Tag: Masayu Difa

Jakarta, Indonesia – S4 Capital’s operating brand Media.Monks has opened an office in Indonesia, adding a strategic location and local talent to its Asia Pacific business. The Indonesian office will service both local and regional client business, as Indonesia continues to be a growth market for brands.

As part of the office opening, Media.Monks has appointed Masayu Difa as its business director, who brings over 15 years of client leadership in Indonesia and experience across both local and international brands. She previously held senior client roles at Lion & Lion, Grey, McCann and Geometry.

In addition, Media.Monks has also formed a partnership with a new client, one of the largest Indonesian food brand leaders, ABC which named Media.Monks as its creative agency of record for ABC Soy and Chilli, becoming the founding client for the new office.

“I am thrilled to join Media.Monks, a forward-thinking agency that is setting the tone for how to deliver digital solutions through innovation and lead our efforts in Indonesia. Our new office will leverage local insights combined with global expertise that resonate with Indonesian consumers and drive business growth for our clients. I am excited to work with our talented team and esteemed clients like Kraft Heinz ABC to make a significant impact in this dynamic market,” Difa said.

The Indonesia office is the ninth local office in the APAC region, enlarging its footprint to Southeast Asia offices in Singapore and Malaysia.

Speaking about the office opening, Sir Martin Sorrell, Chairman of S4 Capital, said, “I am excited to add the 34th country to the uni-branded Media.Monks network, especially a market so significant, with 300 million consumers and over 167 million active on social media, the third largest in Asia. Indonesia’s GDP is forecast to be in the top five countries worldwide by 2050. Brands across the Country are looking for partners to help build progressive digital consumer connections to drive their business and we are excited to be part of that.”

Meanwhile, Munas Van Boonstra, managing director for Southeast Asia at Media.Monks, commented, “I believe the integrated brand, digital, data and social capabilities that Media.Monks can bring can make an impact in the market and I am proud to launch the newest part of the global monk family to help brands succeed in Indonesia and help Indonesian brands scale around Asia and the world.”

Masayu Difa, client director at Lion & Lion Indonesia, has been named as one of the ‘Empowered Women in Agency’ at MARKETECH APAC’s Empowered Women Awards 2023. The awarding exercise is an inaugural effort by the digital media to recognise the outstanding women marketing leaders in the industry. 

Masayu began her journey with Lion & Lion in Indonesia as its client lead in 2019. After 2 years in the position, she was elevated to become the agency’s associate client director, and in 2022, inaugurated in her present role as client director. 

The force behind L’Oreal’s highly engaging digital presence 

Since acquiring the digital marketing business of global beauty brand L’Oreal in Indonesia, digital agency Lion & Lion has been making waves in establishing and expanding its social media presence in the market. One of the leaders behind its success is Masayu Difa. 

Masayu led the team in expanding the L’Oreal brand portfolio in Indonesia where from Maybelline solely operating in the market in 2019, it has been widened to add three more in 2021 – L’Oreal Paris, Garnier, and NYX. Add to this, one of the marketing leader’s major accomplishments was securing La Roche Posay, L’Oréal’s science-forward skincare brand, as a client the year after. 

Masayu’s strategic marketing foresight and creative expertise enabled her to drive the team in successfully launching Maybelline New York’s and Garnier’s TikTok accounts, as well as L’Oreal Paris’ new social media presence. Her effective leadership resulted in Maybelline achieving the impressive milestone of 1 million followers six months ahead of schedule, along with an impressive 11.4 million likes. Garnier also made significant progress, garnering 465k followers and 5.5 million likes in just seven months.

A Biology graduate making her way to the creative world

Masayu’s roots are as interesting as it gets. With a successful career in the marketing world, no one would have known, right off the bat, that her area of focus back in college is Biology. But by following her genuine passion for advertising and marketing, she was able to propel herself to milestones within the field that eventually got her to where she is now. 

Fresh out of college in 2010, Masayu didn’t wait a sec and immediately sank her teeth in account management in the creative industry. Her original academic background didn’t stop her from braving some of the most high-impact teams, and in turn, made her secure a seat in well-renowned agencies such as Geometry Global, McCann Worldgroup, and Grey Group.

She has been able to excel in the area through hard work and dedication, and her commitment to continuous learning and growth is what enabled her to attain her current success in Lion & Lion as one of its respected and notable leaders. 

A leader who isn’t afraid to ‘get dirt’ on her hands 

According to Masayu’s team, she is a leader that has a bias for action – both in managing herself and in leading her team. She banks on the practical approach, where she’s truly hands-on and leads her team by example. 

In the words of John Campbell-Bruce, the regional managing director of Lion & Lion, “she is the person who gets in there, and gets things done, and she would never ask her team to do something that [she] herself would not do.” Masayu leads with a sense of purpose and direction, inspiring her team to perform at their best and achieve their goals.

One of the key qualities admirable in her is her ability to set clear expectations and empower her members to grow and develop. The team can vouch for Masayu that she fosters a culture of openness and transparency, where the team feels comfortable sharing their ideas and feedback, leading to increased collaboration and innovation.

Masayu reminds, “Be yourself, without worrying about judgement. Your authentic self is one of the most valuable assets you can offer to your work, in addition to your expertise and skill sets.”

Aside from Masayu, check out who else made it to Empowered Women Awards 2023 Winners’ list.