Tag: Wunderman Thompson

Hong Kong – Sheung Yan Lo, most recently the chief creative officer for Asia-Pacific at Wunderman Thompson, has announced that he is leaving the marketing industry after over three decades of service. In his announcement, he notes that in the next chapter, he plans to spend more time with his family, while continuing to explore his creative passions, including writing for musical theatre and studying.

Lo, aptly named ‘Ma Yan’ by his colleagues, started his career in 1996, joining China’s advertising industry as a copywriter for JWT Shanghai. An illustrious career saw him quickly shooting up the ranks, eventually becoming the Chairman of JWT’s Asia-Pacific Creative Council in 2013, before being appointed chief creative officer for APAC for Wunderman Thompson in 2019.

A well-rounded creative, Ma Yan has also more than 15 years’ experience writing, directing and acting in stage plays, and writing lyrics for Asian pop songs and musicals, as an active member of the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong. In 2009 the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce also honoured him as one of the Outstanding Hong Kong People in Shanghai.

Speaking on this move, he said, “As I retire from this thrilling 36-year journey, I reflect with profound gratitude on all my years of creativity, growth, and camaraderie. I am reminded of the wise words of Mao Zedong “The world is yours, as well as ours, but in the last analysis, it is yours.” To the fearless, passionate souls who now carry the torch, I offer my sincerest blessings.”

Meanwhile, Audrey Kuah, co-CEO for APAC at VML, commented, “Today, we bid farewell to a creative visionary whose impact on the APAC advertising industry is immeasurable. Ma Yan’s innovative spirit, dedication, and unwavering passion have left an indelible mark on us and the entire industry. As he embarks on this new exciting chapter, we wish him a retirement as vibrant and inspiring as his career has been.”

APAC– VML has announced the appointment of a new in-market leadership team for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. 

The announcement comes as Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R, both WPP creative firms, join together to form VML.

With more than 5000 workers spread across 25 offices in 13 APAC markets, the newly designed organisation hopes to provide improved service for VML’s clientele all throughout the area. It includes industry professionals with deep local knowledge and broad experience in commerce, brand experience, and customer experience.

In APAC, VML works with a wide range of customer partners in several different industries. Ford, The Coca-Cola Company, HSBC, Unilever, Nestle, GSK, Zespri, and other companies are among its clientele.

With principal offices in Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai and Sydney and led by the newly appointed VML APAC Co-CEOs Audrey Kuah and Yi-Chung Tay, the reorganisation includes naming regional market leaders, which will take effect on January 1, 2024.

In Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Tom Tearle, CEO of VMLY&R ANZ, becomes CEO of VML ANZ, while Gavin Bain, CEO of Wunderman Thompson Australia, becomes VML Chief consulting officer, ANZ, and managing director, Perth, Australia.

In Singapore, Wunderman Thompson CEO Nimesh Desai has been named VML CEO for the region. Rhys Taylor, who is currently the managing director of VMLY&R in Singapore, takes on the role of VML chief client officer, focusing on assuring the delivery of VML’s full spectrum of capabilities to clients.

In Indonesia, Wunderman Thompson CEO Samir Gupte has been named CEO of VML Indonesia.

In Malaysia, Kenni Loh, CEO of VMLY&R Malaysia, has been appointed CEO of VML Malaysia.

Golda Roldan, CEO of Wunderman Thompson Philippines, has been appointed CEO of VML Philippines. 

Wunderman Thompson Thailand’s CEO, Parattajariya Jalayanteja, has been appointed CEO of VML Thailand.

Ha Nguyen, who is the CEO of VMLY&R in Vietnam at the moment, has been chosen to be CEO of VML Vietnam.

Kevin Zhu, who is the CEO of VMLY&R China at the moment, has been appointed as the CEO of VML China. Wunderman Thompson for Greater China CEO Carter Chow takes on the role of president at VML China.

Maggie Wong, CEO of Wunderman Thompson, has been appointed CEO of VML Hong Kong.

Ichiro Ota, the current CEO of VML & Ogilvy Japan, will remain in his position, while Akira Suzuki, the CEO of Wunderman Thompson Japan, will take over as COO of VML Japan.

Even Teng, the CEO of Wunderman Thompson Taiwan, has been named as the CEO of VML Taiwan. 

VML India is a principal office and regarded as an important market for the agency, prioritising the hiring of capable executives to direct their teams for the benefit of employees and clients. The announcement of India’s leadership is slated for the first quarter of 2024.

