Australia – Hotwire Global Communications, the global technology communications and marketing consultancy, has taken a significant step towards its presence in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region by fully integrating GetIT, a top B2B technology marketing agency. This integration follows Hotwire’s acquisition of GetIT in July 2022, marking a significant milestone in its expansion strategy.

Effective today, the GetIT offices in Singapore, Malaysia, India, and Japan will merge seamlessly with Hotwire’s 11 global offices. This integration deepens Hotwire’s reputation, relationship, and revenue management service offerings, encompassing digital marketing, content production, account-based marketing, and public relations.

Moreover, Hotwire’s expansion and integration with GetIT brings added value to existing clients like Informatica and introduces notable enterprise technology brands such as Google Cloud, Palo Alto Networks, Telekom Malaysia, Amazon Web Services, and SAP Concur to Hotwire’s client portfolio.

Heather Kernahan, the global CEO of Hotwire, said that the strategic expansion in the APAC region is in line with their commitment to global growth and unwavering support for their clients as they navigate the ever-evolving technology landscape.

In addition, the integration includes four new country offices, expanding Hotwire’s global presence to 15 offices and over 400 employees. With nearly 50 employees in six APAC offices, including existing locations in Australia, Anol Bhattacharya, Founder and CEO of GetIT, will now serve as the Managing Director, Marketing for Hotwire Asia Pacific, leading the agency’s growth and achievements in the region.

Hotwire’s APAC expansion reflects a year of growth, highlighted by impactful data and analytics solutions updates. The insight-driven offerings, such as Account IQ, Audience IQ, Comms IQ, and Performance IQ, launched in February, empowering technology companies worldwide, including in APAC, to leverage data for strategy optimization, impactful measurement, and accelerated business growth.

Hotwire Global Communications continues pushing boundaries and redefining the technology communications and marketing landscape. With the integration of GetIT, the consultancy solidifies its position as a leader in APAC, offering expertise, expanded capabilities, and support to technology and innovation leaders across the region and beyond.

Singapore – Oddie Randa has been appointed as the regional managing director for Asia-Pacific by Gushcloud International. In his new role, Randa will manage the income and profitability of Gushcloud’s brand agency division in the Asia-Pacific area in his position as regional managing director. This section caters to a wide range of clients and brands. 

The agency’s expansion in all key markets in the region, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Australia, and China, will be made possible by Oddie’s strategic approach to generating revenue.

All country managers in the APAC will now report to Randa, who will work together with them to identify and develop new income opportunities in the creator and influencer marketing industry. Oddie’s goal is to foster mutually beneficial partnerships between artists and businesses using Gushcloud’s extensive network of influencers and content producers.

Regarding his new position, Randa said, “I am grateful for the trust that Gushcloud and Althea have put in me. The growth of the creator economy has yet to reach its peak in Asia Pacific and it is exciting to take the front seat in watching it unfold. It is also exciting as I take the captain seat to drive more growth for our stakeholders – our brand clients and influencer clients in the next upcoming years. I am looking forward to working closely with our clients and partners in the region to deliver exceptional results, forge new opportunities and grow newer businesses together.”

Meanwhile, Althea Lim, co-founder and group CEO at Gushcloud International, commented, “Oddie and I have worked together for close to a decade. His wisdom and charismatic leadership alongside his wealth of experience and deep understanding in digital marketing, creator economy, and business management has allowed him to rise to this position to assist us in managing a large region of the overall Gushcloud business. 

She added, “With his exceptional strategic thinking and visionary mindset, I am confident that he will assist to expand our business, our revenue potential, and add more value and services to our brand clients and influencer clients across this region.”

Jakarta, Indonesia – CARMA, a global media intelligence firm, has recently begun operations in Indonesia, marking a phase in the company’s continuous expansion across Asia.

Amira Kanifah has been appointed by the company to manage business development in Jakarta. She has over a decade of experience in market research in Asia, including important stints at Nielsen and Kantar.

Andrew Nicholls, managing director for CARMA Asia, said, “I’m looking forward to working with Amira to better serve our clients and support our expansion plans in Indonesia. Her track record in the market as a trusted advisor to organizations and her local network will extend CARMA’s reputation as a leader in software and research solutions.” 

CARMA uses a combination of media and research, augmented by technology, to conduct thorough studies of social, digital, print, and broadcast data in over 100 languages. Their services are geared to match the specific needs of public relations teams and include activities such as evaluating the performance of public relations initiatives, analyzing the marketplace, and tracking customer feedback.

Meanwhile, Mazen Nahawi, group CEO at CARMA, stated, “Asia has shown tremendous growth for CARMA and has grown in a relatively short space of time to become one of our key markets, globally. Our expansion into Indonesia underpins a deepening of CARMA’s commitment to the region.”

Singapore – The Asia-Pacific leads the world in the most number of esports followers, accounting for 80% of these followers residing in the region. This is according to the latest data from YouGov.

The data also shows that China and the Philippines lead the region in most number of esports followers, accounting for 20% each of the total followers in APAC. This is followed by Indonesia, Vietnam, and Taiwan–each contributing 16% of regional esports followers.

Singapore, despite only contributing to 5% of the regional percentage of esports followers, say they watch on a regular basis, evident with the country’s upcoming hosting of the inaugural Olympic Esports Week.

Meanwhile, the popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game ‘League of Legends’ is the region’s most popular video game, followed by ‘Arena of Valor’ and ‘Honor of Kings’, as well as ‘Call of Duty’, ‘PUBG: Battlegrounds’, and ‘Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’.

Singapore – Former chief client officer for Merkle and dentsu CXM APAC Krishnan Menon has been named the new president of experience at Ogilvy Asia. In his new task, he is tasked to bring together Ogilvy’s capabilities across customer engagement, commerce, CRM and loyalty, new realities and digital innovation into an end-to-end experience offering.

He will be working closely with Genevieve Tan, general manager of Verticurl, Ogilvy’s marketing technology arm in APAC.

During his stint at Merkle and dentsu CXM, he was tasked with nurturing and growing client relationships with a focus on helping world-class brands deliver customer experiences. He also served as chief client and growth officer for Wunderman Thompson APAC. His first stint for Ogilvy was from 1997 until 2007 across various roles culminating as the head of Ogilvy Action in South India.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “I am really excited and happy to be back in Ogilvy. It is like homecoming for me. The incredible depth of talent and expertise stretching from advisory to delivery across gamut of CX services, paired with the indisputable creative and brand leadership at the core, makes Ogilvy’s Experience offering unique in the market. I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

Kent Wertime, CEO of Ogilvy Asia, said, “Crafting unforgettable physical and digital experiences has never been more critical than today, and we are thrilled to have someone of Krishnan’s caliber join us to help clients in this space. Having previously worked with us in India for close to a decade, Krishnan understands Ogilvy’s legacy of unmatched creativity, and the possibilities that it offers to unlock growth for clients across industries, at the intersection of data, culture and technology.”

Meanwhile, Ab Gaur, Global CEO of Verticurl, commented, “Consumer demand for personalized experiences that use deep, accurate insights and timing, powered by technology and data is at an all-time high. Having worked with Krishnan in his earlier roles within WPP, I believe he has the right combination of skills to propose the optimum solution mix to help brands take their experiences to the next level, engaging with their audience in a creative way and leveraging our clients’ existing technology investments.”

In addition to Menon’s new appointment, Sheilen Rathod, who previously headed Ogilvy’s experience arm in Asia since 2020, will transition into a new position as chief growth officer in Asia. In this newly created role, he will be focusing on strategic growth initiatives across the region and initially focus on several China-specific projects.