Tag: Dentsu

Bangkok, Thailand – Dentsu International has welcomed back Subun Khow, most recently the head of creative at Publicis Thailand, to its roster as the chief creative officer for dentsu Thailand. Khow previously worked with dentsu in 2012, where he served as chief creative officer for dentsu One in Bangkok. Back then, he was responsible for building creative reputation and enhancing creative thinking to expand client portfolios.

In his new role at dentsu, Khow will be in charge of leading the creative team to deliver integrated creative excellence to clients, while leveraging on data-driven and tech-enabled solutions combined with an idea-led approach. He has also held previously leadership roles at Lowe Bangkok and BBDO, as associate creative director, creative director and executive creative director respectively.

He will report to Narong Tresuchon, CEO of creative of dentsu Thailand, and the appointment is effective from 1 April this year.

Speaking about his appointment, Khow said, “I am thrilled and humbled to be given the opportunity to work with this amazing bunch of creatives at one of the world’s leading agencies. Cultivating a dynamic creative work culture as well as the delivery of the best business outcomes for our clients will be my top priorities and I look forward to working closely with Khun Narong and the rest of the talented creatives at dentsu Thailand to bring this to life.”

Meanwhile, Tresuchon commented that with Subun’s strong track record and expertise, he will lead the creative team in creating innovative work and experience for clients with an emphasis on creative design to connect all channels seamlessly to reach audiences at every touchpoint in line with consumer needs and behaviours.

“I am confident in his management ability to balance corporate values with creative energy and positivity to create an effective creative work culture. Only by empowering people and strengthening creative business strategies can we then achieve significant progress and become the world’s leading integrated communications business service network of the future,” he said.

Sanjay Bhasin, who was recently appointed as the CEO of dentsu Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar, said that Khow is a well-established creative leader who has a thorough understanding of the advertising industry. He also added Khow is a role model for our new generation of creatives and brings with him a positive mindset and attitude.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with him again and I am confident that together with Narong, the duo will be able to take dentsu Thailand’s creative to the next level,” Bhasin concluded.

Lastly, Fred Levron, global chief creative officer at dentsu international, said, “To have Subun back to lead dentsu’s creative business in Thailand is fantastic news. Subun is one of Thailand’s foremost creatives, with extensive experience developing famous work that is celebrated both at home and abroad, and his talent for combining technology and innovation to deliver with his inspired creative vision. I look forward to working with him.”

Jakarta, Indonesia — Creative and communications network dentsu in Indonesia has announced the appointment of Aloysia Dian Anggraeni as CEO of media service line, and Laode Hartanto as its first chief growth officer. The company said the move further strengthens its executive leadership team as it aims to deliver more transformative solutions offering.

Anggraeni holds an extensive understanding of the industry as she brings over 17 years of advertising experience to the new role. She started her journey in dentsu as head of global clients in ad agency Carat Indonesia, afterwards taking over the role of general manager in media agency Vizeum Indonesia with great success. With her notable leadership, she has led the merger of Vizeum and Main Media, and eventually served as the managing director of Carat and Vizeum Indonesia.

Conversely, Hartanto is recognized as a highly driven and strategic professional, bringing with him over 15 years of experience in driving clients’ growth of high-value media and tech companies namely Gojek, Emtek Group, Facebook, and MNC Group. Hartanto has steered exponential sales growth for years and mastered a wide spectrum of advertising and marketing solutions ranging from conventional media to modern digital media.

As chief growth officer, Hartanto will collaborate across dentsu’s three service lines – creative, media, and CXM to provide further impetus for dentsu’s ongoing growth, with a focus on strengthening the partnership with clients to scale new heights for their business.

Anggraeni and Hartanto will both join dentsu Indonesia’s executive team reporting directly to Prakash Kamdar, CEO of dentsu Indonesia and Singapore. Anggraeni’s appointment is effective immediately, while Hartanto’s role is to commence on April 1, 2022.

Sharing his thoughts on the appointments, CEO Kamdar said that Anggraeni is a strong and proven leader who has continuously brought significant impact to dentsu Indonesia ever since she joined dentsu in 2015.

