Rakuten Advertising hires Cyprus Malinao ahead of launching new media products

• Cyprus well versed in programmatic, media & data capabilities
• Will promote Rakuten Viki and Rakuten Mobile to advertisers

Rakuten Advertising, the global player in performance marketing, media and consumer insights, today announced the appointment of Cyprus Malinao (pic, left) to the position of Senior Client Development Manager, based in Singapore.

After expanding its affiliate marketing business into Asia in 2017, the company is now gearing up to launch ad inventory in its owned-and-operated media properties: Rakuten Viber and Rakuten Viki.

Malinao will focus on growing the media arm of the business in the Asia-Pacific region. He brings ten years of experience in growing business revenue, having managed brands such as Disney, Unilever and L’Oreal in the Philippines and Singapore. He is also well versed in building programmatic media and data capabilities, having previously worked at Amobee, Grapeshot (Oracle Data Cloud) and Factual (Foursquare).

Commenting on his appointment, Malinao said, “Advertisers know their customers, but discovering new ones and building enduring connections with them is increasingly difficult in today’s competitive consumer marketplace. I am excited to create opportunities for advertisers and agencies to connect with the young, the passionate, and the mobile-first communities of Rakuten Viki and Rakuten Viber.”

Rakuten Advertising’s Senior Vice President of Asia-Pacific, Stuart McLennan, welcomed Malinao to the team, “I am delighted to have Cyprus on board, and I am confident in his capabilities to lead our media sales team in this region. Hiring someone of Cyprus’ calibre is definitely a highlight and we are looking forward to the continued growth of our business heading into 2021.”

Owned-and-Operated Media Properties

Rakuten Viki, a global video-on-demand (VOD) platform that streams the latest in Asian entertainment, recorded a reach of over 27 million in more than 190 countries. It is one of the fastest growing platforms, banking more watch time than Netflix per user. Meanwhile, mobile communication application Rakuten Viber has made its mark in the top 10 downloaded apps of all time, with over 1 billion users worldwide.

Rakuten Advertising boasts the largest affiliate publisher network in Asia, including China, Singapore and South Korea, with its Asia-Pacific network recording a year-on-year growth of 48%. The company has also secured exclusive partnerships with premium content and finance publishers.

Its set of global media properties allows brands to be discovered by new audiences, in particular Millennials and Gen-Z. 68% of Rakuten Viki audiences and 70% of Rakuten Viber users are aged between 18-34 years old, providing brands the opportunity to reach this group of passionate and loyal audience.