Tag: VaynerMedia

Australia – Popular soft drink brand Mountain Dew has launched a game show activation called ‘Major Melon’s Mayhem Mountain’, which is inspired by the hyper-stimulatory sensation that is a taste of its new Watermelon-flavoured drink. 

Conceptualised alongside VaynerMedia, the game takes cues from the likes of ‘Wipeout’ and ‘Takeshi’s Castle’, the brand game show showcases challenges such as the ‘Watermelon Ski’, where contestants, including ‘Dom Littrich’ of ‘Inspired Unemployed’ fame, attempt to slide as far as they can down the very slippery, watermelon-scattered, pink-tarped runway. 

Another inspired game is ‘Hill Dash’, where they race across a steep slippery hill while being pelted by inflatable watermelons. Narrated by the eponymous host, each content piece features challenges broadcast as takes from the show, featuring influencers taking on various extreme challenges.

Built on the insight that Mountain Dew’s Gen Z audience is continuously searching for newer, faster, hyper-stimulatory highs and challenges both in-feed and IRL, VaynerMedia eschewed the traditional product launch campaign to develop Mayhem Mountain as a content-first play created with social audiences in mind. 

Vandita Pandey, chief marketing officer for ANZ at PepsiCo, said, “We know Dew fans have been waiting a long time for a new flavour, so we wanted to make a real splash in letting them know Major Melon is finally here. ‘Mayhem Mountain’ is just such a fun and relevant way to bring the new flavour to life, I am confident the legions of Aussie Dew fans out there will love it as much as we do.” 

Meanwhile, Yash Murthy, head of creative and consulting at VaynerMedia Australia, commented, “A drink and brand persona as out there as Major Melon warranted a campaign that ratcheted up the intensity. Mayhem Mountain was the perfect vehicle to showcase this, allowing us to build equity in the Major Melon character whilst tapping into the extreme stunts, challenges and fail comps we know our audience cohorts love. Plus it was just a lot of fun to make.” 

Singapore – To further build its creative strengths in the Asia-Pacific region, global creative and media agency VaynerMedia has appointed Yash Murthy as its group creative director for Australia to lead the creative vision for the agency amidst its growing team in the country.

Murthy brings with him a wide range of creative, strategy and social experience. He previously served as head of creative and strategy for the restaurant Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen in Australia, where he built and led the in-house strategy and creative agency team.

He has also assumed several positions at design and innovation company AKQA including being the social media and creative director; director of brand strategy, social and creative for APAC; and executive strategy and creative director. Furthermore, he stood as group account director for social and content at advertising agency M&C Saatchi in Australia. 

In his new role, he will work closely with Amy Bradshaw, agency’s head in Australia.

Bradshaw said, “With his hybrid background as a business and creative leader, Yash truly understands our integrated approach and is well positioned to drive real impact for our clients and VaynerMedia’s growth.”

Meanwhile, Murthy strongly believes that in the midst of the fundamental reimagination of how brands are built, consumed and cultivated, VaynerMedia is equipped enough to deliver.

He added, “Partnering with our clients here in Australia to create this future in big, bold and impactful ways is a prospect I’m incredibly excited about.” 

VaynerMedia has also recently announced other appointments in the region including Chan Woei Hern who assumes the position of head of creative for Asia-Pacific.

Singapore – Global creative and media agency VaynerMedia has appointed Chan Woei Hern as the head of creative for Asia-Pacific, where he will further strengthen its credentials as an integrated consumer-centric agency in the region.

The seasoned creative brings with him an experience in the advertising world across the creative, media, content and film segments. He previously served as the executive creative director of VMLY&R Commerce for Malaysia and Southeast Asia, where he integrated and accelerated growth in the areas of creative commerce.

Woei Hern has also led the creative teams at advertising agencies Naga DDB, dentsu, and Ensemble and has worked with brands such as Grab, Nippon Paint, Maxis Communications, Petronas and Munchy’s.

In his new role, he will be reporting to Tim Lindley, managing director of VaynerMedia APAC.

Lindley said that when they started to find a successor for VJ Anand, who was recently promoted to the ECD position for the EMEA region, Woei Hern was on the top of their list. 

Lindley added, “His excitement for our attention-first model, his curiosity across platforms, and his passion to develop great people make us even more excited about the next phase of our growth. Woei Hern is an exceptional creative talent, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the team.”

Meanwhile, Woei Hern commented on how inspiring the energy is in the media agency. 

