Pushkar Sane, formerly with Euro RSCG, joins Starcom's Southeast Asia business director Mark Newton -- himself a recent hire from XM Asia in the new role. Sane has eight years' experience in the IT, FMCG, automotive and consumer electronics categories.
The appointments come as SMG IP senses an upward shift in digital spend in 2005. The key, believes managing director Jeffrey Seah, is to ensure that the agency's service offering does not simply focus on media buying, but on using digital to ensure true engagement. "This is the year when a lot of clients have finished investments in the back-end," explained Seah. "The old model of work has not proved profitable nor a value proposition. The digital arena is about 'mass one-to-one' targeting."
The expansion also reflects business growth from key SMG IP clients Sun Microsystems, Malaysia Airlines, STB and Oracle. Seah believes that sophisticated digital marketing must look beyond traditional media models and focus on such areas as search marketing, MMS and eDM.
"Our path forward in this increasing digital-dominated communication world will depend heavily on our intellect, and our dare to put these new thoughts into trench operations," added Seah. "So think, or we might become extinct."
