Move and win roundup: Week of January 18, 2021

Philippine Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) appointed BBDO Guerrero to develop two campaigns as the country reopens its destinations to local tourists. The first assignment, “Domestic Tourism Welcome Back”, is a domestic tourism promotional campaign to invite local tourists to visit Philippine destinations in order to help rebuild the economy. The second assignment, “The New Normal for Travelling”, is a campaign to inform people of travel safety protocols. The assignments cover a broad range of materials including videos, virtual tours, outdoor placements and a variety of digital assets.

Electriclimefilms appointed Lisa Macfarlane as senior producer at its Sydney Studio. She was previously freelancing with Studio Mondo as an integrated producer / account manager and has experience across broadcast, print and digital with agencies including BMF Australia, 72andSunny, WhiteGrey, Hogarth Worldwide and VMLY&R.

Ogilvy announced that Australia CEO David Fox will be promoted to CEO for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, effective March 1. Based in Dubai, the new role covers nine countries and 10 offices. Fox has been CEO for six and a half years, prior to which he spent 10 years in global client roles with Ogilvy in London. An internal process to find a successor in Australia, led by Andy Main, is currently underway, the company said.

Gusto Luxe appointed Mae Mei as business director and head of lifestyle and corporate communications. Her CV includes FTI Consulting, Weber Shandwick, Ford and Lancome. Mei is based in Shanghai and reports to Shashin Surti, general manager. With her addition, the agency said it has launched a bespoke corporate advisory offering for luxury brands looking to enhance corporate reputation, brand repositioning, investor relations, trainings and crisis management, Gusto Luxe said.

Independent advertising network Camden, which has offices in Canada and France, opened a boutique office in Hong Kong with Lucie Marceaux, formerly of 1969 Hong Kong, Forever Beta London and Ogilvy & Mather London, as general manager. The full-service agency offers digital content strategy, creative development, and production, along with expertise across a broad range of sectors including sport, finance, luxury and wellness. The Hong Kong office has already secured wins including the delivery of a LinkedIn CSR campaign for Asian fintech company Contineo and and a brand strategy project for sports-equipment retailer Decathlon. 

India digital creative agency IdeateLabs appointed Lokesh Shah as vice president of brand solutions. He will be based out of the agency’s Mumbai office and will be reporting to Vrutika Dawda, director. Shah has experience across India and Southeast Asia and has worked for Cheil India, Lowe, FCB Ulka, Havas Worldwide, and TBWA.

Data and AI company Ada appointed Suraj Gerard Sivaprasad (Suraj) as managing director in Indonesia. His previous experience includes AI XPRT, Cell OS Software and Carrier IQ.

The Marketing Society named its current Singapore chair Erica Kerner, senior vice president and head of marketing strategy and partnerships with ONE Championship, as Asia-Pacific chair. She will oversee the Society’s three hubs in APAC (Hong Kong, Singapore, and India). She has been the Singapore chair for four years, having previously been on the board in Hong Kong when she was with Tiffany & Co. Wendy Walker, senior director of marketing with Salesforce APAC, will take over from Kerner as chair in Singapore. Walker has been on the Singapore board for two years. Kerner takes over as Asia-Pacific chair from Tricia Weener, outgoing group head of B2B marketing at HSBC, who will move into the role of global ambassador following the announcement of her move to Finland, where she is joining Kone Corp as CMO and EVP for marketing and communications. 

Susie Hughes, formerly APAC director of communications at Appier, announced that she has set up her own public relations consultancy, Framework Communications. She led comms for Appier from 2018 until December and has prior experience with Allison+Partners and Lewis.

Green Park Content (GPC) appointed Martin Niens as head of client services for APAC. He joins from Publicis Group Indonesia, where he was head of digital. He will lead the accounts and project management unit of GPC in Asia and will report to APAC MD Marcelo Bittencourt. As part of GPC’s Asia leadership team, Niens will take over client servicing duties from Fe Husaint, creative and brand strategy director. Niens has experience with brands including Unilever, McDonald's, Nestle, Mondelez, Huawei, and Philips. A Dutch national, he has been living in Indonesia for over six years, spending time with Arcade, TBWA, Digitas, Cheil and Leo Burnett.

