Tag: promotions

Sydney, Australia – Publicis Media’s ROI agency Zenith in Australia has promoted Jonny Cordony, former general manager, to the new role of managing director at Zenith Sydney. 

The appointment will see Cordony leading the brand’s vision for the Sydney office, developing high-performing teams, and driving strategic partnerships and growth outcomes for clients.

Prior to his new role, Cordony has previously worked as the national communications planning director for Zenith, and thereafter, became the Sydney general manager of the agency for almost three years. Before joining Zenith, Cordony has held group business director roles at various agencies, including media agency Bohemia Group and dentsu in Hong Kong.

Commenting on his promotion, Cordony said, “I am truly humbled by the opportunity to continue my progression in such a dynamic industry and business. From starting out as an account coordinator all those years ago to taking on such a hugely fulfilling, challenging and exciting role, I’d like to thank our amazing talent, clients, and strategic partners for all their support and trust. I am proud of our continued momentum at Zenith and I look forward to continually challenging ourselves as a business in 2021.”

Meanwhile, Nickie Scriven, the CEO of Zenith Australia, shared, “I am so thrilled to announce Jonny’s promotion to the newly-created role of Managing Director, Sydney. The expansion of his remit is a testament to his strong leadership of our Sydney office, people, clients, and new business pitches. Jonny is a key member of Zenith’s Executive Leadership Team in Australia and I look forward to his ongoing contributions to the agency in this next stage of his career.”

Sydney, Australia – The Australian arm of out-of-home (OOH) advertising company JCDecaux has announced a new programmatic offering across its clients, in which the offering will be supported by the company’s newest hires and appointments.

The new programmatic offering called ‘JCDecauxPROGRAMMATIC’ will offer brands access to OOH with control and flexibility. Advertisers and agencies can execute and optimize campaigns in real time, with the company guaranteeing supply for programmatic advertisers, setting aside at least 5% of its digital networks to be published via its exclusive supply side platform (SSP), VIOOH.

JCDecaux’s sights are set on programmatic making up 2% to 4% of digital revenues in 2021 and 15% by 2023.

“Programmatic out-of-home is now part of the broader digital universe, sitting alongside programmatic online in omnichannel buying platforms. This gives us an opportunity to take a share of the US$9.5B invested in digital media in Australia each year,” said Steve O’Connor, CEO of JCDecaux ANZ.

As part of the wider programmatic offering, JCDecaux Australia has also announced new appointees namely Cassandra Cameron, who has been promoted into the expanded role of executive general manager, revenue strategy and operations; Brad Palmer as national programmatic director; and Kasey Climpson as programmatic operations manager.

Prior to their new positions, Cameron has worked with media company APN Outdoor as national training director and as a member of the DOOH council of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Meanwhile, Palmer has worked as the national programmatic manager at both digital publisher Allure Media and youth media group Pedestrian Group, and Climpson has worked with APN Outdoor as well as campaign delivery executive.

“Programmatic out-of-home used to be just an idea, now it’s a reality and we are excited to be the pioneers in Australia. Our business is primed and ready to change the conversation, giving advertisers a solution for buying out-of-home that’s as easy, and as sophisticated, as web or mobile audience buying. By reducing operational barriers, we anticipate a range of new advertisers will leverage the power of this valuable channel,” Cameron stated.

In regards to their appointments, O’Connor said that these changes align the talent’s organization’s aim to deliver on their business strategy.

“Our unique programmatic offering changes the way advertisers can plan and transact out-of-home and reflects our strong commitment to growing the Out-of-Home channel and leading through change,” O’Connor stated.

“Today, more than ever, our clients look to us to understand the future, and the future is now. Advertisers can be confident that when they plan a programmatic Out-of-Home campaign with JCDecaux they will have access to Australia’s most desirable outdoor formats and locations, whenever they choose to be active,” Cameron added.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Annalect, the data technology, and analytics division of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) has promoted Daler Kendzhaev as the head of Annalect Malaysia, following the network’s commitment to bolstering its data and technological capabilities to deliver effective, efficient, and differentiated marketing solutions for its clients

Through his new role, Kendzhaev will be responsible for Annalect’s growth in the market as well as building the division’s new capabilities in Malaysia by overseeing the increased adoption of Omni, OMG’s people-based marketing and insights platform, across OMG Malaysia and its agency brands. He will also spearhead advanced tech initiatives and build on global and regional partnerships while unlocking new local opportunities.

Prior to his new position, he joined media buying company PHD in Malaysia as business director, where he manages portfolios of local, regional, and global brands including HSBC, Volkswagen, LG, Warner Bros and Singapore Airlines. 

