Tag: PR

Singapore – Weber Shandwick has announced the appointment of Robert Magyar as its new senior advisor to enhance strategic growth in the APAC region. 

Magyar brings over 20 years of experience in healthcare, public affairs, and government relations. Based in Beijing, he has been advising senior executives and industry leaders worldwide, with extensive expertise in China, Indonesia, Japan, Switzerland, and the US. Last year, he was honoured with the Public Affairs Asia/PRCA Gold Standard Award for Professional Excellence.

He also served in senior roles at the Weber Shandwick Tokyo and Beijing offices from 2003 until 2011. 

In his new role, Magyar will collaborate closely with Tyler Kim, APAC CEO, to enhance the agency’s market positioning and client experiences, with a strong focus on healthcare and corporate affairs. 

Kim said, “We are happy to have Robert onboard. His appointment is a step forward in our commitment to delivering superior strategic solutions and accelerating our growth in the region. His extensive leadership experience and strategic vision will be invaluable as we navigate the next phase of our growth across all sectors, with a focus on healthcare and corporate affairs.” 

Speaking on his appointment, Magyar also commented, “The communications industry is going through an accelerated expansion in the APAC region, and strategic solutions are becoming increasingly crucial in shaping reputation and stakeholder perceptions. Weber Shandwick is well aware of these opportunities, and I am excited to support them in building strong relationships and staying ahead of the curve.” 

Singapore – Asian PR firm Bloomingdale Public Relations Pte Ltd. has recently acquired the PR mandate for global cheese brand Bel Group in the dynamic markets of Southeast Asia.

Following a successful collaboration with the company in India, where Bloomingdale played a pivotal role in creating and elevating the brand image, the firm will now take charge of all public relations activities for Bel Group in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

This collaboration showcases a robust Southeast Asia focus for Bloomingdale PR, thereby establishing a solid foothold in the Southeast Asia region and leveraging Bloomingdale PR’s extensive experience in public relations and influencer marketing.

One of the recent milestones of this partnership was Bloomingdale’s role in announcing Bel’s innovative brand initiative- the launch of Indonesia’s first cheese factory for kids – the Belcube Cheese Factory at Youreka Kids Farm, Jakarta. The successful event witnessed many influencer and PR activities meticulously orchestrated by Bloomingdale, showcasing the firm’s prowess in creating compelling narratives and impactful brand experiences across the APAC region.

Sharing her thoughts on the announcement, Diana Fernandes, founder and CEO of Bloomingdale PR, said, “We are thrilled to continue our journey with Bel Group in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Our previous collaboration in India was a testament to the synergy between our teams, and we are confident that our strategic approach and creativity will further enhance the brand’s presence. Our shared commitment to innovation and excellence positions us to deliver unparalleled PR services in Southeast Asia.”

Meanwhile, Alamjit Singh Sekhon, general manager, Bel Group Southeast Asia, remarked, “We are excited to collaborate with Bloomingdale PR yet again as we expand our presence in the Southeast Asia region. Bloomingdale played a pivotal role in the growth of The Laughing Cow brand in India, contributing to the brand’s success and establishing a strong presence.”

“We are confident in their ability to build and strengthen our brand’s awareness across Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Bel Group is committed to providing healthy snacking products that are accessible, delicious, and nutritious products in line with the philosophy of ‘for all for good.’ This partnership signifies a new chapter of growth and engagement for us,” he added.

Singapore – In an effort to bolster their communications and storytelling engine, Singapore-based cloud data platform for decisions Human Managed has recently announced its current partnership with communications agency Milk & Honey PR. 

The collaboration intends to appoint a leadership role for the communication agency in organising their press office activities, thought leadership initiatives as well as fostering its brand awareness. 

This is in line with their mission to revitalise the enterprise service model tailored to the current trends in digital businesses that operate with complex data, siloed technologies and legacy architecture. 

As a platform for decision, Human Managed serves organisations of all sizes such as essential services sectors like finance, healthcare, education and government. They also offer outcome driven services, end-to-end accountability, speed and a cost-effective pay-as-you-go flexibility with its modular Intelligence Decision Action (I.D.E. A) platform. 

Following this significant milestone, Karen Kim, CEO at Human Managed, shared her thoughts on this affiliated appointment, saying “As we enhance our offerings, expand our product features and grow our portfolio of customers, we have an equally ambitious communications goal. We needed a PR partner that can translate our expansive products and services into media and customer-friendly messaging as well as build our communications and storytelling engine.” 

“The Milk & Honey PR team really took the time to understand our business, developed a strategy that will nurture our brand and bring the Human Managed story to life,” she added.

Meanwhile, Meilin Wong, partner and CEO at Milk & Honey PR Singapore, commented, “We’re very excited and proud to be supporting a company that puts innovation and impact front and centre of everything they do. We love that Human Managed is all about empowering their customers do better business, an ethos that aligns well with Milk & Honey’s own.” 

