Tag: APAC expansion

Australia – Allied Global Marketing, America-based global full-service integrated marketing agency, has opened a new office in Sydney, Australia, to support its existing operations and expand its business in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

The Sydney opening emphasizes the importance of APAC to the agency’s global clients, and it will facilitate the development of new business in the market. With Allied Global Marketing now executing campaigns across six continents for many of the world’s major media companies, the new office will also provide the agency’s existing and future global clients with support across all time zones.

Following this endeavor, the agency has also appointed industry veteran Jamie Crick as its new managing director for the APAC team. Crick has previously worked as the head of distribution and analysis at the creative agency Emotive, where he created and delivered innovative and award-winning campaigns for brands such as telecom giant Optus, meal-kit provider HelloFresh, and Amazon’s online audiobook and podcast platform Audible, as well as Google, among others. He will report directly to Adam Cunningham, the chief global strategist of Allied Global Marketing.

Commenting on his appointment, Crick said that he is very excited to help brands in the region take full advantage of Allied’s uniquely focused smarts in achieving measurable business returns.

”The opportunity to partner with clients in verticals I’m so passionate about – and to drive genuine performance across the spectrum of their paid, owned, and earned activity, both strategically, creatively, and via media – is what jumped out to me about Allied,” said Crick.

Meanwhile, Cunningham shared that they are thrilled to welcome Crick to the team as he will be integral in leading the agency’s efforts in the APAC market, saying that Crick will bring strong leadership, a proven track record, and deep relationships, which will prove invaluable as they expand the business in the region. 

“Having him on the ground will provide existing clients with additional local resources and expertise while providing the agency with the opportunity to seek new business and partnerships,” added Cunningham.

Australia – Livewire, a new global company that focuses on game technology, entertainment, and marketing, has recently launched in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Former dentsu international’s Regional Managing Director for ANZ Indy Khabra has joined forces with former Misfits Management Group’s (MMG) Chief Commercial Officer and gaming expert Brad Manuel to create Livewire, leveraging their global relationships and experiences, previously working with several companies such as Microsoft, Disney, American Express, L’Oreal, Universal Pictures, Epic Games, and Samsung, as well as a range of sporting organizations and bodies.

Livewire has two key focuses to position itself in the gametech, entertainment, and marketing ecosystem; firstly, on in-game and around game marketing, creating campaigns to add value to the gamers’ experience. This way, the brands will be able to reach consumers during their hobbies and passions, without changing the gaming experience, and secondly, programmatic marketing in gaming. 

Livewire will use gametech and audience data to help brands connect with consumers while they are leaning in and actively engaged in their passion points.

Khabra commented that globally, gaming offers a variety of brands access to over 2.6 billion consumers, saying that the majority of which are between 16 and 40 years old and beginning to build long-term awareness of, and relationships with brands and products.

“What makes these consumers interesting to brands is that they engage with traditional media and marketing at a much lower frequency than prior generations, earning the label of ‘cord cutters’ for their behavior of opting out of traditional marketing and using subscriptions to avoid advertising,” added Khabra.

Meanwhile, Manuel acknowledges that gaming is rapidly growing domestically and globally, saying that many brands are eager to talk to the next generation of consumers through the gaming ecosystem but require expert advice on how to build truly integrated gaming campaigns that deliver results.

“The global eSports and games streaming industry will be worth $US3.5 billion by 2025; rising from $US2.1 billion in 2021. Livewire sits on the cutting edge of GameTech and marketing to create a brand entry, evergreen solutions, and original content that is all based on deep data insights to engage consumers with brands,” said Manuel.

During the coming weeks, Livewire will announce a range of exclusive and shared IP that will be available across the global market, while building partnerships with brands and demonstrating the effectiveness of programmatic marketing in gaming.

Singapore – Creative production company MediaMonks Singapore has tapped Joao Flores, former chief creative officer of dentsu International, to be its new executive creative director (ECD) in SEA, Korea, and Japan, supporting its business expansion plan across the APAC region.

The new ECD will be responsible for developing creative partnerships with the company’s clients, as this will help influence teams with a growth mindset across APAC and elevate the standards for creativity in the region.

Prior to his new position, Flores started his journey being in creative leadership at marketing company Cheil Iberia. Through this, his perspective about imaginative narratives and experiences transformed, which also opened his world for a new age of creativity.

He was then responsible to lead Horizon Foote, Cone & Belding’s (FCB) creative vision in the Middle East, which guided him into dentsu in Singapore, where he gained recognition while growing the business, being promoted to Chief Creative Officer.

Commenting on his appointment, Flores said, “We are living in a new age for creativity, the pioneers of that mindset are MediaMonks and S4 Capital. How to structure creative teams at scale in this new era? How to define a new creative identity elevating data and tech? And what does that mean for people, for the ones living those experiences? The passion for the craft, connected ecosystems, and the commitment to create product ideas with a tangible positive impact, that’s the Monks way, that’s my why, and what made this opportunity so appealing to me.”

According to Joris Knetsch, managing director of MediaMonks Singapore, Joao is known for his creative leadership and his disruptive creative process, as well as his vision for integrated ideas which positively impact people, businesses, and culture.

“We share the passion for creative excellence, and I’m excited to start working with Joao. Together with the rest of the MediaMonks team, we are perfectly set up to scale to new heights,” said Knetsch.