Asia Pacific – In addition to its existing media remit in Taiwan since 2020, marketing and advertising agency Dentsu International expands its partnership with online delivery platform foodpanda to support its media transformation journey and bring closer collaboration across the markets of Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Prerna Mehrotra, CEO of dentsu Media APAC, said that the agency built a strong foundation in Taiwan by differentiating foodpanda from its competitors, making a great relevance to its target audience. 

Mehrotra added, “To be entrusted with and grow our remit in APAC is a true testament to foodpanda’s confidence in us and we are honoured to add this portfolio in our roster. We are excited to continue driving meaningful difference in their media and marketing strategy and can’t wait to do some great work together.”

Meanwhile, Ankit Kochar, head of brand media for foodpanda APAC, said that the company decided to extend their partnership with the agency due to its strong legacy in media roots by being able to navigate today’s digital complexities.

Their extensive network and versatility were some of the key criteria that we were seeking in a partner, and we look forward to a meaningful and collaborative relationship in the years ahead,” he added.

Last month, dentsu in Africa has established a partnership with global outdoor advertising technology provider Moving Walls to launch a full-stack Out-of-Home (OOH) adtech platform across the multiple markets in the continent.

Johannesburg, South Africa Global outdoor advertising technology provider Moving Walls has partnered with digital marketing and communications firm Dentsu Africa to launch a full-stack Out-of-Home (OOH) adtech platform across multiple markets in the continent.

Through the partnership, Dentsu Africa will be launching a DOOH tech solution powered by Moving Walls, including a supply-side platform that is targeted at aggregating OOH inventory information and connecting media owners in the continent to advanced inventory and campaign management tools.

With this, advertisers can leverage advanced DOOH activations and measurement capabilities from a single platform. The solution is also set to launch in three of the largest African markets with a series of pilot campaigns for leading brands.

Alex Tutu, regional director at Dentsu Location Services, commented on the partnership. 

“With their global scale and platforms that address the entire ecosystem, Moving Walls is the ideal partner to launch these new DOOH capabilities for our region. It is especially important that this is a tech solution that allows for flexible customisations for the different markets we are launching in,” he said.

Srikanth Ramachandran, founder and group CEO of Moving Walls also added that the partnership is ideal for quickly scaling solutions to a region where OOH remains fragmented.

Ramachandran added, “Our platforms have been battle-tested in regions where even neighbouring countries have vastly different OOH ecosystems. By launching this solution with Dentsu, some of the largest advertisers across Africa will be able to transform how they run OOH advertising.”

Moving Walls’ supply-side arm Location Media Xchange (LMX) and strategic sales partner Mizet has also recently entered a partnership with Pyxis to launch a new retail DOOH screen network in the United Arab Emirates.

India – Dentsu Programmatic has announced the launch of ‘Dentsu Curate’, a strategic programmatic supply solution, in India. Said solution enables advertisers to target premium and brand-safe inventory, allowing them to bring better performance leading to high operational efficiency for all campaigns.

In addition, the solution aims to improve media quality by consolidating supply and involving deeper integrations with tech platforms and data partners.

Dentsu Curate is built on dentsu international’s global clean supply initiative. The programmatic supply solution guides advertisers in buying digital inventory across media on behalf of dentsu X, Carat, and iProspect in a brand-safe and fraud-free environment.

This is done through robust evaluation mechanisms, with industry-leading partnerships offering high-quality premium supply coupled with supply path optimisation modelling.

Speaking on the launch, Divya Karani, South Asia chief executive officer for media at dentsu said, “Dentsu Curate offers our clients’ assurance and trust in maximising fraud-free, brand safe, and viewable inventory. Dentsu’s ability to fulfil these assurances entails working with the right supply partners with robust solutions and value to ensure clean supply in building a marketplace for our advertisers.”

Through Dentsu Curate, clients can once again get control by building up their bespoke marketplace across Display, Mobile, CTV, DOOH, and native. India’s fragmented landscape in OTT and growing CTV as with this solution they can curate across publishers but drive a certain campaign objective of video or viewability. It allows them the flexibility to have control across their inventory via multiple parameters such as third-party audiences, context, inventory type, among others.

