Tag: Accenture

Jakarta, Indonesia – Global professional services Accenture has agreed to acquire Romp, a brand and experience agency in Indonesia renowned for its creative talent and innovative services across branding, creative and, performance marketing. This move will strengthen Accenture Song’s (formerly Accenture Interactive) ability to deliver creative and tech-driven brand experiences for clients across SEA. 

According to Accenture, the terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, and the completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.

The acquisition of Romp will enhance Accenture Song’s brand and marketing expertise, reinforcing its ability to help clients embrace new frontiers such as the metaverse and become relevant experience-led organisations. It also strategically aligns with Accenture’s business strategy to help businesses in Indonesia capture opportunities in a post-pandemic economy that’s poised for substantial growth.

Thomas Mouritzen, Accenture Song’s head of Southeast Asia, shared that their deep understanding of consumers and businesses, combined with Romp’s outstanding brand capabilities, will broaden their ability to harness the ongoing technology revolution for consumers and brands. 

“This is a powerful proposition for our clients seeking to win with innovative thinking and connected capabilities in Southeast Asia,” said Mouritzen.

Meanwhile, Divyesh Vithlani, senior managing director and Southeast Asia market unit lead at Accenture, noted that the growth of the digital economy in SEA is pushing brands to create meaningful experiences to meet customers’ needs. 

“Companies are increasingly looking to tap artificial intelligence, data and technology to drive creative content. Romp’s expertise with Accenture’s scale will enable us to deliver this excellence in a way that’s unique to the region,” said Vithlani.

Joseph Tan, Romp’s CEO, commented they have always believed in harnessing the power of creativity and helping clients build strong and long-lasting relationships with their customers. 

“We also constantly elevate ourselves through new thinking methods and approaches. Joining Accenture Song will fully converge the brand storytelling that we love with Accenture’s tech innovation, enabling us to help our clients truly deliver against limitless opportunities with global impact,” said Tan.

Accenture said it continues to invest in capabilities to help its clients drive growth through relevance. In 2021, Accenture Song also acquired Kuala Lumpur-based creative agency, Entropia, to deepen its capabilities in customer experience, design, and creative communications.

Singapore – Accenture has announced that its marketing arm Accenture Interactive will now go to market as Accenture Song. The move reflects the company’s post-pandemic services which reinvent customer connections, sales, commerce, and marketing, as well as business innovation, to fulfil customers’ increased demand for business success through ongoing customer relevance in today’s fast-paced world.

Accenture said Accenture Song will convey an enduring and universal form of human craft, connection, inspiration, technical prowess, and experience to unleash the imagination and ideas of its people to produce practical results and  build on Accenture’s longstanding culture of transformation.

Accenture Song has been working with companies Coinbase, General Mills’ Blue Buffalo, and Shiseido, and is also collaborating with Capri Holdings, a global fashion and luxury group that includes iconic brands such as Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors, to translate its rich in-store luxury shopping experience to digital. 

David Droga, CEO and creative chairman at Accenture Song, shared that Accenture Song symbolises the post-pandemic growth journey they’re on with their clients.

 “Since its infancy, Accenture Interactive has helped clients build and grow their business by being experience-led. Today’s needs are strikingly different. To capture the next waves of growth, businesses now need to operate at the speed of life, perpetually demonstrating their relevance to their customers, their people and the world at large,” Droga said.

“We have the best talent in the business — people who will help shape the futures of many industries. Combining the forces of creativity and technology helps us not only see problems differently but also solve them with simplicity and scale. As Accenture Song, our opportunities are boundless, both for our clients and for our people,” Droga added.

Julie Sweet, chairman and chief executive officer of Accenture, commented, “The pandemic fundamentally changed how B2C and B2B companies must engage with customers and employees; the speed at which they need to operate and innovate; and the opportunities to create new products, services and growth models.”

Sweet added, “The companies that will lead in the next decade will undertake total enterprise reinvention, and Accenture Song is uniquely operating at the intersection of creativity, technology, intelligence and industry to help our clients reinvent connections and meaningful experiences, including in the metaverse continuum, sales, commerce, marketing and new business platforms. From idea to build to operate with strategic managed services, we are enabling our clients to access ideas, talent and results much faster.”

The company said their more than 40 acquisitions from over the past decade will begin to go to market as Accenture Song to strengthen their synergies in product innovation, experience design, marketing and commerce. While, Droga5 will continue to operate under its own brand name.

