Tag: Partnership

India – Wunderman Thompson India expands its client roster after winning the brand building mandate of Tata Astrum Super, a brand of hot rolled sheets from Tata Steel – a company which is associated with the agency for more than 90 years. 

Within the long-term partnership, Wunderman Thompson India has been working on brand-building projects for Tata Steel Corporate, and other retail brands like Tata Tiscon, Tata Shaktee, Tata Kosh, Tata Pravesh, and Tata Wiron.

In the new mandate, Wunderman Thompson India will help Tata Astrum Super brand in building a competitive edge so it can command a premium over branded & unorganized players, forge bonds with channel partners, and connect with end users. The agency will also help in maintaining the brand’s promise to resonate with both fabricators and end users.

Vijay Jacob Parakkal, senior vice president & managing partner at Wunderman Thompson Kolkata, said that they are pleased to have Tata Astrum Super into the Wunderman Thompson brand family, and they are confident in giving justice to the new mandate that they will handle.

Earlier this year, Wunderman Thompson India also bagged the strategy and creative remit of Czech automobile brand ŠKODA.

Sydney, Australia – Independent technology company PubMatic, in partnership with Proximic by Comscore, a leading provider of addressable programmatic targeting, has launched an ID-less targeting solution which will help marketers and media companies to propel incremental reach and performance at scale without using IDs.

Proximic’s content targeting solutions, which are powered by a contextual natural language processing engine and intelligent categorization technology, will be integrated to PubMatic’s platform to make it available for all media buyers. This will provide privacy-first access to market-leading data and insights to enhance the processes of packaging and transacting inventory and data.

The integration will also allow PubMatic’s clients to maximise new targeting options to reach key audiences in premium, brand-safe environments across desktop, mobile, and connected TV.

Brandon Lee, director of addressability for APAC at PubMatic, said that the company is committed to providing advertising solutions that deliver results. Its partnership with Proximic will help them offer addressable audiences, wider reach, and better performance to clients.

Meanwhile, Jessica Trainor, head of partnerships at Proximic by Comscore, said that their team is excited to partner with PubMatic to make predictive audiences easily accessible for targeting on the sell-side.

“This partnership offers buyers access to ID-less audiences that can be applied to private marketplaces to help close the addressability gap left by the many compounding factors driving signal loss in our industry,” Trainor added.

PubMatic helps digital content creators across the internet in controlling access to their inventory and increase their monetization by enabling marketers to drive return on investment and reach addressable audiences across ad formats and devices.

Singapore – Full-service media agency Mindshare and partnership management platform impact.com have both announced strengthening their partnership to continue developing the affiliate and partnerships industry in the Asia-Pacific region. 

With both teams running local operations in key markets like Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and Japan, they are now able to provide influencer and content expertise as a unique value-add to clients beyond traditional online advertising channels.

Mindshare was also the first official, fully certified agency for impact.com across Asia Pacific. All APAC members of Mindshare’s specialised affiliate marketing unit underwent intensive training completing impact.com’s Partnerships Experience Academy (PXA), with online courses covering industry fundamentals and advanced product training to continue sharpening their skills and expertise on the channel to best serve their clients.

For Mark Turner, head of affiliate at Mindshare and GroupM APAC, as the affiliate channel and ecosystem prevails as a thriving growth opportunity for brands in the region, they have seen exponential growth.

“We’ve seen exponential growth, having gone from a specialist capability in Neo Media World serving two of Neo’s largest global brands to a service that is now embedded in Mindshare and engaged across the entirety of GroupM on a multitude of brands and markets. GroupM and impact.com’s collaboration brings together a world class partnership technology with the only APAC-wide and most established partnership agency. It is an extremely harmonious relationship which we greatly value and look forward to deepening our engagement,” Turner said.

Meanwhile, Antoine Gross, general manager for Southeast Asia at impact.com, commented that their mission as a company is to transform the way businesses are able to create, manage, scale and optimise an ecosystem of partnerships, creating a new customer acquisition channel for brands and expanding their marketing capabilities. 

“We’re delighted to deepen our relationship with Mindshare & GroupM APAC, as such partnerships allow us to supercharge our growth in Asia and in turn support more brands at a time when the online advertising landscape continues to evolve and create new challenges and opportunities for marketers,” Gross said.

Bangkok, Thailand – Thai media corporation T&B Media Global, in partnership with digital product company Two Bulls/DEPT®, has launched Translucia website, a metaverse project that combines interconnected multiverses to provide a space for users, creators, and businesses in accessing its products and services.

The platform is also built to promote prosperity and equity of access to all digital citizens, regardless of background whilst aiming to make Web3 and metaverse available to the public in an accessible and engaging way. 

The launching also marks the first milestone of the partnership between T&B Media and Two Bulls/DEPT® which was kickstarted last year. 

