Tag: Accenture Song

Australia – Accenture Song, The Monkeys and Droga5 have been appointed by Tourism Australia to provide the agency with creative and digital services for five years from July 2024, structured as a three-year initial contract with options for two further one-year extensions.

According to Phillipa Harrison, managing director at Tourism Australia, the contract with Accenture Song has been finalised after a competitive tender process.

“We have a very specific brief at Tourism Australia with a global footprint that sees us actively market into 15 key international markets. Our campaigns have set a high benchmark over the years and as our operating environment continues to evolve we need to ensure Australia stands out on the world stage,” Harrison said.

She added, “During the tender process Accenture Song, along with The Monkeys and Droga5, proved they were best placed to provide Tourism Australia with the integrated global creative and digital services we need. We look forward to working with them to showcase the best Australia has to offer to the world.”

Meanwhile, Susan Coghill, chief marketing officer at Tourism Australia stated that the brief for the tender was for a panel that would allow Tourism Australia to respond to future opportunities and challenges.

“We will be working closely with Accenture, The Monkeys and Droga5 to remind the world why ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ and are excited to learn more about the creative ideas and big thinking they can bring to the table as we look to get Australia’s tourism industry back on a path of sustainable growth,” Coghill said.

She added, “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank M&C Saatchi and Digitas for all of their hard work over the past five years. It was a challenging period and thanks to both agencies we were able to pivot into the domestic space, with the ‘Holiday Here This Year’ campaigns, and once international travel resumed we launched our current global campaign ‘Come and Say G’day’ welcoming travellers back to Australia.”

David Droga, CEO at Accenture Song, commented, “This win means a lot. Professionally and personally. We are thrilled by the wonderful opportunity, immense responsibility and the rekindled partnership.”

Lastly, Mark Green, president of Accenture Song ANZ as well as the co-founder and group CEO of The Monkeys, stated, “It’s a privilege to partner with Susan and her team of outstanding marketers to help transform and elevate Tourism Australia’s global creative and digital marketing approach. Combining the creative firepower of The Monkeys (Australian agency of the decade) and Droga5 (US agency of the decade), underpinned by the technology and global footprint of Accenture Song, we have some of the best Australian talent from around the world coming together to bring the best of Australia to the world.”

Australia – Australian sports brand retailer rebel has released its latest campaign via The Monkeys, which is a subsidiary of advertising agency Accenture Song.

Building on the ‘Sport Is Calling’ brand platform established in 2020, the campaign features the incredible journeys of Australians whose lives have been radically transformed by sport.

Specifically, the campaign spreads its message through a series of films, directed by Finch’s Christopher Nelius, telling the incredible stories of outback grazier Brendan Cullen, and Olympian Sinead Diver.

Coinciding with a busy time on the sporting calendar, the integrated campaign also aims to inspire Aussies watching on at home to start their own sporting journey.

Talking about the campaign, Rosemary Martin, GM of ecommerce & marketing at rebel, said, “Brendan and Sinead’s stories demonstrate rebel’s belief that sport can be the catalyst for incredible change and growth in our lives. Not just physically, but mentally too.”

Meanwhile, Adam Slater, creative director at The Monkeys, commented, “Sport really is stranger than fiction. Whether it’s a farmer who dealt with a drought by swimming laps of the dam, or a 47-year-old I.T professional turned national record holder, we’ve loved unearthing the best sports stories Australia has never heard of.”

Australia – The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, has bolstered its creative department with the appointment of former Goodby Silverstein & Partners creative team members Lennie Galloway and Thomas Gledhill as its new associate creative directors.

Galloway and Gledhill just finished a four-year stint at Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, where they created award-winning work for Cheetos, Autodesk, and Liberty Mutual. 

Working together for almost a decade, Galloway and Gledhill began their careers at FCB New Zealand. From their early days as interns, the duo quickly garnered recognition, winning awards and soon amassing accolades at every major award show. 

Tara Ford, chief creative officer at The Monkeys, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Lennie and Thomas, fresh from the States, and to have them join the team. Great people. Great talents. We cannot wait to see the brilliant things they will do.”

