Founded in 2019 by Nadia Bartel, Michelle Ring and Laura Broque, HENNE has built a strong following for its minimalist wardrobe essentials and premium fashion aesthetic, becoming one of Australia’s fastest-growing contemporary fashion brands.

The appointments mark a new chapter in HENNE’s growth strategy as the Melbourne-founded brand looks to strengthen customer acquisition across Australia and New Zealand ahead of future international expansion.

Under the partnership, Jaywing will oversee paid media strategy, execution, and optimisation across Meta, Google, TikTok, and Pinterest, while also managing reporting, analytics, creative strategy, and production support to improve campaign performance and marketing effectiveness.

Meanwhile, The Social CliQ will lead HENNE’s social media strategy across Meta and TikTok, delivering full-funnel campaigns spanning influencer marketing, user-generated content (UGC), and conversion-focused creative.

The appointments follow a competitive pitch process, where HENNE evaluated agencies based on strategic thinking, creative capability, performance marketing expertise, measurement and team fit.

As part of its remit, Jaywing will also deploy its proprietary FeedOps platform to optimise HENNE’s product data across paid media channels, helping improve campaign performance while preparing the brand for emerging AI-powered and agentic commerce environments.

Ash Terry, eCommerce Director at Jaywing, said the partnership comes at an important stage of HENNE’s growth journey.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with HENNE at such a pivotal stage of its journey. What stands out is the brand’s commercial maturity and its clear focus on sustainable new customer acquisition,” said Terry. 

“That long-term mindset creates the conditions for truly effective performance marketing, where data, creative and media work in lockstep. With the addition of FeedOps and our advanced measurement approach, we can unlock new levels of efficiency and scale for HENNE,” added Terry. 

Talia Datt, Founder and Managing Director of The Social CliQ, added that HENNE’s strong brand identity creates opportunities to build deeper engagement across social platforms.

“HENNE is a brand with an incredibly strong aesthetic and cultural resonance, which gives us a powerful platform to build from. We’re excited to be working alongside Jaywing and the HENNE team on this great Australian brand,” said Datt. 

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Founded in 1997, CX Lavender has built a strong reputation for helping Australian brands improve customer experiences through loyalty programmes, digital platforms and transformation projects that connect strategy with execution.

The acquisition marks another step in Omnicom Oceania’s strategy to expand beyond traditional media and creative services into broader customer and marketing transformation. 

It also reflects growing demand from businesses for integrated partners that can combine strategy, technology and customer experience under one roof.

The deal includes CX Lavender’s team of around 20 specialists, its proprietary technology assets, and its brand, with existing clients, including Westpac, continuing to be supported by the agency under Omnicom Oceania.

Nick Garrett, CEO of Omnicom Oceania, said customer experience has become a business-wide priority for organisations.

“This acquisition accelerates our customer experience  capabilities across the group. The partnership marks another step in Omnicom Oceania’s progress moving beyond a  traditional media and creative model into a broader marketing and customer  transformation business,” explained Garrett. 

Adrian Paul, COO of Omnicom Oceania, added that the acquisition strengthens the group’s connected capability model.

“This acquisition will preserve the independent spirit and culture of Lavs, backed by the  scale and capabilities of Omnicom Oceania. This investment strengthens the connected  capability model we are building across Omnicom Oceania and further expands our ability to help clients navigate increasingly complex customer and marketing environments,” said Paul.

Ryan Stubna, Chief Creative Officer at CX Lavender, shared, “Joining the Omnicom Oceania  network gives us the opportunity to scale our capability and continue evolving how we help  clients design and deliver connected customer experiences. Our Client Services Director, KaLing Ng, and I are excited to retain our indie energy, backed by a powerhouse network.” 

“There’s a strong alignment in how both businesses think about the future of customer  experience and the growing need for more connected customer journeys. Bringing our specialist capability together with Omnicom Oceania’s broader network creates exciting opportunities for both our team and our clients,” added Stubna.  

CX Lavender has worked with leading Australian brands across financial services, retail, and travel, delivering customer transformation programmes that combine strategy, experience design, and technology.