“I am truly excited for the opportunity to lead Annalect and to support both PHD and OMD in driving our client’s businesses via advanced data, analytics and tech solutions. With current complexity and changes in the digital media ecosystem, now, more than ever, brands in Malaysia are looking for digital transformation and consultation, and I am thrilled to be part of this journey in helping brands with their digital acceleration,” Kendzhaev said, regarding his appointment.

He will report to Eileen Ooi, chief operating officer at OMG Malaysia.

“Daler has played a critical role in building PHD’s data and technology ambition as well as elevating our clients’ digital maturity. “I am excited to have Daler lead OMG’s Annalect division in Malaysia as we continue providing holistic data-driven solutions for our clients’ marketing needs,” Ooi stated.

Singapore – The Singapore arm of global communications agency Sandpiper Communications welcomes two new appointees being promoted to take charge of the agency’s business operations in the country.

The new appointees are Sarada Chellam, Sandpiper Singapore’s new general manager and Elizabeth Chu, the agency’s deputy general manager. Both will work closely with COO Kelly Johnston, and CEO Emma Smith to drive forward the business in Singapore and across the rest of Southeast Asia.

Chellam has worked previously with the Singapore arm of marketing communications company Ketchem as its senior vice president before joining Sandpiper in 2018 as a director. She specializes in corporate, brand, and crisis communications and provides strategic counsel for clients working across a range of industries including healthcare, technology, travel, and consumer brands. In addition, she brought with her almost 20 years of experience in communications and journalism and has played an integral role in growing Sandpiper’s healthcare practice and digital-first communications offering across the region.

Meanwhile, Chu has been with Sandpiper in Singapore for close to three years and specializes in the financial, technology, and professional services sectors. She set up and grew Sandpiper’s operations in China, spending time between Beijing and Shanghai before returning to Singapore full-time in 2020. She has more than a decade of experience working in corporate communications across Greater China and the Southeast Asia region.

Commenting on their promotions, Chellam said, “I am excited to lead our Singapore office and build on our achievements and growth in recent years. We are fortunate to have hugely supportive clients and an incredible team with a strong entrepreneurial mindset. I look forward to continuing to work closely with them to deliver great work and drive innovation in our industry.”

Meanwhile, Chu commented, “As Singapore strengthens its status as a global business and financial hub, we are well-positioned to serve our clients in this market and to grow the business alongside them. I am honoured to take on this new role, and to support Sarada and the team in continuing to deliver strong results for our clients.”

For Johnston, working with the two appointees has been a privilege, noting that “they are both talented consultants who lead from the front.”

“[They] are strong ambassadors for our culture and values, and have built trusted partnerships with clients. With our Singapore team doubling in size over the past year, their appointments will help drive forward our continued growth and success,” Johnston added.

Singapore – The Asia Pacific arm of global communications agency Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) has announced two key changes in their senior leadership lineup; with Polka Yu appointed as deputy to the APAC president, and Joe Peng as chief digital officer at BCW Asia-Pacific.

Both new appointees will report directly to Matt Stafford, President, BCW Asia-Pacific.

Through her new role, Yu will work alongside Stafford in implementing the next phase of BCW’s three-year growth strategy in APAC built around investments in creative technology, research, and content production; and leveraging the agency’s leadership in reputation management, Asia-based multinationals, and the information and communications technology, consumer and healthcare sectors.

Meanwhile, Peng will spearhead the optimization of the region’s core digital innovation backbone, including establishing new digital platforms of excellence around data analytics and artificial intelligence.

Yu’s background is composed of a decade of work for BCW in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou helping multi-national companies with their China campaigns. After relocating to Hong Kong from mainland China in 2014, she shifted her focus to supporting Chinese companies with their going-global strategies. Since 2018, she has led BCW’s regional integrated communications practice that used insights and creative technology to develop compelling campaigns, many of which have won many prominent industry awards.

On the other hand, Peng has a 15-year work background, which has delivered digital media campaigns for clients across industries including aviation, computer, cosmetics, education, entertainment, finance, semiconductor, and manufacturing. Earlier in his career, Peng led digital innovation at Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe.

Speaking about her appointment, Yu stated, “Our efforts to bring together the best industry talent to tell powerful and precise stories that move people on behalf of our clients, deliver impressive business results despite the COVID-19 disruption, and innovate to set new standards for the future of communications have paid off. But there is still much to do, and I am beyond thrilled to be part of the driving force in this next chapter.”

Meanwhile, Peng commented, “BCW innovated in response to the digital transformation needs of clients brought on by COVID-19 at a scale and speed we never thought possible. Looking to the year ahead, our priority is to maintain the quality and grow the range of BCW’s digital services we deliver at a regional level to help our clients gain a competitive advantage.”