Salil Shanker, chief operating officer at Dentsu Programmatic said, “At dentsu, we are committed to investing our brand dollars to deliver maximum efficiency and efficacy whilst safeguarding brand legacy. With the launch of Dentsu Curate, we are equipped to help enable great value and outcomes for our clients and support a fair marketplace.” 

Meanwhile, Saagar Sethi, president at Amplifi India commented, “It is all about finding the right mixture of quality publishers and partners that align with our defined quality KPIs. Our Inventory Superiority Mechanism is used to analyse the quality of a publisher across a variety of our trusted partners. With Dentsu Curate we safeguard transparency on the overall media operations.”

Shanghai, China Dentsu China has recently announced the appointment of Richard Tan as CEO of Dentsu Creative China. His appointment will be effective on November 16 this year.

Tan will be reporting to Deric Wong, CEO of Dentsu China, and will be leading about 1,200 strong teams across Dentsu’s offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, and Wuhan. 

He is expected to accelerate growth for the group’s extensive client base while championing innovation to drive greater integration to Dentsu’s creative services to media and its customer experience management.

Speaking on his appointment, Tan said, “I am passionate about balancing bold creativity with sustained business impact in China’s dynamic digital ecosystem. I love where DENTSU CREATIVE is heading and leading with ‘Modern Creativity’… through a simplified but compelling proposition that navigates practical challenges in the modern world of complexity.”

Prior to joining Dentsu Creative, Tan held several senior management positions as country head in various agency networks in China for 20 years. This includes Euro RSCG, DDB, and Mullenlowe China.

On Tan’s appointment, Wong commented, “I am pleased to welcome Richard as he takes on the leadership of Dentsu Creative China. We live in a time of exciting possibilities and Richard as a seasoned agency leader will continue to build on the momentum with dynamism.”

He added, “Our leadership team looks to work closely with Richard, to continue building on our bold strategies to fuel market-leading growth and help brands create lasting good with meaningful progress, as Dentsu continues to evolve in China’s digital era.”

Tan will be replacing Dentsu Creative China’s incumbent CEO Keita Ishikawa, who will be moving on to a management role at Dentsu Inc. in Japan.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Keita-san for everything we’ve achieved together under his transformative leadership and wish him our best in his new role,” Wong further stated. 

Cheuk Chiang, chief executive officer at Dentsu Creative APAC, also said, “There is no creative leader in China more experienced than Richard. As we take Dentsu Creative to the next level, he is well placed to deliver success. He lives and breathes creativity.”

Since its launch last June, Dentsu Creative has been continuing its series of leadership appointments with Benny Augustine for India, Cheuk Chiang for APAC, and four new hires for its global leadership team.

Manila, Philippines – Global advertising network Dentsu has announced the new wave of leaders in the Philippines, namely Jerry Hizon as chief creative officer for Dentsu Jayme Syfu and Dentsu One Manila, Elyse Bella as managing director of Dentsu Jayme Syfu, and Edg Samson as managing director of Dentsu One Manila.

Prior to his role expansion, Hizon previously led the transformation of the Dentsu One Manila creative team as its chief creative officer. He has also worked on Nissin Ramen, Dole Philippines and Seaoil and went on to win various awards and citations for their brands.

Ronald Barreiro, CEO of creative service at dentsu Philippines, said, “Jerry’s passion for excellence makes him the perfect choice for this leadership position. I’ve worked with him for 13 years and have seen how he has continued to elevate and evolve the creativity we do on behalf of our clients. Jerry has been heavily involved in the development of our next-gen creative leaders and the culture of excellence that we have imbibed in our leaders at dentsu has aptly prepared him for this career milestone.”

Meanwhile, Bella will oversee business transformation at dentsu. She has been a long-time dentsu account lead, directly overseeing its major Japanese accounts including Ajinomoto, Yamaha, and Glico. She was instrumental in leading the agency’s new business wins for Shell and Mang Inasal.

“Known as the agency’s resident “Tiger Mom”, Elyse is a tenacious and dedicated business leader who continuously provides comprehensive solutions for our clients. Having run the most profitable business unit in Dentsu Jayme Syfu for six consecutive years, Elyse will partner with brands to achieve meaningful progress for growth with innovative ideas and solutions and help businesses move forward,” Barreiro stated.

