Tag: Consultancy

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Ampersand Advisory has recently welcomed Mawarni Adam as its senior consultant. In an exclusive conversation with MARKETECH APAC, Sandeep Mark Joseph, CEO and co-founder of Ampersand Advisory stated that Mawarni will aid the agency in growing its consulting business, which offers approaches, solutions and tools focused on business development, whether it revolves around media, creative, PR or data.

“Our aim is stated in our motto and remains unchanged. We exist to bring “business results, now!” for our clients, whether that be in media, creative, PR or data. Mawarni will help us grow our consulting business, which offers approaches, solutions and tools to live up to our motto,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Mawarni told MARKETECH APAC that she intends to leverage her various experiences in financial services, tech startups, as well as in data & loyalty marketing to help businesses in their scaling and growth.

“I am a believer in marketing audit or doing ‘housekeeping’ across touchpoints so all or any initiative will have high chances of success when given the proper or stronger foundations to build upon. I am also a big fan of cost and time savings, so I hope to bring in some knowledge or tricks of the trade using low-code or no-code tools to advocate for efficiencies,” she stated.

As part of her consulting role, Mawarni also returns to Marqetr–the content production and marketing company she founded in 2020–as an active contributor. Prior to joining Ampersand Advisory, she joined Toyota where she headed the strategic brand management for the brand in Malaysia.

“Having spent most of my career on the client side, being fortunate enough to be on the front seat of change and sometimes privileged enough to be placed in the driver’s seat of many turnaround initiatives, I think I have a lot to contribute to companies looking for growth and transformation,” she stated.

She also stressed that her hybrid experience as a corporate marketer and entrepreneur has brought her a tremendous cumulative amount of knowledge and skills across a wide spectrum over the last two decades, which she intends to bring to Ampersand Advisory.

She also highlighted transformation as one of the key lessons she intends to bring to the agency, stating, “Transformation can be an exciting buzzword to say and flex in conversations, but in reality, it is daunting to many. So, while there are high dependencies on digital tools and platforms to deliver results, human experience and people-readiness should always be at the forefront of how companies approach, design, and execute marketing transformations.”

Meanwhile, when asked about what marketing transformation trends will be significant to Ampersand Advisory’s growth, Sandeep stated, “The key trends include the rise of AI, the changing economics of advertising agencies, and the changing dynamics of consumers who are veering towards short content across multiple fragmented platforms. With recent boycotts and tariffs, there is now greater flux than ever before.”

He added, “Our consultants are highly experienced, data-driven and have worked in multiple markets ranging from India to China to Indonesia and more. This gives us insight, width and breadth when it comes to solutions for clients. A further edge we have is that we execute where needed: we don’t just advise, we actually put our money where our mouth is and execute the strategies we suggest. That’s 100% accountability.”

Singapore – Strategic marketing and brand consultancy Flying Fish Lab has announced new appointments namely Alim and Wenjie Cai as senior catalysts, as well as making significant strides in its global expansion. 

Alim brings an extensive background that started in Research Agencies, before transitioning to the client side in Consumer Research and later in Brand Management. Wenjie has a solid FMCG Marketing background, to which he then added a robust number of years working in Marketing capability, in the consulting industry. 

These new senior talents will play a key role in enhancing Flying Fish Lab’s capabilities and boosting its ability to further speed up growth. 

In addition to bolstering its leadership team and client roster, Flying Fish Lab is making significant strides in its global expansion. The company has recently entered the European market, with offices in Lisbon, Paris and Milan, and is planning to expand into the Gulf countries next, reflecting its intention to better support the needs of its growing and geographically dispersed client base. 

Mário Braz de Matos, co-founder and CEO of Flying Fish Lab, said, “Alim and Wenjie are the sort of talent that strengthen our team’s ability to deliver Controlled Disruption to clients. Their significant experience complements the current leadership team, and their values align with our mission to help companies grow using ‘Controlled Disruption’.”

