast soaring digital advertising revenues over the next decade as increasingly more consumers make direct purchases on social media platforms, TMG collaborates with social media platforms, advertisers and influencers to develop the entire creator economy in Philippines.
Mr. Dennis Nguyen, SoPa Founder/Chairman/CEO and TMG Chairman, states, “We are very pleased to bring the Philippines market into the TMG ecosystem. TMG’s disruptive advertising platform, combining over 10,000 talented creators, market-leading design/branding capabilities, influencer advertising-focused social commerce services, will generate massive storytelling capabilities and revenue generation opportunities for local, regional and international advertisers seeking to market in Philippines. By leveraging our local knowledge of market trends from other offices in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, TMG provides international quality advertising products and services for our brand partners as well as a significant revenue generating opportunities for Philippines creators”.
Mr Nguyen continues, “I am very excited to hire Billy Soo to head our TMG Philippines operations. Billy brings a wealth of experience in gaming and advertising from his time at Gushcloud International, Nixgen Entertainment and Powerplay Inc. I look forward to seeing Billy and his team create the most unique and powerful advertising platform here in Philippines”.
Although currently at a nascent stage, the Philippines creator economy is experiencing a dynamic surge, driven by a tech-savvy population and widespread internet access. According to Datareportal, Philippines’s internet penetration rate stood at 73.1 percent of the total population at the start of 2023 with the number of internet users increasing by 10 million between 2022 and 2023. Furthermore, Filipinos spend a combined 3 hours and 43 minutes a day on social media. INSG forecasts the value of SEA’s influencer marketing industry to reach US$2.59 billion in 2024, up from US$638 million in 2019 alone.
Responsible for driving sales and onboarding Philippines clients onto TMG’s regional digital advertising platform, Mr. Billy Soo, Country Head of Thoughtful Media Group Philippines, comments, “Bonding through the power of influence, we want to create a genuine connection for brands and content creators, tapping onto TMG’s broad advertising network and extensive ecosystem to open new doors towards more business opportunities, capitalising on digital-first and fully integrated advertising networks. Mr. Nguyen hired me to turbocharge TMG’s expansion here in the land of the Kabayan. In just five weeks’ time, we have already built a staff of 10+ Manila-based advertising professionals. TMG Philippines will offer premium branded campaigns, MCN, sports marketing and e-sports verticals and we look forward to serving the creator and advertiser communities”.
About Thoughtful Media Group Inc.
Founded in 2010, Thoughtful Media Group is the leading digital advertising platform in SEA. Through our network of more than 10,000 talented creators across multiple industries in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines, we help brands maximise marketing budgets and achieve business objectives through some of the most innovative marketing campaigns in the region.
In July 2022, Society Pass (Nasdaq: SOPA), the next generation acquisition-focused fintech and e-commerce ecosystem in SEA, acquired Thoughtful Media Group Inc. Since then, TMG has fully evolved into a digital-first and fully integrated advertising powerhouse, servicing creators and advertisers in SEA.
About Society Pass Inc.
Founded in 2018 as a data-driven loyalty, fintech and e-commerce ecosystem in the fast-growing markets of Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, which account for more than 80% of the SEA population, and with offices located in Angeles, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Manila, and Singapore, Society Pass Incorporated (Nasdaq: SOPA) is an acquisition-focused holding company operating 6 interconnected verticals (loyalty, digital media, travel, telecoms, lifestyle, and F&B), which seamlessly connects millions of registered consumers and hundreds of thousands of registered merchants/brands across multiple product and service categories throughout SEA.
Society Pass completed an initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SOPA in November 2021.
SoPa acquires fast growing e-commerce companies and expands its user base across a robust product and service ecosystem. SoPa integrates these complementary businesses through its signature Society Pass fintech platform and circulation of its universal loyalty points or Society Points, which has entered beta testing and is expected to launch broadly at the beginning of 2023. Society Pass loyalty program members earn and redeem Society Points and receive personalised promotions based on SoPa’s data capabilities and understanding of consumer shopping behaviour. SoPa has amassed more than 3.3 million registered consumers and over 650,000 registered merchants and brands. It has invested 2+ years building proprietary IT architecture to effectively scale and support its consumers, merchants, and acquisitions.
Society Pass leverages technology to tailor a more personalised experience for customers in the purchase journey and to transform the entire retail value chain in SEA. SoPa operates Thoughtful Media Group, a Thailand-based, a social commerce-focused, premium digital video multi-platform network; NusaTrip, a leading Indonesia-based Online Travel Agency; VLeisure, Vietnam’s leading provider of hotel management and payment solutions; Gorilla Global, a Singapore-based, mobile network operator; Leflair.com, Vietnam’s leading lifestyle e-commerce platform; Pushkart.ph, a popular grocery delivery company in Philippines; and NextGen Retail, a Indonesia-based e-commerce platform.