Lastly, Samsom has played a critical role in a number of dentsu Philippines’ most notable business wins, including a part of the team that won the Coca-Cola account. He has overseen top accounts including Jollibee, Unilever, and Wyeth.

Alex Syfu, chief advisor at dentsu Philippines, commented, “Edg is a true business leader who thrives in challenging work situations because of his calm and collected demeanour. With a solid track record and his strong affinity with our people, Edg is the perfect person to lead Dentsu One Manila to its next phase of growth.”

Barreiro was appointed as the new CEO of dentsu Philippines’ creative service line in October 2021, following the promotion back then of Merlee Jayme to the role of chief creative officer for Asia-Pacific at dentsu. Jayme has since stepped down from dentsu after serving with the company for six years.

India – dentsu in India has appointed Bhasker Jaiswal, former APAC lead at Publicis Media, to be its new chief operations officer of media.

In his new role, Jaiswal will be leading integration, transformation, and operational excellence agendas while driving innovations and excellence for dentsu clients and businesses through its three media agencies, namely Carat, iProspect, and dentsu X. He will be reporting to Divya Karani, CEO of media at dentsu South Asia. 

Moreover, Jaiswal will also be working closely with Karani to deliver business transformation, set up and standardise operations and systems, govern product leadership, and enable sustainable revenue growth.

With over 24 years of experience in the media and advertising industry across APAC, Jaiswal specialises in building solutions for advertisers and media companies across monetisation, research, and media investments. His key strength sits in understanding the eco-system of consumers, advertisers, and media owners, as well as the decision-making heuristic. Jaiswal is also passionate about disrupting the current thinking and has developed industry-leading proprietary products which bring efficiency and effectiveness across geographies and clients.

Speaking on his appointment, Jaiswal said, “I am excited to be joining dentsu and being back in India, a big and complex market growing dynamically. I look forward to adding value by improving dentsu processes to impact client outputs as well as improving the lives of our biggest assets – our people.”  

Meanwhile, Karani commented that Jaiswal joining the team here in India is another great step on their journey to become the go-to network of choice for brands in India. 

“His impressive track record, savvy business judgment, operational excellence, and an innate understanding of people and their motivations make him ideal to lead our transformation and integration,” she said.

Remnants of colonialist movements still exist today, and one global news destination has decided to put its foot down–in the most modern approach possible.

With a fusion of both intelligence and creativity, Vice World News together with its creative agency Dentsu Webchutney from the House of Dentsu in India has not only captured the general public with its provocative ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ campaign but has also ensnared the creative industry to dominate Cannes Lions, the prestigious award-giving body, for Dentsu Creative India to ultimately be named ‘Agency of The Year’ – the first-ever win for an agency from India. 

So how did Dentsu Creative India do it? What has been the secret formula for such recognition of this scale?

The Secret Sauce

Amit Wadhwa, CEO of Dentsu Creative India, conversed with MARKETECH APAC and let the cat out of the bag. You’d be surprised that the key ingredient that made them stop people in their tracks and look is not something of lustre and extravagance, but that Wadhwa says, none other than being armed with a strong idea

‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ is an immersive campaign which brings viewers into what seems like any other tour of the British Museum–only that it’s anything but that. Dubbed as an ‘unofficial tour’ of the European fixture, audiences are taken into the real and authentic narrative, through Instagram filter and immersive audio, behind each artefact such as the Rosetta Stone of Egypt, the Parthenon Marbles from Greece, and Hoa Hakananai’a of Rapa Nui–told straight by the people from countries the precious pieces have been taken from.

“The strength of ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ [lies] in the origin of the idea, which is colonialism and how the rulers of the past have written their own version of artefacts; the version which is being depicted at the British Museum,” said Wadhwa.

A kick-ass idea or concept is not enough though, Wadhwa says in today’s time, an idea must always be viewed through the lens of technology and to find how it can be nurtured through the capabilities of innovative digital mediums. 

“The other strength of this idea is how technology has been so seamlessly integrated into its execution. It strongly brings such a rich experience that you almost feel as if you are part of the same era when the artefacts were in the country of origin. In short, a strong idea coupled with integrating technology in it and ensuring it comes alive across mediums effectively is what makes it so much more special.” 