Speaking about the multiple appointments, Audrey Kuah, Co-CEO, VML APAC, commented, “We are thrilled to introduce our new APAC leadership team, who represent the cream-of-the-crop across two of the most awarded creative agencies in the region. As we unify our storied agencies, there is an exciting opportunity to redefine the possibilities of creativity and set the stage for more innovative and effective work.”

Meanwhile, Yi-Chung Tay, Co-CEO, VML APAC, said, “At VML we are dedicated to creating connected brands which matter to the consumer and drive growth for our client partners. Working closely with our leaders across our APAC network, we are well positioned to provide the best possible solutions to our clients’ most pressing business problems via an integrated suite of capabilities which are unsurpassed in the region.” 

Bangkok, Thailand – Home improvement retailer Boonthavorn has partnered with Wunderman Thompson Thailand to launch its newest campaign that shows the complicated differences between generations living together in one house.

In this new campaign, Boonthavorn brought the spotlight to their ‘Live Our Way’ brand message with a captivating five-minute suspense film that features a grandfather and grandson living together, both having a hard time meeting each other’s requests as they make decisions for their generational home improvement.

The short films reflect the current societal context in Thailand, where move-out rates for families are starting to decline, with some homes now housing up to four generations of families. With this, the film highlights the fact that home renovations can become a tense subject, as all generations have their own personal preferences and needs that they would like to see in their home.

Boonthavorn’s campaign aims to remind families that home is a space of joy and safety, and, therefore, everyone living there must learn to converse and meet halfway about their expectations, needs, and preferences in order for a more peaceful coexistence.

Alongside the film, the campaign also includes the launch of an AI design conversation tool that allows consumers to input their dream interior vision to create a life-size ‘door poster’. Made by joining the capabilities of AI and Boonthavorn’s EVERYROOM team of room stylists, the free-of-charge design will be given to homeowners as a key visual based on their own ideas.

The poster will be hung on the homeowners’ room door to get a conversation started with other occupants. Upon concluding the conversation, consumers can simply scan the QR code next to the doorknob to access the shopping list quickly and conveniently on Boonthavorn’s website.

Chanat Choochart, deputy managing director for digital business and branding at Boonthavorn Retail Corporation Public Company Limited, said, “The move-out rate of family members has declined in Thai families during the past three years amid changing attitudes and social context that alter people’s behaviours in favour of continued living with family.”

He added, “More than ever, the home has become the space of family joy and the safe zone for many people, being the place of residence, entertainment centre, workstation, and leisure. A happy life therefore starts at home. At Boonthavorn, we are encouraging families to talk about expectations as the starting point of a co-created home space, which is the idea behind Boonthavorn’s ‘LIVE OUR WAY’ concept.”

Also speaking on the campaign, Park Wannasiri, chief creative officer at Wunderman Thompson Thailand, shared that data from the past few years indicates an uptrend in home renovation. 

Park said, “We want to connect Boonthavorn with this opportunity to capture business growth and build brand love among new audiences. To come up with the door poster idea, we began with insights into home renovation behaviours of Thai people. And with family conversation emerging as the master key, our challenge is to figure out what the brand can do to help people start it and enable everyone in the family to exchange renovation ideas in the most visual way.”

“Door poster itself, as a creative idea, is not easy to realise. It involves cross-departmental collaboration on the client’s side, including stock management and the EVERYROOM team of designers who have to work with AI to create door poster illustrations that match the needs of each customer the most. All these come true with multi-departmental collaboration within Boonthavorn and the fun we had while working hard together,” he added. 

London, UK – Multinational creative communications company WPP has announced the merger of two of its creative agencies, Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R, to form creative company VML.

VML unites the capabilities of the two creative agencies in commerce, customer experience, and marketing technology to provide an improved set of offerings to its clients.

The creative company will be equipped to support clients on creative brand growth strategy and transformation initiatives, all powered by best-in-class data operations, technology platforms, and partnerships with various technology companies. It will also provide an exceptional offer for healthcare companies and B2B marketers.

Combining VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson’s respective client bases, functional expertise, and geographic strengths, VML will have a hold on more than 30,000 people in 64 markets.

Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R were both launched in 2018 and since then have experienced sustained growth and amassed a breadth of expertise, having worked on client development, new business, and acquisitions.

Both agencies have partnered with multiple clients across the globe, including Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and more.