He added, “I can’t wait to see what an amazing adventure this will be to bring the culture to life through the work we do together as a team.”-

Last November 2022, one of the leaders of VaynerMedia APAC, Jonathan Gerard, who is its head of production, joined MARKETECH APAC as one of the speakers at the webinar, What’s NEXT 2023: Influencer Marketing in APAC. As part of the panel discussion, Gerard shared his insights on how brands should best engage with influencers as their content creator partners.

Singapore – VJ Anand, current head of creative for VaynerMedia APAC, will be promoted to executive creative director of EMEA. As part of the promotion, Anand will relocate to London to perform his role. The new role takes effect in November this year.

During his previous APAC role, he managed creative teams across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, and India, leading projects for PepsiCo and Prudential.

Speaking on his new appointment, he said, “I will really miss the APAC team, but I leave immensely proud that they are all rocketships and working with some of the world’s best brands. We have such a unique approach to creative and marketing and I am excited to scale it and bring my experience and a fresh perspective from APAC. Here’s to exploring and building original, cutting-edge models of creativity with Daisy and the rest of the team in EMEA.”

Meanwhile, as part of EMEA leadership appointments, current head of client partnership Daisy Domenghini is promoted to the role of managing director for EMEA. During her previous role, she led the addition of Durex, Zalando, and Indeed as clients. Prior to VaynerMedia, Daisy was global client MD at The Engine Group. 

Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, At VaynerMedia, we take great pride in promoting and relocating talent. Since joining last year, Daisy has demonstrated exceptional qualities of being a great leader, truly understanding our integrated model of having creative and media working seamlessly together.” 

He added, “VJ joined VaynerMedia APAC at its inception in 2019 and has helped grow the office to over 250 people strong. I am confident that their partnership will propel our rapidly expanding presence in EMEA.”

Singapore – Global creative and media agency VaynerMedia has bolstered its leadership in APAC with a slew of elevations in its creative team.

Former Creative Directors Mae Ong and JY Lay are now both Group Creative Directors, while previously Associate Creative Directors Krystle Morais and William Beale now hold the position of Creative Director.

Tim Lindley, managing director of VaynerMedia for APAC, said that they strive to build the most contemporary creative and media agency in the world, and this entails finding and nurturing people who are determined “to change the game.”

“We are proud of our 250+ strong VaynerMedia team across the APAC region and will do everything we can to help them build their careers. We congratulate everyone who has been promoted. This includes our next generation of creative leaders like JY Lay, Mae Ong, Krystle Morais, William Beale, and many other talented folks across functions,” said Lindley.

The creative leads will be reporting to VJ Anand, Head of Creative and Managing Partner. All the newly promoted creative leaders are based in Singapore, except for Morais who’s based in Thailand.

The agency said that aside from the four new senior promotions, there are more recent elevations that have been implemented across the company.

Singapore – In a big step of veering away from the typical family-around-the-dinner-table setting of beverage commercials, global cola brand Pepsi has launched a new APAC-wide campaign called, ‘This is a Pepsi Home’, which aims to incorporate a current social media vibe when it comes to the campaign’s food photography style.

The campaign, which was developed in collaboration with creative and media agency VaynerMedia, was all about capturing the way people eat in the comfort of their homes while binge-watching K-dramas or throwing fried chicken parties with friends. It kicks off with an anthem film, followed by a host of social media content, and TikTok activation, as well as OOHs, and sampling activities, amongst others.

According to Pepsi, based on the insight that people are their most authentic selves when they’re at home–hello, late-night instant noodles in pajamas, the campaign’s goal is to create a stronger association between Pepsi and meal moments. These moments might be messy, chaotic and imperfect, but that’s where Pepsi belongs.

Steve Romasanta, PepsiCo’s senior marketing director for Asia, said, “‘This is a Pepsi Home’ campaign speaks with our core Gen Z audience through an authentic and relatable lens. It’s not pretentious and is all about being at home with who you are, especially over mealtimes with Pepsi. We are thrilled about this launch, and look forward to many exciting online and offline activities as part of the campaign.”

Meanwhile, Krystle Morais, associate creative director at VaynerMedia APAC, stated, “Pepsi is a dream brand to work on, and we had a great strategy around people being their true selves at home. If you think about it, your home is one of the few places in the world where nobody can judge you. It’s also a state of mind! We felt like a lot of people could relate to that. We had so much fun tapping into our own personal experiences, bringing this campaign to life.”

