Tag: communications

New Zealand – Insurance company AIA New Zealand has appointed Bastion Shine as its agency for integrated marketing and communications. 

AIA NZ Chief Customer Officer Angela Busby said they have been impressed by the strategic thinking and market understanding that the Bastion Shine team brings to the table. 

“It is clear that they are as committed as we are in achieving AIA’s purpose of helping New Zealanders live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives,” she said.

As part of the remit, Bastion Shine will be helping AIA maintain a market-leading brand to match the latter’s industry position as New Zealand’s leading life insurer. “We look forward to working with them on new brand and marketing campaigns for 2023 and beyond,” Busby added.

On partnering with AIA NZ, Bastion Shine’s Managing Director Toby Sellers commented, “AIA is a purpose-led business and having the opportunity to partner with an organisation that positively impacts the health and wellbeing of New Zealand was a huge motivator for us.”

To bolster its marketing efforts, the AIA Group has been releasing campaigns in different markets, including the Merdeka campaign for AIA Malaysia, AIA HK’s ad series, and AIA Malaysia’s Chinese New Year film.

Singapore – Global communications agency Redhill has launched its Redhill Lancers Programme, which aims to help with the growth of high-potential, early-stage companies that recognise the importance of public relations and marketing.

Through the program, Redhill will be providing 360-degree communications support to early and growth-stage startups to help them raise investor capital, network with strategic partners, and create sustainable businesses.

The agency will also make strategic investments in companies that focus on solving real-world problems and those with significant growth potential.

Ten selected startups will be given access to Redhill’s full suite of PR and marketing services including communications strategy, media relations, social media, video production, web development, content and research, design and branding, digital marketing, crisis communications, government affairs, and event management. 

Applicants are now invited to share proposals and will be evaluated for their investment, business strategy, and growth potential.

Speaking on the programme’s inspiration, Jacob Puthenparambil, CEO of Redhill, said, “Many early-stage Startups focus a lot on their product and customers that they tend to overlook the communications aspect of the business. For customers and investors to trust them they need to have some level of credibility, and this is where PR plays a pivotal role in helping Startups build their brands and reputations to boost awareness, build credibility, and attract key stakeholders.”

He added, “Through the Redhill Lancers programme, our aim is to help nurture high-potential early-stage companies to navigate their growth journeys and to scale up quickly and sustainably through access to our global partner ecosystem and advisory from Redhill’s executive leadership.”

Redhill also previously launched its metaverse offering in collaboration with US-based enterprise metaverse platform Pixel Canvas.

Singapore – Citi, a multinational banking company, has recently appointed Lay Fang Tan as its head of marketing and communications for Citi Commercial Bank in the Asia-Pacific region.

Tan has previously worked as Citi Singapore’s vice president for corporate affairs and held the company’s senior VP for corporate affairs role for six years. 

She also held senior positions for IDC APAC’s marketing communications and media relations department for about five years. Prior to that, she also worked in the marketing and public relations department for the manufacturing company Hansgrohe.

Singapore – The massive layoffs by social media giant Twitter has finally reached the Asia-Pacific region, affecting a large chunk of employees across various teams, including communications, marketing, engineering, and sales.

A report from The Straits Times notes that while the number of laid-off employees are unknown, it is understood that employees who were laid off receive said notice on their private emails, while those who have kept their jobs received an email on their corporate one.

Internal email from Twitter states that the lay-offs were part of “an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path.”

Cipluk Carlita, who served as the head of communications for Twitter in Southeast Asia, was one of the people who bore the shocking corporate decision by the social media platform.

“While this is not how I would’ve wanted my journey to end, Twitter will always have a special place in my heart. It’s not just a place to work, but also to learn something new every single day and create lifelong friendships. Twitter is not a place. It’s the people,” she said on her LinkedIn.

The massive Twitter layoffs follow days after billionaire Elon Musk completed the social media giant’s acquisition. It should be noted that key C-Suite executives from Twitter’s global team have been fired, including CEO Parag Agarwal.

