Tag: Elmwood

Singapore – Brand and design consultancy Elmwood has appointed Claudia Li and Jean Chen as group account directors to strengthen its leadership team in Singapore.

In their new roles, Li and Chen will focus on serving Elmwood’s clients and expanding its brand consulting practice and offerings.

Li brings over 20 years of experience in brand consulting, having worked with clients such as Celcom Digi, Vodafone, HSBC, Bank of America, Swire Properties, and Shang-ri La Group among others. She joins the company from Design Bridge and Partners in Hong Kong. 

Meanwhile, Chen has nearly 20 years of experience in regional and global markets, having partnered with brands like Haleon, Mars, Unilever, Yili and more.

“One of Elmwood’s strengths is the ability to translate deep-rooted cultural and consumer insights into outstanding brand solutions. With the added power of data and creative technology, we’re poised to shape brands in meaningful ways across the region. I’m excited to join this journey and look forward to partnering with brand owners and marketers to create inspiring, impactful brands,” Li commented.

“I am thrilled to return to Elmwood at such an exciting time in the agency’s evolution. With a rich history of driving successful consumer brand initiatives, I look forward to leveraging my experience to enhance our offerings and deliver impactful solutions for our clients. Together with Claudia and the talented client servicing team, I am eager to explore innovative strategies that will elevate our clients’ brands and resonate deeply with consumers across the region,” Chen said.

Celeste Cheong, managing director of Elmwood Singapore, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Ambrish, Claudia and Jean to round up our leadership team. Their combined experience and unique perspectives will be invaluable as we boldly shape the future. Accelerated growth and innovation for our clients across the APAC region do not happen by accident. It takes intent and, we are here to build brands that are iconically always new.”

Singapore – Global next-gen creative, tech and media group, MSQ, along with its branding and design consultancy, Elmwood, have announced the appointment of seasoned brand strategist Ambrish Chaudhry as head of strategy for Asia. 

In this role, Chaudhry will lead efforts to deepen the strategic offering across brand design, content, and communications, driving growth for the group’s rapidly expanding client base in Asia.

Chaudhry will work closely with the regional leadership team, including Celeste Cheong, managing director at Elmwood Singapore; Andy Edmonds, general manager at MSQ Asia; Angeline Kong, managing director at Elmwood Shanghai; and Susie Hunt, Asia chair at MSQ and Elmwood.

With over 20 years of experience, Chaudhry previously served as head of strategy at Design Bridge and Partners and has held senior roles within WPP across consulting, advertising, and market research. During this time, he has spearheaded high-profile branding initiatives across 20 markets and 4 continents. 

His work has primarily engaged C-suite stakeholders, delivering projects for globally renowned companies such as Coca-Cola, Meta, CapitaLand, Reckitt, Infosys, Lazada, Hero FinCorp, Mars, Mondelez, and HSBC, among others.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “Elmwood and MSQ are among the most exciting places to be in our industry today. It is a fast-growing group, structurally built for collaboration with an exciting array of specialisms such as branding, generative design, content creation, analytics and insights coming together seamlessly. Strategy has a key role to play in harmonising these capabilities to create tangible impact on businesses. I look forward to pushing the boundaries of this joined-up thinking and be a part of the work that elevates our clients’ brands.”

Meanwhile, Daniel Binns, CEO of Elmwood, commented, “Ambrish is the perfect fit to help us strategically strengthen our position in Asia as a full-service brand and experience design consultancy. His appointment, following Susie Hunt’s as Chair for Asia, demonstrates our commitment to the region’s growth and our investment in top talent. Together, they will drive impactful solutions and create new growth avenues for our clients.”

This appointment underscores Elmwood’s ongoing commitment to growth and its evolution as a full-service brand and design experience consultancy, equipped to address the complex challenges brands face as they build their growth platforms. 

Chaudhry’s extensive strategic expertise in brand building and his entrepreneurial mindset to leverage Elmwood and MSQ’s next generation technology, data and media capabilities will unlock new growth opportunities for clients across the region. 

Australia – Designed to promote healthy conversations about men’s health, Kimberly-Clark has recently announced its partnership with Elmwood, a global design consultancy based in Australia.

This collaboration introduces an initiative addressing the sensitive themes surrounding bladder weakening among adult men. In particular, the launch of DEPEND’s latest underwear product lets men go about their everyday lives without worrying about bladder leaks. 

For this product, the campaign features a blend of humour and colloquial expressions, relating to an iconic movie for the intended audience, which was derived from a thorough and deep understanding of Australian and New Zealand cultural nuances. 

Talking about the campaign, Jason Braddy, creative director at Elmwood Singapore, said, “The DEPEND brief offered a unique challenge. How do we place the brand into a consideration set for an audience who doesn’t want to talk about the issue and doesn’t really know where to start?

“Our response was to develop an idea that would be both relatable through humour while building memory structures by celebrating the brand’s distinctive assets,” he concluded.

Devki Khosla, senior account director at Elmwood Singapore, added, ”The consumer is at the centre of our approach. Once we mapped out the motivators and barriers of our target, we combined these messages with best practices across platforms to drive performance and results.”

Leah King, DEPEND Brand Manager at Kimberly-Clark, said, “Together, we have created a brand campaign that will encourage open conversations and help combat the stigma and silence, which are still often associated with discussions around men’s health today.”

For over 35 years, DEPEND has been the trusted partner to millions of men and women worldwide in caring for their bladder leakage, enabling them to confidently reconnect with the life they aspire to live and make the most of it.

Singapore – Global design consultancy Elmwood has made a number of major hires as it establishes its Singapore offer as one of the region’s leading design shops. They include Lisa Balm as creative director, Rachel Goh as head of insights, Kedar Karippail as client services director.

The new appointments mark a major refresh of the agency following Elmwood’s merger with Holmes & Marchant in the region in November 2021.

Goh will be responsible for using data and strategic thinking to help brands craft compelling stories and produce more culturally relevant work. She was previously a partner at Innate Motion, where she delivered insights and empathy-powered strategies for global and local brands across FMCG, beauty, fashion, technology and e-commerce brands. 

Meanwhile, Balm has worked on brands including Citibank, Singtel, Diageo, LVMH and PepsiCo. In her role at Elmwood, she will work alongside fellow creative director Jason Braddy to lead a creative team of more than 25 designers, visualisers and production specialists. 

Lastly, Karippail has over 20 years international brand and advertising experience working across India, New Zealand, Malaysia, Netherlands and the UK, for DDB, Geometry Global, Ogilvy & Mather and Y&R amongst others. She will work closely with Elmwood Singapore’s managing director Celeste Cheong on developing the agency’s overall growth and client strategy, building and maintaining relationships.

Cheong said, “It’s a hugely pivotal time for Elmwood Singapore and design consultancies in general. So I’m delighted that we’ve found the very best talent to help take Elmwood Singapore to the next stage in our journey. I’m really excited to work alongside Rachel, Lisa, Kedar and the existing leadership team to be an invaluable partner to all our clients.”

Meanwhile, Paul Galesloot, global CEO at Elmwood, commented, “Elmwood was created to design meaningful & memorable brands in the multi-platform age. And to do that, you need a team of experienced, truly global, diverse thinkers with an in-depth understanding of insight, idea and iconicity, as well as a broad business and industry acumen.” 

He added, “I’m delighted we’ve put together such a strong, new-look team for Elmwood Singapore, who collectively offer all the expertise required to produce distinctive, dynamic brand experiences that can succeed now and in the future.”