Tag: Shenzhen

Beijing, China – We Are Social, the global creative agency network, has further boosted its international growth through the opening of a new office in Shenzhen, China. 

The Shenzhen quarter marks the network’s 18th office location, adding to the agency’s existing ones in Shanghai and Beijing in mainland China. It will be led by Dickens Dong, the agency’s general manager, whilst Aaron Breeds will serve as the Shenzhen leg’s creative director. 

Breeds will be overseeing a seven-strong local creative team as well as the other creative team members in different locations. He will be working with clients Chinese smart wearable brand Amazfit and consumer electronics brand CHiQ, as further shared by the agency. 

Dong said that the team is very excited to be putting down its roots in Shenzhen and, all the more, in such a thriving tech area. 

The new office is specifically located in the Nanshan district of Shenzhen, known as the city’s Silicon Valley. It is an area bustling with innovative tech players, enclosing 100+ listed companies and 1,000+ high-tech businesses, and moreover, is said to contribute to 25% of Shenzhen’s GDP. 

Dong commented, “Our growing roster of clients will benefit from our immersion in tech culture and of course the opportunities that naturally arise by working in Shenzhen.” 

Pete Lin, We Are Social’s North Asia CEO, also said, “Shenzhen has become strategically important for us in the past few years, as its technology brands have increased demand for our global marketing services. We believe that by being there on the ground in Shenzhen, we can more effectively address the needs of our current and future clients.”

Meanwhile, Nathan McDonald, the Group CEO at We Are Social, remarked that as We Are Social continues to expand globally, Shenzhen is just the perfect fit for the agency. 

“It’s home to a busy, thriving tech community with both emerging and established brands who are looking to grow in China and beyond. We’re excited to be on the ground with a talented team, closely supported by their colleagues in China and the wider We Are Social network,” he added. 

The Shenzhen office will be opening with a team of 20 and plans to double said count by the end of 2023. 

Other offices of We Are Social are located in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Madrid, London, Singapore, and Sydney, amongst others. 

In July 2022, the North Asia region of the network also saw it acquiring Hong Kong-based above-the-line agency Metta Communications. As a result, the latter had been rebranded to ’Metta/We Are Social’. 

Shenzhen, China – End-to-end commerce enablement company AnyMind Group has announced the opening of a branch office and commencement of operations in Shenzhen, China. As part of the new office opening, Ben Chien, managing director of Greater China, will oversee the Shenzhen office and lead the team there.

AnyMind Group’s Shenzhen office will also provide additional means for the company to hire engineering and product development talent from Mainland China. They can decide to be situated across the company’s four engineering hubs including Tokyo, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangalore, joining the company’s multinational development team of 20 nationalities from Asia, MENA, Europe and Latin America. 

This is AnyMind Group’s 19th office across 13 markets including Southeast Asia, East Asia, India and the Middle East. The company, which started operations in Singapore in April 2016, is now headquartered in Japan.

Chien joined AnyMind Group in 2018 through the acquisition of Hong Kong-based Acqua Media, a company he founded, and has been leading the company’s Greater China business including remotely working with businesses in Mainland China. 

He said, “We’re well-positioned to meet the unique needs of app publishers in Mainland China, where monetization is not just focused around advertising but also e-commerce and other channels. In time, we will expand our offerings in Mainland China that have already received great traction across Asia, providing our customers with core business infrastructure to advance the next generation of commerce.” 

Chien added, “In addition, we can already support businesses in Mainland China for cross-border expansion, and will be able to support our customers outside of Mainland China to tap into this growing and unique market.”

Meanwhile, Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder at AnyMind Group, commented, “Under Ben’s entrepreneurial leadership, we have steadily grown the Greater China region over the years and I’m entrusting him to now scale our distinctive mix of technology and offerings into Mainland China, furthering our move to advance next-generation commerce across Asia. As a company, we’re always creating new value for our customers, not just through our technology, but also in opening up new possibilities for them, such as tapping into new markets to grow.”

Hong Kong – Nantou City in Shenzhen, China has unveiled a new brand identity conceptualised alongside agency Superunion. The new branding aims to ‘activate’ Nantou City, bringing both Chinese traditions and modern creativity, as well as sustainable development and vitality to the town.

Nantou City, also known as the ancient city of Xin’an, has evolved into a landmark location embedded with four major parts – cultural and creative retail, trendy art experiences, high-quality and innovative F&B, and cultural residencies.

The core idea behind the brand refresh ‘Collide to Create’ positions Nantou as a place of contrasts and a meeting point for people and ideas to come together. The brand tagline ‘為每一種想像而來’ translates to ‘a place for every imagination’ which led to the central creative idea of the semicolon, with its literal function of connecting independent clauses or ideas leading to a more symbolic meaning: Nantou as a focal point connecting individuals, ideas and cultures.

Maggie Chien, business director at Superunion China said: “Using this iconic visual metaphor, we created a whole design language for Nantou City across a range of physical and digital applications, from website to wayfinding. Nantou City is not just a historical landmark that you visit once, but a place that you want to come back to time and time again, to relax, to stay, and to grow with. Instead of commercialising, we want to build the city into a sustainable cultural centre and integrate it with the local lifestyle. 

