Publicis Groupe's Rokkan expands to Asia with Singapore office

Rokkan will operate under Publicis Communications' Singapore CEO, Lou Dela Pena.

“If you look at Rokkan’s work and their heritage and what they’ve done in New York, you will see that they are a creativity-led digital agency,” Dela Pena told Campaign Asia-Pacific. “They have the ability to redefine digital communications in all forms from mobile, user-experience and beyond.”

Dela Pena believes the addition of Rokkan Singapore will strengthen the network’s ability to offer clients the “widest range of digital expertise and knowledge in the market”.

While there is some overlap between digital agencies such as Razorfish, Sapient Nitro, Rokkan and Nurun, which come under Publicis Groupe, they each have a different heritage and area for expertise and will work closely together in the future to ensure clients “don’t need worry about how to integrate multiple agency relationships.”

The announcement of Rokkan’s international expansion follows the award of Mikimoto’s global digital business and recent global work including The One&Only Resorts, Tough Mudder, and others.

Rokkan began US work with Mikimoto in 2013 when it re-launched MikimotoAmerica.com and managed the brand’s digital marketing, media strategy and planning. With the global development of the relationship, Rokkan assumes duties leading Mikimoto’s global digital efforts, which will come out of Rokkan’s Singapore office. 

“Re-defining what digital means for us has been a core part of our journey since acquisition,” said John Noe, CEO and co-founder of Rokkan. “We spend the better part of our time blurring the edges, pushing into broader brand and creative duties, media planning, PR, etc. And now a truly global expansion helps bring a model we’re beginning to crack into brand new territories.”

Rokkan’s Asia-Pacific expansion will be led by Chung Ng, chief experience officer and co-founder, who led the 2006 launch of VirginAmerica.com in the US and helped build the agency’s presences in Chicago and Los Angeles. 

Commenting on the agency’s growth, Ng said the agency had been looking at the Asia-Pacific region for quite some time. “There is huge opportunity in this market to apply Rokkan’s experience and expertise in building customer-centric experiences for travel, CPG and luxury,” he added.

Anthea Tang, VP of client partnership, has been promoted to general manager for the new Singapore office, overseeing local operations and further developing client relationships.

Tang joined Rokkan in 2014 after four years with SapientNitro Toronto. During her time with Rokkan in New York, she grew the agency’s core digital business capabilities and expanded client relations with high-profile partners such as Wyndham and JetBlue.