Virtue officially launches in APAC

Creative agency Virtue, part of global youth media brand Vice, has officially launched in Asia-Pacific today, announcing three new offices in Singapore, Seoul and Sydney.

Servicing the whole region from the three new premises, Virtue aims to bring the Vice ethos to the creative business in APAC by helping brands connect with young people.

As part of this, Aaron Pearce has been appointed Virtue APAC managing director, based at headquarters in Singapore. He joined from sports and entertainment agency Octagon, where he was client services director.

“We know that the division between brandland and culture is no more, people expect the same feeling from brand content as they do from their favourite film, or track—it has to be authentic, multi-dimensional, and entertaining—that’s the best way to introduce value exchange,” Pearce said.

Joining him at Virtue is Alex Koo as creative director in Seoul. She brings industry experience from the likes of Y&R and Havas in New York, working for clients including Under Armour, JetBlue and Colgate-Palmolive. She said brands have to make their mark now in Asia, where there is a “violent collision happening between entertainment and advertising” in a faster and more unique way than anywhere else.

Daniel Kang, Rich Lim

Other new additions to Virtue APAC are Daniel Kang, Seoul managing director; Sacha Bury, senior regional strategist in Singapore; Rich Lim, creative strategist in Seoul; and Alex Light, head of Virtue Sydney.

Since opening the Vice APAC headquarters in Singapore at the start of the year, Virtue has been executing campaigns for several multinational clients throughout the region, including ABInBev, Pernod Ricard, GSK, Coach, Asics, Lululemon and several Unilever brands.

Hosi Simon, Vice APAC CEO, said expanding Virtue in the region has been a key focus for 2018. “We're leveraging VICE’s years of experience in the region - our unique content and insights and unwavering dedication to deeply locally and globally relevant stories, helps our partners break through in this rapidly shapeshifting part of the world.”