AS Southeast Asia’s (SEA) influencer marketing industry continues to grow at an impressive rate, the recent appointment of Jason Thoe (main image) as CEO of Kuala Lumpur-based Xamble Group signals a strategic shift in the company’s direction.
“This growth underscores the region’s rapid digital transformation and positions SEA as a critical market for innovative digital solutions, including influencer marketing which is expected to benefit from this momentum,” Thoe told FocusM.
According to the company’s internal studies, SEA’s influencer marketing sector was estimated to have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27% in recent years, driven by sectors like e-commerce, digital financial services and media.
Thoe’s appointment comes at a crucial moment as Xamble looks beyond its widely recognised subsidiary Nuffnang Sdn Bhd to establish itself as a dominant player in the broader marketing ecosystem.
His vision is to transition Xamble Group from a traditional social media agency to one that provides a comprehensive suite of services across the entire marketing value chain, powered by its proprietary technology platform and deep market insights.
“Xamble today represents a group that delivers performance and return-on-investment across the entire marketing funnel – from driving awareness to tracking conversions and beyond,” observed Thoe.
“We are set on evolving into an enlarged integrated growth marketing group that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for our fast-growing revenue stream derived from social commerce.”
He added: “Our goal is to integrate AI-driven insights to enhance influencer marketing effectiveness and enable seamless social commerce experiences.
“This approach broadens our offerings while positioning us to capture new opportunities within the rapidly expanding digital economy, thus providing brands with innovative solutions that directly connect with their audience.”
In a market where nano and micro-influencers are believed to drive 70% of engagement, the group’s Xamble Creators platform is perfectly positioned to capitalise on this trend.
With their close-knit and highly engaged audiences, influencers have become critical players in the digital marketing landscape.
“The Xamble Creators platform empowers brands to discover and manage influencers while also integrating AI-driven tools like ChatGPT to assist influencers in creating personalised, effective content,” shared Thoe.
“This combination of technology and human creativity is central to Xamble’s unique value proposition.”
However, Thoe’s vision goes beyond leveraging existing assets and involves expanding Xamble’s reach and capabilities.
His strategic focus includes moving beyond the influencer space to offer services that span the marketing funnel, hence creating value at every stage.
“This means helping brands with everything from campaign ideation to performance tracking, allowing them to drive measurable business outcomes,” he envisages. “With this expanded scope, Xamble is positioning itself as a full-service marketing solution, not just a facilitator of influencer campaigns.”
Thoe further projected: “This evolution is expected to resonate particularly well with SMEs (small medium enterprises), a segment that has already shown 253% growth in revenue for us. SMEs are increasingly seeking cost-effective, scalable solutions and Xamble’s platform offers them just that.”
The Xamble Creators platform currently manages over 20,000 influencers, reaching more than 20 million consumers, thus giving it a unique ability to scale campaigns quickly while maintaining the personal touch that is vital in influencer marketing.
Meanwhile, the group’s clientele includes household names like Nestle, Unilever and HSBC. – Nov 4, 2024