Indiantelevision.com Team

(27 September 2006 8:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Initiative has appointed Steve Blakeman as channel strategy director, Asia Pacific, a new and key regional role, effective from 1 November. He returns to Initiative after 3 years.

Blakeman's new role at Initiative now takes him to Asia. Based in the South East Asian hub, Singapore, he will report to chief operating officer (Asia Pacific), King F. Lai.

Commenting upon the appointment Lai said, "This is a significant and senior appointment for Initiative and we are thrilled to have Steve on board. He has a proven track record for success and we are aware of his capabilities as an upstream creative thinker who is able to deliver holistic brand literate communication plans. Steve's priority is to cultivate locally empowered teams working alongside local and regional clients. These teams will continue to focus on integrated communication strategies and brand activation ideas to amplify consumer brand experiences via agnostic channel solutions."

Blakeman joined Initiative in 2001 as communications planning director on Unilever, based in Paris. In 2003, Blakeman returned to the UK with his family and joined PHD as a managing partner; whilst there; he launched PHD North in home town, Manchester.

Blakeman says, "I have admired Initiative both as an outsider and as an employee. The company embraces the same vision for the communications industry that I have; it's embedded in the corporate culture. They are true thought leaders who seek to initiate change. I had no hesitation when I was asked to rejoin the Initiative family."

As Blakeman moves into his new role, he will be 'live' online sharing his experiences and opinion on the fast-changing media marketplace around him as a regular blogger on Initiative's blog, bloginitiative.com, and Brand Republic's soon-to-be-launched Asia edition of "Gordon's Republic", informs an official release.

"Asia Pacific is the most dynamic region in the world right now. It's a Tiger economy and with China alone accounting for 1 billion consumers it's a marketplace that is unparalleled at this moment in time. As a result of this growth, the developments in terms of emerging channels are off the scale and, frankly, I want to be part of the action," adds Blakeman.