Asiya Bakht

JAKARTA - Thomas Sutton (pictured), the group account director of Citibank at Publicis Singapore, has left the agency to join Leo Burnett Kreasindo in Jakarta as country advisor.

President and managing director at CNBC Asia-Pacific Satpal Brainch is one of Asia’s youngest media bosses.

President and managing director at CNBC Asia-Pacific Satpal Brainch is one of Asia’s youngest media bosses.

President and managing director at CNBC Asia-Pacific Satpal Brainch is one of Asia’s youngest media bosses.

Lito German, the new marketing director at BMW Group Asia, is German by name if not by nationality, and is eager to prove his other credentials.

Less than one year into the job and Dee Dutta, Visa's head of marketing for Asia-Pacific, says he is already feeling the benefits of switching from a global to a regional role.

BANGKOK - The Adfest festival in Pattaya has been cancelled due to ongoing political instability in the capital of Bangkok.

New Google managing director for Southeast Asia Julian Persaud believes the potential for the search engine's regional business growth is huge.

Prior to its recent release, IAB's report on Singapore's online advertising revenue was being touted as a landmark development for the advertising industry, in that it would be the first attempt to quantify the country's digital spend. The eventual results made for interesting reading.

REGIONAL - Ogilvy & Mather has launched Ogilvy Noor, a new multidisciplinary practice focused on Islamic branding in partnership with TNS.

SINGAPORE - Consumers across the Asia-Pacific region are approaching the next six months with a steady sense of optimism, according to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence survey, released yesterday.

GLOBAL - RECMA, which has announced the release of the Compitches 2009-2007 rankings, has ranked Zenith Optimedia, OMD and Mediacom as the top three agencies for competitiveness in pitches in Asia-Pacific over three years from 2007 to 2009.

SINGAPORE - Singapore's third largest telco M1 is believed to have invited four agencies including Zenith Optimedia, Starcom, MPG and incumbent OMD to pitch for its media business.

JAKARTA - Bates 141 Indonesia has won the creative account for Malaysian car brand Proton in an eight-way pitch.

'Green blushing' is the growing practice of firms hiding their environmental endeavours. What's the benefit?

SYDNEY - Australian brand design firm, Hulsbosch Strategy & Design, has won a major contract to create a new visual identity for Caltex's Star Mart convenience stores, now being rolled out across Australia.

SINGAPORE - G2/Bacon, Campaigns & Grey Philippines' brand activation arm, has been awarded SM Investments Corporation's 2010 Shanghai World Expo account.

Singapore - Pay-TV operators in Singapore have responded to Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia's (CASBAA) viewpoint on how the new regulations launched by the Media Development Authority (MDA) are likely to impact Singapore's status as a regional media hub.

SINGAPORE - Burger King is believed to have shortlisted three agencies including Publicis, Euro RSCG and Saatchi & Saatchi for its creative business in Singapore.

SINGAPORE - Singaporean public relations agency Fulford PR has been acquired by international marketing services group Qobliq.

Although much has been written on the challenges of understanding and engaging China's multi-tiered consumers from a brand and product perspective, what has attracted less attention is the importance of adapting media strategies to the variety of economic and geographic markets in the country.

SINGAPORE - Dentsu Singapore has successfully retained the Speak Mandarin Campaign media business after a three-way pitch in April.

Hong Kong - Singapore's future as a regional media hub is under threat as a result of new government rules for the pay-TV industry, said the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), which represents the interests of 130 content producers, pay-TV platform operators and equipment-and-service suppliers across 16 Asian markets.

JAKARTA - McCann Worldgroup has appointed Michelle Ong (pictured) as MD for McCann Indonesia, following the departure of Indonesia managing director Somyot Chairat.

SINGAPORE - Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) has announced the appointment of Bharad Ramesh to the position of regional executive director, strategic operations and trading for Asia.

SINGAPORE - MediaCorp has unveiled the latest addition to its out-of-home platform. Aptly named On-The-Move Billboard, it is the first angled mobile billboard in Singapore to hit the roads.

JAKARTA - Gudang Garam, one of Indonesia's largest cigarette producers has handed the creative business of its Merah and Djaja brands to TCP-TBWA following a five-way pitch process.

