Tag: Dentsu

Jumping off the icebreaker of the year, the list this February is another group of brands showcasing innovation and over-the-top creativity. Three out of five are marketing campaigns hailing from Malaysia, with one region-wide; while stories of new leadership appointments, with new hires tasked to take the helm of an Asia-wide team, continue to inspire this month. 

Based on Google Analytics from 16 January to15 February, here are the top 5 stories for February.  

Top 5: SUBPLACE’s ‘Founder Story’ campaign 

When SUBPLACE launched in December, it became the first-of-its-kind, offering an all-in-one marketplace for products on a subscription-based service. In order to encourage merchants to hop on the said business model, it rolled out its ‘Founder story’ campaign. 

The unique proposition that SUBPLACE offers pushed it to similarly offer innovative marketing strategies. In the ‘Founder story’ campaign, it roped in the founders and CEOs of five of its partner brands to talk about each of their brand stories and why they chose the subscription model. The brands featured were probiotic drink Yakult, health and wellness retail chain store, Ogawa, and intimate health and aesthetic clinic, Clinic Rui, among others. 

SUBPLACE CEO Mak WH shared to MARKETECH APAC, “We invited our biz partners to be storytellers, to talk about why they chose to adopt the subscription model in these challenging times, and what their inspiration for doing so was. Through these short features, we also introduce the subscription business model to viewers and convey how this model differs from other business models through first-hand accounts from business owners,” said Mak.

Top 4: dentsu announces new chief growth officer for CXM

Global media and marketing network dentsu international is continuously bolstering its leadership, unveiling veteran hires from time to time; and for its customer experience management business in APAC, it has appointed digital and tech veteran, Rachel Ooi, as its chief growth officer.

Prior to joining dentsu, Ooi has worked for professional services company Accenture as managing director for Industry X.0, the firms’ digital and tech solutions for businesses; and for multinational conglomerate General Electric (GE) as general manager for the ASEAN enterprise sales, as well as leading GE’s Ecosystem Alliance for the APAC region.

For her role, she will be responsible for bolstering dentsu’s CXM regional footprint through new business and organic growth, working closely with the leads of the network’s Media and Creative divisions on integrated opportunities. 

In an exclusive conversation with Ooi, she said that the pandemic has turned the CXM landscape around, where everyone is transiting to a ‘Digital Genesis’ era. 

“In the past, database marketing is the way to go, direct marketing is the way to go. [Right now], we’re talking about leveraging not just on technology, data, but also enhanced creativity, working closely with the ecosystem,” noted Ooi. 

“Here in dentsu, even Merkle, we aim to achieve [and differentiate] by giving competitive advantage to brands and clients. We do that by having a different perspective, no longer just advertising, marketing in siloes, sales, and commerce; we look at it as a full perspective [on] how we can be a strategic partner to clients.” 

Top 3: Creative tech development company Adaptis appoints seasoned business development executive Joven Barceñas as head of growth

Joven Barceñas, former head of advertising and sponsorship sales at Lighthouse Independent Media, the publisher of Singapore-based Marketing Magazine, has been named as head of growth at Adaptis. 

Adaptis is a collective of digital development studios strategically located in Europe and Southeast Asia, providing experience-led technical capabilities to global clients. 

With the role, Barceñas will be responsible for growing the business of the firm through business development and marketing, as well as improving processes within the function. 

Having almost a decade of experience in media, marketing, and technology, Barceñas shared that he chose to further focus on the latter as the industry of technology keeps on evolving and that he aims to be in an environment that presents consistent innovative offerings to improve results for clients.  

“In my current role at Adaptis, I was very fortunate to have been working with very talented people in technology development, and I’m learning a lot about UX, UI, and how machine learning or AI works,” he said. 

Top 2:Kingdom Digital delivers 300 personalized digital ‘thank you’ cards for its 2020 wrap up

Social and content agency Kingdom Digital in Malaysia exercised its expertise in social media and digital creatives when it went the extra mile for its 2020 year-ender special, delivering and publishing over 300 personalized ‘thank you’ cards, to clients, media partners, and employees.  

In the form of 8-second clips, the agency curated a sincere and unique message for each receiver, all posted and published on its Facebook and Instagram Stories. 

Its Head of Strategy Edmund Lou let us in on the agency’s conceptualization process for the initiative, sharing that the team decided to push through with it, knowing how digital cards increased in popularity during limited physical contact at the middle of the pandemic. 

Lou said the team had to appoint designated writers and make use of a proprietary system, Digital Creative Automation (DCA), in order to pull off the moving banners which required 170 varied visuals and copy. 

Top 1: Colgate’s ‘Made for Greatness campaign’

The top story for this month can be considered as a dark horse in its own right–Colgate’s ‘Made for greatness’ campaign which was first released a little while back – in November 2020 – and coming through the ranks, garnering the most views for the month. 