He added, “These exciting changes reflect our ongoing commitment scale in a way that stays true to our values, delivering to our clients without compromising on quality standards. Our new leadership team, strategic client acquisitions, and global expansion are all part of our broader vision to drive ‘Controlled Disruption’ and help deliver transformative results for clients. We are poised for an exciting future and look forward to the continued success of our clients and team.” 

Sydney, Australia – Brand strategy and design consultancy, Houston has strengthened its creative offering, recently announcing the appointments of Alex Creamer to the role of creative director and Michelle Teh as design director.

In their new roles, Creamer and Teh will bolster Houston’s strong offering across the brand design spectrum and their creative leadership team, offering new perspectives to create remarkable solutions for its brand partners.

Most recently creative director at Interbrand and prior to that at RE, Creamer has helped reshape some of Australia’s biggest and most iconic brands including McDonalds, Sydney Fish Market, Optus, Westpac, Federation Square and graphite pencil winning NextSense.

On the other hand, Teh brings more than 14 years industry experience garnered from roles in London, Amsterdam and Sydney to Houston. Most recently she worked at Nike Brand Creative’s European Headquarters, where she played a pivotal role in shaping brand experiences and storytelling within the brand’s retail fleet across the EMEA region.

Speaking on his appointment, Creamer said, “In a rapidly changing world, clients are actively seeking new ideas and experiences to solve their business challenges. Hence my excitement in joining an agency with such strong momentum and a renowned creative culture.”

Talking about her new role as well, Teh added, “I have a true passion for my craft and am committed to designing meaningful narratives and memorable brand experiences for clients. I can’t wait to get stuck in and bring this mindset and commitment to Houston’s clients.”

Alex Toohey, ECD Houston, also added, “Alex and Michelle will bring new perspectives and energy to our already formidable creative team and we are very excited to start working with them both. Alex’s love for all things brand and experience coupled with Michelle’s expertise in global identities and branded spaces, will add depth and fresh thinking to the agency as well as bolstering our creative leadership team.

Meanwhile, Stu O’Brien, CEO and founder of Houston, mentioned, “As Houston looks to offer its clients best-in-class creative thinking, I believe we have found phenomenal talent in both Alex and Michelle. Their experience reshaping some of the world’s most well-known brands makes them unicorns in this market and I am delighted to welcome them to our team.”

Singapore – After two years as the head of creative for Southeast Asia and India at Ampverse, Robert Gaxiola has announced that he has co-founded PLAYBOOK XP, a creative consultancy firm based in Singapore, specialising in the gaming and esports space. Gaxiola, who is also the firm’s managing partner, co-founded the firm with Jenny Hall.

In an exclusive interview with MARKETECH APAC, Gaxiola said that the firm aims to come to the pitching table with a gaming ecosystem solution first, and not some big budget TV commercial. 

“Our people are real players and fans, you can’t fake this stuff, I am proud to say I have been playing since the golden age of video games. But what we have now is just too good to be true, especially for brands. And this is where the adman part of me kicks in,” he said.

Moreover, he notes that gaming plus creativity and data is their starting point, and their firm offers a range of services including strategic marketing campaigns, brand partnerships, IP development, esports event management, in-game items and content campaigns.

How PLAYBOOK XP stands out from other gaming consultancies

Gaxiola told MARKETECH APAC that what sets PLAYBOOK XP apart from others in the region is their unique blend of deep industry knowledge, innovative strategies, and a proven track record at the highest level.

“We understand too that the gaming landscape is constantly evolving and that means we must keep evolving too. We pride ourselves on our ability to stay ahead of the curve by offering creative solutions that resonate with both gamers and brands alike,” he said.

Moreover, he also noted that their sole purpose as a gaming consultancy is to help brands win in the gaming space, and that they create work that people can engage with and have fun. He understands that while the gaming market is enormous, and as mainstream this looks from the outside, it is highly nuanced within, and that they understand how it works.

