Neil Cotton, who joined Bates last summer as Greater China planning director, has been named regional head of above-the-line strategy. At the same time, Mikael Aldridge, previously Bates Singapore planning director, was tapped for the role of Asia-Pacific head of strategy at below-the-line agency 141.
Cotton, who is based in Hong Kong, was the worldwide planning director for Coca-Cola at Ogilvy & Mather New York prior to joining the agency last year.
He will work closely with Singapore-based Aldridge to meet the needs of clients, who are increasingly demanding more effective integrated marketing.
Cotton said: "We will work together to grow the strategic thinking at Bates and 141 in terms of hiring, training and best practice with the idea that we will take the big picture view for clients, whether for specific markets or the region as a whole."
He added that as Asian markets grow and mature, "it is easier to find countries, markets and even cities with things in common. Brands can then start to take advantage of that".
Aldridge, meanwhile, said the first three things he did after assuming his new role was to complete 141's proprietary model for integrated marketing solutions, and initiate training in the new model around the region.
He is under no illusion that acquiring strategic people will be easy.
"The acquisition of planners is a slow process, especially with the intellectual demands that our new way of working places on them. We hope to create an exciting environment to which they will come, but we have no illusions that this will take some time," Aldridge said.
Aldridge's background is in research, product management, client side strategy and above- and below-the-line communications. In the recent past, he has developed integrated marketing strategies for Nokia, Heineken and Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore.
Additional reporting by Raini Hamdi.