Move and win roundup: Week of August 20, 2018

Campaign compiles a new 'Move and win roundup' as each week progresses.  This edition will cover August 20 through 24, 2018.  Catch up on past people moves and business wins.

Publicis Communications Singapore launched Digital Lab to bolster the network's digital capabilities. The lab will provide service including machine learning, natural language processing, data science, analytics, CRM, UX and others. Vincent Ruaz will lead the unit as head of Digital Lab Singapore. Publicis also launched two new tools: consumer research tool DECA, and AI-powered influence tool E-Popularity.

MSD Animal Health hired J Walter Thompson as its creative agency in Australia. JWT will help the company will the strategy and creative around its flea and tick protection brand Bravecto. 

Omnicom Media Group Australia appointed Ben Mulcahy, founder of Pink Media Group, as national head of OMG Diverse, a unit created to help brands reach Australia’s diverse audiences including CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse), indigenous and LGBTI people.

Purcell, an architectural design firm specialising in heritage projects, appointed Text100 Hong Kong to manage its public relations in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Native discovery platform Outbrain has promoted Yoav Tourel to head of sales for Asia Pacific, while Helena Gavros will move into the role of head of brands and agencies for Southeast Asia based in Singapore. Meanwhile in India, Anand Makhija has been promoted to director of business development.

Two promotions at OMD China led to Kevin Mann being the new general manager of the agency's Guangzhou office, and Samantha Jahnke being head of digital. Mann was previously the head of new business development for OMD China, while Jahnke was group director at OMD Chicago.

Xaxis launched a centralised service for brands based in China to run digital display campaigns overseas. Its new Outbound Hub provides China-based companies with audience strategy and planning, multi-market campaign operations and optimisation, as well as reporting and analytics.

The KOL function of Kantar Media CIC (KMCIC)'s newly launched Cooperator XI product will be powered by Robin8. A blockchain-based solution will be embedded into Cooperator XI providing automated social insight, performance tracking and marketing. KOLs will be able to claim their profiles and have their activities recorded and stored on the blockchain.

Ogilvy promoted Matthew Nisbet and John Koay to co-executive creative directors in Hong Kong. The appointment follows Reed Collins’ promotion earlier in the year, expanding his chief creative officer role to North Asia (including Greater China, Japan, and Korea). Nisbet joined the Hong Kong office in 2006 as a copywriter for OgilvyOneand has worked on brands including The Economist, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, American Express, Pizza Hut, and IBM. Koay joined the network from Sydney in 2013 and hs worked for clients including KFC, Pizza Hut, and Nike.

ONE Championship named Hua Fung Teh chairman in China. He also serves as chief financial officer. He joined the company in January 2018 following a stint as a principal at private-equity firm TPG Capital (TPG).

Sweetshop appointed Llew Griffiths to a newly created position as head of production. Based in Sydney, he will oversee all productions across the Sydney and Melbourne operations, as well as taking part in the bidding process. He has 17 years of experience including agency work at Saatchi & Saatchi as well as production-side roles. He has worked with brands including Aldi, Toyota, Cadbury, Steinlager and Foxtel.

Independent branding agency Cowan announced the launch of an activation offering, to complement its branding and design work. Based in Singapore, the offering will be led by creative director Jason Braddy, along with Joey Khaw as retail design director. Braddy, who has experience in advertising and digital communications in Sydney, Singapore and Los Angeles, joined Cowan six months ago and has been working with the existing strategy and leadership teams. Khaw recently joined from design agency Anthem, where she led the retail-activation team, focusing on beauty and personal-care brands. The agency said it has built tools, processes and case studies to ensure the new offer can be seamlessly integrated into its existing suite of services. Cowan has strategic and creative teams in Beijing, Melbourne, Shanghai, Sydney, Ho Chi Minh City and London.

Independent digital-creative shop Propel Manila appointed Aiko So as creative director. He will look after Samsung, Uniqlo PH, Unilever Food Solutions, Grab PH and Kielh’s, among others. He has 13 years of experience and was most recently with Ogilvy Philippines. He has also worked with Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore, Publicis JimenezBasic, J Walter Thompson, and Campaigns & Grey, serving clients including P&G, Unilever, Nestle, Mondeléz, HSBC, Jollibee and Philippine Airlines.

Mindshare Vietnam announced a partnership with AIM Academy to offer a course in effective media planning. Designed and delivered by Mindshare, the course offers models, case studies and practical exercises and will have the participation of 15 senior leaders from Mindshare.

Market research company Ipsos has appointed former Nielsen executive Suresh Ramalingam as CEO of South-East Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines with immediate effect, based in Kuala Lumpur. Prior to joining Ipsos, Ramalingam was managing director of Nielsen Consumer Insights (LATAM, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia).

OMD Melbourne appointed Kyle Le Geyt as head of digital following Sian Whitnall’s promotion to chief digital officer for OMD Australia. Le Geyt joins from Carat London.

Asus appointed SmartOSC as its ecommerce partner in Singapore, following a competitive pitch in April. The company will provide consulting, user-centric experience design, technical implementation and integration services for a site meant to serve both B2B and B2C customers.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore re-appointed Hashtag Interactive to manage its social-media platforms and overall digital presence. The agency will continue to be responsible for the CAAS Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, as well as its content development and design.