Musk’s takeover of Twitter has also caused a massive wave of advertising exodus, with large brands such as Mondelez, General Motors, and Pfizer announcing they have halted advertising on Twitter. In addition, advertising giant Interpublic Group (IPG) has also advised its clients to halt Twitter advertising for the meantime.

Despite Musk trying to appease advertisers to stay and initial reports saying that Twitter has approached several fired employees to come back, Musk’s Twitter takeover has had a rocky start, with rocky issues including the introduction of paid verification status, as well as lessened restrictions on controversial and far-right content.

Croatia – Global cloud communications company Infobip has collaborated with Microsoft to enhance their digital communications offering among businesses. This is done through integrating Infobip’s SMS and WhatsApp channels with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales.

Businesses using Dynamics 365 Sales can now use Infobip to build personalised customer communication campaigns using text messages and benefit from WhatApp’s enhanced features such as graphics and video capabilities. 

This also includes sending personalised coupons to existing or potential customers to increase sales, collecting customer feedback to improve products and services, and sending bespoke event, appointment, or payment due date reminders. 

Data from a single-view dashboard means users of Dynamics 365 Sales can have a complete view of customer communications across these new channels, where they can see sent and delivered message reports. 

Veselin Vuković, VP of strategic partnership at Infobip, said: “The evolution of our collaboration with Microsoft demonstrates our commitment to ensure businesses can communicate with their customers using their preferred channel. In doing so, we help improve the customer experience, enhance loyalty, and ultimately boost sales.  We’re delighted to be a Microsoft partner and our new integration will make it easier for customers to make use of our global reach and rich channel mix.”

Meanwhile, Vincenzo Esposito, general manager for Central & Eastern Europe at Microsoft, commented, “Companies like Infobip add value by integrating their solutions with Microsoft Dynamics 365. This ensures that businesses, no matter where they are or their channel preferences, can harness the benefits of digital transformation. Together we are enabling omnichannel communication to deliver impactful business solutions.”

Azure customers will also have the option to use existing Azure credits, as part of the Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) program, to access Infobip’s cloud contact center solution Conversations. Through this agreement, businesses can engage customers, partners, and sellers through existing Microsoft procurement relationships, while benefiting from Microsoft’s trusted expertise and its partner ecosystem. 

Auckland, New Zealand – Hong Kong-based communications and public affairs consultancy Sandpiper Communications has announced that it will be expanding to New Zealand by establishing a new office in the country. In addition, the consultancy has appointed Ed Brewster as director for New Zealand alongside assuming the position of director of international media at Sandpiper Communications.

Brewster has worked in corporate affairs both in-house and agency side for 25 years across the technology, financial and infrastructure sectors. Brewster previously led the corporate affairs, public policy and media for Huawei in the UK, as well as managing international media relations for Huawei Group in London. Prior to this, he was head of global media relations for Prudential.

Speaking about his appointment, Brewster said that in addition to being the perfect base for their primary industries offering, they believe that the consultancy can bring significant, tangible value to outward-looking New Zealand organizations. 

“Sandpiper’s established presence across Australia, Hong Kong, mainland China, and Southeast Asia gives us a unique platform to help tell the stories of New Zealand companies to target growth and investment. While brand [in] New Zealand is very strong, significant opportunities for local brands remain untapped, and we want to help close this gap,” Brewster said.

Brewster will be supported by Julia Walker, director of ESG and sustainability at Sandpiper Communications, and Kelly Johnston, COO at Sandpiper Communications. 

Walker has worked in finance, technology, ESG and international business and market development for 20 years. She has driven the international market expansion for major multinational financial data company, Refinitiv, and provided advisory services on the changing business, regulatory, sustainability and technology landscape across Asia-Pacific.

Regarding her appointment, she noted that they believe that with their network and experience across the region, they are well placed to attract international investment for the consultancy.

“Now is the time for New Zealand companies to unlock the opportunity that the transition to a low carbon and digital economy presents. Integrating climate risks and opportunities and understanding global regulatory and business environment changes will help position businesses for future success. Green finance is on the rise and many international investors are very keen to find opportunities in New Zealand,” Walker said.