With the merger, the parent company WPP also announced immediate leadership appointments, including Debbi Vandeven as global chief creative officer; Eric Campbell as global chief client officer; Juan Pablo Jurado as CEO for LATAM; Ewen Sturgeon as CEO for EMEA; and Audrey Kuah and Yi-Chung Tay to be co-CEOs for APAC.

Meanwhile, Jon Cook becomes the global CEO at VML, and Mel Edwards will take on the role of global president, with the management team bringing together strong leaders from across both companies.

Cook said, “The future of building strong brands and businesses requires the interconnectivity of brand experience, commerce, and customer experiences. We recognised the immediate opportunity to create what every consultancy and advertising agency aspires to build with the formation of VML. We’re especially excited to present our new offering to the industry, as we don’t believe there is another company as creatively awarded with our depth in customer experience and commerce.”

Also commenting on the merger, Edwards shared, “This is the right suite of capabilities, offered at just the right moment, at unprecedented scale. It’s incredibly exciting because, with this new agency, we have the chance to shape the future of modern marketing in every key market around the world. The opportunities it affords our people and the growth we can deliver for our clients at a global scale make this a real game-changer for each business and the wider industry.”

Meanwhile, Mark Read, CEO at WPP, said, “Scale matters in today’s world as AI and technology transform marketing and global clients look to simplify their relationships. VML will combine world-class creativity with deep expertise in data, marketing technology, and platforms to deliver a competitive advantage for ambitious brands. It’s another important step forward for WPP as we continue to reshape our offer for the future, simplify our business, and unlock further benefits of scale.”

“Separately, Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R are two of WPP’s strongest and best-performing agencies. Together, they will deliver an even wider, fully integrated suite of capabilities to our clients in every market. Marketers today expect seamless links between their brand advertising and technology solutions and platforms. VML provides an immediate solution to this business imperative,” he added.

Indonesia – Wunderman Thompson has named Samir Gupte as the new chief executive officer for its operations in Indonesia. 

Gupte comes from Ogilvy, where he most recently served as executive director and head of operations, and brings with him more than 25 years of experience within WPP.

Gupte spent 23 years with Ogilvy, dividing his time between Indonesia and India. He moved from India to Indonesia in 2013 and began working for OgilvyAction as the managing director. He led in the merger that created Geometry Global at this time. He made a transition to SohoSquare, Ogilvy’s second integrated agency, later in 2016.

After serving in that capacity for two years, Gupte was appointed managing director of Ogilvy Indonesia. In this role, he oversaw client interactions and built a diverse, effective team. The agency acquired clients during his leadership, including Kimberly-Clark Softex, Converse, Sunpride, and Asian Paints. 

Speaking about his new role, Gupte said, “I am really excited about this next chapter in my career. Having worked very closely with Wunderman Thompson teams on key clients like Nestle and Unilever, I am aware of the sheer talent and the potential that exists within the agency. The current leadership team has done a great job of consolidating the different services within the agency. My focus now will be to strengthen our capabilities in CX, data, content and ecommerce, and drive growth for our clients in Indonesia.”

Meanwhile, Audrey Kuah, APAC CEO of Wunderman Thompson, remarked, “Samir brings vast integrated marketing experience growing some of the world’s largest brands in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. His expertise in integrating brand, digital, data and technology, combined with his growth ambition for us, we are pleased to have Samir join our leadership team.”

Thailand – In a celebration of putting ice on beer amongst beer-drinkers in Thailand and Laos–which defies traditional beer drinking conventions–Heineken has teamed up with Wunderman Thompson Thailand to launch ‘Heineken® Star Ice’, a beer ice product that works well for those who enjoy their beer very chilled.

The creation of Heineken® Star Ice involved a meticulous freeze process designed to tackle the challenge of beer’s distinct freezing point, which differs from that of water. To achieve the perfect balance between chill and flavor, the great art of blast freezing was used, a technique that immediately freezes the ice at -35 degree Celsius to ensure that the beer is transformed into ice without compromising its premium taste in a world-renowned Heineken® star shape.

Through this process, ordinary ice is elevated to extraordinary levels. The resulting ‘Heineken® Star Ice’ cubes boast an unprecedented chilling power, more colder than regular ice. As a result, each Heineken beer is infused with an invigorating coolness that perfectly complements the vibrant cultures of Thailand and Laos.

