Asia-Pacific Power List 2022: Yves Briantais, Colgate-Palmolive

Yves Briantais

VP of marketing, APAC
Colgate-Palmolive
Hong Kong 
Member since 2021

Reclaiming a spot in Campaign Asia-Pacific’s Power List for the second time in a row, Yves Briantais, marketing chief for Colgate-Palmolive in APAC, has reinvigorated the brand by stepping up its marketing game and championing inclusivity and diversity. 

The company has been going through what Briantais calls “massive digital transformation”, and he is leading the restructuring of both its marketing and agency teams to deliver purpose-driven results and more innovation.

In 2020, he headed the development of a new brand-equity campaign, 'Smile strong' in APAC, which tells inspirational stories of everyday heroes who overcome immense challenges to get to where they are. Other noteworthy campaigns are ‘Smile out Loud’ earlier this year for the Hong Kong market featuring Thai and African influencers which promotes authenticity over ‘perfect teeth’, as well as the  #SmileStrongBersama campaign created with Ogilvy Malaysia and Red Fuse. Briantais is the reason that Colgate-Palmolive’s stand on diversity, inclusivity and positive reinforcement is crystal clear.  

Forthright about the use of plastics in his company and the entire FMCG sector, Briantais has committed to a zero-plastic approach. In fact, Colgate has developed—after five years of effort—what it claims is the world's first recyclable toothpaste tube. The brand’s parent company has also publicly pledged to use 100% recyclable packaging for all its products by 2025. 

A highlight of his marketing career is signing an MoU with Shopee to potentially grow Colgate’s digital commerce business by more than 20 times across Southeast Asia and Taiwan by 2025. Briantais is also a frequent jury member at the Effie Awards and Festival of Media APAC.