Publicis Groupe’s Rokkan, a fully integrated creative and media agency, is expanding into the Asia Pacific region with the opening of a new office in Singapore.
The agency’s expansion follows the growth of its global clientele in the three years since its acquisition by the Publicis Groupe. In Singapore, Rokkan will operate under Publicis Communications CEO, Lou Dela Pena.
Rokkan’s new Asia Pacific expansion will be led by Chung Ng, CXO and co-Founder, who led the 2006 launch of VirginAmerica.com in the U.S. and built the agency’s presences in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Anthea Tang, VP of client partnership at Publicis, has also been promoted to general manager for the new Singapore office overseeing local operations and further developing client relationships. Tang joined Rokkan in 2014 after four years with SapientNitro Toronto.
The announcement of Rokkan’s international expansion follows the win of Mikimoto’s global digital business and momentum from recent global work, which includes The One&Only Resorts, Tough Mudder, and others. Rokkan began work in the US with Mikimoto in 2013 when it re-launched MikimotoAmerica.com and managed the brand’s digital marketing, media strategy and planning.
Launching a new digital hub in late December, Rokkan aimed to help the company redefine the One&Only Resorts online brand, user experience and created a new non-linear booking system for the brand. With the global development of the relationship, Rokkan now assumes duties leading Mikimoto’s global digital efforts, which will be centered on Rokkan’s Singapore office.
Dela Pena said: “Clients want to spend less time managing their agencies, and more time building on their brand and business. The addition of Rokkan Singapore only strengthens our ability to offer our clients the widest range of digital expertise and knowledge in the market, without worrying about how to integrate multiple agency relationships.”
“Re-defining what digital means for us has been a core part of our journey since acquisition,” said John Noe, CEO and co-founder of Rokkan. “We spend the better part of our time blurring the edges, pushing into broader brand and creative duties, media planning, PR, etc. And now a truly global expansion helps bring a model we’re beginning to crack into brand new territories.”
