LEWIS to invest US$6.5m towards APAC expansion

Global integrated communications brand LEWIS has a new APAC 2020 大湾区 (da wan qu) plan to expand the Asian network significantly by function and geography. This includes the creation of eight new offices and three new digital hubs in Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney.The expansion includes Bangkok, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Haikou, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Melbourne and Shenzhen. 200 new roles will be created. Specifically, the roles include heads of search, analytics, paid media and content creation in addition to account servicing functions at all levels. All roles are expected to be filled no later than July 31 2020, said the agency. The company has recently bagged new clients such as Bosch, Destination New South Wales, Digital Realty, Ferrero, Robert Half, Social Bakers, Sophos and Tourism Australia.Jen Wu, North APAC 2020 controller of LEWIS said, “We plan to grow our regional presence significantly. China is internationalising rapidly and LEWIS is there to help clients develop their revenues in global markets. I’m in the lucky position to invest US$3m in our proposition in the Greater China Region."Emma Jenkins, South APAC 2020 controller, LEWIS added that in addition to scaling the agency's operations, it will also be expanding on its creative and digital services. "There’s a tremendous amount of talent throughout Southeast Asia in particular and our investment will enable us to tap into and unleash it for the benefit of clients," Jenkins said.“APAC is maturing rapidly to adopt a leadership position globally. LEWIS has three major advantages over the holding companies; Firstly, we’re a unitary brand; We have no legacy infrastructure to dismantle and we have more investment funding available than most competitors," Scott Pettet (pictured), SVP Asia, said. He added that the 2020 plan will "see LEWIS grow at a rate faster than almost any agency in the region"."An ambitous plan requires talented, driven people to realise it and that’s what we’re looking for now – right the way across the region," Pettet added.Marketing has reached out to LEWIS for more details.