Tag: Global

Singapore – Creative and media agency VaynerMedia has named Marcus Krzastek as international president amidst its global expansion, effective immediately. Krzastek is set to oversee the agency’s operations in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

As VaynerMedia has expanded from its offices in Singapore and London, Krzastek will continue to strengthen its teams and operations in Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Amsterdam.

Krzastek has been with VaynerMedia for 15 years, most recently serving as the president of VaynerX company The Sasha Group, where he significantly increased revenue and profitability.

“Marcus has been integral to VaynerMedia’s success since day one. His deep understanding of our business and exceptional leadership make him the perfect choice to accelerate our global growth in this next chapter,” Gary Vaynerchuk, chairman of VaynerX and CEO of VaynerMedia, said.

Krzastek commented, “Over the past 15 years, I’ve witnessed VaynerMedia grow from a scrappy startup into a global powerhouse, creating social-first content for the world’s biggest brands. I’m honoured to take on this new role and excited to build upon the incredible momentum across our international regions.”

UK –  Former Forsman & Bodenfors CEO Toby Southgate has officially taken the helm as We Are Social’s global group chief executive officer, bringing his expertise in creative leadership to drive the agency’s global growth and innovation.

As global CEO, Southgate will lead We Are Social’s 1,200-strong team across four continents. He will work to enhance collaboration, drive growth, and expand the agency’s creative offerings in partnership with major clients like Samsung, Amazon Music, Starbucks, adidas, Activision, Netflix, and Booking.com.

Southgate previously served as CEO of Forsman & Bodenfors, where he unified global offices post-merger, achieved gender pay equity, and strengthened cross-border collaboration. Under his leadership, the agency worked with major clients like Volvo, Google, Procter & Gamble, and Diageo.

With global experience spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, Southgate was also global chief growth officer at McCann WorldGroup, holding regional leadership roles across Europe and the UK. Earlier, he spent a decade at WPP’s Brand Union, leading it to its first major wins at Cannes and the Effies.

Talking about his appointment, Southgate shared, “I’ve long admired We Are Social. It led the way by recognising the power of social and digital platforms for brands at scale, and, as a result, it’s the only truly global agency in its space. Today, We Are Social has an extremely talented team and an incredibly bright future.”

“We’ll be expanding our offering as the world’s most creative social agency, in partnership with what is undeniably a stellar roster of clients. The energy and appetite for growth and evolution with the network is really compelling. The role was very easy to accept,” he added. 

Southgate takes over from We Are Social co-founder and former group CEO Nathan McDonald, who stepped down in October 2024. Brett Marchand, CEO of parent company Plus Company, served as interim CEO.

Marchand commented, “We Are Social has had an extraordinary journey to become the world’s foremost social agency, with a significant global footprint, a talented team, amazing work, and spectacular clients.” 

He continued, “I believe that Toby’s experience in leading multinational agencies to growth, combined with an exceptional leadership team at We Are Social, will be the winning combination to unlock the agency’s full potential. Toby’s passion for creating a culture where people are a priority so they can thrive and do their best work was clear from the outset. He’s a first-class leader who will help steer We Are Social steadfastly into the next stage in its evolution.”

China – Alibaba, the Chinese tech and e-commerce giant, has officially joined the AI race with the launch of Qwen2.5-VL, an open-source multimodal model that builds on the capabilities of its predecessor, Qwen2-VL.

In a blog post, Alibaba shared that Qwen2.5-VL shows impressive multimodal capabilities, excelling at understanding texts, charts, diagrams, and layouts in images. It can also analyse videos longer than an hour, answer related questions, and pinpoint specific segments.

Additionally, the model can also convert unstructured data from invoices, forms, or tables into organised formats like JSON, making it useful for automating tasks such as processing financial or legal documents.

Alibaba also claimed that by combining parsing and localisation features, Qwen2.5-VL can act as a visual agent, helping users perform tasks like checking the weather or booking a flight by guiding the use of different tools on computers and mobile devices.

The company further revealed that their flagship model, Qwen2.5-VL-72B-Instruct, performs competitively across a range of benchmarks, including document and diagram reading, visual question answering, college-level math, video understanding, and visual tasks.

It’s also worth noting that Alibaba and the Qwen team are developing Qwen2.5-Max, a large-scale MoE model they claim outperforms DeepSeek V3 in key areas like coding, general tasks, and human preferences. They also stated it has shown competitive results in other assessments, including tests on college-level knowledge.

“Qwen2.5-Max outperforms … almost across the board GPT-4o, DeepSeek-V3, and Llama-3.1-405B,” Alibaba’s cloud unit said in an announcement on its official WeChat account, referencing OpenAI and Meta’s leading open-source AI models, Reuters reported.

