Octagon brings on board MD for Southeast Asia

Sports and entertainment marketing agency Octagon has appointed Aykan Azar as managing director of Octagon Southeast Asia. In his new role, he will focus investing resources to further the agency’s content and tech production capabilities. This includes identifying new opportunities for the team members.Azar formerly led the company’s Brazil operation where he oversaw the agency during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and 2014 FIFA World Cup.Azar oversaw Octagon’s sponsorship marketing and experiential practice in Brazil for the past four years. He has an understanding of all sides of a partnership including the brand, agency and rights holder perspectives. In his new role, Azar will lead a team of 18 that offers strategic partnership consulting, creative campaign and content creation, experiential marketing and rights holder consulting.“Octagon APAC has grown exponentially over the past five years and having Aykan join positions us to continue earning attention for our clients, creating award-winning campaigns and growing our capabilities in the region," said regional managing director, Ben Hartman."For the next five years, the entire sporting world’s focus will shift to Asia Pacific as the region will host three Olympic Games (Pyeongchang 2018, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022), a FIFA World Cup (Qatar 2022) and a Rugby World Cup (Japan 2019). There is tremendous potential for brands in the region to associate themselves with these major properties and earn attention with millions of fans," added Azar.