Tag: Southeast Asia

Singapore – Mitchell Kreuch has been promoted to the role of managing director for Southeast Asia at Twitter, coming from his previous role as part of Twitter’s APAC agency development. In his new role, he will be responsible for continuing and accelerating Twitter’s revenue growth in Southeast Asia.

He will be reporting to Yu Sasamoto, vice president for Asia-Pacific at Twitter.

Prior to joining Twitter in 2017, Kreunch l spent almost three decades in the sales, marketing, and media industries across the US and in Asia Pacific. He has worked for global brands such as The Walt Disney Company, Yahoo!, and the New York Time

Speaking about his appointment, he said that in his new role, continuous growth of the platform in Southeast Asia is a top priority, adding that having led Twitter’s agency development in the APAC region for the past two years, he is excited to expand the role to lead the revenue growth team in the Southeast Asia region.

“Through Yu’s leadership and collaboration with our amazing team across the region, I look forward to unlocking more opportunities and continuing to showcase Twitter’s values to help brands stay connected with our audiences in the region,” Kreunch said.

Meanwhile, Sasamoto commented that they are excited to have Mitchell lead their revenue growth and continue accelerating their revenue growth across the Southeast Asia region.

“With Mitchell’s extensive experience in sales, media, and marketing over the past three decades, I’m confident that he will be a strong leader for our Southeast Asia sales team, strengthen our client and partner relationships across this region, and increase our commitment to Southeast Asia as a high-growth region for Twitter,” he added.

Manila, Philippines – Influencer marketing agency in the Philippines, Gushcloud, has recently signed gamer, singer, and actor Chin Valdes to help him grow his digital presence and overall digital strategy. 

Currently, Valdes’ YouTube channel houses gameplay highlights of his two favorite games Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Genshin Impact. 

As part of the deal, Gushcloud will be working with Valdes to represent and manage key brand deals, and to provide channel management support. It will co-manage Valdes’ YouTube channel and explore a variety of content that would allow the viewers to get to know him beyond the gaming space. 

Chin shared that gaming, especially today, is so relatable and at the same time, influential. It has taught him that nothing ever gets easy, to keep moving forward, to continuously learn and level up, which has affected how he approaches things in real life. 

“I want to be able to share these with my viewers as we both enjoy our love for gaming,” said Chin.

Jamie Paraso, Gushcloud Philippines’ country director, noted that they constantly aim for a holistic evolution that brings out the different facets of their talents, as they come into their own in the entertainment industry. 

“Indeed, it is an honor to be part of their journey as their collaborative creative partner. We are beyond excited to have Chin Valdes onboard to unlock different paths beyond gaming and reach creative milestones together,” said Paraso.

Aside from Valdes, Gushcloud has also signed celebrity wedding videographer Jason Magbanua, gaming creator Yuka Kuroyanagi, as well as celebrities Bangs Garcia, Ciara Sotto, Bettinna Carlos, Michelle Madrigal, and Patrick Garcia, among others.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Dentsu Malaysia has named global adtech company Hivestack as its new programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) partner for the Malaysian market. 

The partnership will allow clients of dentsu agencies, namely Carat, dentsuX, and iProspect, to programmatically activate digital OOH inventory by leveraging the Hivestack DSP via Private Marketplace (PMP) deals.

Moreover, the partnership will provide advertisers with data-driven planning, targeting, and measurement solutions for DOOH, as well as offer access to premium publishers from across the globe and within Malaysia. Through this new opportunity, Malaysia-based advertisers can now create and deliver measurable and addressable DOOH campaigns, leveraging valuable data to drive business outcomes.

According to Dentsu Malaysia, the new partnership represents a dynamic shift in the OOH media landscape in the Malaysian market, moving away from a more traditional loop-based buying model and offering advertisers the opportunity to take a data-driven audience-centric or impression-based approach.

Dheeraj Raina, Dentsu Malaysia’s CEO of media, believes that the partnership is a step-change breakthrough, which is something that the teams have been working on. 