The key then is ‘Modern Creativity’, which the agency defines as the kind of work that “creates culture, changes society, and invents the future.” 

Mobilising the winning formula

Of course, the strategic skeletal framework would only be the beginning and what would come after is the real work. 18 months and a combined effort of over 100 people–Wadwha revealed are what it took to make the ‘idea’ for ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ “so much more special.” 

And true enough–it had all been worth it. Every aspect of the multimedia project – its podcast component, social activation, and experience overall – had been deemed as the crème de la crème of this period’s creative range. For the Radio & Audio, Brand Experience & Activation, and Social & Influencer categories in Cannes Lions, the Grand Prix, which is the highest of honours, went to Dentsu Creative India. 

The idea for the campaign originated from a prior VICE documentary called ‘The Empires of Dirt’ which is built around the narrative of twisted tales of the origin of artefacts from the colonised world. Eventually, what would radiate more than the ingenuity and creativity of its execution–is the genuine movement behind the ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’. The campaign was birthed, most of all, to ignite into people a certain ‘condemnation’ that is literally long overdue and embolden them to think about what can be done about modern colonialism today.

Wadhwa shared that truth be told, the project had been created without the knowledge of the British Museum; so the welcoming words in the official video that a new tour is around “but the museum doesn’t know about it yet,” were in fact not just an artful message. 

“The whole idea of this project is to put the truth on the table and provide visitors of the British Museum with a fair understanding of the real stories behind the artefacts. Our aim is to spark a movement against the storage of artefacts from other countries in the British Museum, and that these should eventually be returned to the countries to which they belong.”

Wadhwa described the project as a “very bold” and “possibly uncomfortable” idea, which was expected to ruffle a few feathers, but that the mission was clear from the beginning, and that the Dentsu and VICE teams ensured to stay true to it and never dilute it. 

A simple ‘idea’ for a radical movement 

The CEO of the multi-awarded agency does not intend to be privy to their ‘winning strategy’, and loud and proud reveals that it’s all about marrying an uncomplicated but brilliant idea with that of the groundbreaking impact of digital mediums. 

“To be effective, every idea must first be a powerful one, which is either rooted in a profound insight or has the power to shape society or even change the future,” Wadhwa going back to the concept of ‘Modern Creativity’. 

He added, “However, given how technology has revolutionised the way one may truly experience an idea, we must make full use of [technology] and ensure that we do full justice to the idea using it.”

He said that the idea becomes strong when it can be brought to life across several mediums, “wherever the audience is present.”

“When all the mediums come together and talk, they create a stronger influence over the target audience and hence, is extremely important.”

Truly, what we’ve seen here is a convergence of old history and history in the making. Beyond the strategies and the elements of the winning campaign, it has been evident that the magnet that pulled everything together is the agency and the news authority’s bravery to tackle, no matter how uncomfortable, the hard things that matter. 

The power is in being grounded by an idea that can flourish into something bigger, and which would be realised through effective teamwork and collaboration to impart work that will prove its worth more than the sum of its parts. 

Ultimately, Wadhwa advises brands, “Once you have [an idea], make full use of all plausible mediums, while fully embracing the prowess of technology to bring the idea to life. That is when we will have a winner at hand.” 

Singapore — According to a new report, on average, 66% of consumers reported expecting to be able to decline to share any personal data without compromising on the level of service received as brands will face increasing challenges in incentivising consumers to part with their personal data. The scope of the report spanned 14 Asia Pacific countries with over 20,000 respondents between the ages of 16 and 64 and aimed to showcase how consumers feel and respond to brands accessing their data. The report was conducted and shared by Dentsu Data Consciousness Project.

Another report finding was that 64% of the respondents are happy to share their health data for medical research and 58% are willing to have their carbon footprint tracked to help the fight against climate change.

Meanwhile, 72% feel that organisations will need to demonstrate higher standards of ethical behaviour as far as personal data is concerned. Additionally, 74% believe that the government needs to play a bigger role in regulating the use of personal data by companies.

The study also showed that people are likely to continue to be willing to share their data, including sensitive personal data, in situations where there are specific benefits to be gained or where there would be a positive societal impact.

