Paul_WhitewayiProperty Group upgrades senior management team with key ‘C’ level executive appointments.

Paul Whiteway has been appointed Chief Operating Officer for the Group. He previously held senior management roles at Yahoo! Southeast Asia and Microsoft in the UK and has been an Entrepreneur In Residence at INSEAD in Singapore.

becky_lengBecky Leng has become iProperty Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, having previously been Director of Marketing and Portal Management at SingTel International Group and prior to that Head of Interactive Media at Maxis Malaysia.

Both Paul and Becky bring with them an outstanding track record of achievement in the internet industry.

 


LukeNathansMIDIris, the award-winning global creative innovation network, has appointed Luke Nathans as its new regional CEO for Asia Pacific as the agency continues to focus on expanding its operations in APAC and MENA.

Nathans, who presently holds the position of regional development director for the region, will take on the role this month, reporting to the joint global CEOs’ Ian Millner and Stewart Shanley. He was promoted to regional development director for Asia Pacific in August 2011, following his appointment at iris as managing director of its Asia Pacific experiential arm. Prior to this, he worked for agencies including Ogilvy and Mather, OgilvyOne, Belgiovane Williams Mackay, G2, The One Centre and TBWA Tequila UK.

Nathans will continue to be based in iris’ Singapore office and will be responsible for the agency’s impressive client base in the region which includes some of the worlds’ biggest blue-chip brands including Diageo, adidas, Tiger, Coca-Cola, Shell, Philips and Heineken. He will continue to chair the Asia Pacific board of iris, which comprises the leaders of iris’ offices in Asia as well as its leaders in creative, planning, consulting and digital.


SchappertZynga, the company that specialized in Facebook games, confirmed that John Schappert, COO, has left the Board of Directors. The news came just a few weeks after Zynga stock tumbled nearly 50% following poor quarterly financial results. The company wished him well and stressed that Schappert go as a "friend of the company”. Schappert joined Zynga in May 2011.

 

 


Shinji_TokunagaAkamai Technologies, Inc., the leading cloud platform for helping enterprises provide anywhere secure, high-performing user experiences on any device, has strengthened its regional leadership team with the recruitment of new country managers in Japan and Korea.

Shinji Tokunaga will lead all sales, services and marketing for Akamai in Japan. With over ten years of executive leadership experience with multi-national companies including Novell Japan and Borland Japan, Mr. Tokunaga will head an established team in the region's fastest growing market.

In Korea, Jin-Woong Kim has joined Akamai with over ten years of senior-level experience with global businesses such as Compuware Korea and IBM Korea. In his new role, he will manage Akamai Korea's operations and business development strategies.

Jin-Woong_KimIn addition, Akamai has announced the opening of offices in Taipei, Taiwan and Melbourne, Australia. These two new locations will allow the company to better service existing customers in these regions and expand its footprint within the fast-growing Asia Pacific market. Akamai now has 36 regional offices around the world providing sales, services and support for its global customer base.

The opening of a Melbourne office and investment in local staff also demonstrates the company's commitment to growing its presence in Australia in the years ahead. Akamai has an existing office in Sydney.

 


KotaroHKenshoo, a global leader in digital marketing software, announced the appointment of Kotaro Haruta as Vice President of Sales of Kenshoo's Asia Pacific (APAC).

In his new role, Mr. Haruta will lead all aspects of sales at Kenshoo as the company continues its rapid global expansion within the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Key areas of responsibility for Mr. Haruta will include identifying strategic growth opportunities, sales leadership and ensuring commercial successes in the area of Search and Social.

Mr. Haruta brings a wealth of online marketing experience to Kenshoo. Previously he worked at X-Listing, the third largest paid search platform in Japan, where he was director of business development and product management. Mr. Haruta was in charge of creating company business strategies and he established new revenue streams via utilizing search data for marketing optimization, including attribution management and other ad technologies.

Prior to X-Listing, Mr. Haruta managed the search marketing platform for Yahoo!/Overture Japan, as a product manager, where he also headed up the launch of ‘Panama’, Yahoo! Search Marketing’s new pay per click platform and he also introduced Overture’s API program to the Japanese market.