The campaign is for its hardworking formula, Colgate Total, where it featured professional climber and Academy Award-winning documentary director, Jimmy Chin. The spot shows Chin climbing an arduous mountain, but succeeding in the end, bringing the message of strength and ‘greatness’ in tandem with the Colgate brand. 

In an exclusive conversation, Lyndon Morant, Colgate-Palmolive’s regional marketing director, shared that the theme of greatness came about in answering the question “Why did we make Colgate Total?”

“The answer is that we designed [it] for those people, for whom the highest grade [and] the highest performance in everything that they use makes [a] difference,” he said. 

Watch the live report of the top stories for the month on our YouTube channel, where we give you exclusive appearances from the newsmakers themselves.

This is in collaboration with Malaysia-based media company The Full Frontal.

India – India’s healthcare retail chain Zeno Health has awarded its mainline and digital creative duties to Dentsu Impact India, the creative agency from the India division of dentsu international. Dentsu Impact won the account following a multi-agency pitch that involved several other leading agencies. 

Zeno Health, which was formerly Generico is one of the fastest-growing pharmacy chain brands in India that focuses on generic medicines and is available across more than 80 stores in Mumbai alone. With this win, Dentsu Impact aims to build a strong foothold for Zeno Health in the progressively growing retail and online pharmacy space across the country. The agency will kickstart the association with the launch of a massive campaign for Zeno Health in Mumbai. 

Both Dentsu Impact’s president Amit Wadhwa and Managing Partner and National Creative Director, Anupama Ramaswamy, expressed excitement for the partnership. 

“The rise of online pharmacies in the healthcare segment has been phenomenal. We are excited to partner with Zeno Health, an omnichannel player in this segment whose focus is to build a holistic healthcare environment that is accessible and affordable to all. We are looking forward to creating some great work, together,” said Wadhwa. 

Meanwhile, Zeno Health’s Founder Siddharth Gadia, commented, “We are beginning the brand creation journey for Zeno Health and we cannot imagine a better partner than Dentsu Impact to unveil this journey to the world. We look forward to creating an impeccable consumer healthcare brand, together.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Dentsu Malaysia has won Malaysian insurance company AIA’s creative retainer services, with immediate effect.

In addition to the existing creative duties of dentsu for AIA PUBLIC Takaful, the network will now become the sole creative agency of record to further support AIA’s purpose of delivering communications that would empower Malaysians to make healthy living choices in the new normal.

AIA is one of the largest independent pan-Asian life insurance and finance corporations, with a presence in 18 markets across the Asia-Pacific region.

Chief Marketing Officer of AIA, Heng Zee Wang said that after an impressive stint with its Takaful business, the company has decided to place its trust in dentsu to extend its capabilities in managing the entire AIA brand in Malaysia, creating integrated solutions that will help build a stronger brand narrative and deeper connection with customers across multiple touchpoints. It is expected that dentsu will create an integrated model that aims to leverage ‘connected creativity’ and help evolve AIA’s brands to be fit in this virtual economy.

Meanwhile, CEO of dentsu Malaysia One Michelle Ong commented that they are deeply honored to acquire the business.

“Our collaboration internally even during work-from-home has been charged with inspiring positivity. The brief was to have AIA at the forefront of consideration for both health and wellness needs. However, one requirement was to not just deliver a ‘campaign’, but a sustainable communication solution that can be carried forward naturally and touches all the relevant consumer and agent points,” Ong said.

Milan Agnihotri, chief strategy officer of dentsu, shared that the anchor of AIA’s proposal was in the seamless integration of ‘Big Organizing Idea (BOI)’ with ‘Return on Investment (ROI)’ for the brand.

“We leveraged our proven methodology of ‘Masterbranding + Behaviour Mapping’ to make sure we steer the brand through the funnel and the brand ecosystem – externally and internally, on a single-minded platform,” Agnihotri added.

Malaysia – Dentsu Malaysia bids farewell to Tony Savarimuthu, Huang Ean Hwa, and Szu H. Lee, three executive veteran partners of Merdeka LHS, the creative agency it acquired in 2016. 

Savarimuthu is Merdeka LHS’ CEO, while Huang and Lee are chief creative officers of the agency. 

From left to right: Former Merdeka LHS CEO, Tony Savarimuthu; and chief creative officers, Szu H. Lee and Huang Ean Hwa

Dentsu said that former CEO of dentsu Malaysia, Nicky Lim, and new CEO Kien Eng Tan are both grateful for everything the three have done in building, growing, and subsequently completing the earnout duration of Merdeka LHS and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. 

“As these three ride into the sunset, their everlasting legacy has been imprinted into dentsu’s DNA and it is my honor to have served with them,” said Lim.

