McCann's Cathay team bolsters digital with new hires

Hong Kong - McCann Worldgroup Cathay Pacific Central Team (CXCT) has hired Marcus Sigurdsson, former OgilvyOne and Neo digital lead as digital engagement director. Sigurdsson will report directly into Vince Viola, MD for CXCT.

"Consumers don't think in silos of print, digital, media, etc. So why should agencies?" Viola said. He added they now have a fully integrated central team that covers everything from strategy, creative, media and execution across all channels.

"With a lot of digital work in the market, they look good but did it reach the target?" Viola also said, "Everything we do is accountable, clear and specific". He added the philosophy of CXCT is "building the right digital solutions with the right target audience in mind at the right time".

Sigurdsson will work alongside Thierry Halbroth, CXCT's senior creative director and will use his Web 2.0 expertise in designing creative solutions to address the airline's digital needs particularly in the social media landscape.

Halbroth said the current digital landscape is constantly shifting and the ever-evolving social media scene is not helping when it comes to identifying the right strategies. He said the digital work they've been creating in the past few years has been good for both Cathay Pacific and the airline industry, as well as creatively rewarding.

"However, we feel a strong acceleration in the digital creative pace where strategy and technology will play an increasingly crucial role. We need to take the lead in this shift and will look to Marcus for insights that maximise the efficiency of all of our digital creative solutions."

The digital engagement team focused on global digital strategies for all Cathay Pacific brands including Asia Miles has also promoted Alex Lai as art director for Cathay Pacific.