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Marketing Featured Global

Meta exec Teemu Suviala named Landor & Fitch’s new chief creative officer

Meta exec Teemu Suviala named Landor & Fitch’s new chief creative officer
Meta exec Teemu Suviala named Landor & Fitch’s new chief creative officer

Hong Kong – Global brand and design consultancy Landor & Fitch has named Teemu Suviala as its new chief creative officer. Suviala was most recently the global head of brand design at Meta’s Reality Labs.

In his new role, he will take responsibility for Landor & Fitch’s award-winning creative teams in studios across more than 20 countries worldwide, working with clients such as Apple, Netflix, Coca-Cola, LEGO and the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Reporting to Jane Geraghty, global CEO at Landor & Fitch, Suviala will lead the continued expansion and evolution of the company’s design offer, with a particular focus on integrating new technologies.

During his previous stint at Meta, he and his team worked closely on the company’s high-profile rebrand from Facebook, including the naming, branding and visual identity. Alongside this, Suviala led the expansive brand design work in bringing Meta’s metaverse concepts to the fore across breakthrough technologies such as augmented and virtual reality. 

He is an entrepreneur and adventurous designer, bringing over 25 years of creative and management experience. An impressive portfolio includes creatives for clients including Amnesty International, Google, Spotify and Uniqlo.

Speaking on his new role, Suviala said, “An incredible set of clients. Award-winning work. Stubbornly future-forward thinking. Landor & Fitch holds huge appeal to a creative mind, and the opportunity for growth is unlimited. But it was the culture here that spoke to me most – a singular vision and commitment to working as one to deliver the extraordinary and make a positive difference.”

He added, “I’m excited to join a culture that not only obsesses about creativity and innovation to achieve success but aspires to reach it together. I’m keen to explore how we can be at the forefront of the Imagination Age with new technologies such as A.I. and by blurring the lines between our physical and virtual worlds to create the better, bolder brand experiences which appeal to the consumers, clients, and stakeholders of today and tomorrow.” 

Geraghty said, “I am delighted that Teemu is joining our team. He’s an exceptional designer with a long track record of delivering transformative work and a compassionate leader with a truly global view. The breadth of his experience will be invaluable as we continue to expand and evolve our offer to meet the needs of our ambitious clients. With our recent rapid growth and influx of new talent, Teemu’s passion for nurturing creative cultures makes him the perfect creative leader for us.”

Rob Reilly, global chief creative officer at WPP, said: “It’s hard to find a global talent with as long a track record of creative excellence as Teemu. But what impresses me most about him is his commitment to bringing greater diversity to the design industry. We can’t wait to see the impact he has on our people and clients.” 

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Marketing Featured East Asia

Caroline Slocombe appointed by WPP’s OpenX to lead Coca-Cola business in Greater China

Caroline Slocombe appointment

Shanghai, China — Marketing and communications network WPP has brought in industry veteran Caroline Slocombe to lead OpenX, the entirely new offering created for The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) that carries an integrated agency model comprised of creative, media, social, data, tech, PR, and commerce experts from across WPP.

In her new role, Slocombe will be overseeing the relationship of TCCC and its portfolio of iconic brands across all WPP’s agencies in Greater China. 

For 25 years, Slocombe has built her strong working experience with agencies. From directing multi-market and multi-functional teams, she has served for some of the world’s biggest CPG and FMCG brands. 

She was previously an executive director for Red Fuse Communications in APAC where she drove growth for a portfolio of over 10 brands across 15 markets. She was also a general manager in LOWE, currently known as MullenLowe Profero, in Hong Kong where she oversaw office operations and manage the Johnson & Johnson business across APAC.

Considering China as an important part of growth and innovation, Laurent Ezekiel, global CEO of OpenX from WPP & WPP CMO said that Slocombe will be an asset for supporting the company’s transformation in the country. 

Commenting on Slocombe’s appointment, Chris Reitermann, chief executive officer of Ogilvy Asia & Greater China added, “Her strategic marketing understanding, combined with her extensive experience in the region — having worked in Asia for more than two decades — made her an ideal fit for this vital role within the OpenX from WPP framework, which is all about delivering giant ideas that create giant value for The Coca-Cola Company.” 