“With this, we are taking the guesswork out of DOOH planning and making the medium work harder for brand performance and become a truly data-driven consumer touchpoint,” said Raina.

Dentsu also said that brands in the country will be able to qualify campaign exposure metrics like proximity, dwell time, and establish robust ‘opportunity to see’ (OTS) zones by the environment, as well as have the ability to accurately measure the impact of campaigns, unlocking unprecedented metrics such as impressions, traffic data, and dynamic reach, as well as geo-temporal data, among others.

Matt Bushby, Hivestack’s managing director for ANZ and SEA, commented, “We’ve already seen incredible success in other regions across SEA and look forward to utilizing our full-stack platform to drive growth in this new market.”

The agency has already kicked off the recent partnership in 2021 by delivering campaigns for an online food delivery client via within the Hivestack DSP.

In addition, Dentsu has announced that it is also adding the data science muscle behind the product by working on an attribution model that measures the impact of the medium on brand metrics run through machine learning models built by its in-house data science team.

Singapore – Intrepid Group Asia, e-commerce services platform with SEA presence, has announced two new appointments in its marketing team – Steven Ghoos, the new regional digital marketing director, and Anna March, the new regional director of e-commerce and performance marketing.

Ghoos is most recently a managing director at digital agency Lion & Lion, where he led business profitability and managed teams and campaign strategy in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. Prior to Lion & Lion, Ghoos was also the managing director at the Indonesian marketplace Lamudi, the head of sales and customer experience at Lazada, and the managing director at Rocket Internet. As he now joins Intrepid, Ghoos will be bringing over 16 years of experience in driving business profitability and strategy at market-leading companies.

Meanwhile, March has previously held performance director roles, where she led key digital accounts and strategy at Omnicom Agency Hearts and Science, Wavemaker London, and OMD Australia, as well as Aegis Australia. Prior to joining Intrepid Group late last year, she has also ran performance marketing for audiobook provider Audible in Australia and Japan. March brings almost two decades of experience in leading performance marketing strategy and teams.

Through their new roles, Ghoos and March will be driving Intrepid’s digital marketing business. March will be based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she will help drive the performance marketing strategy for brand partners in the e-commerce market, while Singapore-based Ghoos will be focusing on full-funnel, content, and creative propositions and clients in non-B2C e-commerce verticals.

Both will be reporting directly to Jasper Knoben, Intrepid Group Asia’s CEO.

Knoben commented, “Their complementary experience, valuable insights, and track records for impactful, performance-driven marketing will further strengthen our position and capabilities as a full-funnel partner that can help our clients gain a competitive edge in today’s digital world.”

Singapore – Creative agency 72andSunny in Singapore has announced two new appointments, namely Farhan Darma, the new senior art director, and Daniel Ko, the new group creative director, to drive its creative team.

Darma brings with him almost 10 years of experience in the creative industry. He was recently the senior art director at integrated communications agency VCCP, where he worked on the global Shell business and Netflix. 

Meanwhile, Ko was one of the earliest creative hires at 72andSunny Singapore and has spent two decades across companies like BBH, TSLA, and Iris, working on brands like Tiger Beer and NTUC Income. At 72andSunny, he leads the team of Johnnie Walker, Carousell, and GIC, among others.

Johnny Tan, 72andSunny’s executive creative director for APAC, commented, “It’s always such a joy seeing our guys rise and thrive. Daniel has been absolutely brilliant since Day One. And bringing on more talent like Farhan just adds to the fun in the work.”

In November 2021, 72andSunny has also announced the appointment of Judy Ang, the new group brand director, Jaclyn Lee, the new senior strategy director, and Jonathan Tan, the new brand director, citing business growth and momentum.

Singapore – Direct-to-consumer streaming platform HBO Max has named Jason Monteiro as its newest general manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Through the new role, Monteiro will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer business, leading content experience, brand, marketing, subscriber management, digital partnerships and data analytics.