“We are also different because we are giving our knowledge away. We want to share everything we know so our industry can develop. We are currently putting a lot of time into education and training. We are running a workshop at the SMU Academy here in Singapore in May. And we hope to have similar workshops in Manila and Jakarta through the M.A.D. School which is based in Singapore but conducts workshops and master classes in the region,” he added.

Carrying previous leadership experiences moving forward

Gaxiola was most recently with Ampverse, and also notes that his previous experiences with Goodby in San Francisco, and Ogilvy and Dentsu Singapore have provided invaluable insights into what brands can really do in the gaming space while staying on brand to deliver an ROI.

“I think we see a lot of bad fits out there, especially with the deployment of social media campaigns through KOLs. It can be entertaining, but it is far from lifting or serving a brand’s needs. People hate advertising, but players are open to cool stuff and experiences. Gaming is entertainment,” he said.

Gaxiola added, “We learned so much last year, my co-founder Jenny Hall reminds me daily about the importance of agility, creativity, and data-driven decision-making. She is buttoned-down and methodical approaching this stuff. Our learnings will continue to build our strategies at PLAYBOOK XP, and ultimately drive our campaigns with a measurable ROI.”

Challenges and opportunities in the APAC gaming market

For Gaxiola, the gaming industry in APAC faces both unique challenges and unparalleled opportunities. One challenge is navigating the diverse cultural landscape of the region while staying true to a client’s brand identity. 

Moreover, he adds that as the industry continues to grow rapidly, competition among brands for the attention of gamers is fierce. However, with this growth comes immense opportunities for brands to engage through immersive experiences, innovative technologies, and meaningful partnerships.

“PLAYBOOK XP is poised to expand and improve in line with this evolution by continuously innovating our offerings, forging strategic partnerships with key players in the industry. We cannot do it alone, we need to find like-minded clients, publishers and platform partners to grow with,” he said.

He also understands that with APAC being the region with the highest number of gamers globally, they are also very diverse in needs. He added that brands need to think very carefully about who they want to target and how. 

“Broadly speaking, you need to know your audience and ask yourself if it fits your brand. For some brands a shooting game is a bad idea and for others it can be a perfect fit. A PUBG player in one market is vastly different from a Dota player in another. We use strategies to target different kinds of players and engage with them in the right way,” he added.

Gaxiola also stated, “Our goal is to not only meet the needs of our clients but to exceed them by delivering unparalleled value and driving measurable results. I love this stuff, this isn’t even work to me, we just want to really dig in deep and start releasing some new projects for some great clients. I’m not delusional, I know it will be hard, but we still want to play.”

Singapore –  Malaysian boutique communications consultancy IN.Deed Communications, has recently unveiled its strategic expansion into Singapore in line with commemorating its upcoming 15-year anniversary.

To kickstart the Singapore expansion of IN.Deed Communications, the agency has partnered with Limitless, a non-profit organisation dedicated to advocating the mental health and well-being of young individuals, to support their social media and PR initiatives.

This milestone not only underscores the company’s commitment to growth and innovation but also signifies their focus on supporting startups, entertainment, technology and healthcare sectors, as well as non-profit organisations in the dynamic Singaporean landscape, specifically in the areas of public relations, influencer marketing and ESG.

Leading this expansion will be Jarieul Wong, who recently served as the head of communications and CSR partnerships at Carousell Group, shaping sustainability narratives, reputation management, and corporate communications. With prior roles at global giants like Disney, Razer, and Sony Pictures and a strong track record and a passion for impactful communication, he is set to drive IN.Deed Communications to new heights in Singapore.

Furthermore, IN.Deed Communications Malaysia and Singapore will bring together various cross-border capabilities, enabling clients to tap into a broader market and gain more insights. The collaboration will foster a seamless exchange of market data, insights, and best practices, creating a thriving ecosystem for innovation and collaboration.