Meanwhile, Slocombe commends The Coca-cola Company for its portfolio of iconic brands and recognizing its global success. 

She added, “Being able to help lead their marketing transformation agenda forward in this part of the world, which is so vibrant and innovative, is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I couldn’t be more excited to be working with all the talented experts that make up the OpenX from WPP team and together push the boundaries of possibility.” 

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Marketing Featured ANZ

WPP’s new training program in AU to kickstart career of emerging creative talents

WPP’s new training program in AU to kickstart career of emerging creative talents
WPP’s new training program in AU to kickstart career of emerging creative talents

Sydney, Australia – Global creative transformation company WPP has launched a new training program in Australia called ‘Breakthrough Cadetship’ to provide emerging talents with a passion for creativity the opportunity to kickstart their career within WPP in Australia.

The ‘Breakthrough Cadetship’ is part of WPP’s talent transformation agenda enabling WPP to source Australia’s future-ready talents.

The inaugural program, run out of Sydney, sees eight candidates experiencing four three-month rotations across WPP’s award-winning creative and production agencies Hogarth, VMLY&R, whiteGREY and Wunderman Thompson. 

The program offers the Breakthrough Cadets the opportunity to develop skills in client servicing, branding, strategy, customer experience, and production, with the opportunity for full-time permanent employment at the end of the program for successful candidates. The candidates commenced their cadetship in September, with an initial one-week orientation.

In addition, the training program was designed for people with a passion for creativity and a curiosity to learn – formal tertiary qualifications and prior industry experience were not required as part of the selection process. Candidates were selected after three rounds, with the final round consisting of an in-person immersion day at WPP’s Sydney Campus. 

The successful candidates bring with them a diversity of experience and skills, including electronics and engineering, zoology, digital health, start-up commerce, innovation, and film production.

Morag Eyles, chief people officer for ANZ at WPP, said, “WPP’s purpose is to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities, therefore we need exceptional people to join us on this mission. With the Breakthrough Cadetship, we are developing a new pipeline of talent as part of our ambition to diversify how we work and the work we deliver. We are ecstatic to welcome the 2022 Breakthrough Cadets to WPP and look forward to growing together with them on their journey.”

Meanwhile, Rose Herceg, president for ANZ at WPP, commented, “At WPP, you can build a career for life; it is something we are proud to support through learning and development, mobility and open doors across our network of companies. We created this Cadetship to attract and develop the next generation of leadership within our industry, ensuring we maintain the skillsets needed as our clients’ creative transformation partner. I am delighted to welcome the first cohort of Breakthrough cadets and wish them well on their career pathway within WPP.”

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Marketing Featured APAC

Colgate amplifies sustainability game through introduction of ‘Colley’

Hong Kong – More and more brands are heeding the call for sustainability, and toothpaste brand Colgate is strengthening its commitment to social impact through finally making its toothpaste tubes recyclable. In line with this, the brand has released an engaging campaign that introduces its newly revamped packaging – via the personification of ‘Colley’. 

Through advert shorts, ‘Colley’ is seen as laidback and funny where it says recycling is ‘fun’ except when it’s a ‘joke’ you’re repurposing. The campaign is developed by Red Fuse, WPP’s integrated global team dedicated to Colgate-Palmolive brands. 

Called ‘Share the Answers’, the campaign ultimately champions Colgate’s use of HPDE recyclable toothpaste tubes.

“We are committed to [helping] find solutions to the problem plastic represents for the planet. And we want to do it holistically [by] making our products recyclable whilst simultaneously educating people and collaborating with organizations on the ground,” said Yves Briantias, Colgate’s VP of marketing for APAC. 

Regional ECD of Red Fuse Kenny Choo said Colley, the recyclable tube, is full of energy and optimism and will often be found chatting about recyclable plastic with Genny, the animated tube character that is a complete contrast – not recyclable.

Choo said, “We want to help people understand the new technology of Colgate’s recyclable tube in a fun and engaging way, and Colley brings that ‘refreshing’ appeal to the toothpaste category…we feel that these characters will permeate through cultures and across continents for both Colgate and consumers. We have developed content that will appeal to all generations and that will help to encourage more discussion around recycling and sustainable habits.” 

