PIAP highlights the company’s continuous efforts to pilot initiatives that advance customer communication 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates:  Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa (PMMAF) has revealed the successful conclusion of the inaugural edition of the Panasonic Influencer Affiliate Program (PIAP), the company’s latest initiative in which Panasonic partners with social media influencers to promote increased engagement with its customers, while empowering more consumers to Create Today. Enrich Tomorrow.

PIAP is an affiliate program open to social media influencers based across the Middle East.  For Panasonic, the annual campaign is a way to extend its reach online and across social channels, both of which have been an increasingly integral part of the company’s growth strategy.

Hiroyuki Shibutani - Managing Director, PMMAF, said: 'As a global leader with rich legacy in consumer electronics advancements, Panasonic deeply understands what it means to truly partner with its customers.  In fact, the brand acknowledges that these valued relationships inspired a number of Panasonic’s most popular and important products, and the partnership between the company and the consumer continues to be a well of innovation.'

With social media becoming a powerful force for change in Middle East, and recognizing the fact that today’s consumers are progressively leading digitally enhanced lives, Panasonic launched PIAP towards the end of last year to discover new partners – this time social media influencers and digital content creators - who use their passion in creating content to engage, educate and empower their community.   

'Social media has opened the door for direct communication with the consumers and we are always eager to engage with them, to help them know more about Panasonic and our products, as well as hear about their feedback so that we can continuously improve our offerings and meet their demands.  The pilot edition of PIAP not only helped us achieve those goals but also opened up new opportunities for these amazing influencers we have in the region.  Given the success of the program in advancing key business priorities, we are set to launch a more exciting PIAP 2023 edition very soon,' Shibutani commented further.

The competition is open to health, wellness, lifestyle, beauty, food/cooking, tech or fitness social media influencers with 10,000 and above followers on Instagram and/or TikTok at the time of participation.  Following a rigorous evaluation process, the region’s 25 most engaging influencers are selected to join the PIAP.  This elite team of shortlisted social media influencers is provided the latest Panasonic products to review in order for them to share their experience and create engaging posts which will help spread Panasonic’s core philosophy of helping people live their best through the brand’s innovations.

From the 25 PIAP members, top influencers who earn the highest social media engagement rate on their posts are conferred the Panasonic Middle East & Africa ‘Influencer of the Year’ Award. In addition to the recognition of being the top winners, the Influencer of the Year Awardees also earn a PIAP trip to Japan, for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, including an immersive walkthrough in key Panasonic facilities.

Proclaimed as Influencer of the Year Awardees for PIAP 2022 were (in no particular order):  Neda Elyas (Instagram - @nedamaliqbeauty) and Juwairia Ehtesham (Instagram - @love_life_passion4u) from Saudi Arabia; Rao Shreya Suresh (Instagram - @queenslifeindubai), Fathima Abdulla (Instagram - @the_fatimablejournal), and Tatsiana Ramanenia (Instagram - @tania_romanenia) from the UAE; Hoda Al Dahi (Instagram - @hoda.aldahii) from Kuwait; and, Afshan Jabeen (Instagram - @afshaan_foodblog) from Oman.

The winners were treated to a six-day trip to Japan, including city tours covering Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.  A unique exposure in key Panasonic facilities became the highlight of the trip.  The immersion included visits to the Panasonic Center Tokyo, which featured Business Solution exhibit, eco exhibit and AkeruE creative museum;  PETEC recycle factory, where influencers gained a deeper understanding about Panasonic’s home appliance recycling initiatives; the Osaka Panasonic Museum;  Home appliance showroom; and the Hikone Beauty Factory.

PIAP 2023 entries open from June 2023.