Talking about the expansion, Sophia Lee, co-founder of IN.Deed Communications, expressed her excitement about venturing into Singapore to continue their goal of empowering brands.

“We believe that our unique blend of experience, creativity, and dedication will enable us to deliver exceptional value to clients seeking to expand their market awareness and impact in a way that is marked with INtegrity, INspiration and INnovation,” she added.

Meanwhile, Janet Han, communications director at IN.Deed Communications, commented, “What truly sets us apart is our commitment to people and to do our best ‘in word and in deed’. We look at nurturing a collaborative and supportive environment where our employees thrive and our clients feel part of the IN.Deed family. Our mission is to ensure that both our team members and our clients’ brands achieve their full potential.”

Singapore – Human8, the marketing consultancy, which is previously known as InSites Consulting, has entered a strategic community partnership with Japan-based SevenSeas Marketing Research, the local reference for customer-centric intelligence. The partnership is in line with Human8’s global ambitions with a focus on helping SevenSeas successfully bring communities to its clients in Japan. 

Alongside its ambitious buy-and-build journey of the past five years, Human8 has also previously invested in strategic regional partnerships, expanding its community technology and services reach across the globe. In early 2021, the global group announced its LatAm partnership with Provokers, spanning seven offices across the region. Said partnership provides widespread access to Human8 communities in the region and enables Provokers to serve its own global clients.

At present, Human8 eyes to target anew the Asia Pacific region again, following successful acquisitions of ABN Impact (Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok, Seoul) and Answer Global (Taipei). The global community pioneer is now looking at Japan, the third biggest market for research services within APAC.

“Our shared vision on the future of consumer insights, our strong focus on consultative services and the complementarity in terms of geography, form a strong foundation for this strategic partnership in Japan. Via our collaboration, SevenSeas can benefit from our community expertise and technology and our award-winning innovative research approaches. SevenSeas can also tap into the vast experience of our people – from insight consultants and data scientists to strategists and technologists – which will help them optimally service clients in the Japanese market,” said Maz Amirahmadi, managing director of Human8 for APAC. 

“We are very proud to join this strategic partnership with Human8. It’s exciting to work with their pioneering community technology and expertise. Combined with SevenSeas’ wealth of Japanese market and consumer knowledge, we bring a strong and innovative offer to the Japanese market,” said Hideyuki (Yuki) Niwa, President & CEO at SevenSeas Marketing Research.

The partnership unites a group of over 900 people across 24 offices and 8 partner hubs spanning 6 continents.

Singapore – BeingIconic, an Australian consultancy centred around strategic marketing, commercial and operational expertise–is opening in Asia with backing from Singapore-based Avyan Holdings. It has also appointed Jack Lim as its principal for BeingIconic’s Asia operations based in Singapore.

Lim was previously the partner and chief growth officer at Avyan Global and former chief commercial and partnerships officer at ONE Championship and chief commercial officer at Mediacorp.

Following successful collaborations with over 50 scale-ups in Australia, BeingIconic has closed a pre-seed friends and family capital raise to expand operations in Asia and the UK, build out strategy and client services teams as well as investing in marketing and business development.

BeingIconic supports companies to scale outside of existing internal capabilities through flexible delivery of strategic marketing, network expansion, commercial and operational expertise. It has closed a A$1m pre-seed round with investment from Avyan Holdings, founded by former Havas chairman and CEO for South East Asia, Japan and Korea, Vishnu Mohan.

Peter Brocklebank, partner and managing director at BeingIconic said, “Since launching two years ago, we have taken a deliberate and staged approach to validate the proposition to ensure it delivers for companies ready for their scale-up journey. Scale-ups typically don’t fail because they don’t have a good product, they fail because they only have a great product. BeingIconic brings deep insights, expertise and networks to fuel the next phase of growth by becoming an integral part of their teams through expert guidance across marketing, operations and finance functions.”