“She will now lead and drive continued growth for dentsu’s Media Service Line, and further accelerates dentsu’s media ambitions and capabilities across our brand units and for our clients. And I also look forward to Tanto joining us and leveraging his unique perspective and deep expertise in advertising to strengthen our partnership with clients and grow their business to new heights,” Kamdar said.

Anggraeni commented on her new role, saying, “I am humbled and honoured to serve as Media CEO of dentsu Indonesia. With the collective efforts of our media leadership team, dentsu’s media service line is very well-positioned in the market in terms of growth, performance, and capabilities. Now, we are ready to push it onwards and upwards even more. I am looking forward to working closely with the board and the entire family to make great strides forward in the coming years.”

Meanwhile, Hartanto also shared his thoughts on his appointment, commenting, “dentsu Indonesia has been known as one of the largest agency networks in the market, I’m very proud and excited to join dentsu as it completes the missing puzzle of my career experience from media, social network, and OTT to finally anchoring in a modern marketing utopia, with the network spans from brands to media, from platform to campaign. I’m confident to bring a new horizon on how an agency can lift brands and continue its successful growth.”

These appointments continue dentsu’s strong momentum in the market including the appointment of Prakash Kamdar as CEO dentsu Indonesia, the recent promotions of Wisnu Satya Putra as CEO for creatives, and Arshad Rahman as CEO for customer experience management, and major client wins across sectors including e-commerce, FMCG, and banking.

Recently, dentsu Philippines has also named Mark Gabriel Chaves as the new head of media for the country.

Manila, Philippines – Creative and communications network dentsu in APAC has appointed Mark Gabriel Chaves (Mako), former client partner and head of media, creatives, and analytics at insights and consulting company Kantar, to be its new head of media for dentsu Philippines.

Chaves brings with him over two decades of experience across relevant fields of expertise in media research, strategic planning, analytics, and creative development. He will be returning to dentsu after 14 years, where he first worked at Carat Philippines in 2008, and three subsequent stints at dentsu Malaysia between 2010 to 2016 as communications planning director, chief insight officer, and most notably, general manager for innovations. 

Aside from his most recent role at Kantar, where he was responsible for the set-up, go-to-market strategies, and revenue growth of media and digital, social analytics, and business analytics, as well as oversight of creative capabilities, Chaves was also the general manager at Zenith Media Philippines.

In his new role, Chaves will be responsible for driving synergies for dentsu Philippines’ media brands and working closely with the heads of iProspect, dentsu X, and Carat brands to ensure a unified representation of dentsu’s media capabilities in the industry.

Commenting on his appointment, Chaves said “There’s more to building brands – chief of which is mutual growth as partners around a central transformational idea. Our CEO JC has brilliantly put together a team of experts to realize his vision for dentsu Philippines and I’m humbled to be seen as someone who can complement an already-strong team of innovators and brand-builders.”

Meanwhile, JC Catibog, dentsu’s CEO for Philippines, shared that Chaves is a big picture thinker and highly-motivated contemporary marketer who fundamentally believe that building brands is multi-faceted and hard work, and trusts the unique role of media. 

“All of us in the Philippines are excited to welcome Mako back to the dentsu family and look forward to working closely together in scaling our media business to new heights,” said Catibog.

In February 2022, Richard Reid, formerly the head of consulting, data, and performance at integrated marketing agency Iris, has also been appointed as the new regional integrated strategy partner at dentsu for APAC, where he will be responsible for driving integrated strategy development for dentsu’s key clients as well as new business opportunities across the region.

Vietnam – Advertising and marketing agency network dentsu in Asia Pacific has announced the promotion of Siddarth Malhotra to CEO of Isobar, dentsu’s digital experience agency, in Vietnam. This is in addition to his current role as managing director of dentsu mcgarrybowen, one of the network’s creative agencies, in Vietnam. 

In the expanded role, Malhotra will be responsible for evolving the brand’s offerings, building offerings around commerce and content, brand and product design as well as establishing a network of different specialist partners.

Malhotra brings with him over 20 years of work experience – of which 12 years were spent specialising in the Vietnam market. He joined dentsu in 2018 as chief client officer and the network said that for the last three consecutive years, he has successfully led his team to win at the MMA Smarties awards at both the APAC and Vietnam level. 