Savarimuthu has served the industry for more than a decade, formerly as vice president and president of advertising association 4A’s, introducing many progressive initiatives such as industry awards ‘The Effies’. 

Commenting on his departure, he said, “I’ve had the good fortune of working on some of the world’s most renowned brands as well as go-getters striving to change the status-quo working with the best creatives in the land. I wish to pay tribute to my long-time colleagues and friends Huang Ean Hwa and Szu Lee, and not least Ali Mohamed and the late Yasmin Ahmad who were my past colleagues for their ideas, inspired creativity, and for changing the perception and fortunes of many a brand both in Malaysia and globally.”

Meanwhile, with the current departures, which dentsu shared to be “emotional,” the agency forges a beginning as it welcomes a new group chief creative officer for dentsu’s creative line of service, Andrew Low. 

Andrew Low
dentsu Malaysia’s new group chief creative officer for its creative line of service, Andrew Low

Low came highly recommended by the three former Merdeka LHS executives. His career spans across three countries in the Asia Pacific region with Ogilvy, Publicis One, and Leo Burnett. His work has won multiple awards such as at D&AD, Cannes Lions, and The One Show, as well as One Show China, China 4As, and Spikes, among many others. 

With the role, Low is tasked to bring together dentsu’s creative powerhouses to solve client’s marketing challenges in an ever-more virtual economy. 

“To spur growth, I believe it is fundamentally important to be agile, especially if we want to thrive in new creative business models. I am looking forward to working with the team and being a part of its unifying force,” said Low. 

The Malaysian arm of the network has also recently announced a new CEO for its Media business, following the re-organization of the network to now operate as three main divisions, namely, Creative, Media, and CRM.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Former CEO of advertising agency Publicis Groupe in Malaysia, Kien Eng Tan, has been appointed by the Malaysian arm of global communications network dentsu as its CEO, effective February 8 this year.

Through his new role, Tan will be responsible for continuing the business’ transformation journey, driving integration across media, creative, and CXM service lines, building a strong culture with its people, and growth for its clients’ business. He will report to Ashish Bhasin, CEO of dentsu Asia Pacific.

“I am excited to be joining dentsu, with its strong heritage of innovation at such a pivotal time. The market has never been more dynamic with COVID-19 rewriting consumer behavior and therefore, expectations of the brands they engage with. Dentsu is excellently placed to capitalize on this pivot for its clients, and I am looking forward to working with the teams to develop and grow these opportunities,” Tan commented. 

Prior to joining dentsu, he also served as CEO to advertising agency Leo Burnett in Malaysia, accumulating more than 30 years experience in advertising and communications, and 15 years of senior leadership roles in the advertising industry.

“I am delighted to have Kien take over at such an important time. Over the years he has built a formidable reputation creating visionary work and growth for brands, as well as strong and united teams and I am looking forward to seeing him take Malaysia into its next era of growth. Nicky has been CEO at dentsu Malaysia for almost six years; I’d like to thank him for his leadership and wish him success with his future endeavors,” said Bhasin. 

Tan’s predecessor Nicky Lim is said to move on from his role to pursue other interests.

Singapore – Global advertising and public relations company dentsu has recently appointed Rachel Ooi as the company’s new chief growth officer for customer experience management (CXM) for Asia Pacific.

Through the new appointment, Ooi will be responsible for bolstering CXM’s regional footprint through new business and organic growth, working closely with Media and Creative leads on integrated opportunities. She will also lead the regional roll-out and implementation of the sales platform across all sales and account management functions. She will report to Zhengda Shen, CEO of CXM at dentsu APAC, and Owen McCorry, global CXM chief growth officer.

“dentsu has world-class capabilities in CXM through Merkle and huge growth potential in APAC. I am excited to join the team at such a pivotal time for the business, especially when this growth opportunity collides with a seismic shift in changing consumer and business habits seen globally in the past year,” Ooi commented regarding her appointment.

Prior to joining dentsu, Ooi has worked for professional services company Accenture as managing director for Industry X.0 lead (growth markets), and for multinational conglomerate Electric (GE) as general manager for the ASEAN enterprise sales, as well as leading GE’s Ecosystem Alliance for the APAC region.

“Rachel has an impressive track record, is results-driven and skilled in leading high-performance teams and projects across various sectors, especially Tech Innovation and Digital. Her background and experience will ensure we continue to lead in this space,” Shen said.

Meanwhile, Owen commented, “We believe focusing our business capabilities around customer experience is the greatest advantage we can give our clients. Hence, we need someone like Rachel, who has proven strategic vision growing businesses and challenging the status quo. Most importantly, she will deliver client centricity across APAC markets, bridging cultural nuances, which is fundamental to success in this dynamic, fast-paced region.”

Rachel Ooi’s appointment comes with a greater need in digitalization of businesses. For her, there are opportunities to drive business outcomes for clients amidst transformations and convergence,  which she describes as the “era of digital genesis”, centered around a “digital-first, cloud-scaled, and AI-enabled circular economy”.