Meanwhile,, Johnston has two decades of experience in strategic communications, financial communications, public affairs and sustainability for organizations across a variety of sectors in Asia, Australia and Europe, with recently his stint as a journalist for Radio New Zealand.

“The potential for New Zealand companies has never looked stronger, their entrepreneurial nature combined with brand New Zealand means there are real opportunities for growth and investment. I look forward to helping New Zealand organisations realise their ambitions, and further extending our primary industries experience to clients across the Asia Pacific region,” Johnston said.

Sandpiper is also pleased to announce it has appointed Isabella Durant as a senior account executive in New Zealand, reporting to Ed Brewster.

Singapore – Redhill, the global full-service communications agency headquartered in Singapore, bolsters its senior leadership team with key hires for its Malaysia, Indonesia, and India teams.

Umesh Nair (leftmost in photo) has been named as deputy managing director and will lead Redhill’s technology practice and operations in Malaysia. Nair brings with him 15 years of experience in digital marketing and corporate reputation across technology, banking, aerospace, and telecom. Before joining Redhill, he was managing partner at Publicis Groupe’s PR firm MSL Malaysia, and also served as head of reputation at Edelman Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Pavan Sahu (rightmost in photo) has been elevated to the role of deputy managing director, and will continue to accelerate Redhill’s growth in Indonesia and India.

Sahu joined Redhill in 2019 as senior director and has played a crucial role in leading communications strategies across India, Indonesia, and Singapore, while leading crisis communications and brand reputation management for Redhill’s office in India. Some of the key clients Sahu has worked with include Danone, Truecaller, Crayon, Builder.ai, and GudangAda.

Aside from the key appointments in APAC, the agency has also unveiled leadership for its market in the Middle East and for helming the agency’s accounts in the government, public and corporate sectors.

Seasoned communications expert Anit Kurian (second from left in photo), who carries with him nearly two decades of experience, will be managing director for Middle East and Africa. Meanwhile, Charu Srivastava (second from right in photo), like Sahu, has been promoted to deputy managing director. 

For the role, Srivastava will lead the agency’s business within the government, public, and corporate sector. Srivastava joined the agency in 2019 as director, building the company’s government and corporate practice to include a diverse portfolio of clients.

On the appointment of Kurian and Nair, Pranav Rastogi, Redhill’s managing director, commented, “We are delighted to welcome Anit [Kurian] and Umesh [Nair] to the Redhill team. Both Anit and Umesh bring decades of management and communications experience to the table across multiple countries and verticals.”

On Sahu and Srivastava, Rastogi continues, “Charu [Srivastava] and Pavan [Sahu] have performed exceptionally well in growing their respective verticals exponentially despite the challenging environment due to the pandemic. Even as we hire externally, we are also investing in our current senior leaders. Charu and Pavan have proven track records and a wealth of experience and expertise to keep up with our rapid growth. I am confident that Anit, Umesh, Charu, and Pavan will help take Redhill to new heights in the coming years.”

The agency recently celebrated its seventh anniversary in October this year. In June, Redhill entered MARKETECH APAC’s Top 5 Stories for welcoming its new MDs, Marienelle Castelino and Tavy Cussinel.

In an exclusive conversation with its CEO and Founder Jacob Puthenparambil, he shared the agency’s philosophy in building and growing its team.

“It’s extremely vital for our growth that we have people who stay with us for a very long time because it’s a people-based industry, especially PR. A lot of the company culture is based on the long-term people that we have. You can’t write those things down or learn from a textbook,” said Puthenparambil.

Mumbai, India – Zimmi.com (Zimmi), the global search engine hub that helps businesses expand their reach, has appointed strategy consultancy Pitchfork Partners, to be its marketing and communications partner for its India office.

Zimmi is a US-based company that brings buyers and sellers together to the exclusive B2B marketplace built to deliver verified global search results through proprietary AI verification. Its search platform currently hosts more than 20 million verified suppliers from 200 countries with more than 64 million unique searchable keywords, which will help Indian exporters reach the global market.