Mr. Haruta worked with agencies and tool providers to launch their own bidding/optimization tools. At the same time, he implemented customized API solutions to agencies and advertisers directly.

Throughout those business experiences, Mr.Haruta has been recognized as one of the most experienced search marketer and expert for new advertising technologies in Japan.

Prior to that Mr. Haruta worked at iREP, one of the largest agencies in Japan.

Many top brands in the APAC region already use Kenshoo’s digital marketing software, including iREP, Hitwise, Zuji, CTRIP, Opt, CyberAgent and Septeni. With active campaigns in more than 190 countries, the Kenshoo Universal Platform has been proven to deliver 50 percent time-savings in campaign management and improvements as high as 885 percent in profit.


InMobi, the independent mobile advertising network, announced a strategic partnership with Mindshare Singapore, the global media network. InMobi will work with the agency to deliver highly innovative and engaging mobile advertising campaigns for its clients. The strategic partnership provides Mindshare Singapore access to InMobi's deep network, award-winning creative services built on InMobi's Sprout platform , advanced targeting and analytics, such as InMobi Ad Tracker , as well as custom brand and industry level research, as mobile advertising continues strong momentum in Singapore.


prism2012

GolinHarris Singapore scooped up three Excellence awards in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Public Sector categories at the 2012 PRISM Awards of the Institute of Public Relations Singapore (IPRS).

The Chicago-headquartered global agency won the first two Excellence wins in the hotly-contested CSR category. These were for NTUC FairPrice and McDonald’s.

The NTUC FairPrice entry profiled its community contributions and impact as Singapore’s national retailer with a heart. The McDonald’s Excellence award themed, McDonald’s Cares, a volunteer and community work programme, was about how McDonald’s employees reached out to help and support children with special needs.

GolinHarris’ work for Asian Civilisation Museum’s Terracotta Warriors exhibition won the third Excellence accolade in the Public Sector category. Its integrated campaign of traditional and new media resulted in strong upsurge of social media engagement through the use of augmented reality.

For IPRS PRISM Awards 2010, GolinHarris Singapore won a Merit Award for McDonald’s Open Doors programme in the Corporate Reputation category while GolinHarris’ Christina Cheang, Regional MD, South East Asia, won the Outstanding PR Mentor of the Year Award.


Yahoo! partners with OMD to launch mobile 3D ad for Monster in Singapore

Online career portal Monster Singapore became the first advertiser on Yahoo! Mobile globally to leverage Poly Ad, an interactive 3D advertising format, to unveil its new brand positioning “Find Better” through a rich media campaign in Singapore. The campaign targets job seekers using mobile devices through Poly Ad’s 3D rotating cube containing four ‘screens’ that lets users interact with the ad through clicks or swipes. Each screen brings relevant information on how to find better jobs with Monster Singapore while reinforcing its position as the ideal partner for their job search.

Developed by Yahoo!, the dynamic advertising format integrates social media functionality, Monster Singapore’s mobile app, as well as features videos and helpful career content such as interview tips to connect with the job seekers at various levels and strengthen Monster Singapore’s brand perception and preference among them.

Tapping into the proliferation of smartphones to reach their target audience in Singapore, media agency OMD delivered the multi-faceted campaign messages through the mobile microsite by creating compelling experiences for the users in an online environment that is becoming increasingly competitive in the career search marketplace. The campaign is currently served to iPhone and Android users on Yahoo! Mobile and is expected to deliver more than 5 million ad impressions.


The winners of the 10 Gold Medals and 5 Silver Medals of the APPIES 2012, the two-day festival of the best marketing ideas in Asia-Pacific, have been announced. The APPIES 2012 saw growth in delegate numbers as marketing professionals from across APAC witnessed live presentations of award-worthy campaigns representing 6 broad categories: Food & Beverage, Non-Food FMCG, Consumer Durables, Business Services, Consumer Services and Pro-Bono/Government/Cultural.

Selected from 100 shortlisted entries, showcasing 48 global brands, the following 15 entries from 8 markets in APAC won hearts and heads of marketers.