“CXM is the weakest link today in many organizations that are in transition, where there is an urgent need for creativity working with digital innovation and human-centric engagements for continual customer intimacy and business success. I look forward to working with the team to make a fundamental impact and deliver value for our clients,” Ooi concluded.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Carat, the media and content agency arm of dentsu, has won the account of Malaysia-based property and investment group S P Setia after a competitive pitch across multiple agencies. 

Dentsu has built an integrated team and services capability for Setia group under its agency brand Carat and will be responsible for strategic media planning, integrated media buying, and investment strategy for the group’s brand and marketing and all the business units.

S P Setia has been rampant in the past in developing infrastructure projects in various Malaysian states like Selangor, Penang, Johor, and Kota Kinabalu and also has expanded its reach beyond Malaysian shores to Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, China, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The appointment of Carat is inked for 2 years. 

“We are delighted with Setia Group’s decision to appoint us as their media agency partner. The consumer journey in this industry has tremendously evolved over the last year or so. We are excited to be building an audience experience approach that drives not just brand love and imagery but also growth for the business,” said Dheeraj Raina, CEO of dentsu Media brands in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Adelene Wong, head of group branding and communications at S P Setia said, “Setia group is at the forefront of providing superior customer service and satisfying customer needs through a culture of excellence, and the mechanism of delivering that is extremely digital and data-driven especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. We needed an agency partner that could work with us on that digital acceleration path and enhance the brand experience for our customers in process.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – As global media and digital marketing communications network dentsu evolves its organization into three lines of business, namely Creative, Media, and CRM, the company has been moving and nabbing executives to officially set its leadership lineup. 

Just very recently, dentsu announced Prerna Mehrotra as its new CEO for Media, and this time, dentsu in Malaysia has also done its share of reorganization, unveiling its new CEO for Media, Dheeraj Raina. 

Prior to joining dentsu, Raina is global media agency network Mindshare’s managing director in Malaysia. 

Nicky Lim, CEO of dentsu Malaysia, said, “It’s fantastic to welcome Dheeraj as our new Media CEO and drive our ambitious business growth plans forward. With his impressive track record of growth, I have no doubt he will accelerate dentsu international onto an exciting path and ultimately, help us deliver on our business objectives.” 

Raina is recognized for his proprietary IP’s for retail, telecom, and travel industries in marketing planning and for his contributions as a mentor to SMEs and start-ups in Malaysia.

He brings with him more than 16 years of experience in marketing and business strategy, having worked with leading brands such as telecom Celcom, dairy brand Friesland-Campina, and telecom Digi, as well as hypermarket Tesco, Malaysia conglomerate Sunway, and personal care Kimberly-Clark. Prior to his directorial position at GroupM’s Mindshare, he was also managing director at digital, analytics, and marketing solutions ADA, running the country business for Malaysia and other emerging markets. 

Commenting on his appointment, Raina said, “I’m thrilled to have this exciting opportunity to lead all the media brands at dentsu malaysia –  Consider iProspect, Vizeum, Carat, dentsu X, Amplifi, Posterscope, and Amnet – towards being more solutions-oriented, integrated and leading the industry. Today, media agencies sit at the center of unlocking growth for clients, and with such power brands at dentsu, I am looking forward to building cutting-edge solutions and teams.” 

Singapore – Dentsu International APAC welcomes the new year with a bang by unveiling its new CEO for its media relations, Prerna Mehrotra.

Mehrotra is currently the managing director of the network’s Media Group at Singapore and will be taking on the new role alongside her existing position.

Prerna will be responsible for driving Dentsu’s global media strategy and delivery in APAC, ensuring its alignment and relevance in the market with “client-centricity at the core,” to develop an integrated portfolio of tools and capabilities aimed at maximizing the effectiveness, relevance, and performance of clients’ media.

For the new role, she will be reporting to Ashish Bhasin, CEO of Dentsu APAC, and Peter Huijboom, global CEO of Media & Global Clients.

Bhasin shared in a press release that Mehrotra was a clear candidate for the role, having joined the business in 2016.

“She has gone from strength to strength excelling in roles across investment and media. This integrated view across our media portfolio and her acumen of over 20 years set her apart from the rest,” he said.

Meanwhile, Huijboom commented, “I am delighted to have Prerna join my leadership team and drive Dentsu’s media strategy in this critical region. Her experience in key markets including India and China and her long-standing client relationships will ensure we continue to drive value, and excellence in everything we do.”

On her appointment, Mehrotra said, “The media landscape in this region has never been more complex. Over the past eight months, consumers’ expectations of what brands produce and how they behave have changed rapidly, and it will only continue. I am excited to be working with top talents from across our markets to create growth opportunities and long-term value for our clients.”