Jason O’Donnell, managing director at Two Bulls/DEPT® said that they are thrilled to be a part of the collaboration and development of Translucia Metaverse, whilst adding that it has the ability to change the way people engage.

James Kane, founder & CEO at Two Bulls/DEPT® added, “We’re proud to have found a partner in T&B Global that shares both our values and beliefs that with technology, we can create a better tomorrow. There’s immense opportunity to lead in the metaverse space right now, and we’re glad to see that Translucia is taking charge without losing sight of their values and the greater good for society.”

Other international partners for this project include Dogstudio/DEPT® for video creation, Accenture Singapore for copy and translations, Blackflame China for concept art, Sunovatech India for 3D assets, and Pellartech for Blockchain.

Singapore – Just right on time for International Women’s Day, global PR and social media agency W Communications has announced that it has sealed a partnership with Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO), the national coordinating body of women’s organisations in Singapore, to manage its corporate communications, community outreach, and engagement programmes.

The agency’s mandate will also include supporting SCWO in redefining its core narratives to further introduce itself as the national coordinating body of women’s organisations in the country.

Moreover, the said partnership goes under the agency’s efforts to boost its portfolio of clients in the social impact sector.

Jolin Ng, general manager at W in Singapore, said that the agency gives importance to equity, therefore, it works with organisations like SCWO to fulfill its commitment towards such causes and support the organisation’s plan of impacting the lives of women and society.

Koh Yan Ping, chief executive officer at SCWO, commented, “We wanted a PR partner who truly understood the intent behind the impact we are making towards the cause and enables us to better engage stakeholders from all walks of life. W stood out with their understanding of our objectives, excellent media relations and of course, strength in corporate storytelling.”

Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations boasts more than 60 member organisations representing over 600,000 women in the country. It provides opportunities, platforms, and services to empower and support Singaporean women. 

Earlier this year, W Communications has also been tapped by food company Deliveroo to manage its corporate and consumer communications.

Sydney, Australia – After a hotly contested pitch, media agency Initiative has retained its media business remit for energy networks owner Jemena Limited, extending a 10-year relationship with the brand. The win also comes with Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS), a media-fueled content practice of Mediabrands, expanding its creative remit for the same brand.

Initiative will be responsible for all national and local broadcast media buying, print, outdoor, radio, cinema, digital, search, social and addressable, and other media buying such as strategic and communication design responsibilities. Meanwhile, MBCS will handle all creative and production services and executions.

Melissa Fein, CEO of Initiative said that she is thrilled in re-signing a valued long-term partner. She also added that her team is energised in increasing Jemena’s customer base as it expands the network across regional and urban centres throughout New South Wales.

Fein added, “Jemena walks our talk; they are passionate about their customers, ambitious in their plans to decarbonise their networks and totally committed to a sustainable future, all traits Initiative values deeply. And our relationship has just got better with MBCS now on board, they’re an incredibly talented team and our cross-agency collaboration will help us continue to elevate the outstanding work we do on Jemena.”

Retaining its creative remit, Olivia Warren, managing director of MBCS expressed, “Jemena is a fascinating business with so much creative potential. Potential that is greater unlocked by having creative and media harmoniously working together under one roof. It makes collaboration easier, encourages new and gutsy perspectives and ultimately produces world class results for our clients. We can’t wait to get started.”

Meanwhile, Sandra Centofanti, head of strategy & marketing at Jemena Networks added, “Year-on-year Initiative brings fresh, exciting media thinking to the table; they understand our business intimately and deliver consistently strong results. We’re pleased to expand this relationship and onboard MBCS as our creative partners. Their connected approach to creativity and energy for our business was magnetic and we look forward to creating big things together.”

Hong Kong – Hong-Kong based international hotel group, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, has named Forsman & Bodenfors as its global brand agency. Forsman & Bodenfors will partner with media agency Assembly to deliver an integrated offering of brand, design, social, performance marketing, and media services. 

The appointment comes after a 4-month pitch process which was led by client-agency marketing consultancy AAR Group out of London. The remit was made to support Mandarin Oriental’s future expansion of the business and the evolution of its brand to meet the evolving needs of the luxury consumer. 

The global creative collective Forsman & Bodenfors will work with Mandarin Oriental’s brand and marketing team to develop a new brand strategy and approach. 

London advertising which was the one who pioneered the group’s star-studded ‘I’m a Fan’ campaign will continue to support celebrity management and its current campaign commitments. Launched in 1999, the ‘I’m a fan’ campaign features international celebrities who regularly stay at the group’s hotels and are considered ‘true fans’ of Mandarin Oriental.

Joanna Flint, chief commercial officer of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group said, “Forsman & Bodenfors challenged our thinking throughout the process, and their integrated approach alongside Assembly was seamless and impressive. We are really excited to see what comes next.”

