Move and win roundup: Frog, Dentsu, VML, Ogilvy, and more

PEOPLE MOVES

Frog appointed Martin Qiu (裘荟荟) as director of program management, based in Shanghai. He joins from Accenture Digital, where he spent seven years working on digital transformation for Fortune 500 clients.

Dentsu Hong Kong appointed Keith Ho (何振鸿) as chief creative officer to lead a team of 18 creatives. Ho joins from Grey Group Beijing where he was CEO. 

VML Singapore appointed Donald Lim as head of platforms and experiences at the agency’s newly established Centre of Excellence (COE) in Singapore. He previously led DigitasLBI’s user experience for the region, based in Hong Kong.

Added Value appointed Gillian Reilly associate director in its Australian brand strategy team.  She was most recently regional AOA head of insights for Nestle Purina.

Bloomberg Media appointed Serene Chew as head of media marketing and live events for the region. The role is in addition to her current role at Bloomberg Media covering trade marketing, client solutions and activation in Asia.

Sports and entertainment marketing agency Octagon named Aykan Azar managing director of Octagon Southeast Asia. Azar formerly led Octagon’s Brazil operation, where he oversaw the agency during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Sport and entertainment consultancy Gemba promoted Craig Roberts to head of strategy for Asia Pacific, responsible for the company’s management consultancy and venues and facilities divisions across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. He was previously involved with the company’s digital offering, leading projects for clients including National Rugby League. Prior to joining Gemba, he was the head of strategy for the Australian Football League Media. 

Leo Burnett Shanghai made three promotions: Angie Wong (王恺宜), currently general manager, will take on the role of managing director, reporting to Michael Lee, CEO of Publicis Communications Greater China. Rocky Hao (郝崎) and Takho Lau (刘德浩) will both be promoted to ECDs from their current head of creative roles.

Digital agency Essence hired MaryLynn O’Neil as regional resource management and recruitment director for APAC. She will lead talent recruitment for Essence in Singapore, India, Australia and Japan. 

Lee Sheng (李升) joined MRM McCann Beijing as managing partner. He will help lead the team servicing Qualcomm in the Chinese market. Lee spent seven years at IBM in the field of B2B marketing. He reports to MRM McCann China’s managing director Mike Zeng.

The new leadership team for Marie Claire China comprises Claire Landrau (兰黎明) who has been named CEO; Sharon Dong (董晓红) as chief revenue officer; and Yang Hongli (杨红鹂)becomes chief content officer.

Jason Dou is Supercell China’s new brand marketing lead. Previously, he was game development studio 2K’s senior marketing manager in China for two and a half years.

Zod Fang (方骏) has been made the head of GroupM Trading’s data centre in China. Before this, He was leading GroupM Knowledge, the agency’s in-house department that produce media insights to give its buyers an advantage in strategic negotiations.

Bella Ling-Nair switched employers to be the vice president of brand and communications for Asia at Viking Cruises, after spending 21 months heading up the communications function for Airbnb in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Dentsu Aegis Network will transfer KF Lee (李桂芬), China chairperson, to the network's headquarters in Japan, Dentsu Inc, as special advisor on international business. Lee has been in her previous position at DAN since Dentsu's merger with Aegis Media in 2014.

ICYMI: Other news we covered this week Tom Doctoroff joins Prophet Outbrain unveils content revenue tracker Automatic Yield  Third digital marketing group joins the fray in Hong Kong Ruder Finn launches app-based risk management system Blis launches location AI platform DAN acquires Grant group in Sri Lanka

BUSINESS WINS

Sydney independent creative agency Loud won a seven-way pitch for Zespri Southeast Asia. The agency will develop television, print, and POS, with a launch set down for May.

Indonesian private bank PT Bank Permata appointed TBWA\Indonesia as its creative partner. The agency will develop communications to “disrupt the market and deeply engage with Indonesians,” according to the client, which wants to become the “purpose-driven bank for Indonesian families.

Ogilvy Brisbane was appointed by The University of Queensland as its new “creative agency of choice”, encompassing strategy, creative and digital engagement for all the university’s research and teaching facilities.

Oppo appointed LEWIS as its communications agency of record in Malaysia. The PR firm is in charge of implementing several campaigns to boost the phone maker’s presence in the country. 

WE Communications was selected to launch The Cheesecake Factory in Hong Kong as its communications partner. The agency will manage the brand’s owned and paid channels, and drive its brand messaging. 

Singapore-based Ape Works won two PR mandates from industrial infrastructure developer JTC. The agency is handling events and social media planning for The Oval @ Selatar Aerospace Park, and consultancy on promoting one-north as a vibrant working community. 

OTHER NEWS

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity announced that David Droga, founder and creative chairman of Droga5, will be honoured with the Lion of St. Mark award at this year’s Festival. Droga is one of the most awarded creatives at Cannes Lions, with more than 70 Gold and 15 Grand Prix / Titanium Lions to date.

Serviceplan Group announced its launch of Plan.Net Korea, a Korea office of its subsidiary group, Plan.Net, handling all of Serviceplan’s digital businesses. The company appointed Junhwa Hong as the CEO of Plan.Net Korea. Hong previously served as the MD of Chai Communication's Integrated Campaign (IC) Group.