Colgate has actually pledged to design and deliver circular and alternative solutions for all its products as part of its 2025 Sustainability & Social Impact Strategy. 

The present campaign with ‘Colley’ was first launched in Australia and is expected to be adopted across other APAC markets. It has already been rolled out across Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok and will also be including in-store promotions. 

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Marketing Featured South Asia

WPP acquires remaining stake in MediaCom in India

WPP acquires remaining stake in MediaCom Communications in India
WPP acquires remaining stake in MediaCom Communications in India

Mumbai, India – Global creative network WPP has announced that it has acquired the remaining 26 per cent stake in MediaCom Communications in India. MediaCom in India is treated as a JV between WPP and independent communications group Madison World. Following WPP’s decision to merge Essence and MediaCom globally, top management of Madison World has agreed to exit MediaCom to enable the merger. 

The initial agreement between WPP and Madison World dates back to 2008, under which the company owned 51%. In 2017, Madison World sold 25% to WPP. The unique deal between WPP and Madison World contributed to the rapid growth that MediaCom experienced in India. 

MediaCom Communications in India had offices in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru with a team of 165. It has done media planning and buying for a number of top brands such as Procter & Gamble and Dell.

Sam Balsara, chairman of Madison World, said, “This innovative partnership we invested in nearly 15 years ago has been a great success for all parties. It has established MediaCom in India as a fast-growing and highly respected agency by advertisers.”

Nick Lawson, Global CEO of MediaCom, commented, “It has been a pleasure working with Sam Balsara and Lara Balsara as we grew this successful business in India. We will build on that legacy to deliver the agency model our clients want for the future – founded on brilliant strategy and brand-building capabilities, with pioneering digital expertise running throughout.”

Sam Balasara and Lara Balasara are Madison World’s chairman and executive director, respectively.

It was in April 2022 when the EssenceMediacom merger was officially announced. The fusion combines the digital and data-driven capabilities of Essence with MediaCom’s scaled multichannel, audience planning, and strategic media expertise. 

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Marketing Featured ANZ

WPP to acquire marketing technology agency Bower House Digital

WPP-and-Bower-House-Digital
WPP-and-Bower-House-Digital

Australia – Global creative transformation company WPP has agreed to acquire the business of Bower House Digital, a marketing technology services agency located in Australia. Through the acquisition, Bower House Digital will be joining Ogilvy’s global network, further strengthening its ability to deliver technology-driven marketing solutions for clients.

Bower House Digital designs, builds, and deploys digital experiences for clients including Aesop, Bunnings, and Bupa, as well as Target, and Myer. It specialises in implementing Salesforce Marketing Cloud solutions.

The acquisition is aligned with WPP’s accelerated growth strategy and focused M&A approach to building on existing digital experience capabilities.

Rose Herceg, WPP’s president for Australia and New Zealand, said, “Companies are seeking one integrated communications solution that combines creativity, technology and data. Bower House Digital’s knowledge in marketing technology will further strengthen our digital expertise in Australia and New Zealand. I’m excited to welcome the Bower House Digital team and clients to WPP.”

Meanwhile, Andy Main, Ogilvy’s global CEO, noted that Bower House Digital has a dynamic team of experts with a track record of delivering truly personalised digital experiences for some of the world’s most recognisable brands. 

“We look forward to driving impact and fueling growth for our clients by scaling Bower House Digital’s capabilities at the intersection of creativity, consultancy, production and operational services across our global network,” said Main.

Bryan Dobson and Meg Quinn, Bower House Digital’s co-founders, commented, “Joining WPP and Ogilvy’s global network represents the next stage in our growth. We are so proud of what our company has achieved, the culture we have created and the team we have assembled over the past five years. Fusing our digital marketing knowledge with the creative powers of Ogilvy will build even bigger and better opportunities for our people and clients.”

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Marketing Featured Global

WPP ties with Epic Games to scale metaverse capabilities

WPP-and-Epic-Games
WPP-and-Epic-Games

Singapore – Global creative transformation company WPP has partnered with Epic Games, the interactive entertainment company and Fortnite and Unreal Engine developer, to help agencies within WPP deliver a new era of digital experiences for brands in the metaverse. 