Meanwhile, in his appointment, Galloway shared, “We’ve had our eye on The Monkeys for years, so we’re feeling pretty lucky to now work here. There’s something about their creativity, and the work in the southern hemisphere in general, that always impresses on a global stage, and we’re excited to be a part of it again. We’re also excited for people to understand our accents again.”

Gledhill added, “It was a hard decision to leave the US, but the opportunity to join The Monkeys made it an absolute no-brainer. They’ve launched some of the most ambitious, well-crafted work in the world, and we can’t wait to be a part of the team. There’s something in the water down here, besides sharks.”

Singapore – Accenture has agreed to buy Jixie, a media and marketing technology company. Accenture’s integration of Jixie’s intelligent digital marketing platform and team intends to improve the firm’s marketing transformation capabilities and resources.

This strategic move aims to help Indonesian clients provide more individualised experiences. It is facilitated by Accenture Song, the company’s tech-powered creative group. Increasing client involvement is the aim in order to achieve long-term business growth.

Jixie, based in Singapore, offers a wide range of monetization and marketing growth tools, with a focus on Indonesian clients. The company’s platform serves as an advertising ecosystem that makes it accessible to publishers and brand owners to work together to co-create solutions that are grounded in consumer data. This transformation makes marketing a strategic focus instead of a dispersed, uncontrollable process, improving accessibility and safeguarding consumer privacy, brand safety, and data.

Publishers may maximise advertising revenues by using Jixie’s platform to access monetization capabilities such as performance marketing and header-bidding solutions. On the other hand, brand owners can improve and safely include content without the need for middlemen, utilising insightful data to create unique and significant brand interactions.

Speaking about the acquisition, Jayant Bhargava, country managing director, Indonesia, at Accenture, said, “The convergence of marketing, data science and technology creates opportunities for businesses to redefine their customer engagement model. Jixie’s intelligent digital marketing solutions complement our technology expertise, providing a winning proposition for businesses to bring a higher level of personalization and effectiveness to their marketing efforts. 

“This acquisition will allow us to better serve our clients in navigating complex marketing challenges in this era of interconnected digital world, which is crucial in driving long-term growth,” Bhargava added. 

Meanwhile, Vincent Martin, co-founder and managing director, Jixie, said, “Jixie has seen proven success in its marketing performance capabilities that boost publishers’ revenue and the formation of an ecosystem that has attracted advertisers to run successful campaigns. The next step for us is scale. We’re thrilled to be joining Accenture and contribute to shaping a more sustainable media industry, helping companies leverage their data in a trusted and advantageous manner in service of their customers.”

Joseph Tan, Indonesia lead for Accenture Song, stated, “The value of data in today’s rapidly changing digital economy is immense, and the digital media ecosystem has seen much disruption, including the impending loss of third-party cookies. Jixie is an impactful platform that amplifies publishers’ perspectives and simplifies the digital marketing experience. This investment extends Accenture Song’s data-led commerce and marketing transformation work in Indonesia, empowering clients with highly relevant and results-driven solutions for sustainable business growth.” 

Sydney, Australia – Creative agency Accenture Song has recently announced the appointment of Tara Ford as the chief creative officer for growth markets at Accenture Song, effective immediately. 

Retaining her position as chief creative officer of The Monkeys Sydney, Ford is now also responsible for overseeing all creative output from the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions. 

The regional role will see Ford work closely with Neil Heymann, global chief creative officer of Accenture Song.

Throughout her career, Ford’s work has been consistently recognised at the highest level of every major international award show across an expansive range of clients and disciplines. This includes most recently the coveted Dan Wieden Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes with the ‘The First Digital Nation’ for the Government of Tuvalu.

Under Ford’s creative stewardship, The Monkeys has won Campaign Brief Agency of the Year 2021, Mumbrella Creative Agency of the Year 2022, and AWARD Creative Agency of the Year 2022. In 2023, the agency was crowned Spikes Australian Agency of the Year, Cannes, D&AD and One Show Agency of the Year Australia, along with Effies Effective Agency of the Year, Australia.

