German-based Mediaplus Group is setting its sights on Asia’s media market by setting up a new joint venture with The Media Shop in Singapore. The new entity, branded as Mediaplus Singapore, will give Europe’s largest independent agency network a new hub from which to build more business across the region.
“For us in Europe, it’s a big thing to step into this region, the second biggest advertising market after the US,” Matthias Brüll, global CEO of Mediaplus, tells Campaign in an exclusive interview.
Parent company Serviceplan Group already has a presence in Asia through a Shanghai office, a technology services hub in India and a partnership with Hakuhodo in Japan and Australia. Mediaplus, the media arm, specifically, has also partnered with some agencies in the region, like The Media Shop in Singapore, with whom it has been working for the past three years.
But this deal is different, Brüll says, because it establishes a new company carrying the Mediaplus name, alongside The Media Shop, which will continue to exist as an independent media house.
Boutique media agencies are somewhat rare in Asia, but The Media Shop, with its staff of less than 20, has been operating for the past 17 years. While Mediaplus, with its 3000 employees across 44 offices and especially strength in Europe, is the heavyweight in this alliance, Brüll says it is their similar independent entrepreneurial mindset that has been key to forging this partnership.
“It's not only the size of the business, [but] it's also about the chemistry,” he explains, noting how their new Asian business will provide learning opportunities in areas like social commerce, which is more advanced in this region.
Importing German brands & reputation for technological precision
For The Media Shop, this deal brings multiple benefits, not least of which is Mediaplus’ global client base, a portfolio stocked with German-based multinational brands like Bosch, Siemens, BMW, Lufthansa, Trolli, Dr Beckmann and others like DeLonghi, some of which the two shops have already collaborated on or will soon. The joint venture will initially focus on supporting global Mediaplus and Serviceplan Group clients with media strategy, planning and buying, and data-led marketing services.
But what The Media Shop’s co-founders are most excited about is tapping into the new ideas, technologies and platforms that a global player like Mediaplus can provide for their clients.
“For us, it opens new doors and exposes us to current trends and Mediaplus’ technology innovations,” managing director Gary Tang tells Campaign. “We can then showcase this to our clients and share ‘German precision’ with them,” adds chief executive Jessica Toh.
Brüll, who is focused on growing Mediaplus’ AI-led media consultancy services back in Europe, says their recently rolled-out AI strategy is differentiated by clearly defined existing data-based solutions for clients to help across both media and creative.
“So when we connect our Singapore office to this world, we will for sure connect also our global data platform, which then brings The Media Shop and Mediaplus in Singapore a number of new weapons to win new clients.”
Toh says The Media Shop has several local clients looking to expand abroad, and this partnership will help them service existing clients and perform in pitches, as they translate Mediaplus’ industry knowledge into local practices.
“We feel there’s a huge opportunity to do more together and that one plus one is more than two,” Toh says.
The right time and place
Given the Eurocentricity of Mediaplus’ existing business, one might surmise there is a certain inevitability of expansion to Asia at a time when US trade and business policy has become wildly unpredictable, and the Middle East conflict has alarmingly conflagrated. But Brüll says their Asian growth plans have been in the works longer than recent geopolitical events might suggest.
But Mediaplus does see a window of opportunity opening in the wake of industry turmoil following consolidations at several of the global agency holding companies.
“For us as the largest independent, it’s a huge opportunity,” says Brüll, who spent 13 years in leadership roles at WPP media agencies, including CEO of GroupM in Germany. “IPG and Omnicom have to deal with their issues, which are more about gaining efficiencies and less about taking care of their clients, which creates a gap for us to step into.”
“Same thing with WPP,” he continues, “If they take away all the brands, they take away the identity for many people, so there’s huge friction. At the end of the day, this is for us a 12-,18-, 24-month opportunity which we need to take. And maybe there’s an opportunity to take a couple of clients away.”
Likewise, The Media Shop sees local opportunities as clients look for attentive media service partners, and in the ability to add some of the new talent hitting the market following mass layoffs.
While neither will commit to exact figures yet on how much the new venture will grow, Brüll says they would like Singapore to become an Asia hub that complements its existing hubs in Germany, the UK and a smaller but growing business in the US.
“We are very much focusing on bringing in global new business and we have the ambition to make it grow fast here,” Brüll says. “Let’s see where we end up in 12 or 24 months. But we have a big ambition.”
Source: Campaign Asia-Pacific
