Dentsu Aegis brings Data2Decisions to Asia

Data2Decisions, which specialises in econometric modelling to help marketers get a handle on the real drivers of effectiveness, got its start in the UK in 2001. Aegis Media acquired it in 2012.

Perella, who moved to Singapore in September from the UK, outlined three main reasons that the time is right to launch the unit in Asia.

"What we do relies on data, and there's an increased amount of high-quality data available in this region," he told Campaign Asia-Pacific. "That enables us to apply our techniques and know that we're analyzing the right information in the right way."

In addition, marketers here are getting more savvy and requesting the kind of optimisation and validation that the unit delivers. Finally, a worldwide presence has been part of the plan since Aegis acquired Data2Decision.

"We're here to run analytics consistently across the world, to give global businesses the abilty to look at their marketing effectiveness worldwide knowing that it's all been done consistently and is therefore comparable," Perella said.

Perella said that the unit has already done work with clients in the region even before the establishment of the presence in Singapore. He added that expansion is certainly in the cards as business dictates, although he declined to name specific markets. Data2Decisions engages with clients directly as well as through full-service work with Dentsu Aegis. 

Nick Waters, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific, said Data2Decisions plays an important role in the company by building a business case for marketing and adding rigour to media planning. "We strive for accountability in all the advice we offer clients, and Data2Decisions will help build empirical evidence of what actions work better than others,” Waters said in a statement.