Jason Ang is passionate about innovating the way people interact with brands digitally.
Jason Ang Founder & Managing Director, Content T Digital Agency.
Just in 2022, global research and advisory firm Gartner in the U.S. reported that 70% of enterprises globally will be experimenting with immersive technologies for consumers and enterprises.
Now, just two years later, technology-driven businesses are already at the forefront of creating Metaverse-type engagements in which users are able to enter a hyper-realistic virtual environment by just scanning a QR code, allowing exploration that often results in diverse brand knowledge, winning exciting prizes and going through other unique digital experiences.
And now, a key player from Malaysia in this field is one Jason Ang’s Content Technology, or simply Conten.T!
Digital First
“First things, first – I don’t think an outfit like ours will replace legacy advertising agency-type setups,” stresses Ang. “But what we provide is actually a service that enhances how brands may serve their consumers and we want to bring forth the story-telling element from different brands in a more immersive standpoint.”
Ang goes on to say that a lot of the things that his company does complements the efforts of advertising agencies because he and his people are focused on creating experiences. “And this is what the brands that the advertising agencies represent want right now,” he points out excitedly.
The Peak Next Gen. (L-R Tan Kay Zhuin, Group CEO T7 Global Bhd, Lee Hui Jing, Co-Founder, Bila Bila Mart and Jason Ang Founder & Managing Director, Content T Digital Agency.
But he isn’t just another trend surfer either, mind you! Here is a man who’s been at the forefront of branding for close to 12 years now. “And from day one, I’ve been passionate about creating exciting solutions for fashion brands,” claims Ang. “And yes, I’m also very keen about creating value for these businesses!”
Creative Solutions for Fashion Brands
Eventually, he started offering physical and social solutions for brands, at first just through ground events specifically. “We were doing things like 3D photo and video engagements for brands like Gucci and Chanel, and soon everyone wanted a piece of this action for their own brands and business too. Then, the digital wave hit us so we pivoted to concentrate solely on digital mobile experiences.”
In the beginning, during the pre-pandemic period, Ang reveals that work for him and his crew involved putting together ground events with physical hardware. “Even back then, I had always wanted to replace all that with digital experiences instead. But my one big worry had been this, though: Will audiences know how to scan QR codes properly in order to initiate such digital experiences for them?”
He quickly explains that unlike email or social media, QR codes do not require users to be online before allowing them to experience a brand or product digitally on their portable devices. “Everything that’s been created to complement these codes are just a scan away for consumers, so there’s no need to search for Wi-Fi and download an external app for them to enjoy the featured content!”
Jason Ang Founder & Managing Director, Content T Digital Agency.
“Then the pandemic hit, but believe or not, the situation it brought about helped our cause tremendously as everyone went through their day-to-day scanning QR codes, and it quickly became a part of life!” According to Ang, the situation actually helped accelerate mass digital adaption everywhere, especially when it comes to how one expands the use of portable devices via QR codes!
Adapting to Technology
Suddenly, all the brands that Ang was having a hard time convincing to adapt QR technology finally realised what he was preaching about previously, and that just started everything moving in the right direction! And having predicted a growing trend in immersive technology even before COVID-19 hit, the adoption of immersive exploration was accelerated by the shift of digital-centric consumers largely caused by the pandemic itself!
“Yes, the pandemic reality actually corrected our position as brands realised that with QR codes, easy accessibility was the name of the game.,” he goes on. “The transition period is shortened for the consumer, compared to even something like a native app! That’s why more than 90% of the experiences we curate now are mobile based so anyone can access our work on the go. Best of all, every campaign that we’ve been involved in is a unique blend of technology, storytelling and exciting activities people can lose themselves in.”
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Now, Ang firmly believes that spreading the good word everywhere is the way to go. “For instance, we’ve been expanding our Asia-Pacific (APAC) reach lately and one of the things that we did in this regard was collaborating in a campaign for Ralph Lauren for a pink ribbon cancer awareness drive.
Here he explains the mechanics behind the collaborative project: “This APAC-specific campaign was built around the ping pong game, with audiences across the countries in this region competing against each other. This game is so well known across this region that it was easy to brings together people from all walks of life around this region with this.”
Digital Advancement
Ang then reveals that there was also a fund-raising element to the exercise, too. “For every game played by users, Ralph Lauren would pledge a donation to the pink ribbon cause, so its eventual wide acceptance was beneficial in so many ways, indeed!”
Ang firmly believes that now is an exciting time for brands to steer into digital experience – not just on the grounds of the shift in consumer behavior, but also in reference to the accessibility to technology. “Sure, physical retail may be back on the cards again, but complementing that now is a convenient and frequently more engaging digital world; one that can reach today’s tech savvy consumers in an impactful, emotional and interactive way,” he surmises.
“Digital experiences are definitely here to stay, and Conten.T aims to become the technology partner that every brand needs in order to venture into digitally immersive engagements in and around this region, as more and more tech savvy consumers resist just to consume advertisements and instead, want to be part an engaging brand experience.”
Digital Director: Lira Jamaluddin, Content Producer: Janice Teh, Photographer: Edmund Lee, Hair and Makeup: Clara Siew, Videographer: Jackie Mah.