The partnership will include a new training program to upskill WPP creatives and technologists, consisting of three separate tracks for executives, creative practitioners, and media experts and strategists. It will see WPP teams working closely with experts at Epic Games to learn how to build next-generation interactive experiences leveraging Unreal Engine, an advanced real-time 3D creation tool used across a range of industries including games, film, architecture, fashion, and automotive, as well as music and live events. 

Moreover, WPP teams will be able to take advantage of training and tools to create new experiences in Fortnite, where creators can build imaginative worlds for brands inside of one of the most globally popular online games. 

WPP will also work with SuperAwesome, an Epic Games company, to deepen its understanding of online safety and privacy to help its campaigns engage younger audiences safely.

Nilufar Fowler, WPP’s executive vice president of strategic partnerships, commented, “We think of WPP as the creative transformation company, one that embraces new environments like the metaverse and sees the potential for clients. Epic’s technology is world-class, and we are delighted to partner with it to raise the bar for social experiences in virtual worlds on behalf of our clients.”

Meanwhile, Matthew Henick, Epic Games’ vice president of metaverse development, shared that the collaboration between Epic, WPP, its clients, and the creator community will accelerate the building of diverse social entertainment experiences that players across the world will love. 

“This partnership with WPP bolsters our mission to educate more trailblazing brands and creators on how Epic’s tools across Fortnite, Unreal Engine, and 3D marketplaces like ArtStation and Sketchfab can be used to bring their metaverse visions to life,” said Henick.

WPP said that this partnership follows its recent announcement of The Metaverse Foundry, a new global metaverse offering through Hogarth, its specialist creative content production company.

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Marketing Featured East Asia

Kyoko Matsushita appointed as CEO of WPP in Japan

Kyoko Matsushita appointed as CEO of WPP in Japan
Kyoko Matsushita appointed as CEO of WPP in Japan

Tokyo, Japan – Global creative transformation company WPP has appointed Kyoko Matsushita as its new chief executive officer in Japan. Through her new role, Matsushita will be responsible for WPP’s business in Japan, strengthening its collective capabilities and bringing together people and resources on behalf of clients.

She was recently the chief executive officer for Essence Global, WPP’s global data and measurement-driven full-service media agency, with 23 offices in 12 countries. She joined Essence in 2014 as the first CEO of the APAC region. Before being named Essence Global’s CEO, Kyoko served as the agency’s first global chief client officer, leading the client services practice, client satisfaction, and organic and new business growth.

Speaking about her appointment, she said, “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime to serve as WPP’s CEO in a country with so much growth potential for us and the industry. Japan is close to my heart, and the chance to lead the WPP business in a market with tremendous opportunity for us is a real honour.”

Meanwhile, Mark Read, CEO at WPP, said: “Kyoko’s experience and work at the leading edge of technology and her appreciation for building a strong culture make her the perfect leader for our WPP business in Japan. She is highly respected across our industry, and her return to the Asia Pacific region follows a period of great success as CEO of Essence. I have no doubt she will unlock new opportunities for our people and clients in the world’s third-largest economy.”

This appointment will see Matsushita’s return to Asia, based in Tokyo, after a transition period as the merged EssenceMediacom business prepares for its launch.

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Marketing Featured East Asia

China Duty Free taps Superunion to ‘dream up’ Macau flagship opening

China Duty Free taps Superunion to ‘dream up’ Macau flagship opening
China Duty Free taps Superunion to ‘dream up’ Macau flagship opening

Hong Kong — China Duty Free International, one of the established luxury goods operators in China, has commissioned creative company Superunion to create a visual digital experience for its new flagship opening in Macau. Dubbed ‘The Surreal Island’, the project is made up of large-scale digital displays set within the retail space at the Grand Lisboa Palace, Macau.

Superunion, a company under the WPP umbrella, will create content for digital screens that include ceiling displays and wall panels to be displayed in the Macau flagship store. The company worked in collaboration with Peru-based surrealist illustrator, Paolo Torres. Together, they created a poetic world inhabited by characters and scenes, designed through a whimsical combination of retail products and magical creatures.

Different scenes unfold from the art project; a tiger tote stalks the rainforest and a Venus statue built of lipstick sits at the centre of a lake whilst porcelain whales dance in the sky. Each of these narratives was illustrated and brought to life in motion, designed to seamlessly exist alongside the store’s daily life. The scenes are highly intricate, with day and night cycles that reveal new discoveries through every view.