SINGAPORE - Steve Llewellyn (pictured) has been appointed by Rocket X as executive creative director and part owner, with CEO Marc Nicholson.

KUALA LUMPUR - Bursa Malaysia, previously known as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE), has handed its creative business to M&C Saatchi after shortlisting McCann Erickson and Ogilvy & Mather.

MUMBAI - Aegis Media Group's, Vizeum India has picked up the media business of Credila Financial Services, an HDFC Limited Venture.

SINGAPORE - In separate announcements made on Friday, Singapore's pay-TV operators SingTel and StarHub announced they have secured the broadcast rights of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa.

MUMBAI - BBDO India, the youngest agency of BBDO Worldwide and the Omnicom group, has announced the launch of Proximity to meet the integrated and interactive marketing needs of its rapidly expanding client base in India.

SINGAPORE - A survey by Nielsen Company has shown that consumer confidence is at its strongest in emerging Asia Pacific and Latin America, while most Europeans remain edgy on the pace of their economic recovery.

SINGAPORE - The Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore (4As) has named Valerie Cheng, executive creative director of Publicis Modem as the chairman of the Creative Circle Awards (CCA) 2010.

GLOBAL - Johnson & Johnson has called a global creative pitch for its baby products account estimated to be worth US$20 million. The development puts long-time incumbent Lowe on high alert.

SINGAPORE - Rod Strother, the former regional business director at BBDO Proximity Singapore, has joined sports management consultancy and content provider Catalyst as its general manager for Asia Pacific.

KUALA LUMPUR - Mun Tuck Wai (pictured), the executive creative director of BBDO Proximity Malaysia, is believed to be exploring relocating to a new place within the BBDO network.

SEOUL - JWT Adventure, South Korea has been awarded the creative and media duties for the launch of the Korean Pork Board's newly created Handon brand.

DHAKA - Grey Group Bangladesh has won a host of new business for some of the country's leading home-grown brands including Abul Khair Steel, GMG Airlines, Beximco Media and Doreen Developments.

KUALA LUMPUR - Doubletree by Hilton, which is scheduled to open its inaugural Southeast Asian hotel property in the second quarter of 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, has appointed Grey Two PR (G2PR) as its public relations agency-of-record.

JAKARTA - Lowe Indonesia has scooped the creative duties of Indonesia's biggest noodle brand Indomie after a three-way pitch that involved JWT and incumbent Matari Advertising. In a related development JWT has won the creative duties for the Pop Mie brand after a four way pitch that involved Saatchi & Saatchi, Lowe and incumbent TNT.

REGIONAL - Prima Food, a Singapore based food products company, is believed to have called three agencies including DDB, Leo Burnett and Saatchi and Saatchi for a regional creative pitch for its ready-to-cook pastes and premixes brand Prima Taste.

SINGAPORE - A statistic quoted at the recently concluded Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) Forum in Singapore stated there are more mobile phones than there are toothbrushes globally and more mobile phone than toilets in India. Media spoke to four experts at the event for their opinion on the matter.

JAKARTA - XL Axiata, Indonesia's third largest telco, is believed to have handed its media business to Initiative Media after two-way final battle with incumbent Dentsu Media Cubic.

JAKARTA - State oil and gas firm Pertamina is understood to have launched a pitch in Indonesia for its lubricants business. Sources suggest that the company is looking for a media and a creative agency.

SINGAPORE - A statistic quoted at the recently concluded Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) Forum in Singapore stated there are more mobile phones than there are toothbrushes globally and more mobile phone than toilets in India. Media spoke to four experts at the event for their opinion on the matter.

Thanks to Facebook and other social media channels, Nestle has in recent weeks had to deal with an enormous public relations mess, the source of which lay deep in the Indonesian rainforest. But as international condemnation grows, why has the region stayed silent?

MANILA - McCann Worldgroup Philippines has appointed Victor Joseph "VJ" Yamat as managing director of its healthcare communications discipline McCann Healthcare.

KUALA LUMPUR - Kumon Education is believed to have handed its creative business to Dentsu Malaysia after a three-way pitch that involved Ogilvy & Mather and Saatchi & Saatchi.

