Campaign Asia

Iconmobile Asia MD Kartik Ram departs after one week

HONG KONG - Kartik Ram, former managing director for Iconmobile Asia, has left due to personal reasons, just one week after his appointment was announced.

Tiger Beer launches cheeky 'Unofficial History' campaign for SG50

SINGAPORE - Tiger Beer has launched a quirky campaign with a vintage-feel complete with mockumentaries chronicling the nation's 'unofficial history'.

Stock images: Do you know where your pics are right now?

As demand for branded visuals goes through the roof, agencies and brands have to keep closer track or risk playing with fire.

Facebook expands third-party verification with Nielsen and ComScore

Ahead of its full-year earnings call, Facebook has expanded its third-party verification partnerships to try and avert future metrics blunders.

Scattered brand and business strategy hurting Suning

BRAND HEALTH CHECK: Retailer Suning, which built its brand on its chain of home-appliance stores, is struggling to build an online offering to match its powerful e-commerce competitors.

This lingerie brand replaced its agency with AI and will never go back

Cosabella grew its customer base and tripled its ROI after it 'hired' an AI platform named 'Albert'.

Digital ads 40% more effective when they hit consumers in the right mood

Yahoo claims the study is one of the most comprehensive ever into the role of emotions in receptivity to advertising.

Iris acquires pricing specialists Pricing Solutions to add to consultancy offering

Move extends network's management-consultancy capabilities into pricing strategy.

Facebook launches third Snapchat clone

Facebook Messenger Day allows users to post videos and photos to the chat platform that will vanish after 24 hours.

WPP enjoys record year; net profit leaps 20.6 percent

Even after the sharp depreciation of the pound sterling is taken into account, the group’s profits after tax are up 7.2 percent.

Q&A: Why R/GA gave up on the traditional agency model

How does R/GA create the right conditions for creativity? Singapore MD Iestyn Keyes explains.

Building the ideal conditions for creativity to thrive in Asia

COVER STORY: From long work hours to a lack of diversity, are Asian agencies inherently ‘uncreative’ places to work? What are the best agencies doing to fix this?

Naga DDB Malaysia refutes Tribal shutdown rumours

New CEO for NagaDDB insists that no personnel "have been asked to leave".

How to avoid being "the next Toyota"

As yet another scandal involving media agency transparency rocks the industry, clients are looking for ways to ensure that they can trust the agencies they work with.

The inside story: Havas Media Malaysia lands Lenovo SEA

In this exclusive interview Campaign Asia-Pacific speaks to APAC CEO Vishnu Mohan and Malaysia CEO Andreas Vogiatzakis about the strategy behind the newly launched agency and its big regional win.

Parminder Singh, second Twitter Asia senior exec to leave in a week

Parminder Singh, Twitter’s managing director for India, Southeast Asia and MENA has also announced his resignation on Twitter

Rishi Jaitly quits Twitter in a series of tweets

The social platform's VP of media for Asia-Pacific announced his resignation Tuesday.

Mobile video increases pressure to make your point quickly

Advertisers have less than a minute to make their point via video, after which viewership drops off dramatically, finds AOL.

Dentsu and ADK: Slim 2016 profits, caution for 2017

Dentsu avoids direct reference to last year's crises, while both companies sound cautious notes regarding 2017 performance.

Self-assured women make waves in Asia

The shift in women’s self-image has never been more apparent, according to an ongoing global study by J. Walter Thompson, and marketers need to connect with this change.

L'Oréal may sell The Body Shop, and it's partly Hong Kong's fault

In annual report, company cites weak sales in Hong Kong as one reason for poor performance.

WPP launches new health and wellness sub-holding company

The company is creating hubs in Europe, Asia Pacific (including Australia, and New Zealand), Africa and the Middle East.

Facebook ad revenue rockets 57% to $26 billion

Net income hits $10.2 billion.

Instagram launches ads in Stories globally

The global launch starts today and will be available to all advertisers in the coming weeks.

Havas Group unites creative and media divisions under one P&L

In APAC, reorganisation affects Mike Amour, Vishnu Mohan and Levent Guenes.

Is Snap worth its valuation given its advertising proposition?

Despite strong ad revenue, Snapchat is seeing widening losses and slower user growth.

Nokia 3310 and the people who love it

The resurrection of the iconic Nokia 3310 is a homecoming celebration of sorts for the brand, marking its return to Finland-based HMD Global from Microsoft. But who are the people that remain loyal to the retro brand and why?

Media is broken and 'needs a total reset'

There's plenty of blame for both advertisers and agencies in a new study from ID Comms.

Havas revenue slows to 3.3% in 2016

Havas Group was unable to match its double-digit growth of recent years after posting a 3.3 percent lift in global revenue for 2016, with APAC revenue down by 1.8 percent.

