Mawarni Adam's Marqetr to crowdfund at least RM250k for regional expansion

Mawarni Adam's consultancy, Marqetr, is seeking its first equity crowdfunding campaign targeting a minimum of RM250,000 in return for 1.81% equity, and a maximum of RM3.25 million in return for 19.35% equity. According to the consultancy, this values it at RM13.5 million pre-money. All the capital will be used to amplify its marketing activities, increase headcount, access new markets in Asia, and build its next-generation tech platform.

In particular, five new employees will be added to the team over the next 15 months, which will strengthen Marqetr's capabilities to build a multi-device, full-stack and end-to-end managed marketplace tech platform, CRM, loyalty and gamification, smart-matching algorithm and machine learning. At the same time, the funding will allow Marqetr to broaden its feature set to create a global network for marketing experts and expertise. This will also facilitate its first-stage expansion in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and beyond.

After looking at the potential of Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam and the nature of their marketing industry, Mawarni (pictured) told A+M that it made commercial sense to expand into those markets. However, with its borderless tech platform and business model, Marqetr is also able to expand into more countries if and when the opportunity arises. For example, it has since established a presence in the USA based on this model. Although it is still at very early stages, Mawarni said the US is intended to position the company as a global one in the near future. 

Marqetr will be very focused on building its next-generation tech capabilities in 2022 while continuing its marketing activities in tandem, focusing on two key areas: content marketing and performance marketing and analytics. On the content marketing front, Marqetr will focus on thematic and tactical campaigns. "The big narrative on the human story on why we built Marqetr, appealing to the logical, practical and emotional reasons on how the brand can help clients, marketers and everyone involved in the industry. Telling the brand story will continue beyond 2022 but it’ll be the year that we’ll set its first trajectory," she explained.

Meanwhile, for performance marketing and analytics, Marqetr wants to be able to measure everything so performance will be a huge part of its marketing. This includes getting sign-ups to converting and engaging the users (clients and marketers) and incentivising referrals on the platform, and then being able to do it all over again with optimised results, Mawarni explained.

According to Marqetr, it has since reached 102% of its sign-up targets for 2021 a month after revamping its web portal. Based in Malaysia, Mawarni revived her consultancy earlier this year and expanded into Singapore a few months later. She was previously Berjaya Sompo Insurance's head of brand, marketing communications and customer experience and was with the company for more than two years. Before this, Marqetr was known as M Consulting Asia.

Trends marketers should keep an eye on in 2022

With the death and sunsetting of cookies, Mawarni said marketers need to get really creative with marketing, so they do not waste money on paid ads. This can be done by strengthening brand advocacies and building a network of relevant and relatable brand advocates.

"The right influencers that are aligned with your brand’s meaning and purpose, be it a thought leader, subject matter expert or a consumer product aficionado will help deliver the brand story to the right target audience, so it’ll be worthwhile to spend some time in understanding and leveraging on this trend," she explained.

There will also be more social selling tied with the rise of eCommerce capabilities. This comes as more people take their business digital, gyms conducting online classes and selling passes to special sessions, Zoom lessons or webinars, telemedicine appointments and wellness consultations, as well as product tutorials and unboxing to showcase and sell. Based on this, Mawarni said social selling and eCommerce is fast becoming a powerful combo.

The third trend marketers should keep an eye on is finding new social media alternatives to connect and engage with their target audience. "As there may be a growing disdain towards certain platforms, LinkedIn for example is great for professional, it has higher CPC but with quality leads. And we can’t deny the power and influence of TikTok, a platform that was so foreign and strange to me three to four years ago has now found a place on my phone," she explained.

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