Tag: Singapore

Singapore – CUE Group, a Singapore-headquartered digital technology group, has appointed two key executive roles to its Singapore hub, as part of its continued expansion across SEA. The appointees include Zainudin Nordin, the new executive director of CUE Group SEA, and Daniel Posavac, the new managing director of CUE Group SEA.

In his new role, Nordin will be focusing on driving strategic developments across the region and exploring growth opportunities for the company. At the start of his career, Nordin served as an engineer, lecturer, and manager at the IC Design Centre in Nanyang Polytechnic for 15 years. He later moved into various roles in Singapore Parliament and other governmental bodies. His modern business prowess has been made evident over the past two years with the digital transformation of the food and beverage group Iron Chef F&B, where he occupied the post of Chief Strategy Officer. 

Meanwhile, Posavac will be doubling down on his new post while retaining his position as group CEO of Bonsey Jaden, CUE Group’s digital agency. Prior to the acquisition, he had driven the growth of the Singapore-headquartered agency for almost a decade and will continue to be hands-on in leading and expanding their client portfolio globally. 

CUE Group said that these major internal developments come at a time of exciting talent search that is constantly gaining speed in Singapore. The expansion spells not only growth for CUE and Bonsey Jaden, but also exciting potential opportunities for the job market throughout the region.

Posavac commented, “I’m thrilled to be opening another chapter in what has been an amazing journey so far, and I am confident in the vision and strategy we have for CUE in Southeast Asia.“

Meanwhile, Nordin said, “We see a huge talent opportunity in Singapore and across Southeast Asia, and we feel the timing is right for our next stage of growth!”

Shi Kan, group CEO of CUE, said, “We are bullish on the economic potential in Southeast Asia and I believe with the business network we have built; as an international team with a global vision, we are in a strong position to drive growth for our clients and partners.”

Singapore – Global advertising company Publicis Groupe in Singapore has promoted Joanne Theseira, the current managing director of Publicis Communications, to be its new CEO of Publicis Communications in Singapore, where she will take on executive responsibility for Leo Burnett, Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, Prodigious, and MSL. 

In this new role, Theseira will also champion the continued development of clear and ownable client, business, and employee positionings for the agencies under her stewardship. She will ensure that they are evolving in line with clients’ needs and reflective of the way consumers are engaging with brands today.

Additionally, Theseira will take on the newly created role of chief growth officer for Publicis Groupe SEA, and will report to Amrita Randhawa, CEO of Publicis Groupe Singapore and Southeast Asia. She will be leading Power of One accounts expansion, powering new business development, and managing the profile of Publicis Groupe in SEA. Theseira will also work closely with the Publicis Groupe SEA market CEOs and Practice leadership across APAC to deliver on the growth agenda.

Speaking about her appointment, Theseira shared that she believes that a strong and positive talent-centred culture is integral to the business of creativity, and this opportunity to hone and harness their different creative agencies is one that only Publicis Groupe can offer.

“Driving growth across Southeast Asia gives me an incredible canvas to scale and shape the future of our agency offerings and make a meaningful impact on our industry and our clients. I’m excited to get started,” she said.

Meanwhile, Randhawa said that Theseira’s passion for the creative business is addictive, and the clarity of her vision for their creative communications agencies and her determination to make the Groupe the fastest growing in the market is energising and impressive. 

“Joanne has demonstrated a strong capability to build high-performing teams and attract both clients and outstanding talent into the Groupe which makes her uniquely qualified to make an impact in this role,” she added.

Singapore – Global marketing agency VMLY&R Singapore has launched the global commerce accelerator programme in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). 

The commerce accelerator programme will be based in Singapore and is aimed at developing commerce and commercial advisory services for the agency’s clients around the world. 

It will bring to life three new commerce innovation projects, including IMPACT™, an in-store touchpoint planning platform, OhMyCart™, a disruptive path to e-commerce for small retailers and social sellers, and the agency’s own Commercial Growth Advisory, a Data Driven Commercial Growth Consultancy for Incremental Growth.