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The collaboration marks a significant step in Sea’s ambition to embed artificial intelligence across its ecosystem spanning e-commerce, digital financial services, and gaming. It also signals OpenAI’s growing push to integrate its technology into everyday consumer experiences beyond standalone chat interfaces.

Under the new agreement, the Shopee app is now available in ChatGPT for users in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Brazil. 

According to Sea, this makes Shopee the first e-commerce platform of its kind to be accessible across Southeast Asia and Latin America through ChatGPT.

The integration allows users to discover products using natural language prompts. Consumers can ask ChatGPT for gift ideas, travel essentials, fashion inspiration, or help finding niche products, before seamlessly continuing their purchase journey on Shopee.

“Sea has always focused on using technology to improve the lives of consumers and small businesses across our markets,” said Forrest Li, Chairman and CEO of Sea.

“Our strategic partnership with OpenAI reflects a shared commitment to making AI more accessible and meaningful for the communities we serve. By combining OpenAI’s advanced AI capabilities with Sea’s vibrant ecosystem, we hope to deliver more intuitive AI-native experiences for consumers while enabling businesses of all sizes to use AI to grow and stay competitive in the digital economy,” he added.

Beyond consumer discovery, the partnership also targets small businesses operating on Shopee.

Sea plans to introduce ChatGPT for Business to its seller ecosystem, enabling merchants to use AI for tasks such as creating product listings and marketing content, improving customer service workflows, and automating day-to-day operations. 

Eligible sellers will receive trial access, alongside onboarding support, training programmes, and best-practice guides designed to accelerate adoption.

The announcement builds on an existing relationship between the two companies. Since 2025, Sea and OpenAI have worked together to broaden access to ChatGPT through marketing promotions and ShopeeVIP membership benefits.

OpenAI’s Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser said embedding AI into familiar platforms can help users unlock more practical value from the technology.

“Sea has built an extraordinary ecosystem across some of the world’s most dynamic digital markets,” she said.

“By bringing OpenAI’s technology into the products and services people already use, we can make AI more useful and accessible in their everyday lives. This partnership will help more consumers discover new AI-powered experiences, give small businesses practical tools to grow, and enable more people to put AI to work as an operating layer across the company and the broader builder ecosystem.”

The partnership also extends to developer communities. Earlier this year, Sea and OpenAI launched the first regional Codex Hackathon series in Asia Pacific. The initiative kicked off in Singapore in June, attracting more than 1,200 applications and 40 shortlisted teams. Additional hackathons are planned across Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

The latest move underscores a broader shift in how AI is reshaping commerce. As consumers increasingly rely on conversational interfaces to discover products and businesses seek productivity gains through automation, companies are racing to integrate AI directly into the customer journey.

For Sea, the partnership represents another milestone in its evolution into an AI-native business. For OpenAI, it offers a pathway to bring its technology to millions of users across some of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies.

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Covering media strategy, planning, and trading, the appointments of OMD WA, MediaHub, and Initiative position the agencies to support government communications and reinforce Omnicom Oceania’s growing role in the state’s public sector.

Together, the three agencies will form part of the WA Government’s media roster, reflecting the group’s expertise in delivering integrated media solutions backed by data, technology and measurable outcomes.

The appointments also expand Omnicom Oceania’s government portfolio in Western Australia, highlighting the group’s continued investment in public sector communications and its ability to support large-scale campaigns across multiple agencies.

Kristiaan Kroon, CEO of Omnicom Media Australia, said the appointments recognise the strength of the group’s talent and capabilities in the state.

“This is a fantastic result for our agencies and a strong vote of confidence in the breadth and  depth of talent we have across Omnicom Oceania and Omnicom Media in WA. With the addition of MediaHub and OMD WA to the WA Government roster, alongside Initiative, we are further scaling our already significant presence in the state,” explained Kroon. 

Alongside creative agency 303 and independent partner Longreach, Kroon added that the appointments are expected to support a more connected approach across the state.