Singapore – Creative and media agency VaynerMedia has appointed Marc Langenfeld as the head of media for Asia-Pacific, where he will serve as a strategic partner to clients, and help further build the agency’s integrated services in the region.

He will be reporting to VaynerMedia APAC Managing Director, Tim Lindley.

Langenfeld brings in over 12 years of experience in the APAC region. Most recently, he was the APEX regional lead at Publicis Media APAC and has worked with dentsu and Carat in various regional capacities. 

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “I was immediately drawn to VaynerMedia’s operating model, a truly integrated solution across creative, media, strategy and analytics. I cannot wait to work with the incredible clients and talent already at VaynerMedia and continue to build upon the growth of the media practice in APAC.”

Meanwhile, Lindley commented, “When we met Marc we knew we’d stumbled across a rare talent. His strategic thinking is second to none, and he partners that with deep technical expertise and an empathetic leadership quality that just makes you want to follow him and learn from him. Our integrated approach is key to driving relevance at scale, and with Marc leading the media charge I have no doubt that our growth and impact in the region will continue to thrive.”

Malaysia – Come September, the Subway brand in Southeast Asia surprised audiences with a unique take on its marketing campaign – that is, a promotional messaging that targets marketing itself: “More meat, less marketing.”

The campaign was launched in the region-bound countries such as Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, and in Malaysia, the campaign has gained impressive traction within the first month since its launch.

VaynerMedia APAC, the creative brains behind the campaign, shared to MARKETECH APAC, that from the campaign’s release until November to date, digital posts have reached a 7% average engagement rate.

The star of the campaign – Subway’s new Meat Stack – is its sub, packed with chicken strips, tender chicken slices, pepperoni, smokey salami, and fresh veggies. The campaign’s aim is to drive home the message that in order to give the best-valued fresh sub, Subway spent all its budget on cooking up the new item with very little left for marketing.

Much like the long-running joke of “honest movie titles,” and “honest advertisements,” the campaign pokes at the elephant in the room in the business of marketing, where some brands prefer to build on glamorous branding rather than improve the product itself. 

Subway’s “More meat, less marketing” campaign is a 360 marketing initiative. Digital banners and videos have been rolled out on the different markets’ Subway social media channels. On Subway Malaysia’s Facebook page, banners bearing the hashtags #NoBudgetForMarketing #InsertHashtagHere #NoMoneyForHashtag #NoBudgetForTVC are being posted regularly. 

In an October 12 post, Subway Malaysia published a video with the description, “Meat lovers, rejoice! Marketing folks – look away! ‘Cos we’ve spent all our marketing budget stuffing more meat into our all-new Meat Stack.” The video shows a “behind the scenes” editing of the Meat Stack banner, being created in elementary “PowerPoint’” style. 

Meanwhile, another quirky Facebook post shows an image of the new sub with the copy, “You Win Some (meat), You Lose Some (advertising).”

Another post was also published, similarly shining on the battle between good product and good advertising, with a GIF showing a scoreboard, where the new sub gains a point vs no points for marketing. 

VaynerMedia shared that as of current, the campaign has garnered 310k impressions in Malaysia, with a total of 9k engagement of comments, shares, and reactions. Reshares have also amounted to 695.

Of the concept, VaynerMedia APAC’s Executive Creative Director VJ Anand said, “In the marketing industry, we often joke about creating ads using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or MS Paint. We took these jokes and made it a reality because it was a fun approach which made sense with a product like the value-for-money Meat Stack. Add to that the current realities of our industry which has been facing year-long budget cuts, and you have a marketing campaign that’s real, relevant, and talkable.”

A number of Malaysians expressed their appreciation for the marketing move, with one commenting on Facebook, “I love this [idea], more for customer, less for advertiser.”

Another also wrote, “So far, Subway has been the only one calling out what it is. Liking the self-depreciation campaign you’re doing,” alongside enthusiastic emojis of a thumbs-up, and clapping hands. 

Aside from socials, the campaign also takes form in point-of-purchase materials and out-of-home bus ads, particularly in Singapore. In the Lion city, the messaging was adapted in the form of half designed ads, with the catchy copy “[Subway] could only afford half an ad.”

VaynerMedia said the campaign is set to run until early January 2021. 

Hang Ee Laine, Subway’s head of marketing for Southeast Asia said, “We are excited to connect with our guests through a fresh, fun, and light-hearted campaign. We created a delicious sub, and wanted to tell a story in a way that would make people smile.”