VMLY&R will also ramp up its team in Singapore by appointing over 20 new hires across a variety of roles in commerce research and innovation, including commercial consultants, commerce planners, data analysts and engineers, CRM specialists, cloud solution architects among others.

Hari Ramanathan, chief executive officer at VMLY&R South and Southeast Asia and Japan said, “Commerce is an integral part of our key service offerings. We believe that accelerating growth across not only the more traditional commerce channels that agencies have worked on, but expanding through Commercial Growth Advisory and Commercial Marketing, are key to converting an entire consumer journey at the point of sale, ensuring we not only have influence to get people there, but to complete the transaction as well.” 

He added, “Anchoring the program in Singapore will allow us to enhance our capabilities quicker and at scale, and help Singapore remain at the forefront of the Commerce evolution.”

Meanwhile, Junie Fo, vice president and head of commercial and professional services at EDB, commented, “We are delighted to have VMLY&R launch their global commerce accelerator Programme in Singapore, which will unlock new value for brands and create new opportunities for advertising and marketing talent. VMLY&R’s new offering will further strengthen Singapore’s position as an innovative global marketing hub.”

Singapore – To continuously enhance creative tech advertising for businesses, Stellar Ace, the media and digital arm of Stellar Lifestyle, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with REVEZ Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary REVEZ Motion for the advancement of next-gen digital interactive media in Singapore.

The opportunities include the adoption of REVEZ’s Metaverse, augmented reality, mixed reality, virtual reality, and a suite of cutting-edge technologies with 5G-ready capabilities as part of Stellar Ace’s expansion into an omnichannel advertising ecosystem. Both parties will also brainstorm ways to create Intellectual Property relating to digital creative initiatives. as well as conduct business feasibility, research, and development in the media industry to create new go-to-market experiential engagements.

PLONK, REVEZ’s MarTech platform, will be the first product in this collaboration to be launched. One of the region’s first web AR Content Management platforms makes AR campaign executions easy, cost-efficient, and consumers can view it easily with no app required. An immediate application would be the enhancement of social messaging communications such as Singtel location-based SMS. Traditional text will now come with an added AR experience for brand awareness and product showcasing through gamification to deliver consumer engagements.

“We look forward to enhancing our omnichannel solutions with REVEZ to include Extended Reality Technology and Metaverse. As we work on R&D for creative digital solutions, we aim to break new ground in the areas of digital innovation, engagements, and holistic insights in campaigns across our HOME, TRAVEL, EAT, SHOP & PLAY daily touchpoints platforms,” said Jeslyn Tan, managing director of Stellar Ace.

Meanwhile, Victor Neo, deputy board chairman and group CEO of REVEZ Corporation, commented, “REVEZ Motion is pleased to work towards more innovative and creative solutions. This will herald a new generation of advertising and digital creativity in campaigns. With Stellar Ace’s advertising ecosystem, we can extend more options to offer new edge creative experiences to customers.”

Singapore – Global automobile brand Audi in Singapore has launched a new video series called ‘Igniting Conversations with Futurists of Singapore’. This six-part series celebrates the inspiring stories and aspirations of six local changemakers through conversations, unpacking what ‘Living Progress’ means to these visionaries, and how they drive this narrative within and beyond their respective industries. 

Hosted by Markus Schuster, managing director of Audi Singapore, the series has already commenced with its first two episodes on Schuster’s LinkedIn profile. The first episode of the video series is titled ‘Tackling global food loss – one beer at a time’, featuring Travin Singh, founder of CRUST Group, who shares what inspired him to turn bread into beer, and what it takes to scale a food-tech startup which aims to reduce global food loss by 1% by 2030.

Meanwhile, the second episode is titled ‘Spotlighting Asian scientists on the global stage’, which featured Wildtype Media Group’s CEO Dr. Juliana Chan’s rationale behind the switch, her views on TikTok, and discusses range anxiety while taking the RS e-tron GT for a ride.

Schuster shared, “At Audi, we have always lived by ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ or ‘progress through technology’. At its core, this is characterised by a forward-looking mindset that exists in our everyday lives. Through these conversations, we hope to spotlight the inspiring stories of these individuals, and how they are creating a better future in their own ways.”