R/GA Shanghai appointed Kelvin Leong, previously executive creative director at BBDO Shanghai, as its ECD. He has 13 years of creative experience in China including ADK, Factory Design Labs and Ogilvy. His portfolio includes Coca-Cola, P&G, Toyota, Sony, Guinness, Visa, FedEx, PepsiCo, Mini Cooper, Unilever, KFC, China Merchant Bank, Tsingtao Beer, The North Face, Oakley, Converse, Air New Zealand and Shanghai Disneyland Resort.

Publicis Luxe, a full-service agency devoted to luxury and premium brands, appointed Aladin Hardy as managing director in China as Julie Marchesseault, former CEO of Publicis Luxe China, has moved to North America to take the role of global client partner. Previously Hardy directed the luxury division of the experiential marketing and event agency Auditoire for the Asia region, working with clients such as Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co., Cartier and others. He has 10 years of experience in luxury starting from Hermès, where he led press/events and then client experience in Northern Europe and China. He will be based in Shanghai and report to Arto Hampartsoumian, managing partner and executive chairman of Publicis Groupe, China.

MediaCom China retained media planning and buying for Danish footwear brand Ecco in China following a pitch. The two have been working together since 2018. Ecco marketing director Benny Liu said in a release that MediaCom demonstrated understanding of the brand's business and how to uncover smart insights to connect messaging with audiences in meaningful ways.

Kid-focused media property TotallyAwesome is launching a new service for brands to connect with young audiences and has hired Melbourne-based paediatric psychologist Amanda Abel to assist with appropriate brand and audience connectivity. The company said AwesomeLTV will enhance FMCG clients’ engagement with kids from 3 to 12 years old and their families using data to develop understanding of audience behaviour by factors including age, gender, device, content preferences, market and time of day. Abel will consult with clients to help ensure connections are appropriate in terms of content and age bracketing. She has worked as a registered psychologist for 12 years with experience focused on child and family connectivity. TotallyAwesome has more than 300 million monthly active users across APAC.

ADK Connect Singapore appointed Kelvin Koo as MD. He was formerly CEO of advertising agency Falcon.

Zydus Wellness, which includes the consumer wellness brands of Heinz India, re-appointed Wavemaker India as its media AOR following a pitch. The agency has been the company's media AOR since 2013.

VMLY&R Brisbane appointed Benjamin Davis as executive creative director and Neil Atkin as digital director.  Davis joins after 10 years leading creative departments at McCann in Melbourne and Queensland. Atkin has previously held senior digital roles at BBDO, Critical Mass and BCM Group among others, in Canada, the US, Costa Rica and Bulgaria. 

FirmDecisions, an independent global marketing compliance specialist, appointed Matthew Braid as managing director for its Australia and New Zealand offices. He will report to Dale Garvie, APAC managing director. Most recently, Braid held the finance director role at Ikon Communications (part of WPP AUNZ) and the finance director role at Bohemia Group where he helped oversee the sale of the agency from STW Communications to the M&C Saatchi group. He also has experience at Foundation, a media agency within the Omnicom Media Group, Publicis Groupe and George Patterson Bates.

The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA), a Hong Kong-based non-profit dedicated to pursuing excellence in journalism, elected Byron Perry, the founder and CEO of Coconuts Media, as its new chairman at its 38th Annual General Meeting. Perry, based in Singapore, is the first SOPA chair to be based outside of Hong Kong. He will aim to drive more regional membership and presence for the organisation in Southeast Asia. Other new appointments include Jasper Chung of The New York Times as honorary treasurer, Christine Wong of Bloomberg Media as honorary secretary and newly elected board members Ling Sze Gan of Thomson Reuters and Jean Locufier of the Financial Times. The organisation also named the members of its Editorial Committee, which oversees the SOPA Awards, to be led by Madeleine Lim, senior executive editor with Asia Pacific Bloomberg News.