Tag: Precious communications

Manila, Philippines – PRecious Communications, an integrated communications agency with traditional and digital capabilities, has announced that it is establishing local operations in the Philippines, as part of the agency’s Greater Southeast Asia expansion strategy. To drive its Philippine expansion, the agency has appointed Paolo Alba as client service director and country lead to drive the growth and manage operations of PRecious in the Philippines.

In the Philippines, PRecious represents Asia’s loyalty and data-focused marketing platform Society Pass, global trend forecasting company WGSN, a regional cloud-based anti-money laundering monitoring software, and more emerging companies in the fintech, insurtech, healthtech, and startup industries, to which the agency wants to bring more value to.

Lars Voedisch, MD and founder of PRecious Communications, shared, “Over the last years, we have been aggressively strengthening our presence across the region to better complement our clients’ marketing strategies in SEA. Building on this momentum, we are expanding to the Philippines to extend the same brand of strategic communications support to local and foreign brands looking to strengthen their presence across the Philippines.”

Concurrently, Prayaank Gupta, VP for growth and innovation of PRecious Communications, said, “Most of our partners in SEA have identified the Philippines as a strong emerging market and key growth area for tech-enabled industries. And with the local economy projected to grow in the next two years, PRecious Communications’ entrance reaffirms our commitment to be a strategic and responsive partner for clients as they strengthen their presence across the region.”

Alba is a well-rounded strategic communicator with over nine years of experience in corporate branding, reputation management, consumer influence, and crisis management. Throughout his tenure in Fleishman Hillard and Ogilvy, he provided strategic counsel for companies across multiple sectors and industries.

Apart from leading the growth of PRecious in the Philippines, Alba often provides strategic counsel on the agency’s corporate, tech, and consumer practices. A certified crisis manager, Alba runs crisis workshops across the markets and provides counsel on issues and reputation management initiatives.

On his appointment, Alba said, “I have been working alongside Voedisch and Gupta to identify strategic ways to support our clients in the region as they grow their businesses in this market. Now that we have established our local operations and have a dedicated team in the Philippines, we can start bringing the same value to companies that wish to expand across SEA.”

In the next three months, Alba will be focused on building relationships with key stakeholders, business development initiatives with potential partners, and recruitment of top talent. By year-end, Alba envisions doubling the current Philippine headcount and bringing more value to local and regional players in the fintech, insurtech, healthtech, and startup industries.

PRecious Communications actively plans and executes client communications programmes across Asia Pacific nations. In 2019, the agency joined the GlobalCom PR Network, an association of 80 independent PR agencies in over 100 countries worldwide, serving as its SEA representative.

Singapore – Integrated communications agency PRecious Communications has announced a number of key regional appointments aimed at strengthening its presence in the Southeast Asia region. The new appointments are namely Daniel Tan as associate director of PRecious Sparks, John Paul Palileo as creative director, and Georg Ackermann as content lead. 

In his role, Tan counsels a range of startup, VC and accelerator accounts around corporate communications, financial communications and integrated communications initiatives, while lending strategic support to other practices. A former journalist who has written for numerous regional publications, Tan specializes in media relations and strategic communications across APAC.

Meanwhile, Palileo is a strategic brand builder and visual storyteller with a solid background in outcome-driven design across markets. He has more than a decade of experience across various advertising and marketing agencies in Southeast Asia, and has led teams in designing creative solutions and shaping brand personas through visual content.

Ackermann, meanwhile, has worked nearly two decades with leading media organisations in Europe and Asia. Most recently, he has been a managing editor at KrASIA, covering the startup and tech ecosystem in Southeast Asia.

Prayaank Gupta, vice president for growth and innovation at PRecious Communications said, “With more brands trying to get their marketing, communications and content mix right across Southeast Asia, we’re seeing a greater need to tailor our approach and offerings and offer counsel beyond our core offerings. Our investment in hiring and developing talent enables us to not only better seize opportunities, but also provides us with more ways to delight our clients by deepening our collaborative efforts.”

PRecious Communications actively plans and executes client communications programs across Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Singapore – SEEK Asia, the parent company of jobs platforms JobStreet and JobsDB has rolled out its pan-regional omnichannel campaign for Asia that is targeted to empowering job seekers to go after careers they are passionate about.

A prime figure for the campaign is its TVC that depicts workers encouraging job-seekers to find work that matters to them, whether to save lives, design for fashion, explore new things, or discover future technologies. All of the TVCs, localized for their respective markets, end with the campaign’s mantra and name ‘Let’s Get to Work’.