Ford also serves as a board member of the Advertising Council of Australia and the D&AD Advisory Board, where she was named ‘Creative Captain 2022’ in the Women Leading Change Awards by Campaign Asia Pacific. She was also named ‘Global Creative Leader of the Year 2021’ by Creativepool and ‘Creative Person of the Year’ for ANZ by Campaign Asia.

Speaking on her appointment, Ford said, “I am thrilled to be working with Neil, heading up the creative offering of Song’s formidable regional team. Leading our diverse creative talent across Song in Growth Markets is going to be super interesting. I look forward to helping our people and clients shine through the combination of creativity, innovation and technology.”

Commenting on Ford’s appointment as well, Heymann mentioned, “Tara is the kind of creative leader shaping the direction of our industry. She’s a champion of creativity and creative people and has proven herself consistently on the global stage. As importantly, she’s ambitious, business-minded and tech-fluent in a way that positions her perfectly to drive work that is unique to Song’s capabilities. Tara having more widespread influence, especially across some of our most exciting markets, is great news for all of us.”

Meanwhile, Mark Green, president of Accenture Song ANZ and co-founder and chief executive officer of The Monkeys, added, “Tara is a world class talent, and it is with great pleasure we get to see her ply her talents on a bigger stage. We are in a fortunate position to have three incredible leaders in Tara, Ant and Damon in ANZ and the wider opportunities will come thick and fast.”

Singapore – In an effort to establish meaningful connections with guests, global hospitality group Accor has recently partnered with Accenture to spearhead its forthcoming digital content strategy. This follows their commitment to increase the brand’s content production scalability and consistency in the local and international marketing communications scene.

Following this initiative, Accenture Song developed a modern data-driven content supply model known as ‘Content Atelier.’ This service platform employs customised, adaptable, effective, and high-quality marketing and communications material across all customer touchpoints with a reduced cost.

In particular, it encompasses both physical and digital communications, allowing its availability to all Accor marketing professionals worldwide. It also includes managing content development from the first brief to performance monitoring and content optimisation. 

Interestingly, the ‘Content Atelier’ also utilises a data-led approach to enable Accor brand marketers to focus on their most important activities while aiming to increase the effectiveness of its digital marketing programmes, drive more traffic to its branded website, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. 

This service has been developed with leading design principles and utilises Accenture’s SynOps platform for marketing and content operations while being integrated into Accor’s infrastructure. 

Talking about the project, Stéphanie Jaffré, SVP digital marketing and eCommerce, Premium, Midscale, and Economy Brands at Accor, said, “Accor is committed to extending hospitality and inspiring new opportunities and experiences for our guests. So, it is crucial we have the right framework in place to reach our guests in the right way at the right time on the right channels, to inspire and support their travel needs and desires.

“Consumer attention is not agnostic; it spreads across multiple digital channels, and we need to be able to communicate with our guests on all relevant platforms, particularly at the research and inspiration stage of the customer journey. Hospitality is all about connecting with people, and through our new digital content strategy, we can better connect with, inspire, and serve our guests,” added Jaffré.

Meanwhile, Martial Viudes, managing director at Accenture Song, said, “Together with Accor, we have redesigned the experience for Accor marketing professionals, aiming to optimize efficiency on a global level and ensure locally relevant, ultra-personalized experiences for its guests. We are proud to support Accor in creating a new generation of content production, harnessing our deep industry, creative, and technical expertise. 

“The development of the ‘Content Atelier’ serves each brand within the group according to their marketing ambitions, delivering bespoke and creative points of delight worldwide,” he ended.

Singapore – European automobile company PEUGEOT announced that it has appointed Accenture Song, the tech-powered creative group of Accenture, as its global creative agency of record from January 2024, as part of a competitive pitch.

Aiming to be the electric vehicle (EV) leader in Europe by 2025, PEUGEOT has consolidated all its global advertising communications, across Europe, Middle-East-Africa, South America, Mexico and Asia Pacific into Accenture Song.

Accenture Song is mainly tasked with helping to enhance familiarity and appeal to the brand and its wide EV line-up for a new younger, global audience with creative communications across all channels.

