The Alibaba 11:11 Global Shopping Festival, which culminates on November 11 (“Singles’ Day”), is by far the world's biggest retail event and is now spreading globally.
VMLY&R COMMERCE has partnered with WPP BAV® and Alibaba Group to curate a day of learnings centred on 11.11 and the importance it holds for Australia, New Zealand and the APAC region.
The shopping festival has grown massively from humble beginnings. “In the first 11.11 Festival back in 2009, we worked hard to get 27 merchants on board and generate USD$10million,” said Maggie Zhou, Managing Director at Alibaba Group, Australia & NZ. “Last year, we had 250,000 merchants and did USD$74.1 billion.”
The Festival – and the Chinese market generally – provides large opportunities for local businesses. “Chinese consumers love Australian and NZ brands,” according to Zhou. “Last year, during the 11.11 Festival, Australia was the #4 source country globally for products sold, and NZ was #7."
With that in mind, this virtual event is timely. Streaming online on Tuesday 9 November from 10am – 4pm AEDT, the day will host experts from some of the region's biggest brands and marketplaces. Sessions will include interviews with Maggie Zhou, plus Chris Tung (Global Chief Marketing Officer, Alibaba); Dhiren Amin (Chief Marketing Officer, APAC, The Kraft Heinz Company); and James Chang, (Chief Business Officer of Lazada – South-East Asia’s #1 eCommerce platform).
Local and regional experts from WPP agencies including Group M, Blink Consulting, Mindshare, Aleph-Labs, VMLY&R and more will also provide commentary.
Event attendees can also participate and ask questions of panelists in a “No Holds Barred” Q&A hosted by WPP AUNZ Chief Strategy Officer, Rose Herceg.
“It’s exciting to see so many client partners, marketplace leaders and WPP agencies come together for this important event,” added Jon Bird, Chairman of VMLY&R Australia & NZ. “There is so much to learn from 11.11 – the scale, energy and level of digital innovation in the Festival is beyond anything else on the planet.”
Ryan Menezes, GroupM Chief Tech & Transformation Officer, is hosting a session on future trends. He says: “With the rapid acceleration of eCommerce over the past 18 months, and the explosion of opportunities, it’s a key priority for marketers.
“11:11 is at the bleeding edge of commerce – in terms of data and personalisation, social and live commerce, headless commerce and AR innovation. It’s fantastic to be part of this initiative to unpack the latest trends and offer clients both inspiration and real, actionable insights to help shape their commerce strategy for now, and the future.”
Guests can tune in online 9 November to watch the sessions live and view the full agenda on 11-11.WPPBAV.com.