The latest partnership will see Pitchfork Partners building and driving the brand presence of Zimmi, enabling it to expand operations in the country.

James Thomsen, Zimmi.com’s CEO and co-founder, believes that all B2B buyers deserve to procure the best products, services, and vendor partnerships on a global scale, and the businesses listed on their search engine would be verified by Dun & Bradstreet, the global provider of B2B data, insights, and AI-driven platforms. 

“Pitchfork Partners shares our passion and beliefs. Its expertise will play a key role in the success of our communication agenda. We see a huge opportunity for sustained growth in India and Pitchfork has the credentials to assist us,” said Thomsen.

Meanwhile, Daniel Malina, the co-founder and senior vice president of Zimmi.com, commented, “We are excited to be part of the country’s economic march. We partnered with Pitchfork Partners to communicate our mission and vision to connect sellers in India to verified buyers from 200 countries.”

Jaideep Shergill, Pitchfork Partners’ co-founder, said, “Zimmi spans the B2B marketplace, challenging the status quo to bring fair and equal access to all businesses. It is a great opportunity to bridge the gap and help Zimmi achieve its vision through strategic and insights-driven communication.”

In September this year, Pitchfork Partners has also been appointed by Intellimation.ai, the enterprise AI company in India that uses proprietary natural language processing and machine learning methods in the BFSI sector, to be its new strategic communication partner.

Singapore – Advertising agency Forsman & Bodenfors in Singapore has appointed Deborah Abraham, former director of communications at creative agency TBWA\ Group Singapore, to be its new director of PR strategy and communications. 

Abrahan is a former journalist turned communications professional with over 20 years of experience in the APAC, where she has played a key role in securing high-profile visibility for both agency and clients. Aside from her previous role in TBWA\ Singapore, Abraham has also worked as the regional communications director at creative firm BBH Asia Pacific. 

The integrated role will see Abraham as an active strategic PR counsel across both the agency’s internal communications and client work.

Commenting on her appointment, Abraham said, “Forsman & Bodenfors appreciation of an integrated PR approach to creative communications is critical to the cultural and business impact we’d like to make, and to be able to fully utilize my potential here is the best opportunity I could ask for.”

Susanna Fagring, Forsman & Bodenfors’ CEO for Singapore, noted that a fundamental understanding of the power of PR and how to start conversations in society is part of Forsman & Bodenfors’ core offering and an intimate part of our creative process. 

“Deborah’s solid experience and reputation in this market make her a fantastic addition to our team,” said Fagring.

Manila, Philippines – Professional services and investment management firm Colliers has recently appointed Rodel Ambas as the new head of marketing and communications for Colliers Philippines, effective immediately. 

Ambas will continue to implement Colliers’ brand guidelines to ensure that all of the firm’s marketing and communications efforts are consistent and well aligned with their core values and vision, collaborating with stakeholders to drive exceptional results.

Prior to his new role, he was with consulting firm Pinnacle Consulting as the head of marketing, where he was responsible for the property listings and customer service teams to ensure that the company’s branding, communications and performance marketing initiatives are well aligned and executed.

Before joining Colliers, he also had experience with companies like real estate marketplaces ZipMatch and Lamudi, and has provided consulting for various companies to help boost their content and public relations strategies to earn PR mileage through events and regular seeding of press releases.

Speaking about the recent appointment, Richard Raymundo, managing director for Philippines at Colliers, said, “I am confident that Rodel will contribute to leading our industry into the future given his enterprising and collaborative spirit. This will further strengthen Colliers’ branding and positioning in Philippine real estate.”

Meanwhile, Michelle Doyle-Jones, director of marketing and communications for Asia at Colliers, commented, “We are excited to have Rodel join our team to lead and further strengthen the Colliers brand in the Philippines. His relevant experience in real estate will certainly help us to drive exceptional results to accelerate the success of our clients and our people.”