The four remaining episodes will run until 13 October 2022, with new episodes released every Thursday.

Singapore – Bonsey Jaden, a digital marketing and advertising agency backed by digital technology group CUE, has appointed Marvin Duval, former strategy partner at Digital APAC, to be its new head of strategy.

In his new role, Duval will be helping ready the smaller teams at Bonsey Jaden for new competition, while restructuring for smoother, more efficient collaboration internally.

Duval assumes the role with well-rounded experience beginning in the mid-2000s, with the initial goal of leaning towards the more creative aspects of advertising. Having handled communications, media, and consultancy throughout his career, Duval recalls a distinct lack of precision and insight in the industry at large; as the decade closed, he saw greater promise in the world of digital media. His overall interest in history, geopolitics, and current events keeps him flexible in his current role.

Moreover, Duval’s career has taken him back and forth between Europe and Asia, and touched on several points of the overall campaign process. He has worked with brands from a wide spectrum of industries, including projects with Tommy Hilfiger, Nestle, and FrieslandCampina. Over the years, he has learned the value of making brands and his own team as close to future-proof as possible, always keeping an eye out for the changes in tech in relation to the work, and tailoring strategy accordingly.

Commenting on his appointment, Duval said, “I have found that [Bonsey Jaden’s] culture demonstrates the antithesis of that. Here, we seem to understand fully that while skills are assets, we can’t always depend on our strengths—understanding and acknowledging weaknesses in one another can spell the difference between a campaign that works and a campaign that changes minds.”

Meanwhile, Daniel Posavac, co-founder and group CEO at Bonsey Jaden, shared that bringing Duval into the team is a huge step forward for them, and he truly believes that the future of their company and the branding landscape as a whole lies with those who know the rules well enough to be able to bend them and break them.

“Head of Strategy is a pivotal role for us because it sits at the intersection of data, technology, and creativity – and with his life and business experience, Marvin is perfect for the role,” said Posavac.

Most recently, Bonsey Jaden has appointed Sherwin Kukreja, former head of social media at digital telco Yoodo, to be its new head of social media. This new role is Kukreja’s re-entry into the agency end of the digital marketing and branding world.

Singapore – CUE Group, a Singapore-headquartered digital technology group, has doubled down on its expansion into the Southeast Asian region with a new operational focus out of its Singapore hub. 

More than a year on from their acquisition of Singapore-based digital agency, Bonsey Jaden, CUE has begun to expand the executive leadership team, with a range of soon-to-be-announced hires. Currently employing over 2,000 staff across more than 20 offices, CUE has actively partnered with more than 3,000 clients and partners across Asia. 

CUE said that what it is bringing to the table is a new yet experienced enabler, bridging the gap between data & technology solutions, paving the way for more targeted and culturally relevant consumer experiences – helping to accelerate sales and partnership growth across industries, and across cultures.

Kan Shi, group CEO of CUE, shared that it’s a privilege to be able to say that everything they are able to accomplish revolves around valuing people from their diverse teams and their individual expertise and cultural knowledge, to each partner and customer they have developed relationships with. 

“We live in the digital age, it’s true, but in the end, businesses are about meeting the needs of people and we never want to lose sight of the ‘who’ and ‘why’, even in the demanding sea of ‘what, where, when.’ I am personally very bullish on the growth and opportunity in Southeast Asia and I believe we are in the perfect moment to expand our team in Singapore and beyond to further support our existing clients and partners – as well as to build new relationships,” said Shi.

CUE noted that a number of executive hires are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Singapore – National Youth Council (NYC), a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and a co-ordinating body by the government for youth affairs in Singapore, has appointed marketing agency TEAM LEWIS, to be its agency partner for social and digital content creation, management, and optimisation for Somerset Belt, a key project under the SG Youth Action Plan.

The Somerset Belt – a stretch that extends from *SCAPE to the junction of Somerset and Killiney roads – aims to be an entrepreneurial, creative, and incubation space for youths. It is designed to be a precinct where they can have a direct hand in contributing ideas on programming and infrastructural changes; working with one another, the communities, businesses, and the Government.

