Move and win roundup: Week of May 4, 2020

Precision marketing agency RAPP China and the Proximity China offices that sit within Omnicom Precision Marketing Group (OPMG) will be integrating into the RAPP Worldwide family as part of a global reorganisation. Under the leadership of Wolfgang Kaller, president and head of strategy for RAPP APAC, the new business will align the capabilities of the two agencies to deliver precision marketing services to clients in China. The two agencies will operate under OPMG as RAPP and Proximity through the end of 2020, at which point both will be brought under the RAPP brand and the Chinese brand name will remain in the China market. Proximity China has become a legal entity within OPMG since 2018. Sharlene Wu will serve as CEO of Proximity & RAPP China, with Kelly Bai as managing director and Blake Stone-Banks as head of strategy for both.  

Manila-based agency Dentsu Jayme Syfu has promoted Louie Sotto to chief creative officer. He takes over the role from Merlee Jayme, who has been at the helm since the agency was acquired in by Dentsu in 2016. Jayme retains her post—dubbed “Chairmom” of Dentsu Jayme Syfu, as well as ASPAC/DOJO, where she will continue to oversee work and manage the group’s total creative line of business. Sotto’s career started in Ace Saatchi & Saatchi as a copywriter, after which he moved to BBDO Guerrero for a year before joining DM9 Jayme Syfu as one of the 9 founding members of the company back in 2005. Sotto’s work has also been globally acclaimed with major distinctions from Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, The London International Advertising Awards, Spikes Asia, Adfest, AWARD, New York Festivals and numerous local shows.

CNN Worldwide has created a new global position, appointing Rani Raad to be president of CNN Commercial. Raad's previous title was president of CNN International Commercial (CNNIC). Effective immediately, Raad reports directly to Jeff Zucker, chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports and the president of CNN Worldwide. This move centralises the management and strategy of CNN's commercial activity in one operation, aiming to broaden new business streams and increase the value to global commercial partners. Raad will work closely with WarnerMedia Sales and International on its CNN advertising and distribution activity, lead international business through CNN International Commercial, optimize CNN Worldwide’s directly controlled revenue operations and maximize the commercial potential of development of new products.

Global connectivity provider Epsilon, headquartered in Singapore, has appointed Craig Forrester as its chief financial officer, with immediate effect. Forrester will lead Epsilon's global finance and legal functions. Forrester, based in the UK, brings more than two decades of experience to the role having held positions at Colt, BT, Sony and Lucent. 

Digital specialist agency AnalogFolk appointed Matt David as managing partner for Asia. His primary responsibility will be managing Hong Kong-based client business, and he will also be responsible for strategy across all client accounts in Asia. David has 18 years of experience in digital strategy and delivery, including 16 years in Asia. His CV includes Isobar, TBWA, McCann, Sedgewick Richardson and most recently, Emarsys. He joins another recent hire, Stephen Pill as strategy director for Asia.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), which manages Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo, appointed Irene Lin as CMO with effect May 11. She joins from Shangri-la Hotels & Resorts, where she was executive vice president of global marketing. She will report to Benjamin Tan, deputy CEO and chief commercial officer, and her remit will include design, planning, and implementation of all marketing activities, as well as tracking, measurement, and optimisation across digital, social, events and programming, in-park and out-of-park activations, design, and creative production. The previous CMO, Isabel Cheng left her role on April 1 but is staying with WRS as senior director of  partnership development, overseeing adoptions, sponsorships and partnerships.

VCCP appointed Joshua Robertson as regional CMO for APAC, based in Singapore. He is returning to VCCP, where he spent four years earlier in his career, following a stint at Publicis Media as UK business development lead. His focus will be building VCCP in APAC and accelerating growth, the company said. VCCP credits Robertson with helping win some of its biggest international clients, Cathay Pacific and Shell, during his earlier tenure. 

The One Club for Creativity appointed Bob Isherwood as director of professional development. He will bolster existing programs, such as Creative Leaders Retreats and Executive Creative Summits, and develop a range of new global initiatives focused on professional development for creatives at all levels. The Australian native spent 22 years at Saatchi & Saatchi, 11 as worldwide creative director. He is an inductee in the Clio Hall of Fame, recipient of the Clio Lifetime Achievement Award and British Design and Art Directors Gold Award for Advertising, and for many years ran the New Directors Showcase at Cannes. More recently he has taught advertising at Vanderbilt University and cofounded Dialog Health.

Communications agency Purple has purchased Hong Kong-based lifestyle and leisure agency Prime, cementing its entry into Asia. London-headquartered Purple, which works with international brands and talent across fashion, beauty, art, design, food, travel and property, has offices across Europe and the US. This deal, which completed in 2019, marks its first footprint in Asia. Prime's key management has remained in place with Laura Southwood as managing director and Amanda Lui as general manager. The Prime brand is still being used but will rebrand to Purple "in the near future".

Clemenger BBDO Sydney has won the creative account of Australian alcoholic ginger beer brand Brookvale Union. The agency will develop a new creative platform for the drinks brand, that will leverage the brand’s "quality nonsense" positioning.

Beer brand Sapporo has appointed Cummins & Partners as its strategic and creative partner following a competitive pitch. The agency will work on relaunching the Sapporo brand, which in Australia is licensed and manufactured by Coopers Brewery, in the market later this year.

Happy Marketer has been re-appointed by global workplace design consultancy, Space Matrix, for the fourth year running. The digital marketing agency, part of Dentsu Aegis Network's Merkle, has been tasked with growing Singapore-headquartered Space Matrix’s digital maturity, after focusing on awareness building for the past three years. The agency is planning to execute a people-based marketing strategy for the personalisation of B2B customer experience across Singapore, Hong Kong, and India. Headquartered in Singapore, Space Matrix is a global workplace design firm with project experience in over 80 cities and offices across 15 countries.

Grey Group AMEA has hired Cyrille Locatelli as data strategy lead and Grey Group Singapore appointed Tramaine Teo as head of social. Locatelli brings seven years of experience in performance analytics, digital consumer research and martech implementation, with roles at Accenture Interactive and Wunderman Thompson. Teo was most recently the brand manager of The Walt Disney Company in Singapore, and before that was a senior social director at Digitas APAC. 

Australian brand management platform Outfit has appointed Andy Fitzsimon as VP of strategy and innovation. The former global regions' lead brand manager with Red Hat will focus on emerging technologies and a portfolio of new tools at his new role. This appointment comes on the back of a $20 million fund raise by Outfit.

Havas Group Indonesia has retained its partnership with household and personal care company Godrej. This account, led by Arena Media, part of Havas Group, will continue to handle the offline media planning and buying for Godrej’s portfolio of brands such as Stella, HIT, Mitu, NYU, Cap Gajah, Klinpak, Shikada and others.

One Championship has hired Refinery Media as the company’s production partner for The Apprentice: One Championship Edition. The series is expected to air in Q4 of 2020. This program will invite 16 contestants from around the world to compete in a game of business and physical challenges, with the winner to receive a US$250,000 job offer to work for a year under chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong in Singapore. One Championship selected Refinery Media due to its experience in quality reality and non-scripted programming, including Amazing Race Asia, Asia’s Next Top Model, SupermodelMe and Cesar’s Recruit Asia.