The first campaign will be a full-360 integrated launch of the all-new Electric Fastback SUV E-3008 in early 2024. It will be followed by supporting activities for the reveal of the new E-5008, as well as further launches yet to be revealed.

Phil York, head of PEUGEOT marketing & communications, said, “Over the last few years, we’ve seen dramatic and fast unfolding step-changes in the automotive industry and customer expectations. This rapid pace of change requires bold thinkers, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Accenture Song to help us on our journey of transformation into a 100% electric brand that sets new benchmarks for alluring design, driving pleasure and tech.”

Meanwhile, David Droga, chief executive officer at Accenture Song, commented, “Together, PEUGEOT and Accenture Song aim to do something new and different. PEUGEOT has an exciting opportunity in the electric category to define their products and services with a distinctive and human approach, emotionally connecting with a new generation of drivers.” 

“I believe our tech-powered creatively driven model that’s fuelled by our collective ambition will support PEUGEOT in the vision of becoming a true tech mobility company,” he added.

Sydney, Australia – The iconic Sydney Opera House has launched a new film as part of its 50th birthday celebration, and also marking 50 years of bravery, creativity and wonder at the world’s most celebrated cultural landmark. 

Conceptualised alongside The Monkeys, the film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Kim Gehrig and produced by Revolver, and features a collection of Australian artists and arts companies who share an enduring connection with the Opera House.

The film also features the song ‘Play it Safe’, written and composed by Australian singer Tim Minchin as an ironic salute to the bold, visionary experiment that became the Opera House. The song is a musical homage to a building that tested the limits of engineering and design, forever changing the face of Sydney. Minchin has crafted a wry, potent message about the importance of defying conventions and taking risks. 

Minchin’s playful lyrics are richly illustrated in sequences featuring Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The Australian Ballet, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Ziggy Ramo, Zahra Newman representing Sydney Theatre Company, John Bell representing Bell Shakespeare, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Elma Kris representing Bangarra Dance Theatre, Kira Puru, Cathy-Di Zhang representing Opera Australia, William Barton, Courtney Act, Jimmy Barnes, Sydney Dance Company Pre Professional Year Students and Associate Artists, Lucy Guerin dancers and Minchin himself.

Louise Herron AM, CEO at Sydney Opera House, said, “Imagine if the creators of this magnificent building had played it safe, imagine what we would not have. Their bravery forever changed our nation. We set out to create a tribute to the Opera House 50 years on – to inspire the community and to remind us all of the incredible moments that have taken place here over the past five decades. With the help of the brilliant Tim Minchin, Kim Gehrig and a wonderful cast of Australian artists, this song celebrates what’s possible when you think big.”

Meanwhile, Mark Green, group CEO at The Monkeys and president at Accenture Song ANZ, commented, “We’ve had a long history with the Sydney Opera House since creating the Ship Song in 2010, and we are proud to play our part in championing creativity and the arts in celebration of an icon. It’s been a pleasure working with such a talented group of people.”

Lastly, Phillipa Harrison, managing director at Tourism Australia, said, “We are thrilled to support the 50th anniversary of one of Australia’s most globally recognisable icons, the Sydney Opera House. Taking prominence on the shores of Sydney Harbour, it is a building that has inspired millions of visitors from all over the world to travel here to admire this stunning architectural masterpiece up close, highlighting its central role in international tourism to Australia.”

She added, “Synonymous with Australia and Sydney’s stunning harbour and modern skyline, it has featured prominently in our international tourism marketing campaigns over five decades, including our latest campaign ‘Come and Say G’day’, helping to inspire international travellers to visit our country.”

Singapore – Global professional and consulting services company Accenture has announced its strategic investment in generative AI platform Writer under ‘Project Spotlight’, their engagement and investment program that aims to help enterprises create and shape content more efficiently.

This investment allows Accenture to further provide marketing and communications professionals with Writer’s features to generate written content, synthesise various content and align writing to voice and brand guidelines.

Accenture started using Writer in 2021 to augment its writing proficiency and is now scaling Writer’s generative AI capabilities internally, while also preparing to offer them to clients as part of its existing capabilities.