For Gen X and Gen Y, discounts on food in exchange for food delivery history and travel offers in exchange for travel history were among the most valued benefits, while outcomes that advanced peoples’ personal sense of purpose were also consistently favoured. 64% are happy to share their health data for medical research and 58% are willing to have their carbon footprint tracked to help the fight against climate change.

Christine McKinnon, head of business intelligence of dentsu Solutions, shared, “Brands need to address 5 key variables: the purpose which the collected data will be used for, the benefit to the consumer in exchange for sharing that data, the consumer’s level of trust in the brand, how much control the consumer has in determining whether and what to share, and the perceived sensitivity of the data.”

The study also explored countries’ ‘data cultures’. It mapped markets according to their relative openness towards technology, and their attitudinal bias between ‘dataism’ and ‘humanism’. Dataism posits that only by being data-led can we advance further and faster. Humanism rests on the belief that we should never let technology lead in an unfettered manner. As an overall trend, a skew towards dataism went hand in hand with greater openness to technological change.

Regardless of nationality, concerns around the opacity of how brands use their data and potential misuse of personal data were significant across the board. 62% of respondents do not know how their personal data is being used. 72% feel that organisations will need to demonstrate higher standards of ethical behaviour as far as personal data is concerned. 74% believe that the government needs to play a bigger role in regulating the use of personal data by companies.

Conducted in Q4 2021, this is among the most contextualised survey done on attitudes toward data privacy in the region. Findings have direct relevance to multiple industry verticals as respondents were asked about their willingness to share their data in highly specific ”micro-contexts”.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Dentsu Malaysia has won the digital transformation mandate for Malaysia’s retail food company QSR Brands, becoming the key partner on the company’s transformational journey for KFC and Pizza Hut. 

As part of the mandate, Dentsu Malaysia will be the partner of KFC and Pizza Hut in becoming a true data-first organisation, and future proof business verticals across marketing, operations, and supply chain. The brands have been in the phase of transformation and will go through a data-driven acceleration to improve business efficiencies.

Dheeraj Raina, CEO of Dentsu Media in Malaysia, shared that QSR has set a bold vision for their KFC and Pizza Hut businesses, and the agency shares this vision with them and believes that these brands have a big potential of becoming data companies. 

“For the next 18 months, we will be working with the marketing, data and business teams of KFC and Pizza hut in unlocking the real consumer value with the use of media tech, data and marketing technology. We are bringing the best minds across our service lines together to co-create this powerful and rewarding future with QSR,” said Raina.

Meanwhile, Nehchal Khanna, CEO of QSR Brands (KFC & Pizza Hut) for Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Brunei, noted that over the last two years, significant digital investments have been made to provide better digital customer experience and restaurant operations efficiencies and to pivot their business to digital sales because of the changing consumer landscape. 

“We are now ready to realise our bold vision of becoming the number one food technology business in ASEAN, and as part of that aspiration, we are embarking upon this journey with our partners at Dentsu who have gone through a rigorous process of evaluation and selection for this role,” said Khanna.

Singapore – Merlee Jayme, currently serving as the chief creative officer for dentsu Asia-Pacific, has announced that she is leaving the company following six years of service from the company. Jayme became part of dentsu when the company acquired her agency Jayme Syfu in 2016.

After joining the network in 2016, she was tasked with co-running the newly formed dentsu McGarrybowen as global co-president with John Dupuis in 2020. Following that role, she was then promoted to chief creative officer for dentsu Asia-Pacific.

Speaking on her departure, she recalls that her main goal with joining dentsu was to upgrade and update her agency’s skills and capabilities with technology and innovation, excel in data and experience, discover the secret to amazing creativity and to belong to an inclusive and diverse community that celebrates cultural differences.

“During these years at dentsu, balancing between building a business and creating life-changing work was tough. But we managed to stay focused, attract great people and clients plus more importantly, create a reputation for work that made a big difference in people’s lives and the world,” she said.

As she leaves the company, she is currently serving as ADFEST’s grand jury head, D&AD’s jury president for Radio and Audio, and one of the Cannes Lions Titanium jury members this June. She plans to continue her initiatives for women in leadership and finally launch her second book titled ‘Chairmom’ in July.

Meanwhile, Fred Levron, global chief creative officer at dentsu, shared, “It has been a joy to get to know Merlee and witness her bring her magical blend of entrepreneurialism, creativity and empathy to the table every day.”