Shanghai, China – Advertising agency McCann in Shanghai has been appointed by multivitamin brand Centrum to handle its strategic and creative communication in China until 2024. This comes ahead of Centrum’s 30th anniversary in the market.

Shu Wu, managing director of McCann China, said, “McCann has always been dedicated to helping brands earn a meaningful role in people’s lives, and Centrum has provided us with an excellent opportunity to showcase our strength in the field of healthcare.” 

Wu added, “Together, we will help Centrum to resonate more deeply with consumers through more emotional and personalized communication, so Centrum will become the top-of-mind brand for people when buying healthcare products for themselves or their family”.

To celebrate their 30th anniversary in China, Centrum plans to upgrade their brand image, as well as establish and strengthen its reputation as a daily health empowerment brand for Chinese consumers.  

Since its entry into the Chinese market in 1993, Centrum has been a leader in the multivitamin category, enjoying widespread popularity and an excellent market reputation. With the nation’s rapid economic development and corresponding lifestyle changes, the Chinese people’s focus on healthcare has evolved to place more care into daily health management.

Melbourne, Australia – Marketing communications agency Clemenger BBDO in Melbourne has announced new hires for their creative department namely Huei Yin Wong as senior art director, alongside Ellie Dunn and Tom Vizard as senior copywriters.

Huei joins from Ogilvy where she was responsible for work across a range of clients including AAMI, Mondelez to name a few.

Meanwhile, Ellie brings over a decade of experience to the role as she returns to Clemenger BBDO Melbourne following a stint at Leo Burnett.

Lastly, Tom, who is joining from Thinkerbell, had the privilege of working with a range of iconic brands including Tourism Australia, Vegemite, Jeep and AFL. When he’s not working on iconic Australian brands, Tom can be found tutoring at the online creative course platform AWARD school and producing short films.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have Huei, Ellie and Tom join the team. Each brings proven award-winning thinking, a truly diverse set of skills and a wonderfully irresponsible outlook towards what’s possible. Most importantly, each has the ambition to help lead where the agency is heading next,” said Jim Curtis, executive creative director at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne.

Clemenger BBDO has recently appointed Scott Balalas as the agency’s general manager for their Carlton & United account, following their campaign with beer brand Victoria Bitter.

Sydney, Australia – Enero, a boutique network of marketing and communication businesses, has recently acquired McDonald Butler Associates (MBA), a UK-based business-to-business (B2B) sales agency, through its global technology communications agency Hotwire.

Aligned with the Group’s global strategy to scale and expand the digital capabilities of its core agency brands, including Hotwire, BMF, and Orchard, the acquisition of MBA will add account-based marketing and channel marketing expertise and experience to Hotwire’s communications pedigree in the UK and globally. 

The acquisition will see MBA and Hotwire’s UK offices operate under the Hotwire brand led by Global Hotwire CEO Barbara Bates. Maeve McDonald and Mike Butler, founders of MBA, will take on the UK roles of managing consultant account-based marketing and marketing managing consultant respectively, 

They will be reporting to UK managing director and global leadership team member, Tara O’Donnell. This brings Hotwire UK’s headcount to more than 100 and more than 300 globally.

Barbara Bates, global CEO at Hotwire, said, “By adding MBA’s extensive account-based marketing and channel marketing experience, Hotwire will deliver a new level of communications programs designed to build brand reputation, strengthen stakeholder relationships and deliver revenue growth.”

McDonald Butler supports a strong client roster of technology clients including: Accenture, Adobe, AWS, Citrix, Dell Technologies, Deloitte, DXC Technology, Honeywell, IBM, Pegasystems, and PWC, which compliments Hotwire’s existing tech clients.

Maeve McDonald, CEO at MBA, said, “This is an extremely exciting opportunity for both MBA’s clients and our team. Both MBA and Hotwire have been dedicated to helping technology companies solve their most pressing business and communications challenges. Now we have a great opportunity to offer a wider range of communications, lead generation, and digital marketing services to our clients globally.”

Meanwhile, Brent Scrimshaw, CEO at Enero Group, commented that their acquisition of MBA reflects not only the group’s strong momentum and ambition, but their commitment to delivering on their global strategy of building scale and additional digital capabilities of their core agency brands.

“Hotwire is already one of the world’s most highly-regarded enterprise tech specialist communication businesses and we have no doubt that adding MBA’s specific sales and marketing expertise and complimentary client roster will unlock new possibilities of growth in a priority market like the UK,” Scrimshaw stated.

He added, “Enero’s investment will give Hotwire clients access to new capabilities and provide MBA’s clients access to a progressive global network, offering an even wider set of communications disciplines.”

Singapore – Mediabrands, the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group (IPG), has announced a new chief marketing and communications officer for APAC, Naomi Michael. Michael comes from her previous title as head of marketing and communications for the agency in the region. 

The newly created role will be based in Mediabrands’ APAC RHQ in Singapore and will report directly to Leigh Terry, the CEO of Mediabrands APAC.

In her new position, Michael will now be responsible for providing strategic consulting and communications planning across the key network business pillars of media responsibility, DE&I, and sustainability and purpose. Michael will also continue to promote the differentiated positioning of the Mediabrands agencies reinforced by a centralized network value structure.

Michael commented, “I look forward to taking a more strategic operations focus, working closely with our executive team on integrated communications strategies that promote awareness and understanding of the Mediabrands network purpose, values, and approach to supporting its people, its clients, and the communities in which it operates.”

In bolstering its APAC senior leadership team, the agency has also announced the elevation of HR Director Zarka Khan-Iltaf to become the new chief talent officer for the APAC region.

“These two leadership positions will continue to work in close partnership with myself to build out our CSR and DEI pillars with clear and measurable regional goals, as we work towards achieving defined sustainable business practices for our people, and our organization,” commented Terry.

India – Global software company InfoVision Labs (IVL) has recently appointed Indian media company Krescendo Communications as its 360-degree marketing communications and alliance partner, with the aim to build a reputation and engage with stakeholders.

IVL is a startup digital transformation company that provides numerous solutions, such as enterprise mobility, and legacy modernization, as well as cloud migration, and predictive analytics, among others. The company’s digital transformation strategies are planned to ensure that the clients get more than just a new technology.

The partnership will see Krescendo Communications managing IVL’s markets, including Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, as well as India, and the United States, among others.

Ganesh Somwanshi, the founder of Krescendo Communications, shared, “IVL is known as the Apple of India and is witnessing 60% YoY growth. We are delighted to work with these bunch of techies and assist them in building a reputation and in achieving milestones through strategic 360-degree marketing and insight-driven communications.”

Meanwhile, Vinay Barigidad, the managing director of InfoVision Labs, said, “Krescendo’s strategy aligns with our communications goals. As a startup, we have witnessed many success stories and transformed many businesses. With this partnership, we aim to enhance our corporate reputation, and use communication and public relations to reach out to all our stakeholders across the globe.”