Tag: Mana Partners

Singapore – Publicis Groupe in Southeast Asia has partnered with Web3 marketing consultancy Mana Partners to form ‘Publicis Play’, allowing clients to find a single solution to work with from creation, production, and placement to measurement.

Publicis Groupe and Mana see the offering as critical for a generation whose preferred means of social networking, entertainment, and commerce will soon be grounded in Play. The offering does not see gaming and the metaverse as two silo solutions, but as one integrated offer as the content and fandom from gaming are the foundation for metaverse experiences.

In addition, the offering is not just about badging brand presence but a belief that the future’s most successful brands will master Play – behaving authentically and earning attention and love from their communities.

The new offering helps brands discover and define opportunities where they can play in the long term, execute a fan-first strategy by designing purposeful and immersive gaming and Web3 experiences, and establishing robust relationships with key publishers, developers, esports teams, and ad tech partners that ensure an advantage for brands, players, and fans alike.

Publicis Play has already been piloted with several Publicis Groupe clients, including Singapore Tourism Board, McDonald’s, and PepsiCo, among others.

Ian Loon, chief transformation officer at Publicis Groupe SEA, said, “Connecting our Groupe capabilities with Mana Partners, who are intrinsically plugged into this rapidly evolving economy, ensures all our clients are welcomed into the community with access to true expertise. With the launch of Publicis Play, we can immediately deliver new ways to integrate and deliver between Web2 and Web3, provide measurable value, and drive business outcomes for brands.”

Meanwhile, Jamie Lewin, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Mana Partners, commented, “The Play Economy is the new modus operandi. Publicis Play is the gateway for brands keen to explore the full spectrum of opportunities, from gaming, esports, creators, and content, to participative digital experiences underpinned by Web3 philosophies and concepts. Our decision to partner with Publicis Groupe SEA was a real meeting of the minds on how we collectively view the opportunity.”

Lastly, Matthew Zatto, co-founder and chief commercial officer at Mana Partners, said, “In 2021, consumers spent more time watching gaming content on YouTube than the total hours of content watched on Netflix. By the end of 2022, players will have also spent one trillion hours and $200 billion playing games and 25 billion hours watching gaming content. On top of this, ad spends are also forecasted to grow significantly in the coming decade to more than US$214b annually. It is a huge opportunity but one that needs the right partnership between brands, agencies, and fans to create true value.”

Singapore – Mana Partners, the global gaming and esports venture builder, has appointed Matthew Zatto, former chief executive officer at hybrid consulting firm Travel Intelligence Partners, to be its new chief commercial officer.

Mana Partners is a trading, technology, and asset management firm launched last year which constitutes a brand consultancy, technology development, and industry investments. The venture builder aims to help brands, startups, and rights owners to unlock new communities and opportunities through partnerships and programs.

Based out of Singapore, Zatto, for the new role, will be developing new revenue streams and commercial partnership opportunities in order to expand the company across SEA. He will be joining a diverse founding team that includes some of the region’s most experienced industry leaders, namely, Jamie Lewin, the managing partner and chief strategy officer at Mana Partners, and Mike Kang, the company’s managing partner and chief operating officer. 

Zatto brings with him over 14 years of experience in martech and advertising across a variety of sectors. Aside from his former role at Travel Intelligence Partners, Zatto has also previously worked as the vice president of sales at global permissioned data and verified identity firm Adara. Some of his past roles also include being the destination marketing sales manager for SEA at travel company TripAdvisor, and being the sales and business development lead at Wildfire Interactive, the social media SaaS platform that was acquired by Google.

Zatto commented he is excited to be joining the Mana team at such a tipping point in the gaming and esports growth story. 

“I believe Mana Partners has a novel business model and tremendously talented management team that uniquely positions us to capitalize on the opportunity in SEA and beyond. As the ecosystem evolves, I believe Mana Partners can be the economic catalyst in the gaming and esports industry,” said Zatto.

Meanwhile, Lewin believes that Zatto will be bringing invaluable experience in scaling high-growth and innovative businesses across the region and his commercial acumen, adaptability, and quenchless enthusiasm will undoubtedly set them up for success in driving the business forward.

“At Mana Partners, we bring the uniquely diverse experience of our people – within game developers, publishers, esports producers, brands, media agencies, and technology companies – to brand challenges,” noted Lewin.

In the coming months, the company has announced that it plans to develop and launch proprietary technologies and rapidly grow the business across SEA before further expansion into North America and Europe.