“Isobar Vietnam has one of the best agency teams and together with this excellent team I look forward to expand our capabilities and that can benefit our current and future clients,” commented Malhotra. 

As Malhotra steps in, former CEO of Isobar Vietnam, Denise Thi, will now be moving into the chair lady role to focus on employee engagement and in strengthening client relationships and developing innovative solutions. The network said Malhotra and Thi will be working closely together, where both will be responsible for realising the agency’s vision. Both report directly to Sanjay Bhasin, CEO of dentsu Thailand, Vietnam & Myanmar.

Bhasin said, “Denise has given us nothing but her full dedication and sheer commitment since she joined dentsu eight years ago. She is a remarkable leader who has spearheaded Isobar Vietnam into one of the market’s leading creative agencies, and has made headlines in the industry creating innovative concepts for brand activation.” 

In 2015, Thi co-founded Emerald, which was acquired and rebranded to Isobar Vietnam by dentsu in 2015. During her time as CEO of Isobar Vietnam, the brand has grown from a local digital agency to an end-to-end integrated marketing agency, being the first in the market to introduce brand commerce concept and solution design through digital activation in 2015. 

Thi comments on her new role, “Being the Chair Lady would allow me to have greater focus on what really builds sustainable impact to our people and business, while ensuring that the agency [has] strong support from Siddarth, the new CEO to take Isobar Vietnam to the next chapter of growth.”

Meanwhile, on Malhotra’s appointment, Bhasin believes that Malhotra brings with him not only strong business acumen but also a strategic mind of dexterity and stamina. 

“He has a deep understanding of how brands are built and [have] earned a reputation across the network as the best partner to help steer Isobar Vietnam and our clients to greater heights. This is a well-deserved promotion for Siddarth,” said Bhasin.

Both new roles of Malhotra and Thi will commence effective immediately.

Singapore – Merkle, the customer experience management (CXM) company of the dentsu network, has announced the completion of the integration of gyro and Merkle | DWA, for its B2B-dedicated CXM agency, Merkle B2B.

This move is part of Merkle’s continuing realignment of its portfolio of B2B agencies into Merkle B2B. Since the launch of Merkle B2B in September 2020, Merkle | DWA, Merkle’s specialist B2B media agency, and gyro, Merkle’s specialist B2B creative agency, have been transitioning over the past year with the aim to form a fully integrated and best-of-breed solution.

Merkle believes that the integration serves as a significant step towards presenting more innovative full-service growth partners for leading B2B brands.

“As the market continues to evolve, the brand alignment speaks to changing customer needs such as broader models and more integrated solutions to raise the bar on customer experiences in the B2B space,” said the company.

Dentsu acquired DWA and gyro in 2016 and 2017, respectively, forming two fifths of the full Merkle B2B group, which also includes Merkle, B2B International, and Digital Pi. Presently, in Singapore, Merkle B2B will be headed by Rhys Taylor, who has led the Asia Pacific offices of gyro since 2020.

“Following 18 months of working together and developing new solutions to meet the changing needs of our existing B2B clients, we’re excited to formalise this integration and show the market what the future of B2B marketing looks like through the Merkle B2B brand — and give our employees wider opportunities within the broader B2B group,” said Taylor.

Meanwhile, Kiaran Geen, APAC president of Merkle B2B, commented, “After nearly seven years of leading our B2B offering in the region, it is very exciting to see the full integration of Merkle | DWA and gyro expanding our capabilities and making everything simpler for clients in this rapidly changing landscape. With this move, we are bringing together our full-service offering to clients to completely transform modern customer experiences, creating personal relationships between B2B brands and people, and putting human relevance back at the centre of brand connections.”

Singapore – Richard Reid, formerly the head of consulting, data, and performance at integrated marketing agency Iris, has been appointed as a new regional integrated strategy partner at dentsu for Asia-Pacific. Said role takes effect immediately.

In his new role, Reid will be responsible for driving integrated strategy development for dentsu’s key clients as well as new business opportunities across the region, partnering closely with creative, media and CXM leads across all markets.

He will be reporting directly to Yusuke Kasahara, CEO of dentsu Solutions at Asia-Pacific.