For Stafford, the new roles of Yu and Peng will bring more critical success for BCW, as he has seen the achievement both appointees have shown back when they were mid-level consultants.

“Together with their fantastic teams, they have played critical roles in our company’s evolution to a truly integrated and digital innovation agency in this region. This transformation was a key contributor to the strong growth BCW has delivered in Asia-Pacific over the past three years,” Stafford added.

Singapore – Media company Verizon Media has announced the promotion of former director of content Simon Wheeler as the company’s senior director of content, therefore ramping up the company’s remit in Southeast Asia and India following the success of its Australian-based media brands.

Through his new role, Wheeler will be responsible for editorial strategy in English-language regions including Australia, India, and Southeast Asia. Editorial teams in India and across Southeast Asia will now report to Wheeler under the new structure. 

Prior to his new role, Wheeler has led the editorial strategy in Australia, managing teams to deliver quality content, diversify audiences, and achieve substantial growth. 

According to the company, Australian monthly active users across its editorial brands Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Lifestyle, Yahoo News and Yahoo Sport grew by 8% last year, and logged-in users increasing by 7%.

Commenting on his promotion, Wheeler said, “This is a really exciting time for Verizon Media as we band together with international teams to deliver quality content for our audiences across the wider APAC region. 2020 presented difficult and unexpected challenges for all but we overcame and adapted to interact with our audiences in new ways. I’m excited to be taking on this new role and working closer with our regional counterparts.”

Meanwhile, Marie-Hélène Savard, vice president and head of international consumer at Verizon Media, commented, “We’re thrilled to announce Simon’s promotion to this new role. Having proven success in diversifying and growing audiences over the past few years in Australia, we’re excited to see his expertise in play across the wider region. This new structure will better align our editorial strategy across wider APAC and enable our editorial teams to continue to deliver fantastic content and results for our audiences.” 

Singapore – Meowijuana, a US-based catnip company under the pet supplies brand SmarterPaw, is partnering with Asia-based pet company Polygen Asia to bring the Meowijuana brand to Singapore.

Through the partnership, SmarterPaw will provide Polygen and the retailers that Polygen serves a dynamic assortment of training, marketing and promotional support to help build awareness and drive revenue.

“We look forward to the opportunity to build our brand throughout Singapore and we are excited to step into 2021 with an exclusive distribution partnership with Polygen,” states Scott Ragan, managing partner and CEO of Meowijuana and SmarterPaw. 

Maurice Yeo, manager for Polygen, shares, “At Polygen, we take great pride in sourcing premium pet products from ethical and responsible manufacturers, which makes our partnership with Meowijuana the perfect fit for all.”

Founded in 2016, Meowijuana is present across 4,000 pet retail locations across North America. Meanwhile, Polygen sources products from ethical and responsible manufacturers of premium pet products, which procure from sustainable resources.

Bengaluru, India – Local-based mobile marketing startup Whistle has announced the launch of its PIN code feature in its platform to target hyper-localized marketing strategies for locals.

The feature, which utilizes the country’s Postal Index Number (PIN), allows marketers to specifically target local audiences that may be interested in a marketing campaign using data sets catered to the endpoint PIN code. 

This allows marketers to directly promote their campaign to consumers in the form of promotions like deals, discounts & Diwali bumper offers, introducing new goods & products, offering home delivery service, special opening hours during festivals & occasions, and many others.

“With most businesses being severely impacted by the pandemic across the country, small size firms, entrepreneurs and shop keepers are particularly struggling to stay afloat. Our aim is to empower these enterprises digitally through MarTech; help them overcome such obstacles and grow their businesses by making marketing technology tools available at an affordable cost,” Satya Kiran, CEO of Whistle said.

Launched in 2019, the company has since then ventured into providing martech solutions for its clients.

Manila, Philippines – Filipino ice cream maker The Lost Bread has revealed on Facebook its latest limited-edition flavor – none other than the Filipino well-loved Doughnut flavor Choco Butternut.

The new ice cream selection, which is named “Coco Butternut,” is part of the brand’s Halloween promotions, and customers can get their hands on it for the entire month of November.

Choco Butternut is a staple Filipino favorite, originally coming from donut chain Dunkin Donuts. Other brands such as Mister Donut have adapted its own version, with some Filipino online bakeries recreating their versions making not only doughnuts but even cakes and cookies.

The flavor from The Lost Bread is made with rich chocolate ice cream mixed with doughnut chunks and orange coconut sugar coating throughout the ice cream. It is available in a pint-size for Php 250 and liter size for Php 450.

Founded in 2015, The Lost Bread is known for its innovative and fun ice cream flavors. Some of its iconic flavors include Filipino chocolate Chocnut, brown sugar milk tea, milk and cookies, and Filipino sweet rice Champorado.