Park Wannasiri, chief creative officer at Wunderman Thompson, said, “We take pride in fusing global brand excellence with the beauty of local traditions. The creation of Heineken® Star Ice was a passionate journey that embraced the ‘Beer with Ice’ culture, reimagining tradition with an innovative freeze. Beyond the refreshing chill, this ice represents a celebration of unity and the shared moments that bring us all together. Here’s to Heineken Star Ice – a truly cool and cultural experience.”

Meanwhile, Fahmi Rajendra, marketing director at Heineken® Laos, commented, “Heineken® is turning 150 years; no such any other perfect time talking on our heritage and honour our history while spreading the spirit of good times and embracing the gezelligheid lifestyle that Heineken® represents.”

He added, “And no such any other perfect opportunity driving connection with consumers by celebrating light-hearted ways of how they enjoy good times with Heineken® all around the world whilst unintentionally adapting the brand and making it their own. With bold creativity, meaningfulness and open-mindedness Heineken® Star Ice was then brought to life.” Inviting our local consumers in Laos to have good times with Heineken®; the beer that is part of their world; while still enjoying their local beer drinking culture, ultimately.”

Bangkok, Thailand – Global fast food restaurant chain KFC partnered with Momo and Friends, a producer of quality dog snacks, to produce the world’s first ‘KFC Bone Tie’ snack in Thailand for International Dog Day.

The campaign is KFC Thailand’s move to promote the dogs’ wellbeing by providing a safer, healthier, and tastier alternative snack made of repurposed KFC chicken bones, reshaped into Colonel’s bow tie. 

Chicken bones can be enticing to dogs, but they can puncture the canine’s organs, causing internal damage. Therefore, the fast food restaurant chain is on a mission to reduce the dangers posed by feeding chicken bones to dogs with their new snack alternative that is guaranteed to be ‘paw-lickin good ’. 

Together with the release of the new doggie snacks, KFC Thailand also went a step further and organized a field day by giving free ‘KFC Bone Tie’ snacks to customers that visited select restaurants or participated in their online activities. 

KFC branches located in pet-friendly malls across Thailand can also participate in the movement to recycle fresh chicken bones. This is the restaurant’s attempt to upcycle food waste and ultimately keep producing the ‘KFC Bone Tie’ snack, which is also marketed as an evergreen treat for dogs. 

The ‘KFC Bone Tie’ initiative received positive feedback, catching the attention of many dogfluencers who joined the movement, alongside thousands of adorable photos of dogs and their owners enjoying the snack. 

KFC Thailand thanks all dog lovers who supported the movement and encourages all dog owners to continue to follow a safe and healthy diet for their pets. 

Suhayl Limbada, chief marketing officer at KFC Thailand, said, “As the leading fried chicken brand that makes everyone’s mouth water, we may have tempted many people to give their dogs chicken bones. This International Dog Day, we went to market determined to raise awareness on the harmful effects of giving cooked chicken bones to dogs, and to replace this instead with the world’s first dog snack – made with love from our KFC chicken bones!” 

Also commenting on the campaign, Park Wannasiri, chief creative officer at Wunderman Thompson Thailand, said, “We’ve added the magic touch to KFC’s brand identity by shaping the snack into a bow tie, making it cute and distinctive, exactly as the Colonel likes it. We teamed up with Gluta Story, a content creator with a famous gang of dogs who adorably helped us communicate this campaign with a film that made everyone watch until the end.”

Shanghai, China – Wunderman Thompson has announced the promotion of Carter Chow to chief executive officer of Wunderman Thompson Greater China.

Previously CEO of Wunderman Thompson China, Chow’s promotion comes as the agency focuses on building a united approach and strategy in Greater China, as more client opportunities call for a consolidated response from agencies.

With 25 years of experience, Chow returns to lead the digital transformation of J.Walter Thompson as CEO where he modernised the entire service offering – driving the agency into a state of hyper growth.

In 2019, Chow notably led the merger of Wunderman and JWT in China by combining and elevating existing teams to bring new, unique and integrated capabilities to the China market.  Since then, the market has experienced significant changes and years of economic uncertainty, but Chow continued to remain consistent – growing alongside clients such as The Estée Lauder Companies, Volkswagen, HSBC, P&G, Danone and so on.

Speaking on his promotion, Chow commented, “We have exceptional teams and excellent capabilities in many of our markets, especially within the Wunderman Thompson Greater China offices. From Shanghai to Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Taipei, each office brings its distinct and market-leading expertise. We can achieve remarkable feats when we‘re all in it together, empower one another, and harness our collective synergy.”