This investment is also a part of Accenture’s announcement in June 2023 that the company would invest $3 billion in its Data & AI practice to help clients across all industries rapidly and responsibly advance and use AI to achieve greater growth, efficiency, and resilience.

Baiju Shah, chief strategy officer at Accenture Song, said, “Our continued investments in generative AI platforms will empower clients across all industries to transform how they create, personalise and distribute content at pace, but also safely, securely and with brand integrity.”

“We’ve entered a new era of tech-powered creativity and believe Writer’s enterprise-ready platform is a strong addition to Accenture’s comprehensive set of generative AI capabilities, tools and expertise, helping our clients capitalise on a wide range of uses across marketing and sales,” he added.

Meanwhile, May Habib, CEO and co-founder of Writer, commented, “Joining Accenture’s ‘Project Spotlight’ program will enable Writer to benefit from Accenture’s expertise from decades of deploying AI across industries and functions, and help us grow by driving broader awareness of our capabilities.” 

Notably, Writer is the latest company to join Accenture’s Project Spotlight, which offers extensive access to Accenture’s domain expertise and its enterprise clients, helping startups harness human creativity and deliver on the promise of their technology.

Singapore – As it gains more traction and public knowledge, the metaverse space opens limitless possibilities for brands and businesses alike. But because many still seem to be intimidated by its concept, how will marketers be able to instil their metaverse activations in their consumers and audiences? 

MARKETECH APAC, in partnership with consumer intelligence platform Talkwalker, gathered industry leaders to give light to this question through its recent webinar titled, ‘What’s NEXT 2023: Metaverse Marketing Activations in APAC’. Benjamin Soubies, managing director for APAC and Japan for Talkwalker, delivered a keynote presentation that tackled how metaverse can be leveraged to effectively engage communities. 

In his presentation, Soubies shared that the metaverse has paved the way for people to create connections that are even further engaging and with it, brands may be able to reach their consumers and potential consumers in more ways than earlier imagined. He also shared about the metaverse conversation hotspots in the APAC region, different ways brands are engaging their communities in the space, key features of metaverse brand campaigns, and the metaverse-gaming connection, amongst others.

“As more players join in the game, it is extremely important to leverage consumer insights in order to identify the most promising opportunities in the metaverse that you should be investing in,” he said.

To further discuss the topic, a panel discussion was conducted which was joined by industry leaders Ramakrishnan C.N., managing director for SEA and metaverse lead at Accenture Song, Amrita Mallik, vice president of HSBC, and Chris Gurney, group creative director for APAC at Virtue Worldwide. Each of them discussed the trends, opportunities, and challenges, amongst others, that the metaverse space presents to the marketing industry.

The experts also shared their insights on how to activate marketing campaigns in the space through their perspectives from the brand and agency sides as well as some metaverse marketing initiatives that have proven to be successful.

The webinar was attended by 180 professionals from various industries such as marketing, advertising, banking, and technologies, amongst others. Brands and companies ePLDT,  Inc., Estée Lauder, Metrobank, Netflix, Nielsen, Philips, Publicis Groupe, TBWA, The Coca-Cola Company, and VICE also took part in the event. The top markets present were Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. 

Concluding the webinar, MARKETECH APAC’s Founder & CEO Joven Barceñas, who also hosted the webinar and moderated the panel discussion, remarked, “We began the discussion with the goal of discovering the different challenges and opportunities in the metaverse that await brands and agencies as we enter the new year filled with new trends. I am sure our audiences looking to adopt the virtual space are more than excited to explore the opportunities we’ve talked about.”

Soubies further commented, ”I hope the webinar gave some clarity to brands out there who are contemplating their own 2023 metaverse activations. After discussing the ways brands can engage communities in the metaverse, and hearing from our expert panelists on trends, opportunities and challenges in the space, it will be exciting to see how the newer players find their spot in the metaverse.” 

He also added that in order to succeed, brands and marketers must ensure that they have a solid understanding of their consumers to create “relevant and impactful” metaverse experiences.

Learn more about marketing leaders’ insights on metaverse by getting your on-demand access to the webinar here.