“This is about a more joined-up, whole-of-government approach, bringing together experienced talent, data and technology to deliver clearer, more accountable outcomes for  Western Australians. It will be a step-change in how we partner with the WA government to drive real impact across services, communications and community engagement,” shared Kroon. 

The latest appointments further reinforce Omnicom Oceania’s position as a trusted partner for government communications while expanding opportunities for collaboration across its media agencies in Western Australia.

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The appointment highlights the growing confidence brands are placing in independent agencies that offer agile thinking, local market understanding and culturally relevant storytelling. 

This also reflects a broader shift in the financial services sector, where marketers are increasingly looking beyond traditional agency networks for creative partners.

Moving forward, Chariot will work alongside CIMB’s brand team to develop creative campaigns that better reflect how people across Malaysia and the wider ASEAN region experience wealth, progress and everyday life.

For Chariot, the win represents a major milestone since the agency was established in 2021, with the firm stating that its entrepreneurial approach and focus on authentic, locally grounded storytelling helped differentiate it during the pitch process.

Adrian Cheah, Managing Director at Chariot, described the appointment as a defining moment for the agency.

“This is a defining moment for Chariot and a testament to what independent agencies can achieve when a client values agility over legacy corporate structures. CIMB is an institution that moves at the speed of ASEAN’s ambitions. Because we are independent, we share that exact same entrepreneurial DNA,” explained Cheah. 

“We understand the grit it takes to build something from the ground up in these markets. We aren’t looking to deliver safe, predictable banking ads; we are here to do the most audacious work of our careers by capturing how people in this region actually interact with wealth and progress,” added Cheah. 

The appointment further strengthens Chariot’s position in Malaysia’s creative industry while signalling growing opportunities for independent agencies to compete for major brand mandates traditionally dominated by global agency networks.

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The partnership, running from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, will establish a local base to support the company’s market entry strategy, helping Wellness Innercell better understand local consumer demand while building relationships with distributors, business partners, and retailers.

As part of the collaboration, the company will conduct market research, identify potential buyers, establish distribution channels, and prepare regulatory requirements to enter the Indonesian market while supporting local marketing and business development efforts.

Surabaya was selected for its role as one of Indonesia’s largest commercial and logistics hubs to provide access to distribution networks and consumer markets across the country’s eastern region, with the local office also facilitating meetings with distributors and importers while evaluating online and offline sales opportunities.

The partnership will support Wellness Innercell’s plans to introduce its flagship joint health supplement brand, JOINT CARE, to Indonesian consumers, aiming to establish the brand as part of everyday wellness and active living beyond just expanding product availability.

Later this year, Wellness Innercell plans to participate in an Indonesian home shopping programme in collaboration with Gyeongsangnam-do Province to introduce the brand directly to consumers through live product demonstrations, preparing for the launch by developing localised marketing materials, product information, buyer proposals, and broadcast content tailored for Indonesian audiences.

According to Wellness Innercell, the Surabaya partnership represents the company’s first major milestone in Indonesia and is expected to pave the way for further collaborations with local partners as it builds a stronger presence in one of Southeast Asia’s largest consumer markets.

The expansion forms part of Wellness Innercell’s broader regional growth strategy as it looks to strengthen the international presence of its healthcare and wellness brands across Asia. 

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The collaboration is designed to help businesses operationalise AI at scale as demand grows for faster, more personalised, and intelligent customer experiences, aiming to move past simple AI pilots to help brands build AI systems that deliver measurable business outcomes across marketing operations, customer engagement, and commerce.

Through the agreement, WPP Enterprise Solutions will combine its engineering and customer experience expertise with AWS’ generative and agentic AI technologies to develop scalable AI solutions for enterprise clients. 

The collaboration also supports growing industry demand for AI-powered marketing, with Gartner forecasting that 60% of brands will use agentic AI to deliver one-to-one customer interactions by 2028.