Meanwhile, Ewen Sturgeon, international CEO at Wunderman Thompson, said, “Carter is known for building a robust and successful business with people at the heart of it all; encouraging a culture of creativity and growth. I have no doubt Carter will take our Greater China business to new heights with a united approach.”

Maggie Wong and Evan Teng, CEO of Wunderman Thompson Hong Kong and Taipei respectively, as well as Win Mak, CEO of Mirum Hong Kong (part of Wunderman Thompson), will remain leaders of their markets and will work with Chow to create a more consolidated response to the opportunities and challenges that present Greater China clients.

India – Roopa Badrinath, HR veteran and ex-chief talent officer of Wunderman Thompson South Asia has officially launched Turmeric Consulting, a diversity, equity inclusion (DEI) consultancy with a vision of helping organisations create diverse and equitable spaces for people to thrive for who they are.

Prior to launching Turmeric Consulting, Badrinath served as the chief talent officer at Wunderman Thompson South Asia and is an award-winning professional with over 25 years of experience in the realm of DEI, HR, as well as training & development.

Furthermore, Badrinath is a DEI practitioner and certified diversity auditor. She is also a Google-certified gold tier facilitator, having trained more than 350 women worldwide in self-advocacy skills. She is passionate about leveraging her vast experience in people strategy and employee experience to enable behaviour and mindset shifts through systemic interventions.  

Commenting on the launch of her new venture, Roopa Badrinath, founder of Turmeric Consulting, said, “DEI is about being intentional and intersectional. It is about deliberately providing opportunities for all, creating level playing fields and ensuring that all voices are heard, so that people can realise their full potential by knowing that they matter, and their opinions and perspectives make a difference.”

“Organisations are on the lookout for a partner who can conceptualise and contextualise scalable DEI strategies, curated to match their requirements. With Turmeric Consulting, my goal is to partner with organisations in their DEI journey, to help change mindsets and attitudes, so eventually an equitable future gains momentum.”

“ I chose to launch Turmeric Consulting in the Independence Day month as freedom for me is embracing diversity and differences and fostering change to free us from the shackles of prejudice, biases, and judgement. While it requires consistent effort and commitment, I deeply believe in the intentionality of organisations to spark meaningful change and be a force for good. I see Turmeric Consulting as an enabler to help organisations translate their intent into action,” she added. 

Singapore – Wunderman Thompson, a WPP agency, announced the appointment of Audrey Kuah as its new chief executive officer of Asia-Pacific. 

In her new role, Kuah will oversee the creative and strategic growth of the business across the APAC region. She will be based in Singapore and will report to Wunderman’s global CEO, Mel Edwards. 

Kuah’s expertise in marketing and advertising has been deployed across industries and geographies for more than two decades. 

Kuah joins Wunderman Thompson from OCBC Bank, where she formerly served as head, group marketing, global consumer and financial services, responsible for driving business and growth-focused marketing initiatives. During her time at OCBC, she delivered creatively driven, integrated campaigns that were inspired by consumer insights with personalisation at the core. 

She also partnered with OCBC’s group brand and communications team to design the consumer arm’s experience in Decentraland, OCBCx65Chulia. Kuah also spent eight years prior at Dentsu, where she was recognised as one of The Drum’s Top 100 Digital Marketers in the World (2019). 

Mel Edwards, global CEO of Wunderman Thompson, says, “Having worked both client and agency side, Audrey understands and appreciates the dynamics of working with leading global brands. We’ll have the best of both worlds for our people and our clients in APAC with Audrey at the helm, and I have no doubt she will bring her joy for creative problem solving to combine our creative offering and capabilities to drive growth in the region.” 

Meanwhile, Kuah also commented on her appointment, saying, “My journey in marketing and advertising jump started at J. Walter Thompson Singapore, I’m delighted to come full circle and lead the network’s operations across Asia Pacific. It’s not often this kind of opportunity presents itself, let alone for a network as progressive as Wunderman Thompson. The depth and breadth of the capabilities Wunderman Thompson has to offer is unmatched, and I look forward to working with both teams and clients to deliver their vision in one of the most dynamic and fast growing regions in the world.” 

Kuah will start her role at Wunderman Thompson at the beginning of September. She will be taking over from global president and EMEA CEO Ewen Sturgeon, who was acting as interim APAC CEO.

She is currently on the board of the Singapore Tourism Board and was most recently on the board of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore International.