Gojek hunts for a new head of marketing for Singapore

Gojek is on the lookout for a new head of marketing in Singapore. This comes as its previous head of marketing for Singapore, Archishman Ramasubramanian, has moved on to take on the role of head of global demand, strategy and planning, transport group.

The appointed individual will be tasked to define the long term brand strategy for Gojek Singapore, according to a job posting seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. He or she will also be responsible for driving growth and market share, as well as lead and further develop capabilities in the Gojek Singapore marketing team across digital, brand, CRM and creative channels. Additionally, the individual will have to collaborate with various teams, namely product, marketplace, operations and data, to determine the general long term consumer acquisition, retention, and driver engagement strategies. The new head of marketing will report to Jasper Distel, group head of international marketing at Gojek.

The job posting added that Gojek's new head of marketing in Singapore will need to have at least seven years of work experience in consumer marketing at global consumer packaged goods companies. The brand is also looking for someone who has "extensive experience" in building a marketing strategy from consumer research, internal data, and insights from internal teams. Furthermore, the individual will have to be experienced in executing both long-term brand/product marketing and short-term acquisition marketing, as well as optimising a multi-million dollar budget.

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a spokesperson from Gojek said in Singapore, ride-hailing has seen promising recovery amidst the country’s gradual reopening, and marketing efforts will be key in supporting this growth. "We have some exciting things planned in Singapore for 2021, and we are looking for an experienced marketing leader to take on the role of head of marketing for Singapore and help us build what’s next," the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson also said Gojek's "key priority" for this year is to grow its business outside of Indonesia, in markets including Singapore. "Across the region, we continue to see encouraging recovery and great potential for further growth in our markets, and we are in the strongest position we’ve ever been to capitalise on this following the unification of our apps and brands last year," the spokesperson said. Gojek will also "significantly invest" in its markets as it looks to strengthen market share and maximise business potential.

Business growth for Gojek in Singapore this year does indeed seem to be in the cards. Last November, Gojek Singapore said it will be expanding its range of services come 2021. Speaking at a virtual press conference, Lien Choong Luen, general manager, Gojek Singapore, said the ride-hailing company will be rolling out new features in its app by the first half of next year. This includes a transport platform for corporate businesses, as well as a more comprehensive range of mobility services for consumers that will enable consumers to book larger vehicles and taxis.

Gojek has recently been making headlines about its speculated move to either merge with delivery platform rival Grab or Indonesian tech company Tokopedia. According to sources cited by multiple media outlets, Gojek was reportedly in advanced merger talks with Tokopedia to seal a US$18 billion deal while it allegedly also "made substantial progress" to merge with Grab. Bloomberg also previously reported that Gojek and Tokopedia had contemplated merging since 2018, and discussions sped up as merger talks between Gojek and Grab "reached on impasse", after Grab CEO Anthony Tan insisted on having large portion of control over the merged entity. Gojek and Grab also reportedly had a clash of opinion on how to handle the Indonesian market, which is Gojek's main market. 

While Gojek, Grab, and Tokopedia have declined to comment on the market rumours, industry players said either merger will ultimately affect the advertising world. Lau Kong Cheen, senior lecturer, marketing programme at Singapore University of Social Sciences, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE previously that with either move, the marketing budget of the merged companies in existing markets may be diverted to other initiatives that may not be marketing related. This would reduce the revenue for marketing and advertising agencies serving them. 

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Seah, partner at Quest Ventures, said traction of joint business plans are often not uniform outside of host market. He added that a Gojek-Tokopedia merger would thus allow marketers to enter into joint business plans for the Indonesian market at the levels of Google or Facebook, which is "a scale unseen before in the marketing and data world".

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