Singapore – As technologies are converging to reshape human experiences, global professional services Accenture has launched a dedicated ‘Metaverse Continuum’ business group, a spectrum of digitally enhanced worlds, realities, and business models, aimed at building on the business’ existing capabilities in this space.

According to the Accenture Technology Vision 2022 report, at this early stage, 71% of executives believe the metaverse will have a positive impact on their organisation, and 42% believe it will be a breakthrough or transformational.

Accenture said that forward-looking companies are simultaneously navigating the uncertainty of today’s markets while beginning to compete in the Metaverse Continuum.

The new group will be led by Paul Daugherty, Accenture’s group chief executive and technology and chief technology officer, and David Droga, Accenture Interactive’s CEO and creative chairman.

Daugherty shared that the next generation of the internet is unfolding and will drive a new wave of digital transformation far greater than what we all have seen to date, transforming the way people all live and work.

“Our vision of the metaverse as a continuum challenges prevailing, narrower views and highlights why organisations must act today, or find themselves operating in worlds designed by, and for, someone else,” said Daugherty.

Meanwhile, Droga commented, “Our new business group combines these capabilities with the creative strengths of Accenture Interactive, with teams of innovators and creators introducing new applications in the decentralised environment of the metaverse.”

Daugherty added, “As the line between people’s physical and digital lives further blurs, organisations have the opportunity and obligation now to build a responsible metaverse — addressing issues like trust, sustainability, personal safety, privacy, responsible access and use, diversity, and more. The actions and choices they make today will set the stage for the future.”

In addition, Accenture has also operated its own metaverse, the Nth floor, where the company’s people participate in new hire orientation and immersive learning or meet and socialise as teams. This fiscal year, the company expects 150,000 or more new hires will work in the metaverse on their first day.

Singapore – Accenture Interactive, Accenture’s digital agency, has expanded its global leadership team with two new appointments. Nick Law, formerly of Apple, is named as the agency’s global lead for design & creative tech, while, Sarah Thompson, ex-Droga5, Accenture Interactive-owned creative agency, is elevated to assume the role of global lead for communications & content for Accenture Interactive.

Law was most recently the VP for marcom integration at Apple, and has previously assumed senior roles at Publicis Groupe and R/GA. Meanwhile, Thompson was global CEO of Droga5. The latest appointments come on the heels of Accenture Interactive’s appointment of Neil Heymann as its first global chief creative officer and Jatinder Singh as global lead of data and analytics. 

In his new role, Law will be responsible for leading Accenture Interactive’s world-class service and experience design capabilities to help clients further modernize their approach and meet their customers’ ever-evolving needs. Thompson, on the other hand, is charged with overseeing Accenture Interactive’s global creative agency capabilities which include brand, digital engagement, content and media. According to the agency, she’ll specifically focus on unifying and growing the agency’s capabilities around the world to bring “the best thinking forward.”

David Droga, CEO and creative chairman of Accenture Interactive, commented, “Two of the very first calls I made when I accepted my new role in September, were to Nick Law and Sarah Thompson respectively. Nick is someone I have admired for well over a decade. From R/GA to Apple, he is truly one of the most future-facing, design, technology and communications leaders.” 

On Thompson, Droga says, “And Sarah, well she has without a doubt been one of my most trusted and influential Droga5 partners, and certainly one of the smartest and most authentic people I have ever met. We are spoiled and excited to have such exceptional leaders join this already incredible leadership team.” 

Thompson shared that she is thrilled to take on a broader role within the leadership team of Accenture Interactive, especially at a time when businesses worldwide need a growth acceleration partner to help them drive their growth and ability to meet the ever-shifting needs of modern customers. 

“I’m honoured to offer my experience in leading Droga5, one of the world’s most respected creative agencies, and apply that to an impressive group of creative firepower found within Accenture Interactive’s creative agency brands,” said Thompson. 

Meanwhile, Law commented, “When David became the CEO of Accenture Interactive, it was a clear statement of the company’s oversized creative ambitions. I didn’t need much convincing to have a conversation with him; and once I did, to get excited by the company’s astonishing breadth and depth of capabilities.”

In June 2021, Accenture Interactive acquired Malaysia-based marketing consulting and agency Entropia, to expand its presence in the SEA. 

