To galvanise the agency, Mc-Cabe expects to draw on the full range of her below-the-line and interactive experience, which includes working with such clients as American Express, DBS, Ericsson and Levi Strauss during her stints at OgilvyOne and, previously, Wunderman in Singapore.
In this regard, she has marked out e-marketing and sales promotion as areas for expansion.
"An agency that stands still goes backwards," said McCabe. "We have to constantly develop smarter solutions to help our clients stay competitive.
We will be expanding our e-marketing team and sales promotion services and will continue to develop our database marketing offering."
In particular, McCabe pointed out that today's marketing climate requires a strong focus on ROI. For McCabe, this means ensuring that Rapp has the best talent to achieve successful results.
"Clients are constantly having to make their marketing budgets work harder.
ROI is the shared key challenge for both clients and agencies," she explained.
"This means agencies have to work harder and smarter, and be prepared to really partner with clients to deliver these results.
"My personal challenge is to make sure that we have the best team to do this. A key focus will be to attract and retain the best talent in the direct industry, and to make sure we are no longer so quiet in the market."
At Rapp, McCabe will oversee a client roster which features UOB Asset Management, Exxon Mobil, Keppel Land and Air France.