Burger King parent buys Popeyes for $1.8 billion

Chain has locations in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Publicis Media rolls out NextTechNow globally

Publicis Media has expanded its end-to-end service, NextTechNow, which pairs clients with tech startups to Shanghai, Singapore, Warsaw and Dubai.

Facebook challenges Snapchat with WhatsApp status update

A new feature takes a shot at Snapchat just ahead of its IPO.

Google submits YouTube to Media Ratings Council audit

Google has committed to having YouTube's metrics audited by the Media Rating Council.

Lévy on 2017, Razorfish, succession and his last call

During a full-year 2016 earnings call dripping with nostalgia, outgoing Publicis Groupe chairman and chief executive Maurice Lévy predicted a slow first half, followed by a strong second half of 2017.

Pernod Ricard Winemakers pick AnalogFolk Australia for global account

The incumbent creative agency on Jacob's Creek was Havas Worldwide and Cummins & Partners.

How VW overtook Toyota in sales despite emissions scandal

While the emissions scandal essentially set VW sales back a year in 2015, its swift brand restructure and strength in China helped it overtake Toyota in 2016.

Google took down 1.7bn 'bad ads' in 2016

Thanks to an expanded set of policies and improved technology, Google took down 1.7bn bad ads last year. More than double the number it took down in 2015, according to its <em>Bad Ads Report</em>.

Hyundai picks R/GA London for global launch of N performance cars

The worldwide launch of Hyundai's sub-brand N's new range of cars will be handled by R/GA London

Advertisers can now target YouTube ads with data from Google Accounts

Changes aim to address targeting across devices.

Paradox drives innovative approaches

CHINA INNOVATION 2015: The lack of third-party data in China combined with lax personal data-use laws has resulted in unique and innovative workarounds.

Williams Lea Tag hires former Ogilvy Japan chairman for Japan, North Asia roles

Akihiko Kubo joins Williams Lea Tag as representative director for Japan and MD North Asia for consumer, retail and life sciences.

Outlook 2017: Experts and leaders predict

What will follow the year of Trump, Brexit, diversity scandals, transparency, overcharging, VR and AI?

Women to Watch 2016: The Entry Guidelines

ASIA-PACIFIC - Due to popular demand, Campaign Asia-Pacific has agreed to extend the deadline to enter Women to Watch, our annual showcase of the advertising and marketing industry's leading women, to midnight, Friday, 3 June.

Women may be holding themselves back out of guilt

SINGAPORE - Only 3 per cent of creative directors are women, and while the reasons are manifold and the problems systemic, one of the barriers for women could be their own feelings of guilt, according to a panel discussion at Spikes Asia today.

Ogilvy appoints co-CEOs in APAC as Paul Heath heads for NYC

HONG KONG - Paul Heath, CEO and chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Asia-Pacific, will move to a global role in New York this summer, and the network is appointing co-CEOs to fill his shoes in the region.

Publicis Media formation leaves questions about Asia unanswered

Publicis Groupe's recent formation of Publicis Media, and the consolidation of its media brands announced early this morning, have left many questions unanswered regarding the disposition of talent across the newly formed brands in Asia-Pacific.

Shangri-La appoints DigitasLBI to lead global team of agencies

HONG KONG - Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has appointed a "fully integrated agency team" to be led by DigitasLBI as its agency of record.

How marketers can avoid killing advertising: WFA conference

KUALA LUMPUR - The message at the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) conference in Kuala Lumpur today could not be more clear: Marketers need to embrace and lead change if advertising is to survive.

Most companies are not built customer-first, and they're in trouble

KUALA LUMPUR - Brands that have gotten fat from the rampant capitalism of the past century have put everything but customers first, and their time is over, Will Sansom, director of content and strategy with Contagious, said at the WFA's Project Reconnect event in Kuala Lumpur today.

Maxis appoints two new agencies to creative roster, leaves Ogilvy

KUALA LUMPUR - Maxis Malaysia has selected IPG Mediabrands-owned content arm Ensemble and Kingdom Digital as its creative brand and digital agencies, respectively, following a pitch announced in January this year.

Updated: IPG Mediabrands names Malaysia CEO, Kumar resigns

KUALA LUMPUR - IPG Mediabrands has named Bala Pomaleh as CEO in Malaysia following the resignation of its president of world markets and CEO of its Malaysia office, Prashant Kumar.

Is Nikon violating animal rights with this ad?

HONG KONG - When Ran Elfassy, director of Sigei Media and an animal conservationist, saw this giant Nikon billboard in a Hong Kong MTR station, he felt so offended by its use of exotic dead animals that he wrote to Campaign Asia-Pacific to express his disgust.

'Jihad' declared against Cadbury: What should the brand do?