Joseph Prakash, assistant director of the Somerset Belt Office, shared that to inspire youths from all walks of life to work with us to shape Somerset Belt, it is important that the agency they work with not only has digital capabilities at its core, but also understands the identity they are building to stay connected with youths. 

“TEAM LEWIS has demonstrated creative and bold thinking in its storytelling to help youths connect with one another, while celebrating their collective ideas, interests, and aspirations,” said Prakash.

Meanwhile, Mark Tay, head of content for Singapore at TEAM LEWIS, commented that they are excited to partner with National Youth Council and look forward to demonstrating how incorporating youth-centric sentiments in the heart of storytelling can help band a community of diverse audiences together. 

“This is an incredible opportunity for us to build a distinct identity for Somerset Belt while positioning the space as a place for youths to appreciate, participate and create programmes,” said Tay.

Singapore – YoloFoods, a healthy food delivery service in Singapore and Malaysia, has partnered with impact.com, a partnership management platform, to accelerate its affiliate and influencer marketing initiative – ‘YoloFoods Health & Wellness Programme’. 

Targeting healthy food junkies, the programme aims to incentivise and equip community ambassadors with information and resources on leading a healthy lifestyle.

In order to inspire and motivate more consumers to make healthy lifestyle changes across Singapore and Malaysia, the YoloFoods Health & Wellness Programme onboards affiliates and content creators on a commission-based reward system, to share reliable Health & Wellness information and offers with their respective audiences. To roll this out at scale, YoloFoods is leveraging the vast network of affiliates and influencers which impact.com provides.

Yolofoods said that as managing influencers and affiliates at scale requires many manual steps and reconciliation, having a robust platform like impact.com that automates contracting, tracking, payouts to affiliates, and data consolidation will help the platform to make more informed business decisions.

Alex Bauduin, CEO of YoloFoods, noted nutrition and wellness have always been a point of passion for them, and they’re excited to kickstart this strategic partnership with impact.com.

“This launch will not only allow us to make a positive mark on our local community, but is also an opportunity for YoloFoods to further scale our brand growth and customer acquisition in the region and increase our ROAS by tapping into the wider network of consumers while expanding beyond our existing channels,” said Bauduin.

Meanwhile, Antoine Gross, impact.com’s general manager for SEA, commented, “We are thrilled to be partnering with YoloFoods on this initiative. Great collaborations are a result of a common goal and shared values, and we look forward to helping YoloFoods grow their e-commerce business in Singapore and Malaysia and helping improve the wellness of local communities. 

“Joining a growing group of brands in the region who are finding success through affiliate partnerships, YoloFoods will be able to reach their target audience in an effective way while rewarding the affiliates who help make it happen,” Gross said.

Singapore – Budget Direct Insurance, the online digital insurance company in SEA, has reappointed digital marketing agency Tug as its partner. Tug was engaged by the company in 2020 to manage link acquisition and competitor analysis to boost local search rankings. 

Following the renewal, the agency’s scope has been extended to include content, UX and conversion rate optimisation services (CRO), content strategy and landing page experience.

Budget Direct is part of an international insurance group providing insurance solutions for policyholders worldwide. Meanwhile, Tug, which also has offices in Sydney, London, Toronto and Berlin, is a specialist in performance media and uses a smart combination of data, media, content and technology to deliver improved return on investment for brands. 

The account will be managed by Darran Hong, the recently appointed SEO Director at Tug Singapore, after the agency opened its doors in Southeast Asia earlier this year. 

Willy Bilaro, digital manager for SEA of Budget Direct Insurance, said, “Having partnered with Tug for a number of years, we have been impressed by the depth of experience and their strategic understanding in driving digital awareness and engagement with our brand. The launch of its office in Singapore means we now have an [on-the-ground] presence which will only facilitate closer collaboration and results for the business and we’re delighted to continue our partnership.” 

Karen Soo, managing director of Tug Singapore, commented, “Budget Direct Insurance is a leading insurance brand and one we are proud to be working with. As the digital marketing landscape continues to evolve, we look forward to continuing Tug’s association to ensure we deliver on their marketing objectives and return on investment.”