The company, owned by DGM in the UK, aggregates advertising impressions for web publishers across the region and packages them for advertisers.
Nick Fawbert, head of operations, Asia-Pacific, said the way online advertising is bought in the region needs to change.
“The main issue in Asia-Pacific is a lack of cutting-edge technology to make online work across markets. Which explains why, even in a wired market like Singapore, online adspend is still less than one per cent of the total. We can help media planners serve and optimise their online campaigns.”
Activ, which already has offices in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India, will compete with players such as 24/7 Media and AdLink.
The company claims to have the largest network capacity in the region. Its biggest market is China, where is reaches around 10 million internet users. It also covers Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India and the Philippines.
Fawbert joined the company in January from CBS Outdoor in Beijing, where he was international vice-president. He has also worked in the offline world at Top Gear, Maxim and the Daily Telegraph.
The Singapore operation will be run by managing director Alex Khan, who worked at Yahoo UK & Ireland, where Fawbert was head of sales.