HONG KONG - As part of its strategy to expand media operations in Asia, Dentsu is all set to launch new media arm Media Palette in Hong Kong with Ken Matsumura (pictured), the current network operations manager at media business development division of Dentsu, slated to take over as its president and CEO.

SINGAPORE - Equinox, a division of ZenithOptimedia Vietnam, has been awarded the media account for pharmaceutical company United Pharma (UPI) after a three-way pitch that involved FSC and Havas in Vietnam.

KUALA LUMPUR - Asia-Pacific Breweries (APB) has called a regional pitch for one of its key beer brands, Tiger Beer, putting four-year old incumbent Saatchi & Saatchi on high alert.

KUALA LUMPUR - AirAsia has handed its media business to Mindshare after a four-way pitch that involved Zenith, MPG and incumbent Carat.

JAKARTA - Indofood, Indonesia's largest food company, is believed to have called a pitch for its two flagship noodle brands Indomie and Pop Mie.

SINGAPORE - Ngee Ann Polytechnic, an institute of higher learning in Singapore, has launched an advertising tender.

MANILA - ZenithOptimedia Philippines has picked up the media business for international money transfers company Moneygram International, following a three way pitch that involved Maxus and Universal McCann.

JAKARTA - Telkomsel, Indonesia's largest mobile operator, has surprised many in the Indonesian industry by calling a creative pitch less than a year after it appointed Leo Burnett as its creative AOR.

KUALA LUMPUR - Rosie Hong (pictured left), the former group executive director of Foetus International, has joined On-Target Marketing solutions as managing partner.

KUALA LUMPUR - Johnson & Johnson has awarded its baby care digital account to Rapp Malaysia following a three-way pitch.

SINGAPORE - Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has re-appointed Rocket-X Media after a competitive pitch.

Singapore Tourism's Board's (STB) new destination brand "Your Singapore" launched to a mixed response from the industry at a tourism event with much fanfare last month.

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Police Force has received submissions from twelve agencies for its road safety outreach creative account that was put up for pitch in March this year.

SINGAPORE - Lui Tuck Yew, Singapore's acting minister of information, communication and arts, made the first official Government comment on the changes in the pay-TV sector in Singapore at the MIPTV trade show yesterday.

Singapore's broadcast industry is set for a major shake-up following the Government's announcement that pay-TV providers will now be able to carry exclusive content purchased by another player.

SINGAPORE - A Singaporean minister confirmed that the Arabic news channel, Al Jazeera, was dropped by SingTel's Mio TV due to low interest among viewers.

KUALA LUMPUR - G2 KL has been appointed as the lead activation agency to promote one of Shell's key fuel products, strengthening the agency's portfolio with Shell.

ASIA PACIFIC - After having upgraded its forecast for global ad growth this year from 0.9 to 2.2 per cent, Zenith Optimedia has released ad growth figures for Asia-Pacific.

REGIONAL - Arlene Ang (pictured), the managing director of Publicis Modem for Asia, is set to leave the agency after a four and a half years.

SINGAPORE - TBWA Singapore has promoted Lou Dela Pena (pictured) to the role of general manager.

REGIONAL - Brother, the Japanese electronics brand that produces products for the print and imaging, labelling and sewing markets, has invited six agencies to pitch for its regional digital business.

KUALA LUMPUR - Ogilvy & Mather has appointed Andre Nair as group managing director in Malaysia. The appointment will take effect from 1 May.

SINGAPORE - Mapletree, a leading real estate company in Singapore, is believed to be on the look out for a media agency. It is understood that the real estate company has initiated conversations with a series of media agencies.

HONG KONG - Tequila Digital Australia's managing director Charles Clapshaw has stepped up to the newly created role of president of Tequila Digital in the Asia-Pacific region.

SINGAPORE - French supermarket chain Carrefour is believed to have moved its media business to Mediacom from local group Ad Planet without a pitch.

KUALA LUMPUR - Paul Corrigan (pictured), the CEO of GroupM Malaysia, is set to leave the agency group after a two-year stint with Girish Menon, the former head of GroupM and Mindshare Vietnam, taking over the role starting from 1 May.

ASIA-PACIFIC - Arun Kumar (pictured), the digital director of Aegis Media, is tipped to join Mediabrands as head of digital for Asia-Pacific.