MALAYSIA – In a move surreal in its extremity, more than 20 Malay-Muslim groups in Malaysia have declared a "Jihad" against Cadbury following the discovery of porcine DNA in its chocolate bars. Experts on branding and Islam discuss the impact and how the brand should move forward.

McCann's Richard Newman joins Cheil in new role

SINGAPORE - Former McCann Worldgroup regional CMO Richard Newman has joined Cheil Worldwide as Asia-Pacific regional chief growth officer.

Ogilvy promotes Anthony Wong to global effectiveness role

HONG KONG - Ogilvy & Mather has promoted Hong Kong-based Anthony Wong to the post of worldwide effectiveness director, the role formerly held by Tim Broadbent.

Droga5's David Nobay starts new Australian agency with Publicis Worldwide

SYDNEY - Publicis Worldwide is teaming up with David Nobay, formerly of the now closed Droga5 Sydney, to launch its creative boutique digital agency Marcel in Australia.

JWT's Valerie Cheng moves to Facebook, Victor Ng steps up

SINGAPORE - Valerie Cheng, CCO of J. Walter Thompson Singapore will be moving on to a new role at Facebook, as head of Creative Shop for Southeast Asia, in mid-February.

Beijing Mercedes Benz Sales moves US$200 million media to Fuel China

BEIJING - Beijing Mercedes Benz Sales (BMBS) has handed its US$200 million media account to Fuel, a new agency brand created to handle BMBS and reporting into ZenithOptimedia, according to sources.

Agency bosses: Too many questions around Publicis restructuring

GLOBAL - Publicis Groupe's restructuring announcement yesterday shows much needed change, but the lack of details has led agency leaders and consultants to question whether the announcement could be just "smoke and mirrors".

Ogilvy's new co-CEOs: No plan to split APAC region

HONG KONG - Despite the geographic split announced by outgoing Ogilvy Asia-Pacific CEO Paul Heath, the two new co-CEOs, Kent Wertime and Chris Reitermann, have no intention of dividing the region between them.

Coca-Cola Thailand shifts media account to Starcom Mediavest Group

THAILAND - Coca-Cola Thailand has appointed Starcom Mediavest Group as its new media agency of record after about a decade with Mediabrands' Initiative.

UK programmatic agency quietly launches in three Asian markets

HONG KONG – After maintaining a low-profile existence for six years, UK-based programmatic solutions provider Addition+ is launching an ambitious expansion plan in Asia after opening offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Surviving the 'horror movie' of media ownership: Q&A with Bloomberg’s Justin B Smith

The media industry’s ‘change agent’ Justin B Smith, CEO of Bloomberg Media sat down with Campaign Asia-Pacific’s head of content Gary Scattergood at the Media360Summit to discuss the chances publishers have of evolving to survive.

How Uber went from party trick to global phenomenon

MEDIA360 SUMMIT - Uber started out as a cool party trick invented by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp and has never stopped reinventing itself, said Sam Gellman, head of operations for Uber Asia at the Media360Summit.

Ikea launches $435 million global media review

GLOBAL - Ikea is reviewing its estimated €400 million (US$434 million) global media-buying arrangements with at least five agency holding groups.

ASN to rebrand to Sports Illustrated after deal with Time Inc

HONG KONG - Time Inc has struck a deal with ASN to launch a Sports Illustrated sports broadcasting and digital network across Asia, starting with the rebrand of pay TV sports channels ASN and ASN2 to Sports Illustrated and Sports Illustrated 2.

Blindfolded celebs beat a rice wrap pinata on FB for KFC Malaysia

Launch of a Mexican-themed rice wrap has led to a campaign comprising an equally unusual combination of ideas.

40 Under 40 2016: Deadline extended to September 5

Due to popular demand, we're extending our submission deadline for this editorial list until Monday, September 5.

Loyalty HSBC can bank on

THE FACE BEHIND THE BRAND: Showing uncommon passion for a financial brand, HSBC’s Suresh Balaji tells how he leapt at the chance to relocate to the bank’s birthplace.

GroupM Team conquers River Kwai International Adventure Race for Charity

A team of 10-super-athletes from GroupM has done the industry proud at the Singha River Kwai International Trophy Adventure Race on May 28 . Competing in five teams of two, the men ran, swum, mountain-biked and kayaked their way to raising US$12,000 for Mother’s Choice. The team from Asia-Pacific comprised Mark Patterson, Ed Thesiger, Kasper Aakerlund and Puneet Arora from GroupM, Michel de Rijk of Xaxis, Arup Bansal of MEC, Auke Boersma of Light Reaction, and Niklas Stalberg of mInteraction, Jacob Kvist of Mindshare, and Josh Black, CEO of GroupM Content

How brands can help mums deal with guilt: MullenLowe

While women today are changing the conversation around motherhood, guilt and internal pressure persist. How can brands help?