Both Qwen2.5-Max and Qwen2.5-VL are now accessible via Qwen Chat, Alibaba’s conversational AI platform, where users can interact with the models, explore features, and perform tasks like searching. Additionally, developers can access the Qwen2.5-Max API through Alibaba Cloud.

The release of Alibaba’s Qwen2.5 comes after DeepSeek launched its AI assistant powered by the DeepSeek-V3 model on January 10, followed by the January 20 release of its R1 model, which has sparked significant discussions around the AI boom and the pressure for AI firms to upgrade their own model. 

New York – Docusign, a software company managing electronic agreements, has rebranded with a new sonic identity, reflecting its position as a leader in electronic signature technology.

Going beyond brand visuals, Docusign’s new sonic identity aims to contribute to building trust and engaging its customers while making an impact. Through a recognizable audio, Docusign is boosting its presence in the competitive market.

To create the sonic identity, Docusign teamed up with brand sounding agency amp, which invented a sonic DNA mirroring Docusign’s personality. It aimed to capture how the company is professional, trustworthy, and lively through an upbeat and optimistic sound. 

Alongside the launch of a new sound is a refreshed brand image, creating a multisensorial identity that complements how it manages agreements.

The launch marks Docusign as the first brand in its sector to use sonic DNA, reinforcing its leadership in the intelligent agreement management category in the industry.

“Our redesign marks an exciting new chapter for Docusign, one that reflects our evolution as a leader in trusted agreements. The modernisation of our brand identity with the key addition of a sonic brand truly mirrors and supports our renewed focus on helping businesses move forward, faster, and smarter,” Carla Weiss, vice president of brand at Docusign, said.

“The creative idea behind the Docusign sonic logo is rooted in the concept of resonance, a phenomenon where two closely matched frequencies amplify each other: the Docusign vision of how the world comes together and agrees,” Jason S. Thompson, creative director at amp, commented.

Australia – Qantas has announced plans to redesign its uniform for the first time in over a decade, as the airline moves forward with its fleet renewal program, ongoing customer investments, and preparations for the upcoming Project Sunrise initiative.

For this project, Qantas has announced it is searching for a new Australian designer to lead the redesign of its uniform, a significant move aimed at updating one of the most important visual representations of the airline’s brand.

Placing its workforce at the core of the redesign, Qantas will survey its 17,500 uniformed employees to help shape the development of the new uniform, which will reflect the airline’s future direction.

The new uniform design will coincide with Qantas’ ongoing fleet investments, including more than 100 aircraft on order across the group over the next decade, alongside significant upgrades to its existing fleet.

Vanessa Hudson, group CEO of Qantas, said, “We have ambitious plans for the future, and transforming the way we reflect the brand is critical to that. Our uniform represents the Qantas spirit all over the world. With a vast and growing international and domestic network, a historic fleet renewal program underway, and the final frontier of global aviation just around the corner, it’s time to define a new look for our people that reflects where we are heading.” 

Qantas will announce the new uniform designer in the coming months, with plans to debut the redesigned uniform in 2027. The airline will engage multiple Australian designers to assess the requirements and lead a selection process for the eleventh uniform in its history.

Previous designers of the Qantas uniform include Peter Morrissey, Yves Saint Laurent, George Gross, Harry Who, and Emilio Pucci, with each design reflecting significant milestones in the airline’s 105-year history.

“Since our beginnings, the way we represent the brand has evolved significantly. While the uniform style may have changed, what hasn’t changed is the pride our people have in wearing it, which is why we are putting them at the core of the design process. Our people have loved wearing the current design, which was created by Martin Grant in 2013, and I want to thank him for his partnership over the course of the last decade,” Hudson added. 

California – OpenX, an omnichannel supply-side platform, has promoted Tyler Romasco to senior vice president of global publisher development as part of the company’s strategy to strengthen global publisher relationships.

With experience in scaling publisher partnerships, Romasco will focus on driving OpenX’s publisher growth across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific in his new role. He will be working with publishers for business development, operations, and account management for revenue growth.

Romasco formerly held the position of vice president of US publisher development before the appointment. Having joined the company in 2019, he first served as senior director of business development, contributing to OpenX’s expansion of offerings in web, app, and CTV.

Before joining Open X, Romasco served as head of strategic partnerships at Sizmek, managing sales and business strategy teams. He also held leadership roles at Rocket Fuel and Pandora.

As he joins the executive team, Romasco will report to John Gentry, chief executive officer of OpenX.

“Publishers are at the core of everything that we do. As our industry experiences significant changes on the identity, CTV, AI, and consumer privacy fronts, I’m looking forward to ensuring OpenX is a trusted advisor when it comes to monetization, data, identity, and privacy-first solutions that drive business outcomes,” Romasco said.

