Opinion

The week in review: Singtel slogan lampooned | McCann HK renamed after agency boss | Google MD moves to Airbnb | The Economist’s printers refuse to run Charlie Hebdo cartoon | Brands ‘like toddlers’ in social media | Digi rebrands | Another Singapore blogger sued

Mumbrella Asia logoIn a week in which BBC’s long-serving head of sales switched to rival CNN, Airbnb hired Google’s Southeast Asia MD, Caroline Chan left the helm of Maxus Hong Kong after four years as MD, The Economist’s printers in Singapore refused to print a Charlie Hebdo cartoon, XM stalwart Vince Lui joined Adobe, and yet another Singapore blogger found themselves in court.

Story of the week

Julian PersaudWith it being the start of the year, Mumbrella’s news pages have been clogged with people moves. Biggest of the bunch so far came on Wednesday of this week, when we revealed that one of the region’s most powerful media owners lost its MD, with Google’s Southeast Asia managing director Julian Persaud leaving to join online lodging phenomenon Airbnb. To replace him, Rajan Anandan, the sales lead for Google India, took an expanded role as VP of sales and operations for Google India and Southeast Asia. Persaud’s hire came not long after Airbnb hired Ken Hosking from McCann as APAC head of talent.

Wrong?

Everyday or every day?

An interesting development in media came when The Economist’s printers in Singapore chose not to print a Charlie Hebdo cartoon which depicted a Muslim icon. And in branding, Singtel’s new-look drew criticism for being grammatically wrong. The day after Singtel revealed its new look, Malaysia’s Digi unveiled a visual makeover of its own.

Quotes of the week

So never in the field of advertising was so much budget spent by so many in pursuit of so few

In a story based on research from We Are Social on internet and social media trends, agency boss Simon Kemp gave his view on how many brands still behave in social media.

But, just like a toddler who’s becoming socially aware, it’s not that the world has changed; it’s just that they’ve suddenly become aware of reality, and for many brands that realisation is painful.

Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, said something media and marketing firms in the citystate can probably relate to in a speech earlier this week:

We have calibrated the policies, we have slowed down the inflows, we have tightened up on foreign workers. In fact, it is causing employers a lot of pain.

A comment on Mumbrella took issue with Singtel‘s new slogan. “Didn’t their writer notice??” wrote:

The tagline makes no sense. I am assuming singtel means “let’s make EVERY DAY better” and not “EVERYDAY”?! Get your grammar right, or fire your hopeless copywriter.

Commenter Eaon posted beneath an opinion piece on Mumbrella about the industry’s obsession with the word “meaningful”.

Whether consumers really want or need or even pursue ‘meaningful’ relationships with brands is dubious – there is scant evidence. Though the display of brands we consume obviously carries social meaning. The ‘meaningful’ brand/agency/company make’s for a good PR release though.

Best work

Lux. A blind photographer shot a Bollywood actress, guided by her scent.

Cathay Pacific. A new global campaign for one of Asia’s most prestigious airlines.

WWF. The green group released a global video for the run-up for annual lights switch-off event Earth Hour.

Dove. Terrible voice-over at the end ruins what is otherwise a touching spot to show that real men care.

Best-read story on Mumbrella

Asia Pulp & Paper’s Aida Greenbury on changing the story from environmental pariah to sustainability leader

Good week for…

Spencer Wong

Wong

Spencer Wong. The boss of McCann Hong Kong not only got a slightly better-sounding job title, CEO and creative chairman (rather than CEO and chief creative officer), he also got his agency named after him, with McCann Hong Kong rebranding to McCann & Spencer. The name change was a tribute both to Wong’s achievements and a British retailer.

M&C Saatchi. The agency rolled out its highly regarded mobile offering in Asia, with Chris Steedman moving from Sydney to Singapore to lead the unit.

Rice Communications. The Singapore PR agency opened for business in Myanmar, led by Donna Garcia, who has been with Rice since 2009, the year the agency launched.

Sapient Nitro. The tech-meets-advertising agency hired Raymond Chin from Wieden + Kennedy to fill its vacant ECD slot in China.

Chris Riley. The account lead for the IBM business was named Ogilvy & Mather Singapore’s COO.

Vince Lui. After 14 years of service at digital agency XM, Lui joined Adobe as director of strategic partner relationships for Southeast Asia.

Bad week for…

Alex Au

Au

Andrew Au. The Singaporean blogger was found guilty of “scandalising contempt” over a post in which he discussed challenges of the constitutionality of Section 377A.

Tech in Asia. The tech title was forced to make a public apology to Singapore’s defence ministry over an article headlined ‘Why the Ministry of Defence is killing Singapore’s ambition of becoming an IP hub’ for describing one senior MINDEF official as “infamous”.

Shenzhen Evening News. The local China newspaper said sorry after secretly photographing dead singer Yao Beina during surgery to remove her corneas.

BBC Worldwide. The broadcaster parted ways with its head of sales Sunita Rajan, who’d been with the company for 16 years. She moved to the Beeb’s archrival CNN.

Prediction for next week

Could more staff be following Paul Soon out of the door at XM?

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