Headquartered in Singapore, the self-funded five-year-old tech start-up currently has a team of over forty employees and offices in the Philippines, India, and Hong Kong.

APAC – Red Havas, a group of merged media agencies, has announced the global launch of ‘SWAY’, an end-to-end influencer marketing service designed to drive authentic, engaging and effective brand conversations through influencers. 

‘SWAY’ by Red Havas works with PR, social and experiential marketing teams to develop creative social-first marketing campaigns with influencers. The development of ‘SWAY’ is in-line with the emerging recognition of influencer marketing on a global scale, with branches in Australia, Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

Moreover, SWAY specialists will also aim to drive the capabilities of influencer marketing at an industry level through annual market-leading trends and insights, creative workshops led by the in-house specialists, and panels with partner talent agents.

James Wright, global CEO of the Red Havas Group and global chairman of the Havas PR Global Collective says that brands are beginning to include influencer marketing in their communication strategies.

“Some even put influencer marketing front and centre, recognizing them as a full-funnel marketing channel. It’s no longer about just a paid transaction. Brands are building long-term relationships with influencers who are advocating their messages and experience. Across the Red Havas Group we have been working in this area for a number of years now and presently are working with more than 100 brands and organisations on their influencer activity, so it’s a natural next step to formalise and focus on this as a global practice,” he added. 

Australia – Creative communications agency one green bean (OGB), has now been added to Taco Bell Australia’s roster of collaborating partners. 

Starting this July 2023, OGB will now be working across influencer, social media and PR projects to support product launches and brand building for Taco Bell Australia. 

As of now, Taco Bell Australia currently has 39 restaurants across the country. The company plans to set up shop in several more locations nationally.

Amber Abbott, managing director at one green bean, said that they are thrilled to provide marketing and advertising support to Taco Bell in Australia. 

“The brand has a cult following around the world and we’re looking forward to earning attention among an Aussie audience for an adventurous brand,not afraid to do things differently,” she said. 

Speaking about the partnership with ogb, Andrew Howie, chief marketing officer at Taco Bell South Pacific, mentioned, “Since launching in Australia in 2017, we’ve seen steady growth of the Taco Bell brand locally with restaurants opening across QLD, NSW, VIC, and WA. We’re excited to appoint One Green Bean to support us as we enter a new stage of growth in Australia.”

“We know how important it is as a challenger brand in the market to build brand love and an agency like one green bean is perfectly placed to help us do that – whether it’s through Influencer, Social or Earned media,” he added. 

Amsterdam, Netherlands – Global PR network Public Relations Boutiques International (PRBI) will be gathering its member agencies and industry professionals in Milan for its Annual General Meeting from 3 to 6 May 2023. Member agencies of the network to grace the said industry event will be coming from the markets of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and Australia. 

PRBI, which was founded in 2008, boasts a global network of more than 35 independent public relations firms. The principals of each agency are experienced practitioners who have held senior positions in large public relations agencies and/or corporations and now provide hands-on service working directly with clients. 

According to PRBI, the General Meeting for this year will be used as a platform for strategic planning discussions, networking, best practice sharing, and giving the stage to guest speakers who will address issues impacting the communications industry. 

“PRBI’s annual general meeting is a forum where experienced public relations agency principals engage in an energizing exchange of ideas and create stronger relationships among peers,” said Juris Petersons, PRBI president and founder of PR consultancy JazzComm, located in Riga, Latvia. 

Amongst the topics the organisation will take on is the presence of disinformation amongst businesses globally today. Speaking on this subject is Janis Rungulis, an expert in developing awareness-raising campaigns to strengthen societal resilience and respond better to disinformation attacks in the EU and Eastern Neighborhood countries.

One of the leader attendees, Tarunjeet Rattan, managing partner of India-based Nucleus PR, commented, “The PRBI annual meets are a treasure trove [of] knowledge that enable independent boutique agencies get an edge and stay ahead of the curve. I am looking forward to all the sessions. I will also be moderating the discussion on disinformation campaigns and gain an insight on how PR teams from different countries handle it on a local and global level.”

During the Annual General Meeting, Taru Nikulainen of the Finish agency Brunnen Communications will be delivering an update on the PRBI ™ Barometer, an annual survey of agency owners across the globe to help determine what decision-makers are expecting from their agency partners thereby helping PRBI members gain a better understanding of trending PR Service needs that clients are planning to invest in. 

PRBI members that will also be speaking during the event include Serap Durak of Pozitif PR (Istanbul, Turkey) who will be discussing challenges and trends for PR in Turkey; Ester Riisapp of PR Partner (Tallinn, Estonia) to present on the risk assessment cards for clients; and David Ball of Ball Consulting Group (Boston, MA, USA) to discuss crisis communication in the modern world. 

Australia – WiredCo., an Australia-based advertising agency, recently announced the launch of their new digital PR offering named WireCast.

WireCast is developed by Founder and Managing Director Angela Hampton and Partner David Kennedy-Cosgrove, as well as Managing Partner and co-owner Michelle Hampton. 