As part of the collaboration, WPP Enterprise Solutions will expand a portfolio of production-ready offerings built on AWS, including an Amazon Marketing Cloud Centre of Excellence to strengthen audience intelligence and measurement, a Composable Content Engine powered by Amazon Bedrock that enables local teams to create brand-compliant creative assets at scale, and Agentic CX and Commerce Accelerators that help businesses deploy autonomous marketing, personalisation and commerce workflows more quickly.

According to WPP Enterprise Solutions, enterprise clients using its Composable Content Engine have achieved up to a 90% reduction in production time and a 40% reduction in content creation costs, demonstrating how AI can improve operational efficiency while maintaining brand governance.

“This collaboration with AWS is about one thing: helping our clients turn generative and agentic AI from experiments into operating systems for their businesses,” said Jeff Geheb, CEO at WPP Enterprise Solutions. 

“We already build and operate production AI on AWS for the world’s biggest brands. This SCA reinforces the shared commitment, engineering depth, and go-to-market alignment to deliver at even greater scale,” added Geheb. 

The collaboration also highlights how AI is moving from experimentation into everyday business operations, with WPP Enterprise Solutions stating that its engineers will continue building and operating AI systems directly on AWS to help brands integrate generative and agentic AI into customer experiences at enterprise scale.

“WPP Enterprise Solutions engineers build and operate production AI directly on AWS for some of the world’s most recognizable brands, and together we’re scaling a proven model that’s already delivering measurable outcomes for customers,” shared Ruba Borno, Vice President of Global Specialists and Partners at AWS. 

One example is equipment rental company United Rentals, which worked with WPP Enterprise Solutions and AWS to develop Equipment Agent, an AI-powered recommendation solution built on Amazon Bedrock technologies that improved customers’ ability to identify suitable equipment by around 70% during internal testing, with the company now planning to expand additional AI applications across its business.

“With WPP Enterprise Solutions engineering and Amazon Bedrock anchoring it, we have moved generative and agentic AI from ideas to production at the pace our business demands and believe this SCA supports continued development,” said Tony Leopold, Chief Technology & Strategy Officer at United Rentals.

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The deal marks Carro’s entry into Australia and combines the company’s digital automotive marketplace capabilities with CarPlace’s established retail presence. As part of the agreement, Autoleague will remain a strategic shareholder in CarPlace and join Carro as a strategic investor, reinforcing the long-term partnership between the two companies.

Through the collaboration, Carro aims to deliver a more transparent, seamless, and technology-driven experience for both dealers and consumers by introducing its proprietary digital capabilities across vehicle inspections, inventory tracking, asset management, lead management, customer experience, dealer networks, and lifecycle management.

The acquisition also gives Carro an immediate physical presence across Western Australia and Queensland through CarPlace’s showroom network while expanding its wholesale operations from Victoria, with plans to grow wholesale capabilities by serving the Japan-Australia vehicle import corridor.

The move represents another milestone in Carro’s regional growth strategy, extending its operations to eight markets across Asia-Pacific and reinforcing its position as one of the region’s largest multi-country automotive marketplaces.

“We’re really excited about the potential to grow into a leading business in Australia. We believe the market is ripe for a platform like Carro to transform the used car landscape and deliver a better, convenient, more transparent customer experience that is powered by technology and AI,” said Aaron Tan, Co-Founder and CEO of Carro.

“Carro has a track record of partnering with local dealers to support their growth, and we welcome ‘win-win’ partnerships in Australia. We’re confident in our strong Wholesales capabilities, thanks to our presence in Japan which puts us in a very strong position to bring in popular Pre-Owned and Brand New Japanese models that Australians have grown to trust and love,” added Tan. 

“It’s really a fantastic opportunity to partner and be a strategic shareholder in Carro,” shared Dan Kawai, Managing Director and CEO of Autoleague. “We’ve seen Carro’s technology infrastructure, streamlined operations and unwavering commitment to transparency within the industry, and we’re confident in their goal to become a leading player in Australia and the top choice for customers. We’re supportive of Carro’s ambitions in Australia and are committed to working closely together to achieve that.”

By combining CarPlace’s local market expertise with Carro’s technology platform and Autoleague’s automotive network, the partnership aims to modernise Australia’s used car ecosystem while delivering a more efficient and trusted buying and selling experience for customers.

