Move and win roundup: Week of July 5, 2021

South China Morning Post announced that Elsie Cheung Hoi-sze is stepping down as chief operating officer effective July 30 after a 20-year stint with the newspaper publisher. She has been COO since 2011, a tenure that coincides with SCMP's transition from a local newspaper to a globally minded digital-media platform. Her remit included all business operations, including advertising, marketing, circulation, and recruitment services. She held roles as head of sales and director of advertising prior to her appointment as COO, and also spent time with TVB and Hong Kong Telecom earlier in her career. 

Microsoft Hong Kong appointed The Hoffman Agency as its PR agency of record. The agency will work to strengthen Microsoft's position as a leading technology partner for Hong Kong businesses with a focus on cloud computing, hybrid workplace and cybersecurity. It will strengthen Microsoft's communications efforts, especially with the company’s 30th anniversary and the upcoming launch of Azure Availability Zones in Hong Kong. The agency will also be responsible for developing external communications programs to showcase how Microsoft Hong Kong is using its technologies to empower individuals, businesses and organizations across different sectors.

Dentsu International Singapore announced it has launched a new brand identity and campaign for technology services firm NCS in the APAC region. As the lead agency partner for the company's brand transformation, Dentsu played a key role in the end-to-end delivery of branding, creative, strategy, social and media, as well as web redevelopment. The process started with extensive audience and stakeholder research and included a new tagline ('Make extraordinary happen'), a new logo and a new logo device, called the ‘N power’ mark, inspired by the forward double slash synonymous with technology, coding and web development.

Quantcast appointed Min-Jae Lee as its chief privacy officer. She joins from The Trade Desk and will be responsible for driving Quantcast’s privacy-first approach and helping brands and publishers manage consumer consent. At The Trade Desk, Lee served as lead privacy counsel and oversaw the company’s global privacy program. Prior to The Trade Desk, she spent time at technology and media companies including Spotify and Adobe. She received her law degree, with a focus on intellectual property, technology, and civil liberties, from Stanford University, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP), both in the US and in Europe.

Pakistan Accumulators Limited (PAL) selected Blitz Advertising as its full-service agency of record. PAL manufactures and sells batteries under the Volta and Osaka brands, which are sold worldwide for a broad range of electronic and industrial applications. Previously PAL has split digital, media, and creative duties among a number of service providers. Among the new scope of work, the agency will be tasked with developing and releasing an integrated IMC around a solar-oriented product called Osaka Solar Battery. The agency will help PAL build optimization strategies to drive incremental return on adspend, new to brand percentages, and other key performance indicators. It will also build strategic media, audience, and channel strategy recommendations as needed.

Flare Communications Group has been appointed by Xiaomi Hong Kong as a one-year communications and PR agency partner. The agency will provide strategic counsel, PR, social and influencer integrated services to amplify brand awareness, optimise visible presence among local and regional communities to build relatable and engaging content. Flare’s service will be effective on July 15th, 2021. 

Content and social agency Daresay has been appointed by Tata Consumer Products and NSW Government’s Department of Education, following competitive pitches. Daresay, sister agency to The Works, part of Capgemini, has been named as the social agency of record by Tata Consumer Products for its Good Earth Teas as it launches the new range of herbal teas across social media. Daresay beat out four other agencies to secure the  business. New South Wales Department of Education has appointed Daresay for its Vocational Education and Training (VET) program. The agency will produce a video content series to demonstrate how vocational education and training can lead to a dream career and financial stability.

Brand-transformation company Landor & Fitch made a series of creative and leadership appointments across the region. The company appointed:

• Taj Samson as the regional insights and analytics director.
• Apolline Picot as creative director of experience design. 
• Janice Siu as managing director of APAC Growth, based in Singapore
• Thomas Sutton as general manager of Southeast Asia, based in Jakarta. 

Stink Studios appointed Ramzi Chaabane as managing director in China. He joins from Mediamonks, where he headed the office for the past three years, during which it grew from five to 35 people. Prior to Mediamonks, Chaabane was at digital agency Resn.

Designer Koen Arbouw joined creative studio Bear Meets Eagle On Fire.

 Arbouw, who is Dutch by birth and raised in New Zealand, was most recently in-house design director across brand and product for cycling brand Attaquer.

 Over his career he also spent time with Landor, Maud and M35 and has worked with clients including Nike, Google and Escentric Molecules.

Dentsu Philippines promoted Roki Ferrer to head of Data. The appointment commences with immediate effect and he will report to JC Catibog, CEO, Dentsu Philippines. Prior to the promotion, Ferrer was the agency’s connections strategy and research lead.

Sandpiper Communications appointed Kim Spear as director in its Hong Kong office. She 
has international communications experience, having held senior roles at agencies in the Asia Pacific region for nearly 20 years, including Baldwin Boyle Group, Ketchum Group in China and Newgate Communications in Hong Kong. Spear will also work closely with Emma Smith, chief executive officer, Kelly Johnston, chief operating officer, and Sarada Chellam, general manager in Singapore.

Clemenger BBDO Sydney has appointed Graham Sweet to the role of head of brand planning. With close to 20 years experience, Sweet was last chief strategy officer at Saatchi & Saatchi Australia. 

Sanna Britsman has been appointed as agency activation manager APAC at TikTok in Singapore. She was previously a planner at Forsman and Bodenfors, also in Singapore. 

The Works, part of Capgemini, has been appointed by LG Electronics Australia for brand communications across its entire portfolio including home appliances and home entertainment. The Works is currently developing brand campaigns under LG’s ‘Life’s Good’ marketing platform, for its range of consumer electronics such as televisions, laptops, smart speakers, vacuums, refrigerators, washing machines and dryers. Due to launch later this year, the integrated campaigns will be LG’s first locally produced masterbrand work in more than 10 years. 

Redcomm is the digital agency partner of instant noodle brand Indomie in Indonesia. The shop will be responsible for Indomie’s digital plan in an attempt to retain the title as the most loved Indonesian brand.

Karl Storz Endoscopy Asia Marketing (KSEAM), a provider of minimally invasive surgery and endoscopy, has partnered with InMoment to launch an experience improvement program. KSEAM is implementing an insights-to-action capability to drive customer satisfaction by checking the pulse on doctors, surgeons and nurses across eight countries, ten languages and 400+ hospitals.

Faye Wee, the marketing director of Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (APBS), has moved to Heineken APAC to become global marketing manager at Tiger. Wee has been with APBS for nearly a decade, and has been marketing director for the past three years. Prior to joining the brewery, she was an account manager at FedEx and General Mills. APBS will appoint a new marketing director "in due course".

McCann China appointed Yinbo Ma, formerly ECD at BBH Shanghai, as chief creative officer. The role is a new one in Shanghai, reporting to Emily Chang, CEO of McCann Worldgroup China. He will lead the creative teams in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou when he joins in August. He has also worked with DDB and Publicis in New York earlier in his career.

Interpublic Group has named Mish Fletcher as its first chief growth officer for the Asia-Pacific region. She joins from FCB Six in New York, where she was executive vice president and global growth officer for just over a year. Prior to that she was MD and global head of marketing at Accenture Interactive, also in New York. At IPG, Fletcher will report to Simon Bond, senior vice president and chief growth officer. She will be based in Sydney, and the appointment is effective immediately.