Brand Consultancy Agency of the Year Singapore 2016

Gold: DENTSU SINGAPOREOwned by : Dentsu Aegis NetworkHeaded by : Rosalynn Tay, chief executive officer, Dentsu Aegis SingaporeComing out on top with the gold award in the Brand Consultancy of the Year category is Dentsu Singapore. With new client wins ranging from leading public sector organisations, upscale hospitality and healthcare and travel industries, the most impressive growth of all was achieved by expanding the scope of work with existing clients.After streamlining its thinking process to come closer to its vision to “innovate the way brands are built”, Dentsu Singapore moved upstream with proprietary brand innovation tools to digitisation for day to day work. It designed and implemented its proprietary brand innovation tool Dentsu Innovation Navigator (DIN). DIN not only became its brand innovation tool, but was also ingrained into its culture and way of thinking.It ensured Dentsu worked with the top decision-makers/clients to help them derive their brand vision which is then translated into communications solutions. Some key campaigns included Canon: Photo Face-Off which utilised smartphone cameras.It generated unprecedented results for the brand and is now an annual campaign for Canon in the region as a regional content platform. Other successful campaigns were for Great Eastern Insurance, and Singapore Navy which generated more than a million views within a month; and Uniqlo Street Tales which combined real-time GPS technology with creativity which helped generate sales. [gallery link="file" ids="140275,140276,140279"]Silver: DDB GROUP SINGAPOREOwned by : Omnicom Media GroupHeaded by : David Tang, CEO, DDB Asia president and CEO, SingaporeWinning the silver award for Brand Consultancy of the Year is DDB Group Singapore. The agency had a great 2015, with key client wins such as Johnson & Johnson, Ministry of Education “Teachers”, Changi Airport “Jewel”, SC Johnson, MediShield Life and the very lively Pioneer Generation Package campaign – done in local dialects.With a team of more than 40 technologists, DDB has created five new waves of digital work: web, apps, social-tostore, portals and retail assets. It has gone into upstream digital work, creating e-CRM apps, predictive logic, e-stores and store activation. Mobile marketing has also been a key focus, where it created award-winning apps for McDonald’s, StarHub and RSAF, as well as white-label app solutions for its other clients, Courts, SG50 and Heineken.Beyond conventional websites, DDB has brought a new level of creativity to online engagementwith sophisticated gaming, social content, infographic content and social commerce. Its focus on e-commerce and earned media led to the launch of Track in February 2015 (rebranded from Rapp), with a new marketing focus on e-commerce and enterprise solutions for key clients StarHub, Courts and Keppel Land. [gallery link="file" ids="140280,140281,140282"]Brozne: BRAND UNIONOwned by : WPPHeaded by : Po Kay Lee, managing directorComing in strong with the bronze award for Brand Consultancy of the Year is Brand Union, which saw a great year with new partnerships with tech start-ups intent on transforming the mobile and banking sectors.It advises consumer brands on how to maximise a meaningful standout at point-of sale today, while helping them to envisage how their category will look in five or 10 years time. This has helped government-linked organisations to rationalise and become more competitive.Through the process, Brand Union has continually adjusted its own skills and modes of delivery to ensure readiness to lead client businesses through the disorientation of change to a position of future confidence, ever ready to adapt and compete in the changing landscape.In 2015, Brand Union Singapore continued to strengthen its client base, resulting in its fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth.[gallery link="file" ids="140284,140285,140286"]Local Hero: A. S. LOUKEN GROUPOwned by: Louken GroupHeaded by: Luke Lim, CEO and FounderLouken Group. Having spent 16 years in the business, A. S. Louken’s expertise spans market research, brand creation and enhancement, internal branding and training, and digital and brand activation. From its birth in 2000, it has consulted for 1000 enterprises across Singapore and Asia, elevating them to market-leading brands.Revenue increased due to an increase in project size, diversity in the clients’ base and its value-added digital and brand activation services in support of its brand growth mission. The agency experienced robust growth in 2015 in revenue as it expanded the team, acquired bigger contracts, while improving effi ciency. It has also seen a signifi cant increase in the number of clients – local and overseas.With a consistent client satisfaction score of 85% in 2015, client feedback was conducted twice during the projects’ middle and end-term stages.[gallery link="file" ids="140292,140291"]FINALISTSACTIVISTEOwned by: IndependentHeaded by: Kim Faulker, CEO and FounderActiviste is a multi-faceted brand impact consultancy focused on orchestrating change for businesses and within organisations, with customised programmes to suit specifi c client needs. Key clients include the National University of Singapore, the National University Hospital, JTC Corporation, Motorola Solutions (Clarigo), Bank Danamon, Bank BTPN, Singapore Mediation Centre and many others.ANTICS@PLAYOwned by: IndependentHeaded by: Winnie Pua, managing director2015 was a great year for antics@play, scoring record figures for clients and itself, and retaining all of its retainer clients. The agency rightfully finds a place in the top 10 brand consultancies in Singapore.  Key clients include Schroders, ColorWash, Essilor, Ascendas, IDA (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore) and MCI (Ministry of Communications and Information).BONSEY DESIGNOwned by: IndependentHeaded by: Jonathan Bonsey, principal creative and executive officerMaking it onto the finalist list is Bonsey Design. It sees itself an an independent brand architect dedicated to building iconic brands with sustainable impact. It has a presence in the Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, India, Myanmar, China and Singapore markets.DIA BRAND CONSULTANTSOwned by: IndependentsHeaded by: Nigel Smith, CEODIA Brand Consultants did well in 2015, with no clients lost and an increase in profit and revenue. It maintained its stronghold with a good mix of public and private sector clients, ranging from food and beverage, beauty services and publisher outlets.INTERBRANDOwned by: Omnicom GroupHeaded by: Jonathan Bernstein, general manager and executive directorInterbrand has had a solid year of growth, deepening its relationships with clients, its thought leadership and talent. The agency covers Southeast Asia markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and China. Its key clients include Huawei, Standard Chartered, OSIM and Crystal Jade, to name a few.TBWA\ GROUP SINGAPOREOwned by:Omnicom GroupHeaded by: Ara Hampartsoumian, managing directorTBWA\Singapore led the charge across Asia as the designated regional headquarters for the region across creative, production and digital. There was increased organic growth of existing clients, with MasterCard becoming one of its top five regional clients, and Singapore leading the way for Apple, Airbnb and Nissan in Asia.For the full list of winners, click here.Agency of the Year 2016 is organised by Marketing and sponsored by The X Collective, BBC, CPR Vision, SSI, DMRocket, Mediacorp OOH Media, NBCUniversal International Networks. Partners for the event include SmsDome, Cellarmasters Wine, Graphiss Productions, Live!Studios and Peroni Nastro Azzurro.