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As the Official Payment Technology Partner of the FIFA World Cup, Visa has integrated AI features, interactive games and photo-based activations to recreate aspects of the tournament experience for visitors, combining digital engagement with on-site entertainment.

The Tap In with Visa Interactive Football Experience Zone features two main components: a photo-taking area and an interactive game zone designed around a “fan-to-player” journey.

Members of The Point who spend HKD200 or more with a Visa card at New Town Plaza (in one or two transactions on the same day) can access the interactive game and AI photo booth experiences. A separate photo zone is open to the public.

The interactive football simulation game allows participants to control a football through obstacle-based challenges and attempt to score within a time limit, testing reaction speed and focus. Upon completion, participants receive a performance rating that is reflected in a personalised football card.

The AI photobooth generates six variations of football-themed player cards, transforming users’ images into star-player-style portraits with different poses, positions and skill ratings. Six card designs rotate weekly, allowing participants to collect multiple versions.

The experience also includes a locker room-themed photo zone that recreates pre- and post-match environments, alongside a display showing FIFA World Cup match schedules.

Visa brand ambassador Vee appears within the activation in a football-inspired look, while the wider setup aims to extend World Cup-related engagement to mall visitors through interactive and digital elements.

Visa has been a FIFA World Cup Official Payment Technology Partner since 2007 and continues to use major sporting events as platforms for consumer engagement through sports- and entertainment-led activations.

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Established in late 2025, V47 Entertainment was created to help brands participate more directly in entertainment ecosystems that consumers actively choose to engage with.

The partnership will enable marketers to create, sponsor and distribute brand-funded entertainment designed specifically for mobile-first audiences, giving brands new ways to connect with consumers through story-led content rather than traditional advertising.

Through the collaboration, VIRTUE Asia and COL Group will develop a range of opportunities including original branded microdramas, sponsorships of existing vertical entertainment properties, and creator-led activations tailored to the viewing habits of audiences across the region.

The move comes as microdrama and short-form storytelling continue to gain momentum globally, particularly in Asia where the region’s top five microdrama apps attracted a combined 150 million monthly active users in February last year, according to an Omdia report. 

For brands, these formats offer new opportunities to engage audiences through narrative-driven content that can generate stronger engagement, higher attention, and more shareable moments compared to traditional digital advertising, reflecting a broader shift towards entertainment-led marketing strategies where brands become part of the content experience rather than interrupting it.

“This partnership gives our clients direct access to one of the most exciting leaders in the category, backed by the regional brand and cultural expertise our team has been building for years. It is a meaningful step forward for the brand-funded entertainment opportunity in South East Asia,” said Lesley John, CEO at VIRTUE Asia.

“Microdrama and vertical storytelling represent one of the fastest-moving shifts in entertainment consumption today, and the partnership with COL allows us to connect brands, creators, platforms and audiences in ways that simply weren’t possible before,” shared David Webster, Chairman of Vault47 Group and V47 Entertainment. 

The collaboration combines VIRTUE Asia’s expertise in culture, brand strategy, and entertainment with COL Group’s experience in developing and scaling microdrama content, particularly through its global platform FlareFlow, which reaches millions of users worldwide with mobile-first narrative entertainment.

Timothy Oh, Flareflow Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager of COL Group, said: “South East Asia is a strategically important market for us, and V47 and VIRTUE Asia bring the brand and commercial capabilities we believe will help unlock its full potential.” 

“We see this partnership as a powerful vehicle to drive our Vertical 2.0 strategy by bringing next-generation, premium brand-funded stories to audiences in the region in a way that respects both the creative craft and the massive commercial opportunity,” added Oh. 

Initially, the partnership will focus on key ASEAN markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, with the first brand campaigns and creative collaborations expected to be announced in the coming months.

As consumer attention continues to shift towards short-form and mobile-first content, the partnership positions both companies to help brands explore new storytelling opportunities within one of the fastest-growing entertainment categories in the region.

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