Meanwhile, Ian Bell, partner and chief innovation officer at BeingIconic, commented, “There are significant opportunities to take the product and service innovations of Asian businesses and expand them out to new markets. BeingIconic’s mission is to grow these entrepreneurial scale-ups beyond their internal potential, be a trusted partner and help them realise their ambitions. The founders  together with our new shareholders are experienced in doing just that and now we are bringing this combined experience, and that of our wider team to scale-ups in Asia.”

Australia – Corporate communications and business consultancy Bastion Reputation has appointed Elliott Giakalis as its principal consultant for media and public affairs.

Giakalis is an experienced communications and corporate affairs professional with a background in financial law. He was previously with the Australia Post, where he managed the national media team throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, provided strategic counsel to senior executives nationally, and was the speechwriter for successive CEOs.

He also brings valuable experience in state government, where he was previously a senior media adviser to the Victorian Treasurer, Tim Pallas. In this role, he oversaw and executed the media strategy on four Victorian State Budgets and several significant government financial transactions, including the lease of the Port of Melbourne.

He started his career as a lawyer at the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), with a focus on financial services regulation and compliance and the obligations of market participants, before moving into corporate affairs.

Bastion Reputation Managing Director, Clare Gleghorn, said she was pleased to welcome Elliot to the firm’s growing team. 

“Elliot is a wonderful addition to our team and, as a Principal Consultant, will bring his breadth of skills and deep expertise to continue to support our expanding client base nationally. Elliot further strengthens Bastion Reputation’s ability to help clients, as their trusted advisors, navigate the often-complex intersection between business, government, and the community. The entire team looks forward to working with Elliot as we continue to meet our clients’ needs whilst building the Bastion Reputation business,” she stated.

London, United Kingdom – Independent digital creative agency AnalogFolk has announced the launch of ‘Mindworks Consulting’, a behavioural transformation consultancy which aims to deliver improved business outcomes through applying behavioural economics to both marketing strategy and organisational design. 

The new consultancy aims to help its clients achieve their business transformation ambitions by embedding behavioural science methodologies at the heart of the business to allow it to be nimble and reactive to changing business and customer needs. 

According to Bill Brock, co-founder and chief client officer at AnalogFolk Group, the founding team of Mindworks has been proving out their methodologies across a number of AFG’s leading clients over the past few years.

“This work has been pivotal for clients such as Dyson, Bayer and HSBC, allowing them to quickly identify business opportunities and help them change direction based on a real-time understanding of customer behaviour. It’s that success that has led to us making it a formal offering by launching MindWorks,” Brock said.

The new Mindworks Consultancy is led by Brad Herholdt as CEO; Michelle Watson, principal behavioural partner, and Mark Barry, principal consulting partner, all who previously worked together as business leaders at AnalogFolk. Bill Brock, AFG’s Founder will work closely with the team in his role as chief client officer, ensuring that MindWorks’ global clients benefit from the services across AFG’s portfolio of brands. 

As part of AFG, MindWorks becomes a partner brand to full-service digital creative agency AnalogFolk, content production company Untold Fable, and automation and tech engineering company With Robots, the latter two of which the group launched last year. 

Operating out of London, the consultancy is leveraging AFG‘s network presence in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia, providing a service to global clients whose briefs seek to deliver new value across the world. 

Herholdt commented, “Speaking to our clients, we know that every day, companies are struggling to keep up with the pace of change and how it influences their business. They are tired of 5-year vision decks that don’t make it further than the slides they are written on. MindWorks is impact focused, creating actionable roadmaps that we launch quickly so that our visions are built on real customer behaviours and organisational dynamics.”

Meanwhile, Chris Ryan, managing director and partner at AnalogFolk, commented, “We often talk about the need to operate at ‘Asian speed’ in this region, driven by the rapidly evolving and unrelenting expectations of Asian consumers in an increasingly digitised and automated world. Brands who continue to take a business-out approach cannot expect to thrive here. The MindWorks team is already changing how our clients operate in this region and we are excited to build on our early success in partnership with them.”

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.