In his previous work experiences, including strategic and client lead for Samsung as regional AOR for digital and brand marketing at Iris, he has worked with and delivered brand and business outcomes for some global brands including Philips, Abbott, Guinness, Shell, Barclays, Intercontinental Hotels, Kellogg’s and Disney. 

Speaking about his appointment, Reid said, “I’m excited to join dentsu as it continues in its mission to be the most integrated agency in the world. Dentsu has the best and broadest capabilities, and I’m looking forward to bringing these capabilities together such that we can have the greatest impact on our clients’ businesses.”

Meanwhile, Kasahara commented, “Richard’s focus to be a consultative strategy partner will help shape the business vision of senior clients, by providing marketing and business consulting that identifies new opportunities to create growth. He has also worked at Aegis Media in [the] UK previously, so we are particularly delighted to have him back at dentsu.”

Hong Kong — The Hong Kong division of automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz and its exclusive dealer, Zung Fu, launch the newest electric car from EQA, an entry-level model series for Mercedes-EQ vehicles, with the ‘Electrical Jukebox’, a multisensory, innovative campaign. The promotion was done in collaboration with Isobar Hong Kong, dentsu international’s digital creative agency.

Incorporating Mercedes-Benz EQA’s philosophy, ‘Progressive Luxury’, Isobar Hong Kong introduced the first-ever music meets lightning automobile showcase to the local audiences by streaming AI-extracted soundtracks through a set of electric current emitters called Electrical Resonant Coils, playing music in lightning beams and bolts of electricity, and eventually creating an enchanting scene that best manifested the electrifying look and tech-savvy lifestyle EQA embodies.

To create the effect, chart-topping international and local songs were run through an open-source AI to split the tracks then ran through a synthesiser before it was played on electrical resonant coils to create a truly spectacular light and sound show.

To complete it, the promotion was tested in a popular Hong Kong mall where a live and interactive demonstration took place. Audiences could enjoy the electric dance and the EQA display up-close and safe through a massive jukebox, they could pick their favourite songs to “electrify” through scanning the QR codes and entering a WhatsApp chatbot and an AR app allowed them to get up close and look at the car from every angle.

Ken Lo, creative director for Isobar Hong Kong, commented on their campaign to popularize the idea that electric cars can be fun, and said, “It was really exciting to see people’s reaction when we fired up the Jukebox because no one, including the production house and our in-house creative team, believed playing music with lightning was actually feasible. Everyone thought it was CG with background music until they were standing just a few feet from the bolts of electricity.”

Singapore – Media and digital marketing communications company dentsu in Singapore has announced three strategic senior appointments for the market, namely Preeti Mascarenhas, the new chief strategy officer, Florian Lacombe, the new head of operations, and Prema Techinamurthi, the new managing director of creative group.

Mascarenhas joins dentsu Singapore in the newly created role of chief strategy officer for the market where she will lead strategy for key integrated clients, pitches, and solutions development, while in another newly created role of head of operations for the market, Lacombe will oversee the market’s business transformation journey and lead operational excellence for Singapore.

Meanwhile, as the agency’s new managing director of creative group, Techinamurthi will now be responsible for delivering excellence and driving business growth, as well as transformation to further unlock the full potential of the creative service line. Over the past year, she has been at the forefront of dentsu Singapore’s ‘Force for Good and Growth’ commitment in her work for Float Foods and Sustenir, as well as for dentsu Gaming, where she led the account wins of two new regional gaming clients and also led dentsu’s largest regional client, Toyota, in launching a regional e-sports tournament in partnership with ONE E-Sports. Techinamurthi’s appointment comes after former managing director Phil Adrien, who will now be focusing on his new role as the CEO of creative for APAC.

According to Dentsu Singapore, its performance for 2021 has been fuelled by its focus on strategic sectors, such as health and gaming, and sustainable growth; further integration of its offerings; and a strengthened eco-system of partnerships in the region, including with Google and Salesforce.

Prakash Kamdar, dentsu’s CEO for Singapore, shared that the formula for dentsu Singapore, with or without the pandemic, has been one built on purpose, discipline, and trust.