Why the Star Trek communicator is both wrong, and right: Greg Borenstein

HONG KONG - Science fiction can both be brilliant and terrible at predicting the future of technology and how people will interact with it, said Greg Borenstein, game designer, technologist and consulting futurist for the Minority Report TV series, during his keynote talk at The Economist’s Marketing Unbound conference.

Publicis Media China names leads for four agency brands

SHANGHAI - Following Publicis Media's April appointments of its Asia-Pacific market heads, Bertilla Teo, newly named Greater China CEO, is the first to name leads for the the group's four agency brands under her purview.

Marketing and comms learning to get along: PR360Asia

Digital has brought the once rival departments together and marketing and communications professionals are learning from each other says first panel at PR360Asia.

Thoughtful's Normandy Madden joins global smart cities developer

Former executive producer of online video business talk show, Thoughtful China, to take on global media and innovations role for tech startup firm

Top takeaways from The Economist's Marketing Unbound

HONG KONG - The Economist’s debut marketing event in Asia, Marketing Unbound, which took place Friday, set out to define whether marketing really has changed and evolved.

5 headache-inducing problems for financial marketers

Senior financial marketers are fully aware of what makes great content for their target audiences, but the hurdles they have to overcome include multi-market regulations, resources and stakeholder buy-in.

Omnicom Media Group Malaysia appoints head of content

MALAYSIA - On the heels of a series of specialist hires, Omnicom Media Group Malaysia has appointed Haris Ismail as Head of Fuse – its branded content, sponsorship and ideation unit that services clients within the network and its brands, OMD and PHD. Fuse specializes in strategy and building brand assets in owned and earned platforms and integrating these with paid media. In his new role, Haris will be responsible for embedding the value-proposition of Fuse within OMD and PHD as well as strengthening the product through local initiatives.

Peter Mitchell leaves Mondelez

SINGAPORE - Peter Mitchell has left his role as global media innovations director at Mondelez International.

David Smith joins Bloomberg Media Group as director of media sales for North Asia

David Smith has joined Bloomberg Media Group as Director of Sales for North Asia. Based in Hong Kong, David will lead Bloomberg Media's sales strategy and initiatives across the group's portfolio including the recently launched Asia edition of Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg Pursuits, Bloomberg Markets, Bloomberg Live, Bloomberg Radio and Bloomberg mobile.

Campaign Innovate: The final four

ASIA-PACIFIC - Campaign Innovate's judges have selected the top four startups that have made it through to the online video-pitch round.

Malaysian senior creatives do the agency shuffle

KUALA LUMPUR - Senior Malaysian creatives Tan Chee Keong (known as CK), ECD for BBDO Malaysia, and Vijay Anand, group ECD for TBWA KL, are moving on to new roles within the market.

2013 in review: Separated at birth?

It's an annual tradition of ours: The 'Separated at birth?' column in the year-end issue. So without further ado, here's our selections for this year: some eerie, some admittedly a bit of a stretch. The December/January issue, stuffed with more fun year-end content (and even some serious year-end content), will be out right around New Year's.

2013 in review: Top 5 cringe-worthy PR lines

We at Campaign Asia-Pacific love PR folks. Really, we do! But we do wade through a lot of press releases, and some of them, well...have a look.

VML Singapore wins digital AOR for Pringles Asia-Pacific

ASIA-PACIFIC - Kellogg's has appointed VML Singapore as digital agency of record for its crisps brand Pringles following a multi-agency pitch initiated in February.

Campaign Innovate: What do the final four have to say?

ASIA-PACIFIC - The top four startups have submitted their pitch videos to Campaign Innovate's panel of judges. Which do you think should be named the contest winner?

TBWA India appoints new CEO from McCann

MUMBAI - TBWA Group India has hired Govind Pandey from McCann Worldgroup India to helm its operations across Mumbai and Delhi as CEO.

Snapcart wins Campaign Innovate

SINGAPORE - Campaign Innovate, sponsored by Omnicom Media Group, is proud to announce that the winning startup for its inaugural contest is real-time shopper marketing platform, Snapcart.

Telenor's DiGi moves to Mindshare, regional pitch results pending

MALAYSIA - Sources have confirmed that Mindshare Malaysia has won the media account for Telenor-owned DiGi Malaysia following a multi-market pitch.

CMOs fight to focus in an era of distractions: Roundtable

HONG KONG - The true struggle, for today's CMO, is not keeping on top of every new channel, platform or tactic that crops up, but staying focused on what really matters, according to leading Asian marketers at a roundtable sponsored by Williams Lea Tag.

Build advocacy, not fear when marketing to women

Emily Tan