MAM
VML announces new market leadership team for Asia Pacific
Mumbai: Global brand, customer experience and commerce agency VML has announced its new in-market leadership team across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
Uniting more than 5000 employees across 25 offices in 13 markets in APAC, the new structure has been designed to provide best-in-class support for VML’s clients across the region, featuring market leaders with robust local knowledge and deep expertise spanning customer experience, brand experience and commerce.
The announcement comes as WPP creative agencies Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R unify to create VML – the world’s most advanced and largest creative company.
VML works with a diverse range of blue-chip client partners across various industries in APAC, including Ford, The Coca Cola Company, HSBC, Unilever, Nestle, GSK, Zespri and more.
Under the leadership of newly appointed VML APAC Co-CEOs Audrey Kuah and Yi-Chung Tay and with its regional principal offices in Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney, the restructure sees the appointment of the following market leaders (by region) from 1 January, 2024
ANZ
In Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Tom Tearle, VMLY&R ANZ CEO is appointed to the role of CEO, VML ANZ. Gavin Bain, Wunderman Thompson CEO for Australia moves to the role of VML chief consulting officer, ANZ and Managing Director, Perth, Australia.
Southeast Asia
Singapore: Nimesh Desai, Wunderman Thompson CEO for Singapore, has been appointed as VML CEO, Singapore. Rhys Taylor, VMLY&R managing director, Singapore, takes on the role of VML Chief Client Officer, Singapore, focused on ensuring the new VML is providing the full suite of capabilities to its clients.
Indonesia: Samir Gupte, CEO, Wunderman Thompson, Indonesia, has been appointed CEO, VML Indonesia.
Malaysia: Kenni Loh, CEO, VMLY&R Malaysia, has been appointed CEO, VML Malaysia.
Philippines: Golda Roldan, CEO, Wunderman Thompson, Philippines, has been appointed CEO, VML Philippines.
Thailand: Parattajariya Jalayanteja, CEO Wunderman Thompson, Thailand has been appointed CEO, VML Thailand.
Vietnam: Ha Nguyen, VMLY&R CEO, Vietnam, has been appointed CEO, VML Vietnam.
East Asia
In China, Kevin Zhu, VMLY&R China CEO, has been appointed CEO VML, China, and Carter Chow Wunderman Thompson CEO for Greater China, steps into the role of President, VML China.
Hong Kong: Maggie Wong, CEO, Wunderman Thompson, Hong Kong, has been appointed CEO, VML Hong Kong.
Japan: Ichiro Ota, CEO, VML & Ogilvy Japan remains in his position; while Akira Suzuki, CEO, Wunderman Thompson Japan, moves into the role of COO, VML Japan.
Taiwan: Even Teng, CEO, Wunderman Thompson, Taiwan has been appointed CEO, VML, Taiwan.
South Asia
India: India is a key market for VML and we are taking the time to ensure that our teams are led by the most capable leaders for our employees and clients. We will announce India’s leadership in Q1 2024.
Commenting on development, VML APAC Co-CEO Audrey Kuah said: “We are thrilled to introduce our new APAC leadership team, who represent the cream-of-the-crop across two of the most awarded creative agencies in the region. As we unify our storied agencies, there is an exciting opportunity to redefine the possibilities of creativity and set the stage for more innovative and effective work.”
“At VML we are dedicated to creating connected brands which matter to the consumer and drive growth for our client partners. Working closely with our leaders across our APAC network, we are well positioned to provide the best possible solutions to our clients’ most pressing business problems via an integrated suite of capabilities which are unsurpassed in the region, VML APAC Co-CEO,” Yi-Chung Tay added.
MAM
Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