Louisa Luk, senior designer of Superunion, said that the project has been a truly collaborative effort that spanned across time zones and continents, involving creatives both internally and externally from Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Italy, London and Peru.

“The China Duty Free team gave us an invaluable opportunity to flex our skills beyond branding into experience design – culminating in a fine blend of creative tech, illustration, art direction and cinematography. This immersive and dreamlike space speaks to the vibrancy of experiences and culture in Macau, setting up the flagship as a true destination for luxury shopping,” Luk said.

Meanwhile, Miuling Lau, senior marketing manager of China Duty Free International, commented, “Macau is known for its larger-than-life attitude to experiences, having established its identity as a casino city in the last 15 years. Our hope is that we are able to transport our guests to another world as soon as they step into our store and that this project marks the beginning of an otherwise expansive brand world for Surreal Island, where we can break out of the original retail context into other platforms and experiences.”

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Marketing Featured Global

Reddit and WPP unveil multi-year commerce advisory tie-up

Reddit and WPP unveil multi-year commerce advisory tie-up
Reddit and WPP unveil multi-year commerce advisory tie-up

London, United Kingdom — Reddit, the social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website, has entered into a long-term consultative partnership with global marketing communications company, WPP. The partnership, a first of its kind for Reddit, and led by its global agency development team, will strengthen Reddit’s on and off-platform commerce offering by closely aligning with WPP’s industry-leading commerce roadmap.

The partnership will tap into the commerce and technology expertise across WPP and its media agencies within GroupM through quarterly advisory meetings. Teams will consult on Reddit’s commerce strategy, ensuring it incorporates the latest insights and intelligence from across the WPP network. WPP will receive a first look at Reddit’s commerce solutions with early access to alpha and beta tests so both companies can collaborate on joint products to take to shared clients. The joint collaboration will also include a joint research piece, to test the effectiveness of future commerce products on Reddit, along with a training program through Reddit Ads Formula, which soft-launched last year.

Reddit builds on its existing partnership with WPP media arm, GroupM, which was one of the very first to meet with Reddit’s ads product team when it was first introduced, this partnership will widen the aperture of Reddit’s relationship with WPP and help inform Reddit’s long term commerce strategy, firmly cementing its role in the wider commerce mix.

Harold Klaje, global EVP and president of advertising for Reddit, commented, “Online communities are not new but they have emerged throughout the pandemic as an integral part of the commerce mix thanks to the highly influential role they play in the consumer path to purchase. I am excited to further strengthen our relationship with WPP and its suite of clients as we continue to collaborate and build together, tapping into the holding company’s impressive expertise and working towards mutually beneficial outcomes for our advertising partners.”

Meanwhile, Amanda Grant, vice president, managing partner, and global head of social for GroupM, said that being a part of the Reddit product council in the past year has given them a seat at the table in terms of early product design, leading to better-aligned product development and advertiser interest.

“The partnership brings key stakeholders in early enough to steer concepts rather than confirm a formed hypothesis. GroupM and WPP are approaching commerce evolution much more methodically with our partners, as our performance expertise helps to connect user behaviours, to platform utility, and finally advertiser need. We are looking forward to richer contributions and partnership with Reddit,” Grant said.

Many WPP client brands are already working with Reddit to drive commerce solutions through Reddit’s highly engaged user base and 100,000+ communities. WPP was also an instrumental part of Reddit’s Product Council, which launched last year as a first-look and feedback session for key partners regarding Reddit’s evolving ads product roadmap. This new partnership will see Reddit and WPP continue to partner on client campaigns with a particular focus on lower-funnel education, strategy, and tactics to drive the strongest purchase outcomes.

The partnership comes as Reddit continues to grow its Global Agency Development team, which has recently appointed London-based Susanne Schmid who joins from Facebook where she was regional agency lead and will serve as Reddit’s global agency lead for WPP. Additionally, former VP, global head of partnerships at Verizon Media, John Baylon has also joined the team as the regional agency lead for Europe, the Middle East, and Asia (EMEA), and will be responsible for servicing all holding companies across EMEA in a newly-developed role.

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