“I’m so proud of OpenX’s incredibly smart and talented teams across the globe who are working relentlessly to solve the most pressing customer challenges and deliver superior results for our partners, including in biddable CTV, where TV by OpenX has increased publishers’ monetized impressions by 22%,” he added.

“Not only is Tyler known for being innovative and solution-oriented, but he has also been instrumental in our CTV expansion, pushing the industry to better leverage biddable CTV solutions and generating considerable incremental revenue for streaming platforms and broadcasters as a result. Tyler’s strength as a people leader, the relationships and respect he’s built in the industry, and his role as a key partner to our buyer development organization will be invaluable as OpenX continues to expand its global publisher footprint,” Gentry commented.

Singapore – Sephora, a beauty products retailer, is celebrating diversity and authenticity in its new global film directed by filmmaker Anastasia Mikova.

The brand’s first film, ‘Beauty & Belonging,’ delves into the diverse definitions of beauty across the globe. 

As a documentary, ‘Beauty & Belonging’ features conversations with Sephora employees and founders of beauty brands from different countries. Through their perspectives, the film highlights how witnessing diverse representations is important to help people embrace their own beauty.

The documentary also include testimonials from brand founders Christine Chang and Sarah Lee from Glow Recipe, Danessa Myricks from Danessa Myricks Beauty, Mario Dedivanovic from Makeup by Mario, Mathilde Thomas from Caudalie, and Akash and Nikita Mehta from Fable & Mane.

Through the film, Sephora echoes its values of inclusion, diversity, and equity, reaffirming its commitment to welcoming everyone.

Jenny Cheah, managing director of Sephora Southeast Asia & Oceania said, “It’s truly heartening to see the stories of our employees and brand partners come to life in this film. At Sephora, everything that we do – from deciding the brands to partner with to hosting large scale events for our loyal community of beauty enthusiasts – is guided by our purpose to champion a world of inspiration and inclusion where everyone can celebrate their beauty. Beauty & Belonging has succinctly and powerfully captured that essence.”

“It makes me so proud to be a part of Sephora when I watched the film. Our employees are the heartbeat of the organisation, and I am convinced that when they feel empowered to embrace and define their beauty, that will deepen the connection and impact that Sephora has with our customers and partners,” Xia Ding, managing director of Sephora Greater China, said.

Mikova commented, “I’ve always been fond of meeting people and discovering their stories – what makes them unique, their journeys, and their perspectives on life. At the same time, I love finding the threads that connect us all as humans and the meaning of beauty across cultures is one of them. Throughout the shoot of the movie, I was able to sense how rich, diverse, and sensitive the Sephora community is, but above all these people are part of one big inclusive family.”

Hong Kong – For the first time in its 137-year history, Hong Kong-based Lee Kum Kee has launched a global brand campaign, celebrating the universal power of togetherness, tradition, and shared culinary experiences that transcend borders and generations.

In collaboration with DDB Group Hong Kong, Lee Kum Kee’s global campaign seeks to strengthen its connection with an expanding international customer base while attracting new audiences worldwide.

Titled ‘FLAVORS THAT BIND,’ the campaign pays tribute to the brand’s cultural significance, emphasising its role in bringing people together—not just around the table, but across generations and continents—through its diverse range of Chinese and Asian sauces and seasonings.

Lee Kum Kee launched its campaign during Lunar New Year, a time of global gatherings over traditional dishes, to celebrate Asian culture and values. The campaign film highlights how meals with Lee Kum Kee sauces foster deeper connections through shared traditions and heritage.

The brand film is supported by Lee Kum Kee’s largest media investment to date, featuring prominent placements on digital billboards in New York’s Times Square, London’s Outernet, Shanghai No.1 Department Store, and Hong Kong International Airport, along with extensive online and social media coverage.

Additionally, Lee Kum Kee has also partnered with FleishmanHillard offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, and New York for global PR; Cedar HK for content management; and Havas Hong Kong for media to ensure the campaign resonates with a worldwide audience.

Doreen Cheng, chief marketing officer at Lee Kum Kee Sauce, said, “With the launch of our new brand campaign, Lee Kum Kee celebrates its evolution as a global gateway to Asian culinary culture, representing the diversity, richness, and expressivity of Asian flavours on a global stage.” 

“For us, ‘global’ is not restricted to geography—it’s an attitude of authentic inclusiveness, where the flavours, traditions, and togetherness we celebrate resonate universally; this spirit is at the heart of our campaign. Through the brand film, we aim to preserve our heritage while inspiring chefs and food lovers to connect with Asian cuisine in meaningful ways,” Cheng added. 