Tokyo, Japan – Global professional services Accenture has announced that it will be acquiring Tambourine, a Japanese-based commerce customer experience (CX) agency. Said terms of the transaction were not disclosed as of this moment.

The company, founded in 2015, provides integrated commerce services on the Salesforce platform. It delivers customer experience design and engineering, develops web services and applications, and offers consultancy services to optimize customer touchpoints. 

Tambourine already has a proven track record in using Salesforce Commerce Cloud to deliver seamless commerce experiences for consumer goods and entertainment companies in Japan. 

Through the acquisition, Tambourine will enhance the world-class suite of sales and commerce transformation services, from product and platform engineering, to omnichannel delivery of commerce experiences. 

Speaking about the acquisition, Flaviano Faleiro, president for growth markets at Accenture Interactive, said, “Brands understand that when they respond to new consumer behaviors with a seamless commerce experience, it makes them more relevant and valuable. The combination of Tambourine and Accenture Interactive will further enhance our ability to leverage creativity, technology and deep human insights to accelerate growth of our clients.” 

Tambourine is the latest in a series of acquisitions that Accenture has made to rapidly scale commerce expertise and excellence, including Experity in Brazil, Glamit in Argentina and Openmind in Italy. In Asia, the company had also acquired Malaysia-based marketing consulting/agency Entropia.

Atsushi Egawa, Accenture’s market unit lead for Japan, said, “Digital customer experience and brand reputation is so closely intertwined that it can impact a company’s growth. In considering ways to deliver the best of commerce experiences, brands are turning to data and the cloud for leverage. By weaving in Tambourine’s unique offerings into Accenture’s, we will continue to help accelerate our clients’ growth.”

Meanwhile, Tatsuya Nakao, CEO of Tambourine, commented, “Tambourine is founded on the premise of achieving excellent outcomes as a team. Now, as part of Accenture, we look forward to extending our digital commerce expertise across the entire customer experience and work closely together to create [a] deep impact for our clients.”

Australia – Accenture, the global professional services firm for strategy & consulting, interactive, and technology, has named its new communications lead for ANZ, Therese Raft. 

Raft steps into the role as her predecessor Georgia Hewett moves into the chief of staff position to support Accenture ANZ’s CEO Tara Brady and the company’s executive team in ANZ. 

Raft will become part of Accenture’s global media relations team to drive its external communications in support of Accenture’s growth agenda in ANZ.

Raft most recently comes from tax and advisory firm, Grant Thornton Australia, as its national communications lead. Prior to that, she had also been the Australasia external communication lead of professional services firm, Arup. 

Commenting on her appointment, Raft said, “It’s a fantastic time to be at Accenture. The C-suite has never been as ready to have the conversation about technology and business transformation as they are right now. The way Accenture tackles practical challenges to also address issues around sustainability, diversity, and future skills – to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity – is a unique story I’m excited to help tell.”

Sydney, Australia – In a bid to boost vaccination endeavors across the country, the Advertising Council Australia, alongside consulting firm Accenture and creative agency The Monkeys, is releasing a public service campaign, which looks back at the numerous events and instances in Australia’s history that Australians have conquered or passed through.

The 60-second campaign showcases both the positive and the negative events in history that have shaped Australia’s resilience against these hindrances or challenges. Enclosed in the campaign are snippets of how Australians have conquered natural disasters such as bushfires, floods, drought as well as the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2008, and championed innovations which include the cochlear implant to overcome deafness, and in the case of Fred Hollows, treat avoidable blindness.

For Tony Hale, CEO at Advertising Council Australia, there is great momentum for vaccination but more needs to be done as part of a concerted push to boost double vaccination rates to the levels and within the timeframe needed.

“As part of a call to arms, we need to bring those who are uncertain about vaccination on board and get the last leg of double vaccinations underway in a bid to reach a minimum of 80% so we can open the country up as quickly as possible,” Hale stated.

Meanwhile, Mark Green, co-founder and group CEO at The Monkey and lead at Accenture Interactive ANZ, commented that by watching the campaign, he reflected that it is important to look back and reflect on all of the challenges we have overcome as a nation, as Many Australians have been greatly affected by the pandemic and in these difficult times.