Meanwhile, Huang Nan, general manager of Shenzhen Nantou City Renovation Project, commented, “As we see the Greater Bay Area continue to thrive and develop, our goal is for Nantou City to retain its original architecture but also embrace contrast; old versus new, tranquillity versus energy, simplicity versus intricacy. It is an expressive yet harmonious place, encouraging the organic and sustainable growth of all beings. We feel a new identity encapsulates this sentiment whilst being engaging and memorable.”

The branding endeavour was first announced in August 2021, where Superunion will be responsible for the strategic brand, experience, and communications planning, alongside a total revamp of visual identity of the city.

Shenzen, China — New York-based creative advertising and digital experience company Stink Studios has opened its second office in China following a period of sustained growth. Located in Shenzhen, the office will be overseen by Ramzi Chaabane, managing director of the company’s Chinese headquarters in Shanghai.

The expansion is due to a deepening commitment to the innovative-focused nature offered by the China market, and the strengthening demand from Chinese tech companies for world-class creative campaigns, design and digital experiences. In addition, Stink Studios also has several high-value clients who have headquarters in Shenzhen, including Tencent, Oppo, and Oneplus.

Being based in New York, the company was early to the Chinese market, first opening its doors in Shanghai in 2015. The creative output of the Shenzhen office will be overseen by Addie Hao, senior creative veteran at Stink Studios, who has relocated to Shenzhen from Shanghai.

Commenting on the opening of the second office in Shenzhen, Stink Studios veteran Hao shared that she’s very happy to bring the good energy from their Shanghai office over to the new location in Shenzhen.

“Being closer to our clients and in the heart of one of the technology capitals of the world is truly amazing. We have been blessed to receive many applications from young designers and developers who were happily surprised to see a leading international creative agency opening in their city,” Hao said.

Hong Kong – Superunion, the creative company under WPP, marks its 20-year anniversary in China by announcing the launch of its new office in the city of Shenzhen. Its founding clients will include Tencent, Riot Games, Vivo and Vanke Nantou City, and will be led by Monica Lee, chair of Superunion Asia, and Maggie Chien, business director at Superunion.

The company’s recent works for their Chinese business include partnering with Riot Games to celebrate the 10th anniversary of League of Legends China, and the creative transformation of Nantou City, known as the ancient city of Xin’an and located at the heart of Nanshan District in Shenzhen.

“As the company’s footprint and expertise expand, it is becoming a business not constrained by a specialism, instead acting as a creative partner for the region’s and the world’s biggest businesses across multiple sectors, helping them create meaningful value and change for their audiences and society,” Superunion said in a press statement.

Speaking about their new office in Shenzhen, Lee underpins the technology and innovation in the Greater Bay Area, which will become the region’s version of ‘Silicon Valley’. She added that they have a ‘laser-focused’ vision to build their presence among these new tech companies, who are looking to stamp their name not only in China, but globally.

“They now account for more than 25% of the new tech businesses in the region, and that number is still growing. The common theme with these businesses is their ambition to embrace new ideas. They are no longer looking for traditional agencies who offer standard services – they want partners who can grow with them, and we are perfectly positioned for this,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Benedict Gordon, CEO at Superunion Asia, commented that clients no longer see them as constrained by a specialism, but as a partner that can help them with a wide range of needs in order to create meaningful value and change for their audiences and society.

“Our ethos revolves around being a revolutionary creative company and the Greater Bay Area (GBA) is very much where many of China’s revolutionary creative businesses are born, providing incredible opportunities for us in areas like technology, AI and biotech. Superunion is the first brand company to have a presence across all of Greater China’s major geographies, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and now Shenzhen, so this is an exciting and symbolic milestone for us,” Gordon explained.

He added, “Brands now understand and embrace this change and especially in a post-pandemic world, want to make an impact. Businesses really succeed when they integrate business goals and ambitions with a clear brand strategy that they bring to life. This is where Superunion has really come into its own and where we see the opportunity for further growth, globally.”

Basel, Switzerland – Content management system (CMS) provider Magnolia has announced the opening of its two new offices in Shenzhen and Bangkok, confirming its long-standing commitment to China and the Asia Pacific market.

Magnolia, whose main headquarters is in Basel, Switzerland, adds the two new offices in its already well-established presence in Asia, with three existing offices in Singapore, Vietnam, and Shanghai. The company also has certified partners serving customers in North Asia, India, Australia, and New Zealand.

Through the new offices, Magnolia looks to expand its offering of content management and digital experience technologies to the rapidly growing APAC market.

Tim Brown, CEO at Magnolia, commented, “Backing the expansion of our brilliant APAC team, partner community and our prestigious customers with these new offices is about the most obvious investment decisions I’ve ever had to make.”

Meanwhile, Don Lee, Magnolia’s managing director for APAC, said, “Having recognized a need for intensive personalization to provide unparalleled, unique experiences to customers, Asian brands are now investing in marketing technology designed to improve digital experiences.”

He added, “With Shenzhen and Bangkok becoming home to new local Magnolia resources and operations, together with our partners in APAC, we are now servicing brands in even closer proximity and helping them create amazing digital experiences for their customers.”

Magnolia was most recently recognized by global research and advisory firm Gartner on its annual report of top technology providers. Gartner uses a proprietary method Magic Quadrant to give tech vendors its competitive positioning, and for digital experience platforms (DXP) this year, Magnolia’s DXP Magnolia DX Core entered the quadrant, earning the status of ‘Niche Player’.