Singapore – CXM agency Merkle Singapore, has been reappointed as the exclusive digital marketing agency for Royal Brunei Airlines, following a competitive pitch.
As the incumbent for the past decade, Merkle Singapore will now continue the remit for another three years.
Through the remit, Merkle Singapore will bring its expertise across a full suite of digital marketing services across email and customer relationship management (CRM), media, search engine optimisation (SEO), app store optimisation (ASO), and data and strategy consultation to support Royal Brunei Airlines in using digital to meet the post-pandemic travel demand and boost its digital revenue.
Previously, Merkle Singapore has been responsible for developing Royal Brunei Airlines’ first integrated email platform and integrated analytics platform. Despite global travel halts during the pandemic, Merkle Singapore continued to be a close consultation partner focusing on future-proofing Royal Brunei Airlines’ go-to-market customer strategy for post-pandemic travel surge.
Post-pandemic, Merkle Singapore has been prioritising a refreshed digital strategy to spur bookings on the back of increased regional and global travel demands.
Talking about the remit, Sanchit Mendiratta, managing director, CXM, dentsu Singapore, and chief growth officer, Merkle Southeast Asia, said, “We’re grateful for the trust and partnership of Royal Brunei Airlines as our longest-standing client. Having helped them to build solid data foundations over the past years, this has paved the way for us now to be able to drive data-driven decision-making to optimise their digital marketing effort and move towards hyper-personalisation.”
Meanwhile, Sabirin Hj Abdul Hamid, chief executive officer, Royal Brunei Airlines, commented, “It is always essential for Royal Brunei Airlines to team up with a partner with whom we can jointly shape the future to serve our digital-savvy guests better and maintain a leading position in the highly competitive market environment in which we operate. We trust that Merkle Singapore will take us to new heights by leveraging the power of digital marketing across several aspects with their advanced digital solutions, coupled with their understanding of our business.”
Tag: Remit
Melbourne, Australia – After a highly competitive pitch, Australian digital ad agency Magic has won the media strategy and media buying remit of security software and hardware company Sophos.
As it lead the media strategy in Australian office, Magic’s new office in West Hollywood will serve the Sophos account and effectively launch the Alchemy methodology to US market.
Magic’s revolutionary mathematical media-buying methodology Alchemy is also one of the factors of being chosen by Sophos to handle the remits. Alchemy employs statistical datasets, custom mathematical modelling, and direct mathematical findings to power media buying optimisations and planning.
Jordan Taylor-Bartels, CEO of Magic, said that they are thrilled to be chosen as the agency to manage the media strategies of Sophos, which serves as a testament that their strategies and media methodologies are ahead of traditional network approaches.
Meanwhile, Megan Cabrera, VP of global marketing operations at Sophos, commented, “Magic’s mathematical led media-buying strategy and execution will empower Sophos to understand its customers better and find the most efficient and cutting-edge ways to engage with them. We are excited to see the impact of this partnership on our global marketing strategy.”
Magic is an ad agency that specialises in innovative and data-driven media buying and planning solutions.
Sydney, Australia – After a competitive pitch, media agency Initiative has retained its media remit for distillery company Pernod Ricard to work across the entire brand portfolio including all Pernod’s wine, spirit, whiskey, champagne, RTD and ‘new to world’ brands, focusing on Australia and New Zealand market.
Since its sealed partnership in 2019, Initiative has helped the company to propel into culture, with notable highlights including challenging gender bias through The Glenlivet Break The Rules campaign, tackling regional inequality through Absolut Pride Relay, and launching major brands like Malfy Gin and Altos Tequila into market.
Jo McAlister, managing director at Initiative, said that the agency is excited for another 3 years of partnership with the company to continue its journey in leading ANZ’s competitive alcohol beverage markets across all brand categories.
“This is phenomenal news and we are so proud to continue our partnership. For the past three years we have grown together as brands, collaborating via a truly open and transparent relationship and enjoying an agency/client bond that I’ve rarely seen in market,” McAlister added.
Eric Thomson, CMO at Pernod Ricard Winemakers, added, “The chemistry between Initiative’s team and ours was evident from the start of our relationship three years ago and it has not waned. We are delighted to continue our partnership as we both push forward to produce effective and creative work that connects and engages our customers in an increasingly complex market.”
In January, Initiative also retained its media business remit for energy networks owner Jemena Limited, extending its 10-year relationship with the brand.
Global – After a three-way pitch process, Australia-based advertising agency WiredCo. has been appointed by global FMCG giant Edgewell to craft a campaign for its new brand launch. The remit extends across media, creative, social, earned media, digital and influencer marketing.
The creative campaign, which is set to launch in April, aims to raise the mass awareness and consideration towards the parent brand, which is home to some leading personal care brands, such as Wilkinson Sword, Banana Boat, Bulldog, Schick and WetOnes.
In line with this, the new brand launch will also see the group moving up to the leading category in supermarkets.
David Kennedy-Cosgrove, managing partner at WiredCo., said that the new brand aims to break norms in the FMCG category that has never had a competitor successfully challenge its mundanity.
Another managing partner at WiredCo. Michelle Hampton, added that they came up with an idea that is very ‘campaignable’ and they’re now capable of executing it across all leading channels including earned media.
Meanwhile, Ivan Nuich, managing director of Edgewell at Oceania, said, “What really stood out about the team at WiredCo. was their demonstrated ability to come up with a bigger overarching campaign idea that was clearly backed up by data and marketing science, and the technical specialism to show where it needs to live in market for maximum impact.”
Works from the campaign will be executed for six months with a social media focus across TikTok and Pinterest.
WiredCo.’s portfolio of brands include Pizza Hut, R.M.Williams, Red Bull, Assembly Label, Indeed, Maurie & Eve, and Georg Jensen.
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.”
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.