The inspiration for the campaign stems from the fact that the pandemic has changed people’s attitudes towards their jobs, with many re-evaluating where and how they want to work and the kind of work they want to do. This has led to the emerging trend known as the “Great Resignation”, a term coined by associate professor of management at Texas A&M University Anthony Klotz, which explains why even experienced job seekers are choosing to leave their current careers in the search of something more meaningful.

The campaign is made possible by the direction of acclaimed Manila-based director Adrian Calumpang and through the creative direction from marketing company McCann Worldwide. As part of the campaign activation, Ogilvy will lead the social drive for the campaign, while PRecious Communications will drive the campaign’s PR.

Speaking about the campaign, Jane Cruz-Walker, chief marketing officer at SEEK Asia who was recently appointed as CMO for SEEK this year, said that the campaign is launched to motivate job seekers to pursue the jobs they love, adding that by providing them with these opportunities, they at SEEK Asia want to be the career partner that will inspire the next generation of workers to be the ‘heroes’ in their own career journey.

“While the pandemic has caused widespread job loss, reduced working hours, and pay cuts, it has also caused many to re-evaluate what they want out of their career. Job seekers’ demands have evolved beyond remuneration — they want a sense of fulfilment, good work-life balance, and career progression — and it is time for companies to adapt to this new world of work,” she stated.

Focusing on the hyperlocal nature of the job market, ‘Let’s Get To Work’ will also feature influencers and key opinion leaders will be used across the region — including Singaporean actress Sharon Au, Malaysian stand-up comedian Harith Iskander, Indonesian vlogger Gerry Girianza, Filipino actor and chef Marvin Agustin, Thai musician Manassavee, and Hong Kong fitness entrepreneur Charlz Ng.

Additional activities will also be introduced to get local job seekers excited, including Roro Jonggrang in Indonesia. This hyperlocal campaign will use the popular Javanese legend to tell the story of love and betrayal, and contrast this with how finding a job with SEEK Asia can be easy and drama-free. Said hyperlocal campaign for Indonesia is directed by Ben Wee, a freelance film director and cinematographer that has worked on multiple projects locally, including advertisements for Google and Indomie.

Meanwhile, Peter Bithos, CEO at SEEK Asia, commented that through their campaign, they hope to be able to better engage with and inspire job seekers to find jobs that are meaningful to them. He added that with their appeal to job seekers, this will also allow them to get more employers on the platform looking for quality talent, allowing an ‘explosion’ of opportunities. 

“Let’s Get To Work is an integral part of SEEK Asia’s commitment to job seekers and employers, and this is just the beginning of our exciting developments and plans,” Bithos stated.

He further added, “SEEK Asia is the biggest and most trusted jobs board in Southeast Asia. Our ambition is to grow fourfold in the next five years and to expand our platform beyond what people have come to know and love us for today. We are strengthening our existing business by making big investments in ​​people, innovation, and technology.”

Germany – PR company GlobalCom PR Network (GCPR), an alliance of 80 public relations agencies in more than 100 countries, has appointed communications firm Interprose’s CEO Vivian Kelly, and Singapore-based PR company PRecious Communications’ Managing Director Lars Voedisch, as its newest members of the board, with both bearing the title managing director.

They will join GCPR founder Ralf Hartmann and Richard Merrin, managing director of UK-based PR firm Spreckley, on the GlobalCom board of directors to provide strategic direction for the growing GCPR network. 

GCPR provides clients with a worldwide network of independent PR agencies offering services on crisis communications, media relations, analyst relations as well as influencer marketing and SEO PR. Its PR partners boast of expertise in a slew of verticals such as consumer electronics and lifestyle, financial services, fintech, and also healthcare and IT.

Both Kelly and Voedisch carry with them decades of experience in their field. Kelly has been specifically well-versed in working with tech companies. She founded Interprose in 1998, which provides strategic communications among global B2B tech innovators. In addition, Kelly has been an active advocate for technology companies promoting diversity and inclusion via providing opportunities for brand ambassadors of all backgrounds to serve as spokespeople and thought leaders. 

Meanwhile, Voedisch is known for growing, managing and defending leading brands’ reputations. He has been with PRecious Communications for eight years, having provided strategic communications counsel to over 300 startups across APAC, which includes 15 unicorns as well as enterprises, lifestyle brands, and government agencies. His firm has been honored with multiple industry accolades including the Independent Agency Head of the Year award at the 2019 Marketing Talent Awards. 

Commenting on the appointment, Hartmann said, “We live in a decentralized world, and companies are looking for trusted partners who understand their business, and can scale as they expand into new markets.”

“Our clients are assured of the best, most cost-effective approach to multi-market PR, from experts in their field. Having Vivian and Lars join the board, gives our clients a more comprehensive global view on new markets and how best to penetrate them from an awareness building perspective,” he added.