He will be temporarily reporting to Johannes Larcher, head of HBO Max International, until a new managing director for the broader INSEAK region (India, Southeast Asia and Korea) is appointed.

With extensive OTT leadership experience across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, Monteiro will also oversee the existing HBO GO streaming service and the eventual launch of HBO Max in the region, building and leading a team of cross-functional executives to maximize the streamer’s success.

Prior to joining HBO Max, he was the director of AVOD at Shahid, a leading Arabic content streaming platform. Prior to Shahid, he was the general manager of Indonesia and Malaysia for iflix, and he also ran marketing as the company’s chief marketing officer. He has also held leadership roles at a number of telecommunications companies across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

Speaking about his appointment, he said, “I could not be more excited to be joining this amazing organization and in particular to lead the charge for HBO Max. It’s going to be such a thrill to work with the people across WarnerMedia to bring the likes of ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Harry Potter,’ DC, Warner Bros., HBO favorites, new Max Originals and many more, to the viewers in Southeast Asia.”

Meanwhile, Larcher commented, “Jason arrives at HBO Max with a proven track record of building and growing subscription services across Asia and other important global markets. He’s a passionate leader known for building and inspiring high-performing teams, and I’m eager to see his leadership in action as he steps into his new role today.”

Thailand – In line with Johnnie Walker’s recent ‘Keep Walking‘ campaign in 2021 that aims to inspire and help people to breathe life back into social spaces, the global whiskey brand has launched a new program called ‘The Walkers’, which aims to celebrate actions that drive positive impact for people in Thailand. 

The new program, which is developed in partnership with VICE’s creative agency Virtue, will be brought to life in the country through a series of locally relevant initiatives which bring communities together to support local venues and bars. Singer and actress Violette Wautier will be leading the agenda to revitalize local street culture and encourage Thais to taste the richer experience of local communities.

Julie Bramham, Johnnie Walker’s global brand director, shared that they wanted to explore how the latest chapter of the brand’s ‘Keep Walking’ campaign could support its partner communities across the world as people start socializing again.

“The Walkers program is a meaningful way to work with locally loved and valued voices to help reinvigorate social spaces like bars, clubs, and venues to help get the local culture back on its feet and moving again,” said Bramham. 

Meanwhile, Nate Woodhead, Virtue’s group creative director, noted that they wanted to create a campaign that honored those changemakers driving action at a time when the world felt powerless. 

“When we looked at the context of each of our key markets it was clear that reconnecting people through social and cultural experiences was the perfect starting point for The Walkers program,” said Woodhead.

Aside from Thailand, the program will also run on other key Johnnie Walker markets, including South Korea, India, Africa, and Brazil, as well as Mexico, and Colombia, among others.

The campaign follows US$100m of investment over the past 18 months from parent company Diageo to help pubs’ and bars’ post-pandemic recovery by supporting jobs and communities around the world through its ‘Raise the Bar’ program.

Manila, Philippines – Dentsu’s digital-led arm in the Philippines, Dentsu One Manila, has announced its continuous winning streak in business for 2022.

The agency has recently won the pitch for the flagship brands of leading pharmaceutical firm Unilab – Conzace and Solmux. 

Aside from the pharma firm’s brands, the manila arm has also announced that it has acquired the accounts of major brands – fast-food giant Chowking’s biggest premium milk tea brand – Milksha, and also winning new assignments from Honda Cars and Honda Bikes.

Merlee Jayme, Dentsu’s chairman of creative businesses for the Philippines, commented, “Like I said before, nothing will stop us from doing our best for our clients. All you need are big insights, great work, digital knowledge, and the drive – that’s what the young Dentsu One Manila is known for.”

In 2021, Dentsu One Manila has won several awards and new businesses, including an award for Ginebra’s campaign, ‘Ginebra Frontliner Labels’, as well as effectiveness awards for Ginebra’s thematic campaigns, Nissin Ramen ASMR, and CDO Idol Cheesedog.

