Tag: ADK

Singapore – To bolster network transformation in APAC, ADK Global has announced the promotion of Neville Medhora to the inaugural role of chief transformation officer.

In the new role, he will accelerate ADK Global’s digital transformation by integrating ADK’s business offerings and solutions across regions and clients to achieve specific agency goals in India, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Medhora will report to Rie Otsuka, chief growth officer at ADK Global, and work closely with Pradeep Shankar, president of ADK Rage, to champion ADK’s IMC solutions in India.

Medhora joins ADK with over 25 years of experience leading cross-functional teams in design, branding, UI//UX, web technology, search marketing, and social media. At ADK Rage, he innovated several notable optimizations regarding agency planning, agile workflows, and new business lead funnels. 

Notably, he also pioneered an audience relationship methodology that greatly improved the agency’s ideation process and delivered outcomes for clients such as Tata Motors, Croma, and Jones Lang LaSalle. He also spearheaded key digital initiatives for clients within the boundaries of the traditional offline format.

On his appointment, Medhora said, “The ADK Global network has both highly talented teams and multifaceted services. My aim is to integrate both into a single-window delivery for our clients.”

He added, “We want to be an agency which can deliver across two fronts. The first is creativity backed by consumer insights and strategic vision. The second is seamless execution of those ideas across mainstream and digital platforms.”

Yasuyuki Katagi, CEO, ADK Global, also remarked, “ADK Global’s ambitions to reimagine the business will be significantly boosted with Neville Medhora’s appointment as our first Chief Transformation Officer. As the prior Head of India and EMEA at ADK Rage, he is ideally placed to leverage and apply ADK Rage’s digital solutions and methodologies across the rest of the network.”

Katagi added, “Within ADK Global, we are always on the lookout for employees who want to be challenged, and it is our responsibility to provide them with the right opportunities. We see Medhora as one such talent and wish him the best in his new role.”

This follows ADK’s appointment of Rie Otsuka as its chief executive officer for Singapore and emerging countries and chief growth officer for ADK Global.

The year 2022 saw numerous acquisitions and partnerships amongst companies and agencies across the Asia-Pacific. These acquisitions birthed lots of significant initiatives that geared up their respective industries for 2023. 

Amongst these acquisitions, one snagged MARKETECH APAC’s Acquisition of the Year nod: ADK’s acquisition of Rage Communications. The Japan-headquartered company officially announced the acquisition in March 2022, which also came with the latter’s rebranding as ADK Rage. 

To share more about the move, we talked to ADK’s Global Operations CEO Yasuyuki Katagi. In the interview, he shared some of the efforts done by ADK after the acquisition and how Rage has elevated the agency, amongst others.

How the acquisition helped ADK boost its solutions and capabilities

According to Katagi, ADK Connect, the digital-first creative and performance agency under ADK Global, has achieved a dramatic increase in its solutions and service capabilities following the acquisition. Moreover, the agency has also boosted its expertise in CX, digital technologies, and CRM through its exchange of talents and knowledge with ADK Rage.

He added, “For our clients, ADK Connect is their go-to for all marketing- and communications-related services, delivering outsized results with local expertise and Japanese marketing DNA. I am happy to say ADK Connect is strongly-positioned in the region’s market today.”

Katagi likewise shared notable initiatives done after the acquisition, such as having an elevated partnership with its network offices in Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan to deliver fully integrated solutions to their clients in CRM and eCommerce. He also added that this integrated strategy increased ADK’s pitch volume and new customer engagements by 25% across Asia in the last year.

On the agency’s growth in other markets

Apart from levelling up ADK’s capabilities, the acquisition was pegged as its milestone entry to the Indian and Australian markets. Truthfully so, ADK Rage’s cutting-edge digital technologies have helped ADK Connect widen the playing field for its business teams.

“Particularly in Australia and India, ADK Connect has blossomed into a full-service marketing solutions provider. I am grateful some key clients have recognised this; as a result, for these clients, we are transitioning our current work to a full-service solution in the coming months,” said Katagi.

Moreover, Katagi shared that the agency has appointed Clíona Manahan as its new general manager in Australia. He also shared ADK is establishing an Asia solutions business that will provide services in countries like China and Japan.

What’s next for ADK?

After all these achievements ADK has reached because of the acquisition, Katagi ensures that there’s more to look forward to from the company. One of them is the establishment of a global solutions centre in India that will leverage ADK’s technology, R&D, and high-quality production skills to provide scalable solutions for its clients.

Katagi added that a digital solutions cluster in Chennai is also in the works. He added, “Furthermore, we are devoted to being on the cutting edge of future technologies and trends, and we see considerable opportunity in areas such as artificial intelligence, CRO, and CX.”

ADK is also looking to develop their leadership teams with the appointment of Rie Otsuka as its chief growth officer and Neville Medhora as its chief transformation officer.

“Overall, we are optimistic that the combination of ADK Connect and ADK Rage will continue to drive growth and success in the ensuing years. We are eager to explore the numerous opportunities that await us,” Katagi concluded. 

This recognition is based on the results of Google Analytics on the most-read stories of 2022 with editorial validation on the significance of a leader’s contribution, campaign results, and overall impact.

Singapore – Japan-based advertising agency, ADK, has acquired Rage Communications, the independent agency that specialises in digital experience design and e-commerce solutions. The move aims to combine both organisations’ capabilities in digital marketing, web design and development, analytics, and data-driven insights, as well as content narratives, to drive integrated end-to-end performance and brand campaigns for clients.

Moreover, the acquisition will see ADK becoming the major shareholder, while Rage’s founders, JRK Rao and Karthik Kumar remain as minority shareholders. As part of the agreement, Rage will be rebranded as ADK Rage, and Rao will continue to lead as CEO of ADK Rage, and he, along with Kumar, will be working closely with ADK global team to offer integrated solutions to clients. 

Yasuyuki Katagi, ADK Global Operations’ CEO, noted that this partnership marks their milestone entry into the India and Australia markets – two of the fastest-growing digital markets in APAC.

He further shared that with Rage, ADK will immediately gain traction at a brand consultancy level, providing a strong starting point for further growth in these key markets.

“We are also extremely excited at the collaboration opportunities to supercharge growth for our clients together. The new ADK Rage will offer clients with differentiated industry expertise, unparalleled partnerships, unique intellectual property, a full-service digital innovation offering and compelling scale,” said Katagi.

Meanwhile, Rao and Kumar commented that this partnership with ADK is a significant moment in the growth of Rage as it opens new horizons in a rapidly changing global economy, and they both share the same vision in the digital transformation of businesses and their interactions with consumers.

“It is our hope that our combined strengths will add greater value to our existing clients and reach out to the larger marketing community around the world. This also represents substantial opportunities for our respective staffs to work together in an increasingly technology-led multicultural world,” they said.

ADK said that the move follows its recent launch of Integrated Performance Platform (IPP), a data-driven marketing intelligence technology for brands and agencies in October. The IPP is designed to centralise the connection of all ad accounts for ad platforms and demand-side platforms (DSPs) in one place, enabling advertisers to scale their campaigns across multiple platforms efficiently, while gaining complete control and transparency of all digital media channels and regional teams at the same time.