Toby Southgate, global CEO of Forsman & Bodenfors added, “Our mission as a business is to make ‘ideas that change things’ and the Mandarin Oriental business has a bold and inspirational vision for their future. We have been enthused about this opportunity from the very start and we wanted to show every step of the way that we are the right partner for this business. On behalf of Forsman & Bodenfors, and Assembly, we’re delighted to be taking these steps together with our new partners.”

Forsman & Bodenfors and Assembly are both under the Stagwell Group of companies.

Singapore – As part of expanding their partnership in the APAC region, customer engagement platform Twilio and cloud communication AI provider Seasalt.ai released SeaX, a GTM bundle for Twilio Flex targeted at helping businesses streamline omnichannel communications.

The solution is also expected to streamline the rollout of a complete contact centre for multinational businesses that need to launch solutions in many countries or across multiple geographies and timezones like Southeast Asia, Europe, or different states in the U.S.

SeaX also includes Twilio Flex plugins that will address common contact centre requirements while keeping customization flexibility.

This also supports omnichannel messaging to webchat, SMS, Messenger, WhatsApp, Line, and Google Business Messages, amongst others. SeaX also allows integration with common CRM software such as Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Its customers have likewise reported time and cost savings to deploy all services to production and get agents on calls in less than 10 days.

“We’re excited about the partnership between Twilio and Seasalt.ai to bring SeaX to the market. The launch of this bundle – which leverages Twilio Flex – will empower organizations to build a programmable contact center platform that allows them to build customer engagement applications that fit their business,” said Frankco Shum, director of APJ Flex Partners at Twilio.

J Arnold & Associates’ Principal Jon Arnold also said, “Seasalt AI understands the importance of bringing together conversational AI and the multichannel contact center into the same experience. Twilio has been working with the in-house developers of businesses large and small for many years, helping them create customized customer and agent experiences.”

“SeaX is a way to quickly get Twilio Flex up and running out of the box out of the box and also allows for deep customization,” he added.

Xuchen Yao, CEO of Seasalt.ai, also commented, “The swift collaboration between Twilio and Seasalt.ai greatly accelerated customer’s contact center operations in the APJ region. Most customers wanted an operational contact center ‘yesterday’, and we delighted them with a launching date ‘next week’. This quick launch bundle is well adapted to the fast-paced business demand in APJ.” 

Twilio has also previously launched Twilio Live, a solution that allows businesses to integrate audio and video live streaming solutions into their applications.

New York, USA – Samsung-owned audio electronics company HARMAN International has appointed Havas Group to be its global agency of record across all its brands and territories. 

Under the new partnership, Havas Group will be responsible for the integrated marketing solutions across HARMAN’s businesses and brands, including the consumer lifestyle brand JBL, home audio systems brand Harman Kardon, and HARMAN’s B2B products, services, and technology solutions for automakers and enterprise customers globally.

Havas Group will be delivering a global and fully integrated solution that brings together brand strategy, creative, content, media, and production, as well as selective support in social media and influencer marketing. The team will be working across regional hubs for the Americas, Europe, and Asia, as well as through dedicated teams in key markets.

For the remit, Havas Group taps its proven integrated Village approach. The mandate especially includes bringing the JBL brand to the next level of consumer activation.

John Livanos, HARMAN’s vice president of brand strategy and consumer insights, shared that HARMAN’s marketing team is strengthening their operational model and building upon the foundational principles of insights, automation, integration, measurement, and accountability that will unlock exponential business growth. 

“Havas will be a central partner in this growth journey. We’re excited to build the solutions we need together and know that Havas is as invested in our success as we are,” said Livanos.

Meanwhile, Yannick Bollore, Havas Group’s chairman and CEO, commented. “We’re thrilled to start this new and exciting partnership with HARMAN. At Havas, we combine agility and global reach, making us a brilliant option for a growth business like HARMAN with huge ambition. It’s our collaborative spirit brought to life and a great opportunity for us to deliver meaningful growth together.”

Sydney, Australia – Marketing agency M&C Saatchi has been appointed as the social agency of Baiada, a private company that produces poultry products. This will see the agency responsible for managing its brands’, Lilydale and Steggles, social activity.

The appointment by Baiada also further builds on M&C Saatchi’s social portfolio, having been appointed Woolworths’ paid social agency in July.

“We’re on a mission to accelerate brand growth. M&C Saatchi, as our lead creative agency, is well placed [on integrating] ‘social’ as part of their remit to give us a holistic creative solution,” said Yash Gandhi, Baiada’s head of marketing.

Meanwhile, Sian Cook, managing director at M&C Saatchi, commented, “Baiada are a brilliant and longstanding partner we’re proud to have created lots of great work with. So, we’re thrilled to extend that partnership and supercharge social for Steggles and Lilydale.”

Earlier this year, M&C Saatchi Sydney announced the additions to its creative team, namely Julian Lock, the new craft designer, Billie Gurr and Jake Rowland, the new junior art directors, and William Campion and Claire Kirby, the new junior copywriters.