The 10 Gold Medals went to the following campaigns:

Campaign: Pass it on
Category: Pro-Bono/Government/Cultural
Advertiser: Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society
Country: Sri Lanka
Agency: Leo Burnett Solutions Inc., Sri Lanka

Campaign: Saffola Oats, 'Do More with Oats'
Category: Food & Beverage
Advertiser: Marico India
Country: India
Agency: McCann Worldgroup, India

Campaign: Student Suicide Prevention Drive
Category: Pro-Bono/Government/Cultural
Advertiser: Maitri Foundation, Mumbai,
Country: India
Agency: McCann Worldgroup, India

Campaign: The Web Is What You Make Of It
Category: Consumer Services
Advertiser: Google
Country: Singapore
Agency: BBH Asia Pacific, Singapore

Campaign: Curious Holiday Inn-cidents
Category: Consumer Services
Advertiser: IHG (Holiday Inn)
Country: China
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai, China

Campaign: Idea 3G
Category: Consumer Services
Advertiser: Idea Telecom
Country: India
Agency: Lowe Lintas & Partners, India

Campaign: Ong & Raj
Category: Pro-Bono/Government/Cultural
Advertiser: Health Promotion Board
Country: Singapore
Agency: DDB Worldgroup, Singapore

Campaign: The OFW Project
Category: Food & Beverage
Advertiser: The Coca-Cola Export Corporation
Country: Philippines
Agency: The Coca-Cola Export Corporation

Campaign: Shave Sutra - Or, How To Turn A Mundane Solitary Chore Into Pleasurable Duet
Category: Non-Food FMCG
Advertiser: P&G India
Country: India
Agency: BBDO India

Campaign: The Royal Project
Category: Consumer Services
Advertiser: Sizzler (Minor Food Group)
Country: Thailand
Agency: Y&R Thailand

The 5 Silver Medals went to:

Campaign: Parachute Advansed Body Lotion - Making touch the language of love
Category: Non-Food FMCG
Advertiser: Marico India
Country: India
Agency: McCann Worldgroup, India

Campaign: Tiger Blue Xmas
Category: Food & Beverage
Advertiser: Vietnam Brewery Limited
Country: Vietnam
Agency: Leo Burnett Vietnam

Campaign: Tide Collars
Category: Non-Food FMCG
Advertiser: P&G International Operations Pte. Ltd., Singapore
Country: India
Agency: Leo Burnett, Mumbai, India

Campaign: New House? Or New Furniture?
Category: Consumer Services
Advertiser: DFI Home Furnishings Taiwan Limited
Country: Taipei
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, Taipei, Taiwan

Campaign: Meetha at home!
Category: Food & Beverage
Advertiser: Cadbury India
Country: India
Agency: Presenter: Ogilvy & Mather, India

APPIES 2012 also saw 5 presenters clinching the Best Presenter Awards, namely:
1. Kittipong Veerataecha: Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Y&R Thailand
2. Jaideep Kibe: Coca-Cola Sparkling Category Director, The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, Philippines
3. Luke Nathans: Regional Development Director, APAC, iris Worldwide, Singapore
4. Dhiren Amin: Group Planning Director, McCann Worldgroup India
5. Yousuf Rangoonwala: Brand Partner (Planning), BBH India Pvt Ltd

Leanne Cutts, VP, Marketing for Kraft Foods Asia presided as the Chief Judge at the APPIES, congratulating the winners: "We were delighted by the representation of different agencies from different places at the APPIES this year. The campaigns made us laugh and made us cry... We had a lot of fun. However, the ideas that really impressed us were those that spoke to both the head and the heart."

"This year the APPIES showcased the best of storytelling with campaigns that had drama, suspense, emotion, humour and depth. But behind every story showcased
in the winning entries, there was a clear business focus and excellence in planning, implementation and most of all, effectiveness. It was this fusion of 'big idea' creativity, heart-warming narratives and outstanding commercial success that was awarded and celebrated at APPIES 2012." said Ms Goh Shu Fen, Chairperson of the APPIES and Co-founder & Principal of R3.