Singapore – As part of Lion & Lion’s ongoing expansion of their senior team in Singapore, the digital-first agency has Rebecca Lai, former business director at marketing agency Oliver, to be its new business director.

During her stint at Oliver, Lai led the UStudio Singapore and Bayer Southeast Asia teams, specializing in in-house content creation for the clients. Her career in communications spans more than 15 years, with experience leading accounts for international agencies in the WPP and Omnicom groups. Moreover, Lai attributes her success with major blue-chip brands to her strong understanding of business objectives, combined with insightful value propositions

In her new role, Lai will be responsible for driving Lion & Lion’s offerings in Singapore and the region, with a focus on maintaining the agency’s strong momentum in building networks with notable consumer and corporate brands. She will be reporting directly to Fredrik Gumpel, the chief executive officer of Lion & Lion.

Commenting on joining Lion & Lion, Lai said, “I am excited to partner with talented minds in Lion & Lion as we tackle the ever-evolving digital ecosystem for our clients. I think I have joined them at the right time, following the agency’s transformation, and I hope to contribute to our growth in the coming months,” said Rebecca, on joining the agency. 

Meanwhile, John Campbell-Bruce, Lion & Lion’s managing director for Indonesia, commented, “We are extremely excited to have Rebecca on board. She comes with a wealth of experience across all levels and I am confident that under her management, the Singapore office will continue to move forward and continue the agency’s transformation and ultimately achieve great results.”

Cheelip Ong, Lion & Lion’s regional chief creative officer, believes Lai’s experience in Singapore as a seasoned digital-native client servicing leader will prove invaluable to both our regional clients and to our growth in Singapore.

“She will be working closely with Jonn Dogra, our Creative Director and Head of Brand Experience for Singapore to apply digital-first solutions to all clients we serve, to mark a new era of transformation for our Singapore office,” said Ong.

Just recently, Lion & Lion Malaysia has appointed young talent from dentsu, Frederik Rasmussen, as its new client director, who will be responsible to augment the business development department of the agency.

Malaysia – Creative agency Ogilvy in Malaysia has appointed Eddy Nazarullah, former creative director at Mediabrands’ digital creative agency Reprise, to be its new creative director. 

Aside from his stint at Reprise, Nazarullah also serves as a creative director at integrated marketing communications network MullenLowe and was on the creatives team of communications agency Leo Burnett.

At Reprise, Nazarullah was part of the team that launched the successful KEPCI KITCHEN campaign for KFC, which ran during the early periods of the pandemic, and which was founded on the profound insight of making KFC staples part of every Malaysian’s household cooking.

In his new role, Nazarullah will be overseeing Ogilvy’s entire NESTLE business, including MILO, Nestlé Omega Plus, Nestlé Health Science, and Wyeth Nutrition. He will be working alongside Creative Directors Jaz Lee and Shariar Ghafar, completing a trifecta of top-notch creative talent for the Malaysia office.

Adrian Miller, Ogilvy Malaysia’s chief creative officer, shared that this year the agency has a big ambition to win with work by putting ideas at the center of everything they do. 

“As trite as this sounds, it’s a sentiment that all too often gets lost in our business. Eddy has a digital-first, nuanced way of thinking that, coupled with local insights, will be pivotal in driving our vision to bring back the power of creative ideas and an audience mindset to Malaysia,” said Miller.

Nizwani Shahar, Ogilvy Malaysia’s chief executive officer, commented that Nazarullah is a transformative creative leader who is unparalleled in his effectiveness.

“Together with his creative leads, Adrian will be pivotal in driving strong branded experiences for our clients. I look forward to having Eddy onboard to continue to fuel the very best in creative ideas with our senior team. This is aligned with our larger creative strategy to fortify creative firepower across Ogilvy Malaysia and Singapore,” said Shahar.