“As part of this fantastic collaboration, I’m proud of our industry for coming together to encourage all Australians to prioritize vaccination. With one final push, let’s apply our fighting spirit to this pandemic – if we all get vaccinated, we can beat this challenge too,” Green added.

Said campaign has also seen the support of the shareholders of the Premium Content Alliance namely Foxtel, News Corp, Nine, Seven West Media and 10; to which they donated media for the campaign.

“This initiative is the best way for us to do our part in encouraging all Australians to get vaccinated. The reach of our shareholders will ensure the campaign is seen by millions who will watch, hear, read and remember what can be accomplished when we come together as a country,” Kim Portrate, CEO at Premium Content Alliance, stated.

Vaccination campaign efforts have been rampant across Asia-Pacific, with organizations such as the Business Council of Australia, and brands like Agoda, Grab, and TikTok Singapore encouraging their followers to get vaccinated already.

Manila, Philippines – User Experience Philippines (UXPH), a local-based non-profit organization that provides connections and resources to the local design community, has recently concluded its annual conference held online on November 14 and 15. 

The event was attended primarily by attendees from various sectors, ranging from UX/UI designers by profession, students, SME founders, and media practitioners.

Opened up formally by Aldrich Tan, UXPH’s managing director and CEO/co-founder of digital banking suite NextPay, Tan stated that the prime focus of the convention is to stress on the importance of collaboration and community in the design community.

“Our mission is to grow and nurture the Filipino creative community through sharing and collaboration, and raise the design standards and practices within our country; to help uplift the lives of our society. We envision an empowered culture where products and services are built mindfully and sustainably,” Tan noted.

The event was also graced with a short message from Design Center of the Philippines’ executive director Maria Rita Matute, in which she stressed the importance of designers as leaders of change.

“We as designers are called to lead the change for the better. It is time we show how we can use design and design thinking to pave the way forward, not simply towards a new normal but a better normal, a better forward, but we cannot do it as individuals [for] we are stronger together,” Matute stated.

Designers towards change and transformation

One of the prime topics being focused on in this conference is the importance of user interface and design towards change, breaking the norm, and moving towards the 21st century.

“Designers have the responsibility to share the skill that we have—this gift that we have to more people because ultimately what we, our skill as designers it’s not just to create change, it is to enable change,” Daisuke Yukita, senior interaction designer at IDEO Tokyo, a global design firm.

Yukita stressed in his talk titled “Designers as Enablers of Change”, that there are four points to note that design creates change:

  • compelling content that creates emotional impact 
  • tangible prototypes that generates momentum
  • authentic voices from users that propels decision making
  • unlock the creative potential of the people that we work with

On the other hand, Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, SVP for digital transformation and corporate services at JG Summit, stressed the importance of digital transformation amongst businesses, whether a small-medium enterprise (SME) or a traditional conglomerate company.

“[Digital] transformation is not an end state, it’s a journey. We keep iterating our operational model as we learn. In a few months, we probably will learn a few more things, or realize that some of these [are] wrong. The point is to keep pivoting,” Cheng stated in her talk titled “Lessons in Digital Transformation in a Corporate Setting.”

Accessibility and democratization: the future of UX/UI

While UX/UI have strived over the years providing accessible interfaces to many products and services both in the physical and the digital world, there is still room for improvement of such prototypes that describes both practicality and futurism.

Julian Charles Serrano, an accessibility consultant at Catalyst International, discussed keystones of web accessibility which includes usage of accessibility guidelines, accessibility training, and testing or auditing.

“When you make your content accessible, you’re going to show everybody that you took your time to understand the needs of people with disabilities, and provide them with content that they need,” Serrano stated, stressing that blind and deaf people often rely with tools such as magnifying tools and text-to-speech reader to understand online content.

On another realm, Phil Balagtas, experience design director at McKinsey Design notes that the future fares better for the UX/UI world as digital transformation strategies have helped device new services such as AI-oriented vending machines or prototypes of modern-design PPEs and face masks.

“There is no one future: there are multiple futures and multiple possibilities that could arrive. Once we are able to map out those possibilities, we could prepare for different types of scenarios. We could use these to plan out our next agenda for today.”

Other speakers of the convention came from companies like Dropbox, Tokopedia, Eskwelabs, Shopify, IBM, and scores of others.

MARKETECH APAC is an official media partner at the UXPH Conference 2020: Designers as Navigators of Change, which was held from November 14 to 15, 2020.