Singapore : Across the Pond, the independent global creative agency, has hired Andrea Lau to fill the new role of Creative Director at its Singapore office. This marks the first time any agency has managed to secure Lau’s talents on a permanent basis in more than a decade.
Lau has gained a wealth of experience in conceptual and strategic thinking during her 16 years as a sought-after freelance creative, collaborating with the most respected agencies in the APAC region, including TBWA, Wunderman Thompson and Leo Burnett, as well as with brands including Apple.
Her relationship with Across the Pond also began on a freelance basis, but the agency eventually persuaded her to give up her peripatetic ways and join them full time, in a rare reversal of the Great Resignation trend.
As the first creative director on the ground in Across the Pond’s Singapore office, Lau will lead and build the creative team. Working across all clients, but with a particular focus on Google and TikTok, she will help the agency collaborate with clients upstream to solve communications challenges.
Evangelical about the power of creativity to transform businesses, Lau has been hired to boost the agency’s creative reputation. She reports to executive creative director Jim de Zoete in London while also working closely with Singapore managing director Serene Wong.
Jim de Zoete, ECD: “Good things come to those who wait. We’ve been wanting to hire a whip-smart, dynamo of a CD to run our creative department in APAC for a while and in Andrea we have finally found the perfect person. Andrea’s experience is unparalleled but it’s her passion, energy and all-round creative spark that we love. We can’t wait to see what she does.”
Lau said: “I was very happy working as a full-time freelancer, until I met the team at Across the Pond. They’ve got a counter-cultural belief in how a creative agency should function and their commitment to help tech brands create a better world isn’t just a mission, it’s a movement – one I’m thrilled to be part of with a team of wonderfully humble and driven individuals.”
Among the numerous brand launches Lau has worked on are the hugely effective BMW Series 4 campaign in Singapore; Debit Mastercard in Singapore and Malaysia; Spotify’s live brand experience Spotify on Stage in Thailand and Indonesia; social campaigns for Disney+ programming across Southeast Asia and Standard Chartered’s “Here for Good” global brand refresh. She also worked on the always-on content hub for Apple’s Education Marketing division across Southeast Asia.