With WireCast, the company aims to spotlight earned media in top-table strategy discussions. 

“Our digital campaigns get supercharged whenever earned media is integrated so we’ve created an offering that not only amplifies what we already do but also elevates PR to play a much more meaningful role,” said Michelle.

On what inspired her to develop WireCast, Michelle said, “WireCast is our optimised earned media offering that’s measurable. We created it to try and tackle what’s held the industry back from the same level of growth and progression as other marketing disciplines.”

She added, “Measurement is still a big issue when it comes to earned media and many marketers continue to view it as a single channel, single purpose ‘add-on tool’.”

Moreover, WiredCo. wants to elevate earned media for brands by emphasizing WireCast’s competitive advantage of tapping into the smarts of performance marketing and SEO systems.

“So by addressing what’s been holding earned media back, there’s enormous potential for significant growth,” Michelle added.

WiredCo., previously known as The Wired Agency, is an award-winning digital and creative agency that offers tailored media experiences, content creation, and consumer research services, amongst others.

Manila, Philippines – As part of realme Philippines’ new strategy, the consumer electronics company has formally announced its partnership with FUSE, the PR agency under Omnicom Media Group – Philippines, to be its new PR agency of record. This partnership aims to further strengthen the brand’s top position in the local market. 

The adjustment to the PR agency will be supporting realme and narzo as two independent brands moving forward. With this, another agency will be reaching out to media partners for all narzo Philippines concerns. 

“We ask for everyone’s full cooperation with the changes so that we may have a smooth transition for all parties involved. For any clarifications and concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to the concerned agencies,” said realme Philippines, in a formal statement.

Australia – Global public relations agency Red Havas has been appointed by Australia’s mobile ordering and payment platform, me&u, to handle its global communications program including consumer, trade, and brand building.

The remit will see Red Havas managing the platform’s PR services and media relations across B2B and B2C in Australia, the UK, and the USA. Red Havas will be driving brand fame, asserting me&u as the global leader of at-table ordering innovation, and showcasing the brand’s ongoing commitment as an ally to the hospitality industry.

Katrina Barry, me&u’s CEO, noted that Red Havas is an impressive team, an agency with a global footprint and experience in both the corporate and consumer comms space.

“Their first response hit the mark and there were real synergies with their strategic and creative thinking and me&u’s vision – so much so that we awarded them the business and moved straight into execution. We look forward to working with Red Havas to shake up the hospitality industry in a meaningful way,” said Barry.

Meanwhile, Alex Bryant, Red Havas’ executive director, shared that me&u is a game-changer for the hospitality industry, born out of a need to bring much-needed disruption to the sector.

“The brand is building a better future for hospitality to inspire extraordinary memories and we are excited to tell that story in a meaningful way, cementing me&u as the category leader and hospitality innovator,” said Bryant.

In April 2022, Red Havas has expanded its presence in the strategic corporate communications space following the launch of a dedicated corporate affairs practice. With this, the company has named the 20-year industry veteran Matt Thomas as the new executive director of corporate affairs.

Singapore – PR & marketing agency Bud Communications has expanded its presence in the Southeast Asian region by designating new appointments across its PR and digital content in Singapore, Jakarta, and Sydney.

The first appointment is Sherawaye Hagger (left of the banner picture), the agency’s new client director, and will report to Oliver Budgen (right of the banner picture), founder and managing director of Bud Communications. Prior to joining the agency, she had more than 15 years of integrated communication background and was a former practice director of H+K Strategies Singapore.

The agency has also appointed a new account executive, Virginie Cosentino, and a new account manager Maina Harjani, who was a former managing editor of Indonesia Tatler. Cosentino will overlook the agency’s digital offering, while Harjani will overlook the agency’s regional capability and editorial and content offering.

Stuart Edwards is the agency’s newly-included non-executive director, and will advise on operations and business growth and receive reports from the three aforementioned hires. Prior to joining Bud Communications, Stuart was the founding partner of the business advisory service Edwards & Cowas, was previously COO of Edelman APACMEA, and managing director and part-owner at MullenLowe Profero which was acquired by IPG in 2014. 

“As we dust ourselves off from a turbulent year that has rocked tech companies around the world, the response we’ve seen from our clients vindicates Bud’s journey in becoming Asia Pacific’s leading PR agency for challenger tech brands,” said Budgen.

He also added, “COVID-19 has shown us that as tech companies adapt to fit a changing consumer landscape, they’re increasingly looking for agile, kinetic partners that can offer impactful communications that deliver true strategic value. As a fresh, challenger agency we are extremely proud of how far we have come this year and as 2021 approaches we’re committed to continuing the momentum into the new year.”

Bud Communications’ team and regional expansion have been an effect of recent clients that they are working on, including OTT-revenue management platform, Evergent, electronics e-commerce company RS Components, entertainment marketing agency Culture Group, media intelligence company CARMA ASIA, and cybersecurity firm, White Ops.