SINGAPORE - Warner Brothers, the American producer of film and television entertainment owned by Time Warner, and NewsCorp owned Twentieth Century Fox are understood have called a combined media pitch in Singapore.

In an increasingly digital world, Dell's marketing director for Asia-Pacific, Poh Lin Tay Mengi, sees room for success in traditional retail.

With an estimated two million users, Twitter in India now has the third highest number of active users after the US and Germany.

MUMBAI - M&C Saatchi India recently the launch of id, a brand design specialist company, spearheaded by Hemant Sapre as brand design director. He will be partnered by Suranjan Das who will head the business side and the operations.

SINGAPORE - DBS, the largest commercial banking group in Singapore and Southeast Asia, is believed to be on the look out for a creative agency to handle several projects.

JAKARTA - Leading global cement and aggregates brand Holcim is believed to have invited six agencies to pitch for its media business. The agencies reported to have been invited include Initiative, a GroupM agency, CS Media along with another local media agency and incumbent Zenith Optimedia.

SINGAPORE - Arun Kumar (pictured), the director of digital operations at Aegis Media Asia-Pacific, based in Singapore, is to leave the company.

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's stock exchange, Bursa Malaysia, which launched a tender for its national creative business in February is believed to have shortlisted three agencies including M&C Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather and McCann Erickson.

SINGAPORE - MINT Museum of Toys, Singapore's unique tourist attraction with one of the world's largest collections of toys and themed collectables on display, has tapped on Y&R Singapore to make it a 'must-visit' attraction.

KUALA LUMPUR - Baby Kiko, the market leader in baby fashion, has chosen Lowe & Partners Malaysia as its new communications agency.

REGIONAL - Budget airlines AirAsia is set to review six out of its nine key markets one after the other, following its Malaysian pitch in January.

Rural consumers in Indonesia offer sizeable rewards to brands in the market, but converting them requires a deft touch. Besides FMCG companies like Unilever and Kraft, very few multinational brands have found a footing in Indonesia's rural areas.

SINGAPORE - Enfatico, the agency set up by WPP group to service Dell, is in the process of repositioning itself as an activation and delivery agency. Managing director, Harish Vasudevan, explains the move in an exclusive interview with Media.

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia based GO Communications has started 2010 with a flurry of new clients including Greenlam, Mark's Place, Mattel, OSIM, Oxford University Press, Slimming Sanctuary and Symantec.

HO CHI MINH CITY - Lowe Vietnam has appointed Bikramjeet Ghosh (pictured) as executive creative director.

SINGAPORE - Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA), a statutory board under the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, has appointed Asatsu-DK to handle the media strategy for its 'Keep Singapore Clean' campaign after a tender process.

SINGAPORE - CNBC Asia Pacific has announced the promotion of Jacqueline Lam (pictured) to vice president of marketing and distribution effective immediately.

SINGAPORE - CNBC Asia-Pacific has announced the appointment of Junji Sumitani (pictured) as vice-president of advertising sales.

SINGAPORE - Singapore Sports Council (SSC), a government body tasked with developing sports in Singapore, has handed its branding brief for the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) to Futurebrand following a tender process that involved multiple agencies.

GLOBAL - Tom Bernardin, the global CEO and chairman of the Leo Burnett group, has said that despite not winning a big piece of global business, Leo Burnett has done better than the competition in 2009. He attributed the agency's financial results to consistent new business wins within the network.

SINGAPORE - Experts in Singapore say that SingTel could gain more out of the Media Market Conduct Code that makes it mandatory for pay-TV operators to share content.

SINGAPORE - BBDO/Proximity Singapore has been appointed by Asia-Pacific Breweries Singapore (APBS) to conceptualise, develop and execute an island-wide activation program for Guinness beating out the competition in a three way pitch process that started back in January.

GLOBAL - Tom Bernardin, the global CEO and chairman of the Leo Burnett group, has said that despite not winning a big piece of global business, Leo Burnett has done better than the competition in 2009. He attributed the agency's financial results to consistent new business wins within the network.

JAKARTA - Telkom, one of Indonesia's biggest telecoms, has split its advertising account between Grey/Grey Media and BBDO/OMD after shortlisting four agency pairs including Hakuhodo/Carat and incumbents Bates/Mindshare.