Adrian Ts’o, chief strategy officer at DDB Group Hong Kong, also shared, “It’s not every day you get the brief to take a homegrown Hong Kong brand to the world. This is exactly the kind of work we aspire to do more of. Our city and region have so much to offer, and it’s an exciting new era for Lee Kum Kee. We look forward to showcasing this phenomenal brand to audiences across the globe.”

California, USA – The Trade Desk has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Sincera, a digital advertising data company known for delivering objective and actionable insights to the advertising ecosystem.

Sincera has been a trusted partner of The Trade Desk in recent years, providing advertisers with tools to assess the quality of data from publishers and content providers. By enabling more accurate valuation of ad impressions, Sincera’s objective insights have become essential for optimising campaign investments as digital advertising channels and data sources continue to expand.

With this acquisition, Sincera’s tools will integrate into The Trade Desk’s platform, giving advertisers clearer insights into their purchases. It will also help publishers optimise data signals to boost advertising demand and fill rates, highlighting which signals are most valued by advertisers.

“In recent years, the digital advertising landscape has expanded rapidly with the emergence of new channels such as streaming TV, digital audio, and retail media. Sincera has done an amazing job of serving this expanding ecosystem with the right data that can improve performance for all participants in the ad tech supply chain,” Jeff Green, founder and CEO of The Trade Desk, said. 

“With this acquisition, we will scale the impact of Sincera in a way that will upgrade programmatic performance for everyone, and especially the quality of data signals that advertisers get from publishers,” Green added. 

As part of the acquisition, Sincera co-founder and CEO Mike O’Sullivan will report directly to Jeff Green. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to finalise in the first quarter of 2025.

Commenting on the acquisition, O’Sullivan said, “Sincera has become the go-to resource for advertisers and publishers looking for objective data on advertising value. We have retained that objectivity by ensuring our focus on being an expert data company, rather than a data provider.”

“We’re excited to bring our perspective and insights to The Trade Desk. We have a shared belief that trust and growth in the programmatic ecosystem will be fuelled by a transparent and fair marketplace based on objective data,” he added. 

Paris, France – Kicking off 2025 on a bold note, Publicis Groupe has unveiled its plans to merge two of its iconic networks, Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide, to launch a new creative powerhouse, aptly named ‘Leo’.

Rooted in Publicis Groupe’s ‘Power of One’ philosophy, Leo is crafted to deliver modern solutions by bringing together Leo Burnett, known for its ‘humankind’ approach, and Publicis Worldwide, a network synonymous with transformation, innovation, and leading change.

Leo, an expanded and redesigned version of the Leo Burnett logo, combines the strength of one of advertising’s most iconic names with the roar of a lion, creating a powerful global creative force of more than 15,000 talents from Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide. Together, they boast 8 agencies of the year across 90 countries and over 400 major creative awards.

Carla Serrano, global CSO at Publicis Groupe, shared, “Through Leo we are doubling down on our strategy of strong creative brands, connected to the industry’s only data, media, and tech ecosystem. With Publicis as the global group brand we all rally to, we are now accelerating on the Power of One, turning two networks into one constellation.”

With this union, the Leo constellation becomes part of Publicis Groupe’s creative roster, joining renowned names like Saatchi & Saatchi, LePub, and BBH, as well as creative hubs such as Fallon, The Community, and Le Truc—the only creative collective operating at the holding-company level.

Marco Venturelli and Agathe Bousquet will lead the newly created ‘Leo’ as co-presidents, with Gareth Goodall joining as chief strategy officer. The trio will lead Leo’s global creative community and culture, driving activation at the country level through the Power of One. This approach ensures that Leo’s creative teams have direct access to Publicis Groupe’s data, technology, and media assets.

Meanwhile, Andrew Bruce, CEO of Publicis Groupe Canada, will also take on the additional role of chairman for Leo North America.

“At Publicis, we have demonstrated time and again the power of the Power of One. Leo’s global spirit will live and breathe at the local level, with outstanding creative and strategic talent turbocharged by best-in-class data and technology through our country model to create truly bespoke models for its clients,” Bousquet, Leo co-president and president of Publicis France, commented. 

Venturelli, Leo co-president and chief creative officer, added, “We’ve never had so many tools to better understand people and connect with them. Nevertheless, creativity still is, and forever will be, a messy human process. Leo will be a true global community of creative and strategic talents, connected together for a more human way of creating at scale.”

Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe, also shared, “I have had the privilege of leading both Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett. Since then, other iconic names have disappeared, but I have never believed that creative efficiency should mean fewer brands and fewer operations.” 

He continued, “It is about big ideas from creative minds that are nurtured by strong agency culture to have an impact on our clients’ businesses. In today’s world it is also about more collaboration and more access to capabilities. That’s exactly what Leo stands for. By unifying the spirit and talent of these global creative communities, Leo will be bigger, stronger, and on more doors than ever.”