“We made a number of senior appointments across the business last year and I am delighted that we are now able to further augment our Singapore leadership bench strength as we kick-off 2022 with three strategic business appointments in Preeti, Florian, and Prema to bring us to new heights,” said Kamdar.

Just recently, dentsu APAC has also appointed Kamdar to be its new CEO for dentsu Indonesia, which is an addition to his current role. This follows the step down of former CEO Maya Watono who will be taking on a role in a newly established holding company for Indonesia’s State-Owned Enterprises.

Indonesia – Creative and communications network dentsu in APAC has appointed Prakash Kamdar to be its new CEO for dentsu Indonesia. This is in addition to his current role as CEO of dentsu Singapore. Kamdar commences the role in February this year.

The appointment follows the step down of former CEO Maya Watono who will be leaving the business at the end of January to take on a role in a newly established holding company for Indonesia’s State-Owned Enterprises. 

During Kamdar’s stint at dentsu, he first held the position of CEO at Isobar Singapore, where he took the business from strength to strength prior to being promoted to CEO of dentsu Singapore in 2019. In the Singapore role, dentsu said he has successfully led the agency through a significant turnaround, having worked with various clients including Standard Chartered, PayPal, Starhub, Intel, and Mastercard, as well as Salesforce, among others.

Wendy Clark, the global CEO of dentsu international, believes that Kamdar is a highly-regarded digital native leader and his authentic management approach has guided the Singapore teams through the pandemic, resulting in the country’s highest-ever client satisfaction ratings with the business on track to return to pre-pandemic growth levels by the close of 2021. 

Commenting on his appointment, Kamdar said, “I have big shoes to fill and this is a challenge for the new year that I can’t wait to get started on.”

Dentsu APAC has also announced the recent promotion of Wisnu Satya Putra to CEO of Creative at dentsu Indonesia, and Arshad Rahman to CEO of CXM at dentsu Indonesia, which are said to be pivotal to dentsu APAC’s strategy to lead the Indonesia team into its next phase of growth.

“Together with industry veterans Wisnu and Arshad, they [will] bolster the leadership team and bring fresh perspectives and a wealth of experience to the business,” said Clark.

Singapore – Dentsu has announced the launch of its new ‘dentsu gaming’, an integrated solution which brings together the extensive gaming heritage and expertise of the dentsu Japan network, with the global scale and specialist capabilities within dentsu international.

The dentsu gaming solution will be accessible in APAC through dentsu production, creative, CXM, and media agencies, as well as globally via Carat, dentsu X, iProspect, Isobar, dentsumcgarrybowen, Merkle, and the Content Business Design Centre (CBDC) within dentsu Inc. It will also provide access to specialist strategy, activation, and original intellectual property (IP) development for brands seeking to connect with and navigate the gaming ecosystem.

Moreover, dentsu gaming is led by its guiding principle of authentic and ‘respectful’ engagement within the gaming community.

Keiichi Yoshizaki, dentsu Inc’s executive officer, shared that their philosophy is that gaming is more than just advertising, as it is about creating, amplifying, and adding momentum to culture and the industry at large, and with dentsu gaming they  are able to do this through their own in-house gaming studios, innovative business ventures, investing in gaming start-ups and through strategic partnerships at global scale and, which sets us apart from all others.

“Our unique gaming heritage in the Japanese market, coupled with the global scale of our international business ensures dentsu gaming is the ideal way in which we’re able to make authentic and meaningful progress for the betterment of the gaming community, our clients, our partners and of course our people and their passion for gaming,” said Yoshizaki.

Peter Huijboom, dentsu international’s global CEO, media and global client, and one of the primary executive sponsors of dentsu gaming, commented that they have a truly integrated and borderless business model at dentsu which ensures a seamless sharing of insights, deep-knowledge and specialisms to benefit their clients, regardless of their geography – dentsu gaming is a perfect example of this.

“Bringing together the exceptional talent and deep gaming expertise from across the group, this new global solution makes it easier for clients and partners to leverage the potential of gaming for business growth through local market dentsu agency brands they already know and trust,” said Huijboom.

Through its network of agencies and teams worldwide, dentsu now provides bespoke game/IP development, in-game advertising, commerce, consumer promotions, native game integrations, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), talent activation, esports and experiential as its core capabilities through dentsu gaming.